Brooke "tastier than a burnt pop tart" R.'s Profile

My poor little dog was sprayed by a skunk.  I called around and found out that I can pay a groomer $90 to wash her, I can go to Scrub-a-Pup and wash her myself using their facilities for $15 or I can buy something and put it on her in the comfort of my own bathroom (it's like 60 outside, way too cold for a wet puppy).

My confused German Shepherd watched with anticipation as I walked from the front door to my bedroom 6 times before finally having all my belongings in hand.  She jumped into the car and we motored off to PetSmart.

I discovered that my dad had taken all of the dog's leashes with him and left them all at work, so the first thing I picked up at PetSmart was a neon pink leash.  I then walked in circles around the dog section looking for pet shampoo.  Five different workers must have seen me because that's how many I counted.  Not a single one came to my aide.  I was obviously lost.

Finally I gave up on being a frontier.  I walked up to a lady and asked where the dog shampoos were hidden.  As we walked over to them I told her that my doggie had been sprayed by a skunk, and she knew exactly what I needed.  Only problem was that she didn't exactly know where it was.  About a minute after looking for it she found it on a lower shelf and handed it to me.  She was very helpful, very sweet, but she could have gone more out of her way to help me.  It is a store after all, and that kind of is their job.

The layout is like any other PetSmart, the cat stuff on one side and the dog stuff on the other, the service is not spectacular but not horrid either.

As my boyfriend likes Vietnamese food and I like Chinese food, we visit every Vietchin restaurant we can find.  This was number two (it's Tucson, what can you expect).

I had my standard Chinese sesame chicken and the boyfriend had his everything Vietnamese soup.  His favorite Vietnamese place tinkers between a new place on Oracle (message me if you'd like the name) and Miss Saigon by campus.  I learned that Vietnamese restaurants always serve slushes so I never complain when I'm brought to a Vietnamese joint.  To comment on this would be a waste as it tasted just like every other slush I have ever had.

The decor is reminiscent of a tropical jungle.  Service was snappy but  there were only a few tables full in the restaurant.

My boyfriend's soup was eh, my chicken was eh, so overall this restaurant is just eh.  I wouldn't come here again.

The booths are the most memorable aspect of this restaurant.  They are low.  You sit into them thinking that they're going to be like every other normal booth in America, but then they sink.  Down down down.  The table is not down down down.  Makes for some very uncomfortable dining.

They have Malaysian and Chinese food.  Everyone in my party ordered something Chinese, but everyone said that everything was good.  The three of us came for lunch, it was around 3 o'clock.  I ordered the Mongolian beef off of the dinner menu.  I was bummed to not find it in the lunch section but, to my surprise, the waitress asked if I would like the lunch size or the dinner size.  So I had a generous lunch portion of Mongolian beef, rice, soup, and a fried wonton for 5.95.

I would come back if not for the incredibly uncomfortable booths.  Food was good and the lunch deals were great.

In my 22 years of life I have never had a better pizza.

I first reviewed this place in 2007 and gave them 4 stars.  Everytime I visit home after going away to college all I want is a steakburger from Kirk's.  I don't think I knew what I had.  The burgers just taste better.  I have been searching for a similar quality burger in my temporary new home in Arizona and haven't found anything that can even be ranked against Kirks.

Kirk's is a two-room small dining establishment located in Town & Country, on the same wall as a piano store, a Jamba Juice, and a Peet's.  Their store is glorified in green and white, the colors of the across-the-street high school.

The center of the first room has a topping bar, fresh lettuce, tomatoes, two types of onions, and all the condiments.  They even have a really good barbecue sauce.

Their prices reflect the quality.  In no way do I mind paying $9.66 including tax for my cheeseburger and onion strings, no garlic.  The burger is cooked just how I ask for it, rare.  They confidently serve rare, unlike other restaurants that refuse to take burgers off the grill until they get burnt.  The onion strings are thin and crispy.

The men that work here are fabulous.  Always smiling.  Never mesing up orders (in my 8+ years of patronizing).  They seem to remember my order, even though I only visit now every few months.

