Abuelita's Mexican Kitchen in Westridge Mall

Shopping always makes me work up an appetite and this holiday season I have the perfect place for those mid-shopping snack attacks. Abuelita's Mexican Kitchen is conveniently located in the Westridge Mall food court and it is sure to fit any shopping budget out there. They even offer $5 lunch deals that come with a drink. I pay more in taxes sometimes when I'm shopping and thought this was a good price.

Today, I went to the mall to do some light shopping for Christmas because it's that time of year, of course. I've been meaning to stop by Abuelita's for awhile now, but I really don't go to the mall that often. I have heard great things about the food so I ventured up to check it out. I already mentioned the $5 meal deals, and really the rest of the menu is not much more expensive than that. I got loaded carnitas nachos for $6 and couldn't hardly finish them all. That's what a shopping buddy would be perfect for.

The menu is split up by the type of meat you want and listed below are prices for tacos, burritos, tostadas and bowls. I went for the nachos with carnitas because I saw someone with the nachos before and knew they looked good. I always get carnitas because pulled pork nachos is one of my favorite things to eat and I went for it. Normally I'd at least get a salad, or something healthy, but not today.

The nachos came with a white cheese queso, queso blanco, pico de gallo, lots of carnitas and sour cream. I also asked for mild salsa. The toppings were piled on and the chips were crispy and plentiful. The white queso had chunks of chiles in it and a nice kick to it, but not too spicy. The pork was juicy and the queso blanco was the perfect touch. These nachos could also be shared with someone as a

snack if you're not wanting an entire meal, especially while out shopping.

The menu also has a few desserts, but I've been trying to avoid sugar as much as I can. I saw where they have chimis, smores and a couple types of cheesecake. I almost got a hot chocolate but it just wasn't cold out today so I couldn't justify it. I hear it's about to get cold again, though so I may have to return just for some of that.

I enjoyed my first visit and plant to return, and probably soon because it's the holiday season and I'm sure I'll find myself at the Westridge Mall again in the next couple of weeks.  Even if you're not shopping, go ahead and stop by, it's worth it.

Pie Five Pizza Co.

A new pizza place on Wanamaker opened in December called Pie Five Pizza Company. I was finally able to check it out for an early dinner this afternoon.

 Don't get confused with the other restaurant down the way called Five Guys Burger and Fries, (I reviewed that one the other day). They both have the number "Five" in the name but they are nothing alike. They are completely different places, and I would say to try them both.

Pie Five is called such because they claim you'll get your pizza within five minutes of finishing your order.

How is that possible?

I was watching the crew build pizzas during my wait, which wasn't too bad on a Sunday at 5 p.m., and it seems as if there are cooks who pre-bake the personal sized crusts before others put the toppings on when you're ordering. There were three or four employees who seemed to only be there to make and bake crusts in advance. I did get my pizza within five minutes, along with the rest of my order.

The way it works is you pick your pizza crust -- Classic Pan, Artisan Thin, Whole Grain Thin, and Gluten Free ($2 up-charge for gluten free) -- then you pick your toppings, anything you want. It's set up Chipotle-style where you walk down the line and tell a cook what you want for your toppings. It's $6.99 for a pizza with whatever toppings you want. Ten dollars gets you the pizza, a salad and a drink.

Side garden salad

If you want a side salad I would say to go for the meal deal because it's $2.99 for a salad alone and I just don't think it's worth that much money. With the meal deal it's half that and maybe more worth it. Still, I wasn't impressed. The side salads come in a bread bowl, mine was stale and hard. Just trying to break off a piece of it, I could tell it was stale. The salad was small and unimpressive. The pieces of romaine lettuce were huge and hard to eat because they were so big. I did appreciate that the dressing was already tossed and everything was already coated because if it hadn't been I would have had an even more difficult time eating the salad.

I ordered the High Five with Classic Pan crust. It's basically a meat lovers with Canadian bacon, ham, beef, Italian sausage and pepperoni. I added tomatoes to mine because you can add whatever other toppings you want, no extra charge. I thought the pizza was good, the crust was fluffy and crunchy at the same time. I enjoyed the crust the most, the toppings were good but I didn't like the beef, it seemed a little crunchy and overcooked to me because they were small little pieces, compared to the other meats.

You can pick one of their signature creations and add to it like I did, or you can build your own pizza from the crust and sauce up. They offer a variety of sauces, olive oil, Tuscan marinara, Sriracha marinara, bbq, buffalo ranch and alfredo.  For a list of the toppings, visit their menu page.

I plan to return and try a pizza on thin crust. My husband Ryan ordered a pizza on the Artisan Thin crust and I tried some, so I know I'll like it. I enjoyed that the crust was thin, but it wasn't like eating a saltine cracker, either. It was soft and thin while still holding up to the toppings. The only thing I won't be ordering again is the side salad, it just wasn't worth the hassle or the extra money. The bigger salads looked more substantial, but to me they didn't look like they were worth $6.99. Maybe I'll try one sometime but so far I say stick to the pies at Pie Five.

Five Guys Burgers and Fries Comes to Topeka

Another restaurant opens on Wanamaker. This time it's a burger joint, popular all around the country that's made its way to Topeka, finally. I remember hearing about a Five Guys Burger and Fries in Lawrence for the past couple years, and I've always heard good things. Now that it's in Topeka, I went and checked it out. It seems, so did a lot of other people that day.

Bags of potatoes stacked around the restaurant.

