tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1619164549384968512024-03-20T23:17:45.359-07:00Big John ReviewsBig Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00322769635824406709noreply@blogger.comBlogger35125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-161916454938496851.post-9591751974936841502011-04-12T22:04:00.000-07:002011-04-12T23:21:45.936-07:00Did you say Siegfried?<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b>Synopsis</b></span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I really enjoyed the carrot cake and the Wienerschnitzel at Siegfried's Deli. The employees were a bit brisk, but helpful. Not only is the food worth going back for, but the imported goods store is a great boon as well.</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b>Review</b></span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><a href="http://s1100.photobucket.com/albums/g420/johnstewart118/?action=view&current=IMG_20110408_202944.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" height="148" src="http://i1100.photobucket.com/albums/g420/johnstewart118/IMG_20110408_202944.jpg" width="200" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A friend of mine and I decided it was time to give Siegfried's Deli a try. I went up for the food; he went because he's a fan of Get Smart and had to eat here just for the name's sake.</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
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<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Upon arriving I was surprised to see an imported goods store as well. They don't just sell cooked German food, but also imported chocolate, cookies, and several other things. The place to order and the deli counter is but a small corner of the entire place; the rest is made up of tables and shelves.</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><a href="http://s1100.photobucket.com/albums/g420/johnstewart118/?action=view&current=IMG_20110408_195929.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" height="238" src="http://i1100.photobucket.com/albums/g420/johnstewart118/IMG_20110408_195929.jpg" width="320" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I've always wanted to try </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Wienerschnitzel, and here was my chance. My mouth watered as they put the </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Wienerschnitzel in the frier; it looked very good. However, I wasn't too impressed with the sides. I decided to go with the Hot Potato salad (since many users on Urbanspoon enjoyed it) and Spaetzle; for dessert I ordered a slice of carrot cake. The </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Wienerschnitzel was as good as I thought it would be with some lemon juice on top of it. The Spaetzle and Hot Potato Salad were a little tough to swallow. The Spaetzle looks like spaghetti with gravy and tasted about the same whereas the Hot Potato Salad was a bit bitter and not what I was expecting. However, the carrot cake was very good. Granted, it's more of a European design than an American, but I enjoyed it. And my friend really liked his German Chocolate cake (that was the only thing he completely ate).</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">All in all I was very pleased to find this location. This is definitely something on my places to visit in downtown Salt Lake. After finishing the meal, I purchased a few other chocolate items and brought them to my parents who lived in Germany and Austria for 11/2 - 2 years. Both are eager to try this little slice of Germany once they have a chance.</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
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<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b>Cost and Big John Rating</b></span></span></div></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">$8.49 = </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Wienerschnitzel and two sides</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Service = 8</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Quality = 8</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Taste = 7</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ambiance = 8</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Price Rating = 8.5</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Big John Rating = 7.8</span><br />
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</span></div></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b>Notable URLs</b></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.siegfriedsdelicatessen.biz/">Siegfried's Website</a></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.siegfriedsdelicatessen.biz/SiegfriedsBoardLunchMenu.pdf">Siegfried's Menu</a></span><br />
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</div></div><div></div><a href="http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/54/591888/restaurant/Downtown/Siegfrieds-Deli-Salt-Lake-City"><img alt="Siegfried's Deli on Urbanspoon" src="http://www.urbanspoon.com/b/link/591888/biglink.gif" style="border: none; height: 146px; width: 200px;" /></a>Big Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00322769635824406709noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-161916454938496851.post-53352123400271544832011-04-04T15:42:00.000-07:002011-04-04T16:34:10.790-07:00Moochie's Meatballs and Real Cheese steaks<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b>Synopsis</b></span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Amazing Philly Cheese steaks, good prices, and a great location makes Moochie's Meatballs & More! a winner.</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b>Review</b></span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I saw this place on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives with Guy Fieri and couldn't resist trying it out. After all, I'm always in the mood for a good Philly Cheese steak and apparently this is the place to get one.</span></div><br />
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</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><a href="http://s1100.photobucket.com/albums/g420/johnstewart118/?action=view&current=IMG_20110404_135439.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" height="238" src="http://i1100.photobucket.com/albums/g420/johnstewart118/IMG_20110404_135439.jpg" width="320" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Knowing that this place tends to draw a crowd, I thought I'd get here at about 2pm after the lunch crowd had died out to see if I couldn't come at a slow time of day. Unfortunately, it was still fairly busy even at 2, and when I left at 2:30 it hadn't slowed down. The seven tables inside filled up quickly and rotated slowly, but they also have outdoor seating as well. Although they have but one cash register (which is typical in the Philly Cheese steak places I've been to and is a necessity with the square footage), they also had an extra person taking orders while the other one both took orders and worked the register. This really helped speed up the amount of time people were in line and made what would have been a long wait very manageable.</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><a href="http://s1100.photobucket.com/albums/g420/johnstewart118/?action=view&current=IMG_20110404_140029.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" height="238" src="http://i1100.photobucket.com/albums/g420/johnstewart118/IMG_20110404_140029.jpg" width="320" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Right after my John Hancock made it to the credit card receipt, they called my name and my order was ready. If I was in a position to order to go, I would have done so since the place was crowded; however, it didn't take long before a table opened up. After pulling off the brown wrapping paper and aluminum foil covering my Philly, I dug right in. I was a little surprised and, perhaps, disappointed when I felt a harder bun covering my Cheese steak rather than the softer one I was used to at other locations. I was also skeptical about the American cheese rather than my typical Cheese wiz order. However, that's probably why I'm a critic and not a chef. Although the outside crust was hard, the inside was as soft as I like. The crust didn't detract from the sandwich at all but really added to it since it added extra texture that combined well with the rest. As for the American cheese, it was creamy, blended well with the rest of the meat, and as I ate the sandwich I didn't miss my Cheese wiz at all. Part of the secret to their great sandwich is that they put the cheese on top of the meat while it's cooking which allows that cheese to melt and blend with the meat whereas at other times it's placed on top as an after thought and doesn't always blend well. All this included with their tender rib eye and longer strips of well cooked onions makes this a winning combination.</span></div><br />
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</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I really enjoyed the Philly and look forward to then next time I visit Moochie's Meatballs and More. Now that I've had my usual Philly and know the quality that comes from here, I'll have to try something with their marinara sauce (which also looks great and makes my mouth water thinking about it). And, of course, I'll have to dig into a meatball or two.</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b>Cost and Big John Rating</b></span></span></div></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">$9.49 = 12' Philly Cheese steak</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ambiance = 9</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Taste = 9</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Quality = 9</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Service = 9</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Price Rating = 8.6</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Big John Rating = 8.9</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b>Notable URLs</b></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.moochiesmeatballs.com/">Moochie's Meatballs & More! Website</a></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.moochiesmeatballs.com/menu.pdf">Menu</a></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Diners, Drive-ins and Dives Youtube video:</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
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<a href="http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/54/591451/restaurant/East-Central/Moochies-Meatballs-More-Salt-Lake-City"><img alt="Moochie's Meatballs & More on Urbanspoon" src="http://www.urbanspoon.com/b/link/591451/biglink.gif" style="border: none; height: 146px; width: 200px;" /></a>Big Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00322769635824406709noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-161916454938496851.post-74596006474993383692011-03-31T20:17:00.000-07:002011-03-31T20:17:50.599-07:00Pad Thai Siam and the Massaman Curry Lunch Special<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b>Synopsis</b></span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Massaman Curry at Pad Thai Siam was very good because of the larger chunks of vegetables and chicken. The service could use improvement (a common theme in Thai Restaurants), but overall I was very pleased with the experience.</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b>Review</b></span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Being a fan of Thai Chili Gardens, I really enjoy this place as well. The inside is well furnished with Thai decor and a complimentary fish tank greets the guests in their waiting area. Even though it's Pad Thai Siam and owned by a new owner, the decor is the same as the old Thai Chili Gardens but the menu is very different.</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><a href="http://s1100.photobucket.com/albums/g420/johnstewart118/?action=view&current=IMG_20110331_122106.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" height="238" src="http://i1100.photobucket.com/albums/g420/johnstewart118/IMG_20110331_122106.jpg" width="320" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One thing we pleasantly noticed was the addition of a lunch menu. For some members of the crew the previous lunch prices were a little steep, but this new menu will allow us to eat here more frequently. Not seeing my usual on the menu, I went with my second usual -- the Massaman curry.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">With the lunch special ordered, the slow business day allowed for quick service and we soon had our appetizer (which comes with the lunch special) consisting of wonton soup and an egg roll. I think this wonton soup is the best I've had! The meat was full of flavor and I like the fish sauce included in it, the wrap wasn't doughy or overdone but done just right, and the broth was good as well.</span><br />
