July 17th, 2012
I love introducing new comers to surprisingly good eateries. Years ago, while I was living and teaching in St. Paul Minnesota, I returned home with some of my co-workers (including my administrator) for a Teacher’s conference. As any proud Tylerite in the know would, I took my fellow teachers to some of my favorite haunts, particularly Taqueria el Lugar. My boss was so impressed he delayed our return trip to St. Paul just long enough to get in one more visit to the “Best Mexican restaurant he’d ever experienced.”
For years I’ve enjoyed taking guests to Taqueria el Lugar, usually the Gentry location, and watched their reactions as we pulled up at the modest local and found some of the best genuine, Mexican food they’d ever had. Over the years the family owned business has expanded to numerous locals around the city.
Well, I took an out of town friend, to one of my all time favorite Tyler restaurants today. This visit was to the newest installment right down on the square. The location is ideal, and actually seems like it should have been open for years. I trust that the professionals who work on the square will keep the local legend open for many years.
Today’s visit wasn’t like the one I had years ago however. It’s not that the food wasn’t good. It’s still great, although I must agree with one of my friends who noted they went a little light on the cheese. But that may have been the particular day. The main difference is that the price has really gone up. I’m assuming that has something to do with the need to pay for the new locations. Of course, part of reason my experience was lessened may have been the height of my own expectations.
For a long time el Lugar has been a big part of my summer rituals. I capped off a lot days at the lake with cheap and delicious “number sevens.” Well Tyler has changed and so have my summers. I still plan on the occasional trip to el Lugar, but it will probably not be the staple of my diet that it used to be.
Tags: Boss, Cheese, Co Workers, Diet, El Lugar, Family Owned Business, Fellow Teachers, Ideal, Locals, Long Time, Love, Mexican Food, New Comers, Occasional Trip, Restaurants, Return Trip, Rituals, St Paul Minnesota, Staple, Taqueria, Town Friend, Tyler Texas
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March 2nd, 2012
Japanese Night: March 21st 6:30-8:30: sushi, udon soup, shrimp and vegetable tempura. $75 per person
Tyler has a very unique date night idea with the new addition of the business, Let’s Cook. This business specializes in teaching couples and singles how to cook meals in a large romantic kitchen setting.
Have you ever seen one of those late night date shows where people who have never met before go to a unique date night destination.
Think of Let’s Cook as a unique date night destination that is sure to leave a memorable impression that will stay with you for a long time.
My wife and I really had no idea what to expect but ended up having a really good time, food to eat throughout the cooking session, as well as food to take home.
When my wife and I did it each couple had a cooking station in front of them as well as many different cooking ingredients. We cooked several different Italian courses and had a blast with our chef and teacher, Chef Al.
I want to recommend this place because it really is one of those unique off the beaten path ideas that is worth doing at least once.
Cooking for One or Two – Series of 4 Classes
Thursday Mar 8 Time: 6:30-9:30 PM $200/Person Open
Thursday Mar15 Time: 6:30-9:30 PM Open
Japanese Night: March 21st 6:30-8:30: sushi, udon soup, shrimp and vegetable tempura. $75 per person
Thursday Mar 22 Time: 6:30-9:30 PM Open
Thursday Mar 29 Time: 6:30-9:30 PM Open
Do you find it difficult to prepare inviting and healthy meals for just yourself and/or another? Sometimes recipes are not easy to scale down and leftovers are boring. Let Kathleen Stanfill teach you how to make dining exciting, nutritious, and easy whether you, are single, empty-nesters, or just want to cook for a friend.
“Having cooked for a family of four for 30 years, it was difficult to learn to cook for one! I consider myself a pretty good cook, but was AMAZED by how much I learned in Kathleen’s class on Cooking for One or Two. In addition to phenomenal tips and systems, it was lots of FUN! I especially liked her ideas on how we can always have fresh, delicious homemade meals. Can’t wait for the class on Soups!”
– Shelley Judd
Tags: Beaten Path, Cooking Class, Cooking Ingredients, Couples, Date Show, Empty Nesters, Good Cook, Good Time, Healthy Meals, Homemade Meals, Italian Courses, Late Night, Leftovers, Long Time, Lots Of Fun, Memorable Impression, New Addition, Nutricious, Recipes, Shelley, Shrimp, Soups, Sushi, Udon Soup, Vegetable Tempura
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September 13th, 2010
Claire’s has been in the Broadway Square Mall for a long time. When you raise two extremely girlie girls that love dressing up, Claire’s is a frequent stop while shopping at the mall. My girls’ faces light up when they see the corner of fairy and princess accessories.
I can get all my kids’ dress up needs here at Claire’s. The walls are lined with tutus, princess crown, colorful jewelry, hair bows, and fairy wings. With Halloween just around the corner you can dress you kids up with the fun, colorful accessories.
Claire’s does not only have stuff for toddler girls, but for women of all ages. They have the newest styles and accessories. Claire’s has had sales pretty much every time I have gone into the store. Many times they have earrings for “buy one get one half off”. The store has all different style of necklaces, earrings, rings, and bracelets. You can get all different jewelry for a great price. Some of my favorite things in the store are the selections of bags, scarves, and hair accessories. They have all accessories to top off all of your outfits for every season of the year.
