Eating My Way through OC

No Small Flavors at Pee Wee's

2012-02-09T16:29:00.000-08:00

Pee Wee's Famous Hot Dogs and Hamburgers

5942 East Edinger, Suite 104

Huntington Beach, CA 92649

It has been nearly six months since we have made it up to Huntington Beach for a restaurant review. It has been a lot longer that I have known about Pee Wee's. This Surf City place has gotten some good press for the hot dogs and burgers it serves. So after being at the OC Swap Meet for a few hours, I had grown quite an appetite, and was ready for some good food. We headed up the 405 freeway a little more and ended up at Pee Wee's.

Pee Wee's is located in a Vons shopping center directly across from Marina High School. The restaurant is small , with about twelve tables. The decor is definitely surfer based. Stickers on the walls, surfboards hanging, and even surf dudes behind the counter. Also papering the walls are pictures from kids, and reviews that have been cut out of the newspaper. It is those reviews that have brought us here, so let's checkout the food.

Katie was not really in the mood for a burger or hot dog, so she went with the Grilled Chicken Sandwich. This was served on a baguette, along with tomato, lettuce, avocado, and a garlic aioli. The chicken was seasoned well and very tender. Katie was very enthusiastic about this sandwich, calling it, "one of the best I have ever had!" She noted the freshness of the produce, and enjoyed the bun because it held all of the contents, but did not get in the way of the chicken. She would definitely order this again.

Up next was the Chili Cheese Dog. This was their standard hot dog with chili, cheese, mustard and onions added. This chili dog was better than most, but did not knock my socks off. The hot dog itself had a solid snap to it, but the cheese needed to be melted more, and maybe grated smaller for my taste. The chili was fair. It added moistness, but did not pack the punch that most chili's should.

For my next item I got a little more adventurous, and it paid off by being very good. The Chupacabra is a double bacon wrapped Polish dog, topped with avocado, crema, queso fresco, pico de gallo, and cilantro on a baguette. The bacon was not as prominent here as I would like, but the flavors melded together well. The queso fresco was a nice touch, and the avocado was smooth and fresh. The spicy Polish dog added just enough heat to wake up the taste buds, and the baguette once again kept things in control without getting in the way of its contents.

After eating the grilled chicken sandwich, Katie could not force herself to eat the Polish Dog with sauerkraut and mustard that she ordered. I was lucky enough to take it to work the next day. It was even good the day after. The dog had a great meaty flavor and the kraut added enough tang to satisfy.

I was getting pretty full, but I did have to try their burgers here. I opted for the Blue Cheese Bacon Burger. I would classify this burger as a backyard burger. Kind of tastes like the way my Dad makes them, minus the charcoal parts, (sorry Dad!). This burger was big on flavor. Great bacon and grilled onions. The blue cheese could have been more pungent, but other than that, I have no complaints.

As were eating they brought us out this sampler platter which consisted of Sweet Potato Fries, Onion Rings and Fried Pickles. The onion rings were the best of the bunch here. They were crispy, without being greasy. I am not too big a fan of sweet potato fries, but Katie called these, "solid, especially paired with the chipotle aioli served with these". The fried pickles received a lukewarm reception from Katie and myself. To be truthful though we are not big fried pickle fans. These used pickle spears, which is something I have not seen before. Usually most restaurant use pickle chips. Not our thing though.

Pee Wee's was definitely worth the drive up to HB. It is a little unassuming restaurant, but what it lacks in atmosphere it makes up for in big flavors. I admit I went a little conservative with my choices here. On my next trip up to Pee Wee's I will be trying a Banh Mi Burger, Hatch Green Chili Cheese Burger, and maybe an LA Street Dog or a Hawaiian Dog. So much diversity and so little time. The service here was great. The guys behind the counter answered all of our questions, and got the food out to us quick. We can not wait to make the trek back up to Pee Wees' again.

Out of five Jambi's, (the genie on Pee Wee's Playhouse, who granted wishes to Pee Wee, and if I had any wish, it would be for a Pee Wee's to open closer to my house!), five being best to zero being worst, Pee Wee's Famous Hot Dog's and Hamburgers gets 3.5 Jambi's.

For more information on Pee Wee's Famous Hot Dogs and Hamburgers, click here: http://www.peeweesfamous.com/

Getting the Royal Treatment at Medieval Times

2012-02-07T08:28:00.000-08:00

Medieval Times

7662 Beach Boulevard

Buena Park, CA 90620

Renaissance fairs, dinner theater, and jousting are usually not my thing. That was all about to change. Recently, both Katie and I were invited to Medieval Times to sample their new menu and watch the premiere of their first new show in five years. I had never been to Medieval Times before, so I had almost no idea what I was in for. I knew that there would be no utensils used for dinner, and I knew there would be knights battling it out in front of me, but besides that I was clueless as to what was going to go on here.

We arrived at the castle at six. After checking in we received our crowns, took a picture, and perused all of the souvenirs and clothing they have to offer. They have all the weaponry, toys, souvenirs and clothing any fan of the 11th century could want. Next it was off to the Knight's Club for a drink at their bar. Before we knew it, it was time to enter the arena for dinner.

The"lords and ladies" are seated in sections corresponding with the color of their crown. Each section has a knight to root for through the tournament. We were seated in the Black and White Knight's section. The leveled seating makes every seat in the castle a great seat. Just as the show was about to begin, our wench came over to get our drink order. It is a set menu for dinner, but they also offer a vegetarian option as well. Of course we got the standard meal, and this is how it all turned out.

The new show is not the only new thing here. The food has been upgraded as well. Starting us off was a Tomato Bisque and Focaccia Bread with olive oil and seasoning. No utensils were offered, so we waited for the bisque to cool, and drank it out of the bowl. The bread was soft and chewy.

The meal may have been upgraded at Medieval Times, but the Chicken and Rib plate still remain. They were very generous with the chicken. Each lord or lady gets a half a roasted chicken all to themselves. The chicken was surprisingly tender. The BBQ Beef Rib is now even larger. The potatoes have been changed here as well. They are now herb roasted and cut in quarters, in what amounts to a large french fry.

The dessert of the castle the night we were here was Braided Apple Strudel. This dessert was stuffed with apples and served smoking hot. I had to let this cool down before I dived into this.

The all new show was pretty entertaining. I did not get pictures of it, but the dancing horse and the falconer was the highlight of my night. Our black and white knight was one of the first knights eliminated from the competition. Thanks a lot for the effort Knight! The rest of the knights engaged in sword fights, jousting, and equine presentations, all set to a new dramatic musical score.

I am not saying that I am going to start attending Renaissance Fairs or anything, but I did enjoy myself at Medieval Times. The improved meal and the new show make this a go to spot if you have visitors from out of town, or if you have never been yourself.

For show times and more information, check out Medieval times web site here:http://www.medievaltimes.com/

Contest Alert!

Thanks Medieval Times, Dennis Gaschen, and Michelle Barwick, for the opportunity to be a part of the new show and menu at Medieval Times. If you would like to experience Medieval Times yourself, I was graciously given a pair of tickets to give away on my blog. To win just comment on this blog post, or comment on our Facebook post about Medieval Times. One comment per person on both the blog and the Facebook post. A winner will be drawn at random on Monday, February 13th, 2012. Good luck!

Saved By the Dinner Bell at Bayside?

2012-02-02T16:16:00.000-08:00

Bayside Restaurant

900 Bayside Dr.

Newport Beach, CA 92660

My list of restaurants to try has gotten out of control! It is now almost three pages long. I have thought about putting a moratorium on adding to my list, but I love hearing from people about where they think I should eat. I would probably miss a lot of great places if I stopped adding to the list. So I only have one alternative, eat as many places as I can on my restaurant wish list. It just so happened that we were in the midst of Newport Beach restaurant week, so I took out my list and sitting there at the top was a Newport Beach restaurant, Bayside.

I have been to Bayside one time before, like over ten years ago. I remember the food being good, but a little on the pricey side. This was when I was younger, and not used to dining in some of the finer establishments that grace this county of ours. Bayside is part of the restaurant group that owns Bistango and Kimera, both anchored in Irvine. Bayside features a revolving art exhibit, which can be purchased by guests. I am sure these works are all out of my price range, but it was cool looking at them. Something that was in my price range was Bayside's $40 restaurant week menu. Let's see if the food was worthy of being hung in a museum, or sold at a garage sale.

No bread basket here, but we were given our bread one at a time by the busboy. Kind of helped me, by not allowing me to get filled up on bread. The bread was a heavier sourdough roll. A little on the dry side, but made better by adding a good deal of butter. They were a little stingy with the butter though. It came in little cup, and I could have used it all for one roll, but I knew I had to share with Katie. What a gentleman I am.

Before we got going on our prix-fixe menu, we started with this Lobster Bruschetta. Instead of tomatoes, this bruschetta was topped with a lobster salad, avocado, and lemon aioli, a much better alternative. The lobster salad tasted very fresh, but not too rich. The avocado was a nice unexpected touch, which tied this appetizer together nicely. The bread was grilled and held all the contents admirably. Solid start to the meal.

The presentation of Katie's Roasted Red Beets and California Goat Cheese really caught my eye. This was also served with toasted walnuts, red Belgian endive, watercress, and drizzled with aged balsamic reduction. It looks great, but how did it taste? Katie, who is not a beet fan, liked the light and mellow flavor of this. The walnuts added some needed texture, and the goat cheese worked well with the beets. This is the kind of dish Dwight Schrute could get behind.

I went the more traditional route when choosing my first course, a Chopped Heart of Romaine Salad.Their version of a Caesar salad featured a Parmesan dressing that was touch too lemony in some bites. The focaccia croutons were good and the Parmesan cheese was very plentiful. The produce here was fresh, and the portion size of this salad was more than adequate.

This good looking plate was Katie selection for dinner, the Pan Roasted Jumbo Tiger Prawns. Here the tiger prawns are served over their famous green risotto with snap peas. Katie described this dish as "comfortable as an old sweater". Fancy comfort food that seemed to hug you while you consumed it. The tiger prawns were very fresh, the spinach risotto was spot on, and the snap peas added texture to this dish. A real winner in Katie's opinion.

This handsome looking plate was my Prime Top Sirloin Culotte Steak. I got this medium rare, and it was cooked just that way. The beef was very tender and presented well. This steak was paired with blue cheese potato leek fondu and arugula pesto. I was a little disappointed with the potato because I was expecting more blue cheese flavor. The potatoes kind of fell flat here. Still, this satisfied my steak craving.

Dessert was up next, and above is the Chocolate Souffle Cake, served with Hazelnut Ice Cream. Katie felt the ice cream was nice and smooth, but felt the cake portion of this was a little on the bitter side, not as sweet as it should have been. She also thought this should have been lighter and fluffier. I liked this dessert a little more than she did. I felt it was sweet enough, and the texture was fine.

The Creme Brulee would be my choice for dessert. This is your classic brulee. The custard was smooth and had an understated flavor. The top had a thick caramelized rink above the custard. Not the best creme brulee I have had, but not the worst by a long shot. The raspberry cookie served with this looked to be dry, but was filled with fruit, and was surprisingly good. I have been on a real cookie kick lately, as the five girl scout cookie boxes I ordered can attest to. Ugh, no more of those things!

The atmosphere at Bayside was pretty nice. The dining room was comfortable without being pretentious. The booths put us in a loungy kind of mood. The piped in rat pack music helped facilitate that same mood. When we arrived at 6pm, the restaurant was nearly empty. By the time we left at 7:30, the dining room was filled. The service here was great. Our waiter kept things moving along, and the busboys did a great job filling our glasses, and clearing plates promptly. I was glad we could finally cross Bayside off of our restaurant wish list, and during restaurant week, double bonus!

Out of five turtles, (because the show Saved by the Bell featured a character named Lisa Turtle, and she and the gang went to Bayside High), five being best to zero being worst, Bayside Restaurant gets 3.5 turtles.

For more information on Bayside Restaurant, click here: http://www.baysiderestaurant.com/index.html

Sappy or Sweet at the Great Maple?

2012-01-31T11:00:00.000-08:00

Great Maple

1133 Newport Center Drive

Newport Beach, CA 92660

The clock was ticking. It was four days into Newport Beach Restaurant Week, and we had not been to one restaurant yet. Lucky for us we had an open day on the calender, so we could make it to a restaurant. Which one to choose though? Last year at this time we had tried to go to Rustica for restaurant week. Unfortunately, they were having problems with their computers when we showed up, and they were closing early. Everything ended well because we ended up at Roy's, which was very good. Rustica is no more, and where it once stood is now the Great Maple, so that is where we headed for our restaurant week opening act.

The Great Maple is located in the middle of Fashion Island, right next to Nordstrom's. The restaurant is not huge. They do fit a great many tables in the space, without it feeling really cramped. Wood dominates the darkened dining area. The name Great Maple conjured up images of a hunting lodge in Canada, and the decor here is not too far from that. From our seats in the dining room, it is easy to see into the open kitchen. There is also a large patio that overlooks the hustle and bustle of the shoppers at the mall. After ordering from our casually clad server, this is what was brought to our table.

