OK folks, it's time that I evaluate a local restaurant - Roosters on Bridge Street. Now, we've eaten there, I can't tell you how many times. This was the first time that I ordered the wings for a reason. I was out on a date with Rich (the love of my life) and we ordered wings - naked with sauces for dipping. Once you got past the grease squirting into your mouth (gross), they were good. The breading was too much, but the overall meat quality was good. Rich ordered teriyaki and garlic mixed together and I did the plain old mild sauce. After 3 Miller Lite beers on tap, here was the final tally:
Overall Rating:
Rich 4 WET NAPS
Gail 3 WET NAPS
Rich was much more generous than I, even though he kept kissing his fingers because he was burning them. LOL. Yes, the meat was hot, to say the least. I say go, order them, but make sure that you've got something to counteract the grease.
Saturday, September 1, 2012
Sunday, August 26, 2012
Detour - Carmel, Indiana
To set the stage, Detour, who claims themselves and American Grille, was a restaurant that we landed in by accident. Rich, Cornel, Etheridge and I traveled to Carmel, Indiana to attend Rich's cousin's wedding - shout out to the family of Bruce Games (woop, woop!). We were traveling with his brother Marcus and his family - Audie, Simon and Zoe. At any rate, we were going to lunch and originally wanted to go to Bub's, which was on "Man vs. Food". I was excited to try the wings because it's supposed to be really good. When we made it there, there was an hour long wait. The kids, Audie and I were too hungry to wait. We started mosying back down the street looking for a restaurant. No one really wanted to make a decision, so I walked into Detour.
Don't you hate that...no one really wants to say "eat here" because if it's new, and a bust, you're the one at fault. Now, the wings at Detour were gross. It's highly possibly that because of the environment (Rich and I had been relatively pissy with each other since the day began), the wings really stood no chance, but we'll never know now will we?
I ordered the wings hot and they were breaded, tossed in the sauce. The sauce was incredibly hot, the blue cheese dressing very runny (tasted like ranch with some pieces of blue cheese thrown in) and the celery was odd - very thick and tough.
Overall Rating:
Cornel 2 WET NAPS
Gail 2 WET NAPS
I would advise against the wings at Detour. What I would recommend however, are the fish tacos. Way overpriced, by YUMMY! and the $7 32 oz. draft beer in a souvenir cup definitely helped me get "unpissy" by the time we left.
Don't you hate that...no one really wants to say "eat here" because if it's new, and a bust, you're the one at fault. Now, the wings at Detour were gross. It's highly possibly that because of the environment (Rich and I had been relatively pissy with each other since the day began), the wings really stood no chance, but we'll never know now will we?
I ordered the wings hot and they were breaded, tossed in the sauce. The sauce was incredibly hot, the blue cheese dressing very runny (tasted like ranch with some pieces of blue cheese thrown in) and the celery was odd - very thick and tough.
Overall Rating:
Cornel 2 WET NAPS
Gail 2 WET NAPS
I would advise against the wings at Detour. What I would recommend however, are the fish tacos. Way overpriced, by YUMMY! and the $7 32 oz. draft beer in a souvenir cup definitely helped me get "unpissy" by the time we left.
Sunday, August 19, 2012
Phillipi Creek Bar & Grill - Sarasota, Florida
Sunday, August 12, 2012
This was our last day in Florida visiting the in-laws. Rich and I drug the boys, yes, drug is the correct word here because by now, they had both had it with Florida. Cornel wanted to get home to his friends and Etheridge was willing to go with us, but was just as content to sit on his computer all day. We tried a new beach that day - Manasota Key; Stump Point State Park. The beach wasn't quite as nice here - more seaweed covered and tons of beach erosion, but we still had a good time (or at least Rich and I did). Later we met Linda and Chuck (Rich's mom and her husband) at Phillipe Creek restaurant.
The restaurant sat on Phillipe Creek, so although it was on the water, it wasn't as fun as watching the ocean while you eat. We ate inside because of the heat.
Wings were average - and we ordered the sauce "hot" on the side, so we could control it here.
Overall Rating:
Cornel 3 WET NAPS
Gail 3 WET NAPS
Rich 3 WET NAPS
Too much breading on the wings and the meat quality was either a 3 or 2 between us. I had to get a Phillipe Creek glass on the way out however, because I love a good souvenir!
By the way, my nephew (shout out to Eric Hostetler), who had eaten here a couple of month prior, recommended the fish tacos. They were delicious! Good call nephew!!
