It was a snowy evening in Saginaw and my wife and I had just spent an hour shoveling.  We wanted hot food and we wanted it fast!  My wife suggested a Chinese buffet but we decided on China City on Michigan Ave in Saginaw.

China City does have a buffet at lunch time but this was evening.  There was a lot of take-out activity but we decided to sit down and eat.

I love hot food and decided on the Garlic Chicken.  As a meal the garlic chicken comes with an egg roll and fried rice.  In minutes I had a steaming hot plate of food.  There were big flat pieces of white meat chicken with a generous amount of broccoli, onion, green pepper, pea pods, baby corn and celery.  The fried rice also had large pieces of diced chicken in it.  I had ordered the garlic chicken made hot but it was still a bit mild.  The flavor of he sauce was rich without an overwhelming garlic taste.  The vegetables were fresh with a little crunch.  I would highly recommend this meal but I was expecting a little more heat to the dish.

The egg roll was cooked through and had a nice flakey texture.  I’m not a fan of overly greasy egg rolls and this one did not disappoint!  The flavor had a bit of a peppery taste and was loaded with cabbage.  I’m not sure if the egg roll was pork, beef or chicken.

Dinner with a pop was just over $7 per person making China City a low priced restaurant.

China City – 318 S Michigan Ave, Saginaw, MI 48602 – google map

Review and photo by: David Defoe

A chimichanga is a burrito prepared with a choice of meat, deep-fried to a golden perfection, and served on a bed or lettuce with cheese and mild sauce.  And Los Cuatro Amigos in Bay City knows how to make a fantastic chimichanga!

This day I stopped into Los Cuatro for lunch.  We were seated quickly and given the usual basket of corn chips and salsa.  The salsa has a great flavor and is not really hot but it’s not mild either.  The chimichanga is my favorite dish at Los Cuatro and can be ordered with either beef or chicken.  I chose the chicken.  Although the chimichanga doesn’t look big on the plate it is loaded with shreaded chicken and topped with a luscious creamy cheese sauce and is very filling.  The seasoning has just enough bite to leave a pleasant bit of heat on your palate.

The chimichanga lunch is served with refried beans and rice.  On the side is a generous amount of sour cream, fresh pico de gallo and guacamole.  For $7.99 it’s a mid priced lunch but sure to please.

Los Cuatro Amigos – 305 N Euclid Ave – Bay City, MI 48706

Photo and review by: David Defoe on January 8, 2010

The hot wings at Scottish Inn are not battered and smothered in their own homemade sauce.  I have been told by the owner that they will make them as hot as you can stand, you only need to ask.  He will not give out the secret sauce ingredients but you can see (visible in the picture above) crushed red pepper is an ingredient that adds heat.  The wings are served with a side of celery and blue cheese dressing.

We rounded out our order with a basket of onion rings (already dipped into before the picture was taken) and a few drinks.  Our tab for two people was $20.66 not including tip.  This makes The Scottish Inn a budget place to eat!

The Scottish Inn is a neighborhood bar and has a tendency to get smokey at times.  Seating is your choice of your standard table and padded chairs, stools at the bar or half circle booths.  Being a Scottish bar the walls are covered in plaid giving it a unique look and feel.  The Inn features a well stocked jukebox and a few large screen TVs.

I chose the Romano Crusted Whitefish.  The dinner included a choice of potato, salad bar and fresh baked bread. My choice of potato was mashed and I asked for a side of sour cream to go with them.

The meal started with a trip to the salad bar.  The salad bar is not huge but has a good selection which included peas and peanuts, two pasta salads, cole slaw, potato salad, garlic toast with cheese spread and a few other items.  The peas and peanuts is highly recommended!

Service was quick and the food arrived hot!  The crispy romano crust kept the fish moist and firm and was not soggy at all.  Overall the blend of the cheese and fish was pleasant so that the flavor was neither fishy nor bitter.

I had ordered a site of sour cream for my potatoes no knowing that they were going to be served with gravy.  The mashed potatoes were real and the gravy was not to heavy.

Overall the meal was fantastic and is highly recommended.
Meal Price:  $14.95  (not including beverage, tax or tip)

As with everything at this Tony’s restaurant . . . the burrito is HUGE!  My wife and I were going to just split one then we decided that if we each got one we would have lunch for the following work day also.

The vegetarian burrito is packed with beans, lettuce, onions and green pepper.  The burrito is topped off with a brown sauce, more cheese and a plethora of corn chips.  It is also served with a side of salsa (mild to me) and sour cream. 

I consider this a budget meal.  For two people with water our total bill with tip was under $20.  Plus both my wife and I took at least half of the burrito home for the next day.

Review written on 12/30/2009

The coney lunch included two dogs and fries for $3.75 with a Pepsi this is a great lunch for under $5.  The service at Guido’s is pleasant and fast.  The dogs were quality Koegel viennas.  The coney sauce was thick and didn’t drip or make the bun soggy.

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.

The pizza at Tony’s is made from scratch.  Homemade dough, sauce and nothing but real cheese.  This is the type of pizza that tastes great and fills you up.  Even the teenagers are only able to eat 2 pieces.  A large pizza will feed a family of four without a problem.  This particular night everyone got water to drink so we included onion rings as an appetizer and still ended up just about $21 out-the-door with a tip included.

Shown here is a large pizza with green pepper, onion, mushroom and green olives.

taco bell frutista

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.