RESTAURANT: The Cheesecake Cafe, Lethbridge, Alberta

RESTAURANT: The Cheese Cafe--Bakery, Restaurant

LOCATION: 904--2nd Avenyue S., Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada

HOURS OF OPERATION:
Monday - Thursday
11:00 a.m. - 11:00 p.m.
Friday & Saturday
11:00 a.m. - 1:00 a.m.
Sunday
Sunday Brunch: 10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.

ONE OF THE DATES WE VISITED THE RESTAURANT: 07-23-05

PRICE RANGE: Moderate

FAVORITE FOOD: Turtle Cheesecake. On each piece of turtle chesecake, there is a cute little crunchy Chocolate turtle.

My piece of cheesecake was so huge that I gave half of it away. Then I gave half of that half away. It tasted wonderful, but I could not eat all that!

OTHER GREAT FOODS: Soup and sandwich special. Potato skins

MOST OUTSTANDING FEATURE: Outstanding cheesecake--several flavors

SPECIALS: Vary—call for current ones and check the website: http://www.cheesecakecafe.ca/allabout.htm

APPEARANCE: The Cheesecake Cafe is tastefully decorated.

SERVICE: Courteous, pleasant, efficient

COMMENTS: Excellent food. I'd love to return.

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RESTAURANT: JR's Place Restaurant, Simsboro, LA

RESTAURANT: JR's Place Restaurant; Thu/Fri—5-9 & Sat—11 AM-9 PM

LOCATION: 2721 Martha Street; Simsboro, LA 71275; 318-247-6007

ONE OF THE DATES WE VISITED THE RESTAURANT: 7-23-05

PRICE RANGE: $4-$22

FAVORITE FOOD: BBQ pork loin

OTHER GREAT FOODS: Baked beans

FOOD WE LIKED LEAST: JR's Place doesn't have any mediocre food.

MOST OUTSTANDING FEATURE: barbecue, and steaks; Warm family atmosphere with
excellent service.

SPECIALS: Vary by the week. Call for the current ones.

APPEARANCE: Neat and clean

SERVER: Matt

SERVICE: Excellent, warm, and attentive

UNIQUE FEATURES: Consistently delicious food and excellent service.

COMPLIMENTARY RECIPE: (See their site www.JRsPlace.biz)

COMMENTS: We went in the middle of Saturday afternoon. That is a wonderful time. The atmosphere was quiet and relaxed, but the food was just as delicious.

They have some of the best barbecued pork ribs anywhere! They have a great catering trailer for off-site service and will open other times for groups.

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RESTAURANT: McDonald's, Cut Bank, MT

RESTAURANT: Cut Bank McDonald's

LOCATION: 601 West Main Street, Cut Bank, Montana, 59427

THE DATE WE VISITED THE RESTAURANT: 07-21-05

PRICE RANGE: Low

FAVORITE FOOD: Bacon Ranch Salad with Crispy Chicken, which, according to McDonald's chart has only 340 calories. (Oops! That does not include the salad dressing.) The salad was tasty.

OTHER GREAT FOOD: Fruit and Yogurt Parfait, which has only 160 calories

MOST OUTSTANDING FEATURE: Courtesy and the ability to handle a minor crisis. Twenty-five people from Louisiana went to Mountain View Baptist Church, Cutbank, Montana, to worship. After church, we popped into MacDonald's to eat lunch in a hurry.

The place was already full of local regulars. The staff had never moved so fast before, but they did an excellent job of taking orders accurately and serving lunch quickly. The staff is to be commended for remaining pleasant.

SPECIALS: Vary--check http://www.mcdonalds.com/
APPEARANCE: Clean

SERVICE: Superb

UNIQUE FEATURES: Although McDonald's is one of the few places to eat in Cutbank, the attitude of the employees is better than that in some places where there is massive competition.


COMMENTS: Excellent salad. Pleasant atmosphere. Maybe I'll go back there someday.

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RESTAURANT: Chili's #1052, Ruston, LA

RESTAURANT: Chili's #1052, 318-242-1134 (call for hours)

LOCATION: 649 N. Service Rd E.

ONE OF THE DATES WE VISITED THE RESTAURANT: 7-19-05

PRICE RANGE: moderate

FAVORITE FOOD: Mushjack Fajitas, Chipotle burger (see COMMENTS below)

OTHER GREAT FOODS: seasoned french fries

FOOD WE LIKED LEAST: N/A

MOST OUTSTANDING FEATURE: N/A

SPECIALS: Vary—call for current ones

APPEARANCE: Clean

SERVER: Porche

SERVICE: Fair

UNIQUE FEATURES: N/A

COMPLIMENTARY RECIPE: N/A

COMMENTS: On this visit to Chili's, we tried sitting close to the entry thinking our service would be more attentive. Unfortunately that was not the case. Our hostess was casually visiting with her friends. Our waitress was missing in action and inattentive when we needed napkins and drink refills. Having had similar service at this Chili's (see blog of 6-6-05) we hope these are isolated problems rather than a failure of management, but management failure is looming as a more distinct possibility.

The burgers were too stuffed and juicy to be handled and eaten "two-handed." They were better handled piece meal with a fork. We went against our previous decision not to order a burger being tempted by the new chipotle burger. Though the flavor was good, we WILL order something else on our next visit due to its unwieldy nature.

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