Name: rockstar-JB
Posts by rockstar-JB:
They’re good, they’re REEEEAAAALLL!! No, they’re not.
June 2nd, 2010Food Rating: 
– I didn’t get sick, so that’s something
Service Rating: – It took the entire length of War Pigs, by Black Sabbath to order and get my food. 8 minutes.
Price Rating: – I can think of WAY better things to eat for $7.
Overall Rating: 
– It is a step above the McRib, but that isn’t saying much.
Burger King
687 West State Street
Hurricane, UT 84737-1973
(801) 635-3663
So I saw the commercial and said “fine, I’ll bite”. I have always wondered when fast food would try and do actual ribs. Now that they have, I wanted to see how badly they effed it up. Well, the answer is pretty bad.
The ribs do seem to be actual ribs as opposed to the infamous McRib. They do also seem to have come into contact with actual fire at some point too. This is about all the good I have to say about these things.
Now, onto the bad. First off, they’re pretty flavorless besides char and salt. The majority of the flavor comes from the BBQ sauce, which is the same sauce you get if you ask for it with chicken nuggets or something. So you could really save yourself the trouble and just get some of that for free along with some salt. Put them together, imagine it has a bone in it, and you would get basically the same experience.
Also, it apparently takes them a long time to make them. There was nobody in line, and from order to driving away it took the entire lenght of “War Pigs” by Black Sabbath. 8 minutes.
Final note, don’t do it unless you have some horrible burning curiosity.
In-N-Out and Back Again
June 2nd, 2010Food Rating: – Best fast food burgers that I’m aware of.
Service Rating: – Everyone is friendly and prompt. Leagues above any other fast food establishment.
Price Rating: – Sure, the cost is a little higher than normal fast food, but you get what you pay for.
Overall Rating: – If you have a chance and want a fast burger, this is your best bet.
832 W. TELEGRAPH ST.
WASHINGTON CITY, UT 84780
1-800-786-1000
In-N-Out burger is the business. They make burgers. They make them good. They make them fresh. THEY MAKE THEM FOR YOU. They also make their french fries right there. You can see it. Nobody hauls out a huge bag of frozen potato slices. They peel potatoes, and put them into a, uh, french fry press. I don’t know the fancy technical term. All I know is that it turns potatoes into french fries.
This is one of the few places that I’m familiar with where what you get actually looks like the picture. Seriously.
The menu is simple. You can get a burger, or a double burger. You can get cheese on them too. You can have french fries, or not. You can get a soft drink or a shake. And you know what? That is all I want. I don’t care that they don’t have a tripple bbq chicken bacon slaughter burger. They have a simple menu and they have mastered it. It also cuts down on those goobers who stare at the menu for a quarter of a century trying to figure out what they want to order and then change every aspect of the actual order to the point where it is actually closer to a different item on the menu.
It isn’t all gravy. With your order being made fresh it understandably takes a little while longer to make. You can expect to get a number, and in about 5-8 minutes they will call you. If you go through the drive through during a busy time they usually have a person outside walking the line taking orders with a wireless ordering console. Pretty awesome.
The price is also a little higher, but I think that is just fine also. Since with other fast food places your $6 meal is actually only 75% food, I’m ok with my $8 meal being 100% food.
The staff is very friendly. Even the guy mopping the floor asked me if everything was ok and if I needed anything.
I make it a point to get In-N-Out burger whenever I’m on the Western part of our great nation. The only other fast food I ate while out here in Utah was Burger King, to try those ribs. yeah, that went well. I needed some In-N-Out to get the horrible taste out of my mouth, but I really didn’t feel like eating anything after….
Rocked by Hard Rock
January 24th, 2010Hard Rock Cafe – Niagara Falls, NY
333 Prospect Street
Niagara Falls, NY 14303-1105
(716) 282-0007
Food Rating: – Awesome. I think it is better than your normal sports bar fare.
Service Rating: – Prompt and friendly. I like a bartender who introduces his or her self.
Atmosphere Rating: – I’m a fan of the rediculous stuff that litters the walls. Other than the ROCK stuff, its like a sports bar
Price Rating: – I guess all of that ROCK stuff costs a lot of money….the food costs more than it should, but not terribly so
Overall Rating: – Good food, good service, and a new glass for my collection.
