Casa sunba

So..let me tell you about this life changing place I read about online and finally went to see if the hype was as great as what I read plus the pictures they had  made a convincing point that had me sold,hooked,lined and sinker. Now think about this for a second, aside from a buffet,where else can you really get some of  your favorite foods in one meal? ( not including paying extra for it,although you can do that here at C.A.S.A sunba, but that's besides the point so stick with me on this lol) My answer is C.A.S.A sunba!
  It's apparent I love food and I consider myself a hardcore carnivore dinosaur ( lol my corny joke of the day) and living in a heavy populated state of Hispanics, I'm never too far from being able to get my Mexican food fix anytime I get a craving for tacos,burritos or tortas, and now that I discovered C.A.S.A. sunba,I can get the best of both worlds. This place,located in the heart of downtown Tempe, has one of the most original ideas and recipes I have ever heard of. Whoever came up with the concept of stuffing a burrito with sweet and sour chicken, fried rice and spring rolls or their infamous Mac n cheese burrito,is an insane genius!
Aside from their appetizers, vegan menu selection and taco Wednesday specials,they boast a menu of 14 original and very epic varieties of burritos, with the option to customize it to your heart's desire.  I recommend you ask what their daily special is before you order,which I did and I definitely got my money's worth!
Their infamous claim to fame burrito is the Mac n cheese burrito and I will try it next time. Some of my favorite foods all came stuffed in my burrito today, such as Mac n cheese, BBQ chicken and coleslaw, which suitably my burrito is called the BBQ chicken dinner! This is almost on the level of willy wonka status here hahaha
The sweety and tangy sauce of the chicken, the gooey cheesy Mac n cheese and the sweet crunch of the coleslaw all came together beautifully in an orgy of flavor. My mouth had a foodgasm for sure.  Hands down,this is my favorite Mexican/ tex-mex  place i have ever eaten at and you're definitely missing out on a unique experience until you try this place out for yourself. So enough talking here, head to Tempe,Arizona if you're near by and hopefully you have a great experience as mine

Z Pizza

So..currently, I'm at the hospital with my brother as we celebrate the birth of his new son to this crazy world.  In between visits, lucky for us the cafeteria here has pretty good food and the hospital is located near downtown Phoenix and near some great eateries. So  today we took a walk to this pizza place that he has eaten at before and he had me sold on it.
  I definitely loved the aroma from the minute we walked in,with garlic,oregano and other herbs drifting in the air and the decorations was very unique,in particular the chandelier was made of old glass bottles.  On display was the pizza slices of the day and man they sell some big ass slices hahaha the roasted garlic chicken looked and smelled really appetizing but maybe another day,today I went with a sausage calzone.   For starters it a pretty decent size and I could see it was pretty stuffed,filled with fennel sausage, ricotta,marinara and some mozzarella cheese..god I'm in heaven.
The calzone was one of the better ones I ever had with the dough flaky enough and definitely not stingy with their ingredients. The ingredients mixed in on my first bite  was bliss and went to town devouring it all. I just wished they sold cannolis for dessert but other than that I'm a happy customer and my belly seconds the motion

The counter custom built burgers

So it's been a bit since I last blogged,being busy as hell up at work and whatnot and now that I have a day off I decided to do what I love to the most: roam my city and explore!
So after capturing a good movie ( paper towns and I must say its a pretty entertaining and engaging movie and of course  courtesy of my friend for the free movie online code ;) thank you )
I decided to check this new food joint in the middle of downtown Phoenix called the counter. The name of this place says it all, having the ability to create any type of Burger to your hearts desire. With summer in full of affect here in Arizona, images of fun under the sun and plenty of barbecues come to mind, particularly grilled burgers.
   Next time I'll get creative and go bonkers with their menu as there's so much variety to choose from, from the bread down to the toppings and a wide range of sides and desserts to compliment your eating experience, this time though the one Burger that caught my eye was the Korean Burger loaded with lettuce mix,grilled onions, Korean BBQ sauce and daikon ( pickled radish) and substituted on a Hawaiian sweet bread. Amazing! The taste alone reminds me of the typical Korean fare I would pig out on back in Hawaii . I really can't describe the taste but I recommend you have a taste for yourself.  The meat was juicy and cooked to perfection and for my first experience here I sure have no complaints. As I wobble out of here now,stuffed to my stomach's content, I promise you I'll be back again. There's still plenty of summer left, so there's more for me to taste and see and discover.  What's your ideal summer eats? I love barbecues, fresh fruits and ice cream to beat the heat. Well until my next food adventure, make the most of your summer and hopefully it's with family and friends... Love,peace and feast (m0de)

Thank you

This isn't so much a blog but more of just a personal thank you to all those that have ever checked out my blog and my crazy food adventures and especially those that continuously show love and support and apparently look forward to reading my blogs. I would still continue to blog about what I love, which obviously it's food lol, whether anyone cares to follow me and support me, but the fact that I have this kind of feedback is very humbling and rewarding in its own way.
Thank you! Arigato! Danke! Gracias! Salamat!  Stay tuned for next pig out session.
                    Rueben
                       A.K.A
                     Feastm0de

