My first response was to ask if they were out of the grilled chicken to which the KFC employee said no they were not. Then why can’t we have our free meal? It is not my fault that KFC got overwhelmed due to the fact that Oprah mentioned the offer on her show. What did they expect?

KFC made the following statement on their site:

We are so sorry, but due to the overwhelming response to our FREE Kentucky Grilled Chicken™ meal coupon, we can no longer redeem the free coupon at this time. But we will honor our commitment to giving you a free Kentucky Grilled Chicken meal.

Please visit a participating KFC restaurant for a rain check form. Complete the form, attach your original coupon , and give it to the KFC restaurant manager or postmark per the form’s instructions, by May 19, 2009, and we’ll send you a rain check for your free Kentucky Grilled Chicken meal at a later date, plus a free Pepsi with our compliments. Your participating KFC restaurant will provide you with the form you need.

Please note that the redemption periods of the rain checks will vary. All other terms and conditions of the original free Kentucky Grilled Chicken coupon will apply.

Thank you for your understanding,
Roger Eaton
KFC® President

What a load of BS. I could understand if there were lines out the door and KFC simply couldn’t handle the volume on the day of our visit. That wasn’t the case however as there was nobody in line and maybe a few people in the restaurant who had already been served.

I suppose that many who are turned down go ahead and order something anyway. Why not? They are already there and obviously hungry.

Not this guy! My wife filled out the forms and we left. And to tell you the truth, I don’t care if I get the rain check or not. I think it is completely bogus of KFC not to honor the coupon and make me request a rain check. By doing so, they probably lost a couple of customers for life.

I’m not bitter. I just don’t like being lied to and will choose to get my bucket of chicken elsewhere. I can hear Churches and Popeye’s calling my name.

I leave you with KFC President, Roger Eaton’s apology as posted on YouTube.

Well, Roger, apology accepted but KFC still sucks!

It is one of those small quaint restaurants where the kitchen is adjacent to the dining room. I always enjoy peering into the kitchen as cooks create their delicacies. The aromas of garlic, basil, red sauce, and grilled meats add to the experience.

We visited during the lunch hour, beginning our dining experience with a bottle of 2004 Chianti Valle Antica and Tomatoes Caprese. Fresh and tasty house bread was also supplied. All were pleasing to the palette.

For our entrees, my wife ordered the Fettuccine Leonardo with cream sauce, fresh tomatoes and chicken and myself, wanting to satisfy a craving for great Italian sausage and red sauce, ordered the Spaghetti Salsiccia. The pastas, sauces and meats were all extremely satisfying. Portions were very generous, so much so that we decided to skip the opportunity to sample their deserts.

The atmosphere itself was very pleasant with fine art from the Mona Lisa era displayed everywhere. Not only are there statues in abundance as well as fine art on the walls, a look up at the ceilings will reveal very detailed artwork, much like you might see in the Sistine Chapel in Rome.

We will definitely visit again on our next trip.

Located in the heart of North Beach, San Francisco, Mona Lisa serves authentic Italian cuisine. They have an extensive selection of homemade pastas, seafoods, meats and pizza. Each dish is prepared with fresh ingredients, homemade sauces and a touch of Southern Italy.

So the next time you are in North Beach, San Francisco, check out Mona Lisa.

Quaker Steak & Lube (obviously coined after the Quaker State & Lube oil change stores) is a motor sports themed restaurant famous for their chicken wings available in a wide variety of sauces but also serving up steaks, chicken, and ribs. They have about 30 locations situated in several states back east including Ohio, New York, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Florida to name a few. I had the pleasure of visiting the Columbus Ohio location and while there ate about 25 wings in various varieties, my favorite being the “Golden Garlic.”

Now allow me to focus on what was the highlight of my dining experience – the memorabilia. Not only did Quaker Steak & Lube have motor sports memorabilia all over the place such as hubcaps, old gas pumps, signs and the like, they had actual cars on lifts, hanging from the ceiling and even mounted on the walls. Don’t believe the last statement? Let the following pictures convince you.

No you’re not seeing things - that is a dragster hanging upside down

A hanging sprint car

Jeff Gordon’s # 24

An old Yamaha motorcycle

Old Triumph motorcycle

A mini motorcycle

This is a drivable car, indicated by small puddle of oil leaking under motor

This old Vette sat directly above our table

No I did not tilt the camera - that is an old Vette mounted on the wall. Crazy!

If you love cars and bikes and are ever back east, make sure you find a Quaker Steak & Lube an pay them a visit. Not only do they have great food but you will be treated to a very unique dining experience.

Note: This entry was originally published on my personal blog.