Supernatural Season Six

When Supernatural premiered 6 years ago it looked like a dark version of the Hardy Boys combined w/Slasher movies & I didn't think it would last past a season. Luckily I was so wrong & it has turned out to be so much more & keeps getting better. If you're not watching already a very quick synopsis... The Winchester Brothers Sam & Dean are "Hunters"...they hunt evil dark forces. Raised by their Father a Hunter, their Mother(daughter of Hunters) died a violent death when they were very young. While the brothers are very close on the one hand...there is a slight difference between them. It seems that Dean is a "vassal" of Heaven...while Lucifer had his eyes on Sam for a "vassal" of hell. Oh one other little thing...they have both been killed...sent to Hell...& returned. It seems to have had a slightly different effect on each of them.

Much like the X-Files the shows episodes alternate between single episode "Monster" stories (that for TV are at times fairly gory) and Mythology arcs. The Mythology of Supernatural has been up till the end of season 5 the coming Apocalypse & Lucifer's play to take over. A key part of the Mythology that I love is how Angels are represented. These Angels are not pudgy Cherubim playing harps while lounging on clouds (I believe this started up in the Renaissance) they are old school Old Testament Warriors...with a vicious streak. Now the way season 5 ended...it really seemed the show had run it's course. The first couple of episodes of season six were just OK...& then comes along Episode 3. A rogue Angel thought killed in battle eons ago (just where do Angels go when they perish in battle? & how do they actually get die in the first place?) shows up on Earth with Holy Weapons (so far think Book of Moses & the story of Sodom & Gomorrah) he has stolen from Heaven! He is both giving some out while using others himself...when he's not snorting mountains of blow during orgies. See it seems that G-d has gone off on a sabbatical (seems to have lost interest & faith in mankind...can you blame him?) so with all this new "freedom" while not go wild & crazy. On top of all this...one of the other Angels is kind of an old school conservative & seems to think that he needs to get things back on script & is going to try & back upon us the Apocalypse since that's what's written in the book!

Not only is the show better written & acted them you would expect for this type of material it has the rare ability to combine violence & dark humour seamlessly. If you like horror movies, shows like The Nightstalker, X-Files, True Blood, etc... give this show a go. Ah...one other thing...did I mention besides the horror, gore, & humour that most episode's also manage to include a beautiful woman or two...?

Hill Country Chicken Review

There are both pro's & what I consider a major con to Hill Country's new Chicken restaurant. So let me start with the good. For the fried chicken there's Classic & Mama El's. One has skin, one does not...& one is crunchier then the other. Cannot remember which was which but I had breasts of both & they were very good. They also have some good looking tenders & a bunch of sandwiches. For my sides I went with the cheesy potatoes (hey I went skinless on one of the breasts) & fire/ice pickles & enjoyed both. My friends had the cole-slaw, bursted-corn, & carrot & raisin salad side...all were good. Minor complaint on the fries...but the fact that they still do not have their liquor licences set one of my friends off & made him less then happy with his meal (with the exception of the banana cream pie he was hogging). I was less then happy about this as well...but it worked out in the long run when a bunch of mini-pies for desert showed up on the table for FREE (one of our friends had been there a bunch of times & complanied that they still didn't have their liquor license)! They were all delicious but my favorites were the banana cream pie, cherry-cherry, & cowboy (like a coconut dream bar...if you don't know what those are...your loss). Aside from the beer/wine menu to come they have iced tea (Mint...just OK), Lemonade, & Boylans sodas on tap. I'm not a big soda guy but I do love me some Boylans Birch & Root beer. Overall the food was very good...but now on to the Con. The bad is the place doesn't look anything like HC BBQ...but like a fast food restaurant. In all fairness, an ideal one. It was clean, spacious, & well lit...but not exactly where I want to go for dinner & drinks with friends. I will go back & do recommend it...but I recommend it for lunch or take-out.

Not your Daddy's nor your Momma's Tuna Sandwich...

Relatively recently NY Magazine did a write up of NY's best sandwiches. Now while they did do a good job...they really missed a winner. Now in all fairness NYC is a big city with a lot of restaurants with many great sandwiches (one of the many great things about living here) but great food is not only available at the newest & most trendy places. The Grilled Tuna Fish sandwich at Fish - 280 Bleecker (Btwn Jones St & 7th Ave S) is one of NYC unsung hero's (no pun intended). It's chunks of fresh tuna seared (you can get it medium or well done...but why would you???) in a wasabi sauce with celery & red onion. It's served open-faced on a brioche bun with lettuce, tomato, & pickle. Of note it is only available on the side with an order of Fries...which are very good (thus I eat the fries & skip the bun to cut carbs...a girl has to watch her or in my case keep girls looking at my figure) . You may want to go with the Red, White, & Blue special to start (one of NYC's best oyster deals that Time Out missed when they did there Oyster special) or a bowl of Chowda. My preference is to enjoy this at the bar. It's one of those great old long wood ones & they have a good selection of beer on tap. This is not the bumble-bee with mayo on wonder bread you grew up on. It's what happens when that sandwich moves to NYC, gets a bit worldly & a bit more upscale...yet stays true to it roots...just like you...right?