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One of the best meals I’ve had in months! I went to Saltine with my wife to celebrate my birthday and definitely feel like we picked the perfect place! We each started with Old Fashioneds, which were solid. We ordered salmon carpaccio to enjoy with our drinks, which was a nice change from the standard salmon dishes served in the area. Then the meal came: my wife ordered the mushroom risotto and I ordered the pork tenderloin with ratatouille and fried polenta. The risotto was good. The tenderloin was AMAZING! The pork was perfectly cooked and nice and moist. I was initially worried that the peppers of the ratatouille would overpower the pork, but I couldn’t have been more wrong. The ratatouille paired perfectly with the pork, and the rosemary in the polenta brought the entire dish together in both flavor and texture masterfully. Overall, it was a fantastic pick to spend my birthday!

Citizen Bar & Kitchen Menu with Prices 1045 NW Bond St, Bend

Excellent restaurant! My boyfriend & I were looking for a nice, new restaurant to try while we were passing through Bend. We are pretty particular when it comes to food, foodies, you might say. Citizen was somewhat new, and looked fantastic. We had a reservation for 7pm for dinner, we decided to stop by early (45 minutes) to see if they could get us in. They were more than willing to accommodate us and get us in at the earlier time. The host/waiter was excellent. He was very friendly and attentive. We started the meal with cocktails. The waiter provided helpful recommendations and I enjoyed a gin cocktail (I can’t recall the name, but it was the third gin cocktail on the list) and my boyfriend enjoyed the smoking rosemary old fashioned. Both drinks were fantastic and well made. We also got complimentary warm bread and butter which was delicious. Then the food!! We started off with the Raclette and ham which was delicious. The stone ground mustard was so tasty. I ordered the scallops and my boyfriend got the salmon. Both were cooked perfectly and good portion sizes. Both presented beautifully. The salmon was served on a bed of mashed potatoes with green peas and purée. The only thing I would change about the scallops is the cauliflower purée. I think the dish would have been better with risotto or polenta, perhaps. We finished the meal with a s’mores chocolate tart which was delicious. I would highly recommend this restaurant, great staff, great food, great drinks all for a reasonable price! We look forward to going back.

Mangia Mangia Restaurant – Menu with Prices – 16079 Goldenwest St, Huntington Beach

I think this is my new favorite Italian restaurant. It was my first time here and our server was really patient with our table of 8 and she was super nice. I got the fettuccine gabriella, it’s pasta with mushrooms and prosciutto in a cream saucy. It’s heavy, a huge serving. It can feed 2 people, but the flavors were amazing and the mushrooms are cooked perfectly. We also got the risotto capesante which is a special item, it was my favorite thing here. Super creamy, risotto was so dente and not mushy, also a huge serving. Can probably feed 2. The salmon Al basilico is AMAZING. Salmon is cooked perfectly. It was super moist and flaky, not over cooked, not undercooked. The pesto sauce was creamy and one of the best pesto sauces I’ve had. Aside from entrees, I think it’s a great place to eat at. The food comes out fast, everything tasted fresh. The food didn’t come out all at once so you weren’t overwhelmed. They started with appetizers, then soups or salads, and then entrees. There’s also free garlic bread. The bread is warm and soft, it’s not like most places where the baguette is super crunchy and stale. The calamari was really yummy, the batter is light and crunchy, the tomato sauce was more on the sweet than the sour side. All in all, definitely coming again. We came around 7:35 pm and waited about 15 minutes for a table of 8. Short wait times, great staff, great food.

Gamja Tang House – Menu with Prices – 9567 Garden Grove Blvd, Garden Grove

First time, picked this place for my birthday dinner because I love gamjatang (sorry if I butchered that spelling)…but pork stew with potatoes is delicious. Came with the wife, sis in law and niece about 6pm. Parking is in the back and behind the building next to them. The older lady was working and yes, initially she was a little cold but she was much friendlier as the night went on. I ordered the individual gamjatang, the niece got the eel and the two ladies split the clam soup with noodles. The wife and sis in law loved the clam soup and it was a huge bowl. Plenty for four people to each have a bowl. The eel came on a bed of onions and was cooked well. It wasn’t fishy at all. The gamjatang was very good. I don’t care for sawtooth herb so I picked that all off and let the wife chow down because she loves it. Plenty of pork neck and it was cooked well. I would have liked one more piece of potato (they cut it in big chunks) but it was plenty for me. Just did a bigger pork to potato ratio on my bites…lol. I will be back soon…super good food and huge portions!

