El Tapatio

Tonight, it was decided after being shut down because Taco Casa shuts down at 7:00, we went on an adventure, trying to figure out where to go. We proceeded to take all the backroads, slowly making it back to the main road, wasting lots of gas. But that's not important - it's a simple side note to add to the adventure of the night!

We finally made the decision (and what a good decision it was!) to go to El Tapatio. This is located at 2605 Stagg Hill Rd, Manhattan, KS 66502, their phone number is (785) 539-7272. It's kind of hard to get there, but once you've been once, you'll never forget it. 

Going into their parking lot, it is quite crowded. The parking doesn't necessarily have an order; you kind of just park where you can, trying to stay in the lines. Sid definitely thought about parking on the grass. Fortunately, she found a spot in the sketchy back and parked ever so skillfully. 

Insert: BIG giggle fit here. Don't worry, this actually happened when we were writing the post, not after we parked the car...that's weird. It's not that exciting of an experience, you know, parking a car and all...

We walked into the restaurant and it was crowded as all get out. We awkwardly looked at their signs, trying to figure out what their name means. It means either a hot sauce or a person from a certain place in Mexico or a dance or when you steep tea and then tap it on the side of your mug - tap-a-tea-oh! EH OH! 

We finally got seated, after about 10 minutes, at the table in the back. 

...unfortunately, this got put on hold while we went all over the world for the summer. Therefore, we don't remember what happened. But it WAS good enough that we will go back again and let you know scores (and about the ballin' food). 

We wish you blessings and love. We will let you know more about our summers (and reasoning for not posting) as time goes on. 

Here's just a glimpse of our summer for you:

Bob's Diner

GET READY to get sketched out...

Before spring break, we decided to take a breakfast date to Bob's Diner. This is located at 1103 N 3rd St, Manhattan, KS, 66502 (just in case you wanted to GPS it). Bob's Diner has been open for quite some time, as my father says he ate there when he was in college. Good ol' hometown place, you know?

We arrived at approximately 8:45 and we told to sit anywhere we wanted. As we looked around, we saw old neon signs, a television, plenty of tables and chairs, and a sitting space right up front by the countertop. All of these added to the diner feel of the place.

We were looked over our menus and allowed plenty of time to find out what we wanted. We both ordered coffee (as it was the morning...) and promptly were given it. We as well were given creamer. As we like to add sugar to our coffee, I (Sidney) first tried to the sugar shaker off the table. I felt as if I was Samson when all of his hair was cut off - I could not get it off the table! What was up with that? THEN. Jacey tried.

She tried to yank it off the table, it didn't work for awhile and then it did! Coffee ALMOST was spilled - there was little droplets of coffee on the table. This was confirmation to us that we had most definitely picked a sketchy restaurant. 

We then were asked what we wanted to order. We both ordered a plate with two pieces of toast, two eggs, hash browns, and two pieces of bacon. Talk about a lot of food! This was about $7.50 a piece. 

Soon after we ordered, our food was there! Literally - like five minutes MAYBE. In my personal opinion, the eggs were my favorite part! Over medium - yum, yum, yum! Jacey's favorite was the bacon. It was the best part. My least favorite was the hash browns, but personally I don't enjoy hash browns...so...yeah. Jacey says they were good. Trust her on this one! Jacey's least favorite part was the amount of bread - there was A LOT of it. As I (Sidney) cannot eat bread, she had four slices instead of two. She states she feels the bread was of the quality of bread that you buy at the store and could toast yourself - nothing that special about it. She would know about the bread - she did eat it all. 

HATS OFF TO HER.

When we got our food, we prayed for it. Before we prayed, I (Sid) asked for some ketchup for my hash browns. The waitress came in the middle of our prayer, but she was quite kind and just set it there and left. I quite appreciated this. 

As we continued our venture, we had a table full of men sitting next to us. That is, old men. They were talking about everything under the sun - sports, how wonderful K-State is, politics, and more. This may or may not have been a little uncomfortable for us two fine lookin' ladies sitting right next to them. But hey, you can't win 'em all.