Before our meals arrived we were brought this bread, which came to us in a brown paper bag. The tiny loaf was sliced, and served warm. The butter was soft, creamy, and maybe touched with a little olive oil and dry herbs. A very nice start.

Katie did not want to order off of the restaurant week menu, so she struck out on her own with this Baguette Grilled Cheese with Salted Rosemary and Clover Honey. This is unlike any grilled cheese my Mom ever made me. This one was made with Brie cheese, which had a great flavor, but was really too rich. The caramelized onions and raisins served with this helped cut the richness of this sandwich a bit, but after eating half, both Katie and I were not sure we could eat the next two courses that were on the way.

Since Katie does not enjoy Calamari, I had this good sized appetizer all to myself. The squid was fried perfectly in it's heavy breading, and was lacking greasiness. The calamari was sprinkled with chili flakes and accompanied by olives, both of which added a little flavor surprise to each bite. The lemon caper mayo dipping sauce was heavy, and I kind of got tired of it by the end of this large appetizer. If you enjoy calamari, this will be the appetizer for you.

Katie had the run of the menu here, and off of it she chose the interesting sounding House Fried Pasta. The penne pasta was joined by scrambled eggs, fennel sausage, tomato, basil and Parmesan. After having the rich grilled cheese, she was happy that this was more on the mellow side. She got a little flavor from the sausage, and liked the freshness of this dish.

I knew out of the three selection for main dishes on the restaurant week menu, that I would be having the Flat Iron Steak Strip. This steak was cooked perfectly medium rare, but was not as tender as I would have liked. It was still good though. I like a good blue cheese, and the one that topped this steak was strong. The sauce around the plate helped cut the blue cheese flavor just enough. Green beans were okay, nothing out of the ordinary. Good sized hunk of meat.

Lately most desserts have really let me down. The Great Maple Chocolate Cake can be added to this list. Not sure if the cake was flour less, but it tasted like it was. The cake portion was kind of dry, but we did like the strong cocoa flavor here. Icing was nice and chocolaty, but it still could not make up for the dry cake portion. The Peanut Butter Banana Split will get my dessert attention on my next visit.

The staff at the Great Maple was very nice and professional. The managers were very active running food and refilling drinks. The menu here is not going to blow you away with its wide variety, but it is varied enough that you should be able to find something to your liking. Serving sizes were generous, and we did leave the restaurant very full. Prices are not crazy bad, considering that you are eating at Fashion Island. No item is over $30, and most sit down restaurants at Fashion Island can probably not make the same claim. The menu does change three times a year, so that will add to the variety as well. We were glad we could make it here before the end of restaurant week.

Out of five bonsai trees, (because maples are a popular choice for growers of the miniature trees), five being best to zero being worst, the Great Maple gets 3 bonsai trees.

For more information on Great Maple, click here: http://www.greatmaplefashionisland.com/home.html

Horsing Around at the Derby

2012-01-29T16:35:00.000-08:00

The Derby Deli and Dueling Piano Bar

27741 Crown Valley Parkway

Mission Viejo, CA 92691

I have been known to go to great lengths for a great sandwich. Last year we went across country to try deli sandwiches in NYC, and Lobster Rolls in Boston. Around home we have driven from south county, up to HB for a Philly cheesesteak, and to Santa Ana for a Reuben. Yes, that is the life of a food blogger, but it would be nice if there was a great sandwich place closer to my home. My friend Mike thinks that there is a great sandwich spot right down the street from where I live, and the place he is talking up is The Derby.

I have never been to The Derby before. The few times I have been to the Kaleidoscope Shopping Center, I have walked past the restaurant and heard the dueling pianos and customers seeming to have a good time. In the parking garage at this sparsely populated shopping venue, they have pictures of huge skyscraper sandwiches, piled high with meat. They look good, but will they really be that great? Let's find out.

We arrived at The Derby at seven on a Friday night. The large dining area was quiet, but that was just because the dueling pianos did not start until 8:30. By the time we had left, the place was raging with the pianist playing everything from country songs to rap. The piano show was cool, but I was mainly here for the sandwiches. Let's see how they turned out.

Okay, I know I promised sandwiches, but we started with an appetizer, Hot Diggity Dawn's Balls. This appetizer is named after the owners wife, and they are made of prosciutto and ricotta cheese, which is then deep fried. These were served with a marinara sauce. None of us were too crazy about these. They had a subdued flavor, which mildly entertained our taste buds. Not sure any of us would get these on our next visit.

Now to the aforementioned sandwiches. Starting us off is the Ying Sandwich. This pastrami sandwich came with Swiss cheese and deli mustard, all on seeded rye bread. This usually comes with sauerkraut, but Mike is not a big fan of the pickled cabbage. True to form, Mike called this sandwich, "the best pastrami sandwich he has ever had". He enjoyed the thick cut of the pastrami, and the flavor of the meat. The onion rings served with this were heavily breaded, and crunchy. Not as greasy as I would have thought.

Mike's wife Dawn, was a little more creative in her ordering of this Taylor and Stanwyck Sandwich. Almost all of the sandwiches here are named after a celebrity duo of the past or present. Basically this amounts to a club sandwich. Normally this sandwich contains turkey, but for some reason, "Difficult Dawn", opted for ham instead. She seemed very pleased with the result here. Besides the ham, this sandwich came with bacon, lettuce, tomato, and mayo on toasted white bread. This sandwich was so packed with meat, she only finished half of it, which I was shocked by, because she has a really big mouth. Just kidding Dawn, (not really).

There would be no doubt what sandwich I was going to go after, the Laurel and Hardy was in my sights. This sandwich featured the royal couple of deli meats, pastrami and corned beef, along with Swiss cheese, Cole slaw, and Russian dressing, on a seeded rye. The meats on this sandwich were a little on the fatty side. I know that just adds flavor, but some of you may like leaner cuts of meat. The meat was flavorful, and like Mike, I liked the thicker cut of the pastrami. It really let you know that it was present. The corned beef was a little more subtler, and kind of got lost here, but still good. I would have liked this sandwich better if it was warmed and the bread was toasted. On their web site they make it known that they make all of their bread with real New York water. The bread was okay at the Derby, I was not wowed by it. Still a solid sandwich though.

The fourth and last sandwich we tried was Katie's selection, the Bogie and Bacall. This one came with roast beef, ham, turkey, Swiss cheese, lettuce, onion, tomato, and mayo, piled inside an Italian roll. Katie enjoyed the fresh ingredients here, but felt the sandwich was overwhelming due to the size of it. She did not have high expectations coming in here, but those expectations were easily met within the first few bites. The potato salad served with this had too much mustard for her taste. She will opt for another side item on her next visit.

After the large sandwiches, we followed them up by getting dessert. Mike and Katie ordered the Cannoli's above. The Chocolate Chip Cannoli was Mike's choice. He loved this dessert, while the rest of us felt it was not sweet enough. The outer shell was average, and the ricotta inside needed to be sweeter and smoother. The same went for the peanut butter cannoli. Not even close to the cannoli's Dawn brought me back from Boston. Thanks Dawn!

Dawn wanted to try a slice of Cheesecake here at the Derby. This cheesecake was pretty solid. It was not overly sweet and the strawberries were fresh. I am not much of a cheesecake guy, but even I thought this was good. It really helped getting the taste of the awful cannoli out of my mouth, which I was thankful for.

The Derby was more than I expected. I am not going to tell you that these sandwiches will rival those of New York or the east coast. They are solid sandwiches, with great meats and fresh ingredients. They are a little on the pricey side though. All of the sandwiches are in the $10 to $14 range, but you do get to choose one side item to accompany them. The service the night we were here was pretty good. It got a little spotty as the room got more busy, but that is to be expected.

If you come here for a quiet night, get here early, because it does get raucous starting at 8:30 and escalating until the late hours of the night. If the noise gets to you, and you are here on a Friday or Saturday night, retreat to the backroom area, behind the hostess stand. They have opened a secret speakeasy where you can converse, order drinks, and even gamble. Yes, you read that right, gamble. Of course it is not real money, but for $10 you get chips, get to play blackjack and craps, and automatically get entered into a monthly raffle for an exotic trip. Fun, and something a little different.

Out of five rams, (because the town of Derby, England has the ram as its city emblem), five being best to zero being worst, the Derby gets 3 rams.

For more information on The Derby, click here: http://www.derbymv.com/index.php?p=home

Falling In Love with Romeo Cucina?

2012-01-26T13:58:00.000-08:00

Romeo Cucina

28241 Crown Valley Parkway

Laguna Niguel, CA 92677

I have gotten an Entertainment Coupon Book every year, for the last ten years. I have written on this blog that I like using this book. It helps save us on eating out. As you can probably tell from reading this blog, we eat out quite often. So any help we can get on reducing the amount we pay is a help. For as long as I have been getting the book, there has been a coupon for Romeo Cucina. In all these years we have yet to use the coupon, until now.

Romeo Cucina is an upscale, neighborhood Italian restaurant. They have been opened here since 1991, a long time in the restaurant business these days. They have one other location in Laguna Beach, which is owned by another family member. The crowd here in Laguna Niguel is a little on the older side. They have a small bar area, where some older regulars gathered throughout our visit. Romeo Cucina's space is dominated by large windows, that make up two sides of the restaurant. The restaurant was comfy, without being cramped. The lighting is darkened, to accentuate a romantic vibe. Let's see if the food will brighten up the room for us.

After being seated we were given this bread basket, along with this olive spread. The bread crust was little on the harder side, but the bread portion was soft though. I am not much into olives, (in fact you can say they are sworn enemy), but I did like this olive spread. The saltiness of this paired well with the bread.

Katie began her meal with a Insalata della Casa. This house salad came with romaine lettuce, tomatoes, red onion, cucumbers, chevre and mint, along with their house dressing. Katie liked this dressing, which she denoted had lots of garlic in it. The salad had a very earthy flavor, which she enjoyed.

By now, if you have been a faithful reader of my blog, you know that I went with the Amante di Cesare. I seem to always go for a Caesar salad, whenever it is available on a menu. The one here at Romeo was very tasty. They had plenty of dressing on it, the portion size was good, and the Parmesan cheese was fresh and plentiful. My only complaint about this salad was the garlic croutons. I know croutons need to be hard, but these ones were like trying to chomp down on ice cubes.

Katie heard Lobster Ravioli while the waitress was telling us the specials, and decided that would be what she ordered. She was more than happy with this selection, calling it, "the best lobster ravioli she has ever had!". If I had a dollar for every time we went out and Katie proclaimed something was the best she has had, I would not have to use coupons to go out to eat, because I would be rich! Back to the ravioli though, she enjoyed the sauce here because it was not as creamy or rich as others, and the presence of garlic was enjoyable to her. I felt the sauce needed more cream, but I really like heavier sauces. The lobster was fresh, and did not taste fishy, according to Katie. It has been a week since we have eaten here, and she is still talking about this plate, so I guess she really liked it.

The menu at Romeo Cucina did not wow me. Nothing really caught my eye. I usually know what I am going to order before entering a restaurant, but here I was unsure. I settled on this Vitello Porcini. This veal dish was served with mushrooms, artichoke hearts, and a Marsala sauce. I was disappointed with the serving size of veal here. Two tiny medallions, smaller than the size of a billiards ball. The meat was fork tender, and had a great flavor, but I felt there could have been more veal here. The mushrooms were cooked well, and because there were so many of them, they became the star of this plate. The roasted potatoes were okay. The larger ones were not as tender as the smaller ones, and harder to get through. The garlic spinach here was real good. Had great flavor, and the garlic really brought the spinach to life.

Time for dessert, and Katie picked the Tartufo. This traditional Italian dessert had a zabaglione cream center, encased by a gianduia cream and crushed hazelnut and cocoa powder. Basically, in English this was a scoop of chocolate ice cream with a cream center. This was very good, and refreshing. The ice cream was really good, not too rich. I would probably gets this dessert next time I came here.

One dessert that I would definitely avoid the next time I was here would be this Butterscotch Banana Rum Cake. All three items mentioned in the name of this dessert were barely present. The cake portion of this was dry, so the rum could not be detected. The banana flavor of the cake was also missing in action. Lastly, the butterscotch cream this was topped with was devoid of any butterscotch flavor. Very disappointing end to my meal.

I had mixed feelings about my time at Romeo Cucina. Katie loved all of her choices, and I thought all of mine were average to okay. I am sure we will be coming back here, because Katie enjoyed her meal so much. Hopefully the next time we visit something will pique my interest more than this time. The service on this night was great. Our glasses were never empty, and the food was brought out promptly and hot. Our waitress, Prisma, really made us feel welcome, and really talked this restaurant up. There must have been lots of regulars here, because she was very personable with everyone. Prices here were a little on the high side, (entrees were in the $20 range and the salads were just under $10), but we had our coupon, so it helped to soften the blow of the bill. Thanks Entertainment Book!

