RESTAURANTS OF THE US

RESTAURANTS OF THE US
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Thursday, September 25, 2014

Colorado Springs (CO): Jill's Kitchen: NOT Cheap, FAIR Breakfast Fare

Jill's Kitchen
2416 E Boulder Street
Colorado Springs, CO 
(719) 475-2621

A bit of a hole-in-the-wall, the place needs some updating, but appeared clean. The staff are friendly and attentive.

Kitchen Scramble - $8.29
We shared the biscuits and gravy (full order - $4; half - $2), a large portion on 4 biscuit halves smothered with white (country) gravy with chunks of sausage. The biscuits were fresh and the gravy was decent, lacking flavor and needing some added salt and pepper. My mom also ordered a rash (side) of bacon ($3.79), seeming a bit overpriced for just four pieces of bacon.

Side of Bacon - $3.79
I ordered the Kitchen Scramble (full order - $8.29), scrambled eggs, onion, home fried potatoes, and cheese topped with two pieces of bacon. There was plenty of food, but it was mostly potato chunks (home fries) that had an earthy (root vegetable) taste. The potatoes could have used some seasoning. I have had scrambles at many breakfast restaurants and this one was subpar when compared to some of the better eateries.

The menu is not as "cheap" as other reviewers indicated, but the food was decent, hot, and served quickly. Not one of the greatest or least expensive breakfasts I have ever had, but a fair value.

CombatCritic Gives Jill's Kitchen 5 Bombs Out of 10 ... BOMBS ARE GOOD!








Jills Kitchen on Urbanspoon






Key Words: Jill's Kitchen, Jill's, kitchen, Jill, breakfast, lunch, eggs, bacon, food, eat, menu, restaurant, Colorado Springs, Colorado, Boulder, CombatCritic, TravelValue

Tuesday, September 23, 2014

Colorado Springs (CO): "I remember this place being better" - C.T. Sorrentino, aka CombatCritic

Trivelli's Hoagies
2819 N Nevada Avenue 
Colorado Springs, CO 80907
"I remember this place being better" - C.T. Sorrentino - aka CombatCritic

The sandwiches are "OK", not as good as they once were. We had the "meatball" sandwich, which oddly enough does not come with cheese (unless you ask for it - costs extra) and the "cheesesteak". Because the original owner is supposedly from Philadelphia, the cheesesteak should be a no brainer. Or should it?

The meatball (6 inch - $5.70) was tasty enough, but neither very big nor loaded with meat as I remember and the tomato sauce flavorful, not too sweet or spicy. The bread was good, not too soft or hard (old). The cheesesteak ($11.78 for a 12 incher), which came on a similar "hoagie" roll, was loaded with meat and a bit greasy even for my taste (read my review of Dempsey's in Lawrence, Kansas). I added a side order of french fries ($2.15) which was rather small for the price and cold by the time our meal arrived.

My son, a vegan, asked the young lady on the phone before ordering if they could accommodate his dietary restrictions, including no meat, eggs, cheese, or oils (a personal preference), and she indicated that they could (after checking with her  manager/chef). Having confirmed that the pasta was not made with eggs and that the tomato sauce had no meat or added oil, he ordered the spaghetti and meatballs (minus the meatballs - $6.89). He was also told that his meal "comes with a salad" and that our entire order would come to a little over $28.

Side Salad - $6.89?
When he arrived to pick up our order, my son was told that the pasta sauce was cooked with the meatballs (vegan?) and that there was oil in the sauce after all, so he could not eat the spaghetti and meatballs. They appeared perturbed over his dietary restrictions and removed the spaghetti and meatballs (but did not deduct the price), leaving him with what he thought was a "large side salad full of veggies" (it was in a large container which he did not open before leaving). However, when he arrived home and opened the container, there was a pile of shredded, brownish iceberg lettuce and a few chunks of tomato and even fewer slices of onion (see photo). They charged us nearly $7 for a pile of lettuce and a few veggies that probably cost them less than fifty cents!

The food alone would get 3 out of 5 stars (5-6 out of 10 "bombs") based on quality, quantity, and "value", but the $7 side salad and their anti-vegan attitude forced me to deduct a "star" (two bombs). Therefore ...


CombatCritic Gives Trivelli's Hoagies (Nevada Ave) 5 Out of 10 Bombs ... MORE BOMBS ARE GOOD!

