Edmunds Members - Cars and Conversations

oldfarmer50

corvette said:

For anyone looking for an offbeat (and economical) Valentine's Day dinner, I highly recommend making a reservation at White Castle. Yes, you will need a reservation, and you will be directed to a busier-than-usual drive through if you don't have one. Yes, they only do this one day a year.

You'll be treated to a host stand and table service at a fast food purveyor known for selling miniature hamburgers "by the sack." The floors are carpeted with paper "rose petals," there's an area with a background for taking selfies, there are decorations hanging from the ceiling and in the windows... There are plastic tablecloths, a rose-like decoration, a battery powered candle, and chocolates on the tables.

Don't expect "fast food" or an attentive server (remember, they only do this one day a year)... But, it's a fun experience. Some people dress up, and you see families with kids, girls' night out, etc. They print special menus, but you can also order off the regular menu. Unfortunately, our location was out of Sloppy Joe sliders (clearly marked on the menu board when we walked in). They were also out of the Mac n Cheese Nibblers, which our server informed me after I tried to order them. I did get to try the French Toast Slider with bacon and jalapeño cheese, and it was really good, although a bit light on the bacon. The jalepeño cheese had a bit more kick than I expected, which was a pleasant surprise. The rest of my order consisted of four regular sliders with brown mustard--those are my go-to (although not all locations will put mustard on the sliders and I'm pretty sure not all locations use brown mustard instead of yellow as standard).

You romantic devil, you.😍

Unfortunately, the only White Castle I’m aware of in my area is in an area where you would be more likely to see someone taking his probation officer out to lunch rather than his significant other.

graphicguy

kyfdx said:

@corvette 3 jalapeno cheeseburgers and a sack of fries..

They have amazing old-fashioned crinkle cut fries. They used to have a drive-thru only location about a mile from me, but it closed up. Now, it's about 2.5 miles to the Newport location.

I don't partake much, any more, but I'm pretty sure my lifetime number is well over 1000 burgers..

The White Castle you referenced holds a particular memory. The (then) wife had polished off a bottle of red wine at a friend's house. We were on our way home and she decided she wanted some White Castle. Don't know why, as there were hors d'oeuvres she had been gobbling on all night at the party.

Anyway, I'm nothing if not a person who wants to make my significant other happy. Went through the drive thru. She tore into them after I handed her the sack. We had barely hit I-75N when, you guessed it, the heaving started.

Spent a good portion of the early a.m. hours cleaning up that mess, heaving myself from the smell.

Good times!!!!

jmonroe1

graphicguy said:

kyfdx said:

@corvette 3 jalapeno cheeseburgers and a sack of fries..

They have amazing old-fashioned crinkle cut fries. They used to have a drive-thru only location about a mile from me, but it closed up. Now, it's about 2.5 miles to the Newport location.

I don't partake much, any more, but I'm pretty sure my lifetime number is well over 1000 burgers..

The White Castle you referenced holds a particular memory. The (then) wife had polished off a bottle of red wine at a friend's house. We were on our way home and she decided she wanted some White Castle. Don't know why, as there were hors d'oeuvres she had been gobbling on all night at the party.

Anyway, I'm nothing if not a person who wants to make my significant other happy. Went through the drive thru. She tore into them after I handed her the sack. We had barely hit I-75N when, you guessed it, the heaving started.

Spent a good portion of the early a.m. hours cleaning up that mess, heaving myself from the smell.

Good times!!!!

————————————————
Yikes, let me speak for the rest of your poster buddies too and say please don’t tell us about any of your bad times.

jmonroe

kyfdx

My latest beer purchase.
A 4-pack of each item

laurasdada

corvette said:

For anyone looking for an offbeat (and economical) Valentine's Day dinner, I highly recommend making a reservation at White Castle. Yes, you will need a reservation, and you will be directed to a busier-than-usual drive through if you don't have one. Yes, they only do this one day a year.

