Wayback Burgers

Formerly Jake's Wayback Burgers, but I guess they dropped the "Jake's" when I wasn't paying attention! This is a super local Delaware chain and yet it apparently has expanded to PA and beyond. My mind is blown. Anyway, they have hot dogs and burgers that are made fresh (and like, fries and shakes and other stuff). The intriguing thing is that their allergy menu doesn't even list nuts or peanuts as an option, which makes me THINK that they don't use those ingredients, which is great, but I can't find that explicitly stated on their website anywhere, which is weird. I asked the one in DE once if they used nuts and they said no, but that was a long time ago. They also have the impossible burger though, so I didn't want to risk getting a burger, so I got a hot dog with ketchup and mustard and grilled onions. They didn't put on a super lot of toppings, and the hot dog itself was a little too "beef" flavored for my taste, but ultimately it was pretty good and only 300some calories apparently. They have a lot of toppings and other options, so if I were to consider contacting them to get more allergy info I might try the other fun stuff like chicken sandwich or chips. I also ate a little bit of fries and they weren't as good as like, a fast food fry, but with the BBQ sauce they were nice.

Classic Burger: I tried to reach out about allergy stuff via FB message, but they never answered. Alas. Anyway, this was a fine burger, 2 patties and all the fixins. I like this, but the meat itself wasn't that great to me. It didn't have that nice burger king/red robin flavor, you know? I was also scared it would get mixed up with a veggie burger, but it seemed pretty meat-y, so I took the risk. Also almost 700 calos, so very filling, but didn't knock me totally out. Might mix up the toppings in the future since Q seems to like this place. 6/10

Overall
Cost: 6/10
Taste: 6/10

Q says: "I like it out of 10"

LUCA

I'd been meaning to check out this place for a long time, since it has great reviews. Was happy that a group of people wanted to go! It was fun, but quite expensive. The waiter has chill about my allergies, which was good (but he was also a tiny bit snarky, which made me lol). The pizzas were really big compared to the pasta dishes, so I am glad I went with a pasta. It was homemade and you could tell; very fresh and tasty, and the tomato sauce was unobtrusive but good. Tasty stuff. Good wine too.

Norcia Pizza: Got this with my boyf's family, assuming it would be less messy than a pasta. And indeed, it was! Also bigger, so some leftovers available. Waitress was good about allergy, and pizza was decent - no red sauce, creamy garlicy white sauce instead. Crispy pancetta, some herbs(?), and mozz. Not amazing but solid. 7/10

Overall
Cost: 3/10 [over 100$ for two]
Taste: 8/10

Levengoods of Lancaster

This is a cidery (cider brewery), which is cool because my boyf hates beer and likes only cider. It's also good for gluten free peeps of course. It was a pretty cute place, crowded but nice. The bartender was also friendly. They do have some food (cheese, pretzels) but I didn't want to bother asking about allergy stuff so I didn't get any. I got the dry cider, which was decent (not crazy sweet) and not too pricy (I think 5$ each). Seems good if you like cider!


Overall
Cost: 6/10
Taste: 6/10

Pour

Went here before a musical at the Fulton (a musical where a man held my jacket like a baby, but I digress) and had a good time! We asked about nut allergies for the charcuterie options and the waiter was super informative and even mentioned the possibility of certain meats containing nuts because the animals ate nuts or something, which was legit. We got three cheese and two meats and it came with a pickle and some mustards and a bread (which I didn't eat just in case). A mixed bag as far as my taste for the cheeses, but good quality and fun. I got some beer which was good, and then ordered the potato soup which was the soup of the day and was absolutely amazing! Outstanding soup!!!

Overall
Cost: 4/10
Taste: 7/10

Steel Peel Pizza Company

This place was OK. Probably I'd be more enthusiastic about it if I just randomly tried it, but my friend from Lancaster (Marie) said this place has The Best Garlic Knots, so we got delivery pizza (with mushroom) and the garlic rolls from them. But they weren't garlic knots, they were like cinnamon roll style garlic buns, and really not great - not soft, not super well seasoned, and very big. At least they came with marinara. The pizza was fine, I think, but unremarkable. I would go if people wanted to go, but I think there are better pizza options out there. And DEFINITELY better garlic knot options.

Overall
Cost: 6/10
Taste: 6/10

The Pressroom

I came here with my boyf before seeing a musical at the Fulton, but it turns out he'd been here already!!! What a traitor!! Anyway, I still enjoyed it. They have a lot of fun drinks, possibly too fun for people with allergies, so I got a beer with Maine in the name. It was good. The waitress seemed to be very good about allergies. We got the Duck Fat fries app, which was spicy and very moist and filling and good, but not at all like poutine (which is my true app love). I also got the chicken entree, which was a good meal and a lot of food, maybe too much food! And a nice irish coffee for dessert. I think this is a nice, chill, cozy place, good for dates.

