Dinner at PHO

Last Friday i went to a restaurant near my house called PHO. I had never been there before but has always heard good things about the food. My friend suggested that i ordered the PHO, which was a noodle soup dish with beef in it. The dish was very good, it was cook perfectly and tasted great. I ordered the regular size which is the smallest and i could not finish it. There was a lot of it. I liked how they gave me so much food for only $5.00. I think that my meal was healthy and priced affordable. I could see a person going to PHO after work when they don't want to cook and being able to receive a large healthy meal for a really good price. This particular restaurant was located right down the street from an Asian market, which my friend who knows the people that work at pho well, said that is where they get their ingredients daily. You can taste how organic the food is with every bite.

Budd Bay Cafe

On Sunday my husband and I went to Budd Bay Cafe in Olympia for lunch. They were easy to find and in downtown Olympia on the water. We arrived at 2:30 and were seated immediately. The restaurant was clean with a beautiful view of the water. Our waitress was named Kim and incredibly friendly.

She suggested the strawberry lemonade and I agreed that sounded wonderful. My husband ordered water. We ordered the steamed clams for an appetizer and while we were waiting she brought us warm homemade sourdough rolls.

When the clams came out they were steamed in a garlic white wine chardonnay sauce with carrots and celery. Then, surprisingly, they also had almonds sprinkled them and they gave a very satisfying texture. The clams were also well cooked and not chewy or undercooked. The portion size was also quite large, especially for a lunch appetizer.

I ordered seafood Alfredo for my main course and it came with clams, shrimp, and scallops. I was thrilled to find there was a lot of seafood in the pasta and they did not skimp because it was lunch time. My husband ordered blackened salmon with roasted asparagus and bell peppers and a side of Yukon gold mashed potatoes. He said his salmon was moist and delicious. (after letting me taste it I agreed!)

The price was really acceptable also.

Strawberry Lemonade = $2.95

Steamed Clams= $13.00

Blackened Salmon= $13.00

Seafood Alfredo= $13.00

Total= $ 45.53 (before tip)

When reading the menu I was surprised to read that all of their burgers as 1/2 pound of all natural beef with no antibiotics, steroids, growth hormones, or bi-products. Their oysters are local when they are in season. The salmon is all farm-raised in British Columbia.

Happy Teriyaki

Unfortunately, my lack of an automobile has caused me to dine a little closer to Saint Martin's. I went to a restaurant called Happy Teriyaki, right across the street from saint martin's.
The food was great! I absolutely loved it! I had a teriyaki bowl and a frozen yogurt with strawberries and sprinkles. The teriyaki bowl was large, in fact, I had to get it to go because it was too much for me to eat. The quality of food was great, especially the frozen yogurt! It was delicious! The cost was cheap, it was about ten dollars for the whole meal.

The issue related to food I would like to explore would be fair trade. The vision of fair trade is as follows : "Our vision is of a world in which justice and sustainable development are at the heart of trade structures and practices so that everyone, through their work, can maintain a decent and dignified livelihood and develop their full potential." The ethical question I am choosing to focus on is the food economy and how it can be improved so that workers are paid well for their work.

-Andrea

A different culture in your plate

Well fellows I tried sushi in the Main Chinese Buffet that it’s close to the university. I go there with my friend Jess that love sushi and know a lot about that food. The quality of the food was really good. The place where I went is a buffet and the cost it’s really good for all the food that you can aford and the great food quality. The cost in the lunch times its $7 per plate plus tax and you have a lot of Chinese food including sushi and seafood. I think that the meal represents for me a new culture and the mixed of races in the whole word. One issue that I really want to look about the sushi food it’s how healthy is and how your health can change (for good or for bad) eating this type of food. I was really pleased with the services and the quality of food, I didn’t like a lot the sushi food anyway but was a really good experiences. Probably if I’m going to address a topic it’s going to be the obesity in United States because too many people said that this is a really healthy food so probably if more people try it and like it we can have more healthy people with a better weight in USA.

Happy Teriyaki

I went to happy teriyaki. My meal was teriyaki chicken. The quality of the food was good, and the size of the food was large. I could not even able to finish my food because of the portion of the food size. The server was very polite and did not rush us. The interior was clean and quite. The cost of my food was $7.50 plus tax. The issue I would like to explore is the size of food that they serve us.

