Griffin Eats OC

Taps Fish House & Brewery Brunch - Brea

noreply@blogger.com (Griffin) — Wed, 09 May 2012 04:05:00 +0000

Taps Fish House and Brewery
101 E. Imperial Hwy
Brea, CA 92821
Reservations: 714-257-0101
www.tapsfishhouse.com

I was lucky enough to recently try the Sunday brunch at Taps Fish House and Brewery in Brea. This was one of those brunches that I had always meant to try, but never got around to. I don't know what took me so long. Taps Fish House has an enormous buffet style Sunday brunch. The price for brunch is $35.99 and it is served from 9:30 AM-2:30 PM. On an average Sunday, the restaurant serves about 750 people for brunch. On a holiday, they serve around 1,000. The brunch spread boasts over 100 items and includes your choice of two beers or unlimited champagne and mimosas. In addition to the buffet, there are also some made-to-order items included with the brunch that you can get from the kitchen, such as omelettes and breakfast burritos. Below are some photos I took of the buffet. "Chilled" Seafood Mediterranean Station Roast Beef Carving Station Eggs Benedict House Made Cinnamon Rolls House Special Omelette Beignets $1 extra for 7 My First Plate Overall I was very impressed with the variety and selection of food items offered. You will find a variety of breakfast and lunch favorites, cold and hot seafood, soups, salads, desserts and more. My only concern was that the "chilled" seafood wasn't really that cold. I would call it more "room temperature" seafood. Also, in my opinion, you're better off skipping the extra $1 beignets and opting for the included dessert buffet. Overall, it was a fantastic brunch spread. I look forward to visiting again soon.

Tasti-D-Lite Tustin - My latest obsession

noreply@blogger.com (Griffin) — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 20:28:00 +0000

Tasti-D-Lite
13662 Newport Ave, Suite C
Tustin, CA 92780
714-838-8100

www.tastidlite.com
Do you ever wish that there was a tasty frozen treat that had less fat and calories than most frozen yogurt? Do you get tired of picking from whatever 8-10 flavors are on tap at your local soft-serve place? You must be thinking to yourself, "There has to be a better way!" Well now there is! Tasti-D-Lite in Tustin is here for all of your low calorie, all-natural, frozen treat cravings!

Ok....enough with the infomercial spiel. Seriously though, this place is pretty awesome. When you enter the store, they tell you that their product is not frozen yogurt because there are no live, active cultures. They also can't call it ice cream because it has less than the required 10% butterfat to officially be called "ice cream." So they just call themselves a tasty frozen treat. Tasti-D-Lite has around 70 calories and 1.5 grams of fat per serving. The ingredients are all-natural. They have 8 flavors on tap that rotate on a daily basis. Here is the best part though, if you don't see a flavor you like on tap, you can choose from their menu of over 100+ flavors that they can mix up for you on the spot.

Tasti-D-Lite has a very extensive flavor list from Acai to Tropicolada to Rice Pudding and Cinnamon Crunch. The most amazing part is that all of the flavors I have tried taste almost exactly like the item they are trying to mimic. My favorite flavor so far is rice pudding. It actually tastes like homemade rice pudding that has somehow been pureed and frozen. I add a little extra cinnamon to mine and it is just as satisfying as eating a big ol' bowl of rice pudding.

So far this Tustin location is the only location in California. There are many Tasti-D-Lites on the east coast. Hopefully this Tasti-D-Lite is just the first of many to come to OC.
The Custom Flavor Mixing Station Toppings

Fleming's Steakhouse 5 for $6 til 7

noreply@blogger.com (Griffin) — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 17:00:00 +0000

I have recently discovered that Fleming's Steakhouse in Newport Beach has a bunch of amazing happy hour specials, 7 nights a week! Their happy hour is called 5 for $6 til 7 because they have a selection of 5 appetizers, 5 wines and 5 cocktails for $6 each until 7:00 PM. As an added bonus, you can also get a big 'ol cheeseburger with onion rings for $6 as well. I recently had the opportunity to try all of the appetizers that Fleming's offers during the happy hour. The appetizers and the burger are pictured below.

Tenderloin Carpaccio

Sweet Chile Calamari Tossed with Banana Peppers

Wicked Cajun Barbecue Shrimp

Roasted Mushroom Ravioli

Baked Brie in Puff Pastry

Fleming's Prime Burger with Cheese and Bacon

My favorite of all the selections was the Tenderloin Carpaccio. I'm a total sucker for raw beef though. The thinly sliced filet mignon was paired perfectly with some salty capers, diced red onion, fresh basil and hard boiled egg. Absolutely delicious. The burger was also an amazing deal for only $6. This is a gourmet burger with onion rings at a price that is lower than many fast food joints. These food specials, plus the drink specials below, are available 7 days a week, at the bar, from 4-7 PM.

$6 Cocktails
TROPICAL MARTINI, Malibu Coconut Rum
WHITE COSMO, Svedka Vodka
POMTINI, Smirnoff Vodka
LIMONCELLO MARTINI, Smirnoff Vodka
STOLI BOMBSHELL, Stoli Vodka (99 calories)

$6 WINES BY THE GLASS
SPARKLING, Mas Fi Cava, Spain
CHARDONNAY, Canyon Road, California
PINOT NOIR, Mark West, California
MERLOT, Red Diamond, Washington
CABERNET, 14 Hands, Washington

Blackie's Originals - Pork Chips

noreply@blogger.com (Griffin) — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 17:00:00 +0000

www.blackiesoriginals.com

I happened to be walking through the Farmers Market at the Kaiser in Irvine (Wednesdays) when I spotted a booth offering what they call Crispy Pork Jerky. I tried a sample and discovered that is was not much like jerky, but much more like a crispy meat chip. Fantastic! The company is only 5 months old and currently sells their product at this Farmers Market plus the Huntington Beach Farmers Market and the OC Swap Meet at the Fairgrounds over the weekend. The crispy pork chips are now available in Original and Spiked Pepper. The flavor is a little like a sweet teriyaki glaze on lightly smoked, crispy bacon. New flavors will be coming soon. I hope he comes out with a flavor soon that focuses more on the salty instead of the sweet. These are still a great little snack though. The chips are baked, all-natural and 97% fat-free. Bags are currently $6 each or 2 for $10.

Aria International - The new giant grocery store in town

noreply@blogger.com (Griffin) — Sat, 24 Mar 2012 02:43:00 +0000

2505 El Camino Real
Tustin, CA
714-665-8269

The giant space in Tustin that once housed K-Mart and then Sears Essentials finally has a new tenant. The New Aria International Supermarket opened this past week. This grocery store is among one of the biggest I've seen. Apart from the giant size, it is not much different than your standrad grocery store. The store claims to be an international grocer. While I saw many Middle-Eastern and Mexican groceries, I did not see very many Asian items. The produce is currently dirt cheap because of their opening week, but I'm not sure if prices will remain this low. The produce also seems to be a little lower quality than average. The large bakery makes freshly baked Sangak bread for those of you that don't want to stand in the long line at Wholesome Choice. There is a International Food Court in the back of the store, but as of now there is only a single Middle-Eastern restaurant serving food. Here are a few photos from inside the store.

