Peace on Arth...with sausage factory parking in the rear!

This month (November) we chose Michigan's Little Bavaria! Frankenmuth is an awesome place. Anytime of year really, but late fall early winter is the best time. We went to Bronner's first, because...really? How can you miss the place that has 360 days of Christmas! We all got some great ornaments and we saw some disturbing things. Sexy Santa was something I could've lived without seeing. Ever. Just sayin'.

We did not go the popular route and eat at Bavarian Inn or Zhenders. We chose the Sullivan's Black Forest Brew Haus & Grill on the recommendation of one of Mom's co-workers. We've never really been impressed with the "special chicken dinners" in Frankenmuth and we don't understand the hype surrounding it.

Place: Sullivan's Black Forest Brew Haus & Grill
Location: Frankenmuth, MI (behind Bronner's)

Our first stop was Bronner's. We found so many cute ornaments! We even found one of a Quesadilla for Jeri and we had it personalized with her name! She loved it. The ladies that do all that personalization deserve an award or some candy or something. They did a great job.

When we finally made it out of the mad house that is a Christmas Store one month before Christmas, we headed over to the restaurant. And ordered some drinks!

White Cheddar Ale Soup

Highlights

Teaching Mom about photobombs!

White Cheddar Ale Soup - Three of us ordered the soup. And we loved it. We love cheese as it is, but this soup was so good, I'd go back just for that soup alone. And pair it with the fresh warm rolls that they sent out? Heaven. Especially on a cold day!

Lemons! - Just for the face Jeri makes when she eats them. They had lemon slices with our water. And the water was in some really nice and fancy glasses! Which made us really anticipate the other drinks! Jeri needed extra lemons, cause she has some fascination with them.

Chicken Schnitzel - "I'm gonna order Chicken Schnitzel just cause I like to say "schnitzel" - Marti. And she did too! Also, none of us could correctly describe capers, but Marti got them anyway. Yay! for trying new things Marti!

The Ratings: On a Scale From 1 to 5

Chicken Schnitzel

Waitstaff

I feel like I need to start prefacing this section with an asterisk. *Almost all of us have either been a waitress or are currently waitresses. So we are very critical of this part. So please take it with a grain of salt and with the knowledge that we are going to be more critical than the average person.

Mom - 4; She was attentive when we actually saw her.

Jeri - 2; I had an empty glass! How rude.

Terra - 4; Our waitress was okay, but the boy waiter that stopped his running to the kitchen to take our picture? He was awesome! Overall they seem to have some pretty good staff.

Susie - 3; Not very attentive and it wasn't very busy.

Marti - 3

Food Quality

The Border

Mom - The Border (A taco salad); 5; It's a taco-splosion in my mouth!

Jeri - Basset Flat Iron; 5; Even though I didn't actually eat anything, it smelled amazing! (She was working a good buzz and didn't want to mess it up. We can respect that!)

Terra - Basset Flat Iron; 3; I loved the soup that came with the steak. They didn't have mashed potatoes till two. But it wasn't mentioned on the menu! So I had to get a baked potato. It was okay. The steak had lovely mushrooms on it, but the steak itself wasn't very flavorful.

Susie - Stuffed Chicken Florentine; 3; It wasn't cheesy enough.

Marti - Chicken Schnitzel; 5; The soup was amazing and the chicken was pretty good too.

Basset Flat Iron

Food Value (Was it worth what we paid?)

Mom- $9.99; Yes

Jeri - $17.99; Yes

Terra - $17.99; No

Susie - $14.99; No

Marti - $15.99; Yes

Drinks (Out of 10)

Mom - Pirates Porter (an ale); 8

Jeri - Long Beach; 10; New favorite! I had 2!

Stuffed Chicken Florentine

Terra - Long Beach; 10; I loved it! It was strong and it kicked in fast!

Susie - White Zinfandel; 10; You can't go wrong with a white wine.

Marti - Malibu & Pineapple Juice; 10; Tasty and you can never go wrong with pineapple juice and Malibu!

Overall

Mom - 5; Fun!

Jeri - 5; The food smelled amazing! I was so tempted to lick it! I can't wait till tomorrow so I can eat it. Tequila!

