When you go to a Hartz you should know what you are in for. It is not
the best chicken out there, in fact I would rate the other chains ahead
of it. But it's edible, and if you want to fill up fast on chicken it's
the best choice.
I have not been in a Hartz in years, but
decided to go to this one because I was feeling a bit under the weather
and my taste buds were a bit dulled. Ordering the buffet was easy with
prompt and polite service. I got a styrofoam kid lunchroom tray. They
actually have a much larger variety of dishes than I remember, and also a somewhat higher price (about $11 for the buffet, and you can tip!). I had
corn and beans, but they also had collard greens and a few others.
Overcooked, just as I remembered. There were some au gratin potatoes
that looked a bit solid so I skipped them. There was a pan of what
looked to be fried chicken livers with green peppers and onions in a
glutinous tan sauce--just had to try it and it was as bad as it looked.
The roll was fresh and soft, but tasted rather sour and metallic, as
did the mashed potatoes.
But I come to Hartz to stuff my gut with
chicken, and they delivered. There was some acceptable catfish, and
some boneless buffalo wings that were not (all vinegar), but the
signature fried and baked chicken was just fine. Had not been sitting
too long on the steam table and was ready to eat.
There are
desserts on the buffet--some pudding and nilla wafers, and a couple of
cobblers--but I went for the soft serve ice cream, which was as good as
the free stuff you get at Gringo's or a Chinese buffet.
Tables were reasonably clean, as was the bathroom. Competence is the expectation here, and they did just fine.
My Yelp Review
Tuesday, January 29, 2019
Monday, January 21, 2019
Big City Wings
Big City Wings has taken over the space in Spring Town Center where Buffalo Wild Wings used to be. I tried it for lunch on a Saturday when it was modestly busy. I was
greeted politely and seated promptly, but things got off to a rough
start as I was seated underneath a really strong vent blowing cool air.
It was cold outside that day so this really didn't work. I was moved
with no issue. I noted that just a minute later another couple was
seated there, and within a few minutes they moved also.
I ordered a wing basket with tater tots and a drink--no Coke products, so a root beer for me. I like having tater tots for an option, they are hard to mess up and always tasty. You can split the wing basket--I ordered some mild original, and some medium honey BBQ. As noted elsewhere, the Original is not buffalo wings, it's a plain butter sauce. I don't believe they offer Buffalo style. The wings were big, and nicely crisp on the outside, but maybe just a bit dry. The honey bbq sauce was mostly just sweet, and I detected no spiciness. The presentation was good--the two wing flavors were separated by the tots. Overall the wings were just OK.
I went for the fried oreos for dessert. They are nicely presented as a real dessert, with chocolate sauce and just a little powdered sugar drizzled on, served with ice cream. Easily shareable and definitely more than a novelty, they are very good.
Service was polite and very attentive, almost overly so but much better than being ignored. The decor inside is pretty much wall to wall TVs, I'm not sure I've ever seen that many in the same space. The bathroom was clean and ready. Overall I'd probably go back, but watch for the blowing menus and order something besides wings (they offer many different dishes).
My Yelp Review
I ordered a wing basket with tater tots and a drink--no Coke products, so a root beer for me. I like having tater tots for an option, they are hard to mess up and always tasty. You can split the wing basket--I ordered some mild original, and some medium honey BBQ. As noted elsewhere, the Original is not buffalo wings, it's a plain butter sauce. I don't believe they offer Buffalo style. The wings were big, and nicely crisp on the outside, but maybe just a bit dry. The honey bbq sauce was mostly just sweet, and I detected no spiciness. The presentation was good--the two wing flavors were separated by the tots. Overall the wings were just OK.
I went for the fried oreos for dessert. They are nicely presented as a real dessert, with chocolate sauce and just a little powdered sugar drizzled on, served with ice cream. Easily shareable and definitely more than a novelty, they are very good.
Service was polite and very attentive, almost overly so but much better than being ignored. The decor inside is pretty much wall to wall TVs, I'm not sure I've ever seen that many in the same space. The bathroom was clean and ready. Overall I'd probably go back, but watch for the blowing menus and order something besides wings (they offer many different dishes).
My Yelp Review
Monday, January 14, 2019
Olive Garden
The Grand Parkway Marketplace is bringing a lot of favorite franchise places closer to us here in Northampton--now we have an Olive Garden. We enjoyed our meal, it was
reliably "Olive Garden", but were not blown away. I think of it as the
McDonalds of mid-range Italian, which I don't mean disrespectfully--you
know what you will be getting. This Olive Garden delivers, particularly
now that the servers are settling in and the initial mad rush to try it
is over.
We went on a Saturday at 5:30 and were kind of expecting to wait, but we didn't have to. We had the Shrimp Scampi, angel hair pasta with mushroom sauce and vegetables, Steak Gorgonzola, and cheese ravioli, along with the usual salad and breadsticks, with a dessert
The execution was within acceptable range but seemed just a slight bit off. The breadsticks were just a touch overdone, but still good. Salad was just a little wilty but was fine. The Shrimp Scampi was just a slight bit overdone. I'm not a real fan of Olive Garden pasta, I think it's overcooked, and this was consistent. It didn't have a lot of flavor--not enough garlic for me. I like their braised beef with tortellini and would go back to that next time.
The angel hair with mushroom sauce was fine, the sauce is kind of mushroom-soup based. The cheese ravioli was pretty good as well (this was for a child, so kept simple). The steak on the Steak Gorgonzola was good, it was cooked exactly as ordered and had a noticeable but not overwhelming gorgonzola flavor.
We had the Black Tie mousse cake for dessert. Sweet and chocolatey, kind of heavy mousse but it was fine.
America's relationship with the Olive Garden is complicated. It tries to be upscale while appealing to as many people as possible, much like McDonalds. It's actually hard to find olives at Olive Garden--the rule is that there are supposed to be exactly two in your salad, though we looked and found several more in ours. All of their olive-oriented dishes have failed to stay on the menu. The chain has been undergoing a makeover since 2014, losing the faux Italian setting for a more generic, color-blocked look.
The service was competent and polite, though the server was a bit fuzzy on some details. As I said, it's Olive Garden, and this location represents. I'm sure we will be back.
My Yelp Review
We went on a Saturday at 5:30 and were kind of expecting to wait, but we didn't have to. We had the Shrimp Scampi, angel hair pasta with mushroom sauce and vegetables, Steak Gorgonzola, and cheese ravioli, along with the usual salad and breadsticks, with a dessert
The execution was within acceptable range but seemed just a slight bit off. The breadsticks were just a touch overdone, but still good. Salad was just a little wilty but was fine. The Shrimp Scampi was just a slight bit overdone. I'm not a real fan of Olive Garden pasta, I think it's overcooked, and this was consistent. It didn't have a lot of flavor--not enough garlic for me. I like their braised beef with tortellini and would go back to that next time.
The angel hair with mushroom sauce was fine, the sauce is kind of mushroom-soup based. The cheese ravioli was pretty good as well (this was for a child, so kept simple). The steak on the Steak Gorgonzola was good, it was cooked exactly as ordered and had a noticeable but not overwhelming gorgonzola flavor.
We had the Black Tie mousse cake for dessert. Sweet and chocolatey, kind of heavy mousse but it was fine.
America's relationship with the Olive Garden is complicated. It tries to be upscale while appealing to as many people as possible, much like McDonalds. It's actually hard to find olives at Olive Garden--the rule is that there are supposed to be exactly two in your salad, though we looked and found several more in ours. All of their olive-oriented dishes have failed to stay on the menu. The chain has been undergoing a makeover since 2014, losing the faux Italian setting for a more generic, color-blocked look.
The service was competent and polite, though the server was a bit fuzzy on some details. As I said, it's Olive Garden, and this location represents. I'm sure we will be back.
My Yelp Review
Monday, January 7, 2019
Aloy Aloy Cafe
Thai Express looked to be the first Thai restaurant in our immediate neighborhood, but it's more of the Panda Express of Thai food, so those wanting something authentic were not satisfied. The Aloy Aloy Cafe provides a much needed contrast.
I came in to try it out on a very busy Saturday. The restaurant was quite busy at lunch, a good sign. In fact, I think they were a bit understaffed for the amount of people they had. The service ended up being somewhat relaxed, I spent about an hour there to have the lunch special and a dessert.
I ordered a lunch special, the Kee Mow All Day chicken, which is chicken with flat rice noodles, egg, peppers, onions, and basil. This is one of the spicy items on the menu. I ordered it mild, and it was all the spice I could handle. I am somewhat more sensitive than average but not extremely so. If you don't like spicy food I'd suggest avoiding the ones marked with a pepper altogether. If you like spicy, this is your place.
The dish itself was delicious, well cooked noodles and a very flavorful sauce you could definitely taste through the spice. It came with Tom Kha soup, a lemongrass and coconut soup with chicken and mushrooms. Slight service issue as it didn't come out with the meal, but that was well handled. I'm not a real fan of lemongrass and coconut, but this soup blended the flavors well so I actually ate a lot of it.
For a drink I had the Assam tea, a black tea with milk. There was a lot of milk, it was sweet with just a hint of black tea bite. I liked it, but a black tea fan might want more of that flavor.
I saved space for dessert and recommend you do that too. I had the green tea fried ice cream, which is green tea ice cream inside a chocolate cake ball, coated with a thin batter and fried. This is the best fried ice cream I've ever had. The ice cream was pretty neutral in flavor, it went well with the cake, and the crust on the outside was delicious. The coconut ice cream also comes recommended by the staff.
The decor is obviously not finished. It's all in shades of gray so is not distracting, but there are a lot of different floor and wall treatments. Looks like a DIY job but the furniture is very nice, so overall the setting is pleasant. They had sports on one TV, and on another was a very low-key Chinese cooking show of some sort. The bathroom (only one) was clean and ready.
If you like Thai food you really need to check this place out.
My Yelp Review
I came in to try it out on a very busy Saturday. The restaurant was quite busy at lunch, a good sign. In fact, I think they were a bit understaffed for the amount of people they had. The service ended up being somewhat relaxed, I spent about an hour there to have the lunch special and a dessert.
I ordered a lunch special, the Kee Mow All Day chicken, which is chicken with flat rice noodles, egg, peppers, onions, and basil. This is one of the spicy items on the menu. I ordered it mild, and it was all the spice I could handle. I am somewhat more sensitive than average but not extremely so. If you don't like spicy food I'd suggest avoiding the ones marked with a pepper altogether. If you like spicy, this is your place.
The dish itself was delicious, well cooked noodles and a very flavorful sauce you could definitely taste through the spice. It came with Tom Kha soup, a lemongrass and coconut soup with chicken and mushrooms. Slight service issue as it didn't come out with the meal, but that was well handled. I'm not a real fan of lemongrass and coconut, but this soup blended the flavors well so I actually ate a lot of it.
For a drink I had the Assam tea, a black tea with milk. There was a lot of milk, it was sweet with just a hint of black tea bite. I liked it, but a black tea fan might want more of that flavor.
I saved space for dessert and recommend you do that too. I had the green tea fried ice cream, which is green tea ice cream inside a chocolate cake ball, coated with a thin batter and fried. This is the best fried ice cream I've ever had. The ice cream was pretty neutral in flavor, it went well with the cake, and the crust on the outside was delicious. The coconut ice cream also comes recommended by the staff.
The decor is obviously not finished. It's all in shades of gray so is not distracting, but there are a lot of different floor and wall treatments. Looks like a DIY job but the furniture is very nice, so overall the setting is pleasant. They had sports on one TV, and on another was a very low-key Chinese cooking show of some sort. The bathroom (only one) was clean and ready.
If you like Thai food you really need to check this place out.
My Yelp Review
Tuesday, January 1, 2019
Chicken Salad Chick
The idea of a chicken salad restaurant chain is new to me, so I just had
to try this. There are 13 flavors of chicken salad on the menu (12
regulars and a seasonal one), which is a lot to choose from. But they
do give samples. My favorite chicken salad recipe includes eggs and
sweet pickles, so I picked Old South on a white bread BLT, toasted, with
the chicken and artichoke soup.
The soup was good, nice and creamy with chunks of both artichoke and chicken. I'm not a super fan of artichoke but this was probably a good representation.
Overall I liked my sandwich a lot. There are some nitpicky things I would have changed. The chicken salad was tasty and creamy, but I couldn't find any sweet pickle flavor. It did go well with the bacon and tomato. The bacon was crisp enough to bite through cleanly. The bread was OK--it got very smooth when toasted and flattened out a lot as I ate the sandwich, but it was fine. I sampled the Lauryn's Lemon Basil chicken salad also, and I believe I would order that next time--plenty of basil flavor, and very bright.
The cookie with the meal was a nice touch, and very tasty. They have those for sale, and other desserts as well.
Service was prompt and enthusiastic. The server offered samples and shared his favorites. Also talked me into a loyalty card that came with a charitable donation. The lunch itself was about $12, pretty reasonable. The food also came very quickly, which you would expect since they just had to scoop the filling onto the bread and assemble.
The restrooms were clean and ready. This is where they tried to add some "character". One restroom is labeled "chicks", the other "chick magnets". Very '70s. There are also some humorous quotes framed on the walls. Overall the vibe is female-friendly, but not garishly so until you get to the restroom.
You can get chicken salad at other places, but if you specifically want to go somewhere for chicken salad this is the choice. I'd eat it again.
My Yelp Review
The soup was good, nice and creamy with chunks of both artichoke and chicken. I'm not a super fan of artichoke but this was probably a good representation.
Overall I liked my sandwich a lot. There are some nitpicky things I would have changed. The chicken salad was tasty and creamy, but I couldn't find any sweet pickle flavor. It did go well with the bacon and tomato. The bacon was crisp enough to bite through cleanly. The bread was OK--it got very smooth when toasted and flattened out a lot as I ate the sandwich, but it was fine. I sampled the Lauryn's Lemon Basil chicken salad also, and I believe I would order that next time--plenty of basil flavor, and very bright.
The cookie with the meal was a nice touch, and very tasty. They have those for sale, and other desserts as well.
Service was prompt and enthusiastic. The server offered samples and shared his favorites. Also talked me into a loyalty card that came with a charitable donation. The lunch itself was about $12, pretty reasonable. The food also came very quickly, which you would expect since they just had to scoop the filling onto the bread and assemble.
The restrooms were clean and ready. This is where they tried to add some "character". One restroom is labeled "chicks", the other "chick magnets". Very '70s. There are also some humorous quotes framed on the walls. Overall the vibe is female-friendly, but not garishly so until you get to the restroom.
You can get chicken salad at other places, but if you specifically want to go somewhere for chicken salad this is the choice. I'd eat it again.
My Yelp Review
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