The Giant Store

The Bakery

Mexican Cheese in The Deli Department

Fresh Meat Department

Hot Food - International Food Court

The Cocoa Lounge is back! - Palm Terrace Restaurant, Island Hotel Newport Beach

noreply@blogger.com (Griffin) — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 18:11:00 +0000

The Cocoa Lounge, inside
The Palm Terrace Restaurant, inside
The Island Hotel
690 Newport Center Drive
Newport Beach, CA 92660
Toll Free: 866-554-4620
Phone: 949-759-0808
www.islandhotel.com

The time has come for the 4th annual Cocoa lounge at the Palm Terrace restaurant in The Island Hotel in Newport Beach. For those of you not familiar with it, the Island Hotel hosts a pop-up chocolate lounge, once a year in February. The lounge is open in the evenings only and offers all-you-can-eat chocolate indulgences. Due to the huge surge in popularity, reservations are highly recommended. There is also a pricing adjustment this year. Admission to the Cocoa Lounge is $24 per person. If you dine in the restaurant beforehand and order an entree, your admission to the lounge is only $12. For last year's full coverage of the event, including many pictures, please visit http://www.griffineatsoc.com/2011/02/cocoa-lounge-at-palm-terrace-in-island.html

The lounge is open Tuesday thru Saturday from 6:00 PM-10:00 PM, Feb 3-March 3.

Below is a sample of the chocolate delights that await you, however the menu is subject to change.

Cocoa Lounge Menu – February 2012

Whole Cakes

· Dark Chocolate Mousse Cake

· Espresso Mousse Chocolate Cake

· White Chocolate Red Velvet Cheesecake

· Chocolate Bread Pudding with Bourbon Cream

Mini Pastries

· Chocolate Pudding Cake with White Chocolate Mousse, Raspberry Glaze

· Milk Chocolate Mousse Timbales

· Cream Cheese Peanut Butter Brownies

· Orange White Chocolate Pistachio Cake

· Financier S’mores (pictured below)

· Gianduja Chocolate Pot de Crème

· Dark Chocolate Éclairs filled with Almond Cream (pictured below)

· Dark Chocolate Cheesecake (Pyramids)

· Fresh Fruit Tarts

Candies

· Peanut Caramels

· Chocolate Lollipops

· Port Truffles

· Chocolate Hazelnut Clusters

McDonalds debuts new Chicken McBites

noreply@blogger.com (Griffin) — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 18:53:00 +0000

Mc Donalds added a new menu item in the past couple of weeks that is supposedly only here for a limited time. The item is called Chicken McBites and is their version of popcorn chicken. It comes in snack size ($1.99), regular size ($2.99) and shareable size ($4.99). The chicken isn't bad, but I actually expected it to have a little more flavor. The snack size would be a nice little supplement to your meal though. The chicken has a very good crunch to it and is moist on the inside. I think I remember KFC popcorn chicken tasting better.

McDonalds Chicken McBites Nutritional Info:

Snack Size-Calories 310, Fat 19g, Carbs 22g, Sodium 490mg

Regular Size-Calories 470, Fat 28g, Carbs 33g, Sodium 730mg

Shareable Size-Calories 1050, Fat 63g, Carbs 73g, Sodium 1620mg

Paul Martin's American Grill, Happy Hour - Irvine

noreply@blogger.com (Griffin) — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 18:03:00 +0000

Paul Martin's American Bistro - Irvine
31 Fortune Drive, Suite 302
Irvine, CA

949-453-1144
www.paulmartinsamericanbistro.com

As many of you have heard, Paul Martin's American Grill has opened at the Irvine Spectrum. Paul Martin's in the latest restaurant from Paul Fleming, the creator of both the P.F. Changs and Fleming's chains. Paul Martin's focuses on the "super trendy right now" idea of using organic, local, sustainable food.

I was invited down to sample the happy hour menu at Paul Martin's with a bunch of other foodies. The happy hour menu is available ~~7 days a week, from 3PM-7PM~~ Monday-Friday 4-7 PM and Sat-Sun 3-6 PM. The happy hour menu consists of two categories of food and drink specials, one for $4 each and one for $8 each.

I decided to sample the lemon drop ($4 happy hour). The drink was well made and very visually appealing. Other $4 happy hour cocktails include a raspberry martini, a cosmo and a mojito. V really liked the raspberry martini.

The first appetizer that was brought out is called "Smoked Chicken & Wings" ($4 happy hour/$8 regular price). The dish included both bite-size pieces of chicken and bone-in chicken wings. The chicken was smoked and then fried until the skin was perfectly crispy. This chicken was amazing. The smokiness of the meat paired with the perfect crunchy exterior made for a perfect munchable appetizer. I can totally see myself eating 2 or 3 plates of this during a happy hour trip to the restaurant. The chicken was also served with some sort of chipotle aioli dipping sauce that was very good as well.

Next came the "street tacos" ($4 happy hour/unavailable on regular menu). The tacos were made with homemade corn tortillas topped with braised and shredded shortrib meat. They also put a squirt of the chipotle aioli on them. This tied with the chicken wings for my favorite dish of the night. The beef was tender and bursting with flavor. The tacos came with diced julienned radishes and a wedge of lemon dipped in coarse salt. These two things really added a "pow" factor to the tacos.

Next up were the chicken skewers and the steak skewers ($4 chicken/$8 steak happy hour). I was pretty disappointed in both of these dishes. The meat was bland, boring and generic. I don't think I'd order either of these. No one else seemed to be a big fan of these dishes either.

This is a picture of the smoked salmon lettuce cups that came out next ($4.00 happy hour). I don't like smoked salmon, so I didn't try them. Other people said they were pretty good though. The smoked salmon was creamed and topped with slices of apple.

The BBQ rib plate ($8 happy hour) came with four meaty ribs and was served with a carolina style slaw. The ribs were very tender and tasty. The sauce had a strong vinegary kick but was also delicious. I wish the sauce had been a little spicier, but I did love the tang.

Our final savory item for the night was the Fried Chicken with Fries ($8 happy hour). This dish was very disappointing. Not only was it a tiny portion for the price, but the chicken was burnt and flavorless. I would much rather have two plates of the chicken wings instead of one order of this chicken.

To top off the evening we were served housemade shortbread cookies. I'm told that the cookies are usually served with their housemade ice cream. the cookies were tender, flaky and full of buttery goodness. I could eat a few plates of these.

Overall I was very pleased with the selection and prices for Paul Martin's happy hour. This is definitely a place to keep in mind if you are in the area between 3-7 PM. I can't wait to return to Paul Martin's to try their full dinner menu.

Lucca Cafe Brunch - Irvine

noreply@blogger.com (Griffin) — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 19:00:00 +0000

Lucca Cafe, Irvine
6507 Quail Hill Parkway
Irvine, CA 92603

(949)725-1773

www.luccacafe.net

One of the things I really enjoy in life is going to a nice brunch on Sunday. I try to go almost every Sunday. This past Sunday I decided to try the brunch at Lucca Cafe in the Quail Hill area of Irvine. Brunch at Lucca is served on both Saturday and Sunday from 9:30 AM - 2:00 PM.

I dined at Lucca with a party of five. We decided to start our meal with a couple of their "famous" Cinnamon Rolls ($2.50 each). The cinnamon rolls are made with sweet danish dough and are filled with their sugar cinnamon "shmear." The cinnamon rolls were very good. They were warm, buttery, flaky and filled with lots of gooey cinnamon goodness. Two cinnamon rolls was plenty for the five of us to share.

For our entrees, I decided to order Lucca's "Sunday Sauce" ($13.95). T ordered the Eggs In Purgatory ($9.95), IG ordered the Italian Porchetta sandwich ($12.95) and V and R decided to share the Pain Perdu ($8.95) and a French style rolled omelet ($11.95).

(side salad served with meal)
Lucca's Sunday sauce is a menu item that is only available during lunch and brunch. It is not on the menu during dinner. Even though it is called "Sunday Sauce," it is available seven days a week. The name comes from Chef Cathy Pavlos' grandmother who used to make this sauce every Sunday. The sauce is similar to a bolognese sauce and it is served with a meatball and a couple slices of Italian sausage. The sauce is usually served over penne pasta, but I requested that mine be made with whole wheat pasta. This pasta sauce is definitely one of the best pasta sauces I have ever had. It was bursting with tomato flavor and had a great tangy kick. I started getting full when I was halfway through the bowl, but I couldn't stop eating until every bit was gone. I will be returning to Lucca to get this dish many times. I was also happy to hear that the sauce is available for sale by the quart for $13.95. I think I may buy a quart later and just eat it with a spoon.

