Barrio Eat Mexican ~ Carlsbad, California

Well how's that for synchronicity? I just mentioned Din Tai Fung in San Diego on Mr. Music's last review. We were in the area for one of our Official Niece's Grand Wedding as you may recall (May 2022). We all stayed at the Omni Resort in Carlsbad. And here comes Mr. Music with a restaurant in... Carlsbad! Too funny.

OK Mr. Music - tells us more. Have to admit this looks more in my comfort zone than "Chinese Sauerkraut Fish Soup" Hooo.

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Barrio is a cute little spot nestled in the center of the shopping district in Carlsbad, CA. This retail grid spans for blocks in all directions and has plenty of shops, restaurants, bars and breweries. At the western edge is the ocean with several beautiful beaches and lined with hotels. To the east are the Carlsbad flower fields, our ultimate destination. 

Lady Music and I popped in for a little bite before wandering the flower fields and all its attractions. The small dining area is cute and simple. We were greeted by a couple of very cheery and friendly waitresses. We were presented with a basket of thick, homemade tortilla chips and a chunky salsa. The yummy chips were salted, fresh, and crunchy. The salsa was great and had a slight heat. Our iced tea was fresh and delicious! With the small guacamole, which was plenty for us to share, we had to order the "flight of salsas"! They make mild verde tomatillo, medium rojo chili (different than the complimentary salsa), hot chili arbol and very hot habanero! We liked all 4 salsas, although we thought each needed some salt. Our favorite was the chili arbol. It was good and hot and had lots of flavor. I'm not exactly sure what they seasoned it with, but it was good. The rojo was very good with a nice flavor. The habanero was seriously spicy. It had a little seasoning, but was little more than pureed habanero! Mr. Music liked that! The tomatillo could have used a little something to enhance it.

Lady Music ordered a pollo taco and I opted for the batter fried mahi mahi. They were served on bigger-than-usual corn tortillas (flour available). I don't think the tortillas were made there, but were nice. The portions were good sized; actually the moist and delicious mahi mahi was huge. The batter was light and crisp. It was sitting on a bed of shredded cabbage, sliced radish, and pico with creamy cojita sauce. I could hardly close the tortilla around it and loved every bit as I alternated a little of each salsa on each bite.  Lady Music enjoyed her diced fajita chicken taco which was like a simple street taco topped with onions and cilantro. 

On the menu were plenty of other interesting tacos we want to try. Top of the list is the lobster taco! It was $11, but if the portion is as generous as our other items, it will be well worth it. Plus, I don't think I've ever seen a lobster taco offered before. I was very close to ordering it. Had I known how good their food was, I would have. Grilled mahi mahi, grilled shrimp (our waitress' fave), and al pastor piqued my interest. They serve burritos, enchiladas, salads, soups (Lady Music's beloved albondigas was recommended) and other delicious looking meals. We are both high on Barrio tacos and ready to return!

- Mr. Music review

B2J Fish Soup ~ national chain : Plano, Texas

You may recall in my review for Din Tai Fung in San Diego last year I wrote the following: "To be honest, dumplings aren't really my area of expertise, so I would have wished that Mr. Music was with me so he could tell the difference between Din Tai Fung and one of the many dives he has frequented in various Asian neighborhoods." Well, this isn't dumplings but it does give you an idea of how deep Mr. Music goes to find quality Asian food. 

Another interesting tidbit about B2J is that they are a national chain. But not one that looks to have any kind of economy of scale. They have 5 locations: One in the Seattle area; one in the New York City suburbs of New Jersey; another in western Maryland; one in Houston; and this location in Plano near DFW.

OK Mr. Music, what do you have for us today?

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When Mr. Grizzly told me he wanted to take me to a place that only serves spicy sauerkraut fish soup and it would blow my mind: I thought sauerkraut? and fish? Yeah, I had some reservations... but still, we promptly made reservations to go there.

