Has anyone tried the meatless whopper?

[Clipper]

We didn't feel like fussing for supper tonight so I went to the Burger King drive-thru to pick up some chicken nuggets for Kathy and a meatless whopper for myself. I have been wanting to try it. I fully expected it would be pretty gross but it was actually not that bad. It tastes like a well done hamburger patty with the lettuce, onion, pickles, and mayo on it. The only thing I didn't care for was that it was pretty dry. If not for the toppings I don't think it would be edible.

Being a Friday in lent, there was a lot of people ordering it. I asked the girl at the window if they sold a lot of them and she told me that they seem to be selling a lot of them to folks that don't want to eat meat on Fridays, as well as vegetarians.

[clarencebunsen]

Casa Imports has some deal by which they are subsidizing their employees to patronize their customers. Last night Michael brought us take out from the Phoenician. Tasty and I have enough for another meal.

[Clipper]

That sounds good CB. We don't have any Lebonese restaurants around here. I was just looking at the Phoenician menu. It looks pretty good, and moderately priced too. What did you have? I would be a big fan of the kabobs and the Wednesday night buffet sounds like a good opportunity for someone like me that has never eaten much Lebonese food to try a variety of dishes.

[clarencebunsen]

I had the kabobs. You could try it if you are ever allowed to travel here again. I am afraid that there will be a lot of fall out in the restaurant business. We have a lot of small non-chain restaurants. We also have a lot of people who work in them. Many of them depend on tips for a substantial part of their income.

[Clipper]

I hope that the majority of the small family owned restaurants survive. The hometown owned dining spots are one of the great assets that the area has in this, a time when huge conglomerates like Darden are monopolizing the dining scene.

I still miss Pescatore's and Tony Sparagna's, but at least there are still places that are locally owned that still cook with the old original recipes such as their nana's recipe for sauce, or for greens. We went to Cavallo's the last time we were in town, and I was disappointed. It is not the same as it was when we moved away. It was hard to enjoy a nice dinner in the dining room when the bar was packed to the doors with drunken youngsters partying their noisy butts off in the adjacent room. Before we come up again, we will have to check with you folks for tips on old fashioned East Utica style family Italian joints.

[clarencebunsen]

As I get older I much prefer quieter restaurants.

[Clipper]

We have a couple of favorite quiet places. One is the Gasthaus Eidelweiss. It is very small and run by a German couple that cooks all of my favorite German dishes along with an apple strudel that is to die for. They have all my favorites from wursts to schnitzel, to sauerbraten. Another is called "The Firehouse" and is it infers it is made over from an old firehouse in Johnson City. It is a BBQ restaurant with excellent smoked beef and pork. Their ribs are always fall of the bone tender. It is BBQ served in an upscale atmosphere.

We have one Italian restaurant that is upscale, but their prices are outrageous. We went there for a birthday dinner. We both had a pasta dish and a piece of Italian sausage, a side salad, and sweet tea. Kathy had a dessert. The check was $60. Pretty pricey macaroni but it is the only Italian place around here with candles on the table and a quiet and romantic atmosphere.

[clarencebunsen]

Sounds good but pricey for a weekly dinner.

[Deleted]

I have ordered from Zeina's in Utica on Lenox Ave. Great food. I know a number of Syrian and Lebanese meals that I can make when I get up the ambition for all the work.

As far as meatless burgers I love them. I rarely eat ground beef even non ground but I do like a veggie burger. I had one from Burger King last month but skip the mayo. I do not need it.

There are a few new eateries that I would love to go to but they are those upscale places which are far to expensive for my state in poverty. 

[Clipper]

Apr 4, 2020 18:19:42 GMT -5 clarencebunsen said:

Sounds good but pricey for a weekly dinner.

Definitely not a weekly dinner kind of a place unless you are quite affluent or on an expense account. Chances of us going back are pretty slim.

[BHU]

Apr 4, 2020 12:33:46 GMT -5 Clipper said:

I hope that the majority of the small family owned restaurants survive. The hometown owned dining spots are one of the great assets that the area has in this, a time when huge conglomerates like Darden are monopolizing the dining scene.

I still miss Pescatore's and Tony Sparagna's, but at least there are still places that are locally owned that still cook with the old original recipes such as their nana's recipe for sauce, or for greens. We went to Cavallo's the last time we were in town, and I was disappointed. It is not the same as it was when we moved away. It was hard to enjoy a nice dinner in the dining room when the bar was packed to the doors with drunken youngsters partying their noisy butts off in the adjacent room. Before we come up again, we will have to check with you folks for tips on old fashioned East Utica style family Italian joints.

I miss Sparagna's & Pescatore's. We would go to Sparagna's for dinner a couple times a month. Never had a bad meal in there. I wonder why they closed. Pescstore's had the best steak sandwich on garlic bread in the city, imho.

As a side note anyone who likes Olive Garden theyr're running a special. Pick an entree, get one free. I just saw their ad on the tube.

[BHU]

Apr 4, 2020 12:33:46 GMT -5 Clipper said:

I hope that the majority of the small family owned restaurants survive. The hometown owned dining spots are one of the great assets that the area has in this, a time when huge conglomerates like Darden are monopolizing the dining scene.

I still miss Pescatore's and Tony Sparagna's, but at least there are still places that are locally owned that still cook with the old original recipes such as their nana's recipe for sauce, or for greens. We went to Cavallo's the last time we were in town, and I was disappointed. It is not the same as it was when we moved away. It was hard to enjoy a nice dinner in the dining room when the bar was packed to the doors with drunken youngsters partying their noisy butts off in the adjacent room. Before we come up again, we will have to check with you folks for tips on old fashioned East Utica style family Italian joints.

If you come up here try Marie's Pasta Shop. They only have take out but the food is excellent. Best meatballs in the city, imho.

[Clipper]

We were planning to be there in July but I have my doubts as to whether we will be coming now. Olive Garden is about the only choice available here and we go there occasionally, but to me all their entree's taste pretty much the same. I guess I am a bit spoiled by Kathy's home made sauce. I don't care for the Italian sausage at Olive Garden, but then again, the only other choice that is even worth putting in your mouth is Johnsonville. We always buy at least 10 or 15 pounds when we come home.

Many years ago we did enjoy going to Cavallo's with my former in-laws. My father in-law and I always liked the linguini with white clam sauce. That is unheard of down here. I have tried to make it with canned clam broth and a canned chopped clams but it is a far cry from the recipes used by Utica's restaurants.

[BHU]

Ditto on the linguine/clam sauce. I only make it once is a while because the wife won't eat it. I've eaten it out with fresh clams & there's a world of diference. I'm not a big fan of OG either, it's probably been a year since we've eaten there.

[clarencebunsen]

One of the things that drives me crazy is that my granddaughter in Michigan thinks Olive Garden is Italian food.