Crumbl Cookies

Crumbl Cookies has over 800 locations in 49 states. This blog post covers their first Hawaii location at Kapolei Commons in Kapolei, Hawaii.

Blake's Lotaburger

Blake's Lotaburger is a regional fast food chain based out of Albuquerque, New Mexico, and most of their locations are in that state. There are two locations in Tucson. This blog post covers the spot on E Speedway Blvd in Tucson, near the University of Arizona campus.

Hissho Sushi

Hissho Sushi is a national sushi chain with locations in 39 states. This blog post covers the spot at Portland International Airport in Portland, Oregon.

Mod Pizza (Salem, Oregon)

Mod Pizza has many locations throughout the United States. This blog post covers the spot on Commercial Street SE in Salem, Oregon.

Freshii (Vancouver, WA)

Freshii is an international food chain that started in Canada. They recently added a location in the Salmon Creek neighborhood of Vancouver, Washington. This blog post is for the Salmon Creek location that recently opened on NE Tenney Road.

Earl of Sandwich

Earl of Sandwich is a national chain with several spots in Las Vegas, Nevada. I went to the one located within Planet Hollywood hotel and casino on the Las Vegas Strip.

YouTube: 100+ subscribers, Spice Wars

All's been well on the YouTube front. Thanks mainly to some channel plugging from Naader Reda, I've eclipsed the 100-subscriber mark. I sincerely thank all of you who have watched and shared my videos! It really means a lot to me.

Sheridan's Frozen Custard (Part 2)

(Original Review -- October 2011)

Roughly one year since my last visit, I returned to Sheridan's in late October for one of their seasonal treats. A spur-of-the-moment decision, really. Turned out to be an awesome choice.

Quaker Steak & Lube (CO)

Quaker Steak and Lube has many franchises in multiple U.S. states. But unfortunately, there's no Oregon location yet. When I found out there was a Quaker Steak in Westminster, Colorado, I had to go and conquer their Triple Atomic Wings challenge!

Dickey's Barbecue Pit

Dickey's is a national-chain, "fast-casual" barbecue joint. However, this place first opened in Texas about 70 years ago. While waiting for my connecting flight at the Dallas-Fort Worth airport in Texas, I decided to check out this barbecue establishment for myself.

Dickey's has over 170 locations in over 40 states (and more locations will be opening in the future, including one planned for Hawaii). Despite the national reach of this chain, the corporation is still family-run, with Roland Dickey, Jr. (the third generation of Dickeys) becoming the privately held company's president in 2006.

I ordered a pulled pork sandwich with a side of cole slaw, with BBQ sauce on the sandwich ($7.45; $8.06 with tax).

Pulled Pork Sandwich w/side of cole slaw
(Dickey's Barbecue Pit)

The sandwich was OK, really average overall. The pork was not bad, but was dry and lacked any flavor or smokiness. I thus had to rely more on the BBQ sauce for the flavor, but the man preparing the food didn't put very much sauce on there. Party foul indeed!

I thought the slaw was fine. Refreshing and crunchy here, not very creamy (which for me is a plus).

The man working the counter likes the brisket and even gave me a free sample. It was OK again, but I must note he cut off the part of the brisket with flavor and handed me the inside (that did not have as much flavor). Come on dude, you know very well (hopefully) that the ends are where it's at for flavor! I will say, the dude was a nice guy.

Average experience at best here. Then again, what more can I expect from a "fast-casual," franchised establishment? 4.5/10

Sheridan's Frozen Custard

(Second Review -- October 2012)

Sheridan's Frozen Custard is a semi-national food chain, with one location in the Northwest: on SE Mill Plain Blvd. in Vancouver, Washington.

Wing Stop

Wing Stop has several franchises throughout the United States. I went to their Oregon location on SE 82nd Ave. in Portland, Oregon. I went on a Monday to take advantage of their 50-cent boneless wing special!

50-cent boneless wings on Mondays and Tuesdays!

Nine different wing flavors!

The lights look hideous and there are so many damn picture frames on the walls

Opting for both spicy and tasty options, I got five Atomic boneless wings and five Garlic Parmesan boneless wings ($5 total; would normally cost $6.75).

Garlic Parmesan Boneless Wings

Atomic Boneless Wings

I liked the heat of the Atomic sauce. I'm guessing a habanero-based sauce here; I'll give it about a 7 out of 10 on my spicy scale. The Garlic Parmesan, not so much a fan here. As for the garlic parmesan, I liked that the garlic did not overwhelm my taste buds, and I liked the parmesan cheese sprinkled over the top. However, the garlic and butter basically looked unappetizing on the chicken over time.

