I could still smell it three days later. That hadn’t changed.
Lonestar Texas Grill. This lingering aroma of fajitas on my jacket. The memory of a lunch with the hubby. The refueling station in the middle of a hectic shopping day on Merivale on a Saturday.
The plan was to go to Big Daddy’s Crab Shack in the same strip mall, but it turns out they’re not open for lunch on Saturdays. So we went to feast on some Texan grub instead.
I hadn’t been the Lonestar, as I call it, in years, probably five of them. I was wondering what had changed.
The décor resembled the memories I had of the place: wooden tables and a bar, license plates and photos on the walls, whimsical accents, lots of signs and cowboy and Texas stuff. And the birthday-standing on the chair thing.
We sat down in a big booth and we’re brought the traditional ships and salsa. I’ll admit that I ate most of the first batch of salsa while the hubby went to the bathroom. Come on… All those chips, that tiny little bit of salsa and the big hunger I worked up while shopping! I asked for more salsa while he was still away from the table and it only took a minute to get a fresh supply.
(On a visit with my girlfriends a few weeks later, the manager-type person brought us the Con Queso dip, on the house, to enjoy with the tortilla chips.)
We glanced at the menu, more out of curiosity than anything. We wanted fajitas. One pound, chicken please. We remembered them as The Best In Ottawa. Had they changed over the years?
Along with the sizzling onions, peppers and chicken, warm tortillas were served with an array of delicious toppings: Mexican rice, saddle beans, sour cream, Cheddar cheese, guacamole, Pico de Gallo and shredded lettuce.
Here I demonstrate my fajita wrapping technique. I loaded the center of the fajita with the ‘stuff’ but left some space at the bottom and on the sides… sort of like the letter U of empty tortilla space. Or C depending on how you’re looking at it.
Then I folded up the bottom and then folded in the sides.
The fajita tortillas are made with this machine. Little balls of dough are place in the cup up top on the left, then they’re flattened and I’m guessing they’re cooked as they slide down the ramp.
We sat down in a big booth and we’re brought the traditional ships and salsa. I’ll admit that I ate most of the first batch of salsa while the hubby went to the bathroom. Come on… All those chips, that tiny little bit of salsa and the big hunger I worked up while shopping! I asked for more salsa while he was still away from the table and it only took a minute to get a fresh supply.
(On a visit with my girlfriends a few weeks later, the manager-type person brought us the Con Queso dip, on the house, to enjoy with the tortilla chips.)
We glanced at the menu, more out of curiosity than anything. We wanted fajitas. One pound, chicken please. We remembered them as The Best In Ottawa. Had they changed over the years?
Along with the sizzling onions, peppers and chicken, warm tortillas were served with an array of delicious toppings: Mexican rice, saddle beans, sour cream, Cheddar cheese, guacamole, Pico de Gallo and shredded lettuce.
Here I demonstrate my fajita wrapping technique. I loaded the center of the fajita with the ‘stuff’ but left some space at the bottom and on the sides… sort of like the letter U of empty tortilla space. Or C depending on how you’re looking at it.
Then I folded up the bottom and then folded in the sides.
The fajita tortillas are made with this machine. Little balls of dough are place in the cup up top on the left, then they’re flattened and I’m guessing they’re cooked as they slide down the ramp.
I also bought a 32 oz tub of salsa for $8 and the large bag of tortilla chips for $6 to bring home.
(During the visit with my girlfriends, we shared an Apple Sizzler, which was a slice of sizzlin’ apple crumble pie with toasted buttery oats and honey, topped with vanilla ice cream and homemade butter rum sauce. When we ordered it I told the server I thought it looked like a bedpan. He thought that was the funniest thing ever. Until he came back with the dessert and proceeded to pour the sauce into the pan from 2 feet above. The golden butter rum sauce. That just killed me. I was like, Come on! Seriously! When he realized why I was so amused by this, he cracked up and told his server buddies.
