Handel's Homemade Ice Cream

Having been to Handel's on a number of occasions, I was looking forward to the new location opening in the area.

I arrived around noon on their opening day. There are so many great flavors to choose from I decided to get a more conventional flavor, the chocolate raspberry truffle in a cake cone. 

Flavors were solid and I'm happy to have another dessert option on the Southwest side of town. I think adding some outdoor seating might be a nice next step for this location, to mirror others I have visited.

Items sampled: chocolate raspberry truffle ice cream

Location: 101710 W Tropicana Ave, Las Vegas, NV 89103

Jacques Cafe

We were in the neighborhood around 8pm on a Wednesday looking for a spot to get a quick bite and a drink. Seeing as everything seems to close early in the area (even the Stsrbucks we tried first), this was no easy feat.

I finally noticed Cafe Jacques, so we decided to give them a try. They have s number of items on their menu that look tasty. Everything from sandwiches and burgers to soups, salads and small plates. 

We each decided on a different burger. I went with the turkey burger with a side salad instead of fries. 

You order at the counter and they bring your food to the table when it's ready. We ordered and it wasn't long before our food was ready. My fella opted for the fries with his burger so I got to sampled a few of them along with my meal. The turkey burger was fantastic. Flavorful and well-balanced ingredients. The salad was really good as well. Most side salads are a bit of an afterthought, but the dressing was incredible and the greens were really fresh and crunchy. The fries were great as well. They had the perfect balance and were thin, crispy and well-seasoned. The perfect fry to complement our meal.

Service was incredibly friendly and everyone was very patient with us since we walked in about an hour before they closed and ended up staying til a few minutes after they were scheduled to closed. We made sure they didn't mind and apologized for the inconvenience, which they were very gracious about.

I have to say I wasn't expecting much based on the mixed Yelp reviews, but I was pleasantly surprised by this little shop and looking forward to giving them another visit in the near future.

Items sampled: turkey burger, fries and side salad

Location: Trails Village, 1910 Village Center Cir, Las Vegas, NV 89134

Fuddruckers - Grand Canyon Blvd

This is a decent Fuddrucker's location with plenty of seating a nice topping bar with plenty of fresh vegetables. 

The service was friendly and efficient and all our burgers were cooked perfectly to order. I enjoyed my burger and it we especially good once I added pickles, lettuce and tomatoes from the self-service topping bar.

They have TV's as well, so it's convenient if you're trying to grab a quick bite and also watch the game.

Items sampled: green chile burger and sweet potato fries

Location: 4195 South Grand Canyon Dr, Ste 101, Las Vegas, NV 89147

Honey Salt

I have had Honey Salt on my peripheral radar for some time, but always felt rather lackluster about actually trying them. I finally got the opportunity to give them a try for lunch and without keeping you in suspense, the food and service was as lackluster as I had anticipated.

They were pretty busy during lunch time but we were seated immediately. It took a while for our server to acknowledge us and throughout our meal this remained an issue. He would ebe attentive for a minute and then he'd disappear, promising refills and spare utensils and then not delivering on these requests. I resorted to flag several waiters and busboys down for a spoon to be able to eat my soup which was cooling off quickly and get refills on tea and water.

On to the food. I decided on the fried chicken sandwich since it seemed to have universally positive reviews. This came with fries and I opted for a cup of soup and bread pudding for dessert, which me and my dining companion shared.

The sandwich was nothing to write home about, it lacked any originality and didn't have much flavor. The fries were hard and under seasoned and even the soup was dull. None of the flavors did anything for me. The bread pudding was fine, but it was not memorable in any way. 

All the food just seems overly pretentious and lacking any sort of excitement in the flavor department. Even now, over a week later, I can barely remember anything about the food. 

I don't see myself coming back any time soon.

Items sampled: chicken sandwich, fries, but thur squash soup, bread pudding, shrimp tacos

Location: 1031 S Rampart Blvd, Las Vegas, NV 89145

Johnny Mac's

With restaurant.com coupon in hand I came here with friends for some pizza and wings. 

I had my heart set on the watermelon sauce. We took a long time looking over the menu deciding what we wanted to order. Once our waitress came she dashed our hopes by not only letting us know they were out of the watermelon sauce, they were also out of chicken breast for the pasta we wanted.

Take two on ordering. We were disappointed but decided on the half rack of ribs, large pizza with meatballs and wings with garlic cilantro, bbq and lemon pepper. 