BLACK GARLIC RADIATORI: I love the shape of this noodle! This was really good, but very creamy/heavy and filling. No worries about small portions which is a relief. The mushrooms in it were big full bois and that was fun. Still quite expensive though! 7/10

Cloud City IPA Beer: Weird flavor, like lemon grass? I drank it all but didn't enjoy. Beer selection is too quirky! 5/10

Overall
Cost: 3/10 (About 50$ per person, yikes)
Taste: 7/10

Red Robin

When I was in high school (so, like, 20 years ago!?), Red Robin had an AMAZING quesadilla, with mushrooms and cilantro-y pico and bacon and 3 colors of chips. It was so good. But they got rid of it and I really soured on Red Robin, since they mostly just have burgers and fries which I wasn't a HUGE fan of. But now that Burger King has a nut allergy warning, there aren't many places with burgers I actually enjoy. And Red Robin is a decent pick, and they also have a really good allergy menu too (which they will give you on a tablet if you want to see it, which is hilarious). The waitress randomly asked if I wanted a gluten free bun, but I don't think I got one. Anyway, I ended up here recently with my dad because Iron Hill was too full. Honestly I think it was for the best, because we had a decent experience. I got a "tavern burger", which is a skinner patty and tasted like the burger-king-y patty I like, it was great. Tavern Burgers are apparently the way to go. Specifically, here's what I got:

Ghost Pepper Tavern Burger: IDK about the spicy sauce on here, I didn't love it, but the meat itself was enough to overcome that weirdness. 7.

Chips with guac & salsa (app): The chips were decent, but the salsa and guac were a little weird tasting (but OK). Not that many chips either, which I guess is probably good. 6.

Sangria: This was good and only 5.50$, with lots of fruit in it and a decent amount of alcohol too it seems! 7

Smoky Jack Tavern Double: I got this with no mayo, so it's otherwise a burger with BBQ sauce and LTO and pepper jack. It was good but I didn't like the onion/pickle on it. Still the meat itself was great. Got with sweet potato fries, which were good and plentiful, but not really seasoned, just wet oily potato. But good overall. 6

Red's Tavern Double: Very good, just a very classic burger. 7

Haystack Tavern Double: I was worried about the mayo sauce here, but it wasn't bad. The worst part was actually the onion straws, which had a weird rancid oil taste to me. Overall it was good, but to be honest I think I just want a plain burger. The best part is the meat. 6

California Chicken Sandwich: A non-burger! Turns out the brioche (aka non-sesame) buns contain PEA so I can't have either bun, so I got this wrapped in lettuce. It was not as delicious, but less calos and less dying. The chicken inside had bacon and swiss and avo paste, and it was a fine filling burger alternative. I got no mayo (due to mustard fear) but it was still plenty wet. No complaints! 6

 
Overall
Cost: 6/10
Taste: 7/10

The Fridge

This is a pizza cafe and bottle shop, which is cute and fairly unique concept. The whole alcohol situation in PA is absurd, so it's nice to be able to buy fun individual bottles or cans of beer. I should look them up beforehand, since it seems like they have a decent website. What else do they have? Well they usually have something with nuts, too, which is scary. But I've gotten the Margherita pizza before and it was fine, decent 'za. I recently tried the poutine which was not really poutine, it was like potato wedges with melted cheese and some gravy, but it was still good of course. This place seems oddly trendy/popular and I'm not really sure why, but it is fun and small and they have a parking lot which is appreciated.

Overall
Cost: 5/10
Taste: 7/10

Horse Inn

I feel like hipsters would love this place. Unfortunately, my allergies prevent me from being a true hipster. I can never truly be free. You feel me, allergy brethren? Anyway, this is a speakeasy on a quiet residential street in Lanc. Pretty cool. When you get inside, it's crowded and has an intimate feel despite the decently large population inside and the bar/dining/little bar games. My boyf's friend brother works here, so we had like, special treatment, which was cool because they don't take reservations and it looked pretty crowded. They serve boiled peanuts (!!!) as an app, so it was scary, but the dish I got (chicken) was tasty, and the waiter said he'd make a note of my allergy and he seemed pretty aware, because he told me the apps other people ordered weren't safe. So I felt decently safe, and the food really was good (although not super huge, especially for the price - guess that's how you know it's fancy!). They also have a lot of eclectic cocktails which I was scared to order, and only canned beers, which is cool. I got an Anderson Valley Blood Orange, Gose, which was good. If I didn't have nut allergies I'd probably rate this place higher, but even as is I enjoyed it overall.

Overall
Cost: 4/10
Taste: 6/10

Ciro's Italian Bistro

I love pretty much all Italian restaurants, so I'm into this "Ciro's" as well. However, I went here with my boyf's family (like, 11 people) and I had only met half of them before and it was before Christmas and I had a stomachache and was sweaty and anxious. So, the meal I got (Penne alla vodka) didn't sit that well with me, and I didn't really like the taste that much (probably a 5 or 6 of a pasta dish). However they have a ton of other menu items that sound really tasty, including pizza, pasta, chicken, and veal (if you're into that), it's just I had to balance the price and messiness and and and and. Anyway I also got a coffee and that was pretty decent. The environment seems friendly and low-key yet classy, and it's a pretty big place. I would surely go back if invited. They were fine with my allergy request too.

Chicken Marsala: This was much better than the penne thing I had gotten before (although it was still consumed at an awkward event with my boyf's fam, sweat sweat sweat), 7/10.