Out of five balconies (because who can hear the name Romeo, and not think of the balcony scene in Romeo and Juliet? See I know some of the classics!), five being best to zero being worst, Romeo Cucina gets 3 balconies.

For more information on Romeo Cucina, click here: http://www.romeocucina.com/index.html

Shortstop BBQ Swinging for the Fences!

2012-01-25T16:46:00.000-08:00

Shortstop BBQ

711 N. Placentia Avenue

Fullerton, CA 92831

I admit I am not much into food trucks. They just don't seem convenient to me. The food usually sounds very appealing, but the fact that I did not have a Twitter account until a few weeks ago, (shameless plug, you can follow our blog here, https://twitter.com/#!/eatmywaythruoc), and the fact that, (are you ready to be shocked?), I do not own a smart phone, so it makes it hard for me to keep up with where the food trucks are roaming. Ugh, this makes me sound like I still use eight track tapes, Atari, and a pager! I will try to get more technological in the future, but for now I really wanted some barbecue.

I have heard a lot about the Shortstop BBQ truck. They have a great reputation for serving some great barbecue, so I was excited that they opened a restaurant that will stay in one place. They are run by two brothers, and one of their wives. Drawing on inspiration from their great grandfather, they look to serve some delicious BBQ, with a clean, California appeal.

We were going to a play in Fullerton, so we stopped by their tiny restaurant. We arrived at about six on a Saturday night. There were a lot of people crammed in here. Most were waiting patiently for their food, while the two guys working behind the counter were going at a breakneck pace cranking out orders. After placing our order with one of the guys we watched the game on their nice sized TV, and waited for a table to open up. The menu here is not going to impress you with its large variety, but I was hoping it would impress my taste buds. Let's see how it all turned out for us.

At Shortstop BBQ they do not serve your everyday fries, they serve frites, (which is just a fancy French way of saying fries). The frites here are topped with a variety of offerings. We ordered the Beef n' Bleu Frites. These frites were topped with blue cheese crumbles, tri tip, and BBQ sauce. The fries here are average, but what sets these apart are the toppings. These were delicious, with lots of blue cheese and tender tri tip. A little more BBQ sauce on these would have made this even better. They have other interesting offering for frites as well, including a turkey, cheese, and cranberry chili a top the frites. That one will have to wait for next time though. We still had more food on our trays.

At Shortstop BBQ, they have four sandwiches on the menu, all with a little twist. I am sure if you do not like something, they would omit it for you, but I wanted to try everything as it was on the menu. Above is Katie's sandwich, the BBQ Pulled Pork. Here the the twist was the addition of creamed corn, to go along with pork and BBQ sauce. The corn seemed a little odd to me at first, but the sweetness of it combined with the tender pork really hit the spot. The flavor of the pork was subtle, but still real good. The brioche bun really held up to the insides of the sandwich, which surprised me. Just like with the frites, a little more BBQ sauce on this would have made this even better.

The picture above does not do my Tri-Tip Sandwich justice. The tri tip on this sandwich was paired with their blue cheese slaw and BBQ sauce. The meat was very tender, the slaw was excellent, and like the other sandwich, the bun held everything perfectly. Really enjoyed this sandwich, and I would not hesitate to get this again. A must order when I come back here.

Of course I could not come to barbecue restaurant and not try some ribs. I got this Quarter Rack of Ribs Combo plate, which comes with two sides. The ribs here are not slathered with sauce. They have a dry rub, and the sauce is very light, almost baked into the meat. The result is an easy to eat rib, with very tender meat. The meat came off the bone easily, and almost all in one piece. Very nicely done. As for the side items, the Creamed Corn was not as sweet as the one at Gulliver's, but it was very good. The blue cheese slaw was great, and I could have eaten more of this. They were very generous with the blue cheese in this slaw.

This was a solid spot for barbecue. Shortstop BBQ is a tiny restaurant that is not much for ambiance, but they definitely make up for it with some good dishes. The tiny menu is accompanied by some specials, which are changed every so often. I have heard about a duck sandwich that has been offered from time to time, but it was not offered the night we were here. The only complaint I have about this place when we were here, was the amount of sauce put on everything. I would have liked more, but I am usually one that enjoys more sauce than the average eater. The prices for the dishes here are very reasonable. Most items are under the $10 mark, and that is saying something for a barbecue place. I'm glad that Shortstop BBQ decided to open up a restaurant, so I know where I can find some good barbecue.

Out of five gold gloves, (because one of the great shortstops in baseball history, Ozzie Smith won 13 of them, and he played shortstop), five being best to zero being worst, Shortstop BBQ gets 3.5 gold gloves.

For more information of Shortstop BBQ, click here: http://shortstopbbq.com/

No Waffling About Our Trip to Bruxie!

2012-01-19T17:09:00.000-08:00

Bruxie

292 N. Glassell St.

Orange, CA 92866

I feel like I have cheated all of you, my dear readers. I feel that I can not be called an OC food blogger until I have reviewed Bruxie. This soon to be iconic waffle sandwich place has been reviewed by numerous food blogs, mainstream publications, and even been named the #2 Yelp restaurant in the US for 2011. Pretty strong praise for a restaurant I have not managed to get to in the two and a half years of this blog. For that I apologize to you, but I am here to make amends. Here, without further delay is my review of Bruxie.

For the few people who have not heard about Bruxie before, here is a short history of the place. The restaurant opened across the street from Chapman College, in downtown Orange. The location used to be the old Dairy Treet. They serve all of their sandwiches on waffles, kind of like a pannini, but with a waffle instead of bread. They have savory ones and sweet, dessert versions. When Chapman is in session the lines can get very long. Lucky for us it was winter break, as my cousin Chris and I met up at lunch time on a Thursday at noon. Ordering is done at the counter, and then the food is brought out to your table. This is what it looked like.

My Chocolate Banana Nut Milkshake came out before my meal. At Bruxie they use frozen custard instead of ice cream. This was my first time having frozen custard. Frozen custard is said to be more rich than ice cream, because egg yolks are added. Bruxie gets theirs from Wisconsin, and like the Packers from the same state, I can say I was not such a big fan of this shake. The flavor was good here, but I would have liked the chocolate and banana already mixed up. My other complaint was that this shake was not as cold as I would have liked. I know that is a weird thing to say about a shake, but it was too soupy, and it was not even a warm day out. I will definitely try frozen custard again though.

Chris went with the Buttermilk Fried Chicken & Waffle, one of their most popular items. Here the chicken was joined by Cole slaw and a chili honey sauce. Chris was very pleased with his selection, calling it near perfect. He felt the chicken was tender, the chili honey sauce had a great flavor, but he thought there could have been more Cole Slaw on this sandwich to help balance it out better. He has been here numerous times, and this is his favorite sandwich here. He also got Waffle Fries with his order. These fries were very hearty and crisp.

I have a bigger appetite than my cousin, so this is the first of my two Bruxie sandwiches, the Bruxie Burger. This burger came with Angus beef, cheddar cheese, tomato, pickle, mayonnaise, and lettuce. I have not had a burger cooked this perfectly in long time. It was a perfect medium rare, that practically melted in my mouth. The waffle did not get in the way as much as I envisioned it would. The waffle is not sweet, and is lighter than I would have thought. It was sturdy enough to hold the contents of the sandwich, without being intrusive. They got the balance just right. I would have liked a little more mayo on this, but it was a great burger, which I would get again

Bruxie always has specials posted on their Facebook page and on the board where you stand in line. One of them really stood out to me while I was waiting, so I had to try it. The Braised Beef Short Rib, with Crispy Blue Cheese Potatoes. Also added to the mix here was caramelized onions, horseradish, and chives. This sandwich was as delicious as it sounds. The meat, for the most part was very tender, the blue cheese was a great addition, but I could have used more. The au jus served with this, added some great flavor, and added some needed moisture. If this came up on the special board again, definitely do yourself a favor and order it.

Bruxie is one of the restaurants that truly did live up to the hype. It is a concept that seems so simple, and yet there are so many things that could go wrong, but don't. The main thing is they use fresh ingredients, cooked the right way. The menu is not very large, but with the addition of the specials, there is plenty to choose from. I really look forward to many more trips back here. I am happy that I have fulfilled my delicious obligation to you the readers, by trying one of the unique restaurant spots our county has to offer.

Out of five sprouts, (c'mon you knew I could not go this whole review without playing on the Belgium influence here, and one of my favorite things from Belgium, brussel sprouts!), five being best to zero being worst, Bruxie gets 3.5 sprouts.

For more information on Bruxie, click here: http://bruxie.com/

Dinner Time at Cinnamon Productions!

2012-01-19T10:39:00.000-08:00

Cinnamon Productions

22342 El Paseo

Rancho Santa Margarita, CA 92688

Katie has just recently moved to the wide opened spaces of Rancho Santa Margarita, which opens us up to a whole new area of restaurants to try. We have come out here before, for trips to see her wonderful brother in law and her average sister, but now we will be spending more time in the city with the longest name in California.

Not wanting to stray too far from home, we decided to try Cinnamon Productions for dinner. I know this joint is more of a breakfast place, but I had a coupon, and wanted to see what they offered for dinner. CP was started in Seal Beach in 1987. That location has since closed, and they now have another location operating not far down the road, in Ladera Ranch.

We arrived at 7 on a Wednesday night, and the restaurant was deserted, except for us and another couple. A few more customers would ramble in throughout our visit, but it never got busy. The first thing you notice when walking in Cinnamon Productions is the bakery case. This thing is huge! Wish I had taken a picture of it, because it was massive. I was also surprised to see that it was fully stocked even at this off peak time. They offer brownies, cookies, cakes, and of course cinnamon rolls. We ordered at the counter, and this is what was brought to our table.

We could not eat a place called Cinnamon Productions, without getting to try their signature offering, a Cinnamon Roll. The cinnamon roll was pretty good. The outer shell of it was little on the harder side. Maybe because these were made a few hours before our visit. The insides though were pillowy soft. These were not overly sweet. The cream cheese icing was more on the tangy side, than the sweet, and insides were not as full of cinnamon as some of the other rolls we have had. Not a bad start to our meal, (of course we started with dessert, and how can that be bad?).

Katie tried the Pepper Turkey Pannini. This turkey sandwich came with Swiss cheese and sliced tomato on seven grain bread. Katie felt this sandwich was a little on the dry side when consumed as it was brought to our table. She added some mustard to it, and was much happier with the result. The pasta salad served with this was fresh tasting and not oily, but did not stand out for her flavor wise. An average meal for Katie.

The menu at CP is not huge, and mostly filled with sandwiches and salads. They do offer four specialty entrees though, and the Penne Pasta with Spicy Italian Sausage is one of them. The sauce is a tomato and basil cream sauce, which was very smooth and good. The pasta was cooked nicely, and held the sauce well. The sausage was not of the best quality, but it did have a little spice to it. I thought the $11 price tag for this was a little on the steep side for this portion size, but I would get this again.

Cinnamon Productions is not going to blow you away with their lunch and dinner options. Everything is decent here though. The dinners should feature at least a slice of garlic bread or a roll, (this is a bakery!). CP is worth the trip if you are in the area and want a quick dinner. I hear better things about their breakfast items and can not wait to try them. Now that Katie is in the neighborhood, we will definitely make it here for breakfast.

Out of five volleyballs, (because the national sport of Sri Lanka is volleyball, and that country produces 90% of the worlds cinnamon), five being best to zero being worst, Cinnamon Productions gets 2.5 volleyballs.

For more information about Cinnamon Productions, click here: http://cinnamonproductions.com/

For Pete's Sake, an Awful Time at Peter's Gourmade!

2012-01-15T12:52:00.000-08:00

Peter's Gourmade Grill

600 East Bay Ave. Ste. A7

Newport Beach, CA 92661

I am not going to sugar coat this review. I was more than a little upset after leaving Peter's Gourmade Grill. I had heard all of the great reviews. I had seen all the wonderful pictures of the burgers. I admit I was already writing a positive review in my head even before walking in the joint. All the fanfare, all the high hopes, dashed like most of my favorite sports teams success this year, (tough year for my Ducks and Jaguars, but I will save that topic for when I start a sports blog).

By now I am sure that you know the story of Peter's Gourmade Grill. Opened in a Valero gas station in Tustin, this tiny 100 square foot restaurant got food critics and bloggers talking by serving up gourmet burgers, sandwiches and fries. The gas station closed down, and they were still serving food out of the tiny space. New owners came in, the lease agreement became in doubt, and finally, according to the Peter's Gourmade website, the relationship with the new owners became toxic, and they decided to relocate to the corner of McFadden and Newport Avenue. This location opens later this month.

