Let's just say it wasn't an intentional lie, but a lie none the less. I really did intend to start reviewing little places in Wilkes Barre and the surrounding areas. But, really, there wasn't anything worth reviewing out there. I could have gone to restaurant after restaurant and posted, but I'd guess 90% of them would probably be less than positive to say the least. I did have some good meals out there, but by the time I did, I had decided to pass on doing any reviews. My favorite in PA? Bloom'n Thai, in Bloomsburg. Spectacularly good Thai food, and worthy of a spectacular review.
But now, I'm back in my homeland, and I've bugged Daerick about getting his reviewing skills back up to snuff. And by up to snuff, I mean that he needs to practice his big and little letters again.
So, we're going to right this ship, get out and get some lunches in our bellies and start writing about the experience again. It's not going to be a twice or thrice weekly deal. We're likely looking at once a week in most cases. This will, however, allow us to be a little more selective, so you are not as likely to see reviews for McDonalds again. And, since neither of us work in Simi anymore, it's far more likely that our reviews will be of other restaurants that are outside of Simi, though still local to the area.
So, keep an eye out for some new posts!
Saturday, December 4, 2010
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Rising From The Ashes - How The Hell Did I End Up Here?
Good morning, loyal fans! Yes, this is another post from Lunch Time Reviews. I claimed we were dead last August, and I thought we'd stay that way. But, if you believe in zombies, and I know you do, you knew we wouldn't stay dead for long. But, instead of trolling around looking for brains in Sunny Simi Valley, Lunch Time Reviews has picked up stakes and headed East. All the way to the Wilkes Barre suburb of Dallas, PA. It wasn't my ideal plan, but it had to happen (I think...), and I'm here now!
My old fans will notice that this now more of an "I" operation, rather than a "we" operation. My partner, Daerick, the less funny and more culinarily-challenged of the two of us was the lucky one who got to stay in CA. It would be kind of odd to have reviews from two different cities that are 2800 miles apart, so I'm taking the bull by the horns and transplanting review production to the muggy coast.
Reviews will probably come less frequently, but they will come. So, keep your eyes peeled, and let's see where this goes from here.
My old fans will notice that this now more of an "I" operation, rather than a "we" operation. My partner, Daerick, the less funny and more culinarily-challenged of the two of us was the lucky one who got to stay in CA. It would be kind of odd to have reviews from two different cities that are 2800 miles apart, so I'm taking the bull by the horns and transplanting review production to the muggy coast.
Reviews will probably come less frequently, but they will come. So, keep your eyes peeled, and let's see where this goes from here.
Thursday, August 6, 2009
This is the end...My only friend, the end...
Well, loyal members, the time has come to put this project to bed. Once circumstances for Daerick and I changed, and we no longer were able to regularly go out to lunch together, this project was too difficult to continue with any regularity. And without regularity, it just won't be the project we hoped it could, and would be.
It was fun while it lasted, and we want to thank those of you that got in on our ground-floor attempt at ruling the world.
Bon Appetit!
Tim Landucci
Daerick Gross
Lunchtime Reviews - March 2009 to August 2009
It was fun while it lasted, and we want to thank those of you that got in on our ground-floor attempt at ruling the world.
Bon Appetit!
Tim Landucci
Daerick Gross
Lunchtime Reviews - March 2009 to August 2009
Friday, June 12, 2009
I want my baby-back baby-back baby-back....
You are reading Tim. Tim is good. Tim is funny. Rejoice!
This baby is gonna be solo. Daerick was there, but he got really high right after lunch and now thinks we ate lunch with the Cheshire Cat. Okay, he wasn't high, but the Cat thing is true.
Location: Chili's
Date: June 2nd, about 12:00
We ate at Chili's after deciding that we didn't want to spend a whole lot, and didn't necessarily want fast food. Chili's supposed fit the bill with their new "under $7 menu." I've been a fan of Chili's for a long time, and I enjoy their margaritas, though, sadly, we did not drink any this time around. So, I had high hopes for this cheap menu that they are pushing in these harsh economic times. I have to say that my hopes were wounded, but not in such a away that I would not go back. I ordered what I would describe as chicken nugget sandwiches. The chicken was literally no bigger than a McDonald's Chicken McNugget. They were on tiny buns, had some sort of flavored mayo, fried onions and, of all things a pickle slice! Pickles! Who the hell thought that would be a good idea? To go along with the "sandwiches", there was an afterthought portion of fries. All in the name of cutting the cost so they can cut the price. Well, guess what, Chili's, you dropped the ball on this one. For the cost of my lunch, I could have gotten a much better tasting, and more filling meal at any other fast food place. I felt like I was offered the left over appetizers at a party so they would not go to waste.
