Travel Free to the Maldives!

Soneva Fushi and Soneva Gili by Six Senses are offering a special opportunity.

For the next six months, guests are invited to stay at either the Soneva Fushi or the Soneva Gili resort for five nights, without charge, and to spend five hours of each day working on local community projects, such as marine conservation, teaching children, planting trees and learning how to turn waste into wealth. This unique Eco Season voluntourism package includes 5 nights paid, 5 nights free in exchange for 5 hours per day of valuable and motivating work for the first 5 days of a luxurious 10 days stay in the Maldives.

From June 1 to October 12, 2010, guests can choose from the following areas of work:

• Marine Conservation - divers and snorkelers will be taught how to boost coral reef recovery and to learn more about how to protect the dwindling shark community.

• Waste Management - learn how to create home-made compost, charcoal and biochar to encourage locals into self-sufficiency and thereby reduce importation of food that can be grown at home.

• Carbon Mitigation - Spend 5 hours planting trees on nearby islands to give Soneva neighbours much needed shade and to mitigate levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

• Youth Education - Give local island schools a 30 minute (pre-prepared) talk on waste management and composting, and to talk about Western culture and geography. Guests are invited to share their own relevant expertise in whichever field they specialize.

• Boost Local Island Income - Assist local families by learning the skill of making cadjan roofing material to sell and public rubbish bins for raising awareness of waste management. This not only helps create revenue streams for the islands that struggle to find alternative methods, but also to helps to keep their islands in a pristine condition.

For more information, send an email to reservations@kiwicollection.com.

Genghis Grill Tyler Texas

Genghis Grill
3709 Troup Highway
Tyler, TX 75703
tyler@genghisgrill.com
http://www.genghisgrill.com/


Some friends and I decided to hit up the new Genghis Grill. The grill is known for its do it yourself bowls. Basically there is a meat section, vegetable, spice, and sauce section. You go to each one and fill your container with everything you want, then hand it over to be cooked. Although this sounds really good, it can be a bit overwhelming especially with a line of people behind you. It was my first time in and I think by time two I will have everything down pat. There is definitely an element of fun in picking and choosing how your dinner will be made. If I had more time I might have lingered a while contemplating options. My food was good, what can I say, I was the chef. If your food is bad, its nobodies fault but your own. For those whose culinary sides are a bit week, there are note cards to pick that tell you exactly how to make a specific dish. This place is lively and fun, and we had a great time. The food is priced very reasonably, with dinner costing $9.99 a bowl. On my next trip I will try out lunch.

Oh, and I almost forgot. Both desserts were great. We had a pineapple coconut cake, and a cookie something that our server suggested.

Big Burrito Tyler Texas

Big Burrito

322 ESE Loop 323
Tyler, TX, 75703
903-561-5858

They weren't lying when they named this place Big Burrito. I'm pretty sure this burrito could satisfy even the hungriest of men.

Big Burrito is located off the loop across from Robert E Lee. You can drive through or call ahead and pick up your order when you get there. I had the chicken burrito and E ate the beef burrito. There are a large variety of toppings, or in this case fillings you can get. The burritos were good. The chicken was shredded and the beef had a brisket taste. Two burritos were $13 in total with all of our toppings.

Dakota's Steak and Chop House Tyler, Texas

Dakota's Steak and Chop House
5377 S. Broadway Avenue
866.727.4804

Can I preface this post by saying that I usually really like Dakota's. In the past the food has been great, barring the lobster sandwich. They have delicious pasta, and soups that are warm, comforting and down right wonderful. Their desserts are killer, especially the ooey gooey white chocolate bread pudding. But I must digress as this is the visit I came equipped to write my review. In all fairness today was mothers day and I'm sure that added to the dilemma. Our reservation was set for 5 people at 1:15. I had originally wanted to come in at 12:30 but was told it would be hectic during that time and 1:15 would be better. We arrived on time and were not seated until 2:00 after I had asked the hostess to please seat us at any 4 top she had available. It was mothers day after all and half our set of parents had never been to Dakotas. We ordered our meal, which did not come out until 2:45 and only half was brought to the table. The rest of the food arrived in shifts one plate at a time over the course of the next five minutes. My fish was bordering on jerky, my hunger prevailed and I ate it anyway. Two orders of eggs benny came out looking quite anemic, but the two chicken fried steaks were good. The boys heartily ate and the girls, well they ate too. We were offered a free dessert to make up for the calamity. We politely accepted and ordered an additional dessert for good measure. Both the bread pudding and cheese cake were stellar. I only wish the rest of the meal had been. I will definitely go back to Dakota's, but it will not be on holiday occasion.

