Saturday, April 23, 2011

52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy & History - Restaurants

Week #16 – Restaurants

Week 16. Restaurants. What was your favorite local restaurant as a child? Where was it located, and what was your favorite meal? Did you know the staff personally? What is your favorite restaurant now?

Wow.  I'm not sure what my favorite restaurant(s) were as  a child.  I think it was just enough of a treat to be able to go out to eat that I was happy with most places we went.  If they were entertaining for kids, then so much the better.  I remember visiting most of the major fast food chains in the upper midwest at one time or another.  I do remember the french fries being so much better than they are now, but those days of lard-fried potatoes are long gone.

Being unemployed for almost 2 years, and now still underemployed, I don't get to eat at restaurants very often, and it's a treat when I do.  I enjoy eating at Applebees, as the service in the local one is excellent and the food has also always been good.  I also enjoy a trip to Bonanza for a steak.  I know some of the staff there, since my brother-in-law is one of the managers there, and one of the other managers has been there since I worked there as a teen.  The local Bonanza is excellent, and rated as one of the top of that chain in the world.  Their salad bar is excellent!

When I'm on the go and just have to stop quickly for something, I tend to pick McDonalds if I'm looking for rock bottom price, or Wendy's if I'm looking for something other than a burger.  Yeah, I like Wendy's chicken sandwiches, a taste I developed when working for the chain when I was young.

One last special treat is a local small burger and fries take-out place called Val's.  It's a little hole-in-the-wall place with no seating at all.  You come in, place your order on one of three touch-screen units, and stand for a few minutes while they prepare your order.  Or, if you prefer, you can phone your order in and it will be ready when you arrive.  Val's Rapid Serv is primarily known for one thing: Fries.  These fries are better than any of the fast food chains.  They're thin cut, crispy, like McDonalds, but then they are treated with a sprinkling of seasoned salt to make them stand out.  Oh, and Val's is generous with the fries.  When you order, your burgers get placed on the bottom of the bag.  Then your fries get placed on top of the burgers.  Then they dump in more fries.  And that's just a small order.  I don't know anyone who's single-handedly consumed an entire large order of Val's fries.  I've seen a family do it.  It's a good thing the burgers are smallish - you won't be able to eat a bigger burger after eating your way down to it through the fries...

What are/were your favorite restaurants?   Comment below, or write your own blog article and post the link below.


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