Jul 22

Vallejo’s

1900 4th St

Sacramento, CA 95811

Rating: ★★★½☆ 

Upon arrival in this small homey restaurant, we were quickly seated beneath the well-decorated walls of Vallejo’s history. Our server quickly took our water drink order and answered questions regarding the menu. The restaurant was at about half-capacity when we arrived, but the servers were able to balance the workload just fine.

Today, we ordered the Carnitas plate with flour tortillas, Pork Chimichanga, and Carne Asada Fries. After ordering, we were provided with complimentary fresh tortilla chips and a couple different salsas to dip in. The chips were thicker than some other restaurants, but did not taste extremely fresh, but they were not stale. The green salsa was a little sour but carried a little heat. The red salsa tasted like roasted chilli peppers and carried more heat than the green salsa. The carne asada fries arrived first and filled up an entire play with layers of fries, marinated steak, pico, sour cream, and fresh guacamole. The light sour cream mixed with fresh guacamole went well with the cheesy fries and steak. The steak did taste a bit over-marinated and tasted saltier than I would like. Amazingly, the fries were not that greasy. The Carnitas plate and Pork Chimichanga plates were huge. The portion sizes were over the top and both came with Mexican rice, beans, sour cream, guacamole, and mixed vegetables. The Carnitas were fresh and were tender, but most of the pieces were a bit dry. The chimichanga came in a huge flaky shell. The pork inside was insanely juicy and marinated with delicious flavors. There was an ample amount of meat inside the shell. I found that the meat tasted great on its own outside of the shell with the rice. I would not mind ordering a chimichanga just to bust it open to eat the meat with rice.

Overall, Vallejo’s serves up a variety of Mexican dishes with huge portion sizes. Service was great and the value is definitely there, especially with a Groupon in hand. Taste comes in better for some dishes than others, which is unfortunate. Plenty of street parking is available at the 4th street location. If you are looking for some huge portions with a great value, pick up the Groupon if available and head to Vallejo’s.

Jul 19

Jollibee

6021 Mack Rd

Sacramento, CA 95823

Rating: ★★★★☆ 

Having been to the Jollibee inside Seafood City Supermarket in the past, we noticed Jollibee construction in the parking lot a few months ago, and now the standalone fast food restaurant is  open! With plenty of staff working inside the modern designed restaurant, Jollibee serves up fried chicken and related dishes Filipino style. This location even has a drive thru. Service was great as we were greeted when we entered and were led to the available cashier. We were slightly overwhelmed by the menu since it had been a while since we ate here, but we ended up picking quickly.

Today, we ordered the 2 piece ChickenJoy with 2 sides of which we picked rice and french fries, the Ultimate Burger Steak with rice and fries, Spaghetti, and the Halo-Halo. Each piece of chicken had a seasoned crispy skin that was not overly salty nor greasy. The chicken itself was extremely juicy and seasoned through the meat. Fried chicken just goes so much better with rice and french fries. The Ultimate Burger steak came with their signature gravy over a bed of fries with a side of rice. There was also a fresh over-hard egg included that made the meal complete especially when dipped into the gravy. The gravy was full of body and pairs well with the meat and rice. Mushrooms lined the top of the steak and were cooked soft and tender. The meat was fairly standard, but just tasted right smothered with gravy with the rice. I am not a big fan of the Spaghetti since this Filipino version is very sweet with chunks of hot dog inside. I did finish the spaghetti, but the sweetness really got to me. I am not a fan of their Halo-Halo due to the various beans inside. I never tried it before, but I don’t think I would get it again. The ice cream on top did taste good, but I could not say what the actual Asian fruit flavors were.

Overall, Jollibee serves up delicious Filipino fried chicken with great tasting gravy and other dishes. I did not try their actual burgers, but their burger steak did taste good. Service and cleanliness were excellent at this location. Prices were moderate but did match in value to the food received. If you never tried Jollibee before, you definitely should. I would say that I would rather eat Jollibee chicken instead of KFC or Church’s.

Jul 15

Sai Varee

7485 Rush River Dr Ste 770

Sacramento, CA 95831

Rating: ★★★★☆ 

While driving around the area, we noticed a Thai restaurant in the shopping plaza that we normally come to for Regent Seafood Restaurant for Chinese food.  Sai Varee sits at the corner of the plaza near CVS in Pocket near Rush River and Windbridge. The restaurant is fairly new to the area since I remembered there being a Mexican restaurant there before. Sal Varee has modern, yet authentic design inside the restaurant. As our party entered, staff quickly greeted us and brought us to a booth. After we sat down and were provided with the menus, staff listed the various drink options on the drink menu and took our drink order. After reviewing the numerous menu options, we decided to order.

