Tio's: Fine Mexican Restaurant (Daybreak location)

  Tio's is a places that Curtis had been to before and mentioned it at our pre-food-eating meeting at Kevin's and so after some deliberation (and a few other considerations) we decided that we were in the mood for this kind of mexican food! We ended up going to the new Daybreak location and It's pretty easy to find--it's on the main road that goes up through daybreak; you'll find it on your left when you reach the small shopping area and parking is located all around the building (with bulk parking located in the back). This location doesn't have a whole ton of seating, so I would imagine if it was a busy night then you might want to call ahead before going. When we went we were the only people in the restaurant for the first half hour. But before you decide if you wanna go, or not, find out how the food was for us!




Danielle

Allan: Danielle, what did you get tonight?
Danielle: I got the Chimichanga with beef and it came with a side of Spanish rice and beans and cheese.
Allan: Tell us about your dinning experience.
Danielle: I liked it a good amount. I don't actually know how chimichangas are supposed to be, but it was really good, I actually liked it a lot. And I got a side of chile verde, I mixed it in with the rice and the beans and the tomatoes and the lettuce that comes with it and that was really good. 
Allan: That's usually the best thing to do with mexican food--just mix it all together. What makes it even better is if you get have tortillas with it too.
Danielle: Yeah, it was really good, I liked it. I'd probably give it 3 tacos out of 5.

Dallin

Allan: Okay, with me is Dallin, what did you get Dallain?

Dallin: I got the Chicken Chimichanga with rice and beans.

Allan: Was there anything that stood out to you? Anything that made you go "This is amaziiiing!"?

Dallin: Well they smothered it with onions--I like that. But it was really small--probably the smallest chimichanga I've ever had--I wasn't pleased. The taste was really good--it was a really good tasting chimichanga, it was just like a "snack" chimichanga. 

Allan: Alright, you wish there was more, but it tasted really good from what you [did have].

Dallin: Yes, the flavor was really good, just disappointed with the size.

Allan: Alright, then out of 5 tacos, how many tacos would you give this?

Dallin: For flavor: 4 tacos. For size: 1 taco.

Allan: Wow, so you wanna say... 3 on average?

Dallin: Yeah, we'll average it out at 3.

Curtis

Allan: Curtis, what'd you get?

Curtis: I can't remember...?

Allan: That is interesting.

Curtis: It's a "Tio's Numero Cinco"--B. There is an "A" and a "B." One's like a cheese and beans, but I got the second one, it was two chicken enchiladas. 

Allan: Okay, how was it?

Curtis: Fantastic, I loved it. 

Allan: Is there anything that stood out? Was it just good Mexican food?

Curtis: The natural spices were really good. I put cholula on it, because I love cholula. But just the natural flavors were really good. I liked it a lot.

Allan: Alright, what kind of rating would you give it?

Curtis: I'd give it 4 and a half tacos.

Marc

Kevin: Marc, how are you doing this evening? 

Marc: Dallin's baby is really cute.

Kevin: What'd you have?

Marc: The same thing that Kira had.

Kevin: Which was?

Marc: Tio Tio's...

Kevin: Tio Tio's, how was it?

Marc: I ate almost all of it, but I didn't have any water, so I had to get more water and now I am gonna eat it all.

Kevin: Almost all of it, that looks like not even half.

Marc: I ate four already.

Kevin: Oh, okay. What rating would you give it?

Marc: 5

Ashlee

Allan: Ashlee, what'd you get?
Ashlee: I got and enchilada that had [a] chicken breast on top of it and I don't know the name of it.
Allan: Yeah, me either... I saw it right in front of me, and I was about to be like "Well, it's the..." Okay, so was that all that came with it?
Ashlee: It had rice and beans, lettuce, sour cream.
Allan: Is there anything special you wanted to add? As a partaker of gluten-free food items at restaurants, how was this?
Ashlee: It was really good, I liked it. Sometimes I have a hard time with Mexican food restaurants, and I thought this was pretty good. It was a little spicy, but that's to be expected, so I liked it.
Allan: What would you rate this food--that we'll find the name of later?
Ashlee: I'd rate it 4 tacos

Kayrene

Kevin: Okay Kayrene. Kayrene, what'd you have?