So, like I said, I wasn't so put off in the grand sense. I will still go back and buy regular sized meal and pay regular sized prices. But, I'm not heading back to their value meal any time soon. As a guy who likes food, I was insulted. And I like cheap food on many many levels, so for this meal to head so far down the wrong path tells you something. Overall, the place is clean, and while it was busy because of the lunch rush, service was still good, though I did not get a straw in my iced tea! Price of the meal was about $8 with tip. Not horrible, but like I said, you can do better elsewhere. One the Tim scale of lunches, dirt clod being awful, and newly laid sod being excellent, I give it a wet dirt clod, just a step up from awful.
Oh, and Daerick had what looked like a pretty tasty chicken quesadilla.
This baby is gonna be solo. Daerick was there, but he got really high right after lunch and now thinks we ate lunch with the Cheshire Cat. Okay, he wasn't high, but the Cat thing is true.
Location: Chili's
Date: June 2nd, about 12:00
We ate at Chili's after deciding that we didn't want to spend a whole lot, and didn't necessarily want fast food. Chili's supposed fit the bill with their new "under $7 menu." I've been a fan of Chili's for a long time, and I enjoy their margaritas, though, sadly, we did not drink any this time around. So, I had high hopes for this cheap menu that they are pushing in these harsh economic times. I have to say that my hopes were wounded, but not in such a away that I would not go back. I ordered what I would describe as chicken nugget sandwiches. The chicken was literally no bigger than a McDonald's Chicken McNugget. They were on tiny buns, had some sort of flavored mayo, fried onions and, of all things a pickle slice! Pickles! Who the hell thought that would be a good idea? To go along with the "sandwiches", there was an afterthought portion of fries. All in the name of cutting the cost so they can cut the price. Well, guess what, Chili's, you dropped the ball on this one. For the cost of my lunch, I could have gotten a much better tasting, and more filling meal at any other fast food place. I felt like I was offered the left over appetizers at a party so they would not go to waste.
So, like I said, I wasn't so put off in the grand sense. I will still go back and buy regular sized meal and pay regular sized prices. But, I'm not heading back to their value meal any time soon. As a guy who likes food, I was insulted. And I like cheap food on many many levels, so for this meal to head so far down the wrong path tells you something. Overall, the place is clean, and while it was busy because of the lunch rush, service was still good, though I did not get a straw in my iced tea! Price of the meal was about $8 with tip. Not horrible, but like I said, you can do better elsewhere. One the Tim scale of lunches, dirt clod being awful, and newly laid sod being excellent, I give it a wet dirt clod, just a step up from awful.
Oh, and Daerick had what looked like a pretty tasty chicken quesadilla.
Sunday, May 17, 2009
A surpise for us both...
Tim kicking this one off....
Location: Lamppost Pizza on Cochran, by Tapo
When: About 11:45
Tim's review:
We went out to lunch today with no intention at all of writing a review. Sometimes genius needs a rest. Really, since we weren't writing about it, we should have gone somewhere we have already been too. But, pizza called....again. And we ventured all the way to the East end to try a pie from Lamppost Pizza. So, we head inside and the place is cavernous......and we could hear the proverbial crickets. There was not a soul in the place, and it didn't appear that there was even a single employee in the place. After further inspection we saw who was probably the owner feverishly studying some paperwork. "Ahem!" Nothing... "Hello?" Still nothing. Wait 30 seconds, and try again. "Hello?" Finally he sees us. He comes up and immediately hands us a couple of plates and cups, assuming we were there for the buffet. The confused look on our faces gave us away and he realized we didn't want the buffet. So, we order a medium Linebacker pizza, which is a pizza with nothing but all the meats they have. We knew after this initial experience, we had to review the place.
We went to sit down and took in the whole place. It was nicely appointed with plenty of seating, two areas for semi-private parties, and a bar. Always good with me. This place is great for the sports fan who want to catch Monday Night Football, or a playoff game, as well as the softball team that needs a place to unwind after that grueling 6 innings of hard work. We had lots of ideas about how we were going to augment our experience here in the gigantic, empty pizza place. Some of the ideas included sitting as far away from each other (never bad) with our pizza strategically placed in the middle of the place (far away pizza is always bad), taking swigs of soda straight out of the machine, and some form of nakedness combined with the salad bar. Just as we were about to activate the plans, people came in. We could have waited it out to see if they were cool, but our pizza came, too. And this is where our review took the right fork in the road, instead off heading down the left, more awkward fork.
The owner made us a large pizza because he made us wait in the beginning. I know places make mistakes all the time. It's a fact of restaurant life. But, when a facility not only acknowledges the mistake, and corrects it without us even making a complaint, that place gets a pass.
So, on to the pizza. I will not say it's the best pizza I've ever had, because it isn't. However, it's good pizza. Really cheesy and they don't skimp on toppings, which were good. Though the sausage nuggets could use some reshaping. You'll know what I mean if you eat there. The pizza was a little greasy, but we all know how I feel about pizza grease. Just re-purpose it and go save some lives. And, since we had a large, we definitely got our fill. Maybe too much fill! I'm still quite stuffed. I'm not sure of the cost, because I did not pay this time. Daerick didn't want to eat alone again, so I talked him down off the ledge and had some pizza to boot.
So, I was taken off guard today, and was not initially prepared to write a review. So, my scale is a bit simple. On a scale of 1 to 10, they get a thumbs up. I don't need to explain that one, do I?
p.s. - a shout out to the blond chick at work who let me drive her cool car.
Daerick's reveiw:
So today was an impromptu review... typically we work out ahead of time if we're going to do a review and select a place to go, but not so today! I'm learning that this little endeavor of ours is taking on a life of its own, and once in a while it likes to remind us who's in charge. Today is a perfect example of this. We headed out for lunch and even said to each other "this is not a review day", I personally just didn't want to think about it today. Fate however had a different plan.
We went to Lamppost Pizza on Cochran in the Long's plaza, and I admit that I have never been to this place (though I've eaten at the Lamppost in Moorpark). Today was just supposed to be about pizza and killing time, a review was the furthest thing from my mind today. Until we walked in.
The place is deceptively large inside, I was surprised. It was rather dark though, and the place was completely empty. Given that it was after 11:30, we were confused. By this same time most other pizza places are already buzzing and prepping for the noon crush, we even did a double take to make sure the place was even open. There it was in big bold letters in the window: ABIERTO. Okay, so we were good on being open, so where was everyone. My mind was racing... I've seen this movie and it didn't end well. We started peeking in towards the kitchen area and I was preparing to see the alien creature finish eating the hapless staff or the zombies start coming our way or something. Instead we see the manager on duty (likely the owner) going over some papers and not aware we were there. At this point, I'm still thinking he's a zombie and will notice us soon, so I stand closer to the door knowing I can run faster than Tim. As it turns out, he wasn't a zombie (yet) and ran right out to help us once we finally got his attention (I told Tim he shouldn't call out until he knew for sure he wasn't a brain-eating zombie, but Tim is dumb like that).
Once he stepped out to help us, he made the assumption that we were there for the buffet. I stood there confused like an idiot, because I didn't realize they had a buffet and we had already decided what we wanted. He must have seen the look on our faces and realized we wanted to place an order. We ordered a medium Linebacker with two drinks, which is pretty comparable with Toppers (if you're familiar with them) in tems of size and price. We then went off to the dim interior of the dining room and found a seat. It was oddly quiet, there literally wasn't anyone else in the place. For like ten minutes. I was CERTAIN that an alien had eaten the staff and took on the guise of the proprietor.
After a bit a few other people started to arrive, and our pizza was brought out. The owner brought out a large to make up for making us wait in the beginning. This was unexpected, and was the clincher in our decision to write a review after all. The surreal experience upon walking in on top of getting a free upgrade without even asking for it just screams for write up. Also, I want to document my last moments in the event I was right all along and zombie aliens have indeed taken over and this lunch just planted little alien spawn in our bellies to gestate. I'm telling you I've read about this on the internet, this stuff happens! I will say however, if this is our doom, it is tasty pizza doom and I'm ok with that.
So, while I still have my wits about me, let me tell you about the pizza. It isn't the best in town, but it is a decent pizza. The Linebacker is bascally their specialty meat pizza, and was very well loaded with toppings. It was a little on the greasy side, but most pizzas in town are, and this one wasn't inordinately so. I liked the cheese and sauce as well. All in all this was a good pizza, and so long as little alien destroyers don't burst from my chest cavity later I'm going to rate this lunch really well. And if they do burst out from me, It will only affect my rating a little bit.
This one set me back about $21 for a medium specialty pizza and two selfserve drinks. The upgrade to a large is a sign of excellent service and a committment to their customers. I was a bit sarcastic in my review, but in all seriousness this went a long way with me. On a scale of absolute zero to melt your face off I rate this one an A. If I'm found later to have become an alien zombie as a result of this experience then the score becomes a B. Okay a B+. The pizza was good after all.
