Tedd "FoodieWest" D.'s Profile

your average neighborhood dive bar, just keep in mind, they don't take credit cards and the in house atm charges 2.50 per transaction.

It may be a shame, in all my 12+ years of living in Sacramento, but this actually was my first time to the corner of Freeport where Taylors Market and Kitchen are. Today we tried their Sunday brunch as I was graciously taken out for my b-day with my sister and my daughter.
I searched many a Yelp review to find a decent breakfast place in the area that wasn't known for it's hour plus waits and ridiculously high prices. Taylors Kitchen reviews seemed to fit the bill (and you can make reservations). We arrived around 10:30am, and there really was no need for reservations.
We started off with cups of strong coffee from Temple Roasting, and some fresh squeezed OJ as well as a starter of beignets with caramel. The little fried puffs of dough were a nice sweet start. I ordered up the Taylors breakfast with pancakes, ham, 2 eggs and potatoes, my sister got the Benedict with chile, and my daughter got biscuits and ham served with regular and orange/lavender butter. All food was well within or exceeding our expectations, although I will say the lavender/orange butter reminded me a bit of something from a Bath and Body Works dispenser....it's lavender, whatya gonna do?
Our server was impressively knowledgeable and enthusiastically described the choices to us, the manager though could have brushed up a little more on her menu savvy, but was very friendly too. The only server mistake made, which could have been a huge one, was the way our waiter refilled my coffee, he did so at an angle that caused hot coffee to spill out all over my leg and the floor....let's just say he should be glad there was no white being worn.
I would definitely like to go there for dinner someday, hopefully I wont have to wait til another birthday rolls around.

First off, the phone number for this place above is incorrect, the prefix is 739.
Now for some reviewing...
My second time doing take away from this place and so far I am pretty impressed. My first trip I ordered the standard "Generals Chicken" and also some mixed veg. While not great, the Generals Chicken was a few steps up from your ordinary, I was more impressed with the mixed veg which came plentiful and fresh. I was hoping for a bit more flavor with whatever it was cooked in, but the fact that Temple Express understanding of a vegetable dish is not celery, onions, bell peppers and water chestnuts was a big plus to me.
My second trip I went with the recommended Szechuan Chicken and fried prawns. Let me just say, the Szechuan Chicken was well worth coming back for, and shows much promise in other dishes to look forward to. Why? because this is one of the first times in my Chinese Restaurant food in Sacramento experience that actually tasted real. Slices of chicken breast topping a large bed of REAL and FRESH vegetables, bok choi, broccoli, carrots, green beans and more, plus slivers of fresh ginger are pungent just enough to know they are there. The fried prawns are one of my guilty pleasures at Chinese restaurants, and these ones, while lacking actual prawns (they were medium sized shrimp) had a fresh and tasty batter and fried to a golden goodness.

Lovely Banh Mi! I had the bbq pork, and also got the garlic rolls 4/$1.00 - everything was exceptionally fresh and very affordable. I will be back!
Also to note, there are various rolled meats there to buy and other Vietnamese treasures. The place looked clean and bright which works well for me!

Finally took an opportunity to go here after a long bike ride on the American River trail. I am not a fan of places that have signs offering x% off of the food, that just sounds wrong, I mean, it's not furniture, it's food.
But today was the day to get past that and check it out. Firstly, I am not sure "French Po'boy" is correct gastro terminology...French/Cajun sure, unless the reference is to a french roll. ANYWAY....
I asked what they recommended and was promptly suggested the shrimp, so I agreed to a 12", my son  ordered the 8" sausage. They both came with a free medium drink being after 2pm, lemonade for both of us (real lemonade would have been great, but this came from a machine).
The sammy's were presented to us wrapped in butcher paper and a rubber band, we both liked this preso. My shrimp po'boy was simple as it should be with ample portions of small, corn meal breaded, lightly fried shrimp, lettuce and tomato. The sausage sandwich got a mere "meh" from my son (the sausage resembled Spam) Overall I am glad the place is there, and will probably go back again. But a word to the folks that run the place. As much as I appreciate a family run place, having crying babies around while you eat is not real pleasant, but the bigger no-no is, NEVER have someone (child or not) sit their butt on counter space in a restaurant! especially the same counter you set your patrons food. That's just so wrong and if the health inspector saw that you might just have to work on getting your "PASS' placard back. I wish you the best, really. :)