Kayrene: The Chicken Flour Quesadilla. 

Kevin: How was it?

Kayrene: Very delicious. Even though Kevin made fun of me eating it with a fork.

Kevin: Why was it delicious?

Kayrene: It just had lots of flavor.

Kevin: Okay, that's a dumb reason. What rating would you give it?

Kayrene: 4

Kira

Danielle: Kira,what'd you get? And tell us about it.
Kira: Okay, I got the Tio's Combo and it came with rice and beans, and a hard beef taco, and a burrito, and it was supposed to come with a cheese enchilada, but it was a beef enchilada that [came with it]--shredded beef, but it was really good. And it had a lot of cheese in it anyways, so I would give this... Probably [a] 5 taco rating. 

Colby

Kevin: Colby, what'd you have?
Colby: I had a cheese enchilada with a side of rice.
Kevin: Speak up please.
Colby: Cheese enchilada with a side of rice.
Kevin: Little louder.
Colby: Side of rice, cheese enchilada.
Kevin: How was it?
Colby: It was great! I had cheese on it and the cheese enchilada with a side of rice--it was pretty good.
Kevin: What rating would you give it?
Colby: 4
Kevin: Why 4 and not a 2?
Colby: Because a 4 is what I feel that they truly deserve here at Tito's--Tio's. 
Kevin: Very good, thank you Colby.

Kevin

Allan: Kevin, what food did you get?
Kevin: I'm pretty sure it was the bean and cheese burrito, but I kind of mixed it all up so it looked like throw-up. 
Allan: That's the best way to have Mexican food. Anything else you wanted to add to this?
Kevin: It's just a really good meal, you know? It really filled my belly. 
Allan: Alright, well what kind of rating would you give it?
Kevin: I'd give it 4 tacos.

Emily

Allan: With me is Emily, what'd you get tonight?
Emily: Cheese Enchilada. 
Allan: What came with it? What was it like?
Emily: A chicken taco came with it, and rice and beans.
Allan: What'd you like about it? Or not like?
Emily: I liked the rice and beans.
Allan: So the actual entree part wasn't that good? Or...?
Emily: I did smother it in salsa.
Allan: Alright, did that improve the taste?
Emily: Yeah. 
Allan: Okay, is there anything else you wanted to add?
Emily: [Nah]
Allan: Okay, what kind of rating would you give this out of 5 tacos?
Emily: 3

Josh

Curtis: So I'm here with Josh, Josh, what'd you get today?
Josh: I got [Tio's] Tostada. 
Curtis: Alright, the tostada--how was it?
Josh: It was really good.
Curtis: 'right. Anything special about it? 
Josh: It was definitely the biggest tostada I have ever eaten. And it had lots of crispy, good lettuce and the beans were really good on it. 
Curtis: Alright! So if you ever came back here would you get that again? Or would you branch out?
Josh: I'd get it again
Curtis: And what would you rate that?
Josh: 4 tacos.

Allan

Allan: Yes, I had that Carnitas. It basically had diced sauteed pork pieces, tomatoes, onions, guacamole, cilantro and sour cream on the side. And it also came with rice and beans--and 3 flour tortillas as well, in case you wanted to make your own little taco-confections--which I did. I think the meal overall tasted delicious. The pork a tiny bit dry, but I thought it still tasted  really good. The spanish rice with the beans mixed together tasted great. And just like with any mexican food dish--I probably mentioned this a few times in some of the [earlier] reviews, interviewing people--that, you just mix it all together, it tastes really delicious. Overall though, I would have to say that I would give the carnitas about 4 and a half tacos.