Today, we ordered the Yellow Curry with Chicken with a 3/5 spice level, Chicken Larb at 4/5, Papaya Salad at 4/5, Drunken Noodle at 4/5, Pad Thai with Pork, and Pad Broccoli with Chicken. The Yellow Curry with a level 3 spice level was not that spicy at all. The potato chunks tasted a bit dry and was not mushy enough, but the sliced carrots were cooked soft enough. There was an ample amount of quality chicken, but not enough curry. The curry itself was creamy sweet with hits of spice and went well smothered over my rice. The chicken larb had the perfect amount of spice at level 4 and had a warm temperature, but there did not seem to be a lot of meat compared to other Thai restaurants. There seemed to be more vegetables than normal. Although I did not try the papaya salad, I was told by the members of the table that the papaya itself did not taste fresh and crispy, but had a good spice level. Compared to other Thai restaurants, the papaya salad tastes better than Erawan’s but not as good as Siam’s or Thai Orchid’s.

Although the drunken noodle was also ordered at a spice level of 4, it was a whole lot spicier. There were plenty of noodles and a respectable amount of meat. I liked how the drunken noodle was not oily like at other restaurants and how you can taste the savory flavor. The Pad Thai used a different noddle than other restaurants because it is actually thinner instead of wider. The flavor of the Pad Thai sauce tasted better than all of the Thai restaurants in the Sacramento area so far. Each bite tasted fresh and went well with all of component ingredients. The Pad broccoli tasted like a basic chicken stir fry, but did taste fresh and had an ample amount of chicken.

Overall, Sai Varee serves up surprisingly good Thai food in the Pocket area of Sacramento with amazing service. I did not mention this earlier, but the Thai Tea here is delicious and tasted sweet but not too sweet so you can actually still taste the tea. What’s even more amazing is that the Thai Tea has free refills! With great food and free Thai Iced tea refills, Sai Varee makes itself a viable option for Thai food in the area. If I do not feel like going to Siam, I would probably drive over to Sai Varee and skip Erawan. Also, I was able to score a coupon in the neighborhood coupon book to save five dollars. You won’t be disappointed here.

Jul 12

Buckhorn Grill – Roseville

1151 Galleria Blvd

Roseville, CA 95678

Rating: ★★★☆☆ 

Located inside the bustling Galleria food court, Buckhorn Grill makes it easy to try out their ever-popular tri tip. Service was very professional and nice during the ordering process. After ordering, you are provided with a buzzer and a reminder that there are free refills on the soda. By the time I got to my table after ordering, the buzzer was already going off.

Today, I decided to order the big buck combo with Mac n Cheese. I was asked for how I wanted my meat cooked, so I requested medium. Once I received my sandwich, the meat looked more medium-well to well done. I requested my sandwich without onions, but I would have liked some cheese in the sandwich. The tri tip had a very heavy smokey flavor, to the point where a lot of the meat flavor was masked. The bun was very fresh and fluffy. The sandwich was quite heavy with its bold flavors, but it lacked any flavor other than “burnt.” I may of had a bad batch, but I did not find the sandwich to be worth it. The Mac n Cheese was extremely cheesy to the point of Velveeta. I didn’t really find the Mac n Cheese to be that special either since all I tasted was cheese.

Overall, Buckhorn Grill tries to sell some nice food in a food court setting. Unfortunately, I was not very pleased with the sandwich I ordered. Prior to ordering, I had fairly high expectations for the tri tip here, but now I need to look elsewhere. If you want something nice while shopping, then Buckhorn may be OK for you, but don’t expect mouth-watering amazing.

Jul 08

Gyro Supreme

545 Downtown Plz #2109

Sacramento, CA 95814

Rating: ★★☆☆☆ 

Located inside the deserted Downtown Plaza food court, Gyro Supreme serves up a variety of Greek food that I am not very familiar with. When we arrived, there were a few people waiting for their order to be cooked. There was a decent selection of menu items, but I decided to settle with the “special” for the day, which was the Chicken Sandwich.

The sandwich did take a while to make since we were also waiting on a sampler plate (not pictured). Eventually, the nice staff provided me with our order and we were on our way. The sandwich was not really what I imagined, but it did taste OK. The creamy sauce on top did not really add flavor, but just added a creamy texture. The chicken tasted fresh, but was not really seasoned much at all. The sampler plate was a great deal because it included a little bit of everything including french fries, chicken strips, and gyros. All of the food tasted fairly fresh, but was short of amazing.

Overall, the service provided was very good and the food tasted OK, but the food was still lacking flavor and seasoning. Also, it took a while for the food to be ready after ordering due to the variety of items in the sampler plate. After trying Gyro Supreme, I realize why so many people wait in line for Panda Express instead. I may give Greek food another try, but most likely at a different location.

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