Rojo Mexican Bistro

                Rojo Mexican Bistro recently opened at Partridge Creek, the outdoor mall in Clinton Township. There are four Rojo restaurants in the metro Detroit area: Novi, Rochester, St. Clair Shores, and the one at Partridge Creek.

                I went there recently with my family. It has a really cool atmosphere inside. The black and red color scheme gives off a really chill, modern vibe, not like other Mexican restaurants I've been to.

                We ordered the “Rojo nachos” for our appetizer, which are “Rojo’s famous chips piled high, topped with blended cheeses, lettuce, refried beans, fresh diced tomatoes, onions, green olives, jalapeño peppers and sour cream”, and we also added ground beef. My brother ordered the cheese quesadillas, which he really seemed to enjoy. They offer their quesadillas to be filled with vegetables, pork, steak, or lobster, but he just went with the cheese. My mom ordered the enchiladas verdes, which, according to their menu, are “Three flour tortillas stuffed with marinated, shredded chicken and topped with a green tomatillo sauce, sour cream, diced onions, potatoes and crumbled fresh cheese”. She also seemed to really enjoy her meal. My dad ordered the steak and chicken fajitas, and they came sizzling on the frying pan. He really liked his meal also. Finally, I ordered the tacos with ground beef. “Three soft flour or fried corn tortillas topped with lettuce, tomatoes, onions and cheese” were included. I really liked Rojo’s tacos. I have had tacos at other restaurants and they’ve been so-so, but these tacos were great! I like soft tacos, and the soft tortillas were warm. The meat had the perfect amount of spiciness. The three tacos were too much for me (my brother says I eat like a bird), so I brought the last one home with me.

                Rojo has so much more to order from. They have not only steak and chicken fajitas, but also portabella and shrimp. We didn’t order it, and I’m not a guacamole person, but I hear the guacamole at Rojo is amazing. Then there’s the wet burrito, fajita burrito, and beef burrito; the quesadillas, enchiladas, and tacos (lobster, chicken, beef, fish, steak, or pork); the Rojo ribs, pork chops, salmon, and mahi-mahi; the carne asada (grilled steak), mole de gallina (chicken in the mole sauce “of sesame, chiles ancho, pasilla and mulato with a hint of chocolate, peanuts and spices”), and other meats with that Mexican spice.

                There are the soups and salads: Rojo chicken soup, taco salad, grilled fajita salad, the Rojo signature chopped salad, and a few more.

                And last, but not least, there’s dessert! We ordered the chocolate chocolate mousse cake, “Three alternating layers of chocolate chiffon cake and our homemade chocolate mousse, covered in chocolate mousse and topped with a chocolate decoration.” Holy cow, was it good! And I know my sweets! There is also cherry cheesecake, kit kat, tres leche cake, and carrot cake. Chocolate cake calls my name, but I’m sure the other desserts may call yours!

                Rojo was a great restaurant and I will be sure to go there again!

Photo from: http://www.rojomexicanbistro.com/

National Coney Island

                National Coney Island is a Michigan classic. Specifically, a Detroit area classic. According to their website, “National Coney Island was founded by James Giftos in 1965 when he opened his very first store at the Macomb Mall in Roseville, Michigan… The success of that first store allowed Mr. Giftos the opportunity to open two additional stores in St. Clair Shores (1969) and Detroit (1971). Several years later, Mr. Giftos had the idea to expand the menu, make his restaurants more family oriented, and considerably upgrade the design and décor package to set National Coney Island apart from the many other coney island style restaurants in the Detroit area.”

                All National Coney Island restaurants are located in the metro-Detroit area, which makes this restaurant chain perfect for my blog.

                I go to National Coney Island with my family all the time. I’m not a coney hot dog person, I’m more of a plain hot dog with mustard kind of person. But if you do like coney hot dogs, according to my mom and dad, it’s their favorite thing on the menu.

My parents and I also like the Hani Special. According to their menu, “Golden brown chicken tenderloins topped with Swiss and American cheese, and served on a grilled pita with shredded lettuce, tomato, and mayo.” I really like the Hani. National Coney Island also has a bunch of different Hanis: grilled chicken Hani, chicken, bacon, and ranch Hani, BBQ Hani, spicy Hani, buffalo Hani, and southwestern Hani. I’ve only had the Hani Special, but I’m sure the others are equally as good.

The French fries at National Coney Island are the best! Hot and crispy, never cold and limp. I also love the cheese fries. The warm, gooey, melty cheese topped all over the fries are delicious. Who cares if it’s horrible for you?! Indulge every once and a while! (Warning- The cheese fries can be a little messy!)

