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A Belated Happy New Year
Monday, January 5, 2009 2:41PM
New Year's Eve brings out the best and worst in people. Almost everyone is in a good mood, but even the most temperate among us tend to get a bit saucier than is absolutely necessary. In the end, this New Year's Eve, my first in Harrisburg, turned out to be pretty decent despite including a temporarily lost cell phone, a long walk in subzero windchill temperatures and a member of our group getting thrown up on by a random bargoer. Full Article » -
This Weekend: Cheesy Resolution Edition
Thursday, January 1, 2009 10:00AMI've never been into New Year's resolutions. It seems kind of foolish and a little bit presumptuous to assume that you can change anything meaningful about your life just because you started a new "Get Fuzzy" page-a-day calendar. At the same time, maybe if you restrict your resolutions to a manageable scope, it could be a valuable exercise. With that in mind, here are some Spotobe-related resolutions for the new year. Spotobe resolves to:
—Eat at restaurants other than El Rodeo on a regular basis
—Not spend an exorbitant amount of money on Café Fresco lattes
—Try harder to get interesting people for Q&A's
—Expand the editorial scope of the site, and
—Get an even wider variety of events on the calendar
Those all seem reasonable, right? Now it's your job to make sure we stick to them. Alright, on to the weekend: Full Article » -
Restaurant Round-Up: Taco Factory, Dafnos & Applebee’s
Tuesday, December 30, 2008 12:00PMSpotobe is all about supporting local businesses, and I personally make an effort to eat at establishments with local roots. At the same time, unlike some people, I have nothing against national chains.
Honestly, I don't care how cookie-cutter they are, I've had some excellent plates of pasta at the Olive Garden. Still, after college I found myself really burned out on most of the major casual dining chains. There's just something about the food at those places that makes me feel vaguely ill for about 24 hours after I eat it. Anyway, we have a mixed bag in the Round-Up this week. I go into more detail about a surprise trip to Applebee's, Fran sings the praises of the Strawberry Square Taco Factory (a popular place around the office) and Winton talks about his first trip to Dafnos in Hershey. Agree with us? Disagree with us? Let us know below. Full Article » -
This Weekend: Coming Back Down
Friday, December 26, 2008 10:00AM
I hope everyone had an absolutely fantastic Christmas. Every year it seems like the holiday season becomes more and more stressful, but every year it turns out that it was worth it in the end. With Christmas on a Thursday, you get a few full days to decompress (decompose?) after all the excitement. This weekend is, not surprisingly, a bit light, but here's a few suggestions.
Friday night WWE Raw comes to Giant Center. If that doesn't cure your hankering for sweaty, over-inflated men pretending to fight each other, you could always drive a few hours east and visit any club in Jersey. Buh-dum, cha! If you'd like more jokes, Comedian MIke Siscoe will be at the Harrisburg Comedy Zone. If you haven't seen The Day The Earth Stood Still yet, you could check that out at the Select Medical IMAX Theater at the Whitaker Center. That would be ALOT of Keanu Reeves. Full Article » -
Restaurant Round-Up: Gilligan’s, Macaroni Grill & Nonna’s
Monday, December 22, 2008 4:44PM
With the possible exception of Sunday dinner, dinner on Friday might be the most important meal of the week. Think about it. You get home from work; you probably don't feel like cooking, so you decide to go out. You know that everyone else feels the same way, so you try to decide where you want to go and make a reservation if the place takes them. Now you're hungry. You're trying to forget about the stress of the work week. Really, nothing gets the weekend off to a worse start than a crappy dining experience. There's no doubt that Friday night's dinner is my favorite meal of the week. This week in Restaurant Round-Up, Fran, Jim and Lily all talk about their dinners from last Friday. Fran went for a relaxed meal at Gilligan's, Jim for pasta at Macaroni Grill and Lily found a new favorite in Nonna's. The only Christmas present we really need are your comments. Full Article » -
A Hoots and Hellmouth Holiday
Monday, December 22, 2008 3:19PM
It's tremendously annoying when bands refuse to cite their influences. I never understood the rationale. Yes, in an ideal world, your band would be so revolutionary and groundbreaking that no act that came before you would be a good comparison. Really though, that's unlikely. It's far more likely that through years of listening to music and playing music and living music you crafted a sound that is a combination of what you like, what you can write and what you can play. That's how everyone does it.