(During the visit with my girlfriends, we shared an Apple Sizzler, which was a slice of sizzlin’ apple crumble pie with toasted buttery oats and honey, topped with vanilla ice cream and homemade butter rum sauce. When we ordered it I told the server I thought it looked like a bedpan. He thought that was the funniest thing ever. Until he came back with the dessert and proceeded to pour the sauce into the pan from 2 feet above. The golden butter rum sauce. That just killed me. I was like, Come on! Seriously! When he realized why I was so amused by this, he cracked up and told his server buddies.
Review:
Well, them fajitas we’re alright, y’all. Not as special as I remember but good nonetheless. The chicken was really tender. I seem to remember the onions, chicken and peppers having more seasoning but they were delicious anyway. I absolutely love their tortillas. We managed to eat 6 fajitas in the restaurant and there were enough filling/tortilla leftovers for three fajitas.
The beans were smokey, tender and not too saucey. There were yummy! We actually ate them all and the server offered us some more to take home with the rest of the leftovers. The rice was nicely cooked and nicely seasoned.
The dish of toppings in my opinion does not have the right ratio to the rest of the tortillas and chicken/onion/peppers. That hasn’t changed. There is maybe 2 tablespoons each of guacamole and Pico de Gallo, 3 tablespoons of sour cream, ¼ cup each of cheese and lettuce. And about 10 tortillas and a pound of meat.
We ordered another dish of toppings and we thought we would be charged for it but we weren’t. I also thought we would be charged for the extra little pot of salsa for the chips and we weren’t. This was a nice surprise.
We were full when we left and I made everyone jealous with the leftovers I brought to work for lunch on Monday. The flour tortillas were probably on their last day because the edges had started hardening but they were fine otherwise.
The GIGANTIC tub of salsa only lasts 3 days. If I would have known that, I would have opted for the smaller container. We ate a lot of salsa with chips in a short amount of time. Again, the ratio was off. After the salsa was gone, I was still left with a chip bag half-full. (It’s always half-full, never half-empty)
The salsa, tortilla chips and tortillas are made fresh everyday. The chips could have a tad more salt, but all three are delicious.
Well, them fajitas we’re alright, y’all. Not as special as I remember but good nonetheless. The chicken was really tender. I seem to remember the onions, chicken and peppers having more seasoning but they were delicious anyway. I absolutely love their tortillas. We managed to eat 6 fajitas in the restaurant and there were enough filling/tortilla leftovers for three fajitas.
The beans were smokey, tender and not too saucey. There were yummy! We actually ate them all and the server offered us some more to take home with the rest of the leftovers. The rice was nicely cooked and nicely seasoned.
The dish of toppings in my opinion does not have the right ratio to the rest of the tortillas and chicken/onion/peppers. That hasn’t changed. There is maybe 2 tablespoons each of guacamole and Pico de Gallo, 3 tablespoons of sour cream, ¼ cup each of cheese and lettuce. And about 10 tortillas and a pound of meat.
We ordered another dish of toppings and we thought we would be charged for it but we weren’t. I also thought we would be charged for the extra little pot of salsa for the chips and we weren’t. This was a nice surprise.
We were full when we left and I made everyone jealous with the leftovers I brought to work for lunch on Monday. The flour tortillas were probably on their last day because the edges had started hardening but they were fine otherwise.
The GIGANTIC tub of salsa only lasts 3 days. If I would have known that, I would have opted for the smaller container. We ate a lot of salsa with chips in a short amount of time. Again, the ratio was off. After the salsa was gone, I was still left with a chip bag half-full. (It’s always half-full, never half-empty)
The salsa, tortilla chips and tortillas are made fresh everyday. The chips could have a tad more salt, but all three are delicious.
The cheese dip was ok. I wouldn't order it again. It tasted like salsa mixed with Cheese Whiz.
The dessert was really good. The oats had a little crunch, the apples were soft and the warm spices were aromatic and delicious. The sauce was good.
There is free parking and the restaurant is wheelchair-accessible.
There is free parking and the restaurant is wheelchair-accessible.
0 comments:
Post a Comment