Ok, I went to S&S again…for a third time. My co-worker said to me, why don’t you eat at different restaurants?! Ha! I do but this is a great place to eat and the friend I went with hadn’t been here yet. I also added last night’s dinner with my significant other at Milestones, however, I forgot to take pictures of the food but did take a picture of the beer…..

These restaurants couldn’t be more different, however, I did have Asian dishes at both.

When: Thursday, June 1st – 6:00pm (my friend and I) – Sticks and Stones

When: Saturday, June 3rd – 5:00pm (my significant other and I) – Milestones

At a glance: See my previous blog for a summary of Sticks and Stones. Milestones’ menu and décor remind me a lot of Moxie’s, but Milestone’s is slightly more casual. The menu options range from burgers, pastas, noodle and rice bowls, salads, chicken, seafood, and steaks – there a lot of fresh vegetables in most dishes and in general, there should be something for everyone.

I’ve only eaten at Milestones twice before and had totally different experiences. The first time I went, I had their fish tacos which were subpar (small piece of tuna on a small taco with a smudge of crema) although, the current menu describes the fish tacos differently, so they must have changed the menu. The second time I ate there, I had the chopped salad and it was incredibly delicious – so many great flavorful vegetables, avocado, chick peas, cilantro, crispy tortilla pieces, with a great lime peanut vinaigrette. I would absolutely have this salad again.

What we ate at S&S: I had the bibimbap again (see previous blog and pictured above). This dish was so tasty, just as it was last time – the rice crisped up so nicely in the hot bowl, and the gochujang (chili paste) added the perfect amount of heat. My friend had the soy orange marinated trout with miso squash puree with a spicy salad on top (pictured above), with a side of white rice. I believe there were chili seeds in the salad dressing which gave it a lot of heat but it had amazing flavor. Beware, if you don’t like heat!

What we ate at Milestones: I had the Thai red curry bowl with chicken – the red curry coconut cream sauce covered the chicken and vegetables (bokchoy, red peppers, cherry tomatoes, onions) which sat on a bed of jasmine rice, with two crispy wontons on the side. This was actually a great, flavorful dish for a non-Asian restaurant. I had asked them to make it spicier (medium) but it really wasn’t very hot. While the red curry was tasty, it didn’t blow my mind and so I wouldn’t order it again. It needed more curry coconut cream sauce for the chicken, vegetables, and rice to soak up – it was a bit dry. If I’m there again, I’d have the chopped salad…..

My significant other had the crispy chicken sandwich which looked amazing. The chicken was fried in panko but was a hair over-fried. It was topped with a garlic parmesan aioli and honey Sriracha coleslaw. He didn’t love the coleslaw but that was more about taste preference, not preparation. The egg bun looked amazing. I would definitely order this sometime but ask for a side of Sriracha or something just to take it up a notch.

Drinks: At S&S, I had the white wine (vihno verde) again which is so crisp and light – perfect, as it was a very hot day. My friend had a gin and tonic with lime. At Milestones, we tried pints of District Brewing’s (local brewery) Marzen and Pilsner lagers – both were warmish and fairly blah to be honest. They reminded me a lot of Great Western beer, not terrible but not exciting. We did leave about a third of our pints behind which I almost never do……

Not so great but who really cares: The air conditioning couldn’t keep up at S&S and so it was stifling in the front of the restaurant and fairly hot in the back (where we were) which caused us to eat and leave, having another drink elsewhere.

Honorable mentions: The food comes out quickly at S&S and is cooked to perfection. I know the manager at Milestones and so he told us about the District Brewing beer promotion which led us to try their $5 pints – even if they weren’t mind blowing, it’s always good to try new things!

For more information about the restaurants, see: www.sticksandstonesyxe.com and www.milestonesrestaurants.com or their Facebook pages

Happy bites!