Red Robin

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My visit to Red Robin in Wichita was an extra special one for me as the #FoodieBuddy joining me was my nephew, Griff (the Wichita Donut Kid).

We went to the Red Robin location in northeastern Wichita off of 13th street north.

#GoogleLocalGuide

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The interior was nice. Lots of decorations to look at. The lighting was nice. We found a booth and our waitress, Whitney, arrived promptly. Whitney brought us menus, water and our first serving of bottomless steak fries. She answered all my questions and checked on us often. Excellent service!

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  Bottomless Steak Fries

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  Pretzel Bites

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  Fried Pickle Nickels

The appetizers

The appetizer round started early with a free basket of steak fries. The fries at Red Robin are unlimited. They were served with ranch and campfire sauce (a bbq mayo blend).

The fries are thick cut steak fries with a nice seasoning on them. The ranch was ok, but the campire sauce was the standout hit of the appetizer round.

The Pretzel Bites were pretty decent, but the cheese sauce was only average. Perhaps I had my hopes set too high, but I was expecting a good beer cheese dip for the pretzels. Maybe I just spent too much time at German restaurants this summer.

The Fried Pickle Nickles were average. They went well with ranch. Griff liked dipping them in the Campfire sauce. Granted, Griff dipped everything in the Campfire sauce. I think it’s safe to say the Campfire sauce was Griff’s favorite part of this culinary adventure.

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Royal Red Robin Burger

The appetizers (and bottomless steak fries) really filled us up, so we just ordered one burger to share. The Royal Red Robin Burger was a nice, thick patty with american cheese, bacon, tomato, lettuce, mayo and a fried egg on a sesame seed bun.

The most satisfying part was slicing the burger in half and watching the yolk run down the burger. It was a good bacon cheeseburger. Griff was a bit jealous that my half ended up with more egg yolk on it. Delicious, but messy.

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Cinnamon Sugar Doh! Rings

For dessert, we tried the tower of cinnamin sugar mini donuts (small size). It came with two dips: chocolate (Griff’s fav) and caramel (my fav). I was a big fan of this, but Griff was unimpressed. I guess it takes something a little more to impress the #WichitaDonutKid.

The staff at this location definitely made this experience a good one for both me and my nephew. We were very well taken care of while we enjoyed some quality eats. I recomend the Royal Red Robin Burger, and as for Griff, he absolutely recommends the Campfire sauce. Until next time, happy eating! 😁

#NatsJourneys #KCFoodie #CulinaryAdventures #ExploreYourCity #WichitaKS #Foodie #FoodieBuddy #FoodieFriday #WichitaDonutKid #RedRobin #Recommended

Des Moines, Iowa

This past July, I wandered about the greater Des Moines Iowa metroplex. The metro is made up of several cities along I35 and I80 that all converge around the capital city of Des Moines. I stayed in a couple different hotels, drove around several popular areas, toured shopping districts, hang outs and (of course) restaurants. 😉

This city lies smack dab in the middle of Iowa. The population of the greater metro is around 700,000.

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#GoogleLocalGuide

SHOPPING: the Des Moines metro boasts several indoor malls: Jordan Creek Town Center (newest, biggest and best), Valley West Mall (used to be awesome) and Merle Hay mall (was cool in the 1970s). All three are still in operation. There are also multiple shopping districts around. These include retail, hotels, restaurants and even apartments (i.e. West Glen Town Center).

Jordan Creek

Valley West

Merle Hay

ENTERTAINMENT: DesMoines has no major league teams, but a ton of minor and club teams to watch (baseball, soccer, arena football, hockey, etc…). They host major tournaments for several sports.

Des Moines boasts a beautiful riverwalk, a biodome, a science center, several theaters, a thriving arts scene, a plethora of public parks (that includes the nation’s largest skate park) and even an amusement/water park called Adventureland.

As for me, I spent my time at the popular Smash Park. This large facility is a bar, restaurant and entertainment venue in the city of West Des Moines. It boasts many pickleball courts, as well as bocce ball, darts, cornhole, etc… They host gatherings, leagues and tournaments year round.

