Tasty Thursday-Chuck E Cheese

***Disclosure-Sponsored Post.  Any opinions stated are my own based on my personal experience.

My family and I were invited to come taste test the new thin crust pizza at Chuck E Cheese.

Chuck E Cheese is a family friendly place where we like to hang out.  Thanks to Chuck E Cheese, we received a complimentary thin and crispy pizza, 4 drinks, and some tokens.  After placing our order, I got to get a behind the scenes look and watch our order be made.  

First thing I noticed was the fresh ingredients.

Did you know that Gluten free is an option?  Yes, not only do they make their own dough on Sundays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays but they also offer their guests a gluten free option.  Gluten free dough comes in pre-packed.  It even comes with it's on cutting tools.  It is handled separately.  We went with regular dough for our thin crust experience.

 Next is the sauce....spread all over, not one spot missed

Then comes the cheese.  We all love cheese!

Bring on the P-E-P-P-E-R-O-N-I....

Now our pizza is ready to go into the oven....this is the before

4 1/2 minutes later....

Yes, you read that right.  Your pizza is fresh and ready after 4 1/2 minutes in the oven.  Ready to be cut and served for my hungry family.

The pizza was yummy.  We have always liked the pizza at Chuck E Cheese.  I like that they have thin crust now.  Most kiddos don't like eating the crust or any part without cheese or pepperoni.  But clearly you can see, that every slice has cheese and pepperoni.  

We had an awesome time, like always.  Thanks to the Chuck E Cheese on Weslayan for allowing me to step behind the scenes of this location.

Tips-

1)  Go on off peak times so it will not be so crowded.

2)  Don't forget your coupons.  

3)  You can also go online and print reward calendars.

4)  Have fun!  Remember this is the place- Where a Kid can be a Kid! 

*In a blind taste test of 413 respondents, 57% preferred Chuck E. Cheese's Thin & Crispy Pepperoni Pizza to Pizza Hut's® Thin & Crispy Pepperoni.  (© The Pizza Hut name, logos and related marks are trademarks of Pizza Hut, Inc.)

Tasty Thursday-Veggie Patch

***Disclosure-Sample product was received.  All opinions stated are my own based on my personal experience.

Since our family is trying to eat healthy, I am on the look out for healthier options.

 Veggie Patch launched some new products – Roasted Red Pepper Falafel and Moroccan Red Lentil Cakes. 

Trust us, eating your veggies has never tasted this good. And like other Veggie Patch products these new products are also made from real vegetables, high in protein, non-GMO and free of trans fats.

Morrocan Red Lentil Cakes is a blend of red lentils, carrots and zesty spices, each serving is a good source of fiber.

Roasted Red Pepper Falafel is 3/4 serving of vegetables. Chickpeas, red peppers and a unique blend of spices.

 

Veggie Patch products contain 0g trans fat.  It really tasted good.  I was concerned that it was going to taste weird but it was good.  

Next time, you are in the store pick this up.

 

 

Tasty Thursday-Big Lou's Pizza

Have you ever heard of Big Lou's Pizza in San Antonio, Texas?  Well this edition of Tasty Thursday is going to feature a really big pizza...

San Antonio has almost become our second home.  We love traveling there.  Every time we hit town, we want to try a new place.  We are fan's of the DDD, and Man vs Food.  This place was featured on Man vs Food for their 42" pizza.  They started out with a 37" and now have a 42". 

Our family wanted to take the challenge but when we walked in we quickly realized you don't need to go big or go home because at Big Lou's they know how to serve you.  We walked up and told them we have 4 1/2 people and what did they recommend?  We ordered the 20".  We didn't expect such a huge pizza.....

The pizza slices were huge.  This pizza was so delicious.  So cheesy.  My husband order some breadsticks and those were good too.  It was the size of a personal pizza to me.

But we were not the only satisfied customers, grandma and Lil Bit loved it too!

We stuffed our faces and yet we were not able to finish our pizza.  Check out how much we had left:

So glad we decided to try this place out, because this pizza was yummy. 

Tasty Thursday-Lucha Libre Taco

When in San Diego last month, we visited a local taco shop that is unique because it;s theme is Lucha Libre.

We actually passed right by it when we were driving around without even noticing it.  It is right on the corner of this shopping center.  You can order to go or get in line to order in.  Sit outside or indoors.

If you want to sit in the Champions booth, you must reserved it in advance but this whole place is all too cool to be in.  Check out the menu:

My husband and I decided to order 2 different items that we could share and taste a little of everything.  While we waited for our food to come out, we headed towards the sauce and drink station:

The food did not take long to come out.  I got a little bit of every sauce to try.  The carrots were good!

