Turquoise Coffee

This coffee truck just opened in the Dave's Express center at Root and Gosling. I stopped in one morning to try them out. I got the black vanilla latte, which is made with activated charcoal, vanilla, and a double espresso shot.

You can absolutely see the charcoal. The drink is gray before the espresso is added, and pretty much stays that way. I got it iced, and it tasted quite good--not too sweet. Charcoal does not change the flavor. I often get a sour stomach from drinking coffee later in the morning, as I did here, but did not experience that this time. Charcoal isn't known as an acid reducer, most people that use it do it to remove toxins before they reach the kidneys but the benefits are not clear. in any case, it's something that's not on the Starbucks menu!

Service was friendly and enthusiastic. They have a wide variety of coffees, including cold brew and chemex as well as espresso. They have teas as well. The owner prepares the drink in front of you, which would be particularly fun with Chemex. There are a lot of coffee options around but if you live near here it's definitely worth a try as a change from the chains. It's also a nice looking truck.

My Yelp Review

Wingbay

This is a family-run shop that showed up in our neighborhood a few months ago but was closed for a bit. They are back open and we tried them for a take-out lunch. Got a mix of sweet hot peach (recommended by the owner) and mild boneless wings, some cajun fried corn, some hot honey tenders with fries, a fountain drink, and some cookies.

The sweet hot peach wings (sort of wings--boneless wings are nuggets to me, but I'm fine with that) had a unique flavor that I wouldn't mind getting again. They are a 3 on their heat scale and I think that's fair. The mild wings were indeed mild, no liquid sauce on them. The breading was nice and crisp, I liked them. The tenders were cooked nicely, crisp outside and tender inside, I'd say the cook might be better than Cane's. They were also seasoned well, but there was just a tiny hint of sweetness. I was expecting a sauce more like what was on the peach wings.

The fried corn was disappointing. It's a cob cut into rounds and deep fried. No breading or seasoning so quite bland and chewy. I'd skip those. The fries were pretty good. The fountain was working fine (they are a Pepsi shop). The cookies were decent, tasted store-bought but nothing wrong with them.

This is a family-run shop--the daughter was handling the register when I was there. A couple of things make it a good option for particular markets--it is halal, and it is open until 4am (you can get food after you close the bar!).

The interior is very basic, they do have tables but it's geared toward takeout. They promise that chicken sandwiches are coming but it's been a few months now. The single bathroom was clean and ready. I'd say it's a good option if you know what to get, and what not to get, on their menu.

My Yelp Review

Casa Medina

Casa Medina recently took over the location where Papa Lacho's used to be, with no break in service. We came in the other night to try out the new place, and got some of its story from the friendly and voluble manager (might be the location owner). Apparently the owners took over the location about three months ago and have been "using Papa Lacho's menu". They have now switched to the Casa Medina menu and changed the signs. The Mexican restaurant market in this area is very crowded, so this restaurant is trying hard to stand out. A couple of notable things off the top: 1) They use very little salt in their dishes. For me, I think not enough for proper seasoning but if you're trying to avoid salt it might be a good option. And you can always add some. 2) The Casa Medina menu is very large, much larger than the Papa Lacho's menu. Nice for choice if all those dishes can be executed well.

We started off with the Mexican Street elote. This is a white corn served on the cob with the traditional spices. With the lower salt level the tajin and lime stood out. A good start. The salsas with the free chips were quite good, nice depth of flavor and not real spicy. The red salsa is served warm, the green chilled.

For mains we got the Chicken Chipotle Enchiladas and the Fish y Camarones a la Diabla. The enchiladas sounded quite promising but I have to say the flavor was a little off for me. Slightly sweet with not enough salt to balance. But the food was well prepared and I would be confident in trying something else. I usually do not take a Tex-Mex place seriously when they say a dish is hot. That would be a mistake here. The fish and shrimp dish really brought the heat. For fish you have five choices--the cheaper ones are tilapia and basa. I have never had basa so gave it a try. It's an Asian whitefish that substitutes for tilapia. It had a soft texture like tilapia, if you weren't told you might not know the difference. The shrimp were cooked properly with a nice snap.

For dessert we got the sopapillas. These were nicely done, not greasy and crisp on the outside. They are served with whipped cream and honey.

