FoodieZoolee

updated on May 25, 2020October 15, 2012Restaurant Reviews

2-4-1

This is one of those posts I for some reason overlook because I think I’ve done it before. I would say we eat at Chili’s semi-regularly, which for us is at least 6 times a year. It’s one of those fun places where you always know what you want and 2 for 1 specials never seem to end. I have never had an issue with my food at this restaurant and I think that is the main reason we keep coming back to this franchise.

If you’ve never been I would suggest going and trying the $20 Dinner for Two special (a great way to sample their food).

Today, we stopped here for lunch before driving back home from a four day trip to Mayport. For just a few days of military training, I felt very tired. I barely slept 3 hours last night.

I had a couple beers (frosty mugs were the best part) and wanted to have some salty food with it so I opted for the Fried Shrimp, which is served with french fries and cole slaw (quite good, actually).

Ruben had Bacon Ranch Quesadillas (Bacon + Ranch are two of his favorite things to put in food so he was in heaven).

Now, just for fun, I am putting the images from their online menu of the items we ordered. The difference for me was my basket didn’t seem as full and the difference for Ruben’s food was the lack of a pretty arrangement. At least on Ruben’s part I know he would have preferred not to have the guacamole.

The Yuengling helped to put me down for a much needed nap – all the way to Orlando.

Related links:
Chili’s Grill & Bar Restaurant (Official website) – you can even order online and pick it up to bring home
Yuengling (Official Website) – The “Story” section is quite interesting

Thanks for reading!

for easy sharing of my reviews and recipes and a bunch of other fun stuff on there.

updated on May 25, 2020October 13, 2012Restaurant Reviews

Marco Polo

Ruben and I have a weak spot for hibachi style restaurants and that’s basically how we got to this place. It isn’t fancy, but the prices are really good and if you know what to order you will leave happy.

Art hanging in the restaurant

Restaurant interior

My main advice is do not eat from the buffet – at least not as late as we went to the restaurant. They’re hibachi (made to order meals) are good, but I did notice that their meat was previously frozen. The more I type the more I realize why this place has mixed reviews. The last tip I’ll give is to have the staff mix your sauce for you based on your description. They are much better at the seasonings (I did not do a good mix for my second round).

A closer look at my noodles with beef and broccoli.

Not sure if you will be ther best fan, but I liked it and would go again. Let me know if you have gone and what you thought.

Related Links:
Urbanspoon page for Marco Polo

Thanks for reading,
Zully

for easy sharing of my reviews and recipes and a bunch of other fun stuff on there.

updated on May 25, 2020October 12, 2012Restaurant Reviews

3rd Street Diner

This morning we went out for a late breakfast with a friend. It wasn’t planned so we just searched for a random location and this happened to be it.

This the the awning outside… so you get the jist of their “decorations”.

Super quick description: Greek, diner, regular-tasting, lots of seating, and overall not fantastic (food), service was fine.

The Menu – one of the obvious signs this is an “old” place.
There is some definite wear and tear on these.

I had pancakges, eggs, hash browns, bacon, and orange juice (basic diner test plate) and everything tasted authentically “diner-ish” . Greasy – nothing extraordinary about it.

It wasn’t the worst experience, but it is unlikely that we will ever return.

Related links:
Urbanspoon (restaurant page) – I gave it an “I don’t” like.
Google+ page (scored a 13)

Thanks for reading,
Zulaika H.

for easy sharing of my reviews and recipes and a bunch of other fun stuff on there.

updated on May 7, 2021October 11, 2012Restaurant Reviews

The BEST sub place

Every single time I go to Firehouse Subs I place the same order. Two years ago, I had noted that this was my favorite sub place and I (for some odd reason) still had not made a blog post about it (until now).

(more…)

updated on May 25, 2020October 9, 2012Restaurant Reviews

New York City 2012 Part 3

The mention of Astoria always reminds me of New York, low-key fashionistas, and now it also reminds me of the very cool brunch Ruben and I had at a place called Fatty’s Cafe. Today actually marks a whole month since our visit, but the experience is my favorite from the entire trip (to be beat only by breakfast at Tom’s – more on that another time).

Part of me wishes I would have taken more photos of the ambiance, but I was too excited to think twice of it. Fatty’s is a small cafe on the corner of Ditmars Blvd. and Crescent St. When you approach it, you might almost miss how perfectly awesome it is. If you go, (and weather permits) request to be seated out on the patio. You’ll walk on the sidewalk to the back of the building to enter a whole new realm. Instantly, we felt as if it wasn’t even New York anymore. The atmosphere is that different.

Your order is taken – drinks first of course. Take note: Each brunch entree ($15) comes complete with your choice of a Orange, Mango, or Pineapple Mimosa. I am pretty sure we all chose Mango flavored. I also couldn’t help but to order and try their “Cafe con Leche” (espresso with sweetened warm milk). It was really good…

But let’s remember my husband is Cuban – and no one makes a cafe con leche like he does.

