At a Minimum or Is it worth an hour?

 I still remember my first visit to a Wendy's. It seemed like a totally different fast food experience. The burger seemed massive compared to the typical fast food burger. I remember the excitement when they finally opened one in my hometown.  Fast forward 4 decades, now it's one of many.   It had been a long time since I visited. I just wanted a quick inexpensive snack.  They had been advertising a new flavor of Frosty so, I thought why not?  Rookie mistake I had coupons in the car and forgot to use them.  I ordered the strawberry Frosty and a small fry.  The frosty had a really fake taste and the fries were half the size of a cell phone.  It's not that I'll avoid Wendy's in the future it's just not something I would rush back for.  

 I tend to prefer local homestyle restaurants, but every now and then I get the urge to go to a chain.  This time it was Red Lobster. The Trio.  Coconut Shrimp was the top pick   They were out of baked potatoes.    Basic fish fry.    Salad  Famous Red Lobster biscuits.   Nice evening.  

 Treats and Tiques   Small Soft Maple

   Seasonal ice cream stand located in convenience store gas station combo.    $2.99 Small, Soft serve was broken.  

   My kind of place, a hometown diner opened in 1975.  They serve good basic home cooked food.  Many menu items are less than minimum wage. We chose the chicken garden salad and the macaroni and cheese with a side of coleslaw. The macaroni and cheese was an outstanding example of creamy goodness.   I would definitely eat here again.  Sadly the restaurant is for sale.  I hope they are successful and the new owners keep a similar vibe 

  This was the perfect mid afternoon treat.  They had the best $1 snack menu.  The still have it, but it has a fifty % increase.    Artic Orange Shake 

  What I really liked. I have a real affinity for repurposed spaces.  The restaurant is a former workshop.  They did an excellent job both interior and exterior renovation.    The owner is super friendly and told us in detail all about the renovations sharing the history.     Unfortunately what I didn't love was the food.  I ordered the $9 stuffed hot dog. It was described as two hot dogs with either mac and cheese or potatoes.  In my mind I was thinking it would be a roll and a hot dog topped with mac and cheese times 2.  That sounded like a lot of food so I thought I could take one home.  The owner pointed out "since there were two hot dogs I could choose both toppings, one for each".  I love variety so that sounded perfect. The description didn't mention a roll, but how many times have you ordered a hot dog that came without a roll?  In the end it had plenty of carbs without the roll. The part that I didn't really ...