Birthday Boy's Birthday Super Slam is a Home Run - A Review

My Granboys and I have a long standing relationship with Denny's. It started when my daughter (#1) would take the day off for her son's birthday. For years we would go to breakfast for grandboy #1's birthday, and for many years Denny's was our go to. Then 2 things happened. The first was the opening of of "The Original Pancake House" nearby, the second was the closing of the Denny's nearby. My grandboys and I have eaten in many Denny's in Utah, Idaho & Nevada. Their prices are good and our favorite meal, breakfast, always hit the spot. So it has been quite awhile since we ate at a Denny's for a birthday breakfast, but this year they are offering their Super Slam Breakfast for just 6 bucks! I stole their site ad just to show you how good it looks and we loved it.

2 Eggs, 2 sausage links, 2 slices of bacon, 2 pancakes and hash browns! It was as good as good as it sounds.

Daughter #1 went a bit lighter with the Value Slam. A good value, if you don't want as much  food as we MEN wanted! She also scrambled her eggs but we got ours runny, as eggs should be cooked and eaten, but she likes to use them to absorb ketchup.

Our server was excellent. She was friendly and funny. The only thing was she couldn't find a Chewbacca cup. They were sold out.

We arrived hungry and left full and fulfilled. Happy Birthday to My Grandboy #1

Earl Eats at ✪ SPECIAL COURSES with Grandboy #2 - A Review

I guess I should complain more. Just when I started posting about not getting to spend enough time with my grandboys then BAM! Three times in two weeks we get to share a meal! Once with #1, once with both, and today, out of the blue, a call to eat from #2! I didn't know if I would be very hungry, since I had just finished breakfast, but I am not going to pass-up time with my grandboys. He said he was thinking a burger, and that he had eaten a good burger at the mall food court! Well, so far I am questioning how good it could possibly be. When I worked at Wal-Mart, one of the places in this same food court bought their burgers from us. They bought the cheapest frozen patties we sold. This shows how times change. I no longer work at Wal-Mart and the mall has been totally revitalized & remodeled. Change is good!

TOP: Mine as delivered
Bottom: As advertised.
I think mine was better than their photo. That NEVER happens!

The new discovery by my grandboy is called Special Courses. It advertises itself as a Veteran Owned business, which I am happy to see. I guess they started with a food truck and have branched out. Their menu features dishes titled in a clever way to reflect their military foundation. It seems the star here is their fries, which are hand cut and topped with every topping you might think of and some you probably haven't! I mentioned that I might not be hungry but looking at their menu made me salivate! I had a very hard time making up my mind. I trusted my grandboy that their food was good, but he hadn't tried everything. I decided to try the one I could compare to other local burger places. It was on the menu board, but I didn't find it on their website menu. It's called the "Berserker", a cheeseburger topped with pastrami and slaw, on a toasted bun and it was a lot of food. I ordered the "Ranger" fries, hand cut potatoes topped with bacon and cheddar. They were a meal in themselves. My grandboy went for their chicken sandwich and fries with Parmesan. He finished first, and I had enough fries to share.
The menu is extensive, but one thing worth noting is their "Brinner" section (Breakfast for Dinner). You can get eggs on fries or burgers and all I have to say is "Merica!" and thanks #2. It was great!

By the Numbers:
Food  ✪✪✪✪½  (Excellent)
Service  ✪✪✪  (Good)
Price 💲💲💲💲½ (a bit pricey, it was $15 for my 2 items, a bit less for grandboy #2)

If I were to change anything, I would post the prices more prominently, but the food is worth it. 

This is a great place for two to split a meal, and it would be a deal!

Earl Eats Panda Express With The Grandboys - A Review

I love spending time with my 2 grandboys, and today we got to eat and go to a movie!

We ended up at Panda Express®, located in a shopping complex called "The Gateway" in downtown Salt Lake City. They have always liked Panda's fare, so it seemed like a fine choice.

Of course your selections are  placed into a Styrofoam container and the person helping us seemed generous in filling the compartments. We had Chow Mein, Orange Chicken, Honey-Walnut Shrimp and Fried Rice. We spent between $8 and $9 for what they call a "plate", which is two entrees and a filler. We had both chow mein and fried rice. 