You'll be treated to a host stand and table service at a fast food purveyor known for selling miniature hamburgers "by the sack." The floors are carpeted with paper "rose petals," there's an area with a background for taking selfies, there are decorations hanging from the ceiling and in the windows... There are plastic tablecloths, a rose-like decoration, a battery powered candle, and chocolates on the tables.

Don't expect "fast food" or an attentive server (remember, they only do this one day a year)... But, it's a fun experience. Some people dress up, and you see families with kids, girls' night out, etc. They print special menus, but you can also order off the regular menu. Unfortunately, our location was out of Sloppy Joe sliders (clearly marked on the menu board when we walked in). They were also out of the Mac n Cheese Nibblers, which our server informed me after I tried to order them. I did get to try the French Toast Slider with bacon and jalapeño cheese, and it was really good, although a bit light on the bacon. The jalepeño cheese had a bit more kick than I expected, which was a pleasant surprise. The rest of my order consisted of four regular sliders with brown mustard--those are my go-to (although not all locations will put mustard on the sliders and I'm pretty sure not all locations use brown mustard instead of yellow as standard).

You are a GENIUS!

I've never been to White Castle, according to their website, Detroit is the closest store. I have a feeling their site is recognizing Plymouth, MA as Plymouth, MI.

Edit: site notes Centereach, LI as the closest store. A mere 239 miles away. But if I take the Cross Sound Ferry out of New London, only 181 miles. Maybe an in-retirement road/ship trip!

laurasdada

And I brought home baked ziti, chicken parm and a large 1/2 pepperoni pizza for the three of us. Wife bought a large, ridiculously good chocolate cake from a local bakery.
Needless to say, and too often to say, I ate (way) too much.

kyfdx

Carryout pizza for us, last night. We eat out a lot. No need to go out on the busiest day of the year.

Michaell

No White Castles in Colorado, unless you count the stuff in the frozen food section of the local grocery store.

We do have In 'n' Out, however! And a couple of Whataburgers down in Colorado Springs.

tjc78

I put together a nice charcuterie board, chicken parm with vodka sauce and a side of rigatoni. Finished with a home made chocolate cake that only my daughter ate. Oh and of course a dirty martini!

Tonight is date night … Capital Grille here we come.

jmonroe1

kyfdx said:

Carryout pizza for us, last night. We eat out a lot. No need to go out on the busiest day of the year.

————————————————
Boy, ain’t that the truth.

I’d say about 10 years ago we went to one of our favorite mom/pop restaurants on a Thursday night. The place was packed. I ask our server, who we had many times, what they were giving away. She replied everyone in here is trying to beat the Valentines Day rush on Saturday. Believe me, you don’t want to be here tomorrow either. I looked around and I don’t think I saw one couple under the age of 60.

Who said older folks don’t know how to think/plan?

jmonroe

suydam

We’re taking a leisurely scenic drive to a winery this afternoon where we’ll enjoy wine and chocolate pairings and live music.
Not a fan of any fast food, but if you love it, go for it!

stickguy

Our tradition is homemade spaghetti and meatballs. Though this year the cook complained and said what’s wrong with going out. So next year I will plan ahead and make a reservation at an Italian place. And she probably will order the same thing, but it will cost me $100 more.

laurasdada

Dog walkies, a Lucid Air Touring is visiting the neighborhood. Gray/Platinum? over silver roof, I'm not a fan of two-tone. But a nice-looking beast.
Most noticeable to me were the uneven (and perhaps a bit large) panel gaps. Notably the trunk, back doors and the front quarter panel/trailing hood area. Not quite my poor Chrysler 300M or Dodge Intrepid tolerances, but no Lexus.

And we were told that my wife's cousins' boyfriend's (wow, that sounds like the beginning of a moronic Facebook comment) Rivian RT1 caught fire whilst he was at a park. Details unknown to us but we were told Rivian is involved. Shocking.

tjc78

stickguy said:

Our tradition is homemade spaghetti and meatballs. Though this year the cook complained and said what’s wrong with going out. So next year I will plan ahead and make a reservation at an Italian place. And she probably will order the same thing, but it will cost me $100 more.

