Archive for "Reviews"
Staybridge Suites Madison-East
Posted on April 10, 2016 by Ching under Reviews, Travel.
It doesn’t look like much from the outside but this hotel has probably been the best hotel I’ve stayed at this year in terms of cleanliness, customer service, and value. For perspective, the hotel I’ve stayed at this year include Hampton Inn (Fort Lauderdale, before our cruise), Hyatt Place (my second home in Topeka), Holiday Inn Express (it’s down the street from our training facility in Topeka), and Drury Plaza at the Arch (St. Louis). I may be missing some but these are the hotels I can remember off the top of my head that I’ve stayed at this year.
Here’s a look at the inside where breakfast and social hour happens. This Staybridge provided breakfast daily and then also social hour, with real food and unlimited drinks, Monday through Wednesday.
Here’s a picture of what I had for breakfast one day. They would have either pancakes or French toast. They also have a waffle maker so you can make your own waffles in the morning. There’s also, toast, bagels, breakfast pastries, muffins, fruit and cereal — lots of different options basically.
Here’s a picture of the social calendar for the month that was posted on my fridge. They had a chicken fajita taco bar the night we were there and then soups and sandwiches the day we were leaving. It also appears that they partner with local restaurants to cater food in for the socials on some nights. The chicken fajita tacos looked pretty good. So on those bad weather days or other days that you just don’t feel like going anywhere, you can eat free hotel food and just stay in.
We were supposed to arrive around one o’clock on Monday afternoon but, because our flights were canceled, we didn’t arrive until midnight. The rep at the front desk, Nate, was super nice. Anyway, I think since we arrived so late all of the regular rooms were taken. Ginger and I both got upgraded to two-room suites (more on that in a minute).
Nate recognized me from talking to him to setup an airport shuttle pickup earlier that morning. “Weren’t you supposed to arrive this afternoon? I sent a shuttle to pick you up. What happened?”
I explained that our flights got canceled so we were rebooked on other flights later in the day. “I called back and canceled the shuttle. You were probably off by then. I talked to a woman and she told me there wouldn’t be shuttle service that late but that there would be lots of cabs at the airport. We just took a cab over. No worries.”
“She didn’t offer to pay for your cab?” he asked.
“No she didn’t mention it. That would have been nice though, because there weren’t any cabs waiting when we got outside. On the way here our cab driver was on the radio with home base asking to send cabs at the airport because there was a lobby full of people and no cabs to be found.” The was actually one cab when we got outside but it was already taken. I think the cab driver was going a different direction because she asked us where we were going and then told us that she couldn’t take us and that there would be other cabs coming. A guy who came out after us must have been going the same general direction she was because he was able to get in her cab. It didn’t take long for the other cab to show up. I suppose there are lots of cabs during regular hours or high traffic times but they don’t wait around at the airport until midnight. The airport in Madison is a small regional airport so that makes sense.
“She really should have offered. Next time just ask.”
Nate was very thorough. He made sure that Ginger and I both had our rewards number so we could get our hotel points. He told us about the upgraded rooms and gave us some options: whether we wanted our rooms to be on top of one another or be on the same floor on opposite sides of the building. We opted for same floor.
I got room 330. I think Ginger either got 310 or 307 on the other side because she also got a two-bedroom and two-bath suite. I was amazed at all the space I had when I first entered my room. I usually hate getting a room with two beds in it because I feel like it’s a waste. Well, guess what. This time I had three beds! And an extra bathroom that I didn’t need. Talk about waste!
I wish I would have known about this option ahead of time. We could have gotten away with reserving three rooms instead of five separate ones. LOL.
Side note, it was clearly opposite day because everything that was happening was opposite of my normal preference. For instance, I ended up getting an exit row seat on our flight to Madison. Most people like exit row seats because they have more leg room. Not me. I don’t like the pressure of having to perform in case of an emergency, which I know isn’t likely but enough to stress me out. I mean, I’m not very strong. What if the door won’t open? Those are the kinds of thoughts that go through my mind.
