Author: dinobutter

We’ve been meaning to write about these delicacies for a long time. We discovered them over the Christmas holidays and absolutely love them.

So what is mochi cream? Well, as many of you already know, mochi is a Japanese dessert with a rice flour outer layer and usually filled with red bean. While we love the outer layer, none of us are fans of red bean.

Well, mochi cream solves all of our problems. There are about 20-30 different dessert flavors filled with pudding, cream, chocolate, or jellies.

After extensive research (this means that we tried nearly all of the flavors), we narrowed our favorite flavors to two: caramel pudding and raspberry millefeuille. Anya likes the caramel marginally better and Karsen likes the raspberry more.

Unfortunately, these lovely desserts are not available where we live. In fact, we’ve only had them in Los Angeles. Luckily for us, popo and kung kung (from LA) came to visit us in March. They brought us 2 dozen – 1 dozen of each of our favorite flavors.

Here’s a picture of the box:

Here are pictures of the caramel pudding. We’ve taken pictures of the cross-section after biting into them also. IT IS MELT IN YOUR MOUTH!!! The caramel pudding tastes a bit like flan with the lovely texture of mochi rice flour.

Here are pictures of the raspberry millefeuille. Again, there are multiple pictures.

The raspberry millefeuille had a very crunchy texture and that is why papa and Karsen like that best. A millefeuille, or Napoleon,is a french puff pastry that is usually crunchy. It means a thousand sheets, but it usually consists of alternating 2 layers with cream or jam.

The two flavors are very different but we like them both. The caramel pudding was smoother and has a melt in your mouth quality. The raspberry millefeuille is like a party in your mouth.

Overall we give these two desserts (5 happy faces out of 5):
😀 😀 😀 😀 😀

Give it a try – here’s the website (it’s all in Japanese)

http://www.mochicream.com/

I know it’s been a long time since we’ve posted.  Schoolwork and other extracurricular activities have gotten in the way of our blog postings!  For those of you who have been worried that we are starving, NEVER FEAR!  We are still eating!!

Today, Karsen travelled to Brooklyn, NYC where Ms. JBJ and Eric jojo live.  They were busy working but gave us a great suggestion for a quick snack when we arrived.  At Eric jojo’s recommenation (remember, he’s the one who recommended Tommy’s which we hated), we headed to a place called Mile End.  This is the website: http://www.mileendbrooklyn.com/

Keep in mind, we hadn’t really eaten all day and this would be our first real meal. It was nearly 4pm and Mile End closes between 4 and 5:30pm.  Luckily, we checked out the menu ahead of time and called to order their Smoked Meat Poutine.  The walk was much further than we had anticipated but we eventually got there a little after 4pm.  A nice man, named Ari, had our poutine waiting – even though we were 5 minutes late!  This is a picture of Ari and Karsen:

We ate it immediately, sitting outside on their seats.  We were starving and a little worried that the poutine might be soggy.  We were pleasantly surprised.  They had packed the gravy separately.  Here is a picture of the food:

And then, we poured the gravy:

And here is a picture of Karsen enjoying his poutine:

The poutine was absolutely delicious.  We were debating which taste we liked best:  the fries, the cheese, the gravy, or the smoked meat.  We decided it was the combination of all of the flavors.  So we tried to have all of the four major ingredients with every large bite.  The gravy was so buttery and delicious.  Ari told us that it was made with mushrooms – no meat!  The beef brisket was perfectly smoked and the cheese were chunks of cheese curds – just the way the Canadiens have their poutine. This place is the perfect fusion of Canadian poutine and Jewish deli! The result is AMAZING!!!

We are not sure if it was because we were starving, but the poutine really hit the spot.  We suspect that it is TRULY delicious though because several passersby commented on how good our food smelled!  Arie was even nice enough to give us two cookies –  a coconut macaroon and an almond cookie!

