Blog Archives - Cute Diner

Estes Park Pie Shop & Bakery @ Estes Park, CO

8/29/2017

Meatloaf!

This was the first thing I saw as we were driving by looking for food and well, I did need pie. So, naturally we went here for dinner. The staff here are super friendly. When we left, my sister forgot her bag and our waitress rushed outside to return it. That was nice of her. Now let's go back to the beginning of our visit. I ordered the meatloaf which came with two sides. I chose mac and cheese and brussels sprouts. These veggies were the best brussels I've ever eaten. They shaved the brussels so they were easier to chew and pair it with a winning combo of bacon and onions. They should make the brussels sprouts a main dish because I wold for sure order it. Speaking of main dishes, the meatloaf I ordered was very yummy. It was moist with a crisp sear on the outside.

chicken fried steak

chicken pot pie

Another dish that was scrumptious is the chicken fried steak. The steak was very tender with a contrasting crispy coating on the outside. Let's not forget about the amazing gravy they slather on top. The chicken fried steak also came with two sides. My mom decided on the brussels sprouts and vegetarian chili. The chili's texture was meat-like, but did not have much flavor. Something else that didn't have flavor was the chicken pot pie. This dish was the biggest disappointment here. The crust was meh and the filling was mainly plain, unflavored potatoes. The last dish we ordered was the Reuben. This sandwich was average. What wasn't average though is their pie. No wonder they're called the pie shop. Their strawberry rhubarb pie is a slice of heaven. It's the perfect combo of sweet and sour. The crumble on top was delicious as well. Whenever you need pie, pay a visit to the Estes Park Pie Shop. Their vast selection of flavors will make you full just upon looking at them :P

Strawberry rhubarb pie

Rincon Argentino @ Boulder, CO

8/25/2017

We walked from Pearl Street Mall in downtown Boulder to Rincon Argentino. It took 30 minutes but was worth every single step. I had never tried empanadas before, and after this meal, i'm obsessed. The exterior is so flaky and their many fillings are amazing. Since it was my first time, I tried the tradicional with steak, onions, and red pepper. It was super yummy and paired with the mild chimichurri sauce mmm perfection. We ordered a bunch of other others so bare with me as I talked about them all :P

inside the tradicional

hongos (mushroom)

If you like spice, the carne picante is a great fit. It's the traditional empanada, but full of spice. The pollo barbacoa is another meaty must. It's stuffed with tons of chicken and luscious BBQ sauce. the jamon y queso reminded me of a breakfast crossiant with its ingredients of flaky crust, ham and cheese. Another super cheesy one is the caprese. There's a great 10/10 cheese pull that comes with the caprese. For some relatively healthier vegetarian options, I really enjoyed the choclo and hongos. The choclo is super creamy with bits of crunchy corn. As for the hongos, there are excellent, tender mushrooms inside. There are a ton of empanadas at Rincon Argentino and you can't go wrong with any of them.

Fresh Thymes Eatery @ Boulder, CO

8/20/2017

steak, pulled pork & veggies

We wanted a healthier meal after being tourists all day long and that lead us to Fresh Thymes Eatery. I like how they have a combo where you can choose a protein (or two) and a side. This is great to be able to choose exactly what you want to eat. I ordered one protein with two sides, the chicken with kale salad and chicken tomato soup. The chicken was pretty tender, but pesto they served on the side was not enjoyable for me. As for the sides, the kale salad was pretty fresh and the soup was swimming with flavor. The other combo we ordered was two proteins and one side, skirt steak and pulled pork with vegetables. The pulled pork was awesome! The taste of ancho chilis was just right, not too overpowering. However, the steak was overcooked and dry. Also, the service was pretty slow, considering they already had all the elements made for the combo dishes. My experience was Fresh Thymes was good, but not the best.

Denver Biscuit Co @ Aurora, CO

8/17/2017

Oh my goodness gracious, Denver Biscuit Co is ah-mazing!!! Words can barely express how delicious this place is, but I sure can try :P I ordered the DBC because it was featured on Food Network's Triple D and well it's named after the restaurant so it's gotta be good. My instincts were spot on for this dish contains tons of mouthwatering components. When they first brought it out, my jaw dropped. It was a huge, stacked biscuit sandwich. I had to attack it with the good old fork and knife. The first thing that hit me was their chipotle aioli. With this luscious sauce, I didn't miss gravy one bit. Next was the flaky, buttery biscuit. Mmmm, it just melted in my mouth. Oh yeah, in addition to the bacon, lettuce, and tomato, the DBC has fried chicken! It's hard to tell from the picture for it's buried under a mountain of food. I could tell that they marinate their chicken because it was packed with flavor. Its crisp outside and succulent inside made it one of the best fried chicken I've ever consumed. You HAVE to order the DBC when you visit because it will take your taste buds on a wonderful flavorful journey.

