Rock Star Hot Dogs (Food Truck) - Round 2

Another round with Rock Star Hot Dogs. I gave a pretty harsh, but honest first review and said that I would give them another try.  So here I am with another review of a different item from the Rock Star Hot Dog food truck.

This time I ordered the Fat Elvis, which is a 1/3 lb. beef (burger), with cheddar cheese and Applewood smoked bacon on a brioche roll. It also came with lettuce and tomatoes, and I added some ketchup to it. I also added a side of tater tots.

The side of tater tots were great. They were perfectly fried, nicely golden brown and lightly salty. The first bite was a nice crispy crunch, while the inside of the tater tot was warm and soft texture. So, you know that they were not over fried and dried all the way through, as this has happened many times with tater tots no matter where you get them. An extra 30-seconds or minute could make the difference between a good tater tot and bad one.

I didn’t get the Fat Elvis the first time I tried some items from the Rockstar Food truck, I just got the Classic Rocker. I decided to try a different burger to see if it would be prepared a bit better, then my first visit with the food truck. Unfortunately, it was the same experience, where the food sounded and smelled better than it tasted.  After assembling my burger, I took a big bite and my first thoughts of the Fat Elvis were……not impressed. The Fat Elvis, had fresh tomatoes and lettuce, which gave the burger a nice crunch and the tomatoes helped with some sweetness, but the burger was just too dry. The patty was overcooked, so it wasn’t as juicy as it could/should have been. The bun was buttered up on both sides and toasted, but overly toasted, as it became too hard and dry. The bright spot to the burger was the Applewood smoked bacon. It was super crispy and wasn’t overly salty. As I kept eat, because I was hungry, every bite was a struggle, as it was so dry that I had to add more and more ketchup to help.

Another disappointing meal except for the tater tots. So, from now on, if, and that's a big IF, I were to cross paths with this food truck again, I would just order the Tater Tots, if I order anything from them.

I would give this round a 5/10, as I have tried two burgers from them and both times, they were overcooked and buns over-toasted to where they are too dry. I hope they will learn how to properly cook a burger, so there it stays juicy and flavorful. If you are only going to serve hot dogs and burgers, you better know how to cook them properly or people won’t be coming back.

Just Roll With It Ice Cream - A Unique Ice Cream Experience

I had the chance to stop by a new ice cream shop by Arizona State University (ASU) after graduation the other night. The ice cream shop is called Just Roll With It Ice Cream and is located on University and Rural.

It was a happening place, since the graduation ceremony just finished and was right by the Wells Fargo stadium. The staff was extremely friendly and all had smiles on their faces. It’s a very unique concept as far as ice cream that I’ve never had before. The menu had some a nice variety to choose from, from fruit to chocolate mixtures.

First, you would pick which flavor you would like, then you place your order and then you follow around the counter until your ice cream creation is finished. Along the way, you can see them make all the cream mixtures. I ordered the Choco Mania (#4), which start off with the cream and Oreo cookies. They take the cream and pour it onto a super cold platter and put the cookie in the middle and then start to mash it, while mixing the cream with the cookie. They continue to do this until they get a smooth consistency and then this is where it gets a little different. They then spread the smooth ice cream into a sheet of ice cream, that takes up most of the platter. Once it settles for a moment, they being to “scrap” the ice cream into strips and roll them up. They get about 3-5 rolls of ice cream and then place them into a cup, then add some toppings to finish it off. My ice cream came with an Oreo cookie, a chocolate Pocky stick, whipped cream and chocolate drizzle.

The wait for the ice cream is a bit longer than I expected, but would think it’s because of how they make each order. I hope they would be able to speed up the process in the future somehow.

Once I got my ice cream, I sat down and started to dig into this unique creation. It was a big difficult to scoop, since it’s not a traditional ice cream that you can just get a spoon full, but that you had to break the rolls of ice cream first and then get a spoon full. Once that was accomplished, I could get some ice cream, some of the whipped cream and chocolate drizzle and it tasted pretty good. As I ate it more and more, it’s not the usual soft creamy texture of ice cream you are used to which melts in your mouth right away. But the texture and first few moments of every spoonful, tasted like an old container of ice cream and you get that first layer that has a bit of frost bite on it. It takes a moment for it to melt on your tongue and the flavors don’t pop out at you right way. So, it's not bad, just a different texture of "normal" ice cream. 

