Revival

Well, the wait is over for the pouch's one reader on it's take on the new southern vittles by the red bearded beast of the popular dim sum house known as Gunshow. I'm not a big fan of Gunshow because everything that came out wasn't really Chinese food... I was bamboozled, I'm still baffled why they call it dim sum. I guess it's the same thing with the chicken in waffles at My Parents' Basement, anything the fuck goes to make it sound cooler than it is...
So, the old Harbor House Pub has been given an interior make over for Revival's future survival into the southern grub arena. One woulda thought they were gonna do a meat and three style concept but they decided to do a la carte with the option to upgrade to family style which I think it's a bit of a ripoff (it's like $45 per person or something outrageous like that for an entree and trimmings). They want to make you feel like you're having supper at his Gam-Gam's house if you choose the family style dinner. I rather just get a few cocktails and sample some of the grub, you just don't need to eat everything in one visit even though the menu is kinda limited. Alrighty then, let's see how much shit the pouch can stuff in it's fat facehole a la carte style.

Cornbread. A different take on the classic cornbread found everywhere else which was nice to see. It almost reminded me of a hand held french toast when it came out... That's because I'm a retard and think like one when it comes to food. This was a pretty tasty skillet cornbread... I don't know if you really need anymore butter on this because that cornbread was like 48% butter already. 

Hickory Smoked Local Greens, Fatback Fried Silver Queen Corn, Revival Mac n Cheese. The sides looked more interesting than the mains. This trio would be a good sampling on what they can do with the sides. The local greens were smoky which was nice but needed a bit more seasoning, it just tasted like soggy smoke. The corn was too pureed for me, it needed more texture because the silver queen has pretty good size kernels which I was expecting... It was more creamed style which I guess that's what they were aiming for since it's a la Gam-Gam style or is that Gum-Gum for the dentally challenged. The mac was pretty decent, smaller twisty pasta versus the common corkscrew mac everyone else uses. The cheese was thicker and less gooey which was acceptable but it coulda been browned a little more on top. The line cook making the mac looked like he was about to go postal any minute, like his father didn't give him enough love as a child... Spooning the mac n cheez mixture aimlessly into the ramekin like how an inmate cook slop the gruel on your tray at a prison cafeteria. It was quite amusing... Let it go, pal, your father can't hurt you anymore.

Wood Grilled Georgia Quail. My mind is always in the gutter so y'all know what I'm going to say before I even say it... These two dirty birds need to stop eating each other out, there's children in here. I have seen 70's porn cleaner than this. For a dish like this, I wouldn't use a flat plate, instead use a shallow bowl/dish thinger to keep all the sauce in one spot. This is just ugly plating, the brown juice swashing all over the place like they had the Hershey's squirts... Shit, it's almost like two birds and one plate. That's a porn I would watch. The quail is more tender than I thought it would be. It's seasoned well maybe a tad too salty for the more refined palate but shit, mofo, this is southern grub it's suppose to be salty, greasy and bad for you. For $18, I don't know if two little solo quails on a plate will do the trick as an entree... Those fuckers on Naked and Afraid would go apeshit over this on day 13, though.  But I wouldn't get this again...Even on day 20.

Revival Fried Chicken. I lurv fried cheekan but I heard it was just so-so in the beginning, that's the main reason why I waited until now to come here. Hoping the chicken got worked out for the better... Shit, 3 pieces for $13, mofo better be good. Maybe I should have waited longer to come here after it was put in front of my snout... It came out with a thick hard dark crust, no way Gam-Gam would be able to bite into this. The mix seemed to have a little tempura style in there based on the pattern the batter fried up. It's more a wet than dry batter. The crust is dark, too dark, almost knocking on burnt's door... Also, real salty. The brine is salty enough, so you don't need to season the the batter or the chicken after it comes out of the fryer. This was a borderline acceptable fried chicken (definitely not on any top 10 list as it stands) but when you tack on that $13 price tag, it makes it real difficult for me to order it again when I know how much incredible Popeyes I can get for that same amount. With limited entree selections to choose from on this menu, this fried chicken needs to be way better than it is now since it's really the star of the show. At this point I would not recommend this fwied cheekan... Even with hot sauce.

