Earl Over Eats at Texas Roadhouse's Early Dine

It has been a very long time since we visited the Texas Roadhouse Restaurant nears us, but I don't know why. We have been there for celebrations and simple casual dining for 2 reasons...their food has always been good and they have an early-bird deal that rocks! My wife a.k.a. "Turkey" has had a couple of extra days off this week and it seemed appropriate to treat her to a night out, a vacation-y thing to do, and I didn't feel like cooking!
Two of the things they are known for are their free peanuts and rolls. When they seated us, the peanuts were waiting and the rolls came immediately. There was no waiting to be seated or to take our order when we arrived. The atmosphere is pleasant, though the music is a bit loud for my taste.
We both ordered from their Early Dine for $8.99 Menu. "Turkey" ordered their 6 oz. Sirloin Steak Dinner and I opted for the Country Fried Sirloin Dinner. My wife's was almost exactly as pictured with the house salad and baked sweet potato. Mine was covered with country gravy (they do have a brown gravy option but why?). I also had the sweet potato and had mashed potatoes with the same creamy gravy. "Turkey" ordered her steak with no pink and it was still tender. Her salad was ample enough to share, and a small amount of salad was fine with me. The sweet potatoes were piping hot, too hot in fact, to eat right away, but perfect for melting the butter and brown sugar. The nice thing about how hot it was is that it stayed hot throughout the meal! My country fried steak was great, tender inside and crispy out. Their breading was just right!

Conclusion:
I said I over ate because I had 6 rolls, mashed potatoes, sweet potato, my steak, 2 bites of my wife's steak, ⅓ of a side salad and some peanuts (though not much room for them), and a drink.
I would rate our experience as:
Overall ⭐⭐⭐⭐½ out of 5⭐
Service ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Price 💲💲 (It's good a value)

We will be going back often! That's the best recommendation we could make!

Earl Eats Porterhouse Pork Chop at Outback

I should start by saying that I have never cared for Outback Steakhouse. I have always felt a bit disappointed by their offerings. In fact, while checking my journal (facebook) I found it had been 5 years to the day since we ate there last! But my wife A.K.A "Turkey", got a gift card and that was enough to make me be less disappointed no matter the food, so off down under we went. Let me begin by saying that the staff was great! We went early enough (5 p.m.) to eat and get back in time to watch the Utah Jazz. We were seated right away with no waiting. The whole restaurant was spotless. The lighting was of particular interest because it gave us plenty of light without being harsh or overly bright. On to the meal...

They started off by letting us know that they were out of "their" bread because of the successful holiday traffic (it was 2 days after the New Year) which surprised and disappointed me (there's that word again). Bread is something that can be made in-house or purchased from a commercial bakery fairly easily. They probably have some special recipe they have shipped in frozen since they are a chain, but that's no excuse. However, they did not let us down! They offered their Bloomin' Onion appetizer rather than bread at NO CHARGE! Great save, Outback! It was a great way to save the day👍, and the onion was zesty and hot and their dipping sauce delicious, even though not quite enough, but they brought more upon request.

I ordered what they call their Porterhouse Pork Chop after seeing this picture from their menu. It was very tasty and cooked just right. It was fork tender and came with 2 sides (mashed potatoes and broccoli, which were just okay), and I found myself picking it up to get the last of the meat from the bone. It was reasonably priced and worth the money.


My wife ordered a seafood trio which included a lobster tail, a crab cake, and 1 grilled shrimp skewer. She also upgraded her side salad to a lettuce wedge, which she shared with me. She enjoyed the crab cake. She would not let me tell them that the lobster tail and shrimp were a bit rubbery, so I didn't. The salad was the star of her meal and we do like their bleu cheese dressing. Rather, let me say I LOVE bleu cheese, and she likes it on this wedge.

Conclusion:
While there were disappointments, we were not disappointed with the overall experience. I am not sure what the significance of going to a restaurant with "steakhouse" in the name and not wanting a steak is, but we would go back, just for the Lettuce Wedge and Bloomin' Onion!
By the Numbers:
Overall Experience ⭐⭐⭐☆☆
Price 💲💲💲

Earl Eats Phoenix Chicken at Chin Wah with Daughter & Grandboy

There are very few locally owned and operated restaurants left, and even fewer left near me. But this place has held a special place for me and my family for years, practically since they opened in 1990 in a location vacated by a failed franchise chain. Now they are in new digs and the atmosphere has improved immensely.

I don't know how authentic their menu is to Asian/Chinese cuisine since I am 6,677 miles from China, but I really don't care. Most often I eat there with Daughter #2 for lunch and our selection rarely varies. Their lunch specials are enough to feed two, so we split one and order an extra cup of soup. Sometimes when I eat out I want to be surprised, almost entertained by the meal, but when we eat at Chin Wah, it is comfort food. We order their Phoenix Chicken, a nicely crisp piece, with a sweet yet savory sauce, pork chow mein, and ham fried rice in abundance. You can request hot, medium or mild, we normally have medium, but the hot is good too if you like a bit more heat.

From Daughter #2's FB feed...get it? Food=Feed😁

Since Grandboy #2 came along, who is nearly 6'5" and a teen, we ordered another meal for him. But being a teen, he wanted his sauce on the side and white rice. He mostly likes the crispy chicken and took the extra home for later. They took care of his special request with ease and we all left full and happy!

If you are looking for a nice meal at a nice price, this is a great choice and it is always good to support locally owned and operated businesses!

Chin Wah Menu (PDF - Opens in new window)

from Chin Wah's Eat-in Menu

Winger's "Fowl Cow" Burger (it's a meal really)

Fowl Cow Burger at Winger's

I Went with my Grandsons to Wingers' this afternoon to try their new Burgers. THEY ARE THE BEST WE HAVE EVER TASTED!
Fowl Cow Burger (a House Specialty) is Fresh ground chuck, a juicy chicken breast, sharp cheddar and pepper jack cheese, mayo, applewood smoked bacon, and topped with a fried egg! The Porker (Burger, Pork, Bacon, Cheddar) was very good too, but Fowl Cow...Freaking Amazing!