Dietrich "Deke" D.'s Profile

I must preface this by saying the person working the counter was cheerful and pleasant, even if the rest of the experience was not so much.

We pulled into this DQ on the way to Dallas for a weekend get away and wanted a quick treat on the way.  Little did I know they would have to pluck the chicken for my basket before they cooked it!

After waiting a bit for our orders to complete, I get out to the car to find 4 boxes of various items.  2 contained chicken strips that were so hot we had to wait 20 minutes for them to cool off before we attempted to eat them.  The other 2 contained fries and what should have been texas toast but was really just a piece of white bread slabbed with butter and thrown in the box.

The chicken was ok, after it cooled down, but was actually better when it was cold.  

ive been to better DQ's before, and probably won't be back to this one.

This is the second time I've stayed here and both times the room was clean and comfortable.  The first time I stayed here, our room was pool side, which meant we had a patio.  As smokers, this was great.  However, this time we were on the parking lot side with no patio, which made things somewhat more difficult, but not impossible.

Whenever I travel, I generally like to find someplace local to eat so I can get a sense of the area.  However, this time I was told by a friend to try the Saltgrass while I was in Dallas for an Ikea run.  Being a chain, I was skeptical at first thinking it would be like any other chain experience.  I was wrong.

After a 20-30 minute wait to get a table, we were finally seated in the middle of the main dining room.  Literally.  No more than a minute after sitting down, a server stops by to inform us our server was backlogged on on another table and would be a few minutes.  He offered to take our drink and appetizer order and after a brief chat was off.  Shortly after our drinks were delivered, our server comes by and introduces himself.  At first, I thought this was some corporate speak, but after witnessing the other servers introductions, I was impressed.

We ordered the Shrimp and Chicken Enbrochette for an appetizer and wow, they were excellent.  I ordered a glass of wine and while our waiter didn't know how to describe it at first, he made a point to find out and let me know it was a decent wine.   I ordered, for my entree, the Pepper Crusted New York Strip with a Cognac Pepper sauce.  The first bite was like stepping into steak heaven as the meat melted in my mouth.  The cut was lean with very little fat and was large enough to feed my voracious appetite.  I ordered a baked potato as the side and it too was cooked perfectly.

Our server was very attentive and was never more than 30 seconds away at any given time.  I also must say I was impressed with the automatic delivery of a carafe of tea if you order iced tea.  It makes life easier when we don't have to wait forever for our endless refills.

Having never heard of this restaurant until I arrived in ABQ, I thought this place was a crummy dive by looking at it from the outside.  Even the ordering process was interesting...you wait for a green light, then go to the appropriate counter to order.

I ordered the Frontier Burrito and all I can say is WoW!  It did need some sour cream to really make it taste great, but the combination of the green chili's and other ingredients really combined to give a unique taste.

Not a big fan of their new coke machines, however.

I stayed at this Sheraton during a recent business trip to ABQ because it was close to the airport and meeting place, and the rates were good.   Overall, I give this property a B- or C+ (take your pick).  The service I received was top notch, so they get props.  However, that is where the greatness ends.  As Mark M says, it is obvious that they recently renovated -- the rooms ARE nice, and the interior hallways and lobby areas show off ABQ's Southwest heritage.  

My room was facing the Airport (on request) and was on the 11th floor (also on request).  Upon arriving at the hotel, finding the light switch was the first hurdle to cross.  Even with the light from the hallway, it was hard to find.  Yes, it is located right next to the entrance, but at a spot that light switches normally don't inhabit.  I finally had to go the bathroom to turn the light's on there (another odd location for a light switch) and found the light's to the main room.

The room itself was spacious, inviting, and clean.  The bathroom was modern with a shaving mirror, and lots of little freebies that you don't normally find in a hotel.  The bed, while soft and plush, was a chore to sleep in as the staff overly starches the sheets making them itchy.  The thermostat did not work and my room was a chilly 68F the entire time -- I didn't mind this so much as I like the cold, but for anyone who likes warm rooms, this may be a deal breaker.  On the flip side, my companion's room also had a broken thermostat, but his room was 85F the entire time -- so make sure you get a room with a working thermostat.

The wifi in this hotel, while being advertised at $10/day is now free -- at least as far as I can tell.  However, the wifi itself was spotty at best with frequent connection issues and lots of dropped packets.  A simple IM conversation was more of a chore than picking up the call and dialing an international call.

All in all, this is a beautiful hotel, but there are lots of little kinks that add up to force me to rate it 3.  If and when they get these little issues fixed (and if I go back to ABQ and stay there), I'm sure my rating will change.

I purchased the Torpedo, which while tasty, lacked any type of meat.  The tortilla's were fresh and good, and all the filling was great too, but it really needed some meat.  Next time I go, I will have to add it on there.

Having received a gift card for christmas this year, I decided to take the family to chili's for dinner this evening.  Arriving around 5:30, we were pleasantly surprised to find there was no wait.  At first the hostess tried to sit us at a table, citing that they are forbidden by law to seat a high chair at a booth (which is a lie because I've worked in restaurants for years (up until about a year ago) .  After informing her this was unacceptable, she said we could have a booth if my 11mo old could sit in a high chair...which, while untested, proved to be ok.

Service was prompt, yet casual and we started out with our drinks and an order of Skillet Queso.  The queso itself was great, but the chips were saturated, no, floating in grease to the point of being inedible.  We did what we could with what we had and ordered our entrees -- two burgers.  Both burgers were ok, if not a little dry.  Mine, the southern bbq bacon burger was huge and for the first time in memory, I was unable to finish my entree.

Our server came back for a final check and finally pre-bussed our table (I had been sitting elbow to elbow for a while with my dirty used plate) and asked if we wanted dessert, which we declined.

All in all, I give this experience a B, but the grease-soaked chips really killed it all fo rme.

Not a bad place to stay in Dayton, however it really is no frills.  You get basically a super clean Motel 6 style room for twice the price.

Room was clean, I did have Kleenex, but the wifi was horrible.  

Overall a B-

With family and friends coming in from out of town, the idea was to go to a restaurant that isn't in their area.  We chose what looked like a good pic in Bosco's in the river market district.  I had always heard they had decent food and with their prices, one would assume service and food quality would both be great.  They were not.

On the service side:  If i'm paying $20 for a BRUNCH item, I do not want to see a guy with 1" pieces of plastic in his ear lobes.  Granted, that's just cosmetic, but it does kind of turn one off from the server initially.  Our group (9) arrived around 11:45 on a Sunday afternoon and there was barely anyone in the restaurant, except for staff sitting at the bar and having their own conversations.  That should have been our indicator to choose the Flying Fish or Sonny Williams nearby, but we chose to keep our original plans.  Having been sat at a large round table, we all got as comfortable as could be and waited.  While our drinks were refilled with promptness, our server made no attempt at clarifying menu items...I even had to flag him down as he was picking up the menus to ask to substitute an item from my plate.  The food took about 30-40 minutes to be delivered -- granted, there were 9 of us, but with the majority ordering breakfasty items, it should not have taken this long with the volume of the restaurant being what it was.

Overall service quality:  B-

From the food perspective:  Most people at the table ordered a Benedict of some sort, with the exception of myself, my son, and my step mother who ordered a steak, hamburger and salad, respectively.  My son's hamburger was tiny, served on a ciabatta bread -- something most kids dont like.  My steak, like the reviewer Devlan mentioned, was dry, and almost flavorless.  I have, in all honesty, had a better steak at the waffle house.  My steak was served with a pinch of shredded crab on top -- which was overdescribed in the menu -- and was served with garlic [boxed] mashed potatoes and asparagus -- which I had changed to mixed veggies.  The mashed potatoes tasted like something you would pick up in a box, mix with water, heat and serve.  The veggies looked (and tasted) like they had been cooked in a large vat of oil.  Needless to say, it wasn't a delicious meal that I (and others) had envisioned when choosing our dining location.

Overall food quality: D+ / C-

So, will I give Bosco's another chance?  Maybe for dinner as I am well aware that many restaurants put their B squad to work during lunch.  However, I will make sure that I don't order a steak again and I will NOT be returning for brunch.

Overall quality:  C

So we had a wild hair and went to branson this weekend and while not particularly on a budget, we decided to stay someplace cheapish so we could have more money for attractions.  We decided, on a whim, to stay at the Queen Anne 1 (there are evidently 2) which is right on the strip, across from the Track 5, White Water, and the Factory Outlet mall.  

While the exterior is painted a dull pink (its in dire need of a paint job), the room we stayed in was comfortable, if not quaint.  The was your standard amenities...coffee maker, tv, soaps, etc.  My only complaints about the room are that the toilet requires you to hold down the handle for a good 10-15 seconds before it would flush, the bed, when I laid down, felt like it was going to collapse, there was no WiFi (I believe it was advertised, not sure), and parking was at a premium.

Other than those few things, the room was fine, comfortable and clean.  I would recommend this property to anyone on a budget, or for those people who want quick access to Branson's most popular attractions.

PS:  They used old school keys, not key cards, so it was quite a departure from the usual in that regard.