Outlaw Blues Revisited....

We returned to Outlaw Blues and the opening kinks have gone the way of the dinosaurs and we've been to Outlaw Blues a few times since th original visit and I have to update my review. Service remains efficient and friendly but I've tried a few more of the dishes and I'd like to weigh in on their other food choices. The crab omelette was rated as "Okay, but I wouldn't order it again" by my friend Cheryl who is a fellow food connoisseur but I've fallen in love with the Barbecue Spaghetti which is pasta covered with a tasty meat sauce and then topped with a generous portion of smoked pulled pork that has been lightly tossed with a spicy barbecue sauce.The meltingly tender pork had a wonderful smoked flavor that complimented the Italian meat sauce and reminded me of the barbecue pizza that was served at Pizza Hut back in the early 90's that I liked a lot. John had the BBQ brisket sandwich again since he liked it so much the first time. It is very very good and I always order the lunch portion which is more than enough for either two people or to take home for a GENEROUS second meal--I can't even begin to imagine what the DINNER portion must be like--it must be enough to feed a family of four! The $7.95 dish was more than I could ever hope to eat in one sitting, but it made a dandy lunch the next day after being popped in the microwave for a minute or so! I have to order the appetizer size of the shrimp and grits because I could not even begin to finish the entree--and I'm a pretty healthy eater! They have started getting their desserts from their sister restaurant in Highland and they are homemade and there's always at least one sugar-free choice and they will sell you the whole pie. I would definitely recommend a visit to Outlaw Blues!!

Dining Diva Review: Texas Roadhouse

If you have a peanut allergy, don't even drive by Texas Roadhouse. Peanuts are everywhere and there are barrels of them all over the restaurant and shells all over the floor. Personally I never liked the shells-on-the-floor ambiance because it's sort of like dining in a landfill, (what's next--beer bottles on the floor?) but it seems to be popular with the other diners and the peanuts are always fresh and tasty so I'll give it a pass on the peanut mess everywhere.
The rest of the food is quite good. Delicious fresh-baked rolls with honey butter were delivered to the table seconds after our waiter took our drink orders. They were steamy and tender and when slathered in the butter made it worth the trip no matter what else went wrong--which in our case was nothing. You are also able to choose a specific steak for your dinner from the refrigerated meat case display, so for those of us who like to meet our dinner beforehand, it's a nice touch. My husband despises gristle in his steaks so I like being able to inspect it for him prior to the cooking! We have made several visits to the store in Fairview Heights and several trips to the one in Newport News, VA and they have replaced Outback as my casual dining steak restaurant of choice when traveling. Their steaks are good quality, cooked correctly and served with your choice of several excellent side dishes. They also have excellent fried catfish, which isn't easy to do consistently. The coating is crisp and the fish is flaky and not dried out with a very nice fresh flavor. I'm not a fish eater, but their catfish is some of the best I've ever had!
The service is friendly and efficient and they brew some excellent iced tea in addition to a full bar and a nice wine and beer selection. It's a good place to take the family and it's a good place to take a date because it's not loud like some casual dining places. I've never had a bad meal at the one in Fairview Heights and the Virginia one only missed once--not a bad record!
HERE'S A SAD UPDATE: Since this post I've dined three times at the Texas Roadhouse and each meal is worse than the one before it. The catfish was hideously overcooked on a subsequent visit, everything has become severely oversalted and today for the last straw they served me RARE chicken and then an overcooked steak. The wonderful rolls were also served cold and hard and the steamed veggies were inedible. I'm crossing Texas Roadhouse off of my list of places where I will eat, they've gone the way of the Outback.

