Yes, after going out to eat for lunch at Sixers I was still too lazy to cook dinner. So the husband and I decided we were in the mood for Chinese and decided upon King Buffet on Oakland Ave across from the Indiana Mall.
It's your standard Chinese buffet with the added bonus of seafood for the dinner buffet. I'm not a huge seafood fan, so I passed on it. I took samplings of several items, all of which were adequate sustenance. The highlights for me were the wonton soup, mini egg roll, dumplings, veggie lo mein and chicken and broccoli. Oh yeah and the coconut macaroons from the dessert bar. My husband gravitated towards the fried rice and sweet and sour chicken.
Everything was clean and I especially loved the Chinese-themed tables.
Will we go back? Of course. I do want to compare this to the other Chinese buffet in town someday so stay tuned!
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
A Secret in the Outskirts -- Sixers
My Mom and I had the day off and treated ourselves to a day of shopping and lunch. She had never been to Sixers before, so I thought I'd introduce her to one of Indiana's best kept secrets. Sixers is located a few miles out of town on Rte 286 (past Walmart).
It's a six-pack shop with a restaurant. My guess is they do the majority of their business with the beer sales but they really should be promoting their food. Their menu consists of pizzas (including a 26-inch pizza), wings, burgers, sandwiches, salads and pasta. I have yet to have their pasta, but rumor has it that it's pretty darn good.
We were seated right away -- well, we were the only ones there so we got to choose where to sit. They seem to be doing some cosmetic work to the interior which should look nice when it's done. My only complaint is they had it a little too cold in there.
I ordered a garden salad and buffalo wings while my Mom ordered a plain hamburger and small fries. My salad arrived first and it was HUGE! I barely had room for my wings. All of the ingredients were nice and fresh. You could tell the croutons were homemade...very tasty! My wings were solid...nice heat, perfectly sauced and crispy.
My Mom loved her hamburger...she's a burger junkie and knows what she likes. And the fries. Oh yeah, these are the real deal. Hand cut and totally homemade. A small was more than plenty for her. They weren't greasy either (yes, I snagged a few from her plate). BTW, you HAVE to try their sloppy fries...the same homemade goodness topped with mozzarella and gravy served with a fork.
So next time you need some place different to go take a ride a few miles past Walmart and enjoy the secret I just shared with you!
It's a six-pack shop with a restaurant. My guess is they do the majority of their business with the beer sales but they really should be promoting their food. Their menu consists of pizzas (including a 26-inch pizza), wings, burgers, sandwiches, salads and pasta. I have yet to have their pasta, but rumor has it that it's pretty darn good.
We were seated right away -- well, we were the only ones there so we got to choose where to sit. They seem to be doing some cosmetic work to the interior which should look nice when it's done. My only complaint is they had it a little too cold in there.
I ordered a garden salad and buffalo wings while my Mom ordered a plain hamburger and small fries. My salad arrived first and it was HUGE! I barely had room for my wings. All of the ingredients were nice and fresh. You could tell the croutons were homemade...very tasty! My wings were solid...nice heat, perfectly sauced and crispy.
My Mom loved her hamburger...she's a burger junkie and knows what she likes. And the fries. Oh yeah, these are the real deal. Hand cut and totally homemade. A small was more than plenty for her. They weren't greasy either (yes, I snagged a few from her plate). BTW, you HAVE to try their sloppy fries...the same homemade goodness topped with mozzarella and gravy served with a fork.
So next time you need some place different to go take a ride a few miles past Walmart and enjoy the secret I just shared with you!
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Anti-Valentine's Day at Valley Dairy
So it's Saturday night on Valentine's Day weekend and we knew we couldn't possibly get a table at one of the finer establishments around town. We also needed something inexpensive as we had our Valentine's Day dinner the weekend before at Ruth's Chris Steakhouse in Pittsburgh (a WONDERFUL once-a-year splurge). We typically save Valley Dairy on Oakland Avenue in front of Martin's for breakfast, but inexpensive homestyle cooking seemed to fit the bill.
We were pleased to walk in and have the hostess tell us the entire place was non-smoking except for the 6 booths way far in the back near the restrooms. We seated ourselves in a booth which was nice and clean. I'm so glad the updated the decor in the place. It's a little contemporary, but also homey.
Our waiter promptly took our drink orders. Their menu choices range from classic homestyle meals to sandwiches, salads and breakfast anytime. Not to mention their famous ice cream and sundaes (flashback to 20 years ago when my friends and I would hang out and socialize over turtle sundaes).