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<a href="http://s1100.photobucket.com/albums/g420/johnstewart118/?action=view&current=IMG_20110331_122450.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" height="238" src="http://i1100.photobucket.com/albums/g420/johnstewart118/IMG_20110331_122450.jpg" width="320" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Before our soup was finished, out came the curry. Although it was a lunch special, I was impressed with the portion size. When I left, I didn't feel like stopping by a dollar menu somewhere. Their Massaman includes avocado as well as the typical potatoes, cashews, onions, and chicken. It was good to see the avocado in there, but it wasn't something I really noticed. The potato chunks were larger than I expected and were perhaps a little undercooked but not too bad. Everything else about it was excellent; the chicken tasted great as well as the onion slices and cashews. I really enjoyed it.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Overall I thought the food was excellent. The service, for the most part was pretty good; however, my biggest complaint is that we never had a refill on our drinks. For me, refills are critical when it comes to good service and not having refills is costly. However, overall I was pleased with the experience and grateful there was a satisfying lunch menu. Next time I'll get the rest of the lunch crew to come.</span></div><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b>Cost and Big John Rating</b></span></span></div></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">$6.95 = Massaman Curry Lunch Special</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ambiance = 8</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Service = 6</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Quality = 9</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Taste = 9</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Price Rating = 9.1</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Big John Rating = 8.0</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b>Notable URLs</b></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.padthaisiam.com/">Pad Thai Siam</a></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Pad-Thai-Siam/198527903508715?sk=wall">Facebook Wall</a></span></div></div><a href="http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/54/1581235/restaurant/Salt-Lake-City/Pad-Thai-Siam-Thai-Japanese-Cuisine-Orem"><img alt="Pad Thai Siam Thai-Japanese Cuisine on Urbanspoon" src="http://www.urbanspoon.com/b/link/1581235/biglink.gif" style="border: none; height: 146px; width: 200px;" /></a>Big Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00322769635824406709noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-161916454938496851.post-53398913811119764402011-03-30T17:01:00.000-07:002011-03-30T17:32:06.956-07:00Spicy Thai and the Lunch Special<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b>Synopsis</b></span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The food and price were good, but the service leaves something to be desired.</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b>Review</b></span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><a href="http://s1100.photobucket.com/albums/g420/johnstewart118/?action=view&current=IMG_20110329_121119.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" height="238" src="http://i1100.photobucket.com/albums/g420/johnstewart118/IMG_20110329_121119.jpg" width="320" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One of the lunch crew decided to give this place a try. He was coming back from a tough morning on the slopes and due to its relative proximity to Provo Canyon (and the fact that we haven't eaten here yet) asked us to come on by. Although it is a bit further than we typically go (and we needed to pass several Thai restaurants to get here), we agreed.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Upon entering, I was amazed at how small it was. Most Thai places in Utah County are small; this seems a bit smaller than most but not bad. Just a little while later the server came, showed us our seats, and we were ready to order.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<a href="http://s1100.photobucket.com/albums/g420/johnstewart118/?action=view&current=IMG_20110329_123203.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" height="238" src="http://i1100.photobucket.com/albums/g420/johnstewart118/IMG_20110329_123203.jpg" width="320" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The special today was the red curry, but it can be substituted for Mussaman. The fresh roll was quite good and the peanut sauce added to the flavor. Although the soup shown here is the coconut, I ordered the sweet and sour which was switched on someone's plate. The sweet and sour wasn't what I typically would expect. The soup itself was mostly a clear color instead of the brown I've normally had. There were also large helpings / slices of vegetables and chicken which went very well with the broth. I thought it was unique and quite tasty; something I'll remember the next time I come.</span><br />
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</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Mussaman was a typical Mussaman and tasted similar to most that I've had (which was what I was looking for in the curry). Overall I thought the food was excellent. Because it was a lunch special, the portion sizes were smaller than I would normally prefer with Thai food, but this is typical for a Thai lunch special (and it's fairly priced as well). My biggest (and really only complaint) was the service. The meal came out fairly quickly, but we didn't get our napkins or silverware until the meal was halfway through and our glasses were empty for most of it. It could be that the person who helped us was new; however, everything else was pretty good. Next time I'm in the area looking for Thai, I'll stop on by.</span></div><br />
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</span></div></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b>Cost and Big John Rating</b></span></span></div></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">$7.99 = Lunch Special (Mussaman Curry, spring roll, and soup)</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Service = 6</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ambiance = 8</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Quality = 8</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Taste = 8</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Price Rating = 8.0</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Big John Rating = 7.5</span><br />
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</span></div></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b>Notable URLs</b></span></span></div></div><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=bigj01-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=0794601561" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" /><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/54/1423841/restaurant/Salt-Lake-City/Spicy-Thai-Provo" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Spicy Thai on Urbanspoon" src="http://www.urbanspoon.com/b/link/1423841/biglink.gif" style="border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; border-width: initial; height: 146px; width: 200px;" /></a></div><iframe align="left" frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=bigj01-20&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=0794601561&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="align: left; height: 245px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 5px; width: 131px;"></iframe>Big Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00322769635824406709noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-161916454938496851.post-74628741033730456162011-03-21T22:22:00.000-07:002011-03-22T09:54:06.188-07:00Disappointed at Asian Panda<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b>Synopsis</b></span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">At Asian Panda, the chicken was dry, the meat had little flavor, and although the service was great out of the 8 of us, 7 will not go back.</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b>Review</b></span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The lunch crew saw that a new Asian restaurant had opened up on 8th North. Because we enjoy Asian food, we decided to give this one a try. Unfortunately, we were very disappointed.</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><a href="http://s1100.photobucket.com/albums/g420/johnstewart118/?action=view&current=IMG_20110316_114159.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" height="238" src="http://i1100.photobucket.com/albums/g420/johnstewart118/IMG_20110316_114159.jpg" width="320" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The interior looked great and the server was very prompt at taking our order and getting us accommodated with drinks. Because we came during their grand opening, they had several specials for lunch and we decided to take the buy one get one half off deal and I went with the Kung Pao Beef, brown rice, and wonton soup.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The soup came out fairly quickly. I thought that the wonton was very good -- perhaps a little doughy but not that bad. Just a little bit after finishing, out came my order. Excited by the soup, I dug right in. I was quite disappointed. I spent most of my meal chewing on the gristle from my meat. I thought that the vegetables that went with the meal were very good and I probably would have enjoyed the meal if that was all I had, but I didn't care for the beef at all. Not only did I spend most of the meal time chewing on gristle, but the meal itself had little flavor.</span><br />
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<a href="http://s1100.photobucket.com/albums/g420/johnstewart118/?action=view&current=IMG_20110316_121518.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" height="238" src="http://i1100.photobucket.com/albums/g420/johnstewart118/IMG_20110316_121518.jpg" width="320" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Whilst chewing on the gristle, a friend of mine took a piece of my meat and offered me some of his orange chicken. Thinking that I couldn't go wrong with my favorite (I rarely if ever order the Kung Pao Beef, but decided to order it because it's one of their most requested dishes), I took up my friend's offer and grabbed a piece of his orange chicken. I think that was probably the driest chicken I've had in a long time. Plus I didn't get the taste of citrus that I normally love with the orange chicken -- there wasn't anything orange about this chicken, including the taste and color. This is the first time I've ever gone wrong with my favorite meal.</span><br />
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</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">All in all, the service and cost were the only two good parts of the meal. If it was just me, that would be one thing. However, 8 of us were there and only one person liked his meal. The rest of us aren't going back. The price is excellent for Asian food, but the food just isn't worth the price. Next time I crave Chinese food, I'll probably end up at Panda express before I think of coming here.</span></div></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b>Cost and Big John Rating</b></span></span></div></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">$6.75 = Kung Pao Beef</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Taste = 4</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Quality = 5</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ambiance = 8</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Service = 8</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Price Rating = 5.4</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Big John Rating = 6.2</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b>Notable URLs</b></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.asianpandarestaurant.com/">Asian Panda Website</a></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.asianpandarestaurant.com/menus/">Asian Panda Menu</a></span></div></div><a href="http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/54/1578792/restaurant/Salt-Lake-City/Asian-Panda-Orem"><img alt="Asian Panda on Urbanspoon" src="http://www.urbanspoon.com/b/link/1578792/biglink.gif" style="border: none; height: 146px; width: 200px;" /></a>Big Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00322769635824406709noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-161916454938496851.post-53103067708660174092011-03-14T21:46:00.000-07:002011-03-14T21:46:32.088-07:00A Butch Cassidy Burger from Broiler Express<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b>Synopsis</b></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If you want good food and great service but don't want to wait in a long line, Broiler Express is the place for you.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b>Review</b></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I was amazed to see that this place has finally opened. Who would have known? It's been an empty building for so long that I wouldn't believe it was open except for the fact that someone I trusted ate there.</span><br />
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</span><br />
<a href="http://s1100.photobucket.com/albums/g420/johnstewart118/?action=view&current=IMG_20110310_124259.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" height="238" src="http://i1100.photobucket.com/albums/g420/johnstewart118/IMG_20110310_124259.jpg" width="320" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Although open, it's still very vacant inside. There were four other customers in there which, from what I've been told, was actually quite busy for this location. Since no one else was in line, I stood up to the register and placed my order. The Butch Cassidy burger is one of their most popular ones and once I heard it included swiss cheese I decided to go for it.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'm not one for a western burger. I like the idea of an onion ring on a burger; I'm not such a fan of barbecue sauce on a burger. In spite of that bias, though, I did enjoy this one. The processed swiss cheese is something I rather enjoy and the onion ring fit nicely. On some western burgers the onion ring can get in the way, sometimes it's so large that it pretty much is the burger and not an accessory to it. But on the Butch Cassidy burger, it belongs.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<a href="http://s1100.photobucket.com/albums/g420/johnstewart118/?action=view&current=IMG_20110310_125042.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" height="238" src="http://i1100.photobucket.com/albums/g420/johnstewart118/IMG_20110310_125042.jpg" width="320" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The onion rings in general were excellent. These onion rings are more onion than they are batter. Deep fried to a golden brown, they have surprisingly little grease. The container had little if any grease left on it after they were eaten. Of course, my hands had some; you can't expect to eat onion rings without any grease, but they are close to the least greasy ones I've had. The fry sauce was pretty good as well. I look forward to ordering them the next time I come.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Perhaps its because there isn't a lot of customers, but the service was very good as well. On the way out the door the person who took my order asked me how I liked my burger, and the person bringing it out offered to get me fry sauce and / or ketchup from the condiment bar that I overlooked on the way over. This is some of the best service I've had at a fast food place. Because of the service and the good food, I'm looking forward to my next visit.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b>Cost and Big John Rating</b></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">$5.76 = Large Butch Cassidy Burger Combo includes Butch Cassidy Burger, Onion Rings, and a Large Drink.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Service = 9</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ambiance = 8</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Quality = 8</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Taste = 8</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Price Rating = 8.3</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Big John Rating = 8.6</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b>Notable URLs</b></span></span><br />
