No Fast Food Here

This place isn’t cheap.  Kids meals (there are only 3 choices) are $5.95 and up and do not include a drink.  The homemade mac n’ cheese is delicious, but I’m not sure it is worth the $6.50 price tag.  You do get a small bowl of grapes and some fries with it, but for $6.50, I can make that at home and add Gruyère or Brie.  The chicken fingers on the kids menu are also delicious, but you only get 2 small fingers, grapes and fries.  Again, not worth the price tag.

If you leave your kids at home and go with some adults, you will enjoy yourself much, much more.  Crepes. Really, do I have to say more? Go for the crepes.  The menu itself isn’t too exciting. The martini’s had a soapy aftertaste.  Admittedly, I had eaten a small dinner at home with the kids before venturing out on our monthly ladies night out, so I wasn’t hungry.  The cheese plate was excellent, but very small.  Maybe in this day and age of over sized portions, that is a good thing, but when you are sharing an expensive cheese platter with 4  people, more than a slice of cheese is warranted.

We ordered the bistro medallions and they said they came with a creamy blue cheese fondue sauce. Not nearly blue cheesy enough.  The garlic mashed potatoes were bland and slightly watery.  The Gambero Pesto Pasta didn’t have near enough garlic in my taste.  The shrimp was well cooked and flavorful, though.

But as I said, the main reason for coming here? The crepes. I ordered the banana/Nutella crepe. You really can’t go wrong with Nutella.  I would eat Nutella on almost anything.  At $5.75, I could make these at home, but the ambiance, the friends, the world cup matches on the big screen made it worthwhile.

The Mining Camp Restaurant in Apache Junction has atmosphere.  The kids had a great time exploring the gift shop full of old west trinkets and Arizona history.  The entertainment was fantastic.  Two old west hillbillies with guitar and washtub bass played music, did magic tricks, and a bit of a comedy show.  The kids (and most adults) were completely in awe of the card tricks and bit of magic.

The food? Not the greatest in the world, but worth it with the coupon and the summer rates and the fact that kids under 4 eat free.  All you can eat family style.  Ribs, chicken, and ham.  Dinner rolls, raisin bread, stuffing, gravy, green beans, baked beans, and coleslaw.  Cookies for dessert.   Both kids devoured the ham, which had a bit of a pineapple glaze on it.  The ribs were decent.  Sweet bbq sauce and the meat was tender, if a bit fatty.  The chicken comes with a heavy yellow gravy, but if you ask for the gravy on the side, the chicken was actually a nice baked chicken, moist, and with decent flavor.  The baked beans were tasty, if a bit sweet.  The coleslaw was excellent.  The dinner rolls were light and fluffy.  Lemonade, iced tea and water are complementary.

There is a side menu you can order from with steaks and prime rib that cost extra.  My sister had the prime rib and said it was very good.  One downside to the place is that if you ask for seconds on the dishes, you can’t bring food home in to go boxes.  Not sure the logic of that since they just throw the food out anyway, but thems the rules.

The Goldfield Ghost Town and Mine are just up the street and worth the drive if you make a day of it.

You can pan for gold, take a train ride, watch an old west gun fight, or just explore the town.  Details at http://www.goldfieldghosttown.com/

It’s worth the drive to see the sun setting on the Superstition Mountains and sit and eat a meal with family and friends.

So it’s not exactly a restaurant, and not the best food in the world, but it sure is wallet friendly and the kids love it.  Where else can you feed the entire family for under $7.00?  Sure, you probably should add the cost of the membership in, but over the course of the year, I eat here enough that it pays for itself.  Sure you also need to add in the cost of that box of Shamwow’s and that tub of cookie dough that should last longer than it does and that gigantic Toy Story coloring book with stickers…

The pizza is decent.  The polish sausages are actually pretty good.  And then for dessert? Walk around the store and make sure you try all the free samples (you don’t actually HAVE to purchase anything, even if that roasted tomato and cream cheese dip on those sesame crackers was pretty awesome.)

If you don’t have a membership, find a friend who does and crash their party.  Costco is more fun with friends.  Browse the book aisle and pick up that latest Glen Beck abomination or one of the many vampire novellas that I do not understand the attraction to.  Walk up and down the clothing aisles and find a cute top or some workout shorts or my favorite yoga pants (seriously, I love them.)  And then, of course, the food.  10 gallon jar of pickles? Check. 50 count of granola bars? Check. 8 pounds of New York Strip? It freezes well.

Sometimes I am not so sure I am getting a deal on things.  I’m pretty sure the cereal at the local grocery store is the same price, if not cheaper when on sale.  That’s what the barcode scanner on my new phone is for!  And don’t forget those electronics. TV’s, cameras, computers…oh my!  Return policy can’t be beat.  And the 2 year limited warranty? Better than most stores.  And bikes.  And you can even get an oil change and new tires while you shop.  I believe you can even book a cruise there.  I haven’t done that yet.

So anyway, to while away an afternoon, Costco can’t be beat.

We tried the new Indian place that just went in on Gilbert and Southern.  Delicious buffet with all the tea you can drink and all the nans you can eat.  The curries were a little too spicy for Ben, but the Tandoori chicken was perfect.  The mild rice had some veggies in it that didn’t even phase him.  He tried a samosa.  The staff was excellent during the lunch rush and one of the owners, a Sikh, wearing his Dastar, was very friendly and engaging towards Ben.  At one point, Ben was clearly suffering from a bite of too spicy curry, and he brought over a small bowl of rice pudding so that the milk would calm the spiciness.  Amazing!  I highly recommend this place and will no doubt be back again.