Alpenrose Sierra Grill - Mammoth Lakes

Alpenrose Sierra Grill
343 Old Mammoth Rd
Mammoth Lakes, CA 93546
(760) 934-3077
Type: "Pacific Rim - French Fusion" restaurant
Map



Took a trip to Mammoth Lakes in late January for some world-class snowboarding. Unfortunately, we didn't get to experience much of that world-classiness cuz the weather was so horrible. There were whiteout conditions and 50 or so mph winds. It was so bad the snow was blowing not only sideways, but going upwards! They received about 3 feet of snow in that short weekend which is good if you went riding right after the storm, but we were figuratively and literally knee-deep in it. So was there anything good that came out of that trip you ask? Sure. I got to spend quality time with my girlfriend and some of her family, we had fun playing in the snow in back of the condo, and we got lucky and stumbled upon a great restaurant in the middle of the Sierra Nevada mountain range.

The place was Alpenrose located off the main street in Mammoth on Old Mammoth Road. There's a good amount of restaurants and bars surrounding it, and there's a pretty big plaza with a Vons just down the street. From one website we saw while we were looking for a place to eat, they said Alpenrose is a Swiss restaurant. I had no idea what kind of food that was. The menu though, reflected a lot of European/Asian fusion dishes. These dishes were also not on the cheaper side. If you spent all your money on the pricey cabin and the almost-as-pricey lift tickets, this might not be the best place for you. Expect to be shelling out about $20 - $40 per person here. Also, at the bottom of the menu, they mentioned something about turning off your cell phones. In other words, yuppies only. Just kidding.

So we got there on a Saturday night. The weather still wasn't great, and we had to put chains on the tires. The parking lot didn't seem that big to me, but I think there was another side besides the one adjacent to the main entrance. We got in and had to wait probably 5 minutes to get seated. Good thing too, cuz we were all starving. The place looked kind of like a cabin inside, but with not so much logs. It was kind of country-ish. I'm not the best at describing or even remembering the decor of any place. All I worry about is the food and if it tastes good, and how much it costs.

So after some browsing through their relatively small menu (only 2 pages worth of food), we decide what we're getting. So we started off with the 5 Mushroom Soup. That was good. They had lots of little mushroom pieces in it. I think one bowl is good enough for two people.

5 mushroom soup


My girl's sister ordered some soft shell crab cakes ($15). Did it only come with two? I think so. But it was really good. Not something I would order often cuz of quantity and price.



The main dishes took a while to arrive, but probably because it was busy. My girl ordered the Portabella Mushroom Pasta ($14). It had a goat cheese cream sauce with white truffle oil using farfalle pasta (obviously, I had to copy these descriptions). It was good too. Luckily there were some leftovers for the next day.

Portabella Mushroom Pasta


I ordered the salmon dish ($30). This one was sake glazed with wasabi mashed potatoes with assorted steamed veggies. Holy crap. This one was bomb. Everything about it was just quality eating. I don't like wasabi, but the mashed taters were mmm-mmm good. The salmon was cooked just right, and the sweet sauce it was served with was the perfect combination. My only complaint is that I wanted more sauce.

sake-glazed salmon. wow.


My girl's brother in-law ordered the ribeye meal which I think cost about $30. He said it was okay, but overpriced.

To make the meal even yuppier than it was already, we ordered a bottle of wine called Los Vascos or something. There's just two types of red wine for me: tastes okay, and tastes not so great. This one tasted okay. I haven't been accustomed to actually liking the taste of wine yet.

winin' and dinin'


Oh, but wait. The yuppie rituals aren't finished until you have your chocolate fondue with fruits. By this time, I was already full. Plus, the chocolate was dark chocolate, so I wasn't exactly excited about it. But I had to try it anyways. After dipping a strawberry in, I realized it wasn't that bad. I ended up eating quite a few fruits, with bananas being the best ones. I still prefer milk chocolate, but this was cool.

fond of fondue


In the end, we got the best surprise of all. My girl's sister and her husband paid for the whole bill! I felt bad getting the salmon cuz it was one of the most expensive dishes, but I didn't know. I thought I was paying for our meals. Thanks again Tina and Tamer!