Since Anya was not here for this event, this smiley face rating (out of five possible) is based on Karsen’s evaluations alone:

😀 😀 😀 😀 😀

 

 

 

 

 

At last – the long-awaited Umami post.  We need to state upfront that prior to this post, we have eaten at Umami burger several times and it is our favorite hamburger place.  In fact, we think it might be the most perfect burger ever.  So even before heading to Umami-Hermosa Beach, we were expecting another delicious experience.  We were not disappointed.

If you have been following our blog, you’ll also know that we ate at Umami Burger with several people, including Doktor, Persen, Pei-pei Ah-yi, Uncle Ben, Zander,Mina, and Annika.  We are going to give you our opinion about the place.  And we hope that those who came with us will give their opinion also!!

Here is a picture of the place:

Here are pictures of the menu:

We first ordered lemonade – we only get lemonade when it is homemade.  The lemonade was delicious. It tasted just how we liked it-sour, but not too sour. Here is a picture of POSSIBLY THE BEST LEMONADE EVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!(besides Papa’s) and the ginger beer that is alcoholic(a.k.a the eew drinks for grownups that we can’t even try).

 

The onion rings were especially crunchy and not too oily.

Here is a picture of the onion rings:

The cheese taters were very tasty, very cheesy, and melt in your mouth.  The cheese taters are not on the menu – you have to ask for it.  Umami doesn’t always have cheese taters – we’ve asked previously, and this was the FIRST time they were actually available!

Here is a picture of the cheese taters:

The parmesan crisp was very crispy and easily broken. This was Annika’s favorite thing.  In fact, it is really only available on the Umami burger but since Annika liked it so much, we asked the server for an extra one.

Here is a picture of the parmesan crisp:

The French Fries were perfectly salted. They were Mina’s favorite.

Here is a picture:

The sweet potato fries were even better than the french fries and extremely crunchy and crispy.

Here is a picture:

The Smushed potatoes were HOT (temperature hot) and very appetizing.

Here is a picture:

And all of the sides came with homemade sauces.  These sauces included roasted garlic aioli, diablo, and jalapeno ranch.  Even their ketchup was homemade.  Anya’s favorite was the garlic aioli. Mommy and Karsen like the diablo.  And Papa likes the jalapeno ranch.

Their signature burger is called the umami burger. This is the most perfect burger.  Both of us (Karsen and Anya) get the same burger everytime.  The beef is cooked to perfection and medium rare, just how we like it..  It is topped with: 1) caramelized onions – you know the kind – brown sweet and buttery, 2.) grilled shiitake mushrooms. 3) roasted tomatoes, and 4) the best parmesan crisp!  The crisp gives it the taste of a cheeseburger with a nice crunch!  It may just be our favorite burger in the world.  Here it is:

If you look at the menu above, you’ll notice that in addition to the Umami burger, there are many others. Notably, they have the hatch burger, the manly burger and the truffle burger.  Papa likes the hatch burger because he likes his burgers spicy.  It comes with Hatch Chilis. Several others in our party liked the Manly burger – which comes with beer cheddar and bacon.  And mommy loves the truffle burger – which is a perfect cheeseburger with just a hint of truffle.  Below, there is the Manly burger first, the second is the Hatch burger.

Please notice the consistency of these burgers.  Each burger has a bun that is perfectly suited to the patty.  Some people like it when their bun runs over or when there is ample beef.  We like it when it is exactly the same size.  Also, the servers will ask you how you like the burger cooked.  We recommend medium rare, as usual.   All the burgers there were absolutely DELICIOUS!!!!!!!!!! Below, is the Truffle burger.

And of course, no meal is complete without dessert.  The desserts were ice cream sandwiches. These are no ordinary sandwiches – the ice-cream comes sandwiched between two homemade cookies.  We got the following flavors:: cookies n’ cream, salted caramel, and hazelnut. They were cut up into quarters.

