Foodies On Demand

Tonight we went to The Counter.  This place is a customer, build your own burger joint.  It is a very modern  style restaurant.  The general menu is all about the burger and the things you would expect to go with a burger.  They had shakes (both adult and regular), beer, cocktails, and soft drinks.  This place is definitely geared towards 20 and 30-somethings.

I decide to get a shake, burger, and fries.  The shake I had was very good.  the favors were done right and it had a good consistency. Being as the burgers are made to order, you can get them exactly how you want.  They have a very wide range of everything, from buns to toppings, to different types of meat.  I was a little disappointed on how much and what they consider "premium" toppings.  I felt a lot of it was too expensive for what it was, but this is a trendy type place.  The burger itself was very well made.  The meat was juicy, the toppings seemed fresh, and it was a very good burger.  For a side, I ended up with sweet potato fries.  I was a little disappointed in them, since they seemed so generic.  I wouldn't be surprised if they were pre-packaged and shipped frozen, but they were still good.

Overall, this place was a good place to eat, but it is on the pricy side of things.  I don't think I will go back, solely because I think I paid too much for what I got, but the food itself was good and filling.

Today's lunch was Gumba's Italian Restaurant.  I was out and about and came across this little place.  It looked like it would be a good choice for a quick lunch.  When we got there, we knew it was a family friendly place.  They had the Cartoon Network playing on the TV that was on the wall.  We started with some drinks.  My soda was flat, but they brought out a can to replace it, so I don't hold that against them.  We also had a Mango Lassi.  It was okay, but a little on the thick side.  It did taste like mango.  Then we ordered food.

We attempted to order the calamari, but they were out of it.  We settled on the antipasto platter.  It was interesting.  The food all tasted like it came from the store.  The mushrooms were slightly wilted, the artichoke hearts definitely had the from a tin taste. They had pepperoni on the plate that seemed like it came out of a Hormel package. The rest wasn't much better.  All had a store bought taste.

For the main courses -  we went with the special, which was  a spinach ravioli in Alfredo sauce with vegetables, and the Stromboli.  Neither was all that good.  Again, everything had that cheap store bought taste to it.  The pasta was chewy, the sauce had the tinned artichokes and teeny slivers of what we think was zucchini, and was much too expensive for what we got.  The Stromboli was boring and they put too much mustard on it.  The meats all were store bought.  The entire meal was very disappointing.  I know I could have gone to the store, bought the ingredients, and made a better meal.

Overall, the service was slow, the food tasted of being reheated and store bought, and left a feeling of disappointment after you ate.  I will most likely not be going back to Gumba's.  Maybe they have better pizza and it might be good with a family of small children, but not for us.

Tonight we decided to treat ourselves to some sushi.  Omee J is where we went.  Let me tell you, this place is one of the best sushi places I have been to.  We started with Hamachi Tartar, which is yellowtail mixed with green and red onions, avocado, and orange tobiko with sweet potato chips.  It was delicious.  Then, we moved onto the rolls.  Tonight we had Lay's Crunch(crab meat and avocado inside and shrimp tempura, Lay's potato crunch and eel sauce outside), Sunroof (eel, crab meat, avocado inside and tuna, salmon, sliced lemons, and eel sauce outside), Tropicana (tuna, salmon and mango inside and tuna salmon, mango, avocado, mango sauce, snomono sauce, and macadamia nuts outside), and the Rosemary (shrimp tempura and avocado inside and tuna, scallop, green onion, and garlic-rosemary rub outside).  The Lay's Crunch is by far my favorite, but all 4 rolls we had were wonderful.  The prices here are a little high, but the rolls are generally 8 pieces and very full.  I would highly recommend this place if you are looking for some great sushi.

Today for lunch, I decided to go to a chain that I haven't been to in a while; partly because they recently opened a new place near me. Freebirds World Burrito is a general made to order burrito place.  They have other things like tacos, quesadillas, burrito bowls, nachos, salads, and other things.  For me, the only reason to go is for their burritos.  They have 4 different sizes, ranging from small (hybird) to extra large (super monster).  And when I say extra large, I mean it.  Once you pick your size, you pick one of 4 different tortilla shell.  I usually get either spinach or cayenne as my shell.  After that, you get your rice, then add your meat, and the rest of the fillings.  You can make it a meal and add chips and a drink.  They also have awesome queso that goes really well with the chips.   After they are done, you get it all neatly wrapped up the burrito in aluminum.  Part of the Freebirds theme is to encourage people to make mini sculptures with the foil.  They always have a bunch around the place.  They also pride themselves on being different and every time I have been there they have been very pleasant and upbeat.  Overall, I recommend Freebirds if you are looking for a good burrito at a reasonable price.