Dining Diva Review: Outlaw Blues Restaurant and Saloon, Fairview Heights, IL

Hubby and I had lunch at the brand-new Outlaw Blues in Fairview Heights and it was a mixed bag of delights and disappointments. The restaurant is painted a deep plum shade which is surprisingly attractive when you get over the surprise of the fact that they really did paint it purple. Our server, Keith, was very pleasant and our drinks arrived quickly and they make very good iced tea. The menu items are an eclectic mix of barbecue favorites and Cajun/Southern staples with a twist. The delicious complimentary bread was a freshly baked biscuit and sweet cornbread with a very unique presentation that was original and interesting--they were served in the cast-iron skillet that they were baked in and each quarter of the pan had either biscuit or cornbread batter placed in it before baking. The biscuit was moist and tender and the cornbread was moist and sweet--just the way I like it! John had the barbecue brisket sandwich and I had the shrimp and grits which come in your choice of scampi or creole. I ordered scampi but they sent creole which meant they must have remade it in a hurry and didn't do well. The butter sauce was totally devoid of any garlic flavor and the shrimp, while large and fresh, were as bland as boiled chicken breast. They were purported to be served over cheese grits but my grits were obviously instant and had no salt, cheese or flavor--some of the worst grits I've ever had. They were topped with a teaspoon of finely shredded yellow cheese that I mixed in to the grits along with the 'scampi sauce' and a good helping of salt and pepper. John's sandwich was another story altogether. Overflowing the fresh bun was a more than generous serving of barbecued beef brisket with a deep smoke ring in the meat. He shared a big slice of the brisket with me (as I had to wait for my lunch to be corrected) and it was delicious--everything brisket should be and as I waited for my shrimp and grits, I was wishing I had ordered the same thing! When I tasted my totally flavorless (albeit fresh)lunch, I really wished for that brisket sandwich! Luckily the sandwich was so enormous he couldn't finish it so I did polish off what he left behind. Keith was apologetic and very nice but the kitchen needs to learn how to make cheese grits and scampi sauce! I'd give it another try just to have that brisket again along with the skillet of biscuits and cornbread--but I'll wait till they iron out the 'just opened' kinks!
I'll update you when I go back for another try!

Dining Diva Review: Bob Evans Restaurant--the best of it's kind!

Our Server, Tiffany ------------------------------------------->

There are any number of restaurants like Bob Evans, Denny's, Waffle House, Hen House, IHoP, Cracker Barrel et. al but not many of them are as good as the Bob Evans chain. We had a very nice dinner at the Bob Evans Restaurant in Collinsville IL--just off exit 10 on I-70, and believe me when I tell you that you CANNOT miss it! It is literally staring you in the face at the traffic light when you exit, and this makes for convenient access. We were promptly seated in a comfortable booth and the restaurant is decorated in early American Grandmother's Kitchen and was spotlessly clean. Our sever, Tiffany was a very good waitress and had a 5 year pin so she'll probably be there if you go! She was just as sweet as she could be and was very good at keeping our iced tea glasses full and the pumpkin bread coming! John had the open-faced turkey sandwich on Texas toast served with mashed potatoes and dressing slathered in turkey gravy (one of their "knife and fork" sandwiches) at the Bob Evans in Aberdeen, Maryland last week and had a craving for another one. I had the wonderful chicken salad with bleu cheese crumbles, REAL bacon bits, dried cranberries and sugared pecans with mixed greens. John said his "sandwich" was delicious and finished it in the blink of an eye and also made short work of a large serving of their wonderful pumpkin bread that came with the meal. He hates pumpkin so the fact that he ate 2 big slices and bought another loaf to take with us speaks volumes for how good it is. Moist, sweet and served in 1" thick slices it didn't need the butter than came with it, but of course I buttered it which made it even better! It would have been equally delicious with cream cheese or Devonshire cream and Tiffany kept us well-supplied with it. My salad was excellent with a very generous portion of white meat along with fresh, cold and crisp salad greens and all the little add-ins I mentioned above and was big enough to share. It does come in two sizes for the smaller appetite, but makes a very hearty dinner. The dressing was a spicy ranch that was a little sweet for my taste but I mixed some regular ranch with it and it was divine! Even the iced tea was delicious--fresh brewed and good flavor--not watered down or even worse: that horrid post-mix from the soft drink dispenser. We were too stuffed to order dessert but very happy with our meal and service and Tiffany let us take her picture for the review--she's a sweetheart! There are Bob Evans Restaurants all over the Northeast United States, so you shouldn't have any trouble finding one when you are out traveling. I'm going to be looking for them more often when I am on the road!

Food 3.5 stars (which for a diner is 5 stars for fine dining!)

