Mario's

Back in the early 90s I would eat at Mario's at least once every couple of months with my sister. Don't know why we always went there, it was just something we did. It was always packed. The place was made up of several small rooms, which added to the coziness of the place. The meatball grinders were made with lovely Italian bread. Hard and flakey on the outside, mooshy on the inside, full on gooey cheese and homemade meatballs. So when I heard that Mario's was still there with a much reduced restaurant and menu size, I thought I'd try it out.
My ride was late, and I was anxious about having to wait in line. Turns out I shouldn't have been. The place was empty and remained so for much of the lunch. They have a walk up on the street and maybe I didn't see the people going to that.
The place had lost some of it's coziness. It was bare and smaller. The nice lady in the hole in the wall took our order. Had to get the grinder and pasta salad. (I forgot to order the pasta but a fellow Spooner was kind enough to share).
The bread was the same. The cheese was it's gooey self, but the meatballs were few and tasted store bought. The pasta salad was "ehh?". I realize the owners probably reduced the size of the place and menu to cut costs, but it lost a lot of charm in the process. Can't say I disliked the new Mario's, but I'm rnot unning out try it again. If you're in the neighborhood give it a try. Looks like me and Sis need a new place.

Food: 3- just OK.
Price: 3- again, not bad/not great. You'll get more meatball ratio for the money at Subway
Kitch: 0- miss the old brick walls and Italian stuff
Bonus: Good company/conversation kept my depression for the place away

Wood Yard BBQ

This was another one of the out-of-the-way places now made famous by spikey-haired Food Network types. So, excuse me if I was skeptical.
We smelled the place half way down the street and salivary glands kicked into overdrive. Then, you pull into a working wood yard, selling specialty wood for BBQ-ers. A nearby train was blaring its horn, some old country was playing on the speakers, and I knew I already liked it better than half the BBQ joints in KC, and I hadn't eaten anything yet.
There was line out the door. This doesn't always mean its good. I've stood in too many lines for crap BBQ. But, I watched orders going out the door to the lovely little brick patio out front and everything looked good. I ordered the burnt-end chili on the suggestion of a trusted friend and some cheesey corn, as I am a Jackstack BBQ cheesey corn fanatic.
The chili itself (and I was a National Chili Cook-off judge for years, thank you very much) was fantastic on its own. It was three bean variety, not too sweet, not too spicy. But, throw on the burnt ends, and holy shit!
Wow, that was some good chili. The cheesy-corn was forgettable, but I dumped it into the remnants of chili and kicked it up a notch.
The other Spooners gave the burnt end sandwich a thumbs up, and that's good enough for me, sir.
I will definitely returning to try some of their other treats.

Service: 4 Spoons Long-ish wait, but once the order was in, we got it quick from a nice old lady who called me "hun".

Food: 4 Spoons What I had, I'll stack up against any BBQ place around. Congrats Food Network, you got it right for once.

Kitch: 4 Old, rundown houses for a restaurants always work for me.

Bonus: Booze, and you get to watch the pitmaster work right out there on the patio.

Square PIzza

...where, wait for it....the pizza is square! Located on the Historic Independence Square. Sensing a trend? But goofy play on words aside, this is a good pizza joint. In a world of Dominoes, Pizza Butt and Papa Johns, it's good to know there still some solid pizza makers out there.
Square Pizza has the usual kinds of pizzas, Meat Lovers, Triple Cheese, but some different ones like the Monterey Chicken (ranch, chicken, tomatoes, bacon, red onions, mozzarella and monterey jack cheese). Prices aren't what you're going to pay for some delivery place, but this isn't delivery pizza, dummy. They do a lunch special, $6.99 for a large slice, salad and drink, and yes they do deliver.
They gots booze, too.
Price: 3 spoons, good food for a good price
Service: 4 spoons, walk up and order
Kitch: 3, full of Indy goodness
Bonus: You can watch the drunks stumble out of Big John's on the Corner, one of best, divey-est dive bars you'll ever find. And right next to Dave's Bakery, for your after pizza dessert.

photo used w/o any sort of permission.