When I got there, it was packed. All the tables were full and the line was all the way to the door. That being said, it really didn't take that long to order and maybe 10 minutes after that to get the food. Also, it's the first week that it's open and it's sure to slow down in the future -- at least a little.

While waiting in line, though, you can eat shell-in peanuts that are free for all. That way your wait isn't too unbearable if you're impatient like me.

The menu, at first glance, doesn't have much to it. Burgers, bacon cheeseburgers, fries, shakes and hot dogs. Simple. There's nothing special about the menu, either. What I mean, is usually when you go to a burger joint, there are burgers with special toppings and sauces, or a burger named after the place. Not at Five Guys. The menu was simple and straightforward.

There were more in the bag, too

Each burger comes with free toppings: lettuce, tomato, pickle, grilled onion, raw onion, grilled mushrooms, etc. The French fries are freshly cut on site, not those frozen, processed fries at typical fast food places -- there are even bags of fresh potatoes laying around like decorations.

When looking at the prices, keep in mind that the burgers are double cheeseburgers, which I didn't realize until I opened mine up. Also, the large French fry is definitely a large portion. I would recommend sharing with at least three people, or two extremely hungry ones. It comes in a large cup with even more on the bottom of the bag.

The fries were my favorite part. They reminded me of a place I worked when I lived in Arizona called Z's Chicago Dogs. There, we would cut our own fries from Russet potatoes, then fry them at a low temperature, like 275 F. Then, we'd cool them down, maybe even refrigerate them overnight. The next day, we'd fry them at a higher heat, like 350 F or 375 F. This ensures the fry is cooked thoroughly and that it's crispy and golden like fries should be. I'm not sure if that's exactly what they do at Five Guys, but they were close enough. I enjoyed the freshness, and they were still crispy, not limp. Yum.

The burger was juicy and tasty. Two patties topped with American cheese, a sesame seed bun and your choice of toppings. The burgers are put together nicely and seem to hold up well while eating. Sometimes when you get a burger it's smashed and messy, but this one seemed to stay together well and wasn't too messy. I guess that could depend what toppings you get on your burger. I ordered mine with tomato, pickle, ketchup, mayo and lettuce. There seemed to be too much cheese for me, (but I'm sure not everyone would agree) and I scraped some off of mine, but that's just personal preference.

I enjoyed Five Guys and will most likely return in the future, but I don't think I will drive across town just to eat it. Hopefully, next time it won't be so busy and my visit can be a little shorter, but, it is new to town. So if you're in a hurry, I'd wait until you have more time or it's newness has worn off a bit.

Taco Bell Breakfast -- No Surprises

This morning I decided to try Taco Bell's new breakfast items. I wasn't too impressed.

Sausage, egg and cheese A.M. Grilled Taco

There are only a few items on the menu, so far but I am sure they will continue to add more in the future.  There are four entree items that you can order with a choice of bacon or sausage with sides consisting of potato hash browns and/or a 12-pack of Cinnabon Delights, which were already on their menu. There is also Tropicana orange juice and coffee, which they don't have packets so they pour it in themselves. I don't know if I like that because I want to control what's in my coffee. I don't like leaving it up to some person I've never met to decide how much creamer I need, especially in a drive through, like I was at the time. Regardless, I ordered the coffee.

The coffee reminded me of the bold roasts from other fast good joints like McDonald's and Hardee's -- strong and in need of a lot of cream and sugar. It was okay, but I am not a fan of Starbucks if that tells you anything. This coffee was strong, and it made my stomach upset, which sometimes happens with certain coffees, including Starbucks, which is why I brought it up in the first place. Next time, I'll probably just get the orange juice.

I ordered two of their breakfast items -- the Breakfast Burrito and the A.M Grilled Taco -- both with sausage. I didn't see the hash browns on the menu when I was ordering or I would have ordered one of those but it didn't stand out so I missed it. I've had the Cinnabon Delights before and they were too sweet then so I knew they would be too sweet in the morning.

Sausage, egg and cheese Breakfast Burrito

The Breakfast Burrito was nothing surprising. The tortilla was soft, stuffed with eggs, cheese and sausage. There was a lot of cheese so if you love cheese, this will be the item for you. The A.M. Grilled Taco was again, nothing surprising. It consisted of scrambled eggs, cheese and sausage stuffed into a soft taco shell that was grilled on a flat top. The grilled tortilla gave it a little extra flavor but nothing too exciting.

I want to go back and try some of their pricier items like the Waffle Taco and the A.M. Crunchwrap sometime soon. Those items seem to be a little more dynamic and probably why they cost more than $1.50 each.  I wanted to try more than one thing so I went for the cheaper choices.

Honestly, I was disappointed. Taco Bell is supposed to be like Americanized-Mexican fast food. These items had no zest, flavor or appeal. There needs to be something taco-y about each item and all I see is eggs, sausage and breakfast meat offered in a few different ways -- in a tortilla, in a grilled tortilla and a waffle. Jazz it up a notch, Taco Bell.

So I guess the point of Taco Bell doing breakfast is to compete with McDonald's breakfast. One of the taco joint's ploys is they are staying open a half hour later for breakfast than the burger place. I don't know if they will be successful, personally I love me an egg and sausage biscuit from any place, Micky D's, Hardee's and even Burger King. I see TB sticking with burritos and crunch wraps, though, so who really knows what's going to happen.

Either way, now Taco Bell has breakfast, or "Firstmeal". Are you going to go try it? Or do you prefer to stick with lunch and dinner and get your breakfast elsewhere? Comment below and let me know.