Twice Baked Taters Restaurant Travel and Review

01/04/2025

THE VAULT restaurant at The Liberty Trust
Roanoke VA

Recommend the cheese plate
Highly recommend the Devils on Horseback
Taiwan Beef noodle 🍜 it was a no for us
Creme Brule was good but not the best we have had
Atmosphere 10/10
Staff 8/10
Food 6/10 - we will revisit to try other items

10/09/2022

Frankie Rowland's Steakhouse Roanoke VA location.

This fine dining experience is located on the corner of Jefferson St downtown Roanoke. On a Saturday night it is lively downtown with music and the bustle of people finding their way to night clubs, bars and restaurants. Frankie's store front is deceiving! Very dark windows and a canopy hide it's true face of elegance. when you walk In it is classy, ambient, artsy and welcoming. The cherry wood paneled walls, authentic paintings, low hanging dimly lit light fixtures and black table setting with leather seats gives the place a very NYC Soho Secret Supper club vibe.

Your senses are activated with candlelight, small details in the plate settings and the general coziness. Casual dress is welcome but you can easily wear a more cocktail attire and fit right in. Among us were couples of many ages including families. Children welcome. There is a bar and I do need to brag that the bartender on staff is well trained and the drinks were superb.

Ellen was our waitress and she was phenomenal. We never needed for anything in regards to drinks or service.

Our food arrived starting with our appetizer choice , the three artisinal cheese plate which came with Carrs brand water crackers, Gouda cheese, white cheddar and my personal favorite Red Dragon cheese (so delicious 😋) along with dill asparagus and carrots you also get a sweet and spicy bacon jam.

Our main courses came, I ordered the 10oz. Filet mignon with a South African lobster tail and he ordered 26oz. Austrailian Wagyu steak.
(There were some temperature issues with steaks so they had to be redone, mine only once, his 4 times. This was eagerly and professionally handled by Kyle the manager who was fantastic.)

Our sides came as large share portions, Potatoes Au Gratin which was perfection, Balsamic Brussel sprouts and Capatavvi with cheese.

Dessert was a 10/10 Creme Brulee' with the exact amount of crackling candied crust and spot on texture for a heavenly treat.

We will be back, we over all enjoyed the entire experience with the exception of the steak issues which we patiently waited to be corrected and handled.

We hope that you will call and make reservations (required) and check out their page and website, there is also a Salem VA location for your convenience.

http://www.frankierowlandssteakhouse.com/

03/05/2022

BLU Point Seafood Co located in Staunton VA, We stopped in for lobster at this interesting little place and I really enjoyed the beachy feel. Nice staff and good people. We both had the Lobster 🦞 which came with two sides fingerling potatoes & Brussel sprouts and we added a basket of fries. The fries were great, crispy and hot. The veggies unfortunately were undercooked, which the sprouts I can do, the potatoes were not something I chose to eat. The lobster was decent but I longed for garlic butter and fiskars to assist with cutting the shell for easier access. David enjoyed the shrimp cocktail. 🍤 We want to come back and try some other menu items at some point. Casual to business casual dress seems appropriate but you can get away with a dress up date here easily. 😉

02/22/2022

1772 Rooftop on Main was our choice for Valentines dinner this year! Located just a few miles from Roanoke. Dinner was tasty, atmosphere was ambient with a nostalgic and romantic feel. My apple Dijon salad was shockingly one of the best salads I have had and that's impressive as I am not a big fan of dandelion greens. It was spot on. The Ribeye steak was so tender I could cut it with my fork no knife needed. We were pleased all around. One small detail we would constructively criticize is the cans of coke served when ordering soda. Our meal was $145.00, so the can of coke was a surprise over having it in a nice glass with ice lol now we are humble folk who love a coke so does it really matter? Probably not, but to keep the mood "fancy" that is our only suggestion or ding ;) loved this place. We will be back. We recommend you give it a try.

11/10/2021

Stoney River Steakhouse and Grill
This is long overdue, I apologize because I know we had a few people asking about this review!

