Eating Out in Long Valley: Liola’s Portuguese & American Barbeque

(Image taken from: barbecue-party.com)

There’s American Barbeque, with your pulled pork, your chicken wings, and your chicken breasts, and then there’s your Portuguese Barbeque, with your garlic shrimp, your marinated pork chops, and your chorizo. Which one should you get? Decisions, decisions.

Well, in most towns—if they even have barbeque, that is—you have to go out of your way if you want, either or. But guess what, Long Valley residents, you’re in luck, as both can be found under one roof at Liola’s Portuguese and American Barbeque at 38 East Mill Road. It’s a spot like none other in the area, and owner, Joe Belardo, likes it that way.

“I love doing this,” Belardo says, who has been in the business of serving food full time for a little under three months now, “It has its ups and its downs, but [I think this is] a good first experience.”

Belardo was formerly in the steel business, but he lost his job when the industry got slow. But he didn’t lose hope because he always had another passion lingering on the side.

“I went to culinary school,” Belardo says proudly, “And I always had a business on the side [while I was in the steel business]. Pig roasting.”

That pig roasting came in handy when a Portuguese spot came available with the grill already on the premises. Belardo swooped right in and bought it, keeping his American barbeque plans in focus.

“Southern BBQ is my real love,” Belardo says, “But the restaurant had the grill here, and they’re [American and Portuguese BBQ] similar, so that’s why I took over the place.”

And the reception has been quite good so far.

“People have been very accepting,” Belardo says, “There are people who say, ‘I hope you stay around.’”

That said, the building itself is not very large, and while there are tables inside, this is more of a take-out kind of place. But that might change a bit when the summer rolls around.

“We have a big front porch,” Belardo says, who hopes to open it up to people to sit at when the weather improves.

But what about the food itself? While they don’t serve burgers here—yet—they do have a wide assortment of meals that will get you to fall in love with BBQ if you haven’t already.

“We have cheesesteaks, pulled pork, which we sell a lot of,” Belardo says, “grilled vegetables, chicken wings. We get a lot of repeat customers.”

As for the Portuguese portion, he said it’s really not all that much different, but different enough that it’s noticeable.

“You marinate the meat a little more with Portuguese BBQ,” Belardo says, “once you know the basics, you can cook almost anything.”

And cooking anything that the people like to eat seems to be Belardo’s MO.
“I’ve always like to cook a variety of things,” Belardo says.

###

LIOLA’S PORTUGUESE AND AMERICAN BARBEQUE
WHERE: 38 East Mill Road, Long Valley
TELEPHONE NUMBER: 908-876-0002
HOURS: Mon-Sat: 11:00AM-8:00PM, Closed on Sunday
CUISINE: American and Portuguese Barbeque
PAYMENT: Cash, checks, and all major credit cards except American Express
PRICE RANGE: Pulled Pork: $6.00, Sausage and Frites, 6 in, $5.00, 12 in, $6.50, BBQ Chicken, half, $7.50, whole, $13.00
DRESS: Casual
THE SCENE: The inside is small, but it’s all about the take-out, which thrives in this tiny shop.
ATMOSPHERE: It may be small, but everything here is freshly made in the back, and when the summer comes, it’s going to be nice to sit out on the porch and eat.
PARKING: In the lot
OWNER: Joe Belardo
Website: http://www.liolas.com/

The Nintendo 3DS Makes Me Sick! Literally

(Image taken from: freethegadgets.com)

Wow. Nintendo's new handheld, the Nintendo 3DS, is either going to be really, really big, or a complete and utter disaster. And before you say, well, duh, Rich, that's the same with all new technology, let me clarify. I'm not talking, Nintendo has to get a new wallet to put all the money that they might potentially make with this, success. Or that they might have to make the handheld cheaper because they aren't selling enough units, failure. I'm talking about, they're going to have to open their own bank, success, or, well, Virtual Boy-like failure. And for me, I'm leaning toward the latter rather than the former. But I could be wrong. People might WANT to advance evolution by a thousand years optically, because for me, the 3D aspect kills my eyes after only about 20 minutes. It seriously left me dizzy and groping for a wall once I put it down, which isn't good. In fact, if anything, it actually reminds me of the Virtual Boy when it first came out, and that's not good at all. At least you have the ability to turn off the 3D if you start to feel uncomfortable, but what's the point of that? This is truly a gimmicky product if it's really only meant to be played in 2D, as the 3D is an eyesore. Oh, and the launch titles suck.

