Reviews by granvillea

granvillea says "PureVia is just Ok" about PureVia All Natural Zero Calorie Sweetener

granvillea — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 19:45:23 GMT

PureVia All Natural Sweetener is first not really quite zero calorie, as has been pointed out elsewhere it contains 2 grams of Carbohydrates which convert to some small percentage of calories but less than 1/2 of 1 calorie. Splenda by contrast is able label itself 0% of carbs as it has less than 1 gram. Honestly all of this is pretty much in the range of meaningless.

PureVia is made primarily from Erithritol, Isomaltulose and the third listed ingredient Reb A which is an extract from the Stevia Plant and is where most of the sweetness comes from although it is only the third and final ingredient listed (which by labeling standards means that it is the least plentiful ingredient of the 3). The other ingredients are "natural" in the sense they are derived or fermented from growing things, the first is a sugar alchohol and is produced from glucose through fermentation. The second is manufactured enzymatically from sucrose and is a natural constituent of honey and sugar cane. It is...

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granvillea says "iPhone - new paradigm for smart phones and 3.0 software refines" about Apple - iPhone 3G Cell Phone

granvillea — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 20:49:13 GMT

The Apple iPhone created a new paradigm for smart phones and the recent 3.0 software update refines it and increases Apple's lead in the smart phone market. From more than 1.5 Billion (with a B) Apps downloaded to more than 50,000 apps available and more written everyday to the refined and exquisitely usable interface the iPhone sets the pace in the smart phone market.

In addition the Apple iPhone's constant software improvement, incredibly intuitive user interface and the sheer joy you get using it make it one of the all time classic products with the staying power (through Apple's constant striving to make it better, more useful and easier to use) to maintain and increase its lead in smart phone design and implementation.

As a latecomer to the phone party Apple was faced with an enormous challenge to make the iPhone something that people would have to have. With Steve Jobs' brilliant design sense and demand for perfection the iPhone started out as a phenomenal hit and each subsequent...

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granvillea says "Phil -Sundried Tomato and Basil Spread is Just barely Ok at best" about Kraft - Philadelphia Sundried Tomato and Basil Cream Cheese Spread

granvillea — Fri, 08 May 2009 15:34:36 GMT

Kraft-Philadelphia Sundried Tomato & Basil Cream Cheese Spread - besides having an outrageously long name <Grin> was a serious disappointment. The flavors are bland and uninspired, apparently aimed at some non-existant lowest common denominator consumer.

I believe a product like this that probably has a somewhat limited appeal anyway due to price and description would have a better reaction by its audience if it was bolder and more flavorful. If I want plain cream cheese, I'll buy it. A flavored cream cheese spread should have visible chunks of the principle ingredients, strong and bold flavors and excite the palate and endulge the senses.

By choosing to go with bland non-descript flavors and bare hints of the flavors promised, I think Kraft-Philadelphia has "dumbed down" the product taste toward some non-offensive flavor that hopefully no one will hate. I believe their target market and likely purchasers are people who would like to taste new and exciting flavors that inspire...

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granvillea says "Easy to use but Box saying it reaches up to 11 Feet is misleadin" about Windex Outdoor All-In-One Window Cleaner

granvillea — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 17:54:35 GMT

I overall liked the Windex Outdoor Cleaner and found it largely did what it said it would. I feel the box is misleading by stating it will reach up to 11 feet. The pole that comes with the Cleaner is 4 feet long and I guess since I am 6 foot 5" and have long arms it will reach almost 11' including my height. It does also allow you to attach a mop handle or extension pole (not included) in the threaded handle which I guess if you can find a 7' extension pole would make it reach 11 feet but to state on the box that it reaches 11' is simply untrue and unneccesary to state at least not without clarification.

It does state on the box that it comes with 4 1' sections of pole a handle and a cleaning head so if you know that the handle and the cleaning head are each less than a foot long and that the sections each connect using about 2-3" of their 1 ft length as connector to the next piece you should realize the pole is not going to actually be 11' long. I hate to harp on this as the connectors...

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granvillea says "Lutece was the top rated French Restaurant in US for 30 years" about The Lutece Cookbook

granvillea — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 07:49:38 GMT

The Lutece Cookbook amply demonstrate why Lutece was the top rated US restaurant for almost 30 years while Andres Soltner and his wife ran it. It is filled with the same unpretentious, but classic french recipes, the same friendly and approachable feel and the same unbeleivably outstanding end result that Andres brought to Restaurant Lutece.

