Tealicious on Freeport is New and Improved!

I recently visited Tealicious on Freeport Blvd. I had never been there before, but apparently the restaurant has recently undergone some improvements. With a name like Tealicious, you might think this is a boba tea place. While they have milk teas and drinks, there is much more of a focus on food items here.

Food -
You'll find a bevy of Asian dishes here at Tealicious. The hot pot and ramen are heavily advertised on signs outside and in pictures on the inside. I was very curious about the ramen (as it is a Japanese dish) so I went for it. I'd have to say that the flavor for it was good... but it wasn't ramen. This definitely was a Chinese take on ramen as the noodles were more in line with Chinese noodles as well as the taste. It was ramen in look alone. It sucks if you're wanting some legit ramen, but it really is its own thing. And if you look at it that way, it's not half bad.

My family ordered a few other dishes off the menu. The braised pork dish was absolutely killer. With some rice it made for an amazing entree with a sauce to die for. The sauce was both savory and sweet. The meat was tender and really had that melt in your mouth quality to it.

My least favorite item that I got on my visit was the crispy tofu. I've been looking for a really good crispy tofu dish but haven't found it yet. The one here had a bland taste with tofu that wasn't crispy enough.

But back to positives... the drinks here are really great. The signature tea with real fruit in it is excellent and refreshing. If you are looking for something a bit different, I recommend the ginger milk tea. It has a very Asian taste that I thought was wonderful. I haven't had a drink like this before as no other places have something like this.

Service/Atmosphere - 
The restaurant is decorated very nicely. The wood look is trendy and a good choice. You can tell that this recently renovated restaurant has gotten a huge makeover for the better.

The servers were very nice. You could kind of tell they were really trying to make a good impression so that you'd come back though. Well, I'd rather have that than bad service.

Price -
Some of the drink prices are a little bit higher than you might think - such as the signature all fruit tea which is about $6. But the food and everything else is very reasonable. You can expect to pay in the ten dollar range per person for dishes.

Special Tips and Recommendations -
Check out the specials that they have here. Currently, the ramen is buy one get one 50% off during lunch and the same goes for hot pot during dinner hours.

Bottom Line - 
Tealicious is an excellent choice to satisfy your Chinese food cravings. Their entrees are very good and their drinks are excellent. All of this at a decent price point! I'd definitely come back for more!

Letter Grade

A

They probably have the nicest signage in the entire plaza.

The interior is very nicely furnished.

Kid seems to like the menu here.

Ramen?

A real Chinese noodle dish.

Melt in your mouth pork.

The tofu was just meh.

This fruit tea drink is so good!

Cajun Feast

Are you in the mood for super spicy and authentic Cajun style food??? Well... feel free to skip right over Cajun Feast then! Though the name implies food from good 'ol Louisiana, you'll actually find dishes from Hong Kong and China here. Cajun Feast does offer some cajun style seafood items on the menu, but it certainly isn't what this restaurant is all about.

Food -
Cajun Feast does a mashup of Boiling Crab and a Hong Kong style cafe. Part of the menu includes seafood and items that are similar to that of Boiling Crab. There's a combo with many different seafood items that seemed to be popular - but looking on Yelp, there were many complaints of the seafood combo being way too small for it's asking price.

The other type of food found here are traditional Chinese style dishes such as mapo tofu, tomato beef, fried rice, and noodles. I wouldn't say that the portions are very big, but they do the job for an individual. The taste is on par with any other budget friendly Hong Kong cafe. If I were to come again, I'd most likely order from this side of the menu.

What's nice about the food here is that you can really customize your order. Mix and match items to your heart's content to get exactly the dish you want. This is great for folks who are real choosy with their food. But it can make the ordering process a bit more confusing if you just want them to give you a set combo without any fuss.

Service/Atmosphere - 
The servers here are very friendly and nice and seem to go out of their way to help you. Is 'too nice' something? If you're a Chinese speaker, our server could speak both Mandarin and Cantonese so that was a plus.

As for the interior, I thought it was clean and relatively nice, but it just doesn't come together as nicely as I think that they think it does.

