If you're looking for standard fair Americanized Mexican food (aka Mexican fast food) here's my pick of the week. While you certainly can't scoff at the portion size of the lunch specials which range from $6.45 to $6.95, you're also not going to write all your friends about it either (unless you happen to write foods blogs, in which case you might).
The staff are all very nice, and though take-out has been the only method we've used to order, I imagine that the experience of sitting down and enjoying the well decorated restaurant could be kind of fun. Food ordered via take-out has always been ready in the 10 or so minutes is takes to get from the office to the restaurant, so you can't complain about how long it takes to get your food.
Food portions are quite acceptable. With my Chimichanga I got a full side of re-fried beans, rice, and a tomato slice, not to mention that with this particular dish, you also get sour cream and guacamole at no extra charge (usually $0.75 and $1.00 respectively). What's most important is that you order extra salsa! Their salsa is very good and is tied with the guacamole for actual flavor. Without one or both of these condiments, you'll find that the food tastes as brown as the various shades it comes in. Finishing one of these meals in a single sitting will definitely cause your stomach to fill out any extra room in your pants and likely result in the loosening of your belt. I'm a mixer and quite enjoy putting the rice, beans, guac, salsa, and sour cream all together and treating it like a dip for the home-made chips that will come with your lunch special.
Not being much further away than any other food destination in the area, this is a very do-able option for lunch, though you may only have 10 minutes to actually eat your meal once you get back.
If you're not going to be on the clock after lunch, you might also want to check out their lunchtime happy hour. With margaritas only $2.50 and draft beer only $2.25, this seems like a great place to grab some drinks (and the bar isn't too bad looking).
Beware that prices will be considerably higher if you're not pulling items off of the Lunch Special menu though.
This is all based on having the same meal three times over the course of a couple months, so please let me know if you have a different opinion of this place, I'd love to hear it!
Bottom Line: It’s definitely worth checking out as it will at least be a change of scenery, just don’t expect any authentic flavors or to walk away feeling hungry. This is a high carb, fill you up, friendly local restaurant.
Distance: 8 of 10
Time: 10 of 10
Food: 5 of 10
Service: 9 of 10
Total: 32 of 40
Rio Blanco
3830 A Street SE
Auburn, WA 98002
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Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Shake N' Go
Here's a small business alternative to Red Robin. Shake N' Go has a pretty impressive selection to choose from on their menu including 24 different burgers, 16 wraps, an assortment of milk shakes and smoothies, and a number of other entrees. If you're savy, you'll call ahead for take-out and just show up, grab your food, and head back to enjoy it at your desk or favorite lunch-time hang out.
Prices are fairly reasonable, but I was definitely thrown off by having ordered off an older menu and arriving to find out that prices have gone up. Still, you're going to pay less the RR and get a decent quantity of food. No bottom-less fries here though. Burger prices include a side of fries, while a wrap will require you to throw down an extra $1.50 for the deep fried good stuff.
For an Auburn hole-in-the-wall, the quality was decent. We might have been a couple minutes late for pick-up, but the food was luke-warm. Perhaps more disappointing is that the burger I got was tough and required some serious chomping to get through. That doesn't mean I didn't enjoy the meaty flavors of the Monster Burger, which came with bacon, turkey, and pastrami in addition to the 1/3 LB patty. I would have appreciated a little more house sauce inside as well to round out the overall taste.
The interior is probably the worst part of the experience. With beautiful wall color and an amazing ceiling with chandeliers and icicle lights, to have the walls covered with a creepy amount of artsy pictures of kids and puppies and kittens, I couldn't help but think of Angela from NBC's The Office. How one chooses to decorate their own home is not something I'm about to critique, but this theme does not match the business what-so-ever. If you own this place, please, please, please change the decorum.
Bottom line: This is a fast, slightly less expensive and slightly less tasty alternative to Red Robin, which makes it worth going back to when the overwhelming desire to nosh on a burger hits around lunch.
Distance: 8 of 10
Time: 8 of 10
Food: 6 of 10
Service: 8 of 10
Total: 30 of 40
Shake N' Go
4017 A St. SE, Suite 107
Auburn, WA 98002
(253) 333-6677
M-St: 10am - 9pm
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Prices are fairly reasonable, but I was definitely thrown off by having ordered off an older menu and arriving to find out that prices have gone up. Still, you're going to pay less the RR and get a decent quantity of food. No bottom-less fries here though. Burger prices include a side of fries, while a wrap will require you to throw down an extra $1.50 for the deep fried good stuff.
