Jan 15

Pho Saigon – Rocklin

6827 Lone Tree Blvd
Rocklin, CA 95765

Rating: ★★☆☆☆ 

If you thought the only Pho Saigon was on Stockton Blvd, then think again. This particular Pho Saigon in Rocklin claims to serve up authentic Vietnamese food. Upon entering, we found a decent amount of customers inside the small restaurant, but mostly of non-Asian descent. Our large group was promptly seated at a long set of connected tables. We were provided with water at one end of the table, and we had to pass down the waters ourselves. The main server, who seemed like the owner, was quick to take our orders when we were ready.

Today, we ordered the beef pho (Pho Tai), and the pork chop rice plate. The pho tasted ok, but there was not much flavor in the broth. Also, I found that the portion size for my “extra large” to be quite disappointing (looked more like a large). I found myself using more hoisin sauce than usual to add flavor to the bowl of soup. The pork chop plate tasted pretty good, although it also seemed smaller in comparison to South Sacramento restaurants. The egg roll on the plate tasted good and crispy. The pork went well with the sauce and rice.

Overall, the food tasted OK, but the service sucked. When the food actually arrived at the table, the other server who came out did not speak English, and did not know who to bring the food to. Usually, he just kept on placing the dish at the end of the table for us to pass down ourselves. Our drink orders for Thai tea and strawberry smoothies didn’t even come out until halfway through the meal, unacceptable! The servers forgot to bring a soda and then even tried to charge for it! If you are in the Rocklin area, do yourself a favor when looking for Pho and head down to Sacramento.

Jan 08

Rafa’s Authenic Mexican Food

2221 Del Paso Rd
Sacramento, CA 95835

Rating: ★★★½☆ 

You usually don’t expect good Mexican food inside of a Shell gas station, but Rafa’s does pretty good. There is limited seating inside the gas station, and the chips are not free. The salsa bar sits near the exit. The nice thing about the restaurant being inside the gas station was that I was able to go to the soda fountain and get a really cheap soda.

Today, we ordered a carnitas torta, beef taco, and a sausage & egg breakfast burrito. The pork in the torta was not crispy, but had some flavor. There was a good amount of vegetables inside, but the vegetable to meat ratio seemed quite high. Overall, the torta was disappointing in comparison to Taqueria Rincon. The taco held up pretty well due to its extra crispy shell. Out of everything ordered, the taco had the most flavor and tasted very good with the salsa on top. I was amazed at the breakfast burrito because it only consisted of egg and sausage. Most other restaurants would fill the burrito with cheap potatoes instead, but Rafa’s kept only the good stuff. There was not much flavor to the burrito on its own, but it did have more flavor than the sausage and egg burrito I ordered at Super Taco. The burrito tasted better with the red sauce on it.

Overall, Rafa’s Authentic Mexican Food tasted pretty good, and the location offered some convenient drink options. Food options are hit or miss, but the quality is definitely above average. If you are looking to try somewhere different, and you are in the Natomas area, then head to Shell to get some gas and pick up some Mexican food while you’re at it.

Jan 01

Peg’s Glorified Ham N Eggs – Roseville

1950 Douglas Blvd Ste B
Roseville, CA 95661

Rating: ★★★☆☆ 

We finally had a chance to go visit our local Peg’s Glorified Ham N Eggs in Roseville. Upon entering the restaurant, the environment felt like that of the original restaurants in Reno. As we sat down and ordered our drinks, I was informed that they were temporarily out of orange juice. I never had that issue in Reno, but I ordered the orange juice anyways. The restaurant was pretty packed, so I understood why it took so long to receive our food. After five minutes, the orange juice was delivered, and it tasted really fresh.

Today, we ordered the Monte Cristo and the Island Pork Chops. The Monte Cristo is a huge sandwich served on three levels of French toast. The combination of French toast, ham, turkey and cheese went well together, but there was not much flavor as a whole even with the powdered sugar on top. The French toast felt quite dense, and eating the whole sandwich seemed quite heavy. I ordered the Monte Cristo with hash browns on the side instead of the fruit bowl, but now I kind of regret it. The fruit would have been a good cleanser after eating the sandwich, but the hash browns did taste fresh. This time, the Island Pork Chops were more of a disappointment. The pork chop looked noticeably smaller and was a lot lighter in color. The sauce for the pork chop was a lot clumpier instead of more liquid. What was worse, the eggs looked and tasted like they came out of a carton. This is especially bad because “eggs” are in the name of the restaurant. The rest of the dish tasted OK, but it didn’t make up for the disappointments.