T enjoyed his Eggs in Purgatory. The dish was comprised of two eggs that were simmered in a slightly spicy tomato sauce. The eggs were served over breakfast potatoes and topped with cheese and avocado. He wasn't raving about this dish, but he thought it was pretty good.

IG's Italian Porchetta Sandwich was made on a toasted Telera roll. The sandwich contained lean pork loin, provolone cheese, arugula, caramelized onions and a sundried tomato aioli. IG declared this to be the best sandwich she had ever eaten in her entire life!

V and R both enjoyed their omelet and pain perdu very much. The fillings they picked for their omelet were goat cheese, avocado and ham. The pain perdu, aka french toast, was made with challah bread and was served with orange creme fraiche and maple syrup.

Overall, I was very impressed with the brunch at Lucca. I'm a little disappointed that the Sunday Sauce isn't on the dinner menu. I guess this just means that I'll be coming here mostly for brunch or lunch. I also wish they had some sort of champagne/mimosa/bloody mary special during brunch. This is definitely near the top of my list of favorite Sunday brunch spots now.

Carl's Jr Made From Scratch Biscuits

noreply@blogger.com (Griffin) — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 06:22:00 +0000

As many of you have probably heard, most Carl's Jr restaurants are now serving fresh Made From Scratch Biscuits during business hours. There is a specially trained person in each restaurant that actually makes the biscuits from scratch all morning long. I recently went down to my local Irvine Carl's Jr. to try them out.

Upon entering the restaurant and reading their menu board, I decided to order two sausage biscuits (2 for $1.00 with coupon/99 cents each without coupon), two sausage, egg and cheese biscuits (on sale 2 for $2) two orders of biscuit and gravy ($1.19) and an order of strawberry biscuits (2 for $1.59).

I could see a person in the back furiously mixing up biscuit dough, rolling it out, cutting out biscuits and throwing them in the oven. Even though she was working quickly, she was unable to keep up with demand. By the time I received my order it was about 22 minutes later. There were many annoyed people both inside the restaurant and in the drive-thru. So I guess that a fast food restaurant that is making the food fresh, turns out to be not so "fast" anymore.

The biscuits were actually very good. They were warm, flaky and buttery. You can tell that they were freshly made. The breakfast sandwiches were filled with average fast-food quality eggs and sausage. The biscuit and gravy was very good. The biscuit was served with plenty of salty, creamy gravy that was flavored with pepper and sausage. The strawberry biscuits were tasty, but not amazing.

Overall, it's nice to see a fast-food restaurant making an effort to make higher quality food, but I'm not too sure that it is worth the much longer wait. I was surprised however to see that the biscuits had a lot less fat and calories than I thought. They're still by no means health food though...

Made From Scratch Biscuit - 250 calories, 13 grams of fat
Biscuit and Gravy - 410 calories, 23 grams of fat
Sausage Biscuit - 410 calories, 37 grams of fat

New Pinkberry Opening in Brea - Free Yogurt and Free $5 Gift Cards

noreply@blogger.com (Griffin) — Sun, 13 Nov 2011 06:36:00 +0000

There is a new Pinkberry opening in Brea on Thursday November 17th. Visit this location between 5 PM-9 PM to receive one small yogurt with toppings. To celebrate the opening, Pinkberry is also offering readers of Griffin Eats OC a chance to win one of two $5 Pinkberry gift cards. Just leave a comment on this post to enter. Two people will be chosen at random to win.

SWIRLY GOODNESS ARRIVES IN BREA
Pinkberry to Open Newest Orange County Location on November 17

LOS ANGELES (November, 2011) – Pinkberry, the number one tart frozen yogurt brand, will open its new Brea location on November 18, 2011. The new store will be located at The Brea Plaza Shopping Center (1623 E. Imperial Highway), making it easy for Brea and surrounding Orange County residents to try Pinkberry’s one-of-a-kind taste. A special grand opening event open to the public will take place on Thursday, November 17 from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. where guests will be treated to a free small Pinkberry with toppings (limit one per guest).

Pinkberry is premium frozen yogurt made with real nonfat yogurt and nonfat milk that is rBST hormone- free. Pinkberry is made with only the highest quality ingredients and is the perfect balance of tangy and sweet, resulting in a refreshing, clean and craveable taste.

Ron Graves, Pinkberry CEO, says, “As a brand born in Southern California, we are excited to open a store in Brea as we continue growing Pinkberry in the region.”

The new Brea location will serve six distinctive Pinkberry flavors: the signature Original flavor, a sweet and tangy yogurt with a refreshing finish; Pomegranate, a bold and tangy flavor made with 100 percent California-grown pure pomegranate juice; a rich, indulgent Chocolate; Pumpkin, a layered flavor with pumpkin and spice undertones; Peanut Butter, a unique flavor that blends salty with sweet; and a Featured Flavor that rotates seasonally.

Customers can personalize every yogurt experience at Pinkberry with any combination of delicious toppings. At Pinkberry, uncompromising quality is paramount and the toppings bar is no exception. Each topping is selected with the highest quality standards, whether it’s Grade-A fresh fruit that is hand-cut daily in-store, organic gummy bears with no high fructose corn-syrup, all natural honey almond granola, 100 percent pure Pomegranate juice, or rich, premium Belgian chocolate shavings. Toppings are thoughtfully selected as a unique and delicious complement to the various Pinkberry frozen yogurt flavors.

In addition to frozen yogurt and toppings for immediate consumption, Pinkberry also offers Pinkberry Take Home, 25 ounces of Pinkberry, swirled-to-order and packed on ice to ensure your Swirly Goodness will get home safely to your freezer. Pinkberry also offers Fruit Parfaits, Smoothies, and Fresh Fruit Bowls as fresh and satisfying choices for any time of day.

The newest Pinkberry Brea location will be open Sunday through Thursday 11 a.m. to 10:00 p.m., and Friday and Saturday 11 a.m. to 11:00 p.m.

Local fans who want up-to-the minute news and discount offers should sign up to be a Pinkberry Groupie at www.pinkberry.com/groupie

Seabirds Truck

noreply@blogger.com (Griffin) — Sat, 12 Nov 2011 03:21:00 +0000

(Photo courtesy of seabirdstruck.com)
Seabirds Truck
http://www.seabirdstruck.com
www.twitter.com/SeabirdsTruck
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Seabirds-Truck/88618734995

The Seabirds Truck was always one of those trucks that I saw at the Food Truck Meetups but never tried. I would wander over and look at their menu and think, "It sounds good, but I need meat!" As most of you know, the Seabirds Truck serves vegan food. That is, no meat and no animal products at all. Sounds like rabbit food, right? WRONG!

After watching Seabirds on Season 2 of The Great Food Truck Race, I decided two things. One, I like the girls from Seabirds WAY MORE than I liked the cocky guys from The Lime Truck, and two, I had to try their food. I finally made it down to the Wednesday lunch Food Truck Meetup in the Irvine Teller lot and made my way over to the Seabirds truck. On this particular day, they were serving two different kinds of tacos, jackfruit and fried avocado ($7 for two). I decided to order one of each. They also had a dirty rice with spicy kale and chickpea "sausage" on their menu. The full order was $8, but they were able to do a half order for $4.

