HyVee

So we now have a HyVee in town. I was filled with trepidation about it. They were from out of town, I knew that. Then again, what did I have to lose by checking them out? So, one day, my husband and I were craving the salad bar at Dillons, and decided to hit the all-you-can-eat one over on Battlefield. On the way there, we decided to try the HyVee salad bar, instead. When we got there, we changed our minds and chose the Grand Buffet, and boy are we glad we did. We've been back three times since then.

If you have not yet had a chance to experience the Grand Buffet at HyVee, I strongly recommend it, especially if you have some grocery shopping to do, anyway, as you can then take advantage of their amazing selection. Come on, what other grocery store here in town carries dragon fruit?

So here's how it works. When you purchase the Grand Buffet, you can choose from Chinese, the Kitchen, Italian, and the salad bar. The salad bar is self-serve. For the rest, you take up your receipt and just order whatever you want.

With such a wide variety available, here are some of my favorites:

1) The dinner rolls. Soft and warm. Great with a little butter or just for mopping up gravy.

2) The pizza. Any flavor. You can't go wrong.

3) When they have it, the chicken alfredo.

4) The pork tenderloin. Amazingly tender.

5) The lo mein.

6) The duck. Seriously. What other grocery store has duck at all, let alone hot, ready to eat, and not greasy?

7) The General Tso's chicken.

8) The fruit area of the salad bar. This is the only place in town where I can just scoop up strawberries and not worry about their condition.

9) The cookies and cream. This is in the "salads" part of the kitchen section, where you'd find the potato salad and Waldorf salad. The cookies and cream tastes just like my mother's Oreo fluff.

I would TOTALLY recommend this if you've got to go grocery shopping anyway, or even if you don't. The ONLY downside is that they have Mr. Pibb instead of Dr. Pepper in the soda fountain.

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Panara

Well, hubby had his first Why Catholic? class last night, and I spent the evening at Panara (National, near St. Louis.) I've said it before, and I'll say it again. I LOVE Panara's tomato soup in a bread bowl, which is what I had last night along with their tomato and parmesan panini. I had liked the panini before, but it just didn't taste right, last night. It seemed like there were fewer tomatoes, and it was just a bit on the burnt side. Not enough cheese, either. The tomato soup, however, was fantastic, as usual. I love being able to sit by the fireplace with my laptop, enjoying  the free wi-fi, and really enjoying my dinner instead of rushing  through it.   Is it really any wonder why we invade this place every November for NaNoWriMo?   $-$$

Taco Bell

Well, hubby and I have been anxious to try the new Blackjack taco at Taco Bell, so yesterday, we stopped in at the location on Campbell, across the street from the Wal*Mart Super Center there. Decoration-wise, a Taco Bell is a Taco Bell is a Taco Bell. Nothing really spectacular. Just the same cheesy southwest theme. (With the notable exception of a Taco Bell that I saw in St. Louis that still had the old style brown sign that I remember from the 80s.) The one thing really wrong with Taco Bell is the seating. Too many booths, not enough tables with regular chairs. And when the booths are sized for Twiggy, a size 30/32 like myself just can't get into them. (My mother escaped the fat gene in my family. She's a size 14 and can't even get comfortable in these things.) There were three tables with regular chairs at them. One sized for four, and one on each side sized for two. Sitting at the one sized for four were three elderly people. Well enough. But did the old biddies REALLY have to take up both of the other two tables with their purses? Nothing against Taco Bell. Just saying they might want to rethink their seating arrangement so that nobody has to deal with this problem. If my husband hadn't been there, I probably would have mouthed off to the old biddies. Can't say the third member of their party, an old man, would have objected much. He looked absolutely miserable.   But I digress.   The Blackjack tacos are really good. I've had them at the location over on National and Cherry, and I've had them at the location on National, near Battlefield. Of the three locations, the Campbell location does it best. Just the right amount of pepper jack sauce. I love it. It's quite possibly the perfect taco. The only improvement I can think of would be to add tomatoes.   $

Outback Steakhouse

For our anniversary, recently, my husband and I went out to the Outback Steakhouse.

The food was phenominal. I love their brown bread that they bring out, fresh, hot, and with plenty of butter. We had two loaves.

We also shared a bloomin' onion, which is always a good thing. It was a little spicier than I was used to with most onion blooms, but it was a good spicy. It was just enough to give it a nice kick.

I had a ceaser side salad, and Mike had the French onion soup. Both were fantastic.

Then came the main course. I chose the "No Rules chicken parmesan pasta." It was just the right amount of parmesan, and the chicken was so tender and so flavorful. Mike ordered the lamb, and he liked it quite well, but had a bad reaction to the red wine sauce due to his meds (a reaction he probably wouldn't have had if he hadn't had the sangria beforehand). As a result, he was unable to eat more than a couple of bites.

Our waitress, who had already been giving us fantastic service all evening, became concerned about my husband's medical reaction, and immediately fetched the manager, who was also worried. We assured them that they had done nothing wrong, that their staff had done everything right in the food prep, and that it was merely a bad choice on my husband's part to ingest so much alcohol when he knew what the side effects could be. Despite our reassurance, however, the manager still removed the lamb from our ticked, refusing to make us pay for something that we were unable to eat.

Now, normally, I don't feel the slightest twinge about not being able to leave a cash tip and just leaving the tip via the debit card that I pay with, since I almost never have any actual cash on me. But this time I felt really guilty that I had to leave the tip on the card. If I'd have been able to afford it, the tip would have been much bigger than it was. (I was able to afford a 20% tip, and she deserved at least twice that.)

Mike was unable to eat anything else, but I did order desert. They had gotten rid of the Sidney's Sinful Sundae for a while, and only recently brought it back, and am I ever glad! If you have not yet had this delightful desert, and you're not alergic to any of the ingredients, I strongly suggest it. It is a ball of vanilla ice cream, rolled in coconut, topped with hot fudge and whipped cream, and fresh strawberries. There is nothing better.

In all, despite Mike's medical reaction, it was a really great evening.

$$-$$$, depending on what you get, whether or not you get an appetizer or desert, and whether or not you get alcohol.

Jack in the Box

This is yet another fast-food place that we Springfieldians long for. Is it the mini tacos? Is it the fact that everything is available 24 hours a day? Is it the egg rolls? What is it, exactly, that we love about Jack in the Box?

That being said, I had the new taco nachos. They're topped with cheese sauce and sliced jalapenos, and they're fantastic. I also had an order of egg rolls and a jr bacon cheeseburger. Hubby had eggrolls, taco nachos, and their fantastic potato wedges.

Like at White Castle, Jack in the Box was a bit slow, but it was worth it, and I can't wait for my next visit.

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White Castle!!!

If you can't tell by the title, I'm excited. This is the first in a mini-series of posts straight from the greater St. Louis area. My husband and I come up here every once in a while to visit his family, and something we always have to do is go to White Castle. This trip was no different.

White Castle is open 24 hours, so you're always going to get your belly bombers fresh. It's a good thing. Is there anything more perfect than a mini-burger, grilled on a bed of onions, and topped off with two little pickle slices? I thought not.

And their pulled BBQ pork sliders aren't too bad, either. And I love their cheese fries. Let's face it. There's not a single thing on the menu that doesn't taste good.

And they're cheap. Even a Crave Case of 30 sliders is less than $20. Perfect for road trips. Or one or two really hungry teen boys. Or one or two really hungry Anderson men. I have witnessed my husband devouring an entire Crave Case by himself.

The service was a little slow, this time, and the Sprite was flavorless, as if there was no syrup, just the soda water. But that's unusual, so I overlooked it.

$, $$ if you're really hungry.

Whisler's

Whisler's is a recent addition to downtown Springfield. Long a mainstay in Carthage, their newest location is located less than a block from the current bus terminal, and just a short walk from the square, the Rare Breed (for teens), and Hollywood Theaters, just to name a few excellent places in the downtown area.

The fare at Whisler's is simple. They offer sliders. In other words, they're a rip-off of White Castle, something we in Springfield have long desired. (My grandmother swears there used to be a White Castle on Jefferson. Corporate has no record of one ever being there, and my grandmother is most likely wrong, but I don't argue with her.)

They do offer, however, some interesting twists, such as the sow and cow (burger with bacon) and the pig and bull (bacon with a slice of ham). It's all fantastic. I had a couple of sow and cows, and my husband had a bag of 5 cheeseburgers.

Their cheapest, basic slider is $1.25, and they're slightly larger than the White Castle burger, but that's it. (Come on, seriously. How can anything be better than a fresh White Castle?)

Their shakes are also simple. They come in the basic flavors of chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry, and are the same thing you can easily make at home for less.

The one good thing is that the place is so small that you can easily see them making your burgers, and thus catch mistakes, as I did, having asked for no mustard or onions. (If they grilled their onions, like White Castle, that'd be fine. But fresh? Icky.) (Hmm.... and can we tell I'm craving White Castle?)

All in all, not bad, but I'm only going when I'm desperate for White Castle and can't afford to either go to St. Louis or to Applebee's, which also has sliders, and can't stand the thought of getting the frozen ones.

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