Mr. Music (me!) is always up for a new food adventure and this one sounded like it was all of that. I was happy that Mr. Grizzly's lady joined us. She is from China and finds some of the best places! We got to the restaurant, which is in an old Plano strip and is packed with very interesting looking Asian fooderies, all of which I WILL TRY! The facade of B2J is 2 big, crystal clear, unobstructed windows. The place is small and was full! It was bright inside and I could see every customer and all the food on every table all at once. What a cool sight! Each table had a huge bowl (or two) of soup surrounded by small plates of goodies. The soup comes 3 ways: classic spicy sour; spicy; and vine pepper numb flavor.... really? HELLOOOOO! Bring on the vine pepper numb flavor, with fish and sauerkraut right away! Mr. Grizzly and lady said "that's the best way!" 

The soup was packed with mouth numbing vine peppers (Szechuan peppers) and dried Thai chilies (for heat). The sauerkraut is not the German pickled cabbage stuff; it is more like tart kimchi made from fermented mustard greens and really compliments the peppers and other seasoning. The fish is a very mild white fish, Swai or tilapia. Then there were herbs (ginger, garlic etc), onion and oil... but wait! There is also a sundry of add-ins too! Spam!? lol, meatballs, enoki mushrooms, king oyster mushrooms, black fungus, tofu, potato slices, A-choy (root and leaf), different types of noodles and more. We decided on A-choy root, lotus root, tofu, and black fungus! We loved it all, but next time a different mushroom instead of black fungus. Black fungus, but we had the black fungus salad plus the black fungus is very neutral and just got lost in the mélange of flavors in the soup. 

As for the sides, we got Chinese fried bread, steamed rice, black fungus salad, spicy sour fern starch noodles and takoyaki (fried dough balls filled with creamy stuff and a chunk of octopus in the center, which Lady Grizzly ordered) it was actually pretty good. The Chinese bread was good and used to soak in the soup, but I preferred ladling my soup over the sticky jasmine rice. The fern noodles were topped with diced Thai chilis and was yummy, spicy and tangy. The black fungus salad was fantastic with thinly sliced cucumber and purple onion, it was tossed in a vinaigrette made with rice wine vinegar, sesame oil and spices. It might have been the best I've ever had. note: I order black fungus any time it is offered and get it at 3 or 4 places. 

There were some very interesting drinks like fresh squeezed watermelon juice, plum juice and yeshu coconut milk not to mention teas and sodas, but we just got water. Wow, it really did blow my mind! I love love loved it! I have not had that many flavors simultaneously since I first tried mutton biryani or tom kha gai! It was a wonderful meal and experience. I definitely want to go again.

- Mr. Music review

Red Swing Brewhouse ~ Colorado Springs, Colorado ***CLOSED***

Closed: May 2024

Latest visit: Mar 2023

First visit: Aug 2021

About a mile south of Bingo Burger lies Red Swing Brewhouse. And like Bingo, this is only my second time to Red Swing. Well sort of. Red Swing sits in the original Fieldhouse/FH location, and opened in March of 2021 after waiting out the pandemic. We'd been here twice when it was still FH (now operating only out of their eastern Powers locale). Apparently this location was a porn theater before FH took over in 2014. Oh my. The location on south Tejon is fast becoming a hipster area just south of downtown. Red Swing has updated the location nicely, and added more lighting and booths for a comfortable setting. And there's free parking in the back, which is important, since this part of the Springs has meters going 7x24. Food trucks apparently stop by frequently as well. The few beers I've tried have been excellent. Yet another great brewery here in Colorado Springs.

8/8/21; 3/26/23 (new entry)

Motor City Pizza ~ Lewisville, Texas

Alrighty Mr. Music is getting that engine cranked. He promises more! What did his next adventure bring?