The Blacksmith Restaurant Menu with Prices 211 NW Greenwood Ave, Bend

We had a great meal here except a few minor missteps with the food. We came on a Friday night, visiting Bend for my fiancé’s birthday. Very fine dining feel, which is exactly what we were looking for. To start, I had an old fashioned and he had a margarita, both were well poured and the margarita particularly was excellent. We had the cheese plate for the appetizer, and it was hands down the best cheese plate I have ever had. It came with several delicious cheese selections, a fruit spread, grilled bread that had the slight charred taste I love, and these amazing candied almonds. They also have delicious complimentary bread and a house made dipping sauce that was a balsamic and olive oil base and several other ingredients. It was fantastic. For our entrees, I had the pork chop, which was delicious (I do prefer bone in though and it wasn’t), came with these really yummy thick polenta fries and brussel sprouts with bacon. The pork chop was cooked perfectly. My fiancé ordered the tender rogue which was a delicious tenderloin, cooked well, but besides the steak this plate had some problems. There was too much blue cheese atop the steak and with truffle potato sauce and the balsamic sun chokes and leeks that surrounded it; they were super delicious but far too rich. For dessert, we ordered the bread pudding to go and took it back to our hotel. It was the best bread pudding I have had in awhile but we did not care for the candied bacon it came with. Felt too much like breakfast. Really good though besides that. Great service and we really had a top notch dining experience here; we will be back for sure!!

Heirloom Farmhouse Kitchen – Menu with Prices – 7905 Irvine Center Dr, Irvine

I came to the Heirloom Farmhouse with 2 girlfriends for the 2019 OC Restaurant Week special. Lunch was $20. For starters, we had a choice of Cauliflower Mac, Heirloom Salad or a Charcuterie board. We each picked one so we could share. The salad was very good and the charcuterie was great, but we took most of it home. The cauliflower Mac was the clear winner with us. It was something we had never had before and it was delicious! For entrees, we had a choice of a Baja California Bowl, Adobo Quinoa Bowl or Pacific Salmon with squash risotto, fennel watercress salad and a parmesan crisp. We all ordered the salmon. The salmon was good, but just a bit over cooked. The squash risotto was good but not great as the butternut squash wasn’t soft. The risotto needed to be cooked for another 5+ minutes. We didn’t get any parm crisps, but that’s fine, we were full. For dessert, each one of us received three miniature brick oven cinnamon buns with house-made cream cheese frosting. These were outstanding! The service was good. They need to relook at the small square take-home boxes as no one could get the lids to go on right. Our server tried his best and then took it in the back to get a new one. He was gone for awhile such that it pushed us over the 1 hour time frame for complimentary valet parking, so it cost us an extra $5. The atmosphere is very nice. Overall, we would come back again.

Teriyaki Grill – Menu with Prices – 380 3rd Ave B, Chula Vista

I am obsessed with this place’s salmon!!!! I had tried the salmon salad and couldn’t help coming back over and over because of how often I craved it. Today, I was feeling a more hearty meal and ended up getting the salmon bento box, was definitely not disappointed, and now I have another menu craving. The salmon is cooked just right and always served with fresh veggies that tie perfectly into each meal. Although I’m obsessed with their salmon, you can’t go wrong with anything on their menu (I’ve had their chicken wings and want to try more of their flavors). The owner is extremely cute and personable. Thankful for this hidden gem!