   Thar we have it, most of the selection is what you might expect from a Mexican food restaurant, but they did have their own twists on the genre to help them stand out from their  competitors. When we were sat down they provide some delicious (and I am assuming, since it tasted this way) fresh salsa and homemade chips. The menu is not super big, so a few pros and cons there (Con: Not as many choices. Pro: You don't have to spend 10 minutes reading the entire menu). They also serve fresh-made churros here and not just original ones either--they have a few different flavored ones to choose from, although the original are still very delicious. 

   We do discuss the suggestions that are given to us, so don't feel as if we have dismissed them, they just didn't win the popular vote this time. Our latest favorite food places have been little hole-in-the-wall restaurants. So if you know of any, send the info our way through the comment section on the blog, or through the Facebook link. 

For those that are interested in a little light reading, here are is the menu for

Page 1 and Page 2.

Black Bear Diner (Jordan Landing - Round 2)

   Our first blog repeat!! This marks the second time we haven been to BBD since we started this blog. This time at the Black Bear Diner, while they usually have good food, we seem to find the service at the Jordan Landing location... lacking. I am pretty sure we got the exact same waitress that we had when we came here back in April, but we did have a slightly better experience with her this time around, so I guess she is getting better at her job.
    Most of our meals are different than those we got last time, so if your worried that there won't be anything new to read about, have no fear! Take a look at some of the "diamonds in the rough" that we found this time around:


Curtis

Hot Chocolate

Allan:  Curtis, what did you get tonight?
Curtis: I got a three-stack of the sweet cream pancakes.
Allan: Alright, how was it, tell us.
Curtis: I only ate one.

Allan: Okay. How was your one-third out of three?
Curtis: Well, what I mean is that they come out on this giant oval plate [and] the pancakes are at least 8 inches, or 7 inches in diameter--so these things are pretty big. But what I really liked about it was the sweetness of them--like I didn't really need to put on butter, but the syrup was like an extra, so it was really nice.

Allan: So are they just like the kind of pancakes that you can pull apart and eat pieces of [it] plain?
Curtis: Yeah, if you wanted to, yeah. I think these would go really good with peanut butter on them.
Allan: Alright, well what kind of rating would you give it?
Curtis: I give it 3 and a half out of 5 tacos.

Hot Chocolate

Ashlee

The Top Sirloin

Allan: Ashlee, what'd you get?

Ashlee: Yes, I got the 6oz sirloin, the salad with honey mustard and a baked potato.

Allan: Okay, how was it? Describe your food.

Ashlee: I ordered medium-rare and a cow came out mooing, so there's that. The salad was good, except it was mostly carrots. It was okay--the hot chocolate was very good. 

Allan: Alright, anything else you want to add? Or do you just want to give it a rating?

Ashlee: Well, it's not my favorite time here, so the rating will probably be 2 and a half tacos

Danielle

Allan: Danielle, what'd you get tonight?

Danielle: So I have no idea what it's called. We can go look on the door, but it's not in the menu.

Allan: Your food was [on the door]? That's kind of weird.
Danielle: It was a Belgium waffle with some sort of like cream--pudding... I don't know, but it's delicious but I have no idea what it is. You say it because I don't know how to say it.

Allan: It's Bavarian cream.

Danielle: See! I've never heard of that before, but it's delicious. So it had that and strawberries on it and it came with a side of butter and syrup, [but] I don't know what on earth you'd ever want those with this, 'cause this is just a sugar bomb and I don't know how you could put butter on top of pudding--so there's that. But it was delicious and I liked it a lot. I feel like there was maybe a little bit too much [Bavarian cream], I would have liked a little less, but it was still delicious. I picked a side of over-easy eggs--because it came with and egg--and I picked [bacon]. Then it normally comes with some kind of potato--like hash-browns, or something--but I substituted a corn muffin instead--because the corn muffins: I am obsessed with and they were delicious. And everything was really delicious....

Allan: Okay, what kind of rating would you give it?

Danielle: 5, I would give it 5 out of 5.

