Un Cachito de Mexico

I saw this little food truck on the pad at the Charge Up convenience store and stopped to give them a try. I got a fajita torta, jamaica agua fresca, elote in a cup, and a churro cheesecake.

The torta was a good one--a generous size with all the fixings, including avocado, jalapeno, tomato, and a nice slab of white Mexican cheese. Kind of messy but that's a torta. The beef was good, more of a gyro beef than fajita but very good flavor and quite satisfying. I got both the red and green salsas. They both looked and tasted very genuinely homemade. The green salsa had a nice sharp green chile flavor. Both of the salsas are flaming hot, just do without if you are sensitive but if you want the heat this is a good place.

The elote was great. I love elote and this was a good example. They have it both on the cob and in a cup. The corn was well cooked with a generous amount of parmesan and Mexican cheese. I got the chamoy topping (the less spicy one) and it was excellent.

The cheesecake was just OK, did not have a lot of churro flavor, just kind of a plain cheesecake. I would try the choco flan next time. They also have gelatinas, gelatin with beautiful flower patterns injected. Have not seen anything like this in a long time but if you're longing for dessert from the 50's this will set you up. The jamaica was very good, a nice big cup and strong.

This is a mom and pop operation--they've been open about a month and people are discovering them. It was busy when I came so there was a wait, but it was worth it. They take cash, CashApp and Zelle. Very nice people and worth a try.

My Yelp Review

McDonald's at Panther Creek

Hadn't been to Mickey D's in awhile so I stopped in to see what's new. What's new right now is the Hot Honey Bacon chicken sandwich or wrap. So I got that in a combo.

I managed my way through the kiosk ordering process so didn't interact much with servers. The meal came out in decent time. The dining room was clean enough. It was a beautiful day and they have lots of shaded outside seating that was also clean, so I sat outside.

The food was just OK. Somewhat stale bun on the sandwich. Fries had been sitting too long. The Hot Honey flavor was there and actually had a bit of a kick but I didn't love or hate it. They seem to be chronically understaffed, and there was a customer complaining about the kiosk order process--not the first time I've seen that. The bathroom was all right, the sink was not quite working right but was manageable. If you're going specifically to get a McDonald's fix I would pick another location.

My Yelp Review

Goto Market

The former 7-Eleven at the corner of Dowdell and Kuykendahl has been renovated and reopened. There is now a taqueria in the convenience store, and that's mainly what I came for. The taqueria is offering grill items (burgers, fish, etc.) and steam table foods. I went with the steam table and got the Mexican plate with barbacoa and carnitas, with rice and beans as sides and onions and cilantro for garnish. Washed it down with a Coca-Cola Icee.

Overall it was fine. Tortillas might have been just a little long on the grill. The carnitas were a pulled pork style. The barbacoa had very good texture, nice and soft. The salsas were good. The red (actually orange) salsa had a strong punch, get this if you like spice. The green salsa was mildly spicy and had good strong green chile flavor. I would say they need to punch up the flavor on the steam table offerings. The rice and beans were above average--the rice was nice and fluffy, and the beans had good depth of flavor. I usually just sample the rice and beans but I ate all of these.

The store is nice and clean inside, including the bathrooms. The Icee machine was working well. Service at the taqueria and the rest of the store was friendly. There's a lot of competition at this corner--there are at least five, and maybe six, places where you can get decent tacos. Most are on the same pad as the gas stations. This place will have to raise their game to compete with long established places like Flying Tacos or For You For Me Tacos.

My Yelp Review

Sapporo Izakaya

This place is a fixture in Panther Creek, but we had not tried it until late last week. We got a salmon skin hand roll, spicy cucumber salad, onion soup, steak and chicken from the hibachi menu, and the unagi donburi bowl. Finished with green tea mochi ice cream. Also had green tea with the meal.

I would say that the salmon skin roll was the highlight of the meal. The salmon skin was fried and made for a delightful texture in the roll. The sauce was delicious. The roll was perfectly put together and easy to eat.

The spicy cucumber salad was an interesting experience. It lives up to its name, for me as an appetizer a few pieces were perfect. You get a great big bowl of it! Easily shareable for four or more people. A major contrast to the entrees--the portions were definitely for one person. The onion soup was a good representation, very nice flavor with some mushroom slices for added depth.

The chicken and steak hibachi was competently done but the flavors were very basic. I would say the steak was cooked to at least medium well, though it was tender enough. Good for folks who want Japanese food but are not looking for adventure.

The unagi donburi bowl was also pretty basic. Delicious unagi (it's my favorite sushi ingredient) served warm over a bowl of rice with black sesame seeds. Fried rice might have jazzed it up a bit (you can get that for a little extra).

The ice cream serving was generous, you get four mochi balls (cut in two) to share at the table. The ice cream is quite good. Mochi is an acquired taste, and I haven't acquired it yet, so it's hard to be totally fair, but I believe it was done as it should be. The green tea was fine--but the cups they serve it in are not very insulated so are quite hot at first, I waited for mine to cool a bit.

The restaurant is beautifully decorated, with striking ceiling lights and nicely done murals. It's dark, but not too dark, at the tables. The restrooms were clean and ready. On my next trip I would probably focus on the sushi, that seems to be the strong point. They have some specialties that look good but have no prices--if you have to ask, you know...but maybe for a splurge. I would go back and bring visitors.

My Yelp Review