Alexander's Steakhouse Champaign, Illinois

Sunday, September 1, 2013   #alexanderssteakhouse

Alexander's, we have not been in years, and we are excited to share the experience with everyone!!

At Alexander's you basically cook your own meal, for an additional cost they have a chef who will cook it for  you - but why would we do that, Randy is an awesome chef!!

First  you pick your meat from the cooler, they have everything- salmon, chicken, pork, beef, fish:

Then Chef Randy does his thing!!

Our meal in the making:

While it is cooking we learned from experience, we have our salads~

And you gotta keep an eye on the Texas Toast- my fault!

The bartender was nice enough to take a photo of us:

And the crowd was picking up fast!

Our finished meals- Randy had Pork Chops!

I had the Kabob- best ever!! Thank you Chef Randy!!!

We really like Alexander's, wish we could take you all!!!

If you are in the area- you don't want to miss this!!!

Saputo's Famous for Italian Foods- Springfield, Illinois

Friday, August 30, 2013   

Saputo's Famous for Italian Foods  8th & Monroe Street                           
#Saputo's

After a long hot 450 miles on the bike, we were ready for some dinner!!
Saputo's is just around the corner from the Hilton, so we can walk, it did come highly recommended from the front desk clerk and a bartender when we were in town in May.

It is dark, and the hostess was not pleasant, but we were hungry!!

Randy starts with Escargot- he likes them but has had better!!

The bread was a real disappointment!! Enough said!

I ordered the Chicken Alfredo, it was good, no  real complaints.

Randy ordered the Baked Lasagna with Sausage, again no complaints of course it is not his mothers 

Lasagna (it never is) !

The menu has a bit of everything, the people just kept coming- a large party room in the back was full. 

The cost wasn't bad, the waitress Courtney was fun!

Doubtful we will return, it is just not something we enjoyed and the hostess attitude did not help at all!!

Terry's Turf Club 4618 Eastern Ave, Cincinnti, OH

July 6, 2013

Our last stop on our DDD weekend road trip takes us to Terry's Turf Club in Cincinnati.  A phone call the night before let's us know if we want to beat the crowd we should arrive prior to 10:45 am, so we are there when they open at 11 am and there are people waiting ahead of us. 

Terry's Turf Club is small, seats 75 tops, and every neon light available is hanging and on in this establishment.  It just has a fun vibe, and fills up fast.  The check-in station is actually located outside, so from what we can see this place rocks. 

Randy starts with a $3 deviled egg- TTC Deviled Egg, made with Bearnaise, ghetto mustard, and creme fraiche,  topped with Shrimp marinated in Mango Tequila. 

Next, he tries Terry's Famous Filet Mignon Chili, with Pork Tenderloin, fresh herbs and more.  He really enjoyed it!!

Randy also has the Filet Mignon Burger with everything, including grilled onions, and the house special cheddar- from UK, infused with caramelized onion and fresh cut fries. $14.50

I ordered a burger with cheese and fresh cut fries.  A really good burger!!

A nice place to wrap up our road trip, we enjoyed everything and the service was great.

  Next visit we are sitting at the bar so we can chat with Terry and watch them cook!!

Virgil's Cafe- Bellevue, KY

July 5, 2015   #virgilscafe

The second stop on our DDD weekend road trip takes us to Virgil's Cafe  in Bellevue, Kentucky. 

A unique little spot, not at all what we were expecting,  a very nice lady who was finishing her meal gave us a little history on Virgil's and told us some of her favorites, including Sunday brunch.  She told us that all of the furnishings were refurbished and really added to the atmosphere. 

The menu was very small and we learned can change daily.  Randy started with Frog Legs, with cheddar and jalapeno hush puppies, and Pinto Gregorio. He finishes them!

For lunch he orders Andouille, with onion marmalade, and creole mustard, and house cut fries. 

 I order a Beef Hamburger with house cut fries. Good burger but a little under-done for me. 

Virgil's was an experience, the food was ok, the service was good.

  We probably wouldn't go back, but glad we gave it a shot. 

Hillbilly Hot Dogs "We Got the Weenies" - Lesage, WV

6951 Ohio River Rd., Lesage, WV 25537  -  July 4, 2013  -    #hillbillyhotdogs

A long weekend road trip takes us to the craziest place yet!!  Randy is on a DDD mission, and we start with Hillbilly Hotdogs. This place is beyond words, but let us try...

A picture says a thousand words, I had not had the opportunity to see this episode of DDD so at first glance I am thinking the same thing I always think when dining with my sweetie "only the best" :

Yes, this is the front door!!

And the dining rooms are buses!

The place is really something to see!

And they give us a pen to add to the décor, so of course I did!

