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We stopped in at Sonora Thai Cuisine restaurant in Sonora today.  We parked a block away, because you know how parking is downtown. Impossible!  I just love rice noodles and mine just don’t turn out right, no matter how hard I try. 

It’s about 3:00 p.m., the sun is beating down, it’s hot. The menu is outside and the phone number posted on the window. After looking over the menu, I was ready to order, so I tried calling, the phone is busy. I see the door is open, so I go inside. The lady inside, walks to the middle of the room, tells me to call, I told her I tried to call and the line was busy.  I ordered the Pad See Ew and the lady disappeared into the kitchen.

Another lady showed up, she told me to call.  I explained that I had already ordered.  She went and prepared my bill, stood in the middle of the room and shouted the amount, and asked if we were paying by cash or credit.  My husband told her cash and passed her a $100 bill across the tables they had surrounding the door, so there was a small square to stand in.  She took the $100 bill, sprayed in with something and came back with our change.  She held the money with two fingers.  

After we paid, she asks us to wait outside.  So, we went outside in the hot sun and waited for our food.  After about 15-minutes, my husband started to talk about how we had to walk to our car after we finally got our food.  That scared me, walking up hill in that heat.  I went back inside, where the air conditioner cooled the building quite nicely.  I faced the door and tried to be unobtrusive. A few minutes later, she brought my food to the door, and if looks could kill, I’d have been dead on the spot.

These ladies should not be open.  It been a long time since I’ve felt so unwanted.  The food was good, but I won’t be going back there until  things go back to normal.  That was just too creepy.

We’ve been trying to change our diet, and eat better, but it’s so hard not to eat out once in awhile, so we like to try out the local burger joints. I have a very sensitive stomach, so I have to watch what I eat.  The first time I tried Squeeze Burger their food was fantastic, but I had a rough night, I wasn’t so sure I wanted to try it again.

We normally give a new restaurant at least two tries and I am so glad we have that policy because the food was just as delicious the second time.  This burger was monster size.  The first time I ate half the burger and the second time I ate a little more than half.

The bacon is out of this world, it’s thick and crispy, just like you made it from home. The cheese skirt is heavenly, about a 3″ “skirt” of cheddar cheese, that breaks off from the burger easily. Either eat it alone or break it off and put it back on the burger.  Unless, you are big eaters do yourself a favor, split it with someone because the fries and custard are both incredible. You will want to save a little room.

I can’t tell you when I’ve had a burger that was so satisfying. Everything is made fresh daily and it tastes like it.  I didn’t inquire as to the type of beef they use because frankly, sometimes it’s just better not to know. <grin> I didn’t get sick and that’s all that matters to me. It probably still has GMO’s in the meat, so I wouldn’t eat this too often.

The burger was juicy and it was thicker than your regular fast food burger, the bun has sesame seeds that I normally avoid and while the bun is covered it’s steamed on the grill and I really didn’t notice them.  The fries were seasoned, fresh, hot, and firm.  They were delicious.

A pair of In-N-Out cheeseburgers.

I stopped in this afternoon determined to try the custard. I got chocolate and vanilla twirl, the small, it was absolutely delicious and I was prepared to hate it. It was creamy, with a very smooth texture, nothing grainy here, very thick, it reminded me of Wendy’s Frosty, but this isn’t ice cream, it’s custard. I’ve tried all the frozen yogurt in town and didn’t care for any of it.  This was exceptional and it didn’t upset my stomach one bit.  I’m simply amazed.

We will be going back, just not too often, this is greasy, fried, fast food, that isn’t so fast but this rates right up there with In-N-Out Burger, except the price.  In-N-Out is simple, good, cheap food, and it’s fresh, now multiply that by 3 cause that’s what you will pay, but you’ll get 4 times the burger.

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We’ve had the pleasure of eating at The Homeplace a couple of times now and we’ve enjoyed our meal every time.

Sweet Potato Fries

The sweet potato fries are the best I’ve eaten in Sonora. They are tender, cooked to perfection and they are huge.  I swear a couple of them were two feet long.  That’s unrealistic, but I’d guess maybe 8 inches, anyway. That’s a pretty good size fry.  I’ve eaten at some places around town, where all the fries are 3 inches max.  These sweet potato fries left me dreaming about more, and our next visit.

Their ribeye steak is awesome. Juicy, tender, melt in your mouth – delicious, but you can only get it after 5 pm. Which shouldn’t be a problem, but we always seem to get there about 3:00 – too early for dinner, too late for lunch. So, keep that in mind if you fall in love with this ribeye steak!

My husband just loves their club sandwich and their burgers weren’t bad either. The choice of buns was limited and they lean more towards a deli with their sandwich menu. The sandwich menu is extensive and they do them up right.

The only problem we had was, as their website states: “Our Food is Made to Order.  Your Patience is Appreciated.” They mean it. The part about the patience that is. The staff has one speed – slow. If you are in a hurry, pass The Homeplace by. You’ll only leave frustrated.  However, if you are looking for a place to catch up with friends and have an hour or so to spend. This is the place.

The atmosphere is homey with about three booths and five tables, so don’t bring the whole gang, but it’s nice for a group of four or five to sit, relax, talk about old times and dine on scrumptious food.

Related articles

• Sweet Potato Chili with Cinnamon Sour Cream (strawberryginger.com)
• Food Fact: Sweet potatoes has the ability to actually improve blood sugar regulation (organicready.org)
• Twice Baked Sweet Potatoes (mommyhatescooking.com)