Tonight we decided to try AJ's Casual Eatery on Fairway Drive in Rocklin, CA. AJ's recently took over from Cool River Pizza. The setup is similar, but decorated nicely. When you first walk in, as we did for dinner tonight, you think you have to order buffet style, however for dinner it is waited seating.
We were sat right away by a nice teen. She brought the menus and asked if we preferred booth or table seating. We selected a booth, which was convenient as they have several big screen TVs throughout the restaurant and had both the SF Giants vs. ST Louis Cardinals baseball and Game 2 of the NBA Playoffs between Miami Heat and Dallas playing, which satisfied both my husbands love of basketball and mine of baseball.
The menu had several items available including appetizers, salad, sandwiches, burgers and a carvery. It also includes a small childrens menu. The options are plentiful.
My husband decided on the carvery and went with the Tri Tip (Cowboy version - which means the larger cut 10oz vs. smaller 5oz,) and he had his choice of two side dishes, which he selected mashed potato with gravy and coleslaw. I selected the sliced tri tip sandwich and asked to not have the garlic aioli that it comes with and swapped the red onion for grilled mushrooms instead. My options was regular fries or I could upgrade to either sweet potato or garlic fries. I chose the garlic. I also added a side salad, and we decided to try a side of Mac-n-cheese, which came a few minutes ahead of the meal, so was more like an appetizer of Mac-N-Cheese.
So for the meal itself, the meat was fantastic for both meals. My husbands came with three generous slices of tri tip and mine was nicely sliced and some still rare. The meat and the side salad were the best parts.
The mashed potato was nice, but the gravy reminded me of mom's- lumpy and not much taste. The garlic fries were not too bad. It was more parmesean tasting than garlic, but not all together a turn off. The side salad came with chopped tomato, ice burg lettuce and sliced carrots. I opted for the ranch dressing, which was a 'red ranch,' and was rather tastey. Hubby's coleslaw was just okay as well. It was good it wasn't dripping in dressing, but it didn't look like it had any at all. He said he was a bit disappointed, but not the worst he's had.
The Mac-N-Cheese however, I suggest skipping. It's not your mom's, nor your grandma's, hell its not even Kraft in a box. It is noodles with cheese wiz is what it tasted like. If I were in Philly getting a cheesesteak sandwich, I even skip the 'Wiz' and go for provolone, so I wasn't that thrilled with the Wiz Mac.
Overall, the next time I think I'll ask for either regular fries or the seasonal sauteed veggies as a side. It was good enough however for another visit. I think next time I'll try the burger.
Until then,
Happy Eating!
Janey
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