I'm happy that someone opened something in this dead space (Revival, get it? har har), it makes Decatur an even more of a destination town to hangout for food and drinks... But southern grub is dime a dozen in this town and you really have to do something special to edge out the competition. Especially, with the name behind this place... People expect more. It seems like the side options are better than the limited entrees. I sampled the chocolate cake which was a hefty slice but it was kinda dry and fell flat after a couple of bites. The cocktails (toasted old fashioned was a fav) are respectable but that's only half of the equation. Southern food isn't rocket science, but you have to make it look visually appealing as well as the taste of it. This joint could be a lot better, no, it needs to be a lot better... So, hopefully a newer version 2.0 of the menu in the future will tickle the pouch a lot more than it does now with the pretty mediocre offerings I have sampled so far... Especially, the fried chicken. Anyone who thinks this is the best they can do is only kidding themselves or just buying into the hype. Hero worship can only trick your palate for so long. I expect more if I'm going to pay more... So does everyone else with taste. There's just too many other options.  

129 Church St.
Decatur, GA 30030
470-225-6770
http://www.revivaldecatur.com/  

My Parents' Basement

The former James Joyce (Hail Mary, Avondale Arms) space is now a comic book bar/resto... What? I don't know if this concept will last long like the others but in the meantime the pouch might as well check it out. The massive bar is too reminiscent of the previous Irish pub. Kinda tough to not think of this joint as an Irish pub with all the wood in here and not enough comic book/toys stuff to offset that personality. The idea of this place is so kitschy and gimmicky that it seemed like they had a dream of the concept after watching a Comic Book Men marathon. The dining room area is pretty open but the comics section is spaced out larger than it needs to be unless they decide to increase their inventory. Right now it's pretty sparse, only a handful of comics. The bar is great, though, no work needed since it's been there forever... But it could use a lot more party liquors back on the wall. The bar fits a lot of people which is a good thing... Anything that gets me closer access to booze makes for a happy pouch. The beer list is pretty decent, local and non-local... But I think the local selections are the favorites here. And now, I'm sure my one reader wants the scoop on the food... The things I do for humanity. Let's take a first look on the vittles... 

Cute... But you need more than just a chalk drawing of some Mario stuff... Y'all need more toys and current comics... And brown liquors.

Crunchy Black Eyed Peas, curry. They were crunchy as promised but the curry sprinkle was just ok. It didn't have much depth to it, Bacon Salt could have done a better job.

Chicken -IN- Waffles. That one little letter, "I", makes all the difference. When this came out, I was like what the fuck is this shit... They tell me the chicken is in the waffles. Dude, don't do that. EVER. Never put tiny bits of chicken in a waffle batter and think it's cute to serve this to the paying public. This was so bad, I can't think of anything to say except that I wouldn't wipe my own ass with it. The batter was way to soft and undercooked. It fell apart too easily and the tiny pieces of boiled chicken were almost non-existent. The maple syrup made sense with the waffles but the mustard seeds were baffling and useless. This was pretty awful... What were they thinking?

Fried Anchovies. I thought the waffles were bad... This took it to another level, a level that I have not been on in many many moons. The fries were room temp, hard, dried up and pretty much inedible. You know how fries that have been cooked to death have nothing inside, it's just a hollow shell... This was that. I thought it might have been one or two of them but it was every single one. Some of the worse fries I have ever had, seriously, how do you fuck up fries this bad... Then there's the anchovies. I have never seen fried anchovies like this ever in my entire measly life. It's as if they took canned anchovies soaked in oil, breaded it and deep fried it... Because that shit fell apart with the slightest touch. They tasted awful, super salty from the canned brine and then seasoned after frying for that double salt face punch. The useless fried lemon was soggy and slimy, reminded me of a used rubber. This dish even made the pouch scratch his pannus in confusion.