(Image taken from: venturebeat.com)

That said, I'm going to try and give you my honest opinion about it. I'm a Nintendo fanboy through and through, so please excuse any bias that might slip through at times. But when a console is bad, it's bad, so I'll try to keep myself as objective as possible. And now, onto my thoughts...

The Hardware

The system itself is a sexy beast very much in line with the DSi, but a little snazzier. There's the new analog circle pad for one thing, which was bound to happen eventually. For the game I played on it, which was Super Street Fighter IV: 3D Edition, it wasn't entirely necessary, as the D-pad worked just fine for me. Then again, I grew up with a D-pad, so I'm used to it. But for all those newbies out there who grew up with Halo, well, you might need it if you're from that X-Box generation. It's definitely appreciated and might work well for future titles, especially for first-person shooters, which are bound to be coming down the pike very soon.

Next, is the dual screen, which is pretty much the same as the DSi's but with one difference. The top screen is now the 3D screen, and the bottom one remains the touch screen. So if you thought that BOTH screens would be in 3D, well, you'd be wrong, as only the top screen supports it. That said, whatever is going on inside the top screen, which is a tad bit bigger than the DSi's, makes these visuals really pop out, even when they're not playing in 3D. Seriously, the graphics for this thing are incredible and look just as good--no lie--as stuff that you might find on the home consoles. And I'm not just talking shitty Wii quality, either, but actual PS3 quality. At least, anyway, for Super Street Fighter, which means that it probably handles cartoon visuals really well. It might not handle realistic looking textures so well, though. It's still too early to say. There aren't enough titles out there right now to tell.

There's also a gyroscope, which allows you to play some motion capture games, like Face Raider, which I'll get back down to below.

(Image taken from: forums.bit-tech.net)

The motion capture works really well. Damn well, actually, much better than it ever has on a handheld device before. So if Nintendo had just added this to the DS, I think that they would have sold like gangbusters. I can see companies taking this a lot of places. It works great.

There's also the new Home button on the console. It's kind of like the Home button on the Wii console, so if you're familiar with that, it's the same damn thing.

On the upper right hand corner of the console's face, different colors will show up, like red, blue, green, and orange. Each color indicates something different, like internet connectivity (Orange) or if the battery is running low (red). It certainly makes things simpler.

(Image taken from: questional.com)

A sort of cradle comes with the system to charge it on, so it can be put in infinite sleep if you want to. It's kind of radical.

The game slot on the back allows you to play both 3DS games and regular DS games. That said, there's no uptick on the graphics for the older games, which was expected, but a little disappointing all the same. Still, no complaints with the backward compatibility. That's fine.

The camera returns, but there are three of them this time. One of them is on the front, so you can take your own picture and put it in some of the games, which is cool. There are also two on the outside, which can take 3D photos, which is also cool. I applaud Nintendo for this. They did well here.

But here's the closer, the 3D Depth Slider. Now, if you're like me, then you're going to have this thing on 2D for most of your play time with it. What's "nice, I guess," about it is that you can change the 3D to 2D on the fly. That said, the depth messes with your eyes so much, that you're going to NEED to keep it on 2D just to even play it. In fact, in Super Street Fighter IV: 3D Edition, it specifically says that the game should only be played in 3D for about 30 minutes before you put it on 2D mode for about 10 minutes. Honestly, though, if you like to travel by car and play games at the same time, don't. At least, not in 3D mode anyway. It spells instant lunch dejection all over your jeans and shoes as this thing will make you sick. Hell, even sitting down in a motionless spot will make you sick while playing it. You can adjust the depth of it, sure, making for less 3D but still keeping it on 3D. But I was getting serious vertigo after awhile in all the different variations of depth, so putting it in 2D mode was necessary. Maybe it's just not for me. But it's definitely for this guy.

(Image taken from: videogamesblogger.com)

AR GAMES

Okay, now I have no idea how to use AR Games, but they have the potential to be amazing. Basically, you have these cards and you take pictures of them and you're supposed to be able to play games with them. Unfortunately, after trying this several times at varying heights, I couldn't get it to work. A whole bunch of cards come with the system with Link, Mario, etc, but I seriously couldn't get them to do anything. I don't know about this feature...

Mii Maker

Make your own Mii's. It's like the Wii. Let's move on.

(Image taken from: forums.bit-tech.com)

Face Raiders

This is a cool little game that comes with the console and is pretty much the equivalent of Wii Sports as it's mainly just there to exhibit the hardware. In it, you take a picture of yourself and then, well, shoot your face with yellow balls. No foolin'. Your face actually comes flying at you and you control your blaster and blow them away until you get to the boss. And according to this video below, if you're in a crowded space, you'll actually collect faces, so if you see some dipshit waving a 3DS at your direction, just know that he's blasting you in the noggin at that point. Prepare to see that a lot in the future if this system is successful.

