Vapiano (Italian)

One of our favorite places to eat at the Citi Center is Vapiano's. We've been there on a couple occasions and have always had a great experience. On this occasion, we ordered the Pizza Toscana, which comes with spicy sausage, olives, fresh herbs, tomatoes, mozzarella and we ordered pepperoni on it as well.  We also ordered the Insalata Cesare, which is a very large Caesar salad.  The pizza was 4BD and the salad was 3.5BD.  Total with a couple diet cokes was 9.3BD.  

Pizza Toscana

 

Insalata Cesare

Fuddruckers (American)

It was lunch at one of our staple restaurants, Fuddruckers.  My wife and I enjoy both breakfast and lunch there.  We ordered our "regular" dishes, my wife orders the 1/3lb Swiss Melt and I order the Regular Grilled Chicken sandwich; both with potato wedges.  The restaurant has a walk-up bar, loaded with condiments.  I usually go completely overboard, but I went easy today just for the picture.  Actually, I did load up my plate with ketchup and honey mustard sauce after I took the picture.  Fuddruckers is one of the those places that never disappoints. You can also use one of your buy one get one Entertainer coupons. 

Grilled Chicken Sandwich with Potato Wedges

Swiss Melt Burger with Potato Wedges

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Organic Foods & Cafe

We took off with another couple to cash in on one of our entertainer coupons at the Seef Mall.  We decided on the Organic Foods and Cafe.  I've been there on a couple other occasions looking for some pasta and flour, but this was the first time to eat.  The menu had an attractive all-day breakfast menu, as well as some traditional dinners and burgers.  Of course, all of which are organic.  Three of us chose the cheeseburger with Gouda cheese. I thought the burger was good, but I did detect a certain taste to the burger that I couldn't quite figure out what it was.  It was still good.  My wife however, couldn't get a past the unique taste.  My other friend ate his burger with no problem, but he said he wouldn't order it again.  The other dish was a chicken stir fry and rice.  The texture of the rice was a turn-off to my friend; however, her husband had no problem finishing off her plate, stating it was very tasty.  Since I have another coupon, I'll go back in the near future for breakfast.  

Cheeseburger with Gouda

Chicken Sir fry and Rice

The Pizza Company

We were joined by another couple for an evening of pizza at the Pizza Company.  We ordered the Meal for Two special, which includes a large pizza, garlic bread and drinks for 4.9BD.  I ordered the Mediterranean Veggie and our friends ordered a cheese pizza.  The pizza was great, a nice meal for the price.  

 

Let's Bagel

A friend was boasting about how good the bagels were at Let's Bagel, located by the movie theater at the Citi Center. Of course, I had to check it out.  The restaurant had a real nice look to it, with bagels hanging on the wall.  The menu had a variety of bagels, subs and panini's. I chose the Tasty Turkey bagel.  It came on a rye bagel, with bacon, tomato, lettuce, turkey and loaded with cream cheese.  The cream cheese was a different take, but it was good.  The sandwich came with a can of "Twiss" soda.  That was the only disappointment I had with the meal.  The store didn't offer Diet Coke or any other diet drink.  The Twiss selections were very, very sweet tasting. Too sweet for me.  The meal, with the drink was 2.7BD.     

 

 

 

Macaroni Grill

My wife and I visited the Macaroni Grill for her birthday dinner.  We enjoy the restaurant, but only visit every couple months or so.  My wife always orders the Eggplant Parmesan.  I ordered the Chicken Parmesan, shown below.  The plate comes with pasta and three pieces of chicken. I have them load up on extra ground Parmesan cheese and fresh ground pepper.  The rosemary bread, served with oil and vinegar will ensure you go home nice and full. 

Chicken Parmesan

Rosemary Bread

Cafe LiLou (Dessert)

Not only does Cafe LiLou have great food (see previous post), they also have a nice selection of desserts. My wife was surprised by her friend when she received this beautiful (and delicious) box of birthday goodies.  The desserts are very rich, I would recommend a large cup of coffee and definitely take your time eating these trophies.  