Overall
Cost: 5/10 (a bit pricy)
Taste: 7/10 (assumedly)

Jersey Mike's

Sub time! Subs are pretty solid meals, usually not too greasy and solidly filling. Sadly, Subway isn't super tasty, Capriotti's is far away, and Primo's may contain nuts. Jersey Mikes seems pretty sweet just based on their website, because they have a comprehensive allergy menu (and that menu says that basically all the sandies are nut-free, too). Plus they have an enigmatic numbering system, which makes me want to be a completionist and try them all. We'll just have to get the boyf on board because there isn't one by me (yet?)!

#7 Turkey and Provolone: I got this on white bread because I panicked and didn't know if the wheat bread was safe. I also got it "Mike's way" which is LTO and oil and vinegar. The only perhaps odd thing is that usually I get turkey with mayo and not oil, but to be honest it's probably healthier and it ended up tasting pretty good. The turkey was nice and fresh, and the cheese was cut really thin which I liked. Tomato was juicy, the lettuce and onion was whatever (maybe too much lettuce). I got a regular size and it was plenty of food, and cut in half too. I think I'd get "mini" next time! 6/10

#16 Chicken Philly Cheese Steak: This was good! They didn't even offer a wheat roll or any customization (the guy who took my order kinda rubbed me the wrong way TBH) but it was tasty as it came, with pepper, onion, and white American cheese only. I had to cut it in half myself, but it was still a great size (regular size) for a filling meal and didn't make me sick. The cheese was great and the rest tasted good too. Noice. 8/10

Grilled Veggie Wrap: This was OK - I got it with a wheat wrap, which itself was good, very fresh/thick. The inside had ranch, which was OK for me taste-wise but my boyf hates the smell so it wasn't really worth it. There's only cheese, peppers, tomato, lettuce, and possibly onion inside. It was definitely good for a veggie wrap, but not really full of much veggie, and not very healthy or better tasting than the other things, so this wasn't my favorite random pick. Would try it without ranch if I get it again. 5/10

#31 California Chicken Cheese Steak: This was a chicken cheese steak with mayo, yet it was not bad! I liked the chicken a lot and the mayo didn't really stand out to me. The cheese was good and the flavor overall was good, although maybe not as good as #16. Not bad though. 7/10

#11 Stickball Special: This was fine; it was basically the same as an italian sub. Maybe a bit too much dressing on this though. 6/10

#55 Big Kahuna Chicken Cheese Steak: I got this at the airport, and I was so grateful to have normal food! Even if it was 10 dollars. I got the only size they had, regular, on wheat bread, and it was only 720 cals which is totally manageable for a cheesesteak! I think it was really good, cheesy and warm, and spicy because of the jalepenos. The mushroomy cheesey chicken bits that fell out were great. 8/10

#2 Jersey Shore's Favorite: Jersey Shore's Favorite is...Italian. Ham, cheese, and circle meat. I got mine without oil, which turned out to be a great choice -- it was fresh and filling and made me feel happy. It even made two meals. Good stuff. 7/10

#42 Chipotle Chicken Cheese Steak: Got this delivered in the quarantine times. They also did not do contactless delivery even though it said they would online. Maybe in a few weeks people will be better at this! Anyway, the sub was delicious as ever. I love Jersey Mike's and the peppers and the cheese and the bread (wheat!) and whatever else they got going on. Actually, this is a chicken cheesesteak much like 55 and 31 and 16, but I don't really like the Chipotle sauce they put on. It's not terrible, but it doesn't add anything and feels too oily or strong or something. Still a delicious sub but I prefer the other chicken sub options that don't have the sauce. 7/10

#13 The Original Italian: Got this delivered in the quarantine times. They AGAIN did not do contactless delivery even though it said they would online and it's been about 3 weeks! I think I probably shouldn't get Jersey Mike's anymore. :( But this was great as always, I got wheat bread and no oil, which is the best and makes it a little healthier too. I think they cut the cold ones in half, which is great. I only ate half and it was nice and filling, lots of classic italian meats and peppery lettuce. Just a few onions and a tiny bit of tasty, thin cheese. 7/10 

#3 The All-American: This is actually "The Ham and Cheese", but whatever you call it, it's a solid not-too-exciting sub. Just overall decent (with no oil), tastes fresh, filling, good ratio of meat+bread, not too unhealthy. And they actually succeeded in the no-contact delivery this time! 7/10

#43 Chipotle Cheese Steak: This is great, just like all the other cheese-steak varieties (chicken and steak). The chipotle sauce really adds nothing for me though; it's still tasty but I think it'd be equally (or even more!) tasty without the chipotle sauce. 7/10

#17 Jersey Mike's Famous Philly Cheese Steak: Feels like I've had this before, but I guess I've only had variations on the theme! Anyway, this is great. I guess the Kahunas are better because they have mushrooms, but I still like the "plain" cheese steaks a lot, and they taste pretty darn similar to each other anyway! Good with wheat bread too. 7/10

#9 Club Supreme: Roast beef and bacon (and turkey) at Jersey Mike's?! This is different! Unfortunately, I was a fool and got this without the mayo (and oil), so it was way too dry. They give you a lot of turkey and RB! It was still good though -- I like the taste of the bacon a lot, and the cheese and beef. But it needs mayo. Added mustard but that wasn't quite right. 6/10 for now.