I went with a cup of minestrone and a turkey ciabatta sandwich. My husband went classic with a hot turkey sandwich w/mashed potatoes and gravy on everything.
My minestrone was decent. It was a little on the salty side and could have used more "stuff" in it for my personal taste. I ended up putting in a packet of saltines to bulk it up. My turkey sandwich was not what I had expected it to be. I anticipated the ciabatta to have that famous crunchy exterior and chewy but soft interior. Instead it was all soft with a floury exterior. It was still good, but not what I was craving. The turkey was a little salty (see a theme here?) and the roasted red peppers on the sandwich didn't add all that much flavor. It wasn't a bad sandwich, but it wasn't a good one either.
My husband's hot turkey sandwich looked much better than my sandwich! He had his platter inhaled before I had half of my sandwich down. I asked him how this hot turkey sandwich compared to others he has had in other places. He said it was solid.
We passed on dessert (they had a Valentine's Day special on their sundaes...soooooo tempting) but vowed to add Valley Dairy to our summertime ice cream outing rotation list.
Service overall was wonderful. We didn't have to wait long for our food or our check.
All-in-all, not a bad meal and certainly wallet-friendly. I just know next time to stick with the classics in a place like this.
We were pleased to walk in and have the hostess tell us the entire place was non-smoking except for the 6 booths way far in the back near the restrooms. We seated ourselves in a booth which was nice and clean. I'm so glad the updated the decor in the place. It's a little contemporary, but also homey.
Our waiter promptly took our drink orders. Their menu choices range from classic homestyle meals to sandwiches, salads and breakfast anytime. Not to mention their famous ice cream and sundaes (flashback to 20 years ago when my friends and I would hang out and socialize over turtle sundaes).
I went with a cup of minestrone and a turkey ciabatta sandwich. My husband went classic with a hot turkey sandwich w/mashed potatoes and gravy on everything.
My minestrone was decent. It was a little on the salty side and could have used more "stuff" in it for my personal taste. I ended up putting in a packet of saltines to bulk it up. My turkey sandwich was not what I had expected it to be. I anticipated the ciabatta to have that famous crunchy exterior and chewy but soft interior. Instead it was all soft with a floury exterior. It was still good, but not what I was craving. The turkey was a little salty (see a theme here?) and the roasted red peppers on the sandwich didn't add all that much flavor. It wasn't a bad sandwich, but it wasn't a good one either.
My husband's hot turkey sandwich looked much better than my sandwich! He had his platter inhaled before I had half of my sandwich down. I asked him how this hot turkey sandwich compared to others he has had in other places. He said it was solid.
We passed on dessert (they had a Valentine's Day special on their sundaes...soooooo tempting) but vowed to add Valley Dairy to our summertime ice cream outing rotation list.
Service overall was wonderful. We didn't have to wait long for our food or our check.
All-in-all, not a bad meal and certainly wallet-friendly. I just know next time to stick with the classics in a place like this.
Late Review -- Tom's Pizza
I could have easily saved this review for another time because I know we'll be ordering this same exact pizza again. In my previous Tom's Pizza review I promised to review just the pizza, and I didn't want to disappoint.
We went out for a few adult beverages on a Thursday evening at the local Legion. This particular Legion does not have food, and we definitely needed to eat dinner to absorb the alcohol! We immediately agreed to have a pizza from Tom's delivered to us.
They had a large 2-topping special which was very reasonable. Toppings of choice for this pizza were sausage and green peppers.
The pizza arrived in a timely manner and was piping hot. Needless to say, we were the envy of the other patrons.
The crust is neither thick nor thin and has this awesome crunchiness to the outer crust. I believe they bake a little cheese on top of it. In fact, I just saw a commercial for Pizza Hut's crunchy crust and I have news for them...Tom's has been doing this for YEARS! The sauce has a nice balance of sweet and spice and tomato flavor and there was just enough on the pizza. I'm certain there's more of a cheese blend on the pie and not just mozzarella. The sausage on this pizza is perfect. I don't know what it is about it, but any time we get a pizza from Tom's and want a meat topping, it's always their sausage. We got a bonus with the green peppers -- they included both red and green peppers which added depth of flavor. They were nicely cooked but not overcooked. The entire pie itself had a nice balance of crust, sauce, cheese and toppings. Divine!
