2012 top eats #2 - #4:

2012 top eats #4: Pepperoni pizza at Grimaldi’s Pizzeria – Peoria AZ

Full Review

 

 

2012 top eats #3: Burger at Epic Pizza and Subs – St. Louis MO

Full Review

 

 

 

2012 top eats #2: Steak Medallions at Highway 61 Roadhouse – St. Louis MO

Full Review

2012 top eats #5 - #7:

2012 top eats #7: fried chicken and onion rings at Chicken Annies – Pittsburg KS

Full Review

2012 top eats #6: Pepperoni pizza at La Pizza – St. Louis MO

Full Review

2012 top eats #5: Paprika Schnitzel at Haus Murphy’s – Glendale AZ

Full Review

2012 top eats #8 - #10:

2012 top eats #10: Chicken Noodle soup at Red Barn – Mt. Vernon MO

Full Review

2012 top eats #9: Las Caras – Denver CO         

Full Review

 

 

2012 top eats #8: French toast at Butterfields Pancake House – Scottsdale AZ

 Full Review

 

 

 

Las Caras – Denver CO

 October 31, 2012

After a doctor appointment in Denver, I was very hungry.  We also had not been to one of my favorite Mexican places in a while and I have never written a review of Las Caras so it was a perfect opportunity.

 

Las caras is a small family run Mexican restaurant, filled with pictures of the family on the walls and maybe 10 or 12 tables. 

We took a seat at the first table, you seat yourself, and quickly they brought us menus and asked if we wanted chips and their famous red onion salsa (they charge $1.00).  We did and we all ordered cokes as well.  When they brought all this back out, we had already decided what we wanted, which I actually decided that morning before we even left home.  My dad and I both got the combo with a cheese enchilada, a chile relleno, and a burrito. ($10-11 ish) The burrito came with a choice of meat we both chose steak ($ 1.00 extra).  My mom had the combo with a cheese enchilada, a chile relleno and a ground beef taco.  The combos also come with rice and beans.

We have been here many times, but the first time I wasn’t so sure about the red onion salsa.  After having it again I began thinking this stuff is really good.  I think the tomatoes might be canned, but the rest seemed like fresh ingredients, jalapenos, onion and garlic.  This was a chunky salsa which I also liked.

My combo was excellent, like it always is here.  The chile relleno was just how I like them, crispy, cheesy and smothered in green chile.  They are the egg roll wrapper type which I think are the best ones.  The burrito was also very good especially the steak, this was also covered in green chile.  The cheese enchilada was alright, and there was nothing wrong with it, but it was definitely my least favorite of the three items.  The rice and beans were also good, and definitely better than most places.

Las Caras is and has always had great food and service and is one of my family’s favorite Mexican places.  I highly recommend Las Caras for a great family run Mexican restaurant with great food at reasonable prices.

 

 

 

 

3333 South Tamarac Drive  Denver, CO 80231

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Zarda barbecue - Lenexa, KS

September 13, 2012

A Few days before we got to Kansas City I read and saw a picture of Billy Butler's Ton of barbecue sandwich. Being a baseball fan and a food fan I had to get the sandwich named for the Royals designated hitter. This came with the choice of meat I picked pulled pork this was topped with melted provolone, two onion rings and barbecue sauce.  I ordered the cheesy potatoes as my side. My dad also got the same sandwich and my mom just got a plain barbecue sandwich we also ordered the fried pickles.

After we ordered at the counter we picked a table and shortly they brought out our food.

 

The Billy Butlers ton of barbeque sandwich looked great when it arrived.  But after eating part of the sandwich I wasn't so sure about it, but I also wasn't all that hungry to begin with which might have been part of the problem.  It was okay but I actually don't think I liked the melted cheese, I think I would have preferred just a plain meat and sauce sandwich.  The onion rings were just onion rings that weren’t anything special. The cheesy potatoes were actually pretty good, quite greasy but tasted pretty good.

