Restaurant Review: I Love Teriyaki & Sushi

Revisit: Yes
Quality of Food: 22/25
Customer Service: 13.5/15
Setting: 4/5
Value: 4/5
Overall Grade: B+

This past Saturday night, I headed to one of my go-to spots for yummy Japanese food, I Love Teriyaki & Sushi in Concord, CA. to fulfill a Sushi craving that had been eating at me all day. My friend and I walked into the packed restaurant at around 8 a.m. and were quickly seated. Our drinks arrived shortly after and we were given about five minutes to ponder over the menu full of scrumptious options. When the waitress returned, we ordered the Spicy Chicken, Spider roll, Lion King roll, and two orders of Unagi.

Above: One of the menu's pages

After we ordered, I informed the waitress that we were in a bit of a hurry and although the restaurant was very busy, she made sure that our orders came out very quickly. First up was the Spicy Chicken which arrived in under five minutes. I felt that the chicken was leftover from a previous batch because unlike with our past visits, the chicken was on the colder side. It was still slightly warm and definitely edible but I thought I'd point that out. Also, I think that because we had told the waitress that we were in a bit of a rush, the chefs didn't bother to make us a fresh order.

And as for the taste? The chicken was slightly crunchy and mildly spicy. I cannot eat food that is too hot so this is perfect for someone who likes a bit of spice but nothing too wild. I also liked the fact that the chicken pieces weren't all skin and no meat -you're getting "real", quality chicken here. The plain rice went nicely with the chicken as the chicken can be "too flavorful" to eat on its own. The small side salad topped with house dressing was also a nice addition to the meal.

Now onto my favorite part -the actual Sushi! At nearly every Sushi restaurant I visit, I order a Spider roll and Unagi. The Spider roll at I Love Teriyaki and Sushi was made up of cucumber, avocado, tempura soft shell crab, and Sushi rice and is wrapped in a ring of seaweed and covered in a light layer of sesame seeds. I absolutely loved the tempura crab in the Spider roll -it was fried perfectly. Most places often fry the crab too much so I end up tasting more almost burnt, overly fried batter than actual crab. The roll itself tasted sensational. The ingredients were fresh and I could easily tell that it hadn't been sitting out.

The Unagi (freshwater eel) was another favorite. It was simple -just eel that had been marinated in sauce (tasted like teriyaki) placed on top of Sushi rice, tied together with a string of seaweed, and topped off with sesame seeds. I Love Teriyaki and Sushi's Unagi is by far my favorite as it's fresh and not rubbery like it is at most other restaurants.

The last item we ordered was the Lion King (baked salmon) roll. What's a Lion King roll? A Lion King roll consists of everything in a California roll -imitation crab, avocado, cucumber, sushi rice -wrapped in baked salmon and topped off with special sauce (spicy mayonnaise).

Although I don't typically like salmon (ate too much of it growing up), I did really like this Lion King roll. I already like California rolls but the baked salmon layer really gives it that extra "oomph" -I loved how the different flavors meshed so well together.

More Photos..

Overall: Quality customer service and good food are what I look for when dining out and at I Love Teriyaki and Sushi, I received both. The service was great -our waitress was very friendly and our food arrived with lightning speed. The prices were fair -no cheaper or more expensive than most Sushi joints. And most importantly, the food was awesome with the exception of the slightly cold spicy chicken. Overall, I Love Teriyaki and Sushi above average (B+) and with a few changes (food that's not cold!), I would definitely give them a solid A grade. I recommend the restaurant to any Sushi lover who just wants to sit back, relax, and eat quality food.

May be important to some: One more reason why I like I Love Teriyaki and Sushi is because they are open all day with no breaks in between (Monday, Wednesday through Saturday 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Sunday 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m.) So many Japanese restaurants close in the middle of the day (late noon to early evening) and then reopen in the evening. I can't stand when I want Sushi at 4 p.m. but can't get it because the place is closed!

Location & Contact Information:
1985 Willow Pass Road Suite B
Concord, CA. 94520
(925) 680-0888

One of my Favorite Places..

Just wanted to do a quick post before I headed out.. so yesterday my boyfriend took me to one of my favorite places -Tommy's Joynt in SF. I guess you could say it's cafeteria style -you go down the line telling them what meat you'd like, what type of salad, etc. All I can say is that their stuff is flat out delicious -if you're craving comfort foods and live in the SF Bay Area, you NEED to go here. Here's what I ordered:

BBQ Beef Brisket, mashed potatoes, pasta salad, and bread (with butter.)

