Secret Pizza - Las Vegas, NV

3708 Las Vegas Blvd South, Las Vegas NV 89109
(702) 698-7860
Parking: Cosmopolitan parking lot

Last Visited: October 14, 2014

Food: 3 to 4 stars
Atmosphere: 3 stars
Service: 3 stars
Price: $$

There's no sign and no clear indication of its location, but Secret Pizza inside the Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas has a following, and foodies seek it out even if it means circling the floor and finding someone with a slice of pizza to ask where they got it.

That's what happened to me - fellow foodie Winnie told me about it, and I was aimlessly wandering the floor looking for a sign, but then I spotted someone with a slice and then I was back on track. Look for the hallway decorated with lots of memorabilia (see photo for the entrance).
Once inside, there is a counter if you want to stand and about three stools if you actually need to sit.  They're known for their white slice, so of course that's what I had to try.

- White Slice - White cheese and spices make up  this delicious slice.  It's simple and tasty, but a bit oily.  Secret Pizza has all of their pizzas on display.  They take a slice and warm it in the oven as you make your way through the line to the register and a few minutes later, you're presented with a warm slice. Tastes great, but it would be better to cut back on the oil. $5.25 slice, $28 pie

Other pizza offerings include pepperoni, plain cheese, and vegetarian. The menu is pretty simple, offering pizza, salads, and desserts - cannoli and NY Cheesecake.  Drinks offered include soda, water red bull, and beer.

If you're in the San Francisco Bay Area, Cheeseboard Pizza in Berkeley offers great pie that is of a similar style, but no meat.

Jack's Prime Burgers & Shakes - American, San Mateo

3723 S El Camino Real, San Mateo CA 94403
(650) 638-1479
Parking: in parking lot and adjacent lot
http://www.jacksprime.com/

Last Visited: August 9, 2014

Food: 3 to 4 stars
Atmosphere: 3 to 4 stars
Service: 3 to 4 stars
Price: $$ to $$$ 

I had never heard of Jack's, but after reading some good reviews about it, it seemed like it was worth a try.  As we were driving by, we also noticed Jack's car wash next door.  This must be Jack's neighborhood.

From the exterior of the building, the diner theme came through loud and clear.  Booths, high top tables, and regular tables fill the space.  There were many families in the waiting area, but seats at the high top tables were available, so we were seated promptly and the host was friendly.  The menu is pretty simple - appetizers, burgers, and shakes.  If you're not into a burger, they have dinner-sized salads too.    Lots of folks were enjoying milk shakes, burgers, and fried fare.  Fried pickles seemed to be a super popular dish, but it looked heavily battered, so I opted for other fried treats. 

- Ultimate Bacon - Cheddar cheese, Applewood smoked bacon, bacon in the 1/3 pound patty, iceberg lettuce, maple bacon mayo - The unique thing about this burger is the bacon in the patty.  All of the fresh ingredients are good, but the extra flavor in the patty makes it special.  However if you cut the burger in half like I did, you'll find the bacon unevenly distributed, so it's not quite in every bite.  Good nonetheless.  The onion rings were a $1.50 upcharge, but worth it for the light and crispy batter.  The onion rings come with Russian dressing. Good stuff.   $12.75 without onion rings

- Whiskey Town Express - Angus beef patty with cheddar cheese, covered in bourbon glazed onions and mushrooms.  This patty melt came on toasted sourdough and was topped with mushrooms and onions.  It had an overwhelming amount of mayonnaise on it which made it feel and taste greasy so the experience was less palatable. The fries are fresh though - fried nicely on the outside and soft on the inside. $11.95 

Burgers run about $10-$13 each, and substituting onion rings or sweet potato fries instead of a side salad or fries costs $1.50 more.  You can also be more gourmet and add a fried egg, avocado, bacon, or another beef patty.

Service was friendly and they check on you between your meal.  They were good about refilling water too.  This is a good stop for a solid burger with fresh ingredients, but it lacked the wow factor for me.  The price you pay for the value you get it just ok.