(Image taken from: 3dsgames.blogspot.com)

Super Street Fighter IV: 3D Edition

And now, the main attraction, what you've all been waiting for, a review of an actual game that ISN'T Face Raider.

Now, before I start this off, let me just say that the launch line-up for the system is pathetic. I probably would have bought Super SF IV anyway, just because I'm a fiend for Hadoukens. But I pretty much didn't have much of a choice when my other options were games like Pilotwings Resort or Riiiiiidge Racer 3D. I mean, really? This is what you have to offer on launch day? There are other games like a Madden title or The Sims 3D, but you have seriously got to be kidding me that there are no must-have 1st party releases on launch day. Inexcusable.

But onto Super SF IV.

Well, I can say this. The graphics are amazing. I mentioned it up top, but seriously, the graphics for this thing are sick. It's really top notch. Everything looks as you remember on the big boy console releases, so the fact that they made it look this good on a handheld is simply astounding. I've never seen anything like it.

Besides that though, it's just Super Street Fighter IV. It's a little awkward to play at first but you get used to it fast. It is what it is.

(Image taken from: blogmyway.org)

But the 3D. Gawd, the 3D makes me sick. Looking at it over somebody's shoulder, it isn't bad, and it's actually kind of a cool affect that induces a bit of vertigo, but in a pleasant sort of way, if you can wrap your head around that. But once you have it in front of your own face, oh, boy, you are going to need a barf bag. Now, I know everybody handles 3D differently, so maybe you won't get as sick as I did. But after I put it down after only 20 minutes, I seriously had to sit back down again as the wall was shifting in front of my very eyes. It took me a good 10 minutes to feel back to normal health. I tried it again, and the same thing happened, so it's not just a first time thing, either, but something that I don't think I can deal with ever. Sure, I dialed the 3D down quite a bit, but it was so low that it was like playing it on 2D, which is fine, but what's the point of owning this if I can't even play it in 3D as advertised? It's just a big gimmick, you know. At least to a certain portion of the population it is. It certainly is to me.

Now, I don't even get sick when I watch 3D movies, so if you're just thinking I'm not built for 3D, you're wrong. At least, anyway, when it comes to conventional 3D. But this. This is something else. What the screen seems to do is suck you inward, so the illusion of 3D fully immerses your eyes. It's really something to see. But when you put it down, you're going to have to deal with the consequences, and I don't think I'm willing to make that sacrifice.

(Image taken from: gogamingiant.com)

Now, I know that I probably COULD get used to it, conditioning my eyes switching from 3D to 2D in increments. I could definitely do that. But would I want to? I already have some pretty shitty eyes, as I wear contacts. Do I really want to possibly make them worse in the long run just because of something that very well might be a fad? I know some future Smartphones are going to have these same kind of 3D capabilities to capitalize on what Nintendo has done, but this is one instance where I seriously foresee Nintendo falling on its face after the initial crowd picks it up. This very well could be the Virtual Boy: Part 2. We'll have to wait and see.

Overall, I say wait on getting one. Without any truly necessary games to play right now, I'd say sit it out and wait for a game changer to come along. I might just eat my own words when Ocarina of Time comes out for it, but that's for another day. Another day when I'm willing to sacrifice my eyes for my obsession.

Sucker Punch is Balls

(Image taken from: suckerpunchtrailer.net)

Battle: LA sucks. It sucks balls. But so does Sucker Punch, and I'm really trying to decide which one I hated more, as both are fundamentally terrible films that put me to sleep, making each picture essentially an 11 dollar nap.

Now, while Battle: LA was awful, here's what it had going for it in its awfulness. It's a movie about aliens invading Earth. While some may say, well, that's no excuse, I'm going to have to disagree with you there. Aside from the classic sci-fi films of the 50s and 60s where Earth invasions were pretty much messages about whatever the hot topic was at the time, alien invasion movies today are all about what looks good blown up from different angles. So they're pretty much destined to be shitty films with a good one here or there being the exception rather than the rule.

