Friday, August 10, 2012

Kell's Kitchen in Babbitt, MN


We love our little hometown restaurant. The food is really decent for the prices. You get good portions and a lot of variety in menu options. We mostly have Kell's to go, but, sometimes, we would eat in, so we will write about both.

Dining in:
Brian: At the main door, a standard wheelchair can fit through, but anything wider will not. Once through the main door, I have to turn around in a small area to go through another door to be inside the dining area, also only wide enough for a standard wheelchair. Seating for wheelchairs is fine, as long as it's more in the back to be clear of everyone else.

As for use of the restrooms, the wheelchair does not fit through the door. Even if chair could fit, there is no room to move around inside.

I like the fun, personable staff and the variety of food choices on the menu. I enjoy the hometown family restaurant feel, the way a little town should be: great personalities of the wait staff and cooks, customers of all ages enjoying a nice meal. My favorite breakfast item is Philly Skillet and, for lunch, the Pepper Jack Burger.

Jodi: likes the service, the personality of the staff and cooks. She also likes the quality and quantity of the food, along with the variety of food choices on the menu. Prices are fair for adult and kids portions. Jodi's favorite meal is the Kell-ifornia Burger with bacon. Her favorite breakfast item is the Garbage Skillet with scrambled eggs. It may sound gross, but it's a mixture of ham, bacon, sausage, peppers, onions, tomatoes, mushrooms, and cheese.

KayMarie: likes the wall decor and likes the personable feel from staff and customers. They are accommodating for their customers: kids, elderly, wheelchairs. They have great food and really good portion sizes. There is a variety of food choices on the menu and new special foods added daily. KayMarie's favorite meals are Taco Breakfast Skillet or Steak and Eggs that are over easy. It's a tie for breakfast, but for lunch it's the Kell-ifornia Burger with bacon and a side of deep fried green beans.

Christopher: likes the food and their service. He likes the decor and would consider to go more often, if they offered a kid's activity page. Christopher's favorite breakfast food is the French Toast with Chocolate Cream Cheese Topping, and his favorite lunch is the Rueben sandwich with side of fruit.

Jonathan: likes the food variety, the decor, and the food. He doesn't mind having no kid's activity page. He likes looking at the decor. Jonathan's favorite breakfast item is the French Toast with Blueberry topping. His favorite lunch item is the Monte Cristo sandwich with side of fruit.

For Take Out:
It's one of our week's highlights. Kell's makes us feel special when we order, from a cheery welcome when we call and having our order ready in a timely matter to putting happy sayings on our boxes.

Also, when Jodi and boys went out of town, I called Kell's for some lunch and dinner and they delivered it to me.

Kell's Kitchen is a must stop in! Keep updated with her Facebook page at Kell's Kitchen

Monday, August 6, 2012

Edge Waterpark and Resort in Duluth, MN


Wow! What an awesome, fun place for the whole family, with some low points, but, overall, it was great.

For handicapped accessibility, it was really bad for me. First, going in the entrance, they directed us to the elevator to go to the room we needed. The wheelchair would not fit, not even a standard wheelchair would fit. We asked the front desk where another entrance with a bigger elevator would be, and they said to go outside and around the building where there is another entrance with a bigger elevator. We head outside down the sidewalk, down a hill, and there is no more sidewalk. There were big rocks and no sidewalk ramp to go down, so KayMarie and I go up the hill and back to where we started to go down the only sidewalk ramp. To get to this entrance with a bigger elevator, we had to go in the parking lot back down the hill. It was dangerous. A car could have backed up or been driving fast around corners. Then, we get to the entrance, but the main doors were too small, so I had to stand up, have the wheelchair brought in around me, (people are standing there waiting, so it was embarrassing), and, then, I swing into the chair. Luckily, I can stand and swivel around, but another person may not have that option. The elevator was bigger, thank god, so now up to the room...

The room door was too small, so I had to do my transfer thing. I got in the room, but not enough to turn around to go into the room. And, there was furniture and beds that only left narrow walkways around the room. So, what I had to do was...sit in the hallway, while everyone else was in the nice, cool room.

Now, we are going to the waterpark. All doors on the way are still too small for the wheelchair, so have to do my transfer thing. Not knowing that there is anything for the handicapped to do, I didn't bring extra clothes to get wet in. There was nothing on their website indicating wheelchair accessible activities, and no maps or signs showing wheelchair accessibility, so I just sat there and took pictures.

I had to go to the bathroom, and, once again, the door into and all other parts of the handicapped restroom were too small. So, I did my transfer thing again, but it was very dangerous. The floor was so wet and slippery, that I could have easily fallen. Jodi and KayMarie had to help me. Jodi slipped in the bathroom. And, I had to stand up to use the bathroom. It was very dangerous. I'm not sure what they were thinking when they put a wheelchair sign on the door with flooring like that.

My family and I had been in the waterpark all afternoon, 4-5 hours, and were ready to leave, and a nice lifeguard told us something shocking. The lifeguard tells us where wheelchairs can go in the water at. We had been there all day, no one had told us about that, and there were no signs. We told the lifeguard thank you and that no one had told us that, but we are leaving now.

But, most important, the kids had fun, and that made it worthwhile. Jodi went down the waterslide and liked it.


KayMarie enjoyed the lazy river, but was afraid to go down the waterslide.

Christopher and Jonathan enjoyed everything. They had so much fun, and I'm glad I was able to get pictures and videos.

