Feng's Asian and Sushi -- L08 Lunch Special

Sushi isn't as exotic as it once was around these parts. There was a time not too long ago if your restaurant had sushi, even simple, Americanized sushi like California Rolls, that was chic. Now though, it's fairly common, even for MSG riddled mom and pop places.

So yeah, I should have given Feng's Asian and Sushi the benefit of the doubt because they seem to specialize mainly in Chinese, and it seems to be a little dumpy, even if Sushi still held the same panache. But I didn't. They made a point that they had Sushi, so instead of ratcheting down the difficulty and ordering Chicken Fingers like most mom and pop places, I went for the General Tso's special, and let me tell you, Feng's has failed that test miserably.

You can see the picture above, the Crab Rangoons are very thin, almost looking like runny cheese, but they were the best part of the meal. The croquettes were strung together parts of inedible dark meat, the rice grains were hard, the sauce was salty and watery, I don't think there was anything redeeming about this meal, I threw it out after only a few bites.

The people there were nice, but nice is only a bonus. You slap extra credit onto an F, and it's what, an F+? That's the best way to describe my experience here. I can't be too angry, because I expected more than I should have, but they asked for it.


Price - $7.07
Meal - L08 Lunch Special (General Tso's, Fried Rice w/Crab Rangoon)
Speed of Service - 10 minutes
Time of Meal - 11:30, Weekday

Maki of Japan - Chicken Terriyaki

The vast majority of restauant food out there is not superlative in either a positive or negative sense and that rings true with the case of Maki of Japan at the Burlington Mall.

I suppose that is to be expected given the fact that it is fast food, but it is still worth noting how average it is.

I am at a loss to describe the Chicken Terriyaki and Fried Rice with any distinctive characteristics, it is solid but not fantastic.

Likewise, the price and service was within the ball park, if a little higher and ruder than one would like. The wait time for the food was the only significant negative, but even that wasn't particularly negative if only due to a last minute rush that probably added a minute or two for the cooks.

There are plenty of options at the Burlington Mall, and while you can't go wrong with Maki of Japan if only judging from my experience, I can't say definitely that it is the best choice in this food court.

Meal - Chicken Terriyaki with fried rice and drink
Price - $8.11 
Speed of Service - 10 mins
Time of Meal - 6:30 PM, Weekend

Shotcakes -- Red Velvet/Vanilla "Shotcake"

Out of the corner of my eye at the burlington mall I saw a place called "shotcakes"d and figured I needed to check it out if only for the name.

While you'd expect a pastry themed firing range or a hard liquor themed strip club with a name like that, it turned out to be a place that sold cupcakes with a "shot" of ice cream.

While I am not sure this is some revolutionary concept, it certainly was worth a try. Would I try it again? Probably not.

Don't get me wrong, the icecake (cupcream?) Was all well and good, but it did not blow me away, and the positives were outweighed by the negatives of this ultimately peculiar place, primarily out of confusion towards things like the poor line design, whetheter or not the tay of cupcakes in display cases up front can be transformed into shotcakes, which is not clearly evident by the menu, and the lingering thought that I could probably get the same experience by going to the supermarket and buying ice cream and cupcakes and just eating them simultaneously at home.

Then again for the uninitiated, I suppose its worth a "shot".

Meal - Red Velvet Vanilla "Shotcake"
Price - $3.63 
Speed of Service - 5 minutes
Time of Meal - 7 PM, Weekend

Tilt'n Diner -- Buffalo Chicken

For tourists heading up to the Lakes Region, particularly for the Tilton Outlet Malls (I don't get why it's an attraction, but that's another story), the Tilt'n Diner is a long established tradition, but if we're judging only by this visit, it won't be a tradition for me.

I ordered the Buffalo Chicken plate, and was incredibly underwhelmed. The meat was stringy, the sauce was fairly bland, the waitress was indifferent and the price for what I got was astronomical.

As I got the check, it hit me: people come here because it looks like a place where they can buy T-Shirts to comemorate their trip to Central New Hampshire. But I didn't want to buy a T-Shirt, I wanted to buy lunch.

There is a Thai restaurant kind of behind the diner, kind of kiddy corner between it and a Dunkin Donuts. Maybe i'll try that next time i'm up this way.

Meal: Buffalo Chicken and Soda

Price: $15.06

Speed of Service: 15 Minutes

Time of Meal: 4 PM, Weekend



Main Moon -- # 22 Combo

Main Moon isn't Rochester's best Chinese restaurant, but it passed my test when it comes to General Tso's Chicken.

They use dark meat, but they have small morsels, so it's not a fatty dark meat. That distinction is critical since without it, the Fried Rice and Crab Rangoons that came with this combo I got this day wouldn't have been enough to justify the price, which is right on the money with all three parts of this meal.

And i'm glad this place passed that test: this greasy spoon isn't anything to write home about, but it does the job and it hits the mark when it comes to traditional American Chinese comfort food.

Add that to the fact that it's fairly conveniently located to downtown Rochester, and I left satisfied, if not amazed with this place.
Price: $7.75 plus tax
Meal: #22 Combo
Time of Meal: 1 PM, Weekend
Speed of Service: 10 minutes