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Smash Park: pickleball, cornhole, darts, arcade games, bocceball, board games, giant Jenga and Connect 4 all built around a bar and restaurant.

DINING: Classic, local restaurant chains, like B’Bops (burgers, fries) and Tasty Tacos (Tex Mex fast food) can be found all over the cities.

Several local eateries have been making waves statewide and even nationally. Zombie Burger (2 locations) with their “Walking Ched” (a maccy cheesy burger with 2 breaded and fried mac and cheese cuts making up the bun. Also Fong’s Pizza (2 locations) with their Crab Rangoon pizza and Dragon Balls (cream cheese and jalepeno stuffed inside chicken wrapped in bacon)

Zombie Burger’s Walking Ched. It’s supposed to have a small serving of mac & cheese on it too, but I ate it separately (too messy)

Fong’s famous Crab Rangoon Pizza

Fong’s Dragon Balls

With low housing costs, growing industries and a growing arts and dining scene, people are flocking to Des Moines. If you’re looking for a new place to transplant to, or even just want to take a weekend vacation and explore; follow my advice and check out Des Moines. You won’t be disappointed!

#NatsJourneys #WanderingWednesdays #TastyTravels #ExploreYourCity #DesMoinesIA #CulinaryAdventures #HighlyRecommended

The Suicide Squad

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2021

The Suicide Squad directed by James Gunn brings the irreverent, bloody comedy of the comics to your screen. The deaths are sudden, intense and continuous. Neither fan favorite actors or even beloved characters are safe in this film. It definitely lives up to it’s name. *SPOILERS

The Suicide Squad (or their official name, Task Force X) is a black ops unit of captured villains held at Belle Reve, a top secret government prison in Louisiana.

Led by Amanda Waller, Task Force X is used by the U.S. government to do things the government doesn’t want the general populace to know about. Each prisoner is implanted with a tiny bomb at the base of their neck, so they can be executed if they don’t obey orders.

Team #1: Weasel, Blackguard, Mongal, Javelin, Captain Boomerang, T.D.K., Savant and Colonel Rick Flag

The movie starts out quickly, introducing Savant, Colonel Rick Flag and his team that consists of Blackguard, Mongal, Captain Boomerang, Weasel, Javelin, T.D.K. and finally, Harley Quinn. They are put on a chopper and sent to the island of Corto Maltese. The chopper drops them off and they begin their suicide mission…..literally. Almost all of them die within the first 12 minutes on screen.

We then learn that there is a second team also landing on the island. This team is led by Bloodsport and it includes Peacekeeper, Polka Dot Man, Nanua, Rat Catcher 2 and her pet rat Sebastian.

This is when the title comes up and the movie begins. A bouncy song about death plays while the camera pans over all the corpses and the government employees exchange money from their bets on who from team #1 would die during the assault.

Polka Dot Man, Peacekeeper, King Shark (Nanaue), Bloodsport and Rat Catcher 2 (with Sebastian on her shoulder)

The main movie follows the story of team #2 and the surviving members of team #1 (Rick Flag and Harley Quinn) who they “rescue”. The big bad guy is Starro the Conqueror, a giant intergalactic Starfish that can control peoples minds through attaching little starfish to their faces.

Starro the Conqueror

The action is intense, bloody but not too overly grotesque. Definitely deserves it’s R rating from the blood, the nudity and the language. Do NOT takes kids to see this movie!

The fighting is intense, the comedy is laugh out loud funny and sometimes adult oriented. It also has strong emotional moments, an entertaining soundtrack and a solid storyline which is actually relevant to today (surprise, surprise the real bad guy is the U.S. government).

I would list The Suicide Squad as a solid entry into the DCEU. You don’t need to know all about the comics or movies to enjoy this. It works well as a stand alone film and at the same time fits in the #Snyderverse by not contradicting anything from those films. I quite enjoyed it’s story and style of humor. P.S. watch ALL THE WAY through the credits

Score = 82%

#NatsJourneys #MovieReview #MovieMondays #NatApproved

I hope to see Weasel in more films.

RIP Polka Dot Man. You were my new favorite super hero 😔