Some Thoughts

My wife and I were able to enjoy Boston’s Pizza this evening with some friends.  We had a pretty good experience overall.

There are some kinks that need to be worked out.  They apparently don’t have all of the beers in the restaurant that they list on their menu — it was kind of weird.  Also, they messed up one of the people’s orders but fixed it immediately.

The food itself was very good in my opinion.  I got an Ultimate Pizza that was very tasty.  We also got their appetizer platter so we could sample the entire selection.  I don’t think there was an appetizer the group didn’t like.

The service was good.  As I said before, they are still working out some kinks and are training new people.  However, for a new restaurant, my wife and I were very pleased.  We had to wait about 45 minutes (we went around 5 PM) for a table.  Their parking lot was CRAZY but that’s not the restaurant’s fault.  It would have been easier if everyone wasn’t trying to turn left out of the parking lot.

It looks like they are putting a lot of work into their outdoor eating area, as well.  They have a lot of the heat lamps so it looks like they will have a relatively long (compared to other restaurants here) outdoor eating season.

We definitely plan on going back again.  If you are willing to fight the crowds or go a little bit early, I’d highly recommend you take a shot!

My wife and I got the chance to eat at the new Noodle Express restaurant. In case you don’t know where it is, it’s on 10th Ave near Pita Pit.

We were hoping it was going to be like another noodle place we had in Colorado Springs which was pretty good. It was not the exact same because Noodle Express only has the Asian-style food instead of a big variety. Even so, we still really liked it. Their service was friendly and fast. I guess they modified their operations a little bit and got a runner to take the food to the tables instead of making the customer walk up to the counter (which would create quite the crowd).

We plan on throwing that restaurant into the rotation. Now we are just counting the days unil Bostons opens up (not to mention Chili’s and Macaroni Grill)!

The first thing I decided I would talk about on this blog is the progress (and sometimes lack thereof) of restaurants in Great Falls. I want to first say that my wife and I frequent many of the local restaurants in town and will continue to do so even as new chain restaurants open up. Some of our favorites are Bert and Ernies, Jakers, 5th Street Diner, and Rikki’s. We also frequent Applebees, Mackenzie River, and Tony Roma’s.

However, we are also very happy to see new chain restaurants being built. I’ve always had an issue with the lack of variety. While the food is excellent at the aforementioned local restaurants, it does get old having only a handful of restaurants to choose from. We are very excited that we’ll be getting the Chili’s and Macaroni Grill. Those two restaurants are incredibly good with wonderful atmospheres. Also, the Pita Pit and Noodles Express (when it opens) are nice additions. I was so happy to see that Pita Pit decided to stay open later than other restaurants in town. This town becomes relatively dead at night and it is nice to see that a restaurant recognizes that and is willing to stay open late.

I think new chain restaurants can do a lot for Great Falls. They will give residents even more to choose from when deciding where to dine. Also, competition is never bad in a free market. People always complain that local places can’t compete with chains. Well, if the food is good enough they will come. There are so many non-chain restaurants in Southern California (where I grew up) that people go to. I would argue that Southern California is one of those places that has just about every chain restaurant you can think of. Yet people still do dine at their favorite local place. It’s all about providing good food at a good price with great service (and oftentimes service is THE key).

With new chain restaurants being built one can see some growth in Great Falls. I’ve often been a critic of Great Falls in the past not because I necessarily dislike the town. I’m more of a critic because the town can be so much better than it is. I’m not saying that Great Falls should lose its identity but it should be open to growth and positive change.