Flat Top Brisket Burger. I'll pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today... Better yet, how about I pay you to cook it to the proper temp today. Asked for mid-rare, mid-well comes out. This was one sad generic looking burger... What a waste of good brisket, if that was even the mix. The bun was dry and mealy and barely toasted with no butter. Just some char around the edges. The tomato slice and onion were basic but the lettuce looked like it was torn apart by a honey badger and then urinated on it... Why is it so moist? This burger reminded me of a BBQ I went to in high school and that was even better... Made by a teen aged snot nosed kid. Why would anyone pay $9 when you can cook a burger this average at home for pennies on the dollar. Skip it and just go to Checker's instead.

Salami & Butter, fennel carrot slaw. This sounded good on paper with all the buzz words like Pine Street saucisson and B&B pickles. The salami was good of course but 4 tiny quarter size slices on top of barely seasoned herb butter in a hard roll seemed like kinda of a ripoff. The roll was nice looking and had a nice shellac on it... Which after the first tough bite it seemed like it was actually shellac resin secreted by the lac bug. They forgot the pickles so it was a build your own sando when they brought it out after asking for it. The quality control in the kitchen is quite amusing when they forget one of only two ingredients in the sandwich. The fennel carrot slaw was mostly carrots and watery mayo... Publix slaw even laughs at this.

South Philly Special, "With Whiz", farro bowl. After the Salami sando, I knew I was gonna be up shit's creek without a paddle on this $12 "Philthy"... Kiss the Amoroso roll goodbye because you're gonna get some standard bagged hoagie roll and the chopped "ribeye" was heavy handed on the salt but the onions sweetened it a tad bit, not much though. And that ain't no Whiz... Some lightweight substitute with no name. No self-respecting Northerner would serve this to another human being, not even in a frat house from one bro to another high off their asses. The meat portion was borderline acceptable, the roll too thick and dense but semi soft at least and the "Whiz" was not even spread evenly throughout the entire length. The cheap "Whiz" should never be melted to this degree, almost to the point of becoming yellow snow in June. Southside Philly doesn't have much to be proud about except the philthy but if they ever served this low rent version up there, they would have nothing to brag about except their stupid accents. The farro was actually halfway decent, edible at least without having to make a face and pretend to like it when asked. For $12, this was nothing but robbery... Just like in Southside.

Shrimp Tacos. There's no way they can fuck this up... No fucking way. It's goddamn tacos for crying out loud. Even if it's totally crackerized, it should still be edible. Whoops, I spoke too soon... The corn tortillas were a plus but they didn't even grill it, it was just straight outta the packaging. And of course, there's gonna be a ton of liquid on top of it from the shrimp juice and salsa... Which the tortillas were more than happy to soak up. It was like picking up used toilet paper in a bowl that won't friggin flush. The shit just broke apart like it was shot by Boba Fett's disruptor rifle. The shrimp was ok but as a taco it was devoid of flavor and amateur at best.

You are free to use any methods necessary but I want them alive - no disintegrations! I guess Darth Vader forgot to tell the cooks in the kitchen... I have never seen tacos break apart just trying to pick it up. 

Even though they have a very nice looking PR shot of the food on their website, it's pretty obvious the back of the house staff have zero cooking experience... I mean this is probably the worst menu I have ever witnessed where literally almost everything sampled was executed less than half-assed. The entire menu needs to be 86'd and a brand new menu needs to be redeveloped... By a chef or a Waffle House short order cook. Shit, Waffle House would make a killing inside this joint with their menu... And they won't even try to hide chicken bits in the waffles. A new or old resto should never have people who have never cooked professionally learn as they go, it's bad for business when the first impression may be your last.
The place could have promise because it would be a nice hangout for groups to come by for drinks and a bite after a game of frisbee golf , flag football or kickball, whatever white people like to do together. They have the space for it indoors and out... I do like the Star Wars cornholer. I hope they can turn the kitchen around because this is their major weak spot, it sucks for the bartenders and servers to have to pick up the slack while the customers suffers as well with no show food orders. The comic book side is a cute idea but do you really think it's a sustainable feature for the long term? Just get rid of it because running a comic shop is a full time job. Just put more arcade games in there... I know I would go back for some old school arcade games and pinball machines. Let's hope the management with Leon's and Brick Store experience can break the curse of this space and correct their mistakes before they share the same fate before them. Good luck.

