Disappointed

I signed up for Groupon months & months ago, and I would check every once in a while to see what kind of awesome deals they had, but since we really had no money to spend, I never bought any of their deals.  Then a few months ago I got an email from them saying that they missed me and were giving me 10 free Groupon Bucks to use toward one of their deals.  I'm not sure how they missed me considering I'd never given them any business, but I wasn't complaining!  A few days later, they were offering a deal in Kansas City for a place called Big Momma's Bakery Cafe--pay $7 for $14 worth of yummies.  I'd heard my sister-in-law Jen rave about their cinnamon rolls on numerous occasions, so I bought the deal!  And since I was using my free Groupon Bucks, I was basically getting 14 dollars worth of bakery yumminess for free!

Jacob & I first tried to use our Groupon last month.  We were in the Kansas City area for the weekend so that we could go to the open house for the new LDS temple.  Jacob's mom watched the kiddos for us, so we decided to make the most of our kid-free outing and stopped at Big Momma's on our way home.  Sadly, when we got to the bakery, they were pretty much sold out of everything.  I was really disappointed and pretty annoyed, especially since we arrived 2 hours before they were supposed to close.  I feel like it's pretty poor planning on their part to be completely sold out hours before closing time.  So we drove home empty-handed & hungry!

This past weekend, we were in the Kansas City area once more visiting Jacob's family, so we decided to try again.  This time, we went on a weekday around noon in hopes of avoiding the problem we ran into last time.  Maybe my expectations were too high, but I was a little disappointed in their selection.  They had their famous cinnamon rolls--the HUGE Big Momma, then smaller ones, and then these little minis.  Other than that, they really didn't offer a whole lot.  A couple kinds of cupcakes, some rolls, and a few cookies were all that I really noticed.   So we spent all 14 dollars on cinnamon rolls--a Big Momma for us to share, a 4-pack of smaller rolls to take home, and a couple minis.

The Big Momma was (I hate to use this word yet again, but it is fitting) a big disappointment.  The middle was doughy and gross.  The rest of it was alright, but it wasn't anything incredible--just a decent cinnamon bun.  The 4-pack was better because they were all completely cooked, and we reheated them in the oven, which I think also made them yummier.  But again, they weren't anything extraordinary--I've had cinnamon buns from the grocery store that I liked as much.

Overall, Jacob & I give Big Momma's 2 stars out of 5.  The 2 stars are because the cinnamon buns were pretty good.  Everything else about the place is why we didn't give more stars.  The doughy, uncooked center of the Big Momma... the fact that they were sold out hours before closing... the small variety of baked goods... and the prices weren't great ($6.25 for a Big Momma and $6.25 also for a 4-pack).  Also, the location, at least in my mind, isn't the best because of the parking.  It's at the Crown Center, which seemed like a cool place, but the parking fees are outrageous.  It's 4 bucks for only 30 minutes!  You can get 3 hours of free parking with validation, but that means you have to actually purchase something somewhere, so you better not just be window-shopping or you'll be paying ridiculous parking prices.

So for our second unofficial Romney Restaurant Review, we give Big Momma's 2 stars.  I doubt we will ever go again, and I probably wouldn't recommend it to my friends.  Go to the grocery store and get an equally yummy cinnamon roll for way less money--that's what we'll be doing next time!

P.S.  Sorry about the lack of photos.  I didn't think about taking any until we'd eaten all of cinnamon rolls.

The HuHot Mongolian Grill

When Jacob's family was helping us move our things into our new place, Lorenzo (Jacob's dad) noticed the HuHot Mongolian Grill right down the street and asked us to test it out for him and report back. We were happy to oblige, especially since it meant a free meal for us!

So here is our unofficial Romney Restaurant Review (I'm loving the alliteration):

The HuHot was not your traditional "order from a menu" type restaurant, so at first I felt a little self-conscious and uncomfortable. When I go out to eat, I usually prefer to be seated, order from my menu, and have my food brought to me so that I don't ever have to leave the security of my table. It's the reason that I've never really liked buffets--they force me out of my comfort zone by requiring me to wander the restaurant in search of what I want to eat. Maybe that sounds weird, but that's me. I also prefer booths instead of tables, because I feel too open at a table, like everyone in the restaurant can see me. Booths feel more secluded. But that has nothing at all to do with this post... just a random fact about me!

So back to the HuHot... the food is set up into three buffet-like stations. At the first station, they have different kinds of meats (all uncooked) cut into thin slices--sausage, pork, chicken, beef, lamb-- as well as different types of noodles. So you grab a bowl and throw in whatever strikes your fancy. At the second station they have vegetables, like cauliflower, carrots, broccoli, and those tiny corn cob things that are often in stir-frys (I obviously have no idea what they are called). So you plop some veggies into your bowl to pretend that you're healthy or something. Then at the last station, you create your sauce. This is the station where you can really get crazy. They have around a dozen already prepared sauces in addition to a bunch of make-your-own-sauce ingredients, and you can mix and match to create your own little concoction! It was exciting and also a little terrifying to be in charge of making my own sauce. My first time around, I stuck with a few ladels each of two prepared sauces, but I got braver later on and made some of my own creations.

Finally, after you've covered your bowl of goodies with at least 5 ladels of sauce, you hand your food to the grill-man to fire it all up. He takes a couple minutes to cook the food, and then he hands you your plate of stir-fry yummies.

It was delicious! Jacob went up twice, and I went up three times (I am a breastfeeding mother, after all). Jacob even fed Naomi a little from his plate, and she loved it, too. Overall, we'd say the HuHot gets 4 stars out of 5... 5 stars is reserved for especially awesome restaurants, like Fogo de Chao in Kansas City. Oh man, that place is amazing! But we're reviewing the HuHot Mongolian Grill here, so enough about that.

And actually, I might be inclined to up my HuHot rating to 4.5, because their menu gave us a chuckle.

(In case you can't read it, the menu says, "How to Pillage like the Mongols. Step 1: Prepare for battle. Step 2: Control your destiny. Step 3: Pour on the flavor. Step 4: Advance to the grill. Step 5: Take back the bounty. Step 6: Relive the conquest.")

P.S. Although I wrote this review today, we went to the HuHot weeks ago! So don't be thinking that we were breaking the Sabbath... I promise we went on a weekday.