Price -
If you're looking for a better deal for your money, I'd go with the Chinese food combos that are on the right side of the menu. I'd say that the prices here are midrange. The seafood 'cajun' food is quite a bit pricier for an amount that many wouldn't be happy with portion-wise.

Special Tips and Recommendations -
Make sure you ask plenty of questions to get exactly what you want from your order. The menu can be confusing and the servers are more than happy to help you navigate it.

Bottom Line - 
I'm middling when it comes to this new restaurant. I'm a fan of places having a solid identity. Cajun Feast seems stuck between two worlds.

Letter Grade

C

Tomato beef rice plate.

Mapo tofu, a traditional Chinese dish you can find almost anywhere.

Sweet Bird @ The Golden 1 Center

I'm heading up to the second floor of the Golden 1 Center to give Sweet Bird a try! It's a concession stand that features not only delicious fried chicken options, there are sweets to be had here as well. I gave both a try on my visit upstairs during the last Kings game.

Food -
I'm starting to find out that the places at the Golden 1 Center are BIG into tots. Now that I think about it... is there any place that I can get some actual fries here? All the places have had tots... I'm going to have to do some sleuthing the next time out.

Anyways, I ordered a chicken biscuit, but I think things got mixed up and I ended up with a chicken fingers and tots basket. No biggie. This was an excellent filling meal to get at a game. The chicken fingers were hearty and well breaded. I got my choice of sauce to dip them in. I went with BBQ sauce. The BBQ sauce at the Golden 1 Center has been great every time I've had it so that was my natural choice. The chicken fingers came with tots so I got a big mess of ketchup and went at it. It was delicious.

There are a number of desserts to purchase at Sweet Bird, but I chose to go with the churro fries because they sounded very unique and enticing. Well... as it turns out these 'fries' are just what a longer churro cut up into smaller pieces would be. These do have a more french fry consistency though as they are softer and less crunchy than many other churros I had. I personally prefer crunchy churros but this was by no means bad. I especially enjoyed the churro fries with the two dips they gave me. I had my choice of chocolate or caramel. OMG the caramel was soooooo great! I even ended up dipping some chicken fingers into it. That was a good life choice.

Service/Atmosphere - 
Ordering on the second level of Golden 1 is a bit different than the lower level. At Sweet Bird, there aren't roped off lines to form, but the area in front of the stand is large enough that ropes aren't needed. I got to the stand well before the game and had many open cashiers to visit.

Price -
Sweet Bird is your typical concession stand and so are the prices. Things aren't cheap at the Golden 1 Center, but there are certainly more expensive places to go than Sweet Bird.

Special Tips and Recommendations -
Chicken fingers and tots is probably one of the easiest and least messy things you can get to watch the game at your seat. If you're looking for ease at the game, this item may be your best bet!

Bottom Line - 
Sweet Bird brings a mix of sweet and savory to the Golden 1 Center experience. Though chicken fingers may seem like a plain item, its ability to fill you up and be very delicious makes it a winner. If you wanna pony up a bit more money, get a nice sweet finisher at this very same place.

Letter Grade

A-

Go to the upper concourse to find Sweet Bird.

Check out those churro fries right there!

Chicken tenders with tots.

Porchetta House Rotisserie @ The Golden 1 Center

You might expect to have some chicken tenders at a sports game... but legit bbq chicken? That's what Porchetta House Rotisserie serves up as its main food attraction. They also offer a loaded tots dish that is absolutely phenomenal. You can't go wrong with the food from this great concession stand!

Food -
The main item here at Porchetta is the chicken. It comes with a breast, wing, and thigh. The pieces are a generous size and are smothered in this savory sauce with just a little bit of a kick to it. The chicken comes skin on and packed with juicy flavor. In fact, the chicken was surprisingly juicy - not something that I would expect at an arena - that's for sure. The dish you must eat with a knife and fork otherwise you're going to end up with a huge mess on your hands.