Clem's Drive-In

Oh, Clem's. What fond memories I have of you. My Dad, crumbly burgers falling out the bottom of my bun, and having to eat it with a plastic spoon. Great curly fries, super shakes, and the occasional brain sandwich my Old Man snuck in as a gag and watched me make a face when I figured out it wasn't a tenderloin. And the tenderloins. Some say the best in town. That was true.
Clem's withered and died a coupla of years back. New owners with new, clean grease pits took over and it's not the same.
When I saw the new sign and new coat of paint, I just had to try. I scouted ahead before I took Dad, just to make sure it was good. Glad I did. Service was awful. How long does it take to scoop out a crumbly burger? I like my fries crispy, not burnt, thank-you-very-much.
The shake was soupy and tasted weird. The tenderloin, oh the tenderloin. Just okay. 30 years of the same grease sure makes a place taste different.
I'm going to go take a nap now, and dream of Mugs Up.

Max's Auto Diner

Ok, I was watching that local restaurant PBS show and these 3 douches went on and on about how great this place in Waldo was. Again, I heard the famous line "it's the best hamburgers in the city" - Ring...Ring.. "Hello PBS.  I would like to pledge a whole sum of 'shut the hell up' please. Do I get a tote bag for that?"  Let me make this quick. The burgers taste like burger king , the curly fries are from Arby's and the milkshakes are from a dark awful place. The onion rings made me burp all day long, but were good. But the tots, I have to say, were pretty great as was the warm baklava. Kitch was fine classic little place and the service was pretty grumpy. So, if you need a burger, go around the corner to the old Dairy Queen (I know,  I know, it's a chain- but it's a time warp). They have a Dig-Dug machine, and the old yellow bench tables. And when they cook the burgers the whole inside fills up with smoke. It brought me back to 1985- hasn't changed a bit. So 2 spoons for Max's and 3 spoons for the DQ just for the memories.

RJ's Bob-Be-Que Shack

When I saw that weirdo from the Food Network, the one with the white, spikey hair, was doing a KC BBQ special show, I had to watch, even though I don't normally catch "Diners, Dives and whatever". I was glad he chose off the grid places instead of the usual Oklahoma Joe's, Gates, Arthur Bryants triumvirate. One of said places he visited was RJ's Bob-Be-Que shack. I was intrigued by the menu that had things like smoke sausage in corn husks, and lamb ribs. And that the pit master was a classically trained chef.
So we went last week. You can tell the show had helped business. It was packed, and I heard several people talking about the show, "I never knew this place existed", or "I never heard of them til now"etc.
My fellow spooners had the ribs, while I ordered the rib meat sandwich and those aforementioned sausages.
The sandwich was like eating meat flavored hay. Dry, dry, dry. The sauce was ketchup mixed with honey. I think I remember the chef making the sauce on the show making the sauce using honey, and it tasted like it for sure. Oh, how I hates sweet sauce. The fries were good, but tasted like Red Robin fries. The slaw I could have got at Price Chopper.
For as long as I waited for the sausages, it wasn't worth it. You'd think something with jalapenos would have some flavor.
When I asked about the ribs, I got a "Meh?" and a shoulder shrug from my fellow Spooners.
Maybe there's a reason nobody's heard of 'em.

Price: 4 spoons
Service: 2 spoons, mostly because I got to hear way too much about our server's social life.
Kitch: 3 spoons. It's a BBQ place.
 On a side note, DD&D is doing a show on Swagger, a place readers know I love. He (spikey) better not do something to screw that up.

