Mongo, Veteran's Parkway, Columbus

At Mongo, you get a good amount of food for a decent price. And you get to assemble your meal yourself. Today I went heavy on the zucchini, cabbage, and peanuts. I got chicken and steak. For sauce, I mixed honey garlic, kung pao, and sweet chili. It really hit the spot.
For an appetizer, I got the crab rangoon. The sauce they serve with these is great.
One thing about today's trip to Mongo that I didn't care for was that the server left all of our used dishes on the table throughout the meal. Other than that, we had a great dining experience.
Food: 4
Service: 3
Ambiance: 3
Good Mongolian barbecue: about $10

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Cajun Corner, Eufaula, AL

Every time I go through Eufaula, I want to stop at the Cajun Corner. Today I finally did, and I was surprised by the quality of the food and the hospitality of the staff. I ordered the crawfish po' boy. It was really good. The crawfish weren't over cooked, and the sauce they put on it was nice and spicy, but not too hot. The wait staff appear to work as a team, with all three of the waitresses checking on me and delivering food to my table.
I will definitely be stopping here again.
Food: 4
Service: 4
Ambiance: 4
Great sandwich and fries: about $9

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Alcapulco's, Ladonia

Great mexican food. When I come here I have a hard time not ordering the carnitas tacos. 1, they're carnitas. 2, they're really good. And they were really good tonight!
Food: 4
Service: 4
Ambiance: 3
Best tacos around: about $9

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Red Lobster, 14th Street, Columbus

What a shame. Red Lobster no longer has their lobster bisque. So I got the clam chowder instead. It was warm and buttery and full of clammy goodness... Except there wasn't enough clammy goodness. But it was good chowder.
And these really long booth tables... What's up with those. I felt like we were passing everything down to someone the entire meal.
Meal: 3
Service: 4
Ambiance: 3, for the long booth tables
Warm clammy goodness: $5

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El Vaquero, Summerville Rd.

The word of the day is "consistency". Last week, the salsa was not so good. Today it was nice. Last week, the carnitas were grand, today they were dry and not so "itas", but more like "carnes grandes".
My wife had the tacos de chorizo and they were really good. She shared, which was really nice of her.
Food: 3 overall, 2 for the carnitas letdown
Service: 3
Ambiance: 3
Better Mexican food than most places in town, $20

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Pickle Barrel, Airport Thruway, Columbus

It's a sports bar type of place. I've driven by it many times, and never knew. Some coworkers suggested it for lunch, so that's where we went.
Their menu says they have the best reuben in town, so I took that as a challenge. It definitely was a good reuben, but I think the one over at Jason's is better.
Their fries are interesting, for lack of a better word. I still haven't made up my mind about them. They are beer battered. It's almost the same result a the batter on fish and chips style fish. Every time I bit into one of the fries, I halfway expected to taste cod.
Food: 4
Service: 4
Ambiance: 3- The TV was too loud
Pretty good reuben: about $10

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El Vaquero, Summerville Road, next to Piggly Wiggly

After living in the south for nearly seventeen years, I suppose I should have gotten used to the fact that salsa tastes like ketchup. El Vaquero's salsa isn't as bad as some other restaurants around, but I personally wouldn't classify it as salsa. Maybe "mexican style tomato sauce". I wish they'd put a mess of cilantro in it, and maybe some chunks of tomato, some onion, and some garlic... Oh yeah, and some spiciness. Then it might qualify as an actual salsa. I know it's a lot to ask for here in Phenix City, but I can dream.
This is my first visit to this new restaurant. It used to be a CVS pharmacy, I think. When I walked in I was pleasantly surprised by how nice it looked. The attention to detail in the decorations and furnishings is apparent. The hand-painted tables are worth the visit.
It would have suited my preference if they had divided the dining area up a little more into more intimate seating areas. As it is, it feels like a mexican cafeteria. But it is a nice looking cafeteria.
Now for the good part. One of my absolute favorite things is carnitas, deep fried chunks of pork. I have only seen carnitas on the menu at one other restaurant in the area, and it's more like al pastor style than just plain old carnitas. But I sometimes ask if a mexican restaurant has carnitas just to see if I get lucky. Well, ladies and gentlemen, today was my lucky day. Not only does El Vaquero have carnitas, they have really good carnitas. And the salsa that comes with it is what I wanted at the beginning with my chips. I'll definitely be back for more carnitas in the future.
Food: 5, yay carnitas
Service: 3
Ambiance: 4 with reservations about the cafeteria room
A little piece of deep fried pork heaven: $7.95

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Waffle House, Summerville Road

A no frills, downright good breakfast. The end.
Food: 4
Service: 4
Ambiance: 3
All Star Special: $6.79

