Archive for February, 2011

• Ray’s Diner

  Date: 2011.02.28 | Category: East Norriton | Response: 3

  

  Ray's Diner

  Headed into Ray’s around 1:30 for a late breakfast.  I had stopped by Walmart first to pick up a few thing, nothing really of note.  Mostly household items.  When I got into the parking lot, it looked like they had cut off the path again near the car wash that connects right there to the Arby’s which connects to the rest of the Northtowne Plaza.  Who insists on cutting this off I have no idea.  I suspect it has something to do with insurance and fear of some sort of legal backlash for who knows what.  They’ve gone back and forth for years.  We’ll see how long it lasts this time.

  While waiting to be seated I realized I was part of an unanticipated late rush.  Being that there were only 2 servers at the time, there was some confusion for a few minutes before I was able to place an order.  But everything got sorted out quickly and I got comped my side of bacon!  It’s a friendly atmosphere at Ray’s and you can expect to eat very soon after you order.  Being that it’s a diner I certainly recommend to go after some of the delicious breakfast items.  On this occaision I treated myself to Ray’s Ultimate French Toast.  It was awesome!

  

  Ultimate French Toast

• 7 Eleven

  Date: 2011.02.23 | Category: Consumables, East Norriton, Everywhere else, Grocery, Local Bullshit, Norristown, Nostalgia, Video Games | Response: 3

  It may come as no surprise that my favorite store is 7 Eleven.  It has been ever since 1993 when the 7 Eleven in North Wales on North Wales Road got a Mortal Kombat II arcade machine.  Ironically one of those machines is sitting behind me as I type this but it hasn’t worked in over a year.  I really have to get someone out here to take a look at it.  Hands down my favorite game ever and I completely dominate at it.  Don’t even think of messing with me.  During college I would double flawless/fatality challengers through a mirror.  It was intense, but this post is not about Mortal Kombat II, the greatest game in the history of video games.  It is in fact about 7 Eleven, the greatest mini mart in the world.

  Now mind you all 7 Eleven’s were not created equally, and some disgrace the precious TM they have adorned over their storefront.  However I haven’t seen tyranny like that in 20 years.  From City Line Avenue to Blue Bell 7 11′s dominate the landscape of southeastern PA for good reason.  Simply, they’re the best at what they do.  But what do they do?  For starters how about providing you with 365 days a year non stop interrupted service.  The only time I’ve ever seen one closed is right after a robbery.  7 11 knows how bad you need them too.  On City Line there are 2 practically across the street from one another.  In Norristown and the immediate surrounding areas there are at least 5. 

  However East Norriton itself only claims ownership of one 7 11 and sadly I rarely get over there.  You see in my opinion the East Norriton 7 11 is in what I like to call the barren zone.  Don’t get me wrong I love that 7 11 and it has some unique items that set it apart from the 7 11 on Swede in Blue Bell, but it’s in that zone.  The zone I’m referring to is anything between Whitehall Road and Swede Road.  If you are a Norristown resident, it’s very unlikely you will ever cross Swede Road for a spontaneous stop because there are no through roads again until you get to Whitehall.  East Norriton Township Park, Norristown Park, Elmwood Park, and the ever famous Norristown State Hospital all bump up against one another and permit no traffic.  Sure you could get through there with almost any vehicle.  But it’s just not a viable route.

  For the last 10 years or so my 7 Eleven of choice is far and away the Blue Bell location.  Friendly people, your brand of cigarettes is never out of stock, and it exists on an obelysk of concrete that you can only see from an overhead map.  I have been known to visit this store on multiple occaisions per day.  I was recently ousted as foursquare mayor because I got tired of checking in there!  I’m sure I could earn it back, but I don’t have the proper motivation to be honest.

  update:  I got my Mayor title back with one check in.

• Ana’s Corner Store

  Date: 2011.02.18 | Category: Dining, East Norriton, Grocery | Response: 0

  

  Front of Ana's Corner Store

   *UPDATE*  Ana’s Corner Store is now listed as a Featured Store. 

  Lately I had been getting quite a few search queries for Ana’s Corner Store.  Apparently it’s located on the corner of North Wales and Township Line road in East Norriton, so I set out to see what it was all about.  When I got there I explained a bit about what I was up to, and ordered myself a sandwich.  I got to meet Ana and we talked for a few minutes while my hoagie was being made.  By the way, the hoagie was fantastic.  I ordered an Italian.  The roll (which I think I read was from Corropolese Bakery) was unbelievable, and the hoagie was made with capicola!  Most places just throw some ham and salami on a roll and try calling it an Italian hoagie.

  The store was very unique, in some sense when you walked in it felt similar to many other mini marts in the area.  But then when you look around, there are several custom gourmet offerings.  The tasty looking pastries in the front certainly caught my eye.  Ana’s has been open just about 6 weeks.

  Also next weekend: 2/26 – 2/27 at Noon on both days Ana’s father Alfio will be making his renowned Ceaser salad (he’s won several local awards)!  I would say it’s worth dropping by to get a taste and support a new local business!

