A week or so ago I decided I needed a beer and some spicy sticky wings and what better place than Speakeasy. So I took my brother along (for the 2 for 1 offer) and set off, half drooling, to Finlayson. When we got there I was devastated, Speakeasy had changed their opening hours. So, my 2 for 1 offer was no longer valid and worse the prohibition themed treasure trove for wings was CLOSED.

Now not only hungry but also very very down we set about looking for another restaurant. Since it was only a few days since we had dined at the American Diner (really great burgers) we decided to try out Bugsy. Bugsy is another kind of 'theme' restaurant serving early 1900 Italian-American themed dishes.

We decided to have some appetisers because we were so hungry. My brother opted for the Onion Rings ”Siciliano” 6,20e which he enjoyed. I on the other hand asked for the Lime Carpaccio 8,90e but was told that they did not have that, so I settled for the Bruschetta Escargots 9.50e. The bruschetta was deliciously crunchy and there was huge lovely chunks of Gorgonzola cheese with the escargots. So, not such a big loss.

As you might have guessed, I love ribs and if available I always choose them. Unfortunately for my brother and me, they didn't have any. (This was already the second time that the menu had items that the restaurant did not have). Now, choosing the main course was more difficult as I don't usually trust Finnish restaurants to leave my steaks yummy and raw, pasta is something I can easily make at home and I had just had a 'gourmet' burger. What finally made me decide to have a steak was when I read that it would be prime Angus steak meat. You can't beat that.

In the end I had the Bugsy´s Beefsteak 200 g 16.70e and my brother had the Filetto di Manzo Gorgonzola 200 g 19,80e. The steak was a positive surprise. Succulent and cooked to perfection. The sides on the other hand were not so good. The potatoes weren't crispy and the vegetables were somewhat bland in taste.

Verdict: Although most of the food was good I would have expected more from a lunch costing over 60e (almost 80$). It was also dissapointing how they didn't have two of the things we would have ordered. So, I don't think we will go there again. Sorry!

AFTERGLOW OF SUNDAY

Muah. Today I finally got the Martha Stewart book I ordered. Hmm... yeah laugh all you want. Anyway it got me cleaning. And so far I've cleaned the toilet cabinet.

Yesterday I took Sam out for lunch at Amarillo because he's been nagging me about that place for so long. It's kind of a strange place because I'm not sure if it's a nightclub, bar or restaurant. It turned out to be all of the above. We ended up going Sunday afternoon when everyone is recovering from the night before (like this boy on the bus who was calling his friend telling him how he's still drunk). So, needless to stay a nightclubbarrestaurant complex is not so impressive at this time of week or day. Other than a few lost looking toursits, some other couples and a group of middle aged drunk men at the bar, the place was pretty empty.

Amarillo is a tex-mex restaurant, probably why I haven't gone before. You see I have a rule that if I want tex mex I'll go to Taco House simply because it is cheap and good and I don't think tex-mex and sit down 'fancy' dinner exactly go together. Nonetheless promise of an XXXL Burger (over 300g of beef) 13,90e and a 500g rack of Rockefeller Ribs 17,90e got me convinced.

The food was kind of a dissapointment. Sam's burger looked more like an L Burger, but he seemed to enjoy it. The ribs were big but so so so dissapointingly dry! I like my ribs juicy and a little sweet, these ribs were really dry and a little burnt, such a shame. The Fajita Magic fries were really salty even for me.

Verdict: The food was a bit of a dissapointment, even with the price. The ribs were 1e more than at Salud but the difference in taste was so much more. Plus we should have ordered something other than water because the small glass (with no refill) cost 2e (and those fries were so salty)! At least those drunk guys provided interesting lunch entertainment.

MURPHY'S LAW
(10.10.06)

What made me have lunch at Sevilla today is somehow related to a frustrated failure of a piglike cow farmer.

In short, on Sunday evening we played a some floorball (Sam's family and some of their friends). Anyway there is this strange guy that uses our fields... and already previously when I had played he was very agressive and grabbed my breast. Now, this time he did the same not to mention other un-gentlemanly things. Now imagine this, a grown man tallentlessly brandising a hockey stick like some lunatic, grabbing the breasts of a 20 year old girl and causing destruction in every other possible manner. Then he has the audacity to yell at me for playing rough when I slammed into him. Now, lets make this clear, even if I was a guy and I slammed into him after the treatment he'd given everyone it would have been all right... but the fact that he is a grown man and twice my weight(!!!) completely f-ing absurd that he should yell at me for playing it rough. And then his pig like inbred sons had the nerve to follow their fathers lead and continued the insulting. Honestly.

Anyway needless to say my legs are covered in bruises and swollen. Especially my left knee has a stining pain from the burn I got when I was tripped up. And it stings... it hurts so much even now, and, last night it stung so bad after I put disinfectant on it that I could sleep and I cried for an hour. So, today when I finished my first class I was really hungry, but the school cafeteria was so crouded and I was too tired to stand... Sevilla was as far as I could walk from the University.

OK, so I might have been hungry, in pain and generally pissed off, but Sevilla did kind of suck today. Complaint numero uno: only 3 options on the lunch menu, none of which seemed too appealing on top of which the price was quite high. I ordered the grilled salmon with herbs 9,50e. Complaint numero dos: after waiting for some time I was brought the wrong meal (and I'm glad in a way that it was the wrong meal because it looked and smelt like one of those saussage casserole things my auntie makes... not a good thing). Final complaint: when the food finally came it was only alright... the kind of food you would expect at the university... and mind you those meals only cost 2,35e.

