Fine Italian in Friendly Kings Park: A Restaurant Review

Ciro's Italian Restaurant in Kings Park was warmly decorated; dressed with white linen table clothes, the most handsome wait staff, and best of all, all entrees were priced below twenty dollars.

As soon as we walked in the romantic ambience of the restaurant jumped out at Emma and I.  A handsome, busy gentleman greeted us within 5 seconds of walking in. His second in command seated us. He gave us a choice of table, near the window or near the center of the 20 tabled room.  I suppose they gave us our choice as the cozier table by the window was next to a rather large family with small children.  Nevertheless, we chose the nicer table near the family, despite the slight ruckus the kids were causing. 

Almost immediately the youngest of the cuties- I mean waiters- brought us our water and menus.  They allowed us the appropriate five-minute period to glance over our mouth-watering menu, yet I stayed true to my astrological traits and could not make a decision.  The waiter, who actually reminded me of Cogsworth, the enchanted mantel clock in Beauty & the Beast, read us the nightly specials, which confused my palate even more. 

Upon receiving the list of the house wines by the glass we ordered our drinks, which took about three or four minutes to arrive.  By that time, I had settled on starting with the zesty mussels special followed by the chicken sorrentino; sautéed breast, eggplant, prosciutto, mozzarella in a light brown sauce.  Emma’s selection displayed her simpler taste buds opting for the traditional baked ziti with a fresh mozzarella and tomato salad to start.

Our Pinot Noir was full of body and I could just imagine the large black grapes picked from the tight cluster of dark purple pine cone-shaped bunches that were used to make our wine. As we sipped our wine, in attempt to distract our rumbling tummies, the waiter waltzed out with a huge dish of muscles steaming with spices that bit our noses as he crossed from the kitchen towards us.  Man oh man were those muscles delicious!  The taste bud stimulating muscles had quite the kick to them, as they were prepared with plump cherry tomatoes and jalapeño peppers and the portions were huge!

We were both impressed with the friendly service and delicious start to our meal.  Our waiter and his assistant were very attentive, offering black pepper and fresh cheese for our appetizers.  They checked in two times during the first course, bringing us more water and bread for the Ginny dip we were so finely demonstrating.

The entrees were by far the best part.  My food had the perfect combination of texture and flavor; slightly salty yet soft and gooey with the perfect amount of mozzarella cheese.  Emma said her baked ziti had tantalizing flavors, and a perfectly balanced blend of sauce and cheese that warmed you from the inside out.

The meal lasted an hour and fifteen minutes from start to finish.  The check came promptly along with pink Limoncello frozen desert drinks compliments of the staff. Guess we made a good impression; they made a great impression on us!

The Chronology Protection Case: Movie Review

Ever feels as though the universe is out to get you?  Well The Chronology Protection Case cleverly suggests that it actually might be!

Being that this is a low-budget student film by director and passionate actor Jay Kensinger, we don’t expect the sequences, frames and panning to be on the level of Spielberg’s production, however despite the lack of funding behind this project, the film still manages to pull of a highly amusing murder mystery with an intricate sci-fi plot indicating the unbelievable capabilities of the universe.   This 38 minute short film receives two thumbs up from the Maroudas Movie Review Household.

Dr. Philip D’Amato is a fictional NYPD forensic detective who finds himself sucked into a bizarre case about a vengeful universe that seeks to protect itself from time travel by killing any scientists who discover or even begin to understand how to do it.

The short film leads off with some quick cuts of random images paired with beat bopping feel good background music about matter, space, energy and time.  To someone unfamiliar with the genera, the rambling sci-fi banter initially creates a highly anxious state for a story to unravel in.  Thankfully even our narrator Dr. Philip D’Amato realizes this, and begins again, yet this time more calmly and directly to the point. 

Kensinger’s terrific performance and narration allows for what initially seems like a confusing story to unfold with ease and clarity, leaving you in total suspense throughout the first 29 minutes.  With the help of his co-stars, Breann Beal as the widow Laura Goldring, Evan Hunter as the reporter Jack Donovan, and Katie McGrew as one of the founding scientist Jennifer Fenwick, a fascinating plot is brought to life.  Overall, the acting was realistic and convincing.  They successfully combined speech, gestures, and facial expressions to convey a variety of emotions in their performances like, grief, frustration, confusion, anger, distress, nervousness, or anxiety.  Each emotional was clearly portrayed in their performances and made for an enthralling story. 

