Maureen "mo'licious" K.'s Profile

Cute little house (across the street from 7-Eleven), great selection of soups, some sandwiches and salads.  Their spuds (aka baked potato) looked delicious - might have to try that next time I'm back.

I got their turkey melt and baked potato soup.  The soup tasted like creamy melted mac and cheese (in a good way).  YUM.  Their turkey melt was thin on the turkey, but also delicious!!

Oh, and their soups come with a side of corn muffin!  They also sell day olds for 25 cents.  My friend got a day old, plus a bowl of soup and called it a meal.  As for me, I probably had way too many carbs for lunch - my corn muffin, baked potato soup and a whole sandwich - eh, whatever, it was worth every bite and slurp!

We decided to come here after discovering that Willows Lodge (our fav hotel) uses their pillows and comforters.  Costco also sells their products, but sometimes you can find cheaper deals here.

The lady there is the oracle of everything goose feather.  She was super nice and showed me where the deals were.  She pointed out 2 identical comforters. . .one was -$30 less because it came straight from the factory.  She let me open the bag and spread out the comforter for a thorough inspection.  We inspected it with our pretend magnifying glasses and found nothing wrong with it!  On top of that, since she could see my paranoid eyes darting back to the more expensive comforter, she let me inspect that and showed me that the product tag/numbers on both blankets were identical.

The hours are short (M-F 11am-4pm, Sat 10am-3pm), but this place is worth taking an extra-long lunch break for!  I walked away with 1 queen sized down comforter and 2 king size down pillows for the same price as 1 comforter at Costco or 1/2 a comforter at Macys.

The macarons (alone) are worth the trip to this bakery - they are flaky, airy, soft, chewy and ooooooh so good on your taste buds.

The assortment of flavors are amazing.  If you're not sure what you're in the mood for, then I recommend your selection should be based on favorite color(s).  We had their pistachio (green), coconut caramel sea salt (light brown) and raspberry buttercreme (pink).  

They were THE BEST macarons I've ever had the pleasure of consuming.

Also, I didn't know this, but:
MACAROON - sweet, dense, coconut confection
MACARON - traditional french pastry consisting a ganache/cream sandwiched between 2 thin cookies

Yay, I learned something new today!

I was prepared for an expensive night out and told my husband that I "accidentally" left my wallet at home.  To my husband's surprise, the menu was pleasantly affordable.  We didn't see anything over $20 (except the daily specials) and their wine-by-the-glass was around $6.

The place is quaint (aka tiny) and we were immediately seated in a window nook.  The menu is laid out so that the top half-ish are their smaller plates and the bottom couple are their larger "entree" sizes.

I ordered their scallops and potato risotto - 3 huge scallops, perfectly seared and placed on top of creamy/buttery potato bits the size of risotto grains.

My husband ate their halibut special.  One thick slice of halibut over leeks, lobster mushrooms and cherry tomatoes.  The halibut was soft, flaky, and had a perfectly crispy pan seared skin.

We also shared a glass of the viognier wine (it was quite a heavy pour) and ended the night with a slice of their chocolate flourless cake (not too sweet) and pear tarte tatin.  The dessert was *mwuh* delicious!  I would come back here for the dessert alone!

To make our night even sweeeeeeeeter, the waiter decided to pour us a glass of port b/c he "thought [we] would like it."  He he.

With amazing staff and amazing food, this place was on the verge of 5 stars UNTIL . . . I spotted a ninja spider hiding in his web just below the window still and within 2 feet of my food.  I was sure he was after my flourless chocolate cake, so I kept a close eye on him.  He never moved . . . I think he was in a food coma . . . much like me.

When you're on a budget: decent food + cheap lunch buffet = 4 stars!  

Their lunch buffet is 7 days a week, 11 - 2:30pm and will ding $7.65 (with tax) from your wallet.  Amazing deal, seeing that they serve warm naan and your buffet includes serveral chicken and veggie dishes/curries.

The food is still tasty - nothing too powerfully spicy or overwhelming.  If you're craving Indian food, but can't afford to spend double digits on one entree, then India Bistro is the place for your hungry belly!

Come one, come all, this place has everything for both meat lovers and haters!

For you lovers - just scribble down what type of meat, size of meat, cheese, spreadable condiments, veggies and other greasy (ie bacon) or non-greasy (corn and salsa) items you want.

For you haters - do the same, except scratch off the "burger in a bowl" aka salad section by choosing the type of leafy greens you want to eat.

The combinations are endless.  As for moi, I got the 2/3 pound grill chicken breast over mixed greens with tomatoes, carrot strings, hard boiled egg, roasted corn and black been salsa, avocado and bacon.

Their sweet potato fries are a must (crispy on the outside, soft and meaty on the inside), as well as their milk shakes.  Their milk shakes are quite possibly the BEST friggin' milk shake I've ever had.  The strawberry one tasted like fresh strawberries and ice cream all blended into a thick and creamy texture.  Soft enough to slurp with a straw, thick enough to scoop with a spoon!

The West Lake location has a daily special for $2 (all day).  Today's special was a tall latte.  Any day that I can buy "my usual" for a cheaper price is a good day.

Try their hot chocolates too!  They go from milk chocolate, to dark, to darker, to darkest, to darker than their darkest.  Unfortunately, that's as accurate as I get. . .I don't  have enough brain cells to remember all the cocoa %-ages.  I guess I could have written them down on my iPhone. . .oh wait, I don't have one.

Names can be misleading.  In this case, Duk Li Dim Sum sounds as though they do dim sum and they do it well (or else why dub your restaurant that name).  Unfortunately, their dim sum is just ok.

But what is more than ok are their CHEAP BUNS!  My favorite is their bbq pork bun (which are baked, with a sweet glaze on top).  Seriously, go here and get a bun - you won't be disappointed!

. . .this review is for only the bar area. . .

First off, we were super surprised (and happy) to find that Happy Hour is everyday!  Second, we were there with the hopes of watching a soccer game on FSN (which some restaurants don't have).  The staff was more than happy to accomodate our FSN channel request and even channel surfed to make sure it was the right soccer game!

The HH food prices are reasonable and their selection is great.  It ranges from your normal burger, fries, chicken tenders to a great assortment of salads - ALL at happy hour prices!

Oh, and did I mention that HH is *everyday*?!

This was my first time staying at a Crowne Plaza.  I got a nice rate through Hotwire, so I was more than happy to try something new.

I was expecting something a little bit better, but what I got wasn't too bad.  The furnishings and bed were new.  But the hotel and rooms itself are old.  The tv was to the left of the bed, which made it awkward to watch while in bed and the shower head was just a couple inches higher than my head (I'm not that tall).

They have their own restaurant downstairs, but there's also a Stanfords a couple yards away and an Applebees and Starbucks down the road.

Friendly staff and close to the highway.  It was a good place for a quick one night stay.