Category: Are We There Yet? - Cute Diner

Kyoto House @ Whitby, Ontario, CA

7/24/2020

We were on a road trip through Canada and in Ontario this day. It was lunch time and we were looking for a place to eat. All of a sudden, I saw a sushi restaurant with the sign 'All you can eat lunch $13.99'. That caught my attention, and we turned the car around to check it out. Turns out it was a great decision!
Kyoto House is a cute mom and pop store. The 'all you can eat' prices are fair, and the dishes you can choose from are plenty. Not only do they have many different sushi rolls and hand rolls, but also mini dishes like chicken teriyaki, tempura, and ice cream! All this for $13.99 was an amazing deal. All the food we ordered was good, nothing outstanding but pretty yummy considering the price. We left very full and satisfied. If you're ever in the mood to try lots of different types of sushi, Kyoto House is the place to be.

Wilma & Frieda's Cafe @ Palm Springs, CA

7/10/2020

Wilma & Frieda's Cafe is super popular for breakfast and brunch. You will need to plan ahead and either get there early or call ahead because it gets crowded fast. This cafe has a great reputation for brunch- it was even featured on Food Network!

After my meal there, I now understand why there are so many mentions of the blackberry custard french toast in reviews. It is definitely some of the best french toast I have ever had. The french toast is rich and dense like bread pudding, and the sweet and acidic blackberries complimented the dish so well. I highly recommend the blackberry custard french toast.

The other dishes we ordered were delicious as well. The short rib scramble had tender pieces of short rib with eggs and gooey mozzarella. I would recommend subbing in a biscuit instead of an English muffin because their biscuits are so flaky and buttery. If you want more of a traditional breakfast, you can order the 'eeny', 'meany', 'miney', or 'moe'. We ordered the 'eeny' with potatoes, eggs, and a biscuit. The 'eeny' is supposed to be the smallest combo but it was still really filling! The cafe also had a daily special of chicken fried steak when we visited so we had to try that as well. The chicken fried steak is everything you want it to be. Crunchy on the outside, tender inside, and all topped with amazing gravy.

From blackberry french toast to chicken fried steak, this cafe has an excellent assortment of delicious brunch dishes. You will definitely want to come hungry!

Brophy Bros @ Santa Barbara, CA

7/6/2020

It was a beautiful day in Santa Barbara and we knew we wanted to eat somewhere with delicious seafood and a great view. Brophy Bros had just what we wanted. Their seafood is pretty popular and their restaurant is near the harbor. From most tables, you can get an amazing view of the water. We ordered a bunch of their specials. The blackened cod was very flavorful. Adding the drawn butter that they provided with the cod made the flavors stand out even more. The swordfish was very tender with some light grill marks to provide that delicious smokiness. It came with guacamole and salsa, which added a refreshing element to the dish.

If you want to try a little of everything, the hot combo is a great way to do so. This seafood combo has steamed shrimp, mussels, and clams, as well as baked clams with breadcrumbs and ooey gooey oysters Rockefeller. The seafood pasta also has a good variation of seafood with scallops and shrimp. These paired with a light white wine and lemon sauce over pasta is excellent.

There is nothing better than eating magnificent seafood with a breathtaking view. It seems Brophy Bros has mastered a wide variety of seafood dishes. You won't be disappointed with any seafood dish you order!

Santa Barbara Shellfish Company @ Santa Barbara, CA

6/27/2020

When down by the amazing beaches in Santa Barbara, the seafood restaurants call my name. I just had to try out the famous seafood in Santa Barbara. We went to the Santa Barbara Shellfish Company, and we had to wait a bit for a seat. We were pretty excited because we saw tons of people enjoying various seafood dishes. They sure do have a lot of dishes to choose from. We decided to order the lobster roll, clam chowder, and two types of pasta dishes. I loved the lobster roll. It had such big, succulent pieces of lobster. The toasted roll and the light coating of mayo accompanied the lobster perfectly. And the onion rings that came with the dish were a definite, delicious bonus! The lobster roll was the highlight of the meal.
The chowder and pastas were alright. The chowder itself was yummy, however, I was not a fan of the bread bowl. I'm from San Francisco where sourdough reigns supreme so this bread did not meet my expectations. As for the pastas, we ordered the shrimp and scallop pasta and the lobster pasta. They both had a similar white wine reduction sauce that I did not really care for. I had a lot of hope for this restaurant, but perhaps I just ordered the wrong things. If I visit again, I will try ordering something else that hopefully will turn out great like the lobster roll.

Lucha Libre Taco Shop @ San Diego, CA

6/19/2020

Since we were in San Diego, we just had to try a shop with famous tacos and burritos. Lucha Libre definitely delivered that amazing socal mexican food. We tried the surf and turf burrito and undefeated seafood tacos. The surf and turf burrito had steak and shrimp with yummy chipotle sauce and great rice. I also added this cilantro aioli sauce from the salsa bar to the burrito and it made it even more yummy. For the seafood tacos, you can choose shrimp or blackened mahi mahi. I tried the blackened mahi taco and it was delicious. The taco was an amazing combination of seafood, salsa, slaw, and a touch of lime.

