Tap...tap...tap... is this thing on?

We're still alive and well, having finally recovered our login to this blog (they make it a lot more difficult than you might imagine, if you have more than 10 email addresses you use with Google). Long story short, we have moved twice since our last post (now living in the San Diego area) and as a result, everything is still jumbled. You can expect a new post with a longer explanation.... sometime. If you still follow this blog, thank you for being one of our loyal followers! Give us some time to get our stuff in order, and our next post will be along in the future sometime.

Jakeeno's Pizza & Pasta - Minneapolis, Minnesota

Jakeeno's Pizza & Pasta - 3555 Chicago Ave S, Minneapolis, MN 55407

Jakeeno's Pizza & Pasta Website

Oh my goodness, has it been nearly three months since we posted a review on here? Indeed it has. Well, we think the long wait is worth it.

Crissy and I went to Minnesota with our friend George because, due to health reasons, I needed to get away from my job for a while (I've now permanently parted ways with them, hence the sparsity of posts on here), we wanted to see a few new states we had never visited (Crissy got one new state in, I got three), and we were invited to the high school graduation party of our friend Jake. We used Jake's party as our excuse to make the trip, but packed so much more into it (like seeing the Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake, Iowa, as posted on our Facebook Page).

When we got to our hotel in Minneapolis, we decided we would to try at least one local restaurant while in the area. I asked Crissy and George what kind of food they were interested in for dinner, and Crissy mentioned that she was in the mood for some Italian food and wondered if there were any restaurants I could get stuffed shells at for myself (since that is what I love the most at Italian restaurants). As I browsed the list, I came across the name Jakeeno's, so I checked out their menu online and saw that they do, in fact, have stuffed shells. 

So, in a very "I Love Lucy"fashion, I declared, "fellow hunters, we're going to Jakeeno's!" and off we went (jokingly commenting that if the food wasn't good, it was all our friend Jake's fault). 

The restaurant was incredibly easy to find. Surprisingly, there was plenty of street parking available around the restaurant, too! When we went in, the place was rather full, so a number of the patrons must live nearby enough to walk. That makes me jealous. I would love to have a place this good within walking distance.

We step inside and are warmly greeted by the staff, as well as this neat sign I spotted on the wall:

We were seated quickly and given menus to browse over:

I had been looking at the menu at the hotel, so I already knew what I would be getting. 

When the drink orders were given, I had a sneaky suspicion there weren't free refills on the sodas so instead of getting one glass, I got a pitcher of the 1919 Draft Root Beer. That gave about 4 glasses worth for the $5 price, much better than $1.95 per single glass.. 

Crissy got the "Minnesoda" brand cola, and I think George did the same. Because I got the pitcher of root beer, I got a mug for a glass instead of their usual "Minnesoda" glass for their drinks by that brand.

In the above picture is the Minnesoda glass, the root beer mug, and hiding behind is the pitcher of root beer. Here's a closer look at both sides of the Minnesoda glass:

Crissy and George really enjoyed their colas, but the 1919 draft root beer was one of the best root beers I've ever had. I would come back just to load up on this stuff, but thankfully it's available in other restaurants, but I haven't found it anywhere close to home, yet (and I probably won't). 

For our meal, Crissy decided she wanted to do a soup and salad after seeing tomato basil soup on the menu. Her salad was the half order of the tossed salad:

So Crissy, after having her first spoonful of the soup, says to me, "you need to try this!" and so I did. It was incredible! This is coming from a guy who does not like tomatoes or tomato soup of any kind. I kept going back for more of Crissy's soup and wished I had gotten it for myself, too.

Soon, my stuffed shells were brought to the table:

Now, these are not the biggest shells in the world (nor are they the smallest), so I was a little shocked to see the smaller size of the portion (for $10.25, I was hoping for at least 4 shells). What it lacked in size, it more than made up for in taste. These were, hands down, the tastiest stuffed shells I've ever encountered (rivaled only by the stuffed shells at Grampa's in Dania Beach, Florida). The waitress said that they were baking the bread and she would bring a basket of bread to our table, but by the time we finished eating and left, that never happened (which is okay, the meal didn't need it anyway).

