ModestGeniusXL

Spring Break Randomness

I probably could have posted about my trip on a daily basis.  Maybe came back and post-dated a bunch of entries to clue all of you in on the happenings that transpired over the course of the last week.  However, I already told you I'm not into updating on a daily basis any longer.  Plus, everything could best be summed up better in more random thoughts anyway.  So here goes...

I was pretty much sick the entire trip from the road trip down there.  It should have been a 12 hour drive but it amounted to 14 hours with all the stopping.  I honestly didn't think the wings from the lunch the day before would have that strong of an effect on me.  Guess I was wrong

I swear everytime I go to Dallas I end up taking a different route each time.  What makes it even more strange is I'm using the GPS.  Maybe they're using some type of rotating maps I don't know about

XM Radio makes long road trips SO much better

What does every place south of Kansas City have against rest areas?  I never saw another one after that the entire trip

One of these days I will learn to better pick hotels based on the type of beds they have

It's a shame when my phone's hotspot connection is more reliable than the hotel's internet

I'm not afraid of heights per se but those overpasses in Dallas (AND Houston) can be rather intimidating

I almost forgot there is Blue Bell ice cream there.  BEST.  VANILLA. ICE CREAM. EVER.  I must have had at least three or four of those pints in all during the whole time I was there

Tried a few new different restaurants that are indigenous to the area.  Probably should have done an independent post on all of them but I'll sum them up here instead:

T-Bone Tom's:  Featured on 'Diner's, Drive-Ins and Dives' which is of course the reason why I picked it.  The armadillo eggs were AMAZING.  The marinated rib-eye steak was just as good

Abuelo's:  Still not sure if there is such a thing as a restaurant down there that truly features 'authentic' Mexican food.  This joint gave it their best shot and wasn't too bad.  Then again, it wasn't a whole lot different from the Mexican food we have available here

BJ's Restaurant Brewhouse:  E insisted on it since it was his favorite pizza joint.  Pizza was so-so.  Same for the cajun pasta I ordered (Lucallan's continues to hold the crown in that regard).  Their strawberry lemonade was some of the best I've ever had

Still managed to find time to watch my Cyclones win their first round NCAA game against the defending National Champs UConn.  And better yet it was at E's house.  Watching the NCAA tourney games just like we used to do back in the day

Texas folks sure love them some Dodge Chargers

I should have stuck with my original idea of making the trip down there in January instead of over Spring Break.  It seemed like EVERYONE was vacationing down there that week.  Couldn't hardly do any tourist stuff because there were crowds and lines everywhere

It's funny how time can both creep by yet go so fast at the same time while on vacation.  Especially when you're sick 95% of the time.  I didn't get around near as much as I wanted to so missed out seeing family I wanted to see while down there.  However, the time there did reinvigorate my desire to make that migration south

Pictures?  Oh I got pictures alright.  But again, not near as many as I wanted.  I've been posting them periodically on The Book complete with it's own separate photo album.  I even went as far as to create a special high-definition album for everyone else to enjoy as well.  Check it out by clicking here:  Spring Break 2012

Best thing about the vacation...hands down...was seeing my two oldest.  I just wish Mariah could have gotten time off so I could have spent more time with her as well.  But if everything works out then maybe that won't be an issue before the end of the year...

 

 

Red Robin

I told myself I would try to avoid writing about chain restaurants.  What's the point when there are so many local restaurants I could speak on?  I've also already eaten at Red Robin before.  Even though it was years before my blog.  Well there's a connection to a local restaurant in a roundabout why so I'm doing the review.  And you never know...maybe there is someone out there who has never heard of Red Robin.

The first time I tried this joint was back in the days when I lived in Cedar Rapids.  Wait...I was no longer living there at the time.  My two oldest were.  I was in Des Moines frequenting trips there every other weekend to see them and/or get them for my weekend visit.  It was during one of those visits that I decided to check out the newest restaurant in town.  Only I didn't get one of their burgers they were famous for.  I thought that would be too common.  I went with a pasta dinner or something that turned out being non-memorable.

