The selection of ingredients was pretty good. They had several base greens options, and most items looked absolutely garden fresh. The only item that I had to sort through were the cucumbers. Some of the looked to have some ice crystals in them – probably from the bar cooling system being too strong.

The cut sizes of items was fairly optimal too. The only real issue I had was the size of the zucchini cuts – a little big for a single bite, and I had to eat them separate from other parts of the salad because that was all I had room for on my fork.

They also had several protein options, including several cheeses, beans and meats. Several grain choices were available as well, including crouton cubes and toasts.

The dressing looked very appealing and fresh. I don’t know if the dressings are prepackaged or freshly prepared in the restaurant, but the dressings I tried did have a fresh, home-made quality.

So, is Jason’s Deli the best salad bar in town? I’d honestly have to say that Jason’s Deli is a serious contender, if not the best. The establishment that came in 2nd in the recommendations is the place I usually go to for my salad cravings. I am going to get over there soon for a fresh comparison.

I had been frequenting Asia Garden about once every two weeks with a co-worker. The food was good, no real complaints other than the fried rice, which I believe was made with too much dark soy sauce. It had a bit of a bitter flavor that I did not care for. Other than that the food was pretty good. It was my “stand-by” Chinese restaurant. But, it was a bit far out from work, so I stopped going several months ago. So, I was pretty excited to see what was different.

The first thing, upon entering, that caught my eye was a sushi bar! I know, it’s a Chinese restaurant, right? Well, apparently, one of the changes is that it is now a Chinese/Japanese fusion restaurant. When we were seated, we were given two menus, one Japanese – the other Chinese.

On the Chinese menu, I recognized many of the items I enjoyed before. The Japanese menu was new of course, so I spent most of my time perusing the choices. They offered all my sushi favorites – sashimi, nigiri, and norimaki – as well as other traditional Japanese items like tempura, udon, and yakisoba. Looking great so far!

So, I ordered the Sunfire norimaki roll, and a spicy tuna norimaki roll. The Sunfire was a mixture of several things, and very spicy – it was very good – definitely something I will order again.

I always order a spicy tuna roll whenever I eat sushi. It’s kind of my gauge for the way the rest of the meal goes. If they get that wrong, well – they probably can’t do much else right. Asia Garden’s spicy tuna roll was very good – not the best I’ve eaten, but very good.

I also ordered the gyoza – it is another favorite that I use as a gauge for Japanese restaurants. What I expect is a soft wrapper that is lightly caramelized on both sides, from pan-searing – not deep fried. The wrapper needs to be warm-to-hot, with a steamy center. They nailed it – the gyoza was perfect. Sadly, I forgot to take a photo of these magnificent things.

Here are some other items the dinner party ordered.

The only negative about the experience was the wait. We had a party of six, and they only had one table set for size, which was used by a party of four. We ended up fitting our six around a table meant to seat four, and Angel and I were very close to the steps and had to be mindful not to scoot too far back!

I haven’t been to Jason’s Deli in years. Honestly, the first few times I went there (years ago) I was not impressed at all. I felt like the sandwiches were over-rated, over-priced, and pretentious. My buddy, Brandon, has tried to get me to go back several times, but I just wasn’t feeling it. Well, the other day, I decided to go try it a gain, and as you can see, I rated them 4-forks! See why after the break.

My least fond memory of previous visits was that the place was confusing. I can’t remember all the details, but it just seemed like the way you ordered, and the way you received your order didn’t make a lick of sense to me. I am not sure what they changed over the several years since my last visit, but everything seemed pretty straight forward this time around. Yay!

The next not-so-fond memory of previous visits was that the sandwiches just were not that great. I really can’t remember anything about the previous menu than that, but I’m here to tell you that my mind has been changed about the food.

I ordered a “Club Royale” sandwich. Served on a toasted croissant, it has smoked turkey breast, ham, bacon, Swiss, cheddar, leafy lettuce, tomato, and honey mustard. Yum – what a great sandwich! Perfectly cooked bacon, perfectly savory mustard, on a perfectly baked croissant. Impressive.

Brandon had the “Chicago Club” sandwich. Served on an herb-laden focaccia, it has smoked turkey breast, bacon, provolone, chipotle aioli, organic spinach, and roma tomatoes. Brandon let me taste it, and again, I was very impressed. Great sandwich! But, um… my “Club Royale” was better!

The only “downside” was the whole thing with the pickle. I’m not sure what the deal was that made them choose to do it this way, but the pickle that you get doesn’t come on the plate. You have to up to the salad bar separately and get your pickle. Pretty inconvenient, and awkward to be honest. But, all in all, excellent meal. I’ll be back for sure.

The result are these scrumptious little devils! I only made the two tacos for myself (Angel was not hungry). See below the picture for the recipe.

Recipe:

Spinach & Red Onion Beef Tacos (2 tacos)

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1/4 cup fresh thinly-sliced red onions, halved
• 1/2 cup freshly diced tomatoes (flesh only)
• 2 tablespoons freshly chopped cilantro
• 1/2 cup fresh spinach leaves
• 1 tablespoon lime juice
• salt/pepper to taste
• 2 tablespoons sour cream
• Taco-seasoned beef (you decide how much)
• 2 taco shells (hard or soft, your choice)
• “Mexican blend” shredded cheese.