Shorty Smalls: Greasy Spooning on the road again

Was in Branson, MO this weekend. What's it with me and the hillbilly locales? Anyway, stopped in at favorite place we've been to before: Shorty Smalls. Shorty's is a local chain down there. I know, GS don't do chains, but this is small enough to fit in, and I had to tell everyone about something (see why later).
First, all the booths are named for a Branson entertainer. We got the honor of sitting in the Jim Stafford booth. This guy's a millionaire because of that dumb-ass "I Don't Like Spiders and Snakes" song. The booth is surrounded by his memorabilia.
I ordered the Shorty Special: ribs, chicken fired steak, beans, coleslaw and a cheesey biscuit ala Red Lobster. Beans: so-so. Coleslaw: pretty good. Ribs were cooked nice but the sauce was too sweet for me. When I saw how thin the chicken fired steak was, I was worried, but it turned out to be fork-cutting tender and tasted great. Over-all, not a bad meal. Now, for the good part.
We've had the blackberry cobbler before, which is, in a word, fantastic. But, we decided to get another dessert too, this time. What we got was very possibly the best apple pie I've had in my life. Sorry grandma, who slaved all day peeling apples by hand from her tree in the back yard. Sorry, beautiful daughter who makes all her pies for me with love.
The Shorty Smalls apple pie came out in a hot cast iron skillet filled with still bubbling butter. The pie itself was plopped down in the middle of all that dairy with ice cream on top. The ice cream melted into the butter. The butter melted into the pie. Ohmygodohmygodohmygod....... I'm still thinking about right now.
The server tried to take the plate away and almost got a fork in the back of his hand. We were taking the blackberry cobbler and running it through the leavings from the cream/butter.
Fat? Check.
Happy? Check.

Food: 4 spoons
Price: 4 without booze, but because of all the bible belt liquor taxes end s up a 2. Dropped way too much $.
Kitch: 4 Three words: Tony Orlando Booth
Bonus: Did I mention the pie?

Hayes Hamburgers

We ventured out to Vivon Road to eat at Hayes. They are known for their 24 hr greasy breakfasts but we went for the burgers instead. I was told they cook their burgers the way White Castle used to make them. So I said " what could go wrong there!?" Hayes' website states " You can smell the onions from a mile away" ...Uh oh....
It's a classic quaint place with chrome stools, sweaty fry cook and classic grumpy old lady waitress that's been here since the invention of ketchup. We sat at the back corner table smiling and enjoying the kitsch when I noticed we were all crying. A very Twilight Zone moment. Looking around the diner I noticed no one else had any of our symptoms. They could have cared less. They must have gotten the onion vaccine in 50's that was mandatory by all high schools. Anyways, while trying to finish our meal through our tears, we decided the burgers were only average. Plus, sad to say, the shake machine was broke. So, no malt for me. The pie was good, nothing great. So I give respect to keeping it real , but if you have to wear an astronaut suit to eat there, I say "Houston we have a problem."

In a Tub

Today, we visited that Northland tradition, In a Tub. A magical place where everything is fried, and comes, not surprisingly, in a tub. They are famous (some say infamous) for their deep fried tacos. I ordered 2 of the beef, bean and cheese. Now, when I say cheese, I don't mean anything that probably came out of cow, or is the color of anything found in nature. This is the same stuff you shake out on popcorn, or comes with your cheapo Kraft mac and cheese.

I also got the cheese burrito. They must get their frozen burritos from the same place the Independence School District does, because they were exactly like the ones my high school served. That's not necessarily a bad thing. Both tacos and burritos tasted exactly like I knew they would. Deep fried goodness. There are some haters out there (usually poor outsiders drug up there by some Northlander), who have left less than favorable reviews about In a Tub. (Insert nasally voice) "Ohhh, they're so greasy. Ewww my tummy hurt after eating there." No. Really? A place that deep fries everything made you feel yucky and tired. I'm making a sad unhappy face for you right now.

