We have all seen the ads and heard the hype, Wendy’s–for the octillionth time–is making a run at the breakfast crowd. Since we are under house arrest unless you are going to work, school, the grocery store, the pharmacy, getting alcohol, or getting take-out so I figured I would try Wendy’s. I checked online to peruse the options, and most of the items looked pretty good!
Ambiance: Well it was take-out only, so, it’s going to be a low score. Damn the Chinese and their BAT SOUP!!!!!!! But actually, the inside of this newly renovated Wendy’s was actually quite nice. We’re talking close to a Starbucks type vibe here. I could see myself…well not really hanging out here for a long length of time. Still 3.3/5, its actually pretty nice inside.
Wendy’s Breakfast Baconator
Food: The menu had a nice selection; biscuits, sandwiches, a burrito (weird for a place headquartered in Ohio). After careful consideration, I settled on the Breakfast Baconator Combo, consisting of a burger bun, 6 strips of bacon, a sausage patty, 2 slices of cheese, an egg and Swiss cheese sauce. It came with potato wedges, coffee, and a free Honey Butter Chicken Biscuit. So, I get all 2,000 calories for breakfast, wow. Price point was a little high for my liking but that’s ok when you account for the free sandwich. The honey butter chicken biscuit was outstanding, like on par with Chick-fil-A. Actually, really good. Also, the potato wedges were seasoned perfect, again very good, coffee is coffee. The Breakfast Baconator though, was way too much, everything competed. The sausage was over seasoned, so it fought the bacon, and the egg, the burger bun was wild and out of place, and the Swiss cheese sauce was overkill. I would go 3.5 on the breakfast; I would order the biscuit and the wedges for sure.
Wendy’s Chicken Biscuit
Overall: It’s a fast food joint, so it’s graded on a lower end curve. The place was nice, the people were surprisingly friendly. The food came out way too quick for my liking, almost like it was sitting from earlier. (I was there at 6:45, I ordered to go from inside). I really liked that biscuit though. 3.4/5, I think the menu is here to stay, and it’s not bad.
William put me on assignment last night to watch cable news reaction to all things coronavirus, so I pirated a neighbors signal and binge watched. It quickly became clear to me after about 10 minutes why we, as a people, are so riled up by this virus. Notable to me was the rant by Tucker Carlson.
Tucker was on a tear about how the government is lying to us, this is going to get way worse, and China is cutting off all pharmaceutical drugs and surgical masks to the USA.I switched over to CNN and basically got the same thing, but with the caveat that it was all Trump’s fault.MSNBC? The same. Americans are perishing left and right. They sounded like they were live streaming the invasion of the body snatchers redux. The cable channels all had a “running ticker” showing all the sports leagues and colleges who had cancelled games or classes.
I switched to the local news, and one could argue that was worse. The big news was a “ninety year old” woman that died in our hometown….check that, the person was 97, with a myriad of health issues. Also a student at an elementary school had tested positive for this virus, in a sense validating the decision days earlier to cancel school this week. Literally the corona virus was wall to wall coverage on each network. This morning (Thursday), the stock market dropped 10%. Yet these same folks are shocked? In the last 24 hours, we went from sports only being allowed to play in an empty gym, to tournaments and professional leagues suspending or cancelling play. Again….stock market drops….and these same folks are questioning why the panic?
So being a real journalist, I went out and asked a few people I interact with in the medical field what their thoughts were on this.
First a paramedic: He had this to say, If you are under 70, and have no health issues, there is a very good chance you won’t even know you had it. You would chalk it up to a regular cold/flu bout. He added, just take a day or two off work, drink lots of vitamin C, and in a couple days you will be fine. The media influenced this freak out, and it’s been devastating to watch.
Randolph Mantooth Emergency (1972 – 1979)
Second, an ER nurse: She had this to say: Crisis overblown, by epic proportions.She told me they get about 200 folks a day walking into her ER saying they think they have corona virus because they coughed a few times. As such, none under the age of 60 get tested, for obvious reasons. Like she says, now every jabroni comes in here looking for a free test, and after about 5 hours of waiting they leave. Because we have limited test kits and quite frankly we have to ration them for the most likely to test positive. Overall she said it’s not a big deal unless you are older, and have a bunch of health issues.