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Oh boy, I love pizza! And I love checking out all these variations! New York style, Neapolitan, Chicago, St. Louis and now I'm discovering Detroit Style. Today a couple disc golf friends and I tried Motor City Pizza in Lewisville, TX. Honestly, I had low expectations, but still wanted to try it. I say that because in the past I've had pizza that had very thick crust and although I'll happily eat it, it isn't my dream pizza and I was worried this Detroit pizza would be the same. But it was not! The crust IS thickish, but not too thick. Oh, but it is light with a nice chew; it reminded me of a fluffy focaccia with a crisp crunchy bottom and edges. The cheese was the first layer. A nice generous layer of very stretchy, tasty mozzarella that oozed over the edge and got crispy with the edge of the crust. Toppings nestled atop the cheese sunk down into the gooeyness. Pizza alchemy! We got Italian sausage, mushrooms, onion, black olives, and pickled jalapeno. The final touch was two ladles of a chunky marinara striped across the top. Now that is something different! I think we all gasped with amazement and delight as we sunk into that first bite.... and second... It was a divine food experience!

The price was reasonable, it was a nice, bright, clean dining room and our wait person was very friendly and there when we needed her. They had appetizers and salads. I am very intrigued by their chicken strips that are coated in seasoned mashed potatoes before being fried. They looked really good! Next time... maybe, not sure I can let anything take my stomach space but that great pizza!

- Mr. Music review

Anthony's Pizza & Pasta ~ Colorado chain : Colorado Springs

Latest visit: Mar 2023 (Colorado Springs)

First visit: Mar 1995 (Denver - downtown)

I said that I would return to Anthony's if they were still open, and indeed they are. The RJG's Official Mom made sure that her son knew she was being neglected, so it was time to spend some quality time with her. She loves pizza, and the original plan was to order from Marco's. But they apparently don't feel it necessary to take calls anymore (online perhaps? - why would I do that - maybe no one is there?). But Anthony's did take my call, and earned the business (almost one year later to the day). I ordered a large 18" meatball pizza. At $31 including tax, no wonder they're still around! In any case, we picked it up and drove north to Mom's apartment near Monument. From there, we enjoyed a homemade salad that Mrs. RJG brought along and we began to devour the pizza. Much better than the recent visits noted below. The sauce in particular contained much more flavor. And, of course, we had a stove in the apartment so Mrs. RJG got out the frying pan to crisp hers up (and my later slices). We ate the whole thing between us. 4 for me and 2 each for them and a large salad each. We were all hungry that's for sure. First with Leon Gessi's, and now Anthony's, I'm beginning to think that neither are excellent at reheating the slice, but rather do a better job with a full pizza. Joey's and Slice 420, on the other hand, do not suffer from this problem. Will keep that in mind for next year's visit. Presuming Anthony's is still around ;-)

As of this writing, Anthony's has 18 locations (same as last year), 16 in the Denver metro area including our old homestead in Parker (no Anthony's there back then!). The store in Windsor doesn't appear to have made it. Not sure what replaced it. Maybe Castle Rock? I usually don't consider that Denver metro. Only this one locale in the Springs, which represents their southern border.

---3/26/22 update

Time for our annual review, and I fear to say we had a -1 experience despite what appears to be more attentive management. One complaint lodged on Google is that their drink machine was almost out of everything. And that remained true for our visit (only sugar Coke and Sprite were available) even though that comment was 5 months ago. They're not serious. For the positives my pizza slices came out very hot, with good cheese, the right amount of sauce and pliable crust. The meatballs (on one slice) were crumbled and somewhat needless. Trouble is there's very little flavor for the crust or sauce. I'm more than ever certain that either this location is not following the proper recipe or that the chain themselves cut back on the ingredients. We'll come back next year, but something tells me this location will be gone. No one is ever in there, and it doesn't seem that they're working too hard to alleviate that situation. This area is loaded with popular chains, so why bother to go to Anthony's?

