Vegetarian Paradise II: Also for Carnivores

I took my 16-years old son to Vegetarian Paradise II restaurant on 144 West 4th Street in Manhattan last weekend. He is a voracious carnivore. Based on recommendations that I collected from the web, we ordered the following:

• a large bowl of Chicken Udon noodle soup which we split among us.
  
• Siu Mai appetizer.
  
• my son had Kung Pao Chicken with rice.
  
• I had coconut chicken.
  
• my son had blueberry pie for desert.
  
• I had a banana/mango/orange juice for desert.
  

Comments:

• The Udon noodle soup was very good. They only serve it in large bowls. It was enough for two hungry men.
• We had four pieces of the Siu Mai appetizer. It was tasty and soft. Highly recommended.
• The Kung Pao Chicken tasted and had the consistency of spicy beef. My son likes spicy food, so he enjoyed it much.
• The coconut chicken tasted like chicken. It just shows how bland regular chicken is.
• The blueberry pie heated with a microwave oven. Some parts of it were boiling, and others were cold. It was probably not made in the restaurant. We will not order it next time.
• The juice was very good.
• The service was prompt.
• Total price, including a regular coke and a diet coke was $46.44, excluding tip. My son would like to return to this restaurant, which is the highest compliment.
  

The Container Store

The Container Store may be a strong contender for "a shopper heaven". I visited two of their stores several times in the last few months, and the associates there were super friendly and helpful. I ordered Elfa shelves for several rooms in my house at their Paramus NJ store. The person who took our order and designed the shelves configuration was patient, helpful, and cheerful. I made several smaller purchases at their 6th Avenue store in Manhattan. In the last visit one of the associates noticed that I was carrying an overfull shopping basket, and he suggested to bring me a cart to make my purchase easier. What a service!

There are a few things you need to keep in mind when you shop at the Container Store:

• The Elfa shelving system is especially good for kid closets, because you can reconfigure the shelves as the kids grow and their storage needs change. For example, you can make more room for hanging longer clothes. You can also move components from one closet to another.
• The Elfa shelving system is about as expensive as a traditional built-in closet system. We got both a traditional design and an Elfa system design for a master walk-in closet and two regular closets. The prices are similar if you use Elfa's ventilated shelves.
  
• The Container Store owns the Swedish manufacturer of Elfa systems. Thus there are a few components that are only available at the Container Store and not at other retailers. For example, the mesh drawers without the decorative frames.
• The designers in the store have much experience in configuring an Elfa system to fit your particular needs. You just have to measure your closet or wall precisely and read the catalog to have some idea of the possibilities. Expect to spend about 25 minutes to design each and every closet.
• If you place a large order in the store, you can ask them to deliver the order to your home for a flat fee (I think it was $75). It is much cheaper than ordering the same items on-line and paying UPS shipping for individual items.
• You can place an order 0n-line and pick it up at any store. You do not pay shipping or handling for this option. Your order will wait for you at the agreed time.
  
• If you make a large order of an Elfa shelving system, it may make sense to ask for a professional installation. I think that most homeowners can install the Elfa system by themselves, but a professional installer will save you much time. You pay 30% of the component price for the installation.
• The Container Store has a yearly 25% off month-long sales event in September/October for all Elfa system items.
• Do not order long (top racks, standards) from their web site. These items are shipped by UPS from Texas. I found in two cases that they do not pack long items well. They placed the long items loosely in a tall box. The items rub against each other during shipment, and the epoxy coating was damaged a little.
  

Lights and Switches

Recommendations

This section was updated on June 2013, five years after the completion of the project.

Sturdy large mailbox: We have the Mail Boss mailbox. We love it. It will protect your mail and it cannot be opened easily by a person with a screwdriver or a hammer. It can contain a few days worth of junk mail. Just attach it to an outside wall of your house.

Faucets: We have a total of 6 Hansgrohe Metro single hole lavatory faucets which are in constant use. Only one of these facets began leaking after 5 years of use. I replaced the cartridge and it works like new.

Shower/bath valves: We have 3 Hansgrohe Thermo II shower and bath valves. They keep a constant output temperature by mixing incoming hot and cold water using a mechanical device. Still works like new after 5 years of constant use.

Kitchen sink: We have a Rohl 6307 single bowl undermount fireclay sink with a 10" deep bowl. We protect it with a matching sink grid. We love the sink. The sink is so heavy that it could not be held just by clips. The cabinet maker added extra support for the sink.

We have two Rohl LS750L soap dispensers on both sides of the kitchen sink. One for dish detergent and the other for hand soap. We have a single hand soap dispenser mounted in all other sinks.

Toilets: We have Toto toilets with elongated bowl (model CST744SL). They have a wide 3" flush valve, which prevents clogs. We used to have clogged toilets once a week before we changed our toilets. Note that the flapper has a limited lifetime (about 2 years). You need to replace it with a genuine Toto flapper (color blue).

Grab bars: we installed grab bars in all showers and the bathtub. Note that you will need to install plywood behind the drywall in order to mount the grab bars securely.

LED lights: we have a total 40 Cree LLF LR6 light bulbs at our home. They are installed in recessed fixtures in the ceilings of many rooms. None of the LED bulbs burnt after 5 years of use. Their expected lifetime is about 20 years of daily use. Many (cheaper) LED light bulbs are not designed to be installed in recessed fixtures without ventilation. You need specific dimmers to work with LED lights.

Molded sinks: We have 3 molded Corian sinks (sink attached to the top surface without a seam). They still look like new after 5 years of constant use in the girls bathroom (a double sink) and in the powder room.

Kitchen counter: We considered IceStone (a surface made from recycled glass and concrete), but we picked granite at the end.

Smoke detectors: we have wired smoke/carbon monoxide alarms with battery backup.

Walk-in closet: we used ventilated Elfa shelves in the walk-in closet. It was about the same price as a traditional closet system. We also used Elfa components in the office, laundry room and the library. We used the Elfa installation service to assemble it.

Contact me for negative recommendations.