During our road trips to Mammoth and Tahoe (yes, we took several), the Missus started enjoying Wedge salads. Which was news to me since She had always scoffed at the use of iceberg lettuce…but I guess time changes everything, right?
So, a couple of months ago, out of the blue (cheese), the Missus tells me She wants “a wedgie”! Say what?!? I think something definitely got lost in translation there. Shades of Sam Woo the “Killer Whale”! What’s even worse is that I knew what She was asking for…and no, it wasn’t a “wedgie” ok? She obviously wanted a wedge salad. So, over the course of about six weeks, I made over a dozen of those things. Now of course, She’s moved on, but I thought I’d better write this recipe down in case She wants a wedgie ahem, a wedge salad again one of these days.
Anyway, this is what it started looking like.
You remember the Missus’s preferences regarding Her veggies from my Tahini-Lemon Dressing post, right?
And then of course, this is what the salad looked like at the end of two weeks…….micro greens and sliced smoked duck breast…..and even more crumbled blue cheese topping the salad.
And then of course, She needed some “extras” to make it a “complete” meal.
A couple of notes; you’ll notice that the Missus wants lardons on Her salad; so I filter out the rendered bacon fat and add that to the dressing. Also, Maldon Smoked Salt does make a difference as well. As for the blue cheese; I try to go with something on the more pungent side of the scale. The mayo, sour cream, and buttermilk are all whole fat and organic.
Blue Cheese Dressing – makes approximately 1-1/3 cup of dressing
3 ounces Blue Cheese – and more to top the salad
1/3 cup Mayonnaise
1/3 cup Sour Cream
1/3 cup Buttermilk
2 Tb rendered bacon fat
1 Tb fresh squeezed lemon juice
1 Tb Red Wine Vinegar
1 tsp grated garlic
Fresh ground black pepper, granulated garlic (optional), and Maldon Smoked Salt to taste
- In a mixing bowl, crumble and mash blue cheese with buttermilk until it resembles curds
- Add Sour Cream and Mayonnaise and mix well
- Add lemon juice, vinegar, and grated garlic and mix
- Taste and add black pepper, smoked salt, and granulaed garlic (if desired)
- Refrigerate for at least an hour before using
Four piece Fried Zucchini sticks ($6.49) was our choice as a side. Very large pieces, hand sliced and hand battered are served with some house made Ranch dressing and perfectly fried; the zucchini is cooked through and the cornmeal based batter is light, crispy and not greasy. 
This former bank building seems to always be busy, with many people using the drive-through. But, I'm still following my 1998 New Year Resolution and continue to not use any drive-through lanes and instead stick to parking and walking into the building.
Some menu prices have increased.
There's always something interesting to find in the decor, especially while waiting for a 'to-go' order.
The "2×2" ($6.10) is an excellent imitation of a Double Double from In-n-Out, served on a toasted bun and is satisfying..
The Combo Plate ($6.80), listed under "Sides", has a 
One day, I decided to try a Greek Chicken Wrap ($8.95). It was great! A greek salad with plenty of grilled chicken breast in a tortilla. All the flavors and freshness without a fork. 
Another day, I ordered a Turkey Wrap ($8.40). Not as interesting as the Greek salad, but still very fresh and satisfying.
The Avocado Salad ($9.85). The Thousand Island dressing is made in-house and is really nice. There is a whole avocado on this very large salad, along with lettuce, tomato, cucumber, onion, cheese and hard boiled egg. This is a bad photo because of a 
Here is the chicken strips salad ($10.60). Almost too much chicken to salad ratio. Another great meal.
The interior (there is outside seating) has 33 HDTV's, most showing local sports and at least one showing PAWS-a channel about animals. I could see 11 televisions from my chair and The Mister could see eight.
The two-sided menu mentions the weekday Lunch specials, as well as a Monday night special and Happy Hour. There's also a Tuesday night special of Sliders which flashed across one of the TV screens. The other side of the menu has weekend breakfast items.
The grilled chicken salad ($12.95) was topped with a still warm/freshly char-grilled chicken breast. The bowl is very large and we did take home some leftovers. The mixed lettuces had tomatoes, onions and shredded carrots and the ranch dressing was a better quality.
The cheeseburger Lunch Special ($14.75) includes your choice of soda, Bud Light, Coors Light or Amberbock. You also can choose the type of cheese and also get a choice of fries, chips or a salad. The burger is large (at least 1/4 lb) and also char-grilled, made with a coarse grind of beef, keeping the meat chunky and moist. The bun is toasted and those fries have a coating and seasoning, making them very crisp and tasty.
More than 20 beers on tap!
It turns out that this establishment is a recipe testing, preparation and catering kitchen to the family of New Zealand inspired restaurants in San Diego: Bareback Grill, Queenstown Public House, Dunedin North Park, Raglan Public House and Queenstown Bistro…none of which Kirk or I have visited (yet)
Walk in and there's the menu on the wall in front of you. Turn to the left, meet Mack, order, pay and find a seat. 