Location: Lamppost Pizza on Cochran, by Tapo
When: About 11:45
Tim's review:
We went out to lunch today with no intention at all of writing a review. Sometimes genius needs a rest. Really, since we weren't writing about it, we should have gone somewhere we have already been too. But, pizza called....again. And we ventured all the way to the East end to try a pie from Lamppost Pizza. So, we head inside and the place is cavernous......and we could hear the proverbial crickets. There was not a soul in the place, and it didn't appear that there was even a single employee in the place. After further inspection we saw who was probably the owner feverishly studying some paperwork. "Ahem!" Nothing... "Hello?" Still nothing. Wait 30 seconds, and try again. "Hello?" Finally he sees us. He comes up and immediately hands us a couple of plates and cups, assuming we were there for the buffet. The confused look on our faces gave us away and he realized we didn't want the buffet. So, we order a medium Linebacker pizza, which is a pizza with nothing but all the meats they have. We knew after this initial experience, we had to review the place.
We went to sit down and took in the whole place. It was nicely appointed with plenty of seating, two areas for semi-private parties, and a bar. Always good with me. This place is great for the sports fan who want to catch Monday Night Football, or a playoff game, as well as the softball team that needs a place to unwind after that grueling 6 innings of hard work. We had lots of ideas about how we were going to augment our experience here in the gigantic, empty pizza place. Some of the ideas included sitting as far away from each other (never bad) with our pizza strategically placed in the middle of the place (far away pizza is always bad), taking swigs of soda straight out of the machine, and some form of nakedness combined with the salad bar. Just as we were about to activate the plans, people came in. We could have waited it out to see if they were cool, but our pizza came, too. And this is where our review took the right fork in the road, instead off heading down the left, more awkward fork.
The owner made us a large pizza because he made us wait in the beginning. I know places make mistakes all the time. It's a fact of restaurant life. But, when a facility not only acknowledges the mistake, and corrects it without us even making a complaint, that place gets a pass.
So, on to the pizza. I will not say it's the best pizza I've ever had, because it isn't. However, it's good pizza. Really cheesy and they don't skimp on toppings, which were good. Though the sausage nuggets could use some reshaping. You'll know what I mean if you eat there. The pizza was a little greasy, but we all know how I feel about pizza grease. Just re-purpose it and go save some lives. And, since we had a large, we definitely got our fill. Maybe too much fill! I'm still quite stuffed. I'm not sure of the cost, because I did not pay this time. Daerick didn't want to eat alone again, so I talked him down off the ledge and had some pizza to boot.
So, I was taken off guard today, and was not initially prepared to write a review. So, my scale is a bit simple. On a scale of 1 to 10, they get a thumbs up. I don't need to explain that one, do I?
p.s. - a shout out to the blond chick at work who let me drive her cool car.
Daerick's reveiw:
So today was an impromptu review... typically we work out ahead of time if we're going to do a review and select a place to go, but not so today! I'm learning that this little endeavor of ours is taking on a life of its own, and once in a while it likes to remind us who's in charge. Today is a perfect example of this. We headed out for lunch and even said to each other "this is not a review day", I personally just didn't want to think about it today. Fate however had a different plan.
We went to Lamppost Pizza on Cochran in the Long's plaza, and I admit that I have never been to this place (though I've eaten at the Lamppost in Moorpark). Today was just supposed to be about pizza and killing time, a review was the furthest thing from my mind today. Until we walked in.
The place is deceptively large inside, I was surprised. It was rather dark though, and the place was completely empty. Given that it was after 11:30, we were confused. By this same time most other pizza places are already buzzing and prepping for the noon crush, we even did a double take to make sure the place was even open. There it was in big bold letters in the window: ABIERTO. Okay, so we were good on being open, so where was everyone. My mind was racing... I've seen this movie and it didn't end well. We started peeking in towards the kitchen area and I was preparing to see the alien creature finish eating the hapless staff or the zombies start coming our way or something. Instead we see the manager on duty (likely the owner) going over some papers and not aware we were there. At this point, I'm still thinking he's a zombie and will notice us soon, so I stand closer to the door knowing I can run faster than Tim. As it turns out, he wasn't a zombie (yet) and ran right out to help us once we finally got his attention (I told Tim he shouldn't call out until he knew for sure he wasn't a brain-eating zombie, but Tim is dumb like that).
Once he stepped out to help us, he made the assumption that we were there for the buffet. I stood there confused like an idiot, because I didn't realize they had a buffet and we had already decided what we wanted. He must have seen the look on our faces and realized we wanted to place an order. We ordered a medium Linebacker with two drinks, which is pretty comparable with Toppers (if you're familiar with them) in tems of size and price. We then went off to the dim interior of the dining room and found a seat. It was oddly quiet, there literally wasn't anyone else in the place. For like ten minutes. I was CERTAIN that an alien had eaten the staff and took on the guise of the proprietor.
