#2: Carolina’s Mexican Food

Carolina’s Mexican Food.  It’s basically Adelberto’s, or Alberto’s, Roberto’s, etc.  It’s one of my favorite 24 hour spots in the area (admittedly there aren’t many).

The food here brings back fond memories of late night Halo LAN parties that always ended the same way – at 3-4 AM with a trip to Adelberto’s on Greenback in multiple cars, a long and rowdy drive through line, and eating on the hoods/tailgates of our vehicles in the parking lot in sometimes inclement weather.  Those were good times.  While I don’t usually get to enjoy the same company or tailgate dining experience these days, the food remains the same.

This location is fairly new, maybe a couple years old?  It used to be a KFC, so no loss there.  It offers an almost identical menu to Adelberto’s.  I asked some friends what their favorite item was and almost unanomously they answered with the California Burrito.  It consists of carne asada steak, sour cream, guacamole, potatoes and pico de gallo.  Other mentions were the Breakfast Burrito and Carne Asada Fries – google the fries, they look crazy.

My long time order here has been the #2, 2 shredded beef tacos with beans & rice.  The tacos are deep-fried to a greasy, crunchy perfection with cheese and lettuce.  More cheese tops the refried beans.

Normally they put about 2-3x as much lettuce on the tacos, to the point where I have to dig them out from under it all.  I don’t mind though, because once I’m done with the tacos I mix the extra lettuce, beans and rice all together.

And what’s a trip to Carolinas/Alebertos (Adelbee’s for short) without an horchata to wash it all down?  Their horchata has always seemed a bit sweeter and the cinnamon flavor stonger than many places I’ve tried it.  It’s hard to pass up here.

As I mentioned this is one of my favorite places in Roseville, even if it’s not unique.  There seem to be clones of this exact restaurant all over California, Nevada and elsewhere under different names but with the same red & white paint and yellow menus.  Which one is the original?  The world may never know.

#1: Hot Dog King (CLOSED)

For my very first entry I visited the newest place in town, Hot Dog King.  This little hot dog joint caught my eye a few weeks ago when I drove past it on my way to the airport.  At the time I didn’t realize they weren’t even open yet.  Last friday I stopped by while scouting other restaurants for The Map and the owner told me they’d be opening this monday.

There were no other customers while I was there, and it was very quiet.  No music was playing, and a TV on the wall was not on.  Both of these things were probably just due to the fact that they had just opened the day before and they aren’t hooked up yet.

Hot Dog King has all the usual hot dog items you would expect to see on the menu as well as a selection of hamburgers and a few desserts like shakes and ice cream.  I went with a chili cheese dog and a Dr. Pepper.  It seems like a silly thing to mention but they had that small chopped ice – which I like for some reason over cubes.

The chili cheese dog was a small and simple hands on type with a good cheese to chili to cheese ratio.  It was pretty good and not too messy.  I’m not usually big on finger food that’s messy.  It’s hard not to compare it to the chili cheese dog from Parkers that I typically get, which is an enormous plate of chili and cheese with a hot dog and bun hiding underneath like a Super Sloppy Double Dare obstacle course.  But to be fair this one was about half the price if not less.  I spent just over 5 bucks for the chili cheese dog and drink, and they had Dr. Pepper! Parkers does not, so that’s a point for Hot Dog King in my book.

I definitely would like to revisit this place in the future as they get more established, try one of their shakes, and have another hot dog.