Sweet Basil

Today was our team lunch at Sweet Basil. It was a really nice little restaurant and the food was delicious. Now, to be fair I am the worse person to take to a buffet as I never have more than one plate and have no desire for desert. For most restaurants with a buffet, I am their customer/critic nightmare, I don't mind. :) The plate had a bit of the fresh fruit, fresh salad, garlic Parmesan toast, teriyaki chicken and some fettuccine with garlic and basil. There were other options but the plate was full and so they didn't make the draft :) Everything was wonderful!!! The atmosphere was great and by the silence at our table, I could tell that we all enjoyed the meal. Many went back for seconds and the desert looked delicious. If you happen to find yourself in the NE Wichita area, I would definitely recommend their lunch buffet, moderately priced at $7.95 per adult and half price for kids 2 - 11. I wonder if I can convince dh to take there for dinner sometime . . . :)

A visit to Carlos O'Kelley's

Well today I had had enough, I couldn't bare the thought of eating another sandwich, I needed food damnit!! I walked downstairs to the middle eastern cafeteria and they were not serving anything but sandwiches and salads, no real food!! I met up with GG and she suggested Carlos O'Kelley's, I had never been there and decided what the heck. I got there and was immediately discouraged by the menu options. I flipped to the back and there it was my saving grace, the Margarita Grilled Chicken :) The only thing on the menu that did not include a tortilla of some form and fashion. :)

Margarita Grilled Chicken
Two hand selected plump chicken breasts, grilled and glazed with our legendary margarita mix featuring Jose Cuervo Especial. The alcohol cooks away leaving only the flavor behind. Served on a bed of Mexican rice and crispy Southwestern croutons.

Anyway, while waiting on our order GG invited me to try the salsa and I wish I could say something positive about it, but I can't. It was a horrible, the tomato overpowered the mix and there was a very acidic flavor. There was little compliment for the cilantro and onion that should be involved. As for the atomic well let's just say, it is obvious that someone is unclear of the use of peppers when cooking. It is a misconception in this country that pepper is supposed to burn your mouth, it is supposed to be hot but is should compliment the flavors of the dish. If all that come through is the heat then you might be better off eating the pepper raw.

My order arrived and it looked interesting. I wasn't quite sure what to make of the yellow colored sauce. I cut into my piece of chicken and was a little afraid as it looked a tad undercooked (but I tend to like everything burnt). A little spanish rice and it was a perfect bite. I was very impressed, though I was not so impressed with the amount of rice and salad that was expected to accompany the 2 chicken breasts sitting on my plate. I was left with 1 lone chicken breast and nothing to eat it with, I took it back to work expecting that I would eventually get hungry again and I added a few of the chips to eat with it. The chips were stale less than an hour later :( Oh well, at least there is something that I can eat. The meal came to almost $11 and I only had a glass of water, so to say the least I will not be making this a weekly or monthly trip.