Posted by mightyoaks on February 18th, 2006 — Posted in Ethnic, Family, Quick Food
Namaste Indian Restaurant, located on Huffman Mill Road next to Panera in Burlington, N.C. is one of the best Indian Restaurants that I have ever been to. When you take into account the beautiful setting, friendly service, and delicious food it is impossible to think otherwise.
When you walk into the door you will be greeted by the wonderfully friendly family staff. The setting of the restaurant is very elegant with beautiful Indian music playing in the background and pretty art on the walls.
Ordering is easy enough, even if you’ve never had Indian cuisine before. The menu is laid out in an easy to understand way with full descriptions and ingredient lists of each item. It is also broken down into sections such as poultry items, beef items, and vegetarian items.
The food is definitely worth it and you can eat there for about $15.00 including some bread to have with your meal. This price is generally unheard of at most Indian restaurants you will encounter, but that does mean that the food is of any lower quality. I would definitely rate Namaste as my favorite restaurant in Alamance County.
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Posted by mightyoaks on February 13th, 2006 — Posted in Pubs, Quick Food, Sports
Sandy’s is a small takeout and eatin restaurant on Haggard Rd in Elon. Located a quarter mile west of the BP station, they have a pretty extensive menu of subs, gyros, pizzas, hamburgers, etc.
I had a pair of Gyros, one steak and one chicken, both with onions and peppers, and they were quite decent. I haven’t been to the bar half of Sandy’s, but have been told by several people that they typically have sporting events on their TVs, and an inexpensive selection of beers and wines.
The kitchen looks like it hasn’t changed since the place first opened several years ago, with older grills, refrigerators, etc, but all of those help to give Sandy’s a “down-home” feeling.
Other than a bit of a delay in my order, I couldn’t find anything to complain about. If you’re looking for a good sandwich, or just a quick place to stop with friends, check out Sandy’s.
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Posted by mightyoaks on February 9th, 2006 — Posted in Ethnic, Family
My first experience at 2526 S Church St in Burlington wasn’t great. I first went to Azteca a year ago, and was decidedly unimpressed with both their food and service. And, I knew there were Mexican restaurants in the area I really liked, so I didn’t mind having one that I disliked.
This week I decided to give them a second shot, and had a much better experience the second time through. I ordered their Spanish Omelette lunch combination and a water, and was able to eat lunch for $5.62 plus tip. I don’t know what was so ‘Spanish’ about the omelette, as it seemed like almost any other omelette I’ve had before, albeit with a tomato sauce on top, with cheese and vegies inside.
The main part of the meal, the omelette, was pretty decent, as was the rice. Their chips are a bit bland, but the two types of salsa they gave me were pretty good. I was also pleasantly surprised when my waiter brought out soft tortillas during my meal, and a small tortilla-based desert after I was done.
Azteca’s refried beans, though, tasted like they were from a can, and I wasn’t impressed with the cheese topping them. I also found the tables a bit unusual in that they have tile patterns on them – complete with the grout between the tiles, so even though the table was clean, it kind of felt like I was eating outside on a picnic table rather than in a restaurant.
All told, it’s an ok place to go for a quick and cheap lunch if you’re in the mood for Mexican, though I prefer some of the other Mexican establishments in the area.
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Posted by mightyoaks on February 7th, 2006 — Posted in Family, Quick Food
With cars whizzing by out front, Panera Bread is located in the heart of Burlington at 422 Huffman Mill Rd. The parking lot is packed full of customers almost all day long, but especially during the prime breakfast, lunch, and dinner hours. As you open the restaurant door, you enter into an atmosphere full of smiling and familiar faces. Many of those faces include students, women with their friends, or business men on their laptops using the free Wi-Fi internet access. The colors in Panera are soothing tones and the lighting is perfectly dimmed with soft music playing in the background.
Panera is not a sit-down restaurant or café. It is a self-serve restaurant that makes food quick and fresh for their customers. As you wait in the short line, the menu is neatly and fashionably organized into sections of freshly baked breads and bagels, soups and sandwiches, hand-tossed salads, pastries and sweets. The options of fresh bread are endless. The bakers at Panera work through the night, shaping and scoring the dough by hand, to bring fresh-baked bread every morning and throughout the day. All Panera breads are made from only the freshest dough using original recipes and only unbleached flour. Like there breads, Panera offers a variety of sourdough-based bagels made from their own recipes and baked fresh daily. And now, with new Baked Egg Soufflés for breakfast, the morning rush at Panera Bread has more taste than ever. Panera also offers a variety of hot soups every day, all of which use only quality ingredients and have a flavor that is uniquely their own. The soups are served with freshly-baked bread or in a bread bowl upon request.
Every Panera sandwich is built on fresh-baked bread, using only fresh, high-quality meats, cheeses and vegetables. They are always searching for new and interesting tastes and periodically introduce a new sandwich to keep their menu as fresh as the items on it. The salads are hand-tossed and made to order using only the freshest ingredients, like vine-ripened tomatoes and crisp field greens. They also contain very unique salads, such as Fandango salad, found only at Panera. They make their pastries, desserts and sweets with the best ingredients from original recipes. All are baked fresh daily and all are very nutritious. From cappuccino to coffee, to I.C. beverages, to Jones soda, you’ll find Panera’s selection of drinks to be much better in quality and taste than the usual. In all types of food, Panera offers the most fresh and unique options.
The cashier politely greets you and asks if they can take your order. As you order your meal, the cashier provides different choices of sides, such as chips and apples. The customer can stand by the counter and watch their meal being made, which makes some customers feel more comfortable that their meal is fresh and clean. Once your meal is ready, they call your order number on the intercom. Then you pick up your trendy looking tray of food and choose a seat. There is almost always a seat available at Panera, except for the rare days that are very crowded and the customer must wait shortly for a seat to become available. All of Panera is non-smoking, so smokers must go outside or wait until after the meal to smoke. The meal had great taste and variety and the bread was very fresh. After the meal, you throw away your trash and put your tray and silverware next to the trash can to be cleaned. Leaving the restaurant, the employees will sometimes tell you to have a nice day as you walk by. And then you enter the busy road of Huffman Mill once again.
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Posted by mightyoaks on February 4th, 2006 — Posted in Pubs, Quick Food, Sports
Satisfaction’s, at 905 W Main St in Durham, has a very collegey atmosphere. They’re open for almost every sporting event, and typically have a couple running on their big screens at every visit.
I go predominantly for their pizzas, which have a great medium-thickness crust, and a solidly tomatoey sauce which isn’t too sweet. Their toppings list includes such diverse choices as Bleu Cheese, Bacon, Anchovies, Pineapple, and Pepperoni, along with about 15 others.
They also have an extensive selection of sandwiches and burgers, which several fo my friends have enjoyed, but I haven’t sampled yet. Their appetizer menu is about what you’d expect for a sports spot: everything’s deep fried, and if you like mushrooms, I can’t recommend their fried mushroom appetizer enough… just be sure to let them cool a bit before you eat them.
Their drink and beer menu is extremely long (with over 100 mixed drinks listed), and reasonably priced. I generally find that I can spend under $15 for an appetizer, split on a pizza, and soft drink for myself.
It’s probably not a place you want to go every day, and it can get loud when a major sporting event is on TV, but overall I recommend it to any pizza-loving college student.
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