Tag Archive | restaurant

Genos Philly Steaks

There is a great debate among people who profess to be Philly cheesesteak aficionados- Geno’s or Pat’s. Located at opposing corners in Philly, it would be easy to buy from both and do a true taste comparison. Well I only had the opportunity to try one and it seemed to me that Geno’s restaurant looked better.

I had high expectations because the best Philly chicken cheesesteak (I know that for the purist, chicken does not count but beef turns my stomach) I ever had was in NY at 99 miles from Philly. It was so delicious, it was "This is the BEST" **drop mic** good. Period.

I say this to set up how I expected Philly to be able to do it better than NYC. After all, Philly cheesesteak started in Philly, right? First
of all, neither Geno’s or Pat’s had chicken. >>Picture my sad face<< They did have pork. Okay, I like pork so I began to perk up. When I
ordered, they asked me if I wanted cheese whiz. Maybe my taste buds are too refined, but I cringe at the thought of eating fake, plastic looking cheese. I pass on that unless I am ordering nachos at the bowling alley (tastes buds give me a pass on that one- that is just the way it is, I don’t make the rules).

When I got my sandwich, the first thing that I noticed was how soft the bread was on the inside. The bread was perfect for me. The meat, on the other hand, was very dry. I thought to myself, "Maybe that is why the people drown the sandwich in wiz, so as not to have all the moisture in their mouths absorbed by the dry meat." I added the sweet peppers (see picture) and that helped a little bit. In the end, I slathered a lot of ketchup on my sandwich to make it palatable. My friend had the Philly cheesesteak (made with beef) and she was not impressed either. She said the meat was dry to her.

Overall, I was disappointed. The bread was really good but could not make up for the overcooked, dried out pork. It is my opinion that the
meat should be the star of the sandwich and everything else should complement it. But I think that the great Philly cheesesteak debate
continues to rage on. And if I can get to Philly again, I want to try Pat’s. And in the meantime, I need to get to NYC for the best Philly
chicken cheesesteak EVER.

Milanos Greek and Italian – Pelzer SC

Nov28

I went to Milano’s because there was no other restaurant around and I was hungry. There were no cars in the parking lot and I had low expectations of the place. I expected it to be a dive with mediocre food. Since they serve Italian and Greek food, I figured that there was not too much that they could mess up with that. Spaghetti is usually easy to cook. With enough hot sauce, I could make the marinara sauce palatable if I needed to do so.

The menu looked good, but keep in mind I was hungry too.

I ordered the Slovaki (know I spelled that incorrectly) chicken, steamed vegetables, pita bread with a Greek side salad topped with blue cheese dressing. Might as well live on the edge and try something different. It was so good. The chicken tasted as if it had been marinating for days in the liquid seasoning. The seasoning was heavy, but not overpowering, on Mediterranean spices. The Greek salad was mainly iceberg lettuce with 2 black olives and a pepperonicini. I would have preferred more olives but that is because I like their briny flavor. I had the option to get the steamed veggies or the greek potatoes. I am glad went with the veggies because I think that the potatoes and the pita bread would have been too much starch for one meal. The veggies tastes as if they might have been cooked in the same marinade as the chicken so they were full of flavor too.

The plate serving was more than enough food for me. I had to fight the urge to overstuff myself because the food was so appetizing.

Overall, I highly recommend this restaurant. Do not let the empty parking lot fool you. Their food is awesome.

Milanos Greek and Italian

508 Highway 8 East Pelzer, SC 29669

Kickers – Greenwood SC

Nov23

This is a small restaurant that is known in Greenwood SC for big flavors. There are a lot quirky flavor combinations that look questionable on paper but are delicious in execution. I call them gourmet burgers with international flavor.
My favorite flavor combination is the Caribbean turkey burger which pairs jerk seasoning and pineapple in the ground turkey meat. The burger is moist, savory from the spices, but with a hint of sweetness from the pineapple.
They also serve a pimiento cheeseburger that is DELICIOUS and full of cheese goodness!!!
Various sides include but are not limited to pasta salad or fries. If you do order the onion rings, prepare to share since it is too much for most people.
Each day, they serve different types of soup. The sweet potato soup is very good. The gumbo is a little spicy but delicious. You can always ask for a sample before deciding which one is best. Whether it is a sample, cup or bowl of soup, be careful because the soup temperature will be HOT and could burn your tongue if you eat it too fast.
Kickers is mainly open for lunch. Come early (11.30am) or late (after 1pm) if you do not want to wait for a seat. Since the location is small, it does not take many people to fill up the place.
The service is good. The wait staff was attentive and kept my drink glass full while I was waiting for my food.
Prepare to spend about $10 on lunch. Before you balk at the price, know that it is worth it.

Miami Airport Hilton

Nov22

I stayed at the Miami Hilton Airport location. As for the room, it met my standards for a Hilton location. Immaculate clean room, comfortable bed, and relaxing good pressure shower head. Internet was $13 a day. Valet parking was $20 a day.

I was in town for business. It was raining and I did not feel like leaving the hotel to eat.
First of all, food at the hotel was very, very expensive. I chose this hotel because the per night rate was lower than the Marriott. But I think I ended up spending more on food here than I would have at another location.

Maybe I am being cheap, but I thought the Room service surcharges were outrageous: $5 delivery fee and 22% service charge.

Dinner
None of the entrees appealed to me so I ordered a few things appetizers. I had wings, yucca fries, and key lime pie. The wings were average. I did not like the buffalo sauce that came with them and I was glad it was on the side. It tasted like half a bottle of Texas Pete mixed with a stick of butter. As a result it left a greasy film in my mouth- not an appetizing feeling. The yucca fries were not good to me. It was mashed yucca in the shape of cheese sticks and fried to a crisp. My problem with this was that the yucca was over fried. The fries were so saturated with grease, that it made my stomach upset.
The bright side to this meal was the key lime pie. It was a 1 part tart, 1 part creamy, and 2 parts sweet. A delectable combination.
As you can see in the picture, I ate all the wings, key lime pie, left the hot sauce, and most of the yucca. I am used to eating fried food, but when there is too much grease, it does not sit well in my stomach.

Breakfast
I had the buffet because I figured that would be the best bargain for the money. The buffet had a lot of tasty choices but no bacon >cue my
sad face and sad music<. What is a breakfast without bacon?!?! I decided on the breakfast potatoes with chorizo, made-on-demand omelet,

some fruit, cheese, and pastries. The fruit was big and pretty, but not very sweet. The omelet was as tasty as I imagined it would be when I
chose the ingredients. The breakfast potatoes with chorizo were okay but needed salt and ketchup.

Everything was okay, not spectacular.The quality of of the customer service was on par with what I would expect from a Hilton. If I had had another option for food, I would have taken it. But since I was at the hotel and it was a distance to downtown, I had to make do with what I had. And although I was disappointed with the food, I did not complain because I ate it (I was too hungry to complain and have to wait for another order).

Old Main Catering

Nov17

One does not expect to find delicious gourmet food from the same group that cooks in the cafeteria of a college. But that is the case at Lander in Greenwood, SC. Old Main Catering provides the food for the university and events around Greenwood. It was so delectable that I decided to take pictures and share with the world. I wish there was a way you could taste the flavor, but you can at least SEE how good it looks.

On the left – Italian Cream Cake decorated with edible flowers – The cake was moist, but not gummy in texture. The cream cheese frosting was not overly sweet but was a perfect complement to the cake. And there were just enough pecans to tie it all together. Very delicious!

On the right – Prosciutto wrapped asparagus, pita chips with hummus, Basil mozzarella tomato salad, and kalamata olives. Saltiness of the prosciutto along with the crunch of the asparagus was on point. Pita and hummus is my new favorite snack. One can never go wrong with basil, mozzarella, and tomatoes. To top it off, the olives had just enough briny flavor.

I really liked Old Main Catering’s tapas offerings and I would suggest them for any catered event.