SimeyTravels (simeytravels)

If you want a cheap meal served with a quickness, this should be your spot. I feel like I had no sooner finished placing my order with, and a coffee to drink th... leer más If you want a cheap meal served with a quickness, this should be your spot. I feel like I had no sooner finished placing my order with, and a coffee to drink than the food materialized on the table in front of us. They must...More

We're finally at the point where we can start to relax our budget a bit, which means we're able to explore our new neighborhood. We don't want to go all out cra... leer más We're finally at the point where we can start to relax our budget a bit, which means we're able to explore our new neighborhood. We don't want to go all out crazy with meals, so after a bit of research, we decided to give Kensington Cafe a shot. They were pretty busy on a Friday evening, but we were shown to a table near the back right away. The restaurant had three large parties, and most of the other smaller tables were occupied, so I was happy to have been seated without a wait. Our waitress came out right away with ice cold water for the two of us, and took my husband's drink order. After a small internal debate, I decided to order the Smothered Chicken (a chicken breast covered in a spinach, goat cheese and mushroom cream sauce, served over a pile of mashed potatoes, with vegetables on the side. My husband got the Spicy Chicken Burger (a chicken breast sandwich with ortega chilis, bacon, cheese, avocado, lettuce, tomato and an aioli sauce with fries (for me ; he added a green salad for himself. The restaurant was fairly loud that evening they did have three very happy groups of people, after all so my husband and I had to press in close in order to have a conversation. It wasn't terrible, though I don't mind sharing space with him and it was nice to hear so many people enjoying themselves. My husband's side salad came out first, and he made short work of it. It's amazing how something as simple as a green salad can be so delicious, but he said it was fresh and crisp. I'm sure the gallon of ranch dressing he threw on top didn't hurt, either, haha. The entrees came out soon after, and I was bowled over by the portion sizes. My meal had just the one chicken breast, but it was on top of a huge serving of mashed potatoes and a large presence of vegetables, which made my day. My husband's sandwich was immense, and there was no shortage of french fries. I did enjoy my meal, but didn't really get any goat cheese tanginess in the sauce. It was creamy, but it was supposed to be a spinach, goat cheese and mushroom sauce, which didn't come through. The mushrooms were served on top of the chicken (and the sauce , which was fine, but not what I'd expected. The mashed potatoes were decent, but could have used a bit more creamy sauce to help out a bit they got dry under the chicken. The best thing about the plate were the various vegetables, which were bright and fresh, and exactly what I needed at that moment. My husband gushed over the sandwich. He still does to this day, as a matter of fact. I don't think he was expecting much from it, but according to him, the finished product was a definite winner. Not just because it was massive and incredibly filling. He said the aioli sauce and green chilis pulled the sandwich into a completely different category. For my part, I couldn't stop gushing over their french fries. Those were hands down the best fries I've had in a long while. They're exactly what my memories say a Rally's fry should be, though in truth, Rally's fries can't even come close to Kensington Cafe's fries. I ate way too many of them to feel good about myself, but I couldn't stop! I took one star off for the service. Our waitress was nice, but she did disappear for a long while towards the end of our meal. My husband had a line of sight past the bar counter, and said he could see her back there chatting with the other workers. He was finally able to flag her down for the check, but we did have to wait a lot longer than I'd wanted to to get closed out. Still, we did enjoy the food, and like that it's super close to us. I'm sure we'll be back for another meal sometime soon.

Six of seven, on the Disloyal 7 challenge, and we were swiftly running out of time to collect 'em all! We clearly didn 't plan things out well, as we had to scr... leer más Six of seven, on the Disloyal 7 challenge, and we were swiftly running out of time to collect 'em all! We clearly didn 't plan things out well, as we had to scramble to hit stops 6 and 7 within an hour of closing, on our last full day in Edinburgh. But, in our defense, coffee shops close up super early in Edinburgh!