We found out that the dessert supplier at Umami Hermosa is different than the other Umami Burgers we had frequently (Santa Monica and La Brea).  At the other locations, the ice cream sandwiches had FRENCH MACARONS instead of normal cookies.  And the flavors were amazing – Red Velvet Cake, German Chocolate Cake, etc.  Because of our expectations, we must say we were a little disappointed in the ice-cream sandwiches here.

That said, it was still the best burger we’ve ever had.  And if we lived near one, we’d ask mommy and papa to take us to Umami once a week – YES, it’s that good.  In fact, when we were there, Doktor asked us if we would order the same meal everytime.  And the answer is yes!  We’d get the umami burger, ALL of the sides, and lemonade.  And if we are in Santa Monica or LaBrea, we’d save room for the ice cream sandwiches with french macarons.

Umami is a funny name for a burger joint.  We looked it up and found out that it means fifth taste – a sort of savory meaty taste.  Well, Umami burger is certainly savory and tasty!

As usual or rating is from 1-5 smiley faces.

We rate Umami 5 smiley faces.

😀 😀 😀 😀 😀

Special Thanks to Doktor, Person and Zander for joining us on this excursion (you too Mina and Annika and Uncle Ben and Peipei Ah-yi!)

Bon Appetit!

Here’s hoping that everyone has an amazing Dragon Year.  This is a picture of our gelato cake (coconut and pannacotta).

We left Las Vegas and then headed to Los Angeles for Christmas.  On the way, we were excited to try Tommy’s Burgers in Barstow on Eric Jojo’s recommendation (see comments in our Smashburger post).

When we arrived, we were impressed with the history behind Tommy’s.  As you see from the pictures below, Tommy’s is an historical institution.  The original Tommy’s Burger opened in Los Angeles 65 years ago.

According to all of the signs, Tommy’s made a name for itself for fresh food, with all the toppings at no extra cost. Their most famous topping is Tommy’s famous chili.   Here is a picture of the burger that we were hoping to get:

As you can see from the menu, Tommy’s famous chili features prominently in chili cheese fries, chili hot dogs, chili cheese burgers, just plain chili, and even chili tamale.

So we decided to order several chili burgers, one hamburger (popo does not like cheese), a breakfast sandwich (for Mina), and mommy and Karsen split a triple chili cheeseburger.  As advertised, the food came out quickly.  This is what it looked like.

Here is a cross section of the triple chili-cheese burger that mommy and Karsen shared:

Perhaps we have been spoiled by smashburger, but we thought the burgers tasted horrible. The meat was fine but the chili made everything soggy and messy.  The buns may have been fresh (as the sign said) but fell apart while eating because of the chili.  The chili looked like dog food and only mommy found it edible.  Popo asked for no cheese but they gave it to her anyway.  Papa was especially upset because In N’ Out was across the street.  He said that all he wanted for Christmas was his calories back.

But their shakes were pretty good.  Here’s a picture:

In fact, Karsen says that the best thing about Tommy’s is their shakes. And Mina was happy because she liked the sausage in her breakfast sandwich and the fries.  

We ordered two kinds of fries:  plain fries, and chili cheese fries.  Like the burger, the chili cheese fries got very soggy and were messy to eat.

Overall, we were completely disappointed.  Karsen believes it to be the worst burger place he has ever been to.

On a scale from 1-5 smiley faces:

Anya’s Rating: 😀 😀 (2 smiley faces)

Karsen’s Rating:  1/2 😀 (1/2 smiley face)

We would not recommend going to this place again – especially if there is an In-N-Out across the street.  Sorry Eric Jojo – maybe the one you went to tasted better!

 

 

We were in Las Vegas for several days.  Since we do not gamble in casinos, we usually take the opportunity to try some of the amazing restaurants that Las Vegas has to offer (we feel especially justified because we usually go for a hike during the day).  After Popo’s birthday dinner at Jaleo, we decided to try a more casual, low-key place called China Poblano.