I was in a touristy spot, so I had to eat at a touristy place. I don’t know why, but I like Hard Rock Cafes. They scored major points in my book back when I lived in Japan as they were the only restaurant that had free refills on sodas. It’s the little things.
Anyway, I’ve spent a pretty penny at Hard Rocks through my years, and have various hats, shirts, glasses and shot glasses to prove it. I even have a membership card that does…something…that I haven’t figured out yet.
This Hard Rock was no exception. I ended up with about a $120 bill which I’ll break down later. But it is ok, because I walked to the casino and placed $100 on black for the sole purpose of scoring some sweet-eats-money, and it worked.
First off, the atmosphere is pretty neat. I like all the rock and/or roll memorabilia that litters the joint. I also like how the staff knows they work at a Hard Rock.
I sat at the bar because as usual I was all alone. The bartender immediately came over and introduced himself in an informal-best-buddies-I work at Hard Rock kind of way and I got my first beer. The beers are a little over priced, but it was cold and poured properly, so that’s fine.
I first ordered a batch of wings because I was interested in the combination of smoked and buffalo flavors, and as suspected, they were pretty dang good. Now, for being only a short drive from Buffalo, I probably should have just gone somewhere there for wings, but whatever. These were mighty fine. Not too hot, not too vinegary, and just SLATHERED in sauce. The smoked flavor wasn’t as strong as I had hoped, but you could tell it was there.
Now comes the entrée. I got an open faced sirloin sandwich which really means you get a fat cut of meat on a big piece of bread with a whole bunch of crap on it. It was awesome. The meat was a bit more overcooked than what I had ordered, but it wasn’t bad at all. The meat wasn’t really seasoned beyond your basic stuff, so it pretty much tasted like any sirloin, but it was juicy (which is actually required by law for an open face sandwich). The fixings were also tops. God help you if you actually try and eat this like a sandwich. I’ll help you too.
For funzies I ordered a side of the “Twisted” macaroni and cheese because lets face it, I effin love macaroni and cheese and I had a BURNING NEED to know what made it “Twisted”. Unfortunately I never did find out why it was called “Twisted” but I have some theories. A) The type of noodle they used. B) the fact that it was kind of spicy. C) It is served at a Hard Rock Café. D) All of the above but mostly C. Doesn’t matter, it was delicious. You can see them in the picture above nestled next to my meats.
I also waffled down several beers throughout dinner because I could.
Now, here is where my tab starts growing by leaps and bounds. I bought merch. I can’t help it. I got a beer glass (which comes w/ beer in it) and a shirt for my lady. I also joined that membership thing which cost a few bucks too. All in all it came to like $120, but since the kind Native Americans paid for $100 of it, I was quite pleased with dinner and myself.
Then I went to see some waterfall everyone kept talking about.
I was in a touristy spot, so I had to eat at a touristy place. I don’t know why, but I like Hard Rock Cafes. They scored
major points in my book back when I lived in Japan as they were the only restaurant that had free refills on sodas. It’s the
little things.
Anyway, I’ve spent a pretty penny at Hard Rocks through my years, and have various hats, shirts, glasses and shot glasses to
prove it. I even have a membership card that does…something…that I haven’t figured out yet.
This Hard Rock was no exception. I ended up with about a $120 bill which I’ll break down later. But it is ok, because I
walked to the casino and placed $100 on black for the sole purpose of scoring some sweet-eats-money, and it worked.
First off, the atmosphere is pretty neat. I like all the rock and/or roll memorabilia that litters the joint. I also like
how the staff knows they work at a Hard Rock.
I sat at the bar because as usual I was all alone. The bartender immediately came over and introduced himself in an
informal-best-buddies-I work at Hard Rock kind of way and I got my first beer. The beers are a little over priced, but it
was cold and poured properly, so that’s fine.
I first ordered a batch of wings because I was interested in the combination of smoked and buffalo flavors, and as
suspected, they were pretty dang good. Now, for being only a short drive from Buffalo, I probably should have just gone
somewhere there for wings, but whatever. These were mighty fine. Not too hot, not too vinegary, and just SLATHERED in sauce.
The smoked flavor wasn’t as strong as I had hoped, but you could tell it was there.