The boneless wings were breaded well, but they were very small, much like upscale Chicken McNuggets. On my last boneless atomic wing, I bit into the chicken and I saw the red tendons of the chicken breast -- which I at first mistook for pink raw chicken. I didn't get sick or anything, but I opted to throw that piece away.

The person taking my order didn't really smile a lot or make me feel too welcome. To be fair, she did her job well, but could have smiled a lot more.

The inside is clean, but Wing Stop went overboard on saturating the walls with picture frames. The lights also look hideous.

Wing Stop is just your typical joint for wings, fries, "gliders" (basically chicken breast sliders), and typical BBQ sides like baked beans and cole slaw.  I'll give them points for the atomic sauce and the chicken breading, but the boneless wings (other than the breading), decor, service, and garlic parmesan sauce raised serious concerns with me. I'm likely not returning to Wing Stop. 2/10

Five Guys Burgers & Fries

Five Guys is a national burger-and-fry food chain. I went to their Salem location on Lancaster Drive NE. Five Guys has received several awards throughout the nation, including "Best Burger" in the University Daily Kansan; "The Best $5 Burger a Man Can Eat" (GQ Magazine '09); "Rated #1 Burger for Lunch in NYC" (Time Out New York '08); and ZAGAT Survey rated for ten consecutive years (2001-10).

Menu

Another thing at Five Guys: free peanuts!

Free peanuts!

Yup, a lot of free peanuts....

An older male cashier greeted me and asked if I had ever been here before. When I shook my head no, he gave a nice, five-second rundown of their offerings. I went with the little hamburger "all the way" -- but no mayonnaise for $3.59. Basically, "all the way" or "everything" would get you mayo, lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, grilled onions, grilled mushrooms, ketchup, and mustard. But again, I told them to 86 the mayo.

As an aside, you can also ask for toppings like relish, fresh onions, jalapeno peppers, green peppers, A-1 sauce, BBQ sauce, or hot sauce on your burger. All toppings and condiments are free!

Little hamburger (one patty) with everything except mayo

Cross-section

It was a pretty good burger, and they filled my order properly (yup, no mayo). While all their beef patties are  cooked well-done, the beef remained quite juicy. But what really made this burger, in my book, was the grilled onions and mushrooms. They brought a new dimension that not all burgers "with the works" will give you. This is not your run-of-the-mill fast-food burger here. Going here and eating this burger after celebrating our great nation's birthday was a kickass idea. Not too many items are more American these days than a hamburger. I like that you can customize your burger in a ton of different ways.

I did have a few concerns. First, I did think that the patty was a bit small -- which is probably why people get the regular-sized burgers that have two of those patties encased inside the bun. Second, at first glance when unwrapping the foil, the bun looked a bit shriveled or slightly crushed due to a little careless handling from the food handlers. Finally, some of the fresher, raw vegetables -- like the lettuce and tomato -- were already losing their freshness due to the numerous warm/hot items surrounding it. The lettuce (just your regular head lettuce) in particular was practically wilted. They could have considered a lettuce like Romaine that has a stronger likelihood of holding up to the heat. I think it's important to keep the cold condiments very cold (I even think ketchup and mustard should be cold, but it won't matter to the vast majority out there) and the hot condiments nice and hot until the very end.

For people who do not want a burger, they also offer hot dogs. At the Lancaster location, a Kosher style dog is $2.99, a cheese dog is $3.79, a bacon dog is $3.79, and a bacon cheese dog is $4.19. Maybe you're a vegetarian? Five Guys offers a veggie sandwich ($2.69), a cheese veggie sandwich ($3.09), and a grilled cheese sandwich ($2.69).

Let's not forget about the fries, coming in regular ($2.89) or large ($3.59) sizes. You can get it "Five-Guys" style or "Cajun" style. I'm not huge on French fries, so unless I return with a friend, I'll pass on those. Five Guys has won awards for their fries as well, so I'm sure they are quite good. They fry the fries in no-cholesterol peanut oil.

My friends told me to check Five Guys out because they thought the burgers were pretty damn good. While I did list my concerns above regarding the burger, I generally agree with my buddies. If I return, I'll probably sample their veggie sandwich next, just to see how they cater to the vegetarian. 7/10

Jimmy John's Gourmet Sandwiches

(UPDATE: Review edited on January 12, 2013, after going to another Jimmy John's in Vancouver, WA)

Jimmy John's is a national franchise of sub sandwiches, with over 1,000 stores nationwide as of 2011.

Jimmy John's located in Vancouver, WA

Costco Food Court (Part 2)

(Original Review -- May 2011)

A couple of days after arriving in Hawaii, my father told me one of the Costco locations in Hawaii (the Iwilei location) was serving gelato at a ridiculously cheap price: $1.50 for a three-scoop waffle cone. Naturally, I just had to get it.

I have never seen such a good gelato deal in my life....

