Aug 08

Ryujin Ramen House

Ryujin Ramen House

1831 S St #100, Sacramento, CA 95811

Rating: ★★★★☆ 

Located in Midtown Sacramento, Ryujin Ramen House serves up a variety of Japanese ramen to the crowds of people attempting to visit the restaurant during their split lunch/dinner hours. Luckily, on this lunch visit, I did not need to wait to be seated. After being seated, I quickly received a menu.

Today, I decided to order the Shiro (White) Tonkotsu ramen. After ordering, the food actually was brought over very quickly. I did make some modifications to remove some vegetables, and they followed through. The ramen itself was cooled al dente, which was good, but i generally prefer my noodles on the softer side. The pork was rich and full of flavor, which went well with the extremely flavorful porky soup. The egg was good, but was nothing special. In the end, I did drink all of the soup since it was so delicious.

Overall, Ryujin Ramen House did a good job in quickly serving up their tasty ramen. If there was no wait, I would come back to eat here. You could eat across the street at their sister-restaurant, but I still think the ramen tastes better at Ryujin. If you are in the Sacramento area, I would say Ryujin would be in my top five ramen spots.

May 07

Flame & Fire Brazilian Steakhouse

Flame & Fire Brazilian Steakhouse

963 Pleasant Grove Blvd #100, Roseville, CA 95678

Rating: ★★½☆☆ 

Located in a strip-mall in Roseville, CA, Flame & Fire Brazilian Steakhouse serves up a variety of meats and sides in traditional Brazilian fashion. Upon entering a bit early with our OpenTable reservation, we were quickly escorted by the hostess to an available table. The restaurant was around half full, with a chunk of the restaurant occupied by a large party. Everyone of the restaurant wore business casual attire, which can be a challenge when your personal goal is to eat as much delicious food as possible, so you would need to come in with your belt loosened by one notch. Our server came by and took our drink orders for iced tea and a Brazilian can of Guarana (delicious beverage) before explaining how the table service worked. Like Fogo de Chao elsewhere, meat servers continue to serve you meat at the table as long as you have the serving card turned to the green side. The servers will skip you if you have the card on the red side. Also, there is an area that offers a variety of prepared foods and salads that you can visit as much as you like. After the server left to get our drinks, we decided to review the prepared food area.

On this trip to the prepared food area, we picked up basics like rice, fish, pasta salad, potatoes, and smoked salmon. You need to be careful and not pick up too many carbs too early, but it is nice to have some on hand to balance off the meat. The smoked salmon was surprisingly refreshing to eat in between meats. Soon, the server also brought over some traditional sides like bananas, polenta, and Brazilian cheese bread. All of the sides were delicious, but filling. Servers from the back begun to come by bringing over tall sections of meat sliced for you to grab. Unfortunately, much of the beef arrived more on the well done side, which was very disappointing. Some highlights of the meat were the tender lamb chops, bottom sirloin, and juicy bacon-wrapped filet mignon. The garlic steak was OK, but the top sirloin and spicy chicken were very dry. The dry meat was quite off-putting, and caused us to get full faster and not look forward to some of the meats.

Overall, the service and the prepared food areas were solid, but many of the meats arrived overdone. For the price you pay, you would expect better quality preparation. In comparison to the few times we have been to Fogo de Chao, those prior visits to Fogo blows Flame & Fire out of the water in all aspects of food quality. At $50 per person, this is not a meal you can enjoy all of the time. Luckily, Costco sells a gift card promotion by getting $100 in gift cards for $75 or $80. If possible, I would suggest saving your money for elsewhere, unless you scored a great deal on the gift cards. Unfortunately, Sacramento does not have many choices for Brazilian Steakhouses, but a different one did open in Natomas, so that could be worth a visit without having to drive up to Roseville.

Apr 18

Ono Hawaiian BBQ

Ono Hawaiian BBQ

2800 Del Paso Rd Suite 200, Sacramento, CA 95834

Rating: ★★★★☆ 

Located in the Sprouts shopping center in Natomas, Ono Hawaiian BBQ brings their popular chain of restaurants featuring Hawaiian plate lunches to the Sacramento area. The restaurant was fairly busy during their soft-opening phase with most of the seating occupied and line stretching out the door. This location holds their grand opening on Friday, April 19, 2019. Upon entering, we reviewed their digital menu board and decided on what to order.