La Plazita Tyler, Texas

La Plazita
11980 State Highway 64 W
903-526-4193

Several people asked me if I had tried La Plazita. I kept thinking it was a restaurant in a shopping strip and had been procrastinating eating there. Then one day on the way to the airport I saw this happy little house beckoning me to eat. La Plazita is a cute little restaurant off the side off highway 64. It was clean and inviting from the moment I stepped foot inside. I started off with the auqua de melon or melon water. It was super delish! Chips and salsa arrived without provocation and were finished in the same fashion. Upon perusing the menu I decided on the tacos, one chicken and one beef. Oh happy, happy, joy, joy my stomach sang, my palette rejoiced. I left there one happy rolly polly little camper. Adios La Plazita, I'll be back!

Villa Montez Tyler, Texas

Villa Montez
www.villamontez.com
3324 Old Henderson Hwy Tyler, Texas 903.592.9696

I have been to Villa Montez on quite a few occasions, usually with friends on a weekend night. On a spur of the moment plan, my mother and I decided to dine there for dinner this evening. I called ahead, even though we were leaving in a few minutes, to reserve a table. I was told that there would be no more reservations for the evening, but I could come in and wait for a table. I threw caution to the wind and mozied, being from Texas and all, on down to historic manse. We got there around 5:45 and the place was sparse with people. I put my name on the list and the hostess informed me there would be a 35- 45 minute wait. Hmmm... I could go in a lot of different directions here, but I think if a restaurant is empty people should not have to wait to get a table. We ended up leaving around 8:30 and there were still plenty of tables left. Maybe it is time for a policy change on that.

The Food
We had chips, salsa, and Queso Fondido while we waited in the bar for our table. By the time we were seated I was nearing the full level so I ordered the ceviche. Being a ceviche lover I was a bit disappointed as it was a tad on the fishy side. Mom ordered the seafood enchiladas and they were pretty good, especially the sauce. The husband rolled in late and ordered one of the largest burritos I have ever seen. It was heavy on the rice and beans and left a bit to be desired on the pollo. You can't properly have dinner without topping it off with a dessert, so we did. The Tres Leches was the most appealing sounding for the finale. Boy was it good. Ok, not good, Great. It was the best darn thing I had there. It was soft and moist, leche-y with the perfect amount of sweetness.

With a beautiful patio and warm inviting decor the ambiance is always great at the VM.

On a side note we had a great server. Catherine, whether with a C or a K, a Y or an I, did a great job and was most accommodating.

Mariscos DJS Tyler Texas

Mariscos DJS
1201 E. Ewrin

Tyler Texas 75702

I am a die hard Don Juan-er. I love their food. When I say love, I could expound with prose lavishing my affection for the queso alone-- but that is another section right...

Mariscos DJS is a new Don Juan restaurant centered around seafood. I ran to this place when I heard it was opening. Thoughts of all things wonderful swirled through my head. I strategized what I would order days before without even seeing a menu. If you know me I bet you could guess what I got. We sat down for our meal and were shocked --- No chips. What-- did I hear you right--- no chips? We browsed the menu, still bruised with chip withdrawal, and contemplated more. Wings were the starter, delish, juicy, flavorful. I ordered the fish soup. It was brothy and tasty. One caveat-- the fish has skin on it, I would prefer without. Erick had the seafood fajitas. He was happy albeit nervous about the small portion. As he eyed it he asked, "should I order more wings." Mom was less than pleased with her meal. We sent it back. It was a shrimp ceviche tostada. The shrimp was not cooked. Now I know what ceviche is, I order it all the time and this was way underdone. They graciously took it away and she ordered shrimp tacos which were indeed cooked.

Some things that need work:

• The chairs were hard but the vibe was festive. After a few margaritas I'm sure there would be no issue.
• Ceviche needs more love
• Please, Please, Pretty Please bring on the chips and salsa
• There really is no option here for people that do not want seafood. True this is a seafood joint, however some non seafood items would be a plus
• Dessert
  

Some things that were good:

• Loved the patio
• The decor was fun and festive
• Live DJ

I will definitely go back and try out Mariscos again. Like anything new there are bound to be some kinks, I'm sure they will all get sorted out.