Another enjoyable aspect of the film was the unique detail to the soundtrack.  The strategic use of sound gave the film a thought provoking, artsy edge.  The happy-go-lucky intro music juxtaposed with the haunting alerts from the morning alarm clock is just one example of the variety of ways in which sound is used to not only to foreshadow unfortunate events, but also to simply enhance an other wise empty scene.

Lastly, it’s obvious to any viewer that the real talent behind this sci-fi film is in the writing.  The intricate plot leaves you unable to turn away, in fear that you’ll miss a crucial piece to the puzzle.  From the witty conversations, to the conclusive monologues each word choice was carefully chosen.  It’s no accident that word random was used over and over again in the beginning of the film to rationalizes the unexpected deaths.  All the dramatic irony comes to a head in the end when we discover how systematic and methodical the universe actually is despite everyone’s attempt to blame it all on randomness.  

After watching this short film you might not take the idea of the universe being against you as lightly as you did before. 

Kris & Kris Kooking!

Tuesday are my Saturdays. Today I got to sleep in, WOD at Crossfit and have a Paleo Lunch Date with my best friend Kristina. A handsome friend of mine lent me "The Dairy-free & Gluten free" cook book and I was delighted to dive into it. My plan was to prep our chicken around 1 be cooking for about an hour and a half and eating by 2:30. My plan didn't flesh out exactly on time, no surprise there. The only real set back was due to the super market run we needed to gather ingredients for our "Oyster Mushrooms Rockefeller" free of: soy, sugar, oil & gluten! A Paleo dieter's dream come true. The dish came out delicious! The receipt book was dead on when describing the dish's various textures -soft, creamy, and crunchy too. The total cook time was only 15 min but the prep time was 20 minutes. Prep time would of been longer if I didn't purchase pre made gluten free bread crumbs. I simply was not going to bake and blend my own crumbs this afternoon.

The only reason I created a 2:30 Linner (yes linner, lunch and dinner) was so that we wouldn't feel too stuffed for Bikram Yoga Class at 4:30. All in all we enjoyed our time cooking together, both hours of it! We had cooked, eaten and cleaned up our mess by 3:30 and are now digesting before our hot work out coming up! I haven't been back at the bikram studio in months. I hope I like the instructor tonight... You'll find out if I do laters for sure followers!

Meet Kristi, Kristi's Killing It

I grew up on the beautiful North Shore of Long Island in Oyster Bay Cove. I attended a Blue Ribbon public middle school known particularly for it's competitive sports teams and over achieving attitude.  To describe the student body as sophisticated would be too kind.  Most were dripping with vanity and fit perfectly into the Jewish American Princess (JAP) stereotype the Syosset, Woodbury area of Long Island so often was guilty of.  So for High School I followed in my sister's foot steps and transferred to a more humble setting where the sports were just as competitive and the class rooms were still sophisticated, just a lot more personal which better suited my personality.  LuHi was one of the best four years of my life.  I created life long bonds with friends that shaped and molded the person I am today.  After my time as a big fish in a little pond expired, I chose to stay on Long Island and commute for college.  This decision allowed me to go to school full time, and work full time at my parents flower shop in Hicksville.  We later sold that family business and took on Hollywood Tans Franchises as our next business venture.  After graduating Hofstra, I took a year off from school for "self exploration" as so many people my age refer to their indecisiveness.  However after a year of 50+ hour work weeks I knew I wasn't done learning about the world of communication.  I also knew the void I was searching to fill would only come by allowing myself to fully itch  the scratch for independence I had only brushed the surface of.  Unafraid of what raw flesh might feel like, I took out as many student loans as I could possibly get my hands on in order to afford Fordham University's Masters Program in Public Communications.  After a semester of commuting to the Bronx where Fordham's beautiful Rose Hill Campus is located, I knew in order to get the full experience I was searching for, I had to move out of my parents comfortable home in Fort Salonga, Suffolk L.I.  It's been a little over a year now that I've been living in a two bedroom apartment in Astoria, working full time and going to school full time.  It takes a lot of hard work and patience to wear all the hats that I do but I wouldn't have it any other way!