guess "You can tell what someone is committed to.... by the results!"

Now there is no question that this restaurant is a local knock off of “El Pollo Loco”…. which we frequent often… and really like.

But… this is very apparently a family endeavor… dedicated to excellence… and inexpensive… great food.

We were looking for a lunch… thought we had tried everything in the area… and the GPS came through again. Took us right to this treasure… that we have driven by many times… and never even noticed.

It is a store front in a strip mall… Add Suite # 103 to the address… but that would have defeated the online mapping. :-)

You step inside… and it is tight… close quarters… with the chicken grilling area walled off for safety… or privacy… or temperature controll…. not sure really. But there is not a lot of inside seating. Maybe a total of three tables for four… and four tables for two. Atmosphere is cheap food more than anything else… but it is spotless.

Having nothing to do with food… the bathroom was spotless… and offered hot water and soap.

Terri had the two piece combo… I had the three piece combo… and that is reviewed separately. It was great. And… it was a great value!

There was a steady stream of people picking up food to go. I don’t know how they found the place…. we have the GPS to thank… but …. it was very apparent that most people were repeats and regulars.

They did not even ask us if the meal was to go. They serve everything in a brown bag… and metal “to go” tray. We thought they might save a little money by serving the dine in customer on a paper plate. Also…. the only negative is their use of the common cheap tiny paper napkin. I know they probably buy these at Costco… and they are cheap. But I honestly believe that a heavier more durable paper napkin… that costs more… would save money… because you won’t use eight of them.

But … the real issue is food. Always is :-) And this was great… and it was cheap. And it was cozy… warm… inviting… and the service was excellent… and gracious.

We will definitely be back!

Rainbow Oaks used to be a watering hole for the Weekend Bikers… and nobody traveling up or down I-15 through Rainbow could have missed the sign for the only restaurant in town. And it was more a watering hole than restaurant… dark… smoky… and noisy. Not surprising… it did not survive the 2008 Economy… Thank Goodness.

In April of 2009 Duke and Jonell Maples re-opened Rainbow Oaks… after a complete remodel. It is cute… charming… spotless… and the food is GREAT! We heard from some friends that the food was good… but did not know the story of the remodel and new owners… so blew it off remembering the old Rainbow Oaks for terrible food. Then we heard that it was new ownership… and stopped in for Lunch. New Game… and a new winner for North County. This is worth a day trip.

The setting is quaint… below I-15 on old Highway 395 at the corner of 5th Street… and surrounded by a beautiful Oak Grove. There is rustic outside patio dining… and inside… a transformation. It is now light… bright… knotty pine walls… stone flooring… beamed ceiling… and a wonderful collection of historical photos of Rainbow. There is still counter seating… so it still has that warm ambiance of a 50’s Diner or Cafe. While there looks like plenty of tables and booths… be ready for a wait… it’s the only game in town… and it’s drawing from way outside of town.

Their steaks… they have several cuts… are Midwestern Corn Fed beef and the menu is full of surprises like pierogies… homemade Tapioca…. Bread Pudding… and Meatloaf.

They have daily Lunch specials and Dinner Specials. Tuesday night is Fried Chicken… and that is what got us there last night. It was packed. For good reason. Duke said Hi… remembered my Cowboy hat from when we had been in before… and we met Jonell… who promptly told us that she was the brains of the works. No reason to question that. We were having fun… and we didn’t even have a table yet.

We quickly got a booth and Maile our smiling waitress got us started with a cold draft beer… Service is prompt… friendly… and attentive.

Terri had gotten a recommendation at her hair salon that afternoon for the fried chicken… and judging from the crowd… it must be pretty good. So we did not even pay much attention to the menu… ordered two Fried Chicken Specials. See the review of the dish following this.

We could not believe the size of the portions when it was delivered… and even more of a surprise… I almost licked my plate. While we were stuffing ourselves… the table next to us got their order… one had ordered a steak… it looked incredible… but what made us laugh was when they sat in front of the neighbor… her “California Chicken Sandwich”…. It looked like an entire chicken had crawled onto her choice of breads.

No room for desert… although they sounded great. I took a photo of the before and

I would say this is a new favorite in the category… “Taco Shop without Beer”

Really good Mexican food without beer…. can never be fairly judged with Really good Mexican food with beer.

I had been showing homes in San Marcos… and was recovering from a food binge on Fried Chicken last night. Why is it that when you really over eat… the following morning you are starved.

I could not possibly be really hungry… but I had a serious case of the munchies. So I drove over to the East end of San Marcos Blvd… where there is a substantially large hispanic neighborhood… with the logic that you just could not exist in this market… in this location… serving anything less than great Mexican food.

