6 Overall Rating - Mountain Rose Cafe in Winter Park, CO 2/10/12

78542 US Highway 40
Winter Park, CO 80482
(970) 726-1374

Paul, Greg & I stopped at this local favorite a couple times during our ski trip in Winter Park/Mary Jane.

Ambiance: 5
This is a great little local spot. The small dining room and open kitchen is perfect for this local ski area.

Food Quality: 6
Greg's "Ain't Skairt o' Nuttin" was something to see - judging from the look of the plate, we should all be scared! I did try a bite and it was surprisingly amazing. It's a good thing we were spending the week skiing because I will need all the exercise I can get to work off this meal!

I ordered their quiche du jour which had mushrooms and some other stuff which I can't recall. The quiche lacked flavor, so it was quite disappointing after tasting Greg's dish. The biscuits & gravy were cold and the hashbrowns were bland.







On my second visit, I ordered their "Sweet Thing Breakfast Sandwich"...oh my. The strawberry sweetbread and honey cream cheese with sliced bananas and all the other yummy toppings were heavenly! It was the perfect dessert, except that this is a breakfast item. As I stated earlier, it's a good thing we're skiing five days because I'll have to work off the extra calories!

Service: 10
I loved the small-town nature of this restaurant and the friendly service that comes with it.

Value: 3
$50 for the three of us to have breakfast seems a little expensive.

7 Overall Rating - Kozmo Gastro Pub 2/2/12

Kozmo Gastro Pub
11890 Douglas Rd
Alpharetta, GA 30005
678) 526-6094
http://kozmogastropub.com/

Dinner and drinks with Stephanie.

Ambiance: 8
This little restaurant tucked away in an unsuspecting location lacks curb appeal, but once you step inside you'll be pleasantly surprised with what Kozmo Gastro Pub has to offer its patrons.

We ate at the bar where purse hooks were conveniently installed under the bar counters. For those who know me - you know I absolutely can't stand the thought of putting my purse on the dirty floor! While I do carry with me my own handy purse hanger, they don't always fit on the table and they do sometimes fall off of the table. I absolutely love built-in hooks!

I'd expect this restaurant to be located somewhere inside the Perimeter. It's nice to know that you can find a hot spot tucked away deep in the suburbs. Kozmo is simply finished with concrete floors throughout its restaurant. The lighting and upholstery in the dining room help to add warmth to the otherwise cold floors. Restrooms were simple as well, but could use better attention in terms of cleanliness.

Food Quality: 6
All food items come highly recommended. Stephanie's Kozmo Salad with the added salmon met much approval in terms of presentation, but the salmon portion looked awfully small. Luckily for her, she wasn't looking for a heavy meal.

Me, on the other hand, am never shy when it comes to food and especially foods rich in flavor. I opted for the not-so-healthy side of White Velvet Mac & Cheese and the Blackened Tilapia BLT. Sadly, both items were more deliciously described on the menu compared to how they tasted. They weren't bad by any stretch, but they just weren't as good as I had expected them to be. I would chalk it up to the menu engineer doing such a fabulous job "selling" their menu items...now the kitchen just needs to live up to expectations.

Although given a lower rating for food quality, I would definitely return and will look fowrard to trying other menu items as there were many appealing choices listed.

Service: 5
Service was fine, but I experienced nothing abovce average expectations.

Value: 6
Fair pricing. I wouldn't consider anything to be of great value, just what you might expect.

Overall Rating - Azul Agave Mexican Bar & Cantina 10/11/11

4120 Old Milton Parkway
Alpharetta, GA 30005
678-566-0169
www.azulagaverestaurant.com/

Alex, Julie, Lindsay

Ambiance: 7
Azul offers a great ambiance with its beautiful wood trim throughout the dining room. The location is bad, however. As you're traveling east on Old Milton Parkway, you have to make a U-turn in order to get to the parking lot.

Unfortunately, the restaurant was nearly empty aside from our table and just a couple others. The restaurant has potential, but it may face the same outcome as its predecessors.

Food Quality: 7
The food was pretty good. I liked the tofu veggie fajitas. The only complaint from our table was that the drinks were small and diluted.

Service: 9
Our server, Mark, was extremely attentive. The girls call him "sneaky" because he was always at our table. He waited near our table while I put my leftovers in a box and he was quick to remove the dirty dishes. I guess you could argue that with so few tables in the restaurant, the service should have been impeccable.

Value: 7

6.5 Overall Rating - Cantina Tequila & Tapas Bar 9/22/11

9/22/11 Cantina Tequila & Tapas Bar
3280 Peachtree Rd NW
Terminus 100 – Suite 150
Atlanta, GA 30305
404.892.9292
http://www.h2sr.com/cantina/

Ambiance: 8
Great location and decor. This was formerly Lola.

Food Quality: 4
Quality of meat was good, but the dishes weren't that great. I tried several tacos and found them mediocre at best.