Now comes the entrée. I got an open faced sirloin sandwich which really means you get a fat cut of meat on a big piece of
bread with a whole bunch of crap on it. It was awesome. The meat was a bit more overcooked than what I had ordered, but it
wasn’t bad at all. The meat wasn’t really seasoned beyond your basic stuff, so it pretty much tasted like any sirloin, but
it was juicy (which is actually required by law for an open face sandwich). The fixings were also tops. God help you if you
actually try and eat this like a sandwich. I’ll help you too.
For funzies I ordered a side of the “Twisted” macaroni and cheese because lets face it, I effin love macaroni and cheese and
I had a BURNING NEED to know what made it “Twisted”. Unfortunately I never did find out why it was called “Twisted” but I
have some theories. A) The type of noodle they used. B) the fact that it was kind of spicy. C) It is served at a Hard Rock
Café. D) All of the above but mostly C. Doesn’t matter, it was delicious.
I also waffled down several beers throughout dinner because I could.
Now, here is where my tab starts growing by leaps and bounds. I bought merch. I can’t help it. I got a beer glass (which
comes w/ beer in it) and a shirt for my lady. I also joined that membership thing which cost a few bucks too. All in all it
came to like $120, but since the kind Native Americans paid for $100 of it, I was quite pleased with dinner and myself.
Then I went to see some waterfall everyone kept talking about.
Stateside Deli Doesn’t Mess Around
January 23rd, 2010Stateside Deli
3552 Meridian Crossings Drive
Okemos, MI 48864-6916
(517) 853-1100
Food Rating: – I love these sandwiches
Service Rating: – Got my food quick, and everybody was friendly. What more can you ask for?
Atmosphere Rating: – I hardly spend any time inside. Can’t think of anything good or bad.
Price Rating: – While the prices are high, the food to price ratio is well within reason.
Overall Rating: – Only reason I don’t eat there every day is it is about a half hour round trip.
Like corned beef? Go to State Side Deli. Before you whine about the prices, look at what you get for it. That isn’t a goddamned sandwich, it is the goddamned Battle of the Bulge in a box.
I love me a ruben (and friends) sandwich. This is probably my second favorite ruben-class sandwich I’ve had in the Lansing area (the first is the Super Reuben at The Irish Pub…but I was drunk when I had it, so my judgment may be a bit off). Anyway, the State Side Deli doesn’t shit around. You get PLENTY of their delicious corned beef all up in your sandwich.
There isn’t really anything wrong with the sandwich, which in turn makes it a great sandwich since it is so hard to find a really good sandwich in a restaurant. I had plenty of sauce, slaw, etc with none of them over abundant. And if I did need anything else, everyone I’ve dealt with there was pretty friendly, so I’m sure I could have gotten it. You can check out their delicious menu online.
So, after I ate this sandwich I was pleasantly surprised to find a pickle wedge hiding underneath like I wouldn’t find it. Pickle, you can’t hide from me. I love pickles. And since the sandwich took up the whole box, I really didn’t know it was there until I finished. I propose we start saying the phrase “Like finding a pickle underneath a good sandwich” instead of “Like finding money in an old coat”
Finally, I had a slice of the something-layered cake. Forgot the number. It was given to me free of charge in hopes of a good review. While I am appreciative, and can usually be bought, there was no need sir. No need. Mmmmm, free cake.
Pepper In Some Mediocrity – Only at Chili’s!
November 4th, 2009Chili’s – Visited September 30, 2009
5055 Marsh Rd
Okemos, MI 48864-1103
(517) 347-7188
Food Rating: – The food is good. Not great, but Chili’s has become pretty popular and all of the marketing in the world can’t cover up awful food.
Service Rating: – This is generally where my distaste from Chili’s comes from. The orders are wrong, nobody seems to give a crap, and nobody seems concerned about our dining experience.
Atmosphere Rating: – Gaudy. Not for me, but there isn’t anything really wrong with it.
Price Rating: – The food is slightly more expensive than I feel it should be, and the beer is considerably more expensive than it should be. But I did get a pretty big margarita for pretty cheap.
Overall Rating: – I’m neither here nor there on Chili’s. I probably will continue to avoid them, but I’m not adverse to eating there if that is what other people want to do.
Well, I picked Chili’s because they had been pretty awful the past two times I went there. I decided to give Chili’s a third chance hoping to get a funny story out of the deal. Well, unfortunately for me and fortunately for them the third time was a “charm”.
