Archive for the year 2013
Romano’s Macaroni Grill
Posted on January 13, 2013 by Ching under Food and Drink, Travel.
Several folks from training class decided to go to Romano’s Macaroni Grill for dinner on Wednesday night. It was a nice opportunity to relax and visit with the other students. I learned so much, not just in training, but also from the other students. I learned about Tabata from Jennifer and nightly rituals like drinking a glass of champagne in the evening to celebrate the day and doing 20 push ups before bed.
Here are the obligatory food photos from that evening for your enjoyment.
The food was really good. A couple of people ordered appetizers to share with the table so I got to try the goat cheese stuffed peppadew peppers and Italian nachos. Both were yummy.
I had the chicken scaloppine. It was so good that I was tempted to finished it all. We used to have a Romano’s Macaroni Grill in Wichita, but it closed several years ago. There’s a Barnes & Noble there now. It’s been years since I’d been to the restaurant and I’d forgotten how good the food is. I wish they’d reopen a location in Wichita.
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My Carnitas Dinner at Raul & Theresa’s
Posted on January 13, 2013 by Ching under Food and Drink, Reviews, Travel.
We had the most interesting cab ride to the hotel. While we were waiting for Carmen’s suitcase to come out of baggage claim, she called the cab driver Ruben who was recommended by Miner, one of the hotel staff members that she spoke with last week.
She got his voice mail the first time that she tried. She was cracking up because his voice mail message said something like don’t leave a message, just keep trying to call back. When she finally got a hold of him, she thought he said it would take an hour and twenty minutes for him to pick us up. She was like, we can’t wait that long to be picked up. He clarified and said twenty minutes. I guess his heavy accent caused a bit of a language barrier.
We waited for a while and, after a bit, Carmen was thinking that if he didn’t show up in five more minutes, that we should just take another cab. Finally he called and informed us that he was getting ready to pull up. He asked what door we were by. He also asked Carmen what she was wearing, which was a little awkward because it could have easily been taken out of context. LOL.
We had the most entertaining ride to the hotel. Ruben was very friendly. He asked us what music we wanted to listen to. We told him it didn’t matter and that we would listen to whatever music he listened to. He tuned the radio to 95.1 Latino Vibe and we were dancing around to Mexican and Latin American music all the way to the hotel. All the while he was telling us about Camelback Mountain and the various stadiums that we were driving by. He also told us about his Zumba instructor daughter who lives in Texas. He was Mr. Congeniality, full of helpful information.
He told us about the free shuttle service at the hotel and gave us some restaurant suggestions. That’s actually how we found out about Raul & Theresa’s in Avondale. We figured if a Mexican person says that a Mexican restaurant is good then it’s got to be good, right? They should know.
Here’s a picture of my carnitas dinner at Raul & Theresa’s. It was pretty good, but not great by any means.
Their chips were pretty mediocre and their salsa is way too spicy. When we asked for mild salsa, we got something that was very watery and way too mild. We finally just made our own by mixing the both the regular and mild together. I was disappointed that it wasn’t nearly as good as similar restaurants here in Wichita.
I’m not sure how everyone else felt about their dinner. The entrees that were delivered to our table both looked and smelled good. Jennifer, one of the students in class who joined us for dinner that evening, said her wine was not good. Then again, who orders wine at a Mexican restaurant? You’re supposed to order a margarita. LOL. We should have warned her ahead of time.
Other than that, the service was pretty good. I think the locals really love this place. Thus, the great reviews that we got from the Ruben and the hotel staff. Speaking of Ruben, he was a great cab driver and lived up to the advertisement on his business card of “friendliest cab in town, low rates, clean ride, and clean driver.” When Carmen left her cellphone in the cab after she got dropped off at the airport, he even came back to the hotel and returned it to me. How many cab drivers would do that? If you are ever in the area, be sure to call Dove Transportation at (602) 413-5399 and ask for Ruben. That might be Ruben’s direct number, actually. If you get voice mail, don’t leave a message. Just call again.
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Beer Scavenger Hunt
Posted on January 12, 2013 by Ching under Life.
Nick had a list of beers he wanted Carmen to look for so one night before dinner we stopped by Total Wine in Glendale. It’s not quite Table & Vine, but it’s pretty cool. They sell cheeses and chocolates and wine tchotchkes, pretty much everything that you need for a wonderful evening.
Despite two whole aisles of craft beers, they didn’t carry any of the hard-to-find beers on Nick’s list. Carmen picked out some good ones that you can’t get in Kansas that she thought he’d like, though. I asked Brian if he wanted me to get him anything, but he said no. We live by a pretty good liquor store so it didn’t really matter. Although, I did find that some of the prices at Total Wine are much better. They had bottles of Chateau Ste Michelle riesling for under $6. They’re usually $10-15 over here.
As good as Groves is, I kind of wish we had a Total Wine or Table & Vine here. Brian says that, by law, liquor stores in Kansas aren’t allowed to sell food. We actually found this out when we went to a Trader Joe’s in Leawood. They didn’t have any liquor. One of the store representatives told that us that we would have to go a store on the Missouri side to get the regular Trader Joe’s experience. This is definitely one of the downsides of living in Kansas.
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The Great American Grill
Posted on January 12, 2013 by Ching under Food and Drink, Travel.
Pictures of hotel food. It was not bad, actually.
They made delicious salads. I really liked the avocados.
I really liked their salads and would have been content eating every meal at the hotel. Some of our companions wanted to venture out and eat though, so I got to try a couple of other places.
Overall I enjoyed my stay at the Hilton Garden Inn in Avondale. The staff were really friendly. And, although they didn’t have a free shuttle to and from the airport, they had free shuttle service available for anywhere within five miles of the hotel. You just let them know at the front desk where you want to go and they drop you off and pick you back up when you’re finished. They even took us to Tanger Outlets in Glendale on our last night.
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Ruby’s Diner
Posted on January 12, 2013 by Ching under Food and Drink, Travel.
Carmen and I had a two-hour layover in Houston on the way to Arizona so we decided to have lunch at the airport. Here are some pictures of our food.
Mozzarella Cheese Bites
Cherry Limeade
Chicken Sandwich
I didn’t get a picture of Carmen’s burger because she bit into it too soon. LOL. She was so hungry, she decided she wanted some mozzarella cheese bites to start. I got to try some. They were yummy. You can never go wrong with Ruby’s, though. I remember Brian and I got to try it during one of our airport layovers a couple of years ago.
As airport food goes, Ruby’s is actually pretty good. Since I had tried it before, I figured it would be a safe bet. No chocolate shake for me this time, though I was really tempted. I thought Carmen would get one, but she didn’t.
I would have liked to hit Ruby’s again on the way home, but my layover was shorter and I didn’t want to risk it. I just had a smoothie from Smoothie King instead. It was enough to tide me over until I made it home. Ruby’s is good, but I’d rather eat at home with Brian any day.
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