<a href="http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/54/1560357/restaurant/Salt-Lake-City/Broiler-Express-Provo"><img alt="Broiler Express on Urbanspoon" src="http://www.urbanspoon.com/b/link/1560357/biglink.gif" style="border: none; height: 146px; width: 200px;" /></a>Big Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00322769635824406709noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-161916454938496851.post-32612385046077708442011-03-09T16:27:00.000-08:002011-03-12T10:39:12.662-08:00The Steak Sandwich at La Jolla Groves<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b>Synopsis</b></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The service was, for the most part, very good and the Sourdough Steak Sandwich was tasty as well. However, the cost was a little too steep for my taste. It seems that most everything had its pros and cons, but the sandwich was good.</span><br />
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</b></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b>Review</b></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Riverwoods is a place that the lunch crew does not like to frequent. For starters, we prefer places with parking. I have mixed emotions about the changes made to their main street (now main walkway); I really like the change but parking was already a difficult experience beforehand and now it's crossed the line to atrocious. However, road rage does seem to build up an appetite and the Riverwoods definitely has that cure, but if you're new to the area I would recommend coming early just to get a spot at all -- much less a good one. You'll thank me later.</span><br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://s1100.photobucket.com/albums/g420/johnstewart118/?action=view&current=IMG_20110308_130654.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" height="320" src="http://i1100.photobucket.com/albums/g420/johnstewart118/IMG_20110308_130654.jpg" width="238" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The main entry way into La Jolla Groves</td></tr>
</tbody></table><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Now that my rant about the parking and the general location is out of the way, on to the review of La Jolla Groves. It was a bit difficult to find because there wasn't a big sign outside the entry way or above the front door indicating where it was like there are on the other establishments in the area (or just in general). There was a metal stand with the words "La Jolla Groves" written on a piece of paper pointing the way for us to go, but I almost ended up in their bakery section simply because the name was written on the door. Luckily, though, we did find the location and a parking spot before we starved. But finding it wasn't as easy as one would expect.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Upon entering the restaurant, the first thing we noticed was the fragrance of the flowers near the entryway. The rustic theme of the area faded quickly into a lemon grove after walking past the stone archway. I heard they had a cheese steak here and I was looking forward to try it, but I was slightly disappointed to see that it's a Sourdough Steak Sandwich and not an actual cheese steak. However, I'm one who likes sourdough and decided that was the way to go. And it was a good decision.</span><br />
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<a href="http://s1100.photobucket.com/albums/g420/johnstewart118/?action=view&current=IMG_20110308_133148.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" height="238" src="http://i1100.photobucket.com/albums/g420/johnstewart118/IMG_20110308_133148.jpg" width="320" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Sourdough Steak Sandwich comes with sourdough bread, grilled marinated steak, cheese, grilled onions, some kind of dressing, lettuce, and tomato. It also included a side salad with a balsamic vinaigrette. The sourdough bread was a very mild sourdough. It took me a while when eating the sandwich to remember what kind of bread came with it (which is very ironic considering that's the reason why I ordered it). I do like sourdough bread but not at the expense of the sandwich. I thought that the different tastes blended well and complimented each other. The steak was well cooked and tender, the cheese wasn't very noticeable but it was there, and the hint of spread accented the sandwich. Surprisingly, though, I really liked the lettuce and tomato. Most of the time they get overlooked, but this time they stood out perhaps because they were the only vegetables on the sandwich.</span><br />
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<a href="http://s1100.photobucket.com/albums/g420/johnstewart118/?action=view&current=IMG_20110308_135600.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" height="148" src="http://i1100.photobucket.com/albums/g420/johnstewart118/IMG_20110308_135600.jpg" width="200" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For dessert I had a lemon cake. I was expecting a cake wedge, instead I got a round cake with crystalized sugar topping. This was a tough dish to eat mainly because I had a tough time bringing myself to break the netting. However, it was pretty good. At first I thought the taste of lemon was just right. I really enjoy lemon cake and I like the lemon to stand out and make itself known. There should be no question when tasting a crumb that it is a lemon cake. At first I found the lemon taste to be quite adequate but it seemed to deteriorate as I ate my way through the cake. It was good, and I would probably buy it again just for the plating, but it wasn't as strong as I would like.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Although I did like the taste of the food, I didn't like the portion sizes. I almost stopped at Del Taco on the way back for one or two $0.99 burritos to finish the job, but settled on a drink run instead. I have mixed emotions with the service as well. I think they have one person there who does nothing but top off glasses and he did a great job of keeping it filled. I never reached for an empty glass. However, I did order a Diet Coke along with the water which never showed up. I wasn't charged for it, but I really would have liked it. Overall I thought it was mostly good. The service was good but not great, the sandwich was great but not filling, the price is steep, the decor grand, and the odds of a return trip probable. I will return to impress a date (and combine it with a movie to get popcorn that will hopefully fill me up) but not for an informal trip with the lunch crew. The crew likes good food at a low price and this just misses the price mark.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b>Cost and Big John Rating</b></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">$9.49 = Sourdough Steak Sandwich</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">$6 = Lemon Cake</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">7 = Service</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">9 = Ambiance</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">9 = Taste</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">9 = Quality</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">7.3 = Price Rating</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">8.0 = Big John Rating</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><b>Notable URLs</b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.provorestaurants.com/">La Jolla Groves</a></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.shopsatriverwoods.com/dining/la-jolla-groves.html">Shops at the Redwoods</a></span><br />
<a href="http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/54/1536612/restaurant/Salt-Lake-City/La-Jolla-Groves-Provo"><img alt="La Jolla Groves on Urbanspoon" src="http://www.urbanspoon.com/b/link/1536612/biglink.gif" style="border: none; height: 146px; width: 200px;" /></a>Big Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00322769635824406709noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-161916454938496851.post-35926953988086990302011-03-09T16:22:00.000-08:002011-03-14T14:20:32.098-07:00The Usual at El Gallo Giro<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b>Synopsis</b></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">El Gallo Giro offers good Mexican food at a great price. Combined with friendly service, this is one place the lunch crew frequents.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b>Review</b></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is another one of those places that the lunch crew frequently drove past and one day stopped by to see what they had to offer. What we found was a place that we've kept coming back to.</span><br />
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<a href="http://s1100.photobucket.com/albums/g420/johnstewart118/?action=view&current=IMG_20110303_115035.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" height="238" src="http://i1100.photobucket.com/albums/g420/johnstewart118/IMG_20110303_115035.jpg" width="320" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The outside looks a bit old and rundown, but the inside is very hospitable. It is a relatively older building, but they have done a pretty good job keeping up the building. Once we entered we were amazed all the different menu choices. We could literally get just about anything we want. My favorite lunch combo is the #4 which includes to enchiladas, a burrito, rice, beans, and a drink for only $5.99! Most places would consider that their entire lunch special; this place, however, has a number of other items ranging anywhere from $4-8. And they seem to keep adding things to their menu every few month. The fact that it fits our budgets so nicely one reason why we keep returning.</span><br />
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<a href="http://s1100.photobucket.com/albums/g420/johnstewart118/?action=view&current=IMG_20110303_115812.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" height="237" src="http://i1100.photobucket.com/albums/g420/johnstewart118/IMG_20110303_115812.jpg" width="320" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As with most Mexican restaurants, once you sit down they bring out the chips and salsa. Theirs are some of my favorite. Their tortilla chips are relatively thick, crunchy, and the salsa is nice and thick. It is, as one would expect, spicy but only mildly so. Soon my usual order comes out -- the #4 with enchiladas and a burrito. For the meat I typically order chicken enchiladas and a pork burrito although I sometimes mix it up with the steak. The pork is well marinated and tastes very good. They also cover the enchiladas with sour cream and cheese as well and that topped with the green sauce is what I crave the most about the meal. The chicken as well has a hint of lime that mixes well with the sauce, sour cream, and cheese which is why I order it with the enchiladas instead of the burrito. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The beans are cooked well and the cheese melts nicely on top of it; the rice is good, too. The service is always friendly and eager to serve. It's worth a visit at the very least and at this price it isn't something to regret.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b>Cost and Big John Rating</b></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">$5.99 = #4 Lunch Special</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">9 = Service</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">8 = Ambiance</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">9 = Taste</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">9 = Quality</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">10.5 = Price Rating</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">9.2 = Big John Rating</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b>Notable URLs</b></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://elgallogiroutah.com/Home.html">El Gallo Giro Website</a></span><br />
<a href="http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/54/1556308/restaurant/Salt-Lake-City/El-Gallo-Giro-Orem"><img alt="El Gallo Giro on Urbanspoon" src="http://www.urbanspoon.com/b/link/1556308/biglink.gif" style="border: none; height: 146px; width: 200px;" /></a>Big Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00322769635824406709noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-161916454938496851.post-88843035334504011992011-02-28T21:10:00.000-08:002011-03-01T15:28:21.604-08:00State Street's 50's Grill<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b>Review</b></span></span><br />
<a href="http://s1100.photobucket.com/albums/g420/johnstewart118/?action=view&current=IMG_20110222_184947.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" height="238" src="http://i1100.photobucket.com/albums/g420/johnstewart118/IMG_20110222_184947.jpg" width="320" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">State Street Grill is definitely bigger than it looks. Not only was I surprised upon entering to see it bigger than I expected it to be, but I also found that the menu was bigger than expected as well. I've driven past here several times and wanted to stop by but for whatever reason didn't make it until now. I'm glad I stopped.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Although I've always wanted to come, it wasn't until some friends of mine dropped by and really enjoyed it that I decided to give it a try. According to them, this place makes the best onion rings they've had (and they know onion rings). With a review such as that, I couldn't wait another week to stop by.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I arrived after the dinner traffic and ended up having the entire place to myself (which was nice). They have two flat screen TVs on the corners near the entrance for their guests to watch while dining (and I was able to choose what I wanted to watch). The whole setup has a 50's car shop ambiance but clearly was designed to be a grill. I really like their theme; it is a small place (which I think is fitting for a grill), but it feels (to some degree) like you've gone back in time to when things were a bit smaller and more personable. I really like the design; it suits the place well.</span><br />
