Taco Hell

Had Taco Bell for dinner. It was okay.

Here are two interesting facts I think you need to know:

1. The new Beefy Cheesy Melty Melt or whatever is just a giant meximelt
   
2. The Taco Bell website gives really good nutritional information
   

So you know exactly what you put in your mouth. Yikes!

Tacone

No, I haven't eaten here. 

Yet.

Two days ago we got our new Yellow Pages, so, obviously, I flipped through the new books looking for anything, well, new. I do this every time we get new books as I'm sure everyone else does.

I just look through that front part which lists all the fun and fascinating things to do in town and the menus towards the back. I mean, I'm not a freak or anything.

I found one restaurant which looks pretty good. It's called Tacone.

They sell sandwiches, quesadillas, wraps and smoothies.

Mmmmm....smoothies.

If you invite me to go to Tacone's with you, I will surely say yes.

And, when you pay, I will say thank you!

Not Quite as Big as My Head

Angie and I went to La Bamba's to grab dinner tonight. You remember La Bamba's, right? It's the burrito place on campus touting burritos as grande as your cabesa. 

There's now one on Georgesville Rd. It's been ther for less than a year I think. You may ask yourself why, but you shouldn't. 43228 has the densest population of spanish speakers in Franklin county.

Here's what we ate:

Burrito - I opted for the regular burrito with the beef/pork combination. It had meat, beans, lettuce, onions, sour cream and cheese. It was pretty good in that "I shouldn't be eating this" kind of way. 

Super Nachos - Nachos, yes. Super, no. However, these actually were as big as my head. They're no Applebee's. 

Taco Salad - Angie ate this and she's upstairs so she can't comment. I just remember that she likened the meat to something she would have eaten in a school cafeteria. 

Here's why we ate it:

Chipotle's was too crowded with a line almost out the door. 

A Critique

I saw this online this evening and I couldn't let it pass without remark. You can read more here.

Clearly, it's a spork that has been upgraded to include a knife. Typically one uses a knife with a fork. And I mean one in each hand, not the two utensils mutated together as one.

How is the knife any more useful than an un-serated fork tine? I don't understand.

Maybe I am expected to hold the food with my hand while I cut it? Maybe I am being too critical. Perhaps I'm not thinking outside of the box. Whatever it is, I hate the super spork!

Any thoughts?

Chipotle...

... is still freakin' fantastic.

FYI

Don't Go To Jimmy V's

I visited Jimmy V's in German Village twice over the past week. Both times i left feeling sort of blah. I don't mean I felt sick or anything, but rather than I felt underwhelmed and underimpressed.

The first time I went with Angie, Mom and Sis. We sat on the back patio and I had...crap, I don't remember what I had.

Sis had the gyro, Angie had the Philly Panini thing and Mom had food of some sort. Who knows.

Oh yeah, I had the chef salad. It didn't stack up to the salad at Perkins which, taste and quality-wise, may be Jimmy V's closest competition.

The second time I went with Angie, Nikki, Miranda and Ted. I had the chicken Parmesan panini, Angie had something, Nikki had the cheeseburger - which I will discuss later - Miranda had the Penne ala Vodka and Ted had the gyro. We sat on the front patio.

The back patio is better that the front and they're both better than inside. If your going, you should sit outside for the generally enjoyable experience of eating outside. The food is not good enough to endure a poor dining atmosphere.

Oh, the food. Miranda's past tasted like a cheeseburger (I don't think on purpose), Angie's panini tasted like cardboard and my panini tasted like chicken on bread minus all the flavor, but the real kicker was Nikki's burger. Nikki took of the top bun to check things out and found a puddle of oil. Enough oil that everyone at the table gasped when they saw it. Nikki was a trooper and tried to soak up the slick with her napkin. She did, but the cheese, of course, came off with it. She ate it, but I wonder how long it stayed in her stomach with all that grease attached.

Sorry for the visual. Sorry Nikki that I involved you in it...

I think Ted summed it up best when he said, "I'd say this place is a solid 5 [out of 10]" I have searched the internets to see what other people have said and it seems that other people like the place. It has 4.5 stars at both CitySearch and Yahoo!Local. And that's out of five not, like, 14 or something.

Maybe everyone fills up on the signature martinis until they don't care what the food tastes like. That's my working theory.

BJ's

I had high hopes for this blog:

1. I would write often
2. Others would write often
3. Posts would be thorough
4. People would read it
5. It would introduce readers to new places to enjoy

Well, I can't do anything about 1-4, but I can introduce a new local restaurant. OK, it's not local; it's a chain. And, I guess it's not new but, rather, new to the area.

It's new to me and it's great. BJ's serves a variety of food I guess, but I have only had three items:

1. Pizza: deep dish and soaked in garlic. Its like a pizza dream come true.
2. Bruschetta and Artichoke dip combo: drool....
3. Pizzookie, Pizooky, Pizuki?: I don't remember how they spell it, but it's a giant cookie baked in a personal-sized pizza pan and topped with vanilla ice cream. It's really tasty.

If you've been, let me know what you think.

Benny's

Cheese steaks = Good

More later.

UPDATED
Kate took me to Benny's for a late lunch while I was sick about two weeks ago. As I so succinctly stated earlier, the cheese steaks were very good. I must admit that not being able to breath definitely lessened my enjoyment, but I would certainly make the drive again.

Benny's is located in the Kroger-anchored strip mall on Avery Rd just north of 161. You can't miss the sign. It says "Benny's," so, unless you can't read, you should be able to find it.

Pita Pit

The Pita Pit is opening this weekend on High Street next to Bob's Bar.

I hear that they're offering free food Saturday and Sunday!!

UPDATE
I ate at the Pita Pit a couple of weeks ago. More specifically, I ordered food there and then ate in the car while I waited for Angie to get her hair done.

I had the shwarma which, loosely translated, means meat and fat shaved from a giant rotisserie and served on a bun. It tasted just like the kind of food I would get in the bazaar in Iraq. Which is to say that it is very poor quality food that tastes wonderful!

I haven't been back, but I would like to return. I recommend it.

Noodles Accomplished!

I finally got to go to Noodles! Sis, Kate and I went on Saturday.

It was pretty good. I got the Bangkok Curry which was only ok, but Sis got something that she really liked (Mushroom Stroganoff, maybe. I don't remember) and Kate got some Japanese noodle deal that she really liked, too.

They serve flatbread (which is very good) and giant rice krispie treats (I didn't eat one, but it looked good).

I will have to go back and try something else. There was a lot to choose from, and I think I can do better.

Noodles

I haven't been yet, but I really want to go!

Bear Rock Cafe

Nikki took me to the Bear Rock Cafe (BRC) after church on Sunday. (I went with her to Xenos, which is not a cult)

From the outside it looks like that coffee shop on Lane Ave near North Star. Do you know the one I mean? I always assumed that the BRC was just a coffee shop, but NO! They also serve food of all varieties.

Anyway, it was just like eating at Panera except for the following:

• Panera has better food (esp. Bacon Turkey Bravo!)
• BRC serves Mello Yello!
• BRC serves something named "Sasquatch"

I ordered the "Make Your Own" combo - called "You Pick Two" at Panera. I had half of a chicken salad croissant and chili. The chicken salad was not as good as my beloved BTB, but it was good and they gave me the whole sandwich, not just half, which I, of course, liked very much.

Panera serves a baguette with the combo, BRC serves a crappy roll, but also a bag of chips.

They also serve a loaded baked potato thing, but Nikki and I didn't try it. If that's your thing, you might enjoy the BRC.

All in all, it's an OK joint. If you're shopping at Graceland and need a place to eat, there it is.

Or you can drive a block south and eat at Panera.

Cuco's

Sis, Kate, Angie and I headed to Cuco's for Kate's birthday this Monday. Her birthday was the 14th, but we went this week after our Somali tutoring that night.

I told Kate we'd go somewhere she'd never been and Cuco's qualified.

It's pretty good straightforward Mexican food. If you're in the area, check it out, but I don't see any need to make a special trip; El Vaquero is better.

Cuco's does serve fish tacos, though, which I love, but after having the Tilapia at El Arepazo, they were only so-so.

On the upside, it's 100 times better than Coco's!

El Arepazo!

This restaurant was officially brought to my attention by Miranda and it's FANTASTIC.

It's a little hole-in-the-wall Venezualan place on Pearl Alley just south of Gay St.

I had the Talapia and it was the best fish that I have ever eaten. Ever.

Angie had something and Jen had something else. The important thing here is that it was excellent and inexpensive and the fish is really, really good!

Oodles

So, it's not a great restaurant, but I read that there will soon be one in the Market Exchange District. (That's Main Street between 71 and Grant)

This means that, when I finally move back to my favorite part of town, I can eat mediocre noodles anytime I want!!

You can read more here.

CoCo's Grill

The following is the transcript of an actual visit to Grandview's CoCo's Grill:

Me: I would like an order of crab rangoon
worker: uh, we are out
Me: Ok, can I get a chicken egg roll then?
worker: we are out of those too
Me (to Tanya): Maybe you can get a spring roll
worker: we are out of those too
Tanya: You may want to change the root beer, it is just water
worker: we are out of root beer

Make your own decision, but I say CoCo's Grill is out!

Nazareth Deli?

Well, next time you're on 161 and want Greek, go the other way...to Cleveland Ave....and hit the Nazareth Deli. Best...gyros...ever.

Best ever? We should investigate this claim.

Al Ameer: The Review

I visited on a Saturday during Ramadan, so it was dead. I assume it was because of Ramadan, but I don't know. There was one other couple there half of which was a headscarved lady chowing down on arabic goodies, so maybe not everyone was as observant of the holiday as I thought they should be.

Anyways, the food was pretty good. The falafel is head and shoulders above Firdous, but the falafel sandwich is on pita bread, so I wasn't happy with it.

Angie had some chicken stuff which was OK. We both enjoyed the hummus and the tabouli.

All in all it was only alright.

Time to add a new joint!

Al Ameer

"This is another one of those gems tucked away in the many soulless strip malls around Columbus. In a strip mall behind another strip mall east of Cleveland Ave on 161 is the new Al Ameer Arabic restaurant. It has all the familiar Middle Eastern staples like humous and shawarma (similar to an gyro), which I tried and were very tasty. The humous was smooth with no grittiness, while both the regular and chicken shawrma are also highly recommended and come in large portions. There's a bit of a wait since everything is made to order so you know it's fresh. The staff is friendly and I'm betting they have the best Arabic dessers in the city when it comes to quality and the large selection. I really liked these sweet fried dough balls that were drenched in a syrup I that got, but I don't know what they're called. If you're not familiar with Arabic sweets, they don't skimp on the sweet part. This place has solid Arabic food, is reasonably priced, and has plenty of desserts you probably won't find elsewhere. The disco ball hanging in the middle of the room is an interesting touch."