Olive Garden

First off, let me tell you that you will not get a biased report from a restaurant that knows a food critic is coming but it's a lot of fun being treated like royalty!
     I have not written in my blog for a long time because I got sick and tired of all the bad food being passed off in Anchorage as anything sell-able in the majority of the restaurants in town. I'm not a gourmet chef by any means but I can cook and I know good food. I did happen to do to cooking school and I have cooked in about 10 restaurants in my early years. I do know what goes on in the kitchen of most restaurants because I have been there. Working my way from dishwasher to prep cook to line cook to manager of local hometown eateries.  I know that it's not only the quality of your ingredients but if your cooks actually are passionate about the food they serve and if they love to make people happy. If your cook is just there for his paycheck, your food we reflect that.

     Anyway, my story today actually began 2 weeks ago when I was contacted by an Olive Garden's Media Relations representative because of this here blog. I was to eat lunch on them. Sweet!  I never turn down free food!
So today was my day. I was to speak to the manager and they would have a table waiting for me at noon. The general public had a 45 minute wait today, for yours truly, it was 10 minutes.  I had 2 other join me for lunch today. My partner in crime and husband as well as one of his co-workers, who just so happens to love eating food.
     We had a lovely waitress named June, who is a riot and if you can request a server, I would suggest her. We opted to give the $12.95 lunch special a try, which gives you a choice of soup/salad, plus an entree and a small dessert. Perfect!  When I was at Olive Garden for Dinner a few days back, my friends ordered some stuffed mushrooms and decided I needed to have some of my own so I also added that to the order.  Drinks arrived promptly and soon the Manager herself showed up at the table. Since I'm new to all of this Food Celerity stuff, I had no idea what to expect and I think she was also fairly new to it as well. She was so wonderful and polite and I think we could have asked for the moon and  would have received it.
     Even though we had a fair warning that our Mushroom Appetizer would take 15+ minutes just to cook, it came in record time along with the soups. This time I did get my Chicken & Gnocchi soup which they had run out of the last time I was there.  All the food was very warm, the mushrooms were sizzling, literally.  The soups were pretty tasty but we did wish the cream soups were of a thicker consistency, but we did enjoy sopping up the remains with the infamous bread sticks.
     Just as we were finishing the soup and bread sticks off the meals arrived. I enjoyed the fettuccine with the Portobello mushrooms while my companions got the Mozzarella Chicken dish and the Sausage Tortellini .   They arrived in style with fresh grated Parmesan cheese topping them off.
Yum! I tried both mine and my husband's they they were very good. Mine had just the right amount of light sauce with crispy, crunchy bread crumbs scattered on top. I only wish there were more mushrooms but really, that 's just my greedy, mushroom loving side talking. The dish was an excellent Olive Garden dish.
Finally, for dessert, as part of the Dinner Trio for $12.95 we got a perfectly sized taste of Italy. I'm a chocolate girl so I choose the Dark Chocolate with caramel while Hubby had the mini Tiramisu. Super cute and so yummy! Honestly, they are the perfect size to top off a great meal and fix that sweet tooth.

Now, as you already know, this was not a typical visit to Olive Garden because the staff was warned I was coming. However, since I had already been to Olive Garden on a previous occasion I did get to see the "real" side of things.  Given the fact they had only been open 2 weeks, and the entire state of Alaska was trying to eat there, they did a marvelous job. We were told our wait that night was 2 1/2 hours but we got in in just over 1 hour. Pretty good for a party of 8+. Things got pretty crazy there when our soon to be table of 10 had two waitresses and orders were being forgotten and such, but the night manager swooped in and filled waters, took an order, and chatted with us. Everything was taken care of and fixed in  no time at all. That tells me that the people that work there really do care about how the place is run and what people think.
    The Anchorage Olive Garden really has a wonderful family atmosphere that you cannot get in most chain restaurants anymore. It's loud and boisterous and it smells great. The lighting is perfect, not too dark, not too light.  Maybe once everyone has tried it, the lines will start to diminish and the wait time to get a table will be less then 15 minutes.  I know that as long as the staff of Olive Garden continue to show the passion for great food and excellent customer service, they will become one of Alaska's favorite restaurants.

Long Live Olive Garden!

Fruit Land at Tikahtnu Commons

If you are going there for FOOD, don't bother. Eat at Pho Saigon instead.

Capone's Pizza

Ah, Pizza! What kid or grown up for that matter, does not enjoy a nice hot slice of pizza? Since we moved last year, I have been eyeing Capone's, located on the corner of Northern Lights and Boniface. Tonight was the night. We choose one of the daily specials that gave us 2  2-topping jumbo pizzas, an order of breadsticks, a 12 piece buffalo wings and 2 2-liters of soda all for just $45!

Luckily, this did feed our family of 7 but I know our teens will be having a snack later. Still the amount of food was pretty good for the price.

The pizza was take-out, arriving home about 7 minutes after it was cooked.  I thought the buffalo wings were pretty tasty. Not too hot, not messy (although I enjoy the mess and the heat). I was rather disappointed they served them with a sweet ranch dip as opposed to the traditional Blue Cheese though.
We all agreed the pizza sauce was on the sweet side but I for one was pleased to see just the right amount on the pizza.  Not sloppy, who likes to have soupy pizza?  I was unsure about the crust. It seemed "chewy". I would hate to think they pre-made the crust. :(   Would the disappointing pizza been better if we ate in?  But alas. there was no dine in seating. Capone's is a Take-Out/Delivery only pizza place.