---original 6/11/21 review

Anthony's Pizza & Pasta is another Denver institution that was a regular part of my diet when living and working in the city during the mid 90s. On many occasion, me and my working / friend set (which included Rude Dante, fact fans) would go over to the DU location for 2 slices, a soda, and then play a few rounds of pool. And then back to work. Seemed like a good Friday thing to do. Ah, simpler times. Years later, the Anthony's fix would come via their Tech Center location off of Clinton - and that was still my go-to when having the summer townhome a decade ago. When we first moved back to the Springs in 2018, Anthony's was like Good Times - had to travel to Denver to indulge. But shortly thereafter, they opened this new location. The best of times. This location of Anthony's decided to shut down during the pandemic, and have only recently returned to business.

Which kind of makes sense in that it's a very small space. You walk in, and go straight to the counter. And yes, 2 cheese slices and a drink are still special #1. It's just not $5 anymore. But what is? I ordered one with plain cheese and the other with sausage. Grabbed my cup and headed to the "drink machine", you know the kind where can mix and match hundreds of soda combinations. And took a seat at one of the booths. Across from these booths is a bar area with a TV screen. Since I've only ever been there for lunch, they don't man the bar (pardon the gender). Guessing they open it up for the happy hour / dinner crowd. 

Very shortly after ordering, two very large and healthy slices of pizza are delivered - piping hot (yes!). You definitely get your money's worth here. It had the proper crispness and grease. Maybe too much of the latter, but since grease is one of the 5 key food groups, I got my daily intake. The one thing I've noticed on all the visits to this location: It doesn't have the taste I remember. It seems a little blander. My reticence in bringing this up is I'm not sure if they changed recipes, if it's only this local branch, or that my palette has changed over the years. All are possible. I'll need to revisit one in Denver to compare - a little troubleshooting here from the ex-techie.

Anthony's remains a good NY pizza slice option, and glad we have one very close to the RJG homestead. 

3/6/95; 1//96; 1//97; 8/6/01; 7/13/04; 6/9/10; 7/8/11; 12/28/19; 6/11/21 (new entry); 3/26/22; 3/25/23

Denver; Greenwood Village; Colorado Springs

Mash Mechanix Brewing ~ Colorado Springs, Colorado

Latest visit: Mar 2023

First visit: Jun 2021

This was only my second visit to Mash Mechanix, but I'm quickly warming up to it as a favorite. Their beers are uniformly excellent. This is one of the newer breweries in Colorado Springs, recently established in 2020. Wonderful large space with lots of indoor and outdoor seating. The inside is set in a renovated space built in 1905. Free parking in the back. Walk in, head to the large bar, and order off the (also large) computer screens. Plenty of inhouse selection that rotates often. There's free popcorn made fresh from a machine onsite. On this visit, they had a chicken sandwich truck which I didn't try. I'm sure they have others that rotate in and out.

6/15/21; 3/19/23 (new entry)

Tortas Frontera ~ Chicago, Illinois

O'Hare airport (Terminals 1, 3, & 5)

First visit: Mar 2023

Well of course there isn't a Greenville to Colorado Springs direct flight. In fact most require two stops, but United has a one stop option through Chicago, which is by far the quickest as well. You'll recall we were just here back in November. You'll also recall me lamenting the lack of dinner options, other than the great Publican Tavern. But for breakfast/lunch, that opens up all sorts of opportunities. Not far from my departing gate is Tortas Frontera. If you're a foodie of any sort, the name Rick Bayless is likely to come up quickly. He popularized Mexican cooking in a genre - and era - when it was still relatively unknown. Frontera is his most famous brand name.

Tortas Frontera is his walk up option that only exists at O'Hare airport (I think they were once also in downtown) in 3 different terminals. Tortas are the main offering but they have other sandwich plates (like a Cubano!). And a pretty good looking bar as well. Of course it's too early for that, so I just want a fast torta to take back to the gate and devour.

