Archive for "Reviews"
Giordano’s
Posted on August 26, 2012 by Brian under Reviews, Things to Do, Travel.
I had to make a trip to Chicago for some training. I asked a few of my friends, where to eat in Chicago. They responded with Giordano’s. So I asked the group I was with if they wanted to go and they agreed that it sounded like a good place. And, it was right down the street.
When we walked in they handed us a menu. They told us it would be a 15 minute wait, and then told us that we could order the pizza while waiting for a table since it took 45 min to get a pizza made. This was a little concerning but we figured what the hell, the place is packed, it must be really good.
We started with the bruschetta appetizer. It had really good flavor and was actually a really large portion.
The pizza was not just large, it was gigantic.
This was a medium three topping stuffed deep dish pizza. We each got two slices and we still could not finish it.
We thought about taking it back to the hotel, but we didn’t have any fridges or microwaves in our rooms.
I would have to say that this was a really good place. Prices are reasonable for what you get. But be warned. The wait is pretty long. So keep this in mind if you are making plans for a date or something.
Speaking of dates, I think I will need to make plans to bring my wife back here for a vacation at some point.
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Paisano’s Ristorante
Posted on August 25, 2012 by Ching under Food and Drink, Reviews.
Paisano’s is another Topeka favorite. I’ve been here a couple of times, but someone has always taken me so I really don’t know where it is. I suppose I could enter the address in my GPS. The restaurant has been around a long time so it shouldn’t be a problem. Although, I didn’t have to worry about finding the place because Rachel drove and she is very familiar with the area. I was so happy to find her in the same training class. We used to work together in the same department about ten years ago. She started a month before I did. It was nice to be able to catch up. And, it was also nice not having to eat dinner alone for a change.
I accidentally ordered the Chicken Spidini Diavolo instead of the Carcciofi Spidini, which I probably would have liked better since I don’t really like spicy foods. That spicy diavolo sauce is no joke. It was so spicy, I couldn’t even taste the marinara sauce of the spaghetti. Unless, they put spicy diavolo sauce over it too. It was dark in the restaurant so I couldn’t tell. LOL.
I wasn’t a huge fan of this dish, but that isn’t the restaurant’s fault. I just don’t like spicy foods and I made the mistake of ordering the spiciest dish on the menu. It’s ID10T error, as Mel at work always puts it. LOL.
I don’t ever remember having a bad meal at Paisano’s and this was actually pretty good. Seriously. I ate most of it. Then again, that doesn’t say much, as Brian thinks I am a human garbage disposal and will eat just about anything.
I’m actually looking forward to going back to Paisano’s again and ordering the dish that I intended to order. I’m curious what it tastes like. I’ll have to make a mental note of this for the next time I have an overnight stay in Topeka.
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Dickey’s Barbecue Pit
Posted on August 25, 2012 by Ching under Food and Drink, Reviews.
I had the opportunity to eat at Dickey’s Barbecue Pit while I was in Topeka a few days ago. I always like trying places that we don’t have here in Wichita. Lucky for me, there’s a Dickey’s restaurant right in front of the my hotel.
I made the mistake of ordering a two-meat plate and had way more food than I could eat. My two meats were pulled pork (a must because I love, love, love pork) and spicy cheddar sausage. I was quite surprised at how much I liked the spicy cheddar sausage. I would totally order that again. Although, the spiciness creeps up on you.
My sides were coleslaw and potato casserole topped with grated cheese. While I liked both, they were pretty average. The coleslaw tasted just like the ones you get at KFC. The potato casserole was a little on the bland side, but then it could be that my tastebuds were numb from the spicy cheddar sausage. LOL.
Jokes aside, I actually thought the food was pretty good as barbecue goes. I would eat there again even if it weren’t located outside my hotel door (though that is an added bonus because I don’t like having to drive all over the place when I’m away from my comfort zone of Northeast Wichita). Also, the people who work there are super helpful and friendly. They even let me taste the spicy cheddar sausage to help me decide whether I wanted to order it. It is a shame that there isn’t a Dickey’s restaurant within 100 miles of us. I wish I could take Brian to one. He love barbecue.
