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

Garfield's - Mondays Suck. Except it wasn't a Monday.

Turkey Avocado Club

This took an extra long time to get out. Sorry about that. But personal life intruded. This month we decidedon the pub restaurant Garfield's in the Birchwood Mall. We've each been there once before, but never together. And we had a weird feeling there was a reason we hadn't been back. We weren't mistaken.

I'm gonna say right off the bat. The food saved the experience. This was an AMAZING lunch, food-wise. If we could've we would've complimented the chef and fired everyone else. Including the bartender. But we'll get to that.

Restaurant: Garfield's
Location: Birchwood Mall, Pine Grove Ave, Fort Gratiot, MI

We had no Susie this time around . She spent Spring Break in Ohio with her sons. The slacker. So it was just Mom, Jeri, Marti, and me. Or is that "I"? Whatever. Everyone, except for Susie. This is the month I forget what things are called , "I need a...what's it called? Oh yeah! A box." and Dora the Explorer is revisited. Even reading Midori on a menu cause's us to go into this bit. It's becoming a thing. Mom asked, "What's Midori?" and we said, "Remember? Dora the Explorer?" And she got it right away.

Garfield's was chosen because, Hey!, shopping when we're done! And I needed to get my nails did. And there's always a nail salon or two in the mall. And we were pretty sure they had the prerequisite alcoholic drinks.

Highlights

Drawing on the Table!

Chicken Quesadilla Heaven - They had chicken quesadilla everything. "Aw Hell!!" - Marti. Even a salad. Which one of us ordered. Chicken quesadilla's are never a bad thing. We could all use more in our lives.

Cranberry Walnut Salad

Crayons! - Garfield's is one of those places that has crayons at the table and you can draw on the tablecloth. We love that. I helps with SUPER long wait. Just sayin'.


Candied Walnuts - The candied walnuts on the Cranberry Walnut Salad are amazing. "I could eat just a giant plate of this!" - Mom. Jeri agreed. I guess the salad was pretty amazing. Marti and I didn't partake. I'm not a fan of feta cheese, which was on the salad. Marti and I like basic house salads. Jeri and Mom like those weird salads.

The Ratings: On a Scale From 1 to 5

Waitstaff
We all gave our waitress, Mel, a 1. Don't worry. We still tipped. We understand that maybe some days are

French Onion Soup

off days. But an effort should still be made to make the customers experience a good one.

We remembered why we hadn't been back. The service had been awful. And it hadn't changed. She didn't listen to us at all. I ordered a baked potato and the others had a salad or soup. I asked for it to be brought out with the starters. She brought out Loaded Baked Potato Soup instead. When I said that's not what I ordered, she said she take it back and fix the order. So I waited. And waited. And waited some more. When we finally got a chance to ask where my potato was she said that it was gonna come out with our lunches. Which is not what we asked or expected.

When our food did finally arrive, Marti and I had to ask for the fries that came with our lunch. She thought we didn't want them.

We rarely saw her. And it's not like it was busy. There were maybe five other tables in the whole restaurant. When we asked for the check and paid, she never brought the change or receipt back. After we finally tracked her down, again, she said she had assumed that the change was her tip. Which just seemed rude. Don't you usually give the customer a chance to decided their own tip on small parties? Who just assumes the change is your tip?

Food Quality

Chicken Quesadilla Salad

Mom - Half Turkey Cheddar Melt w/fries and Cranberry Walnut Salad; 5; Best. Salad. Ever. The candied walnuts were to die for. The sandwich was delicious and they had amazing fries.
Jeri - Chicken Quesadilla Salad and French Onion Soup; 5; Fresh homemade guacamole and tortilla strips on the salad. I stepped out the box by ordering a salad this month and I wasn't disappointed. I actually took a salad home. It was delicious.
Terra - BLT Sandwich w/fries and Baked Potato; 5; Amazing everything. The bacon was crispy and perfect. The toast was just right and the fries were awesome. I've never had a BLT that was so wonderful in my life. The potato was loaded with sour cream, bacon, cheese, and green onions and it was fantastic.
Marti - Turkey Avocado Club Sandwich w/fries and French Onion Soup; 5; Freaking delicious soup. Perfect bacon and bread. The avocado was a good addition. And it was all nice and melt-y.

BLT with Baked Potato

Food Value
Mom - $6.99; Way worth it. Perfect lunch price.
Jeri - $11.68; Worth it.
Terra - $7.49; Totally worth it.
Marti - $11.48; Worth it. Plus there were leftovers.

Drinks (Out of 10)
Mom - Chocolate Martini; $6.00; 5; It was kinda tiny. It looked nothing like the picture.
Jeri - Jamaican Me Crazy; $6.50; 5; There was no fancy glass or garnish like on the menu. It was plain
Terra - Pineapple Spritzer; $6.50; 2; I sent it back cause it was so nasty. My second drink was a Jamaican Me Crazy; $6.50; 9; There was no garnish. So it lost a point
Marti - Jamaican Me Crazy; $6.50; 9; There was no garnish. Presentation is important too.

We were not impressed with the bar overall. The drinks were plain and they took FOREVVVERRRR to arrive.We didn't even take pictures of our drinks our ourselves with our drinks. We were too disappointed in their appearances.

Turkey Cheddar Melt

Overall
Mom - 3
Jeri - 4; The waitress didn't take all the fun out of it.
Terra - 3
Marti - 3

We might go back. If we forget again that the service is horrible. If you only have an hour for lunch, avoid Garfield's. Between the wait time for the drinks and the food, it took longer than expected. The food truly did save the entire experience. It's the saving grace. If you have more than an hour and can brave through bad table service, go for it. You'll enjoy the food.

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

Panera Bread + Chili's = Happy Hour Success!