After a bit a few other people started to arrive, and our pizza was brought out. The owner brought out a large to make up for making us wait in the beginning. This was unexpected, and was the clincher in our decision to write a review after all. The surreal experience upon walking in on top of getting a free upgrade without even asking for it just screams for write up. Also, I want to document my last moments in the event I was right all along and zombie aliens have indeed taken over and this lunch just planted little alien spawn in our bellies to gestate. I'm telling you I've read about this on the internet, this stuff happens! I will say however, if this is our doom, it is tasty pizza doom and I'm ok with that.
So, while I still have my wits about me, let me tell you about the pizza. It isn't the best in town, but it is a decent pizza. The Linebacker is bascally their specialty meat pizza, and was very well loaded with toppings. It was a little on the greasy side, but most pizzas in town are, and this one wasn't inordinately so. I liked the cheese and sauce as well. All in all this was a good pizza, and so long as little alien destroyers don't burst from my chest cavity later I'm going to rate this lunch really well. And if they do burst out from me, It will only affect my rating a little bit.
This one set me back about $21 for a medium specialty pizza and two selfserve drinks. The upgrade to a large is a sign of excellent service and a committment to their customers. I was a bit sarcastic in my review, but in all seriousness this went a long way with me. On a scale of absolute zero to melt your face off I rate this one an A. If I'm found later to have become an alien zombie as a result of this experience then the score becomes a B. Okay a B+. The pizza was good after all.
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
you know you want to sing it...
Dærick here... Every time I hear the name of today's lunchtime reviewee I am almost compelled to sing that damn song, and I know you are too (even if you won't admit it!) So, let's cut right to it, shall we?
Location: Green Acres on Los Angeles Ave.
Date: May 11, 2009
Time: a little before high noon
Dærick's review:
As long as I've lived in Simi, I have to admit that until today I have never been to Green Acres. I have no explanation or defense for this, and I accept your derision. Green Acres has always been that fantastic scent of cooking meat that I drive through on LA Avenue, but now it has become so much more.
Once we arrived at the Green Acres compound it was straight to the counter... no doors or other clumsy obstacles to bother with here, it's just park, walk, and order. Already my mutant lunchtime senses were tingling, and I hadn't even ordered yet! The menu here is pretty straightforward, and to be honest pretty comparable to other places you could choose to go. What sets this place apart is how they prepare the meat they use. Pardon me a moment, I think I'm drooling again...
Where was I? Right, the review, I remember now. So I ordered the shredded chicken burrito for today's meal, largely because it was the suggested special and I wanted to order something different than Tim who I believe ordered the tri-tip burrito. Anyway, I got that and a drink, no sides for this lunch. Speaking of sides however, I will say that had I been inclined to get a side of chips Green Acres carries the big boy sizes and not the grade school sizes that most places have. But I digress.
My burrito came up really quickly, which was a surprise actually. Now, I will say that in terms of size it was not the humongous giant burrito you can get at some places, but to me that is a good thing. I didn't struggle to finish it, and I didn't feel I had to stretch my stomach out. Inside was a good ratio of meat to filler (beans and rice in this case) and it also had an excellent distribution. Every bite had meat in it, and the flavor carried through. I will say that the sause inside, while very good, was a toxic orange-red in color that stained my fingers a little. Any of you who tend to get food on yourself while eating should be very careful, you've been warned. As far as flavor goes, my burrito was excellent. The treatment of the chicken was well balanced, seasoned well but not overpowered.
In short, I loved this lunch! I am willing to give up the side that you might get somewhere else for the price, the burrito I had today made the sacrifice well worth it. All told I spent under $9.00 for the drink and burrito, and left a very satisfied man. On a scale of 1 to 87 I rate today's lunch an A.
Tim's review:
Green Acres is the place to be! Fine tri-tip is the life for me! Meat, spreading out so far and wide! Keep Del Taco, just gimme those beans on the side! We have been talking about Green Acres for a long time, mainly on the reputation I have been mentioning to Daerick for ages. Though, admittedly, I have not been there in a few years, and before that, I was a regular customer when their set up was just a table and a giant BBQ.
I'm very familiar with their tri-tip, and I was going to settle for nothing less on this fine day. I got myself a grande burrito, which I believe is Spanish for "overstuffed with tri-tip" burrito. My Spanish admirers can check into that for me. A grande burrito comes with the following: beans, rice, cheese, cilantro, hot sauce and meat of your choice. The meats are tri-tip, chicken, shredded chicken and pork. All of which are delicious. So, my burrito came and I noticed two things; it was heavy and it was stuffed to capacity. In fact, shortly into the meal, I nearly had complete burrito failure, but it was narrowly averted when I squeezed the hell out of the bottom of the burrito and held on for dear life. If that burrito had blown, lives would have been lost. My burrito was well made, where I didn't have tons of one ingredient and little bits of another. In fact, based on the amount of meat in the burrito, it may be the best value in the city that I know of. Tri-tip ain't cheap, and there was a lot in there. After finishing my burrito, I tended to my hand, which was covered in burrito innards that had leaked out while said hand kept the populace safe from a burrito explosion.