Julie London Emergency (1972 – 1979)
Now contrast that to events that took place in our hometown last 5 days. School cancelled on a Saturday for this week. Oh, but you can come by and grab your students free meal program…I’m not sure how this is any different from holding class as far as exposure goes. Then the district cancelled athletics, leaving perennial power Sheldon High out of the NorCal basketball finals. Then there was a change of heart on Tuesday, the game was played, on the road, Sheldon winning. Fast forward to Thursday, CIF State Executive of High School Athletics Ron Nocetti decided to be the white knight and cancel all basketball playoffs. Yeah, what a blunder. The only thing that changed over 48 hours was the NBA cancelling their season.
Ron Nocetti
I know Nocetti. He was AD at Jesuit when I went there. This is very typical for an empty suit like him. He doesn’t want to be wrong, so he just jumped on the pile, following the lead of his other “peers.” It’s a total disaster, and yet those same people don’t get why the stocks are down?
Folks let me tell you what this is really about, it’s not about the kids, or healthcare, or politics. It’s about media ratings and lawsuits. This story keeps your eyes glued to the cable news shows, who turn around and sell ad time based on your eyeballs. Ratings drive the news, that’s why its stock losses, shootings, and corona virus. Secondly, these cancellations (Disney just announced by the way) are all about not being sued. Imagine they keep the park open, you take the family and someone gets this disease, and happen to visit grandma in the nursing home…grandma expires, and coronavirus is to blame…lawsuit. NO one wants that…look the NCAA forfeiting 100’s of millions cancelling March Madness, look at Disney, High School Athletics, what about all the pro sports leagues….again….lawsuits, the deep pockets are playing CYA. Why else would they be so quick to cancel? A bunch of colleges have kicked the students out of the dorms until further notice…essentially saying you can grab a couple items….then GIT!
John Edwards–former trial lawyer and failed presidential candidate
Think about this for a minute, you cancel classes for the kid’s, the adults didn’t have work cancelled, so junior went to hang out with all his school buddies….likely transferring this virus! A college who cancelled classes, the students had a drunken modern Woodstock on frat row…again likely a good place to transfer this virus….so may I ask, why are we cancelling class and these games again? Folks we live in an era where social media tells us get out and go out with friends….not stay at home and avoid this thing, the virus is going to keep spreading.
I’m not scared, and I’m not changing my lifestyle. I am in perfect shape and am very active. I also work a public facing job. I practice good hygiene, and eat a balanced diet consisting of mostly meat, fruit and veggies. You only live once and why should I change my life to fit a narrative being parroted by the media?
Fit and fearless just like Johnnie Does
Also, regarding the stock market, while you were panic selling these last 10 days, I’ve been scooping the shares up at a discount. I believe Buffett and his ilk are doing the same, laughing all the way to the bank and counting their earnings. The economy is strong, still chugging along, it’s a sell induced panic that’s all, try to remember that. Big blue chip companies don’t go out of business, you know who does during these times? Elon Musk, and weak tech companies like Facebook.
Johnnie Does
PS The same people who call the millennials a bunch of snowflakes are the ones who are pretty woke right now…just saying… Most of us aren’t worried about this virus. The flu this calendar year alone has killed 18,000 people…this virus….41.
Folks, it is amazing how a virus originating in China can literally put people’s minds into a pretzel. 90 day guy came into the office today, you guessed it, Lysol Wipes, hand sanitizer and rubbing alcohol in hand. He said his wife forced him to bring all this to the office….I called BS. He said we should buy surgical masks, and discuss our interactions with the public, keep in mind we may get 12 people a month in the office. This is a typical overreaction from a cable watcher.
To be clear the views expressed on this blog in regard to cable are not entirely bad, frankly if you wish to pay to consume it each month, by all means. We just warn here that the job of cable (including Fox News BTW) is to gin up emotions and get people to react irrationally. Look at the events of the past 72 hours in our local city. Elk Grove Unified cancelled all classes and athletics, keep in mind nary a student had tested positive for this virus! Keep in mind the teachers were upset, but the only parental dissatisfaction were parents of the Sheldon High Men’s Basketball team scheduled to play tonight in the playoffs! I’m not bagging on the parents at all, actually they are the most rational people in this situation. Funny thing is, I saw many students of Laguna Creek High congregating and mingling with the public near my office at a local Target today! The horror! Yep can’t attend class, but they are out and about doing what kids do!
