Thursday, September 28, 2006
Old Chicago's (Sept. 28th)
(970) 207-9456
4709 S Timberline Rd # 101
Fort Collins, CO 80528
oldchicago.com
****4 out of 5 stars****
Not just a typical restaurant chain, Old Chicago's brings something unique and different. Known as a sports bar, Old C's as it is known, has lots of deep dish Chicago pizza's and calzones. We went for lunch today, and I was surprised not only at the pizza selection (varieties, sizes, and toppings) but the extensive menu that followed.
I didn't quite feel like pizza today, and my party was having seperate meals on seperate tickets. I started out with a antipasto salad, which was a combo of greens, pepperoni and salami, cheeses and peppers. It was delicious and a must have for starters. I decided to give their pasta a try. They are now running a special where you can get three kinds of pasta. I had lazanga, fettuchinni alfredo, and chicken parmasean. Wow! What a lot of food. It was very good, and reasonable priced. The staff was on top of their game, and very friendly with big smiles. At the end of the meal, the manager came over and asked how our meal was. That is always a very nice gesture and a sign of a classy restaurant. The prices were also very good.
4709 S Timberline Rd # 101
Fort Collins, CO 80528
oldchicago.com
****4 out of 5 stars****
Not just a typical restaurant chain, Old Chicago's brings something unique and different. Known as a sports bar, Old C's as it is known, has lots of deep dish Chicago pizza's and calzones. We went for lunch today, and I was surprised not only at the pizza selection (varieties, sizes, and toppings) but the extensive menu that followed.
I didn't quite feel like pizza today, and my party was having seperate meals on seperate tickets. I started out with a antipasto salad, which was a combo of greens, pepperoni and salami, cheeses and peppers. It was delicious and a must have for starters. I decided to give their pasta a try. They are now running a special where you can get three kinds of pasta. I had lazanga, fettuchinni alfredo, and chicken parmasean. Wow! What a lot of food. It was very good, and reasonable priced. The staff was on top of their game, and very friendly with big smiles. At the end of the meal, the manager came over and asked how our meal was. That is always a very nice gesture and a sign of a classy restaurant. The prices were also very good.
Tuesday, September 26, 2006
Saigon Grill (Sept 26th)
(970) 416-9722
755 S Lemay Ave Ste D3
Fort Collins, CO 80524
http://www.ufeedme.com/saigongrill/
***3 out of 5 stars***
Spicy yet subtle, the Saigon Grill is a hidden gem of Fort Collins. The food is a collision of Chinese and Thai - with lots of spice and many sweet dishes. Although small, the Saigon Grill provides an intimate atmosphere with a detail to service.
Not busy during a dinner crowd, the restaurant was still filled with exotic smells. We started our meal off with some Chicken Rice soup. I found this to be the least interesting part of the meal, as the soup was generally bland and could have easily came right out of a can. We were very dissapointed that we could not substitute soups, even for extra money. The egg rolls that came next were divine. These were not the traditional egg rolls, but more of a tight rolled Vietnamese style. And they were delicious. Our meals were very interesting. I had Basil Shrimp, which was spicy and covered with a thick Basil sauce. If you don't care for strong flavor, I would suggest passing this one. I really enjoyed it, as was displayed with my empty plate. My companion had Pineapple Beef. This had a mix of Oriental vegetables, pineapple and thinly sliced beef with a very sweet and spicy sauce. It was very good, and an unusual treat.
I would suggest visiting Saigon Grill if you open minded to new foods, and enjoy spicy food. The egg rolls are great, and are a must with any visit.
755 S Lemay Ave Ste D3
Fort Collins, CO 80524
http://www.ufeedme.com/saigongrill/
***3 out of 5 stars***
Spicy yet subtle, the Saigon Grill is a hidden gem of Fort Collins. The food is a collision of Chinese and Thai - with lots of spice and many sweet dishes. Although small, the Saigon Grill provides an intimate atmosphere with a detail to service.
Not busy during a dinner crowd, the restaurant was still filled with exotic smells. We started our meal off with some Chicken Rice soup. I found this to be the least interesting part of the meal, as the soup was generally bland and could have easily came right out of a can. We were very dissapointed that we could not substitute soups, even for extra money. The egg rolls that came next were divine. These were not the traditional egg rolls, but more of a tight rolled Vietnamese style. And they were delicious. Our meals were very interesting. I had Basil Shrimp, which was spicy and covered with a thick Basil sauce. If you don't care for strong flavor, I would suggest passing this one. I really enjoyed it, as was displayed with my empty plate. My companion had Pineapple Beef. This had a mix of Oriental vegetables, pineapple and thinly sliced beef with a very sweet and spicy sauce. It was very good, and an unusual treat.
I would suggest visiting Saigon Grill if you open minded to new foods, and enjoy spicy food. The egg rolls are great, and are a must with any visit.
Sunday, September 24, 2006
Cracker Barrell (Sept. 23rd)
(970) 593-9947
5800 Mcwhinney Blvd
Loveland, CO 80538
crackerbarrel.com
**2 out of 5 starts**
Being from the South, I know what to expect when it comes to hardy, fried Southern Cuisine. And thus, I love Cracker Barrell. When we first arrived, the place was packed. The nice thing about Cracker Barrell is that they are quick to put your name on the list giving your party ample time to browse around their "Country Store" (and spend more more money as we did).