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<a href="http://s1100.photobucket.com/albums/g420/johnstewart118/?action=view&current=IMG_20110222_190220.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" height="238" src="http://i1100.photobucket.com/albums/g420/johnstewart118/IMG_20110222_190220.jpg" width="320" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For my order I went with the Boston which is their version of a pastrami burger. I also ordered their onion rings and topped it off with a brownie a la mode. You can order different kinds of cheeses on it; I went with the swiss cheese. As soon as I placed my order, the grill fired up and the burger was cooking. These burgers are made fresh so it took a little bit to make it, but it was worth the wait. The pastrami on the burger seems thicker than normal and really has some good seasoning on it. The bun looks rather scary (I thought it was doughy when it first came out) but it was well cooked, very soft and went well with the sandwich. I don't mind a greasy sandwich (I know some do) and this sandwich is very greasy but I think it really enhanced the flavor.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The onion rings were really good. Fair warning -- they are more batter than onion and greasy as well, but I enjoyed them. Even though they were greasy they weren't soggy which is something I really appreciated (I'm not a fan of soggy fries or onion rings). The fry sauce has extra flavors in it and goes well with the onion ring.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As for the brownie a al mode, I thought it was excellent. The brownie itself isn't something that I would like just by itself but it combines very well with the ice cream and chocolate syrup. They put the brownie in the microwave before adding on the ice cream and syrup so when it was served the soft ice cream melted over the brownie and tasted really good. I prefer my ice cream soft and just starting to melt -- I think that kind has the best flavor. And their ice cream is served soft.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In general I really liked this place. Some of the lunch crew has eaten here as well and enjoyed it, too. Can't wait to try it again!</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b>Cost and Big John Rating</b></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">$9.48 = Boston Buger Combo (including fries and drink) + 0.50 for the onion rings instead of fries</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">$2.47 = Brownie A la mode (with combo meal; $3.47 without)</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ambiance = 9</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Quality = 9</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Service = 9</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Taste = 9</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Price Rating = 9.0</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Big John Rating = 9.0</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b>Notable URLs</b></span></span><br />
<a href="http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/54/1578093/restaurant/Salt-Lake-City/American-Fork/State-Street-Grill-Pleasant-Grove"><img alt="State Street Grill on Urbanspoon" src="http://www.urbanspoon.com/b/link/1578093/biglink.gif" style="border: none; height: 146px; width: 200px;" /></a><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b><iframe align="left" frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=bigj01-20&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=B000LQLV6U&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="align: left; height: 245px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 5px; width: 131px;"></iframe></b></span></span>Big Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00322769635824406709noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-161916454938496851.post-6873849428649436012011-02-28T20:01:00.000-08:002011-02-28T20:04:07.276-08:00CheeZSteak: We Put the Z in Cheez Whiz<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b>Review</b></span></span><br />
<a href="http://s1100.photobucket.com/albums/g420/johnstewart118/?action=view&current=IMG_20110219_180429.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" height="238" src="http://i1100.photobucket.com/albums/g420/johnstewart118/IMG_20110219_180429.jpg" width="320" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After seeing my friend's sandwich and reading his blog post (<a href="http://oneguysfoodcritique.blogspot.com/2011/02/cheezsteak-build-it-your-way.html">shown here</a>), I decided I have to give it a try. And I wasn't disappointed. Located in a high-turnover area (this is the third or fourth business I've seen at this exact location in the past few years), this small Cheese steak shop looks to stay here the longest. Not only do they sell a mean Cheese steak, but it is also fairly well priced.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I am a Philly purist. I'm not one who likes a lot of toppings on my Philly; all I'm looking for is just the basics of a Philly and this provides that. For those who aren't a purist, it does offer other toppings as well (such as banana peppers, green peppers, etc). It does cost $1.50 extra for three toppings on a foot long, but if you like extra toppings they do provide that. They also offer different kinds of cheeses such as Provolone and American cheese.</span><br />
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<a href="http://s1100.photobucket.com/albums/g420/johnstewart118/?action=view&current=IMG_20110219_183553.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" height="238" src="http://i1100.photobucket.com/albums/g420/johnstewart118/IMG_20110219_183553.jpg" width="320" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As I mentioned, I just like a simple Philly. For my Philly, I ordered the Cheese Whiz Philly. to prepare it, they grill up rib eye steak, add in some onions, grill them together until well cooked, take a bun, put the cheese whiz on the bun, add in the steak and onions, then finish it off with extra cheese whiz on top. Man, that's good! I'm not a person who likes a dry sandwich which could happen to a Philly if not careful; however, the cheese whiz makes the sandwich very moist and very good. The meat is tender and well grilled; the onions are big enough to make themselves known but aren't in the way. I really like the combination presented as I worked my way through the sandwich. The bun as well is very soft and doesn't get in the way of the sandwich's meat. I've had three of these sandwiches this past week alone. Even though this is a rather big sandwich, I always feel like it wasn't enough. It's just that good. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The fries, on the other hand, are a different story. They were rather soggy and didn't taste that good. But if you don't want fries they also sell chips as well.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I am very excited to see a great Philly Cheese steak shop next to where I work. I believe I have a new favorite hang out spot, one I hope to frequent often.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b>Cost and Big John Review</b></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">$8.49 = Philly Cheese steak (with cheese whiz and no tax)</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">$2.69 = Fries and a drink combo (without tax)</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The rest are for the Cheese Whiz Philly only:</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Quality = 9</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Taste = 9</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ambiance = 8</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Service = 8</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Price Rating = 8.5</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Big John Rating = 8.4</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b>Notable URLs</b></span></span><br />
<a href="http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/54/1576007/restaurant/Salt-Lake-City/Cheez-Steak-Orem"><img alt="Cheez Steak on Urbanspoon" src="http://www.urbanspoon.com/b/link/1576007/biglink.gif" style="border: none; height: 146px; width: 200px;" /></a>Big Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00322769635824406709noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-161916454938496851.post-61050139413549344532011-02-18T16:35:00.000-08:002011-02-18T16:39:05.305-08:00The Coupe de Wing Coop<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><b>Review</b></span><br />
<div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTFAPglICdJlpytfMuAIC1D-BOUgWiuX7ACJ1CiIvLtR-czDfZSkXH9xiQfImo3EUckFh4Exc2HcUWvT_j2Jt9uu87HzcOzdaufp7HlqEM3AOSc76MU6MLwssbH9joRLztExjmlKFPm8U/s1600/IMG_20110217_114634.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTFAPglICdJlpytfMuAIC1D-BOUgWiuX7ACJ1CiIvLtR-czDfZSkXH9xiQfImo3EUckFh4Exc2HcUWvT_j2Jt9uu87HzcOzdaufp7HlqEM3AOSc76MU6MLwssbH9joRLztExjmlKFPm8U/s320/IMG_20110217_114634.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When I first decided to review this particular location, I thought I'd review this one separately from the other Wing Coop. However, I don't know if it has to do with a difference in location, difference in chefs, or if they've made some significant changes all together recently, but my experience at this location was completely different than my experience at their other location. During the entire meal we kept contrasting the two and came up with several significant changes.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Apart from this location being harder to find (it's behind a Blockbuster and isn't as easily seen from the main road as the other location), the store itself appears to be a bit bigger. Like the other store, this one keeps to an extreme sports theme ideal for a wing environment. Other than that and the names of the sauces, almost everything else is different. This one feels a bit bigger than the other one (not huge, but bigger) -- I didn't feel nearly as claustrophobic in this one as the other one. I felt that the customer service was better (it seems that they had a little more experience under their belts than the other location) and they let us try their sauces to help us make up our minds.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcjdpMMLmgOpG1jv_Gesf3ytW9egybicRFgC43K1FP0cT9BkO63_DJ96LnkyEzlyCEaBVJrh2gxxlXuNF3zQmKZlSwzncypYcJziWM4C1jk6KTyoTYf4sJopYC8ly0_fxEh-NjRuzcCFA/s1600/IMG_20110217_121511.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcjdpMMLmgOpG1jv_Gesf3ytW9egybicRFgC43K1FP0cT9BkO63_DJ96LnkyEzlyCEaBVJrh2gxxlXuNF3zQmKZlSwzncypYcJziWM4C1jk6KTyoTYf4sJopYC8ly0_fxEh-NjRuzcCFA/s320/IMG_20110217_121511.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Left - Honey Habanero, Right - Raspberry Chipotle</td></tr>
</tbody></table><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This time we went with their raspberry chipotle, honey habanero, tiger teriyaki, and confucius. We also mixed things up a bit by ordering some deep fried and others grilled. We really enjoyed the deep fried wings -- they were cooked perfectly. They had a crisp outer layer and the inside was well cooked. The grilled ones had a good flavor to them, but we prefer the crispy wing rather than the grilled. However, because we like the flavor of the grilled we'll try to see if we can't combine both (deep fried first and then grilled).</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The amount of sauce we had this time was excellent. Our wings were well covered, dripping with sauce and there was still quite a bit in our container. It seemed a lot thicker than last time as well. The raspberry chipotle had a great flavor to it that the blue cheese nicely complimented. Surprisingly, this had a sweetness to it that I wasn't expecting; it was by far our favorite today and the one we talked about on our drive back to work. The honey habanero was good but not as good. Last time we really enjoyed the confucious and were looking forward to it again today; however, this time it lacked taste. Maybe our taste buds were fried from the spicy wings, but it tasted like a grilled chicken wing and not a confucious wing. Perhaps ordering it grilled instead of fried caused the taste to differ than last time, but it lacked the ginger flavor (or any flavor) that we enjoyed. As for the grilled tiger teriyaki, I really liked it -- but I also like teriyaki wings. However, this isn't for everyone as the connotation of a buffalo wing is spice and not necessarily teriyaki. But I thought it was good.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Although I did enjoy my last experience, I really enjoyed this one. Like I said, I don't know if it's the location, the chef, or if a change has happened in general, but this was a really good set of wings. I wonder if I can talk my coworkers into taking a longer lunch again to go there? If it's the same crew as last time, I don't think it'll be too hard.</span><br />
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</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><b>Cost and Big John Rating</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">$10.99 = 12 wings (without tax)</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Service = 8</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Quality = 9</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ambiance = 9</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Taste = 8</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Price Rating = 8.2</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Big John Rating = 8.2</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><b><br />
</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><b>URLs</b></span></div></div><a href="http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/54/592296/restaurant/Taylorsville/Wing-Coop-Salt-Lake-City"><img alt="Wing Coop on Urbanspoon" src="http://www.urbanspoon.com/b/link/592296/biglink.gif" style="border: none; height: 146px; width: 200px;" /></a>Big Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00322769635824406709noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-161916454938496851.post-30140487707959578432011-02-16T21:33:00.000-08:002011-02-18T16:39:35.841-08:00The Parlor of Pizza<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><b>Review</b></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib4sYWnBQqXPIFF2bEWcK4WDrDo1HdSuuMxQbfzC5_u12meSIqBZxhkiOlM1Q8yCM2Lpihb9q3DCDFsThzJGZnRqY4_bVUY96vb6JKx6NDvFo9pNzkdCKyFnuuF34Ph1mu3wmX_XdZHBc/s1600/2011-02-09+12.24.27.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib4sYWnBQqXPIFF2bEWcK4WDrDo1HdSuuMxQbfzC5_u12meSIqBZxhkiOlM1Q8yCM2Lpihb9q3DCDFsThzJGZnRqY4_bVUY96vb6JKx6NDvFo9pNzkdCKyFnuuF34Ph1mu3wmX_XdZHBc/s320/2011-02-09+12.24.27.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We came here expecting Pier 49 only to see that it was gone and something else had taken its place. Considering the lunch crew's craving for pizza, we decided to give The Parlor a chance. From the outside it appears to be a small location (which Pier 49 was as well), but you can't judge a book by the cover. The inside is relatively small as well, but it fits the theme of a parlor.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Once inside we went to the counter and were greeted by the owner who took our orders, cooked our meal, and waited on our table. Keeping to the Pier 49 tradition, the main selling point for our group was the all-you-can-eat pizza which included a salad and a drink. Getting the all-you-can-eat pizza worked out really well since it allowed us to try a few pizzas we normally wouldn't have ordered otherwise and found out that we really liked. Our hostess really bent over backwards to make sure we were satisfied and allowed us to choose which pizzas she would put in for the all-you-can-eat menu. Because of that we were able to sample quite a few different pizzas.