While all this craziness was going on with the Tustin location, they managed to open up a second location at the Balboa Fun Zone. Near where the carousel used to turn, this is a bigger location for Peter's. Plenty more storage space than the digs in Tustin. This area of some of my favorite childhood memories, would soon become one of my worst as a food blogger.

We arrived at 6:30 on a colder than normal, Saturday night. The Balboa area was not deserted, but foot traffic was not what it would normally be on a warmer night. We got to Peter's, and there were two tables of four eating their food. Stepping up to the counter to order, I already knew what I was having. The iconic ABC Burger. Denied. I was told they were out of avocado and cheddar cheese. Okay, a little disappointed, but stuff happens. I will take a Rammer Burger. No can do. They are out of pastrami, and they do not have Swiss cheese. In fact, we are told they have no cheese on the premises other than Feta. So, with such a limited menu, this is what we decided to consume.

I finally settled on a Mushroom ~~Swiss~~ and Bacon Burger. The burger did have a good taste, but without the cheese on this burger, it was really salty. The patty was way over seasoned. I am sure the Swiss would have mellowed this out a little bit, but of course that is conjecture on my part. I did find the potato bun a nice touch.

Katie got a little creative with her Veggie Burger. She added Feta cheese to it. Like me, she felt this burger was very salty, and the patty fell apart on her.

The only item we ended up coming here for, and actually getting was the Peter's Greek Fries. These shoestring fries were topped with gyro meat, tomatoes, feta cheese, onion, oregano, and served with homemade Tzatziki sauce. These fries saved our trip from becoming a complete bust, they were great as advertised. The gyro meat was very tender and tasted great, the Tzatziki sauce really balanced this out wonderfully. Unfortunately, we got their last fork in the entire place, so we had to take turns eating this. One fork in the entire place, really?

The menu at Peter's is not the largest, and it is made considerably smaller when they are out of basic things, such as cheese and pastrami. Out of the seven burgers on their menu, five of them have either cheese or pastrami. That works out to them being out of 72% of their burgers, as written on their menu. Throw in the fact that they were out of lids for soft drinks, there aforementioned lack of forks, and the marshmallow they used in the interesting sounding Sweet Potato Gooey's, and it is a wonder that this place is open at all. They even had another two hours til closing time. What would they be serving by the end of the night, mustard and ketchup sandwiches?

I know ordering for a restaurant can be hard. I am sure that it is difficult to predict how many people will come through the door. I am sure it is tough to control shrink. But not having forks and lids? These things do not go bad. The only thing I can think is maybe they are spread too thin, or maybe they are so intent on opening the Tustin location on time that they have let this place go. The crew of two workers here did not seem to care in the least that they were out of so many things. They spent almost all of our visit talking to their friend, rather than going out and getting supplies. It may not be their job to make sure supplies and food are stocked, but they did not seem bothered by it in the least.

Will we try Peter's Gourmade again? Yes we will, but not this location. They have a lot to prove to us when the new restaurant opens up. Hopefully they will be able to focus all their attention on the new place. I look forward to finally trying the ABC Burger, the Gooey Fries, and their specials. Just hope they remember to order enough for a whole day's worth of business.

Out of five slices of cheese, (so it might remind them to order enough next time), five being best to zero being worst, Peter's Gourmade Grill gets 1.5 slices of cheese, (or one and a half more than they had in the entire restaurant the night we were here!).

For more information on Peter's Gourmade Grill, click here: http://web.me.com/apanariella/Peters_Gourmade_Grill/Welcome.html

Not Eating Like a Bird at Crow Bar

2012-01-13T21:56:00.000-08:00

The Crow Bar and Kitchen

2325 East Coast Highway

Corona Del Mar, CA 92625

Crow Bar has been on my list of places so long that I almost forgot about it. Lucky for us my good friend Ed was going to be visiting from Philadelphia, and staying nearby in Newport. I happened to look at my list of places to try and spotted Crow Bar near the top. Ed likes to experiment with new restaurants, and Crow Bar seemed to be like a great place to nest for the night, (sorry, I will try to limit the bird puns in this review).

Crow Bar has been open since 2007. Since that time they have won rave reviews for their hamburgers, fries, cocktails, beer selection, and they were named best bar in Orange County. They want you to know that they are not just a bar, but they consider themselves a gastropub. The distinction that makes this a gastropub is the chef twists common pub food into making it his own, and using seasonal ingredients, that compliment the beers and cocktails they serve. The last time I wrote about a gastropub was when we went to Haven Gastropub almost two years ago. I was not too fond of the experience that time, because I thought they were trying too hard. I was hoping this trip would be more to my liking.

We arrived at Crow Bar at 7 pm on a Thursday night. The place was packed. Our party of three did not have a reservation, but we pulled up a seat at the bar and had a quick drink while we waited fifteen minutes for our table to be ready. The bar was jammed, with young professionals out for an after work drink. During our stay the professionals moved out, and the young hipsters moved in. After paying for our drinks we were moved to a table and ordered. This is what came our way.

We started off our night with the Sausage Trio with a Soft Baked Pretzel. This trifecta of sausages included a smoked cheddar bratwurst, spicy Polish sausage, and a nuerinberger bratwurst. These were all paired with a condiment. The nuerinberger brat was paired with a spicy mustard. My favorite one of the three sausages was the spicy Polish served with the house made tomato chutney. This one really popped with flavor, and the chutney attempted to cool it down. The cheddar brat was okay, but I did not sense a lot of cheese in this one, but the "crow", sauerkraut made up for the lack of cheese. The pretzel here was not just an afterthought. The pretzel came out warm, soft, and salted perfectly. We could have eaten a few more of these.

Let's start the main course with our guest for the evening, Ed. He ordered up this Chicken Pallard. Roasted chicken, organic tomatoes, kalamata olives, roasted garlic, and basil were combined to come up with this dish. Ed finished this plate rather quickly, calling this both, "great and savory". He enjoyed the smaller portion size here, so he could save room for dessert later. What a lightweight!

Katie was on the fence about what to order, but she settled on the Classic Burger, adding Havarti cheese. This quenched her burger craving. She felt this burger was very rich, and loved the addition of the Havarti cheese on it. Unfortunately she ordered this burger well done, but the bite I had was still very juicy. The Duck Fat Fries were not as crisp as we are used to, but were still good. The seasoned truffle aioli that was served with this was a little too strong of a flavor for her, but I enjoyed it when I dipped some of her fries into the sauce.

I know that we are only a few weeks into the new year, but this is by far the best thing I have eaten all year. The Braised Veal Cheeks, paired with house made tater tots, mushrooms, and braising jus were a hit in my book. The veal here tasted like the most tender pot roast you have ever had. The jus was a little on the salty side, but it still worked with the meat. The tater tots needed to be a little softer, but I would definitely get this plate again.

Onto the dessert portion of our show, and Ed's selection was the Bananas Foster Bread Pudding. The bread pudding was moist, and the banana flavor was subdued. The ice cream on top of this was a nice touch, with plenty of caramel sauce.

Katie always loves chocolate, so I knew she would lean towards the Liquid Chocolate Cake. This was served with caramel brown sugar swirl ice cream. She described the cake portion as, "divine, and it paired well with the caramel ice cream". It was rich, without being over the top.

Not to be biased, but I had the best dessert of the night, the Butterscotch Pot au Creme. Not only did this dessert feature a smooth butterscotch creme, but it also came with salted caramel, and palmiers. Not sure if the palmiers cookies were house made, but they were really good. Salted caramel is also one of my new favorite things as well, and it really went well with pudding here. This would be a dessert I would get again for sure.

After leaving Crow Bar I was disappointed that we had not been here sooner. The food was definitely well worth the trip, and the vibe here was hipster cool. The dining area can be a little on the loud side. The young, good looking servers kept thing moving along, and got us in and out. Seating here was a little cramped. Prices were what you would expect to pay in Corona Del Mar. Main entrees were in the $15 to $25 range, while most burgers were under the $10 mark, a bargain for these delicious burgers. The portion sizes were a little on the small size, but they more than made up for it with their well prepared plates. At the end of the night we were all chirping about how great the Crow Bar was, (see, I only limited the bird puns to two for this whole article, your welcome my little chickadees!).

Out of five money makers, (because that was the name of the Black Crowes debut album back in 1990), five being best to zero being worst, Crow Bar Kitchen gets 3.5 money makers.

For more information on Crow Bar Kitchen, click here: http://www.crowbarcdm.com/index2.html

The Hunt is On For Great Steaks in Laguna Niguel!

2012-01-12T10:21:00.000-08:00

Hunter Steakhouse

30100 Town and Country Dr.

Laguna Niguel, CA 92677

It was a boys night out for my friends and I, so we went to the restaurant equivalent of a, "man cave", a steak restaurant. Luckily, I had my steak expert, Matt along with me. This guy has been to almost every steak place in OC. When we heard that a new steakhouse had opened up, we were there. He even brought his brother along to sample the beef. Let's check it out.

Hunter Steakhouse has been around since 1970. That is quite a long time to be in business. They have two other location, both in San Diego county. This is their first foray into OC. They opened this Laguna Niguel location late in 2011. This location used to be an Acapulco a long time ago, but they completely gutted the restaurant, and it is unrecognizable from those old days. The ambiance was unassuming, and the dining area was dark. Let's see if the food will brighten things up here.

The first of our two appetizers was this Ahi. At Hunter's the ahi is served with Cajun spices and seasonings, and paired with a wasabi cream sauce. This meaty fish had a great flavor and presentation. I did not really get a strong wasabi flavor from the sauce, but the spices that were crusted on the outside portion of this added lots of flavor.

It was guy's night out, so of course we had to have an Appetizer Sampler. Here the sampler includes potato skins, calamari, and lump crab meat mushrooms. The best out of these three was the calamari. It was heavily breaded, but the ancho chili sauce that was drizzled over it added a little kick. The crab stuffed mushrooms were okay. It was very hard to taste any of the crab in these. The potato skins were not at all good. Very plain tasting, we have better ones at Friday's.

Entrees at Hunter Steakhouse include Soup, Caesar Salad, or the Tableside Salad Bar pictured above. I have seen this one time before at the Chart House. Our waiter Jay rotated the lazy Susan around, and added the items that we wanted onto our plate. Matt and Reno both opted for this salad. They felt the salad ingredients were fresh, but the dressings were nothing special.

I have been on a real Caesar Salad kick lately, so opted to go that route. The Caesar here featured fresh produce and a good dressing, but there was not enough dressing on this for my taste.

Whenever I go to a steak place with Matt, I can be sure of two things. One, we will have great conversation through the night, and two, he will always get a Filet Mignon. This is the Hunter Cut, which is a little bigger than their standard cut. He got his meat topped with Neil Sauce, which consisted of mushrooms, onions, bacon, and blue cheese. With all of these big flavors, it was no wonder that he felt the sauce over powered the filet. The steak he felt was not the best he has had, but was still solid. Entrees come with two sides, and he had the Onion Rings and Steamed Broccoli. According to Matt, the broccoli was average, and the onion rings were nothing special. I had the onion rings as well, and would have to concur with his opinion. Bland breading, and nothing out of the ordinary.

Hunter's Steakhouse proclaims that they have the best Prime Rib in Town. Not really a crazy stretch in Laguna Niguel, but it was solid. Both Reno and I got the Standard Cut here, which was a three quarters of a pound of meat. He had his medium well, and mine was medium rare. Both were cooked the way we requested them. Reno felt his prime rib was marbled well, without being too fatty. He thought the Baked Potato and the Seasonal Vegetables were average. My prime rib was good, but lacked the wow factor. Again, the onion rings were okay, and the mashed potatoes came out dry, not light and fluffy.

Our Waiter brought out the dessert tray, and we all chose a different one. Matt, who hates chocolate, (even though he admits this, he is still my friend), went with a slice of Carrot Cake. The cake part was moist, but lacked sweetness. There also needed to be more icing here. Matt said he would forgo this dessert next time.

The best dessert out of three was this Mocha Mud Pie. It had a very good chocolate cookie crust and not the best ice cream, but it did the trick. I am not much of a coffee person, so the mocha ice cream did not help endear me to this dessert.

My choice for dessert was this Turtle Cheesecake. It is a little out of character for me to order cheesecake for dessert. Cheesecakes are so hard to get right, and this one was just okay. It was very rich, but not memorable in any other way. They needed more caramel sauce and nuts on this to truly call it a turtle cheesecake.

After eating at Hunter Steakhouse I have come to a realization. that when it comes to steak, you get what you pay for. The steaks and prime rib were not bad here, but they will never be on par with Morton's and Ruth Chris. Of course you do not have to take out a second on your home to eat here either. The entrees are in the $20 to $30 range, and include soup or salad and two sides. The high end steakhouses make you order everything ala carte, and at Hunter's you get a full meal for less than the price of a single steak there. The side items here need some help. All of them were pretty pedestrian. The ahi, salads, and prime rib were the highlights of the night for me. I would sum up Hunter Steakhouse as better than Black Angus, and on par, or slightly better than Lone Star Steakhouse. Our waiter Jay was very personable, kept things moving and gave us great service. Unlike Lone Star Steakhouse, he did not have to dance every forty five minutes. I am sure he appreciates that.

