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We came with very high expectations due to the glowing reviews of Brassica everywhere! However, we were pretty disappointed. We came from Beacon Hill – I would suggest taking the T because Forest Hills is a short walk to Brassica (basically across the street). We had a 7:15 reservation on a Tuesday and there were a few open tables remaining. We were greeted immediately and seated. Our waitress asked if we had been there before and recommended 2-3 dishes per person. We are pretty big eaters, but we decided to start with three dishes. We ordered two cocktails and 3 dishes. The small fried chicken, the fat noodles and the burger. The cocktails were $13 each and unfortunately they didn’t arrive until we had been served and eaten 2/3 of our dishes. They were very small and tasted pretty weak. For $13 I was really disappointed. Back to the food. The fried chicken was very good. We got the spicy sauce on the side, but I think the real star condiment was the mustard. The mustard, pickled cole slaw and the honey chicken together were perfect! Three thigh pieces were plenty for the two of us. The fat noodles were my favorite. They were not what I expected though. It was like two long noodles were rolled up and covered in sauce. The noodles were chewy and fresh with tons of flavor and textures in the sauce. Finally the burger was cooked medium rare to our liking and was ok. I didn’t think it was as amazing as everyone reported. I saved the spicy sauce and added it to our bacon burger because it was missing a little more flavor. It was juicy and a good size. It came with a huge pile of under salted fries and a dill mayo that didn’t have much flavor either. They brought over some sweet vermouth with our check which was a nice touch. The food was really good for sure but I don’t think it was worth the trip to JP – especially for a special occasion. The service was not great and the drinks were a disappointment.

OISHII BURGER – Menu with Prices – 4402 Princess Anne Rd SUITE 111, Virginia Beach

The great thing about having a family outing to a new restaurant is, I am able to try out EVERYONE’S food! LOL!! The inside of the restaurant is much smaller than it looks from the outside but there is space big enough to hold a party of 12. Our waitress was knowledgeable of the menu and was very helpful. I’ll break down what we had and my thoughts. * Spicy Wings – crunchy, well seasoned and SPICY but so goood! Scale of 1-5, it was a 5 unless my heat game is becoming weak! * Soy Garlic Wings – Nice crunch, great flavor, it was my fav out of the 2 wing choices. You can actually do half and half for an order. * Kids Stir fried noodles with chicken – I mean this was a big enough portion that it would had filled me up and still have left overs. The noodles did not have any veggies in it so adding protein would be advisable. It was a little salty for me so maybe next time that can be adjusted. * Katsu Chicken burger – basically what it sounds like. Fried Chicken cutlet in a hamburger bun. The chicken lacked flavor but the sauce on it helped and with a little siracha It was enjoyable to eat. * Oishii Burger- Is cooked to well done since it’s deep fried. This could be a little disheartening if you like it any other way. It doesn’t come with cheese but you can ask for it! All the burgers comes with shredded cabbage instead of lettuce but it’s so thin that cabbage on a burger is actually good! All the desserts we had was Yum- Yum! The mango and Ube ice cream was creamy and made from a good brand. But the star of the show was the Turon Split. Beautiful work of art, however …. the plantains wasn’t sweet enough. I know with Filipinos we like our Turon made with the most ripe and sweet plantains. It doesn’t take anything away from this dessert, I guess with the ice cream it sorta balances it out. A must try!!