I would definitely go back to Alpenrose when I take another trip up to Mammoth. Although, I wanna try the sushi restaurant first. Even if I had to pay for our meal, I would still go back. The food was really tasty. I'm sure there's better places; possibly for even less. But this is a mountain community a few thousand feet above sea level. This is as close to Heaven as you can get. Ok, maybe not really, but it was a witty thing to say.

Chowhound.com - website

www.chowhound.com

I'm sure 90% of you probably know of this place already, but for those that don't it's a great website where you can talk to other food lovers to find out where the great restaurants are at.

Yogurtland - Irive

Yogurtland
14775 Jeffrey Rd
Irvine, CA 92618
(949) 857-0884
Type: Yogurt / dessert
Website
Map

"Don't believe the hype!!" were the words of Public Enemy in one of their famous songs. I'm sure everybody's experienced or have themselves, been caught up in the hype. From Furbies, to The Da Vinci Code movie, to all-over printed hoodies. We bought into these things only to be let down in the end. What the hell did you expect from a half-rodent, half-bird stuffed animal?

Til this day until the end of capitalism, we'll be bombarded by hype. So this particular day was no different. I had dinner with my girlfriend and her sisters one night. Her sister had a place in Irvine with her husband. After dinner, one of my girl's sisters said, "Let's go to Yogurtland! It's so bomb!" Something like that. She was so excited and she kept saying it's so good and this and that. *sigh* This reminds me of the Pinkberry revolution, and everybody just had to have it. I've only been to Pinkberry's once or twice at the most-- and that's on purpose. I didn't see what the big deal was. Oh well. Jump in the car.

This is the sight we saw when we pulled up in the parking lot. The dark blue sign all the way on the left is Yogurtland, and the people you see hanging out, are in line.


What the?! Yogurtland must've recruited an army of hype beasts just like my girl's sis cuz the line was ridiculous. This place didn't just open in the last month neither. I think it opened last May in 2007. The interior design is I guess what you call modern. It's very bright and similar to that of Pinkberry but I don't think there were all those toys on the shelves. So after waiting in line for maybe 15 minutes or so, we get to the back of the place where you grab a cup for your yogurt. This place is a self-serve yogurt joint where you can mix and match different flavors from vanilla, to Kahlua, to mango, to blueberry tart. I got mango, cheesecake, and strawberry with cookies n' cream. You can also put your own ingredients on top. To top it off I put bananas, strawberries, cheesecake, cookie dough, graham crackers, kiwis, and mochi balls. For me personally, I could just put the basic bananas, strawberries and lots and lots of mochi balls and I'll be fine. After loading up on all your necessities, you put your cup on a scale where they weigh it and figure out how much you owe. The going rate is 30 cents an ounce. My girl's brother-in-law paid, so thank you again Tamer. The other times I've been here, I usually end up paying 5 something, so that comes out to about a pound of sweetness.

Okay, so I like the control thing and not leaving it up to "The Man" to decide how much toppings I get. After passing through the still-growing line, we stand outside for a quick second for our first bite. Hmm. Not bad. Another bite. Not bad. After getting everything mixed together, the bites were actually getting to pretty good status. By the time we got back home, my girl's sis and her husband had already finished their cups. Dang.

a cup of pretty good hype


I eventually finished mine and was like, "Wow. That wasn't too bad." My girl liked it as well, but she had to freeze some leftovers.

So in the end, did Yogurtland live up to the hype? For the most part, yes. I say "for the most part," because it's not super super great. Some of my friends were just whatevers to it. It's good. Good enough that I went to the one in Fullerton twice ever since. It's not great for everybody, and so I won't hype it up for you, my lovely reader. If you have a sweet tooth, then go ahead and feel free to believe some of the hype.