 Only three flavors available (two containers for each flavor)

There are three flavors to choose from: Mixed Berry, Pistachio, and Stracciatella (vanilla with chocolate shavings). For $1.50, I got a three-scoop waffle cone, one scoop of each flavor.

Pistachio on top, stracciatella in the middle, mixed berry on the bottom

I personally liked the mixed berry the best. I like my fruit, so the other two flavors were at a huge disadvantage anyway. The stracciatella was next on my list because I love vanilla ice cream of any sort. The pistachio was also quite good.

The waffle cone still held up with a nice crunch, although I have had crunchier waffle cones in the past.

The gelato at the Iwilei Costco was not as creamy as I have gotten at other gelato establishments, but for $1.50, you seriously cannot go wrong here. Even at 3:30 in the afternoon in Hawaii, people were lining up for this tasty treat left and right.

As of this writing, gelato is only sold at certain Costco branches, so if you're fortunate to live near one of those Costcos, go get one of the best gelato deals around! 7.75/10

Update on 7/2/11: Can't believe I missed this the first time around and it's taken so long to do this, but yes, Costco gets a bump up on my food ratings. I only wish gelato was sold at the Salem Costco -- especially during the summer. They would make an absolute killing. If any Oregon Costco serves gelato, please let me know!

NOTE: Costcos in the state of Washington also sell gelato! Win!

Costco Food Court

(Please also read part 2 -- June 2011)

Now for a place that you can find in many states: the Costco Food Court! I went to the one in Salem, Oregon.

Papa John's Pizza

Everyone here knows about Papa John's Pizza. You know their slogan..."Better Ingredients. Better Pizza." Thanks to law school, I've had several of their pizzas over the last few years.

For some pictures of Papa John's pizzas, go here or go to their official website.

Papa John's is personally one of my favorite commercial pizza chains. The crust has a nice balance: fairly crunchy  on the outside, yet staying a little chewy/fluffy on the inside. The crust is pronounced, but not too large.

The toppings are basically blended in with the pizza, lessening the chance to see any grease collected on the top. My personal favorites include pepperoni/mushroom and the vegetarian pizza. I really like the medium to large tomato slices Papa John's uses when getting a pizza like the vegetarian. The toppings are fresh, as it should be.

The sauce is also successful. The tomatoes, herbs, and spices combine very well. No complaints there.

Believe it or not, in my opinion, the thing that hurts Papa John's is their mass availability. No matter what state you're in, there will always be a chance to get a Papa John's pizza. I do think that being in very limited locations adds to the appeal of the food establishment. Such a situation gives more prestige to the product.

Suppose you see a restaurant stating, "We're only located in (city), we don't deliver, and you can only get (some unique item) here!" Further assume that dish they're promoting looks like the best thing ever and makes you very hungry. Wouldn't you want to go there now? I know I would. Now assume there are a zillion locations around the United States -- maybe even one by your house. The adventure in all this suddenly becomes non-existent.

Don't get me wrong. Papa John's passes with flying colors on their food...that's the main thing. They have a tremendous (positive) reputation, and you shouldn't be waiting long for pizza unless they are swamped for Super Bowl parties or other big events. I just feel that mass commercial chains really cannot get very high ratings. The awesomeness of driving/flying to a location to try a restaurant's food means too much to me. 6/10

Buffalo Wild Wings

Are you in the mood for some sports, beer, and wings? Then Buffalo Wild Wings could be your one-stop shop for a great time. I went to BWW for their "Blazin' Challenge."

The rules are simple: eat 12 traditional Blazin' wings in six minutes or less. No consuming liquids during the challenge. If you complete the challenge, your picture goes on their wall.

First, you sign a waiver. While the waiver states you need a witness, the BWW server can be your witness and time you if you come to the place solo.

Then, the wings arrived. My server did allow me to wait a bit for the wings to cool (they had just come fresh from the fryer and coated with the Blazin' sauce). While the wings had a bunch of Blazin' sauce on them, it was not completely saturated like some other wings I've had at bars in the past. I knew from the start that this was totally doable.

Three minutes and 45 seconds later, I completed the challenge...no problems at all. Messy? Check. Happy panda? Check. The server was a very attractive woman who complemented me on a job well done. Gotta love it.

Aside from the Blazin' sauce, I am a fan of BWW's Parmesan Garlic sauce, Hot BBQ sauce, Mango Habanero sauce, and Caribbean Jerk sauce.

That's basically where the positives end. Although there are many more items on their menu, I am not really in any rush to return. The challenge was what prompted me to go to BWW, and there's not much else that I'd prefer to sample there. It's just my personal preference here, folks. The experience was a good one, and BWW has great sauces, but it doesn't make me want to go out of my way for much more than wings. 4/10