Also, the ease of eating it really isn’t there, since it’s in a cup and the rolled ice cream is harder to simply scoop. As I mentioned before, you need to break the rolls (of ice cream) and then scoop them, so when doing this, it creates a bit of a mess….so prepare yourself with plenty of napkins. I wish they would use those taco boats instead of these little bowls, as the boats would have more space for you to break the ice cream and then get a spoonful of everything.

I was also able to try the Stranana (#2), which I thought was a bit better than the Choca Mania. The flavors seemed to complement each other better and had a creamier texture and taste, as compared to the Choco Mania.

Overall, this was a unique experience and it was fun to watch them make my order. I would give them a 7.5/10 and the reason why I gave them that score is because of the ease of eating the ice cream and my overall impressions of the textures and flavors. It takes a bit to get used to this unique ice cream, but would try them again and see if they have come up with any new flavors.  Go and give them a try and let me know what you think of your Just Roll With It Ice Cream experience. 

Rock Star Hot Dogs (Food Truck)

This food truck has a carnival type look to it, serving a variety of hot dogs, burgers and sides; fries, tots and nachos. I was pretty excited to try the food based on the menu that had a ton of different things to eat.

Today I was super hungry and ordered one of their specialty dogs and a burger. No sides for me…. I’m trying to watch what I eat. ;) I ordered the Santana Sonora: All beef, bacon wrapped dog, bacon, pinto beans, Pico de Gallo, green chili strips, avocado crème drizzle, mayonnaise topped with pepper jack cheese on a torta roll.  I ordered mine without mayonnaise.

I also ordered a burger, the Classic Rocker: 1/3lb beef, American Cheese, lettuce, tomato, pickles, onion on a brioche roll.

I started off my meal with the Santana Sonora and overall it was good. This was my first time trying a Sonora dog, as I have seen them all around and so I gave it a try. It was really filling, since it had so many topping. I thought that toppings all meshed well together, from the sweet avocado crème drizzle, to the crisp salty bacon wrapped dog and the refreshingly cool Pico de Gallo. I did think that the bun (or roll) to hot dog ratio was off, as the torta roll was a bit much. I believe they used the torta roll, so that it would be able to hold all the ingredients, but as you ate the Sonora dog, many of the toppings would fall off and then you were stuck with all bun (roll) with nothing on it.  I think if the Santana Sonora had a different bun/roll, it might have been a bit better and easier to eat. I would have also liked a little spice to it, so maybe next time I try a Sonora dog, I will add a little Tapatío or something to spice it up a bit.

On to the burger now, the Classic Rocker burger….it was a letdown. The burger had the basic ingredients; lettuce, tomato, pickles, and onions. I added the jalapenos for some spice and a little ketchup. In my opinion, the burger was over cooked and the brioche roll was over toasted. They buttered up the roll and placed it on the cook top to toast it up, but it ended up being too crispy and dried out the bun.  The meat was overcooked and dried out from it. It might have been pretty decent if it was cooked medium rare or even maybe a medium, which has a slight pink in the middle. But this was cook all the way through and became chewy and didn’t have much flavor.

Overall the Santana Sonora and the Classic Rocker from the Rock Star Hot Dogs food truck was just OK, but nothing special. I would say that they were a bit of a letdown, since there wasn’t a huge line up for food, so the food preparation could have been better.  I would give them another try if I come across the truck again to see if there are any improvement, but I would give the food a 6/10. 

Pho King Food Truck

Wow, where has the time gone. I haven’t made a post in over 4 years. Well I guess a lot has happened since my last review/post; I’ve had two amazing kids that are growing up too fast and have eaten at so many awesome places, but I wish that I had time to keep up on the reviews of the food that I’ve had.

I wanted to start back into reviewing food and today we had the Pho King Food Truck come to our work around lunch time. Their menu was simple with great options, from different types of stir fry, pot stickers, a couple of different burritos, and of course Pho.

I ordered the Burrito Phorrito, which had Grilled steak with stir fry veggies in a light Asian marinade, topped with melted cheese, kimchi, Mexican pickled veggies, cilantro-lime rice, and sriracha mayo, wrapped in a huge, grilled flour tortilla. Garnished with green onions. The burrito was hot when I walked-up to get it, it was wrapped in foil, cut diagonally to present all of its ingredients and presented nicely on a small plate. I grabbed a small container and made my usual mixture of hoisin sauce and sriracha.

I ordered it as it, as I’ve never had it before and didn’t want to alter it in anyway before trying out what they had to offer.

