Sunday, January 6, 2008

Cafe Lola (Johnson City, TN)

After three very enjoyable visits to Cafe Lola the first thing I must commend them on is the consistent quality of the food and the friendliness of the staff.

Each item that I have had the pleasure of eating has been well prepared and offered a burst of flavor in my mouth. The menu offers a good selection of sandwiches and salads for anyone looking for something other than fast food for lunch.

The decor and floor plan is somewhat limited, but yet refined.

Cafe Lola is a diamond in the ruff of endless fast food restaurants.

Ratings (1-10)
Food: 8
Service: 8
Cleanliness of Restaurant: 9
Cleanliness of Restroom: 9
Value: 9

Applebees (Bristol, TN)

The Bristol, TN Applebees has changed drastically over the past three or four years, for the worse. Just about everything about the place has went down hill fast.

When you first walk in the door you are greeted by the smell of the cooking oil that has saturated the ceiling tiles and carpet and the constant use of bleach to clean the kitchen floors and bar area. The majority of the wait staff wear dirty clothing. The decor of five year old movie posters is extremely outdated and the tables and chairs desperately need to be replaced.

The food, well, the food is almost uneatable. Not because of a bad menu, but because the cooks obviously don't have a clue what they are doing. And when a member of the kitchen staff walks out into the dinning room, well, it is just downright scary. The first thought that comes to my mind is that he had just escaped from a maximum security prison.

Applebees is a franchise so not all locations are as horrible as the Bristol, TN location. However, a franchisee obviously isn't held to any quality standards by corporate Applebees.

When it comes to chain or franchised restaurants quality depends on the owners and the management they hire. With the proper management and a updated decor this Applebees would be able to once again offer a great casual family dining experience.

Ratings (1-10)

Food: 3
Service: 4
Cleanliness of Restaurant: 4
Cleanliness of Restroom: 3
Value: 3

Thursday, December 27, 2007

Pomodoros (Asheville, NC)

Upon entering Pomodoros we were immediately greeted by the hostess and quickly escorted to our table, a touch of customer service that seems to have been forgotten at the vast majority of restaurants in our area. This extraordinary level of customer of service continued with the very professional and friendly waiter.

The food was fresh! In a frozen - warm it under the broiler world, using fresh ingredients is often all that is needed to prepare and serve good food.

Ratings (1-10)

Food: 7
Service: 7.5
Cleanliness of Restaurant: 8
Clealiness of Restroom: 7
Value: 7

Friday, December 21, 2007

Stir Fry (Johnson City, TN)

Stir Fry was once in the top five restaurants in the Tri-Cities, but over the past three years they have fallen out of the top ten. I know that the original owner passed away a few years ago, perhaps that is the reason for the decline.

The focus now seems to be on the profit potential of serving liquor and beer and as a result the overall quality of the restaurant is not the same. The food quality, service, cleanliness, and nightlife atmosphere have all declined drastically.

The nightlife atmosphere used to be what made Stir Fry so unique in the Tri-Cities. On a weekend one could arrive for a late dinner and hang around to socialize and listen to a good band. The clientel was somewhat upperclass for the Tri-Cities, you could enjoy a late evening at the bar without being subjected to the rednecks and thugs one encounters at any other bar in the Tri-Cities.

It would seem as if the management of Stir Fry began wanting to get as many warm bodies in the door as possible and so the dress code was ignored and instead of booking jazz bands they started booking college bands and hosting events like the very laughable "fashion shows" which consisted of college kids sporting clothes from the oh so fashionable Johnson City Mall. It didn't take long for the demographic of the clientel to change and trouble ensued. The police began frequenting Stir Fry because of the fights and very obvious underage drinking. Instead of focusing on enforcing the dress code and booking bands that attract an upperclass clientel they instead began checking I.D. at the door, charging a cover charge, and forcing customers to wear paper bracelets to identify that they were over the age of 21.

I realize that this is not a blog on nightlife, however Stir Fry now pretends to be both and by lowering standards with regard to the nightlife, both food service and nightlife have declined drastically. Many other once succesful dinning establishments have been blinded by the quick money of liquour and beer and as a result they were eventually forced to close their doors or they are struggling to survive.

Three years ago Stir Fry would have recieved high marks, not any more.

Ratings (1-10)

Food: 5.5
Service: 4
Cleanliness of Restaurant: 5
Clealiness of Restroom: 3 (overuse = strong urine odor)
Value: 6

Monday, December 17, 2007

Cheddars (Kingsport & Johnson City, TN)

Chain restaurants are a dime a dozen in the Tri-Cities, however Cheddars sets itself apart with the consistent quality and exceptional value of their food.