Overall, I would be weary of returning to this Peg’s Glorified Ham N Eggs and would most likely visit a Reno location instead. The menu items are interesting, but the quality of the food at the Roseville location is lacking.

Dec 18

Dickey’s BBQ Pit

1901 J Street
Ste D
Sacramento, CA 95816

Rating: ★★★☆☆ 

Dickey’s has multiple locations in the Sacramento area. This time, we decided to try out the Downtown/Midtown location. As you walk in, you can see the menu posted over the ordering area. Dickey’s already has the meat ready and just needed to be cut from the larger piece. The daily specials are posted on a board to the left and includes a drink in a yellow cup.

Today, we decided to try out the rib plate and the Westerner sandwich with pulled pork and polish sausage. The rib plate came with around 5 ribs and two sides. The ribs came off the bone pretty easily, but the meat was fairly dry. We ended up dipping a lot of the meat into the available BBQ sauces. The original BBQ sauce tasted OK, but had too much bite. The spicy BBQ sauce had better flavor and was definitely spicy. My favorite BBQ sauce was the sweet BBQ sauce. The ribs tasted better with the BBQ sauces, but the dry meat was disappointing. The Westerner sandwich also came with two sides along with a drink because it was from the daily specials menu. The sandwich actually tasted pretty good. The meat was tender and had some smoky taste. The sandwich tasted even better when dipped into the BBQ sauces. For sides, we both ordered the Mac N Cheese and the waffle fries. The mac n cheese was quite cheesy and the pieces of macaroni were larger than usual, but tasted pretty good with the rest of the meal. The waffle fries were good, but did not have much flavor on their own. I definitely smothered the fries with ketchup.

Overall, the menu choices are diverse and the food tasted good, but the ribs really disappointed us. Service was friendly at the counters, and staff even checked upon us while eating. If I wanted great tasting BBQ, I probable would not go to Dickey’s. If you wanted a hearty meal, then ordering from Dickey’s daily specials menu would be a good deal. At this point, I might come back depending on how hungry I am.

Nov 14

McCormick & Schmick’s

1194 Roseville Pkwy
Roseville, CA 95678

Rating: ★★★★☆ 

Since the Sacramento location was closed down last month to become a Claim Jumper, we decided to try out the Roseville location. We decided to come for lunch since it would be more casual. The restaurant was fairly quiet for a holiday with many tables still open. When we arrived, the hostess was on the phone taking down a reservation, but we were seated promptly afterwards next to a window. The hostess provided the lunch menu on a large printed sheet of paper. Our server arrived and took our drink order. The server was very friendly and provided great service.

Today, we decided to order the Parmesan Crusted Chicken and the 8oz Filet Mignon. After ordering, the server provided a half-loaf of sourdough bread with a side of whipped butter. The bread was soft and fresh and the butter was extra whipped. The server also provided a steak knife and A1 sauce, although I did not use the A1 sauce. The Parmesan Crusted Chicken was delicious and flavorful. The chicken had a crispy crust and was quite tender. The linguini was cooked al dente and the sauce was flavorful and buttery. There was a lemon sauce that went well with the chicken. After eating the pasta for a while, the buttery taste gets to you and feels quite unhealthy. The Filet Mignon arrived on a hot plate served with buttery broccoli and a grilled tomato. The broccoli tasted fresh and had a great crunch to it. The Filet Mignon was cooked to medium, but looked more medium-well. The Filet was juicy and every bite tasted flavorful. This Filet Mignon tasted much better than the one I ordered from Cheesecake Factory. At $34, I probably won’t order it again for a while.

Overall, the food quality definitely shows in the taste and presentation of the dishes. If given the opportunity to return, I would take it if there was a gift card involved. The restaurant had a more classy ambiance and prices of meals to match. The Roseville location is located in the Fountains across from the Galleria near Yard House and Whole Foods. If you are a big spender or have gift cards, then you will enjoy great tasting food here (maybe not healthiest though).

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