For drinks we got a jamaica and an avocado martini. The jamaica is a good representation--no free refills, but the glass is very large so you wouldn't want one. The avocado martini came recommended to us by a customer of their Shenandoah location. There's just enough avocado to make the drink green and opaque. You get the creamy overtone and just a hint of avocado flavor, not too much. I liked it.

The interior is appealing, with nice representational paintings of food scenes. The bathrooms were clean and ready. Service was attentive and friendly. I'm giving it a 3.5 and rounding up. It's not perfect but definitely worth a try. It's very convenient to our house so I know we will be back.

My Yelp Review

JaK's Place

JaK's Place is a local bar that flies under the radar--it is owned by the same folks that own Cormier's Restaurant down on Louetta. Cormier's has hundreds of reviews--this is the first one for JaK's Place. They have recently started advertising their kitchen more on their sign--it is open from 12-10 every day, so is an option for lunch or dinner. I came in at lunchtime to give them a try. They have the usual options for bar food like burgers and chicken, but they also have some cajun food. I got the shrimp and chicken gumbo and a boudin ball, washed down with Karbach Hopadillo on tap.

The gumbo was quite tasty. It comes with crackers, white rice and potato salad. The gumbo has plenty of salt and great depth of flavor so I didn't really need the crackers. The white rice provided plenty of body. The shrimp was cooked properly, in general textures as well as flavors were right on. I am not enough of an expert to tell whether the roux for the gumbo was homemade, but it was a good roux. It had heat but just a little, enough to feel warmth after. The potato salad was OK.

The boudin ball was a good representation I think. Somewhat bigger than a golf ball, nice and crisp outside and very tender in the middle. It came with a dipping sauce that was quite sharp as well as bringing some heat.

JaK's Place is a bar. Lots of TVs with sports on. They allow smoking, though not cigars (probably not pipes either). This is a bonus if you're accommodating a smoker in your party. In any case be prepared for that. The restroom was clean and mostly ready (no soap). Overall I would say they have a competent kitchen so if you'd like something to eat with your drinks you could be happy ordering their food. The service and the atmosphere were quite friendly.

My Yelp Review

The Refuge Steakhouse and Bourbon Bar

This place is an institution in the Creekside area but I had not tried it out. We went for a birthday dinner. This is a detailed review. TL:DR it is a solid choice for a special experience and a great steak. I would go again.

We started off with a couple of mocktails: The Blood Orange Fizz and the mint virgin Old Fashioned. The Old Fashioned was a very tasty concoction--no alcohol burn of course but it captured the sharpness of an Old Fashioned and I really liked the mint. The Blood Orange Fizz was a mild disappointment--it had very little fizz and really needed it. Flavor was OK but not as good flat. We later got a bourbon flight, which was delivered by the bourbon sommelier and was quite fun.

For starters we got a wedge salad, the Steakhouse Meatballs, and the Bacon Wrapped Scallops. The salad was fine, a standard garden salad with nice fresh ingredients. The meatballs were excellent--a steak and pork belly blend with a blueberry pepper sauce with onion strings. Great texture, lots of umami and good salt flavor. I absolutely want these next time. Same with the bacon wrapped scallops. They come on a bed of 3-cheese grits that were wonderfully creamy. The sauce has just a little heat. The scallops and bacon were cooked just right. Their seafood entrees are served over these grits, and though we didn't get any seafood I would try some next time for the grits.

On to the mains: We had the Refuge Filet, the New York Strip, the Wood-fired Chicken, and the pork chop. The Refuge Filet was the highlight--the jalapeno, bacon and bleu cheese really complement the steak flavor. The steak was impeccably tender and done just right. The New York Strip was also very good. I am not a fan of this cut--when I cook it at home it's always tough. But their version is reasonably tender and has great flavor from the tallow butter they put on it. The steaks came with mashed potatoes that were pretty bland and ordinary.

