Category: Food & Beverage

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Casinos ticketed for allowing smoking

Casinos ticketed for allowing smoking – The Denver Post
I am sorry, but having a $200 for a business like the casinos is not going to deter them.  It is ridiculously low and something that they could cover quite easily.

The cigar bar loophole is also a joke. That loophole is so wide a few semi-trucks could get through, let along smokers.  That should be closed soon.  I was in Maryland and they have a smoking ban in the county I was in. The patrons of the cigar bar I walked by had to sit outside because they don’t have that loophole.

Finally, the sheriff refusing to write tickets and enforce the law is just plain stupid. He is not doing his job then. It is nice to see that he finally issued the tickets, but give me a break.

The casinos and others better clean up their act or the smoking ban will go to the voters as a referendum and they won’t like the results. I am sure that it will be much tougher than the already tough law today.  Albeight with out the big loopholes.

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Casa Bonita: Never, ever again!

Tonight we went to Casa Bonita in Lakewood, Colorado, with friends for dinner and a fun evening. Never, ever again.
The food is horrible, bland Mexican food that is full of processed cheese and other unreconizable items.  I think it was chicken.  They are known for the soapapillas, but they were just ok.  Did I mention that it is served cafeteria style?

Don’t get the all you can eat meal. They have them sitting out and just hand them to you. Order something on the menu. At least they have to make it somewhere for you.

I guess Casa Bonita is known for their entertainment, but the cliff divers, shows that push people into the water, and magic show was quite cheesy.  I don’t think there was a video game in the arcade that was not at least 30 years old.

They even had a pinata hitting for kids who were having birthday parties there. But the pinata didn’t even have candy in them.  The employee pulled out a basket and threw the candy on the floor.

I think the kids had fun, but we won’t be going back.  It is quite a rip-off.  Save your money and time if you can.

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Washington Park Grille delivers good food and experience

I have found a new restaurant in Denver that is now on my favorites list and it is the Washington Park Grille.
My first experience was a couple months ago during restaurant week in Denver with my wife.  We had a nice dinner, the food was wonderful, and the service top class.  The steak and wine were perfect.  We went on a Wednesday night and when we left the restaurant was still hoping and the bar was overflowing.

The second time I went was last Thursday for Project Angel Heart during lunch.  I went with some co-workers and most of us had been there before.  This time I had the buffalo meatloaf, mashed potatoes, and asparagus. It was wonderful.

This is a great restaurant in a great part of Denver.  They have great service, great food, great wine, and look like they have great martini’s.

The only drawback is parking.  There is not that much of it with the several restaurants and shops around on Gaylord Street.  Added to the problem is that residential streets in the area have restrictions on them that require a permit to park in the evenings.

The only saving grace is that they have valet parking on Thursday through Saturday evenings.

Reservations are recommended. You can even make a reservation online through OpenTable.

If you want a really good, casual dinner with your loved one or friends, head to the Washington Park Grille. It is a great neighborhood gathering place that you will want to keep coming back to.

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Mothers Bistro a great place to eat in Buena Vista

I was going through Buena Vista, Colorado for work last week and it was lunch time and a co-worker and I headed to Mothers Bistro. My co-worker had been there before and highly recommended it.
Well we weren’t disappointed. It was a great meal and a nice place to relax as we were driving back from our meeting.

My co-worker had the daily quiche and I had the ham and sharp cheddar panini. Let me just say it was delicious. In fact, all the food looked delicious and the staff was wonderful. It was almost like eating lunch at home.

The food is brought out to you, but during the day, you bus your own table. Something that I don’t mind doing.

It took all of our willpower to not get desert. It looked scrumptious.

So if you are going through Buena Vista, head east on Main Street from Highway 24 and stop by Mothers Bistro. You won’t be disappointed.