However, if you are a hard core gravy fan, I recommend the Franklin. It's a biscuit with fried chicken, melty cheese, and crisp bacon, all slathered in rich gravy. The last dish we ordered was the biscuit chicken pot pie. This was a biscuit with pot pie filling piled high over it. This was equally as delicious. You honestly can't go wrong with ordering anything from DBC.

With tremendously awesome dishes like these, you know that I'm gonna be eating DBC's→

ColoRADo

8/15/2017

Colorado is a hidden gem in the middle of America. I honestly would never have thought to take a vacation over to Colorado, but I'm so glad I did and experienced this amazing state. We traveled all over Colorado, from Boulder, Estes Park, Colorado Springs, to Denver. Boulder reminded me of Berkeley because of the college town vibes it gave off. It was a super nice town and I enjoyed walking around the downtown center. We then drove for an hour to Estes Park where we planned to go whitewater rafting. We went on a half day excursion through medium rapids. This rafting trip was super duper fun! I would definitely go again.

Can you spot me? :P

This rafting trip was super duper fun! I would definitely go again. After a couple days in Estes Park, we went on down to Colorado Springs. One of their most famous attractions is the Garden of the Gods. This place features humongous, beautiful red rocks. Great for pictures :) This site truly was breathtaking. Another popular tourist activity is taking the cog rail up to Pikes Peak. Pikes Peak is super high, with an elevation of 14,000 feet! It's too bad that it was foggy when we rode it, so we couldn't see much. Overall though, my trip to Colorado was filled with fun adventures and food... lots of it. So definitely stick around for posts all about yummy Colorado food. It's coloRADo! :P
-Cute Diner

Go Bistro @ San Francisco Airport, CA

8/9/2017

Chinese chicken salad

Our flight time was during lunch, so we planned to eat at the airport. We decided on Go Bistro. In general, airport food is more expensive so that is a con. Go Bistro's dishes were upwards of $15 and were not really worth the money. The pork adobo bowl is flavorful, but super small, only a handful of that yummy pork. As for the Chinese chicken salad, the chicken was very dry. Lastly, the fried rice came with a good portion, but it had a bit too much seasoning. A tip is to mix some white rice with the fried rice to balance out the flavor. This was our last meal in California before leaving for Colorado and it was disappointing... At least there's going to be lots of yummy meals in Colorado (I yelped tons of restaurants to visit when we go there :) so definitely stick around for those blog posts)

Sizzler's @ Klamath Falls, OR

8/6/2017

After a long day of being tourists, we were super tired and went back to our hotel to rest. Luckily for us, there was a Sizzlers right next door so we didn't have to go far for dinner. I've actually never been to Sizzler's before and I enjoyed it. Let's all take a moment to appreciate their salad bar. The cost is around $10 and has amazing value. I got this and visited the salad bar unlimited times. They had tons of veggies, dessert, tacos, soup, and more. The salad bar is a must!

ice cream from the salad bar!

They gave us some cheese bread to start and what's not to like about that? Cheese and bread are my two favorite food groups, so that was a yummy combo :P The rest of my family ordered the Italian herb chicken, 12 oz New York steak(upgraded) & lobster, and the sirloin. These dishes were alright, nothing exceptional. In conclusion, if you ever go to Sizzler's, you should definitely visit their salad bar. Don't let the name deceive you, there's so much more than just salad.

Italian herb chicken

Fat Daddy's BBQ @ Redding, CA

8/3/2017

We were on our way to McArthur-Burney Falls State Park, but after a long time driving, we decided to take a break. We stopped at Fat Daddy's BBQ and ordered the Fat Daddy's Fat Pack. This combo comes with two meats, 4 baked potatoes, a side, and baked beans. We got the chicken and the cashier recommended the pulled pork, so we ordered that too. There's no doubt why the pulled pork is very popular. It just melts in your mouth. Their barbecue sauce makes it even more delectable.

As good as the pulled pork was, I actually liked the chicken even more. It was super duper tender inside and the crisp skin outside was a great contrast to that. I enjoyed combining the meat with the baked beans. Now that was a wonderful bite. Fat Daddy's baked beans are pretty addicting. In addition, the baked potatoes slathered in BBQ sauce was pretty good. Anything with that sauce is awesome. As for the choice of a side, we ordered the salad cuz we needed something green to balance out all that meat. We sure ate a lot of meat. The fat pack combo filled up all four of us, with some leftovers for later. Yum! All in all, Fat Daddy's is a supreme place to get your barbecue fixings.