Asia Pacific - Good Chinese Buffet, But...

New Chinese Buffet on the east side of Eau Claire, by JoAnne Fabrics/Office Depot/Office Max.

Excellent selection of food, Sushi Bar included, many seafood dishes for Friday Dinner (shrimp, clams, mussels, oysters, squid,crawfish, salmon, very little of that fake fish stuff) and the food tends to be better prepared than your average buffet. Not sure on the selection during lunch, weekdays.

But...

The second time we were there (Friday night, not crazy busy), the restaurant was not that clean - napkins on floor, food spills in dining area not swept up quickly, entry way muddy (hey, it is wisconsin, but did you ever hear of a mop?)

Makes you worry about the food cleanliness. I will go again because of the huge seafood options and SUSHI BAR, but if it is not clean, I may leave.

Arnie's Dog House - Nothing to Bark About

Arnie's in Munster, Indina - not the best place ever for a dog

When in the Chicago area I like to get a dog - hot dog that is. Preferably a double dog (2 dogs, one bun) with everything. AKA Chicago Style. And then Cheese Fries.

I often hit Arnies's, but my last visit was disappointing, to say the least.

Now a real chicago dog has some very specific ingredients - and Arnie's was missing some, replaced others - not good. It should be a steamed all beef hot dog on a poppy seed bun, with:
1. Yellow Mustard - pass
2. Bright Green Relish - fail (not florescent)
3. Fresh Chopped Onions - pass
4. Two Tomato Wedges - fail
5. A Pickle Spear or Slice - pass, but it was on the side, not on the dog
6. Two Sport Peppers - FAIL - they used peperoncini
7. A Dash of Celery Salt - fail

They use Vienna All Beef (or so the sign says), but the overall - pathetic.

And the fries were no hot shakes either.

Karabalis Restaurant - Hayward Wisconsin

Karbs in Hayward Wisconsin - ate there after Labor Day - so it was fairly empty

6 oz Sirloin with potato and salad bar

Sirloin was decent, although cold in the center (rare should be cool, not icy). Hash Browns were good - Salad bar was above average for a northern wisconsin super club.

Price - $9.95 - excellent value. Good service, although limited beers on tap.

Draganettis - Eau Claire Edition

Dinner for 6 on a busy Friday night in Eau Claire, WI at Draganettis. Google Maps location is here

Server was new (I hope). Mistakes, in order:

1. Left pepper shaker on nearby table rather than offering it to us
2. Did not clear salad plates before serving main course
3. Ordering multiple glasses of wine, couldn't be bothered to serve ordered refills - that costs the restaurants money and the servier, as the tip is based on total meal cost
4. Coffee ordered came late, no offer of refills till we were checking out.

Food Commentary:

Bread was ok, olive oil for dipping is on the table (not good quality). Butter was mixed with garlic, pimento, spices - ok.

Salad was so so, served with the dressing in a little plastic cup on the side - this is a linen napkin kind of place - dressing in a plastic cup?

A wide variety of dishes were ordered, three with cream sauce, three with tomato sauce. I ordered the special of the day, .Seafood Pescatore (fruits of the sea). Plates (bowls, depending on your order were large.

Cream sauced dishes were the best, tomato based not so much. The Pescatore was disappointing. Swordfish (overcooked), shrimp (2, ok), clams (not in the shell), cod (cheap filler), sauce was acidic, had heartburn all night, and I don't get heartburn. If I am going to not an inexpensive restaurant, ordering the special of the day, I expect a good meal, not merely an edible one.

I have had good meals/service here, and the pizza is good, but this meal - below average for sure.

Hipster Coffee in Downtown Eau Claire (Campus side)

Racy's a little hidden - on the river side of water street (go south on 4th then turn west, you will see it) with a great location on the Chippewa River for sipping you coffee on the bike path along the river

Good coffee - not sure where they get it from (likely Fair Trade if I remember correctly). Free Wi-Fi. You can get food from the attached restaurant. Not the best coffee in the valley (try the 4:30 in Chippewa Falls), but good, and free wifi (take that starbucks!)

