August 12th, 2010
Well I’m returning to school in little over a week, but I’ve already been preparing for it by doing work on campus the past few days. As school starts up again I’m finding the quality of food I’m consuming is already beginning to suffer. This past summer I’ve done a good job of eating a healthy diet. One of the bigger stumbling blocks in my road to better health is the presence of a Jack in the Box a mere quarter mile from my school. To barrow a line from Cosmo Kramer, “I’ve got a big problem Jerry!” Prior to my school moving to its current location, I was not an advocate for the fast food franchise. But since breaking the ice with my first visit little over a year ago, the chain has become one of my favorite establishments for “good food quickly,” second only to Whataburger at this point in my life!
Certainly I have other options, but as demands on my time are increasing exponentially, my desire to do any prep work on what I eat falls proportionately. So as I see it I have a couple of options. First I can give into my baser instincts and eat at Jack in the Box every other day or so, and in the process gain about fifty pounds. I can look around for healthier options but arrive late to my post lunch break class every day. Or I can fight my way through a crowd of students to get to the microwave, where after a not so short wait; I can prepare a daily feast of ramen noodles and popcorn the primary food source on which I subsist during the school year. Given these as my only options, I’ll probably take the third, but I do love Jack in the Box.
For more information on Jack in the Box or to find their Tyler TX locations go to their web page at http://www.jackinthebox.com/. To read about my original Jack in the box conversion look for the title Confession of a fast food hypocrite, located elsewhere on this site.
Tags: Barrow, Better Health, Breaking The Ice, Confession, Cosmo Kramer, Eating A Healthy Diet, Establishments, Fast Food, fast food in tyler texas, Food Franchise, Food Source, Good Food, Good Job, Hypocrite, Instincts, Jack in the Box, Jack in the box in tyler texas, jack in the box in tyler tx, Lunch Break, Quarter Mile, Ramen Noodles, Returning To School, School Year
Posted in Restaurants | No Comments »
January 28th, 2010
Tyler, TX
3709 Troup Highway
Tyler, TX 75703
903.581.2678
Hours:
Sunday-Thursday: 11:00am – 10:00pm
Friday & Saturday: 11:00am – 11:00pm
I decided to give Oliveto Italian Restaurant a try a couple night ago and I was surprised to find that it was really good. The place was so nice inside and out I was actually suspicious that it was one of those fake food franchise chains like TGIF, Applebees, and Chili’s. I came to find none of the above. Oliveto had great appetizers, very good spaghetti sauce and well made pasta recipes. A lot of Italian restaurants have a prized pasta dish that is a cherished family secret only to find out that the dish really tastes disgusting to everyone else but the owners family. 
Oliveto understands how to make Italian food not just edible but wonderful.
There are a couple more italian restaurants in town that I like and will still go to like Little Italy and Joes Italian Cafe. Although Little Italy will always be a favorite of mine I will be going to Oliveto more often. Like I said, I was assuming it would be a disgusting Italian chain type of place like The Olive Garden only serving good salad and bread sticks but that is not what I found. Oliveto will surprise you with perfectly made pasta recipes and great spaghetti and marinara sauce.
My wife and I even tried one of Oliveto’s desserts and it too was fantastic. Our son got a free kiddie icecream with chocolate syrup which was nice and we left there a little shocked that we had such excellent service and great food. If you have ever eaten at McAllisters Deli you will know about excellent service as your sweet tea drink is refilled 50 times. This refill and constant checking on by the waitresses is what we received at Oliveto as well. They seemed to have designated staff just hired to refill drinks and check on your table. I imagine I will probably want to come here for business meetings and for things I need to zip in and out of quick.
I am a sucker for Italian food and this nice cookie cutter looking restaurant is so much more than The Olive Garden. I will probably never set foot in The Olive Garden again now that I know about this place. I don’t talk bad about restaurants usually but I know my italian food and the fake food chains shouldn’t be listed right along with the quality this restaurant delivers. 
Let’s give a hand for Oliveto for coming to the city of Tyler and showing people what real Italian food is. This is it!
Tags: Applebees, Bread Sticks, Cherished Family, Chili S, Chocolate Syrup, Fake Food, Food Franchise, Franchise Chains, Italian Cafe, Italian Restaurant, Italian Restaurants, Little Italy, Mcallisters Deli, Olive Garden, Oliveto, Pasta Dish, Pasta Recipes, Spaghetti Sauce, Sweet Tea, Troup Highway, Tyler TX
Posted in Italian | 5 Comments »
