Eric L.'s Profile

I'm a big fan of chicken teriyaki bowls. For $3.90 I get white rice, some broccoli, and chicken teriyaki on top, and they somehow manage to cook it in minutes. I swear sometimes by the time I'm done paying they already have my bowl ready. I'm not gonna ask how they do it, I don't care, it's good.

However, sometimes I do mix it up a little and go crazy and splurge on their lunch special, which I think is around $7 and includes a cup of miso soup, salad, tempura, california rolls, and chicken teriyaki. The tempura/rolls/chicken are actually an option and you can choose other items instead, but that's what I go for. Again, for the price and speed I'm always satisfied.

I tried their sukiyaki bowl one time and didn't like it and haven't tried it since.

All the other reviews of this place seem to be complaining about their sushi, which I'm sure is rightly justified. There's no way in hell I'd order the sushi here.

I started out loving this place, but as I've gone more and more and tried ramen at other restaurants to develop my palette, my rating of Mentatsu has dropped.

The ramen here is just okay. It's not bad, but it's not amazing either. The big plus here is they give really big portions. I'm a big fan of their mabo tofu, and it goes surprisingly well with their ramen.

I've heard their rice dishes are pretty good, but I've only had their fried rice and thought it was fairly good, so I can't comment too much. A big plus is that they're open late.

Probably more of a 3.5, but I'm not feeling too generous today.

I found out about Pho Thang Long after my coworker told me they serve Pho with filet mignon. The restaurant is quite different from what I expect from a standard Vietnamese restaurant, as their decor is really nice, and even have water falling down the wall behind the main counter. Kinda makes it look like you're in a fancy hotel.

As for the food, the filet mignon is pretty damn good. You have the option of getting it in the broth or being served raw on a plate so you can put them in at your leisure. Their broth, however, is rather bleh. Disappointing, because if it was up to par with other places then their Pho could be one of the best.

My suggestion is to go here at least once to try out the filet mignon, I just really wish they had better broth.

I've always said that most of the pho I eat tastes about the same to me, and I attributed it to either not really having a palette to distinguish great pho from good pho, or just never having eaten bad pho.

This was bad pho. The bowl arrived at my table, I added in the veggies and lime juice, took a sip, and what the hell? It's not horrible by any means, it was just lacking the flavor that I've always expected, and after a few more sips I was pretty sure that it was just bland.

I still finished my pho nonetheless, and was eagerly looking forward to my avocado smoothie only to learn they were out of avocados, so the waitress recommended coconut and it's pretty damn good as I drink it right now.

I'd highly recommend just driving over to Pho Bac over on Barranca and Culver or further down Jeffrey to Pho 99 for your pho fix.

I loved this place when it first opened. 30 cents an ounce, self-serve frozen yogurt, and a buttload of toppings to choose from. They have a lot of different flavors of yogurt and toppings like fruit, nuts, chocolate chips, cereal, and even mochi.

However, the last few times I've driven by the store the line has been out the door. I actually stood in line the first time and it took almost 20 minutes. I'm sure you're thinking there's no reason the line should take that long, but the cashiers aren't the quickest at what they do. Plus, it seems like there's only two people behind the counter, and one of them is always busy refilling the toppings area.

I had this place pegged as a five star the first few times I visited, but everytime since the line has been out the door, and I'm not waiting that long for yogurt. It's freaking yogurt people. You'd think they were dispensing soft serve iPhones or something.

I almost feel like there's no point reviewing this place. It's Tommy's. What else are you expecting?

Get the chili fries if this is your first time here. I skip the chili cheese cause the chili is artery-clogging enough - I'd rather die after I finish eating the fries as opposed to dying while I'm eating the fries.

I got their chili tamale once and it was eh, so I'd just stick with the burgers and hot dogs. They're nothing special, but once you add their chili it's delicious.

I love that their napkins are dispensed with the heavy-duty paper-towel dispensers. They don't mess around here. Don't forget to mark when you last went on your calendar, cause you're only allowed to go to Tommy's once a month. If you wanna go more often, please put me in your will first.