Verdict: Lunch at Sevilla sucks. Positive point was that the waitress was kind and very efficient. But still, I will avoid Sevilla at lunch time FOREVER.

(05.10.06)

Another brother sister event at Maruseki. I had some sushi 6e and the calamari 7e and of course rice and water. The thing is I was dissapointed this time in the calmari because it wasn't a nice big one this time, instead there were a few small ones and the taste wasn't the same. Slightly dissapointing. Yet, the food was still delicious as always. My brother had his usual, sushi, rice and tonkatsu (fried pork). I'd like to take my fiance out here next time because he's never had sushi.

Verdict: Good stuff as usual. Although the new calmari was a bit of a dissapointment. Hopefully the big good calmari will be available again soon! :)

(03.10.06)
So. I got hungry and had lunch at the Chinese restaurant at Tullintori Ly's Garden. They have a buffet lunch which is 7,90e. It usually consists of soup, rice, fried rice, spring rolls and other typical Finlandized Chinese food. Not exactly what I would call 'Chinese' food but heck it was the closest best value for money place at the time. And don't get me wrong. The food is tasty and you can really stuff yourself. Oh and I especially like the tea that comes with lunch.

Today was Tampere day so the shops were open. Stella was playing at Stockmann and I wanted to go see because they have some nice songs. I like the lady's voice, very interesting. Also it was a nice set, they were good live.

Then Sam 'n' me met up with Tom and we went to have lunch at New York. New York is a fairly new restaurant in Tampere and I've been wanting to go for quite some time. Sam had a De Lux Burger 12,90e which was pretty good looking, my brother had a large New York Garlic Steak 19,50e and I had the Harlem Suffle 20,50e.

My brother enjoyed his steak, although he did have some food envy towards Sam's burger. The dips that I got with my portion were especially good. I've never really had pesto, but damn the pesto sauce was good! The hot wings were really spicy, even for me. The grilled chicken breast was good especially when dipped into the pesto sauce. The spring rolls and the shrimp torpedos had the same sort of problem, too much batter so the taste of the good stuff was hidden.

For drinks we had a bottle of champagne 9,90e (originally around 25e), my brother also had a White Russian (around 5-6e) and I had a Tropical Mango Margarita 5,52e.

Verdict: Really fun atmosphere and nice decor. I think we scared the waitresses but oh well. The food was good and there is something on the list for every price range (snacks go for 2e). The drinks were good but kind of expensive, especially the cocktails.

Well, how ironic. The day I write about working at Hella & Huone I get told that I don't work there anymore because the place is possibly being sold. What a bummer.

So, to 'celebrate' losing a job we went for a 2 for 1 birthday pizza offer at Hervanta's Bella Roma. Feeling a little let down I was being a little bitchy so, the place gets some minuses. First problem, the toilet hand towel machine didn't work, so I had to dry my hands with toilet paper. Secondly there was a lot of shit on the floor.

So, enough with the bitching. The service was nice and quick. The salad table, what you would expect. I had a pizza Marinara 9,20e (shrimp, tuna, mussels and of course garlic) and my fiancée had a Piazza del Vaticano 9,20e (ham, mushrooms, pineapple and blue cheese). The pizza was good and the size maneagable. I have this pizza fear. I'm not such a big fan of pizza and on top of that I find most pizzas too big and worst of all I feel absolutely awful leaving any on my plate. But these pizzas, were good.

Verdict: Pizza isn't really my cup of tea, but this pizza was alright. The atmosphere was a normal pizzeria style i.e. quite informal.

THE RAKAS RUOKA MISSION STATEMENT

There are numerous restaurants in Tampere and the surrounding areas. Now, according to someone the average Finn goes out to dinner only a few times per year. So, my question is who eats at these restaurants? I mean someone ought to go and support the Finnish restaurant economy and that sounds like a job for... me (see that there, I was trying to come up with a kick ass superhero name). Also someone's got to find out where the good food is at.

So, my aim is to try out every restaurant in Tampere... well except for one. I don't think I can ever go to Hella & Huone. Now, don't get me wrong, it's not that the restaurant is bad, quite contrary, I highly recomend it. Good food, EXELLENT staff (especially the bumbling student waitress), nice atmosphere... hmm... did I mention EXELLENT staff? Ok ok. So the reason I can't ever dine at Hella & Huone is because I already spend about 10h a week there. Did I mention that the staff rules? OK ok... so I might be a little biased because I work there... but that's a minor detail. No, but really, honestly the food is top class gourmet. Everything is 110% French (aside from the Madeira) even the washing up liquid used to wash the dishes, trust me, I know.

I made Friday brunch today. I don't have class on fridays and work only starts at 19.00. So, I thought for once I would eat something in the morning. After evaluating the bits and peices of food in my fridge (discarding all the rotting things) I decided to make eggs (mainly because they go off today).

I have this small 'herb garden' with basil, coriander (cilantro), mint, lettuce and parsley. So I seasoned the eggs sunny side up with bacon bits, basil, parsley and coriander. Quite a strange combination but I enjoy it. After eating two eggs like this I was still a little bit hungry so I had a bowl of Coco Pops... mmm...