On the way out I noticed they had a sign that said "Ice Cream is Back!". Well, you know that means I had to get a shake. Oh, and some chili pie to wash it down. The shake was OK. Nothing to make a big proclamation about. The chili pie could have been great if the Fritos weren't stale. Sonic still wins out there.
"So, take off to the great, white north, it's a beauty way to go."

Food: 3. 5 spoons. I see this place as a great hangover cure.
Price: 4 spoons. $6.50 for 2 tacos, a burrito, and a meduim drink. You won't get that at Taco Bell
Kitch: 1. No decor. I mean none.

Greasy Spooners Odyssey: Chattanooga, TN and Dalton GA

How, you ask, did I end up in Dalton, GA, the carpet capital of US? Well, my wife had training for a new job this week in lovely Dalton and I got dragged along. The owners of her company are good ol' Southerners and they like to meet the families of all their new hires. They paid for everything, and when I met them they turned out to be some the coolest people I know. The only downside was I had to try to find something to do for 4 days. The Greasy Spooner in me accepted the challenge.
Dalton is only 20 minutes south of Chattanooga, TN, so I decided I needed some Memphis style BBQ. Readers of this blog, will know I'm a BBQ snob. I know Memphis style is different from KC's, but good meat is good meat, right? I did my research on Chattanooga, and "Sticky Fingers" seemed to be the accepted winner by the locals for ribs, despite the fact it's a chain. I was surprised that I had to explain the different BBQ disciplines to the waitress who was from Texas, for Chrissakes! I ordered the dry rub, as the any other seemed too much like something I would get from KC.
Ugh! First, the ribs were "fall off the bone". Now, that may sound great to the uninformed, but any true BBQ snob will tell you ribs should tear off the bone (he says in a snooty English accent while sipping a martini). Fall of the bone means they've been boiled ahead of time which is heresy, and the place should be burned down just for that. The ribs themselves were dry and bland even though they were covered in what I would describe as the same stuff Red Robin puts on their fries. The sides sucked, too. The bright side, really great cornbread. They were more like cupcake texture than what I'm used too.
Sticky Fingers, Chattanooga, TN: 1 spoon ( you got that for the cornbread and halfway decent service).

Besides being a conniseur of all things greasy, I'm also a Civil War buff, so before the trip to Chickamauga battlefield, I stopped in at what was billed by reviews as the best Biscuits and Gravy in Chattanooga, the New York Diner. Really, your gonna name your place the the New York Diner in the deep South. Have you seen that El Paso salsa commercial about "gettin' rope"?

I ordered 2 eggs, bacon, and a full order of B&G. Gotta say, not bad. But not as good as I would expect for Tennesee. The home fires, however, were probably the best I've had, period.

New York Diner, Chattanooga, TN: 3.5 spoons. 

Also in Chattanooga is a little dive bar called "the Pickle Barrel. This was my kinda place. Looked like Fred Sanford and some place from Harry Potter had a baby. I don't think a single stool matched, and I'm pretty sure most were dated about Civil War era. There's a ricketty spiral staircase (that I can't imagine navigating drunk) that goes up to a tree lined deck. The railing looked completely unstable and the flooring crooked. I'm in love. On the menu was the usual fair, including fried pickles. I ordered a Yeungling beer, cause you can't get 'em west of the Mississippi.  

Pickle Barrel, Chattanooga, TN: 5 spoons (kitch off the scale)

Now, actually in Dalton, GA we ate at a fantastic Mexican Place (not Tex-Mex, Mexican), called Los Reyes. The place looked like an old hacienda, and the food was off the el chickety chain. I had a burrito and chile relino platter, piping hot (both temperature and spice) with beans and rice. Worth the stop if visitng or passing through.

Los Reyes, Dalton, GA: 4.5 spoons

One other place worth mentioning in Dalton is the Filling Station in their historic downtown. Now, when you drive up, you notice a lot of old people. This, fellow Spooners, is blessing and a curse. Old people means cheap prices, but it also means bland food. You put a $10 bill in the pickle jar and get all-you-can-eat Southern food. Mashed potatoes, fried okra, fried chicken, collard greens, etc. As suspected, all surprisingly bland. And no gravy for the taters? What planet are you from?