Well I was recently talking to my friend Byron when he inquired about Zombie Burger.  I gave him my honest opinion in that I thought they were overrated.  It also reminded me that I forgot to mention how nasty their fries were when I did my write-up on them a while back.  That's when he raved about Red Robin's burgers and how they even had onion rings.  Dinner time was just around the corner at the time so Red Robin's it was.

The only location we currently have in central Iowa is clear out by Jordan Creek Mall.  If you're one of the high-falootin' types with plenty of money living in West Des Moines then it's not that much of a drive.  For us regular folk, it's a ways away.  The good thing is that G and I got there early enough so that the dinner crowd hadn't filtered in yet.  In fact, that crowd was starting to show up just as we were leaving.  Therefore, I can't comment as to how the wait was.  We got right in.

It didn't seem like their burger menu was quite as extensive as Zombie Burger.  One thing that did stick out to me though was their bottomless steak fries.  A combination of my two favorite things when it comes to food:  "bottomless" and "steak fries".  Even though I knew that I would realistically not being to sit there and feast on all-you-eat fries it was just about the principle.

The burger I went with was the A1 Peppercorn Burger.  With a name like Peppercorn in it I figured it had to be pretty close to my favorite type of Quizno's sammich. It was.  That peppercorn sauce combined with that medium well burger was indeed music to my taste buds.  Every bite was better and better.  I was almost mad when I was finished that there wasn't more to it.  And it was already a big enough burger as it was.  Fortunately, I had the fries to supplement my appetite.

The first thing I thought when I even saw steak fries on the menu was how E and I used to get those at Felix & Oscar's.  Would they be as good as those?  They were extremely close.  And I'm not sure if it was because I was just hungry for those type of fries with some ranch dressing or if they really were.  They certainly hit the spot though.  Plus, now that F&O's discontinued theirs it would seem that Red Robin wouldn't have any real competition if I was ever in the mood for those.

Their pricing was right in line with your typical higher end burger joint.  Not as expensive as a Smashburger but slightly more than you could expect to pay for an Applebee's type burger.  Worth the money though.  My bill was just over $20 for the two of us and that was with the addition of a root beer, an Oreo Cookie shake and a strawberry lemonade.

So if you were comparing Red Robin to Zombie Burger than there really isn't much comparison.  Robin's burger had more substance to it than Zombie.  It was a tad juicier.  Their fries were MUCH better.  So much better that I had even forgotten to get onion rings.  But just the fact that I had that option while Zombie doesn't give it to you was another point for Red Robin.  I'm sure there may be better local joints native to Des Moines that are better, but if you ever have to decide between Red Robin and Zombie Burger then you won't have a hard decision to make at all.

Zombie Burger

So this is about three or four months overdue.  Is that a big surprise to anyone though?  Maybe it's not quite that late if you count the second time that I visited this joint.  That was sometime just before Thanksgiving.  In that case, that would make this entry only a few weeks overdue.  Still late but at least you will finally catch a glimpse of what the experience was like.  And isn't that what it's really all about anyway?  Anyways...

I had been hearing about Zombie Burger for quite a while.  When I first heard someone talking about it on The Book I thought they were trying to be funny.  That maybe they were referring to some real restaurant and they just nicknamed it Zombie Burger.  But then it kept coming up in different posts.  Come to find out it was real.  Not only that but according to the way folks were raving about it it was apparently a pretty good burger joint.  Well I was due for a new review so it was time for me to check it out.

Somebody came up with the brilliant idea of cashing in on the latest zombie craze by making a themed restaurant.  They almost went all out with the concept.  Complete with menus that are faux-newspapers providing news stories about a post-zombie state in Des Moines.  All the menu items are zombie-related.  There are some life-size zombie mannequins strategically placed around the restaurant.  They even hired a local artist to do wall-sized murals of zombies looking like they trying to come through the walls (or maybe they're approaching the windows?).  It would have been nice if he staff were zombie'd up too, but that may have been taking it a bit too far.