Several of our friends asked if we got bacon on our pizza. Apparently, when they put bacon on the pizza they put it on raw and let it cook as the pizza cooks. I'm personally not a fan of bacon on pizza, but if you are this is something to try.
If we get another sausage-green pepper pizza from Tom's I probably won't bore you with a second review if the quality remains the same.
We went out for a few adult beverages on a Thursday evening at the local Legion. This particular Legion does not have food, and we definitely needed to eat dinner to absorb the alcohol! We immediately agreed to have a pizza from Tom's delivered to us.
They had a large 2-topping special which was very reasonable. Toppings of choice for this pizza were sausage and green peppers.
The pizza arrived in a timely manner and was piping hot. Needless to say, we were the envy of the other patrons.
The crust is neither thick nor thin and has this awesome crunchiness to the outer crust. I believe they bake a little cheese on top of it. In fact, I just saw a commercial for Pizza Hut's crunchy crust and I have news for them...Tom's has been doing this for YEARS! The sauce has a nice balance of sweet and spice and tomato flavor and there was just enough on the pizza. I'm certain there's more of a cheese blend on the pie and not just mozzarella. The sausage on this pizza is perfect. I don't know what it is about it, but any time we get a pizza from Tom's and want a meat topping, it's always their sausage. We got a bonus with the green peppers -- they included both red and green peppers which added depth of flavor. They were nicely cooked but not overcooked. The entire pie itself had a nice balance of crust, sauce, cheese and toppings. Divine!
Several of our friends asked if we got bacon on our pizza. Apparently, when they put bacon on the pizza they put it on raw and let it cook as the pizza cooks. I'm personally not a fan of bacon on pizza, but if you are this is something to try.
If we get another sausage-green pepper pizza from Tom's I probably won't bore you with a second review if the quality remains the same.
Saturday, February 2, 2008
Ironwood Grill -- Redemption?
Well, we took a chance tonight by deciding to dine at the Ironwood Grill on Oakland Ave. We hadn't been there in over a year to eat, although we have stopped in periodically to buy 6-packs (great selection!). The last time we were there to eat was a holiday weekend and apparently all of the real management were out, leaving the "service" and "quality of food" to a skeleton crew. Needless to say, we said we were never going back.
Never say never. We needed someplace different to go, so we took the plunge.
We were seated right away, but it was before we could read the special board. The waitress brought our menus and took our drink orders right away. Unfortunately, the specials were not listed. A separate sheet of paper with the specials listed would have been most helpful. The menu offered lots of variety...everything from bar food to full dinners. The wood-fired specialties provide something unique to the Indiana area (side note: the pepperoni and pierogie rolls are fantastic)
We sat in the dining room which had a more contemporary southwest flair -- much better than the bar area.
We ordered in accordance to the decor with each of us getting the Santa Fe Grilled Chicken Sandwich. They arrived in a timely manner and were freshly prepared. The kaiser rolls were soft but sturdy. The chicken was sizable, cooked properly and had a fantastic char-grilled flavor to them. I personally like that type of flavor. The cheddar and Monterey jack cheese were melted to the chicken beautifully. The guacamole provided a great flavor boost and texture to the sandwich. The lettuce, tomato and red onion were left on the side for us to place on the sandwich ourselves, which is fine with me.
Instead of fries, the sandwiches were served with tortilla chips and salsa. The chips were extremely tasty and could have stood on their own. The salsa, which tasted rather fresh with cilantro and a hint of garlic, complimented the chips very nicely.
All-in-all it was a nice dining experience. No complaints...this time. We will still exercise caution moving forward.
Never say never. We needed someplace different to go, so we took the plunge.
We were seated right away, but it was before we could read the special board. The waitress brought our menus and took our drink orders right away. Unfortunately, the specials were not listed. A separate sheet of paper with the specials listed would have been most helpful. The menu offered lots of variety...everything from bar food to full dinners. The wood-fired specialties provide something unique to the Indiana area (side note: the pepperoni and pierogie rolls are fantastic)
We sat in the dining room which had a more contemporary southwest flair -- much better than the bar area.
We ordered in accordance to the decor with each of us getting the Santa Fe Grilled Chicken Sandwich. They arrived in a timely manner and were freshly prepared. The kaiser rolls were soft but sturdy. The chicken was sizable, cooked properly and had a fantastic char-grilled flavor to them. I personally like that type of flavor. The cheddar and Monterey jack cheese were melted to the chicken beautifully. The guacamole provided a great flavor boost and texture to the sandwich. The lettuce, tomato and red onion were left on the side for us to place on the sandwich ourselves, which is fine with me.