This was our last day in Florida visiting the in-laws. Rich and I drug the boys, yes, drug is the correct word here because by now, they had both had it with Florida. Cornel wanted to get home to his friends and Etheridge was willing to go with us, but was just as content to sit on his computer all day. We tried a new beach that day - Manasota Key; Stump Point State Park. The beach wasn't quite as nice here - more seaweed covered and tons of beach erosion, but we still had a good time (or at least Rich and I did). Later we met Linda and Chuck (Rich's mom and her husband) at Phillipe Creek restaurant.
The restaurant sat on Phillipe Creek, so although it was on the water, it wasn't as fun as watching the ocean while you eat. We ate inside because of the heat.
Wings were average - and we ordered the sauce "hot" on the side, so we could control it here.
Overall Rating:
Cornel 3 WET NAPS
Gail 3 WET NAPS
Rich 3 WET NAPS
Too much breading on the wings and the meat quality was either a 3 or 2 between us. I had to get a Phillipe Creek glass on the way out however, because I love a good souvenir!
By the way, my nephew (shout out to Eric Hostetler), who had eaten here a couple of month prior, recommended the fish tacos. They were delicious! Good call nephew!!
MacDinton's Irish Pub - Tampa, Florida
Saturday, August 11, 2012
Etheridge had the opportunity this day to go to a waterpark with a friend of the family and their grandson, so Rich and I took Cornel to the Tampa aquarium. I found it to be just ok for the cost of admission, but Cornel and Rich both enjoyed it. At any rate, we didn't need to be back to Sun City Center until around 6:00, so we decided to stop for a drink and some Olympic watching. We stopped at an Irish pub called MacDinton's, in an area called Hyde Park. There was plenty of outdoor seating, but Cornel was having none of that and Rich wanted to watch TV, so inside to the air conditioning we went. there was the USA women's basketball game for the gold medal on our TV and a couple of guys were watching soccer on another - very heated game with lots of "f bombs" being dropped. It was actually a very fun atmosphere. Rich didn't eat the wings here, but Cornel and I did.
BONUS: we asked them to bring an extra big basket of celery and blue cheese, which they did and didn't charge us for it. Nice!
Overall Rating:
Cornel 3 WET NAPS
Gail 4 WET NAPS
Cornel gave them a 3 on sauce, 2 on tenderness, 3 on meat quality and 3 on the batter. He doesn't eat celery and certainly not blue cheese dressing. I only gave the sauce a 2 because it was less than average but the meat quality a 3, texture a 3 and tenderness a 4. High marks went for the extra celery.
Again, great atmosphere, if you bypass the brooding teen in front of you who can't stand to be with his parents. Where were those little bottles? That's right....didn't need because we were in a BAR!
Etheridge had the opportunity this day to go to a waterpark with a friend of the family and their grandson, so Rich and I took Cornel to the Tampa aquarium. I found it to be just ok for the cost of admission, but Cornel and Rich both enjoyed it. At any rate, we didn't need to be back to Sun City Center until around 6:00, so we decided to stop for a drink and some Olympic watching. We stopped at an Irish pub called MacDinton's, in an area called Hyde Park. There was plenty of outdoor seating, but Cornel was having none of that and Rich wanted to watch TV, so inside to the air conditioning we went. there was the USA women's basketball game for the gold medal on our TV and a couple of guys were watching soccer on another - very heated game with lots of "f bombs" being dropped. It was actually a very fun atmosphere. Rich didn't eat the wings here, but Cornel and I did.
BONUS: we asked them to bring an extra big basket of celery and blue cheese, which they did and didn't charge us for it. Nice!
Overall Rating:
Cornel 3 WET NAPS
Gail 4 WET NAPS
Cornel gave them a 3 on sauce, 2 on tenderness, 3 on meat quality and 3 on the batter. He doesn't eat celery and certainly not blue cheese dressing. I only gave the sauce a 2 because it was less than average but the meat quality a 3, texture a 3 and tenderness a 4. High marks went for the extra celery.
Again, great atmosphere, if you bypass the brooding teen in front of you who can't stand to be with his parents. Where were those little bottles? That's right....didn't need because we were in a BAR!
Brass Monkey, Pass-a-Grille, Florida
Friday, August 10, 2012
On Friday, Cornel, Rich and I went to Fort Desoto park, where Rich rode a bicycle around the island and I sat soaking up the sun while Cornel fished off the pier. It was peaceful because I actually had a nice conversation with my emotional roller coaster teenage son. Of course, the little bottles of vodka and tequila that Rich stowed in his backpack helped also. Was that fate that landed the backpack in my lap or just my manipulation? I'm thinking the latter.