 

The fried pickles my parents thought were good but I wasn't so sure, I thought they were ok but nothing special either.  My parents both thought the place was good and didn't see anything wrong with it, but I on the other hand thought it was just average.

 

 

11931 West 87th Street Parkway

Lenexa, KS 66215

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Oklahoma Joe's - Olathe, KS

September 13, 2012

We were in Kansas City and decided to continue our bbq tour, which brought us here.  We came here a few years ago before the blog.  I remember it being good, but not too much more than that.

 This is a place where you order at a counter and you pick up your food at the other end of the counter.  We got here at the late end of lunch time and the line was still quite long at that point, but the line actually went really quick and we got through in not very long.  However there were not many places to sit, so the 3 of us squeezed into a table for 2.  This day was also a rainy and cold day, so when I saw they had gumbo, I knew I needed to get some and since it’s a barbeque place, I needed barbeque.

 Regular Sandwiches come with 4 ounces of meat and jumbo sandwiches come with 6 ounces, so my mom and I both got a cup of gumbo and shared a jumbo turkey sandwich.  My dad had another kind of sandwich which I'm not sure what it was. He ordered fries to go with his sandwich.

The turkey was very good especially with the barbecue sauce. It was a simple sandwich but it was good.   

The gumbo was also pretty good, and was warm and had quite a bit of kick, this was over rice.

The fries were huge and enough for all three of us to share. We all thought the fries are pretty good, they had some kind of seasoning on it which was good and then they were just good fries underneath the seasoning. This was also very good dipped in the barbecue sauce.

They had two sauces a regular and the night of the living bbq sauce which was their spicy barbecue sauce this one was my favorite of the two because it had a good amount to kick it. 

 

11950 South Strang Line Road
Olathe, KS

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RJ's Bob-Be-Que Shack -Mission Kansas

September 12, 2012

We met some relatives in Kansas City for some barbecue.  This was one of the places they like in Kansas City and was also featured on diner’s drive-ins and dives. When we first got out of the car I could immediately smell something smoking which is a very good sign. When we went in before they put a table together for us.  For appetizers someone wanted corn fritters which I'd never had before. 

 

Also dad really wanted to try jalapeno sausage. A couple people liked this and others including me who don’t particularly like sausage to begin with didn't care for it. 

 

The fritters were great and were just like dough with corn that was fried. The ranch dressing with it was kind of thin, but did taste good. These might be one of my new favorite appetizers.

I decide to get the rib special which was half a slab of ribs with one side which I picked of bob be que beans. My dad had burnt end sandwich and I don't remember exactly what everyone else had.

 

I thought the ribs were good, but not the greatest ribs in the world.  They did pretty much fall off the bone. The beans had a coffee flavor in them, which is one thing I hate so I didn't care for them. I also got to sample the fried okra and it was great and the best yet that I've tried. My dad let me sample his burnt ends and I immediately knew what I should've have had. The barbecue sauce here I thought was decent but probably not my favorite barbecue sauce I've had.

 

 

5835 Lamar Ave

Mission, KS 66202

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City Coffeehouse & Crêperie - Clayton, MO

September 12, 2012

I have never had crêpes before (besides at IHOP) but have always been intrigued by them. We walked in and we got in line to order at the counter. This was really crowded because you have to go through the line one way and after basically come back through to get out of the line. This was rather awkward especially in a wheelchair. So while we waited in line we checked out the menu that was painted on the wall. The menu was Filled with all types of crêpes; breakfast, lunch, savory, sweet and some sandwiches. I thought a savory one sounded good so I picked the BLT. This had bacon spinach and tomato and cheese and house dressing. My parents both had different savory crêpe as well.

After we placed our order we found a table and shortly after they brought out the crêpes. I thought the crepe part was all right, but really didn't like the filling and dressing inside. So I guess I'm either not a crepe person or I picked the wrong one to get.  My parents both had a different savory crêpe, but both didn't really like it either. We all agreed that this was one of our least favorite places on the trip.