Queso con Carne - good
Fish Taco - decent
Trailer Park - bland
Veggie Taco - veggies were overcooked and soggy

Greg had the Pork taco, Lamb taco and Double Decker

We also had the Chocolate Bread pudding which was pretty good. It was moist with just the right amount of flavor.

Service: 8
Promptly seated and greeted. Ordered the queso w/beef and it was delivered within a few minutes, not to mention the salsa and chips which were delivered nearly immediately after placing our drink order.

Value: 7

6 Overall Rating - Antico Pizza 8/27/11

1093 Hemphill Avenue Northwest
Atlanta, GA 30318-5450
(404) 724-2333
www.anticopizza.it/

Recommended by Janice and Chris & Julie

Ambiance: 8
Antico Pizza offers a cool, casual environment. Fun, classic Italian music fills the open space. The only thing separating the family picnic tables from the kitchen is the 4' high partitions. Three old style brick ovens line the back kitchen wall. The staff's busy at work, with pies flying in the air, servers dressing pizzas w/fresh grated parmesan cheese as soon as their pulled from the oven and slicing and delivering them to the table. Seating is first come, first serve. Strangers sitting side-by-side or across the table from one another. We loved the old fashion soda bottles (pictured below)!

Food Quality: 5
Light tomoto sauce and fresh buffalo mozzarella cheese were scattered atop the pizzas with thin slices of pepperoni. One side of our dough was burned, however. Although I know that many people may like this kind of pizza, I found the pizza itself to be average with its modest flavors.

Service: 3
When you enter the restaurant, you wait in line to place your order at the register and then you find any open seat in the restaurant. They don't serve alcohol, but I've been told that you can bring your own.

Value: 4
$22 for medium pepperoni pizza.

7 Overall Rating - Firefly 11/17/11

3070 Windward Plaza
Alpharetta, GA 30005
(770) 807-3100
http://www.fireflyrestaurant.net/

Dinner with Harkins on first visit.

Ambiance: 9
What a great find! We happened to try out this spot during the first week it was open to the public. The live music was quite a pleasant surprise. The band consisted of three male musicians: an acoustic guitarist & singer, bass guitarist, and a bongo/percussionist & singer. They were quite talented and played a variety of cover songs to suit any crowd.

This place has a lot of potential despite the location's unfortunate history. I hope they can make it because it's a fantastic spot that's conveniently located by the office!

Food Quality: 5
For starters, we had the Maytag Blue Cheese Chip Mountain. The blue cheese was delicious, but I didn't care for the potato chips as much or the tomato garnish.

Rich thought his Salmon Baby Spinach Salad was very good.

My Cedar Plank Salmon BLT was pretty good and the french fries were yummy!

Service: 10
Mary, our bartender & server, was personable calling on each of her guests by first name amd taking care to spend time with each of them. She was a great mixologist too! Michael, one of the managers, also stopped by to check in on things.

Value: 10
Prices are very reasonable.

Since mid-November, I've been back on several occaions. The service has always been exceptional; however, the food quality has been disappointing.

On November 22, I had food & drinks with David at the bar. I dropped my fork and within seconds there were two servers by my side.

On November 23, I had lunch with Nidhi. The she-crab soup was delicious, but the appetizer ribs were completely scorched. They were happy to bring me a plate of freshly grilled ribs and the owner stopped by the table to profusely apologize for the kitchen's poor decision to send out the plate of burnt ribs. Nidhi ordered the half-smoked chicken plate (only $9!)complete with two side dishes, but she found the food to be average (at best). Unfortunately, she found a tiny bug in her cornbread which completely ruined the experience for her. The service manager brought us a complimentary dessert to share. I've never had an issue with their service, but they better get a handle on their back-house operations.

6.5 Overall Rating - Spice Brick Oven Kitchen Tapas & Bar 8/26/11

10800 Haynes Bridge Road
Alpharetta, GA 30022
(770) 777-0778
www.spicebrickovenkitchen.com/

Dinner with the Reagins! Recommended by Whipple Wonders.

Ambiance: 10
Enjoyed the open space. The acoustics were actually pretty good. Great lighting and setting. The restauarant had been opened for nearly two months and was already packing the house. I think this place has a lot of potential if the menu and food can keep pace with the ambiance.

Food Quality: 5
The Tzatziki (eggplant spread) was good, but a little bland. We enjoyed the Crab fritters, but I would say that the sweet and sour sauce is what made the dish. The Tilapia fish tacos were very good. The slaw was sweet and blended perfectly with the dish. Unfortunately, the scallop dish lacked flavor, but it was a clean and healthy dish. The smoked salmon was bad. I took one bite and knew right away that something wasn't right. I also detected a foul odor. The homemade chips were generously covered with blue cheese, but the overall dish was average.

On my second visit there on 11/16/11, I had the Tzatziki (Yogurt, Fresh Dill, Cucumbers, Lemon Juice, And Olive Oil spread) and pepperoni pizza. The food was much better this time around.

Service: 9
Service was great tonight...they did a nice job timing all of our tapas plates!

Value: 7