Despite all the adulation it was receiving, it took a special occasion for me to even go to Zombie Burger.  I participated in a photowalk where most of us ended at that location at the conclusion.  I quickly realized that there really is no good time to visit that place.  You can pretty much bet that no matter what the weather, day or time it will be packed.  You can count on right around a 30-40 minute wait minimum.  It's to be expected with a burger spot that only takes up a portion of the bottom floor of condoplex (is that the right name for it?).  I've heard they're looking at expanding so I hope for their sake that it's soon.

I was rather impressed at how large their menu was.  Not really that diverse because it only had your typical greasy spoon items; however, it did seem like the burger list was rather extensive.  I had to go thru it twice before I finally decided on just keeping it simple with a regular Zombie Burger double with cheese.  I expected it to be just an ordinary burger but it had more flavor to it than I anticipated.  The cheese and the burger meat melted together just right to create the perfect concerto in my mouth.  That's may be a little dramatic but that is actually how good it was.

What I didn't like was that they didn't have onion rings.  The very thing I had kept hearing about.  The very thing I was in the mood for.  BOTH times that I went.  The firs time I was told their onion-ring maker (or whatever its actual name is) broke.  The second time I was told they continued to have problems with it so they stopped selling onion rings altogether.  How does a burger joint NOT sell onion rings?  That was a huge thing for me.  I decided right then and there that I wouldn't be going back until they rectify that situation.  It helps that it's so far away to make the decision not to frequent it much easier.

Overall, it probably would not be entirely fair to see I was disappointed with Zombie Burger.  It's ambience carried it a long way.  I just can't see justifying waiting that long for a burger joint where the best thing it has going for it is the burgers.  Especially when I can't get onion rings with it.  Step your game up, Zombie Burger.

 

O the Randomness...

When we say we miss an artist that's passed (like MJ) is that really accurate?  I mean they are still around in their music and videos so what is there to miss?  It's not like any of us really knew them personally

They've really got "Fast and Furious 6" in the works??  Now that I think about it...I'm okay with that

I still have no idea what Kanye meant by he would have married Kate and Ashley if he was Chris Williams.  Who's Chris Williams??

Despite the fact that plenty of other folks have been bashing it, I'm rather fond of that ticker that The Book has recently added

Someone pointed out that only nosy people like it.  Well there you go!

If I see one more hip-hop artist/group trying to make a come-up in Des Moines...where's all the R&B local talent??

So I was watching the Patriots/Chiefs game on Monday Night Football and thought for a minute that Brady was scared of the Chiefs because of what they did to him last time they played.  Then he quickly got over it

Speaking of which, no I haven't intentionally been omitting my "Hail to the Chiefs" posts.  Let's face it..there just hasn't been a lot to talk about recently regarding their abysmal performances

Now my Cyclones on the other hand...MAD props to them for upsetting the #2 team in the country this past Friday night!  Still mad that I had tickets to the game and didn't go because I thought they would get blown out.  That's what I get

Never thought I would see the day when a Ford Taurus was considered a premium vehicle.  Next thing you know Taco Bell will be considered gourmet dining #obscureDemolitionManreference

I'm still baffled at why the window washers were cleaning the exterior windows at the office while it was raining outside

I don't think it was a coincidence that most of Marc Anthony's back-up dancers in his recent American Music Awards performance looked like J-Lo

The new Verizon phone has beats by Dre on it??  That's what's up.  Almost makes me want to switch to Verizon and get rid of my iPhone.  Yeah....right...

Can't believe Zombie Burger stopped selling onion rings.  What's a burger joint without onion rings??  Which reminds me...guess I better get that restaurant out there before I forget about that too

Watching those old shows like "The Big Valley" and "Bonanza" always cracks me up. Those cats are walking around dirty, dusty wild, wild west roads all day long and never have a speck of dirt or dust on their outfits

Everytime I look at Madden Football I laugh at how far video games have come since the days of M Network. How many remember that Atari gem?

Was that Amber Rose I just saw starring in a high-end alcohol commercial?