The boy had turkey, mashed potatoes, beans, and bread (with butter.)

Tommy's is a must-see or I guess, must eat, if you're visiting San Francisco or live around the area. It's fairly cheap too -it was less than $20 for both our meals! It's of course nowhere near 5-star if you're looking for a fancy schmancy place to dine but I personally care more about the food than the setting.

Tommy's Joynt

1101 Geary Blvd

San Francisco, CA 94019

(415)775-4216

And here's another photo of Koko!! Isn't she adorable?? I don't know why her eyes always look orange/amber in my photos..

And lastly, Taco Bell's Cheesy Potatoes. I've been craving these all week and finally bought TWO bowls on Friday! I'm sick of them now though -too cheesey. =O

Have a lovely Sunday everyone! I'll try to squeeze in a beauty-related post today or Monday.

Source (for 1st pic)

I Watched Wicked.. (Also, Tiny Restaurant Review)

I went t see Wicked at the Orpheum in San Francisco yesterday afternoon and I loved it! If you live in the SF Bay Area/are traveling over here, go see it ASAP (the last show here is on September 5th this year.) I have to warn you that the tickets are a little pricey though but since we kept an eye on the site, we stumbled upon a promotion and got a little discount.

Anyways, onto the experience. I went with my mom, little sister, and little cousin. We were dressed very casually so when we got to the theater, I was a little surprised. I know people dress up for these shows and all but I didn't know we were supposed to be so fancy schmancy. Let me tell you, "dressing up" can come across as 2 totally different thing to different people. To some, "dressing up" means knee length dresses, tights, and pumps while to others, it means skin-tight dresses that just barely covery the booty, major boobage (spilling out), and 5 inch stilettos! Most of the men wore slacks or dark jeans and a nice shirt.

The show was I think about 2 hours and 45 minutes long (including a 15 minute intermission.) None of that time was draggy or boring -every single part of the show was spectacular. I wish I had taken photos but cameras aren't allowed. I'm going to take forever describing everything so let me just say that the cast was amazing, the musical numbers were wonderful, and the setting was spectacular. All the actors has so much talent -their voices were so powerful too. Everyone played their characters really well -I especially liked Elphaba (I think she was the best singer too.) Glinda was also wonderful -her character was so funny and incredibly ditzy.

Here's the one picture I got..

It's of the ceiling!! I took it during intermission when the show wasn't even on and I still got in trouble!!!!

Great Show, But Uncomfy Seating..

If I had to complain about 1 thing, it would be the tight seating (We were on the 2nd level -there were 3 levels I think.) The seats were way more condensed and smaller than say ..movie theater seats -it almost felt as though the audience was riding coach on an airplane. The guy behind me was a pain in the butt but I guess it's not totally his fault that he's so tall and big. Basically, you know when guys cross their legs (not all the way) and so their foot is hanging off the opposite knee?? Well that foot nearly hit my head and I nearly hit that foot about 20+ times -even after I asked him to move his foot and gave him dirty looks. Seriously, imagine turning to the right and having the BOTTOM of someone's shoe AN INCH FROM YOUR FACE.

P.S. Here are some cool pics -a few SF landmarks were turned "green" in honor of Wicked.

China First Restaurant
336 Clement St., San Francisco, CA.

I don't normally do restaurant reviews (I think I'll start) but I also wanted to tell you about the little restaurant we ate at before heading off to the show. My mom had heard rave reviews from a bunch of people about this place in the city called "China First Restaurant." She told me it had a 4 star rating on Yelp (when I got home it turned out it was only rated 3.5 stars) so I had some high hopes.

When we got inside, we were quickly seated/rushed to the table. The service was pretty terrible -waiting for napkins, drinks, etc. took forever but the food did come out quickly. Everytime we asked a waiter for something, we were either ignored and had to ask again, or the waiter(s) seemed like he/she didn't hear us as there was no eye contact ever. If they did hear us, they'd bring us whatever we needed after a long wait.

What about the food? Definitely not the best Chinese I've ever tasted. Everything was either drenched in oil or salt -the fried chicken in particular was so salty that everything I put on my plate afterwards ended up super salty too. However, prices were dirt cheap -especially compared to other restaurants in SF. Overall, I'd rate the place and its food 3 out of 5 stars. I don't see myself going back unless I was super broke, in the area, and wanted some Chinese.

2nd pic source
(All other pictures belong to me)