BBQ Express

Aloha! There is a new Hawaiian plate lunch restaurant downtown. The full name is BBQ Express Hawaiian BBQ. It's on the same block as the Lotus.


It's reasonably priced and the portions are large. There is nothing particularly special about it other than it being the only place downtown to get a Hawaiian plate lunch. The service is pretty good- they try really hard but there is a slight language barrier. My friend had a hard time trying to order something not using the number system and I had a hard time paying with a credit card because the cashier couldn't read the english on the credit card machine. The man who delivers the food to your table yells out your number and what you ordered. It reminds me of the soup nazi- "Number 1! Number 1! BBQ Mix plate! FOR YOU!!!!"

I will say they make a fine Spam Musabi. Large and only $2. It was gone into my belly before I could remember to take a picture of it.

The first time I went there, I had the BBQ Mix place which is grilled teriyaki chicken breast, sliced beef and short ribs, mac salad, and two scoops of rice. It was good and I felt I got my money's worth. The mac salad isn't the best. I think they maybe cheaped out and used some generic mayo instead of Best Foods/Hellman's (it seriously makes a difference). Another friend thought they just bought Costco mac salad and served it instead of making their own. Other friends had the chicken katsu (thumbs up!), the fried shrimp (thumbs down! undercooked) and the yakisoba (thumb sideways?). The second time I went there, I had the Kalua Pork plate. I've had much better at several other restaurants.



All in all, this is a good place for lunch downtown if you're craving Hawaiian BBQ.

Eat Pizza!

Back on 05/30/2008, I purchased a restaurant.com $25 gift certificate to Eat Pizza! for $1.00. I forgot about it until today, 05/22/2009 so I decided to use it. I am so glad I did as the food was delicious. I placed the lunch order for take-out because their location is kind of weird and pizza sliced shaped (similar to Rocco's but smaller). It's kiddie-corner and down the street from PGE Park 20th & Morrison/Burnside.

I ordered the following:
Pizza Alla Casalinga (topped with Artichoke Hearts, Fresh Tomatoes and Spicy Italian Sausage): "A layer of dough stretched into a square pan coated with garlic-infused olive oil, then topped sparingly with shredded mozzarella, savory tomato sauce, olive oil, fresh basil, and oregano and baked until the top bubbles and the bottom is crisp. Delicious!"

I agree! This is the second best pizza I've had in my life. I loved the crisp, buttery yet chewy crust with the cheese baked in. The sauce was on top of the cheese instead of underneath and the toppings were spread evenly throughout. It looked and smelled so good, I dug right in. Then, I remembered I should probably take some pictures so all of you can drool as well. I liked that it was cut into squares so that I could bogart all the corner pieces.


Cheese Bread: "Mozzarella and Parmesan atop crispy bread and served with marinara sauce." Not bad but not the best I've ever had.


Cinnamon Knots: No description needed other than these little things were heaven. They were like eating the middle part of a Cinnabon. Except better. They came with their own little tub of cream cheese frosting to dip them in.



Raspberry Chimi: "Raspberry and cream cheese filled dessert pastry." Oh my. So so good. The perfect raspberry to cream cheese ratio DEEP FRIED! Not very pretty but looks are deceiving.



So there you have it. My first review. I highly recommend Eat Pizza! Great customer service (thanks Jeff the pizza guy!) and a pretty darn good deal with a gift certificate. About $37 worth of grub for $12. Here's the menu.