Chili’s baby-back ribs: oh, man they’re good…the fried shrimp (what I could find of them is not).

Half rack of Chili's Ribs
Half rack of Chili’s Ribs

For a restaurant that is not a barbeque specialist, Chili’s has some delicious ribs.  I should know since the last three times we’ve gotten take-out, I’ve ordered them.

You can get them on the $20 Dinner for Two Deal.  The official name is “Half Rack of Baby Back Ribs w/ Homestyle Fries (Choose New Honey-Chipotle, Original or Memphis Dry Rub).”  I got original sauce all three times and these rocked.  I added the Mashed Potatoes with Loaded Pepper Gravy (yes, every time) and they were very good too.

The wife got the Bacon Burger and enjoyed it. I took a bite and it was quite tasty.  The appetizer we chose was the Tostada Chips & Fire-Grilled Corn Guacamole.  It has a little kick and was so good that we ordered it every time too.  The only complaint was the chips were too thin to hold up the heavy dip.

Chili's Guacamole Dip
Chili’s Guacamole Dip

Chili's even has "to go" at The Avenue at Webb Gin

The service at the take-out was fine every time…smiles for the most part. They give you a heavy duty paper bag with plenty of napkins and utensils…and the food is packages neatly.

An no, I don’t work there or have any friends that do either.  On one of our recent trips to the same location I ordered the fried shrimp.  They may have taken it off the menu by now as I don’t see it as an option to order online.

There was no problem with the temperature but the shrimp were puny and were covered with too much batter. I’m guessing that it was about a 3:1 ratio of batter to shrimp in volume.  Anyway, it was quite a disappointing meal.
Nothing wrong with the service though.  Our waiter and server were both fans of one of my favorite bands, Led Zeppelin, as evidenced by the tattoos that they both wore.  In fact, one of the Roycrofters, a local jam band, was our waiter.  

Flowers at The Avenue at Webb Gin

If you go and walk around the outdoor mall where our Chili’s is you will probably like it.  The name is The Shoppes of Webb Gin.  The sidewalks allow plenty of room and it’s always neat and tidy around the parking lot. There’s a nice mix of stores with the Barnes and Noble bookseller being the closest merchant to the Chili’s.

I included a few photos of what The Shoppes look like.  If you go, I trust that you’ll have as much fun as I do.

John

The fountain at The Avenue at Webb Gin

Coldwater Creek's iconic wood storefront

Playful artwork adorns The Avenue at Webb Gin

John Robert Conley Atlanta restaurants

Maxie Price’s Service Department

graham-yellow-corvette-at-maxies
Dreaming

The last several times that I have been in my local Chevy dealer, Maxie Price, I have dealt with Steve Kelly in the Service Department. Steve always remembers my name and he is professional, friendly and he gets the work done with a good attitude. They have a comfortable lounge area too with two big televisions and some seriously bitter coffee if you get there early. Now if I can just save up for a ‘Vette ZR1. You can call him if you want at (678) 527-8058 or (770) 466-4444.

You can even walk around the lot and look at the ‘Vettes and somebody will ask to help you if you need it. The times that they asked me, there was no pressure just a little friendly banter.

Why am I writing this? Because it is unusual to find people that seem like they care if you are a satisfied customer. I think my brother-in-law Steve does. Just kidding, we aren’t related and I never saw him before I met him at Maxie’s.

This past Friday, Steve handled the emissions on my Chevy. Something was wrong with a fuse so they had to fix it but they didn’t charge anything for that. When I was leaving, I dropped my credit card, and drove off without it. I got down the road and realized I’d lost it. Before I could get home, Phil (one of the other service writers) had called to say he found the card and would hold it for me. We had a laugh about how they had just bought pizza for the whole dealership with it. But the laugh was on them since the credit limit is only $100.

 

American and Georgia Flags on the Historic Gwinnett County Courthouse Square

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Donnie Meeler of Meeler Enterprises, Inc. (Septic Tank or Alternative Systems)

Have you had the pleasure of a septic tank or alternative system refusing to pump raw sewage anymore?  After living in our home for about 11 years, a 88,000 amp lightning bolt was determined to have struck within a quarter of a mile of my house.  The fellow that the insurance company sent out was able to pinpoint it by some historical data that his company has access to.  Anyway, our alternative system that had worked well for many years quit.  This bolt fried the motherboard and I was surprised at how few firms were authorized by the manufacturer to work on these.

I finally ended up contacting Donnie Meeler of Meeler Septic Service after getting a recommendation from a friend of my father-in-law.  Donnie determined what options that we had and then figured out the most cost-effective way to approach the problem considering the various factors involved. 

He ended up being able to customize a system for our home that is more efficient and reliable than the previous one.  These systems require maintenance to perform properly.  I watched him do some of it today.  Trust me, the units have filters for a reason and the filters need cleaning regularly.  It’s a smart idea to try and find little issues before they become major problems.  He does that too on a regular basis.

Anyway, I know sometimes it is hard to find good, reliable people to help solve your problems.  If one of yours is a septic system or alternative septic system, give Donnie a call at (770) 231-1421 or e-mail him at meeler05@yahoo.com.  They even do hauling work.

This is not a paid endorsement or a guarantee of any work duly performed.  Just thought you might need some help like I did not too long ago.

John