I noticed this "Mackstar" beverage ($2) described on the wall and decided to try it-an excellent blend of English Black tea and fresh (sweetened) lemonade. The liquids are different densities so when delivered to the table, we were able to try the excellent black tea separately from the lemonade; each is good on its own and when stirred, the combination is very nice-could still taste the tea.
The "Soup and Sammie" ($13) was my choice. Tomato basil soup with pine nuts and herbs, topped with sour cream-thick with chunks of tomato,so fresh, delightful. The bowl is low and deceptive. There is plenty. 
Two types of cheese on toasted sourdough with mayonnaise, avocado, lettuce and tomato. Excellent.
The Cobb Chop salad ($12.50) was really good; fresh (flavorful; I've been buying some bitter lettuces lately) Romaine topped with warm grilled herby chicken breast, chopped bacon, avocado, tomato, hard boiled egg and Blue cheese chunks.
The salad was served with fresh made Caesar dressing (delightful, non-burning garlic) or we could have tried the Pepper Ranch (next time). 
Fortunately Brothers Family Restaurant has survived, since 1994. 
When you walk in and see people seated at the lunch counter, know that it's a busy day and you may have to put your name on the Wait List for a table.
From the breakfast menu, the Belgium waffle with fruit and whipped cream ($9.95) was ordered by The Mister for lunch one day (the Breakfast menu is available until 2 p.m.). The light crispness of the waffle edges covering the puffy (not cake-like) filling is one of His cravings…plus we share our meal choices, so I was happy. 
The cup of soup and half sandwich ($10.99). I chose roast beef on rye toast and the Soup of the Day was vegetable beef. Two different types of beef and each very flavorful- the large chunks of stew pieces with the still slightly crisp vegetables in a strong beefy broth really hit the spot. The sandwich came with lettuce and tomato and mayonnaise and the meal was quite filling.
The Half Tuna Salad ($11.99) was my choice another day. The tuna salad is lightly seasoned with finely chopped celery, very little mayonnaise and some fresh herbs. It is basically all tuna, which I like. Served on lettuce with tomato and a sliced hard boiled egg, the house made Thousand Island dressing pulls every bite together with great flavors. This 1/2 size is a good size meal.
The French Dip ($14.99) is served with a choice of sides, so, of course, The Mister chose onion rings. Nice, crisp batter surrounding whole onion ring slices (you know, made here and not frozen). The thin slices of warm roast beef were served on a very soft, freshly toasted French roll. The au jus is not salty and has some herbs for flavoring. Quite nice. 
On days when the Soup of the Day is clam chowder, a bowl is ordered ($5.99). Thick, creamy, some chopped potatoes and plenty of clam meat as well as clam juice, this is a great choice. Soup bowls are served with a half slice of that soft French Roll made into a crisp topped garlic bread; delightful.
As you walk to the seating area, you'll pass the refrigerated dessert case. Save some room. (Yes, they make rhubarb berry from scratch!)
The well-established (since 1955) pizza parlor, serving Italian food as well as cocktails is open for lunch in nearby Lemon Grove. 
A bowl of the house made 
A large (for two) antipasto salad ($9.95) was shared for an appetizer. Plenty of mortadella, salami and provolone along with pickled vegetables and parmesan.
The Italian Salad Bowl ($7.95) is always a good shareable 'appetizer' for us. Don't be fooled by the camera angle- that is a very large, deep bowl (it's the same bowl used for the 'double bowl soup'). Lettuce, tomato, mozzarella, olives, pepperocinis and all of that pepperoni could make a nice low carb meal. But we've been ordering large pizzas lately.
A large sausage-pepperoni pizza ($20.45) is one choice. Neither of us wants too many ingredients to take away from the beautifully flavored dough.
The large sausage-mushroom pizza ($19.25). More of a favorite. You can see the thin crust.
The 'Bar' area is a bit closed off from the rest of the dining area.
There it was, Cliff Palace, I was actually here! Our Ranger was just like all the rest, so knowledgeable, first going over the safety protocols, we'd be using ladders to ascend….five in total. There were a couple of folks that struggled a bit, but for us it was pretty easy.
Petroglyph Point was the more interesting of the two and also the more strenuous. There were several tight squeezes, a couple of drops and some variations in terrain as well. The Missus was loving it.
And truth be told, I was actually enjoying this trail. All the changes in terrain and views kept me visually stimulated.
I thought this trail was easier than Petroglyph Point, but also less interesting. It was quite peaceful as we did not see another soul during our hike.
While the SYSCO crinkle cut fries weren't fried very well and quite soggy, the sandwich was not bad. The bread could have been toasted a bit more, but I liked the fact that they used Parmesan Texas Toast, which had a nice salty-buttery-milkiness. The short ribs were tender and beefy, loved the caramelized onions, and the cheese, which was a Boursin was herbaceous and nice and gooey. This was nice to share.