The wood-fired chicken was tender and had good flavor. It is marinated in lemon but we couldn't really taste it except in the bed of risotto. The risotto was quite good, nice and creamy. The pork chop was complicated. It had a tender uniform texture all the way through and nice flavor. I couldn't find any grain in it, almost like it was a fine grind. The sauce was ok, a bit one-note sweet for me. Different from and perhaps better than Perry's chop, but I think I would try something else next time. These dishes came with Apple-Bacon Brussels Sprouts and roasted carrots. The Brussels sprouts were a disappointment. Might have known since it's misspelled on the menu. The Brussels sprouts were barely cooked and quite tough, with too much of the bottom stem left on, adding to the bitterness. The roast carrots were fine.

Since we had a birthday in the party we were treated to a special dessert. Birthday dessert at The Refuge has two major advantages--a nice tableside presentation of bread pudding flambe, and no annoying birthday song. Yay! Definitely tell them it's your birthday. The dessert is a banana bread pudding topped with ice cream. Rather uniform texture but good flavor and excellent with the ice cream.

The ambiance is appropriately dark and sumptuous for a fancy steakhouse. The bathrooms are upscale, with available cloth towels. Service was fine but at a pretty relaxed pace, I definitely felt ready for the next course before it came. But we at times requested things from waiters other than the one waiting our table, and they responded immediately--good teamwork. This is not a bargain place, but we got out for under $100 apiece which I actually think is pretty good for an end-to-end meal. If you go to a steakhouse for steaks, you will do well at The Refuge.

My Yelp Review

Taco Palenque

Taco Palenque is a Texas chain (with one location in Mexico) with a few locations in Houston. One took over the closed Zaxby's in our neighborhood so we stopped in for an evening meal. Got the tampiquena plate (cheese enchilada, beef fajitas, refried beans and sides) and the Matamoros tacos (sirloin with queso fresco). Added a side of charro beans, and arroz con leche and a dessert called capirotada, a bread pudding with nuts. Washed it down with a fountain drink and a jamaica agua fresca (they also had horchata but were out, a fact that was reflected on the menu). Lots of food but we wanted to sample.

The main way to order is at a touch screen near the counter. The menu was reasonable to navigate. I recommend printing your receipt--they do ask for an email at the start if you want to join the loyalty program, but don't repeat the ask at checkout. You take a number and enter it at the order screen, then go pick a table and they bring it out. While you're waiting you can get some chips and salsa from the salsa bar. The setup is cramped, there's no flow so it backed up. But the chips were very fresh and the salsas were tasty.

The food was mostly OK. The meats were tender and flavorful, above average in my estimation. The main choice was beef--that was the only kind of fajita they had, they do have chicken and fish but it is breaded and not available on plates. They do have an Impossible option if you prefer. The enchilada did not have any sort of sauce on it but was tender and tasty. Rice and beans were fine. The plates come with guacamole, which was chunky and tasted very fresh. What was not so fresh were the desserts. They all come packaged. The arroz con leche was good, lots of cinnamon and nice and creamy. The capirotada was a disappointment. The flavor was OK but it was very firm, almost hard, my plastic spoon had a tough time with it. Didn't eat much of it. The jamaica was OK, fairly strong but perhaps not quite sweet enough, I did not love the flavor.

They have not been open that long (no grand opening yet) and there were service issues. They have an option to get 1 flour and 2 corn tortillas with the plates. I asked for that, but got 3 flour. On the first pass they didn't bring the desserts. The server just asked what we ordered and brought it, which is the right thing to do, but we should have printed the receipt. The restaurant is bright and colorful inside. I would compare it to a Taco Cabana. The Tampiquena plate is over $19, seems high for fast casual but I think that's just how it is now. Next time I would get the picadillo plate--I have not seen anywhere else that offers that. Overall a solid choice and likely to make it in the location.

My Yelp Review

Taqueria la Incomparable at Dave's Express

The Taqueria La Incomparable in the school bus moved across the street to GoTo Market, and this food truck is in its place. The business card for the truck lists both Taqueria La Incomparable and Taqueria El Mil Amores, so I guess they are owned by the same company. I am guessing at the name, the license is for an individual doing business as himself.

Anyway, we decided to give them a try for dinner. They have four meats--fajitas, chorizo, trompo, and chicken. But they were out of chicken that night, so we got a chorizo gordita and one of each kind of taco. Got an elote (on their menu it's maiz, but same thing) and a horchata agua fresca to go with. The food came with generous toppings of onions, cucumbers, and cilantro.