Today, we ordered the Kalua Combo with Katsu and the Hawaiian BBQ Mix plates. There is a sauce station to the right of the registers where patrons can get their own katsu sauce and teriyaki sauce. The teriyaki sauce is actually heated and comes out hot from the dispenser. There are also a variety of other sauces in packets as well. After a brief wait, our number was called, and the food was ready. The Kalua pork was juicy and tender with just the right amount of saltiness. The chicken katsu tasted OK, but the breading was very thick so I felt like I was eating more flour than chicken. The accompanying katsu sauce did taste good with the chicken. From the Hawaiian BBQ Mix plate, the BBQ chicken was juicy and flavorful, which went well with the teriyaki sauce. The BBQ beef was equally as tasty and went well with the teriyaki sauce. The kalbi short ribs were tender for the most part, but one of our pieces was a bit on the dry side. The macaroni salad tasted OK and had some seasoning, but the flavors did lean towards the blander side. The rice was cooked just fine. I did like how Ono places the meat on a bed of cooked vegetables, which makes the meal seem healthier.

Overall, Ono Hawaiian BBQ serves up some tasty plate lunches in a fairly authentic fashion. The restaurant did a great job during their soft opening and seems much cleaner than the various L&L establishments in the area. Food quality is good, and pricing is in line for plate lunches. If you haven’t tried Ono’s yet, you should definitely give them a try! They will also be opening additional locations in the Sacramento area, so you can get to Aloha quicker.

Mar 22

Koshi Ramen Bar

3581 Truxel Rd Suite #2
Sacramento, CA 95834

Rating: ★★★½☆ 


Located at the popular Natomas shopping center with Regal, Koshi Ramen Bar serves up a variety of Japanese Ramen to the masses. At this location, you order at the counter and then find a table where the food will be brought out to you. There is a variety of different types of ramen available with a multitude of different toppings for an additional cost. Upon reviewing the menu, we knew what we wanted to order.

Today, we ordered the Tonkotsu ramen medium spicy and the miso ramen spicy. We also requested for additional noodles and meat on the side. After paying and finding a seat, the food arrived after a brief wait. The tonkotsu ramen broth was nice and rich. You can definitely taste the pork flavors. The medium level of spice was perfect. The noodles were more al dente, but I normally prefer softer noodles for ramen. The meat had a very porky flavor, so even with only two pieces of meat, they went perfectly with the ramen noodles. The spicy miso broth was also nice and spicy. The flavor of the miso was still evident through the spice. The tonkotsu broth still tasted better. The extra noodles and pork did not cost much more, so that definitely added to the value of the meal.

Overall, Koshi did a great job in making their ramen broth taste good. With the exception of the noodles and the oddly overly porky pork, their ramen is the best in Natomas! Service was amazing from the time we ordered to the time we received the food. The prices are reasonable, but not cheap. If you are feeling ramen and happen to be in Natomas, Koshi will not disappoint.

Feb 15

Kabob & Grill

1850 Del Paso Rd Ste #4
Sacramento, CA 95834

Rating: ★★½☆☆ 


Located right off of Del Paso Road and Gateway Park Boulevard, Kabob & Grill  serves up a variety of Afghan, Indian, Pakistani, and Chinese Cuisine. At first thought, a restaurant that serves up such a variety of cuisines is worrisome, but we decided to give them a try anyways.
Today, we decided to order the Afghan Mixed Grill and Afghan Bolani. After calling in the order, we were told there would be a 20 minute wait. When I picked up the order, I found out that the white yogurt sauce does not normally come with the meal, so i asked for some. The sauce containers were very large. The meal also came with a large green sauce container, which had a lot of refreshing cilantro flavor. The Afghan Mixed Grill came with plenty of rice, chicken, spiced beef, salad, and naan. The chicken was not dry and went well with the sauces. The beef had a lot of spices in it already, but was quite a flavor overload. The naan was the highlight of the dish because it was fresh and flavorful. Like the beef, the bolani was overly spiced to the point where you don’t really taste the potatoes. Instead of the full-sized order, I should have just ordered the half size. The bolani at Chopan Kabob in Elk Grove tastes a whole lot better than the one here.
Overall, Kabob & Grill serves up some very authentic dishes, but the ones we tried today were not very impressive. There is better tasting Afghan food in Elk Grove at Chopan Kabob. If you happen to be in Natomas, I would suggest coming here for the naan, but the bolani was quite disappointing.

Load more