Category: Food Review

Food Review: Fujiyama on the Wheels, What a Deal!

I have seen this new, somewhat randomly placed, food truck in Morgan, on Hwy 365, right next to the Kum N Go. I finally decided to see if there were any reviews of the place yet, and there could only be a few found on their Facebook page. Though, all of the 27 FB reviews rated it 5/5. So, I had to get dinner there. Here’s the breakdown:

The Truck

The people were extremely nice and they got all the food I ordered (3 meals, including sushi) out in about 12 minutes. That is pretty fast! So, the experience here was great.

The Menu

I was pleasantly surprised by how affordable everything was. At a regular hibachi restaurant, hibachi chicken would be well over $10 dollars ($14.95 at Maumelle’s only other Japanese restaurant). I was also pleased that there was actual sushi! Though with all of it being cooked sushi, and most of it fried, it isn’t very authentic. However, it seemed cheap, so I had to try some.

The Food

California Bite Roll ($2.99)- top
Description: Deep fried California roll with 3 special sauces.

I was surprised at how much fried sushi I got for only $3!!!! The five pieces were very large and they sliced the sushi BEFORE frying it. So each piece was fully coated in tempura batter and deep fried. Then, it was covered in three sauces, though I could only detect two: spicy mayo and eel. It was good, though hard to eat, because it was so large. Nothing special, except for what a bargain! And if you love your sushi really fried, you will love this.

Seafood Special Roll ($7.95)- bottom
Description: Tuna, crab, shrimp, with yummy sauce deep fried with 3 oshin sauces. (all cooked)

The 8 pieces of this sushi roll was even larger than the California roll. They were packed full of the seafood filling, which mostly tasted of yum yum sauce, not that I’m complaining. The fry on this roll was different, it was crispier than the tempura batter as it appeared to be made of “crunch” and other breadcrumb breading. (If you know Arkansas sushi, you know what “crunch” is.)
I definitely liked the crunchiness of this roll. And there were definitely three sauces on this one, one being sriracha. So, I liked the sweet and slightly spicy combo of the sauce and seafood filling. It was definitely better than the California roll, but $5. But still, $8 for a huge sushi roll? I don’t hear of that anywhere else either. Still cheap!

Hibachi Vegetables ($5.95)

Holy moly, this was a ton of food! The entire to-go container was  packed. The fried rice only consisted of rice and a bit of egg, and it was very bland. Though, it was the perfect texture, not overcooked like many others. The veggies included broccoli, onion, carrots, and zucchini. These were still very al-dente and also weren’t swimming in flavor. However, a cup of yumyum sauce also accompanies each entree. This $6 “meal” (more like 2-3) may be the best deal in Maumelle.

Hibachi Steak ($8.95)

While this again, was quite a deal compared to other places, this was the most disappointing item I bought. The steak was ordered medium-rare, though it was a little overcooked and there wasn’t much flavor. There also wasn’t much of it, period.

With the rice and veggies needing a little extra, I took both hibachi entrees and put them into my larger skillet, added four eggs, soy sauce, and the yum yum packets and made a very delicious fried rice with the veggies and steak mixed in.

While Drew and I ate some suchi, we couldn’t finish it all. We only had a few bites each of the rice and veggie mix. So, now we have those two to-go containers completely full of delicious leftovers. This will easily equal three- four more meals. WHAT A DEAL!

Overall

I am so glad to have this addition in Maumelle! Cheap, heaping amounts of Japanese food? Yes, please! I would order the shrimp hibachi entree instead of the steak. The reviews on that are it is delicious and perfectly cooked. I would definitely get the hibachi vegetables again, even if I have to mix them up and add soy sauce, big deal? And while it will be pretty darn hard to pass up $3 sushi, I may go with trying a couple of the other rolls. Their $5 crunchy shrimp is temping, and I heard people in line saying how good the Maumelle roll is. Will I be back? Definitely. And then I’ll eat for days.

 

Food Review: Verona in Benton, Where We Lay Our Scene

There is a cute little log cabin right off of I-30 in Benton that has housed a few restaurants by now. While I never got to try Mo’ Betta Gumbo or any of the previous businesses, I got to try the new Vernona, an Italian restaurant. Here’s the breakdown.

 

Environment

The log cabin theme is not limited to the outside of the restaurant, but carries inward as well. The space is a little dim with only a few tables, though more could easily fit. Log columns protruding through the middle of a few of the tables make talking to your table mates a little tough. And loud Frank Sinatra music didn’t help conversations either. In general, this environment certainly does not transport you to Italy.

