Regular Joe's Guide

First visit: Mar 2024 I was in the mood to try something new, and Front Range was a place I had on my priority list. Sitting on the outskirts of Old Colorado City, Front Range is a funky place that fits perfectly with the neighborhood. Once you step in, you will be greeted by a hostess to sit you down. Good, I can be served and leave a tip the proper way. This is one of those buildings that looks like a DIY make-it-up-as-you-go-along places. I even got a Sante Fe vibe while wandering around. They have a covered patio section that allows for live music mostly in the evenings. My friendly waitress came by and I knew what I wanted by looking at the online menu prior: The Sloppy Pig. This was apparently featured on Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives, and it's obvious as to why once you see it. They describe it as thus: Tender-smoked pulled Pork, grilled Kielbasa Sausage, smoked pepper bacon topped with Sweet n’ Spicy BBQ, smoked cheddar cheese, spicy cole slaw, pickles and onion straws on ou...

12001 Burnet Rd, Suite 3 D, Austin, TX 78758 - 12 Mar 23 Looking for a decent breakfast near the Domain - an area I kinda hate - this place showed up as a bit more interesting and lived up to billing. There appear to be 3 locations around Austin - qualifies as a regional chain or 'limited locations'. My location was Gracy Farms - about a mile out of the shit-show open mall they call the Domain. I went for the chicken & biscuit with eggs and a side of gravy with a bloody mary. Chicken was good - but I'm never as impressed with the boneless breast for some reason. Not as juicy as real quartered chicken for some reason (also easier to prepare, I'm sure). But this was pretty good. Gravy was good - peppery - and there was a side of pepper jam that was quite good. Particularly excellent were the potatoes - very crunchy, flavorful and go great with the gravy. Only negative - and the reason for the bloody - was beer (singular) selection. That's right, one beer on tap (...

100 E North Loop Blvd, Austin, TX 78751 Met same nephew who turned me on to Silver Medal here for a bite and a beverage while in town 11 Mar 23. I went for the burger special - a classic bacon cheeseburger with sweet potato fries - with an Austin Amber (on tap) to wash it down. It was a warm spring-ish day in Austin - highs in the 70s - so we sat on the patio and enjoyed a bit of vitamin D. Burger was solid - not huge, not gourmet, just good - and chased it with a Lakewood brewing Goddess Hazy IPA (ed: I miss Lakewood from our DFW daze). Was tempted to either go for another beer but was driving someone else's rental car so thought better of it. Mos def worth a return visit - next time I am in town. - Rude Dante review

First visit: Mar 2024 Locations: 4 total. All in airports including Honolulu, Maui, and Cleveland. Mensa quiz: Which of these four do not fit the sequence? The next day we had our big event, which I'll not mention to preserve some sort of anonymity. So the next dining experience would have to be at the Las Vegas airport on the final day. I already knew that Las Vegas has one of the worst food selections of any airport in America. But I didn't want to be hauling luggage and a laptop to another restaurant and then feel rushed to get to the airport. So I took my chances. After wandering around the A and B gates aimlessly - I cannot for the life of me understand why there aren't any bar / food type restaurants here, other than they'd rather you gamble than drink - I decided to take a hike to the C gate. At least here they offer more than just fast food options. I don't recall Sammy's prior, but what an oasis in a sea of nothingness. Sammy is none other than Sammy Ha...

Latest: Feb 2025 First visit: Mar 2024 HQ: Cheshire, CT; Founded in 1991 (Newark, DE) Locations: Wayback is nationwide, but lightly populated. It's difficult to calculate how many total they have. They have 2 stores in Colorado, the other in Englewood / Denver. Looks like they have 5 in DFW (one opening soon) with north Fort Worth being the closest from our old home in Keller.  If there's a restaurant Mrs. RJG has been craving, it's Wayback Burgers. She threatened to go to Woodland Park alone multiple times just to have that Cheesy burger I enjoyed last time. It never happened (as I predicted below), so I knew that Woodland Park needed to be our first "mountain incursion" of 2025, much later than usual (the wedding in Mexico is why). It's a very cold Tuesday around 11:30 when we arrived. Restaurant is empty though we saw two patrons on the way out with a to-go order. We each ordered (of course) the Cheesy along with one order of fries and two milkshakes. She g...

First visit: Mar 2024 (Venetian) Locations: 5 total including two in London, and one each in Dubai and Doha. If there's ever a restaurant that doesn't have my name on it, it's Sushisamba. It's interesting to me that I don't gravitate to these glitzy type of venues. My peers were thrilled, and couldn't wait to go. It was another vendor sponsored dinner, so one needs to be gracious. I survived the experience, but I do struggle with the reputation of these places. I was most excited about trying the "samba" portion of the menu. Having been and worked in Brazil and Peru before, I quite love the food of this part of South America. As noted on these pages prior, I can live without the sushi just fine. But I kept an open mind. It was my hope I could order off the menu, but no such luck. The meal was pre-planned as it was a much larger group than I had anticipated - or had been told. I'll be positive and state that I did enjoy the crispy taquitos Japanese ...

Wynn Hotel First visit: Mar 2024 Dinner was uncertain on this fine Monday night, but partners were holding events throughout the area for our company. One of them hosted here at La Cave, and that ended up being my meal, though that wasn't clear until I found myself done for the night lol. Though I did not have a sit down experience, I have a pretty good idea of the type of food La Cave offers. Mostly high end entrees including pizzas, steak, cheeses, appetizers, etc... We had a serving table, so I could sample plenty. I tried their signature rare sirloin steak among other things. I thought it a nice change of pace, and very flavorful. If Mrs. RJG had been with me, she would have insisted we leave immediately lol. Just the visual alone would disgust her. I tried enough to know La Cave would be a fine place for a relatively quiet dinner, presuming you don't have an event like we did in the back room creating havoc. Obviously it's an expensive date, but the days of cheap eats ...

The Venetian Latest visit: Mar 2024 First visit: Feb 2023 They have a second location in Miami Beach, Florida. I did not expect my first dinner to be at a place we visited last year. Primarily because this year's conference is at the Wynn rather than the Venetian. As the crow flies, the resorts are next door to each other. But as anyone who's been to Vegas knows, that means at least a 30 minute walk between them. No matter, as we all can use the exercise. This was a limited team dinner before the conference starts. So the good news meant we can order from the menu! Yaay. I did get to try their chicken parm on this visit, and it was quite good. Huge portion with fettucine noodles. I was hungry so I had no problem devouring the meal. Thick and tasty red sauce. The chicken wasn't as crispy as I prefer, but not unexpected. We also ordered a few bottles of the The Prisoner red blend. At $105 a bottle, it was indeed great, though way beyond my personal budget. I don't think I...