Sake Sake Sushi

Sake Sake Sushi
289 S Mountain Ave
Upland, CA 91786
909-939-3400

Why are there two pictures of Sake Sake Sushi?  The first picture is their current location, which opened up in early November, 2018.  The second picture was their original location, that was closed down so this shopping center, could get an Aldi grocery store.  The original location was right next to Michael's, and on the south side of CVS.  Now, they are on the north side of CVS.

This shopping center has many restaurants that I reviewed, the now closed China Gate, San Biagio's Pizza, and Handel's Ice Cream- where Wednesday nights are $1.35 scoops!!

The lunch time all you can eat is $21.95.  The only rules are 90 minutes to order, you must eat the rice, and any leftover pieces are charged at $1.50 per piece.

Shrimp tempura-Crunchy outside, but mushy inside, a frozen shrimp tempura that needed more time cooking.

Calamari tempura- it seems they cooked this in two batches.  Some were burned or overcooked.  Others were cooked perfectly.  After eating one of the burned pieces, I stuck to the perfectly cooked pieces.

Seared tuna, shrimp, and tuna.  Good sized pieces, fresh

Rock N Roll- salmon, tuna, and albacore crabmeat, crabstick, avocado- Outside-cucumber and ponzu.  Outstanding roll, fresh and good flavor combinations!

Crunch roll-crabmeat and shrimp tempura inside, crunchy outside.  Most of the shrimp tempura they used in the rolls were small or not that fresh.  One piece has the tail with very little shrimp. 

Shrimp lover: Crabmeat and shrimp tempura inside. Outside- shrimp and avocado.  A very good roll!!

Shrimp Tempura hand roll- just a ton of crabmeat.  The shrimp tempura was ok.

Scallop Tempura roll- crabmeat, avocado, cucumber.  Outside-scallop tempura.  The scallop tempura was awesome!!  There are a ton of them, and all cooked perfectly!

Crunch Rainbow Roll-Salmon, tuna, albacore outside. Crabmeat, crabstick, shrimp tempura inside.  This had a bit too much sauce, but a good dish.

Service was pretty good.  One thing, they total came out to $23.65.  But, when I signed the credit card the card was charged $23.95.  Now, 30 cents isn't a big deal, I did take away that 30 cents from his tip.

Sake Sake Sushi was pretty good, but not as good as some other all you can eat sushi restaurants.  I won't go back.

Charlie’s Stars & Stripes American Deli-Closed

Charlie’s Stars & Stripes American Deli
296 N 2nd Ave
Upland, CA 91786
909-981-2411

Charlie’s Stars & Stripes American Deli is a sports bar in Upland, that gives recognition to men and women who served in the military.  There are two walls with pictures of service members!  On a wall near the bar, there is a picture of Pat Tillman!  Today being Memorial Day, I decided this would be a great time to do a review.

Back in 2014, I found out about Charlie's after a David Allen Restaurant of the Week mentioned they had a $5 steak night on Monday.  I wasn't eating meat at the time, but I went with a group of people.  I think I had either the fish and chips or a salad.  I can't remember.

Fast forward four years, they moved the steak night to Wednesday, and it is $7.95.  Still a steal. I read there are new owners, and they did do some renovations- they moved the wall dedicated to area service members to the back, mainly because more photos were added.  The names on the menu no longer have military themed names.  The Pearl Harbor Burger is now the Hawaiian burger.   

While it says deli in the name, it's not a deli in the classic sense.  Their menu is salads, sandwiches, burgers, and some entrees like spaghetti, salmon, and steak.

Shrimp basket-$9.99.  Charlie's is a casual bar, so I'm not expecting gourmet food.  The shrimp is fine for what it is.  This is 10 pieces of frozen shrimp. Good sized shrimp with a good crunchy outside.

Service is good.  It was slow, as the entire downtown area has very little foot traffic.  But, I didn't lack for anything.

I like Charlie's and would go back anytime.  If you do eat meat, that steak special is a steal! 

Taco King-Closed

Taco King
1317 E Foothill Blvd
Upland, CA 91786
909-982-0014

David Allen wrote about Upland institution Taco King being put up for sale.  So, since I did a review about another restaurant that maybe closing soon, Teddy's Tacos, I decided to give Taco King a try.

King Taco is a few blocks west of the now closed-Buckboard BBQ & Grill and Red Hill BBQ,  I'm sure I've pasted by Taco King and their distinctive sign many times, but never stopped in!

There are about 10 tables as you walk inside.  You order at the counter.  There are pictures of how Taco King looked in the early 1970's! 

Bean special- bean and cheese burrito, chips and a drink-$4.85.  The bean and cheese burrito is $2.75 by itself.  I liked this bean and cheese burrito.  It was better and more flavorful than the bean and cheese burrito from the more well known, Al & Bea's Mexican Food in LA.  While this is smaller, I much preferred the bean and cheese burrito from Taco King!

Hard Shell taco- $1.90- with beans instead of ground beef.  This was a good taco, their beans are great!  Fresh lettuce and cheese.  The portion is a bit small, but the quality of the food is very good.

Service is good.

