La Gondola

Tonight I went to a restaurant I see on my way to work everyday. So I finally stopped in! It is call La Gondola. I went at 8:30 at night and the restaurant closes at 9:00, so I got my food to go, but I did get photos of the dining area for you all! If you get bored of Avanti's, then go to La Gondola it is on War Memorial Drive between Knoxville and Prospect.

I ordered a child's tortellini, a side of meat balls, and side of garlic bread. Even though I got a child's portion, I was stuffed! The food was delicious! I am an Italian at heart. Let me start with how good the sauce was that the tortellini came in. It had some nice chunks of meet in it. Then I added in my side of meat balls, which turned out to practically be a full meal in itself. However, the bread was the reason I will go back! It was soft like Avanti's, but it was sweeter. So so so so so delicious. They also had some very fair lunch specials that I would like to check out.

That's all for La Gondola. Next week I should be going to an Indian place I see on my way to work, so look out for that!

The Other Dawg

This week I went to a restaurant called The Other Dawg, and if I am going to be honest it was my first underwhelming experience. They are located at 4408 N Prospect right next to Subway. They claim to serve hot dogs, tamales, and nachos. I tried what they called a “chili dog”. I think the picture will serve as enough evidence why I was so disappointed.

In my opinion, a company with only a few items on the menu should do an exceptional job at making those few items. This was not the case. After my “chili dog”, I was still hungry so I decided to order an apple cinnamon raisin tamale. Once again, a picture is worth a thousand words.

I cannot determine what this company’s distinctive competence is yet, but I can say with confidence it is not their food. I was hoping to get a meal that wasn’t prepackaged and microwaved. I have done a better job preparing hot dogs over hot coals. This was not the best five dollars I have ever spent, but at least it only was five dollars!

The Spotted Cow

I had an extra special adventure this week! I went to a restaurant called The Spotted Cow. It is located on Glen and Sheridan. I was greeted by this guy when I walked in the door!

I had the pleasure of meeting the owner of the Spotted Cow on my visit! His name is Frank. Tell him Sarah with the blog sent you! I'm sure he will make sure your experience is a good one. The Spotted Cow is known for having awesome ice cream, but it is Valentine's Day and I have already had my fill of sweets for the day. So I decided to try a burger. The cashier recommended I try the Western Burger. It has bacon, onion rings, cheddar jack cheese, and barbeque sauce on it. Warning, if you are on a diet, do not try this burger! It was not low cal by any means, but sure was delicious!

Even thoguh I wasn't in the mood for ice cream, I did take a few pictures for all my followers to drool over! Enjoy. :)

 



Mi Familia

This week I went to a restaurant called Mi Familia. They are located on 2007 N. Wisconsin, Peoria, IL, 61603. A friend of mine had seen the place growing up but had never gone, making it the perfect place for me to try!

When entering the restaurant you will see booths along the sides with a wide open space in the middle of the restaurant. A waitress came and brought us homemade chips with two different kinds of salsa.

I had never had salsa made with green tomatoes before. It was phenomenal. Definitely try green salsa if you ever get the chance! My friend had studied in Mexico before. While he was there he had a drink called Boing every day. So I had to try an authentic Mexican juice. I got a guava flavored one which was really sweet, but still delicious! I decided to play it safe and order tacos, but my friend was a little more adventurous and got chiles rellenos.

The food was delicious. It was refreshing to have an authentic Mexican meal!