The sad thing is at the time of the editorial deadline for this article only 22 people have died in the US from this virus. I say only because the media and local educators are making this thing sound like the Spanish Flu (originating in China too BTW). Of the 22 dead, 15 occurred in the same nursing home in Washington State. We have had 2 cases in Sacramento County, 1 in Elk Grove, there has been 1 death in Placer County….an older man, just like the others who have passed away. Yet we cancelled classes for a week. Santa Clara County cancelled events with attendance over 1000, so the San Jose Sharks will play 3 games with no attendance? The Ivy League has cancelled their basketball tournament. MLB, NBA, and NCAA are considering what to do about their respective sporting events, with MLB and NBA kicking the press out of the locker rooms.
This type of overreaction is befuddling to me. However I have come to expect it. I call it “Hurricane Katrina Risk” meaning you cannot under deliver so you must over react. Why are we cancelling school, when we had 0 positive tests? Telling people not to go to games? Stockpiling food, water, toilet paper, and sanitizer? Come on man! Yet you all wonder why the stocks have been crashing?
Here is some straight talk on this; Corona is very similar to a cold, most likely you are going to contract it. My advice, stay vigilant, maintain good hygiene, and keep your immune system strong. The reality is; I work in a building with a bunch of dentists, its business as usual for them. Ditto at my bank, the restaurant I went to dinner at, the gym, and church. You are far more likely to die from the common cold or the flu, than this virus. Here we are wanting everyone to batten down the hatches and not go outside, and at this time there is nothing to be scared of unless you are elderly, or have health issues. Over reacting is not going to solve our fears here, it just makes it worse. How will you react if this virus kills more people?
Just to give you more anxiety, I heard today the Corona Virus can live in toilet paper, and I heard its transferrable in packages delivered by Amazon. No word on if UPS, USPS, and FedEx are in on the conspiracy.
Johnnie Does
BTW 90 day guy hit the golf links the past 2 days…..with the public. If he is so scared of catching this, I would think a controlled environment is far better than an uncontrolled one. Oh well.
Editor’s Note: This article was submitted yesterday, before Sheldon High School won their playoff game. Also, after this article was submitted, a report was published that an elderly person living in a senior facility in Elk Grove had died from Corona. The elderly woman was over 90 years old and had underlying health conditions.
I recently had a friend of mine who reads this blog ask if I “ever have any fun in my life, and what my future looks like?” This person referenced that the blog here hates debt, and apparently no one on the editorial staff will spend a dollar, on anything. This is complete and utter malarkey. What we are doing on this blog isn’t pointing out you should be eating a diet of ramen every day, we are pointing out that life should be lived within your means, but also with an eye toward the future. No one on this blog is a financial advisor who believes in telling clients not to take trips or have fun, while they live the good life. I’ll explain further below.
Sadly today we live in a world of illusion where style is far more important than substance. We as a society tell people to splurge on unneeded things constantly. We no longer view a pay check as revenues earned, we view it as a means to pay our monthly bills, and that is the wrong approach. We run everything through the credit card under the guise of a 1% cash back, or the 30 day terms. We see a red tag that proclaims “sale” and feel compelled to buy. The blog posts on this site have nothing to do with hoarding your money, buying gold, or locking yourself in your house and refusing to part with it. It is about planning for a very uncertain future, no one has a crystal ball, and things can change very rapidly as we have learned with the Coronavirus and its direct impact on the stock market, and global/domestic travel.
Case number 1: The former girlfriend who works 3 hours a day, takes 2 classes a semester at a local junior college. She is always broke well prior to the end of the month. After a little uncovering, the main culprit was marijuana. In a close second, credit card debt, and late car payment fees. All of this is a result of a general lack of drive and care towards her future, keep in mind she is 30. Her most important and immediate goal is getting stoned. Her intermediate goal is getting married and having kids, sounds like career advancement is on hold indefinitely.
