Bowie Restaurant Project: (65) Chili's

For an explanation of the Bowie Restaurant Project, look here.


For a list of all the Bowie Restaurant Project reviews, look here.

Chili's, 16401 Heritage Blvd.
Most Recent Foursquare Check-in: 4/4/2013
Total Foursquare Check-ins: 1
Pre-Foursquare Visits: No
Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars

It's a Chili's. Right? We're at Chili's, aren't we, not Applebee's or Ruby Tuesday's or whatever? Nope, definitely a Chili's.

One reason that I know that I've been to a Chili's before -- and can thus dispense with a second visit, according to my review rules -- is that I know there is one in the hotel that the Euroquest gaming convention used to be held in. One time, on a break from gaming, Martin and I were approached by the waitress who asked if we were familiar with their menu. Martin assured her that he came there all the time. After she left, I expressed surprise at this response and he said something like, "I don't know that I've ever been to Chili's in my life; I just didn't want to hear whatever she wanted to tell us."

Although the service this time was not particular enthusiastic, I saw more instances of where Chili's was more interested in a relationship with me than vice versa. For example, signs and notes on the menu reminded me to download their app, where, among other things, I could request songs on the jukebox without actually getting up and walking over there.

A bad cell phone picture of the "Ziosk"

The one thing of some mild interest was the "Ziosk", a console that took up a large percentage of the real estate on our surprisingly small table. Most of its offerings were duds -- advertisements for specials, or offers to pay $1.99 to play games I could probably find on my phone for free. There was a chance to re-order drinks. When our waitress had disappeared for a while (as I said, the service was not the best), I tried to use it to summon water, but was told we had not ordered drinks. I assume it only works on booze.

The Ziosk did shine in one area. It lets you pay your bill, which may have helped us recover some of the ten minutes we waited for someone to show up and seat us at the beginning of the meal. In particular, we were able to split the check and each pay via credit card. It's always very annoying to split a small check between two or more people -- and I probably would not have done so via credit card if not for the Ziosk. And I was able to get the receipt via e-mail, so there's that.

What about the food. It was adequate. I got the chili, which was comparable to Wendy's, and the fajitas, which were fine. My colleague got the "Southwestern Mac 'n' Cheese with Grilled Chicken," which was also fine. Both it and the fajitas were presented on a little skillet, which was reasonable.

So it ends up with the ever popular 2.5-star rating (awarded in 7 of my most recent 11 reviews). It might sink to 2 stars without the Ziosk, which solves the hypothetical-yet-plausible scenario of, "I'm going out to lunch with a bunch of people and it's going to be a pain to split the check."

Movie Review: Looper

Looking back, I used to review a lot of movies on this blog. At least six in 2000, four in 2001... But it looks like the last review I published was in 2005 for Kung Fu Hustle, a movie I didn't even remember seeing. Well, there's a reason I write reviews, so I'll be able to remind myself of things I don't remember seeing.

Anyway, I decided I wanted to vote on the Hugos for the Best Novel category, but that also makes me eligible to vote for all the other categories, and I feel like I should make some effort in at least some of those categories. So the nomination of Looper motivated me to look for the copy we've had from Netflix for over a month. After Christina found it, we watched it last night.

My verdict: not bad, but not something I want to give an award to. One weakness was that things happened in the movie that seemed solely done for plot convenience. I mean, time travel is always a little bit ridiculous, but even after being invented and then outlawed, its main use is disposing of people the mob wants killed? Really? And why does "Old Joe" fight so much better than "Young Joe"? It's because Bruce Willis was in Die Hard and Joseph Gordon-Levitt was in 3rd Rock from the Sun, isn't it?

The characters, while not really ones I could relate to, do experience some interesting moral dilemmas. The implications of time-travel paradoxes are somewhat interesting, but nothing really mind-blowing like a good time-travel story. I mean, really, this movie didn't hold a candle to The Time Traveler's Wife.

I think I liked it better than The Avengers, the only other of this year's nominees I've seen. On the other hand, I watched that movie in a very distracted fashion, and it's gotten so many good reviews, maybe I will try to catch it again when it is available on Netflix streaming. But the "No Award" option on the ballot is starting to look good.

The Hugo Nominees

The Hugo nominees have been announced!

First of all, nothing that I nominated made the finalists. (Although I nominated Game of Thrones in long-form dramatic presentation, and an episode made it through in short-form.) Oh, well.

The category that I am most interested in, Best Novel, had a two-novel overlap with the Nebula nominees: 2312 and Throne of the Crescent Moon.

So what do I read next? Well, my first thought is to pivot from the Hugos to the Nebulas, so that I can read those nominees and make up my own mind before the Nebula winner is announced in mid-May. Because the Hugo nominees are traditionally provided at no additional cost to Hugo voters, that means postponing Throne of the Crescent Moon until the "Hugo packet" becomes available. I am a little bit sad about that, since I picked that book as the Nebula nominee I'd most like to read. Among other things, Saladin Ahmed, the author, is a Michigan alumnus and father of twins -- like me. Also, he is an Arab-American who has written poetry -- like my wife. So I guess I should mostly be glad he got the nomination, but I am looking forward to reading this. (Also, his Twitter avatar is the Rakshasa from the original Monster Manual.)

That leaves Ironskin, The Killing Moon, The Drowning Girl and Glamour in Glass as the other four Nebula nominees. From an Amazon review of Ironskin: "this book is a fey/steampunk retelling of Jane Eyre." My heart sinks every time I see that, so I will probably move that low on the priority list. The Killing Moon looks like a fantasy novel with some war, magic and mysticism. It's promising. The Drowning Girl is described in an Amazon review as "a haunting, dreamlike novel awash in mermaids, werewolves, fairy tales, art and schizophrenia." I would color myself somewhat suspicious, so let's put that in between the other two on the priority list. Finally, Glamour in Glass is the second novel in a series that seems to be described as Jane Austen with magic. I prefer something done as a tribute to a particular author rather than a retelling of a particular story, and I like magic better than "fey/steampunk", so it definitely goes above Ironskin,
and probably The Drowning Girl.

The only problem with Glamour in Glass is that I have a rule not to read series out of sequence. This rule dates back to my childhood days reading The Hardy Boys novels, so it is completely ridiculous, but so ingrained that I find it impossible to break. The previous book in the series is Shades of Milk and Honey, a 2010 Nebula nominee. It was not one of the three nominees I managed to read that year, but I find that somewhat encouraging. Still, I am developing a long list of books to read in the first part of the year (see below).

Assuming I get those four (well, five, with Shades) books read before the Hugo packet comes out, what next? Well, here's where my book series rule (I should develop a catchy name for it) comes into play. One of the Hugo nominees is Blackout, the third book in a zombie trilogy. I don't really like zombie books or movies, but I should give this one a shot, which adds the first two books in the series.

