Dragonfly (9) $$$

If you are looking for a relaxed downtown evening of good food, classy drinks and engaging conversation, look no further than 18^th and Capitol. Dragonfly specializes in sushi and Asian fusion both modern and innovative.

Yesterday I met some friends there for New Years Eve dinner. We meet here fairly often because most of us like sushi, but if you don’t there is something for everyone, like their dragonfly burger.

On this occasion I ordered a duck bun appetizer, and the Terminator roll.

The appetizer was served traditionally Chinese, with the exception of the cut of duck. This duck was little chopped pieces from off the bone, parts of the duck that are hard to get too and ugly to serve as an entrée, probably the back and neck. It wasn’t fresh duck but it wasn’t tough and old either.

I was both pleasantly surprised and disappointed about the roll. The terminator roll is shrimp tempura, spicy tuna, topped with salmon, ahi, yellow tail and torched scallops. The scallops were particularly good; perfectly seared but left mostly raw, they were fresh, moist, and they left a very clean taste. However the roll did rely heavily on the sauce. I like my fish as pure and fresh tasting as possible, I believe too much mayonnaise sauces or cream cheese hide the taste of the fish.

For atmosphere Dragonfly receives a 10. It has a large open air feeling inside, a large patio for summer, a trendy location and happy hour Monday thru Friday. They also have wine tasting on the second Saturday of the month during the art walk.

Dragonfly usually rates about $ for two people ordering an appetizer and an entrée each, plus a drink. On this occasion we spent about $$$$$$ but that’s just because it was New Years Eve.

I give Dragonfly a 9 for taste even though I didn’t like a lot of sauce on my sushi. The fish was still fresh, and all the elements of the roll were proportioned well. But next time I will have to remember to order my sauce on the side.

It is often hard to find parking in downtown and the midtown areas, but Dragonfly has valet parking. The Valet is shared between all four restaurants on that corner so you can valet from either side of the street.

Over all I have to give Dragonfly a 9 out of 10. It’s a fun trendy place to eat dinner or get lunch. Dragonfly even serves breakfast.

1809 Capital Ave. Sacramento, CA 95814

Murata's Cafe Hana (8) $

Café Hana is located in Kintetsu Restaurant Mall. Amid the other traditional Japanese restaurants, but is more of a delicatessen than a restaurant. I stopped on this occasion just to have desert after a couple hours of shopping. The case line was filled with beautiful tempting treats like, mango mousse, chocolate éclairs, Swedish princess cake, black forest cake, and fruit tarts.

My husband and I decided to share a chocolate raspberry mousse. (I am not usually a fan of mouse of any flavor but I tolerate chocolate the most). I am happy to announce that I was pleasantly surprised. The mousse was very rich, but not too sweet. It had a smooth light texture, but did not taste frothy. The garnish raspberry was fresh, and the chocolate leaf was made of a sweetened dark chocolate. Half way through we found the raspberry mouse filling. This mousse, like the chocolate, was light and not too sweet. It was almost fresh tasting.

The only down side was that I was unprepared to like it so much and I ended up eating more of it than I had anticipated. I had to send Kris back to buy a glass of milk to go with it.

Café Hana receives a 6 (out of 10) on the atmosphere rating. It has quite a few tables all surrounding a large rock indoor fountain and part of the café is actually a florist giving it that garden café feeling.

Price wise; it was very average for the kind of drinks, chocolates and pastries you would buy at any other delicatessen or coffee house. I give it a $ because the dessert was big enough and rich enough to share and we could also have bought a drink each for under $20.

For taste and quality I give the chocolate raspberry mouse a 7, because it was pleasant, light, sweet and fresh, but I would not make a special trip just to have dessert there.

Over all I give Café Hana a 8. Though the food was very good, the cafe has a cute atmosphere and the price was very competitive it is a very small café, with a very limited menu. Its not a place to stop for a meal.

Other places of note in the Kintetsu Restaurant Mall:

Nippon-ya. Its not really a delicatessen or a café but they do sell mochi and other imported candies. Each product is carefully displayed and is explained in English for the inexperienced mochi shopper. My favorite is the pineapple chews wrapped in edible rice paper wrappers.

Isobune, San Francisco (5)$$

Isobune claimes to be the “original” sushi boat restaurant and was the first to use the floating boats to deliver sushi in the United States. Located in the San Francisco Japan center, Isobune boasts a unique atmosphere to stop and rest from a day of shopping and sight seeing.

Today when I went I was unlucky enough to become hungry during the peak lunch hour. If possible avoid arriving before 2:00 on a weekend or you will have to wait a long time to be seated like I did. There is good news, even if you have to wait to be seated, once you find that special spot at the counter, instant gratification! All you have to do is reach out and pick a good looking boat. Don’t worry if you miss on the first try it will come around again.

For fun and atmosphere Isobune receives a 7, (10 being the highest).

Isobune is not really a cheap restaurant but you can get out of there very reasonably if you eat light, so I give it $$.
The price of the dish is distinguished by the color, (blue costs about $2.50 and gold costs about $5.25) just stack them up to the side and your waitress will total them up at the end.

