Friday’s lunch stop was to Cheeburger Cheeburger located at the Tempe Marketplace.  I had seen this place a few times but had never stopped in to check it out.  It is similar to several other 50’s style burger joints, but on a lower scale.  I have never been a fan of restaurants where everything is ordered al a carte.  The burgers all come separate from the side dish.  I believe when I order a cheeseburger it should come with fries.  I shouldn’t have to order them separate from each other.  The cheeseburger was thick which made it runny and the fries were a little less than what is considered warm.  Once they were able to get us seated the service was not bad, and our food came out at the same time.  Cheeburger definitely falls into the category of tried it once, don’t need to try it again.  Overall I was not that impressed with the food and it takes quite a bit of effort to get to Tempe Marketplace.

First Impressions

Cheeburger Cheeburger is one of the seeming hundreds of restaurants clogged into random corners of the remarkably misplanned Tempe Marketplace.  It does not cut a distinctive profile from outside.

The interior decor was obviously swiped from every “retro-style diner” in the universe– some walls around the kitchen, trimmed in stainless steel, superfluous pink neon, and cutesy posters advertising the freshness and variety of the food.

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First Impressions

There’s no debate whatsoever:  Carolina’s is a dive.  The building looks like Depression-era adobe style architecture, painted filthy white and adorned with several red-painted messages announcing their carry-out number, and a cheap-looking pillar sign with the slogan “Best tortillas in town”.

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When I heard our chosen lunch destination on Friday was Waldo’s BBQ in Mesa I was ready.  I have been to Waldo’s before and always enjoy a good pulled pork sandwich.  I had recently visited the new San Tan location and left with a feeling of disappointment, so I was hoping for the Mesa location to make up for my last visit.  It didn’t.  We had a large group and they crammed us into our seats.  We needed one more table to be comfortable.  Just like my last visit the food was not hot.  One of the most important pieces of a BBQ sandwich is the BBQ sauce.  Waldo’s serves there sauce in an iron skillet.  This doesn’t work well with large groups.  I want my own sauce.  I thought about asking the waitress for my own but she didn’t seem to interested in any type of special requests.  Although our waitress was not very friendly she did serve everybody at the same time and kept the drinks filled.  I gave Waldo’s 2 chances and I don’t think they deserve a 3rd.  The eating quarters were crammed, the waitress was unfriendly, and whenever she brought our food she slapped it on the table.  I went to Waldo’s to enjoy my lunch and eat a good pork sandwich; not to be seated and served like a pig in a trough.

We’ve been to Waldo’s plenty of times in the past.  The Web-Op team goes about once every other month.  However, this friday we decided to make it our destination for our end of the week lunch.  It was the same ol’ Waldos experience.

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Last Friday we all piled into Waldo’s BBQ for our traditional weekly lunch. You may remember our trip to Joe’s Real BBQ a while back, but this week it was time for a different BBQ. I’ve always been a fan of Waldo’s BBQ and have always thought of it to be the best place to get BBQ. The reasons are simple - its affordable yet quality food. Other places either have one or the other, high prices or crappy food. Waldo’s got it all right and under control. (more…)

First Impressions

Waldo’s has been on Main, near Greenfield, for as long as I’ve lived in Mesa.  It shares a strangely ancient looking strip mall with a touristy knick-knack shop and a discount tile dealer.

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People usually fit into one of three categories: Those that have tried Indian food and love it, Those who have tried Indian food and have been so put off by the new textures and tastes that they hate it, and Those who are so afraid of the foreign-ness of it that they haven’t tried it at all. No matter which one of those groups you are in, I think it’s about time you had the cuisine again…or for the first time.

Guru Palace is located in Mesa, and like many Indian food restaurants, makes it easy for novices by offering a lunch buffet so you don’t have to know the name of something you want to order. If you’re new to the cuisine, just go ahead and get over any misgivings you feel when you see that everything resembles a pudding, a casserole, or a soup. Yes, there is a lot of mushy stuff.

Guru Palace’s buffet offers a good balance of meat and vegetable dishes. I’m a vegetarian and I was able to eat four different varieties offered plus the salad and the desserts. Go ahead and load up your plate because all of the flavors are so varied that you are sure to like at least a couple of them. If you don’t care for one taste, the next dish is sure to be completely different. The important part is that you give it a good go before you make your mind up about if you like Indian food or not.

I loved the buffet at Guru Palace. I thought everything was kept at a good temperature, was presented well, and represented a full range of flavors and ingredients. I’m always a fan of the creamed spinach dish, and Guru Palace’s lived up to my expectations. What I was pleasantly surprised about was the naan offering. Naan is an Indian type of flat bread served with all dishes. Guru Palace offered a regular and garlic flavored variety that I had never tasted before. It was a really tasty twist on the staple bread, and the baskets were refilled frequently when they dipped below the half way mark.

The service was very attentive, our table was waited on by 3 servers…all of which were a little hard to understand, but were pleasant nonetheless. Overall, my experience was great. I would definitely go back to Guru Palace for lunch again.

First Impressions

Guru Palace opened about three months ago at the former site of Khan, a moderately upscale Chinese restaurant, in a strip mall boasting Mesa’s only Trader Joe’s at Baseline and Gilbert.

The interior decor features the large, slightly softly done murals of Indian landmarks typical of the restaurant type, as well as some regional kitsch.  A small “bar-like” area features squat seating in a corner, but the overall impression is slightly knocked down by an unfinished celing revealing ventilation pipes and several strange fabric panels, perhaps dangled to silence echoes.  Strangely, the buffet table, the centrepiece of the lunch operation, is nestled in a corner at the back of the facility.

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A good friend of mine introduced me to Indian food about six months ago.  I was pleasantly surprised that I actually liked the food.  It was sweet, tender and fresh.  Today I had that opportunity once again to enjoy Indian food with people I spend 40 hours a week with.

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