22 N Avondale Rd
Avondale Estates, GA 30002
404-292-4607
http://myparentsbasement.squarespace.com/ 

Mason Tavern

In real estate, the corner unit is always very desirable but in the resto scene, that isn't always the case... This end corner location has been the kiss of death for a handful of concepts while all the other restos in this strip has been doing brisk business. The last place that inhabited this space was Scoreboards... Which was a total shithole. Dismal food, awful service, garbage drinks, cheap ass decor (black paint), a mess of wires dangling from the TVs, smelled like a herd of elephants took a 2 ton dump in the corner, even rats were embarrassed to be seen in that place. The Nest Bar & Grill before it was no better... Trust fund students trying to be businessmen with zero experience, yeah, that will work out. We won't even discuss the Ethopian stuff here before that.
So, now comes Mason Tavern, a concept by Concentrics (partnered with newbies Next Door Hospitality) as managing partners like they did with STATS and Max's Coal Oven Pizza which we all know sucked ass since. I'm not a fan of their restos, they're too generic and cookie cutter... But they do know how to run a business and target certain demographics, though. So, can Concentrics turn this cursed location into something viable? Or will they lead these resto newbies into more debt and embarrassment... Let's go find out.

White Gazpacho, grapes, almonds, cucumber, pickled shrimp. There is nothing wrong with a great regular gazpacho but this white version was an interesting take... Especially, for a new resto. White gazpacho is nothing new, vegheads love this shit. There are like dozens of different versions of it...Some with bread, stock, bread, creme fraiche, yogurt, etc etc. It was a nice presentation but it was way too thick like a Greek yogurt. Not that there is anything wrong with adding a touch of Greek spunk in there but it was like eating a big bowl of tzatziki sauce. The flavors were lightly there but not very prominent. The only things that gave it texture, structure and flavor were the toppings. The pickled shrimp almost tasted like chicken if you closed your eyes... Fuck me, everything does taste like cheekan! It's a good idea on paper but it needs a little more tweaking.

GA Kale and Greens, pulled chicken, radish, candied pecans, buttermilk vinaigrette. I find it funny as hell that people love to over think food placement on a plate. Look at this, it's all pushed to one side in order to zig zag a little of the vinaigrette for cutesy plating. It's a pretty ordinary salad with ordinary ingredients. It's not a bad salad, it was pretty tasty but the pulled chicken tasted a bit weird to me... Like it's been sitting around for a bit with that build up of slimy-esque coating in the mise en place container. But how can that be when they have just basically opened for biz... I hope the chicken wasn't sitting in a "cocktail" to prevent it from drying out... Industry peeps know the mat cocktail all too well.

Piggy Mac and Cheese, gruyere, brie, braised pork belly, crispy cracklin’. Curly mac- check, pieces of pork belly- check. Dusting of cracklin's- check. Ooey gooey cheese- uhh. This has all the makings of a pretty damn good mac and cheez... Except that this cheese sauce was too thin and gravity took hold and pulled it all to the bottom. Gruyere is fine when melted with some other cheese with substance but brie turns it into cream. Speaking of which one can only imagine how much cream was used in here as well. So weird the white gazpacho was too thick and this was too thin... With a little tweaking this could become a pretty awesome side dish.

Hot Chicken, blue cheese slaw, lime aioli, ciabatta. When I see hot cheekan, I order it. It's a no brainer. Too bad this was not even close to a hot chicken. It was basically a fried chicken schnitzel tossed in Frank's hot sauce... Which is fine and dandy but when you add blue cheese to it, it becomes a hybrid Buffalo chicken tender sandwich. It wasn't even spicy. The ciabatta was a weird choice for a hot chicken but butter and toast it at least. This was no hot chicken, it was just a fancy Wendy's spicy chicken sando when they were pushing their ciabatta sandwiches. The skinny fries were great, though... But does one really need two sauce tins of lime aioli which didn't even taste like an aioli, it was just pink and kinda tasteless. It is so hard to find a decent hot cheekan in this town... Oddbird is the only one that does it halfway decent, for a price. There is no amount of tweaking on this dish to make it right... 86 it and do over.