Let me say that my wife and I had not eaten at a Panda Express for quite some time. We felt the quality had deteriorated. Such was not the case at this location. We made the mistake of going in around noon and the line was long, but they were efficient and courteous. These are the flavors I had come to expect, and they delivered. My grandboys ate it up too, and we then took in a movie (Ready Player One). 

Results & Conclusions
Panda Express totally delivered a nice meal. We ate our fill and it made me sleepy during the boring parts of the movie, which was totally aimed at boys my grandsons age.
Service ⭐⭐⭐
Food  ⭐⭐⭐
Price 💲💲💲½
Movie 👍👍 

Earl Eats at El Jaripeo with Grandboy #1 - A Review

I don't get to spend as much time with my Grandboys as I would like. We used to eat many more meals together both at home and on the road. We have even taken road trips to simply eat various foods at various places. But they have grown into adults and have jobs and lives that conflict with one another and theirs with mine. It is a fact of life, but not one I have to like.

But today, I get to help my eldest grandboy get started moving into a new place and out of his mother's abode. He is moving quite a distance...not too far from his work, and not far from where my wife and I moved to 42 years ago as newlyweds.

After unloading all of the things from our cars into his new place, I offer to take him to a nearby restaurant and buy him lunch. I wanted to go somewhere that wasn't a chain. In a new neighborhood it seems like a good idea to become familiar with surrounding businesses. The one that caught my eye said it was a Mexican Grill. That suits me fine, having lived in central Mexico for 2 years in the mid-seventies.

Even though I lived in Mexico, I was unfamiliar with the term "El Jaripeo". It turns out that It was all about bull riding...but not like our rodeos, they rode the bull until it stopped bucking!

The interior was very pleasing and we were helped right away. The menu was familiar, with many favorites we have come to know as "Mexican" food.(Click here for full menu for El Jaripeo Mexican Grill) It was well after lunch hour and very few customers so we felt like we got plenty of attention.They brought us chips & salsa right after we were seated, which was nice. The salsa was tasty (if a bit mild), and the chips seemed fresh. My favorite chips are those found at Chili's, because of their lightness and crispiness. These were not very thin, but were tasty.

We were there for lunch so didn't want anything too elaborate. My grandboy has been learning to love Mexican cuisine because of a food truck near his workplace. We were both rather hungry, and everything looked good to me. He settled quickly on the breakfast burrito, and that sounded good to me too. He went for one with carne asada, and I gravitated to the the chorizo. A should mention here that there are MANY restaurants serving ginormous breakfast burritos. This did not disappoint. The chorizo was cooked perfectly, without being over cooked, and this one seemed EXTRA LONG and FAT. It was almost longer than the oval plate it was served on. An aside here: While living in Mexico, I never once ate chips or a burrito! In central Mexico, in the mid-seventies, this was not part of their cuisine. Tortillas were soft and fresh, and made from corn, not wheat flour.
...Okay, back to the review. These burritos were massive in two ways 1) SIZE and 2) FLAVOR. They had everything one would expect in a breakfast rolled into a nicely toasted flour tortilla. It included healthy servings of: POTATOES, EGG, CHEESE, AND YOUR CHOICE OF BACON, HAM, CARNE ASADA OR CHORIZO.

Needless to say, we were both happy with our food and hungry enough to eat every drop. I will be going back, hopefully to try some of the more authentic fare. But I may have to sneak back just for the Breakfast Burrito!

By the numbers:
    Price: 💲 (inexpensive)
    Food: ⭐⭐⭐⭐½ of 5 (excellent)
Service: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ of 5 (very good)
   Value: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ of 5 (the best)

Earl Eats Lunch with the Grandboys at Black Bear Diner

I have reviewed the food at Black Bear Diner in prior posts, but today was a special occasion. My oldest grandboy wanted to grab some lunch and I am always up for time with my Grandboys, so we went to the Black Bear near his home. He had never been, so it seemed the stars were aligning for a good lunch. But wait...right after ordering, my grandboy #2 was looking for Grandboy #1. We were able to make it a trio and we all tried basically the same burger! The real problem was they both remove ALL the veggies from theirs! Pickles, tomatoes, lettuce GONE. They didn't get THAT from me!



