The first unlockable is the Kentucky Stove. The first of the new appliances, this stove is certainly distinctive thanks to its lime green colour. And it's shape is original too which is nice. A lot of the appliances added in the game tend to be a recolouring of existing cookers, so it is pleasing to get a fresh form here.
So what of the three dishes found on the Kentucky Stove?
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| Kentucky Stove recipes |
I might be showing my lack of culture when I say that my first thought when I saw the Black Eyed Pea Salad was of the band of similar name! But this salad looks appealing enough, and the inclusion of the spoon alongside the bowl is a fine touch.
Meanwhile the Lamb with Mint Pesto sounds delicious. I do like a bit of pesto, and the thought of infusing some mint in there is very appealing!
Now for the recipe ratings...
| Black Eyed Pea Salad | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Profit | XP gain | Portions | Profit per plate | Availability | Rating |
| 3 | 4 | 2 | 8 | 5 | 3.7 |
| Derby Hot Browns | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Profit | XP gain | Portions | Profit per plate | Availability | Rating |
| 2 | 4 | 2 | 7 | 5 | 3.3 |
| Lamb with Mint Pesto | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Profit | XP gain | Portions | Profit per plate | Availability | Rating |
| 4 | 4 | 3 | 10 | 5 | 4.5 |
Oh dear. Not a lot to get excited about there. All three foods generally bomb across the main categories, with the profit per plate scores the only redeeming factor. We've had mostly 2 coins per plate offerings in regular updates lately, so it's good to see that for the second goals update in a row its 4 coins per plate which is the order of the day.
Clearly it would be preferable for Storm8 not to deliver any low coins per plate recipes, but at least if they have to it appears to now be restricted to the non-goal dishes. After all we're having to put some effort into unlocking the goal foods, so they should really be of decent quality.
Of course that flies in the face of the rest of the attributes on these recipes. They really do have poor stats, but that's no different from nearly every goal dish over the last couple of years.
Before we move on, I should mention the unusual order that these recipes are utilised in the goals. Usually they appear in ascending order of duration, but on this occasion the 4 hour Lamb with Minto Pesto was implemented before the 2 hour Derby Hot Browns. That was almost certainly a mistake by the gamemakers, but we'll take it as it meant we didn't have to cook quite as many batches of the longer dish!
To the second new appliance, namely the Barbaro Oven.
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| Barbaro Oven recipes |
Once again Storm8 seem to have made a boo-boo, with two of the recipes on this oven having the same length. I don't think that's ever happened before, and I suspect it won't happen again. In fact the foods are all of shorter length than you'd expect from the second goal appliance, meaning that it was possible to complete these goals notably sooner. I personally finished late on Saturday, which is two (and sometimes three) days earlier than usual.
To the ratings...
| Cheese Straws | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Profit | XP gain | Portions | Profit per plate | Availability | Rating |
| 4 | 4 | 2 | 8 | 5 | 4.1 |
| Country Ham Biscuits | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Profit | XP gain | Portions | Profit per plate | Availability | Rating |
| 2 | 4 | 1 | 8 | 5 | 3.2 |
| Run for Roses Pie | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Profit | XP gain | Portions | Profit per plate | Availability | Rating |
| 2 | 4 | 2 | 8 | 5 | 3.4 |
Essentially this is a repeat of the disappointing scores on the Kentucky Stove, so doesn't really merit much comment. The only big difference is that the Country Ham Biscuits was bad enough to get in the red for portions, charting at eighth worst in the 3 hour duration.
So let's swiftly shift focus to the three floor decorations which the goals unearth. I've already commented on My Fair Gran-Gran, but she's so adorable that we should fawn over her some more! What I really love about this version of Gran-Gran is that it is can be placed in a multitude of outdoor surroundings. Her white and pink outfit looks at home in any Spring or Summer setting and the little white umbrella is a classy touch.
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| My Fair Gran-Gran in outdoor section of The Garlic Tree |
I gave my outdoor section a refresh over the weekend, and including Gran-Gran was a must. She's looking very sophisticated as she watches the kids having fun with the tyre swing. Definitely a piece which will be used in my outdoor area a lot!
Then there's the Jolly Jockeys. This is a 3x3 decoration which features six jockeys posing for their pre-race photo. It's funny because I know very little of the Kentucky derby (or indeed American horse racing in general) but do relate to this item since the pre-race photo call is a tradition of the Grand National here in the UK, a national event which is regarded as the biggest horse race in the world.
Although I have no inclination to create a horse racing theme in my restaurant, I do think the Jolly Jockeys may have its uses. it's not abundantly clear at a glance that these are jockeys, so you could make use of this piece in any scene where a crowd is necessary. For example if you wish to go all out with the basketball décor then you could include two or three of these in a row as the watching crowd.
Derby day
The final goal prize is the Winner's Circle. Thoroughly enough this is the only item in the update which actually includes a horse! It is a very specific item, and thus my lack of motivation to create a horse racing theme leaves little room for excitement. The fact that the Winner's Circle is actually square doesn't do it any favours either! However the included characters are well put together, with lots of different facial expressions on show. I particularly like the horse's owner, whose spectacles are resting on his bushy moustache!
If I'm honest I don't think the game's developers did quite as well with this goal set as they could have. Not enough of the content was designed with the racing in mind, something which is reflected in the lack of horses in the decorations. It would have been nice to have a number of standalone horses up for grabs and this could have been implemented quite easily - only one horse needed to be created and could then be recoloured to give three or four different beasts.
Now comes the wait to find out if the next batch of goals will come at the start of June or if we'll have to wait until midway through the month...
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