Long Beach!

Terra - 4; The soup was awesome and my drink was amazeballs. And you gotta love a roller coaster in the bathroom! Right girls?

Susie - 3; I had more fun in Bronner's

Marti - 5; Tequila?! I never know what to say. LOL. 

All in all it was a great time! We got to go shopping before and after. There are so many great little shops in downtown Frankenmuth. If you want to know the back story about the title ( and it's super funny! At least it was when we were bombed on Long Beaches!) or about the roller coaster, ask in the comments and we'll tell you. Want to suggest a place we should try in Southeast Michigan? Put that in the comments too. See you next month.

Terra

Sexy Santa!

Wah Wong's Express - Right to your tummy!

Crab Rangoon

Another month, another late post. We wanted to try some Chinese food this time around. We have two places in Imlay City, Wah Wong's and The China Buffet. Originally we were going to go to the Buffet, but we changed our minds.

Susie was missing this month. Her boys were sick and she had to stay home to take care of them. We did have some extra special visitors this month. Lucas and Chloie. Lucas is my youngest and Chloie is Marti's boyfriend's daughter. They were adorable together.

Place: Wah Wong's Express

Location: Imlay City, Michigan

Chicken Nuggets and French Fries (for the kids)

We arrived right at opening for lunch. We almost missed it all together. Jeri had some serious car trouble on the way there. She got a flat, her battery died, and she had to be towed because the bolts on her spare had become welded or stripped or something. But no worries, a quick tow and 4 new tires later, we were all set. 

We did remember to take photos of our food, but not us. Go figure. Though, our concentration might've been broken because of rude people. If you go somewhere for lunch and proceed to have a loud, obnoxious, disgusting conversation with someone on your cell phone, we're gonna judge you. Hard. Not to mention, hate you.(Seriously, talking about a poo covered patient? Not cool, lady. Not cool)

Highlights

Sesame Chicken

Hot Tea and Starters - Mom ordered some hot tea with her lunch. We love a good hot tea. Especially on a chilly day. And how can you go wrong with some Egg Drop or Wonton Soup? You really can't. Especially when the wonton's are so nice and crispy.

Place Mats - Shut up. It was awesome. They were just the usual ones they have at a Chinese restaurant. The zociac ones. But the great thing was that Jeri kept trying to get Mom to call the Rooster a "Cock". Here we were, a group of women repeatedly saying "cock". And trying to get our Mother to do the same. It was great.

Fortune Cookies - Even if they were stale. We still loved the fortune cookies. "I like sunshine and fresh air" - Mom, "You constantly struggle for self improvement" - Jeri, "You could prosper in the field of medical research." - Terra, "You will be happy in receipt of good news." - Marti. Aren't those great? And completely random?

The Ratings: On A Scale From 1 to 5

Cashew Chicken

Waitstaff

Mom - 4

Jeri - 2; No comment.

Terra - 3; eh.

Marti - 3

Food Quality

Mom - Almond Chicken and Sweet & Sour Chicken; 5; Very good! Great portions too. More than enough to take home!

Jeri - Cashew Chicken; 3; I've never ordered Cashew Chicken before. And I won't ever again. The Crab Ragoon was really good though. Hot and super delicious.

Terra - Sesame Chicken; 5; The chicken was cooked great and the sauce was just what I was looking for. Some Sesame Chicken sauce tastes fake or plastic-y. And the Wonton soup was so tasty.

Marti - Sweet & Sour Chicken; 5

Almond and Sweet & Sour Chicken

Food Value

Mom - Worth it

Jeri - Not worth what was paid

Terra - Worth it; There was so much left over, I had lunch for 2 days.

Marti - Worth it.

Drinks (Out of 10)

No drinks this week. Though Marti did order a Mt. Dew. And it came in a can. That's 10 cents bitch. Don't laugh.

Overall

Mom - 5

Jeri - 2

Sweet & Sour Chicken

Terra - 4; I left off one point for one reason. The bathroom was very scary. Very. It's possible the ceiling mayfall on you. Be careful. And the decor could use an update, but the economy is bad, so maybe that's why it hasn't been changed since the early 70's.