Out of five hockey pucks, (because Hunter Steakhouse was established in 1970, the same year as Anaheim Ducks star, Teemu Selanne was born), five being best to zero being worst, Hunter Steakhouse gets 2.5 hockey pucks.

For more information on Hunter Steakhouse, click here: http://huntersteakhouse.com/home.html

King's Fish House to the Tower or the Throne?

2012-01-08T21:25:00.000-08:00

King's Fish House

24001 Avenida De La Carlota

Laguna Hills, CA 92653

In Katie's family I kind of have a reputation. They take me to one of their favorite restaurants, I blog about it, and they are never satisfied with the results. They think that I am very picky, and a very tough critic. I think the reason they should be upset is that they have been eating at average places all this time. I am of course kidding, (I am not really, but I want to still be invited out with them!).

So, on this outing with the family we headed to King's Fish House. King's is a casual fish restaurant. They operate twelve locations, and three of them are located in our fair county, (the other two in OC are Orange and Huntington Beach). The vibe here at King's reminds me of a Lucille's BBQ restaurant. Although King's is a chain restaurant, you do not get that kind of vibe here. Let's check out what came out of the kitchen.

No bread basket here, but we were served this bread plate. This sourdough loaf was served warm, and had a great flavor. I could have eaten the whole loaf by myself.

I snapped this picture, just before Dennis dug in. He always goes for a cup of New England Clam Chowder when he comes here. He described this chowder as good, with just the right amount of spice. Plenty of potatoes and clams for his taste, and he liked the fact this was not as creamy as other chowders he has had.

The dinner salads were basic, but fresh. They are not going to wow you, but the blue cheese dressing for some reason this night caught my attention. It had more blue cheese flavor than most, and held on to the lettuce well.

Now on to the main entrees. We will start it off with Katie's selection, the Mediterranean Swordfish. This fish, caught off the California coast, was paired with a tomato fennel relish and Greek yogurt.sauce. This fish was very meaty, almost like a steak. The yogurt sauce was creamy and complimented the fish nicely. Also served with this was a sauteed orzo, which according to Katie, really balanced this meal out perfectly.

The patriarch of the family had the Mexican Shrimp and Wild Alaskan Scallops on a Skewer. Dennis enjoyed the portion size of this plate, and felt the shrimp and scallops were cooked well. For his two side items he went with Steamed Jasmine Rice and Macaroni and Cheese. The rice was average in his opinion, and the mac and cheese was a little on the dry side. Not the cheesiest macaroni we have had.

Not too different of a plate was Lynn's dinner, the Farm Raised Mexican Shrimp. Lynn echoed Dennis' comments about the portion size being good, and the shrimp being cooked well. She went with the Macaroni and Cheese as well, but also had the Sauteed Fresh Spinach. The spinach was the best side of the night for us. It was maybe sauteed with garlic, which really gave it a nice flavor.

After much deliberation I had the Parmesan Crusted Rockfish. I was very happy with the serving size of this entree. Four very well cooked pieces of fish, more than satisfied my appetite. My one complaint would be the lack of lemon butter on this. For some reason it was poured on the plate, rather than having it placed atop the fish. I should have just asked for more sauce, but I just made due. The Cole Slaw was decent here, but the mashed potatoes were flavor challenged. Next time I will opt for the baked potato.

King's Fish House is a pretty safe bet for a chain seafood restaurant. They are definitely better than Red Lobster, and on par with Bluewater Grill. The prices were a little on the high side, but the portion sizes make up for that a little bit. The sides here need some help. Besides the spinach, and maybe the Cole slaw, we were not too crazy about them. Service was straight forward and good. We sat out on the heated patio this night, and were quite comfortable. King's Fish House puts a halt to the run of mediocre restaurants that Katie's family has taken me to. I guess I will be invited to at least one more dinner, (I hope!).

Out of five Elvis's, (because of course you can not hear the name king, and not think of him), five being best to zero being worst, King's Fish House gets 3 Elvis's.

For more information on King's Fish House, click here: http://www.kingsfishhouse.com/index.html

California Dreaming at CPK?

2012-01-05T15:32:00.000-08:00

California Pizza Kitchen

321 W. Katella Ave.

Anaheim, CA 92802

Our good friend Adrienne was staying in the Disneyland area, for her birthday for a couple days. She and her family were going to be spending two, fun filled days at the happiest place on earth. We decided to skip the theme park, but we still wanted to help her celebrate her big day. We decided to meet her and Chris at the Garden Walk in Anaheim, which is Disneyland adjacent. I let them choose where to eat, and they came up with California Pizza Kitchen.

I know CPK is a chain restaurant, and as a food blogger I should thumb my nose at it for this reason alone. But I write this food blog, not only for the foodie in me, but as an every man's food blog. Places where lots of people eat, and lots of people eat at California Pizza Kitchen. Started in 1985, they operate over 260 restaurants world wide. 12 of those restaurants are based in our very own corner of the world, OC. Their brand is in stadiums, airports, and even sold in grocery stores. I have eaten here occasionally over the two plus years I have written this blog, but this is the first time I have reviewed them, so let's see how it goes.

Chris considers himself to be an avocado egg roll connoisseur, so of course we had to order the Avocado Club Egg Rolls. These were filled with tomatoes, chicken, bacon, Monterrey jack cheese, and of course avocado. These egg rolls came with an herb ranch dressing and a Ranchito sauce. Chris believed that these egg rolls were just average, and I would tend to agree with that assessment. The bacon was not prominent enough for my liking, and the chicken was kind of lost here. On the positive side, the egg roll was fried nicely, and came out hot.

Not content with just one appetizer, Katie also had the Mediterranean Plate. This dish came with white bean humus, a Greek salad, feta cheese covered with olive oil, and pizza-pita bread. I had some of the humus, and it was good, not great. Katie liked the Greek salad and feta cheese, but I did not have any of that. Not really my thing.

Located, not on their salad portion of their menu, but in the "Small Bites" part, they had this Wedge Salad. I love wedge salads, and this one was the perfect size. I did order this without tomatoes and chopped egg, ( I know I am weird, but I have a thing against hard boiled egg), but it did come with bacon and a very flavorful blue cheese dressing. I liked this enough that I would get this again for sure.

Of course with a name like California Pizza Kitchen, the pizzas are definitely in the spotlight here. At our table, three of the four of us opted to get a pizza. Starting us off is the BBQ Chicken + Applewood Smoked Bacon. This is probably their most popular pizza, and the one that really put them on the map. Toppings on this included red onion, BBQ sauce, a Gouda and mozzarella blend, cilantro, chicken, and bacon. Chris had no complaints about this pizza, and had no trouble clearing his plate.

The birthday girl, Adrienne went the South Pacific route with her selection, the Hawaiian Pizza. She felt this pizza was balanced perfectly. The sweetness from the pineapple, and the the saltiness of the ham, along with a crunchy outside crust, with a chewy inside portion. She could not have been more pleased with this pie, calling it, "Yummy".

The pizza parade continues with the White Pizza. This hue deficient pie contained a plethora of cheeses, (Fontina, Mozzarella, Ricotta, Parmesan, and Pecorino Romano), along with sauteed garlic spinach, and chicken substituted for bacon. Katie liked this pizza well enough, but thought that cheeses needed to be sharper.

Of course I am not one to conform to the masses, so I had to be different and shy away from the pizza, with this Jambalaya. This spicy dish came with blackened chicken, shrimp, Andouille sausage, ham, and scallions, served on top of linguini. This dish was full of flavor and really punched back. I was a little disappointed with the amount of shrimp and meats in this. Four shrimp in this bowl, a few pieces of sausage, and a few bite sized morsels of chicken was not enough to warrant the $16 price tag here.

Our experience at California Pizza Kitchen can be summed up by one word, safe. I thought everything was alright here, but they are not going to take too many chances in the kitchen, and the food is not going to blow you away. It is fine enough though. A lot better than most restaurants around Disneyland. The service on this trip was great. The restaurant was very busy, and everything seemed to be running smoothly. In the end, the birthday girl seemed to enjoy her dinner, and we enjoyed spending the night with her.

Out of five cops, (because the first CPK was located in Beverly Hills, and I liked the movie Beverly Hills Cop when I was a kid), five being best to zero being worst, California Pizza Kitchen gets 2.5 cops.

For more information on California Pizza Kitchen, click here: http://www.cpk.com/

Our Best and Worst of 2011!

2011-12-30T06:46:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year to you and your loved ones. We here at Eating My Way Through OC have decided to wrap up this year with the obligatory best and worst list. We went to a record 123 restaurants this year. That is a lot of eating! Nearly three restaurants reviewed a week. We went on two east coast trips, to New York and Boston. The food there was phenomenal! Culinary highlights of those trips included the Lobster Roll from Neptune Oyster House in Boston, authentic New York pizza from Grimalidi's, the Tres Leches Donut from the Doughnut Plant on the lower east side, and the Chocolate Chip and Banana Pancakes from Mike's City Diner in Boston.

We also added new foods to our eating adventures. We reviewed Indian, Japanese, Lebanese, Peruvian, and Vietnamese. We are looking forward to adding even more diverse foods to our list in 2012. We may have tried different foods this year, but we could not stray too far from hamburgers, Mexican food, and barbecue. We of course are still in search for our best breakfast burrito in OC. We have had some really good ones, but nothing that has knocked our socks off, like the one we had in Pasadena, at Lucky Boy.

Let's see what made our best and worst list for the year 2011. Starting us off will be the worst restaurants of the year, in no particular order.

The night we came to Chelas Mexican Grill, they failed to impress. The meats were not prominent in any of the tacos or burritos that we had. They used way too much lettuce on everything, and that caused the food to become cold too quickly. If I had wanted bland Mexican food, I would have just gone to Chipotle.

We did not get to too many places this year to find the perfect place to watch football on Sunday mornings, but we unfortunately made it to Rudy's Pub and Grill in Foothill Ranch. Not only did my football team stink it up this year, but the food here did as well. My southwestern scramble put my taste buds in a coma. The rest of the food proved to be no better than mediocre, which is what I wish for my Jaguar's next year. Mediocre would be a step up for them.

Not to pick on Foothill Ranch, but it is home to two of the five worst restaurants on our list this year. After our visit to Mustard Cafe, we are sure that Togo's is not sweating competition from them. My Reuben sandwich was served with the least amount of meat I have seen on a Reuben, and they were out of rye, so they served it on wheat. Failure on both counts.

The one plus we got by eating at Florentine's Downtown Grill was we had buy one, get one free coupons. The bad part was we had to pay for any of this food at all. All of our food came out tasteless, overly breaded, and just plain average. There are so many good restaurants in Downtown Fullerton, we will pass on this one in the future.

Another area that has a plethora of great restaurants is Laguna, but sadly, C'est La Vie is not one of these great food spots. The food we had here this year was sub par, but would have been made better had it been served hot. We were one of two couples here on a Friday night, and the kitchen still got our food out to us cold.

Enough of the negative, let's find out what the best five restaurants of the year have been. In no particular order, here they are.

It is finding restaurants like El Farolito, that makes this blog worth writing. I would have never been to this local institution if I did not write this blog. The Mexican food here is great. The best carnitas I have had yet, and the prices can not be beat. I can not wait to go back for more in 2012.

If you had made me a bet at the start of the year that I would be including a sushi restaurant on my best restaurant of the year list, I would have taken it, and owed you money. I am not much of a sushi guy, but Sushi Wasabi could convert me. The fish here was fresh, and filled me up. I never thought I would write that about a sushi place. A little pricey, but you get what you pay for here.

We go from a crazy priced sushi restaurant to one of the cheapest meals we had this year, at John's Philly Grill. Usually a place just hangs some Phillie's or Eagles pennants, and calls itself a Philly Cheesesteak shop. The pennants are here, but so are the great sandwiches. These sandwiches come out molten hot, and once they achieve an edible temperature, you will be transported to a meaty/cheesy nirvana. Saves on the plane tickets to Philadelphia.

The menu might be limited, but the food at Gulfstream, was really good the night we were here for my birthday dinner. The rib eye was one of the best hunks of meat I had all year, and the crab cakes Katie went with were rich, with thick cuts of crab. A great way to mark another birth year.

My best of list would not be complete without Slater's 50/50. They make the list for the Breakfast Burger that is above alone. Yes, that is a donut for a bun, along with a fried egg, two strips of bacon, cheese, and a 50 percent ground beef and 50 percent ground bacon patty. I just gained a pound by typing what was on this breakfast burger. We have been back to Slater's a number of times through the year, and it has been a delicious adventure every time.