  Ana’s Corner Store

  3310 N. Wales Road
  East Norriton, PA 19403

  610-279-3100

• Big Dave

  Date: 2011.02.16 | Category: East Norriton, Norristown, Nostalgia | Response: 0

  David Kaneff passed away at his home this past weekend.  On Sunday February 20th at Noon there will be a public celebration of his life at:

  Center Square Golf Club

  2620 Skippack Pike

  Norristown, PA 19403

• Pre Valentines Breakfast

  Date: 2011.02.13 | Category: Dining, East Norriton, Norristown, Recreational | Response: 2

  

  Mmm there's chocolate in there

  Not so long ago I grabbed a few items at the East Norriton Bottom Dollar.  I failed to mention what most of those items were.  I had grabbed some toilet paper, and some other odds and ends, but also felt inclined to purchase some pancake mix and syrup.  For a while now I’ve been craving a pancake breakfast but just haven’t had the time.  This morning I decided it was time to make a move.  I found a remarkable improvised recipe for Chocolate Hazlenut Maltcakes.  Luckily I had just the right kind of hot chocolate mix in the cabinet.  Throw down a rose and bam!  A quick serving of love for your Valentine.

• Walmart Store #3565

  Date: 2011.02.06 | Category: East Norriton, Walmart | Response: 2

  According to walmart.com the store in East Norriton is #3565. I also never mentioned their hours. It’s very standard and I’d much rather it was 24 hours but it is not. West Norriton is 24 hours though. But the East Norriton location is only open from 10 – 12? I think. The hours may vary though as there’s been plenty of times I’ve pulled up and been shocked they were closed.

• SuperBowl Sunday!

  Date: 2011.02.06 | Category: Everywhere else, Recreational | Response: 0

  So today me and my friend are headed into the heart of Telford, PA to meet up with a bunch of dino dudes from our Fantasy Football league.  I came in 3rd place this year, and my friend won the championship!  Daaaaaaaaaaag Nab-it!  We are a rolling in there as winners.  I’ll be taking a familiar route through Skippack, and it reminded me of a pic I snapped a few weeks ago during the AFC Championship.

  

  Die Hard Steelers Fans

  I was just watching Fox News too and saw a segement about SuperBowl sales this year being up 12% from last year.  I’m not so sure that’s any indication of the economy getting better because Pittsburgh and GreenBay have some of the most die hard fans in the league.  Most of them at a minimum probably already own a Packers or Steelers authentic jersey of their favorite player respectively.  But there is all kinds of ridiculous gear that you can drop a ton of coin on if you had it.  Not that I’ll be spending a dime today.  Likewise I’ll take great care not to spend any money on any products that are advertised during the superbowl.  What a waste of money $3 million for 30 seconds.  No wonder things are so messed up with the economy.

• Updates

  Date: 2011.02.06 | Category: East Norriton, Walmart | Response: 0

  So I updated the site with my header that I mentioned a few weeks ago in Wal Mart Expedition.  Unfortunately I had to switch themes.  And while this theme is nice, I don’t appreciate those circles invading my personal space.  If anyone knows how to get rid of that please do tell.  I stuck with the orange though because, well East Norriton has always been unusually orange.

• Bottom Dollar Food

  Date: 2011.02.06 | Category: Dining, East Norriton, Everywhere else, Grocery, Norristown, Walmart | Response: 3

  As I promised a few weeks ago, I finally checked out the new Bottom Dollar Food in Northtowne Plaza.  I only needed a few things and had planned to go to the Dollar Tree, but I figured this was a good chance to give Bottom Dollar a day in court.  At first I was dissapointed that such a new store could have a light out already in it’s sign. 

  

  How is a light out already!

  Fair enough I figured, for all I know they could have asked the leasing company that owns the strip mall about it weeks ago.  I’m not gonna assume anything though, and I’ll just take it for face value.  As I entered I was suprised that before me was a minitaure supermarket!  

  I didn’t know what to expect, but I did not expect anything like this.  It was like someone took a regular supermarket, stripped away all the bullshit that you don’t need or want, and left you with everything you do!

  

  Nice layout!

  At first I didn’t know where to go.  Should I get a cart?  Nah I’m tough enough to carry everything.  The first thing that happened was truly miraculous and I don’t ever expect it to happen again.  I grabbed a 24 pack of water of the shelf and it was ice cold!  I looked around as if I was guilty of receiving such a blessing.  I checked it again, my hands were not deceiving me, this water was already cold.  Now, they were stocking the shelves so I have to assume that this water literally came right off the truck out of the cold Pennsylvania winter night.  Now I don’t know what the odds of that happening again are, but I can tell you in all the years I’ve been buying bulk bottled water, I’ve never experienced it. 

  It appears that one of the methods Bottom Dollar uses to keep costs down, is by not providing free bags for your purchases.  I’ve seen this before in Ireland while I was there on my honeymoon.  It was at a department store called DUNNES in Ennis, Clare.  Really cool store by the way.  Kind of like a small super walmart, but much more upscale.  

  In any event bags were 5 for 25 cents or somethin like that.  I also grabbed a membership card and was on my way. 

  Next I was heading for Church’s Chicken in Norristown to pick up some dinner.  I had a coupon for a 12 piece chicken strip meal plus fries*, AND biscuits.  No way I’m passing that up.  It took a while though because that menu item is “cooked to order”  It was fairly uneventful.  Use your imagination.  There was a bunch of other people standing around waiting for their cooked to order meal.  It’s my understanding now that quite a few items on the menu are cooked to order.  When I got home I harrassed that box of chicken and then sampled a biscuit.  Thats when I decided to start working on this post.  Which is just about over. 

  

  Uneventful night at Church's

  *The coupon was actually for mashed potatoes but the cashier was gracious enough to let me swap for fries.