Another nominee is Captain Vorpatril's Alliance, the latest entry in the Vorkosigan Saga. Let's look at how many entries there are...twenty-two? (Spit take.) Well, it's not as bad as all that. The list contains two short stories and four novellas. I don't feel compelled to track those down, and even if I did, they're shorter. So that's...fifteen prequels. But wait! I actually read Falling Free, the first novel (according to the saga's internal chronology) and a previous Nebula winner. It's not tightly related to the rest of the saga, so I could have probably justified skipping it, but now I don't have to. Fourteen! And one novel takes place after Captain Vorpatril's Alliance (the author suggests reading the novels in chronological order rather than publication order), so I'm down to thirteen.

Thankfully, it gets better. Some of the books are collected in "omnibus" editions. Even if that doesn't make the combined books any shorter, 1) it cuts down on the number of books I have to buy, and 2) the original novels couldn't have been that long, if they've been combined with other novels. That gives me:

1. Cordelia's Honor
2. Young Miles
3. Miles, Mystery, and Mayhem
4. Miles Errant
5. Memory
6. Miles in Love
7. Miles, Mutants and Microbes  

After all that, seven books doesn't seem so bad, does it? The remaining Hugo nominee is Redshirts, so that goes on the list, too.

Summarizing, we have, approximately in order:

1. The Killing Moon (Nebula nominee)
2. Shades of Milk and Honey (in series with Nebula nominee)
3. Glamour in Glass (Nebula nominee)
4. The Drowning Girl (Nebula nominee)
5. Ironskin (Nebula nominee)
6. Cordelia's Honor (in series with Hugo nominee)
7. Young Miles (in series with Hugo nominee)
8. Miles, Mystery, and Mayhem (in series with Hugo nominee)
9. Miles Errant (in series with Hugo nominee)
10. Memory (in series with Hugo nominee)
11. Miles in Love (in series with Hugo nominee)
12. Miles, Mutants and Microbes (in series with Hugo nominee)
13. Feed (in series with Hugo nominee)
14. Deadline (in series with Hugo nominee)
15. Throne of the Crescent Moon (Nebula and Hugo nominee) 
16. Captain Vorpatril's Alliance (Hugo nominee) 
17. Blackout (Hugo nominee)
18. Redshirts (Hugo nominee)  

So, let's see, 18 books in four months (some of them containing multiple novels), for someone who has been struggling to average two books a month. Let me consider this list an unrealistic goal rather than a "to-do list". Also, time to start reading The Killing Moon! Updates to follow...

Book Review: Seraphina

Seraphina by Rachel Hartman

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


First of all, I first saw this book on Locus' 2012 Recommended Reading List, where I first heard of The Last Policeman, so that makes me think that list is a pretty good resource. (Then again, I also got the idea to read Angelmaker there, and I abandoned it a few pages in, so it's not a perfect list.)

Anyway, Seraphina is a the story of a sixteen-year-old court musician who is a half-dragon. Dragons can take human form, which leads to much suspicion, but almost nobody believes that half-dragons are possible, so Seraphina has to hide her true nature. The book takes place in the aftermath of the murder of a prince and on the eve of the 40th-anniversary celebrations of a peace treaty between humans and dragons.

It's a "young adult" book, but after much thought, I've decided that the idea of "young adult" as a classification is misguided. I understand that certain books like Have Space Suit—Will Travel are particularly attractive to a teenage reader, and that maybe you'll be able to relate better to Seraphina if you're a teenage girl (even more if you're half-dragon!). I don't think, however, that libraries or bookstores should have separate sections for "fantasy" and "young adult fantasy". I think separate sections for "this book has dragons in it" and "sorry, this book doesn't have any dragons" would make at least as much sense. I guess what I'm saying is go ahead and read this book if you're an adult, but you could recommend it to a teenager, too. If it matters, it's probably PG; then again, most teenagers would probably prefer the R-rated books.

I've seen reviews which mention that the idea of dragons taking human form is what makes the book so wonderful. I don't think the idea is new here. I'm sure I saw it in D&D 30 years ago, which means it was borrowed from some other place. The author does a great job, however, at addressing the implications of what it means to be one species in the body of another. The dragons are one part of a very richly-drawn setting that is the books strength.

The characters are also interesting. Seraphina's status as between two cultures will resonate with anyone who has struggled with feelings of not belonging -- which I believe will help the book's "young adult" plea. The plot is interesting, but not the reason this book deserves five stars.

I only regret not reading this book before the Hugo nominations closed.

A Pie of Cheese and Onion

I've been trying to put fun things on my "to do" list, along with chores. One theme that dominates this part of the list is that I want to make sure I actually enjoy my Christmas and birthday presents, rather than saying, "This looks fun," and then setting them aside with the feeling that I won't have time to use them.

One such present was A Feast of Ice and Fire: The Official Game of Thrones Companion Cookbook. It's a collection of recipes that you might find in Westeros. As far as I can tell, the methodology is to find offhand reference to some dish in the books, then use medieval sources to create a recipe, along with a possible modern variation.

The recipe I chose to make was the modern version of a cheese and onion pie (served at a wedding in King's Landing in the third book, and I suspect the fourth season of the TV show). The dough, though, was a medieval-style recipe. I think the saffron and egg yolks gave it an interesting flavor.

The filling turned out really well. I think the main change I might make would be to cut back on the amount of potato and onion -- they provide the bulk of dish, and I had to use a bigger pan than expected due to the amount of filling. Christina thought I should cut back on the cayenne pepper and consider including some meat.

The crust suffered a little bit in presentation due to my inexperience -- it has been more than 15 years since my one previous attempt to bake a pie crust. It was still tasty, but I can probably learn a few things before my next attempt.

There's a recipe for fish tarts that looks interesting. I think if I blend the medieval and modern recipes, I could end up with something a lot like a salmon & cream cheese bagel.  Maybe that'll be my next project.

PS Jack seemed to like the pie, but Salem did not.

Bowie Restaurant Project: (64) Outback Steakhouse

For an explanation of the Bowie Restaurant Project, look here.



For a list of all the Bowie Restaurant Project reviews, look here.

Outback Steakhouse, 6800 Race Track Road
Most Recent Foursquare Check-in: 3/17/2013
Total Foursquare Check-ins: 1
Pre-Foursquare Visits: No
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Let's get a few things out of the way. First of all, a couple of years ago, the Bowie Outback moved from one part of Hilltop Plaza to another. As far as I can tell, they did so to be more visible from the road, which is kind of a lame reason. The move helped mess up parking, and left a vacant building at their old location. So jeers to them for that, though I won't downgrade their rating for it. They ended up with some nice decor, though I think they could have done that with a nice renovation.

Second, I know it's a chain. I know it's a totally fake version of Australia -- I wish I could eat at Ned Kelly's Retreat instead. Still, Outback is a guilty pleasure, and one of the more promising chain restaurants in Bowie.

