******UPDATE NOW CLOSED FOR BUSINESS****Ramen Aku is a ramen and Japanese style chicken restaurant with two locations in Las Vegas. he North location on North Decatur Road is small but is a full service restaurant with a variety of booths, half booths and counter seating.
They serve canned green tea from Japan here.
We started out by sharing the bulgogi gyoza.
The bulgogi (marinated and grilled Korean Style beef) is in crisp fried dumpling with a soy-like sauce for dipping. Have to say that these are very tasty…….I think anyone would like them.
I tried the chicken ramen in their chicken broth (#2 spicy) with added corn and fresh minced garlic.
The chicken is good…………They also forgot the egg that is suppose come with this…..Now The FORKING Truth is that the chicken broth taste like from a dry mix with extra salt. This is very hard to stomach. This is substandard in my opinion.
My husband tried their Ultimate signature ramen with fried chicken, fried shrimp, and pork belly.
The proteins and the hot sauces are good. This broth isn’t as bad as the chicken broth. This one is a combination of pork broth and the chicken broth. My husband doesn’t know why but he didn’t enjoy his ramen either.
Bun Bun Chicken is a casual order at the counter type restaurant in Las Vegas Nevada on the north end. Most likely you will order something chicken here and it will probably be messy but very tasty.
This restaurant specializes in serving breaded chicken breasts that they call fingers but are bigger than fingers in very messy but extra flavorful sandwiches, salads, and more. A few of the appetizers they offer are cajun fried corn, buffalo cauliflower with feta cheese, and brussels sprouts. They also offer wings, 16 varieties of chicken sandwiches. One sandwich is vegetarian cauliflower and the other is a burger. All of them come mild, regular or hot and come with fries and a drink. They offer what they call chef’s specials……that are entree salads, deluxe French fry plates, a nacho plate, waffle plates, a kids menu, soft beverages, desserts, and MORE!
Recently the ownership changed and the new owners added MEXICAN FOOD.
We started out by sharing a small order of macaroni and cheese.
It’s not so small. I’m surprised that the pasta has some bite to it. The cheese sauce taste like it actually has real cheese in it….This is very seasoned and is slightly smoky.
On a second visit we tried the buffalo cauliflower with feta cheese.
It’s fried nicely and doesn’t seem oily at all. It’s tasty. My husband loves it. I like it but the buffalo sauce is very sharp to me (but I am very sensitive). Most people will love this.
On a Third visit we tried the Brussels sprouts. They are fried with garlic and parmesan cheese….tasty.
For my main I tried the Ace of Salads (breaded chicken, romaine, tomatoes, pickles, corn, onions, shredded cheese, crispy onions, sauce) in regular heat.
I taste one piece of chicken first…..I thought it was tasty but mild…I thought mild but all of a sudden I’m getting this building heat….and it stays hot……..I think the heat is from the sauce that is sprinkled …….also THIS ISN’T A LIGHT SALAD…but it is tasty and packed with flavors. The lettuce is surprisingly extra crispy too. This salad is extra generous in size and depending on your appetite you might only be able to eat half.
Under the NEW OWNERSHIP the Ace of Salads was different this time.
The chicken is still good but they forgot whatever made this salad spicy…Oh Well
If you can’t take heat and all those textures maybe the bun bun salad (chicken, romaine, tomato, onion, pickles, and sauce) is for you?
I accidentally ordered the regular chicken thinking that was the medium spicy since my last salad seemed so spicy to me….Turns out that regular is no heat at all and is milder than mild…Oh well live and learn. It’s tasty but the Ace of salads had a lot more going on with it and a delicious hot sauce on it.
I had to finally try a sandwich and went with what they call – Guac Bun (2 fingers, avocado, tomato, grilled onions, jalapeños, and sauce) in “hot”
It’s massive…I have to cut it in half.
I have to say that this chicken is really delicious and moist……At first I thought it was too hot but latter figured out that the jalapeños were SCORCHING HOT and the sandwich was actually quite delicious but messy after removing the hottest jalapeños ever.
My husband tried the Sunny Bun in “HOT”(chicken sandwich with cheese, sauce, sunny side up egg, and pickles and requested sauces on the side ((a ranch style sauce and bun bun sauce like special sauce).
The bun is lightly toasted and the well seasoned egg is fried nicely. You can’t see it in this picture but there is a LOT of cheese sauce on this sandwich.
You can’t pick this up so you have to use a knife and fork. I tried a small piece of chicken without any sauce……It is hot. Hotter than the regular but if you eat it in the sandwich…..According to my husband it is far less hot and just tasty. The fries are also very well seasoned.
On another visit I don’t remember what sandwich my husband asked for but we think they gave us a buffalo chicken sandwich without the buffalo sauce (chicken, bacon, crispy onions, pickles, cheese sauce, bun bun sauce (on side at request), and ranch sauce (on side at request) in spicy hot.