And then there is the menu, they have: "Fried Fixins, Hillbelly Warmers, Hillbilly Dippers, Wet Yur Wissle, Hillbilly Deezerts, Youngin's Meals; and the sandwiches- Hillbilly Dog, Snuffy Dog, Snuffy 'n Heat, West Virginia Dog, Buckeye Dog, UK Wildcat, Ketchup Puppy, Hound Dog, Corn Dog, Nacho Dog, Stacy's Flu Shot, Pizza Dog, Egg Dog, Out Wayne Dog, Scott's Man on Fire 5x Spicy Chili Sauce Spiced up with Habanero, Strickly Business Dog, Chuck's Junk Yard Dog, Tater Bacon Egger (no weenie), Taco Dog, Thundering Herd Dog, Mettswurst Dog, Rahall's Red Hot Weenie, Lockwood's Veggie Dog"

Drumroll please - Randy has the "World Famous HOME WRECKER - The Biggest, Baddest of all the weenies!! - Sautéed Peppers 'n Onions, Nacho Cheese, Jalapenos, Habanero Sauce, Chili Sauce, Mustard, Slaw, Lettuce. Tomatoes. Shredded Cheese" All of this Slammin' on a Grilled Bun NOT TO BE WRECKIN' WITH !!!!  $16.99

And he gives it all he has...

The size of this thing is CRAZY!!

He also orders fries with cheese and bacon!

I ordered the Hilly Billy Chick A Filly- Diced Chicken sautéed with peppers and onions, slice cheese mayo on a toasted bun. A good sandwich!!!

The FOOD was GREAT, the SERVICE was GREAT!!! We cannot wait to go back, and will recommend it to everyone and will take friends for our next visit. 

Other items on the menu: Website Weenies, Steak, Hen House Fixins. Subs, Xtra Fixins, Fixins on the Side, High Falutin Fixins, Rabbit Fixins, and a Eatin' Lite menu.

Bubba Burgers -

Big Bad Double Hubba Hubba Burger, Big Bad Bubba Burger, Big Bad Bubba's Baby Sister Bertha's  Burger, Bubba's Single Wide -5 lb., Bubba's Double Wide - 17 lb., and  Bubba's Triple Wide-30 lb.

All weenies are 100% beef!!

This place is top notch!!

 http://www.hillbillyhotdogs.com

J's American Pub - 1939 Roschman Ave, Lima, Ohio

$30 of DISAPPOINTMENT!!

This place is located right behind our hotel in Lima and with the RACE RAINED OUT,  we decided to grab some dinner. 

Randy starts with the Fresh Tomato Pie - baked fresh herbs, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, Parmesan & mozzarella cheese.  This he likes!!

We also ordered the Homemade Tortilla Chips with queso dip. For some reason these did not make it to us until the manager came over to ask how things were and we explained, so he took care of getting them for us, and there was not a charge.  We did really like the chips, but the cheese was super runny!!

Randy orders 12 boneless wings with garlic sauce, that were good, "not over hot, just enough". 

I ordered the Chicken Breast Sandwich, grilled, with cheese and mayo (both of which they forgot).  The fresh cut fries we paid extra for, were too greasy to eat. 

The service was really poor, if the manager had not checked on us, we would not have received our chips or refills. 

Disappointment does not really cover the experience, rain or no rain next year -we won't be back!

#j'samericanpub

Steve's Dakota Grill - Rt 23 @ I-95, Marion, Ohio

"Experience the Thrill of the Grill"

We have stopped at Steve's Dakota Grill in the past, and while on our way to Lima we wanted to give it another shot.  The restaurant is nice, always has a crowd, going for a rustic theme. 

Randy orders something different tonight- Chicken and Roasted Artichoke Focaccoa Flatbread Grilled Chicken, with creminis, artichokes, red onion, cheddar cheese and asiago sauce baked on hand tossed Parmesan focaccia flatbread. 

 

And it was AWFUL, bland, 3 pieces of chicken, way too much cheese, he just couldn't eat it!  We spoke to the manager and they took it off our bill. 

 

I ordered Steve's Dakota Lodge Steak - 10 oz., with a baked potato, Randy ate my salad.  My steak was good!!  The menu says "A good steak, perfect for the smaller appetite" and it was right on the money!!

 

A few other bits of info from the menu:

 

Steaks are:

*Cut fresh on premise everyday

*Aged to perfection

*Flame broiled, seared HOT to seal in all the flavor and juices

*Seasoned with Steve's special blend

 

Will we go back??? Well that is a tough question, we have experienced both the good and the bad at Steve's.  Our waiter Kyle was really nice and at Randy's request brought an order of Pork Medallions for him to check out. 

 

Randy left hungry and unhappy, but we might drive up to try the Medallions "they look good". 

 

Give it a try if you are in Marion, chances are good we will be back!!

 

#stevesdakotagrill