#56 Big Kahuna Cheese Steak: Much like the chicken version, this was very good. A little unhealthy, maybe, but the taste can't be beat. I also currently have a stomachache for Gordon/Pat's related reasons, so I'm blinded by that, but JM's is always solid. 8/10

 

#5 The Super Sub: I got this because I guess the number 4 isn't on their menu by me. This seems similar to the 4 that I wanted though -- basically it tasted like slightly spicy ham, a little provolone, tasty and fresh. I got it with white bread and no oil, and I enjoyed it! 7/10

 

#12 Cancro Special: It occurs to me now that I probably should have ranked these by number and not by recency. Oh well! This was really solid, especially with vinegar only. Very nice. 8/10

 

#66 Portabella Cheese Steak: Surely this is the devil's sub, as it took me two tries at ordering it and I'm still not convinced I've had it properly. The first time it had no mushrooms at all, and the second time, I think there were maybe 2-3 tiny mushroom pieces. I can't imagine what the meatless version is like if this is actually right. It was still tasty because the cheesesteak is tasty, especially the cheese, but I don't think it's worth the extra price/stress of trying to add mushrooms! 7/10

#26 Bacon Ranch Chicken Cheese Steak: I'm not really a fan of ranch dressing or ranch sauces, but this was not bad. Better than the chipotle mayo that JM has, I think. The sub I got has wrapped kinda messily, but it tasted decent, and was more refreshing than the other hot subs just because of the lettuce and tomato. I think it'd taste way better with mayo (or no sauce even) but I'd still eat it again. 6/10

#4 The Number Four: This was off-menu, but they made it with no trouble! For once I didn't tip though because it took a long time for someone to help me and it made me feel like a loser. Anyway the sub was fine, basically ham and cheese and maybe 1-2 Italian meat. Like a peppery ham and cheese. Solid. 7/10

#1 BLT: Hard to mess up a BLT, right? Although the bacon was your premade cold hard stuff, not the fresh chewy warm baco of my youth. And the mayo was mayo and not miracle whip. But that's to be expected, and they didn't skimp on the cold baco, at least! I thought it was decently tasty and BLT-ish, even if not perfect. 7/10

 

Overall
Cost: 6/10 (20$ for two people)
Taste: 7/10

Q says: It was pretty good. I was also hungry though. Slow. 6/10

P.F. Chang's

Chinese restaurant? On THIS blog? It's more likely than you think! I love Chinese food, and I've tried pretty much every frozen option I can, most of which are gross. Sadly that includes the PF Chang frozen meals. But I've heard from various allergy blogs and websites that P.F. Changs the resto is actually good about nut allergies, keeps the nuts segregated and only puts on at the end, and will use separate pans and stuff. So I found my lil courage and went to check it out (Epi-Pen in hand of course). It was true: I led with my allergies, and the waiter gave me a print out of everything without tree nuts & peanuts in it (which was a decently big selection). I'm not sure how much he told the chef or if that info is automatically transferred to the order, but I felt pretty safe. Also they have a big drink menu and I got a drink to calm me down, hehe. So, we ordered a few things:

Sangria: This was the drink, it was small and quite alcoholic, but with a cherry and strawberry and orange slice and it was good. 8/10

Sweet and Sour Chicken: This was OK, I don't LOVE breaded chicken but I wanted to mix it up. The sauce was good, the chicken itself was good, the pineapple and peppers were OK. 7/10

White rice: a normal side of white rice. Good to have. 6/10

Beef and Broccoli: I'd rather have chicken and broc, but this was better than I thought it would be. The beef tasted almost like BBQ spare ribs, it was a little sweet/spicy and the texture was nice and tender. Broc was fine. 8/10

Pork fried rice: Really nice, although not quite like my platonic ideal of fried rice. There was egg in it, which was cool, and the pork bits were big but good. Also a strong ginger taste, some carrot and some bean sprouts. Overall nice. 7/10

I will definitely go back if I find a willing partner! I love Chinese food and I know this isn't "authentic" (and it definitely isn't as good as my little girlhood chinese takeout past) but it was really great to have those flavors in a restaurant setting. I hope I can get some carrot/mushroom/bamboo/baby corn/sauce type entree and maybe lo mein with no peas in the future. :)

Overall
Cost: 5/10 (Pricy but not CRAZY)
Taste: 8/10
Fear factor: 6/10

Q says: It was pretty good, 7/10

Wendy's

Wendy's is a classic! It's no Burger King but it's not bad. Their burgers are square and don't taste that good, but honestly Burger King are the only burgers I think taste good, so I might be broken. Their chicken is decent, their salad/potato selection is on point, and they have a cute redheaded mascot. Plus it's cheap and everywhere! Road trip!

