Week 98 The Lodge on Ft. Apache

We're back. We may have been gone for a few weeks but that doesn't mean we don't have restaurants to blog about. Blame it on the never ending days that we both have. We are just happy to be back blogging with you guys.

Remember, you can always find our blog on the LV Informer under the Local Interest section, http://lasvegas.informermg.com/category/lv-local-interest/. We also have a FB page which we update frequently, so if you haven't already please like our page, https://www.facebook.com/thenewlywedsguidetovegasrestaurants. 

What Teray Says...

So this week I continued my journey on the Paleo diet, which I am still doing I must add, so I was craving bar food so bad. Brett and I decided we might as well just drive a few minutes and head to The Lodge on Ft. Apache. Inferno Pilates is in that plaza so I always drive by it every day.

We sat in the table section to be away from the smoke. Our waitress greeted us right away and was very friendly. I was craving a flavored vodka drink with club soda so she suggested Fruit Loop vodka. That drink was amazing, I only had and needed one to be giggly. Brett got beer. 

For an appetizer we chose cheese chicken quesadillas. The portion size was big and they were bar food greasy amazingness. Yes, I know that is not a real word, but I don't care. For our dinner I ordered a pastrami burger and Brett ordered a burger that had egg on it. Both were huge and delicious. I was so excited about the fries because I hadn't had them in over a month, that I ate everything on the plate. 

As for dessert, we had our waitress surprise us and she brought us a huge sundae, which again we ate all of it. Brett tried to tell the waitress that I ate all of it, which was just not true. Oh, and to say that we left their full was an understatement. We were stuffed! The Lodge definitely satisfied the bar food craving I was having for my cheat meal, because of service and food I rate them a 5 out of 5. 

What Brett Says...

This may come as a surprise to all of you but Teray likes to dress up and look her best, I know quite the shocker.  I however am the complete opposite, I could lead a very happy life (and try to) in basketball shorts and a tshirt.  I am all about comfort and relaxation, so when the opportunity arises to go out to eat somewhere that it would be acceptable to wear sweats and a tshirt I am all for it.  I have to sneak these places in when Teray is both starving and exhausted...this week I did it, we went to "The Lodge" at Fort Apache and Russell.  

There are a couple of them throughout town and from what I have seen having drinks at a few of them they all share the same theme, kind of a hunter's cabin meets Las Vegas.  They have the split dining room and bar set up with the glass divider and video poker at the bar.  The atmosphere is outdoorsy and looks like you are in the greatest bachelor pad cabin out there.  There is a fully stocked bar, big screen televisions, and beers on tap.  It is a pretty comfortable local spot that gives you a different feel then most cookie cutter Vegas bars.  The service was also good, it wasn't amazing but then again we were at a local bar.  All of our needs were met; I never had to wait for another beer and our food came out quick.  Nothing was screwed up...that's what really matters in the end.  It also helps that we were one of maybe two tables.

Dinner for me started with a large draft beer, decided on a Fat Tire because they were out of their advertised beer.  After a long work week it was great, something about starting your weekend with an ice cold draft.  Once the beer was flowing we decided to get the food rolling with a quesadilla, considering it is hard to screw up tortilla and cheese it was good.  Being at a bar I decided to go big with an amazing burger.  Let me tell you, it worked.  Sometimes you need a burger and when you really need a burger it can be scary because there is always a chance that burger sucks.  This burger did not suck at all, I kind of want to go get one right now.  To round it all out we got an ice cream sundae, turns out it was made for a group party because it was huge.  They did not skimp on any aspect of the meal.

Overall I think "The Lodge" is a great place to go and relax while having some drinks and food.  I would be quite happy going here for a drink or ten, not sure how they would actually feel about me getting that much booze in me but I can promise you I would enjoy it.  Another nice thing is that it wasn't very busy, I am over going to bars on a random night and having it be packed.  Probably not the greatest place for a first date or an anniversary but every other reason would work out well.

Rating 5 out of 5

Patty's Closet Outfit of the Week

Thank you to Patty and Juan for providing me with my outfit of the week this week. Check out my outfit of the week provided by Patty's Closet Fashion Boutique. So shirts with sayings might be one of my favorite fashion must haves; anything that is witty or cool is right up my ally. What is awesome about this shirt is not only the cool color, phrase, and material but isn't the back fabulous?! I put a bandeau underneath which made it more modest. I also paired it with some dressy track pants (which are huge this season) from the 
Town Square PC location. You can find this fabulous top at the Rainbow PC location!

Remember, if you don't have a PC near you, you can always shop online at shop.ilovepattyscloset.com. All of the locations have different items and you can see those items on their FB page, which is linked above. 

Until next time, cheers to summer approaching ! xo

Week 97 Chinita

Hello blog readers! Welcome back. I cannot believe this is week 97.  We never would have imagined that this blog would be as successful as it is and have such a following. Thank you to everyone who reads it, even if you have only read it once. 