(Avocado taco on the left, Jackfruit taco on the right)
The jackfruit taco was made with jackfruit that was cooked "Al Pastor" style. For those of you that don't know, jackfruit is a large tropical fruit that when cooked before it is fully ripe, has the same texture of meat and a very mild flavor so you can season it to taste very similar to meat. This taco was topped with a pineapple salsa. The taco was fantastic. The jackfruit had the same texture as shredded pork and the sweet pineapple salsa complemented the spices in the "al pastor." I thought to myself, "How can they top this taco?" Then I took a bite of the fried avocado taco and was immediately transported to heaven. The avocado taco had a large slice of beer battered avocado that was deep fried until it was crispy on the outside and warm and creamy in the middle. It was topped with a creamy jalapeno-cilantro sauce and a red cabbage slaw. This might be the best taco I have ver had. All of the flavors in the taco harmonized one another and I couldn't get enough. Sadly, I only ordered one. I will most definitely be going back to get more and more of these.

I moved on the dirty rice with spicy kale. Wow! The dirty rice had a really spicy kick! I love spicy food and I was surprised at how spicy this dish was. A lot of my friends and family that don't do well with spicy would not be able to eat this dish though. I loved it. The rice had a great creole flavor and the spicy kale kicked in a lot of extra flavor.

After my dining experience at Seabirds, I am eager to go back and get more. I will for sure be ordering many fried avocado tacos. I will also be willing to try anything that they serve since I was so impressed with everything I tried. If this is what vegan food is like, maybe I don't need all that meat..... (Don't tell the carnivore in me that I said that...)

Priority Registration at MasterChef Auditions for readers of Griffin Eats OC

noreply@blogger.com (Griffin) — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 20:24:00 +0000

Think you have what it takes to be the next MasterChef? The producers of the show just emailed me and let me know that readers of my blog can get special priority registration at the audition on Saturday October 29th in Los Angeles. If you go down and audition, make sure to say you're a reader of Griffin Eats OC to get access to the special priority line!

FOX SERVES UP A THIRD SEASON
OPEN CASTING CALLS STARTING SATURDAY, OCT. 29 IN LOS ANGELES
Casting Calls Continue in Boston, Miami, Atlanta, Washington, D.C., Austin,
Savannah, Chicago, Seattle, New York and San Francisco

FOX has ordered a third season of the hit culinary competition series MASTERCHEF, it was announced today by Mike Darnell, President of Alternative Entertainment, Fox Broadcasting Company.

Chef Gordon Ramsay will once again give talented amateur cooks the chance to prove to him, and to fellow judges, restaurateur Joe Bastianich (Del Posto, Eataly) and Chef Graham Elliot (Graham Elliot, Grahamwich), that they have what it takes to make their mark on the culinary world. In the series, Ramsay, Bastianich and Elliot coach and critique the amateur cooks in a series of challenges designed to test their palates, knowledge and determination to follow their dreams of making a mark in the culinary world.

MASTERCHEF will travel to more cities than ever before to uncover the country's very best amateur cooks. Open casting calls begin Saturday, Oct. 29 in the following city:

City
Los Angeles

Dates
Saturday, Oct. 29

Venues/Times
Le Cordon Bleu
6370 Sunset Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90028
10:00 AM - 6:00 PM

The Winery - Tustin

noreply@blogger.com (Griffin) — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 18:00:00 +0000

The Winery Restaurant and Wine Bar
The District at Tustin Legacy
2647 Park Avenue
Tustin, California 92782
(714) 258-7600
http://www.thewineryrestaurant.net/

I recently visited the winery for dinner on a Wednesday evening, to celebrate an anniversary with V. This was my first visit to this restaurant. I was excited because I had always heard such good things about the restaurant.

We arrived for our reservation at 5:30 PM (Early, I know. It's what you have to do when you have a kid...) We were seated right away in a nice corner booth. We looked over the menu and saw a lot of items that sounded really yummy.

We decided to start our meal off with a bottle of wine and the cheese platter. The platter was $18 for five cheeses or $12 for three. We decided to get the platter of five cheeses. When the cheese platter arrived, the waiter pointed out the cheeses on the platter. I was a bit underwhelmed. The five cheeses were goat cheese, brie cheese, bleu cheese, manchego cheese and humboldt fog. The pieces were also teeny-tiny. Now I don't mind paying $18 for five pieces of teeny-tiny cheese, but if I'm going to do so, I expect something a little more interesting. These five cheeses seem like something you can grab at any corner grocery store for a few dollars. I have gotten much better cheese platters for far less at much more casual restaurants.

I decided to order the Duck Confit salad ($13.95) as an appetizer. The warm duck confit was served on a bed of baby spinach with anjou pears, thinly sliced red beets and candied walnuts (even though I told the waiter I was allergic to walnuts). I picked out the walnuts and tried the salad. It wasn't bad. The salad seemed to be a little overly-dressed with the cabernet vinaigrette dressing so it was very tangy. The duck was a little bland as well. The salad wasn't horrible, but I don't think I would order it again.

For my entree I decided to order the Braised Shortribs ($26.95) that I have heard many good things about. Again, the dish wasn't "bad" but I wasn't really impressed with it. The shortribs were a little dry and weren't full of flavor like you'd expect from a braised shortrib. You're much better off getting the shortribs from Roy's. The shortribs were served on a bed of corn infused cous cous with prosciutto wrapped asparagus. The cous cous didn't really taste like anything.

V ordered the Shrimp and Scallops for her meal ($29.95). She was served two scallops and three shrimp on top of a bed of risotto. She said that one of the scallops was over-cooked, extremely salty and really fishy tasting. The other scallop though was cooked almost perfectly. All three of the shrimp seemed to be overcooked and rubbery. She ate one shrimp, I tried a bite of another and we just left the remainder on the plate. The risotto seemed uninspired and the flavor of it just didn't seem to work for her.

For dessert we decided to end with the Chocolate Decadence ($11.95). The chocolate decadence was a small chocolate creme brulee, a chocolate ganache filled ice cream cone and a brownie. The creme brulee was about a 1/4-inch deep and pretty generic. I expected the ice cream cone with ganache to be nice and crunchy, but it was actually very soggy and the ganache inside seemed more like chocolate pudding. The brownie was just a brownie.

Overall, none of the food was really that "bad." None of it was especially good or memorable either. The service at the restaurant was pretty good, if not a little slow. We ended up spending about 3 hours at the restaurant. The food was also presented nicely. There wasn't anything necessarily wrong with the food, I just expected so much more from what is considered a "fine-dining" restaurant. The food here just seemed to be more of the quality of a casual dining restaurant and did not seem to be worth the high prices. I ended up spending about $150 on dinner for two here with a bottle of wine ($45), excluding tip. The dessert was also comped because it was our anniversary. If you're going to spend this much money on dinner, there are many places in Orange County where you can have a much better dining experience. Perhaps I just caught the restaurant on an off night....but shouldn't a restaurant of this caliber not have an "off night?"

Rollie's Mexican and Bolivian Cafe and Bakery -Tustin

noreply@blogger.com (Griffin) — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 17:00:00 +0000

Rollie's Mexican and Bolivian Cafe and Bakery
14071 Newport Avenue
Tustin, CA 92780-5172
(714) 669-8300
http://rollies.weebly.com/

I really wanted to like this place. I really, really did. The woman behind the counter was so nice and friendly. We chatted about the food she made and the ingredients and love that she put into it. She proudly told me that she hand makes all the corn tortillas for their large tacos. She said that they order the finest chorizo from a specialty company up in Los Angeles. She spoke about her food with a smile on her face and a gleam in her eye. Therefore, I really, really wanted to like this place....but.....well......I just didn't.

I ordered two of their large tacos with the fresh homemade tortillas ($2.50 each). I ordered one with carne asada and one with chorizo. I asked if the chorizo was served with egg or potato and she told me that it came with potato. I tried to order it without potato, but she told me that it was a very small amount of potato and it really enhanced the flavor of the chorizo. I agreed to try it with the potato. I also ordered three of their small "street tacos" ($1.00 each). I got two of them with carne asada and one with lengua (beef tongue). I ordered V a carne asada burrito ($5.99). I also decided to try one of their Salteña empanadas ($2.50) because I had heard good things about them.