I am generally not a fan of lengthy biographicals in cookbooks (after all I am generally buying them for the recipes) but somehow the extensive comments and history seem to make the recipes come more to life and encourage you to experiment and to stretch yourself to try some of the more difficult and time consuming techniques. Knowing when a true master chef has found shortcuts acceptable and perhaps more important when and why he found them unacceptable and unable to give the desired results leads you to appreciate the rationale of classic french technique.

The broad range of recipes (despite the forays into reminesence) are rewarding and I have...

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granvillea says "Bose Wave Radio II has great sound, is well designed and works" about Bose - Wave Radio II

granvillea — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 07:15:42 GMT

How can a bargain hunting gadget freak buy a Bose Wave Radio II, heck the one I got is pricey, has a single cd player (no changer) charges extra for the iPod dock and headphones and 3 disc changer (what planet are these guys from) It has its problems as an intuitive device and did I mention that its pricey.

But for some reason, I love it. Maybe its the clean crisp sound. Maybe its the fact that I love to listen to my mp3s through its iPod dock. Maybe its because it connects faultlessly with my Bose Surround Sound Home Theatre (another overpriced, under featured system, I still love for some unknown reason). These are both items I can't fully understand why I love, but I do. Maybe its the thoughtful touches like the battery backup on the clock that means even when the power blips in the middle of the night it still wakes me for work the next morning. The small little remote that is well designed and did I mention small, the night table form factor that still provides a big...

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granvillea says "A great mobile phone, ipod & GPS in one elegant package iphone " about Apple - iPhone 3G Cell Phone

granvillea — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 06:56:43 GMT

iphone 3G is a great mobile phone, an ipod, a gps device a mobile internet browser and so much more all in one very elegant and functional package. Yes, it has its limitations and irritations, just as any device does, but this is a device that has been well thought out and extremely well executed.

I have owned Palm Treo's, Blackberries & Windows mobile devices and none could even hold the jock of the iphone to use an old sports phrase. Windows Mobile is a dog of an operating system, that is bulky feeling, slow, and anything but elegant. The Palm operating system is a much better, smoother operating, more intuitive and easy to use system and the thumb keyboard on Treo devices and Blackberries are much more functional than the clunky keyboards on even the best of the Windows Mobile Devices. And even when the Palm Treo form factor is the Mobile Phone, the Windows Mobile OS is so buggy and non-intuitive and so hard to manuever around in compared to the palm os devices as to make it...

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granvillea says "The LG TROMM DLE7177RM Beautiful Dryer with wonderful Features" about LG TROMM DLE7177RM Dryer

granvillea — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 22:24:08 GMT

LG Tromm DLE7177RM is a beautiful match to the LG TROMM WM2487HRM Front Loading Steam Washer, with a huge 7.3 cubic foot stainless steel tub and more settings then you can imagine the Dryer is both gorgeous to look at and proficient at its assigned chores. The wild Cherry Red finish and the Pedestals that both store supplies and bring the Washer and Dryer to the perfect height to minimize the need to stoop bring the beauty part of the well thought out design. The front load, highly efficient multiple sensor dryer that can be set for a multitude of clothing types, fabrics, weights, and delicacy.

The only complaint I have is one that has nothing to do with LG but rather with Home Depot who damaged one of the pedestals (we bought the floor model pedestals to get the color we wanted) when they removed it from their floor model and refused to correct the problem.

I was extremely disappointed since we had spent almost $2,000 on the Washer, Dryer and Pedestals and their own delivery people confirmed...

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granvillea says "LG Tromm Front Load Washer is an outstanding Appliance design" about LG TROMM Washer - Front Load

granvillea — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 21:55:07 GMT

The LG Tromm WM2487HRM Front Loading Steam Washer is an outstanding example of modern appliance design. It is well thought out throughout and well designed and engineered. It is highly efficient in its use of water and detergent, has an unbelievable array of features and settings and appears capable of handling almost any kind of wash load, fabric or clothing.

It handles all clothing gently and yet cleans thoroughly, it includes a wide variety of options in load handling and cleaning modes but is so easy to use even a husband like me can use it. My wife has in the past frowned on my washing the clothes (imagine that) but with this washer she does not cringe when I approach it with a load of even her most delicate frillies.