Kaju Tofu - Irvine

Kaju Tofu Restaurant
5408 Walnut Ave
Irvine, CA 92604
(949) 653-2849
Map

Most tofu spots are pretty much the same, so it doesn't matter that I lost the pictures I took here. I'll make this pretty quick. Their tofu soups are $8.99. A good sign is that they get packed during peak hours. Their banchan (free side dishes) are like BCD's which isn't really a good thing. Call me a spoiled brat, but I'm used to having the servers scoop my rice for me, and crack the eggs into the pots. It was all done by my lazy hands here. The soups weren't bad. You gotta be a pretty bad tofu spot to have bad soup. All in all, this place was nothing special to me. I'm still calling Tofu Village in Garden Grove and Jeun Tong Tofu House in West Covina the top tofu spots on my list.

Fatburger - Irvine

Fatburger
3021 Michelson Dr
Irvine, CA 92612
(949) 474-5060
Type: Hamburger joint
Website
Map



This particular night, my girl was having burger cravings. She had to have Fatburger. You're not pregnant are you? No. Whew. Okay, let's go then.

We hit up the Fatburger on Michelson in Irvine on a late night. (I think there's another one on Jeffrey) Nobody else was there except the two workers.



She got the Fat Deal ($7.99) which comes with a 1/3 lb. hamburger, fries and a drink. She said she likes In N' Out's burgers better. I already knew what I was getting. The Fat Fish Sandwich ($4.69). It was cool. I haven't really had a fish sandwich that's really been awesome. If you know a place, feel free to recommend it.

Fat Deal & Fat Fish Sandwich


Sorry for the uninspiring review. Fatburger's good, and I would go here again if I had to. I wanna try The Counter next though.

Clay Oven - Irvine

Clay Oven Cuisine of India
15435 Jeffrey Rd # 116
Irvine, CA 92618
(949) 552-2851
Type: Indian food
Website
Map



I skipped out on work one day cuz I had some Indian food cravings. My girl looked on the internet for good Indian restaurants and found Clay Oven. Their website says that CitySearch voted them best Indian cuisine in Orange County. Of course we were going there. First, we had to make sure they had an all-you-can-eat lunch buffet, cuz that's usually when I go to eat Indian food. We called and they did. The buffet costs $9.99 per head.

Clay Oven is located somewhere on Jeffrey Road with a Thai place and a Japanese restaurant in the same plaza. Helpful, I know. This ain't my town man. Parking is a mother during their peak hours cuz we barely found a spot as someone was leaving. The restaurant is pretty small, but looked bigger at first with their mirrored walls.

I couldn't wait to eat. We got our seat, and then headed straight to the buffet line. Oh man I was excited. I grabbed my plate and surveyed my veggie selections. Grabbed some veggie fritters which are like vegetable tempura but with a thicker crust, some basmati rice, some stew of some sort with potoatoes and cauliflower I think, some mushroom peas, and some spin..... Wait. Wait, hold up. Wh-whe. Where the? WHERE THE HELL IS THE SPINACH (palak paneer)? I was really kind of panicking a little inside. I looked at my girlfriend, and she was a little worried too. I stood around a little at the end of the food trays, looked around helplessly, and made our way back to the table. Maybe they'll put some out soon. Calm down, and eat.

So we began eating. The mushroom peas were pretty good. The potato stew was okay. The veggie fritters were as good as veggie fritters can get I guess. I'm not really a fan of these, that's why I only got one. The rice was cool, but it was different from the other Indian places I've had. These were more fluffy and moist-- almost Jasmine rice-like. I like the other Indian rices better. The naan came. I think it was just regular naan. This also was lighter and fluffier than their competitors'. Again, I like their competitor's naan better. This was not what I was hoping for. I miss my spinach.

My veggie plate sans spinach.


My girl felt the same about the rice, fritters, and everything else. To add to my dish, she got the tandoori chicken. She said it was good, but she's had better.