Little India (Bombay Street Food) Menu with Prices 2236 Highland Ave, Birmingham

On the recommendation of the Owner/Chef, we tried the Chili Chicken with Fried Rice. The dish came out steaming hot in a reusable to-go container. The chicken was battered and fried before being covered in “gravy”, a mildly sweet and spicy sauce. The gravy dishes are by default served with generous helpings of gravy, although they can also be ordered “dry” or “without gravy”. This dish was delicious and far superior to any Chinese takeout near the area, especially for a menial $7. We also ordered the Chicken Hakka Noodles, a dish similar to Chow Mein, although more complex. Hakka noodles are a type of boiled noodles that are tossed and mixed with vegetables, chicken and sauces. Both Hakka Noodles and chow mein are made using noodles and similar kinds of vegetables are added to it. However, there is a slight difference between the two. While Hakka noodles have their roots in Hakka Han or Han Chinese, chow mein comes from Taishan. Hakka noodles have dominant Bengali flavours but chow mein has flavours that can be closely associated with Chinese flavours. Whatever the differences in chow mein and Hakka noodles, they were certainly tasty!  This dish was served tossed with chicken and green onions and a savory sauce with a latent heat. Another win, and again, for only $7.  Perhaps inaptly titled, “Little India,” offers more Chinese-Indian fusion than they do Indian food. New names for the establishment are being tossed around. Most of the menu items sounded like Chinese dishes, however, many dishes of modern Indian Chinese cuisine bear little resemblance to traditional Chinese cuisine. Staple base options for an Indian Chinese meal include chicken, shrimp or vegetable variants of “Hakka” or “Schezwan” noodles popularly referred to as chow mein; and regular or”Schezwan” fried rice. Though the names sound similar to familiar dishes, this food stands alone.

Thai Express – Menu with Prices – 4693 Gardens Park Blvd Suite 113, Orlando

I was in the area and stopped by to try this place out because again, I love Thai food and my go to place is closed for summer vacay. You order at the counter and then pick up at the counter. There’s plenty of places to sit. They have daily specials for $6.68 and each day has a different special. Because they just opened, they are offering punch cards and giving out flyers with coupons on it as well. The menu is pretty decent and a big selection. There a lot of favorite Thai dishes I saw, such as Pad Thai, Fried Rice, and Drunken Noodles. The spice levels are mild, medium, spicy, and very spicy. I opted for the Chicken Red Curry and an Imperial Roll (spring roll). The imperial roll was crispy but it felt like there was mush on the inside. Minimal taste. I have mixed feelings about the Red Curry. The taste of the curry sauce was good and the level of spice (I went for medium) was perfect. But the quality seemed lackluster. The chicken was a weird, dark color and the taste/texture seemed off for chicken. I’m also not a fan of bamboo shoots since they have a weird taste. The chicken/mystery meat just really threw me off. I would probably just order veggie only dishes next time. I wanted to like this place and may be willing to give it another try but I think there are better Thai places in town with comparable prices and way better food quality.

HANSIK Korean restaurant – Menu with Prices – 13727 127 St NW, Edmonton

I had no idea this place even existed even though I drive by the building every day. It can be easy to miss as it is tucked away in a small strip. It was my friends that took me here, as they raced about it and said it was one of the better Korean places in Edmonton. First thing I noticed is that it is a very small space, I was told there are some nights there can be lineups for tables. Luckily this night it was very quiet with about 3 other tables. Also it’s cute they have a button you can press for them to come to your table (my friends who were in Korea said this is common there). Sadly since I only know of kimchi and Korean fried chicken, I wasn’t familiar with what else to order. So left it up to my friends and their expertise. We ordered Tteokbokki, which looks like pasta but is more a doughy paste. I liked it, especially the spicy sauce which on its own would be great on rice. Pork Bul go gi, it was ok but wish a bit more pork. Kimchi Jeon,korean pancake, this was one of my favorites esp with the sauce, almost tasted like hash browns. Japchae noodles, this didn’t blow me away but was ok, only thing was they need to cut up the noodles more. Korean Fried Rice with egg, was ok, nothing great, but if want some rice other than plain to add to the meal, this isn’t bad. And finally the go to, Korean fried chicken with sweet and spicy sauce. Only thing was they didn’t mix the sauce with the chicken but just had the sauce as a side. Was very good and not greasy and not overly breaded, why I am a big fan of Korean fried chicken. The amount we ordered was just enough for 3 people and we all left full. Price vs quantity is ok for some things. But overall I found the food very good and because I love hot and spicy, lots filled the bill. Edmonton doesn’t have many good Korean restaurants according to my friends, but they considered this one of the better ones. I would definitely come back again to try some of the same dishes and to try some new ones.