But Sucker Punch was meant to be so much more. Now, I may have a bit of a bias about it since a majority of it takes place in the mind, and I've been writing a book for the past three years that primarily takes place in the mind, so there's definitely that sense of rivalry involved. But Inception, which I was also highly worried about at the time, was also a mind-bender, and that was done really well. Almost, TOO well, even, so I have no problems with a deep film if it really pushes the envelope. But Sucker Punch doesn't push shit but color and loud and obnoxious music your way, making you just want to stand up and shout, BOO-URNS! BOO-URNS! at the screen. Even the people walking out the theater behind me were making fun of how lousy it was, and I went to the late show yesterday. Perhaps if I had gone to the even later show, I would have heard more cheers and beer burps from the attendants who were either too stoned or too dumb to fully grasp just how terrible it is. The visuals were quite nice at times, so I can see how seeing it under the influence might be a bit of a trip. But for all else, it blows. It blows hard.

But you want to know why the movie REALLY sucks? It's because nothing is really at stake in all of this. I'm sure if you're reading this piece, then you must have read one of the various articles about the movie already, and if you have, then I'm sure that you've seen this argument about the movie before. And it's true, as nothing is really at stake at all.



Sure, you can read into the ending a bit more, but even if you do, was anything really at stake for our protagonist, Babydoll? In fact, if we ARE to read into the ending, then why did Babydoll get all of the screen time in the action sequences? Why would somebody else have those thoughts when they would certainly be the center of their own imagination? (People who have seen the movie will understand what I mean. Or not).

All the same, the story sucked and Zack Snyder seemed to have gotten lost in his own world, which can happen, sure, as I've done it as well. But that said, a movie that's flawed like this should NOT be put in the theaters. It should be ironed out beforehand.

Sucker Punch, overall, is a complete and utter mess and is to be avoided at all costs like the plague. Or like Battle: LA. They're pretty much on the same level.

Great Bass Albums in Rock Music

You know what I love? Rock albums. You know what I love even more? Rock albums with throbbing bass lines on them. While there may be a lot of great bass players out there in the Rockosphere (John Doe from X fame, being one of them, Krist Novoselic from Nirvana fame being another), most groups sacrifice the bass players for the general feel of the music, having them provide the steady line that the drums can sync in with so that the lead guitarists can soar. This kind of rock is standard. But even better is when the bass playing on the album is just as, if not more, important that the lead guitarists, and these albums below are examples of that. If you know of any more, please leave them in the comments box below. I'd definitely love to hear them, being a bass listening enthusiast myself.

(Image taken from: uulyrics.com)

XTC-Drums and Wires

Colin Moulding is one sick bass player. You've never heard of him, I know, but he really tears it up on this album. If you never heard of this group before, XTC was a New Wave band from Swindon, England that sounds just as new today as they did back in 1979 when they released this album. And the bass line that never stops walking on this record is the reason for that. Below is just one of the many great examples of great bass playing melding seamlessly with the guitar. You NEED to hear this album if you're a fan of bass playing at all.

(Image taken from:musicsavesyourlife.com)

Anti-Flag-Underground Network

How funny is it that the bassist of this group is named Chris #2 because there was already a Chris in the band in Chris Head? That said, this is a really strong punk album with bass lines interspersed throughout that are as furious and as angry as the lyrics themselves. It really links in well with the music. Try it.

(Image taken from: amazon.com)

Primus-Sailing the Seas of Cheese

Sure, any Primus album could go on this list as Les Claypool is arguably the greatest bass player who ever lived. But this is the first album that I ever heard by them so it goes on this list, so there.

(Image taken from: homepages.nyu.edu)

Descendents-Milo Goes To College

Tony Lombardo sold his soul to the devil. At least, he must have to be able to rip apart those bass lines like he does on this album. There isn't a single moment where the bass isn't audible and powerful on Milo Goes to College. A magnificent debut that was never matched again by the group.

(Image taken from: rustnbones.wordpress.com)

Sublime-Self-titled

Who didn't own this album? Coming out right before Brad's death (By the way, did you know that the original title for the album was "Killin' It"?), Brad is obviously the star, but Eric Wilson definitely destroys it on this album. Three piece bands always seem to have the best bass players. They sort of have to though, right? What with the limited instruments and all.



Well, those are some of my favorite bass albums. What are yours? Leave them below in the comments box below.

Wow. Chris Brown Is a Mess. I Hate Him

(Image taken from: justjared.buzznet.com)

Okay, so Chris Brown's career has more life than a cat. After MMA fighting with Rihanna, you'd think that the R&B "heartthrob" would be out of the job of wooing women. But now, just this morning, the newly reformed Chris Brown got mad during an ABC interview where they asked him questions about Rihanna, broke a window, and then, took his shirt off and went storming down the street.

Why?

That last part where he took off his shirt makes about as much sense as that kid who tried sticking a remote control up his butt because his mom cancelled his WOW account. Why'd he do that?