Since Outback is not open for weekday lunch, one of my usual strategies for planning a Bowie Restaurant Project visit -- taking along a co-worker -- wouldn't work. It's also a bit pricey, so it called for a bit of a special occasion. My birthday did the trick, but the visit kept being postponed due to illness, and once due to a potential 30-minute wait with hungry and impatient toddlers.

This time, I called ahead to find out that there was no wait. By the time we got there, a 10-minute wait had developed. That wasn't a huge problem, but we had to repeatedly decline offers of being seated in a booth after we had told them we wanted a table. That mild annoyance may have been indicative of staff turnover, because a couple of times I saw confusion about basic restaurant operation.

The food itself, however, was excellent, and the service was attentive. Christina remarked, and I agree, that the food is better than at the Hyattsville location near our old house. I got what I almost always get at Outback -- a steak, medium-rare, with mushrooms on the side. I got one of the larger sizes, intending to save it for a meal the next day -- but I ended up finishing the whole thing.

I wasn't the only one who overindulged. Salem, who proclaimed, "That was a good restaurant," as he was being buckled into the car, was up for at least an hour that night with indigestion. I can't blame that on the restaurant, rather a two-and-half year-old who doesn't know when to stop eating.

So, three stars. I think if I were planning to eat steak and weren't looking to round out my reviewing, I'd probably opt for the Old Bowie Town Grille or Rip's instead. If, however, I were dining with someone who wanted the familiarity of a chain, or I didn't want to go more than a mile and a half from my house, Outback is a fine choice.

Book Review: The Long Earth

The Long Earth by Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


When I was younger, I used to read settings for role-playing campaigns that I knew I'd never have time to use. I always sort of wondered why I was doing that. Reading The Long Earth helped me understand -- some writers are far better at setting than they are at other elements -- say dialogue or characterization.

The basic idea of the "Long Earth" is fascinating -- an array of alternate Earths, each an easy "step" away once someone discovers the method. The Earths are mostly uninhabited, which raises a series of interesting economic and political questions. The possibilities are explored in interesting ways. The setting is enough to earn the book its three stars.

Beyond that, I have a lot of problems with the book. The main two characters in the book (one of them an AI) speak to each other in ways that sound like a 14-year-old nerd's idea of witty banter. E.g., "Although these worlds are full of elephant types. A plethora of pachyderms." There's a third character who arrives later in the book who I like better, which gives me hope for the sequel.

I would also like to coin the term "Stark Industries Syndrome" for any sci-fi book where the narrative relies on a corporation run by an eccentric billionaire who seems more interested in science and technology than on making money. (To be clear, I have no problem with Stark Industries itself, thus illustrating a difference in what I think is proper in a comic book versus a novel.) That leads to lines like, "Now when you are dealing with the Black Corporation, funds are essentially without limit." Really? I don't think that's true for Apple, Google, or Exxon -- how much bigger of a corporation is this entity supposed to be. Or, "The ultimate "black box", you might say, is in the belly of the ship, armoured in an alloy that I confidently believe makes adamantium look like putty..." Nothing about this alternative-Earth scenario makes me believe any such thing should be remotely possible, especially developed in secret for a company which doesn't immediately try to monetize the invention.

I was initially hoping for something like what I hoped Charles Stross' The Family Trade was going to be before things went off the rails in later sequels. I'm not going to get that, but I'm probably going to read the sequel and hope the setting keeps me from banging my head against my Kindle when I read some of the dialogue.

I had initially checked this out because it was on somebody's list of "maybe nominate these novels for the Hugo." I was still reading it when the nomination deadline came around, but did not rush to finish it because I knew I wasn't putting it on my ballot. I hope it doesn't get nominated, but then again I know Pratchett has a lot of fans.

Project Bike To Work: Daylight Savings

I decided that the first Wednesday after Daylight Savings was a good day for my first bike ride to work of the year. On Thursday, I got an e-mail about my activity a year ago (the first Wednesday after Daylight Savings), indicating that it was my first bike ride to work of the year. So I guess it's a tradition!

I have had a somewhat sedentary winter, and my goal is to turn it around, in part, by biking to work at least once a week. I understand that a weekly 8-mile round trip will not, in and of itself, burn a ton of calories. But I'm hoping it will inspire me to take the bike out some more -- figure out how to attach the trailer we bought around the time the kids were born, for example.

Also, at some point I decided that diet soda wasn't any better for me than regular soda. Unfortunately, I took this to mean, I might as well drink regular soda instead of Pepsi One or whatever. But I have found that when I ride my bike regularly, I don't really want to grab a Big Gulp and undo many of the positives.

Before I set out Wednesday morning, I weighed myself -- 217 pounds. I really should be under 200, something that hasn't been true since the 1990s. I figure if I have monthly posts noting how I'm doing on biking to work and on my weight, it'll help keep me to my exercise plan. From June 2006 to August 2009, I tracked my weight on a spreadsheet. Until June 2009, it was almost always above 217, so I guess things haven't gotten worse for me in the past 4 years.

Anyway, if I am going to bike to work more, I should try to make good time. Google Maps says it should take me 22 minutes to get there, and 23 minutes on the way home. I did not properly time myself, but I think I was more like 25/30. That should come closer to the ideal times once I'm in better shape. And that's only 10 extra minutes each way over driving, which seems a reasonable compromise.

Hugo Nominations

Well, that's it. I'm not cut out to be a Hugo nominator. Given 16 categories (17 if you count the Campbell award, which is not technically a Hugo), I nominated works in only 4 of them -- one work in each. Basically, I don't have the time, energy or cash to read anywhere near a large portion of the sf/fantasy works published in the previous year in order to determine what I think is the best of the year.

Instead, however, I look at my input as something akin to voting for an All-Star game in professional sports. Yeah, it's cheesy to fill out the entire ballot with your favorite players, no matter how good they are. But it's OK to make sure that you vote for a couple of candidates who you want to make sure get their due.

So I've settled on this approach: make sure to read eligible works by my favorite authors, if possible. Look around for anything else promising, especially if I can it for free on-line, or through my library as an e-book. Then, nominate with a critical eye -- I may really like an author, but if his or her effort is unlikely one of the best five works of the year, I'm not going to put it on the ballot.

What I'm really looking forward to is the voting -- first of all, I think of my primary benefit from the process as the selection done by people who are more heavily invested in the genre. Secondly, the Hugo votes traditionally get the nominated works in electronic form, and that's a tremendous value. So in a month I should have the list of works, and maybe a month beyond that, the "voter packet."

Oh...which four works did I end up nominating?

