Showing posts with label french fries. Show all posts
Showing posts with label french fries. Show all posts

9/24/2011

Alliance Texas Roadhouse - BBQ Chicken And Ribs

Texas Roadhouse - Alliance Ohio
I was introduced to the Texas Roadhouse years ago in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. The food was great and became one of my favorite places in Gatlinburg. To my surprise I found a Texas Roadhouse in Alliance, Ohio, just a mere 35 or so miles from my home. We had to go.
The Special Rolls
We got there around 4pm and it was crowded but not to bad and we were seated right away. The building interior was exactly the same layout as the one in Gatlinburg. I was pleased to see that the famous cinnamon rolls were also the same. Fresh baked, hot, and with a cinnamon butter spread to die for.
Coke Zero
I was also impressed that Texas Roadhouse carried Coke Zero, the best tasting diet cola on the planet. The waitress refilled my glass twice. Did I mention that Coke Zero really tastes good...
BBQ Chicken - Ribs - Bacon Cheese Fries
The Texas Roadhouse offers a combo platter of BBQ chicken and BBQ ribs plus two side dishes. The chicken was tender and with the tangy BBQ sauce, it was fantastic tasting. I couldn't wait to get to the ribs. Let me tell you, the ribs were worth the weight. They were fall off the bone tender and bursting with flavor. The BBQ sauce as I said before was a perfect blend of flavor that complimented the ribs, not over powered them. They were excellent.
Mac And Cheese
The side dishes selections were bacon cheese fries and macaroni and cheese. The fries were plentiful, the cheese melted perfectly over them with plenty of bacon pieces. (Not bacon bits the fake kind, but real bacon) The fries were well cooked, not soggy, not crunchy, but a good blend in between. The macaroni and cheese dish was very generic. I'm thinking Kraft right out of the box. A little pepper sprinkled on top and they were adequate.

The service was very good, the food excellent, and the price was nice, under $20 for the entire meal with bottomless Coke Zero, rolls, and roasted peanuts. 

The Grassy Knoll Diner scores 5 out of 5 shots and recommends the Alliance Texas Roadhouse  for dinner.


LURKING ON THE GRASSY KNOLL

9/23/2011

Side Walk Cafe - Ober Gatlinburg

Ober Gatlinburg Sidewalk Cafe
The city of Gatlinburg, Tennessee is nestled at the foothills of the great Smoky Mountains. There are an endless number of restaurants to tempt your appetite. But there's more. Take a right hand turn on Ski Mountain road and it will twist you through the mountains and take you to the top where Ober Gatlinburg stands.

At the top of the mountain sits of course many elaborate ski slopes but also a small amusement park, an ice rink, carnival games, a black bear habitat, and several food stands and restaurants.


The Side Walk Cafe over looks the ice skating rink with several retail shops dotting it's surroundings. We had just spent several hours at the amusement park and came inside for a quick bite.
Ober Fries And Corn Dog
Since we were there in the off season, it was not very crowded so there was no line and placed our order. I ordered the corn dog and fries. You are looking at $6 dollars of food here. The corn dog was readily available but the fries were cooking in the fryer. My order was called out in a matter of minutes.

The corn dog was standard fare as corn dogs go. Well cooked, fresh, hot, and good taste. The fries were of fresh cut variety but as you can see, not to plentiful. However, they were fresh, well cooked, and hot and tasted good. It was a good fast food meal that filled me up and got us on our way to our next Ober Gatlinburg adventure.

The Grassy Knoll Diner scores 3.25 out of 5 shots and recommends the Side Walk Cafe in Ober Gatlinburg for lunch and dinner.


LURKING ON THE GRASSY KNOLL


Responses to “Side Walk Cafe – Gatlinburg – Corn Dog”


  1. LOTGK said

    Moominboy
    One of those days I’ll taste a corn dog :)
    LOTGK in reply to Moominboy
    If you like hot dogs, you will love corn dogs. Trust me….