To be honest, I was really excited to try this, as I’ve heard about Phorritos. The fact that I love both Pho and burritos, this couldn’t have been a better marriage of two things I enjoy.  My first bite did not have any sauce of any kind added, as I wanted to taste the flavors of how they assembled the Phorrito. It was ok, to be honest, but wasn’t what I was expecting as there was a creamy like texture and taste as well as a tartness in that first bite. I believe this came from the kimchi, Mexican pickled veggies and sriracha mayo. I had a mixture of hoisin sauce and sriracha on the side which I usually add to my Pho when eating, that I added to the next few bites of the Phourrito. The sauce helped bring back some of the familiarity of when I eat traditional Pho, but there was still some that was off about each bite.

As I kept eating, I wanted it to be better and better, so I kept adding the sauce to each bite, but to be honest, I wasn’t as excited for each bite as I would be if it was a traditional bowl of Pho. There was no broth, or slurping of the noodles, or the crisp bean sprouts in every bite. I know this is a burrito, so the broth couldn’t be there or that it was a different eating experience to what I am used to. But it was the new additions to the Phoburrito that turned me off from what I was expecting. I think the kimchi would have been ok, but the Mexican pickled veggies and the sriracha mayo is what really made each bite unexciting. I finally made it to the last couple of bites on the first half of the burrito and what was left was just a soupy mixture of the sriracha mayo, kimchi and Mexican pickled veggie juices. To me, it was something I couldn’t eat, as that mixture of flavors and ingredients in the burrito didn’t taste too well, I couldn’t imagine eating it all in one (or two) bites.

I think what could have made this a more “traditional” Phorrito would have been to stick with most of the traditional ingredients such as; the noodles, meat of your choice, bean sprouts, mint leaves, cilantro, jalapenos, some lime juice and then have the broth on the side to dip the burrito into (like an au jus). This Phorrito didn't have many of the traditional Pho items in there, so it seemed as if they were stumped on how to blend the two things together, but got stuck on the burrito side, instead of the Pho side. I wouldn't even mention Pho in the item name, as it confuses those that enjoy eating traditional Pho. 

So my first eating experience with a Phorrito wasn’t what I thought it was going to be, it was a bit of a letdown. I have seen this item on many other food trucks, so I will be sure to give it another try and maybe customize it in the future. But I would give this Phorrito a 2 out of 5. 

In-N-Out Burger - Southern California favorite

In-N-Out Burger

This is a Southern California staple and has become a popular place to get a good burger for a good price. They can now be found in several states, such as California, Nevada, Arizona and Texas. With everyone watching their wallets these days and more and more burger joints popping up all over town, I still find myself heading over to In-N-Out for a classic double-double with an order of fries and an ice cold Dr. Pepper. 

The burger doesn’t have any crazy ingredients that come with it, just nice simple items that add to the flavor of the burger patties. The burger normally comes with lettuce, tomato, spread (like a thousand island dressing) and onions if you like (either a whole slice or grilled onions). But if you do not like the spread, you can opt out for ketchup and/or mustard. 

My usual burger is a double-single (two meats and one cheese), with ketchup, lettuce and extra grilled onions. When you hear your number being called, you walk up to the counter to receive your order of food and you notice all the colorful ingredients in your burger. After getting back to my table, I dive right into my burger and hear the crunch of the crisp lettuce and get all the juices from the meat patties. You can taste the freshness of the ingredients and enjoy the flavors of the burger, even though these are simple, yet delicious ingredients. The grilled onions are cooked perfectly to a caramel brown color and have a nice sweet taste that compliments the ketchup on the burger. The bun is soft and fresh and has a nice sweet aroma to it.  As I take a few more bites, I then need to start unwrapping the rest of the burger to continue my eating fest. The burger patties are the biggest, as they are only about 1/8 of a pound per patty, so don’t expect to fill yourself off of one single burger.

The fries are cooked from fresh potatoes in 100% cotton seed oil. I will have to be honest; I’m not a big fan of the fries because it will be hit or miss with how good the fries will come out. But when you get a nice fresh batch of fries, you will need to eat them right away because they taste the best when they are still hot.

In-N-Out offers a great selection of Coca Cola products And Dr. Pepper), iced tea, lemonade, coffee, milk and (great) milk shakes.  I would recommend a chocolate and vanilla mixed shake, as they are made with real ice cream mix.  Of course they offer chocolate, strawberry and vanilla, so you are able to get just a single flavor or a combination of any of the three.

