The Food and Drink Guy

Tag: Korean

  • Basic Bird (Des Moines, IA) Review

    Basic Bird (Des Moines, IA) Review

    Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

    4.5* (out of 5)

    Yelp Review

    Google Review

    Food: 5*

    Atmosphere: 4*

    Value: 5*

    Service: 4*

    02/10/2024 Basic Bird

    I read about the Basic Bird opening in the Des Moines Register and immediately added it to my Want to Go list. We first stopped by on a Saturday night around dinner time and decided we didn’t want to wait in line because it was very busy. We got our chance a few weeks later by making plans to stop by before the rush…getting there before 4pm.

    I liked the fun paintings on the building as we walked up (see pictures) and the interior was quite bright, lively and inviting (see pictures). If you didn’t know, the pictures will make it obvious that this is a fast-food restaurant…albeit one with high quality food and a selection of tap beer as well as other canned alcoholic beverages. Because of the fast-food format where you order at the counter and very basic (yet highly lacquered) interior, tables and chairs, I did deduct a point each for Atmosphere and Service.

    As for the food, both myself and my wife really enjoyed our choices. My wife opted for the Sandwich Meal with Brussel Sprouts, Korean Potato Salad & Shishitos peppers (see picture). I opted for the 5 Piece Boneless Meal with Brussel Sprouts, Cabbage Kimchi & Korean Potato Salad (see picture). As we always do, we shared bites of each others plates and both of us really liked most all of the offerings. We both preferred the Double Dunk sauce (on her sandwich) over the Spicy Gochujang sauce (on my wings), as we didn’t think the Spicy Gochujang had much spice or flavor. The same could be said for the Shishitos, as they didn’t have a lot of flavor.

    If you love juicy, crispy chicken and don’t mind a fast-food format, you will want to try Basic Bird.

    If you found this review helpful, please show your appreciation with a Like or a Follow.

    Photos copyright: happyhourdesmoines.com & thefoodanddrinkguy.com

    Photos copyright: happyhourdesmoines.com & thefoodanddrinkguy.com

    For the best Happy Hour and Food Specials in Des Moines, visit: happyhourdesmoines.com

    Follow Happy Hour Des Moines:

    Great Food & Drink Reviews by the Food and Drink Guy, visit: thefoodanddrinkguy.com

    Follow The Food and Drink Guy:

  • DZÔ Korean BBQ (Des Moines, IA) Review

    DZÔ Korean BBQ (Des Moines, IA) Review

    Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

    4.5* (out of 5)

    Yelp Review

    Google Review

    Food: 4*

    Atmosphere: 5*

    Value: 4*

    Service: 5*

    11/10/2023 DZÔ Korean BBQ (515) 216-1472

    Stopped back again when our son and his girlfriend were visiting and had another great experience. The main additions from this visit were the Boom Boom Bao appetizer (see picture) and the Kimchi Fried Rice (see picture). The Boom Boom Bao was SO good – I just loved the soft, warm bread-like bao with the juicy and flavorful inserts. It is a little pricey, but the food is quite good.

    09/09/2023

    We have been to Korean BBQs before and have enjoyed them – and our son and daughter-in-law recommended this place. We finally got a chance to try it ourselves last night and enjoyed our experience.

    We arrived a little early for our reservation, so joined Katie at the bar for a drink. She is a fantastic bartender with excellent recommendations – so when you go, say ‘Hi’ to her from The Food and Drink Guy. She recommended the Grapefruit Soju Margarita (see picture) for my wife and it was delicious (she gave me a taste).

    When I saw the Shanky’s Whip on the shelf I asked her what she could make with it, since I just had it the night before and liked how smooth, sweet and creamy it was. She recommended a Shanky’s Whip Old Fashioned (see picture) and she nailed it with the recommendation – it was so good that even my wife (who isnt a big whiskey fan) found it to be quite tasty!

    For our dinner, my wife ordered the Beef Bulgogi (far side in picture) and I ordered the Picanha Cut (near side in picture). While both were very good, the Beef Bulgogi was definitely more tender and more flavorful – so it would get my stronger recommendation. The Kim Chi Fried Rice was a good complement to the rest of the provided sides. My wife and I both like our food on the spicier side and it was recommended that we ask for extra spice, but unfortunately we forgot to do so and did find the food overall to be a bit bland to our liking.

    If you enjoy the grill-it-yourself Korean BBQ experience, you will enjoy a stop at DZÔ Korean BBQ – and if you’d rather not grill it, they will grill it for you.

    If you found this review helpful, please show your appreciation with a Like or a Follow.

    Beef Bulgogi, Picanha Cut & Kimchi Fried Rice
    Kimchi Fried Rice
    Boom Boom Bao

    Photos copyright: happyhourdesmoines.com & thefoodanddrinkguy.com

    For the best Happy Hour and Food Specials in Des Moines, visit: happyhourdesmoines.com

    Follow Happy Hour Des Moines:

    Great Food & Drink Reviews by the Food and Drink Guy, visit: thefoodanddrinkguy.com

    Follow The Food and Drink Guy:

  • Broke Da Mouth Grindz (Kona, HI) Review

    Rating: 4 out of 5.

    4.0* (out of 5)

    Yelp Review

    Google Review

    Food: 4*

    Atmosphere: 4*

    Value: 4*

    Service: 4*

    10/27/2017

    This place was recommended by a local who was born and raised in the area (my favorite places).  She recommended the Garlic Furikake Chicken plate, so we got that along with Pork Adobo before heading to the airport. It was kind of a buried treasure, as it was a little hard to find in an industrial strip mall-like area. The food was excellent though – we really enjoyed the chicken as well as the tuna macaroni salad side.  Be sure to add the Chili Peppa Watah saice to the pork if you like Carolina-style vinegar sauce.

    If you found this review helpful, please show your appreciation with a Like or a Follow. To receive Tweets of the latest Reviews, follow on Twitter: @TheFaDGuy

    For the best Happy Hours and Food Specials in Des Moines, visit: happyhourdesmoines.com

    Photos copyright: happyhourdesmoines.com & thefoodanddrinkguy.com