Monument, CO: Sushi Or Not Sushi, That Is The Question

I-Fish

562 West Hwy 105

Monument, CO 80132

Phone: (719) 488-9898

Website: ifishmonument.com

Prices: $$$$

I am not a big sushi or sashimi fan. I have eaten both on several occasions and I personally just don't get it or see what all the fuss is about. A bunch of rice with seaweed wrapped around it and some vegetables or fish inside. Paying top dollar for something with so little taste just ain't my style. I ate freshly caught Mahi Mahi sashimi while on a 50 foot sailing yacht during a SCUBA diving trip to Yap and it was "OK", nothing to write home to Guam about.

Anywho, my sons and a friend of theirs wanted to come here for the $14.95 all-you-can-eat lunch deal, so I was cajoled into joining in. Two of them had the all-you-can-eat deal and what they received looked quite appealing and filling for the price. 

My youngest son, who is not a sushi/sashimi fan like myself, and I decided to go with something more flavorful, so we both went with the Beef Yakisoba ($8.95). It was tasty enough, but not overly abundant. There was a medium size pile of the flavorful, fried noodles and a shredded carrot garnish, but it seemed as though my son got most of the beef when they split it into two dishes. As Wendy would say, "where's the beef?"

I will not let my opinion of sushi and the like sway me, so I base my rating on the quality of the food, the flavor of what I ate, the service, the atmosphere, and most of all the value. The food was good, the service excellent, the atmosphere nice, and the value average.

CombatCritic Gives I-Fish 6 Bombs Out Of 10 ... More Bombs Are Better

Six Bombs Equates To:

"Good To Go"

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I-Fish

Title: Sushi Or Not Sushi, That Is The Question

Key Words: I-Fish, I, Fish, IFish, sushi, sashimi, Monument, Colorado, CombatCritic, TravelValue, travel, value, restaurant, menu, review, Yelp, TripAdvisor, Tabelog, Zomato

Translation for Civilians: G2G = Good To Go

Monument, CO: Muy Bueno ... Very Good, Authentic Food And An Excellent Value!

Rodolfo’s Mexican Grill
15932 Jackson Creek Pkwy
Monument, CO 80921
Phone: (719) 487-9410

Prices: $$$$

Bare bones atmosphere, a few tables and chairs, a walk-up service window, and no servers, but very good food at reasonable prices in the corner location of a strip mall.

My son is a vegan and loved his bean and rice burrito with guacamole ($4.45). It was huge!

I am not vegan, or even a virgin for that matter, so I ordered chips and guacamole ($2.80), carne asada tacos ($2.35 each), and cheese and onion enchiladas ($3.95) ala carte. The chips were a tad too greasy, as if they had just been reheated in the deep frier, but pretty good with a little shredded cheese and a bit more guacamole on top. I needed some more guacamole, so I went back to the counter to get an additional side order for the chips and my tacos., but when I asked to pay I was told "no charge". Wow ... gracias!

The carne asada tacos came on large corn tortillas and were heaped with sliced beef, diced onions, pico de gallo, guacamole, and a little shredded cheese ... just the way I like them ... buenísimo! They also have a small salsa bar with three different salsas (two red and one green), some pico de gallo, fresh cut lime, and pickled jalapeño and sliced carrots. They were all great, but I had to taste each to find out how hot they were, so some signage would be my only suggestion.

The enchiladas were also very good. The red chili sauce was spicy and tasty and there was just the right amount of cheese to sauce ratio. The only drawback being way too many sliced onions on top instead of a few diced onions inside the enchiladas. The taste was pretty much the same, but it was hard to see the enchiladas through the onions and they were a bit overpowering.

In all, the food was fresh, excellent, and very reasonable. Coming from Lawrence, Kansas where they do not seem to know what good, authentic Mexican food is, Rodolfo's was a breath of fresh air in more ways than one. Being a cold Colorado night, the place was a bit chillier than expected, so dress warm and enjoy some good food.

CombatCritic Gives Rodolfo's Mexican Grill 8 Bombs Out Of 10 ... Más Bombas Son Mejores!

Eight Bombs Equates To:

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Rodolfo’s Mexican Grill

Menus

Title: Muy Bueno ... Very Good, Authentic Food And An Excellent Value! 

Key Words: Rodolfo's Mexican Grill, Rodolfo's, Rodolfo, Rudolfo, Mexican, grill, Monument, Colorado, springs, CombatCritic, TravelValue, travel, value, restaurant, menu, review, Yelp, TripAdvisor, Tabelog, Zomato

Translation for Civilians: WTFO! = "What-The-Fuck ... Over!"

Lawrence, KS: Shop Or Dine-In If Craving Mediterranean Specialties

Mediterranean Market & Cafe

3300 Bob Billings Pkwy
Lawrence, KS 66049
Phone: (785) 842-9383
Website: mediterraneancafelw.com

Prices: $$$$

A very nice little market with plenty of choices and reasonable prices. Their selection of products from all around the Mediterranean is impressive considering the store is not all that big.

They also serve food for take-out or you can sit at one of the small tables and enjoy your meal. They serve gyros with tzatziki sauce ($5.99), falafel with Tahini ($.5.99), hummus, baba ghannooj, shawarma, and many salads, sides, and traditional entrees such as moussaka and spinach pie.

The service is always efficient and friendly, so drop in if you are looking for a quick meal or a special ingredient for that special Mediterranean dish.

CombatCritic Gives Mediterranean Market & Cafe 8 Bombs Out Of 10 ... More Bombs Are Better!