At any rate, Fatty’s cafe con leche did not disappoint.

Ruben had Steak, eggs and home fries (which he thought would be fries and not potato chunks) he didn’t eat the potatoes. I tried not to crop this photo too much so you could see the natural light we were basking in 🙂

I ordered pancakes, eggs and bacon – and sadly could not eat it all. But really tried!

I enjoyed visiting this place, and it is very hard to put into words the feeling of comfort you get by coming here. The servers were friendly, the food was good, and there were no negatives. I don’t know when our next trip to New York will be, but I would not hesitate going to Fatty’s again. Please feel free to share your reviews as well if you’ve ever gone – I’d love to know what the other food was like.

Wing Stop – Casselberry, Florida

Below is a “critique essay” I wrote for school on my visit to Wing Stop on Saturday the 6th. I also incorporated my pictures from the visit for the post.

“Let’s go to Wing-Stop”

With that said my husband and I were off to have a late lunch. I had never been to Wing Stop, but Ruben had already gone a few times with his brother and friends. I already knew we were in for a good meal because of their tendency to return at least every couple of months to the nearby restaurant. My experience with the multi-flavored chicken at Wing Stop turned out positive and I see myself going back for more in the near future.

As soon as we walked in, we were greeted by an employee who’s enthusiasm actually seemed honest. This gentleman, who also took our order, even went as far as frying us a sample wing my husband and I were not sure of buying. After sitting at our table to wait for our food I took notice of the staff-to-customer interaction. What I really liked was each member’s attention to detail as they took many orders; it was Saturday afternoon after all. It was nice to see they served everyone with the same positive attitude we experienced ourselves – both to customers walking in and calls they were taking constantly on two phones. There were at least six employees all working toward the common goal of getting it right for each customer.

The Casselberry restaurant is small and seats about 30 people. As soon as your order is taken you are free to choose your table. Location, location, location. I quickly decided on a table by service counter where the drinks were given because my husband likes his soda refills. The table for two was small, but still able to accommodate comfortably when our pile of chow was set onto it. We were sitting against a wall with a covering I can say was literally “rustic”. The bottom half is a metal sheet with rows of burnt orange rust that seemed to almost coincidentally appear in stripes. The top half was adorned with random posters either relating to aviation or Pepsi Cola. Overall, the feeling for Wing Stop’s atmosphere was different, clean, and welcoming.

I was excited when our food was set on a tray before us. This was the moment I waited about fifteen minutes for. My husband ordered barbecue flavored chicken strips (i.e. think crispy breaded chicken bathed in gooey sauce). I ordered Louisiana style wings which were rubbed with Cajun seasoning and packed quite a kick. I would rate the spiciness an eight out of ten. They were so good dipped in blue cheese sauce! Each entree is served with french fries which tasted fresh. I really enjoyed them because they were cut without peeling and potato skins hold a lot flavor. We also ordered half a dozen of their “Yeast Rolls” – sweet bread baked in the shape of a ball. These were really tasty and also helped balance the heat from the wings.

Our visit to Wing Stop is one that will definitely repeat. I am mostly looking forward to trying a new style and flavor of wing. From the moment you walk in to the restaurant it feels like you made the right decision. The customer service and food quality only makes it better at Wing Stop. I would absolutely suggest Wing Stop to my friends and family and would bet this is one of the reasons for the non-stop phone orders coming in while we ate our lunch that afternoon. What a tasty and filling lunch that was.

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Thanks for reading – soon I’ll post Part 3 of my New York 2012 series.
New clue… it’s powdery.

Zulaika H.

for easy sharing of my reviews and recipes and a bunch of other fun stuff on there.

updated on May 25, 2020October 1, 2012Family Tips

It’s October… Yay!!

I am so excited for the month of October. Now that Halloween is coming up it means so is Thanksgiving, and Christmas, my husband’s birthday, New Year’s, my birthday and then Spring and then my daughter’s birthday (and my mom’s and my grandma’s all in March). It just gets me excited. (more…)

updated on May 25, 2020September 28, 2012Restaurant Reviews

New York City 2012 Part 2

I promised I’d be back with more!

This post is about the best sliders I’ve ever had. I’ve eaten these all my life and I think over time I have realized what makes them taste so amazing is the fact that there is always a long period of time between my visits to the family owned fast food business.

Photo courtesy: WhiteCastle.com

Half my life, I lived in New England. We were about two hours away from New York City and made frequent visits to see family there (at LEAST 4 times a year). One thing we always (I really mean always) did was eat White Castle. My mouth literally waters any time I think of it… Am I the American Fatty or what?!

As I mentioned in my last post, my husband and I made a trip to NY and this is a photo from our late night dinner trip to Slider Country. It’s really too bad they aren’t a franchise – I’d seriously open one up here in FL!