Case number 2: The alcoholic guy we detailed some time ago. Never has any money, and is subletting a bedroom in the house he rents so he can make ends get close to meeting. While he never has money to buy food, or pay his debts, he has an endless supply of wine that would make a winery jealous. This person is on his 4th DUI in his 80 years on this earth and has recently been banned from drinking at church functions from 2 church groups. Most folks dream of their golden years traveling or relaxing, he lives his stumbling and stammering.
Case number 3: The guy who is 75k in credit card debt, in addition to his other bills as detailed here. He has champagne taste on a beer budget and wants a bailout. He is very desperate now and likely to lose both cars, and his house, and possibly his marriage. Keep in mind he has 2 young children to boot. His life is very similar to a bad car wreck, you know you shouldn’t look, yet you can’t take your eyes off of it.
Case number 4: A guy I have known since college, he got his now wife pregnant, and their kid is very special needs. He just recently wrapped up his degree, they got married, they have no income as she must stay home with child, and he is an intern…at age 33. Credit card debt? You guessed it, and they live in a bedroom at his parent’s house.
Case number 5: A person I’ve also known since college. Student loan and credit card debt, a 33% vehicle loan, every add-on imaginable, because well you only live once, and works a zillion hours a week at a theatre. I call her “red tag lady” because she needs to buy something everywhere she goes, and the only concept of a budget she has is when her card is declined, that means she needs to pay toward it. Case in point. We went out to dinner and keep in mind our coupon included enough food for 2, she decided to add on an appetizer and order take-out bacon fried rice on top of what amounts to a pretty large meal to begin with. A $45 coupon quickly turned into an $85 meal, with no alcohol included by the way. The most important thing in her life is finding a boyfriend right now, or as I call it a bailout.
Case number 6: A fellow church goer. Major health issues, all of them self-induced, fast food is a staple of the families diet, as in three times a day every day. He refuses to work, forcing his wife to labor almost all hours of the day. Credit cards? Check. High Interest loans? Check. A massive drug addiction? Check, he blames it on opioids. He is a hopeless case.
Now contrast that to myself.
I worked very hard at my job, a boutique office with just 1 colleague. Drove a 14 year old car until it finally decided to cry uncle, saving me a pant load on car insurance and car payments. I learned to cook, and budget at a very early age, and had to bite the bullet and live at home for about 3 years after college while I found my career and learned a budget. While I may have hit the bottle a bit (a habit I’ve since kicked) I learned quite a bit during my time at home. I banked money, and invested in myself. I learned everything about the industry I worked in, almost obsessively. By year 3, I was going to take the test to start my own business with this industry, I passed, becoming the youngest ever. 2 years later I applied for and was accepted to take over someone’s office who was retiring, I was elated, maybe a bit scared but elated. My office partner (boss) took me out to lunch and said I can’t believe I’m going to lose you, but I’m going to make you an offer you can’t refuse. He made me partner and my cut is 49% of the business after tax income, he is still the owner, and a majority one at that. I agreed, and my life has changed big time since that date. I bought my house 5 years ago, and am making double payments to reduce my mortgage (I don’t call a mortgage debt) and while I had to buy a new car, I chose to lease and the terms are 0%. I have no debt and never had any. I may pay with credit cards but I pay in full each month. I started my Roth IRA at 25, and at present its value is about $75,000. I also have a stock “mad money” account valued around $75,000. This is in addition to about $15,000 in emergency savings which will only be tapped to pay bills. Keep in mind I’m 34. I have traveled to a bunch of different states and take several trips a year.
Conclusion: Contrast me to the 6 cases named above, it’s not an exercise in tooting one’s horn. It’s about knowing a need versus a want, and being meticulous and sticking to a budget. Make yourself indispensable and you will reap the rewards. Praying over decisions and not making rash one’s helps a ton as well. I work in an industry and in a field that is going the way of the dodo bird, hint it’s similar to a travel agent. I know this job will not be there for me… I’m preparing…just like you should be doing for the next recession/political risk. Trust me, banks play fast and loose with credit/financing during boom years, when things go bust they do not play nice. To tie this all together, the 6 cases named above? One claims to be a Republican, the other 5….they all support Bernie, hoping that you and I will be bailing them out. Lather. Rinse. Repeat.
