Five Guys Burgers and Fries

My mom was in town and we were running around Promenade mall, so we decided to try Five Guys.  She'd been to one before, so she explained to me that I probably wanted the Little Cheeseburger, not the regular Cheeseburger, because that has one meat patty instead of two.  We both got cheeseburgers, and they do have some good options.  I got mine with fried onions and fried mushrooms.  We decided to split an order of french fries, because they're big, so we ordered the Cajun Fries. 

Cheeseburger

Cajun Fries

We were there right after the place opened, so it took a few minutes for our order to get going.  The cheeseburger was good, with lots of toppings.  And the fries were fresh and good.  I didn't like the tea though.  They use Gold Peak tea in that separate machine, and you push one button for sweet, the other for unsweet.  I had unsweet and it tasted like your typical fountain tea, which means it sucked.

Overall, it was alright.  The burger was good, but it was nothing special.  Ditto for the fries.  My mom was upset because the music was too loud (it was) and it was tuned to a Spanish station playing pop music.  The place wasn't bad and I would eat there again, but I wasn't impressed.  3.5 stars.

[When I say I wasn't impressed, I should probably explain that to me, most fast food burgers taste like crap.  I generally don't eat them at all.  I'm guessing it's because of the pink slime.  I would eat Five Guys again.]

Ron's Hamburgers & Chili

It had been awhile since we'd eaten out, so we decided to check out Ron's, in Lowell.  We went there about 1:30 pm on New Year's Day.  It was fairly empty, and the server told us to seat ourselves.  The place looks like your typical generic restaurant, with booths around the outside and tables on the inside.  They also have 2 TVs.

The napkins are in a dispenser at the table, along with ketchup, Tobasco, and Louisiana Hot Sauce.  There was also something that looked like seasoned salt.  And of course, the usual salt, pepper, etc.

I ordered the 1/5 lb. Cheeseburger and Fries, with a sweet tea.  The burgers come with the option of regular onions or grilled onions, which I thought was great - I love grilled onions!  The tea was a bit odd.  It wasn't bad, but the sweet taste was a bit funny.  I'm really not sure how to describe it better.  The fries are homemade, with the skins still on.  They were alright.  My basket of fries didn't seem that fresh when it came to the table.  I think it was sitting on the counter for a bit while they finished the rest of our order.  The burger, however, was really good!  It had a nice quantity of lettuce and tomato, and small grilled onions on it.  Yummy!

Frank had the Chili, Jumbo Cheeseburger (1/3 lb.) with grilled onions, and unsweet tea.  He said the chili had a some warmth to it, not a lot, but a good flavor.  He put it as, he wouldn't go there just for the chili, but he would eat it when he did go there.  He also loved the burger!  He wasn't sure about the tea.  It had an odd taste.  It wasn't astringent like most tea is, so he wondered if maybe it was made from a syrup or something.  Or maybe it's a mild-flavored tea instead of the usual ones.

Here's a comparison of our burgers:

An interesting point about Ron's - they have the Who's ur Daddy?  It's a 2 lb. cheeseburger, 1 lb. fries, and a drink.  If you finish it all withing 15 minutes, it's free and you get your photo put on the wall!  Frank lamented not being 10 years younger so that he could go for it.

Overall, we liked the place.  It's got a kind of diner feel, the server was friendly, and it also has free Wi-fi.  Our total bill was about $17 which is pretty good these days.  I'm going to give a range of 3.5 to 4 stars, because the fries were okay, the chili was fine, but the burgers were really good.

Dairy Queen

This is the Dairy Queen in Bella Vista.  We were passing through and stopped by a few times on our journeys back and forth.  This is one of the only drive-thrus in Bella Vista.

Chicken Strip Basket
I remembered them from my youth and thought, why not?  The basket comes with 4 chicken strips (tenders), french fries, Texas toast, and warm white gravy (country gravy) for dipping the strips.  It was good.  I mean, yeah, it's a bit generic, but it is fast food.  The gravy was peppery and warm and went well with the strips.  And I'm a sucker for Texas Toast!

Cheeseburger
I got it the way it comes, with the cheese melted and ketchup and pickles and lettuce.  And I think it had onions.  The fries are okay, nothing special.  But the burger is flame-cooked!  You can taste the smoke.  I remember when Burger King had "flame-broiled" burgers, but I haven't seen those ads in a while.  Is DQ the home of the flame now?

