1) Greg would not steal my knit cap and throw it on the pavement because I wouldn't be wearing one.
2) Chuck could always wear shorts (or possibly parachute pants), which would reduce the number of nether-region follicle tears he experiences during a one-hour period. For the readers' information, today's count was three.
On that note, let's talk about the Red Rock Brewing Company, our lunch destination. I've been to Red Rock several times, but today was the first with a GPaK's Friday Lunch Blog hanging over my head. Needless to say, it was difficult to concentrate. Still, I was able to accurately predict the menu selections of all three of my fellow diners, a skill that will no doubt come in handy if I'm ever in the market for a new career.
I tried, but being frugal isn't easy at Red Rock, especially if you'd like something that doesn't come in a bread pocket (Red Rock eschews the time-honored bun in favor of the pita). Most lunch items cost in excess of $10 and several approach $20 or more. I ordered an Italian sausage personal pizza for $9.99. Red Rock makes its own sausage (so the menu said) and I found it to be reasonably tasty, with just a hint of heat. The pizza was a 10-incher and I ate about three-quarters of it before getting too full to continue. I also made it a point to sample some of Superscrunch's waffle-cut carrots, which were delicious and enjoyable to eat in a kindergarten-y way.The place was almost full and we had to raise our voices several times to be heard over the din, but the surplus of ambient noise had its advantages, too, drowning out many of Wingnut's phone calls. I've enjoyed Red Rock the most when money wasn't an object (i.e., on someone else's dime). If you find yourself in one of those situations, be sure to try some of the available appetizers. The onion rings and mozzarella sticks are both very good; the calamari is too, if you are in to that kind of thing.
Go 'Huskers!
Man-up possibilities: 9
Food quality: 8
Service: 8
Overall: 8
Quotes o' the day:
REMARK: I smell Wings. REJOINDER: You smell yourself?
I'll have a spite salad, with a side order of idiocracy.
Diddle-fingers.
I just wet the bed so it forces me to get out.
We'll be the flying doughnut shop.
It's good to be us.
I ordered for the little lady today.
That's a fun way to eat carrots.
It's kind of hard to come up with words when you don't know any.
REMARK: Dude, you need a wax. REJOINDER: Yeah, get one, it's nice.
I can't get down.
It’s probably not fair, but frankly, I’m a little bitter about our visit to Red Rock.
ReplyDeleteNot because the food tasted bad. On the contrary, my Italian sausage grinder included an ample portion of nicely seasoned sausage — just spicy enough, but not burn-your-mouth hot. The fries were good. And the Coke was, well, Coke-ish.
But even though nothing was especially bad, there was a lot about the visit that wasn’t outstanding, either. First of all, why do they serve sandwiches in “pockets” instead of buns? Pockets, pockets, pockets … that’s all you can find on the Red Rock menu. I guess they’re trying to be different, but as Brady said during our visit, nothing really beats a nice toasted bun for a sandwich, whether it’s a burger or a grinder.
Also, I actually ordered the meatball grinder (this was confirmed by everyone at the table), but I was served the slightly more expensive Italian sausage grinder. I didn’t send it back, because I had been waffling (mmmmm, waffles) back and forth about which of the two grinders to order. But contrary to SuperScrunch’s assertion that our server could sense that I really wanted the Italian sausage, I think she just brought me the wrong meal. So that was a bit annoying.
Also also, the fries were good, as I said, but the serving size was tiny. I think I was provided about 12.64 fries. I wanted more, because I’m a pig. So that was annoying, too.
Also also also, the Coke was a bit flat.
Also also also also, the price for this OK, but in many ways annoying, meal was about $16 with tip. Seriously? The ambience of eating in an overly loud pub sure wasn’t worth the extra cost to me.
So like I said, I’m probably bitterer about the visit than I should be. Maybe I just woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning. But in the world of downtown Salt Lake City pub-ish restaurants, I would choose Squatters over Red Rock any day of the week and twice on Sunday. Not that I would go to a restaurant on Sunday, mind you. But there you go.