I'm really just sick of this little pisher. His music was never been anything better than tolerable, and now, he thinks that he can do whatever he wants just because a few people forgave him for beating up Rihanna. What a piece of garbage!

I'm sure that some people will still hope that he makes yet another (too) speedy recovery, but I seriously hope that he goes down the path of Bobby Brown and becomes addicted to drugs and loses his teeth. Or better yet, I hope he ends up like Todd Bridges from Diff'rent Strokes and ends up living in a crack house. He truly deserves it. I hate his guts.

Which is Better?

Werewolves on all fours?

(Image taken from: werewolfman.webs.com)

















Or bi-pedal werewolves?

(Image taken from: s467.photobucket.com)

Personally, I'm always preferred upright werewolves to those that were more wolf than man in the way they move. But I've seen a recent trending toward werewolves being on all fours, and it's bothered me. It's bothered my greatly. But what do you prefer? Werewolves walking like men with Scoliosis, all hunched over and creepy, or werewolves running like dogs? I'm actually interested in knowing what you think. Leave comments below. Word.

Which is Bigger? The Cult of Bruce, or the Cult of Nathan?

(Image taken from: sweatpantserection.com--by the way, that's the best name for a website ever)

Bruce Campbell and Nathan Fillion are both pretty much Goliath's in Geekdom territory. Mr. Campbell, the man with the chin that won't quit, has had a long career of being a B-movie actor ever since he was in the cult classic Evil Dead trilogy. Though he's directed a few films here or there and is now a permanent fixture on Burn Notice, he's never really risen beyond B-Movie status, and his fans love him for it. It's why he's awesome. Just watch him here, being Brucey. Only HE could pull this off.



(Image taken from: huffingtonpost.com)

(Image taken from: Huffingtonpost.com)

And then, you have Captain Mal himself, Nathan Fillion, whose rise to fame has been precipitous to say the very least. The head honcho on the immensely popular, if short lived, sci-fi show, Firefly, he's found a new home on Castle, accumulating new fans every week.



But whose cult is bigger?

Now, I'm not saying who has the crazier cult, as both camps have done some pretty crazy things in the names of their heroes. (I saw one woman with Ash tattooed from her fingertips to her shoulder, and let's not forget Mr. Fillion's one million dollar accumulation from fans who heard that he wanted to bring back Firefly if he had the money to do it). Both camps have done some pretty wild things. But let's look at the facts here, broken down side-by-side.

Bruce Campbell

(Image taken from: evildead.wikia.com)

Born in 1958, Bruce's first movie, The Evil Dead came out in 1981. That's before I was even born, man! That said, it means that while he may have only done bit parts or low budget flicks for his entire career, his fanbase spans 30 years. This makes him a recognizable icon in cult territory for decades, similar to Lloyd Kaufman from Troma, or John Waters. So, while not a majority of the population may know who he is, those who do adore him, and he's certainly had enough time to garner a large fanbase.

He also spans different kinds of media. Not only has he done movies, and plenty of them, but he's also done voice work, been on TV, and even has two books, If Chins Could Kill: Confessions of a B Movie Actor and Make Love! The Bruce Campbell Way . He's currently on Burn Notice as Sam Axe, and his popularity keeps growing. His cult is strong. But is it stronger than the voice of over a million browncoats? Let's look and see.



Nathan Fillion

(Image taken from: buffy.wikia.com)

Nathan Fillion is Firefly. His face and the show go hand-in-hand. There are millions of fans, or, "Browncoats" as they're called, and they follow the man like flies to a sugar heap. But his name goes much farther than that. Just recently, he appeared on the cover of Entertainment Weekly, and he's also now pretty big on the show Castle, which is growing in popularity every season. And unlike Bruce, he's actually the lead on a successful TV show now, which is a feat that Bruce Campbell has never accomplished (Even though Jack of all Trades and Brisco County Jr. were awesome shows).

He's also done movies as well, and many of his fans, most of them following him on Twitter, are pretty vocal in their support of him. They've even garnered a million dollars after he, in passing, said that if he ever won the lottery, he'd get Joss Whedon to start up Firefly again. It was a joke, of course, but fans took him very seriously. This guy's cult is huge. But is it bigger than Bruce's?



The Verdict

While Nathan Fillion is definitely on the rise, there's no way he can surpass Bruce's rabid and loyal fanbase. Bruce Campbell has simply been around much longer. And though I have little doubt that Nathan Fillion will one day reach his level, that day is definitely not now and probably won't be for quite some time. He still has some more cheesy roles to take on.

So the winner here is Bruce today. But in ten years time, who knows? Only time, and twitter posts, can tell.