Nadine, her daughter (whose name I didn't catch, sadly), and their coworker Mark did a fantastic job serving us with a smile this evening and preparing our meal with gusto and efficiency. Let me explain.
The fries were hot and fresh, the oil they were fried in was easily identifiable as fresh, new or cleaned recently b/c the fries weren't dark brown or overly greasy; they tasted like potatoes...what a concept, right?! But I mean it...I know my Idahoes! Lion's Choice fries are THE BEST FRIES EVER...when the oil is freshly cleaned or new, especially.
The chicken tenders were PIPING HOT and fried to absolute PERFECTION, crispy on the outside, tender on the inside, all with a hue of dark to golden brown! They were also less salty than we sometimes notice them being when we eat at other LC locations which will remain nameless so as to protect the guilty parties--they know their names! So...kudos to the Shaker Holder, whomever held that responsibility tonighy knew the secret to ruining a LC chicken tender lies in the fine line of the amount of seasoning the Shaker puts on it! Well done tonight, crew!
Next...the kids meal veggies. Folx, I tell ya what: if you are skipping the veggies, you are missing out on next level raw veggies freshness! I have rarely to never ordered the veggies as a side where those babies aren't the picture of right from the farm! (& when I say we FREQUENT Lion's Choice...I mean 1x/week or more... if I wanna get my Lion's fair share on, we saddle up in thr family wagon and down the street we head! Don't even dare to get me started on the awesomeness of their Loyalty/Royalty Membership...suffice it to say this: delay joining and feel free to miss out on YOUR Lion's share of FREEBIES! Suit yourself...you know the phrase, folx...some people just HAVE TO attend the school of hard knocks.) Now...back to the veggiesI have NEVER had them be shriveled up tomatoes or slimy carrots...nothing worse than that, right? NOT HERE!
And the meal comes with free refills AND crushed ice?! This ranks right up there with QT sodas, ya'll! Options galore. For me, the fact that they have iced tea, sweet AND unsweetened, thank you very much, Coke, Diet Coke, AND Coke Zero? AND they even have lemonade and Vitamin Water...my only desire is to have another sugarless option: how about a Sprite or 7-Up Zero, OR even better yet, how about servin' up some sugar free Lemonade (ask QT where and how to get it) or Root Beer Zero?! Come on, Lion's Choice...hit me up!
Now, sadly, tonight, much to my disappointment, the broccoli cheddar soup was an epic disaster...new recipe, Lion's Choice? Mess up on the line assembling it? Nadine and I pondered the fiasco together. She was phenomenal and personal, and cared to ask why we hadn't brought it back up to them. We didn't want to complain. We just say this: bring back the original recipe! It's soup season, and I LOVE me some LC broccoli cheddar and cannot eat beef, or I'd be all over the chili, which Nadine did offer as a replacement for my soup. I was sad we used my $5 reward for it. It felt like the first loss we have experienced at this location, so is there a wound there? Yes. But we love this place and Nadine and crew, so we WILL BE BACK...perfection is elusory, folx...so keep coming back...Ill see ya there again soon!