Restaurants - Chandler, AZ

These are mostly notes for myself to remember what I liked and didn't.

Acronyms

DNF: Did Not Finish (could also be Duke Nukem Forever, metaphorically, as I also didn't finish that)
GTCS: Grab The Creole Seasoning (as in, the one next to you, and pour it on)

American, Misc

The Buffalo Spot 🔫
- Buffalo fries: 0/5
  - Absolute dogshit, one of the worst things I've ever been served. On-par with when my mom made American goulash with mostly ketchup. Chicken was underdone, fries were soggy. DNF

Bars, Sports Bars, and the ilk

The Hungry Monk 🫤
- Caramel Brownie Cheesecake: 2/5
  - Tasted off. Raspberry sauce was very bitter, and there was just something off about the cheesecake.
- Mini Corn Dogs: 3/5
  - Not sure why I got these but they were decent. Not much to say, they're mini corn dogs. Cooked correctly.
- Monk Nachos: 4.5/5
  - Good, but only with extra cheese and (chili or ground beef) added.
Ojos Locos Sports Cantina 😖
- Churros: 2.5/5
  - Pretty dry. Not great.
- Pollo Tenders: 3.75/5
  - Very good, but they are very stingy with the chicken now.

Chinese

China Way ☹️
- Fried rice (side): 1/5
  - Seems barely fried, no vegetables, terrible taste for fried rice, one egg piece in the entire order. DNF
- Hot & Sour Soup: 3.75/5
  - Good, but no tofu or bamboo shoots. Almost too "concentrated". Still good, would get again.
- Pepper Steak: 1/5
  - Bad, bland, no flavor, huge onion chunks, carrots mostly uncooked. Fresh jalapeños. Very few red/green peppers. DNF
- Fortune: 4/12/2024
  - Better face danger than be always in fear.
  - Lucky numbers: 19, 30, 55, 18, 53, 21
Tsing Tao ☹️
- Egg roll: 5/5
  - Perfect egg roll, perfect amount of sweet and sour sauce on the side.
- Fried rice (side): 1/5
  - Over fried, heavy, thick with fat? oil?, vegetable slices instead of diced
- Hot & Sour Soup: 1/5
  - Basically chicken broth. No flavor. DNF
- Hunan Beef: 2/5
  - Sort of ok, but also sort of tastes like a rotting corpse.

Diners

Chase's Diner 🤔
- Buffalo Chicken Tender Sandwich, hot: 4.5/5
  - Great, but could be spicier. I get it with tots or sweet potato fries.
- Chili: 2/5
  - More of a spicy tomato soup than chili. Not much meat. Big tomato chunks.
- Fries: 4/5
  - Not really seasoned and are crinkle cut, but usually cooked well.
- Dre Melt: 5/5
  - No notes, perfect, delicious. Order it.
- Hot Roast Beef/Open-Faced Roast Beef: ???/5
  - Got it once and it was awful. For some reason forgot and got it again and it was awesome. Strange consistency. Maybe a fluke.
- Pulled BBQ Beef Brisket Sandwich: 3.75/5
  - Good, but needed more sauce.
- Sweet Potato Fries: 5/5
  - I haven't had better sweet potato fries. For what that's worth.
- Tots: 4.5/5
  - Great. I like them slightly crispier, but they're still good. I like all my non-baked potatoes well done.
- Vegetable Beef soup: 3/5
  - Tends to be bland and a bit watery for some reason.
Crackers & Co. 🙂
- Chili: 4.5/5 (usually)
  - Very good typically; my favorite local chili. Did get it one time and it tasted very different and watery. Maybe they were almost out.
- Poblano Chicken Melt: 4/5
  - Typically my go-to here. Good, but a bit bland. Grilled chicken.