While I was waiting for the food to be prepared, I walked over and browsed through the bakery cases that were full of Mexicam sweet bread. I asked if the breads were baked fresh that day and she told me that they had. I chose an elotito ($0.65), which is a cinnamon-flavored sweet bread that is shaped like a small ear of corn.

I got my food to go and took it home. When I arrived at home I eagerly unwrapped all the food. I couldn't wait to try all this delicious food that the nice lady behind the counter was bragging about.

First I decided to try the Salteña Empanada. I sliced it in half and V and I each took a piece. The filling consisted of ground beef, egg and peas. The filling was sweet...a little too sweet for me and V. Neither one of us really enjoyed the flavor of the empanada, so we didn't eat it.

I unwrapped my large tacos and immediately saw that the "chorizo" taco was really just a cubed potato taco with chorizo grease. I was very annoyed by this. The woman behind the counter had sworn that there was only a small amount of potato in the taco. All I saw was potato. I took a couple bites of this overly-greasy potato taco and then threw the rest away. A taco has to be pretty bad for me to throw it away. I then tried the carne asada taco. One thing I found interesting about the tacos here was that instead of being served with the traditional toppings of fresh cilantro and onion, they were topped with cilantro, grilled onions and grilled bell peppers. I was not a fan of this. The salsa was also tomato based and seemed like something you would eat with chips at a cheap Americanized Mexican restaurant. I didn't like the carne asada taco either, but I forced it down.

The street tacos were small, but probably worth the dollar I paid for them. The carne asada and the lengua tasted pretty much the same. It was basically just meat, covered in salt and cooked on a flat-top grill. I ate the lengua taco and then took the meat from the carne asada tacos, seasoned it up and threw it into a flour tortilla with some cheese and made a quesadilla. I ate it with some Del Taco hot sauce and it was the best part of my meal.

V said that her burrito was basically just a bean burrito. She couldn't really find any carne asada in her burrito. When she finally came across a piece, she ate it and said that it just tasted like salt.

V moved on to the elotito pan dulce that I bought for her. Keep in mind that the lady working at Rollie's said that the bread was baked fresh that day. This pan dulce was SO stale that it was as hard as a rock. V tried to bite through it a couple of times but was unable to get her teeth through it. Needless to say, she threw it away.

Overall, this restaurant might be ok if you are looking to grab some quick $1 street tacos and you don't really care what they taste like. You are much better off going to Alberto's or The Original Taco Factory which are 1-block away in either direction. I might return to this place one day to try their Bolivian food, but I will not be returning for more Mexican food.

OC BBQ Bonanza Starts Today!

noreply@blogger.com (Griffin) — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 17:00:00 +0000

The OC BBQ Bonanza, a 4-day festival, starts today in Fountain Valley. General Admission tickets are $5 each or you can purchase a $100 pass that gets you VIP seating and all-you-can-consume food and alcohol. Kids 12 and under are free, but they are not allowed in the $100 VIP area.

Visit our sister site DiningOutInOC.com for more details.

New Weekend Brunch at Royal Hawaiian - Laguna Beach

noreply@blogger.com (Griffin) — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 15:34:00 +0000

Royal Hawaiian Laguna Beach
331 North Coast Highway
Laguna Beach, California 92651
(949) 494-8001
http://www.royalhawaiianlaguna.net

I was fortunate enough to try the new weekend brunch at Royal Hawaiian in Laguna Beach. One of the best things about the new brunch is that it is served on both Saturday and Sunday. No more waiting until Sunday to have brunch! The brunch, called Kakahiaka, is served from 11:00 AM-4:00 PM and features a variety of island inspired breakfast and lunch fare.

We started our meal off with a couple of appetizers. We got the Hawaiian Coconut Shrimp ($13) and the Ahi Tuna Poke ($15). The coconut shrimp was nice and crunchy with plenty of coconut flavor. It wasn't as sweet as some other coconut shrimp that I have had, which I consider to be a good thing. It was very nicely balanced. The Ahi Tuna Poke was very good. The chef has won some awards for this poke. The poke was made with huge fresh chunks of raw ahi tuna, marinated with chile, lime, soy sauce, sesame oil, ginger and chopped macadamia nuts and served with wonton chips. I prefer a little more of a spicy kick, but it was still very good and fresh tasting.

For my entree I ordered Loco Moco ($13) and a side of Maui Onion Rings ($7). Loco Moco is a popular Hawaiian breakfast dish that consists of a hamburger patty on top of a mound of rice that is covered with a couple of over easy eggs and brown gravy. The elements of this dish are pretty standard wherever you go, but the dish rarely tastes the same from restaurant to restaurant. One of the most, if not the most, important factors for determining a good loco moco is the gravy. The gravy at the Royal Hawaiian had a little bit of a spicy kick to it but was a little light. I prefer a slightly darker, richer and bolder gravy. I still enjoyed the gravy here, I just wished it was a little bolder.

The Maui Onion rings were battered and fried perfectly. The crunchy exterior gave way to perfectly cooked, slightly sweet oniony goodness. These onion rings were probably my favorite part of the meal. The onion rings were served with a slightly spicy sriracha aioli. The portion was rather large as well.

V ordered the Coconut French Toast ($13) as her entree. It was served with portugese sausage and fruit salad. The portugese sausage was oven-baked which resulted in a nice even crust around each piece of sausage. V really enjoyed her meal. Her only complaint was that the french toast was a little dry. She still thought it was very good though. She thought that the fruit salad that came on top was perfectly balanced and had just the right flavor to complement the french toast. She also said that the Portugese sausage was very yummy.

After our meal we were offered a sample sized bread pudding. The bread pudding was made with hawaiian sweet bread. It was dense, but not overly so. It had a nice balanced flavor. V said that it was the second best bread pudding she has ever had.

Overall, I would highly recommend the Royal Hawaiian for anyone looking for a Hawaiian style brunch. The prices are reasonable for what you get and the food is pretty tasty. The only thing that would make this brunch better would be if it came with all-you-can-drink champagne. The interior of the restaurant is also a little dim and drabby. This seems to be ok for dinner time, but during brunch it seemed a little depressing. A little extra light and some upbeat Hawaiian music could help a lot in improving the atmosphere.

Thanks go out to Jennifer at Ajenda PR for inviting me to the launch of The Royal Hawaiian's weekend brunch!

Royal Hawaiian - Laguna Beach ~ Tiki Taco Tuesday

noreply@blogger.com (Griffin) — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 18:17:00 +0000

Royal Hawaiian Laguna Beach
331 North Coast Highway
Laguna Beach, California 92651
(949) 494-8001
http://www.royalhawaiianlaguna.net

Last night I had the pleasure of attending the launch of the amazing Tiki Taco Tuesday at The Royal Hawaiian in Laguna Beach. On Tuesday evenings, The Royal Hawaiian will be offering $2 Kalua Pork or Fried Baja Style Fish Tacos in their bar area. If their taco Tuesday remains as popular as it was last night, the deal will be available in the dining room as well. Drink specials will also be available.

To purchase a taco during Taco Tuesday you purchase tickets at the bar that are redeemable at the taco station. You then stand in line at the taco station where the chef is furiously preparing the tacos from chafing dishes and various containers of toppings. The wait for the tacos was a little long, but this was likely due to the fact that this was their first Taco Tuesday and the house was packed for the launch event. The Kalua Pork taco is prepared with smoked, shredded Kalua pork, cheese, lettuce, salsa, tomato and sour cream. The fish taco is prepared with a fried piece of fish, cabbage, salsa and sour cream.

The tacos were actually a tad on the bland side for me at first, but I tend to like things really salty. I added a dash of salt and then they were delicious! V thought they were really good exactly the way they were served. The pork was nice, smoky, tender and moist. The fish was perfectly crunchy and tender and had a very delicate flavor. V usually really dislikes fish tacos with fried fish, but thought that these tacos were absolutely fantastic. At $2 a piece, these tacos are an amazing deal!