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IHOP, US 280

IHOP usually does a good job at breakfast, and this morning was no exception. I had the harvest grain and nut pancakes with two eggs, two sausage patties, and hash browns. The only complaint I have was that the hash browns seemed to have ben cooked ahead of time and kept warm until I ordered them. Other than that, it was a good breakfast.
Food: 3
Service: 5-only because the folks we went with were regulars of that particular waitress, and she takes really good care of them...
Ambiance: 3
Breakfast: about $7

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Houlihan's, downtown Columbus

On the way to the theater we stopped at Houlihan's for dinner. I had the Brentwood chicken sandwich, my significant other had the chicken asian chop chop. One of the boys had a cup of chicken tortilla soup. They enjoyed their meals. I didn't taste either, so I can't tell you whether they were good or not.
One thing that turns me off about chicken is if it's dry. This sandwich wasn't. It was topped with red onion, field greens, tomato, and bacon. Very tasty.
Food: 4
Service: 3
Ambiance: 4- it's in the old iron works building. How cool is that.
My sandwich: $10.50

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Mac's Steaks and Bar-B-Que in Warm Springs, GA

Took a road trip today and ended up in Warm Springs.  In an old white  house right off of the square is Mac's.  I walked in and was told to have a seat wherever I liked.  It being a beautiful day, I opted to sit on the glassed in front porch.  It was obvious from the conversations around me that this place is a local favorite.  Young families, middle aged bikers, and an elderly WW2 vet and his wife were among the patrons at Mac's.  I ordered the regular pork plate which comes with a generous helping of chopped, nearly fat-free meat, cole slaw, brunswick stew, a bag of Lay's chips, two slices of bread, and two slices of pickle.  The meat was delicious.  The cole slaw was really good.  The stew was good as well, though I have had better.
They offered me mild, medium, or hot sauce, and I asked for hot, thinking it would be the typical mustard based barbeque sauce typical of this region.  What came out of the bottle was more like a fiery chipotle sauce than barbeque sauce.  After a second take, I squirted it all over the meat and dug in.  I was pleasantly surprised.  This was good.  Not too hot, but it left that nice warmth in my mouth.  And tasty to boot!  It was a nice compliment to the smokiness of the meat.

Food- 4
Service- 3
Ambiance- 3
Plate o' Barbeque: $8.25

Chick-fil-A US 280

On my short list of fine dining establishments that have come to Phenix City and NOT gone downhill is Chick-fil-A. 
Tonight I had the Deluxe Chick-fil-A sandwich without cheese, large fries and a large lemonade.
Although I like their new spicy chicken sandwich, I prefer the original topped with Texas Pete's, which they have plenty on hand.  The service at Chick-fil-A is second to none in the fast food industry.  I think that the Phenix City store has even better service than the Columbus store on Bradley Park.
If you've never been to Chick-fil-A, you need to give them a shot.

Food: 4
Service:4
Ambiance:3 (it is a fast food place, although the fresh flowers are a nice touch)
Meal: Just shy of $7.00

Cafe 431- About 2 miles south of Phenix City on US 431

 For lunch we decided to hit Cafe 431.  Every time I come to this cozy family diner, I have a great experience, and today was no exception.  I ordered the Philly Cheese steak sandwich.  We had some french toast and a stack of pancakes at the table as well.  One of the things I really like about this place is that they give you just the right amount of food.  They don't serve the monster portions that most chains serve; you don't leave feeling like you've eaten a couch.  I thoroughly enjoyed my sandwich and got to sample the other two items, and I can say that they all tasted as good as they look, if not better.
The wait staff all have a hustle in their step, and you can tell that the owners want you to feel at home.  From the well-chosen paint on the walls to the way they tell you to sit where you want, this place feels like a second home. 
Oh, and they bring you a glass of water when you first sit down at your table.  A true dying breed in this modern no-customer-service world in which we live.

And they have a cool fire truck out front that they offered the boys a ride in. 

Food: 4
Service:4
Ambiance:5
Total meal: $20.00, plus a generous tip.

IHOP on US-280

I recently heard about some folks who take pictures of their meals and blog about them. As I sit here eating in the Phenix City IHOP, I decided to give it a go myself. I was feeling like slumming so we came to IHOP. I thought about a sandwich, but considering the mood I was in, I finally settled on the appetizer combo.

It's got onion rings, big mozzarella sticks, and chicken fingers. I topped it off with an order of fries. Needless to say the food was greasy, but the chicken tasted like warmed over frozen food from a box in the grocery store. The onion rings were ok, as were the cheese sticks.


The"side" of fries was literally a side. I paid $1.69 for about 15 french fries.


On top of the mediocre food, the manager sat in the booth across from us nearly the entire time we were there talking to one of the off duty employees about the church down the street.

I've always had great experiences at IHOP for breakfast, but I suppose dinner is another story.

Food:2
Service:3
Ambiance:3
Entree: $7.49 + $1.69 for fries