DJ’s Super Honest Food Review: Tacos Plaza
Have you ever heard of Birria Tacos? They're these tacos full of meat and melted cheese, and you dip them in a soup liquid called "Consomé." They're drippy, cheesy, beefy, and they look incredible. I saw videos online of them months ago and have been obsessed with trying them ever since. Today... I got my chance at Tacos Plaza!
Tacos Plaza is located in the Outlets at Zion, and I've heard it's EXTREMELY GOOD and EXTREMELY authentic! I had to put this place to the test, and I HAD to try these Birria Tacos! Here... We... GO!
FOOD:
I was a little confused when I got to the menu because I've never ordered Birria Tacos before. They had Quesabirrias, Birria Bowls, Birria Ramen, and Barria Plates. I felt like the safest choice was the Quesabirrias, so that's what I got. 3 Quesabirrias.
They came out SUPER QUICKLY. I was surprised how quick their service was. They were super hot, melty, and very cheesy, and the Consomé was hot too! I dipped into the soup, took a bite and it was delish. SO juicy. However... It felt like there was something missing in the flavor. That's when I made my trip to the Salsa Bar!
The Salsa Bar had a sign showing they won "Best Salsa of 2023" at the Washington County Fair. They had "Just A Mild", "Green Medium", "Red Medium", "Cilantro Ranch", and "Hot, Hot, Hot, Hot, Hot." I tried ALL of them except the Green Medium. Take my word for this... The "HOT" salsa is HOT! I took just a little taste and my full mouth was on fire! Adding the salsa to the tacos brought the flavor to a whole new level!
REVIEW:
The Birria Tacos were great, but EVEN BETTER with Salsa. Trust me, put some salsa or dressing in these tacos before you dip or vice versa. 8/10.
The salsas were all really good too! SERIOUSLY... be careful with the HOT salsa, that one doesn't mess around! Salsas: 9/10.
Vibes: The vibes in the restaurant were good! They were friendly and extremely quick! They'll even come out on the patio to bring you your food if you're outside. A lot of restaurants will let your food get cold if you're not inside to hear your number called. 10/10 Vibes.
Likelihood of going back: 10/10. I'm already craving these Birria Tacos again and it's only been a few hours! I want to take my friends or family to try them!
Tacos Plaza is open Monday-Saturday 11am-9pm.
DJ's Super Honest Food Review: Nico's Fresh Salsa
Who doesn't LOVE salsa? EVERYONE loves Salsa! Nico's Fresh is Famous Fresh Salsa out of Utah! The Barber family (Nico and Lindsi) started this company after Nico served his mission in Argentina 20 years ago and was struggling to find ANYTHING spicy. He ran into a Chilean woman with a garden full of jalapeño and cilantro. He was excited and decided to create his own food with some heat! That's where his salsa recipe was born and he's been perfecting the recipe ever since!
Fast forward to this summer, Nico and his family decided to create a business with their salsa and they took off in northern Utah! They suddenly decided to do what ANY business should do... MOVE! Nico, his wife Lindsi and their four kids all packed up and moved to St. George! Nico's Fresh Salsa is a TOTAL Utah and Family company!
REVIEW:
I got both their salsas for this review. Their original, and their sweet mango salsa!
I'm a weirdo about salsa though... I DO NOT like it chunky. I don't want big chucks of tomatoes, onions, or peppers. NO THANKS! And thank heavens, Nico's Fresh Salsa is JUST how I like salsa. It's blended and I'm not getting huge chunks of vegetables!
The original salsa has some kick but it's DEFINITELY not super spicy! It's very tangy! I fully expected this salsa to be my favorite... But then I tried the Mango salsa! Like the original, it wasn't overpowering or TOO sweet! It was a perfect sweet-spot.
For two mornings at work, I spent HOURS eating chips and salsa and I didn't regret a second of it. One little thing that I did, that I LOVED... I mixed a bit of BOTH SALSAS into one, and it was A DREAM on my tastebuds! It was tangy, but sweet, but spicy... absolutely glorious!
Review: 9/10.
Likelihood of going back: 10/10.
If you want to try Nico's Fresh Salsa, find them online at NicosFresh.Com. They're also on Instagram at @NicosFresh. You'll also be able to catch them at the Downtown Farmer's Market here in St. George!
"Started as a missionary in Argentina who missed salsa, decided to create his own!"
