This past Thursday (4/28), I decided to stop by Ching's and try their food. I had received a flyer in the mail earlier in the week stating there was a grand opening with coupons included. My favorite Chinese place for carry-out is Great Wall and Imperial Buffet is my favorite for buffet. Ching's is located in Normal in the strip mall area behind KFC on Main St.
I got there around 6:15pm and as soon as I opened the door there was this massive rush of fried food smell that hit me in the face. I'm not saying that's a bad thing, it's just been a long time since I've experienced that. I was pretty sure I would be smelling like Ching's hours after I left.
I ordered a small Chicken Fried Rice and the Sesame Chicken Combo. The combo came with pork fried rice, an eggroll, and one crab rangoon. I waited for about 10 minutes since there were 3 groups of people in front of me.By the time I got home with the food (15 minute drive), it was still hot which was great.
I thought the food tasted pretty good. The Sesame Chicken has a good flavor to it. The rice tasted good, but I like Great Wall's better. The eggroll was good. The crab rangoon wasn't bad, but it's nothing like the Thai House's crab rangoon.
The total was $10.30 which is about the same as Great Wall and some of the other Chinese places for the same order.
I would go back again if I was on that side of town. One of the interesting menu items I saw while waiting was Chicken Wings with Butter Fries. Never heard of "butter fries." May have to try that sometime. I would also like to try their Lo Mein.
Saturday, April 30, 2011
Saturday, April 9, 2011
CopperTop
Today we went to the CopperTop to try their cheeseburgers. I guess you can say the Greedy Eaters are on a mission to find the best (non-chain) cheeseburger in Central, IL. So far we've been to Cheeks and Rosie's. We arrived around 4:15 and found the place with few patrons there. The atmosphere was the usual bar feel. Greedy Eater 2 and I both ordered cheeseburgers and split an order of fries. We both thought the cheeseburgers were okay. It was basically a bun, patty, slice of cheese, pickles, a whole bunch of lettuce, and a whole bunch of slices of onions. The ketchup and mustard was by the buffet area. The patty wasn't anything to write home about. The fries were mediocre.
The total bill came to just under $5.00. We would say the CopperTop cheeseburgers rank last behind Cheeks and Rosie's.
The total bill came to just under $5.00. We would say the CopperTop cheeseburgers rank last behind Cheeks and Rosie's.
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Last Night
Hello all,
Last night in my class we had to give demonstrative speeches. Most everyone did one on food!
We had a Chicken Buffalo Dip made in the crock pot served with tortilla chips. Puppy Chow, made with chocolate, peanut butter and chex mix. Sugar Cookies with a cream cheese frosting, real Chinese tea (green/flower tea), OOlong tea, and Sour Cream Taco Dip.
The food was GREAT!! Way to go class!!!
Last night in my class we had to give demonstrative speeches. Most everyone did one on food!
We had a Chicken Buffalo Dip made in the crock pot served with tortilla chips. Puppy Chow, made with chocolate, peanut butter and chex mix. Sugar Cookies with a cream cheese frosting, real Chinese tea (green/flower tea), OOlong tea, and Sour Cream Taco Dip.
The food was GREAT!! Way to go class!!!
Monday, March 28, 2011
Rosie's....Part 2
This past Saturday (1/26/11), I was joined by a guest to eat at Rosie's for lunch. The last time I went to Rosie's I gave a favorable review and wanted to try something different this time.
We arrived around 3:30 and were seated in the bar area since they were still serving lunch. The other side opened for dinner only. There wasn't a lot of people in the bar area at this time. The waitress we had was the same one who had served Greedy Eater 2 and I the last time. The service was prompt this time as it was the last time. I ordered the Bacon Wrapped Shrimp for an appetizer and the Pizza Caesar Grilled Flatbread for my meal. My guest ordered the Spinach and Duck Salad.
Note: My apologies for the not so great looking pictures. Besides natural light towards the front of the bar and some dimly lit lamps and candles, the camera on my phone didn't take the greatest pictures even with the flash on.
Greedy Eater Guest Review:
The spinach and duck salad looked great and tasted even better! It is nice to know there is a place in town where you can get duck and it is not greasy or covered with more breading than meat. The salad came with a bacon honey mustard dressing which nicely complimented the almonds and mandarin oranges. At $8.95, the salad was priced reasonably and the atmosphere in the bar seating area is pleasant with the historic architecture still intact.
I also tried one of GE #1’s bacon wrapped shrimp—nice sized shrimp wrapped in bacon with a generous amount of barbeque sauce on it served over fresh greens. The bacon was crisp, the shrimp tender. I think anything wrapped in bacon is delicious!
Greedy Eater 1 Review:
I thought the bacon wrapped shrimp was good. The BBQ sauce was thick and tangy. The shrimp was cooked perfectly and was deveined, which was a good thing.