But the pies, oh the pies, they made up for everything. Best peacn pie "I ever et, y'all". 

Was it great? No. Did I eat till I was physically ill? Yes

The Filling Station, Dalton, GA: 4 spoons (the pies saved you)

Cree-Mee, Gravois Mills, MO

Did some travellin' this weekend down to the Lake of the Ozarks for my wife's 25 year HS reunion (insert hillybilly jokes, here). Outside our lovely motel stood the Cree-Mee. I had to eat there just for the name. They boasted "the best tenderloins in town", not hard for a town of 209.
First, although they have a walk up window, you have to go inside. It looks like my kids built it. Somebody actually built this place, stood back and said, "yeah, this looks great".
Anyway, the tenderloin was good, hand battered, and probably the best in town. The fries were crunchy and chili fries even better. The burger was a nice, non fast food chain burger. Shakes top-notch. Will definitely stop by next time we're passing thru. If for no other reason, to make me feel better about mmy own home improvement abilities.

this last one is just for ambiance. Yes, that sign really says "jacuzzi"

Thirsty's Cantina

Oh Thirsty's, how I missed you. As a follow up to Saturday's review, I had to go back and try an old favorite. There was much anticipation in the household for taco Tuesday at Thirsty's. Would it be the same? Of course not, I had kids with me. We arrived at their corner location and parked in front of Planters. There was 70s rock blasting from the speakers outside. Good sign. I digest better to Steve Miller Band.
We were greeted by the GM, who informed my kids it was "Kids Pay for Parents" night. The place of course had none of the old divey Westport locale, but it was bright and friendly. Our waitress quickly had our drinks and orders and brought us some salsa. Hot salsa. For once, salsa that is hot. Not say its hot and its not. Hot.
Our "all you can eat" tacos actually came with beans and rice. I find this usual and smart. Unusual because I don't see it alot. Smart because beans and rice are cheap, You load up on those, you don't have to make so many tacos. And the refried beans were good. Like, really good. Not the tasteless crap you get most places. Rice was good too. The GM informed me they have changed the rice recipe 10 times over the years and you only get about 30% of the people that like them, no matter the recipe. Oh, well.
Oh, and let me say their not just a Mexican place. Their motto is "I'd rather eat food in a bar, than drink in a restaurant". I agree.
So on to the tacos. They were good. Not "oh, my God"fantastic. But good. The kind with the deep fried shell, not out of box kind. Most places you get meat, cheese and lettuce. Thirsty's kicks it up a notch with adding tomatoes, green onions and parmesan sprinkled on top the shredded cheese.
Add in a Tecate, and you have a recipe for heaven.
Food: 4.5 spoons
Price: 3 spoons
Kitch: 1 spoons. But it didn't need it. Nice clean bar and happy customers.
Bonus: My daughter's new favorite place. I'll make the drive from Indy any Tuesday.

Eat your way around the world, or at least the City Market

When I met my wife 17 years ago, she was Market Master of the historic City Market. Many credit her for turning it from a flea market to the first class farmer's market it is today. She hasn't worked there for many years, but most of the farmers and shop owners from those days still give her a big hug when we come around. But this blog is about food.
The City Market is not only a great place for fresh, locally grown produce and products, but also a great place to spend the morning grazing.
In addition to just wandering the islands and stalls for free samples, I usually grab a coffee and a fluffy scone at the City Market Coffee Company. The place gets packed early, but here's a secret. Right up front there's a place to drop a $1 and just pick up an 8oz. cup o' Joe and avoid the line. But, if you want one of those scones I talked about, you'll have to get in line.