The first two times visiting this Chili’s were dismal at best. The queso dip was cold with a nice micro-waved film on top, and several orders were wrong. We had to send the server back at least twice per visit because of missing dishes, and on a fairly regular occasion people had to ask for drink refills instead of being asked if they would like more (or, bonus, the server just brings it). The restaurant was slow during these visits, which explains, but does NOT excuse why the food wasn’t fresh, and definitely makes me wonder how the server messed up so much. Both dining experiences were pretty bad.
However, on our third venture to Chili’s they did much better. Our server still seemed like she would have preferred it if we hadn’t come in to dine, and she messed up an order, but once we pointed it out she had it fixed in a jiff.
One thing I was impressed with was a margarita I ordered. The el Presidente or some jazz. I was expecting a regular margarita with a double margarita price. What I got was a decent sized margarita, the shaker with at least another 1.5 refills in it, and a price of like $7. That is OK in my book. Super OK.
As for the food, it wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t good either. Kind of generic. People ate up with no complaints.
I ordered some steak and ribs. My steak was ordered rare, and came out pretty close to what I wanted, so I can’t complain. Wasn’t a great cut of meat, but at least they cooked it how I wanted it. The ribs were dry and tasted like generic bbq sauce. As it turns out, I don’t want my Chili’s baby back ribs.
The only weird thing going on was the chips that came as an appetizer. Maybe this is how Chili’s does chips, but I wasn’t a fan. They were thin and kind of soft. Kind of like some fried tissue paper.
Also, the saltines were soggy in the packaging. Weird.
Anyway, I won’t choose to go to Chili’s again despite this not-so-terrible experience. I will sigh and groan if people want to go there, but I’ll probably go if I can’t talk them out of it. Maybe Chili’s are better somewhere else, but it was my understanding that part of being a franchise is to offer the same service no matter where it is. So, either Chili’s of Okemos shouldn’t be part of the franchise, or all Chili’s should be avoided if possible as you run a one-in-three chance of having a mediocre dining experience, and a two-in-three chance of being pissed off. We shall see!
Never-Ending Pasta Gluttony, Only at Olive Garden
August 20th, 2009Olive Garden
5015 Marsh Road
Okemos, MI 48864
(517) 349-0330
Food Rating: – It’s pasta bowl, man. It’s pretty tasty.
Service Rating: – Our server was not thrilled with us. Also, I wanted food, not a breakdown of the rate structuring of DirecTV
Atmosphere Rating: – It’s an Olive Garden. They are all seriously the same
Price Rating: – Dinner for two (all you can eat), salad, bread sticks, drinks. $30 after tax/tip
Overall Rating: – It’s pasta bowl, man
When and if I (n)ever adopt a child from some horrible place where they don’t have food, I will have to make sure I time it right so that one of the first things we can do is experience true American culture at an “Italian” restaurant.
That’s right kids, you heard right. Never-ending Pasta Bowl is back. And, according to our waitress, it doubles the number of guests they have.
For those not in the know, Pasta Bowl gets you free salad, breadsticks, and as many bowls of pasta as you can feed into your horrible mouth for about $14 after drink, tax, and tip. Not bad. The only real catch is that you have to pick from the pasta on the list. The list has your basic types of pasta, and a few types of sauce, and any combination your horrible mind deems fit for your horrible mouth can be yours just as soon as they can slop it into a feed bag and bring it to your horrible face.
I keep saying “horrible” because I usually eat so much that I feel like I’m going to die.
The restaurant itself isn’t bad either. Our server acted like she could totally be doing something better. Also, we were seated next to the server station, so I am now well aware that one of the employees is switching from DirecTV to Comcast and is so happy to be doing so. See, the rate structuring for DirecTV just doesn’t make any sense, and according to another employee, it is a huge scam and they basically commit fraud every time they bill you.
One quirky thing that happened during our visit was that I arrived with 2 members of my party about 20 minutes before the other two, so I had them take my name down so they could direct the latecomers to my table. Two hostesses and my waitress made sure I did this. I’ll be damned if when they got there the hostesses had no idea what was going on. Oh well, that is why Alexander Graham Bell invented cellular communications.