We were not enjoying our meal so much, that we finally asked, I think it was the owner or manager, "Are you guys gonna have spinach out?" "Oh, no. Not today. We change up our dishes everyday," were his similar words. "NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!" was what I said in my head. After he left, we got into a huddle, and discussed out situation. A few seconds later, we ended up ordering our beloved spinach. So we put our food on hold for our green savior.

A few minutes later, it came served in a little bowl thingy. Yes!! It's here. Now we can enjoy our meal. EHHH!!! Wrong! One bite of the spinach, and I knew we were in trouble. That thing was so sour and tangy. Jeez. I've only had one other tangy palak paneer, and that was some place in Covina that we never would go back to. I guess it's just their style of making it, but it doesn't fit mine. I was literally dreading every bite of it. I couldn't finish it, so we just took the rest home.

palak paneer of tangy death


The only thing that made this place bearable was the service. The owner or manager was really, really nice. I feel bad saying all these negative things about this place because it might hurt his business a little. Hopefully we're the only ones who had a bad experience here. But even though we like the owner/manager, we're not gonna be back. Sorry.

Mochilato - Irvine

Mochilato
Ste E
14310 Culver Dr, Irvine, CA 92604
(949) 559-1116
Type: dessert shop
Map



Still been hangin out in Orange County, and this is new territory still when it comes to food. My guide: Elmomonster's Monster Munching blog. This is the place I always look first when I want to find a good place to eat in Irvine or nearby areas. At the time, I was getting some sweet cravings. I read about his blog about Mochilato in Irvine. The pictures he took convinced me to go.

I wanted to get the contraption that Elmomonster did not recommend. "The shop called it the 'Mochilato Way' ($5.95). I just called it 'Blech!'," were his exact words. I asked for that, but since we got there about 5 minutes before closing time, they said they didn't serve it anymore. Damn.

I had to settle for the mochilato ($1.25 each), which is pretty much the same as mochi ice cream you can buy at certain grocery stores. They have a bunch of flavors instead of your regular strawberry, green tea, mango, etc.-- but they have those as well. We got one each of the tiramisu, cookies n' cream, peaches n' cream, strawberry, and I think mango. To say the least, I was disappointed. I don't know if it was just us two (me and my girlfriend), but I didn't like the "weird" flavors." The tiramisu tasted like rum. The peaches n' cream tasted like gummy peach rings which I'm not a fan of. The cookies n' cream was okay. So was the strawberry and mango. I guess I was expecting more from them since the place was named after these little guys.

taste the mochi rainbow... but don't go overboard


I'm down to still go here again. I'm just making sure I'm getting that Mochilato Way just to see if my tastes differ from Elmomonster's. If I can't have this for some reason, I'm sticking to the basics of strawberry, mango, probably vanilla if they have it. I heard their shave ice is good too.

Garlic Jo's - Newport Beach

Garlic Jo's
2332 West Coast Hwy.
Newport Beach, CA 92663
Tel. (949) 673 - 8444
Type: International restaurant
Website
Map



For a quick second, I was getting tired of all the sushi, tofu, Thai, and Mexican food that we were eating. I wanted something new. Something different. While thinking of a new place to eat, my girl blurted out Garlic Jo's. Instantly, I wanted to go, just from hearing the name. I love garlic. So we checked the directions and made our way there on a late Sunday night.

This place stays open somewhat late. They close at 11pm - 12am depending on the day. Upon entering, I was expecting to be overwhelmed with the smell of garlic, but there was only just a hint. It could be that there was only 2 other parties eating, and they were already almost done with their food. I'm assuming this place is like the Stinking Rose in L.A. where they make everything with garlic. The prices are on the high side for me, but for the people in Newport, I'm sure it's just chump change McDonald's to them.