Remember, you can find our blog in the LV Informer under the Local Interest section, http://lasvegas.informermg.com/category/lv-local-interest/blog-connection/ . Also, we have a Facebook page, so if you haven't already, it would be awesome if you liked it, https://www.facebook.com/thenewlywedsguidetovegasrestaurants. 

What Teray Says...

I have had the Groupon to Chinita for awhile and being I was, and still am on the Paleo way of eating at this time, I wanted a cheat meal where I could really eat! Chinita is located in Village Square on Sahara and Ft. Apache. This isn't too far from where we live, so we were pleased with the drive. Chinita has both outside seating with fire pit tables and inside seating, because of the wind, we chose to sit inside. 

We were seated right away in a big booth. Chinita is a pretty large place. There are booths, tables, a stage, a full bar and a back room. From what I gathered it actually turns into a "go out" spot at night with a DJ, drink specials, and so on. 

You get free chips and salsa, which are amazing I must add, right away while you look through your menu. There are so many great options I didn't even know where to begin. For an appetizer we picked avocado rolls. The avocado rolls were like open faced egg roles with tons of avocado. I personally have never had these and would rank them up there with some of the best appetizers I have ever had at a Mexican restaurant. 

For our drinks I ordered a skinny marg and Brett got a Mexican beer (I took one taste; it was pretty good). As for our food I ordered the carnitas. They were to die for. The portion size was huge and the rice and beans were amazing. I would order this every time I go back there it was so good. The dessert we had the churros which sweet and delicious and I am not even the biggest churro fan. 

Now onto service, our server was top notch. He told us it was his second day, you would never know that at all, because he was by far one of the best servers we had in the 97 weeks of this blog. We never wanted for anything and he had great suggestions and made great conversation.

Overall, Chinita was absolutely awesome; I cannot wait to go back with a group and sit outside around the fire pit tables. We will also request to sit in our previous server's section. I rate Chinita 5 out of 5 without a doubt. 

What Brett Says...

Once again we turned to Groupon to make our decision for us.  We stumbled onto a nice little deal for some Mexican food.  We were originally going to try somewhere else but the line was out the door and we were starving, "Chinita" was right around the corner so we decided to go with it.  They are a new restaurant in the shopping area on the northwest corner of Sahara and Ft. Apache.

Strip mall restaurants are usually a standard design with nothing special.  Chinita was able to mix things up and come up with something that actually separates them from the masses.  They have an outdoor patio with a fire table; it is actually pretty cool.  I'm not sure I would recommend getting too drunk next to the open flames...just speaking from experience.  The inside is relaxed and spread out, you aren't sitting on top of everyone else.  They also had a live acoustic singer, he was playing everything from Mexican songs to top 40 from the last 30yrs...and he was legit.

Overall I think we fair decent on getting good service; most of the time we get decent, we do get quite a bit of horrible, but once in a great while we get amazing.  This was  time when we got absolute amazing.  I forgot the server's name but we found out that it was only his second day on his own as a server there.  He was so on point, especially for being so new.  He had a great flow, amazing manners, and he related with us.  It was almost like our friend was taking care of us.  If he is any example of the overall service then you won't be disappointed.

Mexican food is tough to screw up, I use to cook at a Mexican restaurant and if I could do it while living the college life then it really isn't that tough.  To start things off we ordered some avocado spring rolls, they were different then I expected.  Other avocado spring rolls have the avocado in the actual roll; these had it sliced on top.  I was surprised at how good they were and how the fresh cool avocado complimented the spring roll.  For dinner I decided on special item recommended that night, that I cannot recall the name of, which isn't something I usually get at a Mexican restaurant.  The flavors all worked together and I was full at the end.  The rice and beans were nothing special but I don't recall being able to do much with those either.  The meal itself was pretty good, I would happily eat it again.

I can honestly say that this is a place I would like to go again, I'm thinking with a small group for appetizers and drinks out on the patio.  Between the live music, the drinks, and the flavors it works as a spot to chill.  

Rating 5 out of 5

Patty's Closet Outfit of the Week

Thanks to Patty and Juan of Patty's Closet for providing me with my outfit of the week this week. Check out my outfit of the week provided by Patty's Closet Fashion Boutique. Not only do I love summer fashions, but I love neon and I love shorts season. As soon as I saw Patty post these peplum shorts on FB I new I had to get them. What a statement piece right? I love items that you can dress up or down. I paired it with a black jacket that I tucked in so that you could see the full effect of the shorts and took a picture from the side too so you can how they look from both angles. The shorts are a stretchy material, which is nice for different body types. You cannot go wrong with peplum or neon this season, so I suggest you head over to the Rainbow PC location and pick yourself up a pair.

If you aren't lucky enough to have a Patty's Closet near you, make sure you check out their online store at shop.ilovepattyscloset.com. Also, like their FB page which is linked above and you can see pictures of all the latest shipment items on Tuesdays and Fridays. 

Until next time, cheers to life <3 xo