Down Home Grubbing

    Planes, trains, and automobiles... and unicorns and gas pumps and creepy clowns and Donald Duck.  Have you guessed it yet?  Yes I am talking about the one and only (actually one of two in Casper, and a few others in this general region) Sanford's Grub & Pub.  If you live in Casper you have more than likely been to at least one of their locations.  Reviewing a place like this is rather difficult since many have already made their own opinions. As mention in previous posts, mine is better.  
    If you want to feel like you're eating in a knock-off collectibles store this place is for you.  Don't get me wrong here folks, the atmosphere is getting one of my top ratings.  "Why you ask?",  simple abundance.  The toys and old replicas may give the place a 'hoarder' kind of feeling, but there is always something new to look at.  Maybe not the best idea for a romantic dinner if you want your beau/belle to pay attention to you, but cheeky all the same.  One fair warning though; if you have those dreams where dolls come to life and bite your toes and little clowns parachute down on your head with knives, DO NOT ENTER!  Akin to your visual circus, you are also  bombarded with the mind-numbing sounds of music, sports, and chatter.  After all, it is an "& Pub".  Deafness aside; as a pub, it's expected, as a restaurant it's rather annoying.  Sometimes you really should pick one or the other.
    Keeping with the pub-like genre, Sanford's has a massive array of artery clogging dishes.  Here's where we get to the 'down home' nitty gritty.  As cooking goes... it's good food made from okay ingredients.  If you want a burger or a steak with a little Cajun kick than your probably going to enjoy it.  The jambalaya is not award winning, though it is (at least I think) not made out of a box.  If you were thinking of finding real Cajun or Creole cuisine than you will be massively disappointed.  Just an FYI for most restaurants here in Casper, this one included, don't bother with the seafood.  It seems in Wyoming even the shrimp are tough, leathery, and would probably win in a gun fight.  Sanford's is a place for good 'cooking' overall, but without the atmospheric distractions, the food alone would not bring you back.
    Should probably also mention the service here as well.  Um, well, uh.  We got our food.  Is there something to be said for not noticing them?


RATING
Food Quality:
♦♦♦

Customer Service:
♦♦

Accuracy:
♦♦♦♦

Speed:
♦♦♦

Atmosphere:
♦♦♦♦

Over-all:
♦♦♦•

       
 

Wonderful-land!!

   So to start this blog off I think I'm going to be a little out of character.  This restaurant is actually what gave me the idea for this blog.  Wonderful House, 221 S. Montana Ave. Casper, WY is one of the most welcoming and comfortable restaurants I've been to. As you arrive at the Hilltop Shopping Center you get this feeling of dread, "Am I really going to eat in at a place in an outlet plaza?".  I remember some of the ones in Colo. Springs that you had to push the peeing drunks out of the doorway to get in (always remember to wash your hands).  You approach the rather unassuming 'store front' thinking that you may be hanging with your new friend 'Johnny' in the bathroom tonight.  AH HA! thou wadst deceived!  The interior in this place has trumped some of the fanciest (and most expensive) fine dining places I've been to.  The classic Asian motif is accompanied with an almost Elizabethan (as in Taylor, not queen) elegance.  Of course the musical renditions of Sinatra always help in that respect.  The service there is literally the best I've ever witnessed in Casper.  There is a place in Denver where the SAKI never runs out, but that's for a different post.  Now for the real meat, the MEAT!  You've had beef in some of those other Asian restaurants right?  Did someone have a sale on jerky?  Wonderful House has beef dishes that would make some of the steakhouses cry.  I have tried less of their meals than I would like, but coming from a meat and potatoes family my dad's opinion is gold.  "I have never had a plate here I didn't love."  Mine is the Kung Pao Triple Delight.  Over-all I really couldn't rave more about this place.  It's actually been hard for me to try some of the other ones around town due to my gratitude for this experience.  The last little FYI.  Reasonable is an over-used word when it comes to prices...these ones are really budgetable.

RATING
Food Quality:
♦♦♦♦•

Customer Service:
♦♦♦♦

Accuracy:
♦♦♦♦♦

Speed:
♦♦♦♦

Atmosphere:
♦♦♦♦•

Over-all:
♦♦♦♦•

Eating Out in Casper aka. BLAAAHHH!

    So, if I ever have a point to this, here it is.  I'm not completely well versed in the nuances of cuisine, but I know what I like and that seems good enough for everyone else right?  Yes I am a critic.  I critique everything I see, as do most people.  This space is literally my outlet to let everyone know how I feel about the idiocy, and my idolatry, of the restaurants and other cultural establishments I happen to go to.  It's mainly geared towards Casper, Wyoming, as I happen to survive here, though occasionally I do escape to other venues.  I hope everyone enjoys my reviews to come or at least the non-sensicle way I write (badly).