We were stuffed after we ate these food.  It was really good.  The corn is like the street roasted corn in a cup, we should have ordered 2 of these.  There was no evidence left after we finished.  We lucked out because this is a hot spot for locals.  It got crowded as we were leaving.  Who can blame them as this place is affordable and it has tasty food.  If you ever visit, don't forget to check out the restrooms, really cool decor!

Tasty Thursday-Bonefish Grill Katy

Have you ever heard of Bonefish Grill? 

There is a new restaurant in Katy, Texas.  Bonefish Grill located at 2643 Commercial Center Boulevard in Katy’s LaCenterra is now open! The opening kicked off with a charity night on March 2, which raised more than $9,500 for Katy Visual and Performing Arts Center’s Books Alive! Program.  How awesome is that!

I had never heard of Bonefish Grill which originally started in Florida.  Bonefish Grill is not new in there are actually two in the area-Willowbrook and Webster.  And now the Katy one which I was able to go and sample the menu.

About Bonefish Grill
Founded in 2000 in St. Petersburg, Fla., the Bonefish Grill experience is the perfect recipe marrying simplicity, quality and consistency in food, service, ambiance and value. As the "Fresh Fish Experts," Bonefish Grill specializes in market-fresh fish and other wood-grilled specialties. Knowledgeable and attentive Bonefish Grill Anglers (our service staff) provide the best in what we like to call “chef’s coat service.” Our Anglers pride themselves on guiding our guests’ journey through our innovative, seasonal menu and specials, which feature only the highest-quality, freshest ingredients, including traditional and unique varieties of fish and seafood as well as numerous non-seafood items. We combine this with a big-city bar that offers bar fresh cocktails and an affordable, interesting wine list.
Not only can guests enjoy fresh seafood, but this location is also serving a newly added Bonefish Grill perk — Sunday Brunch from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., which includes brunch favorite Créme Brulee French Toast made with Grand Marnier and orange zest, served with mascarpone whipped cream, fresh mint, strawberries and bacon.   My thoughts-I love seafood.  Wait, I love good seafood.  The menu has many options to choose from.  Everything is fresh.  Everything was so flavorful and tasty.  The atmosphere in this place is awesome.  It is a great place to come and enjoy a great dinner with the family.  My sister in law and I had a great time.  Our appetizers included the Bang, Bang Shrimp which has a great sauce, the Ahi Tuna Sashimi which if you are scared to try it like we were DO TRY, Wagyu Beef and Ginger Dumplings which are something totally different to try, and the Saucy Shrimp which has a great combination of flavors.  For our main dish, we shared the Sampler Dinner for Two platter which had a little of everything.  The best side ever is the Potatoes Au Gratin.  Someone at the table ordered the Lily's Chicken which was not something I would have ordered but was good once you try it.  Our salads had the house dressing called Citrus Vinagrette which I really liked.  I have had some really boring Vinagrettes and this is not one of them.  Like we had any room to taste anything else but who could say no to dessert.  Desserts are made to order and boy are they awesome.  I had the GLUTEN FREE chocolate brownie which was so delicious to my taste buds.  My sister in law tried the chocolate creme Brulee which really was a tasty treat that kept me wanting more and more.   If you are looking to stay on a budget, check out their Happy Hour Specials. Sunday-Thursday from 4-6:30 pm, they offer Gorgonzola Kettle Chips, Bang Chicken, and Fresh Ceviche for $5 each.  Also Smoked Trout Dip, and Bang, Bang Tacos for $6 each.  Also, if you are a little thirsty try Pomegrate Martini!   ***Disclosure-I was invited to preview menu.  I was not asked to post or promote anything.  The Bonefish Grill Cinco Ranch has been Independentmami taste tested and is Independentmami approved!  All opinions are my own, honest opinions.

Tasty Thursday-Kim Son

Hello and welcome to another edition of Tasty Thursday. This Thursday is another dinner edition. Remember our goal for dinner is to stay under $50.00 for the entire meal for 3 people including tip. My husband picked this week, Kim Son. It is one of my favorite restaurants. They have 3 locations all over Houston-Southwest Freeway, Jefferson St, and Bellaire.

ABOUT-
"Mama La" is the secret ingredient behind the Kim Son Restaurants. Born in Vietnam, Kim Su Tran La, her husband, and their seven children arrived in Houston in 1980 after fleeing from Communist rule in their homeland. Armed with only her extensive knowledge of Vietnamese cooking - she had memorized more than 250 recipes from her mother-in-law - with her family support, she opened the second restaurant in Houston's China Town in 1982 (The original Kim Son was located in Vinh Long and closed with the Communist takeover.)