My pizza caesar grilled flatbread was really good. It consisted of tomato and melted mozzarella on top of garlic brushed flatbread. There was also a small caesar salad on the plate with the flatbread. The caesar salad wasn't bad. There were plenty of croutons. There was also a good amount of dressing on the salad.
My bill total came to $20.74 which included the appetizer ($9.95), my meal ($8.95), and tax. I left a $4.00 tip.
Overall it was another good meal from Rosie's. I think my guest reviewer would agree that Rosie's serves good food and is worth recommending.
We arrived around 3:30 and were seated in the bar area since they were still serving lunch. The other side opened for dinner only. There wasn't a lot of people in the bar area at this time. The waitress we had was the same one who had served Greedy Eater 2 and I the last time. The service was prompt this time as it was the last time. I ordered the Bacon Wrapped Shrimp for an appetizer and the Pizza Caesar Grilled Flatbread for my meal. My guest ordered the Spinach and Duck Salad.
Note: My apologies for the not so great looking pictures. Besides natural light towards the front of the bar and some dimly lit lamps and candles, the camera on my phone didn't take the greatest pictures even with the flash on.
Greedy Eater Guest Review:
The spinach and duck salad looked great and tasted even better! It is nice to know there is a place in town where you can get duck and it is not greasy or covered with more breading than meat. The salad came with a bacon honey mustard dressing which nicely complimented the almonds and mandarin oranges. At $8.95, the salad was priced reasonably and the atmosphere in the bar seating area is pleasant with the historic architecture still intact.
I also tried one of GE #1’s bacon wrapped shrimp—nice sized shrimp wrapped in bacon with a generous amount of barbeque sauce on it served over fresh greens. The bacon was crisp, the shrimp tender. I think anything wrapped in bacon is delicious!
Greedy Eater 1 Review:
I thought the bacon wrapped shrimp was good. The BBQ sauce was thick and tangy. The shrimp was cooked perfectly and was deveined, which was a good thing.
My pizza caesar grilled flatbread was really good. It consisted of tomato and melted mozzarella on top of garlic brushed flatbread. There was also a small caesar salad on the plate with the flatbread. The caesar salad wasn't bad. There were plenty of croutons. There was also a good amount of dressing on the salad.
My bill total came to $20.74 which included the appetizer ($9.95), my meal ($8.95), and tax. I left a $4.00 tip.
Overall it was another good meal from Rosie's. I think my guest reviewer would agree that Rosie's serves good food and is worth recommending.
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Hibachi Grill
This past Saturday we went to Hibachi Grill. We got there after 2:00pm which was after the lunch crowd and before the dinner crowd. Overall we were both GREATLY disappointed!
Greedy Eater 2 Review:
The food that should have been hot was barely room temperature and at the dessert bar they had a shrimp, calamari, and clams dish next to the bananas, and puddings.
There was not much of a selection of desserts. The sushi was mediocre, I have had better. The atmosphere was nice and the service was good.
As a buffet I expect to have my drinks included in the buffet price of $6.39 each, but they charged $1.59 for a cup of coffee. Thank goodness I only had water to drink for dinner. I have to say that the coffee helped with washing down their mediocre dessert. I can honestly say I will not go back.
Greedy Eater 1 Review:
I have to agree with G.E. 2 regarding the temperature of the food. I loaded up my plate with meat, only to have half of the meat be hot, the other half was lukewarm. The flavors of the meat were okay, but I've tasted better at Imperial Buffet and Mings.
The dessert looked good at first glance, but tasted bland. I'm glad the buffet was only $6.39 a person or else I would've felt like I got ripped off.
If you want a cheap, mediocre buffet, then go to Hibachi, but if you want a really good buffet, just go to Imperial.
The total came out to $15.48. A $2.00 tip was left.
Greedy Eater 2 Review:
The food that should have been hot was barely room temperature and at the dessert bar they had a shrimp, calamari, and clams dish next to the bananas, and puddings.
There was not much of a selection of desserts. The sushi was mediocre, I have had better. The atmosphere was nice and the service was good.
As a buffet I expect to have my drinks included in the buffet price of $6.39 each, but they charged $1.59 for a cup of coffee. Thank goodness I only had water to drink for dinner. I have to say that the coffee helped with washing down their mediocre dessert. I can honestly say I will not go back.
Greedy Eater 1 Review:
I have to agree with G.E. 2 regarding the temperature of the food. I loaded up my plate with meat, only to have half of the meat be hot, the other half was lukewarm. The flavors of the meat were okay, but I've tasted better at Imperial Buffet and Mings.
The dessert looked good at first glance, but tasted bland. I'm glad the buffet was only $6.39 a person or else I would've felt like I got ripped off.
If you want a cheap, mediocre buffet, then go to Hibachi, but if you want a really good buffet, just go to Imperial.
The total came out to $15.48. A $2.00 tip was left.
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