Service 3.5 stars (ditto)

Dining Diva Review: Outback Steakhouse, Fairview Heights IL

The Outback Steakhouse in Fairview Heights is a disgrace to the Outback brand, and should lose its franchise designation as it is closer to an outhouse than an Outback. Nothing they're doing at that restaurant is done correctly. In my last three visits, they have screwed up my food each and every time, and although they keep trying to make it right I am tired of sending my food back. I do not go out to dine so that I can watch my husband eat while I wait for the kitchen to RE-cook my food, and even though my husband loves the Outback he agrees that the one in Fairview Heights is terrible. Everything I order is either overcooked, undercooked or oversalted to the point where it is inedible. I ordered the rack of lamb and they brought me lamb chops. The waiter specifically asked me if I wanted to have my rack cut into chops and I said no. Naturally they brought me lamb chops: each every one heavily seasoned with their salty seasoning mix which rendered the chops inedible. I ask for a steak cooked Pittsburgh rare and they brought me one that was well done. I as for lamb chops to be medium and the lamb bit me when I poked a fork in it. It is the only Outback that is consistently empty because the food is so poorly cooked. When you complain, they try to make it right, but sending my food back ruins the entire experience for me. I don't want free food, I don't want it RE-cooked, I want it right the first time which is something the kitchen seems to be incapable of doing. It's too bad because the Outback was consistently one of my favorite restaurants for a number of years. I hope the one and Fairview Heights is not indicative of the experience one can now expect at other Outback Restaurants around the country.
Food 1 star
Service 2.5 stars

Dining Diva Review: Mungo's Restaurant in Fairview Heights IL--Review

My husband and I had dinner at Mungo's tonight (9/5/07) and it was quite a distressing experience. I grew up in the restaurant business, owned a very profitable one for a while and spent 2 years at Le Cordon Bleu in Tokyo--along with having been cooking for almost 40 years. First, there was some sort of black gunge in my iced tea--not a big deal, the tea was replaced immediately but I couldn't figure out what it was that was in there--but it made a yukky dark brown smear on the tacky white butcher paper they put over the tablecloths--what's up with that by the way? Can't they afford tablecloth laundry? It looks REALLY tacky to have white paper over a burgundy tablecloth--here's a hint--spring for the Plexiglas cover if you can't afford tablecloths or better yet no tablecloth. Anything is better than the white-trash ambiance of the paper-covered table! I had the Fettuccine Alfredo with chicken and asked for the chicken to be well done since I've been served MORE than my share of raw chicken and shrimp over salads and pastas and I hate sending food back. The fettuccine was good, but the chicken was ROCK HARD and obviously had been microwaved--there wasn't a grill mark or browning of any sort to be seen on it and I could barely cut it with a knife--really bad. I told the waiter this but didn't send it back because in all fairness I DID ask for well-done chicken and I figured the chef wanted to make sure it was not coming back. The waiter insisted that it hadn't been microwaved, but it had been not that I cared to argue about it, I just wanted to eat after a stressful day of wedding planning and auditioning restaurant and caterers. I had forgotten about it; when to my utter astonishment, a man dressed in blue-jean cutoffs claiming to be the OWNER (who looked like he'd been nipping a few at the bar) came to my table and began screaming that the chicken had not been microwaved and that it had been sauteed in olive oil and that I had insulted his restaurant and that I shouldn't tell them how I wanted my food cooked--just let them handle it. Up to this point the crud in the tea, the tacky butcher paper over the tablecloth and the rock-hard microwaved chicken were basically non-issues and I would have given the restaurant another try somewhere down the road since I always eat somewhere twice before reviewing or deciding never to eat there again. In the limo/wedding/hospitality biz one has to be a little flexible and realize that doo-doo does happen--regular chef is sick and the replacement pops a piece of chicken in a microwave to try and give the customer what was requested, but for the owner to come out and scream at dinner guests is an experience I have never had--and won't repeat. I didn't understand why the place was so empty at the dinner hour, but after being lambasted by the owner, it all makes perfect sense and I understand why the poor chef lied about microwaving the chicken to his enraged boss--who then turned his rage on the customer, a super no-no in the hospitality industry. As a retired restaurant owner, professionally trained chef and limousine business owner, I do have more than my fair share of cooking and hospitality experience and I wouldn't eat there again if I were STARVING to DEATH. My wedding guests CERTAINLY won't be subjected to a dining experience at Mungo's and the owner should seriously consider some etiquette lessons--which would be a tax write-off because it would help him manage both his restaurant and temper. I was so stunned that I didn't even think to get up and walk out--which astonished my husband to be who told me later that he was fully prepared to get up and walk out. This man has a LOT to learn about the restaurant business--treating customers badly explains why he can't afford a good chef, table linens and iced tea without crud in the bottom of the glass!

Food: 1 star

Service: 2 stars

Screaming and Possibly Drunken Owner: Unbelievable!