Good place to avoid.

Most of the time, I try to look for the silver lining of things and say 'well there were some good things, such as...' but with Cheddar's...you probably want to just avoid altogether. My roommate and I went to grab a mid to late evening dinner on a Sunday night a few weeks back and wanted to stay semi-local. She had been before and said it was okay, so I wanted to give it a whirl. When we got there, it was pretty busy for a Sunday night so we put our names on the list and she proceeded to the bar to grab a drink. She came back in a way that no one likes to see--empty handed! Said that the bartender didn't even look her way and she just left. So me, being the slightly peeved one, went to the bar to check it out. Sure it was slightly busy but still an acknowledgment was what I was looking for. He looked my way and I asked what was on draft, ordered our drinks and wisely closed out the tab pronto.

In terms of food, it's a pretty standard fare of pastas, burgers, some steaks/seafood options, and salads. The server was a little off to start with, but I was just hoping for decent food. Upon looking over the menu, I can't honestly say anything jumped out at me, so I kept looking and looking. I asked her for some recommendations, she said that the Country Fried Steak was good. (Now, mind you I've had homemade country fried steak South Carolina style and even Key West style, and they are amazing!) So I stayed clear of this option. I asked about the burgers, she said they are good but that the cooks tend to overcook everything so she wouldn't necessarily recommend it...(yes, this should have been my cue) and that they have to cook theirs medium well to well done...major party foul in my opinion. But then she mentioned the Ribeye was good, so I asked for it to be done medium-rare with a side of mashed potatoes and corn and without any of their "spicy" house seasoning on the steak. The roommie ordered their Center Cut Sirloin and Shrimp. We also ordered Edamame which came with a side of their house seasoning and soy sauce.

Her Sirloin came out a perfect medium-rare but my Ribeye came out just shy of well done. I tried to eat it but had to send it back. Our server did not appear to be surprised at this turn of events. The mashed potatoes were okay, but in all honesty, they were very runny and way too creamy. We also ordered drinks and my beer came back super fruity and definitely not a Bud Light, the manager had to pour the beer herself to make sure it came back right.

If you're looking for cheap burgers and are looking to avoid the typical McDonalds/Burger King/Wendy's debate, then give it a try I guess. But I can't bring myself to ordering a burger medium-well to well done. If you try it and aren't happy, I will reserve my "I told you so" for future moments.


http://www.cheddars.com/

"Bolognese" Kimmie Style

Almost always, whenever Publix has a sale on Morningstar products (such as a Buy 1, Get 1), I jump on it. In this case, I went and purchased a few Morningstar Crumbles packages, mainly because if I am feeling froggy, I mix it up with some sauce and Quinoa or use it in stuffed peppers, etc. But in this instance, I wanted to make a Bolognese of sorts.



As you can see, I have a Mirepoix of sorts. I guess you can say it was more Louisiana style because I substituted a bell pepper for the celery. I'm not a huge fan of celery, only when making chicken stock. So I have a white onion, bell pepper, carrot, and half of a Hungarian Wax Pepper (seeds included). I also have Gluten Free/Wheat Free pasta (which, surprisingly, I found at Walmart for $2 and change) and a package of crumbles.

I did cook the Mirepoix in some extra virgin olive oil in a large saute pan and set aside, and then cooked the crumbles for a bit. Seasoning wise, I usually add rosemary, cumin, salt (not much), pepper, and oregano to the crumbles. It usually gives it a breakfast sausage like smell. I then combined the ingredients together, cooked for a bit and added some spaghetti sauce. I used the Heart Healthy sauce by Prego, I did not make my own sauce this time. I cooked the "bolognese" for a little over an hour, if you cook it too long the crumbles tend to break down and become a little mushy.

Ingredients (added while the mixture was cooking):
 - Soy Sauce
 - Fried Garlic
 - Worcestershire Sauce
 - Tomato Paste
 - Sriracha

Notes:
 - I did enjoy the Gluten Free/Wheat Free pasta. It cooks rather fast, but you do need to watch it and stir frequently because the pasta does stick together. It's a lot healthier for you too, if you are craving pasta but not wanting to dive off the deep end.
 - Overall it was good, obviously you can tinker with the ingredients used, but for a quick "meat" sauce, not bad.

The Office.

I went to The Office today in Delray Beach, which happens to be my food haven. Gotta check it out, but be careful what you order.

For starters, I ordered a few Blue Moons (of course with an orange slice). And for food, I ordered their Chicken Shu Mai Dumplings. They came in little wonton wrappers and had chicken bites inside the wrappers. On the side, they had sweetened soy sauce. You get a serving of 6, but for Happy Hour...it is definitely worth checking out.

THE OFFICE | Prime Burgers, Craft Beer