Read that MidAmerican Energy suggests keeping the thermostat at 60 degrees during the winter. I don't know about them but I like keeping warm during the winter

Saw photos of the new auditorium at my alma mater. WOW! Can't wait to see it in person. NHS has come a long way since "The Pajama Game" in the gymnasium

Dear Mickey Ds: It's probably not a good idea to have the hard of hearing employees taking orders

I wonder what the over/under is for number of food-related posts we'll see on The Book today.  Mine included

If they will gossip with you then best believe they will gossip about you

'Nuff said

 

 

Fuji Japanese Steak House

I know it's been a minute since I've busted out a review out here.  I don't get out to eat as much as I used to.  Whenever I do manage to eat out it's usually only because I'm on the run doing shoots.  Then it would be the normal stand-bys that we don't have in Ames:  Tasty Tacos, Henry Js or Sonic.  Well it occurred to me the other day that there are some spots right in Ames that I still have yet to try.

When I used to work in Des Moines and commute to the office from Ames every day I would pass the Fuji Steak House on the regular.  It was right off the highway that I would get on to make that 45 minute journey.  I think I may have even seen a commercial or two about it on the local station here that gave me further inspiration to see how it was.  So one day when I was just feeling like I wanted some steak and Japanese food, I stopped by for a visit.

The first thing the hostess asked upon arriving was did we want the dinner and a show or just dinner.  I had a sneaky suspicion that "the show" was the whole fancy thing with the chefs that prepare the dinner in front of you with all the cutlery tricks and whatnot.  However, I also assumed there would be an additional charge for that.  Why else would she be asking?  You know I'm cheap so you can guess which option I selected.

Their menu was a bit overwhelming.  Especially if you like sushi.  Which I personally cannot stand.  I have never seen so many different kinds of sushi offered in my life.  They had more sushi variations than many regular restaurants have for total menu items.  It had me thinking that with that many possibilities there was probably at least one kind of sushi that I could possibly like.  It's just the law of averages.  I wasn't taking the chance though.  Plus, I was already in the mood for steak.

They got off to a great start with the salad.  It was just your standard iceberg lettuce but that salad dressing was SLAMMIN'.  I could have made a meal off just the salad with the sweet tangy flavor that dressing added.  They even made sure to provide ample portions of it all over the salad.  I hate when places only put the dressing on sparingly.  I don't want it drowning my salad but if the dressing is good, I want plenty of it covering the salad.  Fuji Steak House did that.

The main course is what you see in the picture.  I was just as impressed with the presentation as I was with the food.  The steak was as succulent and flavorful as I have ever had.  Prepared medium rare just like I like it to make sure I get the maximum flavor.  And they even brought it to me already cut up!  Each bite practically melted in my mouth.  What really did it was the sauce they brought with it.  Can't remember what dude called it but it's rich, spicy taste mixed with the natural zest of the steak had me wishing I had another full portion.

The pricing was just about what you would expect from a place of that caliber.  Especially if ordering the steak and shrimp.  Well worth it though.  Very impressive for a restaurant on the edge of Ames that you tend to hear very little about.  Just reflecting on it now has me wanting to go back again. 

Thursday Throwback

Da Vinci's

Some friends and I happened to be talking about this place in Ames named Pizza Pit the other day.  It was a laughing stock years ago but seems to have reinvented themselves in recent years.  Apparently they have become better known for their wings than their pizza.  So much so that former students will travel from Des Moines to Ames (roughly a 45 minute trip) just for their wings.  Personally, I don't see it.  I recently tried their wings and was not impressed at all.  But talking about that place had me reminiscing about other spots Ames had that were quite tha bomb back in the day.

Fortunately, some of the staples that were in Ames from my college days are still around.  Even if they're  not  quite as good.  Lucallan's still sits in the old downtown portion of the city though has different    ownership so the food is not as tasty.  Great Plains and their world famous deep dish pizza is still in the same area also.  Then there is Hickory Park which is arguably one of the better barbecue places in Iowa in lieu of no Gates.  However, the place that many of my generation loved the most is no longer around.