Izumi Ramen – Menu with Prices – 2201 Kaliste Saloom Rd Suite 1B, Lafayette

I have ordered here a handful of times. First time was a day or so after opening and then a few more times a while after. All the times that I ordered, the food was consistent. Their takoyaki is VERY tasty and fresh. Different parts of Japan serve their takoyaki with different textures. Izumi serves it more of the Osaka style where the center is warm and gooey and not 100% cooked (don’t worry the batter is okay to eat like this.) For ramen, I have had the black samurai and the dragon shoyu. Both were tasty and the the pork chashu as well as tenderloin were cooked perfectly. The seasoning was nice and my eggs were cooked perfectly soft. Now, why do I have a 4 star review you might wonder? Well . . it is because of the noodles. The noodle chewiness was nice but they were knotted in a ball stuck together and would break apart easily when trying to separate as if not having any elasticity. I would like to note that I did order the food to go each time I have had it and I understand that noodles stick when they sit for a period of time. What perplexes me is that they break apart easily. I tried letting them sit a bit before trying to separate them in the broth the last time I ordered and it was still a bit tough. Overall I would recommend this restaurant to a friend but I would highly suggest dining in.

Blue Adobe Santa Fe Grille – Menu with Prices – 884 E Williams Field Rd, Gilbert

After a year away since Ashley and I had been here, I wanted to have Steff enjoy a meal here. We came for a late dinner arriving about 7:00. They had a 30 Minute wait going so we decide to wait in the bar for our table. We each had a skinny margarita and the chips & salsa, which is good but needs more heat. Steff thought it was a bit watery. The wait for the table was slightly longer than 30 minutes, not bad. We sat and they brought us a new round of chips and salsa. When we ordered we shared the Raspberry Chipotle Pork Tenderloin because we were already getting filled with the C&S. We wanted to have an additional flavor so we had them bring us some guacamole and it was excellent! The meal was perfectly flavored! The red chili potatoes had a very nice heat the chipotle mango salsa wasn’t too sweet and very fresh with all the flavors coming together very well and the grilled zucchini was perfectly done! There are four 3/4″ medallions of Pork tenderloin all were beautifully seared and the over all presentation was fantastic! I wish I had taken a picture to show you. Since, we were sharing the plate, Each of us had two of the medallions as luck would have it the two Steff had were under cooked in the center of each. One more than the other, only two bites of one but about 1/2 the second were inedible. Mine on the other hand were perfectly cooked, tender juicy and well seasoned morsels! When our server came around to see how our meal was we had already finished so Steff told him about her tenderloin and showed him the inedible pieces. When he returned with our check he gave us a $10 off your next visit card. This was very nice because we will return! We had a very nice evening and sometimes even the best of times aren’t perfect, Enjoy!! Ashley and I went there Sunday night because we wanted Mexican food we didn’t have to make ourselves. They were slow when we got there so we sat right down in the dinning area and got our menus with a killer salsa and chips! Great flavor with the salsa. I had two enchiladas carne adobado one green one red and Ashley had two enchiladas that were sea food mix. I didn’t get the name but it was very good, at least the bit she let me have was flavorful. If I wasn’t so stuffed on only one of the enchiladas I would’ve eaten all of her leftovers! Great food, and I think you could have a great group event there to

Duck Duck Goose Menu with Prices 814 S Broadway, Baltimore

Really have to hand it to Duck Duck Goose for making my friend’s birthday dinner an unforgettable experience. We decided to pop in here because the Choptank next door had a ridiculous wait time. We were initially hesitant when Duck Duck Goose said they could seat all 9 of us, RIGHT NOW. Even though the ambiance of this place screams high-end, the staff made us feel welcome even though we weren’t all dressed-to-impress. The drinks were amazing. The Golden Goose was great but for 18 dollars seemed a little out-there and the gold leaflets were unnecessary. The french beer on the menu (won’t attempt to spell it here) was also BEYOND refreshing. They brought out bread with a sweetened butter that was killer!!! I ordered the English Pea Risotto with the Duck Confit ($5 extra) and if you get a bite of the risotto, pea, duck, and goat cheese, then you’ve captured exactly what this dish intended. Unfortunately, after a few bites, the duck is overwhelming and becomes all you can taste. Still delicious though! I also tried the lamb main dish and that was excellent but the lamb was definitely left to shine on its own (no crazy seasonings). The highlight of the night came when we mentioned our friend’s birthday to the waiter who came out with a full round of complimentary champagne for the table along with a sparkler for the birthday. IT was breathtaking. We didn’t expect anything, but hoped for maybe a dessert for my friend or something. This was above and beyond. THANK YOU Duck Duck Goose for making this one to remember.