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSsmxczOzAMJvTfWvBBh3Gmb1lbFx8x4ZOMtO7KskAoAA9jXdYebhHFIsBdcEYtwmALJ7PYYrGPMJoclPIhyphenhyphenX7nWUakpdVQrlQ-ph-dbpPf0LMp1rT2fmia6nBuhqHE7D6INpCnH4Nos0/s1600/2011-02-09+12.36.15.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSsmxczOzAMJvTfWvBBh3Gmb1lbFx8x4ZOMtO7KskAoAA9jXdYebhHFIsBdcEYtwmALJ7PYYrGPMJoclPIhyphenhyphenX7nWUakpdVQrlQ-ph-dbpPf0LMp1rT2fmia6nBuhqHE7D6INpCnH4Nos0/s320/2011-02-09+12.36.15.jpg" width="320" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The combination pizza was exactly as I like it -- with so many toppings that the cheese was barely visible. The toppings were great, the crust was good, and with so many toppings blending together it tasted great. For the toppings they typically put on large slices of everything (such as ham, pineapple, etc). The barbecue pizza was sweet, but not overpowering. The real key to a barbecue pizza is to allow for some sweetness while not making it so sweet you can't finish more than one slice. This one kept a good balance of sweetness and tasted great.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There were a few other pizzas we tried, but much to my surprise the margarita pizza was one of my favorites. As I've mentioned before my favorite topping is a wide variety of toppings and, in addition, I'm not the type of person to think that a pizza containing mostly tomato chunks is a good pizza. This, on the other hand, was really good. The cheese was creamy, the sun dried tomatoes added some intense flavor when combined with the cheese and the basil. She also cooked a strawberry dessert pizza for us with fresh chunks of strawberry. By this time I was already very full from the rest of the pizza, but just the smell alone started to make me hungry again. If it wasn't so full I would have had a second one.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Overall I was rather impressed with this place and the fact that it was all-you-can-eat pizza at a very reasonable price. There have been a lot of changes on Center Street as of late. The burned-down tabernacle isn't the only empty building on Center. With the loss of Pier 49, Los Hermanos (still vacant), Stumpys, and who knows whatever other businesses on that street, Center Street is in a time of transition. With all the businesses coming and going this is definitely one that deserves to stick around for a while. Not only did they have great customer service, but they also have pizza worth coming back for.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><b>Cost and Big John Rating</b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">$7.99 = Pizza, drink, and salad without tax (lunch special)</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Service = 9</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Taste = 8</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Quality = 8</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ambiance = 7</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Price Rating = 8.0</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Big John Rating = 8.1</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><b>Notable URLs</b></span><br />
<a href="http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/54/1551826/restaurant/Salt-Lake-City/The-Parlor-Provo"><img alt="The Parlor on Urbanspoon" src="http://www.urbanspoon.com/b/link/1551826/biglink.gif" style="border: none; height: 146px; width: 200px;" /></a>Big Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00322769635824406709noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-161916454938496851.post-82990416194945317362011-01-28T19:19:00.000-08:002011-01-28T19:19:44.227-08:00Omaha's Taste of Old Chicago<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b>Review</b></span></span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNPzUIXvvBI10e5MXetfX8K14y6rWKgoslwEldCBdBS19SZOANu1D13OOFcJ0lwXLUyysQedyKSybCUyBD3Df3hkWubZF927ECQ63hksLRrdSlSeudDGNK9qbmPK2cTIn-aCMcpkp1Ce8/s1600/2010-12-30+15.03.54.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNPzUIXvvBI10e5MXetfX8K14y6rWKgoslwEldCBdBS19SZOANu1D13OOFcJ0lwXLUyysQedyKSybCUyBD3Df3hkWubZF927ECQ63hksLRrdSlSeudDGNK9qbmPK2cTIn-aCMcpkp1Ce8/s320/2010-12-30+15.03.54.jpg" width="240" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The fam decided once again it was time to hit the street in search of another good place to eat. After our great experience with the Reuben, our expectations were high as we searched out our next place. And we weren't disappointed. In Old Market fashion, the red brick greeted us and welcomed us inside. Looking over the menu, I decided to branch out a little bit and try something I never, ever get in a pizza place -- nachos. Shortly after ordering the appetizer and a Chicago Seven pizza, out came the nachos. I didn't enjoy the chips as much as I did the rest of the appetizer mainly because I'm not one for greasy chips. I prefer a dry chip, but they were crisp and came out with a generous amount of meat and toppings. I would order these again; they aren't my favorite but they are very good.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Right after the fam ate up the nachos, out came the pizza. This particular pizza has my favorite toppings -- lots. I always go for the one with the most mostly because I like different tastes, textures, and smells on my pizza. This particular pizza features Italian sausage, pepperoni, fresh mushrooms, black olives, green peppers, red onions and Mozzarella cheese. I knew it was going to be good when I saw very little cheese and mostly toppings. Indeed it was good.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQql0a3RTqla1UF7Oh7rLSLFhc-mTPWIQuw86NCDh-0oScDjB6uI4_TyYNTfgSKRDPI-3zUj2RB3S38AciZZCHWcn3MZDIyERthhjzX3-1vh5bWyeBYlLxR7ExUReOGof2E7p2aa1sNHg/s1600/2010-12-30+15.13.16.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQql0a3RTqla1UF7Oh7rLSLFhc-mTPWIQuw86NCDh-0oScDjB6uI4_TyYNTfgSKRDPI-3zUj2RB3S38AciZZCHWcn3MZDIyERthhjzX3-1vh5bWyeBYlLxR7ExUReOGof2E7p2aa1sNHg/s200/2010-12-30+15.13.16.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Overall I came away pleased with Old Chicago. I thought the service was all right. Although the times I saw the waiter were far and in between especially for a small lunch crowd, at least my drink was always filled. Plus the food was good and the nachos were a good find. The next time we're in the Old Market and craving pizza, we'll need to drop by Old Chicago for their nachos and deep dish. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><b>Cost and Big John Rating</b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">$25.98 = Deep dish Chicago 7 pizza and Italian Nachos (without tax)</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ambiance = 8</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Service = 7</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Taste = 8</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Quality = 8</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Price Rating = 6.5</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Big John Rating = 7.3</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b>URLs</b></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.oldchicago.com/">Old Chicago</a></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.oldchicago.com/menu/pizza">Menu</a></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.oldchicago.com/omaha-downtown">Old Market Location</a></span><br />
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<a href="http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/248/1345871/restaurant/Old-Market-District/Old-Chicago-Omaha"><img alt="Old Chicago on Urbanspoon" src="http://www.urbanspoon.com/b/link/1345871/biglink.gif" style="border: none; height: 146px; width: 200px;" /></a>Big Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00322769635824406709noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-161916454938496851.post-68967074836535166882011-01-17T21:58:00.000-08:002011-01-17T22:13:38.378-08:00The Best Reuben I've Ever Had at the Crescent Moon<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b>Review</b></span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqBhPt9OG4N3VMNNrkHU3WYFddxW3mIIs1rhAE-qfpG_bou9Puz5ffaJ0y6pvBJmCi-gd70WqkcHWC2gX2YaNEA7hIEcujHaZgHUoAC0AK1Qsx0AUhjAHAxTZP6S087aBjavHuWBebSFQ/s1600/2010-12-29+14.53.36.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqBhPt9OG4N3VMNNrkHU3WYFddxW3mIIs1rhAE-qfpG_bou9Puz5ffaJ0y6pvBJmCi-gd70WqkcHWC2gX2YaNEA7hIEcujHaZgHUoAC0AK1Qsx0AUhjAHAxTZP6S087aBjavHuWBebSFQ/s320/2010-12-29+14.53.36.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Not only is it the best, but it is also the only Reuben I've ever liked. Typically the Reubens I've had usually include one or two very strong tastes with a few hints at other things that never really blend. For example, the rye bread really stands out and no other flavors tease the palate or the sauerkraut is so strong not even the rye bread can stand up to its overpowering flavor. I expect more from a sandwich. I don't buy a sandwich just to eat bread or sour cabbage. I expect a Ruben just like any other sandwich to have a blend of flavors. Whether it's corned beef or pastrami, I expect the meat to stand up and blend with the other flavors involved and not bow to the powerhouses at play.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnK9TfYUnTH4OmpNSInd789FuRSfY9wFINa9zLl_i_fqtxX4SAjAj_TJ7z0WFuoAleHYOSemXzrHpByRGzcP49IFMy6s-jCOtFadIvDIKHj_P6dFJTXY-eu7C-f2_TNVJBR7hvQjNlwvI/s1600/2010-12-29+15.51.06.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnK9TfYUnTH4OmpNSInd789FuRSfY9wFINa9zLl_i_fqtxX4SAjAj_TJ7z0WFuoAleHYOSemXzrHpByRGzcP49IFMy6s-jCOtFadIvDIKHj_P6dFJTXY-eu7C-f2_TNVJBR7hvQjNlwvI/s320/2010-12-29+15.51.06.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">That's exactly what I got when I received my Reuben at the Crescent Moon. Although no one else was there, the service was disappointingly slow and no one acknowledged us until we flagged someone down. However, none of that really seemed to matter once I got my Reuben. This Reuben is the original recipe straight from the Blackstone Hotel just a few steps away (which is arguably the birthplace of the Reuben sandwich). This Reuben features corned beef, sauerkraut, swiss and 1000 island dressing, plus a couple of other secret ingredients, grilled on marble rye. The corned beef was tender and the saltiness of the beef really went well with the sandwich. The marbled rye was noticeable but not so strong it overpowered the sandwich and the sauerkraut didn't stand out. After eating it, I craved the taste the rest of the day.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Although very hesitant to eat this sandwich (I expected it to be like all the other ones I've ever had), I went away very glad that I had eaten it. Although initially the service was missing, it did get better after we initially flagged them down. Overall I was very pleased with the experience and want like to go again, especially for the Reuben.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b>Cost and Big John Rating</b></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">$7.15 = Reuben (without tax)</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ambiance = 9</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Taste = 9</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Quality = 9</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Service = 7</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Price Ratio = 8.8</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Big John Rating = 8.4</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b>URLs</b></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reuben_sandwich">History on the Reuben</a></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://beercornerusa.com/indexmoon.html">Website</a></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://beercornerusa.com/documents/crescent%20moon%20menu.pdf">Menu</a></span><br />
<a href="http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/248/1151627/restaurant/Midtown/Crescent-Moon-Omaha"><img alt="Crescent Moon on Urbanspoon" src="http://www.urbanspoon.com/b/link/1151627/biglink.gif" style="border: none; height: 146px; width: 200px;" /></a>Big Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00322769635824406709noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-161916454938496851.post-64029321831895569732011-01-03T14:34:00.000-08:002011-01-03T14:34:06.392-08:00What a Wonderful Invention -- a Cinedine!<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b>Review</b></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This combination offers the greatest potential since the combination of peanut butter and chocolate. Gone are the days of needing to go back for a refill on a beverage or popcorn; now there are waiters that will fill those up for you. But first -- parking. Because this cinema resides in a sky rise area, the building itself blends in with its surroundings. There is a big marquee announcing its location and grabbing the attention of locale passersby. The parking garage is right close to the theater and allows visitors to park for free for the first three hours. Of course, though, depending upon the movie it may not be long enough and could require an hours worth of parking.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The third floor contains the theater with the concession stands. The theater consists of lazy boys with an eating area in front. The rows are larger than normal to allow the waiters/waitresses to walk back and forth behind each row. The chairs are quite comfortable; the chairs in the VIP section even more so.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For my order I went with the Blue Burger consisting of blue cheese and mushrooms on a toasted bun. The blue cheese really enhanced the burger. Normally the blue cheese is hardly noticeable on the burger; however, here the blue cheese made itself known while not completely overwhelming the burger. The end result was a very good blue cheese burger.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The food was good and the service even better. I went there with 5 other people and pretty soon the waiter noticed we were drinking more than the average crowd and brought us out pitchers of soda to replenish our drinks when they hit bottom. He ended up bringing out several pitchers. Ultimately we had more than enough to drink and the service was some of the best I've ever had. I'm already looking forward to my next trip out.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b>Cost and Big John Rating</b></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">$8.95 = Blue Burger without tax</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Quality = 8</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Service = 9</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ambiance = 8</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Taste = 9</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Price Rating = 7.2</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Big John Rating = 8.3</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b>Notable URLs</b></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://marcustheatres.com/Files/Amenities/MenuPdf/CineDine_Midtown_menu_April29.pdf">Midtown Cinedine Menu</a></span><br />
