Wagon Wheel Restaurant Review, Escondido California

The Wagon Wheel has been an institution in Escondido, California for over 40 years now. On what seems to be only the second set of owners in it's history the restaurant gives patrons the chance to step back in time to enjoy a home cooked meal in a comfortable red leather booth while paying prices that would remind you more of 1985 then 2005.

I recently had the opportunity to enjoy dinner on a Friday evening at the Wagon Wheel Restaurant in Escondido, CA. Located off of the 78 Freeway it is easy to locate with plenty of parking both in front and in back, an old wooden building houses one of the oldest running restaurants in San Diego county.

After finding my way to a corner booth I started by ordering a soda to drink, the restaurant does not currently carry a liquor license in part to keep to their family friendly attitude. I then found a special board (located just above the entrance to the kitchen and written in chalk).

I ordered the baby back ribs special which was accompanied by a salad to start, side of potatoes (I chose French fries), another side dish (I chose vegetables), as well as a choice of bread either roll or cornbread.

So how was everything? Extremely good. The salad was the classic house salad which was a nice place to start. The ribs came out and had clearly been cooked at a low temperature for a long period of time, the sauce was perfect. The French fries when combined with my wife's onion rings ordered showed off the best of 1950's American cooking. Lightly battered and fried when it was ordered and served piping hot. Lastly I found some space for dessert as there was an old portrait above a window of a piece of cherry cheesecake. To put it in a word: splendid.

I hope anyone living in San Diego county or south Riverside county will consider the Wagon Wheel restaurant in Escondido next time they are looking for a restaurant to visit. As opposed to the generic chain restaurants like TGI Friday's, Chile's, Applebees or Denny's you'll be paying less while getting much better (and more) food from a family owned restaurant. I always enjoy being able to stop in say hello and be able to have an owner there working the restaurant and making the food. Personally, I'd rather spend my money in a restaurant where I know the family that I'm supporting, as opposed to a large corporation to which I have no connection with.

All You Can Eat Sushi Buffet at Tomokazu Japanese Restaurant (Vancouver, Canada)

Tomokazu Japanese Restaurant 201-1128 West Broadway Vancouver, BC, Canada phone 604-677-0426 As featured on dineouthere.com: www.dineouthere.com "all you can eat" sushi buffet Here are the dishes and items featured in the video: wasabi (Japanese horseradish) green tea chopsticks ebi sunomono (shrimp and vermicelli salad) tuna tataki (cooked on outside) spinach gomae (with sesame paste) miso soup raw oysters (kaki pon) assorted sashimi (raw fish) tuna and salmon spicy salmon sashimi salmon teriyaki agedashi tofu oyster motoyaki (baked) prawn tempura nigiri sushi maki sushi (rolls) Alaska roll California roll (very popular) BC Roll (salmon + skin) futomaki + seafood cones yam tempura roll chopped scallop cones Abalone sushi (rare) Cost of meal was around $22 CAD per person. Video and editing by Geoff Peters Closing music by Geoff Peters Band (Live Jazz band in Vancouver, BC, Canada). Jazz band web site: www.gpeters.com



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HlyVX0AMQ9s&hl=en

Restaurant Acoustics

Have you ever been inside of a crowded restaurant sitting at a table with your wife or girlfriend only to find out that you could not hear a word she was saying because the acoustics in the restaurant were so poor? Most restaurants employ hard surface areas throughout in order to easily keep the establishment clean and healthy. The problem with all the clean hard surfaces is that they reflect the sound. In other words, the sound bounces around the room making it difficult he understand what the person at your own table is saying, but instead clearly hearing the lady 5 tables away from you. Restaurant acoustics are generally horrible. Here you are taking the lady you love out for your anniversary and paying at least $50 per plate and you can't even carry on a conversation with her.

Many restaurants are losing business because they don't know the first thing about acoustics. There are many thing that restaurant owners and managers can do to make the room much more pleasant for their patrons. These dining areas need to be acoustically treated or absorbent materials are needed to absorb the reflective noise in the restaurant.

When furnishing a new restaurant, it is always best to add fabric covered chairs and booth seating because fabrics absorb the sound. The same goes for bar stools and lounge chairs and couches. Use fabric covered furnishings whenever possible.

Here's a handy trick for tuning up the acoustics in a restaurant. There is a product on the market now called Echoless Roll material. This is a bonded acoustical cotton roll material that has a black neutral fabric facing on one side. Not a very appealing look for an up scale restaurant, but here's the trick. Take your tables and chairs and glue this Echoless roll material to the bottoms of both the chairs and tables where none of the patrons will be able to see this material. The Echoless roll can also be glued to the underside of the bar and bar stools or to the underside of any of the furnishings in the establishment where noise reflection is an issue. This material strategically placed can actually reduce the amount of reflective noise by at least 50% to 65%. The more of it you are able to use in the restaurant, the better your sound absorption will be. You can dramatically lower reverb times and increase speech intelligibility to the point where a normal conversation can take place in a very crowded eatery.