Sunday, May 21, 2017

Review: Wildberry Pancakes and Cafe

Happy Sunday Funday! 

So in full transparency I’m not a huge breakfast eater unless I’m feeling hungover or sick to my stomach.  I’ll usually have soda (but I'm trying to kick that habit) or coffee during breakfast time, and at that point I’ll usually skip to eating during lunch.

But lately we’ve been eating out a lot more (I think I’ve mentioned there are portions of our house that are completely unusable at the moment), and breakfast is one of those meals where we've either gone out or picked something up in order to skip lunch.  I guess our eating habits have temporarily changed since food isn't as accessible at home.

There’s a place in Chicago and the surrounding burbs called Wildberry Pancakes and Cafe, and it's some of the best brunch food I've had.  It's high quality food, you get huge portions, and if you want a coffee they actually have a coffee bar with options outside of a traditional cup of coffee (honey nut toffee latte, turtle mocha, or vanilla berry latte anyone?)

The prices are high for breakfast food, however it tastes so good and you get such large portions that I can look past the prices.

This weekend I got the Homemade Corned Beef Hash with 2 Eggs Over Easy and Cottage Cheese.  I've been a fan of Corned Beef Hash ever since I tried my husband's that he got at a small restaurant in Door County.  It wasn't greasy and had more meat in it than the ratio to hash browns, which I was happy with!


But as you can see, portions are massive.  On top of that, you can choose from a side and I chose the specialty pancakes for an upcharge (I wanted Banana Cream Pie flavored).  I LOVE when restaurants allow you to get a side or a single portion of a specialty item, mainly because many of them are extremely sweet so an individual portion is perfect for that!


But really this pancake was bomb.  It had a brown sugar topping, cream 'pudding' and a whole banana chopped up.  You can't go wrong with Wildberry, and I recommend it highly to anyone looking for a yummy brunch spot with good food!

Takeaways:
  • I don’t think you can go wrong with anything you order from Wildberry.  It’s pricey, but it comes with the territory of great breakfast food.  I’d rather pay for quality when it comes to breakfast!

Monday, May 15, 2017

Review: Olive Garden To Go

Lately our family has been eating out A LOT at restaurants, fast food places, take out...not that we didn't before, but it's been way worse now that we don't have a functioning kitchen.

That being said, we've gotten sick of everything that's close by us so we've ventured into chain restaurant central for take out options.  And we've found a real winner in Olive Garden.

What's great is you literally order what you would at the restaurant, and you get it to go!  That includes the unlimited soup or salad, and the breadsticks, with every meal!

First of all, let's start with the Olive Garden salad.  Yes, I know I don't typically touch vegetables but Olive Garden salad is an exception.  I think it's because it's an iceberg lettuce covered in that awesome Italian dressing with delicious croutons.  But you get a HUGE portion and if one dressing isn't enough to cover your salad, ask for extra at the counter when you pick up your Olive Garden to go.  And if you hate olives or peppers, you can ask for your salad WITHOUT them!


So pretty much I'd say I'm full after this point because the salad is seriously massive and I usually hate leftovers so I try to eat as much of this salad as I can.

Then each meal comes with two breadsticks, and because I'm getting old two breadsticks is enough if I'm having salad, breadsticks, and an entree.  And speaking of entrees, they are also HUGE.  I got the spaghetti with 3 meatballs and dang, that was enough for an extra meal.  Maybe it would have been two if I was that type of person who doesn't eat a lot.


Oh, and to finish off the meal you also get those awesome chocolate mints (Andes mints) that Olive Garden gives away.  So yum.

Takeaways:
  • You have to get Olive Garden To Go!  So. Much. Food.  And you won't miss the fact that you aren't sitting at the restaurant eating unlimited salad and breadsticks.  I would much rather eat it at home in front of my TV watching the cable or Netflix.

Sunday, May 7, 2017

Review: Culver's Frozen Custard Sundae

To caveat, we've been eating out A LOT - way more than normal.  I guess that's what you get when you don't have a functioning kitchen.  But I've been having a lot of fun with it, even though it's not the healthiest thing to do (thank goodness I still have a HIIT fitness membership for weekends).  In the mean time we've been eating a variety of things - like Culver's!

Being from Wisconsin, Culver's was a big deal when I was growing up.  The first time I went there was for dinner before a Packers game with my neighbors.  Then, it became a tradition to drive across town to get a brownie fudge sundae at Culver's with my mom when I had my driving learner's permit.

Now, it's where we go as a family because it's such good food!

Culver's is most famous for I'd say its cheese curds and butterburgers (which I will also be reviewing at a later date) but that being said, when it's nice and sunny we'll go get frozen custard to beat our dessert cravings.

But why is it so good?  Culver's frozen custard is so creamy and smooth - they have 3 flavors: vanilla, chocolate, and the Flavor of the Day.  The Flavor of the Day is typically a vanilla or chocolate custard with toppings mixed in (my personal favorite is Turtle, so be on the lookout for that!).  Today, I got vanilla custard with a hot fudge topping.


What's also great about Culver's is if you like more topping to frozen custard ratio, the 1 scoop sundae gives you the most toppings for your money.  And toppings galore, they have so many - candies, nuts, fruits, or hot fudge, caramel, marshmallow sauce, or even peanut butter!

And they have a huge variety of menu options for their frozen custard.  Don't want a specialty sundae or build your own?  They also have shakes, malts, and concretes (sort of like a McFlurry).

Takeaways:
  • Culver's butterburgers and cheese curds really satisfy my 'Wisconsin' craving.  But with the dessert craving hits, a nice cold bowl of frozen custard is just what the doctor ordered.