• Best Novel: The Last Policeman, Ben H. Winters
• Best Short Story: A Tall Tail, Charles Stross
• Best Related Work: A Feast of Ice and Fire: The Official Game of Thrones Companion Cookbook, Chelsea Monroe-Cassel and Sariann Lehrer
• Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form: Game of Thrones, Season 2, HBO

Melford Testimony

This Bowie Patch article is about the Bowie City Council approving amendments that would allow residential development at Melford, the office park at which I work. I spoke during the public comment section preceding the vote. I didn't think it would do much good to tell the Council my opinion on whether the development is a good idea -- for one thing, they seemed to have their minds made up. For another, as left-wing as I am about some things, I think that businesses have the right to try out their own business plans without the government having to figure out whether they're going to succeed. So I focused on the impact on the City of Bowie, and I chose to highlight one particular impact. From the article:

Jon Grantham, who works in the Melford office park, moved to Bowie so he could be closer to work and appreciates the idea of people wanting to be close to their jobs. Grantham said he sometimes bikes the four miles to work at Melford and that currently, the property is not very pedestrian or bike friendly.

“When you get to the end of Belair Drive and you enter Melford Drive it becomes, and there’s no better word for it, scary,” Grantham said, citing a lack of side paths and sidewalks.

The development, said Grantham, is currently so automobile focused, he’s concerned it could never be pedestrian friendly. He suggested the city make connecting bike paths and trails connecting Melford to the rest of Bowie mandatory in the development to increase connectivity and pedestrian safety. The connections Grantham mentioned are suggested in the city’s Trails Master Plan, adopted in 2002.

I didn't think I actually gave the impression that it could never be pedestrian-friendly, but I guess I do have that skepticism, so maybe it came across. I mean, the closest restaurants by walking distance (other than the on-site cafe) are 2.6 miles away, according to Google Maps. I'm sure the developer would love if residents could only walk to on-site dining options, but the glaring visibility of that fact would probably keep some number of residents away.

Anyway, here are my remarks, as prepared. I deviated significantly from them in places, not always to great effect.

Greetings, Councilmembers and Mayor Robinson. Thank you for the opportunity to speak to you today.

My name is Jon Grantham. I first worked in what is now known as Melford in the summer of 1989, and I have worked there full-time since 1997. I am not speaking on behalf of my employer, rather for myself and for my family.

We bought a house in Bowie in large part to be closer to my work so I could spend more time with our twins. I sometimes make the 4-mile commute on my bicycle -- once I even walked it. The first three miles are very pleasant. Levitt really knew how design an attractive community. Where Belair Drive ends and Melford Drive begins, however, it becomes -- there’s no better word for it -- scary. There are no sidewalks or side paths, and bicyclists and pedestrians are forced to merge with traffic which has just exited major highways.

I do not understand how St. John Properties proposes to build and market a pedestrian-friendly and environmentally responsible community in a part of Bowie so dependent on automobile traffic, and which is so cut off from the rest of the City.

The City’s 2002 Trails Master Plan shows proposed trails connecting Melford to the rest of Bowie. The trail along Melford Drive is the most direct link, but the ones along Crain Highway would connect the proposed community to Whitemarsh Park to the north and retail to the south.

I believe that unless the City explicitly makes this connection a requirement of approving a site plan, all the talk of green development will be just a joke. Please only approve these amendments if you intend to make sure this development is compatible with the rest of Bowie and its green principles. That means a development with bike and pedestrian trails that connect to the rest of Bowie.

Book Review: Windhaven

Windhaven by George R.R. Martin and Lisa Tuttle

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This thirty-year-old book is essentially a collection of three novellas, the first of which, "The Storms of Windhaven", was nominated for both the Hugo and Nebula awards thirty-five years ago. Although the same main character (and many supporting characters) appear throughout all three parts, they really feel like distinct works.

The setting is a planet where a spaceship crashed hundreds of years ago. The inhabitants have lost much of the technology, but cannibalized the starship to make wings for messengers to travel between the planet's many islands. The gravity and climate of the planet make this possible, and other things make sea travel difficult because...well, because it's a cool idea, and that's what the authors needed to make the plot work.

The first novella seems very uplifting and optimistic, to the point where you want to check the cover to make sure it really is co-authored by George R.R. Martin. The rest of the book introduces more moral ambiguities, but the novel never comes anywhere near the level of sex and violence (or sexual violence) people have come to expect in his most famous work.

The book has held up well over the years. It doesn't feel dated at all. While I have no specific complaints about it, neither did I find it a compelling page-turner. Its unusual setting is probably the star of the book -- sort of like Lord Valentine's Castle. But unlike that work, Windhaven ranks as "kinda neat" rather than "fascinating" on the table of sci-fi planets with a fantasy feel.

Book Review: The Last Policeman

The Last Policeman: A Novel by Ben H. Winters

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Well, I think I've found a novel I'm willing to nominate for a Hugo. I took a break from novel reading for a few days to read the novella Barry's Tale, which was nominated for a Nebula. I finished it thinking, "Wow, if this is one of the best novellas of the year, maybe I should just admit that there's not a lot of good science fiction out there." The Last Policeman helped restore my faith in sf.

I finished this book very quickly, and even when I wasn't reading it, I spent a lot of my time thinking about it -- both are evidence of how compelling the book is.

The short-hand version of the story is that a police detective tries to solve a possible murder case while an asteroid is bearing down on the Earth.

Why is this book so compelling? I really like the way it explored all of the ramifications of the impending planetary doom. Many of the characters wonder why it's so important to solve a murder (or do anything else) when we're all going to die. But we're all going to die anyway, asteroid or no, so the question is not just an asteroid-scenario hypothetical. Like the best of science fiction, The Last Policeman connects an interesting hypothetical future with meaningful thoughts about humanity.

The book mostly does not explicitly tackle the "big questions", which is probably for the best, but here are two quotes I particularly liked that come close.

"You know what I'm doing right now?" I say, watching the muddy liquid rush toward the edge of the table. "I'm thinking: Oh no! The coffee’s going to spill onto the floor! I'm so worried! Let's keep talking about it!" And then the coffee waterfalls over the side of the desk, splashing on Andreas's shoes and pooling on the ground beneath the desk. "Oh, look at that," I say. "It happened anyway."

"Can I tell you something? You can follow this case forever, and you can discover all its secrets, you can build this man’s timeline all the way back to his birth, and the birth of his father and his father’s father. The world is still going to end."

The one part of this book I didn't feel worked so well involved the narrator's interactions with his sister, Nico. Part of the problem is probably that the character seems meant to appear later in the trilogy, but she also seemed more like a collection of characteristics -- good-at-math, chain-smoker, etc. -- that I had trouble fitting into a larger whole.

I think if Goodreads let me give half-stars, I'd give it 4.5 stars. Then again, I would probably give 90% of the books I read 2.5, 3.5 or 4.5 stars, so maybe it's better than I'm forced not to be wishy-washy and give it five stars.

A couple of notes. First, I ended up reading this book because it was on Locus' 2012 recommended reading list, and available for download from my public library (I have started to have difficulty making myself read books on paper lately). So yay for Locus and libraries.