At the same time, they brought George's spaghetti:

I thought his spaghetti looked very good (the pictures really don't do the food here justice), and George said it tasted very good, one of the best spaghettis he'd ever eaten. He didn't go into much detail, however, and I didn't taste it for myself, so I guess that gives us an excuse to have to go back again, 

Last came the 10" pepperoni pizza we ordered to split between the three of us to go with our respective meals:

At first glance, I didn't notice any pepperoni and was about to question it with the waitress, and then I spied one pepperoni sticking out from under the cheese that had been put on top of the toppings (awesome way to do the pizza). I'm not wild about thin crust pizza, but this was perfect in every way. The toppings were not too heavy for the crust, which was crunchy and never got soggy, and the taste was marvelous. Luckily, being a thin crust pizza, having a few squares of it (which is how they cut it) was not going to fill me up after having my shells.

On the way out, I spied some homemade chocolate chip cookies so I bought some:

Crissy and I decided we would buy some milk to have with them later, and ended up splitting them with George to snack on later in the night. They were a wonderful ending to a fantastic meal and went well with a small bottle of milk. 

While the total cost of the meal was about $65 after the tip for the three of us, the overall experience,  atmosphere and taste of the meal was fantastic and well worth the price. We absolutely will be back the next time we are in town. Given that it was my first time in the area, I certainly want to go back again soon, specifically so I can come back to Jakeeno's.

As a side note, it seems that this place is frequented by police officers. We saw some come in and eat while we were here, and I'd seen similar comments regarding this restaurant online elsewhere. At least it's good to know you're safe here. 

Jakeeno's has a second location called Jakeeno's Trattoria off of E. Lake Street, however the original restaurant, at the corner of Chicago Ave. and E. 36th Street, is very likely the best, having been here for 40 years. I certainly hope they're still doing everything the same a century from now.

It's time for us to hit the road. We hope you've enjoyed this post. If you have something to say about this restaurant, leave us a comment. If there's a restaurant that you'd like us to check out for a possible review on our blog, let us know by messaging us on our Facebook Page. If you have your own pictures or reviews to add to our blog, drop us a line because we would love to add further reviews for this and other restaurants to our site.

Until the next time, we'll catch you on the flip side.

For Diehls On The Road, this is Tom Diehl, signing off....

New Review Coming Soon!

Sorry for the long delay! Between health troubles between the two of us, plus a trip we took to visit a friend of ours, we've been unable to post an update to our blog (but did post to our Facebook page - if you don't like us on there, what are you waiting for??). But, good news! We will have a new review from our recent trip to Minnesota to report very soon! It's the furthest away from home we've reviewed to date and ranks up there with one of the best restaurants we've been to... this review will be heading your way soon and you won't want to miss it! Stay tuned! Until then, catch you on the flip side!

--Tom and Crissy

Hot Dog Charlie's - Rensselaer, New York

Hot Dog Charlie's - 150 Columbia Turnpike, Rensselaer, NY 12144

Hot Dog Charlie's Facebook Page

On the outside, this place isn't much to look at...

(Photo credit: Hot Dog Charlie's)

Just a lonely little location inside a mini-mini shopping center with just a Subway restaurant and a Chinese take-out place keeping it company. Not the best looking location on the outside, but you aren't supposed to judge a book by the cover. On the inside, they're whipping up some amazing tasting little hot dogs, hence their namesake.

Hot Dog Charlie's got its start in 1922 when the first location was opened in Troy, New York by Greek immigrant Strates Fentekes under the name New Way Lunch. People began calling him Charlie, so the name stuck. People would come to order their Charlie's mini hot dogs (which at the time were sold for a bargain 5 cents each), loaded up with anything from ketchup, mustard, kraut, onions, relish and Charlie's legendary secret chili meat sauce recipe. In the old days, Strates would line up a dozen minis on the length of his arm and load them up with their toppings, creating the "hairy arm" technique that few have been able to duplicate. 

Charlie's seems to be the earliest known restaurant to serve these mini hot dogs, which is one reason they've managed to stay around for as long as they have. The brand of hot dogs they use currently is Sabrett's (although they had recently tried using Hembold's for just their mini's recently, which did not go over well, which caused them to switch back to Sabrett's - thank God, I like the full length hot dogs they serve, too, but it's just not the same thing). 

