Regular Joe's Guide

Latest visit: Mar 2021 (Colorado Springs - N. Academy) First visit: Sep 2008 (North Richland Hills, TX) It's been 8 years since I last wandered into a Firehouse Subs. This location is very large, though they exaggerated the "social distancing" to make it very uncomfortable to eat inside. Felt like a hospital. When I arrived, I just stood there at the order counter while the two workers argued about something regarding the cash register. Couldn't be bothered to welcome me or to state they needed a couple of minutes to iron out an issue (which I could have understood). After finally being able to order, I waited another 10 minutes for my "carefully crafted" sandwich. Yea right. Not a well run location, with absentee management. Typical of a chain unfortunately. The sandwich itself - after taking it home - was certainly very good, made to formula. Obviously I don't crave the place to begin with (8 years since...), but this location did nothing to encourage...

Feb 21, 2021 update: In September 2020, The Original Mexican Restaurant purchased El Rancho Grande and is now called The Original Del Norte. First visit: Sep 2008 Recently we wrote about Los Alamos, and on our journey we drove by El Rancho Grande, just a block away. And then I'd remembered the place from a few years ago when Mrs. RJG and I visited the La Playa, a branch of the La Playa Maya local chain minus the Maya (now closed). It seemed to be a happening place that particular Saturday night, and now we were going for our first visit on a Saturday afternoon. The interior is "Old World Mexico", as found in places like El Fenix, Cantina Laredo and Pulido's. Dark, gold lighting fixtures, stucco and wood trim. Time for the most important part of the meal: Chips and hot sauce. Why most important? As Fort Worth Hole in the Wall so astutely observes, it's 90% of the meal. May sound funny, but there are times when he's exactly right. The chips are homemade tort...

Latest visit: Oct 2023 (Colorado Springs - Interquest) First visit: Jan 2007 (Reston, VA) Locations: 49 states + DC. Only Alaska is missing. There are 30 in Colorado (4 in the Springs). That's +3 from last year. Texas has 68 (our former locale of Southlake is closed, so Hurst would have been the closest). There are 123 in California which is their largest state presence. The original Reston location that I first went to is still going.  In what appears to be a recurring theme, I state each year this will be my last visit to Five Guys. Only to return anyway. This year's excuse is I wanted to try their new location, which very recently opened up close to our house. This is definitely the closest we've ever lived to a Five Guys - even the Reston location was further from my office at the time. And I thought maybe it would make a good choice for a weekday lunch while working from home, thus putting Five Guys back into the rotation. I put that idea to the test here this Saturda...