DJ's Super Honest Food Review: Xetava Bar & Kitchen
The other day, I got to try a BRAND NEW PLACE! It's totally unique and different, and it's called Xetava Bar & Kitchen. It's pronounced Za-Tah-Vuh, and it's out in the Kayenta Art Village. It has THE BEST VIEWS in town, and it's nice because it's a little bit out of town! I tried A TON OF FOOD... So get ready, here we go!
DRINKS:
They have a full bar with TONS of cocktails, but I don't like alcohol. What's cool about this place, is they have A LOT of awesome Mocktails. So if you still like a mixed drink, but don't like alcohol, they can hook it up! I ordered the Guava Coconut Refresher!
The Non-Alcoholic Guava Coconut Refresher has Guava Nectar, Coconut Milk, Lime Juice, Pineapple Syrup, topped with Dried Pineapple and Cherry! It was GREAT! It also had these really awesome sphere ice cubes. Even though that's a small detail, I really liked it!
FOOD:
Like I said earlier, I ordered SO MUCH FOOD.
First, I ordered the Street Corn Quesadilla. I was conflicted in ordering it, because I really don't like Street Corn, but I LOVE QUESADILLAS! The quesadilla was alright, but I wasn't absolutely blown away by it. But I know that's because I'm not a Street Corn kind of guy. It's a cheese quesadilla filled with fired and seasoned street corn, dusted with tajin. It comes with a really good cilantro-lime cream to dip in. 5/10.
Next, I had the Little Bacon Jam Burger. I'm a sucker for a bacon cheeseburger, so I knew it was going to slap! AND IT DID! This burger is small, but it comes with arugula, brie, and a BACON JAM! Then, they even give you some of their cape-cod style potato chips! 9/10.
After that, I had the Lobster Mac & Cheese. This one was interesting for me, because I'm not a seafood guy. So I knew that I was going to pick out the lobster. I know, you're probably rolling your eyes at me, and my dad would disown me if he knew. BUT THAT MAC AND CHEESE ABSOLUTELY SLAPPED! It was delicious, and didn't even taste like seafood. It was awesome. 9/10.
Next, I had the Braised Short Rib! This one was my FAVORITE that I had there! It came with a ton of stuff I don't eat though. It came with pickled vegetables, watermelon radish, micro greens, and pan sauce. I ate the beef, with the pan sauce, and it was SO DELCIOUS. The meat literally shredded with my fork. It was like butter! 10/10!
Then, they brought me the Thai Shrimp Nachos. Right as I saw it, I knew it wasn't going to be for me. I don't like Thai food very much, and I don't like shrimp. But these nachos were REALLY interesting because there was no cheese! It was sautéed shrimp with leeks and peppers tossed in a Thai curry sauce, with scallions and toasted coconut. Not ONE of those ingredients I like eating, but the chips were these fried wonton chips, and I liked those! 3/10. But that's not a fair analysis, because I don't like any of those flavors, ya know?
At this point, I've eaten nearly the entire menu, so I couldn't just stop there right? I NEEDED DESSERT!
DESSERT:
For Dessert, they have two different things. I ordered both. Fried Chocolate Chip Cookie, and Key Lime Pie. The Fried Chocolate Chip Cookie was fried in what felt like a wonton, and it had ice cream with it. It was unique because it was a gooey cookie, but crispy on the outside and I dipped it in the ice cream. But REALLY GOOD. 8/10.
Then the Key Lime Pie... Again, I'm not a fan of Lime. But it was STRONG BABY! That lime flavor came in HOT! They had a whipped cream, that tasted homemade. I really liked that whipped cream, and if you like a Key Lime flavor, you'll love this pie! 5/10. Again... Hard to really judge this one, because I'm not a citrus guy!
All in all, this is a great place for a date. The portions are small, they've got tons of drinks and cocktails, and a GORGEOUS VIEW! Plus, you get to leave town a little bit and go on a nice drive to the red rocks! They staff was INCREDIBLY NICE to me, and the interior was really cool too.
LIKELIHOOD OF GOING BACK: 9/10.
VIBES: 10/10.
DJ's Super Honest Food Review: WannaCinn
In a Southern Utah world FULL of Cookie Shops, if you're looking for a different kind of sweet treat, maybe you want to try WannaCinn. WannaCinn is a brand new Cinnamon Roll-style shop at the Red Cliffs Mall.