Marti - 4

The food was amazing. Which is usually the case at these little hole in the walls. I'm sad we didn't take a group picture. We've got to start remembering. Maybe a checklist? LOL. Till next month!

Terra

Pueblo Viejo's - We Don't Speak Spanish, But We're Pretty Sure It Means "Stupendous Food"...Maybe.

For some reason, this month's (actually September's) post has been difficult for me to get the post out. I think I'm just being lazy.

Anyhoo; This month is Jeri's birthday month!! Yay! Happy Birthday to Jeri! It also marks an anniversary of sorts. A year ago, Mom and I took Jeri out for her birthday to Olive Garden. We decided that we enjoyed it so much, that we wanted to do it again and include Susie and Martha. 

Pueblo Viejo is a Mexican Restaurant in Lapeer, Michigan. It's just this tiny little bistro type place in downtown Lapeer. The decor is so snappy and authentic. We loved it. 

We also had a surprise visitor this month! Ellen Margaret. Jeri's granddaughter. She was so quiet and shy, we barely knew she was there. 

Place: Pueblo Viejo

Location: Lapeer, Michigan

Our Special Guest!

As usual, we love eating outside. But it wasn't going to happen this time. The wasps in our area have been so bad lately, that they made it impossible to eat outside. Instead we were sat a large table by the windows and it was lovely anyway. 

Between the carafe (corrals if you remember Olive Garden) of salsa and the free bling, Pueblo Viejo is at the top of our favorites list. We had a great time and it was very obviously a family orientated place. I would love to go back with my husband and kids. It would be pretty awesome.

Highlights

Green Sauce - It was so spicy! Mom tasted it and her face puckered and she had to get a napkin. I think it was too spicy for her. But it was perfect for the rest of us. I think we actually fought over who go to take the remainder home. The warm tortilla chips didn't hurt at all either! (*Bonus! The sauce came in a carafe! We love that! It makes us unreasonably happy for some reason!)

Big Drinks - By far the biggest drinks we've had. As a matter of fact, everything was big. All the proportions were so large. Some of us couldn't even finish our drinks cause they were so large. And they tasted amazing too.

Free Bling - After the waitress sat us and found out it was a birthday lunch, she brought us some awesome bling. Necklaces with chilies on the end! And Ellie got a a little toy pinata! It was so cool.

Fried Ice Cream!

The Ratings: On A Scale From 1 to 5

Waitstaff

Mom - 5; She brought us necklaces! We love little things like that.

Jeri - 10!

Terra - 5; I'm sad I didn't get her name. She was so attentive and kind to us.

Susie - 5; She brought so many chips! We love chips.

Marti - 4

Food Quality

Portabella Fajita

Mom - Portabella Fajita; 5; "The green stuff was really spicy! The salsa was excellent and my fajitas were delicious. There was so much left over, I had lunch for 2 days after. The steak and mushrooms in my fajita were cooked to perfection."

Jeri - Quesadilla; 10; Very authentic and fresh.

Quesadilla!

Terra - Grilled Chicken Salad; 5; The chicken was marinated perfectly and

there were warm tortilla strips mixed in with the salad. Yummy! There was so much left over I had lunch for two days, like Mom. It was the best salad I've ever had.

Susie - Deep Fried Chicken Tacos; 5; The tacos were very tasty, and they had bacon on them! The White Blanco sauce we ordered for an appetizer was amazing. It went with everything on the table. Marti and I poured it over our fajitas and tacos, it was so good!

Marti - Cholula Fajitas; 5; There was BACON in my fajitas. Bacon! And the white sauce was so awesome.

Look at the size of this salad!

Food Value

We all agreed our meals were worth the price we paid. The sheer amount of left overs alone was worth it. But really, the taste and quality of the food was pretty awesome. We could've eaten the chicken and steak just by itself without any toppings or condiments.

Drinks (Out of 10)

Mom - La Bamaba; 9; There was no frou frou in the drink, but it was large and very tasty.

Jeri - Peach Sangria; 20; "I LOVED my glass. And the drink was really good too!"

Terra - La Bamaba; 10; It was nice and fruity.