The ribs were ok. The sauce was good but the meat was a little on the dry side. I enjoyed the cole slaw quite a bit. The pizza had good flavor and I enjoyed the meatballs, but the sauce was sweeter than I would have liked and the crust would have been better if it was a little more well done. The wing sauces were tasty, but the wings were a little overcooked for my taste.

Service was spot on. Our server was incredibly pleasant and she was so sweet and attentive. 

I don't see myself going out of my way to try this place again, but it's decent if you're in the area. They advertise a pizza and wing buffer for $10 including a drink on Sunday which sounds like a great deal.

Items sampled: half rack ribs, pizza with meatballs and wings.

Location: 842 S Boulder Hwy, Henderson, NV 89015

Lee's Sandwiches - S Rainbow Blvd

I was driving in the area and just noticed that this new Lee's location just opened up recently. 

I quickly flipped a U and decided to stop in for some banh mi. Service was friendly and my order was ready quickly. 

I rushed home and the bread was perfectly baked and the sandwich was spicy and had just the right mixture of ingredients. There was plenty of meat and tons of delicious pickled veggies. 

They take credit card for orders over $10. Glad to have a more food options on this side of town.

Items sampled: bbq pork banh mi and taro slush boba

Location: 7537 S Rainbow Blvd, Ste 104, Las Vegas, NV 89139

Sushi Tachi

We were in the area and starving for lunch. We decided against AYCE and instead ordered some lunch specials and a couple of appetizers to share.

We ordered the shumai and gyoza to start. These were decent, but nothing amazing. Two of my dining companions complained about the shumai tasting overly fishy. I ordered the sushi lunch for my entree. It included five pieces of sushi and a California roll. The sushi and roll were not good. The fish was not fresh and the California roll had an unpleasant texture. 

The service was really friendly and they accommodated all the specific requests our table had, but I don't think I would come back even if I was in the area again.

Items sampled: shumai, gyoza, sushi lunch

Location: 2745 W Centennial Pkwy, Ste 130, North Las Vegas, NV 89084

Hooligan's Bar & Grill

Walking into this dark and slightly divey bar, you don't expect much as far as food goes. The place was pretty crowded as they were having one of their biweekly poker tournaments. We were the only people that ordered any food, so they seemed to go out of their way to make our visit nice.

We ordered the hangover burger, wings with wedges and fried avocado to share. They took the fried avocado off their menu, but the waitress talked to Chef Bruce and he was more than happy to accommodate any requests we had as long as he has the ingredients. We also really wanted to try their guava habanero for the wings but he had run out so he mixed up a concoction of his pineapple sauce and added a little more kick to it for us. 

Service was great! The bartender / waitress Misty was extremely attentive and was so sweet and friendly. Chef Bruce even came out to make sure we were enjoying everything and made sure to make an extra batch of the fried avocado just for us as well as being out some of their dessert to try.

The food was decent, I enjoyed the burger, but stuffed burgers aren't my favorite so I'd likely be happier with a basic one minus cheese and all the extra stuff. Simple is always better for me. The burger was cooked perfectly, though. The wings were good, too. I the sauces were still overly sweet for me, but I appreciated that they served them on the side so I could decide how much to use. The fried avocado was delicious, the best thing we had all evening. I also really enjoyed the potato wedges. Perfectly cooked and excellent texture. 

We had a great meal and they had no problem redeeming our restaurant.com coupon. I'll be back soon.

Items sampled: hangover burger, fried avocado, wings, potato wedges, purst and chocolate covered bacon.

Location: 1750 S Rainbow  Blvd, Las Vegas, NV 89146

Kauai Cafe

After passing by Kauai Cafe on a number of occasions, i finally got a chance to try them out today. 

We were greeted warmly and almost everything on the menu looked great. I decided on the kalbi plate and you get mac salad and a choice of fried rice, steamed rice or fried noodles, I chose steamed rice. My dining companion opted for katsu chicken. 

While we waited our server came out and chatted with us for quite a while and he was so nice and personable. Our food came out soon after and our jaws dropped at the generous portions. I enjoyed every bite and I had more than half my meal packed up to take home with me. I was stuffed and so was my dinner partner. 

Great big portions of delicious homemade food for such a low price, I look forward to coming back soon.

Items sampled: kalbi plate and chicken katsu with steamed rice and mac salad

Location: 10140 W Tropicana Ave, Ste 122, Las Vegas, NV 89147

Pop Up Pizza

Wandering around Fremont, my friend and I needed, yes needed, a slice of pizza cap off our night.