CREAM - Dessert/Ice Cream, San Mateo

134 S B St, San Mateo CA 94401
(650) 344-2736
Parking: street parking
http://www.creamnation.com/

Last Visited: July 24, 2014

Food: 4 stars
Atmosphere: 3 stars
Service: 3 stars
Price: $

CREAM stands for Cookies Rule Everything Around Me.  I was eating at a nearby restaurant for dinner and wanted to get some dessert.  CREAM was just around the corner.  The thought of a warm house made cookie with ice cream - how can you go wrong with that?

When I arrived at CREAM, the menu was pretty simple - choose your choice of cookie, pick your ice cream, and if you want toppings, you can add them.

On this evening, I ordered a White Chocolate Macadamia Nut cookie and it came warm with my Coconut ice cream in between.  The only disappointment of the night was that they were out of the Matcha Green Tea ice cream - sadness.  In case you prefer a malt, milkshake, or float, those are available too.

My favorite thing besides the freshness of the dessert was their pricing model. Paying by cash means that the sandwich sells for $2.50.  Paying with credit means it costs $2.99.  What better way to change behavior than by pricing differently based upon the business' preference to receive cash?

CREAM -

 I will be back!

Champa Garden - Thai, San Francisco

613 Faxon Ave, San Francisco CA 94112
(415) 349-4186
Parking: street parking
Hours: 11am-3pm, 5-9pm

Last Visited: May 31, 2014

Food: 3 stars
Atmosphere: 3-4 stars
Service: 3-4 stars
Price: $$

Champa Garden is fairly new to the West Portal area.  The Tams brought us to this popular lunch spot. Champa has a nice bar and modern atmosphere.  Service is friendly and presentation of the dishes is clean. Even for weekend lunch, the place was packed.

- Champa Sampler - This is a great way to try three of their appetizers.  Lao sausages are made with pork, lemongrass, herbs, and peppers.  This is served sliced and I found it to be a little on the fatty side - the fat could be blended in more finely.  The peppers make it mildly spicy, and the ends are a little dry. The fried rice ball salad is unique.  Crispy fried rice is mixed with preserved pork, sliced green onions, and lime juice. This is served with fresh green leaf lettuce, mint, and cilantro.  It's a Thai version of a lettuce wrap. It's a bit on the crumbly side, and hard to keep in the wrap.  Eat it quickly so you can enjoy the crunch of the crispy rice. The last item that comes with the sampler is two fried wrapped spring rolls that are filled with noodles and a little mushroom.  It's like a fried Vietnamese spring roll, but I found it to be a little bland since there wasn't much in it.  At least it was fried well.  Okay as a whole.  The wraps are fun, but I would prefer to order the fried chicken wings. $11.95

- Pumpkin curry with pork - The pumpkin curry is a good standard.  Creamy from the coconut milk and sweet from the curry, this blend is delicious.  Of all of the meats we selected, the pork was cooked right and not overdone.  This is a great dish to try and presented in a petal shaped bowl. $8.95

- Pad Mah Kuer - Spicy eggplant is pan fried with That basil, garlic, bell pepper with choice of meat - we selected beef.  The dish wasn't particularly spicy, but it tasted as it should.  The eggplant was delicious, but the bad thing was the meat, although plentiful, was overcooked and chewy.  Get this one without meat.  $8.95

- Pad Thai with chicken - Pad Thai noodles are pan fried with dry shrimp, eggs, tofu, and green onions.  This is topped with raw bean sprouts and crushed peanuts.  Another standard, this pad thai tasted as expected, but the temperature could have been hotter.  Leaving the temperature on the cooler side allowed the noodles to stay al dente, but I prefer it to be steaming hot instead of close to room temperature.  Once again, you have your choice of meat.  The tofu was a little dense and chewy.  The chicken breast slices were overdone also and hard to eat. On the plus side, the bean sprouts had been cleaned with the roots removed for better presentation. $8.95

- Rice-  Fairly standard - it had a little of the browned edge from the cooking pot; it would have been better without that.  $1.50

Champa Garden has very good prices, but most of the meat in our dishes was overcooked.  The servers were friendly and accommodating. One of my dining companions did find something in one of the dishes - we're not sure if it was part of an herb or something else - pretty hard to decipher, but aside from that, the food had good flavor overall.  If you're in the area, and looking for a good value, Champa is worth a stop, but you might consider going vegetarian.