A size comparison of a mini verses a regular size hot dog from here:

(Photo credit: Hot Dog Charlie's)

How would you get your hot dogs? Tom likes his with just the sauce (the regular, not the hot), and ketchup. Crissy, who has an intolerance to onions, which are one of the ingredients of the sauce, prefers them with just mustard and ketchup. You, however, can get them with any combination of their toppings (ketchup, mustard, relish, onion, sauerkraut or their chili meat sauce) to your own liking.

How that little grill in the back can cook so many great tasting hot dogs, along with other foods at the same time, is pretty amazing. Wait, they have other foods besides hot dogs? Yes. Our friend George loves their cheeseburgers, and all of us go wild for their curly fries (which they refer to as twister fries), which are better than pretty much anywhere else. 

On a recent visit, Tom got his mini's while Crissy got two regulars, and we each ordered the twister fries. We were so excited to enjoy our meal, we dug right in and Tom had one mini completely gone before realizing he hadn't yet snapped a picture of his delicious lunch, which is why you see three mini's on the plate above, instead of four, Tom's usual. 

As for some more of the other foods they serve, their fish fry is known to be one of the best in the Capital region. I also enjoy their clam roll, and the popcorn chicken is pretty good as well.... but the real reason for coming here is the hot dogs, the rest of these foods are for when you bring your whole family and some of them are less interested in hot dogs (hard to imagine, I know). 

They also have some pretty good milkshakes which are great all year round, but especially in the summer time. 

Today, Hot Dog Charlie's is run by Chuck Fentekes (the third generation in the family to run the restaurant), and Florence Dimitiadis. Aside from this location in Rensselaer, they have three other locations in Clifton Park, Cohoes and Latham, New York. This one is by far the best location, though. 

The famous chili sauce they put on top of their hot dogs can be found in local area supermarkets, can be purchased in any store location, or can even be ordered online from the company's main website. I might have to do that myself sometime when I'm unable to get to New York to get some hot dogs. The local brand we have in Erie is Smith's and while those are decent dogs, they don't compare to these, and the sauce wouldn't taste the same on them.

It's time for us to be hitting the road again. We'll check in again soon with our next review. If you have something to say about this restaurant, leave us a comment on this post. If there's a restaurant in your local area (whether or not it is local to us) that you'd like us to check out for a possible review on our blog, let us know by messaging us on our Facebook Page. If you have your own pictures or reviews to add to our blog on any of our reviews (or if you just want to add one of your own to our blog), drop us a line because we would love to add further reviews for this business as well as other restaurants to our blog.

Until the next time, we'll catch you on the flip side.

For Diehls On The Road, this is Tom Diehl, signing off....

The Peanut Shoppe - Akron, Ohio

Peanut Shoppe Of Akron - 203 S Main St, Akron, OH 44308

Peanut Shoppe Of Akron Facebook Page

Boy, I just let time slip by in between my reviews, don't I? Truth is, in between my time spent working on this blog I have several other projects I work on, plus a regular job. Most importantly, Crissy and I like to spend a lot of time together (sometimes when we're out we look for places for this blog, but not always). We just celebrated our first wedding anniversary last Sunday. The laptop we currently have seems to be on its last legs as it runs very slowly, but eventually we will upgrade (though hopefully not to anything with Windows 8 or newer). 

Last week we reviewed an Akron restaurant, and this week we remain in Akron once more. That said, our review today is not actually for a restaurant. While we like to find the best food on the road for you to try, we also love local shops that give you something unique, something that takes you back to the good old days. We've found it in a wonderful place called the Peanut Shoppe of Akron. 

(Photo Credit: Tim Davisson)

The Peanut Shoppe of Akron is one of just a dozen Peanut Shop/Shoppe locations left from when there were over 200 locations all over the country, opened by the National Peanut Corp. between 1930 and 1960 as a means of selling Planters Peanuts to customers. In 1961, Standard Brands bought out Planters Peanuts and began closing up the retail shops. Akron's location, around since 1933, remained open, but in the 82 years since opening, the store has seen three owners and three business locations, all on South Main Street. 

(Photo credit: Lisa Abraham, Akron Beacon Journal)

When the city of Akron purchased the building that housed the previous location of the Peanut Shoppe, they helped store owner Marge Kline find her current location, which allowed her to expand the business to include more than just nuts.