Anyway, we were told it was a full flight so then I was like, “At least I have an aisle seat. There’s going to be two other people who will take care of the emergency door. I shouldn’t have to worry about it.”
Guess what. The flight wasn’t full after all. The two seats next to me empty!
I could have crawled into a fetal position and taken a nap since I had so much space but I got engrossed in watching The Great Gatsby (relevant because we’re going to a 20s murder mystery party at the end of the month and I wanted some outfit ideas but also because the movie is quite entertaining). I didn’t really get to take full advantage the situation. Oh, well.
And then I get to the hotel and I have three beds, two more than I really need. It was a freaky Monday indeed. Everything that was happening seemed to opposite what I like.
My suite consisted of a common living-dining-kitchen combo and two bedrooms with each their own bathrooms. The living room area was actually quite spacious.
The kitchen was equipped with a full-sized fridge, stove, microwave, sink, coffeemaker, toaster, and dishwasher.
In the cupboards you had pots, dishes, glasses, utensils, and everything else you could possibly need for a comfortable extended stay.
Here’s a picture of one of the bedrooms with its own adjoining bathroom.
I obviously didn’t stay in this one. Here’s the bedroom I slept in. This bedroom had its own adjoining bathroom as well which was exactly like the other one.
I also took a picture of the breakfast buffet and social hour info.
Here’s a picture of the taco bar.
And the drink bar.
There’s also a really nice apartment complex next to the hotel with a great walking path. It looks like the path goes all the way around the apartment complex. I didn’t follow it all the way around because I didn’t want to creep out the residents.
I really enjoyed staying Staybridge Suites Madison-East. The location was nice and quiet. They had shuttle service to take you wherever you need to go within a two-mile radius. It was very clean. The hotel staff was nice. The free breakfasts daily and free food and drinks during social hour made for an excellent value. I liked it so much I actually looked online to see if they had a location in Topeka. I would rather stay somewhere like this than at Hyatt Place, specially if I’m going to be there all week.
There’s a Staybridge in Wichita but not one in Topeka. I guess Hyatt Place is going to be stuck with me for a while.
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The Burger Stand – Lawrence and Topeka
Posted on March 26, 2016 by Ching under Food and Drink, Reviews.
The Burger Stand is hands down the best burger joint in Kansas. Not just because of their hip ambiance but the burgers are amazing. They’ve come up with the most creative and delicious combination of flavors. They offer a variety of different types of fries, which are flavorful enough to stand on their own, but they also have lots of different sauces you can try.
I had dinner at the Burger Stand at the Casbah last month, which is their Lawrence, KS location. Here are some pictures.
I know that menu is hard to read so here’s a link to their menu online. They have burgers (meat and veggie) and hotdogs (made with Nathan’s Famous all beef hotdogs) and a variety of fries to choose from. They even have poutine fries, which aren’t very common unless you’re in Canada.
These are the truffle fries, which are my absolute favorite kind of fries to get there. Even though the sweet potato fries and the duck fat fries are quiet popular as well. I hear the Cajun fries are yummy as well but I tend to go with what’s familiar so I always end up eating the truffle fries.
They have some salad selections too, if you’re not a burger eater but you gotta try their burgers because they are super delicious. I’m not much of a burger eater myself but these burgers are amazing. Beyond amazing. They are life-changing. LOL. The one pictured above is the Smoke which consists of a super thick burger patty, applewood-smoked bacon, gouda cheese, and chipotle-cocoa ketchup. I have never tasted a more delicious burger in my entire life.
We had our team builder at the Topeka location this past week. The Topeka location is officially named the Burger Stand at College Hill, probably because of its proximity to the Washburn University campus. Getting there is kind of weird because you drive by a bunch of houses. Parking is kind of iffy at times and the one way streets can be confusing but, I have to say, it’s totally worth the trip. I think the Topeka location actually has a more extensive menu than the Lawrence one in terms of burgers. For instance, I don’t think you can get Holy Jalapeño or Thai Turkey in Lawrence. It doesn’t matter to me either way though, because I just want the Smoke burger which I can get at both places.