We decided to order the dinner for two combination. We got the grilled fish dinner ($50.80). With it, we chose the ahi tuna, scallop carpaccio, shrimp mayo pizza, and garlic fried rice. The first thing we got was the scallop carpaccio. When it came, I was like, "oooohhh." It looked really good. I apologize for the horrible pics. I never put the flash on, on my camera. So yeah, it came in 4 shells stuffed with all these salsa kinds of things. Now I wanna say "tangy" to describe this, but I'll use zesty this time. I did not like this one bit. After eating my first one, I offered mine to my girl, but she intelligently declined. The little drops of sauces on the side couldn't help for sh... This thing had too much zest for me. I don't know if they're supposed to taste like that, but I'm never ordering carpaccio again. Scarred for life.

Scallop carpaccio... more like scallop carpacci-NO


Next up was the shrimp and mayonnaise pizza which you have to add $2.00 to the price of the combo. When it came I thought, "That's it?." Don't be deceived. This was a tasty pizza. I wish pizza places would make this dish everywhere. Make sure you eat it right away, cuz it's so thin, that it gets cold pretty fast. If not, save some for later and microwave it.

shrimp mayonnaise pizza... bombizzle


Then the main course came. It looked really good. But it looked a little small for 2 people and the price we paid. Oh well, they had deep fried onion strips!!! The ahi tuna for the most part was good. It was served with some creamy garlic sauce. It was good, but the onions really helped it out. I probably won't get the ahi next time, although I'm not saying it was bad. I just wanna try other things instead. The shrimp fried rice (add $3.00) was good, but like hell it was for 2 people. It came with 4 pieces of shrimp which covered the all the rice. I would still be disappointed if that fried rice was meant for one. Bastards. We had to take baby bites of rice just to have enough for the whole meal. Bastards.

Ahi tuna with deep fried onions


Shrimp fried rice for 2? You're effin kidding me


In the end, I wasn't as full as I expected to be. I mean, paying $60 or more for a meal for 2 should, in theory, make me full. It was good though. The service was fast and friendly. I would possibly go back if we can't think of any other new place to try out, and we have some money to spend, and we don't feel like sushi. Or if we just feel like some garlic.

Sankai - Costa Mesa

Sankai
3940 S. Bristol St.
Santa Ana, CA 92704
714-241-7115
Map



Sankai is my girlfriend's favorite local spot. It's located a block or so from the South Coast Plaza in a little shopping area where there's a Marshall's or Ross. If you don't know where to look, you might not find the place, but it's there. Anyways, she lives in Newport Coast, and she makes the little drive to this sushi place, sometimes just to order take out.



Sankai's menu is very small and simple. I didn't see any baked dynamite appetizers or a list of crazy baked rolls that I love.... Uh oh. I'm in trouble. Luckily, I've been honing my sushi tastebuds, so I can now survive these kinds of places without much complaint-- if the food is good.

For the raw stuff, we ordered the salmon skin hand roll ($3.50). On my notes here, I wrote "whatevers" for this order. This means that I didn't think much of it; I probably won't order it again; and I don't have an extensive vocabulary of describing my food. Moving on, there's the spicy yellowtail hand roll also $3.50. I don't have any trusty notes for this one, but I'm sure it was better than the salmon skin. We also got an order of salmon sushi ($3.20). Again, I failed to put any notes about it, but I think it was good. I mean, this is why my girl goes to this place. For the sushi.

salmon sushi, spicy yellowtail hand roll, salmon skin hand roll


I realized I can't have a full, satisfying meal if I just eat sushi. Since their rolls are pretty basic with not much to choose from, I had to go with my first love-- Crunchy Roll ($7.50). That one I put "good" on my notes. I can't describe it any other way. It surprises me after all the crazy fusion rolls I've tasted, a well made Crunchy/Crunch Roll can still hang with the big boys. Sankai has a well-made, basic Crunch Roll.

