Pick-Up Stixs: An Unlikely Restaurant in San Diego, California

Ever heard of the restaurant Pick-Up Stixs? We have driven past them on quite a few occasions on our road trips but have never actually stopped in to eat. Both my husband and I enjoy Asian, Chinese and Italian food, so when I found out if you signed up on-line for their dragon club you get a free combo meal, we decided to go for a try. I first went online to find the nearest location from where we live and found one located at 10712 Westview Parkway in San Diego, CA and away we were! Here is my review on this particular restaurant.

The Restaurant:

While not as big as others, I would say it is as big as Subway with little bit of wiggle room. From the outside it was easy to see, two wide open front glass doors with the sign hanging up above. When we walked in, everything was more metallic then anything, so it wasn't too colorful. Plenty of tables for everyone to sit at, but I could see on busy days where the tables would be full and not everyone would be able to sit. The order section was connected to both the kitchen (where you could actually see them cooking) and they only had two chairs on that section for those that were "to go" orders, so I didn't have room to sit down.

The Ordering Experience:

While each restaurant is different, I waited in line behind the cashier speaking with another co-worker for a good five minutes. I waited patiently though I couldn't figure out what was taking so long as he had already rung her up. Finally when she left, I got no apologies for my wait or anything and just informed the cashier that I had a coupon for a free combo meal. I then gave him the coupon and he didn't seem too impressed, just took my order and didn't even give me my drink (though he didn't forget it for my husband). We were told the wait was five minutes and to go stand on the other side. This is where you can watch them cook your food. Now my food came up and actually sat here for a few minutes before they packaged it up and gave it to me, and then I had to ask for my drink. My wait time was more then five minutes, it was more about 15 in which there really weren't that many customers within the store.

The Food:

They only have three combo meals--The House Special Chicken, Orange Peel Chicken, and Beef with Broccoli and for each of those you can choose a side, which rice you want and of course a drink. The price of the combos is about $6.99 without taxes. Both my husband and I chose the House Special Chicken. When we got home, we all opened up our "to go" orders which were nicely packed in a plastic container which kept each section separated (nice, keeps the food separated). I was very impressed with the egg roll, rice and chicken. It seemed more like Chinese take out then anything, but was well worth the price considering everything that came with it, including the drink. The chicken was sweet and tangy and mixed with the rice was a sweet combination. Both my husband and I, including my toddler loved the meals.

All together, I will give the restaurant 3 stars out of five. The food was not bad, service wasn't too bad, but still didn't feel as if I was taken care of as a customer. Only downside, they are only available in California, Arizona and Nevada. Overall, it's definitely worth a trip to try it out, even so if you decided to sign up for the dragon club at www.pickupstix.com and get the free combo.