Pig & Pickle - American/Fusion, Scottsdale AZ

2922 North Hayden Rd, Scottsdale AZ 85251
(480) 990-1407
Parking: in strip mall parking lot
Hours: Daily Happy Hour 4-6pm, Dinner 4-10pm, Late night 10pm-1am, Brunch Sundays 10am-2pm
http://pigandpickle.com/

Last Visited: May 12, 2014

Food: 3 stars
Atmosphere: 3 to 4 stars
Service: 2 to 3 stars
Price: $ to $$

I first read about this restaurant on the web and since my first choice restaurant turned out to be closed, this one seemed like a good option.  Who doesn't like bacon and pork?  When we entered the restaurant, it felt a bit on the dim side.  Once inside for a while, the red and yellow accent walls and somewhat bizarre art can be noticed.  The bar had high top tables near it and regular height tables on the other side of the dining room next to the kitchen.  We were lucky that we arrived early for dinner and with happy hour specials being only $5 each, we ordered a bunch of them to try as much as we could.

Service was just ok - when they were with us, it was good, but I found that there was definitely room for improvement.  Water glasses were frequently empty, and when I ordered, the server initially seemed ready to take my order without any notes, but quickly pulled out paper when I got beyond the third item.  When it was time to pay the check, nobody was around and I had to flag someone down to get a box and my bill. Our server was Christina.  She was pleasant when she was with us, but it felt like service was somewhat absent.  

All of the dishes below came from the happy hour menu and were $5 each.

- Dump Truck salad - Mixed lettuces, shaved baby veggies (cauliflower, carrots), seeds, radishes, pea sprouts, cucumber, and shallot vinaigrette - This salad is a great value during happy hour.  It's super fresh, and the tartness from the shallot vinaigrette is a really good way to offset some of the richer dishes that are offered. The seeds were a nice addition to give the salad a nutty taste.  I would definitely get this again. Four to five stars.  Typically, this is offered for $7 and $11.

- Bahn mi - Liver smear, ham, and hoisin glazed pork on fresh baguette.  The baguette was really good, nicely toasted.  Some of the same veggies used in the salad show up on the bahn mi, but pickled - cucumbers, carrots, red cabbage, jalapenos, and pea sprouts.  The smear was good.  The glazed pork and ham were ok, but not like real bahn mi.  One problem with this dish was that the pickled vegetables were not evenly pickled.  Some completely lacked any pickling while others were super sour.  All were probably supposed to come from the same batch.  The pickling was not sweet and sour like bahn mi veggies should be, so it missed the sweetness which contrasts the rest of the flavors.  Just ok.  I would prefer to get the smear alone with bread.

- Chef's charcuterie - Offal, sausage, pretzel bread, bread and butter pickles, pickled beets, pickled grapes, stuffed chicken sausage, caramelized onions, apricot jam, whole grain mustard, and butter are served with pretzel bread and foccacia bread.  This was extremely reasonable for the variety that you get - in California, it would be double the price even for happy hour.  The meats were nothing to call home about, but the combination of pickled items with meats was good.

- Beer Cheese - Pretzel bread, grape tomatoes, a single fried tortilla shell, and a mixture of pickled carrots and red onion are served with a dish of hot beer cheese.  I thought the initial taste was good, but as I ate this more, I found it very rich with it getting sweet and bitter with each bite - just a strange combination.  I didn't enjoy this dish at all, but I was hoping for something more reminiscent of fondue.  It's rare that I stop eating a dish and this was one of those occasions.  I would not order this again.