China Poblano is a very interesting place.  It is a restaurant that features both Chinese and Mexican cuisine.  Strange, right?  We thought so too and feared that this meant that neither cuisine was done well. But we were pleasantly surprised.

First, the atmosphere is a blend of the two cultures.  Karsen took quite a few pictures of the restaurant.

After a long day’s hike, we decided we needed a drink.  Both of us ordered the horchata.  Horchata is a traditional Mexican cinnamon rice refreshment. When we were drinking horchata, we were thinking about the Vampire Weekend song that starts “In December, drinking horchata. . . .”  We think horchata should not be restricted to just December.  It is delicious enough to drink all months of the year.

And the grown-ups ordered drinks too.  As usual, mommy ordered the margarita.

As you can see from the picture there is no salt on the rim.  Karsen was most disappointed because he always likes to lick the salt.  Instead, there was a “salt water foam” at the top.  This was also the case with the pomegranate margarita, which Papa decided to try.

Pei pei Ah-yi (our aunt) ordered a lemon drink that came with noodles. Weird, right?

Since we like both Chinese and Mexican food, we ordered some of both.

We are going to try to be orderly and talk about the Mexican dishes first.  This includes the chips, salsa, guacamole, tacos (lobster, duck tongue, beef tongue, pork belly pastor, and barbacoa), chilaquiles, and ceviche.The salsa was very spicy and the chips were crispy. The avocados had chili flakes in them and were delicious. The variety of tacos was amazing and MELTS IN YOUR MOUTH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Mommy liked the pork belly pastor best.  Popo likes all the tongue tacos.

Below is the queso fundido with chorizo.  This was one of Papa’s favorites.  He said he would order this again the next time we dine at China Poblano.

This is the chilaquiles.  To be honest, we were a little disappointed in the chilaquiles – perhaps because everything else was so delicious.  

We had to try the fries with mole sauce.  The mole sauce was delicious and this reminded us of the poutine that we had in Canada.  This is what it looked like: 

We LOVED the scallop ceviche.  It was presented on a bed of rocks (not edible – that’s one of Karsen’s spelling words) and you are supposed to have it with a squeeze of lime (see below).  The combined taste was salty, spicy, and sour.  Interesting, right?

After all that Mexican food, you would not think that we had space for Chinese food, right?  Well, we did!!  From the Chinese menu,  we ordered sui mai, dan dan noodles, and har-gau dumplings.  The sui mai was average.  We got two orders of dan dan noodles.  The first order was great but the second was too salty (right yi-po?).  And the har gau dumplings were so-so.  We were looking forward to the dumplings because they seemed like an interesting twist to the traditional har gau.  Traditional har gau dumplings have only shrimp in them.  These dumplings had both shrimp and pork belly.  We don’t know why but these dumplings tasted just average to us.

In general, we were disappointed with the chinese food and thought the mexican dishes were much better. A real eye-opener though is that everyone can see them make their noodles fresh!! Everything else was average. Anyone can get them at any dim sum place.

Since papa so enjoyed the flan at Jaleo’s and China Poblano is managed by the same chef  (Jose Andres), so papa decided to try the flan here also.

This flan tasted different than Jaleo’s, but it was SUPER DUPER CREAMY!!!!!We also ordered the coconut tapioca dessert.  Tapioca desserts are among our favorite Chinese desserts.Both desserts were AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We would definitely not mind going again. It was a unique blend of two of our favorite cuisines.  If you are in Vegas, you should try it!

As usual, our ratings our out of five smiley faces.

Rating: 😀 😀 😀 1/2

 

 

Over the holiday season, we travelled to Las Vegas.  Las Vegas is where Popo (our grandmother) likes to spend her birthday every year.  And her Birthday is December 18.  So we had her birthday dinner at a Spanish restaurant called Jaleo.  We were looking forward to the food there because Jaleo is managed by a famous chef named Jose Andres.

