Regular Joe's Guide

First visit: Feb 2021 All was good on the family front, so we left Prescott Valley and began our two day journey back home to Colorado Springs. The shorter route, though not necessarily the fastest, is along a few state highways to the south, rather than through Flagstaff. Arizona is an incredibly diverse state from a landscape perspective, and this drive will illustrate that perfectly. From the moderate temperature canyons of Prescott, to snow covered / large pine tree forests, and then onto the desert landscape of northeast Arizona, this is a drive well worth taking for tourists. Our plan was to enjoy lunch in Winslow, and when I saw they possess a brewpub, it seemed too good to be true. Winslow itself is one of many towns clinging to their Route 66 nostalgic past. Today it's conveniently located on I-40, which the Mother Road parallels for the towns along its route. There's a state prison nearby which no doubt has kept the town breathing financially. The downtown points to a...

First visit: Feb 2021 In a repeat of Monday and Wednesday, after dropping Mrs. RJG at her sister's house, I headed off to breakfast. My schedule was a little tighter, so I took a chance that Jen's would be the place to walk in, eat, and walk out. It was a little closer to our hotel and I had some meetings coming up shortly. Parking lot was pretty full and there were groups waiting outside. Which is a good sign regarding the popularity (not to mention it's high ranking on social media sites). I took a chance, parked, walked in - and counter seating was available! Woo-hoo. Coffee poured immediately upon sitting (good quality too), flavored creamers provided, menu in front, and I have 35 minutes to burn. Perfect. I settled on the Green Chile Omelet, which is blended with thick cuts of bacon, sliced green chiles (mild), and was buried in white cheese. With hash browns and an English Muffin, already buttered. Everything was cooked to perfection. Here, check it out for yourself (...

First visit: Feb 2021 On the west side of Prescott Valley, in the Home Depot shopping center, sits an unassuming Mexican restaurant. Once inside, though, it feels definitely on the high end side of Mexican cuisine. Full bar and spacious seating makes for a comfortable night out even during a pandemic. We were seated right away to a booth and off we go. Service was great throughout the night. We each settled on a glass of the house chardonnay (even though Mexican drafts were half off). They brought our chips (tri-colored), salsa, and also volunteered they offer a hotter one, which we leapt at. The standard chunky table sauce had very strong flavor, and was of mild to medium heat. Very good. The hotter one was of a greenish yellow color, filled with chiles, and indeed was very hot. Excellent flavor. Neither sauce had a traditional taste, which is a plus. True homemade recipe. In addition they brought out a soft bean dip with cheese and finely grated chorizo blended in. It too was superb....

First visit: Feb 2021 Almost a repeat of Monday's routine, I dropped off Mrs. RJG and looked for a local breakfast. This time settling on a more traditional Mexican restaurant. I was craving some Huevos Rancheros, and it's on their menu, so let's give them a whirl. Knowing where to park is probably the best tip I can provide here - but basically you turn east on Florentine and the parking lot will be on your left. The restaurant is in an old house and is very quaint, with hard woods and soothing lighting from the sun. A perfect place for a quiet breakfast. After a nice pour of coffee (stronger than Jamie's), I ordered exactly as planned - with an additional salsa. A few minutes later, the beautiful meal arrived (see photo). The eggs were cooked per order (over easy), the corn tortillas were light, and the hash browns were excellent. The beans were of a perfect texture but I felt they lacked flavor. Needed something. The key though is the ranchera sauce itself, which was...

Latest visit: Feb 2021 First visit: Sep 1997 Now here's a trip down memory lane. Mrs. RJG and I had been married less than 6 months when we embarked on our very first road trip from Denver. Neither of us had ever been to Prescott, and so after a day in Phoenix, we spent the night here. This was long before any of our extensive family moved to the area. Our dinner choice that night was Papa's - at that time they were located on a rural two lane country road. We were late, so it was dark when we arrived. It was a quaint little restaurant as I recalled. I did validate on this visit that my memory did not deceive me, and that it was indeed the same place. Today they are a fixture in downtown Prescott. It's a very popular venue, and when we arrived it looked like we had no chance for a table. Reservations only it seemed. But fortune favors the bold, and our timing was perfect. We got, as the hostess informed us, "the best table in the restaurant", and we were seated im...

First visit: Feb 2021 (Prescott Valley, Arizona) Locations: As I write this, Riliberto's has 12 locations in Arizona, 1 in Las Vegas, and one in.... India (?!) OK then. The next best thing to seeking out local establishments would be regional chains. The more local, the better. When I saw Riliberto's from the highway (which is very close to Thai Cafe and Jamie's Waffles), it looked like the classic regional chain. Not pro enough for the national chains, but just a little more gritty and unpolished. The way we like it here at the RJG! To be honest, these "fresh" Mexican joints are hit and miss. Sometimes they're just fast food places who don't take the time to do things right. The workers are in it for the paycheck, and management is nowhere to be found. For all I know, that's the case here, but if so, they are lucky to have on staff some great workers! Stepping inside, the seating was comfortable for indoor dining. Order up at the counter, and they...