Johnnie Does
PS. The new boat/car/jet ski’s etc. that you had to have fresh off the dealer’s lot; someone else will be buying those off you for a song if a recession hits as hard as I think it will. That someone is likely to be a guy like me who has saved up money during the good times. In the end, that boat/jet ski/car you just had to have but only took out a handful of times will be forfeited and given to another.
MacQue’s is a local family owned BBQ joint which recently expanded into Elk Grove, from their humble beginnings in South Sacramento. The joint is located right by a freeway, so it has prime real estate. Being born in the Deep South, I am a big BBQ guy. Frankly I consider BBQ a basic food group. I’ve previously reviewed two BBQ places on this blog during my employment here, just to remind you, one of which is no longer with us. William said the first lady, and child went and weren’t impressed. I figured that was why my reimbursement request was denied for this place…alas here goes.
Ambiance: This place really isn’t that big. If memory serves correct, it was a former Mexican restaurant and florist which was reconstituted to be an Arby’s/MacQue’s, and Golden 1 ATM. It had some nice flare to it, a little homage to BBQ, but not much about their local roots. This was puzzling to me because younger folks have shunned chain places and a growing number of people are willing to pay a little more for a local joint, especially a family owned one! You order at the counter similar to a fast-casual joint, and it was a disorganized mess. 1.2/5
Food: Typical BBQ faire, ham, pork, tri-tip, brisket, chicken, ribs, and homemade links. It reminded me of Dickey’s or Side Burn (RIP), because you could order combo’s, sandwiches, etc. The sides were consistent with any other BBQ joint. I asked the cashier, who doubled as the owner, what the best thing on the menu was, he stated the “Link Trio.” It was priced at $14.99. He claimed the links were all made in house from a special recipe and I could choose 3! I obliged. He said it comes with a chicken Louisiana link, a hot link, and a house made link. When I asked what choice, I got…he responded you want the house made link to be mild or hot…. I ordered hot. He recommended I try the house made kettle chips, and the mac n cheese, I obliged. You pay, take a seat and wait…. wait…. wait…. wait… and guess what? More waiting.
MacQue’s Mac ‘n Cheese
About 20 minutes later the food was out. I figured it has to be good…. nope. The Mac wasn’t bad, mostly because, as William said in his review, it was not drowning in cheese. The kettle chips were very stale, like expired 3 weeks ago stale, even though the owner claimed they were being freshly cooked…yikes. But wait it gets worse. The homemade links…. literally trash. They had a vinegar and pasty-like dry taste. Sausage shouldn’t taste this way, all three were awful, like I threw away half of it.0.5/5
MacQue’s Sausage 3 ways–all bad
Overall: Yikes, this was horrible. I guess there is a reason it shares a parking lot with an Arby’s and a Big Lots, it was awful.Actually, KFC may be the best food in the shopping center which isn’t saying much. First get your employees to grab a bag of Kettle Brand Chips, hit ’em with some seasoning and claim they are yours own, at least they would suck a little less. The sausage…woof, drop from menu, it tasted like the rations provided by the government calledSoylent Green. Trust me your sausage is just like that movie…straight to DVD.0.7/5
For a far better use of your money, light it on fire, or flush down nearest toilet.
And OMG the waste. I literally filled up a dumpster with all the plastic that came with my meal…. the folks in Davis and Berkeley have never been so triggered.
A brand new place, Sunshine BBQ Express, opened not far from my office that rivals the L&L Hawaiian BBQ joint I loved so much. To refresh you, its Hawaiian style BBQ and rice, macaroni salad etc. Johnnie Does has quite an established palette and has grown to enjoy Hawaiian BBQ. As all the loyal readers know, Johnnie Does can show no mercy if he doesn’t like your food, or he could serve as a springboard going forward.
