MaryLou "MotherYelper" D.'s Profile

Crowded, but excellent food and drinks!

From 8/24/08 (posted on the wrong location):
I was at my cousin's visiting and sharing family history last night and it was 9:30 when they suggested going out to eat. This place was pretty close to their farm and open late so we came here. I got the Charred Prime Rib Sandwich and it was really good, as were the coleslaw and fries. The fries were more than just good--they were perfect! They cut and deep fry their own. So good the leftovers were still delicious a few hours later--and you know how bad recycled fries usually are! The meat was crispy on the outside and very tender on the inside with wonderful flavor. A+ to the cook! 8/30--Ate here again, got the Beef Mnhattan--a beef sandwich on white bread with mashed potatoes, plus gravy over all. It's an Indiana thang. Very good but a few too many carbs for me.

Disappointing.  I didn't come here for designer clothes, I came for some components of a costume, hoping to find a cheap brown skirt I could cut up for a fringed cowgirl skirt, a poncho or sarape I could wear over a skirt or pants for an Indian look, cheap cowboy boots, a fringed jacket or vest, anything that might fit into a western theme.  Instead, this place comes across more like a designer consignment shop with prices equal to or higher than the local ladies resale shops.  $8.99 for a fringed SCARF??   $12.99 for a used small appliance?? This is not your mother's Good Will.  This is a " Designer Resale" wannabe.  Since we already have 3 or 4 of those on La Mesa Blvd. we didn't really need another.  They pay for their clothes.  Good Will gets theirs thru donations and should charge accordingly.  IMHO.

Parking can be dicey since you have to park on the street and feed the dang meters.

I'm giving them 3 stars because things were clean and organized, though the aisles were pretty tight and hard to navigate. One person looking in an aisle was about all it took to block it for others to pass thru.  I had to sidestep and reroute the whole time I was in there which didn't help me make a fast trip of it very well.  I may or may not ever go back.

Sigh, and I was so looking forward to them opening when I heard they were coming to the area.

Where's the beef??

Potatoes, potatoes, and MORE potatoes??  I went to a Yelp Party here last might where the Range was supposed to show off their stuff but all they served was tray after tray of potatoes (plus one piece of not too moist chicken). Usually the food on trays disappears before it gets five feet from the door it came out of. Not so tonight. How many potatoes are we supposed to eat?

With a name like The Range I imagined the food to be beef oriented, maybe little steak bites on toothpicks, or little sliders, SOMETHING that represented Home on the Range type food. I think this is a case of cutting costs backfiring. A Yelp party is ADVERTISING. Budget the food in accordingly. At least according to the impression you want to make. And my impression was that this is a place that cuts corners, which might translate into giving you smaller portions for your money or watering down your drinks on future visits. Whether they do or don't, that is how they came across.

As for the drinks, I had no complaints except that they out of Sangria. I asked the bartender, the tall dark and handsome one, what the darkest beer was they had, he named a name I didn't catch and I said I'd take that. It was very dark and very good. Then I had a Mimosa which was adequate but not delicious, and finally a Bloody Mary when they ran out of Sangria, which WAS delicious. By then I was hoping the drinks weren't too strong since I wanted to drive home safely.

As for the staff, I found all to be pleasant, cheerful and accommodating. There is a really pretty picture of my favorite server that someone posted in the party pics. She was sweet to the end, and it must have been an exhausting evening with all that running around.

The venue itself was pretty small for the number of people packed in it but fortunately we all love each other and didn't mind a little elbow rubbing. And I didn't get elbowed in the boobs so it wasn't as crowded as some of the places I've been.  

All in all I had a wonderful evening with my friends but I don't know if I'll be back to try the real food at the restaurant.

Where's the beef??

Potatoes, potatoes, and MORE potatoes??  I only had one dessert plate of food the whole evening.  What does that tell you?  And I saw more plates of unfinished, abandoned food than I have ever seen at an event.  And I turned down food that was being offered to me more times than I can count. Most of it was repeats of what I'd already turned down from previous servers because it was repeats.  Tray after tray of potatoes passing by us. Usually the food on trays disappears before it gets five feet from the door it came out of.  Not so tonight.  How many potatoes are we supposed to eat?  And yes, FTR, I did eat before I came, not enough to make me too full to enjoy the offerings, but enough that I wasn't looking to be fed a full dinner.  C'mon, most of us know better than that.