First visit: Feb 2021 Those who know the RJG, will know that Mrs. RJG isn't going to travel very long without a visit to a Thai restaurant. I'm more than a willing participant, but honestly, Colorado Springs hasn't really come through for the cuisine. So I've sort of lost interest in recent times. While I was at Jamie's Waffles for breakfast, I noticed Thai Cafe right next door. OK, that's dinner! And sure enough, it came to pass. If you're like me, I'd prefer to have white wine (or any alcoholic beverage) with my Thai food. A quick menu check looked like I was out of luck. Fine, I'm getting used to water more and more with my dinners. Or maybe even a Thai Iced Coffee which I do enjoy. Ah-ha! Look at that, they do have wine and beer. They just don't mention it on their website. Alrighty then... a large pour ("sloppy pour" our friend Joe Benny in Baltimore would call it) hit the spot and set the mood correctly. Oh look, we're in a Th...

First visit: Feb 2021 One of the things that we tend to take for granted living in Colorado - or traveling to New Mexico for that matter - is that breakfast houses that serve burritos most assuredly have a green (or red) chile to bury it in. Hopefully a spicy variety at that. So after dropping off Mrs. RJG to take care of her official Mom, I looked for a breakfast house nearby. And up came Jamie's. Yep, they have burritos. And off I went. Tucked into a strip mall, Jamie's is a classic old fashioned diner. They have spaced out tables due to the pandemic, but I was able to secure one, so we're ready to go. I asked if they can smother the burrito. They countered with "you mean the chili we serve - or maybe a salsa?". Uhhh - no. Haha, shows you what I know. Arizona might be in the southwest, but I might as well have been in Texas. No problem at all - I was hungry after a run, and ready for an old fashioned breakfast. Hey - if you're at a waffle place, why not get ...

First visit: Feb 2021 The original plan upon arrival to Prescott Valley was to go - here - to Lonesome Valley Brewing, as a brewpub sounded perfect. Right before we went, I looked at Google Maps and it appeared to be a brewery with just sandwiches and the like. Shoot, I was even thinking it might even be a food truck on the premises. That's not what we wanted! So after a failed attempt to go somewhere else (too crowded and long of a wait), we ended up here anyway. What a huge loss it would have been had we not stopped in. It absolutely is a brewpub, and it's unfortunate the internet doesn't demonstrate that properly. We were also fortunate to get in, this being a Saturday night with limited seating - and it was way too cold for outdoor dining (it was about to snow - and was when we left). No problem, as we sat at one of the square tables in the middle. The Bier Reise catalogs (see headline above) what we drank that night, and like most modern breweries, they do a great job ...

First visit: Feb 2021 We first tried to go to our favorite Santa Fe restaurant, that of La Choza (see labels for our review). We kind of knew it was a futile effort. The governor had just lifted the restaurant lockdowns. Which meant only 25% capacity. And it was on a Friday late afternoon (a little before 5). Let's see - super popular restaurant, just opened after a few months of being closed, on a Friday night. Yep - two hour wait. Probably more, but that's what they told us. Next. We didn't really have a backup plan as it seemed all of our favorites were either closed for renovations, not willing to open yet, served only breakfast and lunch, or were maybe closed for good. However I did research other New Mexican restaurants prior to leaving Colorado. And I did recall someone - who, I don't know - mentioning we should try this place on the outskirts of town. I figured it might be our best bet, without knowing its popularity either. We raced over. Almost no one there. T...

Latest visit: Apr 2022 First visit: Aug 2016 We're back for our annual review. Sunrise has been reliably one of our top New Mexican breakfast houses since first discovering it 6 years ago. Not so much on this visit. The green chile was a bit watery and the red only covered 40% and not very much of it. Neither were particularly spicy and the temperature was about 80% of what it should be. The dish to the right (from last year's visit) shows potatoes (no longer offered) and a lot more cheese. The restaurant was mostly empty though service could not have been better. I fear to say inflation is going to put all these places out of business. First COVID, now this. $30 breakfast for 2 is not sustainable and it certainly won't suffice for those on a fixed income, who usually represent a large audience for breakfast meals. The RJG is fortunate to still be in his money making years, but otherwise every meal is becoming a splurge meal. And because of this downward spiral, restaurants...

Latest visit: Jul 2024 (Promenade) First visit: Aug 2018 (Promenade) HQ: Golden, CO (founded: 2007 in Charlotte, NC) Locations: Another useless "Location Finder", only good for a specific spot on the map. One source says they exist in the following states: North Carolina, Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Alabama, and.... Colorado. There's just this one here and many more in the Denver area.  It's been well over three years since I last stepped foot into Bad Daddy's, a restaurant chain I was more bullish on pre-pandemic. It was a rare Tuesday night visit as I had some music business to go over with Dr. Boom. We took a spot at the bar and yammered non stop while enjoying drinks and a burger. He went for the hard stuff, decrying its rather small pour. I had two craft beers with the Bad Daddy's name on them but they are made by Sweetwater of Georgia. As noted below, the restaurant continues to be lazy with local craft options. On this visit I tried th...