As we were leaving St. Louis after our last meal we realized we didn’t end of journey on a high note but we did quite well for finding food in St. Louis.

 

 

36 North Brentwood Boulevard  Clayton, MO 63105

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Ted Drewes frozen custard St. Louis Missouri

September 11, 2012

 

This was our third trip St. Louis and even though we wanted to stop here we just haven't made it until now. After dinner at Mama Josephine we decide to head here for custard. When we arrived we parked and walked up to the building where you order at the window. I decided to get the cardinal sin which had tart cherries and fudge, this came in a little bit bigger cup than the other two we ordered because it had an extra topping. There were quite a few people standing around either ordering or waiting for or enjoying their custard. When ours were ready they handed them to us upside down because of how thick they are, but not for long. This was very good and it was a perfect way to and a great food day.

 

 

 

 

6726 Chippewa Street  St. Louis, MO 63109

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Mama Josephine's St. Louis Missouri

September 11, 2012

After our day at the Missouri botanical Gardens we headed down the street not very far to Mama Josephine’s. This is in a neat old corner building with maybe around 10 tables.

 

We arrived just after five, the sign on the door closed and reopened five, so someone ran up to the door and took it down right when we were getting there. The owner who is on Josephine's daughter welcomed us in and said we could sit wherever we would like. We had many choices at that point, so we picked a nice table by the window. Pretty quickly they took our drink orders and then give us time to look over the menu.  We Checked out the menu and looked around at the building. In a while we had decided what we wanted. My dad and I both decided to get the chicken fried steak. This came with two side dishes which I picked mashed potatoes and gravy and fried okra. The meal also came with cornbread or a roll; I took the roll because I really don't like cornbread. My mom wanted chicken and dumplings, but the waitress said it would be at least a half an hour till dumplings would be available, so she decided to get chicken fried steak as well.  

 

My mom and dad both got mashed potatoes and gravy and a salad. While we sat and waited, a few more people came in a few others had takeout orders.

 It did take a while for food did finally come.

 

I thought the chicken fried steak is good but not the greatest as was the fried okra, the mashed potatoes and gravy and quite tasty and was home homemade as was everything else. The roll was also very good but I only took a few bites since I filled up on everything else.

 

For dessert my dad decided to try the peach cobbler. This really took quite a while till it was brought out, but it was well worth the wait. For me it depends on the day and what kind of dessert if I like it, but this was one of them that I thought this was incredible and I wish I would've had my own and not just a sample. After we finished the owner came over to see how everything was. She was very friendly and liked to talk. So she told us about the place that they make everything fresh with her mother's recipes, which is why it takes a little longer to make everything. She also went on to talk about how the neighborhood used to be a bad neighborhood but has been cleaned up. After a bit we paid at the counter and got a free pen and we were on our way. While not anything, except for maybe the peach cobbler, was the greatest the food was homemade and done right. You could also tell that the owner was really into her business and cared tremendously about the quality.

 

 

 

4000 Shaw Avenue  St. Louis, MO 63110

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La Pizza St. Louis Missouri

September 11, 2012

 

Our pastor at our church who loves pizza told us that this was his favorite pizza place from his time at the seminary in St. Louis. So we wanted to make sure we checked it out and after reading that they had a lunch special we decided to stop by on our last day in St. Louis. This place is a very small place with just a few tables I was not able to get in the building (it was not wheelchair accessible) so we figured we could just eat in the Van. My parents headed in to get three lunch specials, which came with 2 1 topping slices and a can of soda. (They had both Coke and Pepsi). Usually I don't know about pizza by the slice since it isn't exactly fresh typically, but we were here early just after 11 and were probably the first customers, so they made us a fresh pizza since we all wanted pepperoni. This seemed to take a while especially since I was waiting outside and not knowing what was going on and I was hungry, but it really wasn't as long as seemed.