Red Robin

The meal was delicous. I had a bacon burger with cheese and fries. The Quality was good and they brought it out relatively quick with endless amounts of strawberry lemonade that was amazing! the cost was 14.95 for my food and strawberry lemonade. I went to Red Robin because it was the only place open after my late baseball game.

What I look for in a meal is the home made quality with the fast food speed. I think Red Robin tries to do this with there overly friendly service and there catchy sayings on all of there flare. Overall Red Robin was a great place place to eat, with fast polite service and tasty food.

Hidalgo Mexican Restaurant

2) The plate of food that i had was a Mexican dish. I sometimes go to Mexican restaurants, however I had never tried this specific dish. I had Pollo a la Mexicana at Hidalgo Mexican Restaurant in Tacoma. The food quality at this restaurant was pretty good, even though it seemed to have a little too much of grease. This dish was fairly big and towards the end it was kind of hard for me to finish it, but I managed to do so. The cost me $10.95 in my opinion i believe that it was an alright plate for the size of the meal.

3) What my meal represents to me an easy way of getting food and still getting in some way the taste of home made food in my mouth. An issue that can be addresses relating to my food is the quantity and the healthiness of the meal. Because the business of restaurants has grown so much in the US many Americans are resourcing to eating out with the risk of consuming a not so healthy meal.

restaurant

1) Go to a restaurant in Olympia and have a delicious meal there. Be adventurous. Try something special that you’ve never had before.

I go to Tofu Hut, and I eat famous katsudon.

2) Tell us what your meal is like. What did you eat? What was the quality of food like? What is the size? What is the cost? Give us the specific who, what, when, why and where’s of what you are eating.

I go with my friend, and the price is about $8. The content is egg, tofu, onion, and mushroom on rice.
it is delicious and health.

3) Tell us what your meal represents for you. What is one issue related to food that you’d like to explore and discuss? What is the larger picture underlying your outing to this restaurant? Is it the ethical question of organic, local food economies, the marketing of food, the treatment of animals, or the challenge that obesity poses in the United States? Choose one issue to address and explicate.

In Japan, Katsu is fried pork, and don is rice ball. But the Katsudon does not have Katsu. I am surprised that how Japanese food in America is different to the Japanese food in Japan. For example the chicken teriyaki is not famous in Japan. We do not eat Chicken Teriyaki like that.

the Japanese food in America is not real Japanese food. I think that the Japanese food in America is Americanized.

Spicy Tuna Sushi

This past weekend, I went to Koibito's restaurant on Pacific Avenue. I ordered a spicy tuna roll. It was delicious. It included seaweed, rice, tuna mixed with spicy sauce. The taste of this spicy tuna roll has been breathtaking. I also eat my spicy tuna roll with some soy sauce for an extra bit of flavor. However, this roll is slightly hot so water was a necessity with this meal.

The service at Koibito's was excellent. The waiters were very friendly and made the costumers feel very comfortable. They also guaranteed good service by refilling waters whenever needed and checking on the costumers often to make sure their costumers were comfortable. The chefs cooked the food in the open area allowing the costumers to watch their food being made and it looked fascinating from the beginning.

The cost of this spicy tuna roll was around $10. It was expensive because of the rareness of the fish. It rose the issue of the extinction of certain animals because they are being killed to be used as our food. Using animals as food is lowering the amount of animals that are living.

Ranch House

I went out to lunch with an old friend from high school the other day. We went to a small restaurant almost in the middle of no where that serves mostly BBQ and good ol' fattening American food. I decided on a bacon burger with a pile of house fries. My burger was topped with lettuce, cheese, and BBQ sauce. My meal was quite tasty! The cost of my meal was about $11.85. A little on the pricy side for a burger but I believe that we were paying for the great service that was practiced. Our waitress was friendly and joked with us the whole time. Also, the owner came out and walked around the restaurant to ask everyone how their food was.

I believe this is a great example though of how fattening a meal can be. I think that there are many issues that arise with the issue of food, especially fast food in the US. People are worried about being over weight and obese in todays society. Today many fast food restaurants are being asked to change their menu to make it more health friendly. But what about choice? A person chooses whether or not they go out to eat. They could ask for smaller portions or make sure to work off the calories they burn. There is a line that is not understood in this situation...To be fat, or not to be fat? Most of the time the question is for oneself, but, if there was a way to make restaurants healthier, would it really help?