<a href="http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/248/1517824/restaurant/Midtown/Marcus-Midtown-Cinema-Omaha"><img alt="Marcus Midtown Cinema on Urbanspoon" src="http://www.urbanspoon.com/b/link/1517824/biglink.gif" style="border: none; height: 146px; width: 200px;" /></a>Big Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00322769635824406709noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-161916454938496851.post-80736101392470519812011-01-01T22:53:00.000-08:002011-01-01T23:20:54.420-08:00Ted and Wally's Ice Cream Shack<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b>Review</b></span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguiE4fv8EbRH06Mt9sHg8xdpFRZQJxveNgGkzbVvBUAA_fBE_jg57iNeSJxEgxBCvGuxhtOVx-fAD4OOHQLdi9EWV91r-pv1zSKp6PvJ-kODMtQ9JsYjA_PJFFrUwvbUxgt7ZmjQjF4WY/s1600/Ted+and+Wallys+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguiE4fv8EbRH06Mt9sHg8xdpFRZQJxveNgGkzbVvBUAA_fBE_jg57iNeSJxEgxBCvGuxhtOVx-fAD4OOHQLdi9EWV91r-pv1zSKp6PvJ-kODMtQ9JsYjA_PJFFrUwvbUxgt7ZmjQjF4WY/s320/Ted+and+Wallys+2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Located in the historic Old Market District of Omaha, this is one of a few distinct exceptions to the customary red brick design so prevalent in this area. It looks like a dive especially when considering the juxtaposition of this building with the others, but it really offers some good ice cream. The inside is decorated with old ice cream making equipment, an old soda machine, and several paintings on the walls. The menu is written with a dry erase marker on a white board and items are erased once something sells out. Because their menu is in a constant state of flux (they rarely have the same menu items day to day), ordering "the usual" is virtually impossible. This can be considered either a pro or a con depending on if I'm craving something in particular (which does happen on occasion) but really comes in handy if I want to try something new (which usually happens).</span><br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdV9VmNJI6sm3DgqzSEQGXDXBB9hTVApYkW1zP9yPThc8Kamvq-FaZvQ-tU5hI0MTG2ZKy753TlLfWLRz-dy-Aw4CcPwvSU546be0c-b69zZWJndITArgE_ztJOmbjl5NpVjt7uojpISQ/s1600/Ted+and+Wallys+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdV9VmNJI6sm3DgqzSEQGXDXBB9hTVApYkW1zP9yPThc8Kamvq-FaZvQ-tU5hI0MTG2ZKy753TlLfWLRz-dy-Aw4CcPwvSU546be0c-b69zZWJndITArgE_ztJOmbjl5NpVjt7uojpISQ/s320/Ted+and+Wallys+1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">An old ice cream maker decoration<br />
sits right next to the ordering counter.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Off of today's menu I tried the lemon cheesecake and the cinnamon nutmeg. I thought I was going to like the lemon cheesecake and dislike the cinnamon nutmeg, but just the opposite happened. The biggest complaint I had with the lemon cheesecake is the lack of tartness. The only way to tell that it was a lemon flavored ice cream is from the yellow coloring. If it wasn't for the yellow coloring, I would have mistaken it for vanilla. As it was, my tongue couldn't tell the difference. However, my experience was completely different with the cinnamon nutmeg. I was originally worried that the nutmeg or cinnamon would overpower the ice cream, but instead it was a subtle combination that went well with the creaminess of the ice cream. This was one of two flavors that we purchased by the pint and really enjoyed eating for a few days to come.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In short, Ted and Wallys is one location on my short list of places I always visit when in Omaha. In fact, this last time I was here there were 11 of us and everyone enjoyed the ice cream of Ted and Wallys. It's definitely something I will go to again when in Omaha.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b>Cost and Big John Rating</b></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">$3.94 = Two Scoops with tax</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Quality = 9</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Taste = 8</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Service = 8</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ambiance = 8</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Price Rating = 8.9</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Big John Rating = 8.2</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b>Notable URLs</b></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Ted-and-Wallys-Premium-Homemade-Ice-Cream/270695804333">Facebook Page</a></span><br />
<a href="http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/248/1152603/restaurant/Old-Market-District/Ted-Wallys-Ice-Cream-Shop-Omaha"><img alt="Ted & Wally's Ice Cream Shop on Urbanspoon" src="http://www.urbanspoon.com/b/link/1152603/biglink.gif" style="border: none; height: 146px; width: 200px;" /></a>Big Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00322769635824406709noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-161916454938496851.post-7139682288662131802011-01-01T17:19:00.000-08:002011-01-01T23:21:47.178-08:00Rolling Out the Red Brick Matt <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><b>Review</b></span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK5cTYlc6wOe0Pbl9ZIozTyQK_UXvnECKQmy1IiY9C2xwDtzBs0Tn5uSiubB5r4Df-OkhBrCsM0FO_WoxyEMia196WJf3Nw9mWyGNXyetHUGH8VwAiRlqvHvzn7GJJWQWbUIGSIjnv4QQ/s1600/Old+Matt+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK5cTYlc6wOe0Pbl9ZIozTyQK_UXvnECKQmy1IiY9C2xwDtzBs0Tn5uSiubB5r4Df-OkhBrCsM0FO_WoxyEMia196WJf3Nw9mWyGNXyetHUGH8VwAiRlqvHvzn7GJJWQWbUIGSIjnv4QQ/s320/Old+Matt+1.jpg" width="320" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">From the outside, the Old Mattress Factory Bar & Grill looks like an old warehouse. It's actually a grocery store that was later turned into a restaurant. Although originally built in 1883, this interior has been renovated to suit the needs of a bar and grill. The building is a historic landmark and really provides a great atmosphere.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Upon arrival the place was packed. Without a seating hostess, we eagerly awaited a table to clear and jumped on the first one that did so. Although the seating was packed, there wasn't too many people waiting to sit (whereas when we left there was a large crowd waiting to be seated). The busgirl cleaned off the table in record time and soon we were ordering our drinks.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Because Creighton University was playing a game at the Qwest Center, they only offered us a smaller version of the menu. Essentially they wanted to make sure they could get as many people through as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, my brother and sister-in-law had gone over the full menu beforehand and each craved a different item from the full menu that wasn't on the smaller one. When the waiter came over to take our order my brother asked if he could have one the other burgers to which the waiter said no. So my sister-in-law asked for an Omaha Burger with onions, mushrooms, and horseradish (which makes up the Matt burger that she wanted) and my brother asked for an Omaha burger with Blue Cheese and Caramelized onions (which makes up the BlueJay burger) to which the waiter responded, "Ok. You got me. I'm going to go back there and the chef's going to say, 'Why'd you let them order stuff that wasn't on the menu?' And I'm gong to say, 'They're too smart for us!'" So we ended up with what we wanted after all.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-KHNh77siFrlS88ELNKL80ZGaTJM1EYoqos4Gc0faY8dOuK7O_s1R5HsmN9jDcwdB1rZfXH0p9jpcBRKHTlLRcw6itbMetCXdkU5ODB16yE5EaPjH_kSveCsvSr1KIIzWYKF8cA53jm4/s1600/Old+Matt+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-KHNh77siFrlS88ELNKL80ZGaTJM1EYoqos4Gc0faY8dOuK7O_s1R5HsmN9jDcwdB1rZfXH0p9jpcBRKHTlLRcw6itbMetCXdkU5ODB16yE5EaPjH_kSveCsvSr1KIIzWYKF8cA53jm4/s320/Old+Matt+3.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For mine I ordered The Matt Pig Sandwhich (one of their specialties) which consisted of slow cooked smoked pork and topped off with picnic slaw as well as BBQ sauce on the side and fries. The pork was pretty good, very tender and had good flavor. The bun was a little harder than I'd like but it wasn't too noticeable because of how much meat they put on there. The fries were average fries. They also offer an additional cup of soap or side salad for $2 or you can substitute out the fries for sweet potato fries or onion rings for $1.50.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Overall everyone enjoyed their meal and look forward to coming back, not just because of the great service but also because of the good food. You may want to avoid coming just before a CU game, though, because it does get very packed. Other than that it's a great place to go.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b>Cost and Big John Rating</b></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">$7.95 = The Matt Pig Sandwich and fries without tax.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Quality = 8</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Service = 9</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ambiance = 9</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Taste = 8</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Price Rating = 8.0</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Big John Rating = 8.5</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b>Notable URLs</b></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.themattomaha.com/">The Old Mattress Factory</a></span><br />
<a href="http://www.themattomaha.com/media/files/MattressFactory_Menu.pdf">Their Menu</a><br />
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<a href="http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/248/1458774/restaurant/Downtown-Omaha/The-Old-Mattress-Factory-Bar-Grill-Omaha"><img alt="The Old Mattress Factory Bar & Grill on Urbanspoon" src="http://www.urbanspoon.com/b/link/1458774/biglink.gif" style="border: none; height: 146px; width: 200px;" /></a>Big Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00322769635824406709noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-161916454938496851.post-89401115906692977682010-12-16T20:15:00.000-08:002010-12-16T20:28:01.928-08:00A Red Attic Deli<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><b>Review</b></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB747tw8cFOrsoDaWsCgymYwb-JVa0ckCgUwJs03sZ59aR0I24u-uaPqLQnwaLk6WRFKW7kjjKebqLUoQGWvK3JkBf1g72MJtb7Qk4GYUjuynn88TyySKxFQTLk73GjmYtvb6lz2ncdCg/s1600/Red+Deli+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB747tw8cFOrsoDaWsCgymYwb-JVa0ckCgUwJs03sZ59aR0I24u-uaPqLQnwaLk6WRFKW7kjjKebqLUoQGWvK3JkBf1g72MJtb7Qk4GYUjuynn88TyySKxFQTLk73GjmYtvb6lz2ncdCg/s320/Red+Deli+1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I nearly passed it by. I knew it was around here because a friend had been there before, but I nearly passed it by because the door says something about a dance studio. The sign for Red Deli is above the dance studio and there is a sign above the second story window saying "Red Deli", but if you're looking for a sign at eye-level you will never find it. Entering the front door, turning to the right and going up the stairs you come right to the counter where the cashier awaits to take the order. The place looks like an unfinished apartment and the dining area consists of four tables awaiting for people to come. The location is fairly new; there were people in one of the former bedrooms measuring things, looking things over, and walking in and out multiple times. The location still has yet to get a soda fountain -- currently they have an upright glass door cooler filled with IBC root beer of differing varieties such as regular, diet, cream soda, and blackberry.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8oEaurKlp2OV6SjnKnD7MhlpLyW5qhafruAb7mztcWwCUULTpfpcvqcrfv4sTXe3jylz2VLamkw4Q11tG0N4Vgul3wOHFVIsEDvYFvbC8sP3_jUfcQreoem87bXIgJz9ebuD2Bq4ZBzg/s1600/Red+Deli+10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8oEaurKlp2OV6SjnKnD7MhlpLyW5qhafruAb7mztcWwCUULTpfpcvqcrfv4sTXe3jylz2VLamkw4Q11tG0N4Vgul3wOHFVIsEDvYFvbC8sP3_jUfcQreoem87bXIgJz9ebuD2Bq4ZBzg/s320/Red+Deli+10.jpg" width="320" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Being a Philly fan, I ordered their Philly Steak Supreme combo with a medium fry and an IBC Root Beer. The order came out fairly quickly which I appreciated. I wouldn't call the sandwich, though, a Philly Cheese steak, it was more of a rib-eye sub. For toppings it came with mayo, tomato, lettuce, olives, and banana peppers. The meat contained two slices of rib-eye with provolone melted in the middle (which I thought was a great touch). This allowed the cheese to be noticeable but not overcome the taste of the tender rib-eye. The freshly made bread </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">was rather soft and the outside had a harder crust to it that I thought really went well with the sub.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> For a sub the overall presentation was great, but for someone wanting a Philly it was a disappointment. Next time I will go with a different selection mostly because of my expectations of a Philly. The fries were really good although there weren't as many as I'd expect in a medium, but they had a great taste to them. The outside was cooked to a crisp but the inside was still tender mostly because of their size.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Overall, I probably won't go here again and not because of the taste (I thought the taste was great) but because of the distance from where I work to get there, the lack of a soda fountain, and the price. I couldn't finish my entire sandwich not because I was full but because I didn't have anything else to wash it down with. Free refills really do come in handy and have saved a possibly difficult sandwich many a time. As a workaround for this issue, though, they do offer free delivery for some of Provo. If I were in the free delivery range and wanted a sub but didn't feel like driving anywhere, I would probably give them a ring. While we were there, only one other group showed up and yet they were busy the entire time simply because of their phone orders. But price is also something to take into consideration. With the sub itself being $8.75 for a 12 inch, I wouldn't pass up cheaper establishments for this one.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><b>Cost and Big John Rating</b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Cost = $8.75 - 12" sub, $2.50 - medium fries and IBC Root Beer without tax.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Quality = 8</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Taste = 6 (it's the expectation of a Philly that kills this)</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ambiance = 5</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Service = 8</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Price Rating = 7.3</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Big John Rating = 6.7</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><b>Notable URLs</b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://reddeli.com/">Red Deli's Menu</a></span><br />