We would describe the atmosphere at Jaleo as vibrant.  Here are some pictures of the place:

Above is a picture of Popo, Pei-Pei Ahyi (our aunt) and our cousin Annika.  We think that the open kitchen adds to the atmosphere’s vibrancy.  An open kitchen also instills confidence in the food.  Below is a picture of one of the chefs roasting the pig.

And of course, we took a close-up of the pig.

Like most Spanish places, this place serves tapas.  Tapas are small spanish dishes. Our server recommended that we try quite a few delicious appetizers including a chacuterie platter of meats and cheeses.  They, of course featured iberian ham, serrano ham, and spanish cheeses (like manchego).  This is what they looked like:

And of course, we had chorizo.  Chorizo is a spicy sausage in the form of salami.This was our cousin MIna’s favorite of the meats and cheeses!

And of course, we had to include a smiling picture of Mina!  That’s what she looked like after enjoying her chorizo!

Since Tapas are very small and we had a large party, we were able to sample quite a few tasty dishes.  For example, we also had a ham and cheese bocadillo (that’s a sandwich), Jaleo’s patatas bravas (these are sometimes like french fries or potato chips.  In Jaleo, they were like fresh-made potato chips with a spicy sauce), and Buñuelos de bacalao (this is a fritter with cod, honey, and cheese).  We thought the bocadillo was competent – the bread was good, the ham was good, and cheese was good.  But we expected just a little bit more.  The potato chips were perfectly crispy and not oily at all.  The spicy sauce was mild – even Mina was able to have some.  And the Buñuelos de bacalao were mommy’s favorite!  They were perfect pastries with a little cheese, saltiness (from the cod), and sweetness (from the honey).  If we returned, we’d probably order the Buñuelos again.  Here are pictures of those tapas dishes – bocadillo first, patatas bravas next, and Buñuelos last:

 

Our server also suggested the gambas al ajillo, the mushrooms, the calamari, and a salad.  The gambas are a traditional Spanish shrimp dish.  The shrimp is cooked with garlic and with just a little shell on the tail.  Karsen loves the crunchiness of the tail.

The mushrooms, pictured below, were absolutely delicious!  If you like mushrooms even just a little bit, you should most certainly order these!  You won’t be disappointed. 

The calamari was okay – like the bocadillos, they were not as spectacular as we had hoped.  The salad, however, was absolutely delicious!  And of course, we feel good about ourselves when we have vegetables!  This is what the calamari and salad looked like.

And of course, if you go to a Spanish restaurant, you must order some paella.  Paella is Spanish, or more specifically Valencian, rice dish.  This is a delicacy that requires quite some time to cook so that the rice soaks up all the flavors.  Since we had a large party, we were able to order a special paella – the Iberian ribs paella.  Here is a picture of the paella being made.

It takes about 45 minutes to make Paella.  So make sure you order it early and then get lots of appetizers so that you can eat while waiting.  When they finished making the paella, several servers brought it to show us.  They needed several servers because it is heavy!!

Also arriving at the same time was the “Secreto  Iberico con pan con tomate y salsa verde.”    This was listed on the menu as a secret – which of course is irresistable to us!  This is the Iberian pork with tomato bread and green sauce.  The green sauce was the most delicious sauce!  We had to ask for extra because the sauce made everything on the table taste better!!!  Thank goodness for the green sauce because the Iberian pork was a little chewy.  This means that Karsen takes at least 20 minutes to swallow a small piece.

 Since it was Popo’s birthday, we had to have dessert!  And Jaleo’s flan is quite famous.  Here is a picture of Popo blowing out her candle with our cousin Mina.

We are BIG dessert fans!  If you read our blog, you will know that we have an extra dessert stomach.  And you need to save space in your tummy for this flan.  It is soft, creamy, sweet, and everything you hope for in a flan.  In fact, Papa says it may be the best flan he has ever had in his entire life and he is quite old.  But not as old as Popo!  Thank you Popo for sharing your birthday with us!  A very HAPPY BIRTHDAY to you and may you have MANY MORE!!!