So there you have it. The best and worst of 2011. I would like to thank each and every one of you that has read the blog, sent in a suggestions, written a comment, or even sent in a criticism. I think I replied to each and every one of the responses I have gotten. To my fellow diners that have accompanied us on our dining adventures, thanks for waiting to eat, while I snap some pictures, and giving me your opinions on the food you just consumed. I would also like to thank my fellow food bloggers that I read religiously everyday. You all inspire me to be a better writer and reviewer of restaurants. Once again, thank you all very much, and here's to a great 2012!

Beautiful Cuban Food at Bella Cuba

2011-12-22T17:44:00.000-08:00

Bella Cuba

3930 S. Bristol Ave. #114

Santa Ana, CA 92704

The corner of Bristol and Sunflower is quickly becoming the United Nations of eateries. This corner, directly across from South Coast Plaza, features Peruvian, Vietnamese, Mexican, Greek, and Japanese restaurants. Now you can add a Cuban place to that long list of cuisines that can be found on that corner. As soon as we heard there was a new Cuban place here, we could not wait to try it.

Bella Cuba opened about a month ago, and the food blogs have already given some glowing reviews. There is also some mystery surrounding this place. It is rumored that the owner and manager of Bella Cuba are defectors from the most famous Cuban restaurant in LA, Versailles. I have never been to Versailles, but it gets an 88% approval rating on Urbanspoon, four stars on Yelp, and gets rave reviews from others that love Cuban food. So needless to say, I had very high hopes for this place.

We arrived at about 2 on a Sunday afternoon. Kind of the limbo time before dinner and after lunch. A time when most restaurants are slower than normal. That was not the case at Bella Cuba. Almost all of the twenty tables were filled with parties large and small. There seemed to be lots of large families eating here. The decor was warm and inviting. Even with the crowd, we did not feel cramped. With the crowd here, I guess the secret was out about this place. Let's see if the food can match the hype.

After being seated we were brought this Bread Basket. The bread had a nice crunch to it, and was buttered nicely.

Whenever we are in a Cuban restaurant I always have to try the Cubano Sandwich. This might be one of the best ones we have had outside of Miami. This sandwich features pork, ham, pickles, cheese, and mustard, all on Cuban bread. This sandwich was greasy, but that just made it full of flavor. I would have liked this with a little more mustard or pickles on it to break up the saltiness from the meats, but it was a very good start to the meal. The bread had a nice crunch to it. I was a little surprised that they did not offer a media noche sandwich, which is one of my favorite sandwiches of all time.

Katie had heard great things about the Pollo al Ajillo or Garlic Chicken. This half chicken is marinated in mojo sauce and served with black beans, rice, and plantains. The sauce was a little too citrusy for our taste. The citrus taste really overwhelmed the garlic here, but the onions helped to cut the citrus taste.. The chicken was as advertised, as being very tender, and fell off the bone easily. She would have liked a little less bone and more meat, but she would definitely get this again.

It has taken sometime for me to find my go to meal in a Cuban restaurant, but I may have found it with the Macitas de Puerco Fritas, Fried Pork Chunks. This delicious plate had fried and marinated pieces of pork. The pork tasted great, and had a wonderful simple flavor. Reminded me of a sweet and sour pork chunk, without the sweetness. Really tasty, but I thought the portion size here was a little weak. Only about six or seven pork chunks on the plate. The black beans and rice were great when mixed together, and the plantains added a sweetness to the meal, almost like dessert. I would for sure get this meal again.

No trip to a Cuban restaurant would be complete for us, unless we had a Tres Leches slice of cake. Bella Cuba was no exception. The cake here was not as damp as some of the others we have had. The icing was not as sweet either. Still with all of these factors going for it, this was still a great item to finish our meal off with. The tres leches at Felix's is still better, but that will be the only part of the meal that is better.

I am sure you can tell by this glowing review, we really liked our trip to Bella Cuba. The food here was very good, and I was very happy to have found my new favorite meal in a Cuban restaurant. The vibe here was very casual, but the restaurant when full, like it was when we were here is very loud. The service on this day was pretty good. I thought the portions were a little on the small side, but what they lacked in mass, they more than made up for in quality. Bella Cuba is for sure going to be on our heavy rotation list.

Out of five boxing gloves, (one of Cuba's favorite sports), five being best to zero being worst, Bella Cuba gets 3.5 boxing gloves.

For more information on Bella Cuba, click here: http://www.bellacubarestaurant.com/index.html

Arresting Pizza at New York Pizza Department?

2011-12-21T13:47:00.000-08:00

New York Pizza Department

2279 Eagle Glen Parkway #105

Corona, CA 92883

After I posted my last blog about a Cuban restaurant in Corona, I got a comment from Mikehu about a pizza place in Crown Town. Mike had not been there himself, but his boss had raved about it. That was good enough endorsement for me. It just so happened that we were going to be in the area visiting Sabrina and Anthony, so that is where we decided to head.

Actually, I should clarify this. We got the food here to go. So, I have still technically not been to the restaurant, but I was really excited to blog about it. I was in the mood for a really good New York pizza, and if I was going to sit through all of Sabrina's awful stories, then I should at least have a great food experience to show for it, right? Also, if the food was not good I can at least plug my ears with it. Of course I am just kidding PPG, (sorry, inside joke).

New York Pizza Department opened its doors in 2004. Like most restaurants this one has a story to go along with it. A group of friends from NYC moved to Southern California, and missed the great food of the Big Apple. They had been in the bagel business back home, and now wanted to venture out into the world of Italian cooking and pizza. They used their families recipes to help shape the menu, so lets see how it all turned out for them.

We have been on a real Garlic Knots kick lately, and here was no exception. At NYPD these knots were definitely topped with enough garlic to keep any vampire away, but they were not as soft as we would have liked. I would have liked these better, if the garlic had been baked in as well, instead of having the garlic presented on top of the knot.

Our second appetizer choice for the evening was the Fried Mozzarella. This dense, triangle of cheese was very good. The breading was seasoned well, and the cheese inside had a thickness to it, that added to the heaviness of this starter. The marinara sauce that accompanied this was a good companion to this cheese wedge.

When it came time to order the pizza we opted for the N.Y.P.D. Special. This Neapolitan style pizza came with pepperoni, sausage, onions, meatballs, mushrooms, and bell peppers. We omitted the olives that usually come on this pizza. True to New York form, the pizza slices were cut very large. This was the Bigga size which featured eight slices. The toppings here did not wow me. I really expected more flavor from them, but they yielded little. The crust was a little soggy in the middle, but the ends and outer portions were nice and crisp. The cheese was okay here, nothing to get excited about. When it was all said and done, this was a very average tasting pizza.

Unlike the pizza, the Fettuccini Ala NYPD got rave reviews at our table. This pasta dish came with pine nuts, tomatoes, chicken, broccoli, all served with pesto sauce. The flavors in this pasta dish melded well together. The pesto sauce was good, along with the perfectly cooked pasta. The pine nuts added an unexpected earthiness to this dish. The only complaint I could make about this was they kind of skimped on the chicken, or maybe Sabrina hogged it all. Good, solid pasta dish though.

I know that the P in the name of this place stands for pizza, but maybe they should change it to pasta. The pizza here failed to live up to our expectations. The pasta however was really pretty good. We have had pizza in New York this year, and this one does not compare. It was not awful, but just lacked the wow factor. The starters were hit and miss this night. The fried cheese we would get again, but we would skip the garlic knots. If I were in the area again, I would come back and give them another try.

So out of five boroughs, (because that is how many boroughs make up New York City), five being best to zero being worst, New York Pizza Department gets 2.5 boroughs.

For more information regarding New York Pizza Department, click here: http://nypdcorona.com/

Food Frenzy Invades Taste of Sicily!

2011-12-15T20:25:00.000-08:00

Taste of Sicily

655 N. Tustin Ave.

Orange, CA 92867

You may think that being a food blogger is a pretty solitary experience. I thought it would be as I started this blog over two years ago. What I have discovered though, is that I became part of the food community of our great county. I have been lucky enough to be invited to great events from time to time, and up until this point everyone has been so nice and welcoming. So it was with great excitement that I was headed to another great food event, the Food Frenzy Foodie Fest.

In case you do not know it, the Orange County Register has a food blog, (http://foodfrenzy.ocregister.com/), where they review restaurants, pass on information, and on rare occasions meet up to eat, find new places, and talk about our passion, food. This meet up was going to be extra great because we were going to be getting the opportunity to meet Food Frenzy's newest blogger Kathleen Luppi. As well as Kathleen, other bloggers in attendance were Nathan, from Papa Kaster Eatin, Niyaz, representing Fat Dude On A Diet, and one of my favorite blogs to read, Eat In OC, which is written by Dan. With all of these food bloggers and readers of Food Frenzy here, of course we talked about food, shared some laughs, and some food related stories, but when the food came, everyone turned into TMZ, and the cameras came out, just like on the red carpet. Let's see if the food is ready for its closeup.

After being seated we were presented with these Garlic Knots. Katie prides herself on being a garlic knot connoisseur, and she pronounced these as some of the best she has had. They were soft on the inside, and were not overly saturated with garlic. I would have liked more garlic here, but these were good, and I definitely ate my fair share. Next time I will ask for a side of ranch dressing with these.

Both mine and Katie's meals came with a Dinner Salad. This was your basic dinner salad. I did enjoy the cheese that was added to this, and they were very liberal with the dressing, which is always a plus for me.

Food Frenzy reader, Michael ordered some Fried Calamari, and was generous enough that he allowed all of us to sample it. I felt that this was little over done, but I did enjoy the breading here. It was thick, but did not get in the way of the squid. Thanks for the sample Michael!

When it was my turn to order, I was at a loss for what to get, but I finally decided on the Pasta Carbonara. This mostaciolli dish was served with bacon, basil and a cream sauce. The first few bites of this were good, but then it just became too rich. The sauce was very heavy, and I could only finish three quarters of this plate.
I would probably choose something different off of their menu next time.

Claudia, our event organizer barely made a dent in her medium Green Margherita Garlic Pizza. This thin crust pizza came with a green pesto sauce, mozzarella, and roasted garlic. I really wanted to try some of this, but was too full from my meal. She seemed very pleased with her choice here, and I am sure she had leftovers for a long while after.

Niyaz was thoughtful enough to package his wife some of his Baked Ziti, with sausage added, to go. I forgot to ask him how it was, but I did not hear any complaints from him.

Katie went the pasta route as well, with her selection, the Tortellini with Blush Sauce. She liked the sharpness of the cheese used in the tortellini, and felt the blush sauce had a nice full body, which complimented the pasta well. I tried a bite of hers and felt this was a nice, mellow dish.

Nathan was more than happy to show off his Sausage Sandwich. This $12 sandwich was huge. The picture does not do it justice. This sandwich could easily feed two people with a normal appetite. It looked real good too.

Taste of Sicily was not a bad spot for this Food Frenzy Foodie Fest. The restaurant was comfortable, low key, and could easily accommodate our party. The prices here were not bad for a sit down Italian place. The pasta dish ranged in the $10 to $15 range, and the chicken and beef dishes were a little more. The serving sizes were definitely good. You will probably have leftovers. The service on the night we were here was very good. They are under new management, so the menu is going to be tweaked, but all of the pizza, sandwiches and pastas will probably be safe.

So another Foodie Fest is done. I look forward to the next one. I would like to thank Claudia at Food Frenzy, and of course all of the people we had the pleasure of dining with at this food event. I look forward to swapping food stories and many more meals in the future.

Out of five coppola's, (a traditional flat cap worn in Sicily, and it is now regarded as the definitive symbol of Sicilian heritage), five being best to zero being worst, Taste of Sicily gets 2.5 coppola's.

For more information on Taste of Sicily, click here: http://www.tasteofsicily.net/

Fulfilling Breakfast at Flappy Jacks

2011-12-11T21:13:00.000-08:00

Flappy Jack's Pancake House

2848 N. Santiago Blvd.

Orange, CA 92867

I go to my parents house in Yorba Linda every Monday. Right before the 55 freeway merges into the 91 freeway, there used to be a Spires Restaurant, just off of Lincoln. It was there for as long as I can remember. I always used to think it was an odd place for a restaurant. It was so removed from all of the other business's on nearby Tustin Avenue. It is seen from the freeway, but the off ramp is before you can see the restaurant, so I would not imagine them getting a lot of freeway traffic stopping by. What do I know though? The Spires was there for a long time, and the new joint is busy every time we drive by. This new breakfast place in the neighborhood is Flappy Jack"s.

Flappy Jack's has filled out the rather large restaurant nicely. They definitely need the room. We arrived at 8:30 on a Sunday morning, and the place was bustling with activity. I have been told that at some of their peak times, waits can be as long as an hour, or more. The restaurant is decked out with large murals of the downtown Orange area, statues of Elvis and other 50's icons, and classic rock and roll music over the PA system. They are definitely going for a diner vibe here, without going over the top by having the waitress's wearing poodle skirts.