Though the chicken was excellent, I was really surprised by the potatoes that it comes with. They look like big fat steak fries. They have a nice light seasoning on the outside and pillowy soft potato on the inside. Dip these in just a little bit of ketchup and you've got a winner right here. This may be a side item, but it nearly steals the show!

Another show stealer is their tot dish. It comes loaded to the max with delicious ingredients, but the main one is the pork. There are chunks of pork and pork skin with the tots. It's a combination that I'd never thought I'd have! The pork really makes the entire plate pop with extreme amounts of flavor. My only complaint about this dish is that some of the pork can be quite hard... so watch your teeth for those of you who are sensitive!

Service/Atmosphere - 
As with all the other concession stands at the Golden 1 Center, this one does of good job of getting people through the line. If you're in a hurry, get the chicken as it is easier to put together than the tots.

Price -
The price is the only part of Porchetta that stings a bit. The chicken will cost you a hefty $20 for the dish. That's a pretty big chunk of change... and that's not even with a drink yet. The loaded tots isn't as much but it's closing in on that $20 mark. Be prepared for the high costs here. Porchetta may be one of the higher priced concession stands at Golden 1.

Special Tips and Recommendations -
If you have Apple Pay, you can find a special line that is usually not very long to get into rather than the full line. As the game was beginning, the line at Porchetta was looking pretty long. I saw the Apple Pay line with just two people in it. Score!

Bottom Line - 
Porchetta House Rotisserie is a slam dunk when it comes to the quality of food. It's one of my favorite places to eat whenever I go to the Golden 1 Center. Just watch out for the price as you may get sticker shock!

Letter Grade

A-

This is a LOADED tot dish!

Porchetta House Rotisserie is easy to find inside the Golden 1 Center.

High quality food here for sure.

Getting these two together will cost you a pretty penny.

This tot item is excellent - maybe too crunchy at times.

These star of the entire place might be these potatoes!

Wayside Noodles Vietnamese Restaurant

Amongst a row of restaurants near the big AMC movie theater in Natomas you'll find Wayside Noodles. To be honest, I had no idea this was a Vietnamese restaurant until I took a closer look at their sign. The name sounds more like they'd serve some sort of quick American pasta. Anyways, this is definitely a place you can order pho. And wow, I've had pho for the 2nd time in a week! That's definitely rare for me!

Food -
The menu at Wayside Noodles is pretty extensive with many, many items. There are a lot of appetizers, rice dishes, and different types of soups. But since this place has noodles in its name, I was going to try their pho.

The pho here at Wayside Noodles is good. Not great, but it definitely can hit the spot. The pho was presented well and the meat that was inside was left a little rare so that it could finish cooking in the hot broth. I felt that the pho had a good, fresh feel and taste to it. Honestly, I wasn't expecting too much as the Yelp ratings for this restaurant were on the lower side of things, but I would happily come here for pho any time!

The disappointment came with the other two items I ordered. I'm a big fan of Asian crispy salt and pepper tofu. A good version of this dish has a nice crisp outer shell with smooth tofu on the inside. The salt and pepper should make every bite explode in your mouth. That wasn't the case with this dish. The tofu was mushy and had a strange texture. It was more chewy than anything with a bland taste. I ended up just leaving this appetizer 95% unfinished.

My other item as a simple glass of Coke. As many know, my biggest vice in life is Coca Cola. I just love the stuff, but if it loses its fizziness, I'm not a happy camper. Well, the Coke here was very syrupy and lifeless. I was done after a couple of sips.

Service/Atmosphere - 
I came for lunch and the restaurant had a nice, bright atmosphere. Nothing really stands out about the restaurant itself, but it is relatively pleasant to eat in. The highlight of my trip to Wayside Noodles was the cashier/waitress. She was very nice and made sure to make my dining experience a pleasant one.

Price -
Prices here won't break the bank, but I'd say some of the appetizers are a bit on the pricey side. The tofu dish that I disliked was $7! I'd say that's a big high, but overall for the pho it's pretty moderate.

Special Tips and Recommendations -
If you would like a drink such as milk tea, I'd definitely skip the ones they have here and walk down a little bit to the boba tea place. You'll get a much better drink there.

