Jabo's Bar-Be-Q

I was turned on to this barbecue place nearby my office recently and decided to go check it out. The reviews of this place are mostly very good, with people saying this was the best BBQ anywhere. I wouldn't go that far, but it was very, very good.
I have only been here once so far, and had their Jabo's Famous Jabo Link, which is a 1/3 pound Jabo custom Polish hot link, topped with 1/2 pound of your choice of chicken, beef brisket, or pulled pork, as well as your choice of their selection of sauces. They don't have their sauces on the table, so you have to select one. If it is your first time or need help with a sauce selection, they bring out a tray with small samples of each. You pick a choice of flavor and hotness. I tried all their flavors and thought they were all wonderful, but chose the Mango flavor, and Hot for hotness (#3 on a scale of 1 to 5). I thought Hot was a little mild for my tastes, so I will probably go a notch higher next time. I got the beef brisket for the topping meat, and was a bit disappointed. I have had much better brisket before. I will try their pork next time. The sauce on the brisket made it pretty good, but I tried a piece without sauce, and it was less than average. The hot link itself, however, was awesome! It wasn't too hot, but had a really good flavor and was nice and juicy. It left me feeling nice and warm inside for the afternoon!
Between myself and the others that I dined with for lunch, we got a couple of their sides: the baked beans, and their french fries. Both were awesome! The fries were fresh and nicely battered and crisp. The beans had a distinct sweetness to them, almost like brown sugar or molasses. They were very tasty, not as spicy as I usually like, but good nonetheless.
The prices at this place are a bit steep, but average for a BBQ restaurant I suppose. The Jabo Link I got was $9 just for the sandwich, not including sides, which are around $2.50 each. I also thought it a bit odd that they offered a 5% discount if you paid cash, so we did. I won't judge, except for the food, which was worth it in my opinion.
I would not say this is the BEST barbecue ever, but it is close to the best I have had in the Denver area so far. I give it four solid stars, and recommend it if you're in the South East Denver area.
Location: 9862 E. Arapahoe Road, Englewood, CO 80112 Phone: (303) 799-4432

 

Chuy's

Another gem of a place I found in my travels in Texas is a Tex-Mex restaurant called Chuy's. This is definitely one of my favorite Mexican restaurants, although not exactly the "authentic" Mexican style.
They start you out with chips and salsa, and upon request, their Creamy Jalapeno sauce, which is awesome! It's almost like a ranch dip, but with a kick of jalapeno. I love this dip! If they were to bottle it, I would buy it. If you sit in the seat-yourself area of the restaurant by the bar, there is a chips and salsa "bar" where you can just go up as often as you like and get your own chips and choice of salsas and dips. The ones I have seen are in what looks like the trunk of a '57 Chevy.
Their entrees are all very good from what I have had. Below you will see one of my favorites, their Baja Tacos. You can get them with fried or grilled fish or shrimp, or a combination of two. I got the combination, and although both were good, their fish was a little better than their shrimp. All the sides are very tasty as well: the rice, re-fried beans, and even their fresh tortillas. I haven't had a bad meal here.
A couple of other things I like about this place is that it has a really friendly and light atmosphere, with palm trees and a Caribbean feel to it. Also I am always pleasantly surprised by the bill. Their prices are very good, most entrees under $10. The place is always very busy because it is so popular, but they have plenty of staff when I go, so as long as you can get seated, you get good service.
I highly recommend Chuy's if you're ever near one. It looks like most of their restaurants are in Texas, but some in Alabama, Kentucky, Indiana, and Tennessee.
Web site: http://www.chuys.com/ 

 

Capital Ale House

Occasionally I travel to and stay in Fredericksburg, Virginia for work. Fredericksburg is a nice town to stay in, and has a lot of historic sites downtown. One of those sites is the Capital Ale House. As its name suggests, its main attraction is its beverages. I like to go there on Monday nights for dinner, though. They have a special on Mondays called Burger Night. You can get a half pound Certified Angus Beef Burger, Black Bean Burger or Cheeseburger from 4:00pm to 1:00 am every Monday night for only $2.00 with any beverage purchase.The burger is great, and the bun is like a roll, very tasty as well. If you're ever in the area, check the place out. They have three other locations in Virginia as well.
Web site: http://www.capitalalehouse.com/

Self-Serve Frozen Yogurt

Some of us who remember the late 1980's may remember a wave of frozen yogurt franchises that started up, most of which fizzled out, with maybe the exception of TCBY. It seems that this fad may be making a comeback. So far, none of my friends who live East of Colorado have heard of this yet, but in the Denver metro area, these franchises seem to be popping up as fast as smoothie shops were five years ago. From what I can tell, this started in California a couple of years ago. Many of these frozen yogurt shops now, however, are self-serve to add a new twist on the fun. There are several yogurt dispensers, each a different flavor. They are in pairs, so the paired flavors can be "twisted" together. They all usually have little sample cups you can use to try out the flavors. Once you have decided, you grab a paper bowl and fill it up. You can add toppings on top of the yogurt as well, some including fresh fruit. Some of the yogurts are non-fat, others are premium. Once you are finished making your dream dessert, you take the bowl to the cashier and set it on a scale. You are charged by the ounce usually. Some places are more expensive than others, some offer more flavors.
I haven't found that there is one single franchise. All the yogurt places I have been to are single franchises, but all with the same general idea. Nearby the office and home in Denver, I have been to COYO (Colorado Yogurt, Co.) on Arapahoe and Havana, which charges $0.44 an ounce; Yo Craze on Hampton and Tower in Aurora, which charges $0.39 an ounce; and Crave It on Arapahoe and Peoria, which charges $0.37 an ounce. I'm sure as these franchises continue to open up, competition will increase and we will see a more steady price. My personal favorite is Crave It but like to take the family to Yo Craze too, both of which I love because I like gummy bears with just a sprinkle of Nerds on top, as seen in the picture. Adding the cherries to this dish was a mistake, a little overkill. I recommend checking one of these places out. Just Google "yogurt" for your area and see what comes up.