1/12/2011

Wendy’s Natural Cut Fries

Wendys Natural Cut Fries
Wendys Natural Cut Fries
Wendy’s fast food restaurant had some pretty tasty french fries in the past but in a bold move, much like Coca-Cola did in the past, changed up the recipe and hoped for the best. Unlike Coke, Wendy’s bold move paid off.
I saw all the commercials touting Wendy’s Natural Cut Fries with sea salt made from whole russet potatoes. On my way home, I stopped at the drive through for some fries. The attendant asked, “Welcome to Wendy’s, may I take your order?” Feeling saucy, I replied, “No thanks, I’m just looking!” After several moments of awkward silence, I ordered a large order of the new fries. (Please pull forward to the second window)
The cost: $1.69 for the large. The order was correct and delivered in a quick fashion. The fries were fresh and hot. The container was full, a very fair portion.
To the taste: As stated above, Wendy’s fries were very good in the past, but the new fresh-cut fries are outstanding. They were well cooked, not soggy, not to crunchy, and the sea salt or whatever was just the right spice. These were some damn good fries. Not Idora Park level, (The ultimate fry) but very good.
The Grassy Knoll Diner scores 4.25 out of 5 shots and recommends Wendy’s Natural Cut Fries for lunch and dinner.

LURKING ON THE GRASSY KNOLL

9/25/2010

Sandwich Factory French Fries

Idora Park French Fries
Idora Park French Fries
The Grassy Knoll Diner is in a constant search for french fries comparable to the iconic Idora Park fries. Some have come close, but so far, none have been spot on.

However, surprisingly, the Boardman, Ohio Sandwich Factory on Market Street comes close. (I know, I was just as surprised as you) On a whim, I ordered a standard order of fries along with my sandwich. The cost was $2.50 for the fries.

When I got the fries home, I opened them and spilled them out. For $2.50, the order was adequate. They were hot and just crunchy enough, lightly salted and they smelled good. (Sometimes when fries are cooked in old grease, they have a bad odor to them. Not these fries) The taste was very good. Not Idora Park quality, but good nonetheless.

The Grassy Knoll Diner scores 4 out of 5 shots and recommends Sandwich Factory Fries for lunch and dinner.

LURKING ON THE GRASSY KNOLL

9/20/2010

Eddies Grill Counter - Last Cheeseburger Of The Season

Eddie's Grill Cheeseburger - Counter Service
Eddie's Grill, located on Geneva-On-The-Lake, closed this weekend for the season signaling the end of Summer. If you travel to Geneva from now until Mothers Day weekend, most of the boardwalk shops and attractions will be boarded up. After all, it is a Summer resort town.

Before Eddie's Grill closed it's doors, we made one more trek to the land of the best cheeseburger in the land. Since the restaurant was packed, I bellied up to the counter and took the last seat available. Patty had ventured into several stores to do some shopping so this was a perfect opportunity for my last meal.

The waitress, dressed in white, (They are always dressed in white) came over and took my order right away. (I pitied the suckers waiting in the long line to order take out.) I ordered my standard, a cheeseburger, fries, and a diet Coke. My waitress turned around and shouted out my order to the grill boys cooking.

In less than five minutes, my order was up and brought to the counter. As always, the food at Eddie's is fresh, hot, well cooked, and delicious. Knowing this would be my last meal I ate slowly and savored every bite and fry.

Patty came along just as I finished up and we went on our way visiting the Geneva's quirky shops and attractions for the last time for the Summer. Next year we will return, hopefully to a more enhanced boardwalk that was promised way back in 2006.

The Grassy Knoll Diner scores 5 out of 5 shots and recommends Eddie's Grill for lunch and for dinner.

LURKING ON THE GRASSY KNOLL

6/05/2010

Time Square Restaurant Challenge

Menu
Today we are going up against Eddie's Grill, the iconic restaurant just down the parkway from Time Square. Both are located at Geneva-On-The-Lake, Ohio. Both restaurants serve up cheeseburgers, fries, and foot long hot dogs. Both are rich in tradition. Which one is the best tasting, best experience, best value. Lets have a look.

Here is the menu for Time Square Restaurant. 2010 is the first year I recall them having a printed menu. In previous years, the menu was always hand painted on a board outside in the seating area.

We placed our orders and usually we were handed a rock with a number painted on it. Not this year however. The waitress said she would find us when our order was ready.
Time Square Cheeseburger
While waiting for our order, we were serenaded by karaoke singers. Time Square almost always has karaoke set up. Sometimes the singers aren't half bad, some times they are horrible. That's when it's fun. When the singers are horrible. (Like me)

Our waitress found us about ten minutes into a rendition of Britney Spears and brought our order to our table. This is the cheeseburger. The cost was $4.50, compared to the $3.60 Eddie's Grill cheeseburger. On a scale of 1 to 10, Time Square cheeseburger is a 5. It is standard fare as cheeseburgers go. The bun was fresh, the meat cooked well, the cheese melted and the taste over all was good. The Eddie's Grill version is a 10. The bun fresh, the meat, not processed but fresh, well cooked, the cheese melted, and the taste was excellent. And it was 90 cents cheaper than Time Square.
A Regular Order Of Fries
Moving on to the fries. Time Square is famous for it's "Regular" order of fries. In years past, the order was huge,  a party of three could not finish. In the past several years, as with the economy, the order has shrunk in size. You can see the order is still large, but at $6.50 the price is a little steep. The taste was still there. They were fantastic. Crisp, well done, hot, and they have that old fashioned kind of taste. A far superior fry to Eddie's grill.

Eddie's Grill fries were $2.45 per order, and were good, but compared to Time Square, they did not stack up. Time Square's triple order breaks down to about $2.17 per order.

Next, the Time Square foot long hot dog.  The cost was $4.25, 65 cents more  than Eddie's Grill. The taste was good, the bun standard, but nothing spectacular. Eddie's Grill foot long was $3.60 and tasted great. It was fresh, hot, well cooked, and the skin was just crunchy enough.

At Time Square, for three cheeseburgers, three foot long hot dogs, and the large order of fries, the cost was $32.75 without drinks.

At Eddie's Grill, three cheeseburgers, three foot long hot dogs, and three orders of fries, the cost was, $28.95 without drinks.

Eddie's Grill receives the winning marks for the value, a savings of $3.80 for a family of three, the atmosphere, (Original 1950's diner) and the over all quality and taste of the food.

The Grassy Knoll Diner recommends both Time Square Restaurant and Eddie's Grill located at Geneva-On-The-Lake  for lunch and dinner.


LURKING ON THE GRASSY KNOLL

5/28/2010

Eddie’s Grill Take Out Cheeseburger – Geneva On The Lake


eddies-grill-menu-board-geneva
Eddies Grill - Geneva On The Lake
Eddie's Grill, Iconic restaurant located at Geneva-On-The-Lake is of course my choice for dinner while visiting there. Eddie's Grill is always busy so be prepared for a pleasantly happy crowd. There is plenty of seating but most are usually taken. I was lucky to get a counter bar stool. The waitress took my order and after five minutes, it was delivered.
eddies-grill-cheeseburger-geneva
Eddies Grill Take Out Order
While waiting for my own order, I took in the ambiance of Eddie's Grill. The cooks in white paper hats, the waitresses shouting out orders to the cooks, workers hustling around, cleaning tables and bringing out food. it was a scene right out of a 1950's hamburger diner. And yes, there were plenty of "Fonzies" there.

Anyway, I ordered the cheeseburger, fries, and a foot long hot dog. My order was correct of course. It was on time, and fresh. The cheeseburger may have been the best I have ever tasted. And I have had plenty of them. The fries were hot, well cooked, and plentiful. I ordered the foot long as well just because. (When in Rome)

As you can see by the lighted menu board, the cheeseburger was $3.60, the fries were $2.45, and the foot long was $3.60 which are very good prices for the quality and quantity of food served.

My next update will be Eddie's Grill rival, Time Square Restaurant, just a little ways down the parkway. I will match up item per item in taste, cost, service, and quantity, and quality. Who will win, check back in several days to find out.

The Grassy Knoll Diner scores 5 out of 5 shots and recommends Eddie's Grill for lunch and dinner.


LURKING ON THE GRASSY KNOLL

2/05/2010

Brasserie Restaurant – Angus Burger

New York Brasserie Bacon Cheeseburger
New York Brasserie Bacon Cheeseburger
When in New York City, sometimes you don't have to leave your hotel to have a good tasting and affordable meal. One good example is the Times Square Crowne Plaza. Located at 49th and Broadway, the Brasserie restaurant sits inside the hotel. Attire is casual and it was busy, but not packed. Eating before 8pm in New York City helps as well.

We got seated quickly and the waitress brought out some bread and rolls and asked for our drink order. I ordered a Coke of course. A few minutes passed and our drinks arrived and we gave our waitress our dinner order. I asked her about the burgers and she said they were very good. I went with the Angus burger with bacon and cheese.

Shortly, my dinner platter arrived. It was exactly as ordered. The lettuce and tomato and onions on the side. Several toppings were also present. A generous portion of fries completed the meal.

The burger was hot, huge, juicy, and well cooked. The bacon wasn't your typical wimpy limpy slice but thick well cooked big slices. The cheese was a nice Monterrey Jack. The bun was fresh and warm. The taste was very good. The fries crunchy and hot. The cost was $16 dollars plus Coke.

The Grassy Knoll Diner scores 4 out of 5 shots and recommends The Crowne Plaza Brasserie Restaurant Angus burger for dinner.



LURKING ON THE GRASSY KNOLL

1/09/2010

Bob Evans - Bacon Cheeseburger Takeout

Bacon Cheeseburger Take Out Bob Evans
Bacon Cheeseburger Take Out Bob Evans
Bob Evans restaurant located in Youngstown, Ohio, is our next stop on the Blue Plate Special tour. However, this time, we ordered to go to test their take out service. I placed the call, ordered a bacon cheeseburger with french fries and the waitress said my order would be ready in about 20 minutes.

I arrived at Bob Evans in twenty minutes and went to the take out counter. A waitress asked if she could help me. I told her, "Pick up for the Grassy Knoll Institute!" She smiled and went into the back. She walked out with my order and packed it up in a plastic bag. She told me to pay at the check out.

As you can see, they did not skimp on the bacon. Two thick strips were on top and when I broke both pieces in half, they covered the burger completely. The cheese was plentiful, fully melted and hot. The bun was fresh, hot, and toasted just right. The one third pound burger patty was well cooked, juicy, and hot. The fries were golden brown, crunchy, not soggy, and hot. The container, a standard styrofoam container held up for well.

The burger was very good tasting. You could really taste the crisp thick bacon unlike other burgers where the bacon is undercooked and as thin as paper. The fries were very tasty as well.

Don't worry, I didn't forget about the cost which at $8 dollars was a fair price. All in all, the take out experience was worked well.

The Grassy Knoll Diner scores 3.75 out of 5 shots and recommends Bob Evans Cheeseburger take out for dinner.



LURKING ON THE GRASSY KNOLL

12/06/2009

BLT Burger – Mirage Hotel


BLT Burger - Vegas
The Mirage hotel is full of many gambling games. Many fine eating establishments as well. BLT Burger is tucked away down one of the many hallways at the Mirage. On a whim, I decided to try it. Since this was a small restaurant, the seating was cramped. The hostess squeezed us in the middle of the floor. A few minutes later our waitress happened by and asked us what we wanted. I hope I wasn't interfering with her busy day. (She acted like I was)

I think It Was Fried Cheese
For my appetizer, I ordered fried cheese sticks and marinara sauce. Dammit, I thought I was in Mel's Diner and Flo was my waitress. After about ten minutes, she sort of tossed my plate on the table and moved on. Flo can "Kiss my grits!"

To top it off, half of the fried cheese sticks were hollow, I mean empty baby. Pretty much fried batter. Three sticks were like this. The others were adequate tasting, a little to greasy.
This Is Famous???
The way the night was progressing, I wasn't holding out for the entree. Being in BLT Burger, I thought it safe ordering a bacon cheeseburger and waffle fries. I would be wrong. Flo returned with my entree, but alas, it was not a cheeseburger, but some sort of chicken. I think it was chicken anyway. I sent it back to the disgust of Flo.

Ten minutes later my cheeseburger arrived along with burnt waffle fries. As you can see, the fries came in a fancy cup, and the bacon cheeseburger was nothing to write about. (Except in a bad way)

The price for this 7 ounce burger was $14 bucks. The waffle fries were $5 dollars.  The hollow cheese sticks were 8 bucks, and the Coke was $4 dollars. That's right folks, $31 dollars for this meal. Top off the shitty ass service from Flo the waitress tops off the evening.

Let's compare. A McDonalds double cheeseburger is $1 dollar. A large fry is $1.49. A Coke is $1 dollar. That's $3.49 for the same at BLT Burger. And you get curtesy at McDonalds as they ask you to please pull around to the second window.

The Grassy Knoll Diner scores 1 out of 5 shots and DOES NOT recommend BLT Burger in the Mirage for dinner.


LURKING ON THE GRASSY KNOLL


Responses to “BLT Burger – Mirage Hotel”


  1. No Way said

    I was there last year and what do you expect, its a burger place. Did you expect filet mignon or something? Geez, its burgers.

    • LOTGK said

      If you read my critique, you would understand i wasn’t looking for Filet Mignon. However, I was expecting courtesy and the correct order brought to my table. I don’t think that is asking to much.

  2. Gumby said

    Welcome to good burger, home of the good burger, may I take your order!

  3. Moominboy said

    Meh, that’s a shame.
    Oh! I’m gonna post a picture of those swedish MAX burgers I was blabbering about. It’s a swedish burger chain that makes delicious stuff and they are actually buying out McD’s in Sweden.

    • LOTGK said

      Patiently waiting Luke, patiently waiting.

      • Moominboy said

        Alright! Here it is!
        http://yfrog.com/1fphoto2ijj
        This is not a regular MAX burger and fries. I went for something called Hot Meal, which is a burger with jalapenos and fries with bacon, melted cheese and jalapenos. The size is smaller than in U.S. but normal for Europe. What separates MAX from other chains is that they serve free coffee with a menu. The cost was 78 SEK which is $10.80 but this is meaningless because of the dollar exchange rate. Instead we can compare it to a Big Mac menu that costs 68 SEK or a can of Coke that costs 10 SEK. But it was delicious :) The burger was smaller than their regular ones but very tasty.

        • LOTGK said

          I have had french fries, french fries with cheese, french fries with cheese and bacon, but not with jalapenos on them. Were they sliced or whole peppers?
          The burger looks standard fare and size for McDonalds and Burger King type food places. Not a bad price for the meal.
          Example, a Whopper burger king is $4 dollars, large fry is $2 dollars, large drink $2 dollars. I would guess it was $1 dollar for the add ons, the cheese and bacon for a total of $9 dollars.
          Thanks for posting the picture and critique.

  4. Valdunagan said

    Doesn’t look appealing. In N Out burger looks better.

  5. Hawaii Flooring Leonard said

    Hello I discovered your webpage by accident, I was browsing Yahoo when I came upon your site, I must say your webpage is very cool I just love the theme, its amazing!. I don’t have the time at the moment to entirely browse your site but I have bookmarked it and also subscribed for your RSS feeds. I will be back in a day or two. Thanks for a great webpage.

  6. Steve said

    This is a problem in so many places nowadays, whatever happend to the polite service and striving for a decent product of the burger establishments of my youth – I’ve paid similiar in a few places for what I thought was going to be a decent burger eating experience and got bad food, over salted/burned fries and shitty attitudes from the serving drones, If i wanted that I’d stay at home lol

    • LOTGK said

      That was my thought. I know I was in a burger joint, but a little niceness goes a long way. I can accept that the food was bad, but when the service is also lousy, well….

  7. Russ Mcglasson said

    I like blogs like this one, I am sure you put an effort on it to keep it up.

11/11/2009

Smoky Mountain Brewery Chicken Tenders

Fresh Warm Rolls
If you read my Diner critiques, (And shame on you if you do not) then The Smoky Mountain Brewery restaurant on the Parkway in Gatlinburg, Tennessee is no stranger. Tonight's offering was a simple choice, and with the restaurant crowded but not over flowing, we were seated quickly and positioned our table to the TV with the football game of our choice.

Our waitress was bubbly and took our drink and dinner order and in a short time, rolls and drinks were at our table. The rolls were hot, fresh, and tasted very good. Of course they tasted home made, not known if they actually were, but tasted so.
Brewery Chicken Tenders
My order was a chage up from the standard menu. I ordered the chicken planks and a baked potato with butter. I saw an order of chicken go to a table next to us and they looked delicious. A few minutes later, my eyes were correct.

The chicken was hot, fresh, juicy, the batter spicy enough and cooked golden brown to almost perfection. The taste, delicious.

The baked potato was hot, well cooked, and completed the meal. A cold diet Coke was a refreshing addition to the meal.

The portion was adequate, not to much, not to little. the meal was filling and I left felling full but not bloated.

The cost was reasonable, $13 dollars before tip. Yes, only $13 dollars.

The Grassy Knoll Diner scores 4 out of 5 shots and recommends Smoky Mountain Brewery in Gatlinburg for dinner.




LURKING ON THE GRASSY KNOLL


Responses to “Smoky Mountain Brewery Chicken Tenders”


  1. Enis74 said

    Now thats a whole lot of fried food. Fried chicken in the south, thats not surprising, the baked potato is whats surprising. They should be fries or biscuits and gravy.

  2. Gumby said

    When in Rome, do as the Romans do.

  3. Moominboy said

    Looks very nice. I actually prefer cooked, baked or mashed potatoes to fries but I didn’t see many places in U.S. offering them. Good to know they are still around.

9/30/2009

Elephant Ear Restaurant - Cheeseburger - Fries

Elephant Ear Restaurant Fair food
Elephant Ear Restaurant 

It's the end of September and the local and state fairs are now just a recent memory. Some wishing they would have bought that giant Elephant Ear or hot sausage sandwich smothered in peppers and onions.

As if my prayers had a direct hot line to the big guy, a new restaurant popped up in my old town called the Elephant Ear. The menu was simple and ingenious. All your fair food favorites.

We pulled in and the place was packed. There was one parking spot left out of about 25 in the lot. It must be good if the place is packed right?
Elephant Ear Corn Dog
Elephant Ear Corn Dog
The layout was simple. A small sit down area with a few booths and tables, maybe seating for 25-30 people. An order and pickup counter on the left side. We waited in line for our turn. We waited about 5 minutes to place our order. After we placed our order, it took almost 20 minutes for our order to come up. That is why the place was packed. The food preparation was very slow. We noticed that everyone sitting at the tables and booths were waiting for orders.

Finally, our number was called and I retrieved our order. Of course I had to order a corn dog. It was standard fare, (Fair) and standard size. It was cooked well and tasted good. I have to say, it tasted just like the Canfield Fair corn dogs. And at $2.75 it better.
Elephant Ear Cheeseburger And Fries
Elephant Ear Cheeseburger And Fries
The second part of my artery clogging dinner was a cheeseburger and original "Fair" french fries. The cheeseburger was nothing special, no outstanding qualities. The bun was a little beat up, and it looked like it was just tossed in the container. It was well cooked, the cheese melted, the beef adequate quality.

The fries, on the other hand, were not "Fair" quality. In fact, they were pretty horrendous. Perhaps if they were cooked properly, they would have tasted better. They had the texture of fat spaghetti strings. They were soggy, wet, greasy, and well, terrible. The cost was $6 dollars for the combo which was reasonable if the fries were edible.

So, the service was terrible, the food below average, and the price adequate. However, I have to commend the owners for the unique idea of Fair food without all the stinky animals and smelly pumpkins and rotting hay. Since the restaurant was still new, I have decided to give them one more chance to redeem themselves. With that.....

The Grassy Knoll Diner scores 2.5 out of 5 shots and is on the fence about recommending Elephant Ear Restaurant for dinner.


LURKING ON THE GRASSY KNOLL