Trivelli's Hoagies on Urbanspoon

Key Words: Trivelli's Hoagies, Trivelli's, Trivelli, travelli, hoagies, hoagie, sub, sandwich, cheesesteak, meatball, salad, fries, menu, CombatCritic, TravelValue, Colorado, Springs

Monday, September 8, 2014

Lawrence (KS): Fool Me Once, Shame On You ... Fool Me Twice, Shame On Me

Genovese
941 Massachusetts Street
Lawrence, KS 

(785) 842-8300
In my initial review of Genovese, I gave them a lackluster 5 Out Of 10 Bombs … BOMBS ARE GOOD … but looking back, I may have been too generous.


Bruschetta
We had bought a Genovese Groupon for $58 which included two appetizers and four entrees because we had planned to go with some friends, but our dinner plans fell through and after our first paltry experience, we were in no hurry to return. With the Groupon promotion lapsed, the “face value” of the Groupon “will still be honored” (according to Groupon’s website and disclaimer) and not wanting to waste $58, we decided to use it when my sons came to town for a visit from Colorado.

Insalata Caprese
Because I was using the “cash value” of the Groupon, not the promotion, I decided to utilize the “buy one entrée and two drinks, get one entrée for half off” offer advertised recently in the Lawrence Journal World (LJW). However, when it came time to pay the bill, the server told us that the manager would not honor the LJW offer. I asked to speak with him, explaining that the “cash value” of the Groupon was no longer a promotion, but if he wanted to honor it (even though it had expired) and give us the two appetizers and four entrees in exchange, that would be great! Otherwise, we were using no other “promotion” and I asked him to please honor the LJW coupon. He refused, not quite able to grasp the complexity of the situation or the meaning of “customer service”.

       Wild Mushroom and Asparagus Ravioli
Our meal, being bland, overpriced, with too much sauce on the pasta, was unremarkable and because it was overshadowed by the manager’s poor attitude, I will not waste too much time here explaining it. Leave it to say that the bruschetta ($6.50 - pronounced “brew-sket-ah”, not “brew-shet-a”) was three small pieces of white bread from the supermarket with a little cheese melted on top (bruschetta in never served with cheese), a little olive oil, and topped by three small grape tomatoes cut in halves. The Caprese salad (insalata), a favorite of mine, at $9.50 was equally as disappointing, being sprinkled with balsamic vinegar, another culinary faux pas, a few small slices of yellow tomato, thin pieces of mozzarella cheese, and a couple grape tomato halves in the middle. My wife's wild mushroom and asparagus ravioli was supposed to come in a broth, but there was little broth visible, the pasta were dry, and their filling almost non-existent. 

Being a former baseball player, it normally takes three strikes to be “out”, but in the case of Genovese, two strikes shall suffice …

“Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.”

Genovese will not be getting another chance in my book, mostly because of the manager's unprofessional attitude, but also because of the poorly executed, overpriced food and …

CombatCritic Now Gives Genovese a Paltry 2 Bombs Out of 10 … More Bombs Are Better!






 Genovese on Urbanspoon

Key Words: Genovese, Italian, restaurant, Massachusetts, street, Lawrence, Kansas, 66044, Groupon, pasta, pizza, TripAdvisor, antipasti, Yelp, sausage, wine, UrbanSpoon, CombatCritic, TravelValue, travel, value

Lawrence (KS): Papa KENO'S Is A GAMBLE When It Comes To Timely Delivery And Customer Service

Lawrence, Kansas: My son ordered over the phone because we could find no way to order online as advertised on their Yelp page but the employee told him "we'll have it out when we have it out". We live just 3 blocks away, but after 45 minutes there was still no sign of our pizza. It finally arrived nearly an hour after we placed our order, so I guess the guy on the phone was right after all.

Poor customer service aside, the pizza, although not cheap at $18 for a one-topping 18 inch cheese pizza, was not bad. We had the salami pizza and two order of breadsticks and the tab came to a little over $31 before tip. Not cheap. As far as I could tell, they do not offer specials online so what you se is what you get.

Decent pizza, not so decent value, and poor customer service means ...

CombatCritic Gives Papa Keno's (Lawrence) Only 4 Bombs Out of 10 ... More Bombs Are Better!








Papa Kenos Pizzeria on Urbanspoon

Key Words: Papa Keno's, papa, keno's, keno, pizza, parlor, food, Italian, menu, review, Lawrence, Kansas, Massachusetts, street, downtown, delivery, CombatCritic, TravelValue, travel, value