And then there were Alison's

Well, I see Kara has posted her 25 top tv shows and now so shall I...which I must say are probably close to the same although Kara will find no place for some classic and lovely anime and scifi shows that will be so high on mine...here you can see the differences that separate us and the things that make us sisters. Please understand that this ranking thing is hard for me...so many shows hold special meaning to me that saying one is better is very hard...I am a tv baby - what can I say?

1. Buffy the Vampire Slayer
2. Battlestar Galatica (the new one!)
3. Firefly
4. The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson
5. Seinfeld
6. Simpsons
7. Full Metal Alchemist
8. Mystery Science Theater 3000
9. Dr Who
10. Farscape
11. The Office
12. Family Guy
13. The Stargate Shows
14. Arrested Development
15. My So Called Life
16. Twilight Zone
17. MacGuyver
18. Daily Show
19. Twin Peaks
20. Cheers
21. The X-Files
22. The Cosby Show
23. Moonlighting
24. Family Ties
25. Absolutely Fabulous

These are just a few honorable mentions that I think need a little to grow...the shows can still go up or down for me...possibility of kicking off a different show for one of these may be in the cards...

Pushing Daisies - seriously if you are not watching this infant show - do so now...interesting, artistic and funny...the voice over voice is so calming it is amazing...

Hereos and Lost - both are on the edge for me...so much goes into the show and they have had there high and low points that I still am on the fence for these shows...sometimes it seems like they are just trying too hard...

Top 25 TV Shows (in my lifetime)

Another soon to be disputed list is below...this time the top 25 tv shows in our lives (this is the disclaimer for those who will argue certain shows must be included...if it wasn't made in the last 30 years or can currently be seen TVLand, then its probably not on here).

Kara's List

1. The West Wing
2. The Office (BBC)
3. Friends
4. The Cosby Show
5. Weeds (Showtime)
6. Veronica Mars
7. Sesame Street
8. The Office (NBC)
9. Family Ties
10. Battlestar Galactica
11. Dr Who (recent)
12. The Sopranos
13. Little House on the Prairie
14. Cheers
15. Grey's Anatomy
16. The Daily Show
17. I Love Lucy
18. Saturday Night Live
19. Arrested Development
20. Firefly
21. Three's Company
22. Leave it to Beaver
23. Ugly Betty
24. LA Law
25. Law and Order series

The Rail Station review by Kara

Josh has mentioned trying The Rail Station, in part because its located near our house, part because its always promoted at Wild games and thirdly because we had a coupon for it from our newly purchased Entertainment book. Last night we headed out to give it a shot and were overall pleased with our experience. Its a very busy place but we had no problems getting a table (though our particular one was located close to the very busy back door. The waitstaff moved like no other waitstaff I have ever seen - efficiently and politely - especially given the fact that we were essentially in a bar with a dining room attached.

What we ordered: A french dip (because I, Alison and our Mom are quite the connoisseurs of the french dip) with onion rings; Cajun burger with fries for Josh. He had an iced tea and I had a Blue Moon to unwind after our long weekend of babysitting.

They have a good sized menu - lots of "cajun" spiced items but also a fair number of steak and baked potato-type entrees.

Prices were decent - about $7 for a burger and you could upgrade from chips to fries/salad/onion rings for about a a $1.50 more.

I liked the french dip - the bread was just the right amount of crusty and the au jus was thick and salty enough (I detest thin, flavorless au jus since its mostly just like dirty water then). Onion rings were good, though there were too many and I couldn't finish them. Breading was a little thick - the kind that hurts a little when you bite into them...but not overly greasy which is nice.

Josh enjoyed his cajun burger and I really liked the bite of it I had - good seasoning. They serve large thick cut seasoned fries that were just alright to me (because I don't really like fries), but Josh liked them a lot (because he does). Lots of condiments on the table and plenty of napkins, too - which is always nice. I hate having to ask for extra things like that when we dine out at places that require lots of napkins.

The bar was playing a game called "BARGO" last night - "bingo" with the letters changed. They gave out free cards for anyone who wanted to play. At that point Josh looked at me and said "you like this place don't you" with a little smile on his face....I started to laugh and said something about him knowing me too well - that I would like a place that had free bingo, beer I liked, a good french dip and waitstaff that worked hard. Its true - I was kind of sold on the whole scene.

Overall, I think we'll head back there again - even without a coupon...Kara

Bill's Garden Chinese Gourmet

Josh and I have been lacking a decent neighborhood Chinese restaurant for the last 5 years. Sure we love Big Bowl, but its pricey and a chain - and whenever possible we like to support local small business owners. Most of the Chinese restaurants we've tried have the exact same food - the same stuff that's on any given buffet around the state. So tonight we hit Bill's in South Mpls, which is just a short drive away from our house and not too far from Joey D's (Alison can post a review of them sometime).

Overall Rating: 3.5 out of 5
Payment: Cash, Visa or Mastercard
Dine in/Carry out (Large menu with lots of lunch options for $5)
Prices: Small order of chicken $4.95, large $10, egg rolls $2.50 (2), wontons $3.00 (10) Total: $22.50 and we have a lot of food left over

What we ordered: Lemon Chicken, Sesame Chicken, Egg Rolls, Wontons

Best thing: Lemon sauce was very tasty and obviously homemade - loved that the sauce was on the side so I could add what I wanted

Worst thing: Felt a little too much like fair food - insofar as we ordered too many fried things and not enough other stuff. That'll be remedied next time we try it - I vote for trying the mongolian beef and asking what other entrees we could get that isn't fried.

Wonton Status: Good balance between fried (not too heavy) and cream cheesy (I am a very picky connoisseur of the wonton/crab rangoon

Other notes: while waiting for our to go order, I looked at the magazines on the coffee table - a few of them were from 1995. I'm thinking Bill (who actually took our order and is Asian) is more into the food and less into keeping his reading material up to date.