A few days ago, I posted my choices for my “Favorites of 2009″. Today I wanted to take some time to shed some added light on some of my choices.
Restaurant (National Chain): Chop House
I don’t eat at Chop House all that often, because let’s face it, it’s pretty expensive. However, I have found myself eating there more often during the past couple of years than I used to. Although I’ve heard a few negative reviews of it from time to time, the food and service have both been outstanding every time I’ve been there. It’s not a place I eat at on a daily or even weekly basis, but it’s very enjoyable when I do, and it has become one of my favorite restaurants in Kingsport.
Restaurant (Fast Food): Pal’s
Until recently, I hadn’t eaten at Pal’s all that often for more than a year. Believe it or not, I was trying to be more careful about how much fast food I ate. However, I’ve recently started eating at Pal’s more often again, and I was quickly reminded of just how good their food is.
Restaurant (Local): China Wok
I believe this is my first repeat winner from last year. I eat at China Wok once a week, and it’s far and away my favorite locally owned restaurant in Kingsport. Their food is a higher quality than most other Chinese restaurants in town.
Movie: I Am Legend
I think this movie was released prior to 2009, but I watched it for the first time in 2009. I thought I Am Legend was good, but not great. The reason I picked it is because I try to pick a fairly new movie to present this award to, and I just don’t remember seeing any outstanding new movies in 2009. If I included all movies that I saw for the first time in 2009 in this category, regardless of their age, I would have picked the 80s horror movie Cube.
T.V. Show: Destination Truth
I love Ghost Hunters, which won this award in 2008, but I’ve come to like Destination Truth even more. It’s simply more interesting. Something that can’t be explained seems to happen in every episode. Could they be faking it all? Sure, but it’s still exciting.
Destination Truth doesn’t focus exclusively on ghost hunting. They investigate all sorts of unexplained phenomena, including bizarre creatures (in the ilk of Bigfoot). My favorite episode was probably the one where they investigated Chernobyl.
Video Game: Dragon Age – Origins (X360)
I actually just finished this game last night but it was hands-down my favorite console game I played in 2009. It’s very much like a traditional computer role-playing game, only with the controls tweaked a bit to fit the X360 controller. The combat, inventory system, story, and all other aspects of the game are outstanding. I liked it much better than Fable 2 or Fallout 3. And it absolutely beats the socks off of Mass Effect. The first expansion pack for Dragon Age is slated to be released in March, and I’m looking forward to it.
PC Game: Torchlight
This game was released in the latter part of the year, and I have only been playing it for about a month. It’s basically Diablo I with better graphics. It’s even from some of the designers who worked on Diablo (and Fate). Don’t be dissuaded from trying Torchlight just because it’s more like Diablo than Diablo II. It’s a ton of fun, and it only costs $20 (you can even get it for $9.95 if you catch it on sale).
Card Game: Phase 10
My new favorite card game of 2008 (Rage) failed to repeat as the winner in this category in 2009 simply because several of my friends disliked it so much that we never played it again. I didn’t figure I could give a “Favorite of 2009″ award to a game I didn’t play in 2009. So, Phase 10 wins this year. It’s a great game too.
Board Game: Loaded Questions
Deciding the winner in this category was a tough decision. Why? Because I realized when I was picking the winners that I don’t remember playing any of my actual favorite board games during 2009. I don’t think I played Scattergories, Sorry, or Oh What A Mountain! at all. But I did play Monopoly, and now that I think about it, it would have won this category if I’d thought of it when I made up my list.
Don’t get me wrong, though – Loaded Questions is a good game and it’s a lot of fun. It’s one of those games that asks a lot of different questions (some of them revealing), and challenges one of the players to figure out who wrote down each answer.
Electronics Store: Circuit City
Despite being out of business, Circuit City is still my favorite electronics store. I don’t shop at Best Buy unless it’s absolutely necessary (i.e., if they have something I need in a hurry that I can’t find anywhere else).
Website: Facebook.com
I still seem to spend more time on Facebook than I do on all other websites combined.
Sporting Event: Fall race at Bristol
A couple of years ago, we almost let our Bristol tickets go because I had decided that fighting the crowd and the long walk wasn’t worth it. I was wrong. As the date of the race grew closer, I realized that I would really miss it if I wasn’t at the race. It’s now become my favorite sporting event once again.
Amusement Park: James H. Drew Exposition (Appalachian Fair)
I’m probably as shocked as you are that Dollywood didn’t win this award. You’ll probably also be shocked to learn that I didn’t visit Dollywood in 2009. I can’t remember the last time I went a full year without going to Dollywood. But none of my friends bought season passes, so I didn’t either. I didn’t even find time to take the once a year trip that I usually make with mom and dad.
So, the James H. Drew Exposition at the Appalachian Fair wins the award. It’s really a carnival instead of an amusement park, but it’s a large one. And it’s impressive. The rides are in better shape than in any traveling carnival I’ve ever seen. In fact, they are in downright pristine condition. The folks who run the Drew Exposition deserve to be commended. It’s easy to see that they work very hard to keep their midway in tip-top shape.
TV Station: TV Land
Although some of my favorite shows are on SyFy, our TV seems to be on TV Land more than any other station, especially when the Andy Griffith Show is on. A few days ago, I said that TV Land probably wouldn’t be my favorite station in 2010, but that was because I thought they were going to stop showing Andy Griffith. That lasted a week before they put Andy back on.
Food: Crab Cakes
This selection ties back into my favorite chain restaurant (Chop House). My favorite dish has become the crab cakes with burgundy mushrooms and Parmesan spinach.