Susie - Zalamero; 10; It was pink and fruity. Very Yummy! And I loved my glass too! It was so big.

Marti - Mexican Lover; 10; "Imma call you Sancho" It was so good, she gave her lover a name.

Fried Chicken Tacos

Overall

Mom - 5; I would defintlely come again.

Jeri - 10; "They gave me a free Fried Ice Cream! I loved it."

Terra - 5; I would love to go back with my husband and kids. I think we would have a great time and it wouldn't break the bank.

Susie - 5; "I love my necklace!"

Marti - 5

Cholula Fajitas

Another lunch, another success. My only regret is that I didn't mark down our waitresses name! We love when we can give a shout out to good staff and let the management know what good and dedicated employees they have. Maybe she remembers us though and if she's reading this, let your boss know we loved our experience!

Terra

Taste the Rainbow. More Specifically, Rojo!

The Birthday Girl!

This month was Susie's birthday month! Yay! Happy Birthday Susie! She chose Rojo for her birthday lunch, and we had a great time! As usual the Birthday Girl gets to up her score to a possible 10 for everything but drinks. Drinks get upped to a possible 20.

And again, I took forever in getting this out. But in my defense, I've been ill. I'm getting better and hopefully it won't take so long next month with Jeri's Birthday Lunch!

Rojo is a Mexican Bistro. Ironically located right next to Taco Bell in the Partridge Creek Mall. There was much amusement had over the entire situation. Seriously. Taco Bell, the farthest thing from actual mexican food you can get and still call it mexican.

Place: Rojo Mexican Bistro

Location: Hall Rd, Clinton Township, Partridge Creek Mall

We see you, Taco Bell!

We really like eating outside. And luckily Rojo has patio seating. We can be as loud as we want and none of the other customers complain. It was the perfect day for it. Warm, sunny, with a slight breeze. And afterwards, we got to walk around the mall. It was perfect.

We all want to go back and eat inside. At the bar inside, they have "Lover's Seats". A two person bar stool. They have shots of Tequila that are $150 a piece. But don't let that dissuade you. The rest of what is on the menu is very reasonably priced. But if you're ever in  need of an expensive shot with your special someone, go to Rojo.

Highlights

Finished Guac!

Fresh Warm Tortilla Chips - They were warm and salty and crispy. They went great with all the appetizers and the salsa they provided. And they just kept coming.  I don't think we can adequately describe to you how tasty they were. And crispy. And salty. And warm.

Tableside Guac!

Table Side Guacamole - They make it at your table. At. Your. Table. It's literally as fresh as you can get. You can choose the spiciness before they make it. We chose medium. It was so good. We were angry when it was gone. Also, FYI, the bowl is super heavy. Make sure you give those biceps a good workout before you come.

Chocolate Raspberry Lemonade - Not really. Really it's Cirac Berry Lemonade. But when Mom looked at the menu, she saw Cirac and read Chocolate. It was Dora the Explorer all over again. And if you don't know what that means, check out the post on Red Robin. She was quite perturbed that her drink wasn't chocolatey.

The Ratings: On A Scale From 1 to 5

Waitstaff

Shara! The best waitress!

Mom- 5; She really knows her stuff.

Jeri - 5; She was really outgoing.

Terra - 5; We never wondered where she was. She always let us know where she would be and when she would be back.

Susie - 10; She was frickin' awesome. Very attentive. AND..and all of our fajita components came out together and the meat was sizzling. We like it when that happens.

Marti - 5; She was very informative. All kinds of answers to questions and suggestions for future visits.

Shara was our waitress and she was amazing.  She knew all of the menu and she is the one that actually made the guacamole at the table. We were very impressed with her overall. By far the best waitress we've ever had. She deserves a raise. (I'm looking at you, Rojo managers.)

Food Quality

Steak Fajitas

Mom - Steak and Chicken Fajitas; 5; The apps were almost so good I couldn't eat my lunch. But when I did? Mmm. The fajitas were so tasty. And as leftovers, the were pretty good too.