We have probably not yet challenged the capacity or the capabilities of the washer and have probably only brushed the surface of its many features, but for every challenge we have thrown it it has come thorugh like a champ. The greasy clothes from the restaurant...

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granvillea says "Waring Pro Belgian Waffle Maker makes quick error free waffles" about Waring Waffle Maker - Pro Professional Belgian Waffle Maker

granvillea — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 20:32:26 GMT

Waring Pro Belgian Waffle Maker makes quick and error free waffles. The design is similar to far more expensive restaurant waffle makers and features the pour and turn design that helps assure an even spread of batter and there for even browning and cooking. This helps prevent burnt or undercooked batter and leads to more consistant results with a wide variety of batters.

I have had mine for almost 2 years and use it regularly (about 2-3 times a month) and so far have had no problems with it at all. I can certainly not give the same praise to many other brands of Waffle Maker and have been happily surprised with the quality of this and my Waring Pro Deep Fryer. Two appliances are certainly not sufficient to make assumptions about a brand in general but I have been very pleased so far with the design, materials and quality of output from the Waring Products I have owned recently. I know that sometime in the past I have owned Waring Blenders and seem to recall them being relatively...

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granvillea says "Waring Pro Deep Fryer is reliable, fast and seems high quality" about Waring Deep Fryer - DF250

granvillea — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 20:13:36 GMT

Waring Pro Deep Fryer is reliable, fast and so far seems to be high quality. It gets to temperature fast, recovers temperature fast and fries consistantly.

I have owned a number of other Deep Fat Fryers and although I have liked several of them initially, I have found that on the larger fryers the heating elements or the electronic controls seem to fail on regular basis soon after purchase.

Some of the Tub type fryer (Fry Daddy, etc.) seem to be more reliable but are slow to heat have limited capacity and are very slow to recover temperature if frying multiple batches. As a restauranteur I have high standards for kitchen appliances and am often disappointed by consumer models. After having access to high temperature gas deep fat fryers it is hard to find a countertop electric that is satisfying.

High temperature, large capacity and fast recovery are key to getting a meal for many to the table and this model for a consumer product does its job nicely. No it is not the same as a $3,000...

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granvillea says "This is a great ice cream maker just check it out" about Lello Gelato by Lello 4090 2 Qt. Ice Cream Maker

granvillea — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 19:56:56 GMT

Lello Gelato 4090 2 Qt. Ice Cream Maker This is a great ice cream maker, I have been making homemade ice cream since I was a small child (1950's) and have used everything from the old hand crank machines to the pre-freeze the bowl types and many, many so-called self-freezing models with built in compressors and unless you spent $600 plus you could not buy a self freezing model that worked as well as the old ice and salt machines.

They were noisy, didn't freeze the ice cream well and were very prone to break. The Gelato by Lello machines are a whole new class of quality machines at great prices. The 4070 1 Qt. Machine starts at $199 and you see it regularly online for under $175. The larger 2 Qt. 4090 Gelato Pro lists for $349 and is available for less than $250.

It makes absolutely great ice cream with little or no crystalization (a real problem with compressor machines that do not chill fast enough). It is relatively quiet and although it is heavy at over 40 lbs it is a Kitchen Counter...

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granvillea says "Samsung PN50A550 50" Plasma TV Outstanding Picture Amazing Price" about Samsung PN50A550 50 in. Plasma TV

granvillea — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 19:21:07 GMT

Samsung PN50A550 50" 1080P Plasma TV offers outstanding HD Picture Quality at a very attractive price. With a list price of $1999 and a street price under $1500 this is one of the least expensive 50" True High Def (1080P - 1920x1080) Plasma TVs on the market and it offers many features and connections.

Connections include 3 HDMI (2 Back/1Side), 2 Component Video, Side and Rear A/V Inputs, Wiselink USB 2.0, Headphone, RS232C, UNiversal Anynet Plus (HDMI-CEC), Connect your ipod or iphone through the USB Port, Multiple Surround Sound connections for Home Theatre Connections, S-Video, RF, VGA RGB input,

1,000,000-1 Contrast Ratio, 175 degree viewing angle, Natural True Color 18 Bit Color processing, Very good Pre-set Video Modes and more adjsutments than you will ever use. Replaced Sony 42" Plasma and difference in Picture quality is striking. Sports are totally unreal.

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