Man-up possibilities: 8
Food quality: 8
Service: 8
Fizz-o-meter of Coke: 6
Overall: 7.5
I've always enjoyed Red Rock and today was no different. It's not over-the-top fabulous, but it's a solid dining experience and yes a little different.
ReplyDeleteBut I argue that it's good to be different. You can get your sandwich on a bun anywhere. With Red Rock, it's the pocket. I like the pocket.
So I went with the pocket in the form of The Turkey, Cranberry sandwich (large portions of it), stuffed with a little cheese and lettuce (I axed the mayo). I've had this thing probably close to a dozen times over the years and I don't recall such a healthy portion of turkey. It's not the best turkey sandwich ever, but anytime you can add some cranberry to turkey, I'm all ears and mouth.
The sandwich comes with fries or carrot chips and again, because of the uniqueness factor, I opted for something different and went with the chips. A side of ranch is provided for dipping and if you are into healthy (maybe not the ranch part), you can't beat that for a side dish.
I guess I'm the cheap guy of the crew, but my meal, with tip, came to just a shade over $10. That's never bad in my book. Going with watery water helps the cost and also going with the cheapest menu item isn't a bad idea either, but it's still possible to keep your meal to $10 when dining at Red Rock.
Don't forget that if you exit stage middle (don't take the ramp on the north side of the restaurant), you can help yourself to a post-meal mint. Always a plus in my book.
Man-up possibilities: 7.5
Food quality: 8
Service: 8
Water: watery
Overall: 7.5
Doh... I forgot about the educational format of my weekly post. With that fancy intro, I give you SuperScrunch's Word of the Week:
ReplyDeleteProclivity (proh-kliv-i-tee)
noun, plural -ties
natural or habitual inclination or tendency; propensity; predisposition: a proclivity to meticulousness.
Still no Wingnut? Whassup with that?
ReplyDeleteHe's still recovering from a double-bank, triple-comp, write-off weekend.
ReplyDeleteSorry for my delay...two weeks in a row! Ugh! What about GMac??? Where is he? Where are his reviews??? :) :)
ReplyDeleteI ate out both for both lunch and dinner on Friday, so I’d rather write about my dinner experience. Why? Because it’s fun to bash on pushy servers, slow cooks and mediocre food.
The only thing I could add to my unofficial GPaK review of dinner would be ... don’t eat at Hoopers anytime soon. This Midvale brew pub has a long way to go before it even comes close to rivaling Red Rock brew pub.
Lunch with the fellas was very enjoyable at Red Rock
I chose the daily special, the mahi mahi sandwich served inside a pita pocket. This fish sandwich was very flavorful, meaty and tender. And inside the pocket, it stayed warm from the first to the last bite. The pocket also serves another important purpose by keeping in the juices from the sandwich or burger (if you choose another wonderful Red Rock menu item).
My service was fantastic. My meal was exactly how I ordered it, with all sauces on the side and fresh carrot chips. My Diet Coke was never empty, but I never noticed our server, which is always appreciated.
Over the 15 years, Red Rock has continued to serve up excellent food and beverages (for those who choose to enjoy, after work hours). And they now have a second location open in Park City right at Kimball Junction.
Food Quality: 9.5
Service: 9.5
Man-up: 9
Overall: 9.5
Chuck, Chuck, Chuck. You would know Hoppers is narsty if you had read my review lo these many (seriously, I think it was 5 or 6) years ago. Nasty. The best part was, when I talked to the two or three people who had said they LIKED the place, it turned out what they liked was getting mellow on the brewskis. Not exactly the DINING part of the meal, though beer does have some nutritional value.
ReplyDeleteWe've lived two minutes away from Hoppers for 12 years and finally went there last year. Carla found a big fat hair in her sandwich. Nice, eh?
ReplyDelete