Park West Diner

The Park West Diner (Little Falls New Jersey) is phenomenal. I have never eaten at a finer dining establishment.  This is the kind of place you can go to for your first and second visit on the same day(like we did).

Food: 10/10
The food was hot, fresh, and high quality.  The salads/soups came out within 7 minutes of ordering and the main entrees took less than 10.  This is unparalleled especially taking into account that I was with a party of 16.  Every meal was devoured at an alarming rate with very few leftovers.  The portion sizes were abnormally satisfying.  Many restaurants I have been to make a solid profit by giving you a small plate of food for a large amount of money but not here.  I paid $14 and every bit of it went into the food I was delivered.  They forgot bacon on my salad but when I told them they were extremely apologetic and gave me a ton of bacon.

Appearance: 10/10
The outside of the diner is clean and well maintained.  The clientele were friendly and abundant.  Even at 8 in the morning the diner was full of people. The inside was incredibly clean and looked new even though it probably isn't.

I started eating before I thought to take a picture, this is my meal(Jimmy's Special Low Cholesterol Omelette) with 1/3 eaten already

Service: 10/10
Freddy is a boss.  He served us like royalty.  The other waiters that helped him were also friendly and quick.

Price: 10/10

$10 doesn't go nearly as far at other diners.

Extras: 10/10
The Park West Diner has amazing cookies sitting at the checkout counter free for you to take.  I have never seen a restaurant do this before.  It was pretty epic.  The diner also contains a Ms. Pacman/Galaga machine as well as (if I'm remembering correctly) a claw game of some sort.

Overall: 10/10
If you are ever within an hour of the Park West Diner it is well worth checking out.  I have a hard time finding anything even remotely negative to say about this establishment.

Taco Bell Quesarito

Borrowed from http://www.grubgrade.com/

Borrowed from Tacobell.com

My dad bought me one of these(chicken quesarito) last week and recommended that I do a review on it.  Like every fast-food item everywhere, the real thing doesn't match the picture they advertise.  I don't want to be too negative and in no way am I trying to dissuade anyone from buying this, but I would not buy this again.  There was not enough chicken for my liking and there were way too many carbs.  The rice and double tortilla were overkill in my opinion.  Instead of all rice I would put beans and lettuce and tomato.  I'm sure for many the rice was fine but I'm not big on rice.

Taste: 7.2/10

Value: $2.99 Estimated Worth: $1.50

Healthiness: 1/10

Powerhouse Fruits and Vegetables

This study tested 47 fruits and vegetables and classified 41 of them as Powerhouse Fruits and Vegetables(PFVs) based on the amount of bioavailable nutrients they contain.  Included nutrients were: potassium, fiber, protein, calcium, iron, thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, folate, zinc, and vitamins A, B6, B12, C, D, E, and K.  The higher the rating, the more nutrient dense the food. More of these nutrients means less chronic disease.  By giving your body adequate amounts of these molecules, it is able to prevent disease.

Borrowed from cdc.gov

This table lists the 41 vegetables and fruits defined as PFV by this study.  I was surprised by some of the foods I saw on here, as well as the ones that I didn't.  I eat relatively healthily but I haven't eaten half of the things from the top 10 on this list.  How is the average American doing in regards to this table?

Few people meet the requirements for fruit and vegetable consumption and it is likely the fruits and vegetables being eaten aren't found at the top of the PFV table.  I can see certain things like oranges, lettuce, spinach, tomato, sweet potatoes, carrots, and broccoli but most of the others I think most people won't eat often if ever.  It's much easier to maintain good health by eating foods from this table.  As we get older, these types of foods become increasingly important.  The chart in the middle shows how much room to improve we have as Americans.  Of course, fruits and vegetables are low in calories, but the fact that they don't show up even towards the bottom is a problem.

1 http://www.cdc.gov/pcd/issues/2014/13_0390.htm