For quality and taste I have to rate Isobune at a 4 on this occasion. I was not impressed with the selection of sushi it mostly being uni, salmon and mackerel. The fish was relatively fresh and the eel was warm from the kitchens but my baby octopus was old and tough tasting. I believe those little red cephalopods are pickled somewhere over seas and then imported. Though you can’t argue with how easy it is to rip open a plastic bag and serve cold, I did not enjoy the experience.

I can say that the avocado used in all the hand rolls was very fresh and of a much better quality then what many sushi restaurants use. Their produce supplier definitely deserves kudos.

The toro leaves a lot to be expected but two pieces are served on a gold dish, so they are at least a very good “deal”.

Over all I give it a 5, a fun place to grab a bite to eat. Sushi lovers (eel, salmon, tuna lovers) can go crazy on their favorite rolls and compile a mountain of dishes before breaking the bank and if you go, do not miss their frozen peach sorbet served inside a actual frozen peach.

1737 Post Street, Japan Center, San Francisco (415)563-1030

1451 Burlingame Ave. Burlingame, CA 94010 (650)344-8433

Other attraction of the Kintetsu Restaurant Mall of include:

The Kinokuniya book store,
The KSG Kinokuniya stationary and gift store,
The four Asakichi stores: incense, iron works, kimono and art stores
Not to mention numerous novelty figurine stores.