Spicy Chicken Sandwich: Pretty good! Just chicken, bun, a little mayo but not too much, tomato, and lettuce. A solid and filling sandwich, and a little spicy but not too bad. 6/10

Junior Cheeseburger 4 for 4$ meal: What a deal!!! The cheeseburger gave me heartburn but was pleasant otherwise. The fries were good and soft, good in BBQ sauce. I got coffee for the drink(!) which was very tepid but otherwise fine, they even included creamers. The nugs were the worst part, they tasted a little rancid but that's probably because I ran out of BBQ sauce to cover them up. I should buy BBQ sauce for home! 7/10

Junior Bacon Cheeseburger: This is a classic, although maybe a little too much mayo and could use more ketchup. But a nice compact burger, solid and reheatable in the microwave if you take off the top bun! 7/10

Caesar Side Salad: I keep getting this instead of the garden side salad by accident. Hmph. Anyway, it's decently big for a side salad, and the croutons and dressing are separate and have ingredients right on them for peace of mind. The salad just has lettuce, cheese, and cheese on it (parm of two types) which is kind of a lot, but it tasty enough. Fine but nothing special. 5/10

Junior Cheeseburger Deluxe: This is like the JBC but with no B. It's not bad, but I wish there were no mayo or pickles too. Also the burger is no Burger king burger. But it's filling. 6/10

Garden Side Salad: I finally got one, but it was labelled as "taco salad". IDK if that's a mistake or not, but this was pretty basic -- it's just lettuce, cheese, tomato, crouton. It was fine, not tasty or really healthy, but took a while to eat which is good. 5/10

Southwest Avocado Chicken Salad (half size): I got this because they got our order wrong and charged 20$ for just this and a fry. Oh well. The salad is good. The chicken and fact that it's a salad made me nervous, but it was fine. I didn't use the dressing, but it was still moist enough. The cheese was not cheddar which was surprisingly good. And the salad was then like 220 cal total, which is great. 7/10

Fries: I mean, fries are fries. But I like Wendy's fries way more than McDonalds, since they are softer and thicker. Fries are good if you have a ton of ketchup, otherwise they're pretty boring. Solid but I'm not sure the calorie information, might be spooky. 7/10

 

Cold Brew: Yikes. I was so excited about the addition of cold brew and breakfast over all, but the Wendys in Lanc is hot garbage. They don't wear masks and they gave me a frosty instead of a cold brew and we had to drive back around to get this. And then it tasted very bad. Did they pee in it? Honestly I hope so, because it tasted like trash. Chemically and very weird and bad. I still drank it but only out of desperation. 3/10

Maple Bacon Chicken Croissant: I'm not into mixing sweet and savory, but the internet likes this so I tried it. It was "meh". I didn't even realise I got the right thing because the croissant was like a regular bun almost -- I think it was just really stale? The bread still tasted good, with a syrupy sauce, but overall this package was not great. The chicken patty was fine, no soy, but it didn't seem to go with the sauce. The bacon also tasted really stale. The potato wedges side seemed like they could be decent but felt a little spongy/old. I should try a different non-shit Wendys someday when Covid is Cov-done. 5/10

Pretzel Bacon Pub Cheeseburger: Yo, this was good. It could maybe use ketchup, because the patty flavor on its own isn't great, but the bread is nice like french toast, the pub sauce and onions are great, the bacon was more like bacon fat than pieces of bacon but was still good. Overall it was very tasty and honestly not TOO much food. 7/10

Dr. Pepper: Amazing soda even though I don't like soda. 7/10

Vanilla Frosty: This was OK, but not as good as the vanilla dessert options you can get at McDos or Arbys as a nut free human. Too icy or fake or somethin'. 6/10

Crispy Chicken BLT: You can't get this in a combo! But it's a solid chicken sandwich with bacon and cheese on there. Tasty. 7/10

Chicken Nugget Kids Meal: Honestly this is such a good deal. Less than 4$ for fries and nugs and a drink AND a toy! The nuggets were better than the spicy ones usually are, which is interesting. McDos has pea nuggets and Wendys has pea bread, so I have to check the ingredients 5000 times, but this was safe, anyway. And I got a bottle of water and a little crayon toy! What a life. 7/10

Iced Tea [Sweetened]: If you order Iced Tea, they give you sweetened Iced Tea. This is bad. It is way too sweet and not even lemony or complex. Also, I spilled it and it is sticky. 4/10

Iced Tea [Unsweetened]: After many failures, I finally converged on the unsweetened iced tea! (After reading the recipt, I learned it's just Diet Fuze). It tasted like plain iced tea. Much better than the sweetened one, although sadly, still sticky (and I didn't even spill it, but yet)! 6/10

Cobb Salad: This is the only safe salad left! It's fine, but there's no veg. Just chicken, cheese, egg, baco, tomato, and ranch dressing. It's supposed to come with onion crisps, but they only gave us one open bag for two salads, so neither me or my dad risked trying those. The salad was frozen, but it tasted OK. I wasn't allergic. 7/10

Overall
Cost: 8/10
Taste: 6/10

P.J. Whelihan's

This place is basically Buffalo Wild Wings - a sports bar with lots of TVs, wings, burgers, etc. However, I am optimistic that the food is better at PJs (even though they don't have an online allergy menu...yet?). They have more than just chicken and burgers, they have salads, steaks, even pasta too. Granted, I didn't try any of those things - we only split some nachos, which were good and had nice white cheese sauce on them (as well as chili etc). I also got 2 blue moons (they were 4$, which is about standard). The waiter was nice, maybe a bit too attentive, but the atmosphere was pleasant and it was easy to see the TV from the table. Yay, world cup season! Anyway, the nachos were good, the menu looks promising, they have daily drink specials, and the place was clean. What more could you really want from a sports bar?