All the meats had great flavor, well cooked in and then reheated on the grill. Pretty tender too. They had a genuine trompo, but the chef did not actually carve the meat off the trompo for my taco. Must have been carved ahead. But the al pastor flavor was very good.

The tacos were somewhat small but didn't cost much. The menu is handwritten and doesn't have prices for everything, but the entire meal came to $21 before tip, which is not bad. They take cash and Zelle.

Only minor hiccups--it was unfortunate to not get chicken, probably their most popular meat. I wanted a jamaica agua fresca but it was noisy and I like horchata too so I rolled with it. If you're curious it is definitely worth a try. The business is open in the evenings when the taqueria inside Dave's Express is closed.

This intersection certainly doesn't lack for food options. There are twelve places you can get food right there--sixTex-Mex (not all open at the same time), Burrito District Cali-Mex, a Central American place, Hippo Burger, Uncle's BBQ, Aloy Aloy (a Thai place), and I-45 Diner. You can get food at Leslie's too, so that's thirteen if you want to count it. And another is going in (Kekas Locas). Quite a bounty.

My Yelp Review

Shogun - Woodlands

We visited this location for a birthday dinner. We did teppenyaki and got steak, salmon, and chicken dinners, along with a Shogun roll and a yellowtail hand roll. I got green tea for a beverage. Finished with a mango sorbet and a mud pie.

The meal started with salad with ginger dressing and onion soup. The dressing was fine, and I prefer onion soup to miso, so we were off to a decent start.

The teppenyaki show was pretty basic, some fun stuff but not particularly advanced. Shogun's teppenyaki is all seasoned mainly with teriyaki sauce. All of our food was a bit overdone, not a lot but enough to notice. Vegetables were fine. We got the fried rice, which is more fun since it's prepared in front of us, but it was just fried rice and eggs and ended up very sticky. I didn't eat much of mine. The yellowtail roll was ok, the flavor did not jump out but it was good with soy sauce. The sushi was also just OK, the flavors kind of run together. Not a lot of crunch for a crunchy roll. We got our shrimp appetizer last because one of our party had a seafood allergy and they do the shrimp separately if you ask, which is good. The shrimp were prepared just right.

The mango sorbet was probably the best thing about the meal. The sorbet is tasty and it's served attractively in a halved mango. I can recommend that. The mud pie is a purchased frozen dessert but it was good.

Service was fine, the server was attentive and helpful and the chef did his bit competently. The overall impression I got about the place is that it's tired. The decor is very simple and hasn't been updated in awhile--everthing is brown. The wallpaper was installed some time ago with obvious seams. It is showing wear in several places. The bathroom was reasonably clean but the urinal had flushing difficulty. What the place needs is a makeover, from the decor to the menu to the teppenyaki presentation. It's acceptable but I've had better teppenyaki in several places.

My Yelp Review

Treats Dipped By Jay

What's new at La Plaza de los Food Trucks?  Treats Dipped By Jay.  It's an ice cream and dessert truck, a popular choice right now. I stopped in on a very busy spring break afternoon to sample the wares. Got a banana pudding cone.

The dessert is ice cream and banana pudding layered into a cone, topped with sprinkles and drizzle. The cone is heavily crusted with sugar sprinkles and is very crunchy. The cone is served in a cup, which is great for catching the crumbs that come off the bedazzled cone.

It's good pudding, and includes the traditional vanilla wafer sandwiched deep in the cone. The mix of ice cream and pudding was very tasty. You also have the option to get cheesecake instead of ice cream in the cone. They also sell it as a parfait.

There are many options to choose from here--cookies, dipped cheesecakes, and some unique specialties like candied grapes. It can be a bit overwhelming.

The cone set me back $14 with tax and tip, and even now that seems like a lot. But I don't think it's out of the ordinary for a food truck, they have to charge a price that will cover the overhead of running a truck. Dessert trucks are a good choice at La Plaza de los Food Trucks right now becase during crawfish season Texas Crawfish takes most of the oxygen. Having a complementary business makes good strategic sense. From Jay's website she appears to be an energetic and entrepreneurial college student, and the truck is a family affair. I liked what I got and hope she does well.