Spring Pea Ravioli, saffron, lime, mint, olive oil. As an entree, this was pretty weak portion wise. No one can filled up with this veggie thing alone. The color was vibrant, the pasta was a little undercooked but acceptable, the peas were fine but they seemed a bit "previously frozen" to me, it didn't really take anything away from the dish. The filling was a little mushy, needed some texture in there whether it be whole peas itself or some chopped nuts, whatever you got back there just to break up the softness of this dish. It was also a little dry as a pasta dish... It needed more "liquid". Hell, brown some butter with herbs, raisins, nuts, what have you because everyone likes to swirl pasta in some type of sauce. More butter woulda been great with this, shit, toss in some bacon scraps for that crunch factor. Overall, it was pretty decent but a little boring at the same time. Like mostly everything else this needs some tweaking as well.

It's too early for the pouch to make a yay or nay on this place just yet... But the kitchen does need to work a little harder to get the dishes tuned up and consistent enough for a Concentrics resto. I saw the burger which looked pretty nice but the barely cured tuna nachos aka crispy wonton skins looked so Applebee's-esque. And the octopus skewers seemed to have more sausage than octopus, especially, at that price point. The menu have some interesting bites on there but overall it's very generic aka "safe" for their demographics which is basically whities. But I don't think their goal for this concept is to be named best new resto of the Southeast, more like a local hangout with decent food. The cocktail menu is pretty much standard issue but what's with the giant long fireplace matches just to express a peel... Makes me cringe every time I see them use one. What a waste of money. Time will tell if this place will last longer than the other concepts that suffered a premature death in this spot.


1371 Clairmont Rd
Decatur, GA 30033
404) 963-2322
http://masontavernatl.com/ 

Illegal Food

I came in here last minute on a couple of occasions and left both times because it was such a shit show those nights. So, I came back again because I had a feeling this place would be worth the trouble...Or just the pouch wanting to be a prick and nitpick about the goat rodeo on the next post. So, the pouch goes on a Friday night no less and it wasn't even crowded at all. Weird. Not much to bitch about so far. Sat at the bar and proceeded to do shots, lots of shots. It was a long day. Then comes the cocktails and more shots... I'm liking this place already. Hell, I could be happy in a toilet and I would be fine as long as I have booze. This location has been spotty with the previous concepts... Bar Meatball? C'mon, stealing ideas from NYC ain't gonna translate well here... Different demographics and palates... Or lack of. So, now it's back to the good ole Southern/American grub. Let's sample some vittles since we're already here... It can't be that bad, drunk...

A Cock and A Shot. The only way to start off a night... Squirt.

Pork Skinz. Made fresh, still hot and cracklin... And free. The chick next to me doesn't eat pork (so why the fuck is she even in here) so I got her bowl as well. The pouch thanks your dumb beliefs for more of this tasty snack.

Pork and Beef Tongue. Stop teasing me you bastards... This is heaven. Piggy and Bossy's tongue on a plate. Ultra tender and fresh. Is it bad that I tongued each of them way too long with every slice? Damn good threesome.

Pork Cheek Rillettes and Pimento Cheese. Who doesn't love pork cheeks, it's the best part of a whole hog. The cheek rillettes were good, I like the balance between the spreadability and the texture that still reminds you that it's a piggy cheek. I'm not a fan of pimento cheese but this version I was totally ok with it. One can only imagine the origin of this slop, it's like a creation by some hick that had nothing left in his icebox, so he just mixed shitty spoiled condiments together and ate it with stale crackers. This specimen wasn't as harsh as other pimento cheese that gets right in your face, it's more mellow with other goodies inside besides the pimentos. I liked it for a change.

