Free Whataburgers on Tuesday

What-a-deal!

Anyone who comes dressed in orange to any Big Country Whataburger will get a free Whataburger. Free. Just the way you like it.

There are a couple catches. You must wear an orange piece of clothing. Hats and accessories don't count, a press release from the company specified. You also have to be a dine-in customer. No blazing through the drive through in your jail jumpsuit.

"Orange Night Out" is part of a new company initiative called "Whataburger Serves," geared at helping customers, employees and their families. In fact, employees' family members got to eat for half price on Sunday.

Orange you glad I read through all my press releases?

Check this out, too! Great coupons from your favorite Abilene restaurants -- sit down and fast food included. http://www.discountabilene.com/Restaurants.html.

Luigi's Replaced after 5 Months...

Out with the tomato sauce, in with the sour cream.

Luigi's In-and-Out, a five-month-old pizza joint with wings and a drive-thru option, has shut down.

The old nail salon building at 3280 South 14th was remodeled and opened in June as Luigi's. The restaurant offered tasty yet inexpensive pizza, but less atmosphere than a church cafeteria. I only went there once, but my husband got Luigi's pizza to go at least once a month.

We've discovered that it's being turned into a place called Little Joe's Fajitas. The new owners applied for a certificate of occupancy last Thursday.

We'll see how this one does!

Cypress Street Brewery Open for Business

The wife and I had a chance to stop by Cypress Street Station on Halloween before "The Shining" played at Paramount. To our surprise, the Cypress Street Brewery was already open for business. They listed three brews on the menu: a blonde or pilsner, wheat, and boch-style.

When we lived in Fort Worth, Laura and I were fortunate enough to visit the Rahr Brewery for Saturday tastings. The Rahr crew has brewed numerous award-winning beers, and that made us more adventurous in always trying new beers, so we like to think we're "experts." What we discovered at Cypress wasn't amazing. It definitely wasn't bad either.

We ordered a beer flight that showcases their three brews and a fourth which was a combination of the dark and wheat beers. Each glass was probably 3 ounces and the flight ran $4.50: comprable to the price of a single beer. Here were our thoughts:
　
Pilsner: a little hoppy with a slightly bitter after taste. It seems like the flavor is okay but needs refining.

Wheat: I hate wheat beer, so I was ready for this to be bad...and it really wasn't. It tasted like a richer version of some other wheat beers I've had. I've had bad wheat beers with unpleasant aftertastes and this was not one of them.

Boch/Dark: not a lot of taste but what it has is good. This brew has some chocolate tones and was a little bitter in aftertaste.

Mixture (random fourth beer): not bad, not great. It didn't have the bitterness of some of the other beers.

Bottom line: I like having this new option in Abilene. I don't think I could drink this beer on a regular basis, but it's definitely worth the ocassional visit. If you'd like to check it out for yourself, I'd recommend the wheat or mixture.

Cypress also offers some unique beers you won't find anywhere else in town (except for H&H). My favorite choice is the Dog Fish IPA brew...talk about a hops party in your mouth!

Salad Bar Battle

When I have that "it's a salad day" feeling, three great salad bars in Abilene come to mind.

Jason's Deli, Zoo Kini's and United Supermarket on S.14th.

After filling up today at Zoo Kini's I decided to do a little comparison. But that's hard, because all three serve very different lunchtime purposes.

1. Jason's – I have to say, my best tasting salads come from Jason's because I love their dressing, the spinach and field greens are always fresh, and they have a huge variety of crunchy toppings, raisin/nut trail mix being my favorite. My taste buds are definitely most satisfied after a trip to Jason's. Breads, crackers, puddings, etc. are included in the price. However, it's often extremely crowded, and fighting a salad bar crowd is never fun. It's also extremely cold in there. Which makes me reluctant to award bonus points for free ice cream! $6.99, all you can eat.

2. Zoo Kini's – I can get the most full at the Zoo Kini's salad bar. There's a great selection of veggies that aren't necessarily just salad toppings, and you get a large variety of fruit to choose from. Try the red grapes with a bleu cheese crumble for a healthy dessert that's to die for! Bread is not included in the price (unless I'm totally missing something) but being able to make as many trips as you want, and get great service, means I always leave happy and satisfied. Of course, you don't have to tip at Jason's... oh well. $6.99, all you can eat.

3. United – Here you pay per ounce, which is handy, but can add up fast. I always get this to go, since it's not far from my office and is a much healthier "quick grab" than fast food. It also has fruit, but only one choice. It's also difficult to compartmentalize your food here. The to-go boxes aren't sectioned, so you get cottage cheese on your lettuce, ranch on your melon... You get the picture. This salad bar has the smallest selection, but I'm loyal to it because it's always fresh, tasty, and super convenient! $4.99/pound.


Please let me know which other salad bars I can try out in town!

Restaurants Lowering Prices

Many local restaurants are lowering there prices to increase business these days, particularly on lunch specials.

Chili's, for example, is offering a deal where two people can have an appetizer, two entrees and a dessert for $20. Chili's manager Curtis Johnson said he's already seeing results, with increased foot traffic.

"We were down in sales and company wide and in the last three weeks we have seen an increase in business," he said.

Many of the local establishments are seeing positive feedback and will continue the meal deals as long as the tables keep filling up.

Reported by: Kailey Franz

Papa Roosters offers free samples

Papa Rooster's Grill, one of Abilene's newest restaurants, is giving away free food on Friday!

Maybe folks here at the stations are excited about the new Papa Rooster's restaurant because it's right across the street. Maybe we just think it has a cool name. In any case, you can probably find a few of us moseying over there tomorrow for free samples of the food.

http://www.paparoostersgrill.com/

The owners have a pretty interesting story, which they emailed to us. I will post it here:

Abe Delgado and his wife Rubi had an idea and business plan. The only thing missing was a name. After plenty of research for available business names, family and friends voted for the favorite name via email and online. Ultimately, the name Papa Roosters Grill was picked and available. The name fit perfectly considering the house specialty is Mesquite grilled Achiote Rub chickens or ribs. What is achiote rub you ask? It is our special rub.

Being Abilene natives Abe and Tony Delgado knew the Papa Roosters concept would be new to Abilene. Abilene is filled with all the traditional Bar-b-Que and traditional Mexican food Restaurants. They wanted to bring something new. What they brought was a Mexican style Bar-B-Que. A little of both in one. The difference is the special Achiote rub used on all mesquite grilled chicken and ribs. The rub recipe includes traditional Mexican spices and additional family secret recipes. This is a unique flavor only found at Papa Roosters! The sides included ranchero beans, rice, and a mesquite grilled onion.

Free samples will be available on Friday July 23, 2009. We will be drawing for free grills, Office Party and other prizes. Several radio stations will also be there.

Papa Roosters Grill, LLC. Specializes in Mexican style BBQ. It is located at 4621 South 14th and is open weekdays and weekends from 11am to 9pm. Dine-n, call-in, and takeout available.

Free McDonalds Monday!

For three Mondays, starting today, McDonalds is offering any of its hot or cold mocha drinks for free! With a purchase of course.

This only lasts through August 3rd. The deal is good from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

http://www2.mcdonalds.com/mccafe/index.html?TargetSection=Products

Let's let the Big Country know how we like them!

Here's what we want you to do: go get the free drinks and leave comments here, reviewing them. Compare them to Starbucks drinks, if you'd like.