Blanco at La Encantada

         

    Hello there, today I'm going write about another Mexican restaurant called Blanco Tacos and Tequila, located at the La Encantada shopping area. First, I went to the ‘snowfall’ at La Encantada, taking place on the weekends before Christmas. The ‘snow’ was amazing, until it started melting. I expected it to not melt, but that’s not likely here in Tucson. I also figured to the secret to the ‘snow’: soap! Water and soap is what they used. Hang out near the big Christmas tree to see it!

    After that we went to the restaurant, Blanco. The wait was a bit long, but not surprising since a lot of people were there for the snowfall. They text you on your phone to let you know when your table is ready.  We sat down as our server brought us chips and salsa. They had one mild and one spicy (Red one mild, Green one spicy), and the chips were warm. We ordered the appetizer of cheese crisp with guacamole. It didn’t come out quite like I expected, all the guac was balled up in the middle. Although good, the guac was a bit spicy.

I ordered the chicken tacos from the kids’ menu, which also were not what I expected, as they were mostly chicken rather than a mix of everything. They tasted fine, but needed a few more toppings. They had good veggie choices, but you need to tell the server you’re vegetarian or else you’ll get rice made with chicken stock.

We also stopped by The Core, a new physical exercise and wellness center just opened by TMC. Free tennis ball! Plus, they had some cool equipment - jump ropes, weights, yoga balls - and they asked me what I think kids would like to see there. Very cool! If you have your own ideas about what to do there, go and tell them.

La Indita

          Hello, everyone! I recently got a lot of views for my blog. I would like to thank everyone who came here to look at my posts. It really made me happy when I saw that my total page views were 146! Thank you so much, everyone. 
          Today I am reviewing a Mexican restaurant called La Indita. This restaurant is right outside the modern street car stop at 4th and 4th/5th. It's easy to get there.  We took the street car all the way from the University area. It was pretty cool to ride on the street car!
          La Indita has a friendly, homey environment. There was a giant painting on the wall. It was very well done. They did have a little roof problem. I ordered two green corn tamales. They were out of the green corn, which is seasonal, so I settled for the chicken tamales instead. They also had limeade instead of lemonade, which was a little sour, but fine other than that. They also brought out chips and salsa while we waited for our food. The salsa is a little spicy (for kids) there.

Painting on the wall

          My tamales came and were way more spicy than I expected. You might try ordering your meal mild, if possible. Although spicy, the chicken tamales were quite good. It came with rice and beans, which helped when I took too big of a bite of the spicy tamales.
          Overall I would rate this restaurant 8/10 cacti. Needs a bit of work on the spiciness (to me, maybe you like spicy, I wouldn't know). They have their own web page, check it out here: https://lainditarestauranttucson.com/about. Questions? Email me here at: ethanhinz@gmail.com. 
         

The Cookie Cabin

    Hello, everyone. First off I would like to apologize for not posting for so long. But let’s get right to the review.

This week I went up to Mt. Lemmon for some sight seeing. We went up and had lunch at The Cookie Cabin. The Cookie (that’s what I’m going to call it for short) is mainly focused on dessert, but offer pizzas too. There’s an inside area with a fireplace, an upstairs area, but we chose the outside patio. We shared a 12’ pizza with 3 people. You can get just single slices, or share a 16’ pizza as well. 

Outside seating area.

    There are many toppings for the pizzas there. We just got cheese, but you can get pepperoni or veggies. They will do half and half with the toppings, if you ask. I would suggest that you don’t get too much for your meal, because you’re going to want dessert!    

    The Cookie has many desserts, including a giant cookie, a bowl of ice cream, and both combined. We got one chocolate chip cookie to share, and it normally comes with six scoops of ice cream, but we only got three (for three people). We also got whipped cream and caramel sauce on top. You can choose from lots of syrups and other toppings like sprinkles. The cookie plus toppings was huge!! With three people, we still didn’t manage to finish the cookie. The cookie was moist and thick, almost like a pie, with a crisp outer crust, and the ice cream was a rich vanilla.

Cookie with ice cream dessert.

    I would suggest this restaurant very much, even though it is a long drive with beautiful sights. We stopped at Seven Cataracts, which is flowing this time of year, as well as Windy Point. Go all the way to the end of the Mt. Lemmon road for this restaurant, before the Marshall Gulch Trail. The address is: 12781 North Sabino Canyon Parkway, Summerhaven. I gave this restaurant a high 9/10 cacti. Questions? Email me at: ethanhinz@gmail.com

Bangkok Cafe

    Hello! Today for my restaurant review I am reviewing Bangkok Cafe. Bangkok Cafe is a small Thai restaurant at 2511 E. Speedway Blvd. It only has tables - no booths. There are some interesting Thai paintings on the walls.

    I went there for lunch. You can order daily lunch specials from their menu. These include a soup, small appetizer, and a meal for $8.50. I got the sweet and sour chicken (one of my favorite dishes). It came with the soup of the day with potatoes, onions, and chicken. 

   The meal came, and it was great. The appetizer is kind of like a crab puff, but with veggies inside instead of crab meat. It also came with a great sauce to dip in. The chicken was chewy and juicy. The sweet and sour sauce wasn’t very strong, although still good. It also came with mixed veggies and pineapples, which were the best. I had a lemonade, and it was fresh squeezed and very good. They offer a variety of fresh fruit juices.

    Service was friendly, and they checked on us regularly, but the whole cafe seem to be taking care of by only two ladies. It wasn’t very crowded on our visit. They also have many, many vegetarian options on the menu. There are also spirits for the adults. Don’t forget to pick up a lime and coconut flavored candy at the front of the restaurant after your meal. 

    I rate this restaurant a great 8.5/10 cacti.

Fronimo's Greek Cafe

    Hello, my name is Ethan and this will be my first ever Tucson Kid Restaurant Reviews (TKRR). I’ll be reviewing restaurants in the Tucson area from the point of view of being a kid! Today I’m am reviewing one of my favorite restaurants: Fronimo’s Greek Cafe. It’s average sized for a restaurant, with plenty of seats, booths with large tables (my favorite), and even an area you can reserve for big parties. 

My favorite thing to get at Fronimo’s is the Greek burger. It’s a regular burger (served with onions, lettuce, and tomato), but with feta cheese and their specially made tzatziki sauce. It tastes great, but sometimes has too much onions and cheese. The bottom of the bun is filled with the cheese and sometimes breaks apart. I also get the amazing Greek fries, which are like regular fries, but with spices, lemon juice, and feta cheese. One order is pretty large and can be shared by two people. It also comes with their special sauce on the side. 

They have many other Greek type foods and deserts such as salads, veggie burgers (for the vegetarians), falafel, and baklava. I tried the baklava, and it was good. The pastry was flaky and layered, and it has a very sweet flavor.

This is definitely a great place for kids. There is a small kid’s menu, but your best bet is to order from the adult menu. The staff are very friendly. There’s a lot of space to do homework, a good soda fountain, and free wireless!

For my rating system I will rate restaurants on a scale of 10 cacti. I give this restaurant a high 9.5/10 cacti. Their address is 3242 E. Speedway Boulevard. Questions or comments? Email me at: ethanhinz@gmail.com.