First, let me say that this was a phenomenal anniversary dinner. We spent the weekend in Hillsborough and Lake Orange NC and made the best of a quick local trip in a Lake House for the peace and views, we wanted to spend real quality time together. As Tradition would have it, we sought out a good steak house to satisfy our taste buds with new flavors.

Stoney River did not disappoint! The steak was juicy and tender, the au gratin potatoes were thinly sliced perfection and the deviled eggs (were chilled a little too much) but on point with flavor! I loved the Mac n Cheese, David, my husband felt the cheese had a sweet flavor that was a little over powering but agreed it was still good and very saucy which gets bonus points from yours truly. The creme brulee was a classic finishing touch as we are brulee lovers and it had the perfectly caramelized layer of sugar with the creamiest custard filling.

OUR SERVER Brittany ( I hope I spelled that right) was outstanding!!!! She was prompt, kind, courteous, thoughtful and did not miss a beat. She made sure we had everything, she mingled with us, she anticipated our needs before we knew we were in need but was not over bearing as we have experienced other places before. This girl knows how to keep you happy and entertained with just the right amount of sass and class. LOVED HER!!! I vote she gets a raise!!!!! Stoney River Steakhouse and Grill Sincerely.

We give this specific location a 5 Star review!! The atmosphere was elegant, simple and very clean. The location was easy to access with plenty of parking.

06/14/2021

Tonight's review comes from Blacksburg VA at the new Ghost Kitchen called BlacksBurgQ located on University City Blvd. behind Zeppolis.

Being avid BBQ lovers, many of you know Barbecue is our favorite food to eat. Its a passion to discover new and delicious foods cooked in different ways and flavors. We were so anxious to try the new BBQ joint because there aren't many options for truly good BBQ in the NRV.

Unfortunately, our excitement was not met with fulfilled expectations. 😔 The fried pork belly was hard and chewy and far more salted than should be, The smoked mac n cheese was barely smoked and average. The potato salad was ok. The pulled pork lacked seasoning and was not as tender as it needed to be. The chicken wings were very dry and not edible. The pork ribs were good we gave them a 8/10, they had a little heat, a decent flavor, sweetness and they were nice and tender. Not the best we have had but good.

Being a ghost kitchen there was no atmosphere to rate. The gentleman who brought our food out and took our money was nice, courteous and timely. They did forget to give us a part of our order but quickly called us to come back.

We always recommend you give it a try for yourself and let us know what YOU think!!

05/06/2021

Chicken Salad Chick opened up in Christiansburg VA recently and I had the pleasure of visiting twice while I was in town. I tried the Dixie Chick, Lauryn's Lemon Basil & The Sassy Scotty (Bacon and Ranch.) Overall I was very pleased, as a chicken salad lover my entire life , finally we have the option to enjoy a quality chicken salad anytime we please. Great flavors, texture on point and the scoops are a good size.
The restaurant was of course very busy, lines out the door but service was pretty efficient for an entirely new staff of young employees on week 1. There was a slight snafoo on forgetting my soup with my to go order however I was able to contact the owner via Facebook and she gave me a complimentary scoop and a new bowl of soup free the next day. Everyone has been pleasant, helpful and kind. The atmosphere is clean, fresh and inviting and if you like chicken salad or salad with chicken in it, I recommend you stop by and give it a try. Lemon Basil is my favorite so far. There are many flavors to try.