They have almost every kind of nut or candy you can imagine in this store, available to purchase by weight, even as little as 1/4 of a pound if you are only craving a small snack. They have a wide variety of nuts, chocolate candies, hard candies, something to satisfy any craving. We've come here numerous times for their fresh roasted peanuts, sunflower seed kernels, chocolate toffee squares, juju candies, valentine hearts (in season, of course), brazil nuts, malt balls, banana chips, even their fresh made popcorn. I could go on and on, but you can see for yourself from the pictures (many of which were taken by our friend Tim for The Peanut Shoppe's Facebook page) just how much this store has to offer. They even have ice cream available in both prepackaged ice cream bars and soft serve flavors.

When you come to visit, don't forget to say hello to Marge, and while you're here, try to spot as many Mr. Peanuts as you possibly can...

As you can see, Mr. Peanut sure knows how to get around. Crissy and I do too, and when we are in Akron, we're always sure to stop in on the Peanut Shoppe! Perhaps best of all, the Peanut Shoppe of Akron does accept credit cards (you know, for those times when you're hauling out two plastic bags filled with goodies like i've done in the past).

It's time for us to be hitting the road again. We'll check in again soon with our next review. If you have something to say about the Peanut Shoppe of Akron, leave us a comment on this post. If there's a restaurant in your local area (whether or not it is local to us) that you'd like us to check out for a possible review on our blog, let us know by messaging us on our Facebook Page. If you have your own pictures or reviews to add to our blog, drop us a line because we would love to add further reviews for this business as well as other restaurants to our blog.

Until the next time, we'll catch you on the flip side.

For Diehls On The Road, this is Tom Diehl, signing off....

El Puente Mexican Restaurant - Akron, Ohio

El Puente Mexican Restaurant - 2329 Romig Rd, Akron, OH 44320

http://elpuenteakron.weebly.com/

Has it really been two weeks since an update? Oof, sorry about that! Between both of us, we've been sick quite a bit lately, not to mention two recent hospital visits from Tom for some recurring ear issues. We wanted to give a review when we were best able to present our honest opinions.

A couple of weeks ago, in between all of our sicknesses, we spent some time in Akron, Ohio, house sitting for a friend. Of course, we decided to check out some local places to review. One of our friends had once taken us to a different Mexican restaurant in Akron, called Mi Casa, when we were visiting some friends in the area, Well let me tell you, I'm not big on Mexican food (Crissy is more so since she comes from Southern California). When I was growing up in Maryland, we had one local place that is apparently still around (and until looking them up today, I had no idea they were local - I thought they were a national chain!) but it was never my favorite place to eat.

Coming to El Puente and a few other places recently has really changed my mind on Mexican food. We were warmly greeted (in Spanish) by the host of the evening, who then took us to our seat. We had our drink orders taken (Coke products, including Cherry Coke!) and were given a basket of fresh made tortilla chips and salsa (I don't care for any kind of salsa, Crissy enjoyed it, though). The chips were nice and hot and tasted great.

When I was first reading about this restaurant online (which had many, many positive reviews), I had looked the menu over and planned to have Arroz con Pollo (Chicken and Rice), which I decided on trying simply for the fact that it had been mentioned in one of the most famous episodes of I Love Lucy, Job Switching:

I can't get the Youtube page to start on my blog right where I want it to, so for reference start at 11:45 into the episode.

I didn't really know what to expect, as it was something new I was trying (my father would be so proud of me for trying something new!) and I figured I would enjoy it anyway since this restaurant was busy! There were lots of customers here, and they all seemed to be enjoying themselves.

If you like peppers, tomatoes and onions, this would be the perfect dish for you. I am not fond of them so I picked all of those out (okay, i left some onions in but took out some of the bigger chunks), and was left with about 2/3 of my dish. The rice tasted amazing, the chicken was incredible. I think I would've loved the dish more if it was just the chicken (cooked exactly the way it was in this dish) and the rice, but I loved it just the same.

Crissy had what the restaurant called their vegetarian combination #3, a bean burrito, a cheese quesadilla, and what they said was a chalupa (though Crissy says it looks more like a tostada). See it for yourself:

As for how things tasted, Crissy says, coming from California, the food was very authentic Mexican food. It has a lot more flavor than many other "Mexican" restaurants, and it lives up to the standard of many Mexican restaurants out in California, and has a home-cooked feel to it.