Bottom Line - 
I enjoyed the pho, but just about everything else except for the service here left me wanting more from it. I'd say that Wayside Noodles is a pretty average Vietnamese restaurant that locals can visit if they really want to get a bowl of pho.

Letter Grade

C

Wayside Noodles is kind of an interesting name for a Vietnamese place.

The menu of items you can order is quite extensive.

Finish cooking the meat inside the hot soup broth.

This fried tofu needs some improvement.

Big Cheese Dog House @ The Golden 1 Center

Anyone here a fan of cheese? I know I am! Well, if you love cheese then Big Cheese Dog House at the Golden 1 Center might just be the ticket to a delicious meal while enjoying a basketball game. The items here feature cheese as their star attraction. This location on the concourse also features a large amount of sweet desserts to satisfy anyone looking to finish off their savory meal. 

Food -
Pulled pork grilled cheese sandwiches (or the regular variety), hotdogs, and nachos... these are the main items of interest at Big Cheese Dog House. All of these items feature cheese and, if you like, chili as well. On my visit to Big Cheese I chose to try their standard grilled cheese sandwich and a chili cheese hotdog.

The grilled cheese sandwich was pretty well made. I make a pretty mean grilled cheese sandwich, so it's hard to impress me. More often than not I've found myself disappointed in the grilled cheese creations at places I've visited. Thankfully, the one at Big Cheese is pretty simple - and that's what makes it good. The bread is nice and buttery crisp and there is a decent amount of cheese inside it. That's really all you need! I was surprised to find out that you get a side of deliciously seasoned chips to go along with the sandwich. It was a nice addition!

The chili cheese hotdog was very difficult to eat because it was extremely messy. There was so much chili and cheese in it that I couldn't even find the wiener! It almost like a man-which type sandwich at first. This item packed a ton of flavor, but it was just too difficult for met to handle. At a game, I'd have to bring back tons of napkins back to my seat in order to feel like I could get cleaned up after eating it.

I didn't get a chance to try the desserts, but it was surprising how many different varieties there were. They had cakes, tiramisu, and tarts all available. It was actually quite a stunning amount of sweets to choose from. For a place that serves up carnival-like foods, these refined desserts ready for consumption were quite surprising.

Service/Atmosphere - 
Like most of the large concession stands at Golden 1 Center, Big Cheese is easy to navigate with many cashiers ready to take your order. The set-up is modern and looks good. The menus on the screens are bright so you can easily figure out what you'd like to order.

Price -
The grilled cheese sandwich and chips at $8 was a very nice deal I thought. This is something I'd definitely get again. The big messy hotdog I got was $9. Overall, I think the prices here are just a smidge lower than the other places around the arena.

Special Tips and Recommendations -
If you're going to go for the chili cheese stuff, make sure you get plenty of napkins and a fork/knife combination. Don't use your hands! It's a huge mess and you'll thank me for this suggestion later!

Bottom Line - 
The food here at Big Cheese may be the best value for your money at Golden 1 Center. The taste is there but things can get out of hand if you're not careful handling your meal!

Letter Grade

B+

Getting ready for some cheesy goodness.

Where is the wiener? It's buried under all that meat and cheese.

Stretchy cheese in my grilled cheese sandwich.

The name really says it all.

Selland's @ The Golden 1 Center

Arco Arena featured Pizza Guys pizza slices when it was open and operating. They definitely did the job, but now that Sacramento has the Golden 1 Center, the pizza selection's bar has been raised. Selland's is one of the places you can go to find a slice of pizza pie. They are located on the main concourse at Golden 1 Center and should be very easy to find.

Food -
Selland's offers up two types of pizza slices - pepperoni or margherita. As a big meat fan, I opted for the pepperoni, but it's nice that there is a vegetarian option in the margherita slice that isn't just plain cheese. And guess what? They have a gluten free crust option as well! So plenty of nice options for all types of eaters here at this concession stand.