<a href="http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/54/1221784/restaurant/Salt-Lake-City/Red-Deli-Provo"><img alt="Red Deli on Urbanspoon" src="http://www.urbanspoon.com/b/link/1221784/biglink.gif" style="border: none; height: 146px; width: 200px;" /></a><br />
<iframe align="left" frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=bigj01-20&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=B00008R9KR&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="align: left; height: 245px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 5px; width: 131px;"></iframe>Big Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00322769635824406709noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-161916454938496851.post-77786102069045650222010-12-15T16:46:00.000-08:002010-12-21T16:36:11.154-08:00Everything on Great Steak<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><b>Review</b></span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie1b2otbkvx4aUHscOD8_pa_q73_s-NuNe57wSDvNEY48NWEAcv_IEgqHhINDfJgzLkzavbQ60sQFJPxPhNL5aUhlgaUz0d0PMcQQQEKWaFaaecXIQNpVBOj9rXkhGYHNX64_0pu7kOAw/s1600/The+Great+Steak+8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie1b2otbkvx4aUHscOD8_pa_q73_s-NuNe57wSDvNEY48NWEAcv_IEgqHhINDfJgzLkzavbQ60sQFJPxPhNL5aUhlgaUz0d0PMcQQQEKWaFaaecXIQNpVBOj9rXkhGYHNX64_0pu7kOAw/s320/The+Great+Steak+8.jpg" width="320" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What was the name of that place? Was it The Great Steak or Steak & Everything Grill? It's very confusing because the outside and receipt says "The Great Steak" but the menu says "Steak & Everything Grill". Hmm. Google Maps and Facebook call it "Steak & Everything Grill" so that's what I'll refer to it as.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Approaching from the outside this looks exactly like the kind of place I like to visit -- just a little Ma & Pa's type place. Inside it has a very old feel to it with the old school Coca-Cola advertising and other items decorating the walls that could have come from an old log cabin or malt shop. The dinning area is small -- perfect for a Ma and Pa's and has maybe 3 tables and 7 booths.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Pulling all three tables next to each other, the lunch crew took to looking over the "Steak & Everything Grill" menu. With a wide variety of items to choose from, the question on what to eat was apparently very tough. One guy in our lunch crew barely made his entrée choice but when it came to dessert he couldn't take the pressure and told the waitress, "Surprise me". Which she did by coming up with her own milk shake recipe, and he enjoyed it.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB-xXEfpksf5mV5FddaCc_4PD5SB88v3pZ3T-ysq53TjPLOV70h8XVMW5_xNoT6lGKeAGah-UNx9_eaJALZkVKNZm_m0tF35uCkEm0r61rzsU15Zfd8OZz2-U_5Qe0F_54WcLLDL8mEfo/s1600/The+Great+Steak+7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB-xXEfpksf5mV5FddaCc_4PD5SB88v3pZ3T-ysq53TjPLOV70h8XVMW5_xNoT6lGKeAGah-UNx9_eaJALZkVKNZm_m0tF35uCkEm0r61rzsU15Zfd8OZz2-U_5Qe0F_54WcLLDL8mEfo/s320/The+Great+Steak+7.jpg" width="320" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When it came to my turn I did what seemed right at the time and went with the first item on the menu -- the Steak and Everything combo. This Philly Cheese steak comes with rib-eye, grilled bell peppers and onions, tomatoes, and provolone all on a sourdough bun. When they first brought it out my thought was "Where's the beef?!?" I don't think I've seen a Philly that was more bun than topping (take a look at my <a href="http://bigjohnreviews.blogspot.com/2010/12/good-phillys-at-chubbys-cafe.html">Chubby's Cafe</a> posting to see what I'm talking about). It had a pretty good taste to it (there was a lot of flavoring to it and the grilled veggies pulled their own weight) and resembled something I would get at the Italian Place. Overall it was a good sandwich, it just needs a bit more to it to go along with the bun. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The fries that came with the combo were crisp and the fry sauce was an excellent compliment to the fry. Theirs is a fry sauce I would recommend and will want again.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Overall we had a very good experience and the lunch crew looks forward to coming back here again sometime.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><b>Cost and Big John Rating</b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Cost = $6.99 without tax (came with the Steak and Everything, small fries, and a drink)</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Quality = 6</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Taste = 6</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ambiance = 9</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Service = 9</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Price Rating = 6.4</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Big John Rating = 7.5</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><b>Notable URLs</b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Steak-Everything-Grill/105300009161">The Steak & Everything Grill Facebook Page</a></span><br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://oneguysfoodcritique.blogspot.com/2010/12/steak-everything-grill.html">Wings -N- Things</a></span><br />
<a href="http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/54/1564751/restaurant/Salt-Lake-City/Steak-Everything-Grill-Provo"><img alt="Steak & Everything Grill on Urbanspoon" src="http://www.urbanspoon.com/b/link/1564751/biglink.gif" style="border: none; height: 146px; width: 200px;" /></a><br />
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<iframe align="left" frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=bigj01-20&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=0595202586&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="align: left; height: 245px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 5px; width: 131px;"></iframe>Big Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00322769635824406709noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-161916454938496851.post-65853354955251648342010-12-14T21:04:00.000-08:002010-12-15T16:57:11.229-08:00Wallaby's Great Barbecue<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b>Review</b></span></span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX1rO1Ghg5qyrp90mFfDQ571McQoZJzsluyOKYpOB-iEFkgNhGDnlcXZSlQIMzrf3IbMphwfEf18S1tx_CzI1sJOKatBKz5GB-0ff8eFMMiAIe8ViwwvTV2ZHN8dkxmBNuLKQAcjaWj7E/s1600/Wallabys+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX1rO1Ghg5qyrp90mFfDQ571McQoZJzsluyOKYpOB-iEFkgNhGDnlcXZSlQIMzrf3IbMphwfEf18S1tx_CzI1sJOKatBKz5GB-0ff8eFMMiAIe8ViwwvTV2ZHN8dkxmBNuLKQAcjaWj7E/s320/Wallabys+1.jpg" width="320" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Wallaby's is a great addition to the Utah barbecue scene. Strategically located near a busy intersection in Lindon, Wallaby's is easily noticed from State Street and just as easily accessible. The inside offers many Australian items such as Australian yield signs and several other items. The wood pile to the right is not just for decor but also informs the customer that this is a smokehouse and all their meat is smoked (which really makes for a good meal).</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ever since Wallaby's came out with their lunch menu, the lunch crew has frequented this location. It is a favorite of ours. Even though they recently changed their lunch menu from meat and side for $5.99 to meat and two sides for $6.99, this is still an excellent price for barbecue. This time I went with my personal favorite -- the pulled pork with a side of smashers. For the extra side I gave the fresh veggies a try. Each meal also comes with two slices of their home made bread (which is really good bread). The pulled pork is tender and not only has a great flavor, but also goes very well with their raspberry barbecue sauce. The smashers consist of mashed potatoes with cheese worked into them. Also very good. Be ye warned, though, they come with a lot on the plate. A senior Asian couple ordered the smashers and when they brought the plate out their eyes went as wide as saucers and led to them calling the waitress back thinking there was some mistake because they had only ordered one side of smashers and not two; but that's how they come.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMnmOP3Sj546F7x64n12U6lw_smxL47ywllSryF6gosjs0DVZY3OjxGS85BGxa9h87zBJl4P7lh612psnXWQX8BrNExzep-hzx0E0Fe4hWrT4mzPUoQAVEkWWvUqnfqeHKCDYR-jkuADI/s1600/Wallabys+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMnmOP3Sj546F7x64n12U6lw_smxL47ywllSryF6gosjs0DVZY3OjxGS85BGxa9h87zBJl4P7lh612psnXWQX8BrNExzep-hzx0E0Fe4hWrT4mzPUoQAVEkWWvUqnfqeHKCDYR-jkuADI/s320/Wallabys+3.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The fresh veggies came with broccoli, onions, carrot strips, and zucchini. There was only a slight buttering to the veggies, and they were well steamed and had a great taste to them. I will consider ordering these next time as well. Their baked beans are also good with bacon added to them; they are also something I've substituted for the smashers occasionally.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If it's good barbecue you're looking for and want to try something different and new, Wallaby's is a great place to go for a good price.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b>Big John Rating and Cost</b></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Cost = $6.99 without tax (includes meat and two sides)</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Quality = 9</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Taste = 9</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ambiance = 9</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Service = 8</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Price Rating = 9.7</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Big John Rating = 9.0</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b>Notable URLs</b></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.wallabyssmokehouse.com/">Wallaby's Website</a></span></span></span></b></span></span><br />
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<a href="http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/54/1221077/restaurant/Salt-Lake-City/Wallabys-Smokehouse-Lindon"><img alt="Wallabys Smokehouse on Urbanspoon" src="http://www.urbanspoon.com/b/link/1221077/biglink.gif" style="border: none; height: 146px; width: 200px;" /></a>Big Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00322769635824406709noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-161916454938496851.post-57728000674082129702010-12-13T20:25:00.000-08:002010-12-13T20:32:28.168-08:00Delta Doesn't Need to Freeze for Good Food<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b>Review</b></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Delta Freeze in my opinion is the best eating establishment there is in Delta. Located right near the entrance of Delta from Highway 6, this place is situated in such a way that no other place needs to be passed up to get here. From the outside it looks small because the upper floor consists of the loft (which is a steak shop) and the bottom floor contains Delta Freeze but it is big enough to get the job done. This classic malt shop offers a variety of items on the menu including two different seafood entrees (one herring and the other cod) plus a buffalo burger and sometimes even Ostrich. In addition they also serve shakes.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLH7D_TQ0fdbSpPcB6vgBI77DRnPc6_hA8r5XjPF4sGrBW_5iXPXB6w5YrcO5yekowssUqKjV3Dx93TKGqn-Q9B5yH0jBF77gVZj71_maqmURKeR_LwtCYjZUagucbYyBMoLFBztB2HgA/s1600/Delta+Freeze+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLH7D_TQ0fdbSpPcB6vgBI77DRnPc6_hA8r5XjPF4sGrBW_5iXPXB6w5YrcO5yekowssUqKjV3Dx93TKGqn-Q9B5yH0jBF77gVZj71_maqmURKeR_LwtCYjZUagucbYyBMoLFBztB2HgA/s320/Delta+Freeze+1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Today I went with the 1/4 pound Delta Deluxe which included a 1/4 burger, ham, swiss cheese, mushrooms, lettuce, tomato, pickles, onions, and sauce all on a toasted bun. I am a firm believer that mushroom belongs on a pizza not on a burger; I do not like the texture of the mushroom on my burger. However, I always get the artist's creation the first time just in case I'm pleasantly surprised (which does happen). This time, I wasn't. Picking out the mushrooms, though, this was a great burger! The swiss cheese was folded into the ham and melted nicely inside of it. Swiss does have its proper place on a burger especially if the surrounding taste an hold its own against the strong taste of swiss. This burger does just that. Every bit had different flavor combinations and was enjoyable to the last crumb.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Because I ordered the 1/4 pound burger, I also received an order of small fries. I wish I had a larger size. The fries were crinkle style -- a style that you normally don't get up where I'm from. They also came with different seasonings on top of them and were chewy. I normally don't get a fry this springy and chewy so this was a delightful find. My advice is to keep these all to yourself; don't share them with anyone unless you get the large size and even then share responsibly.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Overall, I've enjoyed every single trip I've ever made to Delta Freeze and look forward to the next. Don't pass this place by if you're heading along Highway 6 because the stop will definitely be something worth remembering.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b>Big John Rating and Cost</b></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Cost = $5.55 without tax (includes 1/4 Delta Deluxe and a small order of fries)</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Quality = 9</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Taste = 8</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Service = 8</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ambiance = 9</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Price Rating = 9.1</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Big John Rating = 8.5</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b>Notable URLs</b></span></span><br />