Cobb Salad (no bleu cheese): this was really good! Tasted refreshing and healthy and well-mixed, and just the right size. Dressing was fine but not overpowering, chicken and avo and egg were all good, very happy! 8/10

Pretzel nuggets: Not that many or very filling, but only 5$. Cheese was real cheese which was good. Boyf didn't like the cheese but the nuggets were OK for both of us. 6/10

Frozen Summer drink: This was tequila, bacardi strawberry, lemonade and sugar and whipped cream. It was great even though it made me nervous as usual. Only 5$! 8/10

PJ's ultimate combo: This is an app sampler, with wings (hardly sauced at all so I didn't love, but not terrible); tots (great and moist, I was impressed); mozz sticks (cold and average); and chicken fingers (better than Deer Park but really need dip of some sort). Overall it was more than enough food, very filling! I liked the tots. 6/10

Quesadilla: This was so dry!!! It was just dry chicken, a tiny bit of cheese, peppers and onions. I guess it was fine and didn't make me too ill but just it was so so dry. And it came with only sour cream to dip, no pico or guac? Amateur hour over here! 6/10

Basket of Tater Tots: This was the true neutral of food. Fine and a lot but very boring. 5/10

Loaded nachos (with chili, no sour cream): I ate way too much. I regret it all. Good though. 7/10

Cheese steak nachos: This was way better than I'd thought; the white american cheese is so good and I wish there were more. The lil steak was good too, and the green onions. Chips are fine and salty. but not enough cheese, and too much chips! Also very awkward to eat by yourself in a group. 7/10

Smokin' Pork BBQ sandwich: This was actually pretty good, very filling. It was odd looking and had a soft texture but tastes good, a lil spicy. There was a nice BBQ flavor. The fries were good. The cold slaw was not amazing, too creamy and no zip, but it was passable as a sandwich spread. 7/10

Overall
Cost: 6/10
Taste: 7/10

Federal Taphouse

Apparently this is a local chain, but I've only been to one of them, which is downtown and pretty spacious (2 floors, but I've only seen one). It put a bit of a bad taste in my mouth the first time we attempted to go, the hostess seemed super judgey and estimated a longer wait time than seemed reasonable given the amount of empty tables. We came back the next day at 3pm and it was totally empty so we got seats, woohoo. Anyway, it's a cool looking space, and the best part is the beer(/cider) list which is about 100 drinks long, all on tap and described and sorted by type. Very fun, although a little pricy at times. The food menu isn't anything special, mostly sandwiches and pizza and seafood, but it's decent. Our waitress was also really nice, prompt, and best of all, proactive and knowledgable about allergy stuff. Very much appreciated and I'd go back just based on that.

We got poutine as an app, which was good (lots of gravy) but not great. I don't think the cheese curds were actually curds - there was no squeak! They were just hunks of mozz. Still good but not really "poutine". A big amount though, so filling that I hardly ate my meal, which was the mushroom pizza. This pizza is big also and had a white sauce (boo) and thin crust and lots of mushroom (yay). It's really cheesey/alfredo-y, and tasted just like a chicken cheesesteak stromboli from Lisa's. So, it was tasty but not necessarily "pizza"-esque. I got an orange flavored beer from Germany that was bright orange and super fun, tasted pretty good. Overall a nice visit!

Cubano pizza: I split this with my boyf, who thought it was very bad and too mustardy. But I liked it! The pizza sauce is mustard instead of sauce, and on top is pork, cheese, scallion, yellow pepper. So mustardy! Very fun! If you like mustard, you'll like this. (But poutine is still better <3). 7/10

Overall
Cost: 4/10 (about 60$ for 2)
Taste: 7/10

Pork U BBQ

Truly, I was porked. Food trucks are fun, BBQ meat is fun, so it seemed so nice. The owner even responded to my inquiry about nut allergens (there are no nuts, just mustard)! But alas, the food was not fun, the service was slow and really awkward (is this a haircut I'm getting?) and I got sooooo sick after eating. I got mac and cheese with BBQ pork on it, and it was very very very oily/greasy/wet, yet not very cheesy, and the meat was also really wet - but not with BBQ sauce, just with fat. It needed way more BBQ sauce, cheese, flavor in general, and way less oil/water. Woe.



Overall
Cost: 6/10
Taste: 4/10

Valentino's Café

Can you believe it??????? I didn't think I'd ever really go here, but it happened for me, everyone. And it was pretty, pretty...fine. There wasn't anyone in the dining room part of the building which was a little weird, and the whole "seat yourself" vibe always throws me off, but there's also a certain local charm to that. The menu is mainly burger, sandwich, and spaghetto, and that's fine by me. They also have some breakfast stuff but it's only before 10.30am, and like, that's a rare thing. Anyway, the drinks are super cheap (1.50 Yuengling? 5$ pitcher?!?) but they also brought out the wrong bottle one time so it's win some lose some. I got ravioli and spaghetti and garlic bread and I thought it was pretty good. The sauce was meaty but not in an itchy way. The ravioli were what you want in a ravioli. The pasta was eh (a little floppy/thin) but the bread and sauce and company and price was good. I would totally go back if I could convince my boyf.