When I was really young I got my ears pierced at Claire’s, and I recently took my daughter to get her ears pierced there too. They pretty much do the same thing that they did when I got mine done. They sat her in a car and let her hug a teddy bear. A lady marked her ears with a purple marker just to make sure that they keep the earrings even with each other. I sat her on my lap just to make sure she did not jerk and to make sure that the lady did not miss the mark that she made. After the lady pierced my daughter’s ear, my daughter started crying, but the lady was fast at getting the second ear pierced even though she had to “re-load”. As the lady was doing the second ear, my daughter jerked, but the lady still pierced it on the right spot. After it was done my daughter was still crying so the lady helped calm her down by showing her how beautiful her ears were and by giving her a lollipop. Candy always helps kids be happy. The only thing that I had to pay for to get her ears pierced was the actual earrings. The piercing was free and it came with a solution that you have to clean the ear with three times a day.
Claire’s is a great place to shop for all your make up, and jewelry needs for a low cost. And it is a great place to shop for all little girls love for finger nail polish, princesses, jewelry, and dress up.
Tags: Broadway Mall, broadway square mall, Different Style, Earrings, Ears, Fairy Wings, Favorite Things, Girlie Girls, Hair Accessories, Hair Bows, Halloween, Jewelry, Long Time, Marker, Necklaces, Princess, Purple Marker, Scarves, Teddy Bear, Toddler Girls
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August 6th, 2010
Have you ever drove by Rent a Center and curious how it worked? At first I thought it was a ton of furniture and electronics that are passed around by tons of different people and many different homes. The thought of this sounds pretty gross. I am glad I was wrong about how the business is run. Rent A Center is not only a rental store, but also a “rent to own” business.
It really is made easy to rent from here. They do not even ask for your credit, all that they ask is that you have a job, and a place to live. They may ask that you give them a few references. They even deliver and set up your furniture with no extra charge. You can order online, over the phone or in the store. They make payments easy by allowing you to pay weekly, every two weeks, r monthly; whatever is the best option for you. I you decide that you really like the furniture or electronic that you are renting, within the first 90 days you can decide that you want to buy it. When you are renting a product you are not under a locked in commitment and you can return your items at anytime. If your product needs repair, they fix it without any extra charge to you, and if they think that it will take them a long time to fix, they are willing to loan you a replacement item.
Rent A Center’s rents out all the things that you need for your every day lifestyle. They have all the top brand names such as, LG, Whirlpool, Sony, Serta, Ashley furniture products, Philips, Klaussner home furnishing products, HP, Albany, JVC, Toshiba, and Standard products. You really can find all different electronics such as, TV sets, home audio, computers, and even game consuls. Now days it can be really hard to live with out the house hold appliances and sometimes you do not have the money to pay for it. Here you can make affordable payments so that you can have a washer and dryer, refrigerator, and other appliances in your home. One of the things that Rent A Center is their nice furniture for every room in your home. They have large items and small items for bedrooms, living room, and dining areas. They have anything from tables and beds to lamps and television stands.
I think the deals and renting process at Tyler TX Rent A Center are reasonable. And if a retired Cowboy player such as Troy Aikman guarantees a business, it must be worth your money and time.
Tags: Ashley Furniture, Brand Names, Furnishing Products, Furniture Products, Furniture Rental Tyler TX, Home Furnishing, House Hold Appliances, Jvc, Klaussner, Lifestyle, Long Time, Nice Furniture, Own Business, Philips, Refrigerator, Rent A Center, Rents, Serta, Toshiba, Tyler Texas Furniture Rental, Tyler TX Rent a Center, Washer And Dryer, Whirlpool
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January 17th, 2010
Green Acres Bowl
2311 E SE Loop 323
Tyler
TX 75701
903 561 2911
Opening times 8.30 am until 11pm, closes later at the weekends
After having some fun on the Nintendo Wii over Christmas we thought we should take our kids and try out some REAL bowling.
We wanted a family friendly place that wasn’t smoky or seedy and chose Green Acres Bowl. We went on a Thursday morning.
My first impressions were that this place had seen better days – quite a few years ago. I wonder, has bowling gone out of date? It is certainly a long time since I have gone bowling with friends.
When we arrived we were greeted by a friendly, helpful lady who gave us all the information we needed. She quickly found all of us the special shoes you need to wear and gave us some instructions and advice for the children. They were excited to get going! We decided to have 2 lanes so we didn’t have to wait too long between goes. In the day time it isn’t busy and as you pay per person per game it is fine to do that.
The balls were rather too heavy for our 5 year old but we had the sides up which made us all look as if we bowled like pros – it was such fun.
As it is quiet in the mornings the snack bar wasn’t open which was a shame but we couldn’t complain as the price was very reasonable for the games as it was obviously ‘off peak.’ We paid just a dollar for the shoe hire and $1.75 per person per game. Chik-Fil-A is just a short drive away and we headed there afterwards for lunch.
The facilities at the Green Acres Bowl are a bit dated, but who cares! If you are out for a laugh with a group of friends then you won’t mind a bit. It probably isn’t something we will do on a regular basis but I’m sure it won’t be the last time we visit the bowl this year.
Usual prices: $3 per game $2.50 shoe hire
Tues and Thurs 10-4pm $1.75 game $1 shoe hire
Sunday and Weds – Rent a lane as a group and have pizza for $35
Party package $9 per child.
Oh and if you catch the bowling bug you can join an adult or youth league.
Tags: Balls, Better Days, Bowling, Day Time, Fil, First Impressions, Friendly Place, Fun Things to do with Kids in Tyler Texas, Game 1, Green Acres, Green Acres Bowl, Last Time, Laugh, Long Time, Lunch, Nintendo Wii, pizza, Shame, Snack Bar, Thursday Morning, Tyler Texas Bowling, Tyler TX, tyler tx bowling, Wii
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