I really like what they have done to make the place more of an outdoor cafe than anything else. Lots of seating, and though it was busy, we had our food in under 5 minutes. I will say they really need to gain some perspective on what "large" means. We ordered "large" drinks (the only size the had), and I would say they were large from a time gone by. Like a large from fast-food places, circa 1979. The place is nice and cool, and they have fans and misters in place for warmer days. All told, my meal was about $9.50, but worth every penny. And, while I'm writing, let me give a tip of the hat to the butchershop inside. I have been buying meat there for years, and it is always top notch. And in conclusion, on a scale of Kidney Bean to Navy Bean, I rate this a bowl of Navy Beans with garlic bread on the side.
Location: Green Acres on Los Angeles Ave.
Date: May 11, 2009
Time: a little before high noon
Dærick's review:
As long as I've lived in Simi, I have to admit that until today I have never been to Green Acres. I have no explanation or defense for this, and I accept your derision. Green Acres has always been that fantastic scent of cooking meat that I drive through on LA Avenue, but now it has become so much more.
Once we arrived at the Green Acres compound it was straight to the counter... no doors or other clumsy obstacles to bother with here, it's just park, walk, and order. Already my mutant lunchtime senses were tingling, and I hadn't even ordered yet! The menu here is pretty straightforward, and to be honest pretty comparable to other places you could choose to go. What sets this place apart is how they prepare the meat they use. Pardon me a moment, I think I'm drooling again...
Where was I? Right, the review, I remember now. So I ordered the shredded chicken burrito for today's meal, largely because it was the suggested special and I wanted to order something different than Tim who I believe ordered the tri-tip burrito. Anyway, I got that and a drink, no sides for this lunch. Speaking of sides however, I will say that had I been inclined to get a side of chips Green Acres carries the big boy sizes and not the grade school sizes that most places have. But I digress.
My burrito came up really quickly, which was a surprise actually. Now, I will say that in terms of size it was not the humongous giant burrito you can get at some places, but to me that is a good thing. I didn't struggle to finish it, and I didn't feel I had to stretch my stomach out. Inside was a good ratio of meat to filler (beans and rice in this case) and it also had an excellent distribution. Every bite had meat in it, and the flavor carried through. I will say that the sause inside, while very good, was a toxic orange-red in color that stained my fingers a little. Any of you who tend to get food on yourself while eating should be very careful, you've been warned. As far as flavor goes, my burrito was excellent. The treatment of the chicken was well balanced, seasoned well but not overpowered.
In short, I loved this lunch! I am willing to give up the side that you might get somewhere else for the price, the burrito I had today made the sacrifice well worth it. All told I spent under $9.00 for the drink and burrito, and left a very satisfied man. On a scale of 1 to 87 I rate today's lunch an A.
Tim's review:
Green Acres is the place to be! Fine tri-tip is the life for me! Meat, spreading out so far and wide! Keep Del Taco, just gimme those beans on the side! We have been talking about Green Acres for a long time, mainly on the reputation I have been mentioning to Daerick for ages. Though, admittedly, I have not been there in a few years, and before that, I was a regular customer when their set up was just a table and a giant BBQ.
I'm very familiar with their tri-tip, and I was going to settle for nothing less on this fine day. I got myself a grande burrito, which I believe is Spanish for "overstuffed with tri-tip" burrito. My Spanish admirers can check into that for me. A grande burrito comes with the following: beans, rice, cheese, cilantro, hot sauce and meat of your choice. The meats are tri-tip, chicken, shredded chicken and pork. All of which are delicious. So, my burrito came and I noticed two things; it was heavy and it was stuffed to capacity. In fact, shortly into the meal, I nearly had complete burrito failure, but it was narrowly averted when I squeezed the hell out of the bottom of the burrito and held on for dear life. If that burrito had blown, lives would have been lost. My burrito was well made, where I didn't have tons of one ingredient and little bits of another. In fact, based on the amount of meat in the burrito, it may be the best value in the city that I know of. Tri-tip ain't cheap, and there was a lot in there. After finishing my burrito, I tended to my hand, which was covered in burrito innards that had leaked out while said hand kept the populace safe from a burrito explosion.