<a href="http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/312/1300167/restaurant/Utah/Delta-Freeze-Delta"><img alt="Delta Freeze on Urbanspoon" src="http://www.urbanspoon.com/b/link/1300167/biglink.gif" style="border: none; height: 146px; width: 200px;" /></a>Big Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00322769635824406709noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-161916454938496851.post-64300679160472979072010-12-13T19:43:00.000-08:002010-12-13T21:48:15.642-08:00Maria Bonita Good Chimichanga<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b>Review</b></span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiZZPQ9DIMg1U9waXFM52cRGOKxSzBG1fNEe7QYpdX_PdDZ1ggI-3gnbEtGqWgMjZQwJTtMYEiFOC6LmSj_pUYCxjMQ9Ipq9uD2Psi9LYUEi6ob4Z0eqcx-pZKsklSBBAOWS5XxBCriEw/s1600/Maria+Bonita+Mexican+Grill+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiZZPQ9DIMg1U9waXFM52cRGOKxSzBG1fNEe7QYpdX_PdDZ1ggI-3gnbEtGqWgMjZQwJTtMYEiFOC6LmSj_pUYCxjMQ9Ipq9uD2Psi9LYUEi6ob4Z0eqcx-pZKsklSBBAOWS5XxBCriEw/s320/Maria+Bonita+Mexican+Grill+1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A small hole-in-the wall in a strip mall near the North Orem Maceys, Maria Bonitas offers good Mexican food. For me, their prices are a bit higher than I would normally pay, which is why we come at lunch when they have excellent lunch prices. The really do a lot with the little space they have and decorate nearly every inch of their walls with Mexican items such as sombreros and small vihuelas. Many of the tables have wooden chairs, but some others have leather chairs with the words "Maria Bonitas" written across them as well as a picture. On previous visits this place was packed during the lunch hour; as it is, though, it was virtually empty until about 12:30 when it picked up a little but not nearly as much as it used to.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiufA7aGl7EJihMtK7roSrQAEIYkormOR_L3yE-ETATPHyPYFrWhPrfTAKJS_vr4wge6H4_JhLlMCAXXklAy9vLTRBmxuZSUo-Q5Efa5LiA-XtCSgNFYbE-SK4I16QYxpMWQ8KQyG0VoZw/s1600/Maria+Bonita+Mexican+Grill+9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiufA7aGl7EJihMtK7roSrQAEIYkormOR_L3yE-ETATPHyPYFrWhPrfTAKJS_vr4wge6H4_JhLlMCAXXklAy9vLTRBmxuZSUo-Q5Efa5LiA-XtCSgNFYbE-SK4I16QYxpMWQ8KQyG0VoZw/s320/Maria+Bonita+Mexican+Grill+9.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For today's course I ordered the lunch special which included the pulled pork Chimichanga, a soup appetizer (consisting of fried rice in water), and a soda. For me, I've experienced similar things to the fried rice soup in foreign countries so it wasn't too strange for me; however, for my coworker it was described as "weird" and "not that good". I thought the fried rice was very flavorful and tasted better than some other soups I've had elsewhere; but for those who aren't used to this sort of thing it can be a weird experience.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A while after the appetizer our waitress bought out the entree. It was a lot of food for the price! Although there was a major portion of the chimichanga burned, the remainder tasted great. This chimichanga was filled with pork and had cheese cooked on top of it. For me the cooked cheese really added a lot of flavor and texture that made the chimichanga very enjoyable. To my coworker who also ordered the same thing, he ended up taking most of it back as leftovers. His was perfectly cooked and enjoyed the chimichanga just as much as I did.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The refried beans were cooked a bit longer than I would have liked and appeared burned but didn't taste that way. Overall the burned spot is highly reflected in the final rating of this restaurant, but that doesn't mean I won't come back. I do recommend this place; it is one that I've really enjoyed for lunch and would recommend the chimichanga to anyone looking for a good meal.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b>Big John Rating</b></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Quality = 6</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Taste = 5</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Service = 8</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ambiance = 9</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Price Rating = 7.74</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Big John Rating = 7.3</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b>Notable URLs</b></span></span><br />
<a href="http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/54/1221495/restaurant/Salt-Lake-City/Maria-Bonita-Mexican-Grill-Orem"><img alt="Maria Bonita Mexican Grill on Urbanspoon" src="http://www.urbanspoon.com/b/link/1221495/biglink.gif" style="border: none; height: 146px; width: 200px;" /></a><br />
<iframe src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=bigj01-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&asins=0307451100&fc1=000000&IS2=1<1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="width:120px;height:240px;" scrolling="no" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" frameborder="0"></iframe>Big Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00322769635824406709noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-161916454938496851.post-53714912755375143652010-12-12T22:09:00.000-08:002010-12-12T22:22:46.965-08:00China Isle Very Good Chinese<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><b>Review</b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is one of my personal favorite Chinese places. Not only do the plates come out with lots of food, but it comes at a very reasonable price. First of all, the lunch menu takes up a full page. For $5.55 at lunch your meal comes with an egg roll, soup (either egg drop or hot and sour), rice (default is ham fried but you can ask for steam or for a $1.00 extra it comes with Lo Mein Noodles), fried wonton, and, for a $1.50 extra, a fried shrimp. Although the fried shrimp is a big shrimp, it's still one shrimp; not worth it in my opinion.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMUHRaPvRAbFaBHrBkkSjo1nXn_1XUeBCP8RGhl_itwKwvUasm8YxtyW3DCNXo3ypGz7J8KVMt0uLnCvGSpa0g9YsjVcDMNKUal9e_CMbezFrqhT30FQmihkPB4NbSQICPui7JCQ2yZx4/s1600/China+Isle+5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMUHRaPvRAbFaBHrBkkSjo1nXn_1XUeBCP8RGhl_itwKwvUasm8YxtyW3DCNXo3ypGz7J8KVMt0uLnCvGSpa0g9YsjVcDMNKUal9e_CMbezFrqhT30FQmihkPB4NbSQICPui7JCQ2yZx4/s320/China+Isle+5.jpg" width="320" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Usually I order the orange chicken which is some of my favorite. The orange chicken has some spiciness to it and the breaded chicken is well cooked and tastes great. The lemon chicken is good as well -- the lemon isn't too strong but still has the great lemon flavor and the sesame chicken is my friend's personal favorite. He typically craves that weekly.</span><br />
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For the price combined with the taste, China Isle is a great place to come for lunch. Not only does it come with a variety of food, but it is all very good as well.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b>Big John Rating</b></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; font-weight: normal;">Quality = 7</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ambiance = 8</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Service = 8</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Lunch Price Rating = 8.9</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Big John Rating = 8.2</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b>Notable URLs</b></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small; font-weight: normal;"><a href="http://www.chinaisle.com/">China Isle Menu</a></span></span></b></span></b></span></span><br />
<a href="http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/54/590484/restaurant/Salt-Lake-City/China-Isle-American-Fork"><img alt="China Isle on Urbanspoon" src="http://www.urbanspoon.com/b/link/590484/biglink.gif" style="border: none; height: 146px; width: 200px;" /></a>Big Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00322769635824406709noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-161916454938496851.post-22819506178303296492010-12-10T09:25:00.000-08:002011-03-01T15:26:34.106-08:00Good Philly's at Chubby's Cafe<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b>Review</b></span></span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj38q_9nVDvSbI3L-cqVbaumMeFUSvNjqLUHsh7s_7OYe0nKXvKqTTZAQ7i6tYMVc762OWeJUQ5RPGpdQ8BAo0jXb3Y3fUdp5sqHiWtkbqhlK4xZLmsY7of4NLRA72spidwzjeqINsOGKk/s1600/Chubby%2527s+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj38q_9nVDvSbI3L-cqVbaumMeFUSvNjqLUHsh7s_7OYe0nKXvKqTTZAQ7i6tYMVc762OWeJUQ5RPGpdQ8BAo0jXb3Y3fUdp5sqHiWtkbqhlK4xZLmsY7of4NLRA72spidwzjeqINsOGKk/s320/Chubby%2527s+1.jpg" width="320" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I seriously thought this was a lawn tractor store. Or a repair shop. I've driven past this place for years thinking it was a warehouse or some other such item until one day, out of the corner of my eye, I caught the word "Wings" frosted on a window. In checking out Urbanspoon I noticed that Chubby's Cafe is much more than just a wing shop -- it's also a burger joint and offers southern food. Finally the day arrived that the lunch crew decided to give this place a try. Driving up to the location I realized that underneath the tractor repair shop facade existed a rustic eating establishment.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWS_9CxZgjrgREEJJstcnWt8Z1-YYyF3PdUIkJPOc0sbFsAYfWZASD6eZpd4umewxd1eT6fIGWoXRFSOXGA5BnBzJkJWuwgnPiqFzkjpVCcBvJrgU2hwlxvf4mnTHmh4hUOS6pgjBTL-E/s1600/Chubby%2527s+7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWS_9CxZgjrgREEJJstcnWt8Z1-YYyF3PdUIkJPOc0sbFsAYfWZASD6eZpd4umewxd1eT6fIGWoXRFSOXGA5BnBzJkJWuwgnPiqFzkjpVCcBvJrgU2hwlxvf4mnTHmh4hUOS6pgjBTL-E/s320/Chubby%2527s+7.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This informal barbecue / burger / wings / southern cooking restaurant offers good tasting food at a great price. Today I went with the Philly Cheese steak and the beer battered fries. This Philly comes with thinly sliced rib-eye, swiss cheese, pepper jack cheese, green and red bell peppers, and a horse radish mayonnaise. The bun was soft, the meat was greasy and perfect, the cheese and horse radish offered a great variety to the taste of the Philly and introduces a uniqueness that sets this cheese steak apart from others. The beer battered fries started out tasting very good, but as they went along the taste became a little too much and they ended up being difficult to finish, but they are something I will order again even if they cost $0.50 extra.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">All in all, the Philly was pretty good. However, the swiss and pepper jack although creative alternatives are not my favorite cheeses on a Philly; I'm more of a provolone or cheese whiz guy myself. I've had better Phillys, but I was still very impressed with the eating establishment and will definitely have to come here again sometime. Not only is the food good, but the service was great and the staff really offered some southern hospitality. Definitely worth a repeat.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b>Big John Rating</b></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Quality = 8</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Taste = 7</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Service = 8</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ambiance = 9</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Price = 8.3</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Big John Rating</b> = 8.0</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b>Notable URLs</b></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Chubbys-Cafe/106902492675236">Chubby's Cafe Facebook Page</a></span></span></span></b></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><a href="http://oneguysfoodcritique.blogspot.com/2010/12/chubbys-cafe.html">Wings -N- Things Critique</a></span><br />
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<a href="http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/54/1538956/restaurant/Salt-Lake-City/Chubbys-Cafe-Pleasant-Grove"><img alt="Chubby's Cafe on Urbanspoon" src="http://www.urbanspoon.com/b/link/1538956/biglink.gif" style="border: none; height: 146px; width: 200px;" /></a>Big Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00322769635824406709noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-161916454938496851.post-47641149955376597142010-12-04T18:47:00.000-08:002010-12-04T20:25:54.293-08:00In-N-Out: It's Just a BurgerWhen In-N-Out came to Utah, one would have thought from the Californians that Zeus had finally come down from Mount Olympus and graced the world with the best burgers ever given to humans a feat that can only be matched by the gods giving us fire. While most of Utah County circled the blocks waiting for their little slice of heaven, I waited expecting this to be too similar to Chadders for their own good. And I wasn't wrong. The first time I went to In-N-Out was almost my last. The burgers were just a burger and the fries tasted like cardboard. I know they make their fries fresh -- you can watch them slice up their potatoes just before putting them in the fryer. I've never seen anyone mess up on freshly made fries -- but they have mastered that art.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAzYNxrmPqig0b7bqbu0wE9WlbpyKUM68i7eHlIgKTsnynCGXBhrfU8B-WZNmxWLbcfHrcjzV3C4Aee_P0RB3AnKQyHUZiKep6dRmjQXu4xFm6K-CvmUPgcVlCyo4fqKDfB9gSL_5duTI/s1600/2010-12-04+17.50.56.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAzYNxrmPqig0b7bqbu0wE9WlbpyKUM68i7eHlIgKTsnynCGXBhrfU8B-WZNmxWLbcfHrcjzV3C4Aee_P0RB3AnKQyHUZiKep6dRmjQXu4xFm6K-CvmUPgcVlCyo4fqKDfB9gSL_5duTI/s320/2010-12-04+17.50.56.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Like I said, I almost didn't go back until someone pointed out their hidden menu. My personal favorite is the animal style burger and fries. Animal style involves a mustard cooked hamburger with additional pickle, cheese, spread, and grilled onions diced up and mixed together on the grill before placed on the burger. With the fries, they take cheddar cheese, the grilled onions and the spread, cook it a little longer to melt the cheese, then serve it with a fork. Animal style makes the fries palatable and sets the burgers apart from other burger joints.<br />
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Since I found out about the hidden menu I have been back several times. I still don't completely understand the hype, but I do like the food and recommend it to others who are in the area looking for a burger. I wouldn't pass up a Wendy's or a Burger King, though, to get here; the burgers are just as good and you don't have to pay for extra toppings on your fries to get something you'll like.<br />
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<a href="http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/54/1511903/restaurant/Salt-Lake-City/In-n-Out-Burger-American-Fork"><img alt="In-n-Out Burger on Urbanspoon" src="http://www.urbanspoon.com/b/link/1511903/biglink.gif" style="border: none; height: 146px; width: 200px;" /></a>Big Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00322769635824406709noreply@blogger.com