The Parker Eating Club: 2015

Wednesday, March 4, 2015

Last night we had our first Eating Club where we took pictures of our meals and wrote a brief review of the dish we ordered. This is momentous! Now all of you can hear others' opinions, not just mine! Plus you will be able to see pictures of the dishes, see pricing, and hear what we thought. In a nutshell we received great service from beginning to end, but most of us will probably not choose to eat there again, here's why...

Johnny's Asian Bistro

With a name like Johnny's Asian Bistro, I had my doubts that it would be good Chinese food. A lot of us were in the mood for Chinese though, and based on many of our group members' local choice of Chinese being Johnny's, as well as Yelp reviews, Johnny's it was.

Lodo's Bar & Grill --- Highlands Ranch

Driving down highway 470 you can see a fun-looking restaurant that is all lit up at night and has what looks like people having fun on the roof. When you check the restaurant's website out you see that bands frequently perform here and that gives the place an even more fun vibe. After having lived here in Colorado for several years now, I finally decided it had been long enough of wondering about this fun place, and see for myself. Surprisingly only a small few of our group had been to Lodo's before too, and most of them have been in Colorado for forever!

The Cheesecake Factory

The Cheesecake Factory --- Lone Tree

If you have never been to the famous Cheesecake Factory you are either not a fan of cheesecake, you live under a rock, or you hate waiting forever to get into a restaurant. Let me just tell you though, those 3 reasons are not good enough. You need to be like the millions of other people and go and try the place out.

Coloradough Pizza

To change up Eating Club, we wanted to meet at one of the group member's homes and enjoy some pizza. Looking up pizza on Yelp, Coloradough Pizza has almost 100 reviews since opening less than a year ago. What is amazing is how high those reviews are! We couldn't ignore it, we had to see what made this place so special.

Firehouse Subs --- Parker

Not another sandwich place you might think when you see a Firehouse Subs location near you, but let us attest, Firehouse Subs is better than the rest. From healthy to very unhealthy (piles of meat and cheese), Firehouse Subs will satisfy almost anyone's appetite.

Indochine

One thing we love about Parker, CO is the darling Old Town Mainstreet. It isn't very big, but it is cute, quaint, and very inviting. You would think that a group called Parker Eating Club would eat in "downtown Parker" often, but Indochine is the one and only place we have eaten at as a group thus far. Highly recommended from a few in our group, we decided to give it a shot and are glad we did.

Pho Vy

It is strange that Parker of all places has one of the top voted "Best Pho" restaurants in Denver. Located in a non-assuming strip mall right off of Lincoln Ave., you would never guess that Pho Vy has such great food at great prices.

Brick House Tavern + Tap---Parker

Located near the Parker Adventist hospital, The Brick House Tavern is easily missed. Thankfully though, many of us have happened over to that area a time or two and one of our group said it was really good. For some reason this Eating Club was the most attended out of the 20+ we have done so far--we had 25+ people come and Brick House was very accommodating.

Hacienda Colorado

Hacienda Colorado---Lone Tree

If you live in Parker or Lone Tree, you would have to be blind not to have seen Hacienda Colorado a million times. Driving on I-25 you drive by this restaurant all the time, and with its cool architecture it makes you want to come in and try their food out. I can't remember if many of us had been before going for Eating Club, but we were all excited to try it out, and had a large group that night.

Costa Vida---Lone Tree location

Costa Vida is a go-to place for most people I know. It is fast, affordable, delicious, and great for the whole family. For an easy Eating Club we chose to go to Costa Vida even though 90%+ of us had been before.

Crave Restaurant---Castle Rock location

Many locals have heard about the burger place that has the option of a burger that uses two doughnuts instead of buns. Hearing that option either grosses people out or sends them into a saliva-induced frenzy. When looking at the lovely online picture menu, however, one can see that there a ton of saliva-inducing options that are sure to make anyone "crave" one of Crave's burgers.

Modmarket---Greenwood Village Location

With the urging of a few in our group who had been before, we decided to go a little further than we typically go, and leave Parker to try out Modmarket. I am not normally a health food fanatic, and with a tag line like "Farm fresh eateries" I was a little wary. Upon entering the very trendy and modern looking establishment, and seeing their menu, I was pretty sure that my concerns were validated. Many in our group, however, were excited with the prospect of fresh, healthy eating options and were excited with the many salad choices.

Bonefish Grill

Bonefish Grill -- Greenwood Village

A few of us were in the mood for seafood and Bonefish came up as the place to get some. In Colorado there are not a large amount of places to go and get good tasting seafood, but Bonefish did not disappoint.

Jim n' Nick's BBQ --- Aurora

One afternoon I had family in town and tried to meet up with other family here, but found out we went to the wrong BBQ place. Before we found out that we were at the wrong location, the staff was incredibly gracious and thoughtful and brought us a complimentary basket of their famous cornbread muffins. They are the perfect size for popping in one's mouth, and they are delicious. Because the cornbread was so good, the atmosphere so fun, and the staff so wonderful, we decided we needed to make it a meeting place for our next Eating Club.

Five Guys --- Lone Tree

To change things up, we decided to hit a local, popular burger joint that is a step above the typical fast food chain. Because it isn't a McDonald's, the pricing is a few dollars more than a Big Mac. However, the price comparison is comparable to McD's more gourmet options, and when you eat at Five Guys you feel much better about your healthier choices. I am not saying that Five Guys burgers are great if you are on any diet, but the burgers seem like a burger you would get at your neighbor's backyard barbeque---fresh and simple.

Mellow Mushroom --- Lone Tree & Centennial

I don't know if it is just me, but on a normal basis I am in the mood for pizza. To be honest, pizza is pretty hard to leave one disappointed. However, it is easy to tell whether you got good pizza or eh pizza. Mellow Mushroom was honestly the best pizza I had ever had, and most of our group felt the same way.

Via Baci

Via Baci--Lone Tree

Many of the group had gone to Via Baci the month prior for another gathering, and were so enamored with the pumpkin ravioli (served in the Fall), that they suggested our group go there. About 10 of us were able to make it, and the setting was cozy and intimate.

Brio Tuscan Grille

In the Summer of 2012 a large group of us gathered at the Park Meadows mall location to enjoy some delicious Italian food. We left extremely impressed.

The Dancing Noodle --- Parker

(no working website)

Before we became an official club, 4 of us friends decided to go out to dinner because we were in the mood for Thai. With 113 reviews on Yelp (and counting), and most being 5 stars, we decided we couldn't pass up this little hole in the wall establishment within the same shopping area as the Parker library.

Los Dos Potrillos --- Centennial

This was the first place we went as a large group, and was what many members said was their favorite local Mexican fare. There are two locations, but we went to the one located at 8251 S. Holly St. in Centennial. Prices range from $10-$20 for dinner. Overall our group was impressed with the taste of our dishes.

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Wednesday, March 4, 2015

Armando's Ristorante - Parker

Tuesday, February 3, 2015