Native Taters (CLOSED)

Like a lot of Americans, I could stand to lose a little weight.  At least part of this probably has to do with the fact that I consider food to be very sensual, whether I'm cooking it, eating it, or even just watching it prepared on Top Chef (how awesome was last night's Restaurant Wars?!).  I'm not one of those joyless people shovelling flavorless slop into their faces just to keep the machine going.  You know that moment where you pop a morsel of something truly delightful into your mouth and time seems to stop?  Your chewing slows, you close your eyes and tilt your head back slightly, maybe a smile spreads over your face...when I manage to make something that provokes that reaction in my girlfriend, it completely makes my day.  Ask your average person what dish their mother cooked that they liked the most, and check out the transcendent look that washes over their face.  My mother just kills soups.  I don't think I've ever had a better soup than Mom's homemade Zuppa Toscana.  Mothers just seem to corner the market on comfort food, and it's for that reason that I'm almost certain that the proprietor of Native Taters has to be a mother.

Smashburger

This is a new one for me, but since I hit both locations of this chain in a relatively short time frame, I'm just going to do one write-up for both.  Towards the end of last year, Smashburger took out a full-page ad on the back of the main section of the Idaho Statesman.  It was big and unwieldy, but a buy one get one free coupon is worth a little hassle.  It sat in a drawer for a long time, but with the expiration date looming we decided to dust it off and get grown-up food after a recent trip to McDonald's for half-priced Happy Meals (Tuesdays from 5 PM to 7 PM at most if not all of the Treasure Valley locations, just in case you care).  I'm not promoting McDonald's by any stretch, but when you've got kids to deal with sometimes it's an easy way to take care of them cheaply and then cook something or get take-out somewhere for yourself and not have to worry about whether they'll eat it.  Moving on...

Donnie Mac's Trailer Park Cuisine (CLOSED)

It's been a while, but if memory serves I first heard about Donnie Mac's Trailer Park Cuisine through an episode of "Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives".

I don't care much for the show or the host, but I'm amused by the whole theme restaurant thing, and a couple of years down the road when I met my girlfriend she spoke positively about the place.  So, when an opportunity to pick up a $45 voucher to Donnie Mac's for $20 through LivingSocial, I could hardly pass it up.

Some slightly better pictures of crepes...

De Poulet

Parisian

Strawberry & Nutella

Deliciousness from The Creperie.  The pics are still not as good as I would like, and I still didn't get a picture of the store front.  Guess I'll just have to go back, and I'll keep going back until I get it right!  Oh, how I suffer...

The Gyro Shack (Overland)

As I mentioned in my review of their sister location, the Overland location of The Gyro Shack is not exactly more of the same.  Yes, the menus are very similar, right down to the prices.  And while I love both locations, for me the Ustick branch has a slight edge.  I'm going to lay out the reasons why, but please keep in mind that this is not a negative review, just a slightly less favorable comparison.  Moving on...