Philly Cheese Steak Tacos

Jeri - Quesadilla de Huitlachoe; 5; It's a mushroom quesadilla. Mushroom. Quesadilla. It tasted amazing. We all (those of us who like mushrooms anyway) had a bite. It was so good. And you could tell that the salsa was made in-house. Everything tasted and seemed so fresh.

Terra - Steak Fajitas; 5; I was so full from the delicious appetizers that I could only eat one fajita. But what I could eat was delicious.

Mushroom Quesadilla

Susie - Steak and Chicken Fajitas; 10; The steak was cooked wonderful. Nice and tender and just a little pink. We all agreed that we now enjoy our meat cooked medium well. It adds to the flavor of the steak so much.

Marti - Philly Cheese Steak Tacos; 5; Oh. Muh. Gawd! (She even told me how to spell this phrase. She was very specific.) Amazing. Lovely flat bread shells and melt-y cheese over the steak. I almost had to fight Susie for the last of the Fundido appetizer that we ordered too. But it was her birthday. So she got to take it home.

Queso Fundido

Food Value
Mom - $14.99; Yes.
Jeri - $12.99; Yes
Terra -$15.99; Yes
Susie - $14.99; Yes
Marti - $10.99; Yes

Drinks (Out of 10)

Mom - Ciroc Berry Lemonade; $8.00; 5; It wasn't chocolatey enough

Our Drinks!

Jeri - Chi Chi; $8.00; 8; I would've liked a fancier glass. And I expected a puree. But it was still pretty tasty. And my lemon water was good expect for the rice. ("There is rice in my water! That's you mom." - Jeri, "That's a lemon seed!" - The rest of us)

Terra - La Flama Blanca; $8.00; 10; Really good. And green. Nice size for a lunch drink.

Susie - White Zinfindel; $7.00; 20; It was nice. It looked so pretty in my new glass! (I got her a special wine glass for her birthday. It was pretty and decorated so nice - Terra)

Marti - Chi Chi; $8.00; 9; I was expecting a slushy drink. But it was still delicious.

Overall

Chicken & Steak Fajitas

Mom - 5; Everyone was so nice. Even the manager came to check on

how we were doing.

Jeri - 5; It was fun!

Terra - 5: I had a great time and the food was really tasty.

Susie - 28!; "Because I'm 28!"; Everyone wished me happy birthday. I got their "Amigos" card so when I came back I could get some special deals!

Marti - 5; They were all so nice.

We had a great time. There are so many reasons to go to Rojo. Each day they have special deals. The day we went was $5.00 appetizers. Wednesdays are $10 fajitas, Tuesdays are $1 tacos. On Fridays and Saturdays after 10:00pm in the lounge you get half of your entire bill.

Susie's Birthday Glass!

The "Amigos" card gives you some great special deals. Both Marti and I bought one. For a single $10 fee you can sign up. Check it out. Seriously.

Rojo was worth the time and money. We highly suggest you go and check it out. Till next time!

Terra

The Lunch That Almost Never Was...And We Kinda Wish Hadn't Happened

This month was tough. We almost didn't even make it. We had to reschedule three times. When we finally got it right, it ended up being dinner.

It was a bad dinner too. We didn't even take pictures. At all. We chose National Coney Island. A common refrain from the night was, "Not at this location." This was the answer to several questions. Beer? Not at this location. 24 hours? Not at this location. Wine? Not at this location. Good service? Not a this location. Warm food? Not at this location.

We did have one awesome highlight. We got to have dinner with Aunt Wilma! Yay! Aunt Wilma is always fun.

That was really the only highlight. I actually don't have any others. How sad.

Place: National Coney Island

Location: 23 Mile and Schoenherr, Shelby Twp, MI

Because of various scheduling conflicts, we had to wait till the end of the month and make it a dinner. Mom needed to meet up with Aunt Wilma, so we invited her along. 

This month will be different for several reasons. No drinks. No pictures. And no highlights. So let's get to it.