The slices here at Selland's are of the thin variety. The slice is very thin and very flat. The crust of the pizza has a crunchy texture to it. If you're a fan of thin crust pizzas, this may be the pizza slice for you! The pepperoni on my slice had a nice salty flavor. The edges of the pepperoni slightly edge upward - a popular version of pepperoni nowadays. Overall the slice is excellent tasting - especially if you get a really fresh one. Perhaps because of the thinness, but slices that have been out for a while can have cheese that gets a bit hard.

If you want to feed the entire family, whole pizzas are available. And if you're into a salad, they also have that on the menu. I have yet to try the salad, so I'll be sure to put that on a future order of mine!

Service/Atmosphere - 
The concession stands at Golden 1 Center are very modern. They large ones like Selland's look more like something you'd find at a mall rather than those housed within the walls of the concourse at an older stadium. Because the main concourse level at Golden 1 Center is pretty large, there is a lot of room to line up and wait for a cashier. Thankfully, I've never had to wait too long to order. There are also ample cashiers to help expedite food service.

Price -
Slices of pizza at Selland's are $10 each. If you'd like an entire pizza pie, it's $50. That's certainly a lot of money for pizza, but again, you'll always pay a premium at arenas such as these. If you'd like the salad option, it'll be $12.

Special Tips and Recommendations -
I definitely suggest eating this slice of pizza right away! When I filmed my video for this review, I left my slice sitting around for a while and the cheese lost its nice gooeyness. Sad day!

Bottom Line - 
If you're in the mood for pizza at a Kings game, Selland's is a good option - especially if you're into thin slices. Sure, it's a bit expensive, but it is on par with other items found at the Golden 1 Center.

Letter Grade

B+

Who's ready for some pizza?

You'll find Selland's on the plaza level of Golden 1 Center.

Check out the thinness of this slice of pizza!

Pushkins AMAZING Gluten Free Restaurant

Can gluten free be done right? Pushkin's Restaurant answers with an emphatic YES! Everything at the restaurant is gluten free. There are a ton of 'bread' options available... all fine for folk who are allergic to gluten or want to avoid it in their diets. The restaurant is located in midtown and has a modern and chic vibe. It's definitely a place to check out and see what the fuss is all about!

Food -
If you didn't know any better, you'd think you were at a traditional brunch restaurant. There's muffins, sandwiches, scrambles, and everything else you would see at your everyday brunch place. The catch here is that all the food is gluten free or vegan with a good selection of dairy free food as well! For folks that cannot have gluten, Pushkin's Restaurant is a godsend.

All the food made here at Pushkin's Restaurant is crafted with care. Even the ketchup is their own house made concoction. The food is presented well and looks amazing. Having the food look good is important, but when push comes to shove, it's all about the taste.

Good thing that the taste is certainly there. The flavors are great and you can find whatever it is you are craving for brunch here. Want sweet? Yup! Want savory? Yup! They have it here.

On our visit we ordered a nice variety of different food. I got a chance to try their crispy chicken sandwich as well as their breakfast sandwich. As for the Crispy chicken, I enjoyed the flavor, but it wasn't the crispy fried chicken sandwich that I was expecting it to be. It didn't have all the heavy breading on it. Rather it was a thinner piece of chicken that had some good flavor, but was a little on the dryer side.

The breakfast sandwich was a bit more on point with the bacon being a star. I got the chicken sandwich with fries which were absolutely perfect. The breakfast sandwich came with hash browns that look like fried pillows. Excellent tasting pillows.

The buns were the items that would really make or break these items. Gluten free buns have a certain mouthfeel to them. Rather than being soft with some chew, gluten free buns and bread tend to break apart quickly in the mouth. The bread items here at Pushkin's had some of that quality, but to be honest it was probably the best gluten free bread that I've had thus far. They've done a great job here.

In terms of drinks, we got some fresh squeezed orange juice, iced tea, and a latte. If you're into mimosas or other beverages of that ilk, there is a menu full of them for you to enjoy!

Service/Atmosphere - 
The restaurant is beautiful and well designed. The overall feel combines that of nature with modern sensibilities. You can really tell that a good amount of thought went into making this place a destination.