I'm sorry Capone's, I was not impressed.

Willing to make a few changes? Let me know and I'll be back!

Fu Do ~ Chinese

We had this for Delivery once, Spent $75. Wont do that again.

Ding How ~ Mongolian BBQ and Buffet

Mongolian BBQ is when the customer picks a variety of raw foods and they are cooked by the chef on a huge round gill.  Mongolian BBQ Iis not Mongolian nor is it a BBQ. It is actually derived from the Japanese cooking style of teppanyaki.  I have been in Mongolican BBQ restaurants that had over 50 different foods to choose from and an even larger variety of sauce combinations!  

Ding How is a bit nicer and much cleaner then Twin Dragons, although I like the waitstaff from Dragons better. Anyway, the crab rangoons were delicious, as always.
The seating area was nicley lit but not too bright. They had a cute area with 2 large tables for "private" parties. Since there were usually 7 of us eating, this is ideal, plus it is a good way to keep the kids corralled.

Located at 2140 Muldoon, they are also right across the street from Fred Meyer (Debarr and Muldoon) and very easy to get too.

The price is right at just $13 per person. Less for kids, of course.
Some say this is the best Mongolian in Anchorage and while I cannot disagree with them I have to let you know I have only eaten at 2 Mongolian Restaurants in Anchorage so I have little to compare it too.

I must say, though  that there is a lot more to a dinning experience then just the food. I look at all aspects including the friendliness, the cost, the cleanliness, the atmosphere, the taste, the service..........

If you are in the mood for Mongolina BBQ then this is a place that will not disappoint.

El Rodeo

My husband and I went to El Rodeo again today. This cute little restaurant is located on Muldoon about 2 miles from the Elmendorf Gate.
I really like this place. They offer a nice buffet every weekday for only $10 per person. There is a decent variety of mexican classics and they always have a beautiful salad bar.

The owners are super friendly and love to chat with you. In fact all the staff are quick, attentive and efficient.
So on today's buffet they added a soup! It was nice and mellow, perfect for a cool fall afternoon.
On the typical lunch buffet they have the traditional rice and beans, burritos, and cheese enchiladas, taquitos, and tacos. Plus some Chili Colorado and Chili Verde. The taco shells are thick and crispy, never had a stale one yet. Topped with loads of fresh pico de gallo sauce, they are simply devine!

They also send out a complementary bowl of fresh torilla chips and homemade salsas! Today we got both the medium and the mild. :) Each one is nicely flavored and not too spicey. Although I adore spicey food, my husband does not. The salsa was good.

El Rodeo has a great selection of popular Mexican foods off their menu too.  Your best bet would be just come on down to get a feeling for this family friendly eatery.

They also serve a decent selection of beers including some South of the Border flavors like XX"s and Corona! Make sure to ask for a slice of lime :)

Also check out their website! It's FUN!  http://www.elrodeoak.com/

Namaste Shangri-La

Well, I have never been to Asia and never eaten Indian or Himalayan food until I came to Anchorage so I cannot tell you if this or that is authentic but what I can tell you is this food tastes AWESOME!

We visited the cute and subtle restaurant just the other day on a whim. Hubby and I treated ourselves to a quite mid-week lunch together. Located just off the Lake Otis and Tudor intersection, in the strip mall with Primal Instinct Tattoo and Ichiban. It can be easily missed when going by at breakneck speed. However, when you are in rush hour traffic, take the time to look over and note it's location for tomorrows lunch.

Naturally, when going to a non-american restaurant we ask for recommendations from the host or wait staff. We were not disappointed as our genteel waiter came to our rescue with a variety of house specialties to choose from.

We were the only ones in the restaurant at 11:15 am but having noted they just opened, I was not worried. Soon the tables started to full up and they even had a few take-out orders.

We ordered off the Lunch Menu which consisted of a very nice selection of delightful treats, from vegetarian to meaty. We chose the Lamb Handi (Chunks of lamb cooked with onions, spices and aromatic herbs in a thick gravy) and the Chicken Kalimiri (Chicken pieces marinated in black pepper & cooked in a mildly spiced mushroom sauce).

The inside of the restaurant was warm and cozy with nice dark wood tables, and fanciful lamps from India. It was a very inviting atmosphere and the music was not over powering.

We did not have to wait long to dive right into our lunch either! It came out in those gloriuos copper serving dishes which I love! It makes food sharing so much fun. The rice was perfectly cooked although I am not certain they used Basmati rice. We also ordered the garlic naan which has become my absolute favorite part of any Indian/mountain food! Yuumm!! Lunch was also served with house salad (a cabbage/carrot mix) and dal (a sauce made from lentils and spices, usually served with rice, which our waiter explained it is used to "wet" the food since most Indian food can be very dry). Personally I did not care for the dal, but lentils have not been my thing. It was good, but the taste of all the other dishes outweighed my need for dal.

The sauces were so incredible and full of flavors. Each dish was complex and totally different from each other. I think if it were allowed, I would have licked the bowls clean. Our waiter was very pleased to remove our EMPTY plates!

Their prices are fairly average for a sit down restaurant in Anchorage. A nice lunch for 2 with appetizer and drinks, plus tip was $35.

yes, this hole-in the wall oasis will be a place to return to again and again!