Jack in the Box

Quick breakfast this morning, and though it is a national chain, it is here in Red Bluff, so we will review it.

We went through the drive-thru since we were in a hurry. Mistake. We really should have gone in as the people in front of us seemed to have some sort of problem which caused a big delay.

James ordered the Breakfast Jack: ham, egg and cheese on a hamburger bun. He also had a coke. A coke at breakfast? Yeah, that's right.

Tina had the #21, which is a sausage croissant sandwich with egg and cheese. The sandwich was good, but very greasy. It came with hashbrown sticks, also very greasy, and a coffee, which for fast food was extremely good. However, 3 hours later, I'm still tasting the greasy food.

Overall, slow service, tasty but greasy food, but seemingly just like any other Jack in the Box I've visited.

I thought this was kinda funny...

Follow Chairman Meow!

Lucky Chinese

This new, quick Chinese restraunt is located in the original Luigi's Pizza building on Walnut next to Tesoro (Circle 7 Days? I'm not sure what it is called now. When I was a kid living in that neighborhood, it was Jackpot). They have completely remodeled (actually, I think that they short-lived BBQ place remodeled) and have enclosed what was the open-air dining room. The menu is pretty typical for Chinese cuisine in our area, and we we're not expecting to be blown away. We were wrong.

We both went in, craving Egg Foo Young. It is something that each of us remember our parents preparing in our childhood, something simple and comforting, something bad for you and yet so tasty. We each ordered Egg Foo Young off the menu along with Chow Mein. The waitress smirked a little as we ordered, but took it down.

A bit later, she returns, pushing a wheeled cart with our order. Apparently, one order of Egg Foo Young and Chow Mein is actually a FAMILY SIZED order. Each of our servings were actually more than enough for us to share. There were 3 foo young patties in a rich brown sauce with chicken, and an enormous (pie plate sized) portion of savory chow mein, with crisp bean sprouts, delicious noodles and topped with chicken. We had enough food for a party of 6 on our table for the two of us. Needless to say, to-go boxes were required.

Even with the giant portions, the price was resonable, especially considering we purchased dinner for that night and lunch for the following two days!

Carlitos

On March 11th, James and I celebrated our nine-month-a-versary. That is, it was 9 month since our very first date. As we are planning our wedding for June 12th of this year, we relish celebrating each month we are together and can't wait until our wedding day. What does this have to do with local Mexican food, you ask? Well, Carlitos was the location of our first date and so on the 11th of March, it was our lunchtime destination.

James, being the predictable guy he is (at least when it comes to Mexican food), chose the fajitas.

Tina, lover of most dishes Mexican, was torn for what to order. The Arroz con Pollo is quite good--savory in its orange-y sauce, as it their chili verde (spicy and juicy, this is one of my all time favorites!!) but went with the Pollo al Crema. This creamy, rich sauce is loaded with mushrooms and sauteed onions, tender white meat chicken and served with Mexican rice, refried beans and tortillas.

Tremont Cafe and Creamery

Red Bluff now has a wonderful selection of good choices for a tasty lunch, and the Tremont is one of our new favorites. This place is located in the old Ry Del's shoes storefront, and was an ice cream shop briefly before it opened under this name.

The Tremont, in case you are unfamiliar with Red Bluff History, was a grand hotel on Main St. to the south of the Cone Kimball building. The white, stately structure featured massive columns and was a beautiful landmark. It the 1960's rush to make everything modern, it was torn down and replaced with the very non-descript (or, in my opinion, ugly) Peter Lassen Square.

Our first visit to Tremont was for ice cream. We each had two very generous scoops and our cost was around $6. Really reasonable!

We tried Tremont for lunch another day. And have gone back twice more since...

1st Visit: James: cheeseburger and fries
1st Visit: Tina: Breakfast
2nd Visit: James: Dip Sandwich
2nd Visit: Tina: Fish and Fries...great, flaky white fish, breaded with a light beer batter. Breading was crisp and not at all soggy. Their fries, we'd already discovered, are tasty and crisp, soft on the inside. The tartar sauce was good, with a strong dill pickle flavor.
3rd Visit: James: Cheeseburger and fries
3rd Visit: Tina: Fajita Salad (Chicken)...I think this salad is mis-labeled. Except for the fajita spiced chicken, this did not resemble a fajita in any way. I sort of expected caramelized onions and roasted bell peppers. That being said, the salad was quite good; chunks of white meat, crispy fresh greens, fried tortilla strips (made in-house), served with salsa and sour cream (I also requested ranch dressing). It was a VERY generous portion and I actually was unable to finish it.

