Feb 04

TGI Fridays – Part 3

7101 Laguna Blvd
Elk Grove, CA 95758

Rating: ★½☆☆☆ 

Since TGI Fridays decided to send me a coupon offer, we decided to give them a try again since our last visit tasted OK, albeit a bit salty. Upon entering, we were quickly seated in the fairly busy restaurant. The server quickly came and took our drink orders. As we looked though the menu, we noticed an addition to the menu that was not there last time in the form of small plates.

Today, we decided to try out the 5 taste and share plates for $22.00, which included Hibachi Skewers with USDA Choice sirloin, corned beef & Swiss sliders, Thai Pork Tacos, Parmesan meatballs, and bacon and mac and cheese bites. The best part of these set of plates were the Hibachi skewers because the beef had a really tasty glaze over them and the meat was thoroughly tender. Unfortunately, the remaining 4 dishes were extremely disappointing. The corned beef & Swiss sliders were extremely salty and did not have any flavor. Although I expect corned beef to be salty, this was salty on a whole different dimension. The Thai pork tacos tasted OK, but I could not taste the pork and the mix in the taco was not flavorful. The Parmesan meatballs were meaty, but way too salty. The bacon mac and cheese bites did not have any flavor and just tasted extremely unhealthy. Even with 5 different dishes, only one stood out as good, so overall it was not worth it. We also ordered the Jack Daniel’s Chicken with Cheddar Mac and Cheese and Parmesan Steak Fries. The chicken was mostly tender, but the pieces were a bit small. The sauce went well with the meat and helped make the meat juicy in places that did not seem juicy. The cheddar mac and cheese did not have much flavor at all. The fries were too heavy and thick so they were hard to eat.

Overall, TGI Fridays was quite the disappointment due to the incredibly inconsistent quality of the meal. The only highlight was really the Hibachi skewers, and even then, it was a small bite with few pieces to eat. Most of the meal was lacking in flavor or extremely salty. Even after drinking a lot of water in the restaurant, I was already thirsty by the time I got to the car. TGI Fridays really needs to work on their flavor profiles and reduce their salt usage. If you are looking for a great tasting meal, look elsewhere.

Jan 28

Sae Jong Teriyaki

8337 Folsom Blvd

Sacramento, CA 95826

Rating: ★★☆☆☆ 

Upon arrival in this hole-in-the-wall restaurant next to a gas station, we were not really greeted for a while since the server was busy. Even when seated, the server was quite slow on the drink and food orders.The restaurant was not even busy, so they have no excuse.

Today, we decided to order the house bibimbab with beef, the sizzling hot bibimbab with beef, and the tempura and chicken combination box. No side dishes were served at all. The House bibimbab appeared quite odd compared to other restaurants because it came on a large flat plate instead of the usual bowl. There were not too many different ingredients in the dish, which is odd since other restaurants have a variety of items in the dish. There was also way too much leafy greens in the dish, making the dish seem more like a salad than bibimbab. The sizzling version of the dish looked a little better, but still was missing many components of a traditional bibimbab. There was still more greens than usual. The red sauce was already poured onto the dishes, and a bottle was not provided until we had requested the sauce from the server. The sauce is traditionally provided when the dish is served. Both dishes tasted OK, but did not taste authentic and did not have the additional flavors normally found in bibimbab. The combination box tasted good overall since the teriyaki was flavorful. The included salad was basic and tasted OK. The tempura tasted OK, and there was not too much breading, but I was expecting it to be crispier.

Overall, Sae Jong teriyaki falls short on their service and their bibimbab. If you just want to eat teriyaki, then you might be OK coming here, but I would question ordering the other dishes. Since the service was so slow, you might need to wait a while to get your food ordered. Prices were decent to low here, so there is some value involved, but you get what you pay for.

Jan 21

Classic Burgers – Part 2

3408 Northgate Blvd
Sacramento, CA 95834

Rating: ★★★★½ 

We decided to try out an old favorite located on Northgate Boulevard in South Natomas. Although named Classic Burgers, the Korean-owned restaurant serves up a variety of teriyaki dishes as well. The owners are very nice and are always smiling.

Like my last visit here, I again ordered the spicy teriyaki chicken. We also ordered the Bacon Burger with fries and Mozzarella sticks. The spicy teriyaki chicken tasted fresh as always and came with a side of extra spicy sauce that can be used to drench the rice plate with extra spiciness. There was plenty of meat and just enough rice to enjoy the meal. The burger tasted good and was juicy. The ingredients tasted fresh and cooked perfectly. The fries were large and cooked fresh as well. The Mozzarella sticks tasted OK, but they just seemed like they were frozen and just fried up.