PICK’S At PLX Menu with Prices 530 Portage Lakes Drive, Akron

I’ve heard such great things about this place and I really wanted to love it. I went with my husband for dinner, and things were off to a great start. They had fantastic grapefruit martinis and the homemade white French dressing on my salad was delicious. However, there was a lot of shredded cheese that in comparison to the salad greens was hard and created an uninviting texture. My husband ordered the steak and red skin potatoes. His steak came out well done, and he ordered it medium. The potatoes were well seasoned, but dry. He ate his meal saying as he can eat well done, and he enjoyed the sear and seasoning on the meat. I ordered the salmon and risotto. There were long stringy pieces of onion in my risotto, which was basically rice with the taste of onions. It was not risotto. There should not be anything stringy in risotto, and it should not be a solid mass like mashed potatoes. The salmon was fishy and tasted rotten. When I told the server, she took it back immediately and apologized. However, I learned another customer had the same complaint, which led me to wonder a few things. First, does the chef taste what is being sent out? Do they feel comfortable serving bad fish, which can lead to serious food poisoning? Did they think the other complaining customer was lying? I ordered the margarita pizza instead of the salmon. It was a cheese pizza, not a margarita pizza. Just a cheese pizza with tomato on it. I’ve had real margarita pizza, and this was not it. Not even close. I did eat it because I was starving, and brought it home to my son with his 17 and will eat anything. So very disappointing. I doubt we will return, unless we just want drinks. I will say our server was very sweet.

Umbrellas 1296 – Menu with Prices – 1296 1st St, Sarasota

Arrived and waited at the bar for my 4 friends.. Ordered a martini and had to listen to an argument with the bartender and another staff member right infront of us.. Not classy at all.. Happy hour prices were very good and drinks were excellant.. I was told twice by a staff member that we would have the window seat table.. We just needed our drinks and we turned around and they had seated a 2 some right where we were suppose to sit.. So they stuck us back in a corner.. Not right.. Our waiter was nice and attentive.. Most of us ordered a salad with salmon.. The waiter left with our orders….then came back a few minutes later and said that they didnt have any salmon.. The chef had not told him they didnt have salmon.. Poor planning!. 4 of us had to switch to something else.. I switched to the short rib with polenta…..only to be told later that there’s no polenta and i would have mash potatoes.. The short rib came….looked very nice however it was cold inside.. My other friends added shrimp to their chopped salad entree.. They felt it was subpar in taste.. One girlfriend order scallops and she enjoyed her dish.. There was not good organization with the chef informing the staff on food on the menu. The chef needs to improve on the quality and temperature of the food he/she serves.. I would not recommend this restaurant.

Bistro Two Eighteen Menu with Prices 218 20th St N, Birmingham

I walked by this restaurant many times and didn’t even realize it was there. I feel like this might be a Birmingham hidden gem for some. If you want to have a great date night or to celebrate with friends and/or family this is definitely a fantastic option. Great atmosphere, service, food, and drinks. I literally couldn’t have asked for anything better. Our server was Ryan C. and he was very knowledgeable about all the dishes and drinks. He made great suggestions and was very courteous. I ordered the beef tenderloin medallions rare to medium rare and it was cooked to perfection. The brandy cream was seasoned perfectly and paired excellent with the beef and the potatoes gratin. We also ordered the sea scallops and they were the best scallops dish that we’ve ever had. Every time we get scallops at a nice restaurant they’re very good ; however, bistro 218 took it a step further with their incredible sauce that was seasoned perfectly. For dessert we had the blueberry entremet. The texture and the variety of flavors between the blueberry, lemon, and almond flavored cake were amazing. If you haven’t been here, I highly recommend that you try it ASAP!