Razzoo's

I was on my way back to Waco, Texas this morning from Denver via DFW airport, where I drive the rest of the way. I have said before that I time my arrival so I can hit lunch at Rudy's or Bone Daddy's in Arlington. Today I decided to try a Cajun place in the same area called Razzoo's. My brother had it last week when he was in the area, and I asked some of the locals about it. They all said it was awesome, so I was naturally intrigued.
I read mixed reviews online, with no specific meal recommendations, so I asked my waitress for the "best thing ever" on the menu. She said her favorite was the Stuff'd Fish, which is a Tilapia filet on top of  "shrimp and crap stuffing", topped with creamy crawfish butter sauce, all on a bed of rice. I got the half-order, which was plenty of food, and also because I started with some Fried Crawfish Tails, half-order of that as well. The crawfish tails were pretty good, a little heavily breaded in my opinion, and not the best I have had. The Cherry Mustard sauce they came with was pretty tasty, a little different from the usual cocktail sauce. The fries that came with the appetizer were actually really good. The spices were nice and tasty. As for the entree, I was very impressed. That was a really, really good dish. The waitress did well with her recommendation. The creamy crawfish butter sauce was awesome, tasting just like it sounds like. The shrimp and crab stuffing under the Tilapia was very good as well, and with the sauce on top, everything came together nicely. I would like to eat here again when I get the chance.
It looks like there are about fourteen of these restaurants, all but one located in Texas. The other one looks like it is in North Carolina. They have a lunch menu, which has good prices, all around $8. I ordered off the regular menu, but got half-orders of each item, and thought the price was good. Their dinner entrees are mostly under $15.
I recommend trying this place. I give it four stars with the possibility to go up later!
Web site: http://razzoos.com/

 

Rudy's BBQ

I discovered Rudy's BBQ over a year ago when I started having to travel to Waco, Texas a lot for work. Rudy's started around San Antonio in 1989 and the chain is a gas station, store, restaurant combo. This barbecue has fast become one of my favorites.
This is Texas-style barbecue, not Kansas City-style or Carolina-style, so it's on the spicy side, not sweet. They sell their meats by weight or in sandwiches. They have ribs, brisket (both moist and lean), pulled pork, pork loin, turkey, chop, pit ham (only at some places),  and sausage. I have had every kind of meat, all of which are excellent. My favorites are their pulled pork, their turkey which is really moist, and their brisket (lean). Their sides are excellent as well, my favorites being their new potatoes (extra butter) and Rudy's beans. Their sauce is famous, and awesome. They have regular and "sissy" sauce, but I don't think their regular is very hot at all, and I love it. The ordering system is like a cafeteria, where you order your food at the register and they get it all for you, put it in a tray along with slices of bread, white or wheat, and then you take your tray to the drink station. They also have a condiment station where you can get pickles, onions, pepperoncinis, or jalapenos.
Did I mention this place has a breakfast menu? Oh man the brisket breakfast burritos with Rudy's sauce is outstanding! I posted a breakfast menu below. The other pictures are a pulled pork sandwich with a half sausage and new potatoes, 1/2 pound of turkey with a pint of Rudy's beans, and 1/2 pound of pulled pork with a half jalapeno sausage and new potatoes. 
As I said before, I discovered Rudy's in Waco, Texas, but they are all over in Texas. I have since been to others, including one near Fort Worth in Arlington (which is the only one I have found "pit ham" at), and... a new one in Colorado Springs! I love that there is one so close to home now! If I had make one negative comment about Rudy's, it's that they don't offer a "sampler" platter so you can try all their meats at once, which are all amazing! I make it a point to go to Rudy's whenever I am near one. Five solid stars for this place!
Web site: http://www.rudys.com/

  

 

Beau Jo's Pizza

Beau Jo's pizza is a unique "Colorado Style" pizza, otherwise known as a "Mountain Pie". There are eight locations, seven of them in Colorado. The original one is in Idaho Springs, up the mountains West of Denver off I-70, on the way to the ski resorts up there. I like to make a stop through Idaho Springs when I have the time, to hit Beau Jo's. I admittedly have never had any of their menu items besides the Mountain Pie, which has a very big crust and traditionally you put honey on the crust after you eat the part of the pizza with the topping on it. I'm not really a huge fan of the big crust to be honest. I need to try one of their "Prairie Pies" which supposedly have a thinner crust. The topping part of the Mountain Pie is really good, though. They use premium ingredients, whole milk cheese (which I think makes a great flavor), and a distinct spice combination in their sauce. In the pictures you will see their "Little Sicily" specialty pie, which is pretty good. The prices, however, aren't very good in my opinion. A "medium" (2 pounder) will run you $18 to $20. The Idaho Springs restaurant does have a very cool feel to it, though. It's like a big log ski lodge. I suppose you are paying for the experience. It's a good pizza, but I have had much better for much less money. I recommend this place, but have to give it only 3 stars, maybe 3 1/2 on the taste itself. If you're craving honey on this crust, though, it's really good.
Web site: http://www.beaujos.com/