Housemade Jerky. This pic is dark as shit because the jerky is brown like poo... But they were really good. I like the thickness to it which was pretty thin, so you can pull them apart easier. It has a sweet flavor to it with a little kick of spice and I love chewing it until it gets all moist and mushy inside your mouth... Sicko. Great portion, too... Not just a few scraps like so many other places do.

Fried Brussels Sprouts. This was a side dish and the portion was huge, I mean huge like a family style sharing bowl. It looks like they roasted them initially and then flash fried them to order. The buttermilk aioli and tomato powder were great. This was pretty awesome.

Hank. Some say this is the best burger in town... Pouch says it's close. It is a really good burger. It's just not the juicy meat patty itself, it's the whole package. The toasted bun held everything together well which looked impossible. It is a very juicy burger and once you pick it up you can't put it down until it's gone. It's one of the top burgaz in town.

Fries with Onion Dip and Sriracha Honey. I couldn't make up my mind so I got all the different dips and sauces. Onion dip was thick and packed with flavor. The sriracha honey was just ok, needs more heat and the housemade catsup was not too shabby. The fries were really good. I like the length and girth and the bite to them... That's what she said. It's a hefty portion, definitely won't leave hungry.

Barkeep, make me something that I have never had before. So, out comes this exhibit that my buddy made which is still a work in progress... Looks kinda weird like a chick's weak ass drink but it tasted way better than it looked. Would I get it again? Prolly not, I like my whiskey neat too much.

This joint is doing almost everything right on this visit... From the drinks to the menu. While the menu is pretty small, everything was executed very well. I rather see a small menu with really good food that I want to eat than to see a huge menu that 90% of it sucks ass. This place is good, the pouch approves. Will be back... Especially, for their insane Tomahawk chop where you can get it from like 25oz to like 125oz. I saw the fucking thing... It is huge. I shoulda took a picture of it but like the mysterious Dirk Diggler schlong, I only had enough time to catch a glance.

Squirt.

1044 Greenwood Ave NE
Atlanta, GA 30306
404-254-2141
http://www.illegalfoodatlanta.com/

Shoya Izakaya

Haven't been back in a bit... Been waiting for their location on Northside to open in the old "had too much business so we decided to close" Cardamom Hill space. The place was packed, luckily they expanded the back room awhile ago. Everything was killer as usual but the portions on some dishes have gotten smaller, a lot smaller with the same price tag.

Sashimi Deluxe. Without Hiroshi here this must get favorite was not as good as usual. It's still very tasty but it lacks the touch and finesse of Hiroshi's preparation and presentation.

Fried Sweet Shrimp Heads.One of the all time great snacks.

Kushiyaki, scallop and bacon, chicken. Everyone loves meat on a stick, so does the pouch.
 

Sausage. These sausages are always good.

Tako Wasabi. It's like a chewy sea snot but only spicier. Love it.

Hamachi Kama. Great as always... Tender and flaky.

Chicken Skin. Who doesn't like fried chicken skinz... It's like a mini chicharones.

Soft Shell Crab. Gotta get crabs when you come here.

Chicken Kaarage. They changed up the batter and definitely for the better. Real crispy and juicy hot inside. Damn good.

Veggie and Fish thinger. This thing mysteriously appeared on the table... I ate it anyways. It was meh.

Whole Squid. Another one of the classic favorites... Tender and just dericious.

Koebi Karaage. This dish have gotten smaller in portion size. They used to fill it up with a ton of these critters. Still super tasty... Popcorn skrimpz.

Nankotsu - Soft Chicken Bone. Another awesome snack. Soft bone battered and deep dried, what's not to love. So good.

Yakisoba. And we can't come here without an order of this sizzling hot noods. Best in town.


They are still killing it here... Shit, maybe even more than I remember. Business is so damn good here and hopefully the second location will be open soon. That will be sick having baby Shoya in town. I would be concerned for the competition.