DaVinci's was an Italian restaurant that sat just outside of campustown.  Close enough that anyone could walk to if need be but they also delivered.  It actually hung around for quite a while.  It wasn't until about five years ago or so that they closed it down to be replaced by some Chinese restaurant.  I can't understand how they weren't getting enough business to stay open because it always had the perfect location, perfect food and perfect prices.

To call it a "restaurant" may be a little misleading.  Whenever I hear that word I think of a formal place where you go and have dinner and doesn't have a tendency to deliver.  Although Da Vinci's did have a dining room where folks could sit down and eat if they wanted to I just don't recall ever using it.  In fact, it was always pretty empty whenever I would stop in on the rare instances to pick up an order rather have it delivered.  Ohh...maybe that's why they're no longer in business?

Different people will give you different versions of what Da Vinci's specialty was.  For most it was their Philly cheesesteak hoagie.  Til this day I still don't know what a real cheesesteak from Philly tastes like.  So I'm sure anyone who has will scoff at the idea that Da Vinci's versions were pure heaven.  Say what you want, but they really were.  Especially when you get extra meat.  Their meat was tender and succulent enough that when it combined with the cheese it would all practically melt in your mouth.  I think I may be salivating just thinking about one of those joints.

Somewhere along the way I decided I wanted to try something different from there.  Even though I absolutely LOVED those cheesesteaks.  So I switched it up and ordered a roast beef hoagie.  It was INCREDIBLE!  I don't know if it was the lettuce or the sauce or the fact that I was just always hungry or what, but it was just as good as their cheesesteaks.  I knew whenever I wanted a change of pace I could always go that route and be just as good.

But alas...the closing of Da Vinci's would mean the dream sammiches would be gone forever.  The worst part about it is I don't know of another location even remotely close.  I've never seen one anywhere else in Iowa.  It's too bad because the one thing that Ames always had were niche eateries that set Ames apart from everywhere else.  Now we have to rely on places like The Cafe to provide good food?  These kids these days have no idea what they're missing.

 

 

 

The Cafe

It's probably been several months since my last formal restaurant review so it's a little ironic that I come back on the scene with one on a place with the generic name "The Cafe".  I thought for sure when I first saw its name in the Juice that it had to be short for something.  Maybe The Cafe was just a nickname for it to help separate it from the more famous Cafe Beaudelaire which is also in Ames?  Nope.  That was this spot's actual name.  Apparently the owners figured that bland was better.

I had never heard of this place but that didn't come as a big surprise.  Ames has changed so much since the time that I graduated years ago that few people from my era would recognize it.  Case in point was the location of The Cafe.  I thought my GPS on my phone had to be wrong.  It was north of University Village?  There was nothing up there but farmland.  That couldn't be right, could it?  Yes it could.  That entire area is now a replica of the West Glenn area in West Des Moines.  It's evidently Ames attempt to cater to the upscale Ames element. 

The first thing that I quickly noticed upon entering The Cafe (besides the point that they don't have a clear definition of which is the correct entrance to get to the hostess) was its quaint little ambiance.  It wasn't like your typical little niche cafe which would usually provide a more open setting.  The seating involved more booths than normal tables.  Each booth was secluded with its own type of isolation coupled with dimly lighting to provide the perfect date night atmosphere.  Probably would have been even better if the music they were pumping in wasn't so loud.

If you're looking for a variety in your menu, The Cafe is NOT the spot for you.  Their menu was a whopping four pages long and that's including the drink portion.  They weren't even four filled pages.  The print was large on each page.  If I had took the time to count, I would venture to say they probably had a little over a a dozen entree items to choose from in total.  Not that it bothered me too much though.  All I wanted was that Cafe Burger I saw them talking about in Juice Magazine.

Something told me when I saw they had strawberry lemonade that it would be a wise choice.  Cafe type places tend to have excellent lemonade that tastes freshly squeezed as opposed to canned.  Well it was indeed pretty dang good.  Not to sweet, not too sour.  Probably the best strawberry lemonade I have had second only to Biaggi's.  Except Biaggi's has free refills.  I was slightly appalled to learn that The Cafe charged for refills for not only their lemonades but also their pop.  They do know what the economy is like, right?