The Ratings: On a Scale From 1 to 5

Waitstaff

Mom - 2

Jeri - 3

Terra - 2

Susie - 1

Marti - 2

Aunt Wilma - 3

Our waitress was Molly. She said she'd been working there for a year. It seemed like it'd been only a week. We weren't impressed at all. Jeri had to get her own water. When our food was ready, she took some of it out from under the lights, put it on the counter, then got the rest and brought those plates out. She left Jeri's and Mom's food on the counter. Out from under the lights. It was cold when it finally reached them. The cucumber sauce and ranch dressing we had ordered had to be asked for twice. It wasn't busy either. I think we were just forgotten.

Food Quality

Mom - Gyro w/Baby Greek Salad; 4; There were too many onions on the salad. The gyro arrived cold and missing the cucumber sauce. The salad was tasty and even cold, the Gyro was tasty as well. 

Jeri - Gyro w/Chili Cheese Onion Rings; 2; All of my food came cold. There was almost no cheese or chili on top. I prefer it when my food comes warm.

Terra - Hani Special w/Fries; 5; My food came out nice and warm and the fries were tasty. The sandwich was great. I love the pita.

Susie - Patty Melt w/bacon and Fries; 4; The bacon was crispy and my food came out warm

Marti - Chicken Bacon Ranch Hani w/Chili Cheese Fries; 4; It was warm and tasted good.

Aunt Wilma - Mr. Pop's Favorite w/Fries; 5; Burger was excellent and I asked for my fries to be well done and they were. (I did not know you could do this. I love crispier fries!! - Terra)

Food Value

Mom - $9.38; Yes

Jeri - $10.28; No

Terra - $8.49; Yes

Susie - $8.00; Yes

Marti - $10.89; Yes

Aunt Wilma - $10.00; Yes

Drinks

Not at this location!

Overall

Mom - 3; "Oh My Goodness! Mom!!! You've never given a 3 before!" - All of us

Jeri - 3

Terra - 3

Susie - 3

Marti - 3

Aunt Wilma - 4

Overall we weren't impressed with this location.  But we did learn one very important lesson. You can ask for crispier fries!

The Raven - "Nevermore"; But not really. Again. Again I say.

This month we chose a local eatery in Port Huron. A little cafe called The Raven. Downtown Port Huron has a surprising amount of neat cafes and pubs. We could eat for just a year in Port Huron at local restaurants.

We all agreed that we enjoyed visiting a local place rather than a chain. Not that the chains aren't fun and good food, but we think the local individual places will be more interesting over all.

Place: The Raven

Location: Military Street, Port Huron, MI

The Awesome Raven!

This month it was a toss up between The Quay and The Raven. Only Susie had been to The Raven before and that was years ago, and the online reviews for the cafe seemed really good. So it was decided. 

When we got there it was super busy. We couldn't find a seat inside. But that was okay, because they had patio seating out front. So, while we didn't get to enjoy the interior decor, we did get to enjoy a beautiful day outside in downtown Port Huron and no one gave us guff because we were loud. Like we usually are. The smokers only had to step outside the enclosed eating area to smoke and we were all still in talking distance of each other. 

And, Bonus!, older biker dudes blasting Michele Branch was great. We got to sing along as he was stopped at the light. Fun!

Highlights

Hummus

Patio Seating - We really loved the outside seating. It was a gorgeous day. The exhaust from passing vehicles was barely noticeable, and as a bonus we got to people watch. We like doing that. The table was a little small, but we did have five adults, so that was expected. 

Heaven on a plate

Hummus - I've never really had hummus before. Mom ordered the one with the red pepper. It was so good. Especially with pita bread. We even dipped our sandwiches in it later. We also tried mixing the spinach dip that we ordered with the humus. It was a great success.

Dessert - "Could we, for once, have a light lunch so we could order dessert?" - Jeri. So we ordered a desert to share. It was the Deluxe Jumbo Lemon Layered Shortcake. And it was a little bit of heaven. The lemon was perfect and the cake was so soft and fluffy. It was 6 bucks and it was the perfect size to share between the five of us.

The Ratings: On a Scale From 1 to 5

Paragrab Roast Beef Melt

Waitstaff

Mom - 4; She was very friendly. Service was a little slow, but it was incredibly busy inside, so we assumed that was the reason.

