Saturday, July 4, 2015

Yank Sing - San Francisco Financial District

Dim sum was one of my main priorities on our recent visit to San Francisco. My friend suggested Yank Sing after having several people recommend the restaurant so we made our way there on a Sunday morning. 

The place was pretty busy, but we were seated quickly and service was attentive. Food rotated quickly on the carts and there was a large variety of options available. I enjoyed every item I tried. 

The only downside to our meal was the price. I don't mind being a little spendy with my meals but I think they were a little more overpriced based solely on the location.


Location: 49 Stevenson St, San Francisco, CA 94105

Zero Zero - San Francisco

On the search for a last meal in San Francisco, we happened upon Zero Zero. 

I quickly made a reservation through Open Table as we were on our way via Uber and we walked right in and were seated immediately. 

My fella and I decided to share some appetizers and a pizza. We got the avocado bruschetta, chicken thighs and The Castro pizza. The chicken thighs were a bit of a disappointment. The flavors were off and it was quite bland, although the chicken was perfectly cooked. The avocado bruschetta and the pizza more than made up for the chicken. The bruschetta had great flavor and even my fella who doesn't like avocado enjoyed this dish. The pizza was spicy and flavorful and the crust was delicious. 

For dessert we decided to try the ricotta donuts and soft serve with pistachio brittle. The donuts were a revelation. Delicious perfection, they were the perfect way to end the meal. 

Service was friendly and extremely attentive. I highly recommend this place.


Items sampled: avocado bruschetta, chicken thighs, Castro pizza, soft serve with pistachio brittle and ricotta donuts

Location: 826 Folsom St, San Francisco, CA 94107

Radio City Pizza - Las Vegas

Wandering around the area, I was looking for a quick lunch spot. I finally decided on Radio City Pizza after walking around in the heat way too long.

I walked in and the place was empty aside from one other customer dining alone. The waitress told me to choose any seat I liked and promptly brought me over a much-needed glass of water. 

I quickly looked over the menu and decided on a single slice with broccoli rabe and eggplant. They have the option of single slices for $4 and 50 cents per topping added. $5 for a slice was a little high but it gets cheaper if you order an entire pie. 

Service was very friendly and attentive. Since there were so few customers the waitress made sure to refill my drink often and that was appreciated due to the extreme heat. 

The pizza was a little on the crispy side and I didn't love the crust. I rarely skip eating the crust and it's usually my favorite part but I didn't bother with this one. The toppings were plentiful and I liked the sauce but overall the pizza was just ok. 

I'd be interested in trying this place again with a group so I could try a whole pizza, but I won't go out of my way.


Location: 508  Fremont St, Las Vegas, NV 89101

Noodle Man - Las Vegas

It is rare that I am able to get to a restaurant two times before I even get a chance to write a review. I came in to The Noodle Man recently and was so impressed by their handmade noodles that I had to come back again a few days later. 

Visiting so soon after my first visit, I did notice some inconsistencies. The noodles are indeed delicious, as are their sauces and stews. I ordered the shanxi knife noodle soup on both occasions and each time, despite ordering the same meal, they had slightly different flavors and I noticed the cut of meat was slightly more gristly and fatty than my first order. The noodles were just as delicious as I remembered. The strawberry green tea with boba had the same flavors but they were skimpier with the ice than on my first visit. 

My mom noticed her noodle dish had a slightly different flavor as well. We both enjoyed our meals on both visits and I know I will be back often, given how conveniently it is located to me. I look forward to trying their entire menu. 

Everything I have tried is packed with flavor and cooked well. The portions are incredibly generous and I see this being a regular stop for me as long as they stay consistent. 

Service is friendly and keep in mind this is a very small restaurant so they get extremely busy. I have had to wait each time I've come, but they are able to get customers in and out in a decent amount of time.

Location: 6870 S Rainbow Blvd, Ste 101, Las Vegas, NV 89118

Dickey's BBQ Pit on Rainbow - Las Vegas

This place isn't so bad if you arrive with low expectations. I had a coupon so we ended up picking two to go plates to take horn with us. 

My fella and I both chose the two meat combo. They have pretty limited selections of meats and from these choices I picked the spicy cheddar sausage and the pulled pork and the potato casserole and mac & cheese. 

We were in and out in no time and took our meals home to enjoy. The meat was dry, both moisture-wise and sauce-wise. They didn't put any BBQ sauce on any of the meats and they provided a very tiny portion in the takeout container. Luckily we had some of our own to douse the meat with. The sausage was spicy and tasty but nothing I couldn't have purchased in a prepackaged container from the grocery store. The pulled pork was decent but definitely needed more sauce. 