I really like what they have done to make the place more of an outdoor cafe than anything else. Lots of seating, and though it was busy, we had our food in under 5 minutes. I will say they really need to gain some perspective on what "large" means. We ordered "large" drinks (the only size the had), and I would say they were large from a time gone by. Like a large from fast-food places, circa 1979. The place is nice and cool, and they have fans and misters in place for warmer days. All told, my meal was about $9.50, but worth every penny. And, while I'm writing, let me give a tip of the hat to the butchershop inside. I have been buying meat there for years, and it is always top notch. And in conclusion, on a scale of Kidney Bean to Navy Bean, I rate this a bowl of Navy Beans with garlic bread on the side.
Monday, May 11, 2009
Del Taco - Daerick is title-phobic
Dærick here... yeah we know the date for the post reads the 11th. Reviews will be a bit more timely going forward, just tell yourself these were so well thought out it took us this long to get our reviews in order to post. Or maybe we are just lazy, but personally I'm thinking it's more the former of the two. Without further ado, here is the review from last Friday, the 8th (and by the way, I apologize in advance for Tim. You'll see what I mean).
Location: Del Taco on Los Angeles Avenue (Yes, we went to Del! Why is everyone asking?)
Date: 5/8/09
Time: sometime between naptime and nature's call
Dærick's review:
Yeah yeah, I know... "Del Taco? Really?" Yes. Seriously. This whole reviewing idea was born from our routine of going to the chains and getting the same thing over and over, and Del Taco on Los Angeles Avenue (west side of town) definitely qualifies as 'routine' and 'over and over' for us. We practically have our own parking space and designated seats there. In any event, I digress. We're doing this review and you are going to read it and you are going to like it, and if I have to tell you again I will turn this thing around right now! Don't push me, I'll do it.
As far as interior ambiance goes, the place is decently clean and lit. Now you may be thinking "well, duh" but I'm telling you not to be hasty here. I've been to other Dels (one specifically here in Simi) that are not so well kept, so this is something worth pointing out. Now, I will say I have noticed over time that this specific Del has slowly phased out your ability to get napkins as needed, but that point isn't going in to my rating for the day. I'm just sayin'...
I ordered the regular chili fries with a Spicy Jack Quesadilla, with a drink. As with most fast food chains, the drinks are self serve and the standard fare (Coke products here). Let's focus on the food itself. The quesadilla is ok I suppose, if you remember you are in a fast food joint and are not expecting much. The "spicy jack" part is indeed jack cheese, but lacks a bit in the 'spicy' category. Even a gringo from Nebraska would have trouble calling this 'spicy', though that isn't to say it tastes bad. It simply doesn't come with any kick on its own, you have to add that if you want it. In this case, I did not add any. For the price, this isn't a terrible choice if you're on the run and and need to fill your stomach with something and rush back to work.
On to the chili cheese fries... now in general I kinda like Del's fries (for fast food), certainly over McD's skinny little potato bits. The 'chili' (or 'meat goo' as the case may be) is ladeled over a portion of fries, and can be hit or miss in terms of chili-to-fries ratio. This is important when choosing to eat chili cheese fries, and Del could stand to improve on this on the whole. In any event, today's ratio was decent so props there. The chili itself is the standard generic 'chili' that so many fast food places use, and really isn't what I would call a true chili. Then again, this is Del and I know what I am getting in to when I order here. I just want to be clear in case one of you dear readers have never been to a Del Taco and is basing the decision to go on this eloquent and in-depth review (God help you).
All in all it isn't bad, again taking in to account this isn't a fine dining experience. You're on your lunch break, you have only a little time, and Del is conveniently located for you. You don't want burgers today, and dammit you don't remember what that stupid doctor said about your cholestewhatzit anyway. This is one of my more favored places to kill a lunch when nothing else sounds right and I just want to walk in and walk out. This time around it cost me about $7.00 and maybe 2-3 months of artery life, which seems a fair trade in retrospect. On a scale of Brittany to Octomom I'm giving this a Bill O'Reilly because in the end I simply just don't care. It was Del Taco... duh! What did you expect?
Tim's review:
Sometimes, you have a lot of money to spend. Or, at least you have enough money to go get lunch where you want to go, rather than where you're kind of forced to go because you only have a little money. Today, we had a little money (conserving it for the poker game later tonight!), and so our choices (as we know them now) were limited to fast food places, pretty much. We decided to head to an old stand-by: Del Taco. We fed the beast.
When I go, I have a rather large selection of items I may end up getting on any given lunch here. I tend to like Del more than my communist partner, and I happen to think a lot of the things on the menu are pretty good. But, today I went with a simple choice: Classic Taco Combo, regular size, with an extra chicken soft taco. It's funny that they call them "classic" tacos, since they are new to Del, and bigger than the classic taco they have. Know this, Classic Tacos have about 7 times the meat than a classic taco has. But, they are only twice as expensive. So, there's a deal there. With the combo, you get two of those, fries and a drink. Add a chicken soft taco, and you get the whole smorgasbord for under $6.00. Not bad, compared to many other combos around the city.