Indian

The Dhaba 🌶️
- Basmati Rice, white: 4.75/5
  - Perfect, except the amount. The size included with meals isn't quite enough for the entree.
- Butter Chicken, spicy: 4/5
  - Great but a bit too hot for me. Stick with medium next time.
- Dhaba Chicken Curry, spicy: 4.5/5
  - Almost perfect, but still a bit too spicy. I haven't had medium so I'm not sure how much that would decrease the spice. Probably too much.
- Gulab Jamun: 4/5
  - Perfect taste-wise, but expensive (3 for $6)
- Mango Lassi: 3/5 *
  - Perfect as far as it goes, but I don't like mango.

Italian / Pizza

Amici Pizza 🫤
- Chocolate Marshmallow Cheesecake: 4.5/5
  - Almost perfect, but very rich. Makes me want milk which is -.5
- Manicotti Parmigiana +Bolognese: 2/5
  - Not very hot and the sauce didn't seem like a meat sauce. I just don't like hot ricotta. DNF
- Mozzarella Sticks: 3.5/5
  - Very thin sauce, but still good. Almost no cheese pull.
- New York Black & White Cookie: 5/5 ⭐
  - These are my gold standard and better than the ones I had in NYC.

Mexican

Calitacos Restaurant 🤔
- Beans and Chips: 1/5
  - Beans have no flavor. Chips are bog standard. DNF
- Consomme: 1/5
  - Probably just me and that I probably don't like consomme, but it did not add to the experience. DNF
- Churro Con Fresa: 5/5
  - Awesome, no notes. Get one.
- Fries: 2/5
  - Always soggy. No flavor. GTCS.
- Quesadilla De Birria: 4.5/5
  - My only real complaint is that they don't give you enough salsa for the whole thing.
Jefe's Cantina 🫤
- Cantina Fries, Asada: 2/5
  - Neon orange nacho cheese. Stingy with the asada.
- Chocolate Oreo (dessert, no other name listed): 3/5
  - Decent, but fairly small for $7.99. It's chocolate cake with some whipped Oreo topping.
Meños Place 😝
- Pupusa Cheese: .5/5
  - Awful. I might just hate pupusas.
- Street Tacos meal, Asasa: ?/5
  - I don't even remember how this was. Forgettable.
Rosie's Taco Shop (Gilbert) 😍
- (notes): I have yet to have bad food from here. It's all good.
- Asada Fries: 4.5/5
  - Very good. Complaint is that extra meat feels mandatory. (And extra jalapeños)
- Cheesecake Chimis: 4.5/5
  - Awesome, very sweet, deep fried (obviously, they're chimis). Sticky, fork required.
- Chips (with salsa): 4/5
  - Standard tortilla chips and not very salted, but they are very generous. GTCS.
- Nachos, Ground beef: 4.5/5
  - See Asada Fries. Very similar composition.
- Salsa: 4.75/5
  - My favorite local salsa, but it is very thin. Get the 8oz.
- Street Taco Meal (4), Asada: 4.75/5
  - Almost perfect. 2 corn tortillas, generous with asada, white onion, cilantro. 2 lime wedges with a meal. I want more limes.
- Street Taco Meal (4), Pastor: 4/5
  - Good, but not as good as the asada.
- Tacos, Hard shell, Ground beef: 4.9/5
  - A perfect crunchy taco (sans lettuce). Sometimes a little watery by the time it gets here.
Si Senor Restaurant 🥴
- (notes): New Mexican.
- Burrito Plate, Ground beef: 4.25/5
  - Flour tortillas just don't really work here. Still good, but not my fav.
- Enchilada Plate, Ground beef, red chile: 5/5
  - My favorite thing here and one of my favorite local "Mexican" dishes.

Soul Food / Chicken

Gus's World Famous Fried Chicken 👍
- 3 Piece White Plate: 5/5
  - You can't get better chicken than this.
- Bread, one slice ($.17): 5/5
  - It's a slice of white bread. The chicken comes on top of one slice. This is an extra one. It's necessary. Get several imho.
- Collard Greens: N/A
  - It has come to my attention that I don't like collard greens.
- Jalapenos [sic]: N/A
  - Not sure what I was expecting, but they're whole jalapeños.

tags: reviews, lists

← Mindfulness