Three new eateries opening soon
- Thread starter theshadow
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I think Texas Roadhouse may be the single most overrated restaurant I've ever eaten at in my entire life. It was good, but I've seen people wait over an hour to get a seat. Ridiculous.
Having frequently visited all three on a regular basis, my experience is that neither can match the consistency in terms of food or service of Al Azteca.
La Fuente and Cazador has some things on the menu which I like, but the consistency just isn't there. The service at El Azteca is second to none.
Ah the old Cyclone Truckstop, now that was the best drunk food in Ames hands down. I wish that was still here. Im with Al texas roadhouse is subpar at best
I'm little surprised to see Little Casesar's back in Ames after the circumstances surrounding their exit. Multiple health code violations the worst of which was not refridgerating/freezing food and instead putting it in coolers with standing water in them.
When was tradewinds a restaurant? I lived in Ames from 1985-2006 and have never heard of that place.
When was tradewinds a restaurant? I lived in Ames from 1985-2006 and have never heard of that place.
I think they mostly only served at lunchtime. You could get a frozen pizza or something at night, but I think they had daily lunch specials. A coworker used to go there for tater tot casserole day.
Nevada. The Branding Iron is awesome - cook your own, just like the Open Flame, and they have Olde Main beer. The staff is really, really nice and attentive.
About chicken wings - In the old days, you could barely give them away. 20 years ago, you could buy them in the store for around $.30 to $.40 cents per pound.
Then buffalo style wings got popular. Next time you're in the grocery store, go to the meat counter and compare prices of different cuts of chicken. The wing has become the most expensive part of the chicken, even more expensive than the breast, which is just plain crazy considering what it is.
This has become a major problem for restaurants because what used to be cheap bar food now isn't. Most every place I frequent has went to a lesser quality of wings because of the expense.
IMO what we will see in the future is an emphasis on boneless wings because of value.
Maybe we can start raising dwarf chickens so that we can use their legs for wings instead. :wink:
It's good - I'd say price is roughly the same as Open Flame. $13 - $22 or so on steaks, I think, which includes salad bar and a side, as well as garlic toast and I think they still grill mushrooms. I hope you like it - there isn't much else over here besides Starbucks (in the summer) and Nevada Fuente.
Tradewinds was a bar that offered a limited food menu. It was the main hangout for city league slowpitch teams on summer nights. Karaoke on Fridays.
Block north of Main, near Duff. Next to EJ's, or Dangerous Curves, or whatever that place is/was called.
Ames Tribune > Archives > Ames Tribune > News > Tradewinds says goodbye
Lest we forget who now owns the furnature location, no other than Cyclone great Gary Thompson, I don't see the city stopping him from planting another strip mall. For one, he's Gary Thompson. Two, the turnover in the council moving pro business, and three, the footprint on that property in terms of the flood plain is almost non existent compared to the box stores.
The possible sites are:
1. The old ISU warehouse site between Target and Walmart
2. Part of the old Benson Motors site
3. Outlot along SE 5th between Target and Walmart.
4. The old O'Malley's spot combined with Ames Rental
5. Vacant lot where Ruttles used to be
One wild card that no one is talking about would be the SE corner of the Kmart parking lot. That store isn't making a dime, and if Eddie Lampert can either sell or lease off some real estate to monetize his Kmart investment, he would do that in a heart beat. It's not like Kmart is ever going to use all those parking spots, and the increase in traffic just may benefit sales within Kmart. The only negative for BWW is that it's not directly on Duff.
Another one would be the bowling alley. If Perfect Games pulls enough of their business away, selling out may make sense for them.
Site #2 would be the best, but at this point the money is too crazy to make it pencil. I don't know enough about the other properties pricewise to comment.
Its too bad that there cant be a BWW in campustown. Ive seen BWWs in similar areas (on state st in madison, broadripple area in Indianapolis) and i think it could work well there.
Glad to hear about both Little Ceaser's and El Azteca. I am definitely with the crowd who thinks El Azteca is the best in town. I know Home Team pizza was terrible sober, but only a few things made me happier then picking up a large 1 topping pizza at 1:30 am and devouring the entire thing in about 5 minutes. Wish the new location was in campus town or on Main Street (Jimmy John's just closed their Main Street location so something must be moving in there soon...).
Agree on The Vine wings, that place is one of the few good things in Iowa City. It wasn't too long ago that you could get a dozen wings at the Vine for half that price though...I forget which day of the week it was..
Your grill. :wink:
I've definitely come to the conclusion that when it comes to steak, I generally don't eat out (except for Iowa Beef on Tuesdays). For me, the price is just a little prohibitive. And I love going to the butcher, picking out a choice cut and grilling it up.
Tuesday nights. My friends and I started going in high school, and to this day that is still where we meet up. We've been gone for five years, but everybody does their best to be home for a Tuesday night over breaks. The Vine has literally helped keep our friendships strong! Pretty good claim for a sports bar. And yeah, a dozen wings used to be like $2.75 on Tuesdays. It was a great day when you could get two dozen wings and split a basket of fries for $6...
I've neverstood why, but the other Vine locations? The Phoenix metro. Mesa, Scottsdale, and Tempe. Go figure.
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And once again, where do you go for that in Ames? Other than HyVee and Fareway are there any actual butchers in Ames?
A little off topic, but has anyone heard any updates for the PetCo that was rumored to be going in next to Target? I know they had some issues with the city and I hadn't heard if they got those resolved.
That is a good question. I know there is a locker up in Stanhope, there's a butcher shop on the south side of Des Moines, but that's not Ames.
And I want to echo the love of the Vine. Along w/the Deadwood, Sanctuary, and Short's, it's one of the handful of bars in Iowa City I enjoy. Can't beat Vine Steins.
You will get the best meat from the locker in Stanhope. It has always been good for me.
465 Parker Street
Stanhope, IA 50246-7618
(515) 826-3280