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Mateo Restaurant Blows It, Sunflower Restaurant Saves the Evening

This was shaping up to be a fun evening. My sister in-law was in town from New York and the kids day-care was hosting a parents night out so it set up for the adults to head out for a dinner with adult conversation. (Don’t get me wrong, we love our kids, but sometimes it is nice to get out and have an adults night.)
Well my wife and I had been to Mateo in Boulder a couple times and had wonderful experiences. But we hadn’t been there for a couple years and decided to head back and take my sister in-law.

My wife made the reservations and they even called me last night to confirm that we were coming. We dropped the kids off and headed for Boulder.

Well when we arrived, they wanted to sit us at one of their small patio tables that they had brought in from outside. It also had the small uncomfortable patio chairs. Something that I don’t want to sit at or on when we will be having a nice leisurely dinner and spending $150-$200 for the pleasure.

All the other tables are nice with comfortable padded chairs.

Well we tried to get another table and they basically said that the only other thing they had available was the community table. All the other tables were spoken for. We even spoke to who appeared to be the manager or owner and he was not helpful at all.

I have never been so mad or upset in my life when I have gone out to eat. They should not treat their customers like that. If they don’t have a table, they should never have accepted the reservation. Or if someone made a reservation after us, they should have been turned down. It is not professional and does not show respect to us as their customers.

Well we need to find a place to eat, so we headed west on Pearl Street a couple blocks and found Sunflower. What a difference from Mateo.

Continue reading “Mateo Restaurant Blows It, Sunflower Restaurant Saves the Evening”

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Montana Brewing Company, an ok dinner

I am in Billings, Mont., for work and headed over to the Montana Brewing Company for dinner. I thought this was going to be a good place to have a beer and dinner because they won the small brewpub and small brewpub brewer of the year at the Great American Beer Festival. But I left disappointed.
Overall the menu was typical brewpub fare, but it seemed a little light on the beer selection. It appeared they had a wheat, amber, stout, and another one I can’t remember.

I choose the wheat and it was different and not as good as other wheats. It does not compare to the Bighorn Brewing Company Hefeweizen. It was almost like I was drinking a fresh Coors Beer.

For dinner I went with the Bacon Cheeseburger and sweet potato fries. The cheeseburger was quite good but the sweet potato fries were not really fries. They were more like chips.

These chips also had a pepper salt on them that were quite hot. I couldn’t eat too many of them.

The Montana Brewing Company was ok for dinner, but I wouldn’t go out of your way to make it here. If you are staying in downtown Billings, then go for it. Otherwise find another place to dine.

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Screw Cap or Cork, You Decide

On today’s CBS Sunday Morning, it focused all on food.
One of the stories caught my attention, Time to Pop A … Screw Cap?  The story focused on the number of wines migrating from using the cork to using rubber, glass, or gasp, a screw cap.

Some statistics caught my attention from the story.

“This year, 95% of all New Zealand wine will have screw caps, as will 50% of Australian wine. Only 5% of U.S. wine bottles have screw caps, but the number is growing.”

The problem is a chemical called TCA.  It taints the flavor of the wine.  This is because the quality of the cork has declined over time.

Continue reading “Screw Cap or Cork, You Decide”

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Geno’s in Philadelphia

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Geno’s in Philadelphia, originally uploaded by Mile High Soapbox on Flickr.

This was a nice walk this afternoon.  I just headed down 9th Street from Market from my hotel and headed straight for Geno’s Steaks.

The neighborhood that I walked through was unique and good to see.  The curb market was also unique.  Coming from the west, it is something that we don’t have.

Of couse there was a line at Geno’s (and one at Pat’s).  But I was told to go to Geno’s, so I did.

I ordered, “Provolone with.” I got my Cheesesteak and headed for the next window to get my cheese fries and a diet coke.  I then added relish and Golden’s Mustard.

This was my first Cheesesteak and it was how I imagined it.  It was hot and it was delicious.

If you are in Philadelphia, you need to head down and go to Geno’s.  It does not get better than this.