Asian Express – Menu with Prices – 4880 Lower Roswell Rd #110, Marietta

This is an addendum to my earlier review (below). I have been back numerous times now, and the service has been outstanding each time, and the food has only gotten better. The egg rolls have improved, with the restaurant now making larger ones for the same price. They are also well-filled now. This is a great example of the owner taking constructive criticism and improving their products. There is no meal that we fail to order these treasures. Ask for the house-made spicy mustard, and mix it with a generous amount of soy sauce, for a nice dipping sauce. I have had the General Tso’s chicken again (as part of the Phoenix and Dragon, whose Phoenix component – spicy shrimp – was dreadful, I’m sad to say). This time the chicken was crispier, and the broccoli green and not over-cooked. So, I’d get the General’s chicken by itself again. We have now tried both the Salt & Pepper Shrimp, and the Salt & Pepper Calamari several times. Both dishes are phenomenal, with the shrimp edging out the calamari because the calamari is a bit over-battered. The flavor is fantastic, with the chilies, onions, and bell pepper slices adding some interest. The shrimp themselves are large, crispy on the outside, and tender on the inside – cooked perfectly. This is my wife’s favorite dish, and I share her enthusiasm. The Singapore Mei Fun (rice noodles, sauteed with shrimp, roast pork, chicken, onions, eggs and other veggies, with a curry flavor) is great too. The plain fried chicken wings are crispy and juicy and super-flavorful from the garlic-soy marinade they were in before frying. They are some of the best I’ve had. See my previous notes about the lo mein, spare ribs and moo-shu pork.

Mariscos El Rey Menu with Prices 820 Dayton St, Aurora

Had been meaning to try one of their locations, finally got a chance being in the area, i had high expectations and they were nearly met. Firts off ordered fish tacos and even though i prefer spicier was nothing tapatio couldnt fix. Think the prices are reasonable and portions plentiful. I also ordered a campechana seca wich is a seafood melody. First the downsides: had to figure and put plenty of sauces and salt and peeper to my liking. At first the sauce seemed lime it didnt have much flavor and would be best if it was. Ot as runny so it stays on the food. I didnt get to really taste it until i was done with the seafood and it was not bad. However knowing you must fix it to your liking a phuge plus was the freshness of the seafood, it seemed it was prepared to order not premade, defi ately fresher than other places ive tried. Would suggest you give it a try. Not a huge or fancy but a nice mellow atmostphere. Think they can improve but doing good.