I also love the Bosco sticks at National Coney Island. According to their menu, “Bosco bread sticks stuffed with 100% mozzarella cheese, sprinkled with Parmesan cheese and served with marinara sauce.” Four breadsticks are included on this plate, and they are warm and filled with gooey mozzarella cheese.

National Coney Island has a great Greek salad. It comes in two sizes, regular and baby Greek. A Greek salad is made up of “tossed garden greens, tomato slices, Greek olives, beets, red onion, pepperonchini, and feta cheese topped with our housemade Greek dressing,” according to their menu. They have one of the best Greek salads I’ve ever had. It comes with a few slices of grilled pita bread, which I love. We always order extra pita bread because I devour it in the blink of an eye.

National Coney Island is a great place for a quick lunch or dinner. What’s really great is that it is very inexpensive, so I like to go there with my friends for a quick bite too. (We’re college kids on a budget!) Plus, they serve great food!

Photo from: http://www.nationalconeyisland.com

Big Boy

               One of my family’s favorite places to go for a quick, inexpensive meal is Big Boy. It’s right near our house, and we’ve been going there for years. My grandpa used to own a Big Boy and my dad used to work there when he was younger, so Big Boy and my family have a history.

                I love that Big Boy has so many different options to choose from. Of course, I have my favorites. First of all, I love the Classic Big Boy burger. On it there are “two fresh seasoned patties with American cheese, shredded lettuce and our famous Big Boy special sauce on a sesame seed bun”. I absolutely love the Big Boy burger. Sometimes, I order the “Big Boy combination”, so I get fries and a salad or coleslaw. From Big Boy, I also like the “Triple-Decker Turkey Club”.

I love Big Boy’s pancakes, which they call “Hot Cakes”. The pancakes are huge! I never can finish them. I’m one of those people that like breakfast for dinner sometimes, so I’ll order the hot cakes for dinner because Big Boy serves breakfast all day. The French toast at Big Boy is also great. They also have a breakfast buffet in the morning for all you breakfast lovers too.

                My family all has their favorites too. My dad loves the spaghetti, which is “endless”. You can basically get as much as you want. My mom sometimes orders the “Slim Jim”, the reuben, or the Big Boy burger. My brother likes to order the fish and chips or the turkey club sandwich.

                Just a little overview of everything Big Boy has: For breakfast, there are omelettes, Belgian waffles, cinnamon apple hot cakes, waffles and hot cakes topped with fruit, eggs, and a “build your own blockbuster breakfast”. Then there are the sandwiches and burgers. I’ve already covered my family and my favorites, so then there’s the different varieties of the Slim Jim, the BBQ pulled pork sandwich, the different varieties of the Big Boy burger (the Classic, the California, the Ohio, and the Super), and the different burgers (BBQ bacon cheeseburger, the “Kitchen Sink” “Bob’s Cheddar Steakhouse”, and the “Build Your Own”). There’s the “Homestyle Dinners”: pot roast, slow-roasted turkey breast, veal or chicken parmigiana, lemon pepper cod, fried shrimp, and so many others.

                Big Boy has great desserts! There’s the Oreo mud pie (cookies ‘n cream ice cream in an Oreo pie crust topped with hot fudge and whipped cream), the hot fudge cake (a piece of chocolate cake topped with ice cream, hot fudge, and whipped cream), and the shakes and malts. Big Boy has some of the best chocolate shakes and chocolate malts that I’ve ever had.

                Big Boy has about 60 restaurants in southeast Michigan, about 98 restaurants in Michigan, 14 in Ohio, 1 in Indiana, 1 in North Dakota, and 13 in southern California. Obviously, Big Boy is a Michigan thing. A southeastern Michigan thing.

                Big Boy is a great place for a quick, inexpensive, family meal. Breakfast, lunch, dinner- Big Boy’s got it.      

Photo from: http://www.bigboy.com/

Panera Bread

                One of my favorite places to go to eat has to be Panera Bread. I love the cozy, comfy atmosphere of the place. It’s the perfect place to grab lunch with a friend, have dinner with the family, or grab a meal by yourself while working on school work or work-work.

                My absolute favorite thing at Panera Bread is the broccoli cheddar soup. To be honest, this soup is the only way I’ll eat broccoli. This soup is my absolute favorite soup. It has the right amount of cheesy-ness and broccoli. It is always hot too, so no worries about having a cold bowl of soup. I’ve tried other restaurants’ and brands’ versions of broccoli cheddar soup, and nothing compares at all. Others’ seem bland in comparison. Panera Bread’s soups come with a French or whole grain baguette. Dipping the bread into the soup is also one of my favorite ways to eat it. (When I’ve had this soup with my family, we have ordered the “Soup for a Group”, which serves 3 to 4 people.)