We had to go up to the counter to pay, and as I waited to leave, I was able to read some of the signs behind the counter. These included what employee meals looked like, how it was and/or wasn't okay to do certain things (that I cannot remember...but I do remember them being slightly harsh [in my opinion]). I didn't think it was the best idea for these to be out in the open, or for customers to be able to see them. It really did put a damper on my experience.  

When we left Bob's Diner, there was one door that didn't open. This added to the sketchiness and confirmed we had a successful, and maybe terrifying, sketchy restaurant date.

Ratings:

Food - 6
Atmosphere - 6.5
Service - 7
Pricing - 6.5

Total: 26/40 - 65% 

NOW. Enjoy this picture of our beautiful faces. 

Baan Thai

Tonight, around 5:00 PM we made the decision to go to Baan Thai. Just kidding! We decided about a week ago. 

Baan Thai is a Thai restaurant in town located at 1620 Fort Riley Blvd, Manhattan, KS 66502. Thai is a GREAT food (in Sid's opinion) with lots of spice. It adds a lot of kick to the food, which makes for a really exciting time eating (especially if you get something spicy and aren't ready for it!). 

Walking into the restaurant, you must wait to be seated. We did as well, even though we were the only ones in the restaurant. We were seated very quickly in a comfy booth. The curtains around us were BRIGHT colors (rainbow!), which added a lot of spark to the room. 

We were asked quite quickly what we wanted to drink (we got water) and then we were given menus. There were a VARIETY of options on the menu, ranging from curries to pot stickers to fried rice AND MORE. It took a good, long while to decide. 

A 

LONG

WHILE.

We then decided we would get the curry to split between us; curry is a good option, right? For those that don't know, curry is a spice that is used in a lot of Asian cooking. It also doubles as a way of cooking food (that is, how the food is presented). A curry is kind of like a chunky soup. 

Now that we decided on a curry, and blocked off all the other curries (that is, all the other ones that we were 'sketched out' by), we had narrowed it down to three options --> red, yellow, and green. 

What would you choose?

We didn't know what to do, so Sid texted a couple friends asking, "Red, yellow, or green?" We didn't get the responses until after dinner. Jacey played the game of "eenie, meenie, miinie, MO" and found that the answer was yellow! We also asked our waitress what she thought, but she just explained them more. Red is spicy, yellow is not. Convenient for Sid because she doesn't do well with spicy spice.

YELLOW IT WAS.

After we ordered, it didn't take that long for the food to get out to us. We are not sure if this is because we were the only ones there or if they are just that fast. But that was great all in all. 

The food, in Jacey's opinion, was delicious! The curry came with a bowl of rice, as well as the curry, which included potatoes, chicken, onions, and lots of curry sauce (made with coconut milk). IT WAS SO GOOD. E3 on the menu folks, E3. 

After we finished eating, we were both full. Very full, but not uncomfortable. The waitress who had taken our order came over and said, "Wow. You really love curry now?" We nodded, and she took our plates away, and then proceeded to bring our check. It was a great experience all in all. Oh, and for those wondering, more people started to come after we started eating. We would like to think it's because we are so attractive, because we all know it's true.

Ratings:

Food - 9
Atmosphere - 6 (until people started to come...), then an 8 - average: 7
Service - 7
Pricing - 5 (our meal cost $11.64, plus tip [splitting is the way to go!])

Total: 28/40 - 70% (we're going to be teachers)

For more information, this is their website! 

Why We Are Here 101

Hello there! We are a couple of ladies who have taken the opportunity of living in Manhattan, KS for college to be an adventure! We have taken it upon ourselves to evaluate the sketchy restaurants in town. That is, the restaurants that no one really goes to and/or those that you're not really sure about going to...ever. The hole-in-the-wall places (which, in our experiences, have turned out to be the bomb.com). 

So we're taking one for the team!

We have come up with a grading system to evaluate these restaurants. It is as follows: food, atmosphere, service, and pricing. Each of these we will evaluate with 10 points to give to each category - 40 points total. 

We are excited to take on this adventure and invite you to join us - and maybe try a couple of your own sketchy restaurants! Comment, let us know what you think, share us with your friends, tweet it up, and keep it real.

Sometimes, it may be good. Sometimes, maybe not so much.

All in all, we're pretty jazzed about the whole idea.

Because we know all will be well in the end. God bless!