I believe that the Royal Hawaiian Taco Tuesday is a real contender for best Taco Tuesday in Orange County. The tacos are cheap enough and the location along the beach gives this restaurant a really kick-back vibe. I can't wait to return on another Tuesday evening to pig out on some delicious $2 tacos and then wander along the beach as I head back to my car. Thanks to Jennnifer Morris of Ajenda PR for inviting me down to the launch event.

Bistro 400 - Santa Ana

noreply@blogger.com (Griffin) — Tue, 05 Apr 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Bistro 400
400 West 4th Street
Santa Ana, CA 92701
(714) 543-9821
www.bistro400.com

I recently went down to Bistro 400 in Santa Ana for dinner. As I walked through the front patio to get to the front door of the restaurant, I saw signs in the window advertising Happy Hour Specials from 4-7 PM. As my party of 5 was being seated at our table at 6:00 PM, I overhead the people that were just getting seated next to me ask about the happy hour specials. I then heard the waiter say that they were ending happy hour at 6:00 on this day because the band decided that they wanted to start playing early. Even though I was there for dinner and not their happy hour specials, this was a "ding" in my head against the restaurant. If you are going to advertise certain hours for happy hour specials all over the place (signs, website etc.) then you should honor those terms regardless of when the band for the night decides they want to play. But I digress....

I came here for dinner on a Friday night with a party of 5. The restaurant is a little small with table seating for about 30-40 people inside, about 30 or so on the patio and another 10 or so at the bar. There isn't a lot of room to maneuver around inside. Bistro 400 features live music on select nights. On this particular night they had a 3-piece blues band. The music was extremely loud. This is not a restaurant that you should go to if you are planning on having a conversation over dinner.

After looking at a lot of reviews and tips on Yelp and Foursquare, we decided to order the "G" Bread ($8.00) that everyone raves about.

The "G" Bread is described as "Crusty Baguette topped with Garlic butter, Jack and Parmesan cheese, set in a creamy garlic sauce." People seems to love this stuff. I was very disappointed with it. It was basically a few thin slices of generic cheesy garlic bread in a bowl of watery bechamel sauce and the portion was quite small. No one seemed to be terribly impressed with this dish. Definitely not worth $8.00.

For dinner I ordered the Bleus Cheeseburger ($11.00). The burger was topped with sauteed mushrooms, bleu cheese, lettuce and tomatoes. It was served with fries. The burger patty itself was a huge, thick slab of juicy beef. I thought the burger was pretty good but thought it could use a stronger bleu cheese and a little more salt or seasoning of some sort. V took a couple bites of my burger and disagreed. She thought it was perfect and declared it to be one of the best burgers she has ever had. The fries seemed to be of the generic frozen variety.

R ordered the 6-oz. Steak and Fries ($14.00). He said that it was pretty good, but didn't seem too excited by it.

V ordered the 12-oz. Steak and Fries ($24.00). I asked her to order the 12-oz. portion so that I could eat some of her steak. We were both pretty disappointed in this dish. The steak tasted like a steak you would expect to get at a diner. It was covered with a generic brown mushroom gravy. The french fries were plain and boring. I don't think either one of us would order this dish again.

J ordered the Chicken Costa Del Sol ($18.00). The menu described this dish as "Chicken topped with crab meat, artichoke, white wine caper sauce. Rice and sautéed spinach" J thought her meal was awful. The crab on the chicken was almost non-existent. She also thought that the chicken was dry and chewy. She wasn't able to eat very much of it. When the waitress cleared her plate, she noticed that most of the food was still on the plate. She never asked if anything was wrong with the meal though.

S ordered the Lobster Ravioli ($18.00). She received about six or eight small lobster ravioli covered in a crab-laced garlic parmesan sauce. S enjoyed her ravioli and said that the sauce was very good. She really liked the crab in the sauce but she thought that it might have been imitation crab. The portion was pretty small so it wasn't enough to fill her up.

For dessert we decided to share two items. The first was called the Chocolate Vesuvius. It was basically a warm chocolate lava cake. I thought that it was really weird that the plate came garnished with random fruit like grapes and cubes of melon. The cake itself was pretty good. It had a nice smooth texture and a rich, decadent chocolate flavor.

The second dessert we got was a Fried Bananas Foster. The plating of this dessert was weird. The dessert was basically a banana and caramel wrapped in an egg roll wrapper and then deep fried. It was served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and the same weird grape and melon garnish. It was a very odd dessert that I do not think I would order again.

Overall this restaurant is decent. Everything seemed pretty generic though. Nothing stood out as special or unique about this place. I would go back to get another burger or try some of their other menu items, but I won't be rushing back any time soon. It's a nice option if you're looking for a little bistro in the area. If I was looking to eat in the area though I'd want to get an arepa from Mil Jugos. Too bad Mil Jugos isn't open for dinner...

How many calories are in a Carl's Jr. Turkey Burger?

noreply@blogger.com (Griffin) — Thu, 24 Mar 2011 03:12:00 +0000

Carl's Jr./Hardee's released a new line of Turkey Burgers today. The question I keep hearing everyone ask is, "So how many calories do they have?" Well, the turkey burgers that were developed with the help of Men's Health Magazine and "Eat This, Not That" clock in at less than 500 calories each. The turkey burger currently comes in three different varieties, Classic, Guacamole and Teriyaki and range from 470-490 calories.

I was so excited to hear that one of my favorite fast food chains was offering a new healthier food option that I went down on it's release date to try it. I noticed that I was not the only one there ordering a turkey burger. In fact, the person before me and a few people after me also ordered turkey burgers. The idea of a new healthy fast food item seems to be exciting a lot of people.

I decided to order the Guacamole Turkey Burger ($3.69). I ordered it with red onion as well, but they forgot to put it on. The guacamole on the burger was the same familiar onion guacamole that comes on their other guacamole burgers. The burger was served on a wheat bun with iceberg lettuce and one slice of tomato.

The turkey patty itself wasn't bad. It was a little dry though and could have used a little more flavor. It reminded me of the frozen turkey patties that you can get at Costco. The burger was decent for a "healthy" burger. It still had 21 grams of fat though. This is definitely a good option for someone looking for a healthier dining alternative at a fast-food restaurant, but it is nowhere near as good as their beef burgers. Since I am trying to be a little more conscious of what I eat, I will most likely be getting one of these again. Perhaps I'll try the teriyaki version next time to cut out some of the fat.

Carl's Jr./Hardee's Turkey Burger Nutritional Info:

Classic Turkey Burger
Serving Size (g) 268
Total Calories 490
Calories From Fat 200
Fat (g) 23
Saturated Fat (g) 4.5
Cholesterol (mg) 80
Sodium (mg) 1010
Carbohydrates (g) 45
Dietary Fiber (g) 3
Sugars (g) 10
Protein (g) 29

Guacamole Turkey Burger
Serving Size (g) 281
Total Calories 490
Calories From Fat 190
Fat (g) 21
Saturated Fat (g) 6
Cholesterol (mg) 85
Sodium (mg) 1120
Carbohydrates (g) 43
Dietary Fiber (g) 3
Sugars (g) 9
Protein (g) 33

Teriyaki Turkey Burger
Serving Size (g) 320
Total Calories 470
Calories From Fat 120
Fat (g) 14
Saturated Fat (g) 5
Cholesterol (mg) 80
Sodium (mg) 1120
Carbohydrates (g) 55
Dietary Fiber (g) 3
Sugars (g) 19
Protein (g) 32

Pablo's Cantina - Tustin

noreply@blogger.com (Griffin) — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 02:08:00 +0000

2601 Park Ave.
Tustin, CA 92782
714-617-8230
www.pabloscantina.com

Pablo's Cantina in Tustin is the latest eatery to open in The District at Tustin Legacy. This is the second location of a restaurant that started in Honolulu, Hawaii. Pablo's occupies the space that once housed Bistro West.