I generally stick to alfredo dishes, so that is pretty much all I had (but 3 bowls). I understand the mushroom sauce was undelicious, but I can’t say from experience.
Alfredo sauce with spinach.
Some kind of noodle with regular alfredo sauce. Not a winner
Alfredo with spinach, again
Other members of my party felt like spending some more money, and got an appetizer and a dessert. They looked and tasted pretty delicious. Sorry, these pictures are after the vultures picked at them for a minute.
Delicious fried thing.
Delicious sugar dough things and chocolate dipping sauce
Basically, if when you go to the never-ending glutton bowl, tell the server to shove off when she brings you salad, and if possible go without a drink. Fill your horrible stomach with 95% pasta to get maximum value for your dollar. Or don’t.
Wild Wing, You Almost Made My Heart Sing
August 3rd, 2009Wild Wing Café
2085 West Grand River Rd
Okemos, MI 48864
P: 517-349-2321
Food Rating: – Tasty. But it is kind of hard to mess up chicken wings.
Service Rating: – Hostess was a dummy. The actual service was good.
Atmosphere Rating: – Casual. And they didn’t change a DAMN thing inside from when it was a Bennigan’s
Price Rating: – A tad pricey for fried chicken in sauce
Overall Rating: – If it was a little cheaper I would be all over this place
I’ll be honest, I was a little anxious when I heard that we would be trading our local Bennigan’s for a new wing joint that I had never heard of. I am a fan of the chicken wing, so I hoped for the best.
Well the place, Wild Wing Café, finally opened, and I waited a week or so to allow them to find their flow. I’m not a fan of rolling up on opening day and watching everyone run around like chickens with their heads cut off. You have to give them a little bit to get used to, ya know, the restaurant business.
Right off the bat I was displeased with the hostess. Apathetic and dumb. But whatever, our encounter with her was just the few seconds it took her to put us at a table that was too small for our party.
The actual waitress was a lot better, and while she got one of the orders wrong, she was friendly about it and had the problem fixed right away. She even brought me a glass of milk!
I ordered a Strong Bow Cider as it was happy hour, and everyone who tried it agreed that it tasted watered down, or Strong Bow Light (which isn’t a real thing, heads up). Who knows. The Shock Top beer I had after that tasted just fine. Mmmmmmm, Shock Top……
Now, on to the FOOD!
What do you order at a restaurant named “Wild Wing Café”
The answer: salads WINGS
The names of the flavors on the menu were slightly racist (which isn’t a bad thing, I snickered). They have a flavor called “The Oriental” with a description of “AH-SO-GOOD”. The biggest problem is WHAT IN THE HECK DOES THAT ACTUALLY TASTE LIKE? They had a few items on the menu that you just have to order to find out what it is, I guess.
They have 33 flavors of wings, and as much as I would like to, I can’t try them all in one sitting as A: I don’t think they will bring me 1 of each flavor, and B: I wasn’t 33 wings hungry. Fortunately, they have sampler platters. 5 wings of 5 different flavors! So we ordered two of those monsters. I can’t remember all of the flavors we got, but I do know this: I got the “Braveheart” which is supposedly the biggest baddest wing they have. I thought “I’ll be the judge of that!”
Well, the jury is in, and the “Braveheart” is a monster. Is it too hot? No. Should you eat that flavor first? Again, no. It was so hot that I couldn’t taste the first few wings after eating it. One member of our party who was going to eat one licked her finger, and said “oh god, I don’t want that!” and handed it off. If you order any “Braveheart” flavored wings, eat them last and make sure you are ok on refills. It won’t knock you down right away, it is more of a “creeper” that will let your lips and tongue know exactly who the new sheriff in town is as soon as you think it is safe. Don’t be a girl, try it.
All in all, I was not displeased with this new wing joint. The wings were big, the flavors creative and tasty, and judging from the quick glance of the non-wing part of the menu, it looks like they have other tasty meals. But seriously, get the wings.
The pricing leaves a little to be desired. The 5×5 sampler was a cool $20 after tax, and the beers will set you back $5-7 for something worth drinking. With alternatives like BWW on Tuesday or Thursday, or Old Chicago on Mondays, you’d be a fool to pay that much for wings considering 3/7 days of the week you can get them for ¼ the price. However, if you find yourself craving wings on Wednesday, or the weekend, give them a shot!
-Rockstar