We had lunch there at the waterpark, and the food was good. Pricing was ok. You get decent portions for the money. Jodi and I had cheeseburgers and fries that were good, but not like OMG.

KayMarie had a garden salad that was really nice-sized and had a good vegetable assortment.

Christopher and Jonathan shared chicken fingers and a cheeseburger. They both liked them a lot, but I think they were more excited to go back in the water.

When I got home, I Facebooked and Tweeted how unhandicapped accessible Edge Waterpark and Resort was, but I did not hear from them. So, I emailed them on 8/1/12, and not even a half hour after I sent it, they called me and apologized for the inconvenience that I went through. And, they said, in the next few years, they want to make Edge Waterpark and Resort more handicapped accessible. They would like my family and I to be the eyes to help them see where it needs to be more accessible. Of course, I would want to help. That is the whole purpose of this blog. Also, in their apology, wanting us to help, they want to send us a gift certificate to come back and give them another chance.

UPDATE: As of 8/8/12 we received a gift certificate for a night stay in a American Disability Act room. We will give an update when we go.

Check it out for yourself:   http://www.duluthwaterpark.com/

Sunday, August 5, 2012

Adventures Restaurant & Pub


We give this restaurant a B- mainly because of the service and most of the food was good, but had some low points.

There was great handicapped parking and sidewalk to go onto, only one door that was difficult to get through, but staff was right there to help. The service was outstanding, very helpful with me being in a wheelchair. Holding doors, knowing where to seat us so we are out of the way, and moving chairs for me at the table.

Kids menu was also a color sheet. It had basic kid choices and reasonable prices, $4-5.

We started off with the Four Season Appetizer, which had awesome bruschetta and unique mozzarella sticks that were wrapped like a egg roll. They were very good as well. They had onion rings which were ok and 4 wings that could be passed on. Next time, if we order a appetizer, we would just order the bruschetta.

Jodi had an 8oz prime rib, baked potato, carrots and broccoli. She liked the prime rib, and a baked potato,well, is just a baked potato. She did not like the carrots and broccoli, because they were too crispy and had no seasoning.

KayMarie had the Sportman's Steak and Mushrooms. She says the steak was dry, but the mushrooms were good. It came with boiled red potatoes that had no seasoning but were cooked well. It also came with broccoli that had no seasoning, and some were crunchy, some were soft.

Christopher had kid's meal pizza with a side of fruit that included grapes, cantaloupe, and honeydew. He said he liked everything but the honeydew, which was weird cause he likes honeydew. But, he says it tasted like avocado, and that he doesn't like.

Jonathan had the same kid's meal, but had fries. He liked everything, but he thinks the pizza could have been a little bigger. It was a little mushy and not heated thoroughly.

I had Elk Steak Tuscany. As this was my first elk steak, it seemed tough. I ordered it medium rare. It came with 2 pieces. One was medium well. The other was medium rare. It came with Minnesota wild rice and beans. It was good, different, and little sweet. I also had the supposed cook vegetables, and they were too crunchy, no seasoning at all.
Areas:
Handicap: B. It had 2 parking spots. The one we parked in required us to backup, because, if not, there is a curb and grass, no sidewalk. Main entrance door was the only difficulty it had a pole in middle, and my wheelchair would not fit. But, a standard size may fit better.

Kid friendly: B. It was just a color sheet, no activities that would be more suited for older kids.

Food: B-. Some high points with some lows.

Service: A+. Outstanding! Our waitress, Carissa, gave us individual attention. She told us how to order our steaks. She said order under, since they seem to cook over, and that was an excellent tip. Carissa gave refills right away and checked up on us often.

Prices/Quantity: B+. If all our meals were done right, we would give it an A. But, you do get a lot of food for you money.

Atmosphere: A. We liked the decor. It wasn't overrun with "stuff". It wasn't too loud, but not quiet either. They had tv's that had a Twins game on and fish tanks that Chritopher and Jonathan enjoyed looking at.

Overall for Adventures Restaurant & Pub: a STOP ON IN

For more info, visit http://adventuresrestaurants.com/

Thursday, August 2, 2012

Welcome to our blog of our families outings


We are a close family from Babbitt, MN, that likes to try new places whether it's a restaurant, shopping, or a fun outing, but, wherever the place is, it's always an adventure.

Our goal is to share the experiences we have so that, if you and your family are up in our neck of the woods, you have some places to stop or just drive on by. We believe we have a lot to offer and provide valued input.

Our family is:
Brian: I'm in a wheelchair. So, first thing we check is handicapped accessibility. I love spicy foods and unique findings.

Jodi: My wife looks for kid-friendly places as a top priority. She is easy going and laid back, but if
something is not right she is quick with input. But, if all is well, she will be a loyal, valued customer. She loves a great steak and Mexican food.

Christopher: He is 11 years old, and, when he eats at a restaurant, whatever he orders is "the best he ever had," but he has good input. He loves his chicken strips and pancakes

Jonathan: He is 9 years old and will be your hardest critic. He will tell you how it is. He is very honest. He loves his cheeseburgers and Mac-and-Cheese.

KayMarie: She is our sister that may seem soft-spoken and to just go with the flow, but, if she likes something, she raves. If she doesn't like something, she will share and be made known. She loves her pasta and a great steak.

We have different tastes, needs, and input. We will be fair, honest, and not just look for the negative. When there is positive, we will definitely make it known for the business. If there is negative we would like to offer the business to correct it before we blog. If and when it is made right, we will add it to the blog.

Check out our Facebook pages!
Brian
Jodi
KayMarie