Ronetti's, London Ohio

Tonight we went to Ronetti's for dinner. The hubby has never been there and has been wanting to try the place. It was kind of busy and the table we got had $5.00 in quarters left there by the previous customers, as well as a few cheerios and sticky spots. The floor around the table was sticky and covered in food. The only server there was a woman who was the manager at Wendy's when I worked there. She is lazy and has a bad attitude. She greeted the family that sat down before us but refused to come to our table. She disappeared while we were waiting for her to take our drink orders and looking through the menu. We sat there for about 15-20 minutes, giving her a chance because it was busy. By the time we walked out she was nowhere to be seen, the table and floor was still filthy and the money was still on the table. I later remarked that we should have taken the tip because she is so horrible.

I give this place a complete zero.

Rothwell's London, Ohio. Revisited.

As most would agree, repetition is important. However, in some cases, the first time is not necessary to endure. The hubby and I went to Rothwell's for Buck a Burger. He has been wanting to try it, and a burger for a dollar didn't seem half bad. On the menu, they were a quarter of a pound (4 oz). However, you have to pay for every condiment, except mayonnaise. It baffled my mind. So the "buck" would turn out more like $1.75 by the time the order was complete. The corn bread they serve for free is more than likely Jiffy. It was dry and too crumby. Its better than last time, being burnt.

The atmosphere was kind of bipolar. They have cloth table clothes and napkins, giving the fine dining affect. Though, there was butcher paper on the tables, and the food was served in diner baskets. I don't exactly understand where Mr. Rothwell is going with this concept. He even has an explanation on the table saying he is dedicated to food quality, being the highest as possible. Then why is half of the materials screaming diner and the other 4 star?

If there isn't a clear concept, there won't be too much hope for permanent success. I would love to consult for this restaurant, give a fresh perspective on how its viewed and what direction to go for it. The bar is closed off, secluded, like no one wants to be seen in there. About half the time I go by, its a wasteland. There is potential, if the owner will see it. 

Crunch of the Day is changing!

Due to time restraints and research timing, I have decided to change the Crunch of the Day to Crunch of the Week. This will allow me to concentrate more on the entire blog, not just one portion. Also, I can go more into detail in my posts. Keep checking the site, the Crunch doesn't set off email notifications. So if you have been waiting for me to post new ones, you probably have missed a lot. I will leave the ones I have up alone, no sense in changing those. I will just go weekly now. I am not sure which day I will post, it may vary, so make sure you keep checking back.

I am also thinking about doing a recipe portion in the blog. It would be great to share recipes my viewers have created or love to make. You can send me your recipes at hbetts12@gmail.com. Include your name (first only is fine) so I can credit you in my blog. I would love to see some exciting new things!

Sister Blog

View to the Point is proud to announce the collaboration with up and coming blog Owl Bee Hare. We will be working on posts, subjects to be determined. Both sites will keep you up to date with what is going on and for more information, leave comments below or visit owlbeehare.blogspot.com.

Owl Bee Hare is a fashion/DIY blog focusing on photography, fashion, art and helpful tips to improve ones life. It is a creative way to do ordinary, or even extraordinary things. Interesting facts will be shared daily and suggestions are always welcome. The author looks for every source to bring her audience closer to getting things done easy and usually for cheap. Stay tuned for the collaboration post, its will most certainly be an interesting piece.

White Westie Birthday Cake

As few know, my mother is practically obsessed with White Westies. She even goes as far to name the one on her desktop. If she could, she would have a White Westie farm. However, seeing as how her residence isn't equipped to support a bazillion little fluff ball pups, my sister and I did the next best thing: have a Westie-themed surprise birthday party for her. Now, this back story is to lead up to the main point of this post. Because every birthday would not be complete without a cake....I made her a chocolate cake with a White Westie on it. I used a template (provided by my sister) and spread 3 layers of white icing over it. I let it set for a few minutes and slowly removed the template. I found a neat little trick on youtube with fondant for square cakes. Take a paper towel that doesn't give off lent, like Viva or something, and add a little bit of water. Ring it out thoroughly until its just damp. Lay it on top of the cake and smooth it down with a fondant smoother or your hand. Do the sides, corners and edges for a clean-cut feel. It looks a lot better and helps remove any excess powdered sugar.  It turned out perfectly. The chocolate fondant tastes like a chewy tootsie roll, but I mainly use it for looks. I did a simple white border around the bottom and voila, White Westie cake! The cake itself is chocolate with a chocolate fudge frosting. Though it was a waste of white icing, it was well worth it to give my mother a cake I knew she would love. For questions about this or any other of my works, or for more information about my cake making, leave comments below.

Mojoe's Rhythm and Brews, McArthur Ohio

After 15 days of struggling with the interwebs company, I am finally back on line. I have been itching to tell people about Mojoe's Rhythm and Brews. It is a converted bar turn coffee house. The thought is an amazing opportunity and I know they can do more with the huge amount of space they have. Walking in, it does have a bit of a grunge-like coffee place. It still feels like a bar, but in a better way. The conversion suits the place and I really like the coffee. The hubs and I found this place by accident. We were just driving along and I just so happened to look over and read the sign out loud. We thought it might still be a bar, but I was wanting to take a chance to find out for sure. Although there is a small coffee cup on the sign, the owner even admitted to the confusion. As a suggestion, there needs to be bigger, more conspicuous material on the sign to tell people its a coffee bar.

Now to the coffee. I got an Irish Haze latte, which is Irish creme and hazelnut. The only thing I wished they could've had was soy milk, being lactose intolerant, but there isn't a high enough demand for it right now. The hubs ordered a white chocolate butter rum frappicino with a double shot of espresso. The butter rum was a little strong, but he loved it. The Irish haze was delicious. Usually the hazelnut tries to overpower the entire drink, but this paired nicely with the Irish cream.

The lady who was working the counter (whom I think was the owner) was really friendly and very helpful. We are the most indecisive people on the face of the planet and she patiently waited for us to decide what we wanted to try.

This is not only a coffee house, but it also has live music, karaoke and serves pizza and ice cream. They also just came out with a kids menu and fudge. It does seem like its going in the right direction and I am excited to return sometime to see how its going. The prices were better than other places, like Starbucks, and you can chill and relax. I recommend this place and give it 4 stars, it has a lot of potential.  

For more informtion about Mojoe's Rhythm and Brews, visit their facebook page. https://www.facebook.com/MojoesRhythmBrews

Easter Dessert

This Easter, I decided to do something a little special. We never really had dessert for this holiday except pie (which was like Thanksgiving and Christmas). So I decided to make dark chocolate cupcakes with Tootsie Roll bunnies. The process proved more daunting than anticipated, but I managed to pull it off, with a little help from my mom. I made twenty four cupcakes, and one little Tootsie Roll sheep. I used tooth picks and just a touch of water in order to assemble the little critters. Here are some pictures.  For my sister, because she doesn't like any kind of icing, I sifted powdered sugar on the tops, like snow bunnies. I was going to use the flavored Tootsie Rolls to make carrots and easter eggs, but working every day up to Easter, I did not have enough time. And you get to enjoy all the left over Tootsie Rolls! I purchased 2 packs for this project.

 

Scioto Valley Coffee Shop, Circleville Ohio

For years, I have driven past this place, wondering what was inside. Finally, today, I decided to venture in and take a gander. At first impression, its a quant coffee shop. Music in the back ground, ample space for serious studying (yes Circleville is a college town), and appropriate decor for a coffee shop. They have a variety of items on their menu, not just coffee. From the mere glance of their menu, they have some pretty delicious looking items including sandwiches, pastries, soups and more.

I, myself, got a chocolate muffin and a Scioto Valley Mocha (white chocolate, caramel and steamed (soy) milk). It was delicious, and surprising chocolatey (seeing as how white chocolate tastes NOTHING like real chocolate, to me anyway). The muffin was pretty large, but not worth the $2.75. I am not sure if it was homemade but I wouldn't have paid more than $2 for it. The coffee was delicious, slightly on the bitter side with vast over tones of flavor. If you love flavored coffee, this is the place for you. The prices are like Starbucks' but the quantities are smaller, so prepare. They are pricer than I would like, so I wouldn't make it an every day occurrence, but I do want to try more of their items. I am providing a link to their facebook page, so make sure to check it out and follow my blog.