I drove into the strip mall and spotted the candidate… “El Palenque Taco Shop”… single store front wide… next to the laundrymat. I thought… yup… that’s what I had in mind.

Inside… four double booths… and a service counter with pass through to the kitchen behind. Basic Taco Shop. Floors were clean… tables were clean… smelled wonderful.

The menu… extensive… had many dishes offered in Spanish that I did not recogize. Everyone spoke Spanish. I took a little too much time reading the menu and asked the guy behind me to go ahead… and while he ordered a ton of food to go…. I decided to try the $.99 TJ style taco. I really was not sure what I was going to get. The choices were: Cabeza, Pierna, Al Pastor, Asada, Chicharron, Tripa, Carnitas, Pollo Asado, Pescado, Pollo Deshebrado, Lengua, Suadero and Birria. 9 of these I have no idea of what they are. I thought I knew something of Mexican Food??

With a Diet Pepsi… my lunch was $3.29 :-)

I chose Asada… Carne Asada… paid my money and sat down and started reading the notes and menu items. Everything sounded great… photos looked great… almost wished I really was going to eat more… but it was early in the day… and I did not want to repeat the food binge of the prior night.

Got my Diet Pepsi… picked up my tacos… added some lime juice… great chuncky hot sauce… a little extra salt… and some Carrots and Jalpenos… Looked and smelled great.

Tasted even better!!!

There is absolutely nothing compelling about this restaurant that would cause you to slow down as you drove by on State Highway 18. We went there because of recommendations from several friends that live in the Apple Valley area… and boy are we glad we did.

It is just over a two hour drive from our home… and we are already planning a trip back … for pan fried chicken. Cut Fresh… flowered and seasoned… and cast iron skillet fried… just like Mom used to make :-)

When we arrived at the modest building on the side of Highway 18… there was not a single car in the parking lot… and it was close to noon. Partially paved parking lot… dusty… windy… must be the high desert.

There is a very pretty mural on the West wall… but the remainder of the building leaves no hint of excellence. A couple of neon beer signs in the dining room window suggest a cold beer is available… and it was… Ice Cold :-)

Inside there was a counter… empty…. scattered tables… and I immediately thought of “Broderic Crawford” in the 1950’s TV show “Highway Patrol”… this could have been a set… but no… they filmed that in “Lone Pine”.

The owner “Letty” was sitting in the back of the dining room… under a crayoned note and photo of her latest grandchild… stapled to the wall… doing her morning crossword puzzle… and no doubt catching up on what was happening in Lucerne Valley.

The restaurant was very clean… and she immediately brought us a menu… offer of a drink… and big smile. I knew I was going to like this place… and I was really hungry. We had been told that the Chile Verde Burrito and Taco combo was great… so already had that in mind. They had some great sounding specials… and the menu is extensive. Their breakfast menu will enduce drooling.

I read through the menu… all sounded great… but I found the recommended combo… and casually ignored that all dinner’s include Rice and Beans. I asked about how hot the Chile Verde was and Leddy told me it vaired depending on the Jalapeno’s … but that she prepared it herslef… it was seldom really hot… and then went to the Kitchen and brought me a little cup of it… with a spoon… and it was incredible. Just the right spice for me… and delicious. I ordered the dinner combo. My wiser half “Terri” spotted the same burrito on the Senior Menu as “1/2 Chile Verde Burrito $5.95”… our order was placed and the ice Cold Coors Light was enjoyed… with Home made Chips and Salsa… delicious.

Another “Senior” couple came in… sat behind us in the other “View Booth” and looked over the menu. Letty approached them and the guy ordered the special on the board over the counter. The daily special was “Two Enchilada of your choice with Garnish $5.95” But Leddy tells the guy… sir… I can see that you are a senior… and that exact same entre is available on the Senior Menu for only $5.25… so you can save $.70. Yeh… I’ve had that happen a lot :-)

Next thing that happened was Letty brought our food. Terri saw her 1/2 Burrito… said Oh My God…. then Letty flopped down my Dinner Plate… and I… and the other couple behind us… all said Oh My God. It was huge. I mean big. It was so big… I took a picture of the doggy box to show how much I could not eat… even though I came in starved.

It smelled spectacular… it looked spectacular. I forgot part of the mission and ate 1/2 of the taco before I remembered to get a photo. It tasted spectacular… five stars for sure.

I ordered a second beer… also Ice Cold… and waded in. Started fast… finished slow… I swear I hurt myself trying to get more of this down. You know… the clean plate thing. Well I gave up… she brought a doggy box before I even asked… and told me everyone commented on her servings… but nobody ever left hungry. That is when she told us about her fried chicken… and even though stuffed… we made plans for the next trip.