The issue here was selection.  Variety.  Epicurian appeal.  With a name like The Range I imagined the food to be beef oriented, maybe little steak bites on toothpicks, or little sliders, SOMETHING  that represented Home on the Range type food.  I think this is a case of cutting costs backfiring.  A Yelp party is ADVERTISING.  Budget the food in accordingly.  At least according to the impression you want to make.  And my impression was that this is a place that cuts corners, which might translate into giving you smaller portions for your money or watering down your drinks on future visits.  Whether they do or don't, that is how they came across.

As for the drinks, I had no complaints except that they out of Sangria.  I asked the bartender, the tall dark and handsome one, what the darkest beer was they had, he named a name I didn't catch and I said I'd take that.  It was very dark and very good.  Then I had a Mimosa which was adequate but not delicious, and finally a Bloody Mary when they ran out of Sangria, which WAS delicious. By then I was hoping the drinks weren't too strong since I wanted to drive home safely.  

As for the staff, I found all to be pleasant, cheerful   and accommodating.  There is a really pretty picture of my favorite server that someone posted.  She was sweet to the end, and it must have been an exhausting evening with all that running around.

The venue itself was pretty small for the number of people packed in it but fortunately we all love each other and didn't mind a little elbow rubbing.  And I didn't get elbowed in the boobs so it wasn't as crowded as some of the places I've been.  And all my Yelpkins were very well behaved, making me proud.

Kudos to Danny, as always, for all his hard work organizing this party.  I had a wonderful time and loved seeing all the familiar faces and meeting so many new ones!

This is my second-choice default, go-to gas station due to it usually having lower prices than the other  stations in the neighborhood, and equal to the ARCO nearer me.  It is often busy for the same reason.  Conveniently located at University and La Mesa Blvd, it's an easy stop if I'm running errands nearby.  I rarely need to go inside to pay and they do charge the usual small fee to use my debit card and don't take credit cards, part of how they keep their prices low I'm sure.   I can't comment on the restroom as I've never needed to go in it.

The slides get pretty hot on a sunny day and the little ones like to eat the wood chips, haha! The wood chips weren't very deep to make a soft landing. Otherwise this was a great little park for toddlers.  It is fenced in to keep kids in and animals out.

Why do you call my home and start babbling on about houses that have sold in my neighborhood when I am on the Do Not Call List???  Isn't that illegal?? And when I call you on it, don't lie and say, "Oh, I must have the wrong number," after you already called me by name!  Do you think I would use the services of an unethical business?  Are you so arrogant and disrespectful to assume you are above the laws and they don't apply to you?  Are you so out of touch as to not know people hate telephone solicitations?

I was disappointed to find this visitors center was "Closed for the season".  I guess they don't think there will be tourists all year round.  I was here on October 29th, the weather was chilly but fine and I would have loved to see their displays and films on the locks, which I heard were quite good. Oh well, maybe next time, if I ever get back here.

Heads up:  They are only open from April thru October 31st.  10am-8pm.

I must've just made it in under the wire the day I came, October 29th.  Thank goodness after I had driven all the way out to Lehto's Pasties 5 miles west of town only to find they were closed for the season, which THEIR website didn't specify.

I liked Bessie's, which came highly recommended by the lady at the Chamber of Commerce.  I'd had two or three beef Pasties on my trip by now so I decided to try a chicken one.  The flavor was good, though I agree with the reviewer who said it was skimpy on the meat.  But it had good flavor.  

I love that Vernor's is available in restaurants in Michigan as I don't usually drink pop in restaurants.  This came in a plastic bottle so I could take what I didn't finish with me and I used it as an extra water bottle the rest of my trip.

There is outdoor seating for warm summer days and evenings.

If you get desperate for some they ship, but I've made them and they're not THAT hard to make at home.