my first love... Crunch Roll


I saved the best dish of the day for last. You won't find this one on the regular sushi menu. Only us regulars know it (I've been here twice). It's their volcano roll. I don't even know the price and I was too lazy to figure it out when we got the bill. I believe it's just a plain California Roll, topped with scallops, some cream sauce, and asparagus. Two things first: I'm not a fan of scallops and it didn't look as great as I was told. I was coming at it with hesistance. My girl said it was good, but I'm like, "I've been around the block baby." So I tried it, and it was very good. *Note to self: add "very good" to notes vocab* It was so good, I wanted to eat it all at once. Too bad my girl was there to take some of it away from me... just kidding honey. I didn't think a relatively basic roll like this could satisfy my high expectations.

Volcano Roll. LOCALS ONLY!!!!! just kidding


So would I go back to Sankai? Even if I didn't like it, I think I'd have to come back cuz my girl would drag me here anyways. But fortunately for her, I did like the place. It's a good place for basic sushi and rolls. The price to quality ratio is very appealing. She said one time she saw Dennis Rodman eating here. Now you know there's something to this place, when such a crazy or interesting guy as he is, goes to a basic, simple restaurant as this.

Oh yeah, this place gets packed during peak lunch and dinner times. So either come early, or eat here during the slower hours.

Sushi Zone - Mission Viejo

Sushi Zone
28251 Marguerite Pkwy
Mission Viejo, CA 92692
(949) 364-2878
Map

I ate all the way in Mission Viejo cuz I picked up a good friend from The Bay, who was staying with her cousin. We got in the area pretty late (late being 8 or 9 at night) and we tried going to Rockin Sushi which is like Chomp in Fullerton, but the wait was too long. Time was running out and we needed to find a sushi place fast. We used the good ol' navigation in the car, and it brought us to this place.

The place closed at 10pm that day, so we had about an hour or less to eat. Upon browsing the menu, I noticed that their items and the way they were presented was very similar to that of Niko Niko. Their rolls are similar and the names were changed just a little bit. I don't know if Niko Niko owns this place, or if this place just straight up bit their style. Oh well, I think Niko Niko's pretty good, so I wasn't sad.

One of the first thing's we ordered was the stuffed tomato appetizer ($7.00). It's just raw scallops with some sauce wrapped in raw tuna. That was actually pretty good. I would get that again. Bad thing is it only comes with two pieces.

stuffed "tomato"


Another appetizer we got was the baked dynamite ($7.50). For those that don't know, dynamite usually a bunch of seafood and mushrooms and onions all mixed together in a special sauce. I like Niko Niko's dynamite, so I decided to give this one a try. Very big mistake. At first, it looked and smelled good, so I couldn't wait to dig in. Good Lord! That thing was tangy. I hate tangy when it shouldn't be tangy. And this was tangy. After a few bites I didn't want anymore and nobody else did either. I thought it would go good with other rolls.... nope. It just messed up the taste of whatever else I ate. But, I hate to waste food, so I eventually finished it-- literally dreading each bite.

baked dyna-mite not ever, ever order this again!


Next up... The Snow Heaven Roll ($10.50). I believe it's albacore lobster-- whatever that is, with creamy sauce on top. The main roll is I'm guessing California. Anyways, it's just like the Niko Niko Snow Cone Roll except Niko Niko's tastes better. This one was just lacking in quality and umph and kick. It was kind of bland in a way.

Snow Heaven Roll can go to he...... just kidding.


The ultra sushi combo ($14.95) came last. Whatever you see on the plate below is what it comes with. We didn't want shrimp sushi so we paid a dollar extra for 2 more pieces of salmon for a grand total of 4. It also comes with 2 pieces each of tuna, albacore and yellowtail. I don't remember much from the sushi, but I think it was just okay. Not bad for me. My girl is a little more picky. There's also 4 pieces of California roll and 4 pieces of Crunchy Roll. The Crunchy Roll was cool. I was gonna order some more if I wasn't full.