Oh yeh… I forgot that the guy behind me retracted his offer to help me out when he got his two Enchilada’s off of the Senior Menu for $5.25.

Tipped over 20%… and the meal was still a fantastic value.

Well before we left on Vacation last month… we went looking for restaurant recommendations… from several sites online… including our favorite… Menuism… of course. We got a couple of people that mentioned Dudley’s… if we wanted to drive that far out of Williamsburg… and… it wasn’t far… and it certainly was worth the drive.

So I sat up a waypoint on the GPS and on the day that we decided to visit Williamsburg Pottery… we ended up just a mile or so from Dudley’s. I had visited their web site… so had an idea what to watch for… but it is still easy to miss. Nothing compelling to cause you to swing in off of Richmond Road… no huge sign… just looks like a turn of the century farmhouse in Virginia… and there are a bunch of those. White siding… cute lines… gravel parking lot… huge herb garden in the front… and an ugly ADA conforming ramp that obviously has been added recently. We arrived at lunch… and hungry.

Inside… the main dining area would have been the original main living area… beautiful wood staircase to an upper level that we suspected they used for busier times… and larger parties. The gracious Chinese waitress was smiling… attentive… and charming.

We visited for a while… discussing what she recommended… and thought was special. She had excellent taste… and knew what she was talking about.

Nothing was rushed… the service was truly outstanding… and the decor was quaint… the experience warm and inviting. We picked up a menu for their Sunday comfort food event… and planned to return before we had even tasted anything. We already knew we were in for a treat.

Dark wood surfaces… lace curtains… antique paned windows… farm furniture… it was really cool.

My buddy Chuck had the “Lobster Bisque” and raved about it… he followed that with a half pound “Kobe Beef Burger”… loaded… and served with Fries. He really raved about that.

Terri and Sue both had “Maryland Lump Crabcakes”… broiled to a light toasted surface… followed by licking their plates.

Being the old fart cowboy… I couldn’t pass up the “Half Pound Bison Burger”. Glad I didn’t. Topped with Cheese… Lettuce… Tomato… (hold the onion) and homemade mayo… I could hardly get my mouth around it. The fries were crispy and seasoned beautifully.

As we finished the meal… we asked our waitress some more questions about the establishment… and she introduced us to Jim Kennedy the Chef/Proprietor. What a perfectionist… and what a tribute to commitment to excellence. He searches world wide for ingredients… the Bison had come from Montana. The menu changes with the Seasons so that local specialties can be fresh. The herb garden in the front yard is indeed the source of many of his fresh herbs. He was jovial… entertaining… and we felt like he had just prepared this feast for us… and had nothing else important to do for the day. It was like we were eating in a new friends home…. his own dining room… and were invited back for some dishes that he was really excited about preparing for his weekend guests.

The Sunday Comfort Food menu featured Prime Rib… Fresh baked Turkey… Virginia Ham… Filet Mignon Meatloaf… Fried Chicken… Center cut pork chops… and Macaroni and cheese… only in Virginia is Macaroni and cheese considered a vegetable :-)

Fresh cornbread… and Fried Shrimp… Sunday sounded like a plan… and sadly we did not make it back. We ran into a scheduling conflict and could not be in Toano for a Lunch window… and now we have to plan another trip to this area.

The biggest surprise… the prices. This incredible excellent menu is loaded with entrees ranging in price from $7.95 to an outrageous sum of $11.00. Not only was this one of the best dining values we have ever seen… the meal… at any price… was the best we had on our Vacation.

Lucky are those that live close to Dudley’s Farmhouse Grille… wish we did.

First we drove by “Comfort”… didn’t look comfortable :-)

Then we followed the GPS to “Sally Bell’s Kitchen”… it was closed!

Sunday afternoon in Richmond VA… the state capital… with some great restaurants… but the only picks I had from online… were not working out. We sat at a red light in downtown Richmond… and a nicely dressed pedestrian approached the intersection. We rolled down the window… and asked about a place for a great lunch. She thought for a few moments… and said the “Strawberry Street Cafe”… she started to give us directions… but we told her we could find it on the GPS… she said it was good food… and really a fun place. This gal… has great taste!

Narrow … Narrow streets. Very little parking…. incredible Fall color on the trees lining this university neighborhood… and we found the red canopy and it did look comfortable :-)

Inside… great liquor bar… bathtub salad bar… green tin type ceiling tile… knotty pine walls… big roomy booths… not a frown in sight… we hit a street recommendation home run!