Whatever it was my husband was very happy with it. He wants to go to Bun Bun Chicken regularly. The fries were hot and fresh and seasoned nicely.
He got this Buffalo sandwich with the NEW OWNERSHIP.
When my husband complained they latter brought him the fried onions, cheese sauce and bacon…….
On another visit my husband tried the MONSTER BUN (2 fingers, mac & cheese, jalapeño poppers, pickles and sauce. He enjoyed it!
We also tried two tacos.
Fish Taco
Chicken Taco
Both tacos come double shelled on white corn tortillas. We both thought the fish taco had more flavor than the chicken taco. The chicken was moist but didn’t seem seasoned. The salsa seemed good.
That was a little taste of Bun Bun Chicken – Worth a Try!
Still a bunch of stuff we haven’t tried yet.
On all the visits the chicken was moist, tasty, juicy, and very good.
Vegas Unstripped is about 30 of Las Vegas’s most acclaimed and creative chefs. This is an “OFF THE STRIP EVENT” downtown in the Arts District on California Street Between Ester’s Kitchen and Garagiste Saturday October 14 2023 7pm – 10. Tickets were $150., They include unlimited tastes and also include cocktails, and are non profit.
www.VegasUnstripped.com listed the chefs that are expected.
Nearly all the foods that we’ve tried was next level FORKING AMAZING!!!!!!!!!! There was more food and drink than I could do but all but one thing I tried was over the top amazing! Also not all of my photos came out but here are most.
frogs legs
Asian style chicken
Tuna pasta adorned with burnt kimchi aioli
guacamole and salsa macha tostada – YUM!
tuna tostada – YUM!!!
Really complex flavors from this chicken wrap
vegetarian African food – delicious
That Korean fried chicken really just melted in your mouth. The hamachi was also delicious.
I didn’t try this one but my husband said that this was very VERY VERY Good!
I have to say that this was the very best barbacoa I’ve ever tried.
Amazing flavors here.
LOOK at the way they melt that incredible cheese on their amazing bread.
I was looking forward to this..because this is from a Bravo Top Chef….but passed because the short rib was rabbit. My husband did try it and said the flavors were very interesting.
Very good food from another Bravo Top Chef.
We both thought that the potato was super amazing!
I saw a picture of this lemon poppy seed cake that I thought looked delicious so I started to make this recipe. Thankfully I stopped to re-read the directions and I found a long list of complaints about the recipe not working out. Also some people complained about the taste and how heavy the cake was. When I made the batter it was heavy like pizza dough so I can imagine it would be very heavy. I had to fix the recipe and made over 6 changes and added ingredients to make it taste better. The temperature needed to be changed as well. I made the recipe easy to prepare and it came out lemony, delicious, moist, and not too heavy or too sweet. I’m bringing these Lemon Poppy Seed Mini Cakes to an event that I’m going to. This made 16 mini cakes.
Ingredients for about 16 servings
5 Tablespoons unsalted butter – room temperature
3 eggs – lightly beaten
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup Greek yogurt
1 Tablespoon poppy seeds
2 Large ripe lemons – You need all the zest for the cake. Juice from one for the cake, and juice from the second lemon for the glaze
1 + 1/3 cup flour
1 + 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon PURE lemon extract
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
non stick spray
1 cup 10x sugar – for the glaze
Juice from your 2nd lemon – for the glaze
Directions
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.
Pull out two trays of cupcake pans. Line 16 with cupcake liners. If your liners are very thin then you should double them. Spray the cupcake liners LIGHTLY with non stick spray.
In a large bowl add the eggs, sugar, butter, poppy seeds, all the zest, juice of ONE lemon, flour, baking powder, extract, salt. Hand mix with a fork till smooth.
Spoon the batter into the cupcake liner till 3/4 full.
These go on middle rack till cooked. Ovens do differ and cupcake liners differ slightly in size. My first rack with 12 was done in 16 minutes. My second rack of four was done in 18 minutes. At around 15 minutes you should test them with your finger. If they feel done then they are. If they feel soft and raw on the top they need a little longer…..
The glaze only takes a minute to prepare. You can do that while the mini cakes are in the oven or after you take them out.
In a small bowl add the 10x sugar and the juice from your second lemon and mix well.
Spoon about one teaspoon of glaze over each lemon poppy seed mini cake.
They came out lemon-ee, moist, delicious, light, and not too sweet.
Those Guys Pies is a pizza and cheesesteak restaurant with a location in North Las Vegas Nevada. If they seem familiar then maybe you caught them featured on Food Network’s Diners Drive-ins and Dives with Guy Fire. Those Guys Pies is one of the few dog friendly restaurants in North Las Vegas Nevada and the they were open and set up for us unlike another restaurant we were thinking about trying……. Those Guys Pies also might be the only restaurant with a Craft Dog Biscuit Vending Machine too!