We stopped by Pop Up Pizza, she ordered a slice of meatball with kalamata olives and onions and I ordered the eggplant with sausage, pepperoni and red peppers. They were warmed up quickly and I enjoyed the toppings and the dough was solid too, but I had hoped it would be cooked a little more evenly. My friends was nicely cooked and had a nice char, but mine was on the doughy side.

Overall, I enjoyed my pizza, but found the dough to be a little inconsistent.

Items sampled: eggplant, sausage, pepperoni and red pepper and meatball

Location: 1 S Main St, Las Vegas, NV 89101 inside The Plaza

Those Guys Pies

On the hunt to find new wings to sample, I stopped by Those Guys Pies for pick up. I ordered wings with a number of different sauces, fried mushrooms and a cheesesteak with mushrooms.

They serve the wings plain and give you the sauces to season yourself. My favorite flavors were the pineapple buffalo and wasabi ranch. The fried mushrooms had a nice batter and were cooked well. They even stayed crispy after a long drive home. I was excited about the cheesesteak after hearing all the raves and I was a little disappointed. It was so greasy and was bland.

The wings were enough to draw me back and I look forward to trying their pizza on my next visit. The guys at Those Guys Pies were great and very accommodating.

Items sampled: fried mushrooms, cheesesteak, wings

Location: 2916 Lake E Dr, Las Vegas, NV 89117

Nevada Chicken Cafe - Arroyo Crossing

I'm not really sure how I feel about Nevada Chicken Cafe. The food was a little on the bland side and I didn't feel the need to finish everything on my plate.

They have an extensive menu of sandwiches, rotisserie chicken, wraps, ribs and salads, but nothing stood out to me so I ended up with a Hawaiian wrap with fruit salad.

The chicken was ok, but not very plentiful or flavorful. All of my dining companions had the same lackluster response to the meal. 

For the price, the meal didn't really live up to our expectations.

Location: 7340 Arroyo Crossing Pkwy, Ste 105, Las Vegas, NV 89113

Items sampled: hawaiian chicken wrap with fruit salad.

808 Bistro

I Great breakfast spot with a relaxed atmosphere and really tasty food.

I ordered the crab cake benedict, my fella opted for the original benedict and we shared a slice of the banana nut bread french toast. I'm not the biggest fan of banana nut bread but this was a nice dish and not overly sweet. The crab cake benedict was great. It had a spicy kick and the hollandaise wasn't overly rich or runny. 

It is BYOB, so if you're craving mimosas with breakfast, that's an option. The servers were friendly and personable and generous with the refills.

Items sampled: crab cake benedict, eggs  benedict, banana nut bread french toast

Location: 2511 S Kihei Rd, Kihei, HI 96753

Lyfe Kitchen

I had read and heard many mixed reviews about Lyfe Kitchen, but I came to try them for myself.

The restaurant is modern and clean. I enjoy the entire concept of this restaurant. Healthy food, that is more incentive and tasty than other restaurants of its kind in town. 

My friends and I were able to sample a good amount of items and enjoyed just about every item we ordered. 

The food was fresh and I, for one, found everything to be delicious and that was the consensus around the table. I was entirely impressed that they were able to showcase all the flavors of the food and still keep the calories down. My friend raved about the buffalo chicken, and even put in a second order because it was so good.

My chia and cucumber drink was really great and I look forward to coming back and trying the assortment of all the different smoothies and drinks they have available.

They have several menus catering to different dietary needs and programs, which is helpful. I look forward to coming back soon.

Items sampled: Brussel sprouts with butternut squash, barramundi noodle bowl

Location: 140 S Green Valley Pkwy, Ste 142, Henderson, NV 89012

Ka'ana Kitchen

A celebration deserves a great restaurant. When we were in Maui, I was given a list of possible places for our meal and I wasn't really feeling any of them. Ka'ana Kitchen was on this list and although the food looked great in all the pictures, I wasn't sure what to expect. 

I gave in and decided to give this place a go and couldn't be happier that I did. 

Our planner made reservations and although we arrived a little early, we were seated immediately at a beautiful outdoor table overlooking their bar and the water. It was a beautiful view and the restaurant was gorgeous as well. 

Our servers were all so attentive and helpful with their suggestions. We ordered several dishes to share and were absolutely thrilled with all our selections.

We started with the octopus and pork belly which were both delicious in their own right. The pork belly was sweet and spicy with a great kick to it. The octopus was perfectly cooked and the goat cheese really complemented the Flavors in the dish. 