Second, I've complained about other books that are "not really sf/fantasy" but instead mainstream fiction with a small sf/fantasy element. I suppose you could see this as a detective novel set in the present day with an asteroid headed towards Earth. Because it is. But I think that the "what if" element places it fairly strongly in the sf camp. I have the same feeling about alternate histories such as Chabon's The Yiddish Policeman's Union, which won both the Nebula and the Hugo for 2007. I don't think The Last Policeman is as good as Chabon's work, but I think it's much better than the winners of either award in many recent years.

Nebula Update: The Healer's War, and some Hugo stuff

Last fall, I finished reading The Healer's War, which won the 1989 Nebula for Best Novel. Just now, I started to write a review. Here it is in its entirety:

This book is a cross between a Vietnam War novel and a fantasy. As a Vietnam War novel, I enjoyed it. As a fantasy, well, it was a Vietnam War novel.

Basically, I'm getting sick of Nebula winners (like last year's), where the SF or fantasy element is minimal. I'm happy that this book exists, but I think that having one "magical" element doesn't put a book in the SF/fantasy genre.

So now I've read 39 out of 48 books, leaving 9. (It looks like my running count got messed up somewhere in 2011.)

The 2012 nominees were announced yesterday. Of the six Best Novel nominees, 2312 is the only one I've read. Ordinarily at this point, I would start digging into the other five. This year, however, I'm trying something new -- being a Hugo voter.

I decided in 2004 to read the Nebula winners rather than the Hugos, since I believed the writers would do a better job than the fans selecting good books. Thirty-nine books in, I'm less certain of that, but more importantly, I am a fan, but not an author. So while I will never be part of the Nebula process, the Christmas gift of a supporting membership in Worldcon makes me eligible to nominate and vote for the Hugos. Since I have begun to enjoy reading each year's nominees and picking my favorite more than reading old winners, participating in actual awards voting seemed like fun.

The Hugo voting process is delayed somewhat from the Nebula process, so I considered using the Nebula nominees as a list of books I might consider nominating for Hugos. I decided not to, however, since most years the Hugo nominees are available to voters after the close of the nomination process. Since the two sets of nominees will likely overlap, why pay for a book now that I might be getting free in April? Then I can read the ones in the overlap before picking up the others, hopefully by the time the Nebula nominees are announced in late May.

I will miss out on the chance to nominate Nebula nominees for the Hugos, but I figure those books will be well-known enough not too need the extra boost. I am mostly looking to nominate books by favorite authors. So far, the Hugo-eligible ones from 2012 that I've read are 2312, The Cassandra Project and Crucible of Gold, none of which I think I'll end up nominating. Although I enjoyed all of them, I would hate to think any of them was the best book of 2012. Put another way, I wouldn't want my vote to bump another interesting novel out of the Hugo list, because I want to see what else it out there.

Book Review: The Cassandra Project

The Cassandra Project by Jack McDevitt

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I read this because I'm a big McDevitt fan. I don't think I've read anything by Resnick. I wasn't disappointed, but I wasn't bowled over, either.

The entire book is basically about the idea that NASA may have landed on the far side of the moon before Apollo 11 and then covered it up for 50 years. The book is set in 2019. I think one of the disadvantages of setting a book that close to the present is that it's easier for the reader to feel uneasy when the details are off. (I remember laughing when a government worker in Kim Stanley Robinson's Forty Signs of Rain uses a paper Metro farecard.) The ubiquity of paper newspapers makes the authors seem "behind the times", while someone sending a "video e-mail" made me think, "That isn't a thing, and it isn't going to be one in six years."

While in some ways, the book was interesting for being "traditional SF" -- just a good, near-future, hard-SF novel, in other ways it felt dated. The African-American characters were noticeable because they were described as such during their introductions; otherwise, everybody felt like they came from the same backgrounds. I didn't love the eccentric billionaire character either, partially because, as is so often the case, he became a deus-ex-machina and partially because he seemed to serve as a conduit for the authors' (fairly pedestrian) political views. I usually find McDevitt's characterization to have more depth.

But ultimately, in a novel with a central mystery ("Were there secret moon landings? If so, why?"), the question is whether the answer to the mystery is enough of a payoff to make it worth getting there. Minor spoilers follow -- skip the next paragraph if that bothers you.

That's particularly true when the reason for the cover-up is held back until the end of the book, as it is here. First of all, I was grateful that the secret didn't have anything to do with the collision of two astronomical bodies, something I find fairly repetitive in McDevitt's work. But ultimately, the answer was creative enough -- including the way it managed to tie in another famous cover-up of days gone by -- that I am happy to give it four stars.

Don't expect greatness, but it's an enjoyable read.

Bowie Restaurant Project: (63) Freestyle Fish 'n' Chicken

Freestyle Fish 'n' Chicken Is Now Closed.
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Freestyle Fish 'n' Chicken, 6946 Laurel-Bowie Rd.
Most Recent Foursquare Check-in: 1/29/2013
Total Foursquare Check-ins: 2
Pre-Foursquare Visits: No
Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars

I don't really like fried food. Well, French Fries, done well, are pretty tasty, but in general if my choices are "grilled" or "fried", I'll pick "grilled". So I'm a little biased against this place to start.

The first time I went there, I decided a good sample would be chicken tenders and catfish nuggets. It was...OK. Probably better than the KFC that used to be housed there. The fries were mushier than I'd like. On my return visit, I got the fried tilapia and chicken wings. The tilapia was the best thing I've had there, and the chicken wings weren't bad. Still, if you want chicken, I have to recommend heading to Lima's Chicken. If you insist on having it fried, the chicharron de pollo isn't bad, though I still prefer the non-fried alternatives.

I guess if I find myself in Bowie Plaza looking for a quick meal, I might pick this for variety instead of Subway. If it's not breakfast, I'd give it a try over Dunkin' Donuts. I'd definitely go there before Burger King. But I'd generally wish I had the time to enjoy TJ Elliott's or Golden Pavilion.

So it gets an unenthusiastic two-and-a-half stars. If you like fried food, or you happen to end up there, you'll do OK, but there are generally better places to eat in Bowie.

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Bowie Restaurant News

The City of Bowie's 2013 Restaurant Guide is out. New this year is that they designate places outside of the City of Bowie with asterisks. I'm not counting those in my total.

The Subway in the Sunoco on Ballpark Road doesn't have an asterisk. Given that earlier this month, Bowie police responded to a burglary at the Sunoco, I thought I'd better reconsider my belief that it's not in Bowie. But if you want something definitive, go to the tax records, which show no municipal tax assessed on that address. So I stand by the claim.

The White Tiger in the food court is now closed.

Sixty-three down, seventeen to go!

Bowie Restaurant Project: (62) Lima's Chicken

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Lima's Chicken, 3552 Crain Hwy.
Most Recent Foursquare Check-in: 10/8/2013
Total Foursquare Check-ins: 3
Pre-Foursquare Visits: No
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars


When I found out that Lima's was open, I stopped by to grab a menu after picking up lunch elsewhere. With the smell of roast chicken suffusing the restaurant, I questioned my decision to eat anywhere else.