Overall, the place is clean, has a kid's play area, and you get your food rather quickly (hence the term, fast food!), and on certain days, you can see a great cast of characters behind the counter. So, in closing, I give this 3 out of 4 pubes on the fast food bar of soap. You can certainly get a better lunch, but for the amount paid compared to what I got, it's a pretty good deal.
Location: Del Taco on Los Angeles Avenue (Yes, we went to Del! Why is everyone asking?)
Date: 5/8/09
Time: sometime between naptime and nature's call
Dærick's review:
Yeah yeah, I know... "Del Taco? Really?" Yes. Seriously. This whole reviewing idea was born from our routine of going to the chains and getting the same thing over and over, and Del Taco on Los Angeles Avenue (west side of town) definitely qualifies as 'routine' and 'over and over' for us. We practically have our own parking space and designated seats there. In any event, I digress. We're doing this review and you are going to read it and you are going to like it, and if I have to tell you again I will turn this thing around right now! Don't push me, I'll do it.
As far as interior ambiance goes, the place is decently clean and lit. Now you may be thinking "well, duh" but I'm telling you not to be hasty here. I've been to other Dels (one specifically here in Simi) that are not so well kept, so this is something worth pointing out. Now, I will say I have noticed over time that this specific Del has slowly phased out your ability to get napkins as needed, but that point isn't going in to my rating for the day. I'm just sayin'...
I ordered the regular chili fries with a Spicy Jack Quesadilla, with a drink. As with most fast food chains, the drinks are self serve and the standard fare (Coke products here). Let's focus on the food itself. The quesadilla is ok I suppose, if you remember you are in a fast food joint and are not expecting much. The "spicy jack" part is indeed jack cheese, but lacks a bit in the 'spicy' category. Even a gringo from Nebraska would have trouble calling this 'spicy', though that isn't to say it tastes bad. It simply doesn't come with any kick on its own, you have to add that if you want it. In this case, I did not add any. For the price, this isn't a terrible choice if you're on the run and and need to fill your stomach with something and rush back to work.
On to the chili cheese fries... now in general I kinda like Del's fries (for fast food), certainly over McD's skinny little potato bits. The 'chili' (or 'meat goo' as the case may be) is ladeled over a portion of fries, and can be hit or miss in terms of chili-to-fries ratio. This is important when choosing to eat chili cheese fries, and Del could stand to improve on this on the whole. In any event, today's ratio was decent so props there. The chili itself is the standard generic 'chili' that so many fast food places use, and really isn't what I would call a true chili. Then again, this is Del and I know what I am getting in to when I order here. I just want to be clear in case one of you dear readers have never been to a Del Taco and is basing the decision to go on this eloquent and in-depth review (God help you).
All in all it isn't bad, again taking in to account this isn't a fine dining experience. You're on your lunch break, you have only a little time, and Del is conveniently located for you. You don't want burgers today, and dammit you don't remember what that stupid doctor said about your cholestewhatzit anyway. This is one of my more favored places to kill a lunch when nothing else sounds right and I just want to walk in and walk out. This time around it cost me about $7.00 and maybe 2-3 months of artery life, which seems a fair trade in retrospect. On a scale of Brittany to Octomom I'm giving this a Bill O'Reilly because in the end I simply just don't care. It was Del Taco... duh! What did you expect?
Tim's review:
Sometimes, you have a lot of money to spend. Or, at least you have enough money to go get lunch where you want to go, rather than where you're kind of forced to go because you only have a little money. Today, we had a little money (conserving it for the poker game later tonight!), and so our choices (as we know them now) were limited to fast food places, pretty much. We decided to head to an old stand-by: Del Taco. We fed the beast.
When I go, I have a rather large selection of items I may end up getting on any given lunch here. I tend to like Del more than my communist partner, and I happen to think a lot of the things on the menu are pretty good. But, today I went with a simple choice: Classic Taco Combo, regular size, with an extra chicken soft taco. It's funny that they call them "classic" tacos, since they are new to Del, and bigger than the classic taco they have. Know this, Classic Tacos have about 7 times the meat than a classic taco has. But, they are only twice as expensive. So, there's a deal there. With the combo, you get two of those, fries and a drink. Add a chicken soft taco, and you get the whole smorgasbord for under $6.00. Not bad, compared to many other combos around the city.
Overall, the place is clean, has a kid's play area, and you get your food rather quickly (hence the term, fast food!), and on certain days, you can see a great cast of characters behind the counter. So, in closing, I give this 3 out of 4 pubes on the fast food bar of soap. You can certainly get a better lunch, but for the amount paid compared to what I got, it's a pretty good deal.
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