I ordered the Classic Burger Basket, which came with a lovely burger and fries in a plastic diner basket. The boys ordered the same basic burger on a nice plate with an additional side dish. Then we each added an over-easy egg to the burgers, which made it very, very good. The fries were nice and crisp and we all ate our full portions. The burger was dressed nicely. If I had a negative comment, it would be that it was a bit on the pricey side for a burger and fries lunch, but we went dutch, and the grandboys didn't complain, so I guess it was worth it.

Food ✰✰✰
Price 💲💲💲💲
Service ✅✅✅✅

Earl Celebrates Grandboy #2's Birthday at Salsa Leedos

This is a review which I have put off for far too long! My second Grandboy, my youngest, is now less than a year from leaving his teens! I can't believe it. I consider myself fortunate with my Grandboys because I got to spend so much time with them when they were younger and cute😄. We spent a bunch of time cooking and eating out. Indeed they were my biggest cheerleaders when it came to cooking, and I love them for it💖. We didn't have any boys, just two lovely daughters and one great son-in-law. But I feel I have 3 sons, and they are the best on earth

For his birthday, my grandboy decided he wanted a dinner at one of his favorite restaurants, Salsa Leedos, near his home, and invited a crowd. We were the first to arrive (we usually are), and staff was friendly and confused, but it was an easy fix, they just had his name wrong. It is such a rare pleasure when the serving staff is friendly, helpful, and knowledgeable. They were very good.

Salsa Leedos is in a new location since I last ate there and it suits them. They call themselves a Mexican Grill which could be a problem because I lived in Mexico and know authentic Mexican food. While modified for us Gringos, this is good stuff. They say they have the best Chile Verde in the valley, so I start there.

One of my favorite foods at Mexican restaurants here in America is Chile Verde or Chile Relleno. Tonight I am going with their Chile Verde Burrito. I judge a good Mexican restaurant by their refried beans. Nothing screams Mexico to me like these smashed up gems. They deliver to the table chips & salsa & BEAN dip, so I am happy. Their salsa is good if not memorable, and when my CHILE VERDE arrives, I am in heaven. Needless to say I recommend Salsa Leedos.

I would like to say that I shared a meal with my Grandboy, but there were 12 or so at the table, and he ended up at the other end from us. I did get to sit next to his other grandparents, and we had a lovely interaction about insurance and medicare😄. We retired to my daughter & son-in-law's new home for cake and ice cream and the gift exchange. What a great way to celebrate!

Game Day Goodies & Gathering

I realized, as we all gathered on Super-bowl Sunday, that I was the only one of us that remembers the first Super Bowl. My wife's family barely watched TV, let alone a sporting event on Sunday. My household, on the other hand, was headed by my dad, a real fan. Back then the only way to see professional sports was on TV, except for our minor league baseball team. Which is one reason we always had a very nice TV, in our basement, in the room we called the TV room. It was an unfinished room and if the washer was going, you couldn't hear the TV! The two things that were always on were The Tonight Show, (Carson of course) and any sporting event: Friday night fights, Golf on Saturday, and Sunday for pro football, which later expanded to Monday nights. Don't get me wrong, we watched many more programs...as long as they didn't get in the way of sports. Let me get back to the food...

I have tried to make the Super Bowl an event my Grandboys gather for. I try to have goodies for them and make it a special occasion, even if we hardly watch the game. We don't have favorite teams, so we just hope for a good game, and if not, we ignore it.

Starting with appetizers, my wife, "Turkey", was tasked with making the deviled eggs, which was the ONLY dish everyone ate. I made some Little Smokies which I placed in a crock-pot and then added a raspberry jam with jalapeño. Of course, we had chips and dip.

My favorite kind of chicken is wings. My favorite wings come from Winger's®. Because they are so good, I have never tried to match their quality and flavor...but today is game day and so it's on! I found a recipe from Chef John at Foodwishes.com, which promised crispy wings baked in the oven!
—Start with 2½ to 3 pounds of chicken wings.
— Mix together in a large bowl:

• 1 tbsp kosher salt
• 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 2 tbsp baking powder (aluminum free)

—Coat the wings in the spiced baking powder mix, and bake at 425 F on a wire rack in a baking sheet, turning every 15-20 minutes, until they are browned and crispy. Total cooking time will be about 1 hour, but that depends on the size and the starting temperature of your wings. They will look unappetizing for the the first turn or two. (Also, "Turkey" recommends lining your baking sheet with aluminum foil for easier clean-up).