My two favorite things about Dickey's were the potato casserole which is essentially loaded mashed potatoes and the crushed ice from the drink machine. I don't think that's enough to draw me back without a coupon.


Location: 5597 S Rainbow Blvd, Ste 110, Las Vegas, NV 89118

Items samples: pulled pork, spicy cheddar sausage, Mac & cheese and potato casserole

Public School 702 - Las Vegas

We tried Public School 702 shortly after they opened for business.

We started with a couple of appetizers. I didn't love the calamari, but I typically don't enjoy fried calamari so that wasn't too surprising. The tater tots were the highlight of the appetizers. 

For an entree I ordered the cobb burger and chose the kale and brussel sprout slaw. When my food came they had given me fries instead, but quickly noticed their error and brought me the slaw. The burger was cooked perfectly and the flavors were great. Lots of bleu cheese and drippy egg and the slaw was on point as well. I enjoyed my meal quite a bit. 

The service was very attentive. Some were a bit overzealous since the restaurant just opened but I appreciated the extra effort. 

I'd be interested in coming back to try more of their menu and possibly happy hour some time soon.


Items sampled: calamari, cheesy tots, CCB burger

Location: 1850 Festival Plaza Dr, Las Vegas, NV 89135

Friday, July 3, 2015

Belly Good Crepes - San Francisco

Oh so cute crepes decorated with little faces made out of candies and pretzels. We ordered a green tea crepe with green tea ice cream and red bean. 

The crepe was good, not great. It looked better than it tasted but we still enjoyed every bite. 

It's worth a visit for a great photo opportunity in Japantown.



Location: 1737 Post St, Ste 393, San Francisco, CA 94115

Golden Gate Bakery - San Francisco Chinatown

Bookmarked for ages, but on my last visit to San Francisco they were closed which was closed for vacation. On this trip, we were so excited to see that not only was Golden Gate Bakery open, they had just opened back up recently so we rushed over to try as many delicious goodies as we could. 

We of course had to try the famous egg tarts but we also ordered a bunch of other options to take with us to sample throughout the day. Every morsel we sampled was delicious. The egg tarts lived up to all the rave reviews. 

It's worth the wait and make sure you have exact change to keep the line moving.



Location: 1029 Grant Ave, San Francisco, CA 94133

Thursday, July 2, 2015

McKen's Mexican Grill - Las Vegas

With limited options within walking distance I ended up at McKen's out of curiosity. I had low expectations and even those were not met.

I ordered a burrito bowl with pork, steamed rice, jalapeños, sour cream, cheese, green chile and green onions. I also took some hot sauce on the side and it was served with a small bag of tortilla chips. 

None of the food did anything for me. The chips were stale, so I tossed them in the trash. The bowl was a flavorless mess. So bland even tons of jalapeños and added hot sauce didn't help. I got halfway through my meal and gave up. 

Good if you lack taste buds, otherwise it's a no go.


Items sampled: pork burrito bowl and tortilla chips

Location: 321 S Casino Ctr Blvd, Ste 130, Las Vegas, NV 89101

Sin City Sandwich - Las Vegas

I wanted to like this place and I'll likely give them another chance in the future but based on my order I'm just not a fan after my first impression.

I arrived around 12:30 on a Wednesday and they were relatively busy. It's a small and relatively new shop so their menu listing wasn't the easiest to decipher but I decided to go with the Asian wrap from their specialty menu. 

The description sounded so odd that it intrigued me. Roasted pork loin on a pretzel tortilla with dragon fire sauce, pickled cucumber and cheese. When I received my order I have to admit I was a little disappointed. It looked so plain and bland, but I soldiered on and hoped for the best. I took a bite and the mean had great texture but all the flavors were just so bland. Nothing worked together well and I found myself struggling to finish my meal. The portion was incredibly generous but halfway through I gave up. 

The meat was juicy but flavorless, the pickled cucumbers had a tang but we're more vinegar than anything and it just gave off a sour taste lacking any complexity. I didn't taste the cheese at all and whatever the dragon fire sauce was supposed to be, it only vaguely tasted of mayonnaise with no kick.

Service was friendly and some of the other menu items look a little more promising, so I'll likely give them another shot, but I'll temper my expectations accordingly.


Item sampled: Asian wrap 

Location: 375 Lewis Ave, Las Vegas, NV 89101