Overall, Classic Burgers serves up a diverse tasty menu filled with unlikely items like teriyaki. I would definitely recommend those who have not given them a try to go up to Natomas to try out this hole-in-the-wall restaurant. Be advised that the owner will charge for refills on soda. Even during lunchtime, there was no real lunch rush. From teriyaki to burgers, you will not be disappointed.

Jan 14

Four Seasons Restaurant

9679 Folsom Blvd

Sacramento, CA 95827

Rating: ★★☆☆☆ 

In search for Korean style Chinese food, we ended up at Four Seasons Restaurant on Folsom Boulevard. The restaurant is located in the middle of an interesting looking strip mall near Bradshaw Road. There was not a lot of room in the restaurant, and our party took the largest long table there. Once seated, we were provided with the menu, but the server took quite a while to bring us our drinks. Once the drinks were served, the server still took a long time to even take our order.

Once we were finally able to order, we ordered the Jiajang Myeon, Tangsooyook (Korean Sweet and Sour Pork), beef chow fun, sesame chicken, pot stickers, beef with vegetables, and sweet and sour chicken. Even after ordering, the food took quite a while to come out of the kitchen. The Jiajang Myeon tasted good, and they served the sauce on the side so that you can pour as much as you want. There was not a lot of meat, but there was a lot of sauce. The Tangsooyook tasted good too, but was not too different from standard sweet and sour pork. There was way too much breading on the meat, so you did not get a lot of meat as a whole. The sauce is lighter than traditional sweet and sour pork, but took much longer to bring out than expected. The beef chow fun tasted just like any other Chinese restaurant, but the portion size was quite a bit smaller. There was a decent balance of noodle to meat to onion. You can really taste the sesame flavor in the sesame chicken, but again, there was way too much breading on the meat. The pot stickers tasted OK, but did not seem homemade, so that was disappointing and overpriced. The beef with vegetables had way too many vegetables and not enough beef, but the dish did taste good. Finally, the sweet and sour chicken was just like the other fried dishes with way too much breading.

Overall, the food tasted decent but had too much breading, the service was extremely slow pre-ordering and post-ordering, and all of the dishes were overpriced. If given another opportunity to eat here, I would respectfully decline. If you want to eat Korean infused Chinese food, go to the Korean food court at the Korean supermarket. There were way too many mistakes made by the restaurant on this visit to warrant another chance.

Jan 07

Boba Cafe – Part 2

5131 Freeport Blvd
Sacramento, CA 95822

Rating: ★★★★★ 

Unlike my last review of Boba cafe, we decided to order tons of traditional Taiwanese food this time. There were only a couple other groups inside at the time, so there was plenty of seating. We were asked by the person at the counter if we were eating in or ordering out, and when we proceeded to say we were eating in, we were directed to a table and provided with water and menus.

Today, we decided to order drinks and food, which included Lychee Icy, Strawberry Milk Tea, Beef Noodle Soup, “Noodle with ground pork, bean sprouts, shredded cucumber, and sauce” (ja jiang mien), potstickers, and scallion pancake. The lychee icy tasted good as always and was not too sweet, but would have probably went better with snack foods and not a whole meal. I was not a fan of the strawberry milk tea, but then again I usually don’t drink flavored milk teas. The beef noodle soup was really good. The broth had a lot of flavor and came with a good amount of meat. I ordered mines without vegetables so my bowl looked even more full. The noodles are not homemade, but still tasted good. The ja jiang mein looked very appealing when first provided, but also tasted very good as well once mixed up. There was a good amount of meat mixed in with the sauce that went perfectly with the vegetables. The pot stickers taste and look handmade and were juicy with the nice pan-sear marks. The scallion pancake was very flakey and had a good amount of scallions inside, but not too much. The meal as a whole showcases many of the popular Taiwanese dishes. Boba Café actually did very well in creating these dishes and we ended up eating everything.

Overall, if you wanted delicious Taiwanese food or wanted to grab a Bob drink, then Boba Café would be a great choice. Also, unlike years past, the new owners actually take credit cards, which helps with a large meal like this. The server followed up with us multiple times and the food arrived promptly. I strongly recommend this eating establishment to anyone hungry for Taiwanese food.

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