Oct 22

Kara’s Cupcakes – Monterey

1240 Del Monte Ctr

Monterey, CA 93940

Rating: ★★★☆☆ 

Located inside Del Monte Center at Monterey, Kara’s Cupcakes looked very inviting from the outdoor mall due to its simplicity and display case. As we entered, we noticed that these were not going to be cheap supermarket cupcakes. As we looked through the pricey selection, we received prompt service if we had any questions or if we were ready. There is some seating inside the store on bar-stools.

Today, we ordered the s’mores and chocolate velvet cupcakes. Both cupcakes looked really appealing from the outside. The s’mores cupcake had an interesting marshmallow frosting that went well with the rest of the cupcake. The chocolate velvet cupcake was extremely chocolatey and tasty.

With that said, I still did not feel the taste was worth the price for standard-sized cupcakes. Other than the looks, I felt the flavor was nothing special. If you are in the area and wanted a cupcake, then you will get a good tasting expensive cupcake. However, I would feel that my money would be better spent at Coldstone at the other end of the plaza.

Oct 15

The Fish Hopper – Monterey

700 Cannery Row

Monterey, CA 93940

Rating: ★★★★☆ 

Located right off of Cannery Row in Monterey, the Fish Hopper serves up piping hot clam chowder offering up free samples luring people in. They also have a full-fledged restaurant too, but I could smell the clam chowder from a block away. After being offered the delicious sample (and almost burning my tongue), we had to splurge $10 to get the real thing in a sourdough bowl. The bread tasted very fresh and was quite soft. The food is instantly ready because once you order, they just get a bread bowl ready and scoop in the clam chowder goodness. The clam chowder was quite creamy, and they did not skimp on the clams. Overall, the clam chowder was flavorful and delicious. I would have liked there to be more seating areas outside of the restaurant instead of searching for stairs to sit on, but the whole area was busy. Given another chance to come here again, I would definitely order another clam chowder. It would be nice if the prices were a bit lower though. If you are coming to Monterey, you should definitely go to Cannery row to grab some clam chowder.

Oct 08

Cafe Central – Reno, NV

Rating: ★★★☆☆ 

407 N Virginia St

Reno, NV 89501

If you are looking for a decent breakfast without heading out of the hotel, then you can visit Cafe Central at Silver Legacy. Open 24 hours, Cafe Central serves up the standard cafe menu with breakfast, sandwiches, and even Asian food. Service was pretty good as we were seated quickly and had a prompt server.

Today, we decided to just get breakfast. Since it was still USBC season, I ordered the “Bowler’s Choice” meal that included 2 eggs, bacon or sausage, hash brows, and toast. The amount of food for $7 was pretty good, but it only tasted OK. The sausage patties were quite dry and the eggs were egg beaters. The highlight of my dish was the hash browns. We also ordered the Italian Omelette that had Italian sausage, mushrooms, mozzarella, meat sauce, hash brows, and toast. The omelet did not taste good at all since they also used egg beaters. We were not a fan of the combination of ingredients inside. Again, the hash browns were the highlight of this dish.

Overall, Cafe Central serves up a variety of OK tasting food at good prices with good service. Don’t expect amazing food from here, but the food will fill you up. I suggest staying away from the breakfast egg dishes unless you ask for real eggs. I would probably come back if they offered a special or deal to come back. If you have a choice, just head out to Peg’s Glorified Ham and Eggs for a much better breakfast experience.

Oct 01

Thai Lotus – Reno, NV

6430 S Virginia St

Ste A

Reno, NV 89511

Rating: ★★★★★ 

In search for good tasting Asian food in Reno, we stumbled upon Thai Lotus in southern Reno. The restaurant serves up a variety of Thai dishes including some Thai street food dishes too. There were a good amount of customers in the restaurant when we arrived, and there were a few servers managing all the tables. Service was pretty good and prompt.

Today, we ordered the Yellow Curry with chicken, Thai Street Noodle, and Tom Kha Rice Noodle Soup (Rice noodle in coconut soup). All of the dishes were delicious! The yellow curry had the classic potato and carrot slices that were cooked soft to soak in the curry flavors. The curry tasted great smothered over the rice with the chicken. The Thai Street Noodle had just the right amount of meat to balance with the flavorful noodles. I was not a big fan of the crunchy tofu, but they were OK. The rice noodle with coconut soup had strong hints of coconut with tender noodle, chicken, and shrimp. The dish as a whole went well together and tasted great.

Overall, Thai Lotus serves up really good tasting Thai food with OK prices. We were able to clean out all three dishes (we were so hungry…). Portion sizes were good, and quality was on point. With the great service and food selection, I highly recommend Thai Lotus if you are looking for Thai food in Reno.

Sep 24

Four Seasons Gourmet Chinese Restaurant – Davis

1601 Research Park Dr
Davis, CA 95618

Rating: ★★★½☆ 

Connected to the Chevron station near I-80, Four Seasons Gourmet Chinese Restaurant serves up a small variety of Chinese dishes at fairly cheap prices. There are a few tables available for restaurant seating, but orders are taken at the counter. There was one lady working there to take the order. Be aware, there is a minimum dollar amount for credit card usage.

Today, I ordered the broccoli chicken over rice. The food was ready very quickly and looked very fresh. The flavors were OK, but it did taste fresh. In order to wash it down, I went next door to Chevron to get a very large soda for cheap.

Overall, Four Seasons Gourmet Chinese restaurant serves up OK tasting food, but it is far from gourmet. Prices and location are nice, and soda is cheap next door. If you are looking for a quick, cheap, edible bite in Davis, this is your restaurant.

Load more