I'll leave comments on other aspects of this SDC to Lawrence. All I will say is that I thought the pizza and appetizers were pretty average. It wasn't awful: certainly better than a Gatti's. But I don't see any sense in coming here, unless you live or work very close by. It isn't a destination pizza place.
Decent pizza in a chain restaurant with a utilitarian decorating scheme (plus big screen TVs for sports). More a neighborhood joint for packs of screaming little leaguers than someplace you'd make a special trip to.
Can't recommend it as a destination, mainly because trying to navigate the nightmarish maze of construction along I-35 filled me with the urge to commit painfully violent homicide on whoever was in charge of planning it. ("Hey, let's close down the northbound and southbound frontage roads near 1325! That will drive them crazy!") I'm going to completely write off trying to eat anywhere in the I-35 corridor north of Parmer for the immediate future.
Yet another generic pho/bun place, with incredibly greasy fried spring rolls.
The last time we ate here, this was a Pho Cong Ly. This time around, it's called Pho Van. Otherwise the cheap prices and minimal interior decoration are pretty much unchanged. And the food?
Pretty good, actually.
Though the eggrolls aren't in the same league as those at Kim Phung, they are definitely above average and considerably cheaper. My grilled chicken bun (vermicelli) was good, if not exceptional, and my grilled pork sandwich was very tasty indeed, making it an astonishing deal for $2.95, and better than the last Vietnamese sandwich I had at Tam Deli & Cafe. Plus the service seemed quick, and the language barrier wasn't any worse than average for a pho joint.
Zilch in the way of atmosphere, but good, cheap Vietnamese food.
This week, my family was celebrating a birthday at The Melting Pot. I can say that the people at the Melting Pot treated us very well indeed: they brought out chocolate for the birthday girl, and, at the end of the meal, even brought out a complimentary glass of champagne for all of the adult members of the birthday party. (The non-adult members also got a little something special, minus alcohol.)
I know what you're thinking: did I fire six shots, or only five? No, wait, what you're actually thinking is "Why don't you guys do an SDC there?" Maybe. At some point. The problem is that the logistics of the Melting Pot make a normal size SDC tough: I felt slightly cramped with five adults and three kids. Six or seven adults might be more difficult to make arrangements for. There's also a price factor, and a reservations factor. It is in the back of my mind to do an SDC there, but I think that will have to wait until circumstances come together. In the meantime, I think The Melting Pot is well worth trying, but you may be better off with a couple or two couples.
And, this weekend, we were attending a fall party at the stately facilities of KR Training, hosted by the always gracious Karl Rehn and Dr. Penny Riggs. My thanks to them both.
See the logs for September of 2006.