6035 Peachtree Rd A101
Atlanta, GA 30360
770-457-5555
http://www.shoyaatlanta.com/

Pouch Snacks

The pouch did a number this weekend on gorging itself like winter was coming... But here's a couple snacks to fill y'all up in the mean time while I see what's worthy to be a solo feature on this tasteful and eloquent blog... Yeah, right, who am I kidding.. This blog is full retard 24/7 for your reading pleasure.

Chigui's Mexican Bistro & Bar.
Dude, besides the dumbass name, it looks like you can get murdered in the corner at night where this place dwells... The place is pitch black on the outside due the super limo tint on the windows except for the LED open sign blinking away into the night. Seriously, is this place even opened? Better make sure I have an extra mag on me... Walked in, was dead as Cecil the lion. Looked at the menu... This must be the most incoherent Mexi resto I have ever been to. Half the menu is not even Latin grub. This place is so far off the mark on menu development. Pick a cuisine and stick with it... Stop putting gringo shit on there to give it that well rounded menu to lure people in. Do people really want deviled eggs and cheeseburger at a Mexi joint? They should just call it Chewie's Mexican't Joint... They got a dark bar but they ain't got no booze.

Wings. Asked for fried instead of grilled, so I get grilled wings that were flash fried. Yeah, you tricked me with those grill marks still on there. Asked if they have really really hot sauce... They say the habanero lime sauce is pretty hot, I'm like no, you didn't listened to me. Do you have a hot sauce that doesn't taste like red bell pepper... So, they come out with a thick scotch bonnet hot sauce that was pretty decent I must admit. Bravo. The habanero lime was garbage, tasted like low rent Tapatio hot sauce. The wings were nice medium size but lacked the crispy skin. They are not terrible but shit dude, you can't just tossed a few wings that you grilled up a couple hours ago into the fryer and pretend they're fresh. The hot sauce was the highlight.

Guacamole, Chips and Tortillas. The warm tortillas were a nice touch but too bad they were too thick and gummy. The guacamole was fresh as promised but it needed more seasoning and acidity, it was pretty bland. For $8, this wasn't too bad just need to taste it before you send it out to gringos.

Tacos. Chorizo and CAB skirt steak... I'm like WTF is a CAB steak? Hope they aren't fucking soaking old meat in cheap red wine. "Certified Angus Beef"... When was the last time anyone used that acronym on a menu? Whatever... Let's taste it. The skirt steak was spot mid-rare but it was a dud with the smashed beans on the thick gummy tortillas. Every bite was mushy and the steak gets lost in that mess. The chorizo was greaseless which was nice but the sausage was flavorless... How can chorizo be that bland? The fried onions on top gave it that crunch at least vs. mushy. Not very good for the only two tacos on the menu.

Torta of the Day, chipotle shrimp. The bread look nice but there were only like 5 shrimp in there. Every bite was more bread than shrimp. And there were literally nothing else in that torta except some scraps of shredded lettuce with a tomato on top. The fries were good but $12 for a weak ass sando and taters was a rip. I would not come back here unless they change the entire menu... By then it may be too late.



K BBQ Taco aka BBQ Takorea.

This place has been around for a bit. Lovely owners here. I like how small the place is, kinda like what you'll find in NYC. Grabbed a quick lunch to go... My version of a quick lunch includes no less than 3 dishes.

KFC Wings. These were pretty good. Great crunchy batter, a bit on the sweet side but I liked these.

Pork Belly Bun. Nothing really that special. It was ok, no, it was actually tasteless and there was a giant piece of fat in there.

Bulgogi Bop. Pretty standard issue. It's fine for a quick bite. This stir fry won't change your life... Maybe a hobo's but not yours.

Ramyun, spicy. It kinda reminded me of the tasty instant Shin Ramyun. This ramyun could be a lot spicier, I mean a ton spicier. This tasted like the mild. It's not a bad ramyun, just kinda average and I would skip it next time.

I poured it out into a bowl for closer inspection. It's nothing fancy but it will fill up your pouch.


Stay tuned for more shits and giggles... Flush.