T.G.I. Friday's - Roseville, CA

T.G.I. Friday's
1168 Galleria Blvd
Roseville, CA 95678
(916) 787-1641
fridays.com

I'm being quite generous giving T.G.I. Friday's a 4-star rating...mostly due to their improvement since the last time I dined there a couple of years ago! Annya provided such friendly service during tonight's visit that it made me forget the marginal service I've experienced there in the past. The Jack Daniels Ribs could be more tender, but perhaps they got dried out since we were late diners.

Ting's Thai Kitchen - Middletown, CA

Ting's Thai Kitchen
18983 Hartmann Rd.
Middletown, CA 95467
(707) 987-1063

Ting's Thai Kitchen is located in the Hardester's Shopping Center in Middletown, just outside Hidden Valley Lake. We had a wonderful experience there, with impeccable service and delicious traditional dishes such as Pad Thai ($8.95) and Chicken with Peanut Sauce ($8.95).

Taylor's Automatic Refresher - Napa, CA

Taylor's Automatic Refresher
644 1st Street
Napa, CA 94559
(707) 224-6900
taylorsautomaticrefresher.com

Taylor's Automatic Refresher is extremely overrated. It looks like an awesome burger joint...it feels like an awesome burger joint...but it just didn't taste like an awesome burger joint (In-N-Out Burger, ahem, makes better burgers.) Surprisingly, their $9.99 Western Bacon Burger was quite mediocre and their $9.99 Chicken Caesar Salad was quite delicious. Not what I had expected, that's for sure!

The service was quick and efficient, despite the weekend crowd, and the facilities were clean. Taylor's wasn't as great as it was hyped up to be, but at least now I know where to get an overpriced-but-good chicken caesar salad!

Top This! Yogurt - San Ramon, CA

Top This! Yogurt
11020 Bollinger Canyon Rd.
San Ramon, CA 94582
(925) 736-2230

Top This! Yogurt just opened and is located in the shopping center at the corner of Bollinger Canyon and Dougherty. It's an okay place, I guess...none of the flavors really thrilled me and I didn't like how their dry topping dispensers are rigged so that you can't get a "small" amount. Their staff is friendly, though, and they keep the place pretty clean.

Although I wouldn't go out of my way to get a Top This! Yogurt, I wouldn't mind stopping by if I was in the area and was craving some fro-yo.

Aryana Afghan Cuisine - Danville, CA

Aryana Afghan Cuisine
9000 Crow Canyon Rd.
Danville, CA 94506
(925) 736-7781
myspace.com/133834781

The service was outstanding during our first visit to Aryana Afghan Cuisine but I'm stretching it to give them 3 stars because the food was a disappointment. The "Famous Chaplee Kabob" was dry and overcooked (crunchy), the "Teka Kabob" was pretty good and the rice was average (which I've found to be excellent at other Afghani restaurants).

Tailgaters - Brentwood, CA

Tailgaters Sports Bar & Grill
8065 Brentwood Blvd.
Brentwood, CA 94513
(925) 513-8281
brentwoodtailgaters.com

The best thing about my first experience at Tailgaters was their Black and Blue Burger (a Cajun style blackened Tailgater with gorgonzola melted on top) and the worst thing was that our party of four sat and waited for 10-15 minutes for our table to be cleared and cleaned.

The other three in my party ordered the Monday $10.95 All-You-Can-Eat chicken wings (drummettes, actually) which are served as a basket of 12 the first time, then in quantities of 6. They said they were okay, but nothing special.

Seems like a great gathering place for watching games and although the owner/manager himself was actively involved in clearing tables and taking orders, the quality of service from servers was lacking at this time.

Yogurt Pizazz - Brentwood, CA

Yogurt Pizazz
3860 Balfour Rd.
Brentwood, CA 94513
(925) 626-7840
yogurtpizazz.com

Yogurt Pizazz is the only fro-yo place I've been to that offers peanut butter as a topping...and for a peanut-butter-and-chocolate fanatic like me, that makes me a fan for life! :)

Their other merits for a 5-star rating are: cheerful and welcoming staff, sparkling clean facility, an extensive selection of toppings and $0.38 per ounce pricing. They're my favorite fro-yo in the East County!

Chili's - Livermore, CA

Chili's Grill & Bar
4261 1st Sreet
Livermore, CA 94551
(925) 371-8977
chilis.com

In the past, we've had hit or miss service at this Chili's, but decided to give them another try since we haven't been back here for at least a year now (we usually go to Pleasanton for a Chocolate Chip Paradise Pie fix!) This was a very mediocre visit, in terms of service, cleanliness and food. We shared a Southern Smokehouse Bacon Big Mouth Burger (extra thick-cut applewood smoked bacon topped with smoked cheddar cheese, crispy onion strings, mayo, shredded lettuce, tomato and pickle, and served with ancho-chile BBQ sauce.) The bacon was seriously way too overpowering for me, so I removed mine from my half. The burger was cooked well-done, even though we requested it medium. In-N-Out Burger makes better burgers...and they're a lot cheaper!