One of my pet peeves is menus that don't tell you everything they put in a dish. I ordered a bacon, egg, and cheese torta. I knew it would come with a red salsa, and that's all I wanted. But they also add avocado. For many that can only be seen as a plus. But I never liked avocado, not even in my salsas. So I had to pull those out later. Not a big deal, but I hate to waste food like that. It's also sloppy, unlike a tomato that can be removed far more easily. The other issue is it took them forever and a day to prepare my meal. And there was no excuse for it. I saw it being made and it was delivered to the counter to be boxed up. And there's where the breakdown occurred. The lady there just took her sweet time - making coffee - or other duties (slowly) and then eventually getting to wrapping up the sandwiches. So what happens? It gets cold sitting there. C'mon! And it's a very expensive torta. You would pay about $3 for something like it on the streets, but it's $11+ at the aeropuerto. 

Was it good? Yes, I particularly liked the bread. Crispy and flavorful. The red salsa was excellent, but one cup isn't enough for me. Could have used another. Would I go back? Maybe - certainly the service issues can be random. Maybe makes for a better late afternoon layover snack - with a craft beer.

3/18/23 (new entry)

Nose Dive ~ Greenville, South Carolina

First visit: Mar 2023

The next day was the finale of our main event, once again in another city. That ended in the early afternoon, and once again Jimmy John's provided the main lunch course. Though, as is typical of these kind of events, plenty of snacks were available as well. From there our large work group dispersed, and most headed home. That's because they all lived on the east coast. The RJG was the only one coming from the west, and remote Colorado Springs at that. It's a 9 hour flight (including connections), so I needed to wait until the very early morning hours on Friday. But it gave me a free afternoon, which allowed me to catch up on all the work I'd missed due to being completely focused on this one pursuit. And now it's dinner time. Where to go? How about next door to the hotel? 

Nose Dive is yet another craft tavern, though they go with the more formal "gastropub", which to me means one extra $ sign. As I get older, I'm beginning to realize that the greatest possible dinner is the Cubano sandwich with fries. Has all the nutrients and flavor but it's not overly heavy. And that's what I focused on here. And it was a delicious representative. Usually the big distinguisher is the pork itself. Some places go with ham, others pork loin, and here it was pork belly. The beer list wasn't as deeply researched as I prefer for places such as this, but since I'm completely new to South Carolina beers, I was able to find a couple. Excellent close out to what we all hope to be a successful business trip. We certainly put in the effort! Hell in fact, depending on your perspective of Day 1 ;-)

After this I went to the Westin Poinsett bar, not an afterthought or mere convenience. They also had some craft beers I hadn't seen in town elsewhere. Was up at 4 the next morning (2a mountain time) and back here in the early afternoon. Home sweet home.

3/18/23 (new entry)

CAMP Modern American Eatery ~ Greenville, South Carolina

First visit: Mar 2023

The first day of our work trip was sequestered in the hotel conference rooms. While the work was productive, the food and drink were a total nightmare. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner were all 100% buffet Marriott food. And water to drink (or similar). Zero alcohol and 3 meals of Marriott food is my idea of what hell must be like (especially if hell had Bruce Springsteen playing in the background the whole time). I think I would have let us out for dinner, but I wasn't in charge. Went to bed at 7:30 and slept till 6 the next day. All work and no play makes the RJG a dull boy. But at least I slept great!

The next day was the main event in another adjoining city. Lunch was catered by Jimmy John's which is one of the few mega-chains I can tolerate. Much better than Marriott food! Upon return, we broke into groups for dinner. I pretty much knew that the RJG's style of dining wasn't going to be top of mind, so I had mentally prepared for the modern and the hip. And I got...

...the modern and the hip. You probably already figured that out by the name of the restaurant. CAMP. Yea. You may recall my friend The Sword from my days working in Baltimore (interesting enough we're at the same company again). His favorite type of restaurants were Tapas places. His argument? You don't have to commit! Try many different plates and move on. It's a sound argument and I certainly understood his point. Trouble is... not all plates are created equal, so it seems you're always going to get about 40 to 60% of what you like with any group of people, in this case there were 6 of us. And I always have this nagging sound in my ears about places like this. Remember our visit to Sevilla in San Diego last year. I stated "Tapas. It's a Spanish word meaning "to fleece"". Well... it is! Not to complain, I didn't pay for it at least. None of us do ultimately, it's expensed. So what did I really like here? I thought the crispy flounder was pretty good. The charcuterie tray was excellent, especially the cheese. The veal chops were a bit fatty. Some other stuff I let pass by. I'm sure I had more than that, but nothing resonated really. I would never go here on my own, but these places are fun to go with a large group. And they had a few local craft beers on tap to keep me happy on that front. Good on the whole, but not for me ultimately (nor Mrs. RJG). For those where the word "trending" really matters.

