Chain Restaurant – Buffet

Laurie and I were on the road north for a family visit in the Cleveland Ohio area… It’s a long drive and we always stop somewhere along the way for a lunch break.  Our favored route from East Tennessee takes us up through West Virginia on I-77.  Due to the scenic but rugged countryside, timing pretty much limits us to choosing a restaurant either in Beckley and Princeton West Virginia.

Beckley has been our norm…but we’ve tried just about every dining option at that exit and we decided we’d give Princeton a try. 

This is Ryan’s Steakhouse, Buffet and Bakery in Princeton.  We normally avoid buffets…too much food and a lot of food can make me sleepy…not good when behind the wheel.  However we’d seen some TV ads for Ryan’s and someone had told us that the food was pretty good… Many of the buffets we’d tried over the years were marginal at best…but what the heck, nothing ventured, nothing gained!

You pay for the buffet when you enter the restaurant.  The interior was clean and bright.  The servers/waitstaff and the manager were all very friendly and helpful.

The buffet tables were all well stocked and everything looked fresh.  The closest one featured salads and the one to the right rear was loaded with bakery goods and other desserts.

I skip salads when I go to buffets… How else can I get my money’s worth!?  These 2 lines featured the meat, fish, starch and vegetables.

I went straight to the fried chicken.  There were chicken ‘tenders’ and real chicken breasts to choose from.  I love fried chicken…and prefer chicken with bone in.  Ryan’s fried chicken is pretty good…not the best I’ve ever had but very respectable indeed.

Laurie was a good girl and she started out with a salad.  I think that she figured that someone had to stay awake in the car!  Everything was fresh…

Laurie’s second helping consisted of a piece of chicken, a cornbread muffin, green beans and a scoop of mashed potatoes with white gravy.  It was a very satisfying meal!  No more photos of my food…I just got more chicken and other meats and vegetables.

Our server brought these little fried dough balls around… They were hot, covered with powdered sugar and very tasty!

We tasted a couple of desserts including this slice of coconut cream pie.  Everything we tried was OK and the pie was a bit above average. 

In summary, Ryan’s in Princeton West Virginia was a good road stop!  The food was solid, basic, fresh and satisfying.  For the price, it was much more than I would have expected!  Being a ‘senior’, my luncheon buffet cost only $6.99, while my much younger bride had to pay the ‘adult’ fare of $7.49.  You just can’t beat those prices for the quality and quantity of food served!

We will stop at Ryan’s of Princeton West Virginia again… This restaurant is located at the unfortunate address of 195 Greasy Ridge Road.  Phone: 304-487-0580.  Ryan’s website can be found at http://www.ryans.com/.

FYI…Ryan’s is a division of Ovation Brands, Inc.  Among other brands with a total of more than 347 restaurants, the parent company also operates Old Country Buffet, Country Buffet and HomeTown Buffet.

Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them…

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave 

Family – Fun and Food!

It’s not like all we do is eat when we visit our family in Cleveland… We actually do a lot more but we don’t take too many photos.  There are board games, movies, kids reading to us or just reading books in general, basketball and football in the yard and soccer games to attend.  But heck…we do like food!

Here’s proof that it wasn't all food and we actually went to a movie!  Laurie took this photo of us in the theater just before the feature flick, Muppets Most Wanted, started rolling.  Even the boys thought that this movie was just ok. What Laurie and I liked was an almost empty...and quiet...theater!

One evening, with David II and Amy working and Laurie and I playing all day we ordered Chinese take-out.  We might have over-ordered!

The stack of food containers on the table was for 6 of us…although there was enough food to feed 10 adults.  It’s hard finding good Chinese food where we live in East Tennessee…so Laurie and I wanted to sample a little of everything.  Also, I might have mentioned in a previous posting that when David II and I are together…it’s like an ‘eating contest’!

Here’s a photo of one of our plates…probably mine as Laurie isn’t big on potstickers!  There is also a spring roll, an egg roll, a couple of crab Rangoon and some Szechwan green beans with garlic. 

This was an order of spicy Thai wings… They were very good!

We ordered our Chinese take-out from the Imperial Dragon Restaurant located at 8310 Tyler Boulevard in Mentor Ohio.  Phone: 440-974-8838.  Website: www.imperialdragonrestaurant.com. 

Yup…most of our photos are about family with food…eating food…in a restaurant, etc.  What can I say!  Here is David III waiting for Sunday brunch at Vittorio’s Buon Appetito, a restaurant owned by one of his schoolmate’s parents. 

