Bruschetta Chicken Pasta
I was listening to AIR1 on my way to work and heard that TGI Friday’s was offering buy 1 get 1 free coupons on their website. I got to work, went to the website and downloaded the coupon. I had not been to TGI Friday’s in about a year and it sounded good. Arriving at the restaurant the parking lot was packed. It appeared that the coupon campaign was good for business!
I was very hungry and everything on the menu looked and sounded good. I decided to try the Bruschetta Chicken Pasta. When the meal arrived it didn’t look as good as the picture on the menu . . . but it tasted great! The tomatoes tasted like they were fresh cut and not from a can, there was a good amount of garlic but not to much, the chicken was grilled and had a slight smokey flavor. There was a light flavor of basalmic vinigar that actually added a mild sweetness to the pasta dish.
When I first got the plate of pasta it didn’t look very big. This was deceiving because the plate was deep and it was a substantial portion of food. In fact the portion was just right, I was full but not over full and didn’t have any left overs. For me this is a good thing because left overs have a tendancy to get thrown away because they just set in the fridge.
With the buy 1 entre and get one free coupon my wife and I were able to eat, get a side of sweet potato fries and an iced tea for just under $25 including the tip. Without the coupon this would not have been a budget meal but with the coupon it was very affordable and very enjoyable.
TGI Friday’s is located on Tittabawassee in the same parking lot as the Saginaw Mall.
Frutista at Taco Bell
taco bell frutista
I’ve seen the ads on TV and the Frutista looks great and refreshing. I had not tried one until last night. I’m not a real fan of overly sweet drinks and without trying a frutista my first thought was that it is a super sweet drink. Last night my wife and I were driving to meet some friends to carpool to Meadowbrook Festival to see Live and Blues Traveler in concert. We were both thirsty and she wanted a Frutista. We stopped in Taco Bell and she ordered the Mango Strawberry. I had a taste and was quite surprised to find out that it didn’t taste overly sweet.
The ads are great. They use a tropical scene and show the fruit being sliced fresh. If you listen to the voice-over it says natural mango flavor and topped with real strawberrys. Everytime I hear an ad like this I have to look into the facts. It clearly states on the Taco Bell website that “made with natural fruit flavor and contains no fruit juice.” The advertising also states that it is “topped with real strawberrys.” So what are the nutritional facts? This 17oz frozen beverage contains 250 calories, 59g of sugars and 62g carbohydrate! WOW!!! Let’s compare with with a Coca-Cola. A 20oz Coke has 240 calories, 65g of sugars and 65g carbohydrate.
OK so we know that fast food resturants are not the healthiest places to eat. We paid $2 even out the door so it’s more than a Coke but less than an energy drink. The Frutista is refreshing and (the mango strawberry one) is not overly sweet so it makes a nice treat on a hot day.
Wrap at Tropical Smoothie
I hadn’t visited Tropical Smoothie in a while. It was over 80 deg outside, the kids were gone and neither the wife nor I wanted to cook. She recommended Tropical Smoothie on Gratiot in Shields. Seemed like the perfect idea.
I had a hard time reading the menu but finally decided on a Jamaican Jerk wrap sandwich. The Jamaican Jerk wrap was filled with a decent amount of chicken, rice, corn, black beans, and cheese. Looking at the menu it also was to include asparagus but I don’t recall any in the wrap that I received. Anytime I think of Jamaican jerk I think spicy. This wrap was spicy although not a first. It took a few bites for the spice to build up. I enjoy spicy and the flavor was excellent and it left a good burn after the wrap was gone.
I ordered a combo which included chips and a smoothie. I must admit that last summer I was addicted to the smoothies but hadn’t had many this year. One of my favorite smoothies is the Blimey Limey. This smoothie contains strawberries, pineapple, orange and lime. The Blimey Limey is sweet but has a bit of a tartness due to the lime. The tartness adds to the refressingness in a way that a vinegar cucumber has a way of quenching your thirst. On a hot day I find that this is more refreshing that something more sweet.
I understand that a cup full of fresh fruit is expensive but at just over $10 for a sandwich, bag of chips and a smoothie this is not an inexpensive meal.