- Tacos with pork belly, siracha, scallion - Diced pork belly is covered in what seems like a thickened siracha sauce is topped with scallions, grated cheese, and a small piece of avocado.  The siracha was too overwhelming and I could no longer taste the crispiness of the pork belly.  The avocado quantity was also too small to really enjoy the combination of textures. This dish was just so-so for me.

- Pork Tostadas with ginger aioli, kimchi, scallions - Two tostadas are served over salad greens.  The tostada shells were crispy, but pretty greasy.  The pulled pork was tender and mild, and although the kimchi was not close enough to the real thing for my taste, the combination of topping ingredients tasted good.  Two to three stars because of the greasy shell.

Pig & Pickle offers a variety of dishes from seafood to sandwiches.  There is a lot of fried options on the menu.  I take responsibility for not selecting a more balanced selection of dishes, but I also think many of the items were on the greasy side.  After dinner, I felt pretty uncomfortable.  Pig & Pickle offers great happy hour values, but if you've had authentic banh mi or other ethnic dishes, they aren't quite up to par with those.

Service could be better, but presentation is nice.  A few tweaks with components of the menu and service could really improve the overall experience.

Miki - Japanese, San Francisco

3639 Balboa St, San Francisco CA 94121
(415) 387-0874
Parking: street parking
Hours: Tues-Sat 11:45am - 2pm, 5pm-9:30pm

Last Visited: April 13, 2013

Food: 3 to 4 stars
Atmosphere: 3 stars
Service: 2 to 3 stars
Price: $ to $$

Amos recommended that I watch the movie Jiro Dreams of Sushi and I enjoyed it so much that when he asked his Japanese friends for a sushi recommendation, I trusted his friend's suggestion of Miki, which she described as a place where you could get food like you would find in Japan.  The first two dishes were specifically recommended by his friend. 

I arrived at Miki at 5pm, right when they opened, and there were already two tables there.  It was a pretty small place with few tables and as we ate, the restaurant quickly filled up.  I was surprised at the simple decor and the hole in the wall type feel.  The area by the window where we sat was a bit dirty - noodles and other random things along the window sill. The paint on the wall could also be retouched.

The server was very fast to approach me and when I told him I wasn't ready, he came back very quickly again.  I ordered the first two items and he strongly recommended that I complete my order.  He explained that if another table's order came between my multiple orders that I would experience long wait times.  I found this a bit frustrating because it was my first visit and I had no idea what to get; however, his advice was certainly true - I waited over 25 minutes for my first dish to arrive because he held my entire order to submit to the kitchen at once, and two orders got into the queue ahead of mine.

- Mentai Omelet - I had no idea what this was and had to google it when Amos told me to get it.  Mentaiko is the marinated roe of pollock or cod.  The flavor is definitely reminiscent of the sea, but not fishy.  The salty roe is cooked inside a fluffy egg omelet that is still slightly moist, but cooked through.  The combination is very delicate in texture and flavor and quite delightful.  Must try.  $4.50

- Tako Karaage - Five small octopi are marinated, lightly breaded, and deep-fried.  A single lettuce leaf is used as garnish below the karaage and a slice of lemon is placed on top.  The octopi is tender and has a good bite.  It wasn't too chewy and tasted very fresh.  The breading is really light and while it is prettier on top of the lettuce, it would probably be better without it because some of the moisture from the lettuce made the delicate fried batter a little soggy.  Remove it from the dish quickly and you should be fine.  Another must try.  $6.50

- Sushi Nigiri (2 pieces each)- Tuna $3, Salmon $3, Hamaichi (yellowtail) $3.75, Unagi $3.75
First, the prices here are lower than what showed in the menu.  They just changed their menu and aside from reducing their selection, they also increased their prices. Most nigiri is $4 for the pair. While the fish is fresh, I found the rice to be a bit dense - not too bad, but it could be a little looser.  The temperature of the rice was also fine.  The best of the four was definitely the warm unagi and its flavor. 