Since then, I've visited Lima's three times in a week and a half. That number, however, is artificially lowered, because my first visit was for takeout. Christina was concerned that the chickens might be small, so we got their "Family Special" -- two chickens, four side orders and a 2-liter bottle. They weren't -- we had leftovers for a week. They were delicious, as were the side orders -- plantains, yucca, beans and fresh veggies. My only complaint is that somehow we ended up with beans instead of rice and beans.

My next visit was to pick up some tailgating food for the Redskins playoff game. For the first time, I got to try "salchipapas" -- a Peruvian concoction that mixes hot dogs, French fries, ketchup, mustard and mayonnaise. It was exactly as disgusting and delicious as you might expect. I don't usually like mayonnaise, but this was closer to a high-quality European mayonnaise than something out of a jar from a supermarket. I think salchipapas are now an indispensable part of the tailgating experience for me.

Salchipapas!

At the suggestion of the guy behind the counter, I ordered the Pollo Saltado, described as "Chicken with onions and tomatoes served over french fries and rice." I wasn't expecting much difference from the charbroiled chicken, and I thought onions and tomatoes weren't the best sides. What I ended up with was chicken that had clearly been cooked together with the onions and tomatoes and blended the flavors together in a delicate and interesting way.

My third visit was with two colleagues, and we ran into another co-worker once there. Three of us got the 1/4 chicken (comes with two sides), and the fourth got a gyro. Everyone was very happy with their meals.

Peruvian roast chicken

The menu seems to divide into three parts. There's the charbroiled chicken, which forms the heart of the restaurants. At $6.25 for a 1/4 chicken, prices are better than Boston Market, the food is more interesting, and the chicken seems to be higher-quality. Then there's the Peruvian specialties -- not the heart of the menu, but you have the option of getting actual beef heart skewers (Anticucho Corazon). Entrees range from $8.99 to $14.99, so you won't be getting as much of a bargain. Still, if the Pollo Saltado is representative, these items are worth trying from time to time. Finally, there are some non-Peruvian items on the menu -- salads, burritos, tacos, even a hamburger. I could be wrong, but I only can see being tempted by items containing chicken. I'm not sure why I would order a burger here.

Note that the menu board doesn't entirely match the printed menus. I couldn't find the salchipapas on the menu board, and there's a $5.49 lunch special that wasn't up there either.

Lima's is well on its way to becoming my favorite Bowie restaurant. I said in May, "Bowie needs a Peruvian chicken restaurant." Now we have one, and it's great. I was torn between 4.5 and 5 stars. To me, a 5-star restaurant is one worth coming to Bowie to eat at. Although there are other Peruvian chickens in Maryland (Laurel, Annapolis and Beltsville being some relatively nearby ones), I think Lima's comes close to meeting that standard. I haven't eaten at all of its competitors, but this is definitely the best I've had. Maybe I'd want to see a full-scale restaurant with table service to award 5 stars. Or maybe I'll look back in a few months and wish I had just gone ahead and given it 5 stars.

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Bowie Restaurant News

Freestyle Fish N Chicken in the Bowie Plaza shopping center still has blacked-out windows, but if if you peek in, they look ready to go with a "Grand Opening" sign in place -- that's been true for about three weeks now. I'm not sure what the holdup is.

A peek inside Freestyle Fish n Chicken

Android's Dungeon 2012 Blogging Productivity Report

At the beginning of 2011, I lamented the steep decline in my posting output here. Last January, I celebrated a rebound. So how'd I do in 2012? About halfway between the depths of 2010 and the recovery in 2011.

I used labels on every post last year, but the first, which shows me that my Bowie Restaurant Project contributed the majority of posts, with books in second place, and other topics (travel, nostalgia, geocaching, genealogy, etc.) contributing a handful.

In 2013 (I find it hard to believe that's a real year), I guess I'd like to bring the restaurant project to a close, review more books, and start posting more about travel, even if I don't travel very much. With the books, it's hard to have the discipline to write a review while the book is fresh in my mind, and a month or so later, the typical review feels like, "Oh, yeah, that book was pretty good, except for this aspect." On the travel, I've gotten into the habit of posting photos to Facebook. While I like limiting the exposure of some stuff, most of my travel photos have no privacy implications, and the blog allows me to weave a more complicated narrative than Facebook does. So I'd like to post more this year, but I won't be too sad if I end up around 52 again.

World Heritage: 2012 in Review

I visited two World Heritage Sites this year, both in the same afternoon, earlier this month. Left, you see me at the Temple of Heaven in Beijing, and to the right, you see a picture I took in the Forbidden City.

Looking at this year, I said, "I can rent a car on my free afternoon and drive to Canterbury, and then see how many of Beijing's six world heritage sites I can cram into a 4-day trip." Well, I decided against renting a car (instead opting for the non-World Heritage enjoyment of Cambridge), and I could cram in two of the World Heritage Sites in Beijing into my free afternoon.

So my total is 56 out of 962, or 5.8%, which is back where it was at the end of last year (actually slightly better, but rounding makes that disappear). In 2013, I don't know if I'll make it two sites, which is what I need to keep pace with the addition of new sites. (I have not visited any of the 2013 nominees.) But I'll certainly see what I can do!

Bowie Restaurant Project: (61) Bob Evans

As seen from Crain Highway

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Bob Evans, 4308 Crain Hwy.
Most Recent Foursquare Check-in: 12/8/2012
Total Foursquare Check-ins: 1
Pre-Foursquare Visits: December 21, 1997
Rating: 2 out of 5 stars

Christina's comment on her entree was, "It was worth the wait."  I think that said as much about the painfully slow service as about the tastiness of the food. The other local restaurant it reminded us of the most was Friendly's (in Crofton), but the food was definitely better here. The service was not.

Down on the Farm

The kids' meals were free as a result of a December promotion. When I tracked down the waitress at the cash register to pay our bill, however, the only way she could figure out how to handle it was to ring it up as two separate checks, with one adult and one kid on the check. Oh, and be warned, the meal is free (about $3 value), but the drink (about $1.25) isn't. Not an awful deal, but not fantastic. The kids generally enjoy the opportunity to eat pancakes, so they were happy.

The only other time I had been here was before a Redskins-Eagles game in 1997, hence my ability to note the exact date. Oh, and the picture? Well, it seemed like this place merited about that much effort.

So how do I give it a 2-star rating? Well, IHOP got a 2.5-star rating, but it's open 24 hours, which means something in a city with no diner. Bob Evans is open 6AM-10PM, so it doesn't earn that extra 1/2 star.

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Bowie Restaurant News

Lima's Chicken is open! I stopped by to pick up a menu, and the place smelled delicious. It looks like they have a really interesting menu, too.

When I peek in the still-blacked-out windows of Freestyle Fish 'n' Chicken in Bowie Plaza, I see a restaurant that looks almost ready to go, including a "Grand Opening" banner. So I should have two new places to review soon.