                Panera Bread has a wide variety of sandwiches, soups, and salads. They also have a bunch of different coffees, drinks, and frozen drinks/smoothies. Then there’s the breakfast menu. Panera Bread has great bagels. My favorite is the cinnamon crunch bagel. Not only is the bagel filled with cinnamon swirls, but it is topped with cinnamon sugar crunchy pieces. It’s more of a dessert than a breakfast. Then there’s the pastries and sweets, like cookies, brownies, scones, sweet rolls, muffins, and coffee cake. Their chocolate chip cookies are so good, and they are huge! Panera Bread also sells loaves of their amazing breads.

                Panera Bread also has this “pick two” deal. With this deal, you can pick two of the following: a cup of soup, half a sandwich, or half a salad. I’d say this is the way to go if you can’t decide what you want.

                Something I love about Panera Bread is their “Operation Dough-Nation”. This program gives back to the community. With Panera Bread’s Operation Dough-Nation, “A portion of cash donations made in our bakery-cafes may be matched and donated to local hunger relief organizations. Unsold bread is donated at the day’s end to local hunger relief agencies. We regularly donate our products and gift certificates to benefit a wide range of charitable organizations and causes.” I absolutely love this about Panera Bread. I love that they give back to the community and try to make the world a better, and less hungry, place. I love that they don’t waste the food that they make, that it is donated to those who need it. Bravo, Panera Bread! Bravo!

                The only thing about Panera Bread that isn’t so great is the prices. Panera Bread can be somewhat pricey for soups, sandwiches, and salads. Also, every time I go there, their prices seemed to have increased even more. That’s the downside of the place. So I don’t go there as much as I used to. But I love Panera Bread.

Photo from: http://www.panerabread.com/

Boston's

             I recently went to Boston’s with my friends. Boston’s is a great place to get pizza or anything else you might crave. I am a huge pizza lover, and I absolutely love this restaurant.

Boston’s is a very sports-oriented restaurant, with plenty of T.V.s showing the games going on at the moment. The waiters and waitresses wear jerseys or t-shirts of different Detroit sports teams. It’s a fun, loud place to go out with your friends to watch the big game.

Anyways, of course, I ordered a pizza and shared it with my friends. Their pizzas come in four different sizes: indy (8”), small (10”), friends (13”), and family (15”). I like a simple pizza: cheese and pepperoni. But Boston’s pizza was anything but simple. It was hot, the cheese was melty, and the sauce had a spicy kick to it. Mouthwatering. We all enjoyed our pizza and each took home a few slices that we did not finish.

Boston’s says, “Our handcrafted pizzas are made fresh daily and are the pride of our restaurant. Since the beginning, our unique hand pressed, made from scratch dough, along with our selective combination of the finest meats, cheeses and freshest vegetables – have made our pizzas the irresistible dish you love most.” From eating their pizza, I agree with the last part 100%.

Boston’s has a wide variety of gourmet pizzas like “Mama Meata”, barbeque chicken, Hawaiian, Florentine, Sicilian, Italian, Tuscan, ultimate pepperoni, and so many more. Boston’s also will make a custom pizza for you if you don’t see anything that appeals to you (which is really hard to believe because they have so many different options).   

Besides pizza, Boston’s has a ton of other options. They have many different starters like cheese fries, nachos, chips & queso, spinach and artichoke dip, bacon wrapped steak skewers, Thai chili calamari, and so many others. Boston’s also has wings with a bunch of different flavors to choose from.

There are a ton of different salads too, like salmon Caesar, Santa Fe, chipotle chicken and bacon, Mediterranean, and a few more. Boston’s even has a part of their menu called “Healthy Hits”, with items under 650 calories and 15g of fat.

Gourmet pastas are also offered at Boston’s. Some include spicy chicken and broccoli alfredo, baked Italian sausage tortelloni, chicken Milano, lasagna, twisted mac and cheese, baked shrimp scampi, and spaghetti and meatballs.

Flatbreads and calzones are also available. Some of their flatbreads include spicy chicken pesto, four cheese, and flatiron flatbread.

If that’s not enough, of course they have entrees like baby back ribs, chicken parmesan, Asian-glazed salmon, and many others. Then there are burgers and sandwiches. The burgers include the “Boston Burger” and sliders. The sandwiches include fish tacos, chicken parmesan sandwich, barbeque pulled pork sandwich, cheesesteak, and many others.

If you are not hungry by now or do not find any of these options appealing to you, you must be crazy! There’s something for everyone at Boston’s. I love Boston’s and I love their pizza.   
   

photo from: http://www.bostons.com/locations/result/?by=State&k=MI