Lenny's

I'm very much into nostalgic things; things that triggers happy memories from my youth and whatnot.  That's what the feel you get walking into Lenny's Burger Shop, with the old school diner look, jukebox playing ( of all songs,  Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen!!) and the aroma of burgers on the flat top grill.
    I remember sitting in the living room as a kid and throwing on my dads records, whether it was Sam Cooke, Otis redding orAretha Franklin..such great memories.  While I sat and reminisced about yesteryear, I ordered a Cowboy Burger for lunch.  What a delicious creation haha. A fresh ground beef burger loaded with bacon (of course),fresh onion rings and BBQ sauce.  Yee-haw!  I definitely recommend this place and with so much to try, deciding on what to order will be the only hard part of this eatery.  Last time I was here I tried the southwest pastrami burger.  The Mexican burger loaded with green chilies and onions I've been told is as amazing.
There's also chili dogs, a variety of loaded French fries and of course shakes and floats, which I may pick up in a minute to complete my feastm0de. Well that's it for now, until my the beast in my belly awakens again

Snoh Ice Shavery

Being a local boy, born and raised in Hawaii, my version of summertime is such a major contrast than living here in the mainland. On a typical day during the summertime in Hawaii, you may find me cooling off at a beach soaking in sun and saltwater or maybe eating fresh fruits with ice cream or indulging in a Hawaii staple and must have, shave ice and topped with various local flavored syrups.
Living here in Arizona , a typical summer is trying to avoid the heat( lol good luck with that), sweating and consuming lots or water to stay hydrated. Now for me, I'm very adventurous, so although we don't have a beach here, I still enjoy hiking and anything that involves being outdoor. Now, there's other ways to beat the heat here, besides being cooped up at home with the A/C blasting. One of my favorite things to do ( and obviously why you are on my blog page haha) is summertime eats and treats to cool off, whether it's hitting up my favorite ice cream joint, a refresh agua fresca ( fresh water mixed with fresh fruits and a bit of sugar), shave ice or a unique find here : Snoh!            Snoh Ice is a cross between ice cream and traditional shaved ice. The fluffy melt in your mouth texture of snow is combined with the creamy flavorful taste of ice cream, making this new frozen dessert unlike anything  you've tried before. Founded in China, this is a slowly gaining but very popular dessert with Asian infused recipes and toppings such as using condensed milk, green tea, mochi balls, lychee (a sweet Asian fruit) and fortune cookies for an example.  I ordered the Honey dew snoh with mochi balls and drizzled nutella on top. Very refreshing and trust me, the nutella didn't over sweeten or drown out the sweet taste of my honey dew snih but actually kinda balanced it out ( crazy I know lol).
There's a variety of flavors, toppings and glaze to experiment so go ahead and go crazy and get creative. If you have never had the experience of having snoh, I definitely recommend it. ( I hope they have a shop in your city, so I'm sorry as a pre warning if it's unavailable near you) .  I'm much cooler now that I got my snoh fix on so now it's off to exploring my city some more.. Until next time, love, peace and feast ( m0de)!

Happy Father's Day 2015

So for mine and my brother's father's day dinner, I made a simple meal for us consisting of chicken katsu (a Japanese panko bread crumb fried chicken cutlet) and teriyaki hamburger steak. We didn't need anything fancy for our dinner,which leads me to the real reason behind this blog entry.
  Today is Father's Day and before we lose sight of what today means,allow me to explain further. For me and my brother, as well as fathers worldwide, today isn't just about recognizing the roles men have to their children but to elaborate more on what it means to be a dad and how you can show your love and gratitude to them.
Being a father is to love your children unconditionally, through good times and bad. To be tough enough to teach them valuable life lessons but soft enough to heal broken hearts, scraped knees and fallen tears. Its more about guidance than being strict and a disciplinary. To laugh just as much as or even more so than yelling or scolding them. To love them equally whether they are at fault or not but to be stern to teach them from their mistakes. Love.. The biggest keyword in all of this. Love is a an unconditional emotion and feeling, that should never come second to anything especially materialistic items.  Instead of tech gadgets and video games,expand their mind with books and poetry. Just like food, nourish their souls and hearts with plenty of love, laughter and Faith and help them grow into amazing adults.
For our loved ones and our children, us father's don't need a fancy 5 course meal or an extravagant trip or jewelry.. No, the best way to show us father's that we are important to you is just a simple thank you, or hug and kiss or all the above. Spoken words and heartfelt emotions  will always be the best gift you can give us next to the life that was created to create you, OUR most important gift. If we do all we can as fathers and as parents, seeing our children succeed will be the ultimate reward and  accomplishment we'll ever do while still on earth
Happy Father's Day to all