For an Auburn hole-in-the-wall, the quality was decent. We might have been a couple minutes late for pick-up, but the food was luke-warm. Perhaps more disappointing is that the burger I got was tough and required some serious chomping to get through. That doesn't mean I didn't enjoy the meaty flavors of the Monster Burger, which came with bacon, turkey, and pastrami in addition to the 1/3 LB patty. I would have appreciated a little more house sauce inside as well to round out the overall taste.
The interior is probably the worst part of the experience. With beautiful wall color and an amazing ceiling with chandeliers and icicle lights, to have the walls covered with a creepy amount of artsy pictures of kids and puppies and kittens, I couldn't help but think of Angela from NBC's The Office. How one chooses to decorate their own home is not something I'm about to critique, but this theme does not match the business what-so-ever. If you own this place, please, please, please change the decorum.
Bottom line: This is a fast, slightly less expensive and slightly less tasty alternative to Red Robin, which makes it worth going back to when the overwhelming desire to nosh on a burger hits around lunch.
Distance: 8 of 10
Time: 8 of 10
Food: 6 of 10
Service: 8 of 10
Total: 30 of 40
Shake N' Go
4017 A St. SE, Suite 107
Auburn, WA 98002
(253) 333-6677
M-St: 10am - 9pm
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Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Ribbons BBQ
Located off A street, this Kansas City style BBQ joint may be worth the time it takes to get the food. We left for lunch shortly after 12:30pm for lunch and drove, following GPS directions, and nearly missed the small restaurant next to Papa Murphey's. After finally getting inside and discovering that this was a traditional BBQ place, unlike the GPS representation that it was Island BBQ or Hawaiian style, we took several minutes to glance over the menu. My colleagues each got a sandwich, one with pulled pork and the other with hot-links. I got the beef brisket, greens, and corn bread.
The first and possibly last issue with the restaurant was in the time spent waiting after we placed our orders. With one man running the whole kitchen and a rather empty store, things were taking a little long during this lunch hour. About 15-20 minutes later (maybe longer) we finally got some delicious smelling food and were on the road back to work to eat.
Eating was definitely the best part of the whole experience. The BBQ sauce was absolutely savory and addictive. I would recommend ordering a side of the sauce to dip your fries in, or maybe even to drink (ok maybe not drink). The greens were good, but not having had greens before, I can't make a good judgement here. All the food had a little spice to it. just enought to get your tastebuds working, but not enough to overpower and make you feel uncomfortable. However, if you can't tollerate any heat, this is not the place for you. The brisket had a wonderful smoke flavor that came through the sauce and confirmed that this was quality BBQ. The pulled pork was soft and melted in your mouth. The flavors of the pork were came out strongly, even covered in sauce, a perfect balance. The hot-links were ok, and what you would expect from a spicy hotdog. Here again, the sauce makes all the difference. The only piece of food I could have done without would have been the cornbread. It was sweet and moist (both good), but there was an unexplainable aftertaste that I simple didn't care for. However, for what it's worth, I still ate it.
Overall, a great lunchtime experience, but don't expect to do it within the 30min timeframe for lunch. You'll need to bargain for extra time.
Distance: 8 of 10
Time: 4 of 10
Food: 10 of 10
Service: 9 of 10
Total: 31 of 40
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The first and possibly last issue with the restaurant was in the time spent waiting after we placed our orders. With one man running the whole kitchen and a rather empty store, things were taking a little long during this lunch hour. About 15-20 minutes later (maybe longer) we finally got some delicious smelling food and were on the road back to work to eat.
Eating was definitely the best part of the whole experience. The BBQ sauce was absolutely savory and addictive. I would recommend ordering a side of the sauce to dip your fries in, or maybe even to drink (ok maybe not drink). The greens were good, but not having had greens before, I can't make a good judgement here. All the food had a little spice to it. just enought to get your tastebuds working, but not enough to overpower and make you feel uncomfortable. However, if you can't tollerate any heat, this is not the place for you. The brisket had a wonderful smoke flavor that came through the sauce and confirmed that this was quality BBQ. The pulled pork was soft and melted in your mouth. The flavors of the pork were came out strongly, even covered in sauce, a perfect balance. The hot-links were ok, and what you would expect from a spicy hotdog. Here again, the sauce makes all the difference. The only piece of food I could have done without would have been the cornbread. It was sweet and moist (both good), but there was an unexplainable aftertaste that I simple didn't care for. However, for what it's worth, I still ate it.
Overall, a great lunchtime experience, but don't expect to do it within the 30min timeframe for lunch. You'll need to bargain for extra time.
Distance: 8 of 10
Time: 4 of 10
Food: 10 of 10
Service: 9 of 10
Total: 31 of 40
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