Pecan Lodge @ Dallas, TX

6/2/2020

The Trough combo plate w/ an extra side of mac n cheese

When I was in Dallas, I just had to try the famous Texas Barbeque and there was no better place to try it than Pecan Lodge. I could tell by the bountiful reviews and the long lines outside that this place was legit.

*Life hack* go to the EXPRESS LANE inside the building. It's only allowed if you are buying 5+ pounds of meat or the huge combo called "The Trough". You definitely should use the express lane because it is so much faster. Bring a big group to feast on the 5+ pounds of meat. You get to eat a lot and also wait in a much shorter line. That's a win-win in my book.

We ordered The Trough from the Express Lane, and we did not have to wait in that long line. The Trough is essentially a huge sampler plate with brisket, a beef rib, pork ribs, pulled pork, and sausages. You can get free bread with it too. I recommend this for a huge group- you get to try some of everything.

Going into this meal, I already had high expectations for the brisket and yet the brisket still managed to exceed my expectations. The brisket was so unctuous, tender, and fatty. It was addicting. The beef rib was very similar in deliciousness to the brisket. Now for the pork portion, the pork ribs and pulled pork were great as well. We also ordered an extra side of mac and cheese which was good. But in the end, it was the brisket that stole the show. If you end up visiting (which you should), bring a big hungry group, use the express line, and try the brisket!

Junior's @ NYC, NY

5/9/2020

One of the things New York is synonymous with is cheesecake! And what better place to try cheesecake than at Junior's? But first, we had to eat lunch.
Junior's has a nice diner feel to it, offering lots of American classics from brisket to cheeseburgers. We ordered the brisket melt, bagel and lox, and the 'something else'. The 'something else' is a roast beef sandwich in between fried potato pancakes. It is a huge and delicious. The potato pancakes are crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside. It is a nice pairing with the yummy roast beef. We also tried the brisket melt, and that did not disappoint either. The brisket melt is a scrumptious combination of unctuous brisket, melty mozzarella, and flavor packed au jus. Getting a big bite of all those components will result in a party in your mouth. We planned on saving room for dessert, but the three dishes filled up four us. We decided to walk around for a bit before coming back to conquer the tremendous milkshake.

For the milkshake, we had to get the "New Yorker", a monster strawberry milkshake topped with a slice of cheesecake. It was the best of both worlds: cheesecake and milkshake. The milkshake is cool, smooth, and creamy, and the cheesecake was rich and amazing. This combination put all of us into a food coma, but it was worth every calorie.

Huge Tree Pastry @ San Gabriel, CA

7/14/2018

It was our last breakfast in LA, so we had to go out with a feast :) And Huge Tree Pastry was a great place to do that because they had a vast selection of food. We of course had to get my favorite, the fan tuan. Fan tuans are rice rolls with Chinese donuts, egg, and pickles. It's basically a Taiwanese burrito with rice. Some breakfast sandwiches we got were gua baos and the seasame bread with beef. The sesame bread was crisp and a great vessel for the yummy beef. The gua bao was super fluffy, a stark contrast to the sesame bread. The little pop of peanuts and pickles in the gua bao make me go back for more bites. Then since it was breakfast, we got eggs! well eggs on a radish cake hehe. Huge Tree Pastry doesn't have the poster board American diner breakfast, but they serve the typical breakfast of Taiwan, and that's all I need.

Luna Grill @ Irvine, CA

7/10/2018

chicken kabob

After a long day of browsing the Irvine Spectrum Center, we decided tor refuel at Luna Grill. The food wasn't bad, but it also wasn't outstanding. We tried the gyro and chicken kabob. I liked how the dishes came with salads. The chicken was tender but not that flavorful. The gyro wasn't super good. At least the rice and pitas were good.

gyro

SinBala @ Arcadia, CA

7/6/2018

LA is super lucky to have all these Taiwanese restaurants, so we had to go try one of them during our trip here. SinBala had very good reviews, so we decided to check it out. To start off, their Taiwanese sausages were spectacular. They were sweet and garlicky. Another Taiwanese dish we had to order was the beef noodle soup. It had just the right amount of spicy, and the noodles had a good bite to them. I also thought the fried pork chop was a good deal. You get a huge, tender pork chop with eggs, rice, and veggies. That sure is a filling dish, great for sharing (or keeping all for yourself -no judgment). Another dish that good for sharing is the oyster omelette. The combo of briny oysters, sweet sauce, and fluffy egg is a home run. The dishes at Sin Bala did a marvelous job of transporting my taste buds back to Taiwan.