Overall
Cost: 7/10
Taste: 7/10

Q says "ugh, at least it's close. 4/10"

McDonald's

Eww, right? Who eats McDo's?! As a kiddo, it was by far my least favorite fast food place, mainly because they put chopped up onions on all their burgers and I thought that was gross. I also think the 3-bun Big Mac concept is terrible. But now I'm a little chilled out, PLUS they have breakfast all day, PLUS they have a vanilla ice cream cone with no nuts. Mmm, soft serve, so rare for nut allergy sufferers! So I've come around, and on a road trip or a lazy day, I'm A-OK with a little allergy-menu-having McDos.

I like their apple pie, vanilla cone, egg mcmuff, and way too creamy iced coffee. Hot coffee is standard/fine too.

I tried recently the Pico Guacamole Buttermilk Crispy Chicken, because it had guac and I wanted some veg. It gave me mad heartburn, but otherwise it was filling and fine. I think it'd be better with no cheese and no ranch sauce. So maybe a plain chicken sandwich would have been better. 5/10

I also tried the Southwest Salad with Grilled Chicken, and even though it had little black beans I had to pick out, the dressing/chicken/strips/corn was good and refreshing (and healthy-ish!). The only downside was that it made me make eating noises and also smell bad and my boyf was perturbed and now I'm neurotic about eating this salad. But it's good though. :D? 6/10

Cheeseburger: McDonald's is gross and this burger was gross too. It was only a dollar though. But it has onions which make me vom and are so small they're impossible to remove, the burger is gross, and the bun is pretty good. 4/10

Buttermilk Crispy Chicken Sandwich: This was a crispy chicken sandwich and it didn't make me gag, so I guess it was fine. About 650 calos for a weird fake-looking shiny bun, vaguely buttery crispy chicken, small tomato, tiny lettuce, and massive gorp of mayo. But it was OK. 6/10

Quarter Pounder with Cheese: When will I learn that I hate McDo's burgers? I got this without onions because I thought I just hated little onions, but the burger still tasted the same gross way! It's like the onions are inside the patty! Or whatever bad thing is in there, maybe it's not even onion at all.  But it's truly terrible. The burger patty is the McDo's downfall. 3/10

Grilled Chicken Sandwich: This was devoid of any flavor and it was over 5 bucks. Yet it was only 380 calories, and fairly filling. It didn't have any mayo (or sauce at all), yet somehow it wasn't too dry. A weird product, but could have been worse. 6/10

Hash Brown: Don't understand the love for hash brown. Plain Mcmuff is better choice, this is oily and not great. 5/10

Bacon Smokehouse Artisan Grilled Chicken: Mistakes were made; I got this because it's chicken and not beef, and I like onions and BBQ and bacon, but the mustard made this weird, it could have used lettuce/tomato, way more BBQ and overall just wasn't a good mix for me, even though none of the parts were truly heinous. 4/10

Iced French Vanilla Coffee: This was difficult, because ordering it got us a "Sugar Free Vanilla Coffee" instead, which was freakin' gross. Second try, we learned just "Vanilla Coffee" (don't say french) is the way to go. Anyway, this is a solid way-too-creamy/sugary coffee, but it tastes good and not artificial or metallic or anything. A little like what I imagine milk is like for people who drink milk. Got a medium and it was more than enough, 'cause they don't put that much ice in. 6/10

Iced Latte: G-dang, McDonalds coffee is so difficult. I ordered plain iced latte (medium), no modifications or swirls or sugars. But it was SO PAINFULLY SWEET. Wtf. Full disclosure though, I got this via delivery (no issues there), and it was in a little cup inside of a bag lol. Very weird and cozy. No straw! I mean, it tasted like a sweet treat, but that's not what I wanted. Sigh. 5/10

McChicken: McChicken is a cute name for a sandwich. This was actually not bad; it was only 1 dollar and yet was filling and satisfying. It's just chicken/mayo/lettuce, and it could use more lettuce and less mayo, and maybe the addition of tomato or cheese or something would improve it, but it's still decent. 6/10

Pumpkin and Cream Pie: This isn't even on their online menu, but you can find the ingredients if you Google for it. And it's safe! And so good, this was awesome. It doesn't look like much but the inside is basically pumpkin pie filling and cream cheese. This is great. Spicy (in the pie way) and sweet. 8/10

McRib: Ah, the cultural zeitgeist! Top of the morning to you, Mr. McRib. I think I basically agree with the general sentiment on this sandwich: it's not bad, but not amazing. The first bite impressed me a lot; I thought it really did taste like rib insides. But then it became more bread/pickle/onion/general food-like substance. Not bad though, and the ingredients don't have any weird fillers (or legumes!). Good but not really great either. 7/10

Blueberry Muffin: So disappointing! I was so hype for the purported nut-free bakery additions since the Dunkin muffins are now may-contains. But while the top was good and moist/sweet, the rest was not sugary or wet or good, and the whole thing had kind of a chemical flavor. I like that the berries are real blueberries, but they didn't taste like it -- they tasted just like the artificial ones from my 99 cent muffin mix. Ultimately a letdown. 5/10