Now I need some protein. Carolla's Italian Market grills their own sausages and burgers right there. Or there's other vendors scattered around grilling sausages and dogs with plenty of grilled fresh peppers and onions. There's even a little breakfast cart selling biscuits and gravy.
I discovered the beef pies at Tikka house this morning. My fingers still smell like the yummy beef, onions and spices packed inside this crusty little piece of heaven. They've got feta filled and gyro pies, too.

Also new is Bloom bakery. You can watch them making bread from the big window outside. They have, in additional to their fresh baked breads, wonderful little cupcakes called buds. They bake them in those little cups the dentist gives you your mouthwash in at teeth cleaning time. My daughter and I split a Vanilla Bean and a Hummingbird (orange zest with coconut butter cream icing). Yes, it was as good as it sounds.
Then we all split a ham and cheese with jalapeno stuffed croissant. Nummy.....
On the way out, after snagging some Morrel mushrooms, we found a lady making Shroopwaffels (sp?) outside the Dutch Flower place. These were little waffleconey material with cinnamon maple syrup between. My daughter wanted to go back for more.
There's more. Way more. Salsa and dips and cheeses and jellies....
A stop at Alhabasshi's Mediterranean Market is worth it. Sample all the great nuts and dried fruits. Outside he sells spices out of the bag for a dollar a scoop. Kids will walk away with a cinnamon stick for free.

Just north of the Market is a large Asian Market. If you can put on your big-boy pants and breath through your mouth, you can get cheap, authentic noodles, spices and dumplings straight from Asia. I always see people bringing in coolers and buying massive amounts of seafood, despite the fishy smell. And don't forget about the restaurants scattered around the perimeter of the Market. Winslow's has solid BBQ and great place to hang out on summer nights. I miss the Delaware Cafe, but I hear the the Farmhouse that replaced it is good. Don't waste your time waiting for breakfast at Cascone's. I never have understood the appeal. Ketchupy Italian sauce and expensive prices are what await you after waiting an hour in line.
I discovered a couple of places from my past right next the Planters (a KC institution in itself). While living in my crappy little studio apartment off the Plaza I used to order Antonio's Pizza. For a time, Antonio's and Torre's battled for pizza supremacy in Westport. Torre's is still there, so that tells you who won. So I was surprised and happy to see Antonio's is back, down by the market. New Greasy Spooners adventure!
Right on the corner next door, is Thirsty's. This is another Westport veteran that moved down to the Market. I can't tell you how many Sundays I spent at Thirsty's having all-you-can-eat tacos and watching the Chiefs lose. So glad they're back. My wife almost cried when she saw the sign.

Stroud's

I have to start out by saying I miss the old location at 85th and Troost. Yes, it's been gone for awhile, but the hurt is still fresh. Come on, a creaky, uneven floor, and an old guy playing at the piano? It doesn't get any better than that. The one up north is still cool, but the new location in Fairway has no style.
I ask every person new to KC the same question, "have you been to Stroud's?". I always get the same answer. "Yes, but the chicken wasn't that good."
I'm going to let you in on a secret the moron who sent you there forgot to tell you. Come closer. Lean in...
The chicken's not that great. Never has been. Now, the chicken fried steak, the pork chops (which you can get grilled or fried, or both on the same plate), the mashed potatoes, oh God the mashed potatoes, and pretty much everything else is sweet, delicious mana from heaven.
My wife and I have been trying to copy the green beans for years, but still haven't got it right. And my sister and I could finish off a platter of gizzards and livers before you could say "Gross! Gizzards and livers?"
Next secret. Have everybody order a different side, that way you can have them all.
So the next time your aunt Matilda comes in from Cleveland, and you want to take her to Stroud's, repeat after me, "don't get the chicken."

Food: 5 spoons
Service: 4 spoons, you have to wait, but it's worth it. I think they've had the same waitresses forever.
Kitch: 2 (I averaged the 2 locations)
Bonus: The cinnamon rolls!