Jeri - 4

Terra - 5; Angela (our waitress) really impressed us with her listening skills. When we first got there, Jeri hadn't arrived yet. We must've said her name at the table, indicating that she would be there soon. Because when Jeri came in the back of the restaurant and Angela saw her she asked "Are you Jeri?" and then told Jeri where to find us. So, awesome awareness skills.

Susie - 5; She was friendly and very comfy with us. She wasn't shy or timid at all.

Marti - 4. She was very nice.

Black Cat BLT Deluxe

Food Quality

Mom - Santa Fe Ranchero Deluxe; 5; It was spicy, but not too much. Nice size as well.

Jeri - Paragrab Roast Beef Mushroom Melt; 5; It was as delicious as it sounds.

Terra - Black Cat BLT Deluxe; 5; It was a good lunch time sandwich. Really good toast and nice crispy bacon. The potato salad side was pretty tasty as well.

Susie - Plutonian Shore French Dip; 5; So delicious. The Au Jous went with everything on the table and the cripsy cheese on the edges was the ultimate plus.

Marti - Blackwood Fajita Quesadilla; 5; "I'm happy I got the quesadilla this time." - Marti. It was super good. Even dipped in the hummus.

Santa Fe Ranchero Deluxe

Food Value

All of our lunches were $7.99. And we all agreed they were worth the price we paid.

Drinks (Out of 10)

We all got coffee shakes this week and they were delicious. We do recommend that you get a small if you plan to have lunch because they are very filling. The mediums were $4.29

Mom - Raspberry Mocha; 4
Jeri - Coconut; 4

Terra - Irish Cream; 5

Susie; Chocolate Peanut Butter; 5

Marti; Caramel Mocha; 5

Fajita Quesadilla

Overall

Mom - 5; We loved eating outside. It was a wonderful day for it.

Jeri - 5

Terra - 5; I would love to go back and be able to eat inside. It seemed so cozy. And the food was definitely worth a repeat.

Susie - 5; The decor outside was pretty awesome. I loved the raven.

Marti - 5; I liked the place and loved the dessert!

French Dip

It was a wonderful experience and it's really inspired us to try more local establishments. We had fun and left in a joyful mood. Lunch was a success.

I've actually been having dreams about the french dip and the mushroom melt. That's got to be a good sign? Right? Until next time!

Terra

Cheeseburger in Paradise is not a Lie. It's Truth.

The Birthday Girl!

We waited until the end of the month because it was Marti's birthday on the 20th of May. Happy Birthday Marti! And we wanted to go out on her birthday. We like going out on our birthdays. It makes us feel special. We like special too. This month we also have 2 special guests. Mom's youngest sister, Kathy, and her youngest daughter, Vicky. I'm going to take this moment to thank them for spending the afternoon with us. Thanks Aunt Kathy and Vicky!

I'm also going to take this moment to apologize to my brother-in-law Mike. The first official lunch we had, at Red Robin, I offended him. I spoke without thinking in a sarcastic manner and I hurt his feelings. I cringe when I look back on it. I wish now that I had taken down his thoughts on the lunch because it would've been interesting to have not only a male point of view, but I believe he had a ghost pepper burger and that was something none of us had. I am sorry Mike.

Restaurant: Cheeseburger in Paradise

Location: Hall Road, Sterling Heights, MI

Electric Lizard

Since it was Marti's birthday this month, she got to decide where we went. She had been extolling the wonderment of Cheeseburger In Paradise for awhile and we were quite excited to go.

Walking in gave you a pretty good idea of how great lunch was gonna be. We are big on atmosphere. To us, it's almost as important as the food. Some places are so dark you need a flashlight in the middle of the day to read the menu. And some places are so bright you could wear sunglasses inside. Cheeseburger in Paradise found a happy medium. Though, they could've turned the air on. Just sayin'.

Highlights

Our apps!

The Staff - Yes. The staff are a highlight. From our waitress to ,what we assume, is the manager. Everyone was amazingly helpful, kind, and generally awesome sauce. Our waitress was Jocelyn and she was super nice. Some of our drinks didn't come with sunglasses on the fruit, but she put them on anyway. She listened to what we wanted, didn't ASSUME (I'm looking at you Garfield's waitress) on her tip, and smiled the entire time. Even though I'm sure we were somewhat obnoxious.