Archived post from 06, Utah

I honestly don't find the food in Utah to be that great. But here are my expert opinions and recommendations. SL:
for fresh fish or sea food of any kind go to "Market Street Grill", there are two in the SL area, everything is fresh caught and flown over expect to pay about $17 average per plate, you can also buy fish to take home and cook yourself is you go to the one up my the U,
THE PIE pizzeria has the best pizza, sometimes i drive and hour to SL just for the pizza. I recommend the Chicken and Ranch with whole sliced tomatoes, chucks of chicken overlapping themselves with bacon on top, don't miss the cheese pull apart either. The atmosphere is also appealing in an underground bar sort of way, it is located in the basement of university pharmacy.
Of the Brazilian Barbacues, Samba Grill is the best, try to make it for the lunch special since you get the same amount of food for a better price. They have an all you can eat meat bar and salad bar, basically the waiters come around to your table with huge scewers of meat and cut you slices. So, yummy. Come very hungry. If you cant make it to Samba, try Rodizio or Tucanos anyway, they are still amazing!
For sushi try Mikunies. It is the best sushi I have ever had. If they have it try the fatty tuna, it tastes like sweet butter. but its costly about $6 a piece. It is located right across the street from the Delta Center. Try to research the times they are open, I know they are not always open for lunch and they do close between their lunch and dinner hours as well.
Melting Pot is the only fondue place I know of anywhere. Its probably about $40 per person, so if you are cost conscious try just the cheese and chocolate. Appetizers are cheese fondue with bread and fruit and veggies, entrees consist of broth or oils with veggies, meat and sauces. and dessert is a liquor chocolate with fruit cookies and cakes. Its very good, but expect to take about three+ hours to eat dinner if you go for the whole three courses. Otherwise expect to take about two hours. This kind of dinner is very much an experience as well as eating and its alot of fun.
Passages is a restaurant located near temple square, they have sone very large entree salads, but their best dish is the bread. Soft croissant rolls that come with a raspberry preserve butter. I tastes like room temperature ice cream on top of a sweet role. I think I ate six when I went, and then was unable to eat my salad.
Park City
My favorite restaurant in Utah is easy street in Park City. Its a Americana French fusion cuisine, I like the calamari salad the best, but their other food is also really good, they also have a wonderful cream brule in three different flavors with fresh fruit. This restaurant also has the best restrooms I have ever seen.
Another well known place is River Horse, I honestly thought the portions were a little misleading, though still good.
Provo
everyone in Provo thinks that Chiefs Table has to be the best place in town because its expensive. I honestly was not impressed, it may be the nicest place in town but was not the best by any means. I had lamb and found it to be dry and flavorless. The roles were nothing to scream about and tasted Albertson's bakery to me. They did have a wheat-less fudge brownie and mouse dessert that was pretty good, but I have had better, and it was not balanced in a way that did not make it too rich.
Good Wood is one of my favorite restaurants, but don't go on a weekend for dinner, last time I went I waited for an hour and forty five minutes before I got to sit at a table, and they do not take reservations. I like the German sausage the best, but there pulled pork and their ribs are excellent too. And you have to try their onion rings! so good.
Asuka is a Japanese restaurant that I think is largely overlooked. they do the tepinyaki, like in the show friends where you sit around the grill. its really very good, and entertaining. They also have some very unique rolls.
But if you want very unigue sushi try Happy Sumo, it is a chain, but it is very different anyway. Try the sunset roll with the lemon on top, there is also one with kiwis and my husbands favorite has cucumber instead of seaweed. If you sit at the bar instead of the tables, you will get a complimentary squid salad, Its very good. I usually order miso soup before I get my rolls to clean my palette but I also recommend the dragon scales. And try the Mochi for dessert, the mochi is not made there but is actually a store brand, but it is impossible to get in Utah, so you wont really know the difference. The mochi is traditionally a bean paste filled rice cake eaten at new years, but these ones are filled with ice cream instead, I like greed tea and mango the best.
Another great place to eat is the Noodle company, Its cheap, you get alot of food and its really good. My husband who has celiac disease is able to substitute any wheat noodles for rice noodles so its also very convenient for anyone with a wheat allergy. My favorites are the curry, I add shrimp, the Pau Thi with shrimp and the Pesto add chicken. You can order in a few different sizes and the offer a salad and grill too.
Zupas, is more of a cafeteria type environment, but they make a killer Panini and they have a very large selection of soups and and extensive salad bar. I like to go there for lunch to pick up a picknick. I like the turkey club panini. Its low key but they make some very good food.
Smoke House is my favorite place in the whole word for Chicken wings, they fry them so you get them crunchy, and they smother them in sauce, I like sweet. You also get the entire wing instead of just a single joint so if you order 5 its like getting 10 any where else. They also make good pizza and great kettle chips. the ribs are often dry but the pulled pork is pretty moist though it can be over cooked too.
Bombay House is the only Indian place I know if in Utah, though there has to be more of them, It was not the best Indian food I have ever had but It was still very flavorful and good, I did think that the waiters were very rude though.
Other common places to eat here in Provo include, California Pizza Kitchen, which I recommend for Lunch, soups, salads, and My favorite are the Thai chicken pizza and the goat cheese. they also have a killer peach lemonade.
PF Changs is worse here than it is in other states where their ingredients are fresher, but then I have never liked PF Chang's, I have always found it to be over priced, too small in portions the rice over cooked or under cooked and and unauthentic in ingredients.
Shoots a new Chinese restaurant in Provo, is not much better, It is over priced and the ingredients again are poor quality. I come from a very rich Chinese heritage and if I can cook something better out of my college dorm kitchen then I have a very low opinion of that Chinese restaurants. China lilly which used to be in the place the Shoots is not located, was alot better, however that owner moved back to china and sold her place, hopefully she will come back.
Tucanos in Provo is located in the River woods Shopping Mall, it is under new management so they changed the dessert menu so I am a little unhappy about that, but they still serve the wonderfully warm grilled pineapple, the steak and tri-tip on skewers. If you are hungry for meat, go here. But try to go early if you go on the weekends, it is often a 45 minute wait.
For sea food in Provo, there is Mcgrath's, which I have allwas found to be over done, fried to oblivion, and tasteless in general. But their selection is the best in town, I suggest going out of town to SL to Market Street Grill if you want real fish, its worth the hour drive and the $10 in gas to get out there.
There is also Joe's Crab Shack, with I have nothing goood to say about, and there is Red Lobster
Red Lobster has the best scones anywhere in my opinion, all cheesy and garlicy, their lobster is always small over cooked and flavorless, their shrimp is usually over cooked and their pastas are always over buttered. Their crab is never fresh tasting and their desserts are always dry but their Talapula if pretty good and try the macadamia crusted fish. If it is not fried that there is a chance that they cant over cook it.
LnL is a Hawaiian chain, but it is much different here on the main land than in Hawaii. I would check it out. Their Korean Barbecue is just like my grandma used to make. One of my husbands favorite dishes there is Spam and eggs over rice. It may be an acquired taste but check it out, start with the barbecue beef and chicken and your love it. I usually substitute my macaroni salad for an extra scoop of rice.
For all you can eat buffet kinds of places there is Chuckarama and Golden Coral, I would not recommend them unless you really like funeral potatoes.
Burger places around here other than fast food, consist of Fudruckers, (its ok), TrainingTable, and Red Robin. Fudruckers has an interesting eating challenge is your interested and their set up is kind of interesting as well. You order and then there is a bar with all the fixings. Training Table is not worth mentioning other than that you order from a telephone at your table. I do however like Red Robin
Red Robin, has all you can eat steak fries which you can buy separately if all you want is fries and you get a meal for $1.13. Strawberry Extacy is not alcoholic though it sounds like it, and is really more like a strawberry lemon aid with whole strawberries in it. May favorite of the burgers is the Bonzi with the teriaki sauce and the grilled pineapple. But there are a number of other unique burgers there too.
But the best Burger join is Burger Supreme! They make a pastrami burger that is so good, and I love their hero sandwich. Their fries are not that great but check out those burgers. And I would consider this place fast food.
One place worth checking out at least once if Pita Pit. Yeah its kind of like a pita subway. I like double meat with dark forest ham and hero, with the tanza something or other yogurt and cucumber spread with just about everything inside it. Its kind of a healthy place to eat, so if you feel like a salad try it. I consider it a lunch place though.

There are alot of other places I have not named, basically because it is not worth my time to comment on them, I may be a huge conisour of food and i consider myself near expert but you do not have to go by my opinion. I do have a very broad rang of likes and dislikes, for instance you may have noticed I did not comment of any Mexican places, well thats because I hate Mexican food. I find it to be cheap. I like food that is relatively cheap but tastes high quality, to me Mexican food is never quality, its just more or less authentic. I may have snobby taste buds which is unusuall for Utah, but thats because Im not from here. Enjoy