Los Mariachis

Hola mi amigos! Bienvenedo a Los Mariachis!

With that friendly greeting, we took a table near the window at Los Mariachis, on the corner of Main and Antelope. Our ultimate goal: Watch the Red Bluff Christmas Parade from the warmth and comfort of a Main St. eating establishment. It didn't hurt that we both love Mexican food!

Tina: Chili Verdi
This was really tasty chili verdi, savory and spicy, like I expect this pork dish to be. The portion was huge, and while it was not very appetizingly plated (it sort of just spread and filled in all of the open space on the plate) is was a very satisfying meal. It was served with rice and beans and flour tortillas. My one complaint would be the tortilla chips served to us when we sat down. They were rather hard, rather than crispy. The salsa was mighty tasty, though.

James: Fajitas (of course!)

After dinner, the parade had not yet started (darn their quick service!) so we decided to order dessert. We shared flan and fried ice cream. The flan was excellent, smooth and creamy and with a wonderful caramel sauce. The fried ice cream was really just ice cream rolled in crispies (corn flakes, maybe?) It was good, as far as vanilla ice cream is good, but not spectacular.

The parade, by the way, was great, though we had to sit outside in the chilly December air to watch!

Cozy Diner

Breakfast for 2= $12.00 (plus tip, of course)

James: Being the lazy sort that we are Tina and I decided to skip cooking and headed out into beautiful red Bluff Veteran's Day to find some breakfast. We decided on the New Cozy's Diner located where the Feed bag used to be and MAN were we pleasantly surprised. I had the $4.95 Steak & Egg's breakfast (5oz Steak, 2 Eggs, Hash browns and 2 pieces of Toast) and I have to say it was damn good. The steak was cooked perfectly. The egg's where well cooked and nicely seasoned and the hash browns were nice and crispy. Add in a pleasant staff and it was a damn fine meal and for the price you can't find better. My only real complaint was the service was a bit slow, but given the excellent prices and quality of the food they were hopping so that can be forgiven. 5/5

Tina: (Country Biscuits and sausage gravy) Wow, what a mound of food this turned out to be. The plate contained two biscuits, 2 scrambled eggs and two sausage patties generously covered with country gravy. The biscuits were light and extremely fluffy. The sausage was crispy on the outside with great flavor--not too salty. The eggs were very nearly overlooked under all the gravy. And the gravy: creamy, nicely seasoned with crumbled sausage throughout. I sprinkled a little green Tabasco on it--very, very tasty.
Another cool special at Cozy: $3.95 coffee and pie special from 2pm-6pm. So great, I'm coming back another day for that one!

Bud's Jolly Cone

James: Ok today we visit Bud's Jolly Cone on Antelope Blvd. Bud's is pretty much a Red Bluff institution so I'm sure what I have to say isn't going to be news to anyone. Buds is a 50ish style burgers, French Fires and Shakes place. I had a #2 a Double Cheese burger, Fries and a drink. It was pretty good, not the best burger I've ever had, but it was a good solid burger. I'm going to repeat. Bud's also had a special, get a .40 cent burger with any order. That burger WAS not the best. On a scale of 1-10 I'd give the .40 cent burger a 3. So in the end Bud's Jolly Cone is a very good serviceable burger joint. 4/5

Tina: (Chicken Sandwich, small gems) The sandwich was grilled chicken breast on a white bun, lettuce tomato and mayo--altogether, the sandwich was tasty, though the chicken was a little on the dry side. It had great flavor though, lightly seasoned and grilled. I poured a little of my fry sauce ( one of my most favorite features of the Cone) on the bun--great combo! I love their gems (some people call them tater tots...), crispy, lightly salted and always fresh from the fryer. The dining room is positively miniscule, and a shrine to Red Bluff past--photos of drag boats and monster trucks adorn the teal, white and black walls. Really, this place has been a family favorite for years and is a 195's artifact.

