Another Good Steakhouse-Shula's 347 Grill - A Vikings Perspective

Last weekend, I traveled up to Providence Rhode Island to discuss some search engine optimization (SEO) and search engine marketing techniques and opportunities with a colleague of mine.

I hopped about Amtrak for the train ride up there and lo and behold, Miss Daisy was driving the train - not her chauffeur Hoke--Miss Daisy herself. When I arrived in Providence and learned how to walk again, after having sat for so long, we met up and went to the Hilton in downtown Providence and I proceeded to show him link building, blogging and what a Google PageRank is and what are the factors to employ when trying to achieve a high page rank.

We spoke for a couple of hours and he then had to leave and do the Saturday afternoon domestic thing and I was left to fend for myself. Not wanting to do the touristy thing, I stayed at the hotel and said to myself, "Let me get a drink and plan my next culinary move".

I went to the hotels restaurant and saw that they had a Shula's 347 Grill. I said, this can't be related to Dolphins coach Don Shula. To my surprise it was.

I'm a simple man: A steak; cranberry and vodka (no lime garnish) and a place to dive into my own little world. Maybe it's the viking in me ["More food; More wine for everyone...and singing Viking battle songs] but I didn't travel to Providence to sample their seafood. Anyway, I was looking for a meal that would tide me over til I got back to New York City proper and this place did the trick.

Let me set it up for you: I order a 16 oz strip steak (what that is, I don't know), well done and some mashed potato thingy and some tomatoes to keep it sane and gully with a vegetable. Oops. I did have the house salad which I swallowed in no time. Nothing like some fresh greens to get ya going before the main course.

The steak and potatoes came and it was a very good steak. No fat or none that I had to play around with (slicing it off). Let me put it in the proper perspective. I've eaten at quite a few steak houses (Smith & Wollenskys, Peter Lugers, er Outbacks) and the portion of steak in Shula's 347 Grill was smaller, I did not go hungry. A good thick, nurtured steak; not cooked but nurtured. A fresh salad with egg sparsed in.

When most people dine out, they want a decent meal and if the wait staff advertises something about the meal, you would come to expect it. I was doing link building from the restaurant and no one disturbed me even though it was a Saturday afternoon/evening. Finishing off my SEO and link building work with a good meal; interspersed with drinks is not bad.

I now have to make a business excuse to go back up to the Providence Hilton, which Shula's 347 Grill is attached to and try out their 22 or is it the 24 ounce nurtured steak. This time, I should have a seafood starter. Just because.

Here is a photo of the steak at this Providence Rhode Island restaurant - Shula's 347 Grill

Shea Stadium, The New York Mets and Missed Baseball Opportunities

This past summer I traveled to Flushing Queens to purchase a new mountain bike (which I still haven't picked up) and since the 7 train passes by Shea Stadium, I figured, let me get off the train and take some pictures of the final subway series game between the Mets and Yankees. As soon as I get off the train, the sky opened up and drowned the area, so I had to take what photos I did take under the 7 train elevated tracks:

Shea Stadium Subway Series Photo





Now, I follow the Mets during the season but as I got older and the business side of baseball grew from a mole to the mountain that it is today, my interest has dropped off.

Fast forward to today, October 16, 2008
The Philadelphia Phillies are representing the National League in the 2008 World Series, which should disturb most Mets fans and the Mets players themselves. I thought that the Mets firing of Willie Randolph was supposed to have propelled them into playing better baseball especially under the steady tutelage of Jerry "With Friends Like Him You Don't Need Enemies" Manuel.

Shea Stadium - Another Angle of Last Subway Series Game





Let's face it: Team is a concept that is only real in high school or amateur sports, when the only thing being played for is pride. When you try to put the team concept into an arena whose participants are millionaires several times over and whose owners are always looking at things that affect the bottom line, using the term team, does a disservice to the meaning of the word and the self-lessness that it is supposed to inspire.

Shea Stadium Alongside Citi-Field, Last Subway Series Game



Don't get me wrong: Players and owners should go after every penny that they feel they are worth or can make; there is nothing wrong with that. Just don't try to wrap up the spirit of team and selflessness into an arena or forum where selfishness is the spirit of the day.

Another Photo of the 2009 Home of the New York Mets



Back to the firing of Willie Randolph
So the Mets fired Willie Randolph and Omar "Stealth Firing" Minaya said he tossed and turned over the decision, let the man board a plane, go cross-country and then fired him on the left coast or was it the left side of Omars' brain? Anyhow, seeing the Phillies in the Fall Classic should be a motivator, hopefully and should put tremendous pressure on Jerry "I Gots Ya Back" Manuel, to perform or be fired.


A New Baseball Home for The Mets or Back To the Scene of the Crime?



Perhaps this time, Omar will perform this task locally and not at an ungodly hour.




View of Shea Stadium - Right Field Opening