Our team building activity last Wednesday consisted of pounding some burgers and playing a single-elimination ping pong tournament.
I’m not any good at ping pong but I think it’s super fun and wish I could play more often. My first match up was against Darcy. I don’t think she’s ever played ping pong before. I was able to advance to the next match which was against Miranda. I also won that match. My next match was supposed to be with Nathan but he withdrew because he felt bad about winning against Jenni despite his illegal serving style. I ended up playing against Jenni instead. She was pretty good and I lost that match.
Anyway, I had some pretty easy matches. I’m glad I didn’t have to play any of the pros like Kim, Dan, Andy, or Sam. I think Sam was the ultimate winner that night which is funny considering he’s not even on our project team. He was just tagging along with our Project Manager Andy who also works for the same consulting firm. Andy’s first match was with Kelsey and he was being really mean and smashing the ball every chance he got. I’m glad I never had to play him. Our Project Director Kim was really good and she held her own against Sam. Sam played ping pong the best out of everyone.
Even though I’m not as good at playing ping pong as the others, I really enjoy it. It’s a shame that we already have some furniture in the basement. If it was still fairly empty, I would totally ask for a ping pong table for downstairs. LOL. I wonder if there are any restaurants in Wichita that have ping pong tables you can play on. I know that there’s a ping pong table at the ICT Pop-Up Urban Park because I’ve played there before but it has been too windy and cold to play, and I haven’t really been in town enough.
Do you guys have some suggestions as to where Brian and I can go and have some food and play some post-dinner ping pong? Please post them in the comments. Otherwise, I may just have to take him to the Burger Stand in Topeka one of these days.
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Cocos Asian Bistro and Bar
Posted on February 7, 2016 by Ching under Food and Drink, Reviews, Travel.
Brian and I had dinner with our friend Glynda on the eve of the Zumba cruise. We invited her cruise roommate Kate also, but she was too tired from all the shopping they did at the mall. Only Glynda was able to join us.
I remember craving Thai food that evening but Brian wasn’t in the mood for it and Glynda had never tried it before so we decided to play it safe and picked Gilbert’s. We got our Uber driver to pick us up at the hotel and drop us off at Gilbert’s only to find out that they’re closed on Sundays. We looked around the shopping plaza and there weren’t many restaurant options. There was a very loud bar across the parking lot which seemed like fun but it did not appeal to Brian. As luck would have it, Cocos was just a few doors down from Gilbert’s and they were open. The three of us agreed to eat there instead so I got my wish of eating Thai food after all.
We got to the restaurant early enough that we beat the crowds. The restaurant was considerably busier when we left.
Glynda was having problems with the Uber app so Brian helped her install and set it up. And then he explained how to use it and gave her a code for her first ride free.
Here are some of pictures of our meal…
We splurged a little bit and had a few samplers. The calamari was a little spicy for me but otherwise fantastic. I wish that Brian like calamari because he would have enjoyed the sweet, spicy flavor of this dish.
The chicken satay was delicious.
The fried dumplings was another great starter.
Glynda had some miso which she said she enjoyed.
She also wanted a salad but I’m not sure that the soft shell crab papaya salad was quite what she expected. I think she found it a little odd.
We already had several starters so Brian decided to have lettuce wraps for his meal.
I always try the yellow curry everywhere that I can get so I ordered the chicken massaman. At $30 it was a bit more expensive than I’m used to paying. I usually get curry around town for about $10 or maybe $15 if it’s a nice restaurant. That said, this was the best massaman curry I’d ever had. It had just a hint of spice and ample sweetness. I felt it was worth the higher price.
Overall our Cocos experience was pretty good. The menu prices were a tad high but it’s a pretty minor complaint considering the quality of the dishes I tried that evening. If I had some time to spend in Fort Lauderdale, I wouldn’t mind eating here again.
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Rediscovering an Old Classic
Posted on November 24, 2015 by Ching under Food and Drink, Reviews.