So today my dogs got to try Sniff Pistols Craft Beef Dog Biscuits.
Both dogs enjoy the beef dog biscuits.
I didn’t give the dogs any of the diablo fries because they are FORKING HOT!!!!! I wouldn’t recommend them to anyone because they are TOO HOT for anyone to enjoy. I’m surprised that they make them that hot.
Everything else was good.
I had a house salad with grilled chicken.
Both dogs enjoyed the chicken from my salad.
The dogs also got to enjoy some sausage from my husband’s sausage sandwich.
That was Dining Out With DOGS at Those Guys Pies. We Hope you’ve enjoyed!
Those Guys Pies
5585 Simmons Street North Las Vegas Nevada – 725-251-5826
www.ThoseGuysPies.com
The Forking TruthIn Memory of Louie 5-5-2001 – 3-3-2017
Casa Don Juan is a full service Mexican Restaurant in Las Vegas Nevada with three locations. The Main Street location in the Arts District has an out side patio. Inside this location has a Frida Kahlo theme with many pictures of her on their wall. Incase you don’t know Frida Kahlo is considered to be Mexico’s most important artist and is part of Mexico’s culture.
Whatever you order they start you off with complimentary chips, salsa, and bean dip.
To me the chips don’t taste freshly made. The salsa is spicy but taste mostly like oregano. I didn’t try the beans.
I tried a chicken fajita salad (with the jack cheese on the side) that is called ensalada de fajitas here.
The chicken breast is tender and sautéed with onions and bell pepper that are saturated with soy sauce over warm soft uninspired salad. This plate is topped with some guacamole. For my taste this is way too much soy sauce but maybe other people enjoy this?
My husband tried the #31 combo (Chile relleno, enchilada, taco with rice and refried beans)
I’ll be nice as possible and just say that this isn’t our favorite combo plate that we’ve tried.
That was my trip to Casa Don Juan – 1204 S. Main Street Las Vegas NV – 702-384-8070
Soulbelly BBQ is an artisanal central Texas inspired kind of BBQ restaurant by seasoned chef (James Beard Nominated, Food Network Chopped Champion, and Bravo Top Chef) Bruce Kalman. The Las Vegas Arts District location offers outdoor seating by the smokers.
Indoor seating in the bar and take out area.
And main dining area where the live music happens.
The tables are set up with carriers of sauces that include the house made Jiggly Meat BBQ sauces.
I wanted to try the tri tip pastrami but they were sold out of that today……so I went with Caesar Salad with their BBQ Smoked Turkey.
The turkey is tender, moist, and delicious………The salad taste far different than it looks…….It’s kind of deconstructed……..The black pepper cornbread croutons in there are really amazing and contain some of the flavors of Caesar….It’s different…but all together delicious. But might be even more delicious with a few drops of house BBQ sauce….. The vinegar sauce only a few drops kicks it up a level.
My husband tried the sandwich called, The Belly of The Soul (smoked brisket, fried egg, cheese sauce, pickled onions, spicy BBQ sauce, and crispy BBQ onions).
He said that this was really great. I tried a small bite of the BBQ Brisket and I have to say it was really perfect today.
On a second visit my husband had to have the Belly Of Soul sandwich again but with beans this time. He said it was just as good as from last time.
This time I got to try the tri tip pastrami sandwich – topped with slaw with a side of watermelon-cucumber salad.
It’s pretty good but isn’t cured with nitrates……the special dangerous pink salt that turns the meat pink…… resulting in a different taste. It’s beefier and less corned……..Well it’s healthier than what I’m used to and is pretty good. It seems like you won’t go wrong with the brisket, and the turkey. I want to try the fresh ground in house smoked brisket burger next time.
So we went back.
We started out by sharing their fried macaroni and cheese balls special.
Ummmm! and the pepper puree dipping sauce is unique and delicious too!
This time we both had their amazing smoked ground in house brisket burgers that are finished on the grill. They suggest to get them medium rare so we both did.
My husband got his with extra American Cheese and Soul Belly made Bacon with a side of potato salad.
The burger is really great. For my taste the potato salad is too smooth and has too much mustard in it….I can’t eat it but I do admit that I am sensitive to mustard.
I had my burger without cheese but with with slaw, pickles and special sauce with their cornbread on the side.
WOW! this is a really great burger! Juicy, smoky, flavorful. It really doesn’t need anything else. It is large. I thought it might be 8 ounces but our server said it’s a 7 ounce burger. The cornbread also is very good and really doesn’t need the honey butter since it is so rich, moist and with crunchy ends. It’s not too sweet or too savory. It’s just right!