Here's a money-saving tip. Chesapeake Grille is offering a deal for the holidays where you can buy a $100 gift card and get a $20 gift card free. While I'm sure it would be great to give someone a $100 gift card and keep the $20 one for yourself, this deal can be handy even if you're not in a giving mood. If you know you'll be spending more than $120 there in the coming year (and we certainly plan to), go ahead and take advantage of the deal for yourself, and you've just saved $20 at the cost of committing your money a little bit early. Similarly, California Tortilla is offering a deal where you can get a free entree coupon with a $25 gift card purchase. I went ahead and grabbed both for myself at lunch today.

Bowie Restaurant Project: (60) Applebee's

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Applebee's, 4100 Crain Hwy.
Most Recent Foursquare Check-in: 11/7/2012
Total Foursquare Check-ins: 1
Pre-Foursquare Visits: Yes
Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars

I am struggling to pick out something that really makes a difference between Applebee's and Ruby Tuesday. I said Ruby Tuesday seemed slightly more "adult" and that's true. The decor at Applebee's is ever-so-whimsical (oh, look, a picture of a caboose), and the menu is a little zanier. In particular, there was a dish with a mix of bratwurst, chicken, french fries, cheese and probably some other stuff that tempted me until I realized how disgusting it would probably be once it was in my stomach.

But the same basic principles -- suprisingly good service, mixed results on the food that applied at Ruby Tuesday's applied here. The artichoke dip was so-so. I ordered a chicken and shrimp skillet that was served overly hot (if you're going to give me my food on the dish you used to cook it, then at least give me a regular plate as well). My colleague's steak, however, turned out pretty well.

Thankfully, I have been to other Applebee's, so I don't feel the need to return to their Bowie location before writing a review. In particular, when I lived in Athens, GA, Applebee's was one of the limited number of dining options, and it was a "safe" choice where you could go if your dining companions didn't like weird food. I wish I had done an "Athens Restaurant Project" back then. The dining scene was notoriously limited -- people complained about how often we ended up at the same places -- but I bet a thorough search would have turned up a few more gems.

Anyway, 60 restaurants reviewed. Nineteen or twenty more to go -- including Chili's and TGI Friday's. We'll see if those distinguish themselves at all from the last two.

Book Review: 2312

2312 by Kim Stanley Robinson

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I continue to try to catch up on my book reviewing before year's end.

I'm generally a fan of Robinson's work, though lately my reaction seems to be some form of, "I enjoyed that, but..." With 2312, I enjoyed it, but thought some of the digressions just didn't work. He intersperses "lists" or "extracts" throughout the novel. When they give more historical background to the setting, they help. When they don't, they get in the way. Further, as with his Science in the Capital series, he sometimes allows ideas that seem tangential to the plot to have too much prominence. Forty Signs of Rain had too many frisbee golf scenes, for example. With 2312, there are too many musings on a technique of organizing your life he calls the "pseudoiterative". I don't find it interesting enough to summarize. Also, I didn't find the way he incorporated quantum computing at all plausible.

But these are mostly quibbles. When the book works, it really works, and it zips you around the 24th-century solar system with a sense of wonder and a sense that, "Hey, maybe this is how things will really be." There's enough tension and excitement to keep you turning the pages, not just to find out about the setting, but also about how the characters' plans for preserving and improving it turn out.

I still keep expecting Robinson to hit a home run akin to the Mars trilogy, but it's possible that if I re-read those books with the same heightened expectations, I would also come away disappointed.

Aside from my Robinson fan-dom, I read this book to get a head start on next year's Nebula nominees. At this point, I'm not sure it'll quite do well enough to get nominated (it looks like KSR hasn't had a Best Novel nominee since 1995), and I'm not sure if it should. On the other hand, I'm not sure what's out there; I'm looking forward to what the voters come up with.

Book Review: Mechanique: A Tale of the Circus Tresaulti

Mechanique: A Tale of the Circus Tresaulti by Genevieve Valentine

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

As we get towards the end of the year, I realize that I'm reading books faster than I'm reviewing them. Not really all that fast, but still, I'm behind on reviewing. I started Mechanique in the hopes of finishing it before the Nebulas were announced, so I that I could make my own "pick" in advance. Having read 5 of the 6 nominees, I think I would have chosen Firebird.

When I was partway through this book, I wrote, "So far it's not really to my tastes, but it's an interesting and inventive approach to sf/fantasy." After finishing it (in June), I think that's a pretty good summary of how I feel.

It's a book about a circus in a post-apocalyptic setting. Maybe the neatest idea in the book is that most of the circus performers are "enhanced" and thus able to perform the circus acts with literally superhuman abilities.

It gradually became clear, however, that these abilities were more akin to magic than technology. In other words, this is really a work of fantasy, not sf. Further, the identity of the "post-apocalyptic" setting is clearly intentionally vague -- maybe this is the US after a nuclear war. Or not. It's clearly a valid authorial choice, but not one I find interesting.

It's beautifully written, and the skipping backwards and forwards in time doesn't confuse most of the time. The characters are well-drawn and compelling. Sometimes they come across as a little bit...extreme, I suppose, but they are circus performers after all. The plot was interesting enough, although it took a while to pick up.

All in all, it was a book I appreciated more than enjoyed.

Bowie Restaurant Project: (59) Ruby Tuesday

Ruby Tuesday, Bowie, MD

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Ruby Tuesday, 16451 Excalibur Rd.
Most Recent Foursquare Check-in: 10/10/2012
Total Foursquare Check-ins: 2
Pre-Foursquare Visits: Yes
Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars

I couldn't remember whether I had been to a Ruby Tuesday before. It tended to get mixed in with all of the other, similar chain restaurants -- Chili's, Applebee's, TGI Friday's. In fact, I still can't. But if I had to say how it differs from the other restaurants, it's that it feels more "adult" than the others. By that I mean that the decorations were tasteful and understated -- no license plates on the wall, or goofy decorations.

A colleague had a coupon for $10 off two entrees, so we skipped the lunch specials for standard meals. At normal prices, they would have been overpriced, but at $5 less, they seemed reasonable. We probably would have been OK with the lunch prices, too. The food and service were quite reasonable.

My follow-up experience of on-line ordering was less satisfying. First, the lunch specials are not available on-line. Actually, Ruby Tuesday outsources their on-line ordering to the same company that does Boston Market, so I got the weird feeling I was ordering from Boston Market the whole time. Then, they require that you fill out your vehicle information. This seemed like a promising way of having your food delivered to your car -- which could be a definite plus to those of us with multiple toddlers. But a sign at the restaurant directed me inside; maybe some RTs bring the food to you, but in Bowie you have to go to the bar to pick up and pay. Finally, the hamburger and fries were completely unimpressive.

I prefer local restaurants to chains mostly because I believe you will get more interesting and more carefully-prepared meals there. If, however, you're looking for a competent, but not exciting restaurant experience, I guess go here.