This is the second location for Flappy Jack's. The other location is in Glendora. Checking out Yelp, they really get glowing reviews. The menu here is huge. The portions are supposedly huge, and I could not be more excited to try the food here. So let's see what we ended up with.

Okay, I know what you are thinking. After all that build up about big portions and everything, I use this as the first meal that I show. Well, I figure I will gets this one out of the way first. It is my Mom's breakfast, the Bacon and Eggs. This two egg dish came with four strips of bacon, (she gave my Dad and I a strip each before I snapped the picture). This breakfast also comes with toast or pancakes, she of course went with toast, and the option between home style potatoes, cottage cheese, or tomatoes. As if you could not tell from the picture, she went with the healthy option, the fruit. This $7 breakfast was called, "solid", by my Mom. She felt the fruit was fresh, and the price was more than reasonable.

Do not tell the good guys over at Disney that they are serving Mickey Mouse Pancakes here. This one was off of the kids menu, for my niece Lillie. It was more than enough breakfast for her. She took close to half of this home. She liked the melted chocolate chips, and felt there was enough of them here. I did not get to try a bite of this, but looking back on it I would have liked to have tried this.

At Flappy Jack's they offer 22 different omelette's to choose from. After some great debate, my Dad went with the Mushroom and Swiss. This four egg omelette was not finished by the old man. He managed to put a lot of it away though. This omelette was stuffed with more than enough mushrooms and cheese to satisfy.

Instead of getting one of the omelette's, Katie got one of the 12 skillets that are offered here. This Santa Fe Skillet came with tomato, onions, bell peppers, spicy bacon, and Monterey Jack cheese. This skillet only came with two eggs, but the amount of the other items here more than made up for that. Katie felt this was hearty and delicious. I had her leftovers for lunch the next day, and there was more than enough to fill me up. I would have liked this a lot better with a runny egg, but Katie is not a fan of that kind of egg.

The skillet parade continued with Kristin's pick, the Oklahoma Skillet. This simple skillet combined ham and cheddar cheese, with potatoes. Again, this was enough for breakfast here, and lunch later at home. She was impressed with the jelly selection here, but was not a fan of the potatoes. The potatoes here were cut very thin, almost had a noodle texture to them. Besides not liking the cut of the spud, we all felt that these potatoes needed to be crisper.

My nautical themed breakfast was the Neptune Omelette. This breakfast dish was as big as a life preserver. This omelette included bay shrimp, crab, bell peppers, green onions, Cajun seasonings, and I added jack and cheddar cheese to this. In case this omelette was not rich enough, this one was topped with hollandaise sauce. I am a very big eater, but even I could not finish this plate. The omelette was good, and had a good flavor. This breakfast would have been made better with different potatoes, but the girth of this omelette more than made up for the spud's deficiency.

You did not think that we would go to a restaurant named, Flappy Jacks, and not get Flap Jacks, did you? Lucky for us all of the breakfasts here come with your choice of toast or pancakes. A no-brainer of a choice in my opinion. The pancakes here are light and fluffy. They do not sacrifice flavor though. The buttermilk flavor comes through.

Flappy Jack's was all it was said to be. The menu was indeed huge, with the portions to match. The service was actually really good while we were here. They have an army of servers, bussers, and hostess's to get food in and out quick. The prices here were a little on the high side, but with the amount of food you receive it is easier to rationalize an $11 omelette. Not the best breakfast we have had, but this place will definitely fill you up and start you off on your day. If you are like us, you may not even have to eat lunch after eating here.

Out of five wrestlers, (because a flap jack is a move in wrestling, and after eating here you may need to do some wrestling to work off the humongous breakfast you just ate), five being best to zero being worst, Flappy Jack's gets 3 wrestlers.

For more information on Flappy Jack's, click here: http://flappyjacks.com/

Bomb Breakfast Burrito at Troy's?

2011-12-08T10:56:00.000-08:00

Troy's Burgers

404 E. Lincoln

Orange, CA 92865

Anyone that has read this blog on a regular basis know that I am a fanatic when it comes to breakfast burritos. I had the best breakfast burrito of my life when we visited Lucky Boy Drive In in Pasadena, last year. After that experience I have been on a quest to find a breakfast burrito to equal or surpass that experience in OC, but have had no luck.

I had read one of my favorite blogs, Eat In OC, and he has exclaimed that Troy's in Orange makes the best breakfast burrito in Orange County. Likewise, another blog I read, Papa Kaster Eatin' has raved about the breakfast burrito here as well. So it was a non-issue where we would be eating breakfast after taking family pictures in in North OC, we were headed to Troy's Burgers.

Troy's is a small joint, kind of off the beaten track. I can imagine that this place has been here for a long time. After ordering at the counter, we went into the small, five table place to wait for the breakfast burritos to arrive. After about a ten minute wait, they arrived, and this is how they turned out.

The first picture with the dollar bill will show you how big of a burrito we are talking about here. Not the biggest one I have had, but good sized, and it definitely filled me up. Above is the Bacon Breakfast Burrito. The burrito really had a good flavor on its own. With lots of breakfast burritos, the potato can sometimes get in the way, but not the case here. It complimented the egg and cheese well. The bacon added saltiness, but the only complaint I could make about this burrito was the slight lack of bacon. A few more slices would have made this even better, but they did have a secret weapon to counteract the lack of swine.

The Salsa Verde really added big time flavor to the breakfast burritos. It was spicy and flavorful, without being overbearing. Sometimes salsa can take over proceedings, and that is all that you taste. This was not true here. The flavor was really good, and you get a little kick at the end of each bite.

Here is a quick shot of the Sausage Breakfast Burrito. This one was like the bacon one above, but of course it had sausage links in it. I would have liked this better if the sausage was sliced up, instead of just left whole. I usually do not go for sausage in breakfast burritos, but we wanted to try a variety.

Since we were just finished getting our family pictures done, my nieces were eating with us, but they are not too keen about breakfast burritos. They were a little let down that there were no pancakes on the menu here, so they settled for Chicken Strips, Fries, and a side of Sausage. I know, crazy kids! The chicken strips were cooked really well, probably because they used fresh oil, because everyone else was eating breakfast burritos. Lillie had the sausage, and when I asked her how it was, she commented, "it is good, and they are not spicy". The fries were good as well, your standard fast food fries.

Am I ready to declare Troy's the best breakfast burrito in the OC? I am ready to do that, but there are a few more that I want to try, before I will declare them king of the breakfast burrito. I know there is Pepe's in Placentia, Ham 'n Scram in Westminster, and Athenian III in Buena Park. I am really looking forward to doing some delicious research in the future, but for now, like my Dad said at Troy's, "this is the best breakfast burrito I have had in Orange County". Up until this point in time, I have to agree with him.

Out of five gemstones, (because gems are weighed using the Troy system , and I think great breakfast burritos are as valuable as precious stones), five being best to zero being best, Troy's Burgers gets 3 gemstones.

Troy's Burgers does not have a website, but you can find information about them here: http://www.yelp.com/biz/troys-drive-in-orange

Anticipating an Awesome Night at Antonucci's?

2011-12-04T20:55:00.000-08:00

Antonucci's

24190 Alicia Pkwy.

Mission Viejo, CA 92691

Doing nice things for people can sometimes payoff. We drove my old friend Chuck to the airport recently, and he repaid us by taking us out to dinner. That's a steep price you say? Well it was LAX, at 7 on a Sunday night. Luckily traffic was light. Don't tell Chuck, but we did not need to be paid off by dinner, but it was nice though. I was of course in charge of picking a restaurant. I picked one that was local for both of us, and got a good rating online. That restaurant would be Antonucci's.

Antonucci's has been a local institution since 1976, and been in the same location since 1986. It was bought from the original owner in 2001, by Bob Canori. Bob has been known to hug his guests on entering. We must have gotten here on his day off, but the restaurant was still inviting. The decor was dominated by the color white, and the staff was very friendly. The restaurant seems a lot larger on the inside, than it appears from the outside. The menu here is dominated by the usual items you would find in an Italian restaurant, but they also feature a good many seafood items as well. Chuck and Stephanie were ready to order, so let's see what we came up with.

Before our meal began we were presented with this Garlic Bread. This bread came out hot, and was pretty garlicky. A little mushy in the middle, but it was free bread, so it was no big deal.

The waitress informed us that there was a special on the Bruschetta, so we ordered it. Toasted garlic bread, topped with tomatoes, basil, even more garlic, and olive oil was the lineup for this dish. I am usually not too big of a fan of bruschetta, but this one was not too bad. The bread was softer than most bruschetta's, and the tomatoes really had the garlic flavor going on. Everyone at the table really enjoyed this.

When ordering an entree here, you can opt to get a salad for $2.50 more. This dinner salad was a good sized portion, and the dressing was very good. Your basic greens were accompanied by a slice of salami, tomato, and olives. I really enjoyed the amount of dressing here, but I could see that it would be too much for some people.

Chuck, true to his nature, went old school with his choice for dinner, when he chose the Homemade Lasagna. This brick of pasta, cheese and meat sauce came out scalding hot. He liked the sauce a lot, and was surprised at how light this dish actually was. He had no problem at all finishing this plate, and enjoyed every bite.

Chuck's wonderful wife Stephanie jazzed it up with her selection for the evening, the Chicken Tequila Fettuccine. This dish featured a great sauce made up of a tequila-lime and jalapeno cream sauce. The sauce featured a kick at the end of each bite. The chicken was tender, and this dish was a perfect pick for this chilly night.

I had a harder time than normal picking what I wanted from the menu at Antonucci's. Not sure why that was the case, but I finally ended up with the Mostaccioli Calalora. A classic pasta dish made up of chicken, garlic, mushrooms, red chili pepper, and marinara with a touch of cream. The marinara here was very good. Very smooth and not too acidic. The chicken was tender, and the pasta was cooked well. Not a bad pasta dish at all. I would have liked this even better if it was offered with sausage, but I would definitely get this again.

Probably my favorite item of the night was Katie's dinner, the Tortellini Boscaiola. Here cheese tortellini was blanketed by a great cream sauce, with ham and mushrooms added. Katie enjoyed the saltiness of the ham, along with the smoothness of the sauce. She claims that this would be her go to item when we return to Antonucci's.

This is a very solid choice for Italian in south OC. We really look forward to exploring the rest of their menu, and some of their seafood plates. The prices here were a little on the high side, but nothing too out of the norm for a sit down Italian restaurant. The service was pretty good, and the food came out hot and fast. Don't plan on eating here for lunch, because they open their doors at four. Don't tell Chuck, but we would be happy to drive him back to LAX for another chance to eat here on his dime.

Out of five torches, (because the city seal of Mission Viejo has the Olympic torch on it because the city hosted road cycling events during the 1984 Olympics), five being best to zero being worst, Antonucci's gets 3 torches.

For more information on Antonucci's, click here: http://www.antonuccis.net/index.htm

Corona Cuban Cuisine a Capital Choice!

2011-12-01T10:13:00.000-08:00

Mi Habana Cafe

712 Main St.

Corona, CA 92882

Corona is not a place one thinks of when it come to great restaurants. Culinarily, speaking the city has given us some bland Mexican food in Miguel's and chain restaurants on almost every corner. So when we were going to be meeting up with our good friend Anthony and his mediocre wife Sabrina, I wanted to find a place that was different, and not a chain restaurant. That is how we happened to arrive at Mi Habana Cafe.

Mi Habana Cafe is hidden in a corner of a large, almost desolate shopping center. Sabrina and Anthony have lived here for a long while and never even knew this place existed. You have to almost be looking for this restaurant because it is not easily seen from Main Street. Since 2007 this has been home to this little slice of Havana in Corona. It is owned by a man named Martin, who had two Cuban restaurants, one in Downey, not far from Porto's, and the other was in Huntington Beach. He sold those and settled here. Let's see if this will cure my craving for great Cuban food.

First off is a quick shot of our bread basket. This was just your standard bread here. Not served warm or anything, with pads of butter.

We ordered two appetizers, the first one being the Yuca Al Mojo. This was yucca root steamed in a garlic sauce. This starchy item had very subtle flavor, but was called delicious by first time yucca eater, Anthony. I liked this yucca, but was not floored by it. It needed a little something extra.

The second appetizer was something I was a little more familiar with, the Empenda de Carne. This meat pie was a great price, $2.25, and the inside beef was seasoned well and satisfying. The crust was nothing to get excited about, and was a little on the dry side.

Both Katie and Sabrina's dinners came with soup or salad. They both went the salad route. This was your basic dinner salad. Again, nothing to out of the ordinary here.