Tootles.

http://www.facebook.com/sciotovalleycoffee 

Mini Cakes

 While searching for my next victi.... I mean new restaurant to experience, I have been doing some projects of my own. The most resent ones are mini cakes. The hubs and I made Key Lime and Orangescicle mini cakes and decorated them with my new icing tips I got for Valentines Day. I have been building up my piping skills in anticipation of the cakes I have been hired to do. I also experimented with two tone icing. I think I did pretty well...here are some pictures. 

In order to do this technique, I applied gel food coloring into the inside of the pastry bag. Then I put the icing in and piped as usual. For three tone icing, apply as the first but put the second color on the other side of the bag. 

 

The "V" word

Happy Valentine's Day to one and all. For some, this day is filled with presents and planned activities while gording on food and candy. For others, its a reminder of how the world, once again, hates them. But this day doesn't have to be about yelling at the television when the movie characters kiss. It can be about someTHING you love instead. Maybe you adore puppies but just can't afford one. Go down to a pet shop or dog shelter and play with the furry fuzz balls to your hearts content. Or maybe you love painting but just can't find the time. Take a few hours to create some happy little trees.

Valentine's day doesn't have to be about sappy human love, but about enjoying what makes you happy.   Even if you subscribe to the belief that it is just an over publicized day full of propaganda to sucker guys into buying hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of merchandize to please the one person they are hoping to get into bed later that night. This day can be of contentment and fulfillment, that you finally get to do something you enjoy instead of sitting on the couch or computer chair wondering why you never do anything you ever want to do. 

However, for me this day was spent in 5'' heels and a tea length black dress, roaming about doing stuff the hubs and I love. We watched Warm Bodies (love) and had Chinese buffet for dinner. It was the best Valentines day I have had. He gave me a dozen purple duct tape roses which permeated the room with his Adidas cologne. It was adorable. I also got a ton of presents, all tools for my cake production. (Yes I do event cakes on the side).

Anyway, I hope this is helpful to some of you (even though it is a tidge bit late).

Mini Chef

Mini spiced cake with root beer poached pear, cream cheese icing and chopped orange zest

Ok boys and girls, this is the long awaited project I have been meaning to post about for a while. This is a semi-homemade spiced cake with root beer poached pear, cream cheese icing and chopped orange zest. 

I made the spiced mini cakes in a brownie pan the hubs got me for Christmas. They are about the same size as a cupcake, but square, of course. I got red pears, peeled them, cut them in half and poached them for about 15 minutes. (VERY low heat!) I sliced them as thin as I can. I used A&W root beer but I would rather have found an artisanal kind. Unfortunately I cannot get any unless I go into Columbus. For the cream cheese icing, I used a number 22 star tip ( though you can't quite see the detail from this photo). And for the orange zest, I just used a small pairing knife to cut small pieces of zest. It would be better to use a zester, especially for less experienced bakers. I drizzled a little of the poaching root beer just lightly over the cake to add a little moisture. 

As for the taste, it was delicious. I only like the Duncan Hines spiced cake, all others I have tried taste more artificial than anything else. It held moisture well and wasn't too delicate to wilt under the pears. I do suggest waiting for the cake and pears to cool down before assembling and piping on the icing. The icing just slid off in my impatience to try my little experiment. Another idea would be to add a sprinkle of cinnamon sugar, for a little flare.  

New Year

The New Year brings along all sorts of resolutions that, lets face it, last a few weeks at the most. Lose weight, eat better, get a better job, stop smoking....the list drags on and on of things people wish they could do. Its hard sticking to something that you really don't want to do.

So is there a secret to doing what you set out to do? Not really. Forcing yourself to keep up the work, not giving up, and making an active decision to keep going is the only way to muster enough motivation to make your dreams come true.

This year, I would like to get my blog off the ground. Since I have created it, there hasn't really been much traffic. I am on twitter and facebook; telling my friends about it, posting everywhere and forcing family to subscribe, but no one else really takes an interest. Maybe I am going to have to make it more interesting. Draw in a crowd, be controversial, or something.

Improvements are to come. Subscribe, follow my email, and keep checking the blog to see updates. Comments are always welcome.