I'm glad I got a chance to go to Taco King before it closed.  Hopefully, the new owners will keep the recipes and Taco King will continue to be an Upland institution!

Louie’s Chicken & Fish Grill

Louie’s Chicken & Fish Grill
960 N Mountain Ave
Upland, CA 91786
909-946-1300

Every week I read David Allen's Restaurant of the Week, while I don't always put those restaurants on my bucket list, I do keep them in mind.  Louie’s Chicken & Fish Grill, was one of those restaurants.  David reviewed Louie's back in 2009.  I drove past Louie's last year and said I should give them a try.  Almost a year later, I am finally able to check them off my bucketlist. 

The restaurant business is a brutal business; lots of competition, small margins, lots of hard for very little return on investment.  Some restaurants open up and within six months are gone, never to return. Well, Louie's is still in business today.  So that has to be a good sign right? 

The dining area has a TV that had the Monday Night Football game on.  They also had ceiling fans that were on and with the shadows from the lighting, it makes on kinda of dizzy.  There is a large patio area for nice outdoor dining. 

It's counter service, order at the counter and they bring the food out to you.

Mahi mahi, Cajun spice, with brown rice and broccoli and carrots, $12.99.  The mahi mahi was cooked perfectly!!  Moist, tender, and flaky.  It was also perfectly seasoned!  The portion size could have been a bit bigger, but otherwise a good item to order.  The broccoli and carrots had no seasoning at all, not even salt.  A simple pinch of salt would make this a much better side.  They were cooked perfectly!  The brown rice had been sitting under heat lamps for too long.  Some grains were hard and others were perfectly cooked.  If they improved the sides, this would be a very good dish.

Service was good.  Nice and friendly, and my order came out quickly!

Some minor improvements to the sides and maybe a bigger portion would make Louie's Chicken and Fish Grill a good place for a nice meal.  I'll give them another chance, but I won't rush back.

Red Devil Pizza-Upland

Red Devil Pizza
907 W Foothill Blvd
Upland
909-946-9300


Last week David Allen reviewed The Original Red Devil in Upland.  He, mentioned their $5 lunch specials and I decided to give them a try.  But, I had to go to the real original Red Devil in Covina, first.

The Red Devil in Upland is in the Sprouts Shopping Center, the same center as Johnson's Hot Dog, used to be.  Sadly, they closed.  While Johnson's wasn't the best hot dog, the owner was very nice and cared about his customers.

Red Devil is huge!  They must host a ton of little league parties and with Upland High School across the street, I'm sure many post game parties.  Most of the tables are communal picnic tables but they have a few booths near the front entrance.   But, the decor is all black and it's a very ominous feeling. 

I got the mini, 8 in, pizza with mushrooms and a drink for $5.  The pizza is good.  The same exact sauce, crust, and quality toppings as the Covina location.  This is a damn steal for $5! 

What wasn't the same was the service.  I don't say Hi, when I walk into a restaurant.  That's the job of the hostess/workers.  Every retail job I ever had, the number one thing they mentioned was greet the customer!

Well, I walk up to the counter and the girl didn't say anything!  At the Covina location, I was greeted the second I walked into the restaurant.  She barely said anything, except that will be $5.40.

While waiting for the pizza, I went back to my car to drop of their take out menu.  When I walked back, she said your order comes with a drink.  She was just going through the motions.  She wasn't rude or mean, she just needs to work on customer service, the first being, greet the customer!

I then went to the restroom, which are suppose to be renovated, and they really need to some TLC, when I got back a man, who I think is the manager, asks me if I needed help!  So there is somebody who cares about customer service at the Upland location.

I would only go back to the Upland location for their lunch special.  The $5 special for the pizza is a steal!  They just need to train their workers on customer service.

The Covina location is more convenient for me and they made a much better first impression!   The pizza is the same quality at both locations.

Petrilli’s Pizza

Petrilli’s Pizza
110 S Mountain Ave
Upland
909-981-8114

Yes, this is an actual review by The New Diner!!  No, The New Diner has not reopened.  I just wanted to do a review about what used to be Petrillo's location in Upland!  I recently reread David Allen's review about Fratello’s Pizza and Pasta in Upland where he mentioned Petrilli's.  Two years after David's review, I went to Fratello’s Pizza and Pasta.   I emailed him and we decided to meet for dinner at Petrilli's.  Interesting that the last time David and I met, we went to another pizza place, Sal's Pizza!

I went to Petrillo's Pizza in Glendora and San Gabriel, and heard that they used to have a third location in Upland.  Apparently, the story goes, the Petrillo's in Upland was owned by Petrillo's but, they changed ownership and the name to Petrilli's about ten years ago!

Located in the same shopping center as, to my shock, the still open, Windy C's hotdog stand, Petrilli's is a small, mostly take out location.  There are two tables inside, if you want to eat there.

I got a small three topping pizza; mushrooms, onions, and jalapenos, $14.  On Monday and Tuesday, Petrilli's has a special, if you order a medium or large pizza, you get a small pizza for half price.  The offer is also good for salads and pastas.  

The pizza was heavy, which is always a good sign.  There were a ton of jalapenos, and onions, but not as many mushrooms as I prefer.  But, the toppings were fresh and tasty.  The pizza is loaded with cheese-a good quality mozzarella cheese.

But, I thought the sauce was lacking, both in flavor and quantity! I had to check and see if there was sauce.  Now, the crust-the weakest part of this pizza.  It was a cracker crust, which I do not like at all.  While it held up the toppings well, I would have much preferred a softer chewier crust.

Service is good.  The guy taking our order was friendly and helpful.  Something I noticed was that he was happy to see us take pictures of the food.  When I first started The New Diner, people would always ask why am I taking pictures of the food.  My normal response was "None of your damn business." but now with camera phones, most restaurants embrace people taking pictures of their food.  Unless you're a pompous asshole like the owner of Father's Office.

If you like a cracker-crust pizza, you'll love Petrilli's.  If you prefer a softer crust, go to somewhere else, like San Biagio's Pizza, just across Mountain Ave!

Johnson's Hot Dogs-Closed

Johnson's Hot Dogs
813-A W Foothill Blvd
Upland
909-920-6800

I still can't believe the horrific events at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, CT.!  I can't believe anybody would want to harm so many innocent children!  How can America allow a mentally ill person access to guns?  I can't believe 26 angels didn't get a chance to celebrate Christmas.

I know most kids love hot dogs, so to honor those 26 Angels, I decided to give Johnson's Hot Dogs a try.  Johnson's has been open for a little over a year.  Located across the street from Upland High School,  in your typical suburban strip mall, they have indoor seating for about 20 people and about four tables outside.

The $1.50 hot dog or Polish sausage at Costco has really hurt the chances of hot dogs restaurants of succeeding.  When hot dogs at restaurants are over $3, just for the hot dog, most people in the suburbs aren't going to pay that, when they can basically get two hot dogs and two sodas from Costco for that price.  The suburbs do not have enough foodies, who are willing to pay more for a hot dog, to keep a hot dog restaurant in business.  Of course there are many exceptions to this theory.  Windy C's Chicago Hot Dogs, being the biggest surprise, where somehow terrible customer service keeps that place in business.

Chicago hot dog, $4.04, mustard, onions, neon green relish, tomatoes, pickle, and sport peppers.  I read that Johnson's used to use the same hot dog for all their hot dogs.  They learned that a Chicago hot dogs requires an all beef natural casing hot dog, so that's what they are using now.  I know it's no a Vienna Beef hot dog, but it was still a good hot dog, well seasoned and balanced.  But, the hot dog has been in the steamer for way too long.  Which made the casing tough and chewy.  This would have been a good hot dog if fresh.  The toppings were all fine, except for the sport peppers which weren't fresh.  The bun had the poppy seeds that are standard on a Chicago hot dog.  But, the bun came straight from the bag.  It should have been steamed.

Service is good.  The owner is a nice man who wants the best for customers.

I don't know how well Johnson's is doing but I hope they stay around for a long time.  The restaurant had only two people when I walked in and two people came in just as I left.  Again, the suburban mentality that the $1.50 hot dog at Costco is better than the $4 hot dog at a restaurant.

While there are somethings Johnson's needs to improve upon, like keeping hot dogs fresh in the steamer, I would give them another try.  The hot dogs they use are very good quality and worth the price. 

Upland Kabob

Upland Kabob
733 N Mountain Ave
Upland
909-985-5454

It's Friday during Lent, so that means no meat. I've gotten tired of eating fish on Friday. So I decided to get some falafel! Upland Kebob has been on my list of places to try but I haven't had a chance to go to the area. So, this was as good of a time as any.

Upland Kebob is a good sized restaurant, that is separated into three parts. The dining room, the buffet table, and the counter area. I wasn't sure if it was a sit down restaurant or a counter service restaurant. It's actually a sit down restaurant, where people can order at the counter for to go orders.



Falafel wrap, $5.95. The falafel wrap was filled with three pieces of falafel, hummus, garlic sauce, lettuce, onions, tomatoes in pita bread. First thing I noticed was the texture of the hummus, a bit more chunky than the hummus I'm used to. But, it was fresh and a nice mild flavor, not that overly tangy flavor I get from most hummus.

Falafel is a chick peas/garbanzo beans mixture that is fried. I liked this falafel because it was crunchy on the outside and had a nice flavorful taste.

All the combinations of flavors worked well with this falafel wrap.



Falafel salad, $8.95 with romaine lettuce, tahini sauce I really just wanted six pieces of falafel, not a damn salad, but whatever. Again the same crunchy outside and flavorful inside. But, one thing I noticed, they used bottle lemon juice!! Why not use fresh lemons??

Service is friendly but kinda of off. I walked in and they told me they do not serve falafel for dinner!! I have never heard of any Middle Eastern place not serving falafel. Then when I told him I wanted just falafel, I got the damn falafel salad. I don't want to pay for stupid lettuce and other stuff I don't want or need.

Overall, I did enjoy the falafel from Upland Kebob. I will go back for their lunch buffet, $11.95 for all you can eat chicken kebobs, beef and chicken shawarma, and many other items.