Overall, it's fast food, but it's edible fast food:  3 to 3-1/2 stars.

Braum's

This isn't a regular review, just about their ice cream and milk shakes. And if you haven't had Braum's ice cream, you have no idea what you are missing! First of all, Braum's has their own dairy herd, so they make their own milk. Which has no rBGH in it (I don't care what the FDA says, it makes a difference). Their milk is delicious and they use it to make their own ice cream. Secondly, Braum's has real ice cream. Their ice cream is like the premium ice cream you pay a lot of money for in the supermarkets, except that Braum's ice cream costs about $3 for a 3 pint carton (which seems to be the standard ice cream size now) and is yummier.

Now, take the delicious milk, add yummy ice cream, blend, and you have a milk shake! Available in small, medium, or large. I had a vanilla shake, which is how I judge between different places; keep it simple. It's been too long since Steak'nShake, so I couldn't tell for certain that this shake was better, but man was it good! Golden vanilla ice cream, almost too thick to suck through a straw.

A note here for all of the people who think McDonald's and their ilk have good shakes - you're wrong.  Your taste buds have been corrupted by fast food and you wouldn't know good ice cream if it bit you on the butt.  Now, don't yell at me.  Save your breath (and your money) and don't eat fast food for a few weeks.  Then get your regular milk shake, and a Braum's shake, and compare them.  You'll be surprised.

I visited my mom a few months ago and we got a free frosty at Wendy's . . . and it was disgusting - I couldn't even finish it.  She drove through McDonald's and we got hot fudge sundaes.  Again, disgusting.  It wasn't even regular soft serve, it was some kind of ice milk.  Sometime over the last few decades, fast food restaurants have cut even more corners and are serving crap as ice cream.  So do yourself a favor and go to Braum's.  Choose from one of their many many different flavors.  Get a cone, get a shake, get a frozen yogurt.  You can thank me later.  Four and a half stars!

Steak 'n Shake

Frank has been eying Steak and Shake for a while, so we finally dropped by. I was impressed! They are a chain, and I was expecting another version of McDonald's. Nope! They have a sit down area inside, which is an actual restaurant. The servers wear white shirts with bow-ties, and aprons. And the decor is a little retro looking. I had a cheeseburger with fries (around $3.50) and $1 sweet tea, and Frank had the Bacon and Blue cheese burger, with fries and a shake.

The burger patties are 100% beef, and small and square shaped. You can get whatever you want on them. I had a thick slice of tomato, thick onion slice, and big piece of lettuce that stuck out the side of my burger. The fries are small, like the potato sticks that you buy in cans, but fresh and hot. The tea is made with real sugar and is very large. Frank said his burger "was really good. And there was plenty of blue cheese."

The shakes deserve their own paragraph, because they are amazing! The last time I had a good milk shake was at a Tastee Freez, circa 1994. I don't know what that soft stuff is that comes out of machines at McDonald's and other places, but it ain't ice cream and they don't make good milk shakes. Steak and Shake uses premium ice cream and milk, and you can taste the difference. Frank's shake was so good that I had to order one too. (Frank loved his shake, but swears that Braum's is actually better!) They have specialty shakes too, like Butter Pecan or Caramel Apple.

Overall, I thought Stake and Shake was really good. I prefer their burger patties to Braums, but Frank likes Braum's better. But he still says that Stake and Shake is good. They are way better than fast food places. We've eaten at both of the ones in our area, and the service was fast and polite at both, even during a dinner rush. I'd give them at least 4 out of 5 stars, maybe 4 1/2. They also have all of their ingredients listed online, and happy hour for drinks AND shakes is 2-4 pm and 2-4 am.

J & H

From August 9, 2009
Chatham Chilidogs

Okay, so my current travels aren't abroad, they're in Louisiana. And the best chilidog I've had in a loooong time is at J&H in Chatham. Their dogs are those nasty looking red hot dogs. I like mine with chili and mustard and onions. And they are absolutely delicious! I'm not sure if they're really that good or if it's partly nostalgia, but I don't care!

J&H started as a small stand, but now they have a bigger place. There's still a walk-up window, but there's also a sit-down area inside, and some plastic tables outside. And, of course, their sweet tea is excellent!