Gloria Jean's (Coffee)

My wife and I made our first trip to Gloria Jean's coffee located in the Citi Center.  Lucky for us, they still had their seasonal latte available, the Toffee Muffin Latte. It was quite good! 

Toffee Muffin Latte 

 

Entertainer Guide (Update)

I recently purchased the 2014 Entertainer Guide.  They offer a Smart Phone application; however, I opted to by the book and just use the coupons vice using the smartphone for coupon redemption.  I did discover that you can still download the application and use it to find establishments near your exact location, were you can use your coupons.  Very nice!  I've used two coupons so for, one at The Butcher Shop and one at the Noodle House.  So far, I've saved 13BD on just those two visits. 

The Butcher Shop Grill

My wife and I wanted an early dinner near the City Center, so we decided to break out another Entertainer coupon and headed over to The Butcher Shop Grill.  We both decided to order the 280g Sirloin.  I ordered mine medium rare and my wife ordered hers well done. Once we ordered, we were greeted with bread and a variety of spreads and oil/vinegar. We also received a bowl of barbecue sausages. The appetizer was delicious! The steaks came out perfectly cooked and were VERY good!  I enjoyed the garlic sauce and my wife had the mushroom sauce with our steaks. The steaks were 7.9BD each. With a Diet Coke, Ice Tea and the coupon, the bill came to 11.55BD.  Well worth it.  Best steak in a long time. 

Complimentary Appetizer

Sirloin with Potatoes and Corn of the Cob and Mushroom Sauce

Sirloin with Garlic Sauce with Cole Slaw and Corn on the Cobb

Noodle House (Asian)

It was time to break out the 2014 Entertainer Guide, and my wife and I decided to go to the Noodle House at the Seef Mall.  I've been to the Noodle House once before at Amwaj, and it was very good. On this trip, I ordered the Black Peppered Beef and my wife ordered the Shanghai Noodle. Both dishes were delicious and very filling.  We also ordered some Edamame for an appetizer.  With a Raspberry Blossom drink and a diet coke.  The bill came 17.6BD, but then the bill was reduced to 12.2BD after the coupon.  Very good meal and a nice way to kick off the 2014 Entertainer Guide. 

Shanghai Noodle

Black Pepper Beef

Edamame

Raspberry Blossom

Tea Club

We made another trip out to Amwaj to the Tea Club.  The tea club is a favorite for the "wives club." When I go, I always order the buffalo chicken wrap. It's VERY good. I order it with with the ranch on the side and dip the wrap.  On this occasion, my wife decided to order the beef lasagna.  Let's just say, she was a little disappointed with the lasagna.  I tried a bite, it appeared there wasn't any pasta inside the dish.  However, this is a tea club, so I'm not going to be too critical of the lasagna.  My wife consistently orders the Milk Chai Tea.  There are literally hundreds of teas offered, both hot and cold. There are lot of tea options on the menu, and then they have book cases full of teas you can take home. The couch atmosphere makes this a very relaxing outing and the staff is super friendly.

I

 

Haute Cupcakes

My wife and I were looking for a birthday cake but was coming up empty.  In our search, we came across the new cupcake store at the Citi Center, Haute Cupcakes.  They had a delicious looking selection of cupcakes.  We decided to get cupcakes in lieu of the cake.  Pictured below are carrot cake, chocolate, strawberry swirl, red velvet and cookies and creme.  The cakes are normally 1.2BD each, we got a special price, buy 10 get two free. 

Haute Cupcakes

 

Chili's (Breakfast)

I recently visited Chili's for dinner (see review), and took advantage of the on-line survey, where I received a buy on entree get one free coupon.  So, my wife and I returned for breakfast.  We both ordered the western sizzler plate.  It's a very tasty plate of scrambled eggs, potatoes, some veggies and tortilla strips served with toast and a drink.  Not a bad deal for completing an on-line survey.