Instead of fries, the sandwiches were served with tortilla chips and salsa. The chips were extremely tasty and could have stood on their own. The salsa, which tasted rather fresh with cilantro and a hint of garlic, complimented the chips very nicely.
All-in-all it was a nice dining experience. No complaints...this time. We will still exercise caution moving forward.
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Under the Weather Delivery -- Tom's Pizza
Since both my husband and I were fighting some sort of upper respiratory virus, but had an appetite, we thought delivery would be best for dinner. Besides, I *think* it's miserable out there. I'm not sure because I haven't seen the outside world at all today.
Tom's Pizza has been a stand-by for us. Sometimes we (meaning my husband) picks it up, sometimes we get it for delivery and sometimes we even go in to sit and eat. The last option is fun because they cut their pizza in squares -- expect a review in the future on that!
My husband attempted to order pasta, but they do not prepare it for delivery. So, he went with a simple 10-inch cheese pizza. I went with their gyro salad w/Greek dressing.
The worker on the other side of the phone seemed a little out of sorts, as she almost forgot to ask where to deliver our food order. The delivery person seemed nice, and we received our food in a timely manner.
My husband's pizza was good, but not quite up to the usual level of quality. We had a feeling the owners were not present (they're renowned for their animated conversation in Greek). Again, we will order Tom's pizza plenty of times in the future, so I'll have more detailed reviews at those times.
My gyro salad was fantastic, to say the least. The extra charge for the Greek dressing is 100% worth it. A little bit of it went a long way. I removed the salad from its container, and it filled a large dinner plate. It definitely survived the delivery, which is amazing because some just don't hold up well to the ride. The salad portion consisted of iceberg lettuce, tomato, cucumber, red onion and green pepper -- plenty of each and everything was fresh. There was plenty of well-seasoned gyro meat piled on top. This was definitely a knife and fork salad. I was able to get a piece of gyro meat in every bite -- great balance.
Now it's time to relax and maybe go back to our day jobs tomorrow now that we've had some sustenance.
Tom's Pizza has been a stand-by for us. Sometimes we (meaning my husband) picks it up, sometimes we get it for delivery and sometimes we even go in to sit and eat. The last option is fun because they cut their pizza in squares -- expect a review in the future on that!
My husband attempted to order pasta, but they do not prepare it for delivery. So, he went with a simple 10-inch cheese pizza. I went with their gyro salad w/Greek dressing.
The worker on the other side of the phone seemed a little out of sorts, as she almost forgot to ask where to deliver our food order. The delivery person seemed nice, and we received our food in a timely manner.
My husband's pizza was good, but not quite up to the usual level of quality. We had a feeling the owners were not present (they're renowned for their animated conversation in Greek). Again, we will order Tom's pizza plenty of times in the future, so I'll have more detailed reviews at those times.
My gyro salad was fantastic, to say the least. The extra charge for the Greek dressing is 100% worth it. A little bit of it went a long way. I removed the salad from its container, and it filled a large dinner plate. It definitely survived the delivery, which is amazing because some just don't hold up well to the ride. The salad portion consisted of iceberg lettuce, tomato, cucumber, red onion and green pepper -- plenty of each and everything was fresh. There was plenty of well-seasoned gyro meat piled on top. This was definitely a knife and fork salad. I was able to get a piece of gyro meat in every bite -- great balance.
Now it's time to relax and maybe go back to our day jobs tomorrow now that we've had some sustenance.
Saturday, January 26, 2008
Bar Bingo Night at the Elks
We were really looking forward to an evening of bingo and drinking at the local Elks lodge all for a good cause. Proceeds went to their Home Services program, a very nice cause.
Before bingo started, we ordered some dinner to go with our drinks. Our waitress Michelle introduced herself and asked us our names, which was a nice touch. She also apologized for not getting to us sooner as the place was rather busy with other members eating their dinner, too. I can always let that slide a bit. I waitressed for 3 weeks in college and that gave me a healthy respect for the profession.
They have their standard menu which ranges from bar appetizers, pizza, sandwiches, salads and wings. Then they have their special dinner menu where they showcase more substantial fare such as steak, seafood, etc.
I was in more of a traditional mood, so I went with the wings with habanero sauce. I loved that the fact the menu suggested you could order your wings extra crispy, so that's what I did. I also ordered a side salad for my starter.
The salad was nice. It definitely was hand-torn iceberg and not the typical salad-in-a-sack you get at other places. They threw in some tomato, cucumber, red onion, green pepper and red pepper. Everything was fresh. They also served a tasty, almost croissant-like dinner roll with butter with the salad.
My wings arrived shortly after I finished my salad. It looked as though the sauce was baked in, so I kindly asked Michelle for some extra sauce on the side for dipping. The wings themselves were HUGE--just as you would expect in any bar in the Indiana area. However, that's where the compliments end. They were far from extra crispy. There's nothing more icky (for lack of a better word) than soft chicken skin. What I think they did was pre-cooked them, sauced them then blasted them in the oven. Not exactly the formula for successful wings. What's worse is I was expecting some sinus-clearing, lip-burning heat from the habanero sauce. That didn't happen either.
My husband ordered a country fried chicken meal off of the special dinner menu. Now, his dinner was a 360-degree turn from mine. The only minor shortcoming was the use of frozen vegetables. The fried chicken breasts were crispy and moist as promised with a nice side of gravy. These were served with homemade loaded potato bites which smelled divine (I was very jealous at this point) and apparently tasted as good as they smelled.
There are two other items from the menu I can provide a small review on from this visit to the Elks. Later in the evening we ordered a simple pepperoni pizza to split between my family who had trickled in throughout the night. The crust was crunchy, but a little too heavy. The sauce, cheese and pepperoni were good -- just a little crispness on the edges of the pepperoni, which I can always appreciate.
Earlier that night, my dad had ordered a fish sandwich. This thing was HUGE! Definitely not frozen fish they fried on demand. These were hand-breaded and the tartar sauce looked homemade. Two thumbs up from my dad on this one.
Will we go back? Most definitely as my husband is a member. I just know now to avoid the wings. I can't wait to go back and try some of their special dinners! Membership has its privileges...
Before bingo started, we ordered some dinner to go with our drinks. Our waitress Michelle introduced herself and asked us our names, which was a nice touch. She also apologized for not getting to us sooner as the place was rather busy with other members eating their dinner, too. I can always let that slide a bit. I waitressed for 3 weeks in college and that gave me a healthy respect for the profession.
They have their standard menu which ranges from bar appetizers, pizza, sandwiches, salads and wings. Then they have their special dinner menu where they showcase more substantial fare such as steak, seafood, etc.
I was in more of a traditional mood, so I went with the wings with habanero sauce. I loved that the fact the menu suggested you could order your wings extra crispy, so that's what I did. I also ordered a side salad for my starter.
The salad was nice. It definitely was hand-torn iceberg and not the typical salad-in-a-sack you get at other places. They threw in some tomato, cucumber, red onion, green pepper and red pepper. Everything was fresh. They also served a tasty, almost croissant-like dinner roll with butter with the salad.
My wings arrived shortly after I finished my salad. It looked as though the sauce was baked in, so I kindly asked Michelle for some extra sauce on the side for dipping. The wings themselves were HUGE--just as you would expect in any bar in the Indiana area. However, that's where the compliments end. They were far from extra crispy. There's nothing more icky (for lack of a better word) than soft chicken skin. What I think they did was pre-cooked them, sauced them then blasted them in the oven. Not exactly the formula for successful wings. What's worse is I was expecting some sinus-clearing, lip-burning heat from the habanero sauce. That didn't happen either.
My husband ordered a country fried chicken meal off of the special dinner menu. Now, his dinner was a 360-degree turn from mine. The only minor shortcoming was the use of frozen vegetables. The fried chicken breasts were crispy and moist as promised with a nice side of gravy. These were served with homemade loaded potato bites which smelled divine (I was very jealous at this point) and apparently tasted as good as they smelled.
There are two other items from the menu I can provide a small review on from this visit to the Elks. Later in the evening we ordered a simple pepperoni pizza to split between my family who had trickled in throughout the night. The crust was crunchy, but a little too heavy. The sauce, cheese and pepperoni were good -- just a little crispness on the edges of the pepperoni, which I can always appreciate.
Earlier that night, my dad had ordered a fish sandwich. This thing was HUGE! Definitely not frozen fish they fried on demand. These were hand-breaded and the tartar sauce looked homemade. Two thumbs up from my dad on this one.
Will we go back? Most definitely as my husband is a member. I just know now to avoid the wings. I can't wait to go back and try some of their special dinners! Membership has its privileges...
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