Apr 11

Golden Corral

7700 W Stockton Blvd

Sacramento, CA 95758

Rating: ★★★½☆ 

There was quite a packed house for a Friday night at Golden Corral. Even with the capacity of the restaurant and a line at the entrance, we were seated fairly quickly. For a limited time only, they were serving up sirloin steak, prime rib, and steak on Fridays through Sundays for only $12.99. Knowing this, the first things I went to grab was the sirloin steak and the prime rib. The sirloin steak was cooked medium and was pretty good. The prime rib was good, but lacked a bit of flavor. I even feel that Golden Corral’s prime rib tasted better than Thunder Valley Buffet’s prime rib. The fried chicken was reminiscent of KFC’s original recipe and tasted really good. The meatloaf was flavorful and soft. The grilled buttered toast was really good! The Mac and Cheese, Chinese offerings, pizza, and salad was OK, but not really good. The salmon did not taste fresh and was very dry. I found it interesting that Golden Corral was serving up cotton candy and chocolate dipped strawberries today.

Overall, for such a low price, the meal was definitely worth it as long as you can stand the screaming kids in the restaurant. Food choice is definitely better here than at Hometown Buffet. Our server was on the ball and was quick to remove dirty plates. If you were going to look for a good American buffet close to home, go to Golden Corral.

Apr 09

Red Robin – Part 3 (Santa Clara)

3906 Rivermark Plz
Santa Clara, CA 95054

Rating: ★★★★★ 

As usual, I partake in the annual free birthday burger from the Red Robin Rewards program. Fortunately, we were out-of-town and decided to try the Red Robin in Santa Clara. Unlike the previous review, we received perfect service from the start. Our server was quick and did not mess up on any orders or requests.

Today, we ordered two burning love burgers, with mine made monster size (additional patty). The burger does have some kick from the salsa and the fried jalapeno slices. The meat was flavorful and cooked to my liking. The portion size for the fries seems smaller than the past, but as always, there are bottomless refills. We ordered one of the fries standard and the other fries garlic style. I much prefer the garlic fries with ranch than the standard fries. I was able to enjoy the delicious burger with an even more amazing freckled lemonade. There are always chunks of strawberries that I like to fish out of the wavy cup.

Overall, this Red Robin visit was a home run. Make sure you sign up for the Red Robin rewards program so that you can have a free birthday burger every year in your birthday month. You can also save up for additional free burgers for every 10 purchased. Also, don’t forget to order the freckled lemonade!

Apr 07

Pho Xe Lua – Part 2

5331 Stockton Blvd
Sacramento, CA 95820

Rating: ★★★½☆ 

When your party does not want to go to Pho Saigon, you end up going to Pho Xe Lua. As mentioned in my previous review, I do find the broth at Saigon more flavorful. Today’s visit was not much different than the last, but I did get to try the charbroiled pork with egg roll over rice. The meat had a lot of flavor and was cooked properly. The egg roll was delicious! If I come again, I would order an entire order of egg rolls because they were so good. As said previously, the Beef Pho that I normally ordered was a bit bland, and I ended up having to put a good amount of hoisin sauce in it.

Overall, Pho Xe Lua is not a bad substitute for Pho Saigon. I do find that Pho Xe Lua’s non-Pho dishes seem to be tasting pretty good across the board.

Apr 02

Oz Korean BBQ – Part 2

3343 Bradshaw Rd

Sacramento, CA 95827

Rating: ★★★★½ 

Unlike the previous horrible visit a few weeks ago at Oz, this visit was a complete 180. Our group was quickly seated after arriving. We actually had a very upbeat and quick server who was really on the ball. Water was dispersed across the table, and then all of the side-dishes were brought out after we all selected the all-you-can-eat option. Unlike the special all-you-can-eat option on Monday and Tuesday, you only get to choose from 7 types of meat instead of the 9-10 types.

Today, we got to try 4 types of beef (Rancho Galbi, Galbi, Bul Go Gi, and Sesame Beef), 2 types of pork (Sweet Pork and Spicy Pork), and 1 chicken (BBQ Chicken). My favorite side dishes were the broccoli and the Japchae. All of the meat tasted very flavorful with the exception of the BBQ Chicken. Not only does Chicken take longer to cook, there was not much flavor infused in the chicken. If possible, I suggest sticking with beef and pork.

Overall, this visit deserves a great rating due to continual side dish and meat refills and great tasting food. However, I do not like how expensive the meal was considering each person costs $19.99 on Friday. Considering the inconsistent service received from Oz, I still suggest coming here only if you have a group of people. This way, they can’t forget about you. In the end, you can’t really go wrong with Korean BBQ.

Mar 29

Jasmine Seafood Restaurant – San Diego

4609 Convoy St
Ste A
San Diego, CA 92111

Rating: ★★★★☆ 

Touted in many websites and publications as the number one Chinese restaurant in all of San Diego, Jasmine Seafood Restaurant serves up authentic Chinese dishes at exorbitant prices. All the servers and hostess were all dressed up, and the tables were set in classy fashion.

Today, we ordered the honey walnut shrimp, whole crispy fried chicken, peking pork, and sautéed beef with broccoli. The honey walnut shrimp tasted very good, but the dish itself did not look appealing. The beef with broccoli had a lot a flavor and the broccoli tasted fresh. The peking pork was a bit overly saucy and salty, but looked good. The whole crispy fried chicken was HUGE! The entire chicken tasted tender and juicy and the shrimp crisps were all crispy.

Overall, Jasmine does indeed serve up great tasting dishes for the most part. Service was consistent and continuing throughout the meal. The huge downside of this restaurant is their extremely overpriced menu. If the menu prices were reduced by at least 20%, the meal would be a bit lighted on your wallet. However, if you are in San Diego and are looking for great tasting Chinese food, then you must go to Jasmine.

Load more