Let's go Outback tonight.........

Funny how I've never seen that commercial in Tucson yet can't get it out of my head.

I love Outback!  I'm not a big red meat eater but when I'm in the mood for it I want it cooked just right and don't have the patience for trying new places.  Outback is a sure-fire choice.  I always know what to expect at Outback.

This particular Outback is smaller than the rest that I've been to.  The bar area is much smaller and there are fewer dining tables.  Regardless, on the night that I went here there were a couple open tables and with the call ahead seating there was no wait.

If you were to combine all menus, from all the restaurants, my favorite item would be the awesome blossom.  This used to be served at Chili's but is no longer.  Something about this dish being the only item that requires a giant onion and them being too economically challenged to carry it.  I only know of two restaurants that now carry the infamous awesome blossom: Texas Roadhouse and Outback.  I'm sorry to report that this awesome blossom was my main reason for coming here.  And, if you are wondering, the awesome blossom is a shadow of what Chili's awesome blossom used to be, but the batter at Outback is far less greasy and the horseradish dipping sauce has more of a kick.  Overall, wonderful.

This is not a high end steakhouse, so please don't show up in a suit and/or ballgown.  Please do show up in both as that would amuse me.  The lighting is dim but each table has an extremely bright light hanging low.  This somewhat blackens everything in the restaurant aside from your dining partner but the noise bouncing off the walls quickly reminds you that you're not alone.

I love how standard their cooking style is.  There is no such thing as an "off night."  Every piece of meat, on every night, is consistent.  It just blows me away.

The downfall of course, as there can be no perfection for the prices that they charge, is that the meat is not of terribly good quality.  It tastes good, but that's it.  No wow factor here.  (Although they boast Zagat #1 rated steaks at a chain)

Salads, soups, sides are also wonderful here.  The menu is similar to that of Fleming's, meat typically does not come with a normal side.  Normal sides are an additional 2.95 which I don't mind paying when my entree is only 13.95-16.95.

Desserts don't taste homemade but no matter.  They're still good.  They often have a dessert on special.  Let me compare to Chili's again.  Chili's has their standard 5 or so desserts, and none of them are good.  Outback also has a standard 5 or so dessert menu (in addition to their special dessert), the difference being that each one of Outback's dessert is fabulous.

Happy hour is all day long.  The waitstaff is top notch.  Every time I go I want to tip 50% and leave with second thoughts that I only gave 25.

The much anticipated two four star reviewed cupcake eatery was a bitter letdown.  My boyfriend brought home cupcakes after a day at the lab.  I spent the day reuniting with sorority girl alums so I totally deserved those cupcakes.

At $2.75 each I knew there was something wrong, cupcake places all over the country price their cupcakes at $3.50 (I'm joking of course, it was a nice surprise to see a 20% price break).

The cupcakes are small, the same size that you would find at Safeway.  The frosting is light, runny and has no taste.  There is no difference between the cake here and the cake I can make from a box, other than the cake here being a tad drier than the cake that comes out of my oven.  I will admit that I cannot make the frosting on my own, but I can make much better frosting.

Tip: Williams Sonoma sells Sprinkles brand red velvet mix.  Buy this instead of coming here.

Vietnamese-Chinese is written on the sign outside, but they also have a few Thai dishes.

I was excited by the dedication to boba on the entire front page.  The right side contains a list of pre designed bubble teas, fruity to traditional Vietnamese, and on the left side a list of "smoothies."  The quotations are used because these are not what I could consider smoothies, they're more like slush drinks.  These can also have boba balls and/or coconut jelly added to them.

After taking the time to decide my drink (a peach slush with tapioca balls, but later I traded my boyfriend for his tropical slush which tasted much better), I looked at the food choices.  There are Veitnamese items in the center two pages and Chinese on the back.  I went for the Chinese sesame chicken.  There were about 10 pieces of the sweetest sesame chicken I have ever had and half a plate of rice.  The chicken had a built up heat which complemented the sweetness nicely.  Unfortunately, 10 pieces is not enough for me.  Great tasting food, small portion.