Both Sabrina and Katie got the same meal, the Arroz Con Pollo. This Cuban favorite combined chicken, yellow rice and Sofrito sauce together to make a very flavorful meal. This was a little more on the soupy side than we were expecting, but it was spiced well, and big on flavor. Katie summed it up best by calling this, "Cuban comfort food at its best." This was served scalding hot. It had to sit for a few minutes before they attempted eating this.

The Ropa Vieja was calling Anthony's name. This shredded beef dish was served in a classic red sauce. This pot roast type dish was very flavorful and featured very tender meat. Anthony could not have been more pleased by this. This was served with black beans and rice, along with plantains. The plantains were not his cup of tea, but he did enjoy the rice.

The last time I ate at a Cuban restaurant I ordered a beef dish, and I was disappointed. So this time I went with a pork dish, and I struck out again. This Pierna De Puerco Asada was bone dry. The pork leg was served with garlic and mojo cubano, along with onions. It was as dry as my Dad's humor, and that is very dry! Just kidding Pops! The black beans and rice helped the dryness a little bit, but I would not get this again.

I would have been more upset with my meal, but I also ordered this Media Noche sandwich. This sandwich came with roasted pork and ham, Swiss cheese, pickles, mayo, and mustard, all on a toasted sweet bread. This has been the closest sandwich we have been able to find to the one we had in Miami. The meats were salty, mixed with the sweetness of the pickles and bread, it resulted in a well balanced sandwich. The only thing that would have made it better, was a little more mustard and mayo, but it was still worth ordering.

By this time I was pretty stuffed to the gills, but I was in a Cuban restaurant, with an amazing looking bakery case, so I had to get the Tres Leches Cake. This cake was really pretty good. It was moist, without being overly so. Some tres leches I have had are almost on the border of being called soup. This one was nice and firm, with a great sweet flavor. We would definitely get this again.

Mi Habana Cafe is probably the best Cuban restaurant we have been to so far. There is a new Cuban place in Costa Mesa that is on our list to try, and I hear good things, but so far this has been the best. Everyone with the exception of myself loved what they ordered. This restaurant is huge. It can easily seat about 150 people no problem, and the service here was great, very friendly, (even to Sabrina). They seem to cater to lots of big families. We got here at 8 on a Saturday night and they were pretty busy with about two parties of fifteen or more. The decor is not going to make you fall in love with this place, but the good Cuban food might. See, there are some decent, non-chain places to eat in Corona.

Out of five guitars, (because Fender Musical Instruments is headquartered in Corona, not far from this restaurant), five being best to zero being worst, Mi Habana Cafe gets 3 guitars.

For more information about Mi Habana Cafe, click here: http://www.mihabanacafe.com/index.html

Pumping Us Full of Food at the Filling Station

2011-11-30T10:02:00.000-08:00

Filling Station Cafe

201 N. Glassell

Orange, CA 92866

I have been gearing up for the busiest time of the year at my work, but I still found time to meet up with my cousin Chris. Everyone is very proud of him because he is doing great at Chapman College. I am proud of him because he chose to go to school in Old Towne Orange, and there are lots of restaurants that we can try. On this occasion we went with a place that has been on my list for awhile, The Filling Station.

The Filling Station is located on the corner of Glassell and Maple. The most distinctive part of the restaurant is the laid back patio. We were sat here on this Thursday afternoon. Back in the day the restaurant used to be a gas station, hence its name. They have many pictures on the walls depicting its past times as a gas station, and in case you did not correlate the petrol background of the Filling Station, they also have a gas pump on the partially covered patio. I was here for the food, so lets see if they are cooking with gas.

We will start with the scholar's choice for lunch, the Filling Station Burger Special. This came with avocado, bacon, and Swiss and cheddar cheeses. Chris called this burger, "good, and the meat was flavored well." This burger was good sized, and he could not finish it, so I took over the reigns and finished the rest of it. The burger was pretty solid.

I was in the mood for a burger as well, and I was going to order the same as Chris, but I knew I had to get something else to sample for varieties sake. I went with the Chili Burger, which is served open faced with their turkey chili and cheese. The burger itself was good, but a little over done for my taste. The chili was very mild, and really needed to be kicked up a notch in the spice department. Not a bad chili burger, but not too memorable either.

Chris was still recovering from the half a burger he ate, (lightweight!), so I was going it alone for dessert. I asked the waiter to bring out their best dessert and he came out with this Pumpkin Pie. The pumpkin part of this was as good as any pumpkin pie filling I have had, but what made this pie was the crust. Most of the time crusts are just an item to keep the pie together, but not here. This crust actually complimented the filling. The crust was light and flavorful, and really made this pie.

The Filling Station is not going to blow you away with their menu. They offer nine sandwiches and eight burgers on their lunch menu. They also have salads and soups, but come on, those are just appetizers. The food here is good, but safe. The prices are not too bad for a sit down restaurant. Our burgers were below the $10 mark, and they definitely filled Chris up. The service was unobtrusive and speedy. They were pretty crowded for lunch, and there was a wait when we left. I hear good things about their breakfast here, so I will definitely be back. I also look forward to many more meals with Chris, but hope he eats more in the future. Just kidding big guy!

Out of five gas jockeys, (a worker at a full serve gas station that pumps the gas, checks the oil, and cleans the windshield for you. Now these guys are only seen in Oregon and New Jersey, where you are not allowed to pump your own gas.), five being best to zero being worst, Filling Station gets 2.5 gas jockeys.

For more information on the Filling Station, click here: http://www.fillingstationcafe.com/index.html

Chilling Out at Chelas

2011-11-27T21:31:00.000-08:00

Chelas Mexican Grill

29975 Alicia Parkway

Laguna Niguel, CA 92677

Orange County has an embarrassment of great Mexican restaurants. The competition among these places is pretty cut throat. Almost every neighborhood has their, "go to", place for great food. These places can range from a hole in the wall spot to fancy restaurants where a single taco can cost $11, (the delicious El Jefe taco at Sol Cocina). With all this competition it must be a little daunting for a new Mexican restaurant to try to distinguish itself. That is what the new Chelas in Laguna Niguel is trying to do, distinguish itself from other Mexican restaurants.

Chelas opened within the last couple months. It is owned by the Vasquez family, who have taken their recipe's from their mother, and brought them into the fold here at Chelas. We entered Chelas at about seven on a Wednesday night. Ordering here is done at the counter, and then the food is brought out to you. The menu is basic Mexican food, consisting of tacos, burritos, quesadillas, etc. Let's see how everything turned out.

Pictured above was one of Katie's choices, the La Gringa Taco. This taco comes with your choice of chicken or beef, she had chicken, and it also comes with guacamole, onion, cilantro, cabbage, sour cream, and Monterrey jack cheese. Katie liked the addition of cilantro, but was not wowed by this taco, calling it, "nothing too special".

This Crispy Chicken Taco was deemed much better by Katie. She was not overly impressed by the chicken here, but liked the Colby jack cheese.

It is probably difficult to tell from the picture, and the cheese on top of this, but these are the Taquitos. I would sum these taquitos up by calling them average. They were a little on the greasy side, but the grease did not translate into big flavor. I was also a little disappointed with the amount of guacamole served with this. Not even enough for one and a half taquitos, even though this order consisted of three.

The Chelas Burrito was the last portion of my main meal. This burrito was stuffed with carnitas, refried beans, cheese, sour cream, guacamole, cabbage, onion, and cilantro. This burrito did nothing for me. The flavor of this was bland, and it really had temperature issues. One bite would be warm and the next would be cold. I am sure it is from the produce used in it, but it was off putting. The burrito was good sized, but it was way over stuffed with lettuce, and I am still not sure there was even cheese in this.

At Chelas they pride themselves on making their, "secret recipe", Carrot Cake. It was actually pretty good. The icing was not over the top sweet, which is a good thing. The cake was moist, but could have used a touch more cinnamon or another spice to enhance the cake. The portion size of the cake was very generous.

Chelas did not knock my socks off. I felt that the food was on the bland side. It really reminded me of Chipotle. They do use lots of fresh ingredients. The produce was fresh, but they might have used too much of it in everything. The meats should have been the star of the show here, but it was hard to get past all the produce. The prices were okay. My burrito was a little on the high side at $8, and the Gringa Taco was $3.49. On this trip to Chelas, they did little to set themselves apart in the crowded Mexican food market of OC.

Out of five fish, (because a chela is a small, minnow type fish), five being best to zero being worst, Chelas Mexican Grill gets 2 fish.

For more information on Chelas, click here: http://www.chelasmexicangrill.com/

The Fish Were Flying at Sushi Wasabi

2011-11-26T14:21:00.000-08:00

Sushi Wasabi

14460 Newport

Tustin, CA 92780

This is the first year I have ever kept one of my New Years resolutions. Usually I blow my resolutions by the second week of the year, but not this year. What is this resolution that I kept? My resolution was to get out of my food comfort zone and try as many foods as possible. Okay, it was a pretty easy resolution to keep since it did not involve gyms, money, or any real effort on my part, but I have been proud of myself none the less. We have had Vietnamese, Thai, Indian, Colombian, and Lebanese this year. We have also been to a Japanese place, and you can add another one to the list, Sushi Wasabi.

We had a long overdue dinner with our friend Kat, from Kat's 9 Lives. She had suggested that we have sushi, from one of her favorite places. We arrived at about six on a Wednesday night. Sushi Wasabi is not exactly on the beaten track, and not where you would expect a great sushi restaurant to be. Tucked into a small strip mall with an auto parts store and a donut/smoothie shop, Sushi Wasabi has a great reputation among local sushi lovers and foodies.

We took a seat at the sushi bar, where everything is served, like the sign says, "Omakase Style". There was no ordering, no say in what you would be given, and there are signs on the door, and above the sushi bar that state that they will not be serving any California rolls at anytime. The stoic owner and chef of this restaurant was in full control of what we were given, and this is what he came up with this night.

Starting us off was the Albacore, which really had a fresh taste, and a very generous portion size. This fish was served in a ponzu sauce, with scallions. Very tasty start to the meal.

I could not decide which picture I liked the best, so I decided to put both of them up here. This Tuna from Hawaii was far from fishy tasting. It was as clean tasting as it was good looking in the pictures.

Next up in our fish parade was the Red Snapper, this one from New Zealand. This was also served with ponzu sauce. It has probably become obvious to you now that this fish was as fresh as you can get, just like all of the stuff we were served here.

The only roll we would be served all night would be this Blue Crab Roll. This would be the only one we would need. This was deemed best by all of us. It was dressed with mayo and rice, and had a consistency like a tuna sandwich, but much smoother, and way more rich and flavorful. Kat loved this enough to have many more of these. I could have eaten this crab by the shovelful.

This mellow looking piece was the Yellowtail. Do not let the plain look of this fool you, this one was delicious.

With a striking resemblance to Nemo, this Scottish Salmon was the next to grace our plates. The toasted sesame seeds on top of this was a nice touch here, and helped enhance the flavor of this. I even got a second one of this wonderful salmon.

At this point we had a nice change of pace with the Baked Scallop. This warm fish dish was big on salty flavor, but Katie was not a fan of this. She felt that the scallop's here were too small, and she prefers a meatier scallop. I liked this well enough, but maybe because it broke up the monotony of all the sushi.

The Chopped Toro was next up. Not only did this toro look like cotton candy, but it evaporated just as quickly. Very light and mega smooth.

And the fish just keep swimming by. These are the Oysters served with ponzu sauce. These were not as chewy as I expected, and the flavor of the sauce really enhanced the flavor of the oyster.

The one miss of the entire night for me was the Uni, which the chef said was from Santa Barbara. I have never had uni before, and the texture and flavor of it did not sit right for either Katie and I. I am sure it is not bad, but more of an acquired taste.

Finally we come to the last of our sushi cavalcade, the Shrimp. This shrimp was not as flavorful as I have had other places, but I am not used to having it prepared this way either. It was okay though.

To be honest with you this was a very hard post for me to write. I admit I am not very knowledgeable about sushi, and I do not appreciate it as much as I should. Hopefully that will come in time. I can admit something that I never thought I would say about a sushi place, I was really full after eating here. I had it all planned out to pick up something else on the way home, but it became unnecessary after the amount of fish I consumed here.

I do know that this was some high quality fish, and it was prepared well. After reading Monster Munching's review it seems that the chef's selections do not really deviate too much. He basically had the exact same meal two years ago. It was delicious, but a little pricey. For the three of us our bill came to $252, which works out to $84 a person before tip. A little on the high side for my novice approach to sushi. The service was not overly friendly, but they were quick to clear plates and refill our drinks. The sushi chef was very focused on his work, and only spoke to inform us what we were eating. No need for him to talk, because it gave us plenty of time to catch up with our good friend Kat. Thanks for taking us here Kat.

So out of five roots, (because writing this blog I learned that Wasabi comes from a root), five being best to zero being worst, Sushi Wasabi gets 3.5 roots.

Sushi Wasabi does not have a web site, but you can check out reviews and information here: http://www.yelp.com/biz/sushi-wasabi-tustin