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The Beacon Restaurant
Posted on August 14, 2012 by Ching under Food and Drink, Reviews.
Brian and I arrived at Tracy’s an hour too early on Saturday so we decided to eat breakfast at The Beacon to kill time.
Neither Brian nor I had ever been there but my sister Jenni was been there a few times. We’d heard some pretty good things so we were excited to give it a try.
Brian wasn’t quite awake yet.
I’m not sure how often the specials board is updated, but this is what it looked like that Saturday. I usually gravitate towards specials because of the discounted pricing (read: I’m cheap). Brian and I ordered the first two items on the list.
Brian got the Beacon traditional with country potatoes, which he normally likes, but he didn’t like them as much because they had onions and a bunch of other stuff. Also, they were cold. The temperature inside the restaurant was cold (according to Brian; I thought it was fine) so I’m wondering if they were cold because we were seated close to an air vent or because it had to sit and wait while they re-made my omelette. Probably a combination of both.
I got the New York omelette minus the Swiss. That’s the reason why they had to re-make it. The cook put cheese in the first one. At least the server noticed and had it corrected before bringing it to the table. At other restaurants, the servers are not attentive enough to notice or they serve it to you anyway hoping that you won’t notice and/or complain about it. The downside is that our food took longer and I think that’s part of the reason that Brian’s food was cold. Overall the Beacon is not bad. There are definitely better places to eat breakfast, but I think the good service at the Beacon makes up for its deficiencies.
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Newport Grill
Posted on August 13, 2012 by Ching under Food and Drink, Reviews.
I thought Bonefish Grill’s happy hour was really good. Newport Grill’s happy hour specials are even better. You can never go wrong with $3 off starters and appetizers and $5 cocktails. Woot!
Some coworkers and I ate at Newport Grill (at Bradley Fair) on Friday in celebration of Darcy’s 10th service anniversary. Her anniversary was actually last month, but July was really hectic so we couldn’t find a good day/time to get together until last week.
It worked out for the best, though. It would have been too hot to sit out on the patio in July. We had a table close to the waterfall. Actually, Newport Grill has the best patio in town. There’s not a bad table out there. Anyway, the weather last Friday was awesome. The cool breeze and the sound of the waterfall made for a wonderfully relaxing anniversary celebration lunch.
I got to try a couple of their starters: fried calamari (pictured above) and the warm olives and fresh ricotta served with sliced ciabatta bread (below).
Both were very good.
Amy and Isaac both had the grilled chicken sandwich. I only took one photo because their plates looked identical.
Guest of honor Darcy had the lobster roll sandwich. I didn’t get a picture of Jan’s or Ginger’s meals. My phone takes too long so I’m never quick enough to get pictures of everyone’s food before they start digging in. I can usually only get pictures of plates that are easily within reach.
I was trying to be good so I opted for a Caesar salad in place of the fries. I regretted it after though, because everyone’s fries looked so good and the salad was just okay. It was prettier than it tasted.
My crab cake sandwich was delicious, though. That had to be one of the best crab cakes I’d ever had. I guess Jan tried to order the same thing, but they brought her out the crab cake appetizer instead of the sandwich. I made sure to specify sandwich to our server because of the $2 difference. The sandwich is $13 and the appetizer is $15. It doesn’t make sense, but whatever. Oh, I also noted that it read crab cake rather than crab cakes (as it does at other restaurants) so I figured that you only get one. Call me cheap, but $15 for a single crab cake is expensive. No matter how good it is.
Then again, people don’t go to Newport Grill for cheap meals. You go because the seafood is fresh and the food is delicious. The fancy patio and wonderful outdoor ambiance is just an added bonus. It was also nice that the weather was on our side.
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