Garnish!

Garnishes - We do like our fruity fun drinks with lunch. And this was the best so far. It even beats bd's Mongolian BBQ. Which we didn't think was possible. Not only were their amazing garnishes, WITH SUNGLASSES!("I ate the sunglasses!" - Mom), but the drinks themselves were pretty and tasty. They looked like their pictures in the menu and tasted amazing. We considered coming back once a week till we had tried all the drinks. Who am I kidding. We're still considering it.

Appetizers - We had the Onion Six Strings and Frickles. I've never had fried pickles that were so tasty before. And they both came with this amazing dipping sauce. Between the seven of us, we demolished them pretty fast. They were deep fried, but not greasy. Nice and light. With so much flavor.

The Ratings: On a Scale From 1 to 5

Bacon Cheeseburger

Waitstaff

We all gave Jocelyn a 5. And since it was Marti's birthday, she gets to double her score to a 10. Which she did. We were very impressed with the service. A couple of us have been waitresses or are currently waitresses. We know what it's like to have to smile all day. To act happy when you have angry, rude, obnoxious, and downright mean people to wait on. We know the effort it takes to keep that smile on your face and make each table feel important and well taken care of. Jocelyn excelled at this.

Food Quality

Mango Chicken Wrap

Mom - All American Burger w/Fries; 5; It was really good. I had the leftovers 3 days later, and it was still awesome.

Jeri - Chicken Quesadilla; 5; delicious. No complaints. There was some great black beans and salsa with it.

Terra - Bacon Cheeseburger w/Fries; 5; So good. I have never had a burger from a restaurant that was so good before. The burger was so big that I had at least half left over to take home. And it warmed up real nice the next day for lunch. It's rare for a hamburger to taste good the next day.

Susie - Bacon Cheeseburger w/Fries; 5; Absolutely Delicious. I would definitely come again for MY birthday!

Tex Mex Burger

Marti - Tex Mex Burger w/Fries; 10; Frickin' Fantastic.

Aunt Kathy - Mango Chicken Wrap; 5; I love eating at Cheeseburger in Paradise!

Vicky - Tex Mex Burger w/Fries; 4; Fantistco! I made my own Tamayonnaise. Everyone eats Tamayonnaise! (Tamayonnaise - n.; Ketchup and Mayonnaise combined to make a delicious fry dipping sauce)

Chicken Quesadilla

Food Value

Mom - $8.95; Totally worth it.

Jeri - $9.75; Worth it.

Terra - $9.95; Totally worth it.

Susie - $9.95; Worth it.

Marti - $10.50; Worth it.

Aunt Kathy - $8.95; Worth it

Vicky - $10.50; Worth it.

Drinks (Out of 10)

Our First Round!

All of our drinks got a 10 out of 10. A 20 for Marti. Everything was so tasty. We sampled the Electric Lizard ($6.99), Mai Tai ($6.99), Goombay Smash ($6.99), Classic Margarita ($6.29), Mt. Gay Mango Pina Colada ($7.19), Signature Pina Colada ($7.19), Lady of the Sea ($6.79) and Frozen Sangria ($6.79).

They were the best, most fantastical drinks ever. Ever. The garnish was super awesome, the prices were just right, and! Bonus! Take home prizes! Mini sunglasses!

Overall

The Girls!

Mom - 5; Would visit again. And again. And again.

Jeri - 5; I'm coming tomorrow for a liquid lunch.

Terra - 5; I thoroughly enjoyed myself. The whole experience was pretty damn awesome.

Susie - 5; Awesome staff experience.

Marti - 10; I liked my drinks!

Aunt Kathy - 5

Vicky - 5

We had an amazing time. Everything seemed so easy. Like a lunch should be. Well, except maybe for finding the bathrooms ("That's the kitchen. Not the bathroom." - Jeri). But that was funny, so we'll let it slide.

Everything from the decor to the staff made for an inviting establishment and a great lunch. Cheeseburger in Paradise actually beats bd's Mongolian BBQ. Which we thought was impossible. They've now set the bar super high for any other lunch.

Terra