Ambiance: This place is very small and may hold about 35 people inside. It’s your typical order at the counter and your food will be brought to you place. It’s quaint and has some cool décor on the walls. There was a bar type area to sit at that appeared out of place, as no liquor was on the menu. The owner said they had been open a month and they tried out a chipotle type cafeteria concept at first, which they later removed and put all cooking back in the kitchen as opposed to cafeteria style. 4.1/5
Sunshine BBQ Express–photo from Yelp
Food: It’s a very similar concept to L&L. They offer BBQ beef, short ribs, chicken, shrimp, fish products and spam. They also have a house special soup. The plates come with a scoop of white rice (not sure if brown was available as a sub) and a scoop of macaroni salad. I had something catch my eye, island fire shrimp, so I had to have it. It was a very generous portion, usually priced around $9.95, there had to have been about 20 some odd small shrimp, cooked with onions, a sweet and hot sauce and some broccoli and cabbage in addition to the rice and mac salad. This dish was amazing! The spicy sauce was a great pairing with the creamy, cool mac salad! 4.9/5
Island Fire shrimp–photo by Johnny Does
Overall: Prices are on point. It is a very small joint. I’m happy they transformed to a “cook after ordered” as opposed to a cafeteria style joint. The menu is a little hard to read on the wall, but the staff was great and the owner was working! I’m going to be a regular here and I’m looking for big things going forward! 4.75/5
Only drawback, it shares a parking lot with Foods Co. That shopping center often has a clientele that leaves a LOT to be desired. The address is 7501 W. Stockton Blvd across from Consumnes River College.
The moment you have all been waiting for is finally here….no Trump was not impeached; it is the best chicken sandwich award. With Popeye’s introducing their own delicacy and claiming to be better than Chick-fil-A, only one man could decide for all Americans, and as a result the Blog Father sent Johnnie Does out and about for this mission critical challenge. (Sadly, the Blog Father did not provide the funding to Johnnie Does to perform this vital public service, so this resulted in a delay in finishing my survey. OK, that and I must watch my sodium intake.)
The challengers: Chick-fil-A, Popeye’s, Jack in the Box, McDonalds, Carl’s Jr, Burger King, and Wendy’s.
Results are as follows:
Jack in the Box is vile trash, likely only viewed as a delicacy by the homeless.
Jack in the Box Chicken Sandwich
McDonalds was just slightly better; however, they are releasing a new sandwich this year so who knows? Meanwhile, I would avoid both of those spots.
McDonald’s Chicken Sandwich
Burger King was not exactly great, but the chicken with the mayo, lettuce, and tomato was a decent call.
Burger King Chicken Sandwich
Wendy’s was pretty good, especially the spicy chicken sandwich… and I would most definitely recommend it.
Wendy’s Chicken Sandwich
Carl’s Jr was the best of this lot, and I feel it’s because it was prepared after being ordered…the others gave off a hint of being pre-prepared.
Carl’s Jr. Chicken Sandwich
But let’s not kid ourselves this challenge was between Chick-fil-A the “greatest of all time” and the new kid on the block Popeye’s. Some said WWI was the war to end all wars…I think this was an allegation by Popeye’s to divide families. Alas a champion was crowned.
For starters; both are served in an envelope to keep the sandwich nice and warm…as opposed to the competition just wrapping them in “paper.” Both sandwiches are served as a boneless, skinless chicken breast fillet, with pickles on a steamed bun. This is where the similarities end, Popeye’s comes with either regular or spicy mayo, and thick cut deli pickles. Chick-fil-A has thin cut pickles and does not come with mayo; however, in true southern fashion, they butter the roll. Popeye’s chicken is fried more traditionally and has a “popcorn like” breading whereas Chick-fil-A has no breading at all.
Popeye’s Chicken Sandwich
The winner: Chick-fil-A… mostly for one reason, Popeye’s puts an alarmingly high amount of mayo on the sandwich, even if you request light mayo, its wild. I enjoyed the Popeye’s sandwich, but the amount of mayo was very off-putting.
Chick-fil-A Chicken Sandwich
So, there you have it, the greatest of all time retains the title belt!
Loyal readers, I have heard it all during my short couple years here at the blog as a restaurant critic. I’m too harsh, not harsh enough, we even had a comment from a local franchisee trying to defend his now defunct chain of BBQ joints. I have driven up sales at a local Mediterranean place, and driven one place completely out of business, let’s just say, do not mess with me or take me lightly.