Hamburger (+Happy Meal): This Happy Meal came with apples, a toy, a little milk, a little fries, and a hamburger. Not bad, McDos. I was expecting to hate Hamburger as I have hated all Burger from McDos, but honestly it wasn't bad. Maybe I was just really hungry, maybe they're different now? maybe I got a good one? But the bun was nice and buttery, the meat was meat, and the onions and pickle were edible since they were focused in just one spot in the middle. Not very filling, but pretty tasty/fine. 6/10

Deluxe Crispy Chicken Sandwich: So McDo's added 3 new chicken sandwiches to compete with the Popeye's / Chik-Fil-Trash hype. Sadly, I tried this one first, and I thought it was kind of a dud. The bun was nice and buttery, but the chicken itself had a weirdly fishy/old oil taste. It really threw me. The lettuce/mayo/tomato really did not add anything, either. Maybe I just got a bad patty. 5/10

Honest Kids® Appley Ever After® Organic Juice Drink: I got this with a Cheeseburger Happy Meal, which again, is way more lit than I used to find it. This Apple Juice itself was also fun! It was not sweet at all, which is really different from any apple juice I've ever experienced, but I thought it was pretty tasty and also healthy. Very cute stuff. 7/10

Spicy Crispy Chicken Sandwich: The second of the three new chicken sandwiches, and sadly I won't be trying the third since these buns apparently have pea protein in 'em now (wtf). It was alright while it lasted, though -- really spicy to me, but much better than the deluxe sandwich. The chicken and bun were good (but really spicy), the sauce was just OK. 7/10

Double Cheeseburger: Again, honestly this was pretty satisfying. I still don't love the onion bits, but the pickle/ketchup/cheese is good, the meat is fine, the bun is fine. It's filling and it's fine. 7/10

 

Sprite: On the one hand, Sprite is Sprite, and it's not very good. On the other hand, I didn't like this version much. I've had better fast food sodas. Partly Sprite is to blame, but dare I say, McDos is not the best iteration of Sprite I've had this year. 5/10
 

McDouble: The name is good, good branding. But the burger was kind of dry, I still don't like the little onions on here, and even though this was edible and safe, it was honestly not very enjoyable. 5/10

Overall
Cost: 8/10, fast food is great for this (just avoid combos)
Taste: 5/10

Q says: It seems like the renovation has been bad for it. Later: This was a different McDonalds.

Zoë's Kitchen

This place is what I imagine Panera Bread is like. It's a little like Chipotle, but you don't watch them make your food, so it's not as fast (but it's still decently fast). Actually, it reminds me a little of Cosi, just not quite as lovable (no coffee, for one). The food is mostly Greek, with some other "Mediterranean flavors" in there. For me, it's good because they have a nice allergy menu posted online, and while it's true that they do have chickpeas (hummus!) and nuts in some things, they don't seem to have any peanuts and it's also not a ton of nuts in general. They have pitas, sandwiches, bowls, gyros, kabobs, and a few soups and sides and apps. Looks like a fun menu. So far I got:

Greek Chicken Pita, with side of fruit: This was good! It's a pita with chicken, onion, a few greens, and a little bit of tzatziki (spelling??) but not too much at all. The fruit was a nice cup, with oranges, apples, cantelope, and grape. A nice meal that was filling but not too greasy. Oh, and it had feta too, but I didn't even notice/mind it! \o/

Spinach and Mushroom Piadina, with side of fruit: This smells really weird/bad in the bag, so that's a con. It's also kind of boring -- basically a quesadilla with spinach, mushroom, oil and cheese. It's OK, but too oily and not enough prote! 6/10

Steak kabobs, with rice and pasta salad: I like the kabobs a lot, the meat is well seasoned and the pepper/onion/tomato bits are nice too. Savory and tasty. The rice was so-so, moist and not my favorite, but OK. The pasta salad is also not my favorite, less than the rice - feta-y and moist too. I had a weird allergy feeling the last time I ate this, though IDK if it's the food or Quinn's chicken food or just a fluke, but it put me off Zoe's for a while. Too bad. Their allergen menu doesn't contain nearly all their food, so it's tough. 7/10 though.

Chicken roll-ups, with fruit: This was OK; I thought it would make me itchy or something because it looked like egg rolls, but it didn't really. It was kind of boring, mostly just plain chicken flavor, but it was filling though. And the fruit was good. 6/10

Overall
Cost: 6/10
Taste: 7/10

Q says: The chicken was cold but I'd go back. 6.5/10

Sonic Drive-In

I guess the official name of this place is "Sonic Drive In" because sonic itself is such a common word! Too bad. I've only ever heard it called Sonic, so I didn't fully conceptualize that it was JUST a drive-in place because I didn't grow up near one. But we went today, and it's true, you pull up to your own little ordering window and wait for them to bring you the food. Apart from hating to drive and hating drive-through windows, I like that you get your own little menu to look at with no rush, and you can order when you're ready by pushing a button.

Food-wise, it seems like just burgers, chicken, hot dogs, and drinks, which is general fast-foody-food. They don't seem to have nuts in their non drink/dessert stuff, which is nice. I got a regular (all-america) hot dog and some mozz sticks, and both were totally acceptable but not incredible. I didn't get violently ill, which is always a plus! I would go back with no hesitation, but it wouldn't be my first choice.

Overall
Cost: 6/10 (seemed decent for non-combos, maybe 2-3$ per item)
Taste: 6/10