Red Robin

On April 19th, 2010 (my birthday), I went to Red Robin. This is typically a very busy restaurant since it is on the west side of Olympia, right next to the mall. When I went there, there was a short line but things were moving pretty quick. I wasn't even waiting for 5 minutes until I was seated. When I looked around, I saw a bunch of people and the employees singing happy birthday to groups. I didn't want them to sing to me so I didn't let anyone know it was my birthday.
Once I was seated, the waitress came right up and asked us if we wanted any drinks or appetizers. I was with my girlfriend so I decided we could share some mozzarella sticks. As busy as it was I was expecting it to be a while until I would get my drinks and appetizer. The mozzarella sticks and drinks were on my table in about 4 minutes. I ordered a prime rib dip for my meal and my girlfriend ordered the gourmet burger. Our meals came out in pretty good time but it wasn't until I started eating that I finally had a problem. The table we sat at was a little two person booth. I have fairly broad shoulders so I found it difficult to manage eating in a tight spot. My meal was prime rib with onions on a French bread roll with a side of garlic fries and coleslaw. I finished my prime rib dip very quickly and then got to the garlic fires. It was all delicious but I had become full because of the mozzarella sticks before. My girlfriend couldn't finish her burger either. Although my meal tasted very good, I found the fries to be greasy. I typically don't eat greasy food so it was hard on my stomach.
When the waitress brought out the bill, I noticed that book the bill was kept in was also a dessert menu. My first thought was, good marketing idea. Then, this made me realize how our American culture is used to large amounts of food and very unhealthy food. It is nice to eat out every once in a while but I couldn't eat like this every day. When I got back to my dorm I had to take a nap because I was so full. Another downfall of this restaurant is that it is a little bit on the pricey side. For just my girlfriend and I the bill came to $32.63 and I left a tip on top of that. It isn't that much money but just for two people it seems kind of expensive. All in all, my outing made me realize that our culture spends a lot of money on large meals that are nothing more than grease.

Mariachi's

Instead of going to Olympia I went to Mariachi's Mexican Restaurant in Yelm. I went with my mom on Saturday. I decided to branch off and order something I have never ordered before so I choose a seafood enchilada. The price was $14.95 and the portion size was HUGE! However, there was too much food to finish in one sitting. The quality of the food was very tasty and the service was very good as well, we ordered and they brought our food out to us about 5-10 minutes later. Questions which could be explored concerning this restaurant are; how fresh the fish is since Yelm is not very close to an ocean, as well as is the vegetables used were organic or not. Another question would be to evaluate how so many fast food restaurants in Yelm affect the small family owned restaurants. Mariachis didn’t have a whole lot of people inside, but when I drive through Yelm the fast food restaurants are always packed. It would be interesting to evaluate the “why” factor to this question.

Praise the Lard

I went to Ramblin Jack’s in downtown Olympia. I had a “Jack’s Sampler” including tri-tips, pork shoulder, and ribs. The taste was wonderful. The rub that was placed on the meet was distinct and mouth watering. My only problem with the meal was the portions were huge. You not only got three different meets, you also got two sides. Needless to say the plate was very full, even at the end of our meal. The cost was reasonable for the quality of food, relatively the same price as going to a well known, chain, sit down, steak restaurant. We spent $50 on two entrees, two drinks, tax and a tip. The interior was clean and bright. There were not that many people sitting down for dinner, but there was a large baby shower going on in the back room. The noise from the party could not be heard from our table at all. When we entered the restaurant we were seated immediately. It 25 minutes for us to get our meal, also we were given a cheese bread as a appetizer before our meal arrived. Overall I had a great experience at Ramblin Jack’s and would recommend it to any of my friends and family.

Restaurant review assignment for English 102

For this blog assignment, please do the following:

1) Go to a restaurant in Olympia and have a delicious meal there. Be adventurous. Try something special that you’ve never had before.

2) Tell us what your meal is like. What did you eat? What was the quality of food like? What is the size? What is the cost? Give us the specific who, what, when, why and where’s of what you are eating.

3) Take pictures of your food.

4) Tell us what your meal represents for you. What is one issue related to food that you’d like to explore and discuss? What is the larger picture underlying your outing to this restaurant? Is it the ethical question of organic, local food economies, the marketing of food, the treatment of animals, or the challenge that obesity poses in the United States? Choose one issue to address and explicate.

5) Post your blog here.