WannaCinn is all devil-themed and they really buy into the brand. The inside is all red, there's devil horns and tails, and they even give you pitchforks instead of regular forks. It's fun! But how does the actual food hold up?
For this review I brought my two friends with me, Aaronee and Elle. We all got something different! Meet the players:
Aaronee ordered the Raspberry Specialty Cinn and she absolutely LOVED IT!
Elle ordered the Coffee Speciality Cinn, and she really enjoyed hers too. It was a bread pudding type Cinnamon Roll, with lots more icing than mine.
I went with the Original Cinn. I'm not too adventurous when it comes to food, and I love a very BASIC Cinnamon Roll. The Original didn't have as much icing as I would've liked. I think Cinnamon Rolls should have A LOT of icing, but mine didn't. It was kind of like... a hat of icing. I was nervous it was going to be dry.
I was wrong! It was NOT dry, whatsoever. Full of flavor. Moist. ALMOST perfect. I wish it would have had a bit more (or a lot more) icing. I felt like I had to conserve the icing for each bite. But I gobbled that whole thing up pretty quick. It was GREAT!
One thing that was a little weird was the Dixie Plates, and the pitchforks. The pitchforks were cute, and on brand for WannaCinn, but totally not functional. It made it a little difficult to eat the cinnamon roll. But I definitely respect the hustle in buying into the brand!
RATINGS:
Food:
DJ: 8/10. Aaronee: 9/10. Elle: 9/10.
VIBES:
DJ: 9/10. Aaronee: 9/10. Elle: 9/10.
Likelihood Of Going Back:
DJ: 10/10. Aaronee: 9/10. Elle: 10/10.
DJ's Super Honest Food Review: Kate's Banana Bread!
On Saturday morning, Kate Guthrie posted onto Facebook that she was out in the St. George HEAT selling her own homemade, freshly baked Banana Bread. I'm a straight SUCKER for some banana bread, so I had to go get some. Plus, I really wanted to support someone that's willing to sit outside during a St. George summer to sell their products. I told Kate I was on my way and ready to do a "Super Honest Food Review!"
Kate was posted up by Costco on the East side of the road by the stoplight. (See Map Below.) She was under a little tent with TONS of loaves of Banana Bread, all for only $5! Kate will HOPEFULLY be out Friday and Saturday again selling her homemade Banana Bread.
Kate is out selling her Banana Bread after having a baby only THREE months ago. She had a little boy, Finn. Kate is married to Brock and this is their first child. Brock was working for a Youtuber, and they're now trying to be Content Creators for themselves! The Banana Bread sales is helping them have enough money to chase their dreams. You can find Kate & Brock on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube @KateAndBrock.
REVIEW:
I love Banana Bread, so even BAD Banana Bread is still pretty great! But, luckily, this Banana Bread WAS great! SO GOOD. Plus, no nuts! Thank heavens! It was soft, moist, and REALLY GREAT flavor! 9/10! I'd give it a higher grade, but I'm mad it wasn't ENOUGH. It's already gone!
LIKELIHOOD OF GOING BACK: 10/10
Banana Bread Hack:
Heat it up in the microwave, put butter on it... and enjoy it with a glass of milk! You will NOT regret it!
DJ's Super Honest Food Review: Raising Canes
What is a restaurant that people would LOVE to have in St. George? I've heard Cheesecake Factory a lot, but more recently, I've heard people BEGGING for a Raising Canes to be here in Southern Utah. So many people talk about how great it is. But I've never had it... Until today. I had to see what the hype was all about.
RAISING CANES REVIEW:
I was in Salt Lake City with my nephew and he requested Raising Cane's. We got the same order: The Box Combo.
The Box Combo comes with 4 Chicken Tenders, Crinkle-Cut Fries, Texas Toast, Coleslaw, Cane's Sauce, and a Regular Drink. However, substituted the Coleslaw for another piece of Texas Toast. Screw Coleslaw.
First things first, my nephew, Cooper was ADAMANT that we got the lemonade! It's a big deal at Raising Cane's. You can even buy it by the gallon there! I was worried about the lemonade, because sometimes lemonade is pretty acidic and gives me heartburn. This lemonade wasn't like that. It was soft, calm, and DELICIOUS!