This month the vote went to Panera Bread. But since they don't have "happy hour drinks", we went to the Chili's next door for our drink. It worked well. So this month we have separate reviews for lunch and for drinks.

French Onion Soup

Restaurant: Panera Bread

Location: 26 Mile Rd, Shelby Twp, MI

Panera Bread is, at heart, a soup and sandwich cafe. They have great bread. I've never had a bad bread at Panera. The paninis and sandwiches are made well and the soups are delicious. I know from previous experience that they do a wonderful salad as well.

We did decide that we prefer restaurants with table service. Not that we didn't have a good experience with Panera, we have just become used to and enjoy the table service more. Though we all did agree that Panera could do with busing staff at least. We really didn't like having to clear our own dishes. Maybe we're just spoiled from the sit down places we've been to so far. 

The only other drawback is that Panera has made it so comfy inside. Combined with the free wifi, many students and business professionals come for lunch and stay a long time. With their laptops. And take up at least one full table per person sometimes two. We were hard pressed to find a table for all five of us and in the end we had to steal a chair from a table and add it to our booth. Panera is definitely not a "Large Party" type eatery.

Highlights

Surprise Whipped Cream! - Jeri ordered a Cafe Mocha and when she opened the lid there was whipped cream and chocolate drizzled on the top! Surprise chocolate is always good in our books. The Cafe Mocha itself was pretty tasty. and only $3.80, which is pretty reasonable 

Spicy Mustard - Mustard again. I hate mustard myself. But Susie and Jeri love the stuff. And Panera has some good brown spicy mustard that they really enjoyed. I'm not sure what it is with those two and their mustard, but I blame it on that greasy spoon diner in Dayton, Ohio we went to back in the late eighties. Cheeseburgers and Waffles. I'm just sayin'. 

Atmosphere - The general atmosphere of Panera Bread is really good. They have comfortable seats (when you can find one), free wifi, and nice background music. It's a pleasant place to spend your lunch hour or meet with the girls.

The Ratings: On a Scale From 1 to 5

Waitstaff

There wasn't really waitstaff in the traditional sense of the word. Really, we just had the cashier. But we, being us, decided to rate and JUDGE! her anyway. Go figure. 

Mom - 4

Jeri - 5; "She tried, like, a hundred different phone numbers for my Panera card"

Terra - 4; She was kind of annoying and kept pushing the baked items, even though we repeatedly said no. I know they have to up-sell items, but after the third "no", give it a rest. 

Susie - 4

Marti - 4; She had a nasally voice.

Food Quality

Broccoli Cheddar Soup and Frontega Chicken Panini

Mom - Alfredo Tortellini and Roasted Turkey & Avocado BLT; 4; The sandwich was bland, which is surprising considering the type of sandwich it was.

Jeri - French Onion Soup and Chipolte Chicken Panini on the Demi Asiago bread; 5; The soup was delish!

Terra - Broccoli Cheddar Soup and Frontega Chicken Panini; 5; The best broccoli cheddar soup I've ever had. Not to mention the bread they give you to dip in your soup. I love it.

Susie - Broccoli Cheddar Soup and Sierra Turkey sandwich; 5; Love, love, love the bread that comes with the soup!

Marti - Broccoli Cheddar Soup and Sierra Turkey sandwich; 5; The soup is the best and the sandwich was really tasty!

Food Value

Jeri's Choice

Mom - $10.04; No, it wasn't really worth it. The tortellini portion was smaller than I expected.

Jeri - $7.79 for the food; No. The sandwich was quite small.

Terra - $7.79 for the food; Yes. The panini was very nice size and the soup portion was almost too much for me to eat in one sitting.

Susie - $6.79 for the food; Yes. The portions were quite large.

Marti - $6.79 for the food; Yes. It was well worth what was paid.

Bathroom

What bathroom? Seriously though. It was hard to find. It was okay as far as bathrooms go. Mostly clean. We liked the shelf that they had to set your purse on by the sink. I really hate when I'm forced to put my purse on the floor in a bathroom. There was some paper trash on the floor and the paper towel dispenser was malfunctioning. It got an average of 3 1/2 out of 5 from those of us that used the restroom.

Susie and Marti's choice

Overall

Mom - 4; I prefer table service and I hated busing my own table. But the food was tasty for the most part.

Jeri - 4; It was pretty good, but my sandwich was small.

Terra - 4; I too prefer table service. But the quality of the food was there.

Susie - 4; The background music was nice and the food tasty. I don't like having to buss my own table.

Marti - 4; The table was kinda small and the bread was the best.

Bar: Chili's
Location: 26 Mile Rd, Shelby Twp, MI

 After lunch we decided we needed to get our "happy" part of the happy hour. So we went next door to Chili's ("Wait. Where are we? Chipolte's?" - Terra).

We told the host that we were there to "Get Happy!", so he sat us right at the bar. Jeri did NOT want a frickin' Martini. But that's what she got.

Drinks
Mom - El Nino; 10; Herradura Reposado Tequila (100% Blue Agave), GranGala, Patrón Citrónge orange liqueur and fresh orange juice.; It was HUGE!
Jeri - Tropical Sunrise; 2; Hornitos Reposado Tequila (100% Blue Agave), DeKuyper melon liqueur, pineapple juice & a splash of grenadine.; It was too tequila-y tasting
Terra - Tropical Sunrise; 10; It was so pretty and tasty. The way the liquids were put in the glass made a rainbow!
Susie - Tropical Sunrise; 10; "It's a rainbow!"
Marti - Sex on the Beach; 9; It was okay, but I was jealous of the other drinks when they came.

The drinks averaged $8.00 and were mostly worth it. We enjoyed ourselves so much that we decided that next month's lunch will be at Chili's!


Terra

 

Tropical Sunrise

El Nino

Sex on the Beach