That’s cool. My wife had just spent ten days in Nebraska and was craving Italian. Works for me because that’s what I cook the best anyway!

tjc78

suydam said:

We’re taking a leisurely scenic drive to a winery this afternoon where we’ll enjoy wine and chocolate pairings and live music.
Not a fan of any fast food, but if you love it, go for it!

We love doing that. By our shore place there are several wineries we can hit up. Here are two of our favorites

https://capemaywinery.com/

https://www.hawkhavenvineyard.com/

corvette

@kyfdx - I don't care for their fries, they remind me of Ore Ida frozen ones that I can heat up at home. There used to be a location within walking distance of my house, but it closed.

tjc78

Michaell said:

No White Castles in Colorado, unless you count the stuff in the frozen food section of the local grocery store.

We do have In 'n' Out, however! And a couple of Whataburgers down in Colorado Springs.

In ‘n’ Out….. every time I went to LA or Vegas it was one of my first stops. If we had it here, it would become a problem.

I actually had my first McDonalds burger in years Tuesday night. Picked my wife up from the airport at 10:30 in the middle of a snow storm. Neither of us had eaten since breakfast and were a little hangry. Nothing was open except McDs so that’s what we got. They had some sort of special 1/4 pounder. Due to the time of night it was all made fresh and surprised me how good it was.

tjc78

kyfdx said:

My latest beer purchase.
A 4-pack of each item

Old Bay sounds very interesting

kyfdx

I've only tried the Raspberry Iced Tea, so far. It was great.

I'm looking forward to the Old Bay, as well.

corvette

Love In-n-Out! A Double-Double, animal style is a tradition every time I'm out west. They are relocating their headquarters to Nashville, so we will probably see them springing up in the region.

McDonald's is often a treat for me when I'm out hiking. I usually get some sort of reward through the app (usually a free cheeseburger) about every third visit.

stickguy

tjc78 said:

suydam said:

We’re taking a leisurely scenic drive to a winery this afternoon where we’ll enjoy wine and chocolate pairings and live music.
Not a fan of any fast food, but if you love it, go for it!

We love doing that. By our shore place there are several wineries we can hit up. Here are two of our favorites

https://capemaywinery.com/

https://www.hawkhavenvineyard.com/

you are close to it, but have you been to Almathea in Atco? We love it there. And on wine tour weekends they have a fantastic tasting event. We bought a lot of their wines to age (it is designed for that). Pulled out a 2015 Cab Franc last night for V Day dinner and it was fantastic.

I have been to hawk haven, and I think cape may too.

stickguy

old bay sounds interesting. One of those it will either be great or awful brews. But 6.8% is pretty strong for a Lager.

corvette

Dill pickle beer was having a moment for a while (i saw several breweries release it). Tried one, it was as gross as you can imagine.

laurasdada

In all my years of visiting family in LA (Pacific Palisades and Santa Monica, actually), I found In n Out to be the only affordable thing in the area!
OK, free lodging at my brother's house was affordable, too.

Michaell

tjc78 said:

stickguy said:

Our tradition is homemade spaghetti and meatballs. Though this year the cook complained and said what’s wrong with going out. So next year I will plan ahead and make a reservation at an Italian place. And she probably will order the same thing, but it will cost me $100 more.

That’s cool. My wife had just spent ten days in Nebraska and was craving Italian. Works for me because that’s what I cook the best anyway!

Did she get a Runza while she was there?

That's one of the things the girls make at the cooking studio.

kyfdx

corvette said:

Dill pickle beer was having a moment for a while (i saw several breweries release it). Tried one, it was as gross as you can imagine.

I love sour beer, and I love pickles. But the sour pickle beer just doesn’t work for me.