Directions:

• Pre-cook taco beef with taco seasoning, set aside, and keep warm
• Saute onions and tomatoes in butter, until onions are semi-transparent
• Add cilantro and stir until fully incorporated
• salt/pepper to taste
• Remove from heat, and fold in spinach while still hot
• Drain any excess liquid.
• Sprinkle with lime juice.
• In taco shells, layer with seasoned beef first, then sour cream, then saute mixture.
• Top with a sprinkle of shredded cheese.
• Serve with lime wedges and side of hot sauce.

I love to add plenty of hot sauce, which I chase with the lime wedges when my mouth gets too hot. Also, if you want to reduce the onion’s potency, add sugar while sauteing. If I prepared for this in advance, I probably would have bought some uncooked chopped black olives to use as cold topping on top of the cheese.

I hope you try this taco recipe – I know you’ll enjoy it!

Well, first, let’s get to the near-death experience! Altogether, 7 of us went. But four of us rode in my car. We were driving along, having some great conversation, and about half way through our drive when all of a sudden the driver of a Jeep, with no doors, and no top, decided to pull out from a side street right in front of us (left lane) and another car (right lane). When I say “right in front of us” I mean that there was no way to break hard enough to stop before hitting them. I was doing 65. I slammed on the breaks, kicking in the anti-lock system, and right before hitting the Jeep, he had past just enough to my left that I was able to veer over, straddling the the lanes divider line just enough to miss him by about a foot! I have no clue how much I missed the car beside me by. But, I figured it was better to sideswipe the car next to me than to t-bone that Jeep! Thankfully, no one injured!

OK, now to the food adventure!

Besso’s is an Italian restaurant in Henderson, TN. It is just in town, on the left near the Ford dealership. You have to go past it to get to the service road that connects to Besso’s parking lot. We got there at 6:30, an the other 3 folks were already there.

The menu is on the mid-to-upper scale on pricing, and thoroughly Italian. The serve the typical pizza, pasta and meat entrees that you would find in other upscale Italian restaurants, but with a Besso’s twist. They also have a freshly “home made” gelato bar – 16 flavors at a time – of which you may get free samples! Yay!

I ordered the Chicken Piccata, by recommendation of the person who told me about Besso’s to begin with – thanks, Amy! It was a breaded chicken breast filet served over risotto, with a spinach side. Wow. It was wonderfully seasoned with a hint of citrus. Very, very good.

Angel (my bride) ordered a pizza, which she let me sample! It was a delicious, hand-tossed, thin-crust. They bake these in a traditional brick/stone pizza oven.

Everyone got dessert – some got the gelato, but I got their bread-pudding. It was a little on the rich side, but not too much – I devoured most of it before I realized I didn’t need any more!

Service was impeccable, and efficient. The atmosphere is great, maybe a tad loud – but that seems to be the way restaurants are done these days.

Of course, what makes the meal even more than the food was the company. It’s hard to beat great friends getting together with great food.

The decor is fairly modern, and quirky in a good way. They use actual doors as their tables, with glass tops. Cool. The menu is on a board above the order station, and is quite eclectic. They have a variety of sandwiches that you would expect at a cafe, but they also had some more bistro-style items as well – like steak and potatoes (which is what I ordered).

They also have some really good desserts. The names f the desserts escape me, but one that we tried was like a chocolate flood, and the other reminded me of Neapolitan ice cream (in looks). Both were moist and delicious (see below).

The coffee is really, really good. I had a white chocolate mocha, my “go to” coffee-house drink. It was rich and creamy, but not too sweet. Perfect.

The only “weird” thing to me was that they want you to scrape your dishes yourself and put them into a dish bin. Not a deal breaker, but still not what I want to when I go out to eat.

I absolutely love Oriental food. In Jackson, we really do have a lot of choices to address that love. A newcomer to this food category is Hibachi Grill & Supreme Buffet.

My first impression after getting into the restaurant was “wow!” The place is huge, and they have one of the largest oriental food buffets that I’ve ever seen. And the place was packed! That’s good for two reasons. First, it means that it has a great customer-base. Second, it means that the food on the buffet gets replaced more often.

The items on the buffet are well-rounded. On one end of the spectrum, they have a few American options for those who aren’t really fond of oriental food. Then they have the usual fair that you’ll find in any oriental restaurant. But, on the far end of the spectrum they have some not-so-common items, like baby octopus salad (yum).

I tried a small portion of many items, but ultimately returned to the sushi bar which had a very good selection and was replenished very often, maintaining freshness.

I really enjoyed it. The food selection was awesome, the tastes were awesome, and the food was freshly prepared. They hit all the right notes for a lunch buffet. Oh, and it was very affordable too. Awesome.

I can “tell” you what it is: two sausage patties with egg (no cheese), on a croissant. Yum, yum, yum… It’s like the “CROISSAN’WICH®” from Burger King, only bigger and way better.

ALSO – one of my favorite things to do, with the help of The Baker’s Rack, is treat my coworkers with one of their best deserts: chess squares! My favorite part is the very corner – the part with the baked-crust edges on two sides… yum. I DID manage to get a picture of that!