I want to re-visit my last review of a new Mexican place, Gorditos! To update you, they now have a sign so they appear quasi legitimate, and while the décor is still completely lacking, and the chairs are still stacked in the corner, the fact they were still open for business as of today is an accomplishment. Either that or the landlord hasn’t had enough time to legally change the locks for non-payment yet.
Now to the point of this article, I checked out Gorditos’ reviews on Yelp. While I am aware that Yelp can be manipulated, and you are far more likely to write a bad review then a good one, but take a gander.
Gorditos summary per Bing
Yep, just look at those reviews.
Confused ••• this was the Freebirds building, .. but now its Gorditos? which still has all of the Freebirds decor and food? Except the standard dropped way lower? Whoever the new owner Is needs to reevaluate. Everything feels dead in there. The vibe and customer service is completely gone. only some of the food options, the building is tore up and just isnt welcoming, Oh and not to mention the awkward silence of having no music. Alo they have a huge beyond meat sign on there window but yet they dont serve beyond meat? Im completely at a loss for words that our beloved Freebirds is gone and that THIS was supposed to be its replacement…its a joke. Not recommended.
Yeah um the second I walked in it was bleak and the environment is no fun at all. It would be fine tho if my food was good. Spoiler alert! It wasn’t. The steak was burnt. They scraped the hard as hell rice into my burrito. The guacamole was brown. My tortilla wasn’t even cooked all the way!! It was disgusting. I was starving so I ate a third of it but couldn’t even finish. This will make great dog food for my puppy though. I feel like my soul has been sucked out of me after being in there just one of the most draining experiences of my life. And there was literally no one in the restaurant! So how are you running out of product when you have nothing to do?! Absolutely perplexing. 0mg now my stomach is starting to ache after eating that thing. Yeah don’t go here. Run!
This was my first time dining here or should I say attempting to dine here. I was shocked by how expensive everything on the menu was but I still decided to try it out. The restaurant was completely out of white rice two hours before closing and the little steak they did have looked charred and over cooked. I decided to pass on eating here. The friend I came with however, did order a burrito. She said the rice was hard, the meat was burnt, and that she didn’t know you could mess up a burrito. I will not be returning to Gorditos.
They are harsh and mirror my experience to a point; however, I didn’t think the food was that bad. Vindication is greatly appreciated and should lend credence to a lot of my reviews on this blog in the future.
Looks like I might be killing off another very below average establishment.
My 15-year-old Ford with over 178k miles on it finally took a dive. We had a great run, but the prognosis was terminal, in the sense that the repair needed would likely result in a bill north of $3,000, and quite frankly, the car really isn’t worth that much.
I was in a bad spot, I knew this day was coming and I had money saved up, but like they say, the worst time to buy a car is when you are desperate. Of course, advice was given by any and everyone. People suggested “best time to buy is year-end” and “Go to CarMax.” The suggestions were good, but I really needed wheels that day, it was October. I had always driven an SUV and thought I may have wanted something different. Problem is, I did not have time on my hands, I work, I own part of a business. I took some advice and was looking at Toyota Tacoma pickup trucks. They hold their value very well and are far less expensive than their “American” counterparts.
I filled out an online form and instantly it was sent to every dealership within an hour radius from my house. Within about 10 minutes, the emails and calls were coming in like crazy. Merced, Lodi, Elk Grove, Sacramento, Vallejo, Roseville, you name it. I was literally whacking away car salesmen from all corners of the area. It was mentally draining, but in a sense, I was prepared. I knew what I wanted and was able to stick to my guns. This was a key, I wanted a 2018 Tacoma, SR5 double cab, super white color.
2018 Tacoma, SR5 double cab
It is very similar to an SUV, keep in mind I had done some homework and unless my terms were met, I was walking. The salespeople at Vallejo and Merced were by far the most accommodating, but the locations were too far away for my liking. The Lodi guy won me over because he told me, find the best offer and he would match it. So, I went to Elk Grove and puttered around the lot. The sales guy tried talking me into something else, the access cab, which has a single side door for the backseat, in essence a typical truck, a cab, and a bed. I didn’t want it, but he knew best, he was trying to buffalo me, and I said I would go check out the Ford and Chevy lot, both conveniently located across the street. Just to give you an idea of how expensive cars are; the Tacoma ran around $33k sticker price, F-150 and the Silverado ran about 50k sticker, one F-150 Raptor edition ran about 100k, yes for a pickup truck.