Mama’s Dish – Menu with Prices – 1742 S King St, Honolulu

Well, we had high hopes for the eatery that took the location of our beloved hole-in-the-wall Hata’s Restaurant, but our hopes were dashed on the expedient rocks awaiting most new restaurants. First off, they did a nice job of remodeling, and there is now just a counter between the dining area and the open kitchen area. They have some cute wooden chairs and clean tables, and the room is Stark white (or Jon Snow white). All the dinginess which characterized Hata, which had been there for probably 50 plus years, is just but a dim memory. They have a very limited menu. I would call it Korean but it is not what I would call a full scale menu. No kal bi; no meat or other Jun; no elaborate dishes. In fact, I wanted mun doo kook soo (soup with noodles and dumplings), but they only had dumpling soup or dumpling ramen. That tells you they don’t make their own noodles or even buy kook soo noodles. Bob and I ordered dumpling ramen, mine spicy, his not, his without green onions. Robin ordered fried chicken. We had trouble communicating with the waitress who appears to be Mama’s daughter; she has trouble with English and it took several attempts before we got our order across. When our food came, we all were a bit disappointed. Our ramen was basically packaged Korean ramen, probably Samyang or NongShim or another Korean brand, served with two mun doo, probably Bi Bi Go brand. So two or three bucks worth of packaged food, which is probably about right or on the skimpy side for a $9.50 bowl of soup. At least they ramped up the spiciness of the soup, and added some shredded kelp and bits of scrambled eggs, and topped the soup with a smallish half-teaspoon of green onions: both mine and Bob’s, which irritated him. And I don’t think there was a non-spicy version made to Bob’s order. He couldn’t finish his soup because he is Scoville averse. Now Robin’s order of fried chicken was wings cooked to order. 7 smallish wing parts. If the chicken were any smaller when they clipped its wings, they would have had to call this chick wings. Bob wolfed down a wing since his palate was on fire. I tasted one of the wings, and it was fine. Crispy batter, greasy tasty chicken, served with spicy sauce, mayo, and mustard in 2 ramekins. But I think Robin was disappointed because that was all there was to his order, and he can eat a lot more than the meat off 5 small wing parts. No rice, no ban Chan (side dishes), etc. Chicken Alice, where are you when the world needs you? At least they provided a small cole slaw type salad to be shared among the three of us, which none of us ate out of deference to the others. And they served a small dish of kim chee, probably from 88 Pal Pal Market, which I ate since Bob wouldn’t consume anything which was redder than his soup, and Robin doesn’t eat kim chee. So overall, not the best meal, or the worst, in a while. But we probably won’t be going back soon.

Green Papaya Thai & Sushi cuisine – Menu with Prices – 841 S Ponce De Leon Blvd #10, St. Augustine

I gave this place a couple of tries to impress me but I keep getting disappointed I love green curry so I ordered that one time. Disappointed Drunken noodles…disappointed Can’t blame them. Those two dishes are Thai. They’re not thai so can’t say them know how it’s suppose to be made. Sushi…very disappointed I’m disappointed about how their “spicy tuna” in all of their special rolls are just made up of 95% tempura crumbs dyed red and tiny bits of tuna. How I know is that I can’t eat fried food because I get sick from the grease and I didn’t understand why I felt really sick after I had ordered 5 of their special rolls that all had “spicy tuna” in them. So I took one piece of the sushi and opened it up. And I was pretty mad after I saw that it was just fried tempura crumbs. And then I realized that they put “spicy tuna” in these special rolls and jack the price up to $14 $15 a roll. Wow. I don’t mind paying more for quality but when you deceive me and make me think I’m paying for quality when you’re just using crumbs, that’s when I have a problem. I will never set foot back in there. Well I did like the mochi Ice cream though. That’s the one thing they didn’t make themselves.

Ruby Thai Kitchen – Menu with Prices – 6330 Park City Center, Lancaster

Ruby Thai Kitchen is a good place to stop for fast food style Asian food, which is not really authentic Thai food, but closer to being like “Panda Express” Chinese food. They offer several Thai style meat dishes (mostly chicken choices), noodles, rice, vegetables, fried appetizers, Coke products, and bottled drinks. As for the pricing, they offer 1 Meat ($4.99 w 1 side/$5.59 w 2 sides), 2 Meats ($5.99 w 1 side/$6.59 w 2 sides), 3 Meats ($6.99 w 1 side/$7.59 w 2 sides), and Kids Meal ($4.59 with 1 meat, 1 side, & drink). Add an appetizer for $0.99 more. While shopping at Park City Center, I stopped in the food court for some dinner. I went with the 1 Meat 2 Sides ($5.59) and chose Thai Spicy Chicken with Veg Fried Rice, and Noodles and an Egg Roll ($0.99). The portion of food was good and just right. The main dish had boneless breaded cubed chicken pieces, celery, peppers, and onions, which a mild spicy taste. The noodles (lo mein) with onions was soft and oily. The fried rice had a mix of peas , carrots, and onion. The egg roll was quite good, which was filled with a dense mixture of carrot, cabbage, and soft chicken in a firm wrap shell, not greasy. Overall, I enjoyed my dinner in the food court which actually tasted pretty good, though it was similar to quick service Chinese food. (3.6 stars)