While we waited for our food, Laurie also snapped a picture of Emmett Lee.

Brunch menu items at Vittorio’s range from a Quiche or Soup, Salad and a half sandwich at $7.99 on up to Beef Stroganoff ($10.99) and Fettuccini Alfredo with a grilled chicken breast ($11.99)

Amy ordered one of her favorites…Lasagna. ($9.49) It was accompanied with a side salad.  I don’t know whose tater tots those were…perhaps Emmett Lee’s.

I believe that this was the Sicilian Frittata…a 3-egg omelet stuffed with crumbled sausage, pepperoni, mushrooms, onions, provolone and Romano cheeses. ($7.99) I think that this was David II’s brunch. 

I ordered the Baked Ziti Rosa…pasta with crumbled sausage in creamy tomato sauce and baked with Romano and mozzarella cheese. ($8.49) It was a little bland for my taste…some cracked hot red peppers would have kicked it up a notch. 

Vittorio’s Buon Appetito Restaurant is located at 29664 Euclid Avenue in Wickliffe Ohio.  Phone: 440-585-7700.  You can find their website at: http://www.vittoriosbuonappetito.com/index.php.

On another evening David II lite a fire in their fire pit so the whole family could sit around outdoors on a chilly late March evening and stay warm…

It must be nice to be so young… It’s been a long time since I enjoyed that state of life!  Also…note David III in shorts and a tee-shirt.  At least Emmett has a light jacket on!

Amy was more sensibly dressed…in her soccer mom jacket.  She was recovering from a torn muscle in one of her legs.  However earlier in the day, despite her injury, with crutches and all, she coached Emmett Lee’s soccer team to a big victory over a team comprised of older boys! It was a great game to watch!!

By contrast with the others…here I am in a winter coat with a scarf.  I don’t know whether it’s due to aging or the fact that having lived in the mid-south for almost 5 years now, my blood has thinned out.

All in all, Laurie and I had a great visit with our family in northern Ohio!  Lots of fun family time and some quality time with the grandsons equaled good times indeed!

Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them…

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave

More Burgers with the Grandsons...

What can I say!  Growing boys like hamburgers!  Another day out with our grandsons up in the Cleveland Ohio area…  Where did they want to go for lunch?  This time it was Red Robin Gourmet Burgers.

Of course Laurie and I have been to Red Robin before…starting many years ago out in Arizona.  The interior of the restaurants in this chain is always pleasant and warm.

There I am with David III and Emmett Lee… Our waiter was taking our order.

We decided to try Red Robin’s Pretzel Bites as an appetizer. ($5.00) The Bites were OK with the mustard based dipping sauce.

Laurie ordered a bowl of the French Onion Soup for her lunch. ($4.99) To paraphrase the old hamburger ad…”Where’s the Cheese?”  Laurie was not particularly happy with this weak attempt to create a real bowl of one of her favorite soups…

To try to keep my diet halfway healthy, I ordered a side of broccoli to accompany my hamburger.  Pitiful isn’t it!  It should have never been allowed to leave the kitchen and our waiter should have been embarrassed to serve this side…

I’ll keep this short… We all ordered burgers.  There was a Big Ghost Tavern Burger ($9.79), a Tavern Double Burger ($6.99) and a basic Cheeseburger. ($4.79) Emmett Lee ordered mandarin oranges as his side…a healthy choice!  I had to ask for mayonnaise despite ordering it on my burger.  I received French fries even though I'd expressly not ordered them.  I had to ask for a refill on my coffee... Yikes! 

The boys were happy enough with their burgers…but I thought that my Big Ghost Tavern Burger was ‘just OK’.  We’ve never been enamored with Red Robin Restaurants, treating them as just a fuel stop only…and this experience did not enhance their reputation in our mind! 

Red Robin Gourmet Burgers has over 500 restaurants nationwide.  Franchises are available… This particular location is at 36565 Euclid Avenue in Willoughby Ohio.  Phone: 440-602-9766.  Website: http://www.redrobin.com/menu.  

Just click on any of the photos…especially the broccoli and the soup…if you’d like a closer look!

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave 

An Experiment with Flank Steak

We will be the first to admit that we are not gourmets…or gourmet cooks either.  But, from time to time we build up our nerve and try creating something in the kitchen that we wouldn’t normally try.

