Treasure Coast Newspapers Entertainment

It took all of nine months to arrive, but I can clearly say that “Tales of Vesperia” is the first RPG of the year that actually had me coming back for more — and easily ranks as the best RPG on the Xbox 360 in 2008.

You certainly would not be judged poorly by going out and buying “Super Mario Sluggers.” You should just know going in that it won’t be the full-fledged “Mario” experience you have come to enjoy.

A roundup of this week's entertainment events.

Ron White’s nickname came from an episode of intoxication. Busted — not for the first time — for public drunkenness, he was asked by the police if he had an alias. Being a belligerent cuss, White snarled back: “They call me Tater Salad.”

What’s a Rothschild doing in an urban high school in Orlando?

The RiverWalk Jazz Series continues Sunday in Stuart with a performance by vocalist Lauren Carter and her band, Piece By Piece.

Opening Thursday in the Blake Library’s Armstrong Wing, the exhibition “New York, September 11 by Magnum Photographers” chronicles that horrific day, seven years ago this week, that America took a major hit from the forces of terrorism.

Shells Seafood Restaurants Inc., which has a location in Stuart, has parked its two-year struggle for a return to profitability in bankruptcy court.

Two years after the St. Petersburg Times exposed fake grouper in Tampa Bay restaurants, the nation's largest food distributor and supplier of much of that fish has agreed to pay $300,000 to end a state investigation into the matter.

Looks like we’ve dodged the bullet as Tropical Storm Hanna cruises to the east of the Treasure Coast, leaving forecasts of nice weather (OK, a few thunderstorms; big woop) this weekend. So celebrate our good luck thusly:

The Whistle Stop makes excellent breakfast burritos, and on a leisurely weekend morning, I can't think of a better place to go for one of these overstuffed, piping-hot treats. Open for four years under the current owners, The Whistle Stop sits inconspicuously by the train tracks near Salerno Road on A1A. It's a popular lunch stop, but my favorite meal is breakfast.

The Florida Restaurant & Lodging Show kicks off Friday at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando. The show will host the Boston-based Green Restaurant Association. The restaurant industry is the No. 1 electricity consumer in the retail sector, accounting for 33 percent of all U.S. retail electricity use. The GRA will help exhibitors learn to make the convention more environmentally friendly. The group also seeks restaurants to join the green restaurant movement.

I arrived at Jack Baker's Lobster Shanty in search of a fresh Maine lobster. I ordered with alacrity, and it arrived properly steamed and still steaming, the optimum moment to begin cracking the claws and walking legs, and sucking the tender, ambrosial meat. It was so good, I started using my lemon butter dipping sauce only when I got to the meaty tail.

It was my Ernest Hemingway moment: I had confronted the beast and I had mastered him. Instead of "The Old Man and the Sea" with his gigantic marlin, I was "the boomer in the garage" with a blue crab. In the column of my dreams, I stun the crab with a swift blow of the hockey stick and boil him with Paul Prudhomme's boiling mix and a lot of bay leaves. I crack him open, extract the meat and save the shells for a tomato sauce.

A roundup of new releases on DVD and CD in stores today.

A roundup of new releases on DVD and CD in stores today.

This may be one of the easiest reviews I will ever write. This is not because Legend: Hand of God was a breakaway hit or an outright failure. What makes it so easy to review this game is that I could not even get it started. Yes, that’s right, the game would never load.

MLB Power Pros 2008 is a wonderfully entertaining baseball game that will not bog you down with the minutiae of everyday baseball life and instead allow you, your friends and some younger gamers a chance to enjoy a day at the ballpark without feeling like you have to sacrifice eight hours straight to feel like you’re accomplishing something.