We first discovered Riverside Cafe seven years ago and then had completely forgotten about it since Wichita has had a slew of breakfast type restaurants open. We rediscovered it recently when we were looking for somewhere close to work to eat breakfast on the weekends that Brian and I were working on packing up and moving my office.
Riverside Cafe, amazingly enough, always seems to be really busy despite the plethora of breakfast options available in town. That was the case the two Saturdays that we went and were told that wasn’t even their busiest. If you go on a Saturday morning, the trick is to get there early – say around nine or even earlier. We got there about ten o’clock one day and there was already a long wait. We ended up sitting at the bar because we were in a hurry and we were very hungry. It wasn’t too bad. The place does get really packed as the morning wears on so be prepared to wait if you’re not an early riser.
One of the things I like most is a nice, warm cup of hot chocolate with whipped cream. Riverside Cafe makes a delicious one. I like their whipped cream also. It tastes homemade rather than out of a can.
Another thing that’s cool about Riverside Cafe is it’s very homey. They don’t have fancy mugs or anything. They just have random mugs that have been collected over the years. It’s really a lot like having breakfast at home, except the food is better and you’re around a bunch of strangers.
Here are some photos of Brian drinking his coffee. See what I mean about the mugs? They are totally random.
Here’s a picture of what I always get.
Here are pictures of what Brian always gets.
I really like Riverside Cafe. I’ve been to lots of different diners and breakfast joints and I really like the feel of this one. It makes me feel really relaxed.
We always end up at the Good Egg, which is Brian’s favorite breakfast place. The good is great but the place is little too yuppy for me. Brian is a bit of a snob so it’s right up his alley; whereas my style is more relaxed and down to earth. I enjoy fancy food every now and then but, when it comes to breakfast, I prefer it to be pretty basic. It doesn’t even have to look pretty because it will be in my belly in a matter of seconds.
We used to live by the Good Egg so it made sense for us frequent the restaurant. Now that we’re in a different part of town, it’s going to be a drive either way. The closest non-chain breakfast joint is Livingston’s Diner, which is another one of my favorites. I really like eating there as well. I just prefer the more relaxed atmosphere where I don’t think people will judge me for having gone straight from the gym or bed. LOL.
The last time we were at Riverside Cafe, we ran into local restaurateur Melad Stephan. He owns several restaurants and his own breakfast joint downtown. Either he lives around the corner and it was easier to get to or the food is good. I have no idea where he lives so I’m going with the latter.
They’ve since expanded so there are three locations now, including one in Derby. I’ve only ever eaten at the one on 13th Street so I can’t speak for the other locations. I really like the original one on 13th Street. If you’ve never been to Riverside Cafe, it’s worth checking out. Let me know how you like it in the comments.
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Juli’s Coffee & Bistro
Posted on November 15, 2015 by Ching under Food and Drink, Reviews.
I found a great place to eat while I’m in Topeka, Juli’s Coffee & Bistro. It’s just across from our Topeka office on 8th Street. I eat there almost everyday, whenever there’s enough time to grab lunch.
It’s got unique decor and really cool ambiance.
Even their salt and pepper shakers are cute. There are different ones at each table.
And, they serve breakfast and lunch.
Here are some pictures of food from Juli’s.
I would have more pictures of food except most of the time I’m grabbing my food to go and eating while I work. As you can see from my parking voucher below, ten-hour days are not unusual. I think we’ve had a couple of thirteen-hour days already so ten hours is about average.
I’m still straddling my regular job and my role in the CIS project right now so I’m kind of doing my old work while I’m working on the project. Fridays are pretty much dedicated to getting caught up on what’s happening with the Customer Relations Center, and training my coworkers and team members who have been gracious enough to take care of some of my duties while I work on the CIS project. I’m finally at a point where my major responsibilities are covered so I can start focusing most of my attention on the project.
I’ve been spending most of the week (Monday through Thursday) in our Topeka office. While I’m starting to get used to driving from Wichita to Topeka, I’m not really fond of driving so I’m glad I found a place within walking distance of the office that serves great food. I highly recommend Juli’s if you’re ever in downtown Topeka.
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