Every time my boyfriend and I swing by Tempe Marketplace, we always see Portillos around and we would often wonder how this place would taste. We had never heard of Portillos as we're not from the Chicago (nor have we even visited there).

However, it very much was how we both expected. It's a very casual place where friends and family can settle down and have some fast food after a day of shopping. It's a nice idea but it's sort of out of the way for us since my boyfriend and I always go towards the main marketplace to shop or browse around.


I ordered a hamburger while my boyfriend ordered a combo (a hot dog with an Italian sausage and some roast beef). We had initially thought the combo was going to come with some fries and a drink but only I got the fries, as it came with my meal apparently, and I had to order us a drink. It's not a big deal or anything! I guess he and I misunderstood this kind of lingo, haha.



The burger was okay; it's a step up from McDonalds but that's all I can really say about it. The fries were average, but both the burger and fries were at least fresh. The hot dog my boyfriend was surprisingly good - only because we've been burnt before with restaurants who try to mimic others only in looks and not taste.

If we're not really feeling the other restaurants in Tempe Marketplace, I believe we'd come here just to get more of those infamous hot dogs.

Original link on Yelp: http://www.yelp.com/biz/portillos-tempe#hrid:lVsc1JhX1xu1Wo6mPnMTLg

Rating: ★★★☆☆

Labels: rest-views, yelp

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I had been here a few years ago with some friends and I remembered how much I've liked it. Now that some time has passed by and I decided to give this a try.

I had ordered a turkey sandwich and my boyfriend had ordered the chicken fajita melt. It came with a pickle and a cookie. They were nice enough to give me a free cookie because they had a special deal if you checked in via Yelp! app on your smartphone! My boyfriend decided to get a butterscotch cookie while I got myself the peanut butter & M&Ms cookie!



This cafe seems to be more known for its sweets than sandwiches but that doesn't mean it's all bad. The fajita melt had a nice spice to it while my turkey sandwich had a lot of bean sprouts. That's probably my fault since I had forgotten to ask to take it out. Ah, well.

The cookies were pretty good - they were still pretty soft but for some reason, the cookies weren't as fresh as I hoped. While the sandwiches were good, even though I forgot to ask to take out the bean sprouts, the bean sprouts over powered the turkey sandwich. It was still good but not as good - especially with that after taste.



I don't really see us coming here too often for the sandwiches - but with the cookies, lemon squares, and that 5-layer brownie, I'll still find an excuse to come in.



Original link on Yelp: http://www.yelp.com/biz/sweet-cakes-caf%C3%A9-mesa-2#hrid:Dv6b08zsygIIJccw7Fgguw

Rating: ★★★☆☆

Labels: rest-views, yelp

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We had heard and have been to this restaurant before but it's been a few years since. We had come with a friend originally but we came on our own to see if this place had either gotten better or worse with time.

All I can say is - it's still the same wonderful Greek place that we had gone to all that time ago! Things hadn't changed much at all from what my boyfriend & I remembered - same location, same smokey ambiance, same cool oasis away from the summer heat...

My boyfriend had the beef shiskababs with potatoes and rice while I had a melt which had coleslaw and had French fries on the side.


The portions we were given were pretty big but I didn't expect it to be that big or that good!

While my boyfriend felt that the potatoes were a bit too sour and that his beef was overcooked, I thoroughly enjoyed my meal. I actually dislike coleslaw a lot but after having this melt, it might have changed my mind!


The prices aren't too bad. Our lunches were $7 each, our drinks were about $2 each, put in tax, and our meal was about $20 in total. Not bad! While the portions were huge as it was delicious, we actually ended up taking the rest home for a lunch tomorrow.

I can see us becoming regulars here, for sure!

Labels: rest-views, yelp

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My boyfriend and I decided to come here just to try it out and, plus, it was on the way to the grocery store.

Anyway, when we first walked in, it seemed to be extremely large on the outside and in the lobby area. After my boyfriend paid for our meals & drinks, we were escorted to our seats. The interior is beautiful - as well as the tables we ate on! I absolutely loved the decoration pieces - but, honestly, that's as far as I'll go with praises.



While I do understand that one shouldn't have high expectations at a buffet, we were still met with disappointment.

The food wasn't very good and it actually made me sick (nausea) while my boyfriend felt it as well. I'm only writing this review now because I was trying to take care of my stomach. The food was very bland period and while the restaurant itself seemed grand and wonderful - the selections weren't very diverse. It only had the minimal types of food one would expect at a $5.99 buffet.



Another thing I didn't like were how the selections were laid out as well. Why was the sushi bar hidden? The Mongolian Grill would have been a nice addition if it didn't have pizza, cakes, and cookies next to it. Shouldn't the cakes & cookies be in the dessert section anyway? Speaking of the dessert, they were also laid out by the seafood - which, I personally felt, was something that majorly concerned me as a whole.

This buffet was not worth the price my boyfriend and I paid for (even if we did get free refills) and for sure, we will not be going back again.



Original link on Yelp: http://www.yelp.com/biz/lins-grand-buffet-phoenix-2#hrid:ti-4WulatZ0T47_gGrrgkQ

Rating: ★☆☆☆☆

Labels: rest-views, yelp

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This place was recommended to my boyfriend and I by an acquaintance of ours. We were looking for something a little different than usual when we stopped by this place. As it turns out, it's a small little restaurant on Warner in the plaza by Basha's, Chuck E. Cheese's, and many other stores. It was a little tricky trying to find the place but we found it okay.

The ambiance has that family owned feel so it wasn't terribly too shocking that it's family run!

My boyfriend ordered fried chicken lunch with collard greens, cornbread, and had the Cherry Kool-Aid. I had ordered the tilapia lunch with baked macaroni & cheese, cornbread, and had a soda. The gentleman behind the counter gave us an almost exact time (even though it seemed he was doing everything himself).



Once the food came out, my boyfriend and I dug in! The tilapia tasted extremely fresh! It tasted as though they just caught it this morning! The macaroni & cheese actually tasted like macaroni & cheese! The cornbread was as sweet and wonderful as expected!

I took a bite of my boyfriend's chicken just to try how his chicken was - and it was perfectly crisp, seasoned, and delicious! The collard greens were also really delicious!

Originally, we were planning to purchase & eat some dessert but by the time we were done (and we literally ate everything on our plates), we just couldn't eat any more.



However, this restaurant isn't without its criticisms. The Cherry Kool-Aid was way too sweet! Normally, I could handle a lot of sweetened drinks but with this Kool-Aid, it's just way too sweet! I don't know how my boyfriend could handle it since he doesn't really like sweets that much himself. While both the macaroni & cheese and collard greens were extremely delicious, it was still a bit bland. However, it's nothing a little extra salt and pepper couldn't fix.

Now the question remains: would we return to Ezekiel's Restaurant? Of course we would! Despite the minor complaints we share, we can definitely see ourselves become regulars here!

Labels: rest-views, yelp

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