 

The Menu

The menu looked very promising. Besides the classic dishes with marinara or alfredo sauce, there were plenty of other delicious sounding dishes with chicken or shrimp. Other than that, there is one veal parmigiana and one lobster ravioli.

 

The Food

I was dining with my mom and once we sat, we were immediately greeted with a basket of five large rolls. Individual butter packets were already on the table. So far, so good!

While the rolls were hot and very pretty, they really lacked flavor. So much so, my mom and I both added salt to the top of them. Adding butter to each bite helped, but they really needed a little garlic butter or something to make them good. There is so much potential with these rolls!

I ordered the Chicken Verona, which came with a tossed salad, with which I ordered the house dressing.

Tossed Salad

While the salad was tiny and lack-luster, with only tomatoes and red onions (though I ordered mine without cheese), the house dressing made it delicious. This tomato basil vinaigrette is unique and full of flavor. It made the tossed salad ($2.99 if ordered separately) enjoyable. Though, it was such a small amount, I’m not sure I’d want to even pay $2.99 for it if it did not come with my meal.
My mom, on the other hand, loved that it was small because she said she hates filling up on salad before her actual meal comes. So, there ya go.

Chicken Verona: ($13.99) chicken breast sauteed w/ fresh garlic, sun-dried tomatoes, artichokes, spinach, and sherry wine pink sauce sauce over spaghetti. Comes with a tossed salad.

First off, I love a restaurant that serves dishes like this. Ones you don’t see on every Italian menu. Ones that have bold ingredients like sun-dried tomatoes and artichokes. Ones that come in a sauce that isn’t marinara or alfredo. And this dish was delicious. And huge. I couldn’t even eat half of it, though I wanted to.
With two pieces of chicken (I think they were one large chicken breast, just butterflied and separated) and LOTS of spaghetti, I was afraid the sauce wouldn’t be enough to make each bite tasty. I was wrong. After cutting the chicken and mixing everything around, there was the perfect amount of sauce and other ingredients that each bite was flavorful, saucy, and delicious. I recommend this dish.

Baked Tortellini: ($8.99) There are no descriptions in the menu on this dish, but it is cheese-filled tortellini and the waiter asked if she wanted marinara or the house “pink” sauce. She chose the pink.

While I didn’t try this dish (no cheese for me, please) my mom said it was very good. She said “The tortellini was delicious on its own but the sauce made it a double hitter.” She also explained that if a basic dish like baked tortellini is good, then she can bet other options will be good as well; therefore, she plans to come back.

Limoncello Cake: Free for my mom!

You must go up the counter to pay your bill, which seems a little odd for a sit down Italian joint. However, as soon as I saw the glass- door refrigerator holding all of the desserts located behind the counter, I understood their method.
It was my mom’s birthday, so I asked her which dessert she wanted. Out of options such as tiramisu, different cheesecakes, red velvet cake, Italian cream cake, and more, she went for the turtle cheesecake.
The owner asked if she was certain that’s what she wanted and he had a suggestion for her. He suggested the limoncello cake instead. He said it was light, lemon-y, full of mascarpone cheese and topped with white chocolate icing. He then opened the container and let her smell it. My mom changed her mind and went for it!
She took this one home to enjoy but gave me a full report. She said “The dessert was just like he said, light enough to eat after a big or heavy meal and the lemon was perfect. Not too faint and not bitter.” I think its safe to say it was a winner!

The Service

Everyone was very nice, and the restaurant seemed to work more as a whole group for the whole restaurant rather than separating waitresses into sections. So, we had about four different people taking orders, filling waters, taking plates, etc. Which is fine! We were well taken care of.
The owner (or maybe just the manager?), was very hands on. He checked in on everyone to make sure the food was good, he helped deliver dishes, and so forth. Some may think he was a little much? But that just shows me he really cares about the success of this place. Plus, I really appreciated all of the extra time he gave us when choosing a dessert…oh yea, and giving it to my mom for free for a birthday gift!

Overall

I enjoyed this place, I would definitely come again. If they would just add a little salt and some flavor to the rolls, I would LOVE this place. There are definitely other dishes I want to try, and have full faith they will be as good as the Chicken Verona.
Would I suggest this restaurant for  a romantic dinner? Nah, the ambiance isn’t quite there. But for a tasty Italian dinner with the family and leftovers to take home? Oh yea.