Monday Night madness… Tuesday evening student discounts… Wednesday night couples specials… Italian Sunday Suppers… Weekend Brunches… Happy Hour… warm and cozy… might have to consider Richmond for retirement… after the market gets better… :-)

Service was excellent… Chuck my eating buddy always does salad bars… and he loved it. Had a bunch of breakfast stuff and every salad extra and fruit you have ever seen. The claw foot tub definitely went down in food level by the time Chuck finished.

Sue… Chucks wife had the Crabmeat and Swiss Quiche… and raved about it. I reminded her that cowboys and or cavalry men do not eat Quiche… or at least in public… so that was not for me :-)

Terri and I both had the wonderful sounding “Broiled Maryland Crabcake Sandwich”… looked and tasted even better than it sounded. Looked so good… I ate half of it before even thinking of a photo :-)

Coffer Creme brulee and Cherry cobler for desert… waddle out to the car… and take a photo of the Fall color down the street. Wow… it was great.

The menu read great…. wonderful daily specials… great ambiance… this is a fun place… and the food is excellent. Their prices are a bargain as well.

When researching for our recent trip to the Williamsburg area… I went looking for BBQ. Was referred to a popular one in Williamsburg… and when we went there… realized we had been there years before… and it was forgettable :-) That was not Allman’s. I found Allman’s online and got a couple of referrals from other web sites… but did not find anyone on Menuism that could give me a real personal referral. But… since we were going up to Fredericksburg for a day… Civil War Battlefield visiting… this had to the spot for Lunch.

Follow the GPS right to it… and it looked just like it has for ~50 years… and just like the photos. Outside it already smelled to die for… but my Buddy was a little dubious about the looks of the neighborhood. He obviously has not been with me on BBQ searches before.

Inside… the smile just broke out all over my face. This is the real McCoy! Everything about the place… decor… smell… sound… says welcome… sit down and have some great Southern Food.

Now I was wearing an Indian Wars Calvary Slouch Hat… looks suspiciously like a “Yankee Civil War Slouch Hat”… so I had to explain before I could feel very comfortable… this is the CSA Capital…

The cute young kid that waited hand and foot on us could not believe that I had planned coming to just their restaurant… all the way from Southern California… just for Lunch. Well I wish I would have planned it around Dinner… because Ribs were not available… and I bet they were to die for.

The starter… something I’ve never heard of before was Pork Stew… so I had to try that… and see the dish review and photo… it was delicious.

Then we all had the Deluxe BBQ sandwich… and it was spectacular. We had a variety of sides. Do not miss the green beans.

There is a counter… and there was a steady string of people getting food to go. There are some outside tables… and a few inside tables… and we sat inside and took in all the ~50 years of photos and memorabilia.

Service was excellent… friendly… smiling… and attentive. He really was amazed that we had made a target of coming there. That’s because he doesn’t know how hard to find truly great BBQ is.

The restaurant was clean… but really shows the years. It felt like I was a kid again in Rural Indiana. Neon signs… old photos… old posters… and I should have taken a photo of the overhead clothesline type of system they use to send the ticket to the Kitchen.

Mary “Mom” Brown was cooking in the Kitchen… but the place started getting really busy for Lunch… so we did not bother her. This review is her thank you.

If you are within 100 miles of Fredericksburg… and you want BBQ… this is worth the trip. I just wish we could have tried the ribs.

4th of July… 2008… No reservations… party of Eight… No sweat.

Great courteous service… and everybody raved about their meals

Has been great for the 25+ years we’ve been going there. Good Watering Hole… comfortable Bar. But the real treat is always great food. Went there last Saturday, party of six… celebrating the National Day of the American Cowboy. Everybody’s meal was great. My cousin couldn’t finish his Prime Rib Sandwich it was so big. The Prime Rib Salad that two of the Gals had was spectacular looking… and they both raved about it. Two of us had the lunch special Prime Rib French Dip Sandwich… and it was perfect. The only bad thing… they used to have a Buffalo Rib Eye steak that was the best steak in San Diego County… and they didn’t sell enough of them… and took it off the menu… Bummer

This is the Original Famous Dave’s… now they offer Franchises and there is one close to us in Vista CA…. haven’t tried that one yet… but will … and hope it’s as good as the Original. Six of us on Vacation … and we all had different dishes… everything was excellent. Sitting on the edged of Round Lake… the setting was beautiful… and the atmosphere cozy and fun. Great Blues Music… Excellent Service… Beautiful Views… and Incredible BBQ… no wonder he’s Famous!

This place is always busy. And… it’s because of the food. It’s clean… it’s cute… it’s comfortable… and the best part… the food is always good. Known for Pizza… but I like their Sub.