Monday, February 22, 2010

Review - Arroyo Grande Restaurants

Alphy's Broiler (130 W. Branch St.)

I was in Arroyo Grande for a visit to Doc Burnstein's Ice Cream Lab and needed a place to go for dinner. I was surprised that there were not any sit-down dining options in town, so I checked out this restaurant because it had such high ratings on Yelp.com. As I was perusing the menu on the outside window, a customer who was waiting for her take-out order encouraged me to "Come on in". I was a bit early for dinner and there were no other customers. The guys behind the counter greeted me in a friendly manner, and I was made to feel welcome. I ordered the cheeseburger, with bacon, fries and a green salad. I was a bit wary of their sauce, but wanted to taste it the way it was meant to be.

While I was waiting for my meal I saw that many people order take-out on their way home from work. Also, the servings are so large that many young men eat here. A popular menu item is the Whaler sandwich and fish tacos. A friend of mine ordered the Whaler and the Ahi was cooked perfectly. One negative thing, though, was that when the owner found out I was a teacher he asked me if I was a member of a union. When I said that I had been he wasn't as nice to me. Don't know if he personally has issues with unions or if it had to do with the union bannering of Doc Burnstein's. Either way it did leave a bad taste in my mouth.

Doc Burnstein's Ice Cream Lab (114 W. Branch St.)

I have seen the signs for this ice cream, and I have walked past this shop several times. However, I have never eaten their ice cream. On Wednesday nights they have a "Lab Show" where the audience participates in the creation of a new ice cream flavor. On some Mondays during a random hour they offer a discount on the ice cream. There is a cute train that rides around the ceiling, I loved watching the kids come in and look for that train!! While I waited for the lab show they played some Three Stooges films!!

The show was fun, although I didn't like the flavor that was chosen (Rice Milk ice cream with Marshmallows and Chocolate-covered Toffee Pieces). Most people there had a fun time. The ice cream is amazingly creamy, almost like it is not frozen. I had their coffee-toffee flavor and it was a bit heavy on the coffee flavor. Next time I will try their praline cream flavor.

Burrito Loco (922 Rancho Parkway)

I needed a quick dinner before heading out to an event, and stopped by this restaurant in the shopping center behind the theater. I ordered the chicken fajitas and was totally disappointed. The chicken was not breast meat (I will verify that the chicken is breast meat in the future) and it was not cut up well enough to be individual pieces. There was gristle in the meat, and the flavor was awful. I was happy that the meal came with chips and salsa, which were only OK, but they didn't offer a salad option. The menu said they would be served with sour cream, but there was none on the plate. Their rice was a bit unique, with pieces of corn and other vegetables mixed in, it sort of tasted sweet. There was only a little drizzling of cheese on top of the beans. I took the left-overs to-go and made a couple of burritos for breakfast the next morning, otherwise I wouldn't have felt as if I got my money's worth. I will not be returning here in the future.





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