Wolfies Pub – Menu with Prices – 274 Forbes Ave, Pittsburgh

As an appetizer, we ordered the buffalo chicken dip, which came with warm pitas. The dip itself was very good. However, the flavor of the dip was overwhelmed by the mountain of bleu cheese, which topped the dip. I like bleu cheese, but they use way too much in this dish and it ends up being all that you can taste. It is unfortunate because the dip without the bleu cheese had a great flavor. For my meal, I went with the bison burger, which was topped with caramelized onions and a garlic aioli. The meat itself had a great flavor, and was cooked as requested. However, the construction of the burger, as well as the bun made it pretty average. Lettuce and tomato were placed under the burger patty. This, along with the other wet ingredients caused the burger to get sloppy. The burger needed some type of topping to provide some friction and prevent all of the sliding that occurred when trying to eat it. In addition, the bun they used seemed cheap. Not only did it taste average, but it fell apart and did not hold up to the wet ingredients and juicy patty. The burger would have been so much better had it been on brioche and either done without the lettuce and tomato, or if they were placed on top. The fries that came with the burger were pretty good, and the homemade ranch was great. My one friend ordered the “Pub Hot Chicken”. Hot chicken, especially with its recent popularity, has come to be known as the type of chicken they serve in Nashville. I was expecting this sandwich to have at least some type of the sweet and spicy sauce, which is traditionally what is being referred to when an item it labeled as “hot chicken”. Instead, the sandwich was nothing more than a fried chicken sandwich, which was overcooked, and topped with a drop or two of chipotle mayo. Overall, the place has some promise, but needs to make some changes to its menu and serving practices.

MaDee Thai Kitchen – Menu with Prices – 401 E 17th St, Costa Mesa

What Grace N. said… Best Thai food in OC. I’ve been exploring Thai food for the past 20 years. Thai food used to be authentic and hard to find. Now it’s everywhere and completely Americanized. I’ll use one of my favorite dishes as an example, Pad Krapow. Pad Krapow consists of meat such as pork, chicken, beef, and seafood stir fried with Thai holy basil and garlic. It is served with rice and topped up (optional) with fried eggs . The main seasonings are soy sauce, Thai fish sauce, oyster sauce, cane sugar, and bird’s eye chili. This dish is typically somewhat spicy due to the bird chilies. When it’s done authentically, the flavor of the basil and the garlic are dominant. Lastly the flavor works best when the pork or chicken is ground. In almost any Thai restaurant in OC this dish is sliced chicken breast in oyster sauce with no chilies and some bell pepper. If that sounds bland, it is. The food at Ma Dee is authentic Bangkok street food. Everything from the noodle dishes to the soups are amazing. It’s a hole in the wall but so good.

Dontino’s La Vita Gardens Menu with Prices 555 E Cuyahoga Falls Ave, Akron

I am so disappointed. Met a friend there to celebrate her birthday. We had a party of 5 one of which was a child. We ordered 2 orders of the fettuccine Alfredo ($18.95) shrimp Alfredo ($18.95) a small pizza ($9.00) and veal parmigiana (($18.95). When the food came out I was underwhelmed by the portion size but even less impressed by the four small slices of white, bland looking chicken laying atop the noodles and white sauce. Cutting into the chicken made me think that maybe it had been cooked in the microwave. The meat was not of good flavor and it was on the colder edge of warm. I got through the dinner trying to be a gracious person for my friend. I will never return. I am kicking myself now for not saying anything and allowing myself to pay over $100.00 for a terrible dinner. The bread was good. The service was OK and the noodles and sauce were OK, much like I would serve at home. I used to talk down the Olive Garden experience but at least I can depend on the flavor and quality of a good chicken Alfredo meal there. Very disappointed.