Monday, July 23, 2007

Restaurant Review: Wingstop

The Mrs. and I had a craving for chicken wings. So we decided to try Wingstop - a fast food chicken wings restaurant.

OVERALL RATING: Good and tasty food, but plenty of room for improvement.

The chicken wings themselves, along with the various sauce-flavor options were quite tasty. The wings and the french fries were cooked to order, and were served hot and fresh. And the potato salad was reasonably good. That's where the goodness ends though.

  • The order itself took 20 minutes to fill. That takes the "fast" out of fast food. We have been served quicker at full-service restaurants.
  • The chicken wings were on the small and lean side. It seemed like the chickens were put on the Atkin's diet to shed unwanted fat and protein.
  • The store offers all-you-can drink soda, but only provided two thimble-sized cups of ketchup for the fries.
  • In lieu of napkins, the store has a big roll of recycled paper towels put out in a communal area.
  • No forks or knives were available - only plastic spoons.
  • The potato salad had gigantic chunks of raw onion. I like cooked onions, but am not a big fan of raw onions. Also, the potato salad needed more salt and pepper for flavor. Salt and pepper came in the form of penny-sized packets. No shakers are available or placed at tables.

If the wings were meatier, the service faster and the amenities were not so skimpy, the place would be perfect. My prediction is either the service and amenities improve or the chain goes out of business.

Thursday, July 05, 2007

Restaurant Review: The Panda Cafe

In an effort to find a restaurant that can serve a decent kung pao chicken, I have been trying a series of different Chinese cuisine establishments. Tonight's sampling was from the Panda Cafe on Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, near The George Washington University Hospital.

Here is my two word bottom line: Totally forgettable!

The kung pao chicken was awful. A small portion of fatty, limp chicken with hefty portions of tasteless carrots, peanuts and celery in some sort of hot sauce is the best description I can provide. And the side of fried rice was greasy and equally lacking in flavor and taste.

I keep an open mind with all new restaurants I try. If it turns out well, I get to enjoy discovering a new restaurant. If it doesn't, then at least I tried. In this situation, I'm sorry I tried and I'm sorry I was open minded.

Save your time and money and try another Chinese restaurant. And please pardon me - I need to go wash this nasty flavor out of my mouth with a gallon of tea.