Service was good, but because there were so many people trying to get in and the place was packed, the service did end up slowing down a little. It's understandable, but unfortunate.

Price -
You'll definitely be paying a premium to eat all this gluten free goodness. Our total bill at the end of our meal was $80. With a small OJ being $4 and us ordering plenty of side items, the bill will begin to hurt if you splurge a bit.

Special Tips and Recommendations -
To avoid having to wait too long, you can go online and join their waitlist. It's a great idea to do so because it tells you how long the current wait time is. My family came in early and were able to get seating quickly, but by the time we were done the wait time was up to 45 minutes!

Bottom Line - 
Pushkin's Restaurant is well worth a visit. Even if you're not allergic to gluten, checking out Pushkin's selection of gluten free foods is an experience to have. With all the choices on the menu, you might forget that Pushkin's is a totally gluten free place!

Letter Grade

A

Nature and modern elements come together at Pushkins.

This basket of baked goods was about ten bucks.

All these baked goods look really appetizing.

Even more appetizing baked goods.

My crispy chicken sandwich.

Tofu scramble... no egg at all!

Jenn enjoying herself some coffee.

*Bleep* King 4 for your Vietnamese Noodle Fix in Davis

Be careful of how you say Pho King 4! If you say it wrong, you could get yourself into a bit of trouble! Pho King 4 is a Vietnamese restaurant across the street from the UC Davis campus. It's one of only a few places in town where you can find Vietnamese style food - specifically pho. If pho is what you want, then Pho King 4 is a place you'll have to consider going to.

Food -
The main item to order at Pho King 4 is the pho. If you're unfamiliar with what pho is... well... I suggest you find a good pho place and try it out! It's a Vietnamese noodle soup with white vermicelli noodles accompanied by different types of meats and veggies. The broth is clear and comes to you piping hot. A cold plate of jalepanos, sprouts, and mint comes alongside it for you to toss in if you so desire. Lots of flavors combine together to make pho a wonderful taste experience.

A good pho is full of flavor and character. Sadly, the pho at Pho King 4 is pretty average. It's fine for what it is, but if it's your first time trying pho, I would skip it and go elsewhere for a first experience. The broth here isn't full of flavor and everything is just a bit bland. I ended up adding a lot of sauces to my pho in order to make it have more flavor.

I can't say that the food here is horrible... it isn't! If you're in a dire mood for pho, Pho King 4 can scratch that itch for you. If you're a student, the restaurant is close enough that you can just walk on over from campus easily.

Pho King 4 also offers spring rolls, rice dishes, and some other Asian cuisine. To go with my order of pho I tried the pork spring rolls. Pork spring rolls should have an extremely savory BBQ'd taste. But just like the pho here, the flavor is on the lower end of the spectrum. I found myself smothering the spring roll in the sauce it came with in order to add some much needed flavor.

Service/Atmosphere - 
The restaurant has an older vibe to it - it's certainly not fancy or very nice. It's a bit dingy, but it's probably never going to change. So I guess you get what you get!

As for the service, I found it to be adequate. Pho King 4 was having some brisk business but they were attentive to us when we walked in and we were seated in a timely manner. Everything was prompt and there were no issues with customer service. It was good!

Price -
Prices at Pho King 4 are moderate. For around ten bucks you get a big bowl of pho. They also have a big sign in the front that says sandwiches for $4. I'd say that Pho King 4 is generally a good value if you're looking for a meal to fill you up.

Special Tips and Recommendations -
The toughest thing about Pho King 4 is actually getting to it. It's located on a street that doesn't allow cars and much of the parking around the restaurant is for residents with special permits only. If you're there on a weekend, I suggest parking on the street right next to UC Davis and then walking over to the restaurant.

Bottom Line - 
Pho King 4 is a no frills Vietnamese restaurant that delivers nice portions at decent prices. It's a good restaurant for students to visit and it's also one of the few Vietnamese restaurants in town.

Letter Grade

C

Careful how you say the name!

'Small' bowl of pho.

'Large' bowl of pho. There's XL as well but no 'medium' size.

Pork spring rolls and peanut sauce.