I'm immediately skeptical when I see some variation on the phrase "we sound like ourselves" on a band's MySpace page. In my experience, bands that sound like themselves usually sound like crap. It's interesting then, that Philadelphia band Hoots and Hellmouth, a band that literally sounds unlike anything else I've ever heard, isn't afraid to list some music that influenced them online. They also absolutely rock, and they'll be at the Chameleon Club in Lancaster on Tuesday. Excellent local bands Slimfit and Perkasie are opening up. Full Article » -
Local and Last Minute
Friday, December 19, 2008 3:55PM
So after one last trip out to the Shoppes at Susquehanna last night, I thought my Christmas shopping was all finished. Until this morning. Apparently not. Anyway, if you're like me and still have a few pesky people to buy for, I got two email updates in the last few days that might help. I love art and I love coffee, so if any of you are still wondering what to get your friendly Spotobe editor, take note.
First of all, the ArtHouse Lounge on 2nd Street in Harrisburg is offering some huge discounts on original work from their contributing artists. Everything from leather, to glass, to paintings, to ceramics, to photography to custom framing is discounted between 10 and 20 percent. Art is intensely personal and you would have to really know someone to give it as a gift, but buying from the ArtHouse Lounge is not like giving someone a kitschy print; these are beautiful, original, one-of-a-kind pieces. Definitely worth a stop in this weekend. Full Article » -
This Weekend: Choices, Choices
Thursday, December 18, 2008 3:07PMBefore I really threw myself into life in Central Pennsylvania I had no idea just how many different types of things went on around here. I'm not just saying that because I'm paid to (though that doesn't hurt), but honestly, Central Pennsylvania is incredibly sociologically diverse and the entertainment scene reflects that better than most people think. I was looking at the calendar for this weekend thinking to myself that there had been a lot more going on lately, but really, this weekend still covers a pretty large swath of territory demographically: Full Article »
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Restaurant Round-Up: Café Magnolia, Tropical Smoothie Café & Houlihan’s
Tuesday, December 16, 2008 5:14PM
One of the many ways to test a restaurant is see how well it handles large parties. If it's not accommodating, it's frankly kind of annoying. Obviously, if you were willing to bring a huge group of people to a place, you must like it, right? Really, splitting a check or being a bit flexible with the seating is a huge deal? Here at Spotobe headquarters we once wanted to celebrate a birthday with lunch and a few beers outside in the sun (this was last summer). It would have meant a fairly decent walk, so we called ahead to make sure we would have tables, only to be told that the restaurant couldn't hold tables even for 15 minutes and even if it meant a group of about 15 for lunch. Not good. Anyway, this week on the Round-Up, Samantha talks about the phenomenal job that Café Magnolia did in handling a large party, Jason talks about his love for Tropical Smoothie Café and Katie samples some special kind of iced tea from Long Island at Houlihan's. Leave some comments. Full Article » -
Melting Pot Opens Tuesday
Monday, December 15, 2008 11:22AM
It's easy to fall into a restaurant rut. Everyone has favorite places that they frequent, but many people tend to keep going to the same place or places over and over again just because it's, well, easy. Ever had that moment at home where you feel like you are bored with everything you cook? Going out can actually end up being just as monotonous (and significantly more expensive). Even when new restaurants open in the area, sometimes it feels like they're just recycled places that we've seen before. Well, the new Melting Pot opens in the Scottsdale Plaza on Paxton Street in Harrisburg tomorrow night, and if nothing else, it's certainly something different. Full Article »
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