I have visited both the Kingsport and Johnson City Cheddars more times than I can count and have never left dissapointed and I cannot say that of any of the countless other chain restaurants in the Tri-Cities.

On one of my many visits my server informed me that one of the owners was seated at a table nearby. She informed me that he visited the restaurant on a monthly basis and orders several items from the menu in order to ensure that the food is being prepared and served in the correct manner. Sure enough the owner ordered about a dozen items, took one bite of each, and took notes. If all owners took the time to do this they might be as successful as Cheddars. I have never driven by either the Johnson City or Kingsport location when the parking lot wasn't full.

The cosistent quality of the food, above average service, and value of the menu simply cannot be beat by any other chain restaurant. Many of the servers have worked at Cheddars for over a year which is another indicator of a good restaurant.

The only thing that has disappointed me at Cheddars is that the oudoor patio is very seldom open for seating. Not many restaurants in the Tri-Cities offer outdoor seating, especially with a water and fire feature as unique as that of Cheddars so you would think that they would offer outdoor seating more often.

Ratings (1-10)

Food: 8
Service: 8
Cleanliness of Restaurant: 9
Cleanliness of Restroom: 9
Value: 10

Sunday, December 16, 2007

12 Bones (Kingsport, TN)

12 Bones is a new restaurant located on Main Street in downtown Kingsport next to Pappy's Motorcycles. 12 Bones is not entirely a new restaurant venture, the original opened in 2005 in the River Arts District of Asheville.



At the time of my visit they had not yet installed an exterior sign which made it difficult to locate. In attempting to locate 12 Bones I parked on Broad Street and had to ask 3 business owners where it was located before finding someone who had even heard of it. I was somewhat surprised to learn it was so far from the beaten path of Broad Street.



The hours of operation are 11am to 9pm, Monday thru Saturday. Business was very brisk during lunch, however it will be interesting to see if Kingsport will choose to dine in this part of town for dinner.



Upon entering the building the first thing that I noticed was the urban style of the decor. The 12 Bones logo and an old Ward's Feed Store logo painted on the brick walls and chalk board menus set the mood for BBQ. Upon entering the restaurant you order and pay for your food from the counter and it is brought to your table by a server.



Because smoked beef brisket is so hard to find in an area dominated by pulled pork and sliced beef I was anxious to try the sliced beef brisket which came with two sides. The beef brisket was very tender and tasty, but I didn't much care for the sliced raw onion that was covering it. The flavor and texture of raw onion definitely isn't a match for BBQ and doesn't look "pretty" so I really don't know what they were thinking adding it to the dish.



One big 12 Bones claim to fame is that they put an extra effort into their sides and unlike other restaurants their sides aren't straight from a can. While the macaroni and cheese is definitely made in house, I am not sure about the baked beans. They had a unique taste, but the same texture and quality of beans from a can. Overall the quality of the food warrants a return visit, but there really isn't anything to set 12 Bones apart from the numerous BBQ Joints in the Tri-Cities. I want to try the ribs as ribs are a entirely different category of BBQ and I will post an updated review when I do.



One final note, it appears as if an unfinished upstairs may be used for group gatherings and parties in the future, something desperately needed in Kingsport and will increase business dramatically. Civic clubs and organizations are really tired of meeting at Ryan's, Americourt, Meadowview, and Rush Street.



Ratings (1-10)

Food: 7

Service: self service warrants no score

Cleanliness of restaurant: 8

Cleanliness of restroom: 5 (dirty floor)

Value: 8

Saturday, December 15, 2007

Intro

I am passionate and particular about food. While I don't consider myself a "food snob", I do value quality and value.

In an effort to assist those with a like mind I have created this blog to share my experiences and knowledge of all things food in East Tennessee, Southwestern Virginia, Western North Carolina, and beyond.

The reviews will be honest and unbiased as I am not trying to sell a book and have no financial interest in any restaurant or any other food related industry. I have travelled extensively and had the opportunity to experience to dine at many well known restaurants. I have visited a countless number of farmers markets, grocery stores, and specialty food stores. I understand that price is not always an indicator of the quality of food or service.

Each review will provide a ranking of 1-10 with 1 being poor and 10 being excellent for each of the following categories.

Food - Based upon taste, freshness, and preparation of food.

Service - Based upon quality of service provided by restaurant staff.

Cleanliness of Restaurant - Based upon cleanliness of dining room.

Cleanliness of Restroom - A good indication of the cleanliness of kitchen and the hands of the employees preparing and serving food.

Value - Based upon cost in relation to quality of food and service.