Ultra Sushi Combo... good bargain I'd say


Ah... Mission Viejo. I wish you had more late night sushi restaurants open. Or somebody at least fill me in on a good spot just in case I'm back down there. Sushi Zone had its highs and lows. I'd go back, but I'd rather see what else is around town before I eat there again.

Ruby's Crystal Cove Shake Shack - Newport Beach

Ruby's Crystal Cove Shake Shack
7703 E. Coast Hwy.
Newport Coast, CA 92657
P: 949.464.0100
F: 949.464.0113
Type: Sandwiches / shakes / snacks
Website
Map



I was hanging out in Newport Coast for a couple weeks recently so some of my future reviews will be in the OC. The first place is the Ruby's Crystal Cove Shake Shack right off PCH in Crystal Cove. We went there just to get a real quick bite to eat. Every time I drove on PCH to Laguna Beach, I'd see that place, so I decided to finally try it.

Ruby's Shake Shack used to be just called the Shake Shack, til Ruby's took over. It's a really small shack (hence the name) overlooking the Pacific Ocean on a small cliff. There's a cool little dining area where you can sit and enjoy the view. 2 reason why we didn't eat there was 1) it was real cold and windy, and 2) there was some funky smell there we couldn't figure out.



I've never been to a regular Ruby's, so I don't know if what they served here was the same exact menu at their other locations. It's mostly just basic stuff like-- I don't remember. I'm sure they had fries and sandwiches (durr) though. Since it was cold, what better way to balance the temperature with a nice shake or malt ($4.29). For the shakes/malts, you're allowed 2 ingredients to mix in the drink. We got the cookie dough and oreo. It was like any other mediocre shake I've had.

shake dude.


I decided to get the clam chowder cuz I love clam chowder. I didn't take a great pic of it, but it was pretty small. For $3.99 I would've hoped for something more, but it was okay. I was complaining about the size most of the time, but in the end, I still wanted more.

clam chowda


I haven't tried anything else from this place, but I'm assuming you don't come to this exact location for a gourmet meal. I wouldn't call 4 dollars for a small cup of chowder a bargain either. What you do come here for, is a place to eat a quick meal, sit down, relax, hang out, enjoy the breeze (hopefully the smell won't be there), and take in the million dollar view.

Colima Burger - Walnut

Colima Burger
19811 Colima Rd. Suite #520
Walnut, CA 91789
909-595-7355
Type: Burger joint
Map

I went to this place cuz my friend was craving some burgers. It's like your typical local burger joint like Nogales Burger, but cleaner looking. I got a fish sandwich ($4.19). I think that costs way too much. The sandwich wasn't huge and it wasn't that great. I finished it though, cuz you better be a pretty horrible fish sandwich for me not to finish. We also got fries ($1.50) cuz I knew I wasn't gonna get full from my sandwich. I don't know why, but I just don't like steak fries much. You know the fat fries they always serve at these burger joints.

fish sandwich. needs more fish. needs more everything.


My friend got the Colima Burger Special which cost about $5. I think it came with jalapenos or some kind of peppers or chili. He said it was good, but as he was nearing his last bites, he couldn't stand too much of it anymore. He also said it was super greasy, but he's always like that. If I ate it, I probably wouldn't have thought so. There's people who always complain about the grease, and there's people who just don't notice or don't give a s#!t. He's the former, I'm the latter.

Colima Burger Special


For me, nothing special about the place. For people who eat meat, maybe it'll fulfill your greasy burger cravings.

Todai - Daly City

Todai
1901 Junipero Serra Blvd # A
Daly City, CA 94014
(650) 997-0882
Type: Japanese food / buffet / sushi
Website
Map



I go all the way up north to the Bay Area-- known for it's diverse culture and restaurants, and I eat at this place. Todai. Not only can I eat at this place down here, but I heard so many people hate this place. I've eaten here before when I was younger, and I also didn't have such a great time. The reason we went here was cuz I wanted Japanese food, but we were real hungry and my mom had a gift card to this place. F*#k it. Let's go.

