[My ongoing series for 2016 continues ... with the NINETEENTH of FIFTY tastes of FLORIDA (coming to you on sequential Thursdays. All. Year. Long.)!]
Establishment: Shinju Japanese Buffet
Location: Coral Springs
Meal: Dinner
Drink: Sapporo!
Round 1: Assorted Sushi
Round 2: Soups
egg drop, wonton
Round 3: Cold plate
seaweed salad, calimari, shrimp cocktail, raw oysters, raw wahoo and more
Round 4: Hot plate
mongolian beef, bbq ribs, teriyaki salmon, shrimp tempura and fried rice
Round 5: Soup Reprise
wonton
Round 6: Dessert
sugar free cookies and cream ice cream and assorted sweets
Round 7: Sake!
Server: Me! ('cause it was buffet style!)
Website: http://www.sjbuffet.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Shinju-Japanese-Buffet/111742585529292
For the first time in this series, it's buffet time! And yet again this location ended up being a bit of a happy accident (which, comes to think of it, sounds like it might be the name of one of the sushi creations), because the original Japanese buffet choice was closed for renovations Luckily, there are multiple Japanese buffets within a few miles (who knew?)! Lookit -- no judgement about the multi-course approach to this meal. It's a buffet. You're *supposed* to go back again (and again [and again {and again}])! Here's how all those trips added up:AMBIANCE: 10/10 (with plenty of seating and what seemed like endless rows of food in the middle of the space, the most amazing thing may just have been how sparkling clean the buffet area was ... and with it not being super crowded on the weeknight, it was perfect for being able to pause between rounds for conversation with good friends)FOOD: 9/10 (admittedly, I'm not so sophisticated to truly appreciate the varieties of sushi [the plate I had was one of everything on just 1/3 of the line -- the other 2/3s went unsampled by me], but the soups were so delicious I actually went back for seconds just before dessert ... and I barely scratched the surface of all that was available ... a point lost for the cold plate [which may have been more about my choices and personal preferences about cold vs hot food])SERVICE: 9/10 (those tasked with removing the plates so that passers-by didn't know [and judge] anyone who might have gone seven rounds in one evening were right on top of doing so ... and she who got the drinks was nice and friendly ... just a point lost for the hibachi man looking too intimidating for me to ask him to do anything [a missed opportunity for what could have been an EIGHTH round]) BACON: 5/10 (I have to stop going to these places that don't have a speck of bacon anywhere ... but I guess the pork in the dumplings will have to count for something)BONUS: 10/10 (+3 for playing the extended dance remix of the happy birthday song on the audio for the poor customer celebrating, +3 for serving me Sapporo again [a drink from my youth that I liked because of how the "flavor used to disappear in my throat as I swallowed"], +3 for not making us feel rushed despite being one of the last tables still buffet-ing at closing time and +1 for being a place to which we will return, if only to get the hibachi action started on the next visit)
TroyScore: 43 out of 50 -- aka 86, a solid B
[My ongoing series for 2016 continues ... with the ELEVENTH of FIFTY tastes of FLORIDA (coming to you on sequential Thursdays. All. Year. Long.)!]
Establishment: Bru's Room
Location: Coral Springs
Meal: Dinner
Drink: Guiness (with one 'n', see sign below -- although it tasted like the real thing)
Appetizer: Chicken Noodle Soup
Main: Mahi Tacos (3)
Blackened Mahi, Guacamole, Lettuce, Bruschetta Tomaotes, Sriracha Ranch in Flour Tortillas, with Chips & Salsa
Side(s): Buffalo Chips
Seasoned, spiral-cut, potato chips
Dessert: n/a
Server: Jules
Website: http://brusroom.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BrusRoomSportsGrill
Who knew? The FTL has 'burbs! A trip into reclaimed Everglades marshland that was citified back in the sixties was part of the plan once Bru posted on Bru's facebook earlier this month that Bru had a limited supply of a Maple BACON Coffee Porter (sadly, a VERY limited supply, as explained in the score sections) ... and the Coral Springs location (Bru has 10 of these "rooms", all over the area) was the one chosen because friends live in town and vouched for the place. With a nod to the fact that it was basically a higher quality of bar food ... expectations were exceeded. More details by category:
AMBIANCE: 9/10 (it's huge, with a number of different rooms, and big indoor and outdoor bars plus a separate veranda area with booths and tables far enough from the bar that trivia night didn't overtake our party's meal conversation ... and although it's actually an outparcel of a mall, it's so well landscaped that you don't really realize it until you get in the car to leave the parking lot ... as a sports bar, there are TVs every three feet and even they weren't intrusive ... just one point lost for being so far out in the 'burbs!)
FOOD: 8/10 (everything was very good with tacos that tasted very fresh and a soup that was quite flavorful [and I do love me some ribbon noodles and big chunks of chicken in my chicken noodle soup], but there's a point lost for some missed opportunities with seasoning [especially in the chips and the mahi before added the sriracha ranch])
SERVICE: 8/10 (our main server was friendly and attentive, and she took the time to explain the absence of the beer that actually brought us to this place [see above and below] ... but her "helpers" are hurting in this category and causing some docked points -- one for them just throwing down the silverware and napkins for the whole table in front of me and a second one for them not taking empty dishes when delivering the main meal plates)
BACON: 9/10 (that's actually one point for every reference to bacon on the menu ... and Bru's boys aren't afraid to add it to nachos and salads and homemade pizza and chicken sandwiches and, of course, multiple burger offerings ... so even though there was no bacon in the choices I made [shocking I know], the place deserves points EXCEPT for the fact that they were out of the maple bacon coffee porter that we saw on the facebook earlier in the month)
BONUS: 10/10 (all the possible bonus points for having a little arcade room for the kiddies [with maybe four games] that included ... wait for it ... a Batman themed 'whac-a-mole' game ... boom, drop the mic!)
TroyScore: 44 out of 50 -- aka 88, a high B
