Grub Crawl - Hourglass District/Curry Ford Rd: Papa Lllama, Bad A's Burgers and Charlie's Bakery and Creamery

I tried these places on Tuesday at dinner. The first is in a strip mall with the supermarket. The second is in a strip mall closer to 436 that has been two Indian places recently. The third is in a strip mall in between. I may have reviewed them before. They changed ownership and aren't the same place in any event.

Papa Llama - I'm not sure what to say about them. They received a Bib Gourmand from Michelin. Google states this "Although Michelin stars are highly coveted, the Bib Gourmand designation signifies a restaurant delivering a high quality dining experience at a reasonable price. To be precise, a Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand restaurant must offer two courses and a glass of wine or dessert for around $40." I didn't see any of that. They had a a very limited and blase and expensive menu with an even more ridiculously expensive wine list (good, but, at least a 3X mark up). The least costliest bottle was $50. I chose Huanc Noods for $18. This is (oh btw they are a Peruvian restaurant) a goopy garlic paste that is usually put on potatoes. They do egg noodles. It was ok. Very goopy. Toothy noodles. Unclear if they make them. And that was the cheapest thing on the menu. 2 apps. Olives were like $8 and something equally dull. two chaufas (that's fried rice) that I think were over $20. A skirt steak at $26 that they call lomo. Lomo is Spanish for tenderloin. Skirt is diaphragm. Google says lomo can be called Romanian tenderloin. This is misrepresentation in my book. I think they had one other main and one dessert. That's the whole menu! This is who Michelin singles out? I can think of forty more deserving restaurants in CF. Not that they are bad. Just not award winning. The place is equally unimpressive. A small, rectangular room that seats around 40. Bland decor. Kitchen on the right. I was their only customer. Wines ran up to $100+. $5 sodas. Service was fine. Open for two years. Husband and wife team. Third gen Peruvians. Open 5-9. No Sn/M. It just struck me as another example of a bad value from Gen Z. They want to earn X amount. Not a realistic ROI for a restaurant or a cook. And so they charge more than is sustainable/warranted. And they obviously blew someone at Michelin or Michelin is as thorough as Guy Fieri or this is just diversity grading because they ain't that good. And worst of all, Michelin only selected around eight spots (inn CF) to receive this honor. More "experts". How did they even hear about them? I hadn't.

Bad A's Burgers - Too expensive. Let's get that out of the way. Same Gen Z complaint as above. They think a fast casual double burger is worth $16. I grabbed a single for $8. They say it's Australian waygu. It was ok. Beefy. Not miniscule. L, T, O and some sauce. Good bun. Sesame. They also sell soup and bone tallow fries. Around seven types of cheese. Some meat toppings. Small, hall like space. Counter. A few tables. Open for a month. I was the only customer.

Charlie's Bakery and Creamy - Original owners started this in 1971. Sold a year ago. They remodeled big time. Looks great. White and black. Bright. Now they sell home made ice cream. I grabbed a bad chocolate torte for $6.50. Dry chocolate cake topped with icing balls covered in bad chocolate. Looked way better than it tasted. Open until 8pm. Flan, cookies, cake, rugalah (sp?), cupcakes, etc.  Other items are probably good. I reviewed them as Charlie's Gourmet Pastries back in the day.