So first off, I will side with all of the reviews that got a weird vibe from this place.
If you have ever been to the Caribbean, this entrance to this place reminds me of a club in the islands. Not so much a bad thing, but it's not what you expect for a Sacramento restaurant. Once you get past the "security patio" you walk in and peep around the corner to see tables flowing down the medium sea of a dance floor. No standard "irasshaimase!!" greetings from the sushi bar, in fact they were all pretty quiet and robotic. You don't even get greeted by the staff (I saw one couple wait about 15 minutes before they were even recognized). They do "all you can eat" which makes me wary for any sushi bar, but since I had the old groupon I had to order from the standard menu. I stuck with nigiri and ordered the mixed tempura. The nigiri was ok, nothing fantastic, but the portions were not too small and not too big. The tempura...well, let's just say they should look into getting it some Viagra, or at least learn how to make it. It came all stuffed in a tea cup, and when I pulled out a shrimp, it looped over like a soggy fried lack of manhood. (I don't usually use these metaphors when it comes to food, but sushi is a sexual food, and this was like wasted drunk sex). For the obligatory kiss goodbye, I opted to try their "donut". I will now call their donuts, the "WTF donut". I think they fry the dough in the same oil as the limp shrimp!
I give Azukar a big ole "MEH". Downtown can do much better.

Finally got a chance to get my groupon on at Sandra Dee's. I took my teenage son, and at first was a little cautious as it looked like i would be bringing him into a bar. Technically, this was true, but after you take a few more steps in you see a wide open dining room, whirling high ceiling fans, and a pretty good vibe too.
I ordered up the special of all you can eat "rib tips" and my son got his old standby, a tri tip sammy. Water was promptly delivered in a pint glass with a big slice o lemon (I like this), and the servers were very nice and smiley (I like this too). I chose a side salad and hush puppies with my entree, it also came with corn bread. The rib tips were fantastic, deeply smoked, a rich and spicy sauce. If you have never had rib "tips", you should know that they have more cartilage than bone, but these were plenty meaty and smoked to their properness. The hush puppies were crispy good with just a bite of jalapeño, the side salad was ok...but hey, it's just a side salad, the cornbread had good flavor but was too dry for my liking. My son gave the thumbs up on his tri tip sandwich. All in all, a good lunch, served in a clean and friendly joint.

meh. Jacks Urban Eats has been the go to place for something healthy and quick I could get for myself and two kids for quite some time. Coming here used to be an enjoyable experience, not as of our visit last night.
While most other eatery's in Sac were packed, Jacks was doing a mediocre business, and since I haven't been in a while, I was surprised.
After ordering our food I think I understood why. We ordered a large Caesar with trip tip and two varieties of trip tip sandwiches. After being rung up by a listless cashier who seemed to be expecting a tip our food came in good time. Oh, and when asking for some lemon in your water, I was kinda hoping for more then a chunk of lemon rind. This is where I couldn't understand the food presentation. The two sandwiches had about three CHUNKS of trip tip, and the salad had about three thin slivers of the roast. This is not how I remember having these items before, and certainly not how I would serve trip tip to my guests. The salad was bland, but at least the sammy's had some taste. Ya gotta do better than this Jacks, if you want me to come back

It's and In n Out, that's it, consistency is what they do very well at. But I swear, in the few times I have been here, it is ALWAYS the slowest drive through In n Out I have ever experienced. This coupled with the forever construction on the main road to get here. These two things prevent me from going more, which calorie wise, is not a bad thing.

Maybe others cup of tea, but not mine. Just not my style of pizza really. The crust resembles Bobboli pre-made style, it's very dense and bready. Also there was a lot of cornmeal in the dough which I am not a huge fan of.
Given that the pizza was perfectly round also made me suspicious about pre made crusts. The toppings were fine, although we ordered extra garlic which didn't seem present, I would  also make note to review your prices as the x-large is on the menu for 13, yet it was 14 at the register....the guy made up for it through the toppings choices we had (or so we thought). The place isn't really a family joint, it's more in line with the tatt shop next door.
Another point to the crust issue, it doesn't make for good cold breakfast pizza the next day.
Prices are good, but it's not really a place I see myself frequenting.

Update: I figured I would add another star after my second visit. I ordered a large pizza this time with pepperoni, sausage and artis. This time though I asked for a thin crust. IMHO, this is the way to go if you are going to eat at SoB (hah...I just realized the abbreviation). The thin crust was a much better choice, unless you like tons of bread with your pie. My only critique this time would be to use about 3 oz less cheese and you have a decent pizza.