Their Country Store is a hodge-podge of unique gifts and foods that are fun for the whole family to browse. They have everything from seasonal merchandise - Halloween and Thanksgiving were dominate, although they already have Christmas stuff out too. They also have all kinds of notalgic memorabilia like Coco-Cola and candy. I found myself looking at the nostalic candy a lot saying things like "remember these?" or "I haven't had these in years!".
It took about 15 minutes to be seated. My biggest complaint about this visit was not the food, it was the crazy waitress. Having ordered coffee, she brought the cups and the pot and when she poored it was all over the table. Over the course of the meal, it was obvious that she did not have the patience to serve us promperly and was in too big of hurry to cater to our needs. We had considered ordering some cobbler for dessert, but she never gave us a chance. At the end of the meal, she left the bill without a simple thank you to return 10 mins later with another bill. The funny thing is that the second bill was for another table that did not have anything similar to our meal. It was frustrating to say the least. But we all got a good laugh out of her antics.
I would suggest checking this one out, especially if you are looking for some good Southern based foods. We had catfish, roast beef, and mash pototoes - which were all excellent. The kids will love the Country Store. Just hope you don't get the crazy waitress!
5800 Mcwhinney Blvd
Loveland, CO 80538
crackerbarrel.com
**2 out of 5 starts**
Being from the South, I know what to expect when it comes to hardy, fried Southern Cuisine. And thus, I love Cracker Barrell. When we first arrived, the place was packed. The nice thing about Cracker Barrell is that they are quick to put your name on the list giving your party ample time to browse around their "Country Store" (and spend more more money as we did).
Their Country Store is a hodge-podge of unique gifts and foods that are fun for the whole family to browse. They have everything from seasonal merchandise - Halloween and Thanksgiving were dominate, although they already have Christmas stuff out too. They also have all kinds of notalgic memorabilia like Coco-Cola and candy. I found myself looking at the nostalic candy a lot saying things like "remember these?" or "I haven't had these in years!".
It took about 15 minutes to be seated. My biggest complaint about this visit was not the food, it was the crazy waitress. Having ordered coffee, she brought the cups and the pot and when she poored it was all over the table. Over the course of the meal, it was obvious that she did not have the patience to serve us promperly and was in too big of hurry to cater to our needs. We had considered ordering some cobbler for dessert, but she never gave us a chance. At the end of the meal, she left the bill without a simple thank you to return 10 mins later with another bill. The funny thing is that the second bill was for another table that did not have anything similar to our meal. It was frustrating to say the least. But we all got a good laugh out of her antics.
I would suggest checking this one out, especially if you are looking for some good Southern based foods. We had catfish, roast beef, and mash pototoes - which were all excellent. The kids will love the Country Store. Just hope you don't get the crazy waitress!
Adelita's Fine Mexican Food (Sept 22nd)
(970) 669-9577
414 E 6th St
Loveland, CO 80537
*** 3 out of 5 stars***
Not as good as it once was, Adelita's still provides some good, cheap authentic Mexican cuisine. It used to be that lunch on a Friday was busy, but on my latest visit we got right in and seated. The atmospere in Adelita's is quite dark with lots of Christmas light strung all over to create laid back mood. I would prefer more lighting as it was hard to see the menus and thus limited my selection. As with most Mexican restuarants, they started us out with some chips and salsa. The chips were good, although they were cut small and the salsa was not chunky or very tomotoey. The mixture more resembled a red chilli sauce as opposed to salsa. After debating over the menu, I decided on a combo plate of a Chicken Relleno and two Enchilladas for some variety. It came with a side of rice (I would have liked beans too!). The food was pretty good, nothing to complain about - but nothing to write home about either. Tamalles are their specialty, and this was more pronounced while we were there because they had ran out. If you go, expect cheaper than usual prices and average food. If you go there for lunch on a Friday, try to get their earlier than the 12 o'clock rush.
414 E 6th St
Loveland, CO 80537
*** 3 out of 5 stars***
Not as good as it once was, Adelita's still provides some good, cheap authentic Mexican cuisine. It used to be that lunch on a Friday was busy, but on my latest visit we got right in and seated. The atmospere in Adelita's is quite dark with lots of Christmas light strung all over to create laid back mood. I would prefer more lighting as it was hard to see the menus and thus limited my selection. As with most Mexican restuarants, they started us out with some chips and salsa. The chips were good, although they were cut small and the salsa was not chunky or very tomotoey. The mixture more resembled a red chilli sauce as opposed to salsa. After debating over the menu, I decided on a combo plate of a Chicken Relleno and two Enchilladas for some variety. It came with a side of rice (I would have liked beans too!). The food was pretty good, nothing to complain about - but nothing to write home about either. Tamalles are their specialty, and this was more pronounced while we were there because they had ran out. If you go, expect cheaper than usual prices and average food. If you go there for lunch on a Friday, try to get their earlier than the 12 o'clock rush.