As usual, we have a five happy-face rating system (with five being best).  Since we could not agree on the rating, we give you both of our assessments.

Anya’s rating:

😀 😀 😀 😀

Karsen’s rating:

😀 😀 😀 😀 1\2

If you are in Vegas, this place is certainly worth going to.  Here’s a link to their website and dinner menu:

http://www.jaleo.com/index.php/contact/las_vegas

http://www.jaleo.com/images/uploads/Jaleo_menu_dinner.pdf

To end the post we have a picture of Mina and Anya saying YAY because they made good food for us!!!!!!!

P.S We were told by Mina that she and Anya were saying YAY dessert because dessert just came.

P.P.S We were told by Pei Pei Ahyi and Annika that Annika was eating with gusto.

Here is a picture of that.  Isn’t she cute??????:

 

We are very lucky to know many fantastic cooks!  As you might expect, Popo and Dadi (our grandmothers) make delicious food.  In addition, our friend and neighbor, Ms. Madhu makes the BEST dosas outside of India.  If you don’t know what a dosa is it is:  simply think of it as spicy potatoes and onions being a rolled up crispy thin bread. It is fairly large.

Ms. Madhu needs to make the batter ahead of time.  She makes the batter using two fancy machines.  The second machine is one that grinds the flour that dosa is made with:

 

 

 

 

 

 

She also has the potato filling and the sambar already prepared.The Potato Filling is slightly spicy and the sambar is equally spicy, having no lumps.

 

With all the preparations, she then makes each dosa individually.  And we eat them while they are hot.  If you have ever seen French crepes or galletes being made, it is very similar.  This is a video of Ms. Madhu making the dosa.

Madhu making dosas at her house

This is a picture of the dosa and sambar.  As many of you know, Indian food comes with different kinds of chutney.  Ms. Madhu makes her own gunpowder chutney. This is a picture of all our delicious food.  This one is of  a dosa with a bowl of sambar.  Sambar is a spicy Indian soup that one has with dosas.

 

The second picture is of raita.  Raita is a yogurt sauce.

Ms. Madhu also makes her own gunpowder chutney and ghee.  Ghee is clarified butter. Remember, as our friends at the Cordon Bleu school taught us: Butter is good, Butter is fat, Fat is our friend!!

This is Omkar. He is Ms.Madhu’s son. He reads a lot of books and is very intelligent! He is four years old.

 

Overall, our meal was delicious. Special thanks to Ms.Madhu and Omkar!!! 🙂

As usual our rating consists out of five stars with five being the highest.

Rating: 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀

WE LOVE HOMEMADE FOOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We hope you have a delicious holiday season and an even more delicious new year!!!!!!

From the sophisti-kids.

As per Mr. Blake’s suggestion (way back in our WHO WE ARE Post), we have decided to review and compare our favorite burger joints.  We plan to review In-N-Out, Umami Burger, and Five Guys in later posts.  But Smashburger is our first of the series.

We were eager to try Smashburger after reading about it online. They use meatballs and smash the meatball (that is why they call the restaurant Smashburger) so it makes them look like patties. We were especially excited about the variety of their offerings.  There are so many toppings available for burgers including jalapenos, different kinds of cheese, chipotle mayonnaise, buffalo sauce, avocado, and crispy onions (known as Haystacks).  In addition to different kinds of burgers, Smashburger also has SmashFries (made with potatoes and rosemary), Sweet Potato SmashFries (made with sweet potatoes and rosemary), Haystacks (onion strings), and an assortment of drinks, including shakes, malts, and floats – all made with Haagen Dazs ice-cream!!!  Here is a picture of their menus:

                                    

Egg (that’s her name) took our order and got it just right!  She also had several recommendations for us.  This is what she looked like.