My family has been going to Carnitas Michoacan for years now, but don't start thinking it's a family restaurant. The setup is nothing more than a taco stand with a table/bench area for eating. But c'mon, if you're looking for good atmosphere/decor at a Mexican restaurant, you need to get your priorities straightened.

I used to get the chicken tacos here, but once I had the carne asada tacos I never get anything else. Their carne asada is very juicy and flavorful, and far better than the burrito because the burrito uses a flour (instead of corn) tortilla, adds in rice, peas and carrots, and all of that ends up distilling the great carne asada flavor.

I'm fairly certain I've had the carnitas tacos here and was pretty happy with it, but it still didn't compare with the carne asada taco. At $1.25 each, the tacos come with onions, cilantro, radishes, and spicy salsa already added.

They're open 24 hours, and perfect for satisfying the late night taco cravings.

(Full disclosure: My cousin is one of the owners of this restaurant, and I also helped make their website.)

There's a lot of things here that are good. I have cravings for their Veggie Chili Soup sometimes. The mix of beans and, uh, other veggie stuff combines to have this great flavor. The sausage sandwich is good, and the steak they usually have as a special is a good deal as well. They marinade the meat to give it its flavor, but I've been there once or twice where they ran out of the meat and just served the non-marinaded meat.

The salads are very big here and their best value. I came here with a friend who's vegan and he was very happy with the large salad he got. I'm not even a salad person but I enjoy their salads.

The creme brulee and pana cotta are great choices for dessert, and the big plus is that they serve alcohol here.

There's no waiter service here in that they won't bring your food to you, although they will clean up after you. Sometimes my aunt goes there to eat and because she's a generous person she'll start cleaning and helping out even though she doesn't work there. Tell her I said hi if you see her.

If you stop in on the weekend and see an Asian guy working the counter, odds are it's my cousin. Not the cousin that owns the restaurant though, so feel free to give him a hard time. Hi Nathan! =)

According to my parents, they used to go to Sompun when it was still located in a tiny strip mall (I believe this may have even been before I was born). One day the restaurant was gone, and somehow they happened upon their new location here. Goes to show how long we've been going here, and it still sets the bar that I hold all other Thai restaurants to.

The dish that you have to try here is the Garlic and Pepper Pork. The problem with most Thai restaurants have is that most of their dishes taste the same. Give the Garlic and Pepper Pork a try and you'll be pleasantly surprised at all the flavor they managed to pack into it.

The house special shrimp is not to be missed either, which comes with a special red paste/sauce that contains who knows what, but goes great with the celery and carrots they provide.

Their curries are all pretty good. The Pra Ram with spinach is a little on the sweet side, but the spinach adds a lot. Skip on the Mint Leaf Chicken - it felt a little dry to me.

The thai iced tea is perfect here, and make sure to grab dinner mints on your way out.

I've been going to this place for years. They used to be located in the same mini-mall with the Super A, but Panda Express moved in and supposedly OK Chinese got booted out. Sucks, cause this place is far superior to Panda Express.

The $2.49 special will get you rice, a yummy veggie eggroll, and one item of choice. They don't skimp on the portions either, the special should be more than enough for a meal. I dare you to find me another place that offers this kind of food for $2.49.

The entrees are your heat-lamp usuals: Broccoli Chicken, Broccoli Beef, Kung Pao Chicken, Spicy Chicken, Mushroom Chicken, BBQ Pork, Sweet and Sour Chicken, etc.

Of course, the food here really is just "OK" like their name says, but I'd still go here any day over other fast-food Chinese restaurants made for Americans (Panda Express, I'm looking at you.)

I completely agree with John R., too - make sure to try their fried chicken wings. They're amazing. If you ask for a small order, the lady will use one of those white take-out boxes with the red temples on the side, but she'll stuff it full of the chicken wings and actually have them sticking out of the opening. Again, they don't skimp on the portions here.

I think there may only be two tables here. I've never really paid attention to that. Everyone gets takeout anyway.

Really a 3-star restaurant, but they get an extra one for their prices.