Desperate for a meal outside of the Disney bubble, eager to find something healthy, filling and reasonably priced, we did a quick search on restaurants close to... leer más Desperate for a meal outside of the Disney bubble, eager to find something healthy, filling and reasonably priced, we did a quick search on restaurants close to the hotel. My husband surprised me by saying he'd be okay with seafood, so I quickly narrowed my search and pulled up a few options. After checking the menus, we chose California Fish Grill, and hopped into the car for the quick drive over. The parking lot is big, but I can see how it'd get very packed during the busier times. The restaurant is in a shopping center with a few other QSR options, and that center is directly across from a boutique hotel, so it can get crowded. Though we'd never dined here before, I knew they carried Branzino my favorite of all fishes , which meant I knew what I'd be ordering. My husband needed a bit more time, but the super friendly and helpful employee Chanocua called us to the front and proceeded to answer questions, make suggestions and welcome us in. As mentioned, I went with the Branzino plate, with the rosemary zucchini and fries for sides, and the garlic butter sauce $13.25 . My husband ordered the Cajun style Louisiana Catfish, with fries and beans for his sides $12.29 . Chanocua walked us through our orders, suggesting sides, sauces and of course upgrades. And, we took him up on his upgrade suggestions my husband whole heartedly embraced every upgrade Chanocua offered, haha . My fries morphed into the Dynamite fries $1.99 , my husband added a Cajun style shrimp skewer $3.49 , and his fries also got the dynamite upgrade. Chanocua's last recommendation was to add a side of the hot honey sauce this one was at least free , which we agreed to, along with the proffered lemon slices. Soda cup $2.25 and order buzzer in hand, we settled in at one of the empty tables to wait for our food. The plates came out fast and fresh, and I was so glad we showed up famished. The portions are huge! Two fillets of perfectly cooked branzino lay atop a mound of dynamite style fries and a pile of rosemary zucchini. Across the table, my husband's plate sported one giant cut of catfish, a generous shrimp skewer and fries. His beans were in a small cup served on the side. The branzino was stellar. I definitely would ask for extra garlic butter sauce, because that added a nice earthy flavor to the delicate fish. The rosemary zucchini was just crunchy enough, and the herbs didn't overpower the vegetable. I will say that the dynamite fries upgrade was lost on me, because it was smothered by the fish and garlic butter sauce. I'm sure the fries are tasty on their own, but it was a waste on my plate. My husband put a hurtin' on his dish while I was stuffing all the food into my own face. He did enjoy his upgraded dynamite fries, as well as the extra shrimp skewer. And through all this, he paused to comment on how the catfish was some of the best he's had outside of Louisiana. Sated, we pushed our plates away and sat back to breathe and let the food settle a bit. I started looking around for the typical trash can/tray/plate return receptacles that are prevalent in most QSR spots, but failed to find a place to return our dirty dishes. Not wanting to leave the plates on the table if that's not how it's done here, I went back to the counter to ask Chanocua, who smiled and said not to worry, he'd take care of it. We walked out full, satisfied and impressed by the staff, the quality and quantity of food, and the flavors. In fact, we liked it so much that my husband asked me to do a quick search to see if they were a chain, and if we had one in our own city they are, and they do!

We were here for the X-JAMM Elements of Sound event during NAMM 2019. I bought our tickets because of Devin Townsend, but we were both excited to see Larry Mitc... leer más We were here for the X-JAMM Elements of Sound event during NAMM 2019. I bought our tickets because of Devin Townsend, but we were both excited to see Larry Mitchell, OHM (guitar god Chris Poland) and Larry Mitchell perform live, as well. I had no idea what to expect from the venue itself; I bought tickets two days before the show and was super disappointed by our placement. We were in the front row, but sitting at stage right. I thought for sure I'd miss a lot because I am so vertically challenged. Turns out I had no reason to despair. Our seats were practically on stage. They set up a small row of seats where the pit would live (in another, non-seated venue). We had up-close views of all performers, and the audio was expertly mixed to allow us to experience the music in all its glory. We were shown to our seats right when we checked in, and instantly had one of the friendliest waitresses at our side, asking for our drink and/or food orders. We both asked for a Guinness and told her we might order food later (it's not food from the restaurant next door if you're curious; they only serve stadium-type items). She came back empty-handed, apologizing profusely that the bar was out of Guinness. We changed our orders, and let her know it was totally fine, but she was so sweet and I could tell she felt bad. She made it a point to check on us throughout the night (we did end up sharing an order of $8 nachos to go with our $8 beers; at least she hooked us up on the cheese sauce), making sure not to bother us while a performance was actually happening. Now that I know that this place exists, I'll keep an eye on their events calendar. I liked how easy it was to get there, and how friendly the staff was. I just know to plan to eat dinner ahead of time, to save money.