My Yelp Review

Timewise at Gosling and Grand Parkway West

This location has been open for awhile.  I finally got around to checking out the roller grill and the look of the place.  I got a hot dog, chips, a fountain drink, and some Hostess cakes.

The hot dogs are Johnsonville, a major brand, and this one was just fine.  I like how roller grills cook hot dogs, because they gently warm the sausage and keep it that way without drying it out.  Roller grills can be had for about $60 on Amazon, might just get one.  The buns are individually packaged, as is common now, and this one was less stale than usual.  Still stale, but I could open the bun without it falling apart, as is common.  The condiments were organized and neatly displayed, though the onions looked a bit long in the tooth.  I was extra adventurous and got the chili sauce from the spigot.  It was almost warm, tasted OK and I was fine afterwards but not sure it was worth it.

The soda fountain was working properly.  I was happy to get my Hostess fix--glad that brand was rescued a few years ago.  The chips and Hostess products were not stale.  Overall the store is clean, well organized, and inviting.  The restrooms were clean and ready.  Service was friendly--I got a thank you that lifted my day a little.  It is worth it to do this!  It's a fine place to stop if you're heading north on Gosling or taking the Gosling exit off the Grand Parkway, otherwise access is difficult.

No Yelp Review

Taco Bell at Panther Creek Pines

This Taco Bell location has been recently renovated. I stopped in to try their new thing, Chicken Bacon Ranch. Couldn't get that, because they were out of bacon. I went for the $7 Luxe box instead. Comes with a taco, a cheesy gordita crunch, a burrito, and cinnamon twists. I added an order of fries. The combo comes with a fountain drink.

It's a lot of food for $7, people with moderate appetites could easily split it. The burrito is particularly filling. Mostly the food was fine, except that they didn't put the taco shell in the gordita so it was not crunchy. The fries were excellent--nicely done and well seasoned. McDonald's fries have to be absolutely fresh to beat these.

The place was nice and clean inside. They have two identical bathrooms, no gender based waiting. Unfortunately the one I picked was out of soap. Taco Bell is possibly my favorite standard fast food chain, and this location is OK, but not in my opinion worth driving out of your way for.

My Yelp Review

Un Cachito de Mexico

I saw this little food truck on the pad at the Charge Up convenience store and stopped to give them a try. I got a fajita torta, jamaica agua fresca, elote in a cup, and a churro cheesecake.

The torta was a good one--a generous size with all the fixings, including avocado, jalapeno, tomato, and a nice slab of white Mexican cheese. Kind of messy but that's a torta. The beef was good, more of a gyro beef than fajita but very good flavor and quite satisfying. I got both the red and green salsas. They both looked and tasted very genuinely homemade. The green salsa had a nice sharp green chile flavor. Both of the salsas are flaming hot, just do without if you are sensitive but if you want the heat this is a good place.

The elote was great. I love elote and this was a good example. They have it both on the cob and in a cup. The corn was well cooked with a generous amount of parmesan and Mexican cheese. I got the chamoy topping (the less spicy one) and it was excellent.

The cheesecake was just OK, did not have a lot of churro flavor, just kind of a plain cheesecake. I would try the choco flan next time. They also have gelatinas, gelatin with beautiful flower patterns injected. Have not seen anything like this in a long time but if you're longing for dessert from the 50's this will set you up. The jamaica was very good, a nice big cup and strong.

This is a mom and pop operation--they've been open about a month and people are discovering them. It was busy when I came so there was a wait, but it was worth it. They take cash, CashApp and Zelle. Very nice people and worth a try.

My Yelp Review

McDonald's at Panther Creek

Hadn't been to Mickey D's in awhile so I stopped in to see what's new. What's new right now is the Hot Honey Bacon chicken sandwich or wrap. So I got that in a combo.

I managed my way through the kiosk ordering process so didn't interact much with servers. The meal came out in decent time. The dining room was clean enough. It was a beautiful day and they have lots of shaded outside seating that was also clean, so I sat outside.

The food was just OK. Somewhat stale bun on the sandwich. Fries had been sitting too long. The Hot Honey flavor was there and actually had a bit of a kick but I didn't love or hate it. They seem to be chronically understaffed, and there was a customer complaining about the kiosk order process--not the first time I've seen that. The bathroom was all right, the sink was not quite working right but was manageable. If you're going specifically to get a McDonald's fix I would pick another location.