I dined at Pablo's Cantina this past Sunday evening. The wait was too long at Lucille's so we decided to check out Pablo's. Pablo's has only been open for about a week. There was no wait for a table at 6:30 PM.

After being seated, I took a look at the menu. I was very impressed with the variety of food that they offered, or at least that I thought they offered. The prices are also a bit high. There was a special section on the menu that bragged about how they served authentic, unusual meats that you can't find at your average Mexican restaurant. The menu section listed lengua (beef tongue) and chicharron (fried pork skin) as an option in a taco, burrito, sope or torta. There were no prices in this section, so I asked the waiter for details. He told me he would have to check. He came back a while later and told me that these meats were no longer available. In fact, they were removed from the menu before their grand opening. I was surprised that the restaurant would remove these items without even giving them a chance, especially after bragging about them so much on their menu. I was very disappointed because these unique meats were what was setting them apart from the average Americanized Mexican restaurant.

The chips and salsa here come with a green salsa verde instead of the standard red salsa. The salsa is very sour and not very good. J decided to order Queso Fundido con Chorizo ($9.00) as an appetizer for the table. This is basically cheese melted over some ground chorizo. It wasn't bad but you have to eat it really quickly. A few minutes after arriving at your table, the cheese will cool and harden into one solid lump.

For dinner I had fully intended to order lengua. Since that turned out not to be an option, I decided to just order two tacos because I wanted to try their dessert. I ordered one mahi mahi fish taco ($4.00) and one mushroom taco ($2.00). I asked about getting a side of rice and beans with my tacos but was told that it would be $6.00 so I passed. Both tacos were served on a small 3-inch corn tortilla. The fish taco had a teeny-tiny piece of fish on it with some shredded cabbage. The fish had a slightly fishy flavor to it, but no flavor other than that. The taco was nowhere near as good as a fish taco you would get at Wahoo's. The mushroom taco wasn't bad. It had a little bit of a spicy kick to it. Overall though, I believe that both of these 2-bite tacos were overpriced for what they were.

V ordered an Al Pastor (marinated pork) torta ($9.00). She hated it. She thought that it just tasted like two pieces of bread with bland, tasteless mush in between.

S ordered an Al Pastor Burrito ($13.00). S did not like her burrito at all. She agreed that the Al Pastor was flavorless and really didn't care for the sauce that they doused the burrito with.

J ordered the Barbacoa de Res (barbecued beef-$15.00). Like V and S, she though that her food had no flavor. She was very disappointed in her meal.

R decided to get the Chile Verde (pork in green sauce-$17.00). R thought that his food had flavor, but unfortunately for him, not a flavor he enjoyed. He thought that the dish was too spicy and wasn't able to eat very much of it.

When we were nearly done with our meals, the waiter came by and asked us to be honest about what we thought of the food. He said that he wanted feedback to give the kitchen since they were new. We all told him how disappointed we were in our food and detailed what was wrong with each dish. He apologized and said he would pass the feedback along to the kitchen.

Since I had planned from the beginning to order dessert, I decided to get the Tres Leches cake ($7.50). After about a 25 minute wait, it finally arrived at the table. The cake was SO dense and hard that I was barely able to cut through it. It sort of had the consistency of a super-dense pound cake that someone had compressed to make even denser. The waiter came by and asked how I liked the cake and I told him how horrible it was. He apologized again and said he would pass the feedback to the kitchen staff.

After the waiter brought the bill, he told us that he had passed our comments along to the chef and had asked the chef to come out and talk to us. Unfortunately, the chef declined because he said that he was too busy to talk to customers (The restaurant was over half empty). I guess it is understandable that the chef did not want to talk to us but I was surprised that at no time during our visit were we visited by the manager. Even though none of us liked our food, the server did not offer to take anything off the bill nor replace any food item. Not only that, but we noticed after we left that we were actually charged $2.00 for a side of tortillas that no one ever ordered.

Overall, the food was bad and the service was friendly but extremely slow. The food is also very overpriced for what it is. I would not mind paying their prices if the food was actually good. I strongly believe that you will get a better meal for half the price at Don Jose or El Torito. If you really want to go to a high-end Mexican restaurant, I would suggest you go to Gabbi's. I do not see myself returning to Pablo's Cantina anytime soon. Since this place is brand new, I will consider visiting again if I hear a lot of stellar reviews after they have worked out all their kinks. If they don't fix things soon though, they might disappear as quickly as Bistro West did.

Orange County Restaurant Week 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Griffin) — Sat, 26 Feb 2011 17:51:00 +0000

The time has come for Orange County Restaurant Week 2011. This year the Orange County Restaurant Association has limited participation to 100 restaurants. Special price-fixed meals will be available from Sunday February 27th through Saturday March 5th. Lunch will be available for $10, $15 and $20 and dinner can be had for $20, $30 or $40. Below is a list of participating restaurants. Click on the restaurant name to see the special prix fix menu that each restaurant is offering. Where will you be going for restaurant week? Leave a comment and let me know!

118 Degrees

230 Forest

320 Main

6ix Park Grill (Hyatt Irvine)

Anaheim White House

Andrei's Concious Cuisine

Cedar Creek Brea / Laguna Niguel / San Juan Cap

Cha Cha's Tacos & Tequila

Harborside Restaurant

House of Big Fish and Ice Cold Beer

JT Schmid's Restaurant & Brewery

Memphis at the Santora

Nirvana Grille Laguna Beach / Mission Viejo

No Ka Oi

O'Neill's Bar and Grill

Opah

Orange Hill Restaurant

Original Mike's

Pablo's Cantina

Palm Terrace Restaurant (The Island Hotel)

Phans 55 Irvine / Fullerton

Pinot Provence

Pirates Dinner Adventure

RAYA (The Ritz Carlton)

Rockin Baja

Royal Hawaiian

Royal Khyber

Rustica California Wine Bistro

Rusty Pelican

Ruth's Chris Steakhouse - Irvine / Anaheim

Shades Restaurant (Hilton Huntington Beach)

Sparks Woodfire Grill

Splashes (Surf and Sand Resort)

Summit House

Sundried Tomato

Tangata

TAPS Fish House & Brewery

The Beach House

The Californian (The Hyatt Huntington Beach)

The Catch

The Crow Bar

The Next Door

The Ritz Restaurant & Garden

The Rooftop Lounge

The Winery Restaurant & Wine Bar

Tortilla Jo's

Tradition by Pascal

Watermarc

Wildfish Seafood Grill

Zimzala

Zov's Bistro

Zov's Cafe Newport | Zov's Cafe Irvine

Cocoa Lounge at The Palm Terrace in The Island Hotel - Newport Beach

noreply@blogger.com (Griffin) — Fri, 04 Feb 2011 17:19:00 +0000

The Cocoa Lounge, inside
The Palm Terrace Restaurant, inside
The Island Hotel
690 Newport Center Drive
Newport Beach, CA 92660
Toll Free: 866-554-4620
Phone: 949-759-0808
www.islandhotel.com

Death by Chocolate.... Ok, well maybe not "death" but even the most die hard chocoholic will likely have an out of body experience upon entering The Cocoa Lounge inside The Palm Terrace Restaurant at The Island Hotel in Newport Beach. The third annual Cocoa Lounge opens tonight for a limited 3-week run. The lounge is open from 6-PM-10PM Tuesday through Saturday February 4-February 26th, 2010. Admission to The Cocoa Lounge is $18 per person and grants you the privilege of consuming as many gourmet chocolate delights that you would like. If you dine at the Palm Terrace restaurant first and order at least a 2-course meal, your admission to the lounge is free! Free admission to the lounge can also be obtained with the purchase of one The Island Hotel's special Valentine's Day massages packages or Valentine's Day "Him and Her" meals.