On another visit we had some repeats that were just as good as before. We also relied the BBQ mushrooms with chimichurri.
They might be the meatiest mushrooms ever….but…they are very strong with the smoke today.
I also noticed that the menu has changed a little bit. The pastrami sandwich and the watermelon salad are no longer on the menu. Also the macaroni and cheese balls are on the menu now.
I have to say Soulbelly BBQ is Worth a Fork!
Worth aFork!
Soulbelly BBQ 1327 S. Main St Las Vegas NV – 702-483-4404
I came across a Nigerian Jollof Recipe by Ozoz Sokoh that goes by Kitchen Butterfly. I enjoyed a no added meat version of Jollof Rice that I tasted at a restaurant called West Hut in Phoenix AZ. There are many varieties of jollof rice out there. There are over a dozen different West African countries and they all make Jollof rice different. When I read the Kitchen Butterfly Version I thought it might taste similar to what I tried at West Hut. Then I’m thinking that I don’t need a big pot of rice and really only need to cook vegetables today so I used her spices to come up with what I got here. I made my version FAT FREE and it came out FORKING DELICIOUS!!!! I think everyone out there would like this! Serving size may differ because I don’t know if you want a small side serving or a large bowl full.
Ingredients for around 8 servings
2 lbs carrots -peel if not organic, cut in chunks
1/4 cabbage – rough cut
1 onion – slices and cut the slices in half
4 oz celery – chop
hot pepper to taste – I use one hot hatch chile – fine dice
2 teaspoons Caribbean Curry Powder (I used Kitchen Butterfly’s recipe and 1/2ed her recipe and I still have quite a bit extra here’s 1/2 her recipe 1 1/2 Tablespoons turmeric, 1 1/2 Tablespoons ground coriander, 1 Tablespoon ground ginger, 1/2 teaspoon sea salt, 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper, 1/2 teaspoon cayenne, 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin, 1/2 teaspoon ground fenugreek, 1/2 teaspoon powdered mustard, 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves, 1/2 teaspoon fennel)
1 teaspoon dried thyme
2 bay leaves
24 oz. tomato puree (preferably from Italy so it’s sweet)
1/4 cup water to get all the tomato puree out
12 oz peas (I used a bag of frozen that I thawed)
optional – sea salt – to taste
optional – ground black pepper to taste
Directions
Set oven to 350 degrees F.
In a large mixing bowl add the carrots, cabbage, onion, hot pepper, Caribbean curry powder, thyme, bay leaves, tomato puree. (water to the can or bottle) and that liquid gets added, Mix well.
This goes in a large covered pan (or two pans) on the middle rack till the vegetables are fork tender. Ovens do differ and so do the vegetables so it will take 90-120 minutes.
Your thawed peas should get heated up slightly. (microwave, oven or pan) and stir them in before serving.
West African Inspired Carrots, Cabbage & Peas
WOW! This came out so FORKING DELICIOUS!
A Special THANKS!!!!!! to Kitchen Butterfly (Ozoz Sokoh) and Food52 for your recipes so I could do what I got here.
I haven’t purchased a frozen dinner in maybe a few decades. I live close to several Gordon Ramsay Restaurants but I was curious about Chef Ramsay frozen fish and chips at my local Walmart so I thought I’d give it a try with the 4 cheese macaroni.
On the back of the fish and chips box it says that it contains two servings……….I thinking maybe 2 servings for a toddler….This is what I got. I guess it’s more like one serving with too many fries.
I do note that I don’t have an air fryer and an air fryer is the preferred method for preparing the fish and chips. My husband followed the directions for oven preparation.
I have to admit that the fish and flavor of fish nugguts are very good but the breading didn’t get crisp. The fish is very flaky and is very moist. The potatoes or “CHIPS” have a delicious fluffy interiors but their exteriors aren’t crisp.
WtFORK would Gordon Ramsay say?….I think he’d say something like, “My dead grandmum can make crispier fish and chips than that.”
Anyways-
Here’s the back of the box for the 4 cheese macaroni. The box says one serving. I prefer it as a side serving so this is two servings to me.
It says to microwave it.
It taste very good. It actually taste much better than from many restaurants but it didn’t come out right.
It’s all stuck together.
I wonder what would Gordon Ramsay say?…..I think he’d say something like, ” Well you are a DUMP F****ing Donkey for buying microwave frozen food.”
Also my half didn’t have any corn bread crumbs.
I doubt that I will ever buy anything premade frozen again.
Those were my FORKING Thoughts on Chef Ramsay Fish & Chips and Four Cheese Macaroni. and what I thought Gordon Ramsay might say.
I do note that YOUR FORKING THOUGHTS may indeed differ. (and you might have an air fryer and do a little better)