Next, I tried the Texas Toast dipped into the Cane's Sauce. The Cane's Sauce is Fry Sauce with Worcestershire Sauce, spices, and seasonings. You can dip EVERYTHING in this. The Texas Toast, the Crinkle-Cut Fries, the Chicken Tenders. The toast is awesome. It's really great.
Then I tried the Crinkle-Cut Fries. Usually, I'm not a big Crinkle-Cut Fry guy. They usually taste like boring frozen French fries, but they're not bad. They're pretty good!
Now... The moment of truth. The Chicken Tender. Is it going to be good? Rough? Dry? I took a bite, dipped into the Cane's Sauce. My tastebuds exploded. I bit through that chicken tender like butter. SO TENDER. SO JUICY. Usually chicken tenders aren't like that. You usually have to bite and pull. NOT with these Chicken Tenders.
FOOD RATINGS:
Lemonade: 9/10.
Texas Toast: 10/10.
Crinkle-Cut Fries: 7/10.
Cane's Sauce 8/10.
Chicken Tenders: 10/10.
Overall: 9/10.
Likelihood of Going Back: 10/10.
I'm on board now! 100%. Bring Raising Cane's to St. George, Cedar City, Hurricane, Ivins, ANYWHERE! Bring one to Southern Utah... TODAY!
DJ's Super Honest Food Reviews: Nom Nom Cookies!
Just the other day, someone dropped off cookies at our Cat County studio. It was a beautiful box of 4 cookies. This company is called... NOM NOM COOKIES.
Nom Nom Cookies is located in the parking lot of Hurricane Walmart next to Mountain Mike's Pizza. These cookies are about the size of Crumbl Cookies, but not as thick and dense. The shape are practically the same size though.
Now, I'm a huge fan of Crumbl Cookies. I have the Crumbl App, I check it every week to find out their flavors, and I order pretty often! With that said... I thought there was NO WAY these cookies could compete with Crumbl. BOY, OH BOY, DID THEY COMPETE!
Unfortunately, I wasn't around when the cookies were dropped off, so I didn't get the actual flavors but GET READY! THEY BLEW MY MIND! The four cookie flavors were the following: Chocolate Chip. Sugar Cookie with Frosting, Chocolate Cookie with White Chocolate Chips, and some Cinnamon-Banana Bread tasting cookie.
I started out with the Cinnamon-Banana Bread one (I don't know the official name of it). I almost melted into my chair when I first tasted it. I was having an experience eating this thing. I said things like "I want to commit crimes!" and "This is legal meth!" I don't know where my mind was going... The cookie was THAT GOOD! The two chocolate chip cookies were alright, but they didn't blow my mind.
The sugar cookie with frosting was next... That was AMAZING TOO! This is going to sound like a weird way to describe a cookie, but it tasted JUST LIKE cookie dough. I don't know how else to describe it. Just try the thing!
After having these experiences with the cookies I've come to the realization... These are Southern Utah's BEST COOKIES! MOVE OVER CRUMBL, THERE'S A NEW KING IN TOWN! That king is NOM NOM COOKIES! WOW!
Cookies: 10/10
Likelihood of going back: 10/10
PERFECT SCORE!
DJ's Super Honest Food Review: Top Spot
Yesterday I was in Cedar City, Utah at a restaurant I've driven past a thousand times, but NEVER tried... That place is called Top Spot. They're celebrating 60 years of business in Cedar City. I had to try them out!
VIBES:
I walk in and INSTANTLY, I'm surprised by how nice it looks inside. It's definitely not the old, dirty drive-in feel that I was expecting. It looked like the inside had been redone and modern. They even had big TVs up playing sports!
A couple things was the Fry Sauce Pumps! I could get as much fry sauce as I wanted without being charged. I also REALLY LIKED their soda machine! It was out where I could get a refill WHENEVER I wanted, and they even had the AMAZING PEBBLE ICE! LET'S GO!
The one thing that I didn't love about Top Spot was the menu. There were so many selections of burgers, but I didn't know what differentiated them. You had the Ortega Burger, DinoBurger, BBQ Burger. What are they? What's on the Dino Burger?!
FOOD:
I ordered the Double Cheeseburger with Fries & Coke. The burger came out, and it was a little smaller than I was expecting, but ABSOLUTELY PACKED with flavor! But the fries were NEXT LEVEL! Incredible fries, especially when paired with their Fry Sauce, and I'm a total Fry Sauce snob. I was sad when my food was gone. Each bite made me more sad than the last because it was closer to being gone. This is FAR BETTER than any other drive-in in Southern Utah. This is even better than Frostop ever was. That's right. I SAID IT! I loved this food!