When you enter the lounge you find yourself surrounded by dozens of chocolate desserts. Below are photos of some of the desserts that will be available. Selections may vary.

Chocolate Fudge Cookie S'mores

Milk Chocolate Cheesecake

Chocolate Cupcakes

Snickers Cake with Cream Cheese Icing

Chocolate Pudding Cake with Gianduja Mousse

Vanilla Custard Filled Eclairs

White Chocolate Strawberry Shortcake

White Chocolate Mousses Squares

Manjari Obsession

Banana Chocolate Mousse Cake

Chocolate Chip Bread Pudding

Pot De Creme

Port Truffles

Fresh Fruit Tarts

Chocolate Caramel Tarts

German Chocolate Cake

Dining in The Cocoa Lounge is chocolate decadence at it's best. You'll find yourself wandering from table to table, unsure of what to pick up first. Everyone in attendance seemed to agree that the Chocolate Chip Bread Pudding and Pot De Creme were the best desserts of the night. I also liked the Pot De Creme, but I really enjoyed the German Chocolate Cake as well. This experience is any chocolate lover's dream. However, I would still highly recommend The Cocoa Lounge to anyone that even has a slight fondness for chocolate. Even if you are not a chocolate fanatic, you will find yourself loving these desserts. All of the desserts are presented beautifully and taste sinfully good. The only thing I found missing from The Cocoa Lounge was a nice cup of hot cocoa to wash everything down. For some reason, when I first heard the name "Cocoa Lounge" I envisioned people sitting in a trendy lounge sipping on gourmet hot cocoa. Since the chefs said that they are constantly updating the selections, I'm hoping they'll add this in the future.

Thank you so much to Marguarite Clark at MCPR for inviting me to this fantastic media preview event.

Drake Family Farms Goat Cheese and Scotty B's Hot Sauce - Two Fantastic Farmers' Market Finds

noreply@blogger.com (Griffin) — Wed, 26 Jan 2011 22:32:00 +0000

Drake Family Farms Goat Cheese and Scotty B's Hot Sauce are two products that I have recently stumbled across while wandering the local Orange County Farmers' Markets. Both of these products are locally made and available mostly through the Farmers' Markets.

Drake Family Farms is a goat farm in Ontario, CA. They originally started in Utah. They opened up their operation in Southern California in September of 2010. They sell a variety of plain and flavored goat cheeses. My two favorite flavors are Apricot Honey and Jalapeno (pictured above). This goat cheese is creamy and rich. Spreading a tiny bit on a cracker or mini toast is a decadent treat. I'm pretty sure that this is the best goat cheese I have ever had. A 4 oz. tub will set you back $6 or you can buy four for $20.

Drake Family Farms Goat Cheese is currently available at the following OC Farmers' Markets:

Sunday-Irvine Great Park Farmers' Market and Laguna Niguel Farmers' Market
Wednesday-Tustin Farmers' Market
Thursday-Costa Mesa Farmers' Market and Orange/Chapman Farmers' Market
Friday-Laguna Hills Farmers' Market

For more info:
Drake Family Farms
7255 Schaefer Ave.
Ontario, CA 91762
www.drakefamilyfarms.com

Scotty B's makes a line of hot sauce that is full of heat without sacrificing the flavor. They produce six different hot sauces that come in large 12.75 oz. bottles, instead of the small 5 oz. bottles that we are so used to seeing hot sauce come in. The price for a 12.75 oz. bottle is $8. My favorite hot sauce of the ones I have tried so far is the "Berries in Heat." This is a hot sauce that is made with fresh blueberries, blackberries, strawberries and raspberries. It has a nice kick to it and isn't overly sweet. I was afraid that all those berries would make a really sweet hot sauce, but it is really perfectly balanced. In looking at their website, I have found that one of the foods they recommend putting their hot sauce on is Arby's Roast Beef Sandwiches......ok....

The Scotty B's booth also sells something called Jalapeno Chips. These chips seems to be made by a company in Vermont though. The chips are freeze-dried jalapeno slices that have been tossed in either cheddar cheese powder or ranch dressing flavored powder. They are light and crispy and have some great heat. Each 2.25 oz. bag is $4.

Scotty B's Hot Sauce is currently available at the following OC Farmers' Markets:

Wednesday-Tustin Farmers' Market
Thursday-Costa Mesa Farmers' Market
Friday-Laguna Hills Farmers' Market
Saturday-Irvine Famrers' Market
Sunday-Garden Grove Farmers' Market

For more info:
Scotty B's Hot Sauce
Good Eatz Gourmet, LLC
P.O. Box 2235
Capistrano Beach, CA 92624
(888)-9-SCOTTY
http://www.scottybhotsauces.com

Taco Asylum - Costa Mesa

noreply@blogger.com (Griffin) — Tue, 25 Jan 2011 04:32:00 +0000

Taco Asylum
2937 S. Bristol St, B102
Costa Mesa, CA 92626
phone 714.922.6010
www.tacoasylum.com

Are you crazy about tacos? If so, the newly opened Taco Asylum in The CAMP in Costa Mesa may be just the place for you. Taco Asylum was opened by the trio behind Haven Gastropub in Orange. The restaurant specializes in unique gourmet tacos that include ingredients such as grilled baby octopus and confit beef heart. They also have a selection of small craft beers in both cans and on tap. Non-beer drinkers can enjoy a variety of all-natural sodas including sarsaparilla.

I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to attend a special preview event a couple of days before the official grand opening. I was able to try most of the tacos. The tacos I got to sample were:

Grilled octopus – flour tortilla, kalamata olives, oregano, feta, tomatoes $5

Pork belly – flour tortilla, carrots, daikon, onions, cilantro $5

Short rib – flour tortilla, pickled red onion, salsa verde, cotija cheese, cilantro $5

Curried paneer (Indian Cheese) – naan tortilla, raita, tomato chutney $5

Lamb – flour tortilla, olive tapenade, ratatouille, mâché $6

Corazon – flour tortilla, confit beef heart, pickled turnips and peppers, harissa $5

and Wild mushroom – herbed tortilla, mushrooms, garbanzo puree, parsley salad, fried chickpeas $5(FORGOT TO TAKE A PICTURE)

All of the tacos come prepared on fresh handmade tortillas. My favorite taco of the night was probably the curried paneer taco. The naan tortilla went perfectly with the authentic Indian flavor of the curried paneer. The wild mushroom taco was also very good. The fried chickpeas added a nice crunch that complemented the tender, meaty mushrooms. The Corazon taco was my first experience eating beef heart. It was surprisingly tender and tasty.

Unfortunately I had to leave before they sampled the ghost chili pork (flour tortilla, chili threads, pork cracklins $5) and duck (flour tortilla, camembert, dijon crème fraîche $6) tacos. I heard that these turned out to be two of the favorites for the night.

I'm sure you must be thinking that these tacos are extremely expensive. Well you're right. When you see and taste the high quality ingredients though, you understand why they demand a higher price than your average taco stand. For a better value, you can get a flight of 8 mini tacos for $18. If you're still scoffing at the idea of paying $5 for a single taco, just think of it as a chance to try some gourmet treats that happen to come served in an edible wrapper.

Overall, I think this is a place that people should try at least once. It's nice to go here to sample these tasty gourmet delights, but due to the high price tag, I don't think it will be making my list of "usuals." I also found it surprising that their menu states "changes and substitutions politely declined." I can understand not allowing certain substitutions, but I think if a restaurant is going to serve $5 tacos from behind a counter, they should be a little more willing to let the customer alter the taco to their liking. It's kind of shocking that you can customize your 49¢ taco at Del Taco, but not your $5-$6 taco from Taco Asylum....