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

Chili's - Make Me Happy!

It's my birthday!!

Last month, after we had drinks at Chili's, we decided to come back this month for our lunch. And it also happened to be my birthday! We had a great time until the end, but that's not Chili's fault. Other people can sometimes just be so rude. But more on that later.

Restaurant: Chili's

Location: 26 Mile Rd, Shelby Twp, MI

It is my 31st birthday! I was very excited to go out with the girls. Not only because I would get to spend time with family, but because I knew there would probably be cake. CAKE! We had been seeing the recent television commercials advertising Chili's a lot. We were all anticipating lunch because of the commercials. And we were not disappointed at all in the food.

Mom, Jeri, and I arrived first. We ordered our appetizers and drinks while we waited for Susie and Martha. I wish for once we could be on time! It's NOT ME! It's HER!" - Marti. "I gotta do my hair and make-up." - Susie. This is actually a quite common conversation. And it's so funny. Heehee!

Highlights

Our Empty Cake Plate

Free Tasty Cake! - Since it was my birthday we of course had to get some cake. We chose the Chocolate Molten Cake and it was delicious! They brought it out with all the servers and sang to me. "I would lick this plate if there weren't spoons." - Jeri. That's how good the cake was. Also, Bonus, it was FREE!

Appetizers - The appetizers were the best we've ever had. We chose Bottomless

Onion & Jalapeno Stack

Chips & Salsa and the Onion & Jalapeno Stack. Do you see that to the right? Doesn't that look fabulous. We were practically fighting over it. I would go back JUST for that appetizer. It's deep fried onion strings and jalapenos with ranch dipping sauce. So good. And the chips for the chips and salsa were amazing. They were warm and crisp and fresh and just a little bit salty. And they were bottomless. You know how much we love bottomless! And they were only $3.29 for the chips and salsa and $3.79 for the Onion & Jalapeno Stack. So affordable.

My Balloons!

Rude Other Customers - No this isn't a highlight. It's a warning. Susie and Martha brought me fabulous balloons. Aren't they pretty? So we're sitting there eating our delicious free cake and this lady brings a screaming toddler near our table and he quiets when he see's my balloons. So she comes over and has him TOUCH my balloons. And she's going on about the balloons and I say that I'd give him one, but there all tied together, and she says, "Oh sorry Timmy (not his real name) you can't have one." So my Mom hands me a knife and says here. So I cut him off one of my balloons and they leave fast. Now at the time, I was okay with it. I didn't mind giving one of my balloons to a little kid. But as they are leaving we look over there and they have not only my balloon, but a Chili's balloon. They already HAD a balloon and they came over to me and conned me out of one. How rude. Who does that? Who takes a toddler over to strangers to guilt them out of a balloon? I would NEVER in a million years do that. My kid would've been taken out of the restaurant and gotten NO balloons. So beware rude people and don't give up your birthday balloons!

The Ratings : On a Scale From 1 to 5

Waitstaff

Mom - 4; I think she could've checked on us more. There was almost no one in for lunch and she didn't come around very often.

Jeri - 4; We sat for awhile before we were served and there was almost no one else in there.

Terra - 5; She offered to take our picture, she was friendly and smiling. When there was an issue with Marti's drink, she offered to fix it with a smile on her face. Our orders were all correct.

Susie - 5; She was outgoing and friendly.

Marti - 4 1/2; She called Mom "Grandma", but she was still very friendly.

Food Quality

Mom - Sante Fe Chicken Salad; 5. It was very good and so big that I had some left over for dinner later that night.

Jeri - Chicken & Bacon Quesadilla; 5. The best quesadilla I've ever had.

Santa Fe Chicken Salad

Terra - Chicken & Guacamole Sandwich; 5 You could chose half a sandwich or a whole and I chose half because it came with fries. We all agreed that they were the best fries ever.

Susie - Beef Fajitas; 4. There could've been more cheese for the fajitas, but the components were brought out at the same time and the meat was sizzling. The taste was pretty amazing.

Marti - Chicken & Guacamole Sandwich; 5. I love guacamole and the fries were pretty spectacular.

Food Value

Beef Fajitas

Mom - $9.39; Definitely worth it. There was so much that I had plenty for leftovers.

Jeri - $7.00; Worth it. That's a great price for lunch.

Terra - $8.00; So worth it. I was full and had some french fries left over. It was a perfect lunch price.

Susie - $14.00; Not really worth it. We figured the high price was because of the beef, but there wasn't
enough to really warrant that price.

Marti -$8.00; Worth it.

Drinks

Mom - Presidente Margarita; $7.49; 8; Hand-shaken Sauza® Conmemorativo® Tequila, Patrón Citrónge orange

liqueur and Presidente® Brandy.; I expected more drink and less ice. But it was tasty.

Jeri -Strawberry Daiquiri; $5.99; 2; It was way to thick and I couldn't even taste any alcohol.

Terra - Long Island Iced Tea; $7.20; 6; BACARDI® Superior Rum, Tanqueray® Gin, Smirnoff® Vodka and Patrón Citrónge Premium Orange Liqueur.; I've had way better.

Yummy!

Susie - Presidente Margarita; $7.49; 7; Hand-shaken Sauza® Conmemorativo® Tequila, Patrón Citrónge orange

liqueur and Presidente® Brandy.; There was a hair on the shaker, but other than that it was tasty.

Marti - Sex on the Beach; $7.20; 6; I had to have juice added cause the liquor was so strong. After they added the juice it went from a 4 to a 6. It was also way smaller than the one we had last time.

Overall the drinks were disappointing when compared from last month.

Chicken & Guacamole Sandwich

Bathroom

Out of the four of us that used the bathroom the ratings were between 4 and 5. "It was clean" was all I got out of them. And one complaint of a bad smell, but it's a bathroom. We may cut this and only let you know if the bathroom was really atrocious.

Overall

Mom - 5

Jeri - 5

Terra - 5

Susie - 4

Marti - 4 1/2

Bacon Chicken Quesadilla

We had fun. They sang happy birthday to me, gave me free cake, and fed us great food. The drinks could've been better, but that could've just been a different bartender than last time. If you'd like a nice quick lunch that won't break the bank, Chili's is a great choice. I think they're actually underrated as a lunch choice.

Terra