Saturday, May 25, 2013

Johnnie's Grill

While on a storm chasing trip last weekend, I was searching through the restaurant listings in El Reno, OK and checking out the reviews on Yelp. El Reno is not a large town, although very quaint in nature. We decided on Johnnie's Grill because of all the rave reviews it received on Yelp. The only bad ones were about not going during the rush hour because service was lacking. It was about 2:30 in the afternoon when we stopped by and there were only 4-5 other tables of guests in the place. Just having burgers the night before, we decided on the famous coneys. The Hubby ordered his with chili and cheese and I ordered mine plain, along with a large side of tater tots to share. This was after we were assured they were all beef hot dogs (we don't eat any pork for health reasons - that stuff is ridiculously bad for us!). A short time passed when one of the cooks brought our food by - Greg's was smothered so we couldn't see the hit dog, but since my were plain, we got to see the actual meat and we were so glad we did. The hot dogs were PINK. I was shocked and astounded. I asked why they were pink and he said it's a color that the distributors inject into the hot dogs.

Why do hot dogs need to be colorful?

I told him I could not eat them and neither could the Hubby since we have food coloring dietary restrictions for our health. Neither of us are allergic to food coloring, but there is honestly no need for it in our food. People say we eat with our eyes, which I agreed, but food can be just as colorful naturally. Pink hot dogs that were supposed to be all beef? Ummmm, no.

Service was cordial, but no smiles or helpful suggestions. I'm sure questions and requests like ours (no pork or food coloring) don't happen very often. Management should really train their staff to be more open to the needs of the guests and respectful. The whole thing felt off some how - couldn't really put my finger on it. To add to the feeling I had, they did not accept debit or credit cards, cash and check only. I know some Mom and Pop places are like that due to the fees credit card companies charge, but I also know the less ethical ones do it so they don't have to claim all their sales. I'm not saying I know the facts, just stating my opinion. Something didn't feel right to me, and we were glad to leave that place and find another restaurant to share our business with. Zero stars for food and service for Johnnie's Grill. Disappointing to say the least.

Boston's - pizza and beer

Not sure if I have written about this place before and considering I am catching up on some past experiences, I realized I still have a love for pizza. Maybe it's not just a teenage or young twenty-something passion. Cold pizza isn't quite as appealing as it was before - maybe that's the only sign that I'm growing up. For my milestone birthday (not saying which milestone), my sweet Hubby took me to Boston's for my free flatbread. Checking with the server about just how spicy the Spicy Chicken Pesto flatbread was, I decided to go for it. Besides, it would go great with my Sam Adams seasonal beer that had already been ordered. While the menu boasted of a crispy crust, I like that it wasn't too crispy. Toppings were chicken, basil pesto, poblano peppers, diced tomatoes, feta and mozzarella cheese. Divine...

The Hubby ordered wings and usually they are fantastic, but the last two times we ordered them, they were on the fattier side. He ordered the garlic wings and I had one - good flavor - intense garlic. Let's just say, not too many kisses happened until I gave him a peppermint - lol. 

Gusto Pizza Company

We took a weekend trip to see the children in Iowa (my Spring Break, but not theirs - they don't get the normal week long Spring Break (!?!?)) and Greg found a fantastic gourmet pizza place for us to eat dinner one night. Gusto Pizza Company. Great atmosphere and layout of the dining room and kitchen. Be prepared to wait a bit for the pie, it's worth it though! The children, well teenagers really, just wanted pepperoni... at a gourmet pizza place. The lady behind the counter was like...really? 

Really. 

So they shared a whole pepperoni pizza. Exciting, but they loved it. 

Greg and I shared the Mona Lisa - his pick. I was kind of skeptical, until I tried a bite. After that, he was lucky he got a piece! Crust, rosemary olive oil, garlic, cremini mushrooms, roma tomatoes, kalamata olives, romano, and fresh ricotta. WOW. I savored every bite of it. Couldn't even order a beverage because I didn't want to change the taste I had in my mouth from the pizza. 

Something (besides the children) to look forward to driving to Iowa for. Highly recommend. 

Sunday, May 19, 2013

Storm chasing dinner - Portobello Grille

We started our storm chasing weekend in Elk City. Figured it was a pretty central location for Saturday's forecast. Searching through Yelp, there were only 2 highly recommended places to eat since I'm shying away from fastfood places. After checking into the hotel and getting their recommendation, we headed across the street to the Portobello Grille. The Hubby and I both ordered burgers - mushroom and swiss for him, and cheese and avocado for me. No lie, they looked and tasted like I made and grilled them at home. For the $10 each, it was so worth it! For my side i chose the homemade tomato basil soup and after the burger I shouldn't have been surprised. One word - deliciousness. I look forward to storm chasing in Elk City again!