 

Our pastor was right this pizza was great and one of the best pieces I've ever had (Grimaldi’s was the other).  These slices were huge and not a regular size slices they were more like two normal slices, so I definitely had to fold it to eat it. The crust had a little chew to it and was a little crisp on the bottom, but a perfect amount of both. That with good sauce, cheese and pepperoni made for perfect pizza. In fact in my opinion it should be the definition of pizza.

 

8137 Delmar Boulevard  St. Louis, MO 63130

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Highway 61 roadhouse St. Louis Missouri

September 10, 2012

This place will be featured on diner’s drive-ins and dives on food network soon. From their website I found a few items that look like they sounded pretty good, but I still was not sure what to get when we got there.

We were seated quick and quickly had our drink orders taken which came in rather large cups. Which is good because then I don't have to worry about getting refill. Since I kind of knew what was on the menu it didn't take me long to figure out what I wanted. After our waiter brought back the drinks he told us about the special which was a ribeye and a potato. He said he would give us a little more time. When I saw the steak medallions description on the menu again I thought I have to get that especially since I hadn't had a steak of any kind on the trip.

This also came with two side dishes which I picked red beans and rice and Mac cheese, and had the medallions cooked medium well. My dad also got this as well with red beans and rice and mashed potatoes with Andouille sausage gravy and his medallions cooked medium. My mom had the ribeye special with the potato.

After my first bite I knew I picked the right thing to order.  As My steak medallions were amazingly good with Cajun seasoning on it which was good to begin with then was topped with Gorgonzola and fried onion strings. Most of everything I had the steak, fried onions, red beans and rice all had a little bit of heat but I thought it was a perfect amount. Some of My steak medallions pieces were maybe a little more than medium well and some may be less than and some were perfect.  It tasted great without the over-the-top heat.

Mom said hers was good, But did not go into details. Dad really enjoyed his meal too, especially his Steak Medallions, but did also really like the Andouille gravy on the mashed potatoes.

34 South Old Orchard Avenue  St. Louis, MO 63119

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Epic pizza and subs St. Louis Missouri

September 9, 2012

Before we left and did an Internet search for good burgers in St. Louis and once I saw pictures of their burger I was sold on this place. After an adventure getting in because of the wheelchair accessibility I was ready for my burger. We went up to the counter to order we all three had Pepsi's. My mom and I both got a single with cheddar and

 

 

my dad had a double with American. They said their burgers were 6 ounces patties. They said to find a table and they would bring out the drinks to us. All the tables were high which would be fine for most people, but was really awkward for me in my wheelchair. Quickly the drinks came out

 

and shortly thereafter came the burgers my first thought was how amazing looked and then that's going to make a big mess.  After I started eating these two things were still true and wow was it good.  Everything on the burger was good; the bun, burger, and cheese were all great. The lettuce and tomato were good but half of it fell out, so I did basically get a salad.   The sauce was really what made it even better, it was kind of like 1000 island or special sauce, but a lot better than any I've had and there was nice spicy kick to it. This burger was quite greasy but it was dang good.  

 

The Parmesan garlic fries that came with were pretty good as well, maybe a little dry with the Parmesan but they were good and greasy, but what wasn't at this place.

This was a great place for a burger even though it's not in its name.  They also had subs and pizza that sounded good, but I came here for the burger.

 

 

1711 South 9th Street  St. Louis, MO 63104

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Busch Stadium - St. Louis Missouri

September 9, 2012

 

 

We were at a game between the Cardinals and the Brewers and I thought I’m at a baseball game so I need a hot dog and lucky for me there was a Hebrew national stand right behind our seats.

 

 

So I got the hot dog from there with sauerkraut and onions and I also made it a combo with the bag of chips which were Miss Vickie's kettle chips. The onions I thought were cooked a little too far but everything tasted pretty good, but I did make a mess because it fell apart on me. This was a little expensive at $9.75, but was not out of line for ballpark food.

 

 

700 Clark Avenue  St. Louis, MO 63102

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