The Ram - Third Chances

I wasn't expecting to write this post. I believe the last we spoke of The Ram my decision was "eff em". The universe apparently had different plans. A professional group that I'm a part of had their officer elections last night, as you may have guessed by now, at The Ram. Dinner included. Essentially free tacos. What can I say? Aside from bah, I thought I was done with these jag bags. Truncated review inbound.

No Facade Pic. Bwa Bwa.

Presentation - Average across the board. Average service, average plating, average interior, average facade. My jaded eyes were not particularly impressed. 3/5

Aroma - Pretty decent nose on these. Chipotle and avocado. It worked. 4/5

Value - Nose dive. $14.50 for two tacos and a side of rice and beans. The lowest so far, Piper Pub, was three normal sized tacos and a small side for $13.29.  The side is bigger here, but not enough to make up for a taco. 2/10

Fish - High point here, I got the battered haddock (ain't got no time for blackened ahi) and it was honestly great. Great breading, perfectly juicy, not a lot of spices or anything, but it didn't need it. My only gripe is that it was one big ass piece, not a few smaller ones. And I suppose that this is my 3rd friggin time trying to get these bloody tacos. 8/10

Not Fish - Tortillas were a bit small for the fish. Otherwise pretty on point, really good slaw, decent salsa, and great avocado crema. One slice of lime per taco. A bit off book but really good. The sides weren't bad, but nothing to write home about. 7/10

Overall Taste - I hate how much I liked these. They were expensive, but delicious. 8/10

Bonus Points - Time to take your lumps, Ram. 2 failed visits, 2 points off. -2

Overall Overall - 30/50

I'm admittedly still cranky about these, and they are expensive. If you are ok with those two facts, try them. They're pretty good.

Twin Peaks - Boob Joke

This one is a bit of an oddity on the list, it falls into the "breastaurant" category along such illustrious venues as Hooters and Tilted Kilt. The banner on the wall claims that Twin Peaks has been around since 2005, which the interwebs confirm. Not sure how long this location has been around, maybe 3 or 4 years? Fun fact, that biker gunfight in Waco, TX a couple years back happened in a Twin Peaks parking lot. True story.

Presentation - I was honestly surprised at the attire, it was revealing but not overly so. Short shorts, a bit of belly, but nothing as egregious as I was expecting. So...kudos? I guess? Anyway, the interior is not fancy, fake wood and fake dead animals plus a buttload of TVs. Functional I suppose. I will say they advertise their beer at 26-29 degrees, which is just too bloody cold for beer, even if it's garbage. The plating was good, 3 tacos surrounded with chips and a ramekin of salsa. Again, functional. 3/5

Aroma - They smelled flavorful, a good bit of chipotle in there. Distinct lack of lime, which was a bummer, but still good. 4/5

Value - High marks here. $9.99 for 3 good sized tacos and a healthy portion of chips and salsa. I was full when I finished, which has been rarer than expected in this tour. 8/10

Fish - I haven't had fried fish in almost a month. I'm craving it, need to address that soon. That said, this was not a bad example of grilled white fish. Good portions, decent seasoning, perhaps a bit on the fishy side, but not enough so to really hurt the flavor. Nice and juicy too. 6/10

Not Fish - Bad things first - flour tortillas and no limes. Bwa bwa. Otherwise pretty much to recipe with a chipotle twist on the sauce. Really nice flavor to the slaw and the sauce, a bit of spice but not enough that I'd call them "spicy". The chips were fine and the salsa was decent enough and unique, not just normal boring restaurant salsa. Plenty of both on the plate. We also had "Billionaire's Bacon" as an appetizer, which was 6 slices of fancy and tasty bacon. Highly recommended. 7/10

Overall Taste - With the bolder flavors in the non-fish fillings, I was a fan. Pretty traditional tasting, but not bland, plenty of flavor in there without being polarizing. Surprisingly good given the locale and reputation. 7/10

Bonus Points - Already made the boob joke in the title. Or at least said "boob joke". So I'll spare another one. They charged an extra dollar for Christine's side of veggies instead of fries, which is some BS. +0

Overall Overall - 35/50

I was not expecting these guys to do so well, so kudos for decent food in a restaurant known for something else. Glad we didn't take the girls. One less awkward conversation to be had.

Bardenay - National Taco Day!

Another administrative detail point; 13th Street Pub did not have fish tacos. They did have a pretty decent veggie burger. But alas, off the list they go.

Speaking of off the list, let's talk about The Ram. I gave them a shot. Two shots in fact. First we were greeted with an hour wait on a Thursday with no explanation. I'll give them a break there. However, they also decided that for the Blink 182 concert last month, they would only offer a limited menu. As you can guess, no tacos on there. BECAUSE TRAVIS BARKER HATES TACOS! OR SO I'VE CHOSEN TO BELIEVE! So two strikes. I put it to a vote on Facebook and got a mixed bag of "EFF EM!" and give them another chance. I gave them another (half) shot and tried to get in touch with the manager. He got back to me, not with an apology, but with a "Yep, our tacos are good, come try them." So it has come to this. EFF 'EM!

Presentation - 1/5

Aroma - 1/5

Value - 1/5

Fish - 1/10

Not Fish - 1/10

Overall Taste - 1/10

Bonus Points - NEGATIVE A THOUSAND! (+0)

Overall Overall - 6/50

EAT BUTTS THE RAM!

Anyway, back to business. Today is National Taco Day. It is also Feel Sick and Grumpy Day. Still, we had to celebrate, so we headed down to Bardenay for dinner. I've always been a fan of Bardenay, great location and a solid menu with a good vibe. Good booze too if you partake. I had pretty high hopes.

Presentation - See? Such a nice facade. Really hard to beat on a summer night. The interior is great too, the distillery is front and center and well kept. Good decor, nice layout. On par with Bittercreek/Red Feather. The tacos were decent, well presented with a holder. A bit boring without a side, but clean. So close to perfect, but I have to dock a bit for kind of meh service. Not a lot of enthusiasm, not bad just not as good as it could have been. 4/5

Aroma - A lot of green on there, heavy on the tomatillos and cucumbers. Neither of these are particularly aromatic, and thus the tacos weren't either. Just a bit meh. 3/5

Value - $9.95 for two tacos is rough, especially without a side. To their credit, the tacos were not small, not quite enough for a meal for me, but not bad. Also, they were marked on the receipt as an appetizer. Not on the menu, and not really priced as such. 4/10

Fish - The menu said grilled, but first glance didn't look like it. Closer examination and I think they're heavily basted, almost to a fried texture. A bit dry and honestly, the ancho chili was pretty bland. It looked so promising, and wasn't bad, but didn't live up to appearances. 5/10

Not Fish - Another unique one. Red radish and cucumber salsa, cotija cheese, tomatillo and cilantro sauce. So much promise, but again, just underwhelming. I'll give them credit for trying, and like the fish, not bad tasting, just not as much to it as you'd expect from the description. They did get the tortillas and lime right, which is something. 5/10

Overall Taste - Right down the middle of the road, hard to find fault, but bland plus bland equals, unsurprisingly, bland. I could eat like 11 of these without complaint, but I wouldn't seek them out, especially at $5/ea. A forgettable edible. I should trademark that. 5/10

Bonus Points - Not enough to earn one, but good kids meals at $5 each. +0

Overall Overall - 26/50

High hopes dashed. On the plus side, this is one of the few misses on the menu, plenty of other good options on there. Choose one of them and enjoy that patio. Vaya con dios!