As for the actual name of the restaurant, it does get confusing. Their Facebook page calls themselves "El Puente Mexican Restaurant & Grill", Their website says "El Puente Mexican Bar & Grill", and their actual building just says "El Puente Mexican Grill". 

We've already been back here a second time. Yes, I got the same thing once again, Crissy got something different and loved it, and the place was just as packed. If you like authentic Mexican food, this is the best place in Akron to try. It's well worth the trip to get here and the prices are extremely reasonable for the amount of food you get. The next time we return to Akron, I know where we'll be heading for dinner.

It's time for us to be hitting the road again. We'll check in again soon with our next review. If you have something to say about this restaurant, leave us a comment on this post. If there's a restaurant in your local area (whether or not it is local to us) that you'd like us to check out for a possible review on our blog, let us know by messaging us on our Facebook Page. If you have your own pictures or reviews to add to our blog, drop us a line because we would love to add further reviews for this and other restaurants to our site.

Until the next time, we'll catch you on the flip side.

For Diehls On The Road, this is Tom Diehl, signing off....

George's Restaurant - Erie, Pennsylvania

George's Restaurant - 2614 Glenwood Park Ave, Erie, PA 16508

Facebook - George's Restaurant

We've been in Erie for some time now, and have had a lot of time to check out a lot of the local restaurants. This one has been under our radar until recently. After a few recent stops to the doctor due to ongoing sinus problems I've been experiencing, we would pass this restaurant on the way home and would always say "we should try that place out". They boast of their "real homemade mashed potatoes" which made me wonder if anything else there was good. Let me just say that yes, we've enjoyed everything we've had here!

(Photo credit: George's Restaurant Facebook Page)

We decided to go in and see what all of the hoopla was about regarding their mashed potatoes. They offer a wide variety, including garlic parmesan, cheddar ranch, bacon horseradish, onion and bacon, verdi and pepper jack, jalapeno, and broccoli and cheddar among other flavors. 

These mashed potatoes lived up to our expectations, and then some. We now know why Erie's oldest restaurant has remained, and why they still have such a loyal fanbase. Tom had the broccoli and cheddar potatoes while Crissy had the garlic parmesan. Both flavors were fantastic. The garlic parmesan is a little on the salty side but some people certainly prefer it that way. These are not huge portions of potatoes (you couldn't necessarily make a meal out of a bowl), so we ordered them to go with our main courses.

Tom got his usual, all-american cheeseburger, cooked medium at my request, and they made it exactly the way he likes it. For an extra charge, you can get fries and coleslaw, which are well worth it. The fries taste like they're fresh cut, even if they aren't (we can't tell). The coleslaw was very creamy and had a sweet taste, definitely homemade, and very delicious.

Crissy ordered the club sandwich. It came with bacon, lettuce, tomato, turkey and mayonnaise. The bacon was crisp, the turkey had a good flavor to it, and it was such a large sandwich, she had trouble eating the whole thing (it was a very tall sandwich, with an extra piece of bread in the middle). She also opted for the fries and coleslaw and enjoyed them as well. 

The restaurant offers sodas (excuse me, we're in Erie, they call it Pop here - you can tell I still feel like an outsider), but you only get one free refill with your meal. A major plus is that they accept credit cards here, which we were unsure of as a number of local restaurants seem to be cash only.

This restaurant is known for its breakfasts, though we have not tried them yet (I guess this means we'll just have to go back again soon). I'm a sucker for a good belgian waffle and I'm hoping to get one the next time we come here. This restaurant has been an Erie landmark since 1926 and I'm sure it will be around for a long time to come.

A little side note, Crissy is a big fan of Coca Cola, so she was thrilled to see that this restaurant was covered in Coke memorabilia. We even spotted this at our booth:

On the way out of the restaurant, there is a newspaper article hanging that gives the headline of George's Real-Deal Meals. That's the kind of food we like to spotlight on this blog, and we sure hit the mark today.

It's time for us to be hitting the road again. We'll check in again soon with our next review. If you have something to say about this restaurant, leave us a comment on this post. If there's a restaurant in your local area (whether or not it is local to us) that you'd like us to check out for a possible review on our blog, let us know by messaging us on our Facebook Page. If you have your own pictures or reviews to add to our blog, drop us a line because we would love to add further reviews for these and other restaurants to our site.

Until the next time, we'll catch you on the flip side.

For Diehls On The Road, this is Tom Diehl, signing off....