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Bowie Restaurant News

Looks like the Muffin Man will never be coming to Bowie. The sign is down, and the space is now, "For Lease".

That leaves me with 20 or 21 restaurants left (I suspect two of them identified as separate by the City's guide are actually the same place). The trickiest are places where I need to sit down to review them, because I also feel like I need to bring someone along, so I don't get wrapped up in playing with my phone and ignore the experience. Actually, the trickiest are the subset of those which are so bad I can't get anyone to come along and/or are not open for lunch.

Lima's Chicken was supposed to be open by the end of October; it's not. It looks like a fair bit of work has been done on the interior, though. No sign of an opening date for Freestyle Fish 'n' Chicken, either. (These are the only two on my list that aren't open yet.)

Bowie Restaurant Project: (58) New China

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New China, 3544 Crain Hwy.
Most Recent Foursquare Check-in: 10/1/2012
Total Foursquare Check-ins: 4
Pre-Foursquare Visits: Yes
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Bowie has plenty of Chinese restaurants. It has some very tasty Chinese restaurants, such as Grace's Fortune and Golden Pavilion. New China isn't in their league, but it has something worthwhile that makes it stand out -- a buffet.

New China is the closest Chinese restaurant to my office, and so I had stopped by there for takeout a few times when working late. Recently, however, I had my first sit-down visit, and an opportunity to try the lunch buffet. If memory serves me correctly, it was around $6.50, and there was quite a variety of choices, including a few American dishes (which I passed on). Although my colleague's made-to-order General Tso's Chicken was slightly fresher than its cousin on the buffet, nothing tasted tired or like it had been sitting out for hours -- despite the fact that we were having a late lunch.

Often when you want to dash out of work for a quick lunch, you don't have a lot of sit-down choices. New China offers one you won't regret, and there are plenty of opportunities to order off the menu as well. Service was friendly and efficient. A dinner buffet offers what I can assume is a similar experience.

New China has the distinction of being the southernmost non-chain restaurant in Bowie (north of two Subways, a Pizza Hut, and a Ruby Tuesday). All the more reason to give it 3.5 stars and look forward to the opening of Lima's Chicken next door later this month.

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Bowie Restaurant News

The Gazette has an article about the poor performance of the Bowie Town Center food court. Some parts don't really add up -- if the problem is the design of the mall, why has business dropped by so much in the last two years, when the design hasn't changed. Still, there are some interesting insights in the article. Clearly the design is a problem, since the developer says they've learned not to put food courts in similar malls. Also, The White Tiger is thinking of leaving if business does not pick up. In my view, the only thing I'd miss if they closed the whole food court would be the bourbon chicken place.

Also, Lima's Chicken is on Facebook! I'm really looking forward to this place opening up. I went by this week when I took the above picture of New China, and they seem to be making more progress.

Bowie Restaurant Project: (57) Smokey Bones Bar & Fire Grill

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Smokey Bones Bar & Fire Grill,  15209 Major Landsdale Blvd.
Most Recent Foursquare Check-in: 9/4/2012
Total Foursquare Check-ins: 2
Pre-Foursquare Visits: Yes
Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars

Since KBQ is relocating to DC, it is becoming even harder to find good BBQ in the Bowie area. The one BBQ restaurant within the city limits is Smokey Bones. I had visited it years ago and remembered dimly that it was decent, but a takeout experience after moving to Bowie left us disappointed. An in-person visit was necessary.

Unfortunately, that visit confirmed the disappointment. The best way to describe my reaction is that the BBQ was about as good as you'd expect from a chain restaurant that doesn't specialize in BBQ. I've had much better luck with Famous Dave's (closest locations in Laurel or Annapolis) and certainly Red Hot & Blue (closest locations in, um Laurel or Annapolis).

My lunch partner observed that the restaurant was a decent place to bring a group of people for lunch -- there were a bunch of empty tables, and none of the food was particularly off-putting. (Vegetarians would probably not be thrilled with the choice, though.) The service was good until after our food arrived, at which point our waiter was hard to find.

I'm torn between 2 and 2.5 stars. Rather than inaugurate the quarter-star rating, I'll round up to 2.5 on the basis that as the only BBQ restaurant in Bowie, at least it provides some variety. I'm still looking elsewhere for my regular fix, though. I had a decent sandwich a few weeks back at Dickey's in Gambrills (Route 3 just north of Crofton), and I need to check out the similarly-located Rusty's.

Bowie Restaurant Project: (56) Bang Bang Mongolian Grill

Bang Bang is closed closed.

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Bang Bang Mongolian Grill,  15752 Annapolis Road
Most Recent Foursquare Check-in: 8/27/2012
Total Foursquare Check-ins: 2
Pre-Foursquare Visits: No
Rating: 3 1/2 out of 5 stars

I chose Bang Bang Mongolian Grill for a farewell lunch for a summer student who had been working for us. On the one hand, it could be a fun place to send him off, and it would be an opportunity to get several perspectives on the restaurant. On the other hand, he isn't coming back, so if we had a bad experience, it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world.

When we arrived, the woman behind the register asked us if we had been there before. I felt like I didn't need a lecture on the whole "Mongolian Barbeque" concept, since I had eaten it before. (If you haven't, basically, you choose your ingredients, buffet-style, then a chef stir-fries them for you.) On the other hand, it was helpful to get the lowdown on specifics (e.g., pay first to get a bowl). While she briefly stepped aside to answer someone else's question, the woman with whom she had been chatting explained things to us. Including, "I used to work here." Which seemed weird, since they've only been open three months. "They fired me after I was late three times." Oh. Awkward.

The rest of the dining experience was much smoother, though I got worried when our student said he didn't even cook, so he wasn't really sure how to select his ingredients. He did OK, though he added way too many hot spices. I made the same mistake myself on a return visit. There are cards with pre-selected mixes of meats, veggies and spices that I suppose could serve as a guideline, but where's the fun in that?

Anyway, the food was fresh and tasty, and the interaction with the chefs was pleasant. I don't know that it's the perfect dining experience, but if you have been looking forward to a Mongolian barbeque restaurnt in Bowie, you won't be disappointed.

If you're just looking for Asian-style food, there are cheaper lunch alternatives around, but without the fun and customization. I am a little concerned about having this, Grace's and Sakura all in one shopping center, but they all seem to be serving different market segments.

One place where Bang Bang doesn't shine is take-out. If you have the time to select your ingredients and have it cooked, there's no problem taking it back to your home or office. But you can't exactly place a phone order and tell them what to throw in your bowl. When they opened, I was told that they were going to offer an on-line ordering option -- which would be fantastic -- but that has yet to materialize.

All in all, it's a really solid addition to the Bowie dining landscape, particularly for those who have gotten tired of "more of the same".

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Bowie Restaurant News

Lima's Char Broiled Chicken

In May, I said, "Bowie needs a Peruvian chicken restaurant." Looks like we're getting one, coming to the former Ravza Mediterranean Cuisine location in Collington Plaza (next to New China).