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Mediterranean Market & Cafe

Title: Lawrence, KS: Shop Or Dine-In If Craving Mediterranean Specialties

Key Words: Mediterranean Market & Cafe, Mediterranean, market, cafe, 15th, Bob Billings, gyro, pita, falafel, CombatCritic, TravelValue, travel, value, restaurant, menu, review, Yelp, TripAdvisor, Tabelog, Zomato

Translation For You Civilians: "WTFO" - What the F&#@ ... Over!

Lawrence, KS: Average Midwest Pizza ... Enough Said

Rudy’s Pizzeria
704 Massachusetts Street
Lawrence, KS 66044
Phone: (785) 749-0055
Website: rudyspizzeria.com
Prices: $$$$

Fair at best for the US, they would not last a month in Italy or NYC. But hey, this is Lawrence ... Fugeddaboudit!  Enough said.

The pizza is reasonably priced and they do not skimp on ingredients, but the taste of the sauce put me off a bit. Too sweet and, like most American pizzerias, too much of it. More pizza joints should follow the lead of the people who make pizza the best, the people of Naples (Italy, not Florida), and use only good crushed tomatoes as a sauce. Maybe a touch of salt, oregano, or basil for flavor, but that's it, nothing else. Everybody thinks they need to create a signature sauce for their pizzas and this sauce had too much sugar.

The service was fast and friendly and the place a bit of a dive, but what should we expect from a basement pizza joint? I like dives and I liked Rudy's "OK". I am actually being generous in my rating because I cannot fairly compare Rudy's or most other American pizzerias to the best pizza in the world, so I compare to "Midwest pizza" and in comparison, Rudy's is pretty "average".

CombatCritic Gives Rudy's Pizzeria 5 Bombs Out Of 10 ... More Bombs Are Better!

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Rudy's Pizzeria

Title: Lawrence, KS: Average Midwest Pizza ... Enough Said

Key Words: Rudy's Pizzeria, Rudy's, pizzeria, Rudy, pizza, Lawrence, KS, Mass, Massachusetts, CombatCritic, TravelValue, travel, value, restaurant, menu, review, Yelp, TripAdvisor, Tabelog, Zomato

Translation for Civilians: "Charlie-Mike" - Continue Mission; Not Bad, Not Great

Tulsa, OK: Gut, But Not Great

Margaret's German Restaurant
5107 South Sheridan Road
Tulsa, OK 74145
South Tulsa
Phone: (918) 622-3747
Website: margaretsgermanrestaurant.com
Prices: $$$$

Having lived in Europe for six years and traveled extensively in Germany and other countries where schnitzel is a staple (Austria, Switzerland, Slovenia, Bosnia, Croatia, Macedonia, and Hungary to name a few), I have had some of the best and am therefore a bit more discerning than most American customers who have never eaten real schnitzel. Margaret's, by comparison, was "OK". 

We were greeted by the tall, blonde owner who did not tell us her name, but told us she is actually Polish, having bought the German restaurant in 1989. We were seated at a table reserved for us in the semi-quaint back room furnished with German photos, beer steins, and a large mural of Austria's Neuschwanstein Castle with the phrase "Herzlich Willkommen" (heartfelt welcome) in the center. The service was in-fact welcoming and efficient, as should be the case in any German restaurant, but the music did not fit the theme and it was a bit too loud.

Starting with the prerequisite German dark wheat beer, a Weihenstephaner Hefeweissbier Dunkel (17 oz - $5.95), we ordered a pair of the German pretzels ($4.95) to share. The bottled beer (they have no drafts) was cold and good, the pretzels hot and salty with a spicy German mustard to add as needed. So far so good, but it is difficult to mess up a bottle of beer and a couple pretzels.

For our main courses, my wife ordered the Jägarschnitzel ($15.99) with spätzle and red cabbage and I the Klosterschnitzel ($16.99) with fried potatoes, saüerkraut and a side of Jäger sauce, both coming with a bowl of goulash soup. 

The goulash was tasty, but unlike any I have had before. Accompanied by two slices of German pumpernickel, there were croutons and a sprinkling of cheddar cheese on top and instead of the customary cubes of beef there were chunks of sausage, beans, peas and other veggies. It was spicy and pretty good, but not quite what we were expecting, particularly because my wife dislikes beans.

Both schnitzels were a bit on the small side, but well prepared. The Jägerschnitzel, a breaded, pan-fried pork loin, was topped with a typical hunter's sauce (brown gravy with mushrooms) that was not great, not tasting like it was made from scratch. The spätzle was decent and the red cabbage sweet and sour, but a bit soggy. The Klosterschnitzel, basically cordon bleu, a breaded pork loin stuffed with ham and cheese, then pan fried was also pretty good. Unfortunately, the fried potatoes looked more like frozen steak fries than any German fried potato I have ever had and the saüerkraut was unremarkable.

Overall, the service very good, the ambience decent, the food fair and the value average. Some German or Austrian background music would contribute to a more authentic atmosphere, the schnitzel could be a tad bigger, and the Jäger sauce definitely needs some work, but otherwise, Margaret's does a pretty good job with an uncommon cuisine south of the Mason-Dixon.

CombatCritic Gives Margaret's German Restaurant A Respectable 5 Bombs Out Of 10 ... Bombs Are Gut!

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Title: Gut, But Not Great

Key Words: Margaret's German Restaurant, Margaret's, Margaret, German, Tulsa, OK, Oklahoma, South, Sheridan, CombatCritic, TravelValue, travel, value, restaurant, menu, review, Yelp, TripAdvisor

Translation: "Charlie-Mike" - Continue Mission (Keep up the good work)