I heard from the people at my table that the Vietnamese dishes were good.

There's a drive up window!!

I wouldn't drive out of my way to come to this place, but I wouldn't pass it up either if I were walking by.

Nimbus Bistro has a great selection of beer and high quality pub food.  With a few minor improvements this place could earn a higher rating.

After being open for a month, and after my boyfriend coming here and telling me about it, I finally decided to try it for myself.  The restaurant is huge, think BJs.  The bar area consists of a bar and about 20 tables.

We were quoted a wait time of 45 minutes which seemed a little excessive for a restaurant that does not take reservations.  The bar area is open seating, although the tables only seat 2-4.  We hovered around the bar area patiently waiting for a table to open up, preferably a booth (there are three in that area), but we would have been happy with anything.  After 15 minutes a high chair/booth combo opened.

The most obvious downside to this bar-pub is the noise level.  It sounds like a bar but it looks like a restaurant, so which is it?  Whichever, it's too loud.

The food is much better than typical bar food.  The menu isn't very extensive and there aren't many healthy options (you're stuck with a salad).  I was craving something fried and accordingly ordered the fish and chips.  What was placed before me was not expected.  Three small pieces of perfectly crisped cod.  I could taste the freshness of the oil and the batter had the perfect consistency.

Second downside are the small portions.  The prices reflect the portion sizes, but a decently hungry person would need to order two entrees.

We finished our dinners and ordered dessert.  Without discussion I ordered the brownie bites.  A pile of one-square-inch brownies lightly dusted with powdered sugar sitting between a cup of chocolate sauce and a cup of caramel sauce.  The brownies weren't fudgy nor were they too crisp.  I prefer my brownies to be a little softer than these, but nonetheless I would order the bites again.  The chocolate sauce had a very strong taste of chocolate.  I'm not one for chocolate so I dipped my brownies in the caramel.

The waitress was on her game with taking orders, filling drinks, and bringing out food.

The great tasting food topped with the great service would bring me here again.

I visited The Hog Pit during their opening weekend.  The restaurant is more of a bar with many tables, kind of like a Chuy's layout but with much better food and more waiter service.  It is a biker bar!  They have bike parking in front and lots of people wear leather vests.  Yet they're nice to non-biker people such as myself.

The menu consists of only BBQ meat.  BBQ chicken, beef or baby back ribs, brisket, and other BBQ cow items.  Every piece of meat is cooked almost perfectly.  Chicken falls off the bone.  Sausage is juicy.  Brisket tears apart like a precious flower.

I had the combination smoke plate (which had a name but I can't recall) and my boyfriend had the chicken.  The other member of our group had the BBQ brisket, but I had my own brisket on my plate so his dish was unimportant.  My smoke platter had sausage, beef ribs, baby back ribs, brisket, and one other beef item which I can't put a name on.  Every item was fabulous, my favorites were the baby back rbs and the thing that I can't remember the name of (I'm so helpful, aren't I).  Cornbread and two sides came with my dish, a choice of beans, slaw, fries, or a Mexican side that's spelled wrong on the menu (a vegetable medley with a Mexican flare).  I had this Mexican side and the fries.  The cornbread was a little dry, the Mexican side wasn't a good fit for my tastebuds, but the fries were good.  I normally skip on eating fries at restaurants but I couldn't not eat these.

The BBQ sauce is quite tasty.  They don't smother their food in it which allows you to actually taste the meat.  I asked for some extra BBQ sauce and our waitress brought three servings, one for each of us.  The waitress actually tried to make us happy.

The BBQ sauce incident wasn't the only sign of good service.  Our waitress never left us waiting.  Our drinks never went empty, our food was brought out warm and quickly, but most importatntly, she was friendly.

On each table sits a pad of paper and multiple colored pencils.  Each piece of paper has the title "Absolut Bloody Mary" written on top and below it is a checklist.  I don't know how long these will remain on tables but I hope they take them away soon.  I can't have a checklist in front of me and not start checking things off.  Bloody Marys are $5 each.