05/03/2021

Bandana's Bar-B-Q
4 Commerce Dr, Collinsville, IL 62234
Just outside East St Louis IL

Ok so let me start off with saying I loved the food here, it really hit the spot and when I'm in the area, I will definitely visit again. So I love BBQ anything, and am always on the hunt for the best brisket. You wouldn't believe how hard it is to find a great brisket. Anyhow, Bandana's brisket had a great flavor. Probably the best flavor I've come across, if not tied for my number 1 spot. To the bite it was very tender and had a nice smoke ring to boot. My only this down would be on the pull test as it some what gave up a fight. Lol The pulled pork was also very tender across the board, had a nice smoke ring to it shown in the pictures and had good flavor as well. To me if you do things right, you don't need sauces. But I tried them all to conduct a successful review. My favorite out of the 5 on the table was the Sweet and Smoky sauce. Very rich in flavor with a bold statement with its tomato base. The KC Style sauce would be my 2nd choice with its rich sweet flavor but was completely different at the same time from the Sweet and Smoky. Their Chicago style didn't have much difference from the top 2. Was almost like the 2 mixed together, but was still great none the less. The "Spicy" sauce was humorous as it had no heat and really no flavor, again just my opinion. That one needs some help. And finally but not least their original sauce is a mustard base sauce was strong with its own bang for the buck. I didn't use the original other than the taste test, I'm just not a mustard base fan. Moving on, the green beans were superb and out of this world with a back taste that I cannot figure put. My luck is its something easy too. Lol The BBQ beans truly amazing as well. If I'm correct it was backed by their Sweet and Smoky sauce and included a lightness of pulled pork to the mix. I highly encourage both beans. The sweet tea was pretty awesome too. Definitely no yankee made the tea. Lol All in all I really enjoyed my meal, kudos to Bandana's, keep up the great work. ~David~

05/03/2021

Coltons Steak House & Grill
5 Eastport Plaza Dr, Collinsville, IL 62234
Just outside East St Louis IL.

So I enjoyed the atmosphere of Coltons even tho it was extremely busy, as it should be on a Saturday night. Nice rustic country lay out. I sat at the bar which had a superb lady bartender, tho I didn't catch her name, she took my jokes very well. Lol I ordered a 12oz medium rare ribeye with cheese and bacon fries with a salad as my sides. The salad was great with ranch aside from the stale croutons which seemed to be store bought. The preferred steak temperature was closer to medium, but was close so I didn't complain. Cheese fries came out stiping hot with very little cheese, but the steak... The steak had a weird light color to it and was not a hot off the grill steak. Cool enough that not even the compound butter would melt completely. I smeared the butter and it melted 3/4 of it I guess. I was too hungry to return it, so I went with the flow. I would recommend this place and would definitely come back. Over all good job! ~David~

03/13/2021

01/19/2021

My latest adventure out on the road was a small little bbq shop know as The Dixie Pig.

The waitresses and cooks were super cool with true southern hospitality. This was my first time visiting The Dixie Pig and I absolutely loved it. That's not to say I wouldn't change up flavor on some things, but the atmosphere picks up where the food potentially drops. I ordered the 1/4 chicken with braised cabbage and mac & cheese for my sides. While the sides were good and I'd order them again I had expected the cabbage to be a little more firm vs super soft and tender and the mac & cheese probably could have sun bathed a while longer. For the chicken, I ordered whatever was the quickest to grab when it came to white vs dark meat. I received white and was pretty tough but full of flavor. The waitress was super cool and without me ordering it brought an extra piece of the dark meat, which was phenomenal. No sauce was needed for the chicken tho I tried them all twice. I can't leave a review on the sauces as I tried them all and at first I only liked the rib sauce when I only dipped my fork in and tried them. Then I tried each one on the chicken and all were accepting except for the tomato base sauce. So truly you have to try them for yourselves. Sweet tea was out of this world on point. Dessert I couldn't pass up their peanut butter pie. Sadly the pie was the only thing I took a picture of, but it was very smooth and inviting. However the pie took me by surprise when it was served with what I think was rice krispies on top of whip cream on top of chocolate syrup. Lol Between the chocolate and pie was a layer of peanuts. I could have done without the nuts but with a slight move of the fork, the nuts exited the stage. So like I said, the hospitality took over where the food potentially drops. Over all great work Dixie Pig, I absolutely will return and per your request will brings samples of my recipes. Thank you for dinner!! ~David~

12/31/2020

Most romantic place you have ever been on a date and why....