Next we shared the abalone risotto and snapper. The fish was cooked so well and it was a very subtle, yet well-executed dish. The abalone risotto was the star of the show. Creamy, cheesy and extremely decadent.

We favored every item we ordered and finished with a chocolate dessert that was probably the only part of the meal that I didn't love, but it did not put a damper on our meal, it just wasn't a stand out. 

Everything was very reasonably priced for the quality and quantity of the food and drink we received. I was tempted to come here twice while we were on Maui, but decided against repeats. I would definitely come back the next time I visit and recommend it to anyone who was planning a trip.

Location: 3550 Wailea Alanui Dr, Kihei, HI 96753

Items sampled: octopus, pork belly snapper, abalone risotto 

Monkeypod by Merriman

In the mood for happy hour, we headed to Monkeypod on a drizzly weekday afternoon.

The restaurant is located on the second floor in a strip mall. They were busy, but they were able to seat us quickly with a good view of the TV that was airing the game. 

The happy hour consist of 50% any of the non-seafood appetizers and discounts on most of their cocktails, beers and wines. We weren't in the mood to drink, but we decided to share two pizzas. We got the truffle mushroom pizza and the Maui gold, which was kalua pork and pineapple. 

The pizzas were very basic and a little on the soggier side. Flavors were ok, but I preferred the truffle mushroom over the Maui gold since it was more savory. 

Service was standard, albeit slow because of how busy the restaurant was. There wasn't much that stood out about Monkeypod, so I wouldn't recommend going out of your way to give them a try.

Location: 10 Wailea Gateway Pl, Ste B-201, Kihei, HI 96753

Items sampled: Maui Gold and Truffle Mushroom Pizzas.

Spaghetty Western

Any time I meet my OG for dinner it's always great fun, even better when he's treating me to celebrate my birthday! We were debating where to eat and he randomly mentioned spaghetti western in another context not realizing it was the name of a restaurant in town. We took that as a sign from the food gods that it was time for pasta.

The restaurant is very small, good for takeout and they have a very small dining room where we took a seat and perused the menu. I ordered the pappardelle and my friend ordered the spaghetti and meatballs. 

The pasta was perfectly cooked and al dente. The flavors were balanced and I enjoyed every bite of my dish. We both scraped our plates clean.

If Spaghetty Western was anywhere near where I live I would be there regularly. Despite the distance, I will be back!

Location: 10690 Southern Highlands Pkwy, Ste 103, Las Vegas, NV 89141

Items sampled: pappardelle with speck, peas and tomatoes and the spaghetti and meatballs.

Paia Fish Market

On the hunt for the best lunch options we attempted a food crawl to try as many places as we could. 

My fella and I arrived here just before the lunch rush and we ordered the Ono burger to share. 

The fish was fresh and well-cooked and we both enjoyed it quite a bit. I'd likely ask for the burger without cheese next time, but it's a solid choice. We were tempted to order another meal but the portions were generous and decided to save our next food adventure. 

Greet little spot in Paia. 

Location: 100 Baldwin Ave, Ste A, Paia, HI 96779

Items sampled: Ono burger

Barefoot Cafe

No, just no. After a long drive to Hana, we were starving and not in the mood to search out food. This little food stand is located near the beach and is convenient, but that's about it.

The line was long and the menu was not exciting in the least. Just the basics here, fish and chips, hamburgers, hotdogs, boba drinks and some Hawaiian specialty plates. My fella and I opted to share a kalbi lunch plate with rice and mac salad. 

The food came up quick, but our kalbi was more like a charcoal piece of sirloin steak with sweet sauce on it. So odd. It was tough and the flavors were not good. I stuck with the rice and mac salad which were basic, but I'm glad she opted to share instead of wasting money on two plates.

Location: Hana Beach Park, Hāna, HI 96713

Items sampled: kalbi lunch plate 

Leoda's Pie Shop

Let them eat pie! When given the choice between cake and pie, I always go with pie and Leoda's makes some damn good pie.

I was going to make it to Leoda's whether I was in the area or not. Luckily, we were and dessert was on my mind.

My fella and I shared a chocolate macadamia nut in the restaurant and I couldn't resist ordering a lime pie for the road. Cream pies don't normally do it for me, but this was so perfectly made, I savored every last bite. So smooth and creamy and not overly rich. It was delicious. A day later and we couldn't resist digging into the lime pie as well. Delicious and perfectly tart. 

One of the dessert highlights to our trip to Maui! 

Items sampled: Chocolate Macademia nut pie, lime pie.

Location: 820 Olowalu Village Rd, Lahaina, HI 96761