Classy Burger-geddon

   -To  start off,  I’m not a big fan of Gourmet hamburgers. A good burger is a good burger, but for the sake of argument we go head to head with Kansas City's top foo-foo burger joints. Also, I'd like to add I prefer my burgers a little thinner so Hi-Boy is still the real winner here. But BRGR puts up a good fight; great for kids, dates or out of towners. They try to keep it real, with burgers everyone will enjoy, unlike Blanc. The BRGR Mac and Cheese debate is still going on here at GS. It's tasty, but I dont think it is right for  kids - tastes like wine is in i,t or some funky cheese yo mama might like. Oh, and I think both places have soupy  ketchup.

Burger-geddon

It's on. It's more than stripy pants versus checker pants. As any reader of this blog knows, I am a dyed-in-the-wool Hi-Boy lover. But its time to give Big-Boy it's due. The Spooners headed to the one on 40-Hiway in sweet-sweet Indy, home to so many delicious dives.
The place itself froze in time mid 80s. That always a good thing.
We ordered a variety: burgers, tenderloin, fries, onion rings, tots, shakes and something wonderful sounding. A bacon-dog.
They should have called my burger the lettuce burger instead of the Big Boy. Bland. Tasteless, except for the lettuce. The tots were fine, and the shake okay. The onion rings could have been a little crisper, and the tenderloin was just sad.
The bacon-dog was the best thing, which isn't saying much because it wasn't that good. C'mon Big Boy, I wanted you to put up more of a fight. You got this rep to live up to. A history.
Victory to Hi-Boy.

Bonus: To top off this sad little adventure we went to Flea Mart down 40 a ways. Always on the look out for something kitchy, I was excited. It just got worse. They say the gates of Hell are disguised as places of misery, like the DMV and clown colleges. We found another. It was like a really expensive Salvation Army store. Expired meds and Conway Twitty albums anyone? How 'bout a Klingon knife?

Food: 2 Spoons, right out of the freezer to the fryer
Kitch: 4, I love the 80s
Price: 3, not too bad
Bonus: Bacon on a hot dog.

LOBITO'S Steak Burger?

I'm sad. So sad. I wanted to like this place. It would make 40 HiWay and Blue Ridge Cutoff the Golden Triangle of fabulous fast food, Hi-Boy, Dickson' Chili and Lobitos. Alas, it was not be. It was like Christmas day, where you're expecting a Red Rider BB gun and getting a sweater, instead.

Service, kitch factor (see photos) were 5 spoons easy. They had all the cheesy Mexican decor and creepy Easter bunnies. The lady that served us was super nice. I could see it broke Jacques's heart to tell her "No, I don't want the rest of my fish taco".

I ordered the Carne Asada. My steak was bland and tough. My beans bland and soupy. My rice was, ...well you get the picture. The steak burger was even so-so. Plenty of grub, but if I wanted tons of bland Tex-Mex I'd go to Ponac's (oh, snap!)

I'm sorry. I'm going to go lay down now.

Goooood...Good For You.

Hooooray We Made it into the Top 10 !

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Swensons- Akron Ohio

This aint no crappy Sonic. I married an Akron girl and she introduced me to Swenson's. An old time burger drive-in with car hops. The Galley Boy is the signature hamburger which was tasty with a hint of bbq sauce (a little too sweet). The menu is very extensive, sloppy joes ,pork tenderloins,fried chicken, deep-fried cheesecake. The rings were very good and I got an inside tip you can order the rings "chopped." They chop up the onions then dip'em for a fried treat easy to eat. A great selection of drinks the Whip is their signature beverage a minty light whippy shake. I think Akronites love it more for the memories than I do for the taste but I do admit its pretty damn good. I think the smell of the onions on my cheeseburger overwhelmed me and distracted me from enjoying it as much as I should have. Now the next time I go back to Akron I have to try Sky-way their local rival. All in all I give it 4 spoons