3/18/23 (new entry)

Barley's ~ Greenville, South Carolina

First visit: Mar 2023

The rest of the day was just as pretty as the morning. I visited a few record shops with the most success coming in Greenville itself, which was my final destination. The work hotel was designated to be the Westin Poinsett, a wonderful historical lodging establishment from the 1920s that was left for ruin in the 1980s before some redevelopers came along and spruced it up. Now it's part of the upscale Westin chain. As noted about the Palmer House in Chicago, the RJG loves old hotels and this one has all those nooks and crannies that make them special.

It's also conveniently located in downtown Greenville, and there's plenty of dining and drinking options within walking distance. The RJG has a long history in Greenville. This is where my grandparents on my Dad's side retired (from New York City). And I visited 3 times from 1969 to 1972 as a little boy, before my step-grandfather passed away in 1974. I didn't know he was a "step" though I always wondered why I didn't have grandparents with my last name like all of my friends did. I was to learn all of that later, as that side of my family is rich with history. In 1974, my grandmother moved to Dallas to be close to us, and that was the end of my Greenville years. In 1992, I drove through again for the first time since then - while on a record buying trip ironically enough. I have an hysterical story about my experience of revisiting the house where my grandmother lived. It's great for the bar, but I won't tell it here. And in 2016, I showed Mrs. RJG that same house as we passed through, but we didn't stop to do anything else. So this is really the most focused time I've spent in the city since 1972, when I was all of 7 years old. And I do not recall my grandma ever taking us downtown, which tells me it's probably been revitalized and wasn't a good place to go back then.

I had a free evening, so the place that jumped out to me was Barley's, yet another craft tavern with Italian food on the menu. And it's clear that they dive deep into the microbrews, so I was a kid in the candy store. Especially since they offered 10 ounce pours, I went ahead and tried 6 of them. Remember all I had to do was stumble back to the hotel. 60 ounces is about 5 beers, and none were really strong. To be honest I didn't really feel it that much, must be my German and Irish heritage. Great on the beer, but how did the food come out?

Well - look at that would ya? When you travel, one thing you don't want is heavy food. I'm here to tell you that was the lightest and most fresh tasting rigatoni bolognese I've ever had. The noodles were al dente and the sauce was meaty yet still very light and tasty. Delicious. Talk about a perfect RJG place! It's atmosphere is great as well. Sitting in a refurbished old downtown building, with hardwood floors, and the sun comes through the shades perfectly at sunset. Lots of barstools and tables - it would take a lot of folks to fill it up.

Apparently Barley's was originally opened as the second of a chain (same name) from Asheville, North Carolina. But they bought it out 20 years ago and remains fiercely independent. Go here.

3/18/23 (new entry)

Dicky Doo's Diner ~ Lawrenceville, Georgia

First visit: Mar 2023

It's Monday morning and I have the day to myself. My plan was to start with a mid morning breakfast and then hit the shops again, starting in Athens, working my way to Anderson, South Carolina, and ultimately to my final destination of Greenville. Unfortunately many places are closed on Monday, but that's the time I'm here so I'll make the best of it.

It was a stunningly beautiful morning drive from Buckhead, with clear blue skies. Love the gigantic pine trees everywhere. I always feel much freedom when I can be out and about on vacation on a Monday morning. There's just something special about that scenario.