I can now report that the Old Bay lager is really good. The lemon is more prevalent than the old bay spice. And, given the brewery, the beer is definitely tart/sour.

explorerx4

@kyfdx,
May have order some of those sours for my son in law as a belated birthday present.

roadburner

We stay overnight at Shaker Village at Pleasant Hill every year or so. This year for Valentine's Day they were having an event called 2025 Naughty at Night. so we decided to attend. We started with lunch at Cafe Primo in Bardstown and then drove to Stanford to pick up dinner at the Bluebird. The accommodations at Shaker Village were great as always- as was the Naughty at Night event. We headed home early this morning because the forecasted heavy rain could possibly block some roads en route to home (we took the Wrangler as a precaution, but it turned out to be unnecessary). Despite rumors to the contrary, the Jeep is a great cruiser and I prefer it to any CUV save an X3M Comp or a GLE63 S.
Finally, I gave my bride an automotive themed gift that she absolutely loved. Let the guessing begin!

oldfarmer50

kyfdx said:

My latest beer purchase.
A 4-pack of each item

Far be it from me to judge your tastes but my unrefined pallet would gag at those flavors. I must not be sophisticated enough. The lager doesn’t sound too bad though.

oldfarmer50

corvette said:

@kyfdx - I don't care for their fries, they remind me of Ore Ida frozen ones that I can heat up at home. There used to be a location within walking distance of my house, but it closed.

Same here. I checked and found out there are no more in NY outside of Long Island. The one I remember in Schenectady must have closed long ago.

tjc78

@Michaell said:
Did she get a Runza while she was there?

That's one of the things the girls make at the cooking studio.

Yes!!! Her team told her she had to have one and took her there for lunch.

corvette

Wait, what? I've been to Nebraska at least seven times (this year will be eight), and have never been there. Definitely going on the list, along with Omaha's Henry Doorley Zoo and Aquarium, which is supposed to be on par with the San Diego Zoo.

corvette

@roadburner - that sounds like a fun tour of Shaker Village!

nyccarguy

@roadburner said:
We stay overnight at Shaker Village at Pleasant Hill every year or so. This year for Valentine's Day they were having an event called 2025 Naughty at Night. so we decided to attend. We started with lunch at Cafe Primo in Bardstown and then drove to Stanford to pick up dinner at the Bluebird. The accommodations at Shaker Village were great as always- as was the Naughty at Night event. We headed home early this morning because the forecasted heavy rain could possibly block some roads en route to home (we took the Wrangler as a precaution, but it turned out to be unnecessary). Despite rumors to the contrary, the Jeep is a great cruiser and I prefer it to any CUV save an X3M Comp or a GLE63 S.
Finally, I gave my bride an automotive themed gift that she absolutely loved. Let the guessing begin!

A bright pink “Jeep Girl” t-shirt?

laurasdada

Ducks to pass out to other Jeep folks.

graphicguy

kyfdx said:

My latest beer purchase.
A 4-pack of each item

Let us know what you think. My "posse" keeps stating we should go to Urban Artifact.

Sorry...just saw your review. Looks like we'll make a trip there.

stickguy

This winter nonsense has to stop. I can’t believe there are people that think snow is fun. Running out of space to put it. And having to shovel 2x a week (or more) and having almost every weekend snowed out is salt in the wound.

stickguy

And when it isn’t snowing or icing over it’s in the teens with 30 mph winds. Fun stuff!

Daughter said we need to snowbird. I think she is right.

kyfdx

We got 3” of rain, yesterday, which turned into snow and big winds, this morning. Now, our county is under a Level 2 snow emergency. 😕

jmonroe1

stickguy said:

This winter nonsense has to stop. I can’t believe there are people that think snow is fun. Running out of space to put it. And having to shovel 2x a week (or more) and having almost every weekend snowed out is salt in the wound.

————————————————
Looks exactly like my formative years back in the 50’s. Global warming has spoiled all of us.

jmonroe

jmonroe1

stickguy said:

And when it isn’t snowing or icing over it’s in the teens with 30 mph winds. Fun stuff!