As for the sammich, I will admit that it was VERY tasty.  I'm not usually a kaiser fan but the kaiser bun they had it on complemented the rest of the sammich perfectly.  It seemed that with every bite into the well done burger the rest of the ingredients helped form the perfect crescendo of deliciousness in my mouth.  Maybe the kaiser bun was the catalyst?  No clue but I went in expecting nothing different than any other normal burger I had ever had and walked out having one of the best burgers I can recall in recent history.  The homemade chips that came with them though?  Could have done without those.  They tasted like nothing more than burnt kettle chips.

Now you all know I don't tip right?  No sense in rehashing that all over again. However, every now and then I will break tradition if the service I received truly was exemplary.  Just out of the kindness of my heard I will actually tip in that case. 

This was not one of those instances. 

It had nothing to do with the service though.  The lady was nice enough.  It was because it was so pricey in the first place.  I should have picked up on that immediately when she brought my straw on a separate plate and it rested on a decorative napkin.  It was cemented by the fact they wanted to charge for refills on drinks.  I figured that along with the costs like $9.50 for a burger was enough for them to make their ends meet.  The sammich was good but it wasn't THAT good.  I would be just fine with a Sonic burger for half the price and a watermelon cream slush that would put their strawberry lemonade to shame. 

 

 

 

Smokey D's

Here's another Des Moines legendary haunt that I can finally scratch off the list.  If I would have listened to my friend Wahl, I could have have knocked this out quite a while ago.  That's when I opted for Jethro's instead.  Not one of the worst choices I've ever made based off just their sides alone.  However, all I was doing was delaying what would eventually be the better eats of the two.

My visit was due to a reward for myself.  I had to take yet another licensing test Friday.  I told myself (and The Book) that if I passed the test I was treating myself to Smokey D's.  If I failed it, I was going to drown my sorrows in some Smokey D's.  So either way I was eating there for a late lunch.  But any food tastes SO much better when you're eating it due to a celebration.  The only thing that makes food taste better than that is when it's free.

I was expecting this place Smokey D's to be a hole in the wall shack for some reason.  I really don't know why.  I'm pretty sure I was basing it just off its location alone.  Everyone kept saying it was "down on 2nd Ave by the highway".  When I hear that description I think of the local bucket nekkid known as Big Earl's Gold Mine.  So I just assumed if it was close to that place then it must have been a dump too. 

It was quite the pleasant surprise to see that I could not have been more wrong.  The place doesn't look a whole lot different than any of the other larger barbecue joints that are around town.  At least on the outside with its woodframe build and neon signs.  The interior was also just like any of the other joints with the standard wooden benches and tables.  I think all of the barbecue places must use the same general contractor to get their cookie cutter style designs.  It would be nice to see someone switch it up for a change.

The one that that immediately stood out to me was their prices.  A half rack of ribs with two sides for only $10?!  Most places charge around $18 bucks for the same portions.  I thought for a minute that it was a fluke.  Maybe that was special lunch menu pricing I was seeing?  Nope.  That's their standard pricing.  That alone was enough to set them apart from their competition.  I'm thinking it was partly because their location was not the best that they were able to have such reasonable prices.

I will never forget that aroma that infiltrated my nostrils once the food was brought out.  You could smell the hickory smoked flavor oozing from the ribs. It was much more appealing than the undone pork odor that Jethro's emitted.  Those didn't even smell like they were cooked all the way along with looking pink.  Smokey D's ribs had me drooling like Pavlov's dogs from the scent alone.  One bite into them and it was obvious that the taste more than matched the smell.

Their sides were nothing to sneeze at either.  I went with the baked beans and the potatoe casserole.  It's always difficult for me to find anyone that has better beans that Bush Baked beans so I often avoid those when I dine out.  I just had a good feeling about these though.  I was right.  Although they were no Bush, they were just as tasty in their own right.  And that potato casserole?  Claude had mercy!  It was like a heavenlish (yep....made that word up) combination of hashbrowns, country friend diced potatoes and goodness all mixed in one.