Shari's Restaurant

We visited Shari's in Belle Mill Landing (FoodMaxx shopping center). We were there on a Sunday Morning for Breakfast. Our meals:

Tina: I had the potato pancakes, which were tender, with a crisp outside. There were 3 medium sized cakes served with a dollop of sour cream and a generous amount of green onions. What I specifically appreciate about Shari's is that you get a personal sized carafe of coffee...I love that! Shari's decor has not changes since it was built in, I think, the early 1980's. Not terribly attractive, but certainly a throwback to my childhood.

James: (Biscuits and Gravy) The gravy was good. I prefer bacon gravy, but sausage was okay. The bacon was plentiful, they gave me four pieces. The hashbrowns were tasty as well. Eggs were well prepared and like I like them. I had hot chocolate as well and it was a bit too sweet, but good. Over all, an above average diner experience.

I liked the decor. Very late 70's style, made me feel 8 years old again. I still need to try Denny's and Perko's but for 24/7 dining, Shari's gets my seal of approval.

Embarking on a Red Bluff Culinary Journey

My boyfriend James and I are on a mission: to eat at every restaurant in Red Bluff. James just moved to Red Bluff in September from the metropolis of Corning...before that, Chico and before that the Oroville area. We enjoy going out to eat and decided that we should support our local restaurants by sampling them and writing about it.

Okay, the rules: In order to count as a true stop on this journey, we must have a full meal at said establishment. It is not enough to sample the pie at, say, the Countryside Cafe, or have a milkshake at Hal's Eat 'Em Up. We must both order something different. And we must blog about it. Not too tough. We will also include pictures as appropriate (or as we remember to).

I'm looking forward to this project. You're going to hear from both James and I, and in the coming days we will review The Cowgirl Cafe, Cozy Diner, Thai House and Luigi's Pizza.

Post 100: The Vagina Monologues!

The Vagina Monologues here in Red Bluff was a smashing success. Nearly 400 people joined us Friday Night to laugh and cry with our stellar cast. Their performance received a very well deserved standing ovation.

I want to thank Kelsey, Jessica, Brooke, Amy, Talia, Bree, Sonia, Beth, Lucy, Suzanne, Clara, and Melissa for their hard work and dedication. What a great team to work with. People loved it!

If you want to see more photos like the one above, please visit http://www.pbase.com/maxeys/vday2009 for the awesome photography courtesy of Tony Maxey.

Bravo, ladies--looking forward to V-Day 2010!

Twilight--the novel

I was mocked, therefore this post is deleted.

Lonely House

My niece (and her parents) are no longer residents of California. I am really really heartbroken to be without that little girl. She has lived with (or very near) me all her life. She is 2, and (in my opinion, biased though it may be) is the smartest little person on earth. She is cute and charming...I could go on. I miss her voice, her laugh...I'm going to start crying again.

It is going to be a really long, rough few weeks until I get used to this quiet house. Now, more than 2/3 of my family lives on the island. It is just me and my bro now.

Manicotti Tonight

Spinach Manicotti:

Filling:
1 large carton of Cottage Cheese
1 large Onion, finely chopped
1 package Frozen spinach, thawed
Generous handful Shredded Cheese

Mix filling ingredients, stuff into uncooked manicotti shells. Line up in baking dish, top with sauce:

2 cans Tomato Sauce
1 can Tomato Paste
4 cloves Chopped Garlic
1 large Onion, finely chopped
1/4 cup Sun Dried Tomatoes
Oregano
Parsely
Salt
Sugar

Bake at 350 for about 35-45 minutes, until the pasta gets soft. Top with a generous amount of shredded cheese, brown for about 15 minutes. Meatless and tasty!

Awesome Dinner

Chicken Enchiladas:

Cooked Chicken Thighs
2 onions, sliced
1 can of olives, sliced
1/2 cup frozen corn
1/2 cup canned enchilada sauce

Saute together, then roll in corn tortillas. Pour 1/2 cup of the enchilada sauce into a cake pan that has been sprayed with non-stick spray. Place rolled tortillas, seam-side down, in pan, top with more sauce and a generous sprinkling of cheese, then bake at 400 until hot, bubbly and browned on top.

We served it with rice mixed with black beans, frozen corn and salsa. MMMMMMM!