So what's for breakfast? When you're in the South, you just have to visit a place with a name like Dicky Doo's Diner. And any establishment that sports as its logo a happy pig in an apron, the RJG is there! Especially one that has a grammatical mistake lol. It's a cozy little quick service restaurant that shares a building with a Chevron, but isolated as its own store, not with a common entrance. I came for breakfast biscuits. I started with the country ham which was great, but I knew that wouldn't be enough to get me to dinner, so I later added a bacon, egg, and cheese. Excellent fluffy biscuits with hot and tasty protein. I probably should have also had something barbeque related, but wasn't even sure if they offered it in the morning. They close at 2 in the afternoon so probably they do. Didn't matter, I enjoyed my breakfast. Also enjoyed some people watching. Don't want to stereotype but when I see two fellers in overalls and seed caps chewin' the fat with heavy southern accents about god knows what, then that's just the way it is! Overall, Dicky Doo's Diner made for a nice diversion on my way to Athens.

3/13/23 (new entry)

Brakeman's Burgers ~ Colorado Springs, Colorado

Latest visit: Mar 2023

First visit: Feb 2022

OK back on our home turf in Colorado Springs. Comfort Zone. Mrs. RJG wanted a hamburger, and since it's been a full year that we haven't been to Brakeman's, we chose to go back on this cold and windy Saturday. As you can see from last year's notes, we went twice in succession with mixed results. And I fear to say that the latter experience returned. So it appears our debut visit was the outlier. You know how Mrs. RJG is with her well-done hamburgers. And she's very clear with the waitress on what she expects. And out comes the burger medium with pink. Knuckleheads! I went with the Pueblo Slopper, which is a regional dish gaining popularity with foodies around the country. Essentially it's green chile dumped on top of a traditional hamburger. I was disappointed with their variation. It's a knife and fork dish, and the chile just isn't that tasty or spicy. Lots of tomatoes and it didn't seem blended very well. Unless the Cowcatchers come into town (remember they're train fanatics), I don't see us returning to Brakeman's anytime soon.

---3/5/22 update

Back one month later, as I wanted to try the pizza. Eh... it was OK. Crust needed to be a bit more crispy, and the pizza lacked sauce like 95% of their competition. It's not in this blog, but the best pizza ever for the RJG was in Pittsburgh in 2017. That's the gold standard. Walter's303 has days where they come close though. Mrs. RJG had the burger again - but it wasn't as good. They already lost their silver star. Maybe next year? No one was there either - has the allure already rubbed off?

---original 2/13/22 review

What a dream location. They converted an old train station that has incredible views of the Pikes Peak mountain range. And the trains still run, so it brings one back 100+ years to what Colorado Springs once was. We were there after a heavy snow fall, so on this sunny day, it couldn't have been more of a pleasurable setting. It's a very large space, including a separate bar / dining area, so finding a seat will be easier than most downtown locations. And it's out of the pay park zone, so even better.

As for the food, Mrs. RJG has a new favorite burger place!  We each got a variation on the basic cheeseburger. Perfectly cooked - you know Mrs. RJG must have it well-done, with a pickle and excellent fries on the side. And toasty bread (another key to the Mrs. heart). Great flavor throughout. We had intended on getting a craft beer, and Odell makes a lager specific for Brakeman's. But they were out! The others were more common CoS offerings (good selection if from out of town though), so we stuck with water. 

While enjoying my meal, and watching the chefs - oh I didn't mention this, but the cooking area is wide open and viewable for most patrons - I noticed they have a tiled coal pizza oven! We used to drive all over DFW to find places like that. I settled too quickly on the burger. Next time I'm getting the pizza, since we know the Mrs. wants that burger again! Might have to do another update before next year.

2/13/22 (new entry); 3/5/22; 3/5/23

Bonanno's New York Pizzeria ~ Las Vegas, Nevada

The Venetian

First visit: Mar 2023

The next evening they had carved out a half block of places to eat and party at. I probably should have planned my meal better this night, though I was eating at about 30% capacity since I couldn't get my morning run in (not an option at these resorts). My dinner ended up being finger food at the Brooklyn Bowl. I didn't feel that was the appropriate setup for an RJG review. Good times though. Bowled one game, and enjoyed two local craft beers (harder to find than you would think!) with nice conversation, and there was a local cover band too.