In this case, we ‘borrowed’ a recipe posted by Big Dude that he modified when he created a version of this rolled flank steak.  The original recipe was called the ‘Al Capone Roast’ and it came from All Recipes.

Like Big Dude, we didn’t have all the ingredients that the original recipe called for…and there were some ingredients…such as mushrooms…that I don’t care for.  Consequently, we modified the ‘Al Capone’ recipe to fit our needs.

We started out with a big hunk of flank steak and I beat the heck out of it in an effort to flatten it so it would be easier to roll.  I was hampered by the fact that we don’t have a mallet and I ended up using a heavy duty manual potato masher.  Still…I gave it my best in an attempt to achieve a ½” thickness.  Then we added some dried garlic and onion flakes plus a bit of mixed pepper.

Next, we layered in spinach and Benton’s prosciutto…

Then we added mozzarella cheese…

We followed the mozzarella with 12 slices of pepperoni…doubled up.

Finally we added some fresh asparagus spears and a dose of Italian seasoning.

Then we rolled it and prepared to brown it in a cast iron skillet.  On high heat we seared the roast on all sides. 

  

After searing it, we left the roast in the skillet and popped it into a 350 degree oven.  

We left it in the oven until the probe thermometer reached 135 degrees in the center of the roast.  This is what it looked like when we took it out of the oven. 

This is our finished product…with sides of additional spinach and asparagus.  We love asparagus!  It was a little rare in the middle…ok for us…but we would have preferred a little more medium rare.  The meat did pick up the flavors from the spices and the pepperoni.  The vegetables were cooked just right and between them and the cheese, the roast was nice and moist.  It was good but it could have been better.  We gave our experiment a grade of “B”.

To critique ourselves: First of all, we need a real mallet.  The flank steak would have been more tender and easier to roll if I’d been able to make it thinner.  Secondly, the pepperoni worked well as did the vegetables…but more cheese and fresh garlic would have provided more flavor. Finally, Laurie has been complaining that the oven isn’t cooking right.  The temperatures never seems accurate.  That will be rectified soon, perhaps by the time you read this posting.  Our 15 year old oven just ‘died’ on May 28^th. (Laurie says, "Yippee! R.I.P.")

If you’d like to experiment with this entrée, above is the original recipe for the “Al Capone” Roast.  To view Big Dude’s great looking Rolled Flank Steak and to check out the modification he made to the original recipe, just go to http://bigdudesramblings.blogspot.com/2014/03/al-capone-roast.html.

Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them…

Thanks for stopping by to see what we’ve been up to!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave

An Up and Coming Burger Franchise!

Back in March, Laurie and I were up in Cleveland Ohio visiting our son David II, his wife Amy and our two very cool grandsons, David III and Emmett Lee.  With their parents at work, we had the boys to ourselves so we headed out for lunch and a movie!

David III is 13 and Emmett Lee is 10.  Like most boys of that age, (or my age for that matter), one of the favorite foods is hamburgers!  They told us that we should take them to BurgerFi…a relatively new burger joint in a nearby suburb. 

This is Emmett Lee… His current ‘thing’ or focus is football with Tom Brady and the New England Patriots as his favorite team.  As he lives in Cleveland, he also roots for the Cleveland Browns.  Emmett is an excellent soccer player and he runs track too! 

This is David III… He actually loves to read real books…you know…the kind printed on paper.  He’s very bright and loves it when we quiz him on various miscellaneous topics…like geography or a little history.  David plays soccer too and he plays basketball. 

I'm sure that you see Emmett in the background...'photobombing' our photo of his brother.  We've now learned a new word!

  

The interior of BurgerFi is much like the exterior…sort of industrial modern with a few twists to change up the décor.  Customers order at the counter and they call you when your food is ready.

Note the strange chandeliers, the humongous ceiling fan and the wood on the walls.  Then then there is that big table and the chairs of varying color and design…

The BurgerFi operation is into environmentally sustainable best practices…including chairs that are made from recycled Coke bottles, tables made from compressed recycled wood and those big fans that use 66% less electricity.  The company also maintains a strict recycling program for oil, cardboard, bottles and cans.  

This was David II’s BurgerFi Cheeseburger. ($5.97) BurgerFi serves all natural Angus Beef.  No antibiotics and no hormones are used in raising the free range cattle that they purchase from their supplier.