—I made a sauce from Texas Pete's Wing Sauce, a legacy from my departed mother, to which I added about a cup of brown sugar.

This was about as close as I will come to Winger's-like wings. My one grandboy liked his, but the other grandboy felt it was a bit too spicy for him. My wife peels the skin off of her wings, so she didn't get the full effect of the heat. 

My final contribution was cheddar brats. Shown here with a toasted bun and caramelized onion chips topped, of course, with mustard. I chose to braise the brats first and pan grill them to give them a rich color. I used a hoagie roll rather than a bun. It was delightful. 

I know who won but didn't care much. With my wife, 2 grandboys, and daughter here it was a great evening!

Pork On Pork Makes Gpa Proud

This is about a proud moment in a grandpa's life. My youngest,  grandboy (he's 6'5") called me for advice on COOKING! I would like to think I was first on the list to call, but like a good son, he called mom first, which is okay because I would like to think we share some of the same cooking genes.

Let me preface this by saying that since he was old enough to eat, I have been a short order cook for him whenever he came by, and for awhile, before school. I even gave him a skillet so he could fry eggs. He has grown a bunch, but I still enjoy cooking for and with him...now on to the proud moment.

He called and said he wanted to cook bacon-wrapped pork chops and asked me how to do it. The photo shows 2 pork chops perfectly browned, wrapped with bacon and finished in the oven. He said they tasted GREAT, and the photo shows that.

Most of my posts are about my cooking, but I felt so proud I had to share! Way to go CC!

Addendum:

I learned today that my grandboy saved some for his mom and she said "it was AMAZING!"

Earl Cooks Steak, Potatoes & Carrots for Grandboy & His Girl

Since they are mostly grown, I don't get to cook for my Grandboys very often and have NEVER had the opportunity to cook for one of their girlfriends, but I got the chance and jumped at it. I didn't start by knowing the girlfriend would be coming, but I had an idea she might, and hoped it he would invite her along. My grandboy loves steak so I thought that would be good for him, so steak, mashed potatoes, and glazed carrots sounded good, even though my grandboy avoids vegetables in all forms.

I wanted to  sous vide the steaks, so I started by seasoning the steaks on both sides with what today is my favorite seasoning, McCormick's Montreal Steak seasoning in a convenient grinder. That done, I vacuum sealed each steak individually, and placed them in the Sous Vide bath and set the temperature.

Now the carrots. After pealing and trimming 4 medium-sized carrots I cut them into equal sticks and placed them onto my grill pan which I coated with olive oil. To the carrots I added maple syrup, salt and butter and placed them into a preheated 300℉ oven to roast for 30 minutes. I started them low to not over cook them. I then turned them up to 325℉ to finish. They cooked for about 30-45 minutes.

For the potatoes, I went with an old friend, Idahoan mashed potatoes in a pouch. I combined 2 of my favorites, Apple-wood Bacon and Four Cheese. To this I added more bacon, and I cooked them, replacing half of the water with whole milk for extra creaminess.

Back to the steaks. Following the sous vide bath, I removed the steaks and placed them on the cutting board. I re-applied my seasoning and heated my 12" cast iron pan on HIGH until it was very hot and then switched it to MED-HIGH, applying olive oil to the pan. I placed all 3 steaks in the pan to sear for just a couple of minutes on each side. I removed them and they had a great crust and I applied a simple butter made from room temperature butter, Parmesan cheese, Worcestershire sauce and black pepper.

Everything seemed perfect until learning my grandboy's girlfriend is allergic to carrots! He had forgotten to let me know.

We ate my wife's (a.k.a. "Turkey's") Sour Orange Pie, and that recipe is found on an earlier post, the link to which is located below:
"Turkey's" Sour Orange Pie 

The whole meal was terrific, if I do say so myself. We played games and watched Harry Potter making it an almost perfect evening! Grandkids are God's reward for raising your own kids to adulthood!