Coffee Grounds Eau Claire - local roaster, but....

still not my favorite coffee in the valley (which would have to be the 4:30 in Chippewa Falls.

While roasted on site, the roaster likes it either lite roast or burnt roast - nothing choclately brown, all nice and oily. As such, most of the roasts are best drunk without half and half (my fav) or you have to pony up for the shot of espresso to give it enough heft to hold up to the cream.

Food is ok - sandwiches fair, soups good, muffins and scones good.

WiFi is a pain - three people here online and it is so slow I have to downgrade to Gmail dial up option.

For a coffee shop - just average. However, they do have the areas best selection of wine and beer, and a decent selection of cigars.

A & W - Neilsville, WI - America's Root Beer Stand

Minus the stand part.

Older A&W, without the drive in, just the drive through, like most fast food restaurants these days. Clean, but old. Skate Park Next Door. Still serves that fine AW Rootbeer. Ordered a single papa burger combo, they charged me for the double.

A decent place for a meal, but clearly the owners are not interested in bringing their store into the 21st century, and neither is YUM brands, owner of the franchise.

Cancun Mexican Restaurant - Chippewa Falls and Eau Claire

The Short Story - Mexican Food For Americans - edible, but not that much up from Taco Johns.

Located in both Eau Claire and in Chippewa Falls, Cancun is a decent American Mexican restaurant. Nothing too special, nothing too spicy, with generic sauces. The staff is attentive, food served fast (straight from the heating table, into a tortilla, onto to your plate), it is a good place for a business lunch - in and out in 30 minutes, but it doesn't feel like they are pushing you out the door (even though they are in working hard to flip tables).

The ubiquitous chips come with a decent, although mild (err, american style) salsa and this odd ranch dip, that has this gluey nasty consistency and odd taste (although surprising ok on top of the generic burrito you ordered)

Ok if you need a decent looking place (think a smaller chi chi's) with generic american mexican food (think chi chi's)

If you want real mexican food - go to where the staff at cancun eats - Tacqueria Sandoval, 2824 London Rd. - Now that is great mexican food -- real mexican food.

Best Breakfast Burrito? The Eau Claire Showdown

Taco John's advertises it's breakfast burrito as the "best in town". Well, is it?

Up against the Tex - Mex Fast Food Chain - McDonald's and Sonic

The Verdict? Yes, they are the best.

The Why?

Worst first - McD BB is an abomination, with the nastiest chipolte sauce splashed on it. Per their website, composed of sausage, potatoes, eggs, peppers and onions, cheese and fire roasted salsa. For something approaching edible, order it no sauce, then get two hot sauce packets and put them on instead.

Next..... the SuperSonic BB - an ok item, with the advantage of being available all day. Sausage, Scrambled Egg, Cheese, Tater Tots, Onions, Tomatoes and Jalapenos. Needs salsa (they serve a nasty generic salsa on the side), but it does have Jalapenos.

And the Winner - and even good - the Taco John Sausage Scrambler BB. Sausage, eggs, cheese, seasoned hash pellets (better than the tots at Sonic), onions, tomatoes, green peppers, nacho cheese sauce. Actually tastes good, but what puts it over the top is the salsa bar - add your own - my choice, pico de galo and jalapeno's. Love that salsa bar.

So yes, TJ's does have the best breakfast burrito in town.

Subway - Chippewa Falls

Subway in Chippewa Falls - on Woodward Ave is a good subway. Good in comparison to other subways, that is.

Clean, quick service, updated counter, they put out what you expect. Gloppy bread with a ton of things you can put on top. I went for the Chicken Breast, pepperjack cheese, toasted, with everything, topped with the sweet onion dressing. No Chips.

Very filling, reasonably tasty, $5. Good enough to go again, but not something you dream about