So I'm going to go out on a limb and say that Smokey D's has won me over as the choice for best BBQ in the Capital City.  Not that it's a hard title to claim given the fact that it's Des Moines we're talking about.  It's not as if any place is going to come close to Gates.  Smokey D's can pat themselves on the back for being the closest contender though.  I guess Wahl knew what he was talking about afterall.

 

Jethro's

The time had finally come for me to try this place that I kept hearing about.  Especially since Man vs. Food guy recently had a Des Moines episode where the challenge came from that joint.  Of course I wouldn't be doing that Adam Emmenecker challenge like dude did though.  Namely because I don't like anything that has tenderloin in and/or on it. But folks had been telling me about this spot over by Drake for a minute so I had to check it out for myself.

Before I went, I sent out a feeler on The Book to get recommendations from folks as to what I should order.  I got quite the mixed bag.  My buddy Wahl was adamant about the fact that I should avoid it altogether and go to Smoke D's for some real barbecue.  That name alone had me curious.  And the fact that it came recommended from Wahl who really knew how to throw down on some 'que was impressive.  Still, the other comments had me intrigued enough to stay the course with Jethro's.

The decor was not what I expected at all.  That was pretty stupid on my part though.  It's named after a country hick from "The Beverly Hilbillies" (at least that's my take).  The picture on their sign even looked redneck-ish.  Did I really expect it to be anything else but your standard wooden booths and chairs that you see in every barbecue joint?

Someone told me to go for the brisket.  Then someone immediately afer that suggested that I stay away from the brisket altogether.  I was curious because it has been a while since I had brisket anyway.  But then I had other folks continually reminding me of Jethro's wings.  Ultimately, I thought the best test of their barbecue ability would to go with the old reliable and just get ribs.  It wasn't one of my better decisions. 

If I didn't know any better, I'd say those ribs were undercooked.  I didn't recognize it at first because I had so much sauce on them.  And the thing was the sauce itself wasn't even that good.  It was a little too much honey-based for me.  As I started to get sick later, I started recalling that they did look a little more pink than pork should.  Maybe next time (if there is a next time) I will just stick to the wings like several people recommended.

What was right on the money was Jethro's side dishes.  That jalapeno creamed corn was off the CHAIN!  I've always been a fan of creamed corn anyway and don't eat it nearly enough.  For them to have a homestyle version with jalapeno flavor was right on point.  Their mac and cheese was also surprisingly good.  Of course not as good as you would get from Mom's on Thanksgiving, but definitely better than your normal BBQ joint mac and cheese.  Even their conrbread was incredible.  I just wish they provided a bigger portion of it or at least gave you more than one.  I could see going to Jethro's to just order their sides, much like I do with Popeyes and their red beans and rice.

The service there could have been better.  I'm basing that relative to how busy they were.  I went Friday evening just before 5pm and the place was virtually empty.  There was a family of four and one other couple there besides me and that was it.  But the establishment still appeared to have a full staff as though maybe they were still anticipating that Friday night dinner rush that was yet to come.  If that was the case, they should have warmed up better.  It took a minute for the waitress to come take my order after I was seated.  Then she didn't promptly fill my water glass after it had been empty for too long.  Or maybe they just heard about me and my tipping ways?  That would explain the undercooked meat...

All in all, Jethro's wasn't all it was cracked out to be.  I guess the mixed reviews I was getting were right on the money.  It wasn't like it was all that bad, but it wasn't like it was all that good either.  If I do go there again it would only be to see what those wings are like.  And you can bet I'll be getting some of those sides with it.  I'll just have to make sure to have my Tums at the ready.

 

Art and Soul Restaurant

I told myself that the next time I went to DC I would check out that restaurant Dad told me about.  I can't even remember the name of it now.  I could go back and check the earlier post that referred to it, but I'm not feeling very research-y right about now.  All I know is their concept of all the succulent choice meat you can eat sounded extremely good.  If I ever get another opportunity to head to our nation's capitol I DEFINITELY will have to find that spot.