Earl Cooks Grilled Ham & Eggs -- Breakfast from Leftovers

I am not Sam. Neither my Eggs nor my ham are green but still:

"I WOULD EAT THEM IN A BOAT. AND I WOULD EAT THEM WITH A GOAT...AND I WILL EAT THEM, IN THE RAIN. AND IN THE DARK. AND ON A TRAIN. AND IN A CAR. AND IN A TREE. THEY ARE SO GOOD, SO GOOD, YOU SEE!"

Just as Dr. Seuss was a part of my childhood, my kids childhood and my grandkids childhood, EGGS were also a big part of my childhood thanks to my mom, and I have tried to make it part of my family's childhoods too. My Grandboys call them Dippin' Eggs and they are simply large eggs with the yolks RUNNY and the whites SET. I like them with any type of breakfast meat—bacon, sausage or ham, but today I had a breakfast-sized piece of grilled ham steak from earlier in the week which I knew was perfect. A slice of "Turkey's" homemade bread now turned into toast and slathered with butter. A dash of freshly ground pepper and I have a meal fit for an EARL. I posted my directions when I first started my blog so here is the link:

Dippin' Eggs

Thanks to Dr. Seuss for his green eggs and ham, but thanks to my mom for steamed eggs and ham!

"SO I WILL EAT THEM IN A BOX. AND I WILL EAT THEM WITH A FOX. AND I WILL EAT THEM IN A HOUSE. AND I WILL EAT THEM WITH A MOUSE. AND I WILL EAT THEM HERE AND THERE. SAY! I WILL EAT THEM ANYWHERE! I DO SO LIKE STEAMED EGGS AND HAM!"

Earl Eats with the Grandboys at Freddy's

My Grandboys called me today to see if I could go with them to lunch. I said sure! Then I asked where and they said they didn't know. Well I did a review of the hot-dogs awhile back at Freddy's Steakburgers, and we were close so I suggest that!. On my last visit, I lamented the fact that I didn't try their flagship burger, so this became a great opportunity to make-up for that! Two of us ordered the double steakburger combo with bacon, and one of us the triple. The orders got shuffled a bit and I didn't get bacon, but got the triple. It wasn't any fault of theirs, we just grabbed the wrong trays.

We were very happy with our meals and one grandboy RAVED about the slender fries, which are tasty. I was impressed with the pickle chips served on mine. My one grandboy is a former McDonald's employee, and I think he prefers Mickey D's fries.

We ate inside the restaurant which was a good idea. Their service was great and everyone was very helpful. Also when you eat in they offer additional seasoning for the fries. They also have their own in-house fry sauce, a must for me. They serve Pepsi products, and that was fine with all 3 of us.

The restaurant was clean and well organized and we were served in a very timely fashion, although we were just ahead of the lunch rush, so that helped.

Conclusion: 
Go and try this place if you have one nearby! Not cheap, but very tasty.

Earl Cooks Breakfast for The Grandboys PLUS an Egg Tutorial

We got our annual treat by "Turkey's" company to a movie and were able to take our grandboys along. It's always a treat to get together with them, and especially when the call to say they will be by early enough for me to make them breakfast for them. As you may have read here before, I love breakfast and especially for them. They have always been great about my breakfasts, to the point of saying to me "you should open a breakfast restaurant grandpa"! Dippin' Eggs are their favorite so I thought I would do a bit of a tutorial to show you how I do my grandkid approved dippin' eggs. Start with a heavy, non-stick, sautée or frying pan on medium to medium-high heat. Make certain this pan has a lid, (preferably glass, so you can watch the progress). These eggs are STEAMED, so the white is set and the yolk is nice & runny for dipping toast or bacon or sausage or all 3! When the pan is heated spray with pan-coat or a dollop  of butter. Now add the eggs gently to the pan, in the center as they will move outward, (especially if your stove is a bit off kilter like mine).Add 2 teaspoons of water to the pan and quickly cover. As you can see, these whites are set and the yolks are translucent, but not gooey. For the grandboys, I added 2 sausage patties to the 2 eggs and a slice of toasted, homemade bread that grandma made (not shown).