Allan

Curtis: Okay, I am here with non-other than Mr. Allan Stokes--Allan what did you get today?
Allan: I got the biscuit scramble-is what I think it's called...Southern Scramble.
Curtis: Really and how was that?
Allan: It was delicious a biscuit cut in half with sausage patties on either one and there was some scrambled eggs on top of those--it was all covered in their country gravy. I got the hash-browns with it this time and I had those with ketchup. And that's all that came with it.

Curtis: Alright, so was there anything special about it? And how would you rate it?
Allan: I thought the sausage was a little to heavy on the spices--that same flavoring that's used in black licorice. But the gravy also, could have tasted better. I've had my share of country gravy in my life and I feel like this could have been better. But overall I would say I would give this meal... probably 2 and a half tacos.

Kevin

Allan: With me is Kevin. Kevin, what'd you get?
Kevin: I got Bruce's Meatlovers Omlette I think it's called...?
Allan: I believe you are correct. I think that's the one I usually get.
Kevin: It was okay. It wasn't the best omlette I've ever had.
Allan: What could have been better about it? What came with it?
Kevin: It had ham, sausage and bacon on it. 
Allan: Anything else you wanted to add then? 
Kevin: I did get some toast which was good. I love toast and some cornbread muffins--which their cornbread muffins are always awesome. 
Allan: What rating would you give it?
Kevin: I'd give it 2 and half, I wasn't really impressed by it. But that toast, boom 4 and half tacos. I really love toast
Allan: So on average you'd give this about 3... or 3 and a half tacos?
Kevin: Yeah, we'll go with 3.

Josh

Curtis: Alright, here I am with Josh--Josh what'd you get tonight?
Josh: The Cheeseburger salad.
Curtis: That sounds good, it sounds pretty simple. I don't know why someone would ask so many questions about what it is--it sounds like basic knowledge. How was it?
Josh: It was really good, it was really tasty and really big. 
Curtis: So Josh was there anything special about it? And what would you rate it out of 5 tacos?
Josh: I would give it 5 tacos because it was really simple, but it was really good and it had lots of hamburger--it didn't skimp on the good stuff--and it had lots of bacon on it too. Can't go wrong with bacon. I didn't like the carrots, but I took them off
Curtis: He took off the carrots ladies and gentlemen. Bacon was good, beef was amazing and that is Josh Terry's interview.

Marc

Kevin: Marc, what'd you have?
Marc: Black Bigfoot combo.
Kevin: He had the BLACK Bigfoot combo guys--what exactly is that?
Marc: It has steak, chicken fried steak.
Kevin: Awesome. What would you rate this "Black Bigfoot chicken fried steak"?
Marc: I got brown gravy with it too. 
Kevin: Oh, how was that?
Marc: I mixed the black, the brown and the white.
Kevin: So, mulatto.
Marc: Yup, it was good.
Kevin: What rating would you give it out of 5 tacos?
Marc: I'm really full right now.
Kevin: Alright, sounds like about a 5 tacos to me.

Kira

Curtis: I am here with Kira at the moment. Kira, whatcha get?
Kira: I go the Fish and Chip combo.
Curtis: So not "fish sticks," but Fish and Chips. Alright, how was it?
Kira: Good. The fries are always good and I got the tortilla soup on the side which is really good as well, it wasn't as spicy as I wanted, but it was really good. But the fish was surprisingly good, it was not too fishy and really crispy on the outside, so it's good.
Curtis: So anything special? Anything that stood out to you about this meal?
Kira: I mean nothing really special, it was definitely good, so I'd probably give it 4 out of 5 tacos.

   This time there were a few extremes is quality, but some of the ones that stood out in good light were the Bacon Cheeseburger Salad, the BIGFOOT Chicken Fried Steak and the Bavarian Cream Waffles with Strawberries. As always, the corn muffins were freaking delicious, it's something we always try to get before our meals come out. If anything, try one of these three dishes as well as a corn muffin (or two!) on your next visit to the Black Bear Diner.

To download the different menus on pdf you can go here. For online menus--here is Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner.