Waffle House

I have very specific memories of Waffle House from road trips through the years (the chain started in 1955).  I'd see them on a lonely interstate off-ramp in the night, brightly lit and over-air-conditioned (the floor to ceiling windows were fogged and dripping).  Those memories do not include eating in one, since we never stopped there.  But now I have my chance--our new neighborhood Waffle House has braved Covid-19, and opened for business last month. 

I went in the other day to get a takeout meal around lunchtime.  The place was as full as it could be--they are following guidelines and seating every other table, but it felt crowded.  Most folks were eating breakfast, which is available all day.  I went for something in between that I thought would travel well--the Philly cheese steak hashbrown bowl.  Accompanied that with "Alice's tea-monade", which is basically an Arnold Palmer--half iced tea, half lemonade.  For dessert, they offer two flavors of pie--I got the pecan.

The hasbrown bowl really did travel well and was satisfying to eat.  Comes with finely chopped meat, cheese, onions, and potatoes.  Mostly you taste salt, but the texture was very good--the hashbrowns were cooked just right.  Somewhat greasy also, which was exactly as expected.  They gave me syrup with it, I think because the hashbrown bowls are mostly breakfast items.  I went ahead and tried it, and it was actually a good combination.  Waffle House syrup is intensely sweet, so when combined with the salty hashbrowns it tasted good.

The pecan pie was just OK.  Not done enough, the crust was not brown and the filling wasn't set.  But it was edible.

There were some service issues.  The server was probably new and it was busy.  I had to tell her how to make the tea-monade.  But overall it very precisely met expectations for Waffle House service and food.  Which is probably why all those people are there.

My Yelp Review

Taqueria Sabrosa

I reviewed this business as Sunday Skillet Chicken, and there are still some signs for that, but it is mostly rebranded to Taqueria Sabrosa.  It is located inside the Kuykendahl Citgo.  I stopped in the other day to pick up some lunch.  It's pretty much the same food as before--fried chicken, wings, breakfast taco items, sides.  I got a buffalo wing and fries combo, a drink, and an appetizer I don't know the name of but will describe.

The buffalo wings were OK, classic flavor.  The breading got kind of mushy under the sauce but that happens.  The fries are steak fries, which are not my favorite, but these had a little breading that helped crisp them up.  Good size wings.  Overall OK.

They had a unique item I had not seen elsewhere--a spiral cut potato peel, deep fried.  The potato is spiral cut very thin, speared on a stick, and heavily seasoned.  It was really salty but also really tasty, I would come back just for that.

The drink machines were working, and they have both Coke and Pepsi products, so kudos for  that.  Employees wore masks.  Service was good.  Overall it is a decent choice.

My Yelp Review

Bocados Grill and Burger

This food truck recently located behind the Gosling Express.  I stopped in the other evening (it is evenings only) to check them out.

I ordered the Holly Pork burger and parmesan fries.  The burger is a large patty with swiss Mac 'n' cheese, bacon, pulled pork, a rum sauce, a "home sauce", and it looked like there were potato sticks on there (Venezuelan staple).  Sounds pretty good.  But like all their burgers it's a very tall sandwich, so would probably be better to eat it with a fork.

Between the pulled pork and the rum sauce, the burger came off one-note sweet, rather than savory sweet.  The pulled pork had some big chunks in it, which made for awkward eating.  Ketchup complemented it nicely, but you need it.  Plenty of food there.

The Parmesan fries were disappointing.  The fries were probably better fresh, they wilted just a bit in the bag going home.  But the Parmesan is powdered--if it wasn't from a can, it tasted like it.  Parmesan that's cooked on makes a nice crust and keeps the fries firm, but this was not like that.

I washed it down with a Papelon con limon, a Venezuelan drink with brown sugar, lemon and lime.  This is wonderfully refreshing, very much worth branching out from soda.  Theirs is nice and strong, I had to let the ice melt a bit.

I got their churros for dessert.  They were decent, not completely crisp but pretty good, with Nutella, oreos and M&Ms.  

They have contactless ordering through a food app I had not heard of called On The Fly, but it was reasonably quick to load and order.  

I struggled with whether to recommend them.  The service was great, very polite and they were ready to answer questions.  I wanted to like the food better.  They offer a bowl option for their items, and I would try that next time.  I think it was just heavy food for a hot day, and they only have the one seafood option. I'm not sure what the relationship is, but there's another Venezuelan food truck I've reviewed before (Primo's) that has similar food, and in my opinion does most of it better.  But Bocados looks invested, and I think they'll find their niche.

My Yelp Review

Mirrey Taco Express at Dave's Express

The Dave's Express at the corner of Root and Gosling has been torn down and completely rebuilt.  It now includes a Mirrey Taco Express, just like Dave's Express #2.  I came in and picked up lunch the other day--a two-meat plate with a drink and dessert.

It was after noon and perhaps toward the end of service, so I pretty much cleaned them out of the two meats they had--pulled pork and carnitas.  It came with rice, beans, pico de gallo, tortillas, and two salsas.  The meats were fine--decent flavor and not too dried out, which is good for the bottom of the pan.  The salsas were good also--the red one had a nice kick, and both had good flavor.  Tortillas were decent.  All told it is fine but does not stand out at all.  

They have some items from the Cheesecake Factory so I had a slice of Belgian chocolate cheesecake.  $3.99 for a tiny slice is a lot, but it was good cheesecake.  The soda machine was working fine, but given current Covid-19 conditions probably not safe enough--the lids are still stacked in the open and it's hard to get just one.  Straws stored in the normal way too.

Service was quite polite and efficient--much better than my experience at the other Dave's.  But it's hard to recommend it with a first-rate place (Tony's Street Tacos) just two blocks away on Root.  Overall not real special but certainly fine if you are already there.

My Yelp Review