In-N-Out Burger is a great place to eat, that offers great value for your money because it is not a fancy burger joints. Something nice and simply, burgers, fries and drinks! They take their burgers seriously and offer a quality product. Once you try it, you won’t be disappointed and will find yourself going back for more. I would recommend that you give the burger a try the way it comes (with or without onions) for your first time, and then you can customize it as you want for your next visit. You can add extra ingredients, patties, and cheeses to make it satisfy your hunger. OH and don’t forget about the secret menu items!! J

Coupe De Tartes

     During the spring restaurant week, I attended dinner at Coup des Tartes and had a great experience. As I pulled up to the restaurant, it was not what I expected, as the restaurant is in an old home. I entered the front door and was greeted by the host and sat a few moments after.  After being seated, I looked around and noticed that this could be a home that could be found in San Diego and the tables were close to each other, but still enough room to have your own space. This restaurant is BYOB with a $9 corking fee. In my opinion, the fee is a bit high, since they did not even open the bottle of wine that we brought. 

     For my first course, I chose the escargot, which came out on a silver dish where each escargot was placed individually in its own special spot. The escargots were not in the shell and have a nice flavor of butter and garlic. They were nicely cooked, as they were not rubbery, as that could tend to happen with over cooked escargot. The escargot had a smooth texture at the beginning, and then it changes to a bit of a crunch as you consume them. Delicious!

     For my second course, I had the opportunity to taste the fresh Alaskan Halibut and the filet mignon. I had an all natural grass fed Austrian filet that was topped with caramelized onions and an aged port glaze sauce. It was also served with haricot verts and Yukon Gold mashed potatoes. The meat was perfectly cooked at a medium rare, where it was nicely seared on the outside and slight pink on the inside. The meat was juicy and full of flavor. As you take that first bite, it just melted in your mouth and made you want to take another bit. The port glaze provided a nice compliment, it wasn’t overpowering, while only enhancing the flavor of the meat with a sweet glaze. Yukon gold mashed potatoes were the perfect pairing to the main dish because it was perfectly whipped to a smooth texture. The potatoes were full of flavor, but again, nothing over powering.

 

     In addition to the filet mignon, I was able to taste the fresh Alaskan Halibut. The Halibut was perfectly cook all the way through, while still being moist and tender. The flavor was perfect, not over powering and the coconut sauce was an amazing choice for this fish. Along with the Halibut, it came with a sea bean salad, which provided a nice texture and a little crunch with every bite. 

     To wrap up our delicious meal, I ordered the creme brulee, a classic choice that I never seem to pass up and a nice cappuccino. It looked perfect as they placed it in front of me and it took every ounce of my being to refrain from devouring it. The sugary top was not over cooked, so it only took the tapping of my spoon to break through to reach the delicious treat. The dessert has a nice creamy texture with a hint of sweetness, and then finished off with a crunch of the sugary top. I would have to say, that it was one of the best crème brulees I have eaten because it was not overly sweet and the little sugar biscuit that came with it, was a nice pairing. 

     Overall the experience was great and the atmosphere is very cozy. The food and service was great, where I didn’t feel rushed, but was well attended to. The only complaint that I would have is the $9 corking fee, where they do not even open the bottle or pour your wine for you. Call and make a reservation and you won’t be disappointed. 

Los Taquitos Mexican Grill

This is one of the best kept secrets in Phoenix for authentic Mexican food. It is a small family owned restaurant with two locations; one in Ahwatukee and newer location in North Phoenix. It’s a local spot where people go for simple food that taste good and doesn’t cost a fortune. They have everything from breakfast burritos, tortas, menudo, to delicious street tacos. My favorite thing on the menu is the bombero burrito with carnitas. 

The burrito is the size of a six-inch sub, which should satisfy most people’s hunger. The burrito is simple, with only a few ingredients; rice, pico de gallo and your choice of meat (steak, chicken, or carnitas, but after the burrito is filled and wrapped up, it is smothered in a spicy (bomber) sauce.  I usually get the carnitas in my burrito, as the pork is slowly cooked, has tons of flavor and goes really well in the burrito. The pork is delicious, tender, juicy, has a sweet flavor and really compliments the bombero sauce as well as the pico de gallo.  The bomber sauce tastes like a spicy barbeque sauce with a smoky hint. 

As you take that first bite, the heat from the bomber sauce will not hit you right away, but the more bites you take; the spiciness of the sauce will begin to heat up.  As you begin to eat slower or take a break, that is when the heat will begin to pick up (pretty much like Flaming Hot Cheetos). 

Everything on their menu is worth trying, but their breakfast burritos are a good choice no matter what time it is. Stop in and check out the atmosphere and sample all the great food, you will not be disappointed.