My Yelp Review

Goto Market

The former 7-Eleven at the corner of Dowdell and Kuykendahl has been renovated and reopened. There is now a taqueria in the convenience store, and that's mainly what I came for. The taqueria is offering grill items (burgers, fish, etc.) and steam table foods. I went with the steam table and got the Mexican plate with barbacoa and carnitas, with rice and beans as sides and onions and cilantro for garnish. Washed it down with a Coca-Cola Icee.

Overall it was fine. Tortillas might have been just a little long on the grill. The carnitas were a pulled pork style. The barbacoa had very good texture, nice and soft. The salsas were good. The red (actually orange) salsa had a strong punch, get this if you like spice. The green salsa was mildly spicy and had good strong green chile flavor. I would say they need to punch up the flavor on the steam table offerings. The rice and beans were above average--the rice was nice and fluffy, and the beans had good depth of flavor. I usually just sample the rice and beans but I ate all of these.

The store is nice and clean inside, including the bathrooms. The Icee machine was working well. Service at the taqueria and the rest of the store was friendly. There's a lot of competition at this corner--there are at least five, and maybe six, places where you can get decent tacos. Most are on the same pad as the gas stations. This place will have to raise their game to compete with long established places like Flying Tacos or For You For Me Tacos.

My Yelp Review

Sapporo Izakaya

This place is a fixture in Panther Creek, but we had not tried it until late last week. We got a salmon skin hand roll, spicy cucumber salad, onion soup, steak and chicken from the hibachi menu, and the unagi donburi bowl. Finished with green tea mochi ice cream. Also had green tea with the meal.

I would say that the salmon skin roll was the highlight of the meal. The salmon skin was fried and made for a delightful texture in the roll. The sauce was delicious. The roll was perfectly put together and easy to eat.

The spicy cucumber salad was an interesting experience. It lives up to its name, for me as an appetizer a few pieces were perfect. You get a great big bowl of it! Easily shareable for four or more people. A major contrast to the entrees--the portions were definitely for one person. The onion soup was a good representation, very nice flavor with some mushroom slices for added depth.

The chicken and steak hibachi was competently done but the flavors were very basic. I would say the steak was cooked to at least medium well, though it was tender enough. Good for folks who want Japanese food but are not looking for adventure.

The unagi donburi bowl was also pretty basic. Delicious unagi (it's my favorite sushi ingredient) served warm over a bowl of rice with black sesame seeds. Fried rice might have jazzed it up a bit (you can get that for a little extra).

The ice cream serving was generous, you get four mochi balls (cut in two) to share at the table. The ice cream is quite good. Mochi is an acquired taste, and I haven't acquired it yet, so it's hard to be totally fair, but I believe it was done as it should be. The green tea was fine--but the cups they serve it in are not very insulated so are quite hot at first, I waited for mine to cool a bit.

The restaurant is beautifully decorated, with striking ceiling lights and nicely done murals. It's dark, but not too dark, at the tables. The restrooms were clean and ready. On my next trip I would probably focus on the sushi, that seems to be the strong point. They have some specialties that look good but have no prices--if you have to ask, you know...but maybe for a splurge. I would go back and bring visitors.

My Yelp Review

Manna African Kitchen

We tried this new Nigerian and Ghanaian restaurant the other night. We got the Ghanaian Jollof rice with fish, Waakye with goat, and a Sobolo (or Zobo) Nigerian hibiscus drink as an accompaniment.

This is a complicated review, lots of highs and lows. Let's start with the Sobolo. This was recommended to me as a good place to start with their juice offerings. The base is the hibiscus plant, and I love the Tex-Mex version (Hibiscus or Jamaica). Manna's version has a hibiscus base and that's the first flavor you get. It also has ginger--a lot of ginger. It's very spicy. The taste was interesting but it doesn't work as a refreshment or palate cleanser unless your spice tolerance is high.

Bones! The two proteins you can get are fish and goat, and they are both served bone-in. The goat also has a fair amount of gristle, fat and a rubbery fascia. It's similar to what you get when you order a goat dish at an Indian restaurant. With the goat you can either try to dissect it or pick up a piece, chew out the good bits, and put the rest back on your plate.