We followed Egg’s advice and ordered the following:  1) a classic burger with cheddar cheese (none of us like American cheese) and jalapenos, 2)  an avocado club – this is their most popular chicken burger, 3) an Arizona devil dog, 4)  Smash Fries, 5) Sweet potato Smashfries, 6) Haystack onions, 7) Vanilla Shake (for Karsen and they use Haagen Daaz ice cream), 8) Root beer float (for Anya – and they use IBC root beer), and 9) Iced Tea for mommy.  Because we were doing a blog, Egg also made sure that we got to try all their different sauces including the smash sauce, chipotle mayonnaise, and Frank’s red hot buffalo sauce.  We shared everything so that we would be able to let you know how everything tasted.

First, we’d like to let you know about our drinks.

This is a picture of Karsen’s delicious and refreshing Vanilla shake.  This shake is better than Five Guys – because FIve Guys doesn’t offer shakes and better than In-N-Out’s because it is made with Haagen Dazs ice cream.

Here’s Anya’s Root Beer Float:

You can tell that Anya is really enjoying her float.  This float is also superior to In-N-Out’s because of the Root Beer.  In-N-Out uses A&W root beer and Smashburger uses IBC.

Even Mommy was impressed with the Iced Tea.  It was fresh brewed and made with Tazo Tea.  Here is a picture of the tea:

We also had water to stay properly hydrated and Smashburger provides special water straws that are half the size of regular straws because the water cups are smaller.  Here is a picture of that.

All of our food arrived at the same time.  We decided to first try the Classic Burger first.  This is what it looked like:

You’ll notice that the burger is split in 1/2 so that we could all try it.  From the cross-section you can see the classic egg bread, lettuce, tomato, “smashed patty”, cheese, and sauce. We got the regular size which is 1/3 pound.  You can also order a large burger which is a 1/2 pound of ground beef and a small (maybe that’s 1/4 pound?).    And the cup is filled with their delicious SmashFries.  These fries are perfectly crispy (without being oily) and are seasoned with rosemary.

Anya thinks that the sweet potato Smashfries are even better.  These are also seasoned with rosemary.

We tried both kinds of fries with all of the different sauces (the chipotle mayonaise, smash sauce, and Frank’s buffalo sauce).

Even their ketchup was special.

And of course, Anya’s favorite sauce was the Cholula sauce that was on the table.

Then, we tried the Avocado Club and the Haystack (onion rings).

The Haystack onions were a little greasy.  We know because of all the napkins we needed to use while eating them (note:  when we returned to Smashburger a week later, we had perfectly crispy, non-greasy haystack onion rings!).  We ordered the chicken avocado club on Egg’s recommendation.  She said it was their most popular non-hamburger order.  While it was an okay chicken club, we all agree – it paled in comparison to the excellent burger.

Finally, we tried the Arizona Devil Dog.

We also had the  hotdog cut in half.  This hot dog contained onions, jalapenos, chipotle mayonaise, tomatoes, habanero cheese and guacamole.  This was quite a tasty dog.  The guacamole tasted like creamy avocado.  And the jalapenos were spicy, making our mouths water (good thing we could down it with vanilla shake and root beer float).  Even with all the spiciness, Anya added her favorite Cholula sauce.

In general, we liked the burger best, the hot dog next, and the club last.  As for the sides, mommy liked the smashfries and Anya liked the sweet potato smashfries.  Karsen is wishy washy and liked them all.

This is a place that we enjoy – Why go to McDonald’s when there’s a Smashburger in town?

As usual, our smiley faces are out of 5: 😀 😀 😀 😀 1\2

That’s pretty good! 😉

Here is a picture of the manager:

We will definitely return here soon! Thank you everybody! Special thanks to Egg!

P.S.  We brought our father to visit Smashburger a week later and even he liked it!!!  And he is the finickiest eater!!!!

P.P.S.  We can’t wait to do reviews on the other burger places.  Doktor – you’re coming with us to Umami burger, right?