- Tonkatsu (pork) Ramen - Garlic Miso - Each bowl comes with a slice of pork, bamboo shoots, seawood, half of a seasoned boiled egg, and green onion.  As is typical with ramen, many sides and additions are available.  The pieces of roasted garlic made this bowl very flavorful and the noodles were done nicely - still a little al dente.  I thought this ramen was pretty good, but the garlic can be very strong, especially the aftertaste.  One of the customers was mentioning that he had lived in Japan for six years and the ramen here comes close to what he expected to find in Japan.  Good.  $9.75

- Tempura Side - Two pieces of shrimp, green bean, zucchini slice, carrot slice, yam slice, broccoli -  The warm tempura dipping sauce came with grated daikon radish in it which added to the texture.  While the shrimp were large and fresh, I thought the broccoli wasn't very good - as one often finds with broccoli, the florette gets too much batter and becomes dense and soggy.  The other vegetables and the shrimp were okay and the breading was crispy.  $7

In general,  I thought the service could be improved - while their demeanor was fine, I definitely felt like I was rushed in ordering.  The thing the staff did best was keep coming back with tea to refill our tea cups.  Improvements could be made in removing dirty plates faster and getting food to the table faster - the bell in the kitchen seemed to ding multiple times to indicate that food was in the window.  As mentioned above, it also takes a while for food to come to the table - there seems like not a lot of folks in the kitchen, but the takeout orders add to the length of the wait time. 

There are definitely good dishes to be found at Miki, but I would recommend going for sashimi if you want fish.   Selecting cooked dishes and choosing ramen are your best bets because the attention to detail is present on cooked items and the flavor is good.  Also, during lunch and between 5-7pm during dinner, they have a happy hour special on Sapporo draft for $3 as well as sake specials.

Picazo Cafe & Deli - Sonoma

19100 Arnold Dr, Sonoma CA 95476
(707) 931-4377
Parking: in front and side lot
Hours: Mon - Fri 5:30am - 4pm, Sat 6am - 4pm, Closed Sundays
http://picazocafe.com/

Last Visited: March 1, 2014

Food: 3 to 4 stars
Atmosphere: 3 stars
Service: 3 to 4 stars
Price: $ to $$

I've driven past Picazo cafe and deli for a long time and decided to stop in for lunch this afternoon. With indoor and outdoor seating, you'll find that it's a cozy cafe with friendly service and reasonably priced options for sandwiches, salads, and burgers.  A little ways from downtown Sonoma, you'll find mostly locals frequenting Picazo.

The menu above the counter shows all of your options and the side deli case features today's sides and salads.   The staff was very patient as people decided on their meals; after ordering, you can seat yourself and the food is brought to you.

We ordered both of our sandwiches grilled.



- Lemon Pepper Chicken Sandwich - Lemon pepper chicken breast (sliced thin), Havarti cheese, shredded carrots, sliced cucumbers, sun-dried tomatoes, homemade basil pesto on sour roll.  The ingredients make for a flavorful sandwich with the large strips of carrots, cucumber slices, and toasted roll reminding me a little of Vietnamese sandwiches without the pickling of the veggies.  Great combination.

- Pastrami Sandwich - Pastrami, deli-style mustard, swiss cheese, sauerkraut on marble rye.  The portion is good and the ingredients are fresh.  Everything is heated through, but the bread doesn't get soggy which made it even better.

Both sandwiches were about $7 and came with macaroni salad containing diced ham, green bell peppers, and red onions.  I appreciated that the portion was enough to try the salad without being overwhelming.

It appears that Picazo is a family operation as the staff really goes the extra mile to check on everyone during their meal, bring water, and generally show their pride in running the restaurant in all that they do.  The food is solid, no fluff/no frills, ingredients are fresh, and the place is quaint, filling up quickly not long after the noon hour. Check out Picazo for some good eats and friendly folks.