 

BurgerFi’s sandwich menu is simple and straightforward… In addition to the burgers, the restaurant also offers Hot Dogs...plus a couple of specialty sandwiches.  The hot dogs range from a New York Style version ($3.67) all the way up to a 100% Wagyu Kobe Beef Dog. ($4.97)

Laurie and I both ordered a Double Cheeseburger with white cheddar cheese and hickory smoked bacon. ($8.13 each) We hadn’t told them how we wanted them cooked and there was some fear that they’d be overcooked.  We like our burgers medium rare… They were cooked all the way through but they were still moist and flavorful!  The quality of the ingredients makes a big difference…

Note the BurgerFi ‘brand’ that is imprinted on the top bun of each hamburger.

Emmett Lee ordered 2 single cheeseburgers with American cheese. ($4.47 each) Both of our grandsons love BurgerFi!!

The specialty burgers/sandwiches include a VegeFi Burger made with quinoa ($6.97); a Brisket Burger made from aged ground brisket ($9.97), and a Breakfast All Day Burger with hickory bacon drizzled with maple syrup, a fried egg, hash browns, grilled diced onions and ketchup. ($6.97) I can’t quite understand maple syrup on a burger…but what the heck, different strokes for different folks!

For beverages, we ordered 2 ‘freestyle sodas’ ($2.27 each) and 2 lemonades. ($2.57 each) As you can see, the beverages are a profit center for BurgerFi.  They also offer beer and wine for those who are so inclined...

The boys told us that we’d only need one large order of French fries…and they were right!  It provided plenty of fries for everyone and they were pretty darn good too… ($3.97) The next time that Laurie and I eat at a BurgerFi, we’ll order the Parmesan and Herb Fries…Yum! ($4.94 for the large order)

The good news is that a BurgerFi has just opened in Knoxville!  Former Tennessee Volunteers and NFL Pro Albert Haynesworth is the franchisee… The bad news is that it’s still about an hour from our home.  This franchised operation is growing fast.  The first BurgerFi opened in 2011 and there are now roughly 48 locations with another couple dozen slated to open yet this year.

We like BurgerFi!  We will even get around to driving that hour or so to visit the location near the University of Tennessee… It remains to be seen if the company can maintain its momentum and its standards.  We wish them success!

The BurgerFi that we visited in the Cleveland area is located at 8748 Mentor Avenue in Mentor Ohio.  Phone: 440-974-6265.  The company website can be found at http://www.burgerfi.com/.

Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them…

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave

Son + Father = Boy’s Toys!

Every year Laurie and I head up to the Cleveland Ohio suburbs around the grandson’s spring break to spend time with them…and to celebrate David II’s birthday.

It’s hard to remember back when he was this young…!  Wasn’t he a cute kid?!

It’s even a little hard to remember back when he'd grown up a bit…before his braces and back when I still had hair!

Time flies!  A couple of years ago we found ourselves with our son as he graduated from law school and starting his second career...with his wife Amy, a retail executive, and two handsome and talented grandsons…David III and Emmett Lee.

At this point, David II had already started claiming that his birthdays were marching backwards…39 years old and counting.  I thought that it was a bit strange since Laurie and I keep getting older…at least physically!

We do like to surprise our son…just to keep him off balance so that he never knows what we might do next.  For his birthday this year we came through with some of his usual birthday wishes…books and video games.

But then we gave him a brown paper shopping bag…with his surprise gift!  By the look on his face, you can see that we have his attention!

I had decided that the time had come for me to pass on my collection of ‘toy’ soldiers.  I’d acquired them over a 50 year period… This is just part of the 'army' I'd accummulated.

My collection included Britain’s, French, Canadians, South African, African, Cowboys, American Indians and other figures.

In age, some dated back to the late 1800s and others were made by American artists and craftsmen into the 1980s.  I never did count up the total number of items in my collection.

David II started collecting St. Petersburg soldiers and figurines 10+ years ago.  He has amassed quite an impressive collection!

These little works of art are hand crafted and hand painted.  The detail is amazing!

With the addition of this birthday surprise to David II’s collection he now has a balanced, impressive and growing representation of both new and old creations… He will need to come up with more display space!  We think that he really liked this little birthday present… I sure enjoyed giving it to him!

To find out more about Britain’s toy soldiers, go to http://www.britains-soldiers.com/ and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Britains_(toy_brand).  To learn about the St. Petersburg collection, you can go to http://www.aeroartinc.com/articles/st_petersburg_collection/.

Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them…

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave