I can't even begin to tell you how much I love this place. Everytime I spend a weekend in Vegas I absolutely must hit up this place...twice!

When you walk into the restaurant you might get the impression that its just a trendier version of Panda Express...I promise you its anything but.

You can walk in and pick from the premade entrees but I highly recommend ordering things ala carte. My personal favorite is their General Tsao Chicken.

Ala carte entrees will of course be made to order, so you can be sure your chicken is crunchy on the outside and soft in the middle.

I'm also a really big fan their chow mein and orange chicken.

Sidenote: Shanghai Grill is owned by Mark Pi, the world record holder for making the most noodles in the fastest time.

Mark Pi's Shanghai Grill

4965 W Tropicana Ave # 102

Las Vegas, NV 8910

I think I'm getting the hang of this cooking thing.

Here's the sauce I got at Trader Joe's:

A sweet, tangy & spicy sauce with bits of chili pepper and a hint of garlic.

For the chicken I cut up bite-sized pieces of chicken breast, marinated it in corn starch, water and a little bit of soy sauce. Just stir-fried the chicken for a bit, added the sauce and let it simmer for a bit.

Pretty damn easy and it turned out pretty damn good too. I think for next time I'll try to add in some veggies.

BJ's, one of my favorite places to go for happy hour. During happy hour, they knock off a couple bucks off the appetizers, and the mini-pizza's are half-price.

Today's special guest appearance was made by my lovely twin sister, April. She decided to experiment with their Chinese Pot Stickers.

pan seared dumplings loaded with chicken green onions, Chinese yellow chives, ginger and garlic. Served with soy ginger sauce and garnished with green onions and sesame seeds

As for me, I enjoyed the usual mini buffalo chicken pizza (no celery):

For Buffalo Chicken Wing lovers - diced celery, red onions and grilled chicken breast marinated in hot and spicy buffalo sauce, drizzled with ranch dressing. Served with extra ranch dressing for dipping.

And since the mini-pizzas are half-off, I treated myself to a mini BBQ chicken pizza (no cilantro):

Hickory-smoked BBQ sauce, red onions, cilantro and BBQ chicken breast.

And then to top off the day, we finished with a brand new thing at BJ's -- the Oreo Cookies & Cream Pizookie!!

A rich chocolate cookie featuring the unforgettable taste of OREO cookies. Topped with 3 scoops of vanilla bean ice cream and a dollop of creamy mousse -- its amazing!

Needless to say, this thing was soooooo damn good!!

What can I say...I love BJ's!!

www.bjsbrewhouse.com

Just a little quick somethin' I make for breakfast. Six sweet hawaiian rolls (toasted on the inside), three slices of grilled spam and a couple eggs.

Nacho Grande:

A plateful of chips, cheese and great toppings. Available with grilled chicken or steak.

Hooters Nearly World Famous Chicken Wings (50 pcs):

Mild, Medium, Hot, 3 Mile Island, 911, Cajun, Samurai or Spicy Jack. Often imitated hardly ever duplicated. Great as a meal or a snack. Available breaded or "naked."

To Bojo, Chain and Travis: Good game, guys. Good game.

www.hooters.com

Ed: yo, i saw your food post thing
Ed: you should try the BBQ Chicken Burger @ L&L's
Mel:

whoa, what is this??! L&L's has a secret menu????

Ed told me about this earlier this morning, so as soon as i got back from class i headed over to L&L's.

this thing is pretty good, mang! it costs about $2.30 and making it a double (like in the picture) is only $3.25.

some of the other things i found out they have:

• Spam & Egg Burger
• Mahi Mahi Burger
• Chicken Katsu Burger
• BBQ Beef Burger

mel's smilie rating out of 5:

// not sure if this matters but this is at the L&L's on Valley & Grande.

// thanks for the tip, Ed!!

here's a look back at my Food Journal entries this past year, rated out of 5 smilies. click on the pics to read the full review.

Roscoe's Chicken & Waffles

#46 @ Pho Express

Meatloaf @ Boston Market

Hawaiian Burgers @ Islands

Mochiko House Special @ Shakas

zPizza

Chicken Katsu, Spam Burger @ L&Ls

Hot Dogs & Pizza @ Costco

Hawaiian BBQ Chicken @ Papa Johns

Deep Fried Snickers, Twinkies and Oreos @ LA County Fair

okay so my brother took me to this one place i've never heard of before, Wood Ranch BBQ & Grill. i've only had it twice (the first time i tried it and then again the very next day) but i gotta say the tri-tip is

America's Best BBQ Tri Tip Sandwich:

The best tasting sandwich you'll ever eat! Thinly sliced WR Tri Tip simmered in our BBQ sauce and piled high on a toasted French baguette. $11.95

yeah, slightly on the more expensive side but i'm really digging this place. they have a lunch menu (ends at 4pm), so you can get a "half-sized" sandwith plus Ranch Fries, Skillet Baked Beans OR Original Peanut Coleslaw for a couple bucks cheaper, i think.

their dinner rolls and their trademark Wood Ranch BBQ Sauce are pretty damn good too.

www.woodranch.com

one of my favorite places in Claremont that i've been going to since high school. lunch is about $5.50 and dinner is around $8.50. the main difference is for lunch, they give you a bowl of your uncooked meat of choice. for dinner, you go up to the bar, grab a bowl and stack as much meat as you can in your bowl.

chicken:

...with pineapples, chili sauce, onions and a buttload of bean sprouts:

...stir fried to perfection:

notice that ketchup bottle on the top right. its a bit sweeter to be normal ketchup but whatever it is, i typically go thru a whole bottle.

Tips

• for dinner, pack the meat real good into the bowl to get the most bang-for-your-buck.
• for lunch, sometime after 1:30 on weekdays -- the lines are nonexistant.
• eat the top of the pocket biscuit and then stuff it with the meat.

  

Its on Towne Ave & Foothill Blvd, Claremont, CA. Typically open til 9pm.

cheaper than the original Hawaiian BBQ Chicken, this pizza could be priced as a one large, one topper. half bacon, half pineapple, with bbq sauce instead of pizza sauce (special request).

www.papajohns.com