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.

Spano's Specials Shine

I should begin by saying I come from an Italian family. I love Italian food. I grew up eating grandma's homemade spaghetti sauce and meatballs. It takes a lot to impress my Italian taste buds.


I've been to Spano's a few times now. On my first few visits, I had either spaghetti or chicken parmesan. They were good -- but nothing to call home to mom about.

This past weekend, I received an e-mail stating their special would be a flank steak, Gorgonzola, balsamic pizza. I'm the kind of guy who thinks a great pizza consists of marinara sauce, cheese, and pepperoni. However, this special sounded spectacular.

The wife and I decided to split the pizza and Spano's homemade manicotti. The menu made it sound like a house special, so I figured I needed to venture beyond the "spaghetti and chicken parm safe zone." Come to think of it: is there anything unsafe about manicotti?


Anyway, this meal completely changed the way I think about Spano's. The pizza was one of the best I've ever had -- and the manicotti was melt-in-your-mouth delightful. Everything tasted exceptional. Now, I'm anxious to try additional dishes on the menu.


Spano's sends out a weekly e-mail highlighting weekend specials. I've received this now for a few months and the specials always impress me....I just haven't had a chance to stop in and try them. If you enjoy adventurous meals you won't often find anywhere else in Abilene, I suggest you sign up. Food in Abilene can often be "meat and potatoes." Spano's specials stand out from the pack!

All Aboard the Perini Burger Bandwagon

I'm a bandwagon kind of guy. The Dallas Mavericks start to win games...I become a fan again. Everyone starts to talk about a movie...I go see it. Michael Jackson dies...I listen to Jackson music all day. Perini's Ranch wins a burger battle on "The Today Show"...I want to eat the winning burger. In fact, I might be driving the bandwagon.

With family in town for the weekend, the wife and I traveled to Buffalo Gap to enjoy the winning recipe. My wife has had it before and enjoyed it. My brother ate it when he came through town and said it was overcooked and decent. Enough of everyone else's opinion. I needed to try it out for myself.

Because of a business boom related to the NBC appearance, it took about an hour to get our food. No problem. It turned out to be worth it! The burger was beautifully season and cooked to perfection. I loved the sourdough bun. The fixins' were great -- although I wasn't a big fan of the green chiles. It was definitely one of the best burger's I've had.

On top of the great food and atmosphere, a visit to Perini's doesn't have to be expensive. The three of us ate for less than $30.

I'd recommend everyone to head down the Gap and try the burger for yourself (although many of you probably already have!)...just learn from me and wait until the bandwagon moves out of town.

Copper Creek Gets a Menu Makeover

The wife and I visited Copper Creek last night and were pleasantly surprised to see a menu makeover. Many of the dishes are still the same, but you’ll find some new offerings as well. The most notables: more steak and fish options. It looked like they were offering a few new sides as well.

My wife ordered a salmon salad that’s no longer on the menu but was one of her favorite. Our waiter said they can still make anything on the old menu. As always, the salmon was cooked well and she enjoyed the salad.

I ordered one of their new steaks: an $18 sirloin. Now, one could argue that’s a little steep for a sirloin steak. You can get a pretty decent one around town for around $10-$12 with sides, etc. However, this one was worth a few extra bucks if you happen to have it sitting around. The season was extremely flavorful…maybe a little too much.

I was most impressed with the fact that I ordered it medium…and it was actually medium! I don’t order steaks that often. However, they always seem to be well done no matter what. This sucker was cooked beautifully. Very tasty!

I’d suggest checking out the new menu when you get a chance. The service is always great! Copper Creek may easily be Abilene’s best restaurant. I’m going to have to visit The Turtle in Brownwood again (I went for lunch) to see if Cooper Creek is also the Big Country’s best.