What's listed as Waakye on the menu is waakye stew with rice and black beans, topped with spaghetti, with a hard-boiled egg and lettuce and tomato. It comes with cassava flakes (gari) and a sweet hot sauce. The waakye sauce is delicious and unique, and pairs well with the goat and the rice. Unfortunately we found that the black beans and rice had no seasoning we could detect, so were pretty bland. The boiled egg and spaghetti were interesting touches.

The Ghanaian Jollof Rice is jasmine rice cooked in a tomato sauce, accompanied by a serving of waakye stew, a boiled egg and plantain. We got the fish on this one. Again the sauce was great, but the fish not so much. Two fish pieces, both ended up cooked very hard. A little edible protein on one piece, none on the other. Also seemed like it had some goat in it. But the waakye sauce worked particularly well with the jollof rice. The boiled egg was good, and the plantain was cooked just right.

The restaurant is painted in warm and appetizing African colors, with complementary decor. The restrooms (gendered but identical) were spotless. Our server was warm and friendly, we really felt at home there. But the actual process was a little spotty--we picked our own seats and it seemed like the server would come back to collect our check, but that didn't happen and we ended up bringing it to the front. My overall impression was that these are folks that can cook but might be new to the restaurant business. Some attention to quality control and perhaps a restaurant service consultation would do them well. I've heard good things about the turkey wings on the menu, might try those in the future. This is a unique offering in our area and I hope they get the issues worked out soon. They deserve to succeed.

My Yelp Review

Subway at Panther Creek

Stopped in here for a quick lunch on the way to an event. Got the meal of the day, which on Sunday was the Spicy Italian sub. Got the combo and chocolate chip cookies with it.

All was good and not super remarkable. The lone employee was friendly and helpful. Not busy so I had my food quickly.

The tables inside were clean and ready. The bathroom has notes. Two identical, gendered restrooms with code locks on them--you have to ask for the code. The bathroom was not super clean, though not bad enough to leave. I like Subway as a reliable and competent fast food place, and this location is fine.

My Yelp Review

Popeye's at Panther Creek

I stopped in to this location the other day for a quick lunch. But it wasn't quite so quick--they place was very busy (good for them) but it seemed like they had a manager and two experienced people working with two trainees. The fry cook was killing it--lots of chicken available to fill orders. But they were struggling on the front end.

I ordered a 3 piece dark meat combo, upgrading my soft drink to a strawberry iced tea. Got a strawberry cream cheese pie with that. What I got was a two piece mixed order. The chicken was OK, though I really only like white meat on the chicken sandwich--should've gotten that maybe. The pie was OK, probably done awhile (the cook was ahead).

The ambiance was as usual, and bathrooms were clean and ready. I love Popeye's chicken but maybe not this location so much.

My Yelp Review

Bamburger

This new Bamburger location just opened about two weeks ago. We went to try them on a busy Saturday night. We got the Bamburger with a bacon patty, the spicy Bamburger, regular fries and sweet potato fries. Chased it with chocolate and vanilla shakes.

The Bamburger with bacon patty is a must-try. I've never seen a bacon preparation like this. The bacon is minced and formed into a patty and fried on the grill, which gives it a crisp outside and a strong smoky flavor. It was absolutely great with the burger, I would never order a burger without one now. Bamburger singles are on the small side, just bigger than a slider, but you can order them with double or triple patties to fit your appetite. The fries are fried in beef tallow, which made both the regular and sweet potato fries nice and crisp. They were well seasoned and are worth getting. The shakes were the thinner variety so they worked as drinks. Mine was not fully mixed but was still just fine.

The Bamburger menu is quite small--just the two burgers, a chicken burger, grilled cheese for the kids and a vegan patty. I do have to wonder at the last. Obviously vegans can't order a combo with fries, and they have no other sides.

The restaurant has comfortable booths and tables, and all were full the night we went. They are off to a good start! Some cute alien decorations for the walls. The two restrooms, identical but gendered, were clean and ready. Service was a little odd--we ordered the shakes at the same time as the meal and the shakes came first. You are encouraged to order at a kiosk. It wasn't too bad since the menu is short, but I still struggled a bit to get the right items in the combo. But overall we really liked it and I am sure we will be back.

My Yelp Review