RATE THE FOOD:
9/10. I would give it a perfect score, but the burger was a little smaller than I was expecting. But the price was great with it too. The combo was only $8.59! That's perfect!
LIKELIHOOD OF GOING BACK:
10/10. I'll definitely be back to Top Spot, without a doubt! They've recently started serving BREAKFAST TOO! I gotta try that next!
DJ's Super Honest Food Review: Mountain Mike's Pizza!
Over the weekend, I decided to try a BRAND NEW RESTAURANT in town!
Mountain Mike's Pizza in front of Walmart in Hurricane!
They've only been open for 9 days, but there's been a huge buzz about this place already. When I stopped in, the staff was friendly, it was full of people, they had ball games on the TVs and the vibes were GOOD!
THE FOOD:
I ordered the Medium Pepperoni Pizza and Cheese Sticks!
The pizza was fluffy and delicious! The little pepperonis fold up in the heat, and get full of greasy goodness! The pizza was really good, but I think the cheese sticks were EVEN BETTER!
My friend Brayden ordered the Chicken & Pineapple Pizza! It was REALLY GOOD, and apparently a favorite within the restaurant.
Halfway through eating our pizzas, the staff approached us with a FREE Desert Pizza! I definitely said yes! It was DELICIOUS! Cinnamon and sugar and SO GOOD!
THE VIBES:
Like I said earlier, the staff was great and friendly. They've got TVs on. They even have a little area for games!
One thing that's actually cool about Mountain Mike's Pizza... Monday-Friday 11-2, they have a pizza buffet for only $12.99!
If you love outdoor seating, they've got a BIG PLACE for you to eat outside with awesome views!
Another cool thing coming... They'll have beer on tap shortly!
Head on in to Mountain Mike's Pizza and give it a shot! They've been ABSOLUTELY SWAMPED for the last 9 days, and it makes me proud Southern Utah is supporting another awesome local business!
VIBES: 10/10
Likelihood Of Going Back: 10/10
DJ's Super Honest Food Review: The NEW Wing Stop!
Last week St. George opened it's VERY FIRST Wing Stop, so I had to roll in and give it a try!
Firstly... This is MAYBE the smallest restaurant in the entire city! Very small. Only 4 tables, and LOTS of people waiting for their food, just standing around. It was a bit overwhelming.
They have boneless wings, and bone-in wings with tons of different flavors ranging from VERY HOT to NOT HOT:
- Atomic
- Mango Habanero
- Cajun
- Original Hot
- Spicy Korean
- Louisiana Rub
- Mild
- Hickory Smoked BBQ
- Lemon Pepper
- Garlic Parmesan
- Hawaiian
There's sides like:
- Seasoned Fries
- Veggie Sticks
- Louisiana Voodoo Loaded Fries
- Buffalo Ranch Loaded Fries
- Cheese Fries
- and more.
I did this food review with my dad, and my friend Brayden
My order: 10 boneless wings with fries. 5 Mild, 5 Hickory Smoked BBQ.
My dad's order: 6 bone-in wings 3 Mild, 3 Hickory Smoked BBQ.
Brayden's order: 10 boneless wings with fries. 5 Lemon Pepper (Dry Rub), 5 Spicy Korean.
REVIEW:
ME: I really liked the MILD wings, the Hickory Smoked BBQ wasn't anything special, kind of boring and forgettable. 8/10 Wings. 8/10 Fries.
DAD: Dad loved the size of the bone-in wings. Plump! Big! He loved the Hickory Smoked BBQ, but wasn't huge on the MILD wings. 9/10 Wings. 10/10 Fries.
BRAYDEN: Brayden wouldn't shut up about the Lemon Pepper wings. The Korean BBQ was a little too spicy for him, it had some kick! He also wouldn't stop about the fries.
9/10 Wings. 9/10 Fries.
But MAYBE the best part of Wing Stop... THE RANCH! SO GOOD! Maybe the best in town!
LIKELIHOOD OF GOING BACK:
ME: 10/10
DAD: 10/10
BRAYDEN: 10/10
You GOTTA try this place. HIGHLY recommend!
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