After the park, we went to the Brass Monkey, a cool bar & grill overlooking the ocean. We sat outside and watched people. I highly recommend this restaurant, not only for the view, but the Monkey Balls are delicious! They are basically yummy crab cakes with some great outside seasoning and a spicy dipping sauce. But, I'm here to rate the wings:
We ordered the wings "hot" in terms of seasoning, with celery and blue cheese on the side.
Overall Rating:
Cornel 4 WET NAPS
Gail 3 WET NAPS
Rich 4 WET NAPS
Cornel thought that the sauce only rated a 3, while I normally don't like "hot", I didn't think it was too hot. The meat quality was average, as was the batter - not too much. The celery & blue cheese was really good, because I absolutely love homemade blue cheese dressing, which is what this was. It was primarily the view and people watching that made the experience so great. I highly recommend, but get the monkey balls instead of wings if you're going for a good appetizer.
On Friday, Cornel, Rich and I went to Fort Desoto park, where Rich rode a bicycle around the island and I sat soaking up the sun while Cornel fished off the pier. It was peaceful because I actually had a nice conversation with my emotional roller coaster teenage son. Of course, the little bottles of vodka and tequila that Rich stowed in his backpack helped also. Was that fate that landed the backpack in my lap or just my manipulation? I'm thinking the latter.
After the park, we went to the Brass Monkey, a cool bar & grill overlooking the ocean. We sat outside and watched people. I highly recommend this restaurant, not only for the view, but the Monkey Balls are delicious! They are basically yummy crab cakes with some great outside seasoning and a spicy dipping sauce. But, I'm here to rate the wings:
We ordered the wings "hot" in terms of seasoning, with celery and blue cheese on the side.
Overall Rating:
Cornel 4 WET NAPS
Gail 3 WET NAPS
Rich 4 WET NAPS
Cornel thought that the sauce only rated a 3, while I normally don't like "hot", I didn't think it was too hot. The meat quality was average, as was the batter - not too much. The celery & blue cheese was really good, because I absolutely love homemade blue cheese dressing, which is what this was. It was primarily the view and people watching that made the experience so great. I highly recommend, but get the monkey balls instead of wings if you're going for a good appetizer.
Getting it started
My family loves to eat out and try new things. We travel to the ocean at least once a year and of course, food is an essential piece of the vacation experience! Wings, as either an appetizer or a main meal, is a Games family favorite. Now, I have 3 sons, 2 of which typically travel with us; Michael (20), Cornel (16) and Etheridge (12). Michael is rarely ever with us, nor is he the wing fan. It's Cornel, Etheridge, Rich and I (Gail). Rich and Cornel love the heat (hotter the better), I am middle of the road and Etheridge is a sweet barbecuer. On our last trip to Florida to visit the in-laws, Cornel, Rich and I ducked into an Irish pub, post waste of money aquarium trip, and of course, ordered wings. It was my brilliant idea to start a wing blog. Needless to say, I'm the one typing, so all of my ideas are brilliant!
Here is our scoring mechanism:
1 - 5 WET NAPS
1 is the lowest / 5 is the highest
Here are our scoring points:
1. Sauce or Spice - both amount and overall flavor
2. Rub - amount and overall flavor (when applicable)
3. Tenderness of meat
4. Quality of meat
5. Quality of blue cheese and celery (when applicable) NOTE: we always order, but not everyone has them
6. Way it's cooked; i.e. grilled, fried
7. Texture / batter; i.e. is there too much batter or is it rubbery
We are starting with 3 restaurants that we have sampled over the last 3 weeks. I hope you all enjoy this as much as we have fun eating and rating!
Here is our scoring mechanism:
1 - 5 WET NAPS
1 is the lowest / 5 is the highest
Here are our scoring points:
1. Sauce or Spice - both amount and overall flavor
2. Rub - amount and overall flavor (when applicable)
3. Tenderness of meat
4. Quality of meat
5. Quality of blue cheese and celery (when applicable) NOTE: we always order, but not everyone has them
6. Way it's cooked; i.e. grilled, fried
7. Texture / batter; i.e. is there too much batter or is it rubbery
We are starting with 3 restaurants that we have sampled over the last 3 weeks. I hope you all enjoy this as much as we have fun eating and rating!
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