Taco Tinga
Posted on August 18, 2012 by Ching under Food and Drink.
Brian and I found ourselves at Taco Tinga last weekend. There are few options late at night. The restaurant, which I had been curious about, just happened to be open.
Taco Tinga is located near Douglas and Hillside in the space formerly occupied by Dolci & Joe’s, Breezy’s before that, and Taco Tico even further back in the day. I’m not a huge Taco Tico fan so I never went back then. I missed going to Breezy’s and Dolci & Joe’s so I wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to check it out before it eventually closes. Sorry, but this location doesn’t have a great track record. LOL.
The concept is a lot like Chipotle. You basically build your own burritos, quesadillas, tacos etc. Although, I think Taco Tinga is more like Poblano in terms of food offering. The restaurant offers several good options including sopes, tamales, and fajita salad, but I was disappointed that I couldn’t order a bowl (which is what I normally get when I’m at Chipotle). The ladies at the counter were really nice, though. They let me make my “bowl” and just put it in a plate.
Brian was unimpressed. LOL.
I thought the food was just okay. It could be that we got there too late and the food had been sitting out there a while. Who knows? I found the carnitas too watery. Same with the rice. Then again, I’m partial to the cilantro lime rice served at Chipotle. Food issues aside, the restaurant offers a good value. You get plenty of food for the price, which I thought was more reasonable than Chipotle. Also the people are really helpful and super nice. I’m not running back to Taco Tinga, but I would give it another shot. Perhaps go around lunch time and see if the quality of the food is better then.
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Unbridled Bliss
Posted on August 15, 2012 by Ching under Confessions.
Ever had one of these days? It’s been a while for me too.
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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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Am I Manipulative?
Posted on August 14, 2012 by Ching under Confessions, Leadership.
We had a good leadership seminar/conference/training/meeting today. While I didn’t learn anything earth shattering, our guest speaker (Phillip Van Hooser) pretty much affirmed common sense concepts that we already know but don’t consistently practice (at least I know that I don’t and should), I think these meetings are valuable in that they remind us of the things that we often take for granted. It’s tough to get away when work is extremely hectic and schedules are beyond busy, but having these meetings once a year or so is a nice refresher. Sometimes we need to be reminded of the things that we should be doing. I suppose some people feel more confident about their leadership abilities. I need all the help and reminding that I can get.
Anyway, our speaker today said something that one of my bosses actually disagreed with. Van Hooser said, “You can’t, I can’t, no one can motivate someone to do something that they don’t want to do.” My boss argues that you can. As for me, I agree with Van Hooser’s statement. I felt bad about disagreeing with my boss’ views because I admire him a lot. He is one of the wisest people I know and is an amazing leader. He is pretty much the “Gil” of leadership. When it comes to cars and car maintenance, I ask myself WWGD? When it comes to work stuff, one of my first questions usually is WWTD? It was really difficult for me to have an opposing view but, the more I think about it, the more I realize that I agree with both of them.
Yes, I know that I can’t motivate someone to do something that they don’t want to do. I believe this statement. But, I also believe that you can make someone “want” to do something they otherwise wouldn’t do. The key for me is helping the other person realize that this is what they want. A coworker raised the issue of motivation vs. manipulation. I guess, to many people, convincing someone that they want to do something they didn’t previously want to do requires manipulation. However, I’m envisioning a totally different approach. I see it as helping someone come to the realization that they want to do something by asking them a series of questions. By having a good conversation with them, they’ll come to realize that performing the tasks expected or required by the company will ultimately help them achieve their goals or satisfy their needs. I don’t feel like I’m coercing or manipulating or threatening them into doing something they don’t want to do. SIDE NOTE: If you’ve met me, you know that I’m not assertive so it’s highly unlikely that I would be aggressive with anyone. I’m kind of a softie. Too soft in fact that I felt like I needed to take assertiveness training earlier this year in order for people to take me seriously (end side note). I feel like I’m merely helping the other person understand how our goals are aligned and that it really makes sense for them to do what is asked.
So am I unknowingly manipulating people? That’s quite a revelation. There is a line between motivation and manipulation, the latter being a negative way of getting the results that you desire. I’ve never really thought about it, but I’m now worried that I’m being manipulative without even realizing that I’m doing it. WTH? (File this under #leadershipconundrums.)
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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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