It really wasn't a matter of not having viable transportation because I could have gotten a cab to get there.  The problem was that I made a decision at the last minute that I wanted to take the DC night tour.  Well, it wasn't actually last minute.  I would have wanted to take the regular tour on th double-decker bus but I missed the cutoff time for that one when I came to that decision at 5:30.  Therefore, the only option left was an evening tour which started at 7pm.  It didn't leave me much time to get a cab somewhere, eat and get back. I had to find some place close by.

I walked outside and looked up and down New Jersey Avenue where the hotel was located.   I could see the Capitol Building just blocks up the street but nothing as far as restaurants are concerned.  There was a Hyatt hotel right across the street though.  I wondered how their restaurant was.  Then I also started thinking about how I should have stayed there instead of where I ended up.  However, I figured if I was going to do a hotel restaurant, I might as well try the one that was right in my hotel.  Perhaps that would be the one bright light about the place.

The name Art and Soul immediately resonated with me for a reason entirely unrelated to food.  There used to be this R&B group back in the 90s named Art n Soul.  They only had one good cut which was a tight little mid-tempo jam called "Ever Since You Went Away".  Not sure they could even be considered one hit wonders since even that song never charted, but I always remembered it.  Whatever happened to them?  Maybe the turned their endeavors to restaurants which is how this place came to be? Yeah, right.  Apparently not since a Facebook friend would later inform me it was the brainchild of some cat named Art something.

The ambiance of the place wasn't anything to write home to Mom about.  It wasn't due to lack of effort though.  It's just that there is only so much you can do when your restaurant is located inside a hotel.  Since the options are rather limited it really comes down to stepping up in the food department instead to make an impression.  That is where Art and Soul came through.

The first thing that caught my attention on the menu was something they had called "Hoecakes".  I thought it was a joke.  Or at least that maybe I was misreading it.  I laughed inside about that one for a while.  Do they not know that that was one of the best gags from the classic film "Hollywood Shuffle"?  I can't believe anyone would actually name one of their menu items that.  I was almost tempted to order one just to see what it tasted like. 

Art and Soul got immediate bonus points for their bread.  The server brought out a basket which I thought would contain your customary dinner rolls.  Nope.  It was cornbread muffins!  They weren't Jiffy style which I LOVE, but the cornmeal, homemade type.  Probably my second favorite.  Wait...third favorite.  I can't forget Grandma's flat-style, homemade style.  Anyway, those muffins combined with the fact that their butter was the soft and creamy kind was a huge plus for them.  Which reminds me...why do restaurants serve you butter that's cold and hard?  That's one of my biggest pet peeves.

I ended up settling for something called the bone in prime ribeye.  All I saw was "ribeye" which was enough to be appealing.  I didn't realize it meant the steak would come attached to a large bone.  It looked like it was a large lamb chop.  However, it tasted MUCH better.  Especially when dipped in the special steak sauce that accompanied it.  It tasted like a mix of A-1 with a touch of horseradish and maybe even some Heinz 57.  They called it black pepper marmalade.  I usually like my steak just fine by ordering it medium rare, but that steak sauce enhanced the flavor even more.

The side dishes it came with were called crisp fingerlings and creamed spinach.  Atlhough I'm no chef genius, I would swear that "crisp fingerlings" was just a fancy name for "mini-potatoes".  That's that they looked and tasted like which was pretty decent.  Now that creamed spinach on the other hand was FIRE!  I'm not even a spinach fan so I thought I would probably just have a couple of bites.  Especially since the meat was both good and large enough to be filling.  However, after a couple of bites I was hooked. 

I was so impressed by the entire meal up to that point that I would have loved to try one of their desserts when I was finished.  It didn't matter that I never saw them on the menu.  I would have taken the server's recommendation at that point since everything else had been incredibly tasty.  However, I really was full.  I couldn't have eaten another bite if I wanted to.  Not to mention that I still had to get going to hit that DC nite tour. 

Art and Soul should be very proud of the fact that they were the one saving grace about that Liasion Hotel.  Although I would never stay at the Liaison again, I certainly would try Art and Soul once more if given the chance.  They made such a splash with me that I even went as far as to do the unthinkable.  That's right....I left a tip.