10 June 2012

Review -Bricks Family Sports Grill


I decided to take my time when it came to reviewing Bricks as this building has not seen a lot of success for the 3 previous tenants (all bar and grill types).  Well, this is no typical Bar and Grill.  Yes it has a bar, yes it has a grill, but what takes place behind those kitchen doors is not what you might expect.  The cross cultural cuisine that Chef Jim has created is by far the most diverse and creative menu in the Superstition Springs area and beyond. 

Without question they offer the finest steak in the area.  Filet Mignon served with sauteed' spinach, a perfect twice baked potato and topped with french fried onion strings.  Superstition Springs residents, this is the best steak dinner within a 20 mile radius at least.

Nachos?  If you are looking for a little Happy Hour nosh with a Mexican Flavor? Forget about On the Border and the other guys!  These nacho's will blow away everybody with their fresh ingredients, not to mention the amazing portion.

Burgers you ask? Pick a burger, ANY burger.

I think Jim must have known me from a previous life when he created his Salmon Sliders as they seem to be custom made for me.  Thank You Jim!

Now let's talk comfort food. Jim has truly re-defined Mac n Cheese with his version.  4 cheeses and mild but flavorful green chile's, unbelievable!  Get the grilled chicken add-on, you can thank me later.

The Cobb Salad has no East Valley competition, it's simply the best!

Time to stop as I believe it's time for you to stop in yourself.

Tell Jim and Joy that Dan sent you!


Bricks Family Sports Grill on Urbanspoon

07 June 2012

Better late than never I guess.

 Before you read, Kudos/Congrats/Way To Go/Job Well Done to Office Depot for doing it right!

For anyone who has purchased a PC or Laptop from Best Buy in the last 2 years you will notice it came with a "Best Buy App Store" pre-installed.  When they asked me to submit my clients software titles I was very excited about the possibilities this could bring as Best Buy was taking the lead before any of the other Big Box stores.  I was wrong.

2 weeks before the projected App Store roll out I called to get a status as communications had seemed to cease.  Turns out, that very morning my contact and the project manager had been escorted out of the building for simply NOT DOING HIS JOB.  It seems all the paperwork was landing on his desk and just collecting dust.

With several hundred hours of labor into this project, myself and a few amazing colleagues stepped up and helped Best Buy get this program LIVE and we succeeded. However their marketing and promotions have failed to yield an ROI worth discussing.

Office Depot on the other hand are doing a fantastic job.  ENDORSED!


SMS Text Message Advertising

No question that SMS Text Message advertising can be effective, especially among the younger crowd, but studies are pretty clear it's all about how it's presented and when dealing with a younger tech savvy demographic, it has to be on their terms, or you have to at least give them that illusion.

06 June 2012

New Wii specs

New Wii dimensions? Does it matter?

Time for a food review of R.T. O'Sullivan's

I want to make it perfectly clear that I love the Irish menu!  From Corned Beef and Cabbage to Shepards Pie with a side venture to Lamb Stew!  Rula Bula in Tempe knocks it out of the park everytime!  R.T. O'Sullivans is a true "Irish Poser"!!!

I gave them 3 shots at getting it right and they failed miserably!  You NEVER slice corned beef WITH the grain and you NEVER serve end cuts that are so full of fat they could be considered "Corned Beef Bubble Gum"!

When I returned the dish the manager confronted me in a very unprofessional manner and accused me of "not knowing brisket"  He better do his homework next time.

For the record I will say the daytime bartenders do a fine job, but come in the evening or weekend and be prepared for old fashioned "watered down drinks" in my humble opinion.  Low Rent/Bush League, etc.  you pick the term, I won't be back.  


R.T. O'Sullivan's on Urbanspoon

The State of Big Box Retail.

With the high's and lows' that come with the U.S. Retail industry it does not take a super analyst to see where most of the fault and blame lies for their failures.  Having had the privilege of working directly with some amazing retail rep's and buyers, I can tell you they are just as frustrated. 


I will explain in more detail later, but between the MDF costs and the inability to cross market products between departments is a "company crippler" and a real "sales prevention philosophy".    How much sense would it make to mingle products together that may not technically be in the same category, but are an ideal match for one another?  Crazy talk?  Amazon is doing it, they are charging a premium to cross market, but it is working. 

A few years back when the former Circuit City stores were still in business, I repped a software product for the PSP, Circuit City put it in the PSP accessories dept and it started selling almost 5k units a week!   Then some genius said, "Hey, this is software".  It was a great decision as sales instantly dropped to less than 50 a week.  What a surprise that Circuit City went under.  Hmmmmm.

The real problem is that this same mentality and business philosophy continues to exist.