On Thursday, the conference ends in the late afternoon and I had a late flight back to the Springs. We're fortunate to have a direct flight late like that, even though I wasn't home until 1:30 in the morning. There were no planned dinners, and I already knew from last year when Mrs. RJG and I attended one of our Official Niece's wedding, there's not a lot of options at the airport. I didn't want anything heavy (again going at 30% of capacity), so I just hit the "food court" and took a chance on one slice at Bonnano's. Guessing it's named after the famous mobster.

In looking at the selection, it didn't appear they had the freshest pizzas, even though of course they were going to reheat it. I just went for one cheese slice. Not bad. Not great. I'm not sure why the professionalism we experienced at the resort's proper restaurants doesn't filter down to the fast food options. It's clear the workers didn't care and they hated their jobs and wanted to be anywhere else but there. They did the needful. Oh well. I do want to try it again in perhaps a better setting. From here I went to Louis Vuitton to buy my beautiful wife a purse (gosh they're expensive) and then headed to the airport and had a couple of craft beers before taking the late flight. A great experience overall, but exhausting. I wish the meals were better and more personal, but I also understand that it's tough to feed large crowds like this. They did a great job all things considered.

Bonanno's has 9 locations in Las Vegas, most of them on the Strip residing inside the resorts.

3/5/23 (new entry)

Bouchon ~ Las Vegas, Nevada

The Venetian Resort

First visit: Feb 2023

Back in Lost Wages for the first time since 2012! (not counting the airport of course). That last trip was for a conference when I was at AT&T. I had been to Vegas a few times prior, always for the same thing: Industry or company conferences. This one is the latter. Only one time did Mrs. RJG and I visit Vegas on our own - for my 36th birthday - a long time ago. At some point I would like to explore the city itself, try the local restaurants, and look for records while I'm at it. The real Las Vegas. But that's not possible to fit into these events. 

Mrs. RJG and I aren't for gambling at all, and we can take or leave the shows, so Vegas isn't on our destination map. The Venetian is one of the more opulent resorts here, and I want to absorb it all. I'm fortunate to work for a company with deep pockets, and the suite I have is beautiful. And I have a rooftop view - meaning I have a view of many parking garage rooftops lol. Ah my cynical side still works I see... OK, so where do we start. Happy Hour of course! 

They have a very interesting tagline: "Whether you are looking to have a wild night of debauchery..." Vegas remains the last place in America not to have an active cancel culture. It will eventually, but wow - debauchery! OK then... So that place was Rockhouse. Not really the best place for an "ice breaker". Loud rock music and everyone screaming over that. And this is the first time for me to meet many of my teammates in person. Beer choices were really lame. Fat Tire and Sierra Nevada were the craft beer selections. Great, it's 1993.

Enough of that. My team is all about my age so we were ready for a much more quiet dinner at Bouchon. Unfortunately we weren't allowed to order from the menu, so we had to take "their picks". I settled on the roasted chicken that came with brussel sprouts. I'm here to tell you I'm not eating Alligator Balls as my old man would call them. I asked if they had rice instead, but that's not something they have. I asked the waiter to figure something out. And he did! My chicken sat on a layer of mashed potatoes. Very good, especially the buttery potatoes. I also had a couple of beers (one Belgian, one craft), and the dessert (as you might imagine) was excellent as well. It's a very nice restaurant, though we sat near the front door, so I wasn't able to take it all in. Wouldn't mind going back here and ordering something straight from the menu, but not sure I'll have that opportunity. After this is it was more "partner events" which means more screaming and drinking. I'm getting too old for this...

The original Bouchon is in Yountville which sits in Napa Valley, California.

3/5/23 (new entry)