For those that don't know, Todai is a Japanese buffet serving various sushi, sushi rolls, and regular Japanese cuisine. I don't remember exactly how much it was for each adult, but I'm guessing more than $15 for lunch on the weekends.

After getting our seat, I head over to the sushi bar cuz I'm a sushi master now. haha. I was actually surprised at the amount of stuff they had. I got salmon sushi, some regular California rolls, tempura rolls with the sweet eel sauce on top, deep fried rolls, poke salad which is raw tuna with other stuff, and some miso soup. It was actually not that bad. *gasp!* Yeah I said it. It-was-not-that-bad. (please don't stop reading my blog) :)

stuff from the sushi bar


My next plate I decided to head over to the regular food. Horrible. The choices they had sucked so bad. Even everybody else in my family thought so. All I got was some fried rice, deep fried shrimp, tempura shrimp, and I don't know what those other things are. Wackness son.

unmemorable plate...


My third plate was more sushi, but I got tired of it too.

Todai. Todai. Todai. What am I gonna do with you? I probably won't see you again unless it's free or a birthday or something (I need to make a word for this kind of restaurant). Sorry. Your sushi was cool at first, but I'd rather pay more for a real all-you-can-eat sushi bar. My bad.

Tita's Restaurante - Buttonwillow

Tita's Restaurante
20643 Tracy Ave.
Buttonwillow, CA 93206
Phone: 661-764-5111
Type: Mexican food / Central American
Map



I hit this place up on the way back from up north. It's right off the 5 freeway... I think it's in Buttonwillow. I originally wanted to go to the Taste of India nearby but it was closed. I didn't want the Carl's Jr. that the rest of my fam was eating, so I drove across the street to this Mexican/Salvadorian restaurant. They have a decent sized menu full of the regular Mexican dishes, as well as Salvadorian stuff. I got the shrimp burrito ($9 something) cuz I couldn't make up my mind. That thing took so long to arrive that my family was already done with their burgers and fries, and were waiting for me. The place wasn't even that busy and it still took awhile. Oh well, at least you know it was fresh. Too bad I had to drive the rest of the way home (like 2 hours) without getting to eat my food hot. When I finally did, it tasted okay. Maybe it was cuz I was real hungry. They put a lot of shrimp in it and it was too big and messy to eat with your hands. I would go here again when I go up north if the Indian restaurant is closed again, and I'm not in a hurry.

Mae's Cafe - Garden Grove

Mae's Cafe
9062 Trask Ave
Garden Grove, CA92844
(714) 898-7044
Type: American diner / restaurant
Map



My girl's been telling me to try this place out cuz we always see it on the way to Tofu Village. The thing that caught our attention was that it's open 24 hours. We also read some reviews saying it's the best in its kind around the area. We'll see...



Mae's is pretty much like any other American Diner. What I noticed was the prices for most of the things on their menu are in the decent range-- meaning cheap-- meaning less than $8. If you're vegetarian or pescatarian (eats seafood but not meat), this place won't give you too many options. Since I already ate fish that day, I had to settle for the regular french toast ($4.25) and 2 eggs ($2). Nothing special. Just like any other french toast and egg meal I've eaten.

French Toast


eggs


My girlfriend got the Louisiana hot links ($6.50). That thing looked hearty. It came with some hot links, hash browns, eggs, and country gravy.. All that for less than $7? Not bad. She thought it was okay, but she doesn't wanna go back here. She'd rather go to Harbor House in Sunset Beach.

Louisiana hot links meal


....with gravy


We also got the fried zucchini ($5.95) because I knew I wasn't gonna get full just from french toast and eggs. Those were good.

fried zucchini


Unfortunately, I won't be ordering any of the stuff I mentioned above. Mae's is decent, but I've had better-- and since I'm not gonna be in that area as much, the chances of going there are pretty slim. But if you live around the area and you want a late night bite to eat, by all means...