Daughter said we need to snowbird. I think she is right.

————————————————
Kids toady are smarter than their parents.

jmonroe

explorerx4

One time my wife flew out to visit one of the kids at Miami U.
She rented a Jeep(Compass or Liberty) and headed out from CVG.
She got stopped by a cop who said to her "What are you doing out here? Don't you know this is a level 3?"
She said "I'm from Connecticut and this is just a snowstorm".
He told her to go directly to where she was going and stay there.

stickguy

jmonroe1 said:

stickguy said:

And when it isn’t snowing or icing over it’s in the teens with 30 mph winds. Fun stuff!

Daughter said we need to snowbird. I think she is right.

————————————————
Kids toady are smarter than their parents.

jmonroe

and apparently wealthier.

Michaell

I had a drive with a student yesterday. When we started, it was just cloudy, but after about 30 minutes we started to get a fair amount of snow. Asked my student if they wanted to continue, and got an affirmative response.

Snow got worse, and what was supposed to be a 2 hour drive turned into a 2 hour and 40 minute slog. With wipers that weren't fully up to the task.

The student performed admirably, given the circumstances.

explorerx4

I put in an order with Urban Artifact.
Gadget, Variety Pack and Capy Snacks.

oldfarmer50

stickguy said:

This winter nonsense has to stop. I can’t believe there are people that think snow is fun. Running out of space to put it. And having to shovel 2x a week (or more) and having almost every weekend snowed out is salt in the wound.

“salt in the wound” pun intended?🤣🤣

I have to admit I don’t like this pattern of frequent small storms. I’ve had my driveway plowed 8 times so far this year. Usually we get one or two 12”-24” storms with a couple of spitters in between. The real fun ones are the three foot catastrophes that take days to dig out from.

But hey, I tried to warn you when you decided to move here.😫

Michaell

About 15 years ago we had a winter where, every Thursday like clockwork, we’d get a storm that would dump 10-15” each time.

The piles on each side of my driveway were 6’ tall, and it’s the only winter I remember where the snow didn’t melt before spring.

kyfdx

explorerx4 said:

I put in an order with Urban Artifact.
Gadget, Variety Pack and Capy Snacks.

Gadget is their #1 seller. Capy Snacks isn't really tart/sour, like the other ones, but pleasant.

Not sure what's in the variety pack.

The Small Batch stuff comes out bi-monthly, and is obviously a little more adventurous. (and, pricier)

That's my favorite local brewery

laurasdada

Apologies, but I'm one of those who like snow (read: skier). Been driving in it, shoveling it on occasion and skiing it whenever possible (not so much the past few years, age/knees/lazy). Never bothered me, still doesn't.

We got ~2" here on the coast, turned to heavy rain making this morning's doggie walk a slush-fest. Much washed away. Now, that I don't like.

ab348

Salt needs to be on that driveway, Stick, not in the wound.

Up here we’ve had a succession of snow and ice storms too with another currently underway. After the last one Thursday things were at a standstill as snow initially turned to ice pellets and then rain before temps fell into the basement by daybreak, freezing everything solid. I could barely get out the door on Friday and could not get down my back walk to the garage since it was solid glare ice. That was rough because my supply of rock salt was in there. Fortunately I didn’t have to go anywhere and my neighbor was able to get up my driveway and into the garage to get the salt and my ice chopper. He helpfully brought along a pick and steel shovel to handle the ice wall the city plow created at the end of the driveway. Just lovely.

Could be worse though. Last night I was getting ready to go to bed and had turned off the lights in the LR and kitchen when I noticed what I thought was a flashlight outside. Taking a long look I saw there was a water utility truck parked across from his house and a worker with some sort of detection gizmo and a light on his helmet looking for a water main leak underground. I went to bed only to be awakened by the sound of a Cat 315 excavator out there which had been working all night thanks to an emergency crew. By the time I had my morning coffee they had everything fixed, the hole filled in, and cold patch applied to the street. Must have been a cold, tough shift.