I got my best offer from Merced and called down in Lodi. The guy told me, we had a deal and to see him tomorrow at 7pm. I was going to lease the truck, which if you aren’t aware, is similar to renting, you pay virtually no interest since you are taking the depreciation hit. I have a 3-year lease for 12k miles a year, if I decide not to keep the truck in 3 years and the mileage is over 36K, I pay a $.25 a mile overage penalty. Yikes, but it won’t be an issue. You also know the price you will pay at the end of the 3-year lease, and they take care of all the maintenance free of charge. If you so choose, you can be driving a new car every 3 years, the downside is you do have a car payment, which I have never had before. I had gotten counsel from people I knew who had leased and was about to head to Lodi. He called and said we have a problem, no 2018 in Super white, deal was in peril. He said he would get back to me, but they had other colors, I wanted white, not sandstorm or electric blue, or fire engine red. Great! I was desperate for a car and was going to get screwed.
Not so fast, he called back and said they have a 2019 in the aforementioned white, and had all I wanted, he even said he would honor the price, but deal was needed asap. I sped down there, and it had some cool extra features, snakeskin pattern on the seats, some tan upholstery, back up camera and more. I test drove it and shook his hand! Deal! Then the real fun began. I then had to visit the finance department, which promptly greeted me saying only the best buyers get your deal, and it was all subject to a credit check. I felt I would have no issue and I didn’t. The lady remarked that I had an 811-credit score and even knocked a few bucks off the payment. It was done, I left the dealer in my new truck.
The lesson learned is this, I had perfect credit history so in a sense I made the rules. They wanted me; others are not so fortunate. I was in a bad spot, but I came prepared. I knew what I wanted and had the salespeople compete over me. Most get credit terms unfavorable to them, I was lucky. I got what I wanted and my terms, it was a long time coming and I love my truck My advice, I would go through the same online channels I did; that way you deal with an internet sales guy not a typical car sales guy. I feel very blessed as I was in a horrible spot.
I’m back after a short hiatus and am doing restaurant reviews again. The promised chicken sandwich review is coming soon. In the meantime, last Thursday I visited a place not too far from my office. The review came about as I was going to visit Freebird’s (it’s a fast casual Chipotle style place) the Monday prior to Thanksgiving.
As I approached the store, a man was standing in front saying they were closed for remodeling and would re-open after Thanksgiving…odd. So I returned, and I noticed not much difference…the sign was gone, replaced by a hanging banner “Gorditos.”
Freebird’s rebranded as Gordito’s
I assumed this was a name change. An “open” neon sign was lit, apparently saying the shop was open for commerce. I entered the business and was shocked, chairs and tables stacked in a corner, and all Freebird’s signage gone. Actually it was somewhat eerie, no music, no signs, no vibe at all. Ambiance 0/5.
I was stunned to know they had been open a week already, there were 2 employees both clad in shirts saying “Gorditos” but you never would have known if they were seasoned employees or folks off the street.
Food: it’s the same as a Chipotle, but on steroids. They have several additional toppings, and at Freebird’s they made everything in house (more on this in a bit). They serve burritos, burrito bowls, nachos, tacos and quesadillas. I pushed my way down the line, and peered into the kitchen…everything is from a can! Literally, everything…from a can. The brand was First Street, a store brand sold by Smart and Final…I won’t knock this but most foodservice is handled by Sysco or US Foods, it just looked/felt forced; like a business whose franchisee walks away and a couple loyal workers were trying hard to keep things going. That being said my nachos were quite tasty, so 3.1/5.
Overall: A few things going on now here and we will kind of grade on a curve. The place had the ambiance of a morgue, and seemed thrown together. The story was the company was bought out and sold to a new investor. Makes sense because the name change seems odd. The prices were absolutely out of whack; $12.50 for a burrito is nuts, my nachos were $9 so it’s on the very high end for a lunch with no drink included. Those prices will not be well received. The place was empty and it’s very much a work in progress. Overall I give it 1.7/5, but I may do a follow up review in a few months.