Our dinner experience-
As we were walking in, I noticed the dinner specials. The 2 dishes looked yummy and had great portions.

Check out the specials, all $9.95

Now check out our dishes we ordered-

Grilled Chicken Spring Rolls (2)

Chicken Lettuce Wrap-
Chopped chicken breast, water chestnuts, carrot, mushroom, stir fried in special sauce.

Pho Beef
Pho Tai Nam (beef broth). I love these soups.

This is my son's kid's plate-Chicken, rice, veggies

My husband went with one of the specials. You pick two combinations, and all plates come with rice, and veggies. This plate was huge. He was very full afterwards.

Total for all items was $44.10, including a $6.00 tip. We made our goal and stayed under $50.00. We have 1 full to-go box with the lettuce wraps. And 1 container of the Pho-soup. We are all full. Again, we did go a little crazy and could have left of a dish or two. Their plates are family style so you can always share. And on a side note-Kevin, our waiter was very nice, polite, and was very attentive.

Tasty Thursday-Chilis

This week my husband and I were not able to go to lunch, instead we are doing dinner for our Tasty Thursday and the munchkin is coming along too. So I am trying to keep the dinner under $50. And yes, I am giving Chilis a second chance. For those that do not know, or remember, a couple of months ago I posted about having a really bad experience at Chilis and no longer wanting to eat there. Well here's the problem, my family loves Chilis. So we decided to give Chilis another try, and this time, we went to a different location-Pearland.

Let me give you some information you may not know, check out this picture...

Chilis has happy hour specials in the bar area. Ok, so maybe you do not want to grab a drink but you have to take advantage of the prices. All the appetizers listed in the picture are full size but half the price, just for sitting in the bar area. The sign at the door as we walked in said, HAPPY HOUR-ALL DAY-MONDAY-THURSDAY. And the Chips and Salsa are free too!

And currently, Chilis is running this special...

$20 DINNER FOR TWO - SHARE AN APPETIZER and TWO FULL-SIZE ENTREES. No substitutions. Price does not include beverage or tax. (Offer valid only at participating US locations.)

So the plan was to keep the meal under $50. So we sat in the bar area. By the way City of Pearland, has not passed the No Smoking Ordinance, so people were smoking but it didnt really bother me becuase they left right when we got there. We were greeted right away by the lovely Ms. Amanda. Our order came out right, and right away. We ordered so much food that there was no room on our table. 3 servers actually came out with all our food. It was great to receive this kind of service after having such poor service from other Chilis. The food was mmmmm, great! We had to take some home. Below you will see a copy of our receipt for 3 people with a $6.00 tip included was a total of $44.48.

I wish all Chilis employees were as friendly as Amanda because our experience was awesome. Guess what, we will be returning to THIS Chilis.

***Disclosure-I did receive gift certificates from Chilis for the bad experience I had previously had at another Chilis. I also used a MyPoints gift card during this transaction. No compensation was received for this or any other Tasty Thursday posts. My mission is to be able to find places in my surrounding areas, where my family can eat for under $20 for lunch. Since this was dinner, I bumped the total to $50. And as always these are my honest opinions about my experiences.

Tasty Thursday-Mission Burrito

Today's Tasty Thursday takes us to Mission Burrito. Mission Burrito has a several locations, like West Alabama and I-10 and Durham. We arrived early but by the time we were leaving the lunch crowd had attacked this place. It was full of people coming in to eat.

What I like about the burrito is that you can have whatever you like, you choose. The ingredients are right in front of you and you make the choice. You can also pick from the menu but why not build your own. And if you are watching what you eat, you do not even have to have a tortilla. You can have it in a bowl.

I built my own chicken bowl. I started out with the Cilantro Rice. I added black beans. I threw some corn, lettuce, pico de gallo, jalapenos, cucumber ranch sauce, and top it with some guacamole.

My hubby liked the entire concept of building your own. He does not like certain ingredients and is always asking what is in items before making a selection. This burrito filled him up.

The meal was great. We sat outside and enjoyed the weather in their patio area. We both got full. We ordered some chips, salsa and 2 drinks. Our total $19.70. Great meal under $20.00. Check out this special they currently have...

***Disclosure-I am not receiving compensation for any of my Tasty Thursday posts. These are local dine in places we are choosing to eat at. I am trying to bring you a selection of restaurants available in Houston for under $20.00 per couple.