Hanna's - Rancho Santa Margarita

Monday night Cayla and I went to Hanna’s in Rancho Santa Margarita to celebrate our one year anniversary.  We eat here a lot, but I’ve never blogged about it.  It never disappoints, and Monday night was no exception! 

To start we shared the Tiger Shrimp Cocktail.  It’s a traditional shrimp cocktail served with an AMAZING spicy cocktail sauce.  LOTS of horseradish in it!  This is one of the few spicy things my stomach can handle, so I always go with a lot of it.  The shrimp are large and FRESH, and served over a bed of shaved ice.  Six come in an order, so it perfect for sharing.

For dinner I went with my “usual”, the Asian Braised Short Ribs.  This dish is AMAZING!  The short ribs are so tender you almost don’t even need a knife.  It is prepared in its own natural juices and almost tastes semi sweet.   It is served with sweet corn mashed potatoes and tempura baby zucchini.  The mashed potatoes are probably some of the best I’ve ever had.  The potatoes are mashed well so that there are not really any chunks of potato, and with a good amount of white sweet corn in them.  This combination is incredible!  The tempura baby zucchini is also great.  The batter on it is very light and the zucchini very tender.  I HIGHLY recommend this dish!

Cayla had the Beef Stroganov.  This dish uses filet mignon, Portobello mushrooms, a merlot reduction, egg noodles, and crème fratche.  This dish is GREAT!  It’s what Cayla gets every time we have dinner here!  The merlot reduction with the crème fratche is what really makes this dish.  It’s the perfect Stroganov sauce!

For dessert we had their in-house-made donuts.  These are INCREDIBLE!  The donuts themselves have a hint of lemon flavor and come with a traditional donut glaze on the side for dipping.  These things are so soft they melt in your mouth.  If you’re in the mood for dessert, give them a try, you won’t be disappointed!  I wish I had got a photo, they look amazing too!

It was a great way to celebrate our anniversary and we will definitely be back!

P.S.  The Asian Braised Short Ribs are my go-to choice here for dinner, but for lunch it’s always the Prime Rib Dip!  This is one of the best beef dip sandwiches out there.  It has caramelized onions and melted Monterey jack cheese on a perfectly toasted grinder roll served with au jus and creamy horseradish.  I always get mine with no horseradish.  The thing that makes this sandwich so good is probably the bread.  It is crusty on the outside and so soft on the inside that it perfectly complements the grilled onions and melted cheese.  Also, it’s a large serving of shaved prime rib on the sandwich

Has anyone else been here?  What did you think???

Canaletto Ristorante Veneto - Newport Beach

Sunday night Cayla’s parents invited us to Canaletto Ristorante Veneto, an Italian restaurant located in Fashion Island.  This was my first time at Canaletto, but after hearing a lot about it I was really looking forward to it.  This restaurant is what I would describe as a “nicer” or “fancy” Italian restaurant.  Sunday the restaurant was celebrating Carnevale, so many of the servers had their faces painted and they also had a pirate walking around, which was random, but fun.  That explains the photo above :)

To start we shared the Fried Calamari which were rings and tentacles lightly floured and fried and served with marinara sauce.  The calamari was ‘OK’.  I should have gone with my gut feeling when we ordered it.  In my experience whenever you order fried calamari in a “nicer” restaurant it is usually lightly fried.  I personally prefer mine fried more than that, so often times I will tell these types of restaurants to make it “extra crispy”.  Don’t get me wrong, the dish was fine, just not cooked to my personal liking. 

For dinner I went with the Tagliatelle alla Bolognese which was pasta ribbons in a meat sauce with aged parmesan cheese.  Cayla and her mom went with the same.  A simple dish, but VERY good.  I loved everything about this dish.  First, the noodles were cooked perfectly al dente.  I hate it when noodles are over cooked and mushy, so BRAVO Canaletto!  Second, the meat sauce.  The meat sauce can be described as more of a paste really that a sauce.  It has ground up meat and sausage in it and is THICK.  The rich tomato and meat flavors make it OUTSTANDING!  It was so good that once I finished all the noodles, I had to mop up the rest of the sauce with some bread!  Third, the aged parmesan.  It was shredded and on the thicker side, which I like.  I also thought that it was a good amount that came on it, not too much as to overpower the rest of the dish, and not too little as to not be able to taste it.  Cayla’s mom, Cayla, and I all thought this was an EXCELLENT dish, and I would highly recommend it.

Cayla’s dad had a risotto dish with sausage in it, but I can’t remember anything else about it other than that he liked it. 

For dessert the table shared Crespelle di Mele, which where Crepes filled with apples and grappa infused pastry cream served with vanilla gelato and caramel sauce.  I’m not much of a dessert person in general, but even I thought that this dish was very good.  The crepes were made thin and had “apple pie style” apples and cinnamon inside of them, almost making them like apple dumplings, but with a much lighter pastry.  The vanilla seemed like it was made in house, think and FULL of flavor.  Something about the combination of the flavors when the crepe, apple, vanilla gelato, and caramel sauce all made its way onto one spoonful at a time to make the perfect bite.  These flavors combined make one great dessert dish!

The four of us enjoyed dinner here very much and will be back to sample more of the dishes on the menu!

Has anyone been here before?  What did you think???

Newport Fresh - Newport Beach

I've heard a lot about Newport Fresh in Newport Beach lately.  It's  a small mom & pop hole-in-the-wall restaurant on Newport Blvd just south of PCH that does Japanese food and Philly Cheesesteak Sandwiches.  This combination intrigued me since those are two of my favorite types of food.  So since I was off work today with nothing to do, I decided to make the drive up to Newport and give it a try.

When I walked in there were no other customers in the 6 table restaurant, but I know they do a big take-out business, so I wasn't worried.  I stepped up to the counter where you order and was greeted by the owner.  I told him this was my first time there, so he took me through the VERY LARGE menu.  I decided to do what I've heard is a local favorite and ordered a Cheesesteak Sandwich and a Sushi Crunch Roll.  Now get ready for this. People put the Crunch Roll INSIDE the Cheesesteak Sandwich.  I was game ;)  The two came separate and I went ahead and put the rolls inside the sandwich.  I took a bite and it was AMAZING!  Something about the combination of the cheesy beef and the sweetness of the sauce on the Crunch Roll.  It definitely works!  Everything is made in-house and to-order, so it's very fresh.  I will definitely be back!

The roll before I put it in the sandwich.

Roman Cucina - Laguna Hills

Last night Cyla and I went to Roman Cucina in Laguna Hills for a quick dinner.  We've been here before and always enjoy ourselves.  To drink I had Peroni beer.  Mondays are $5 martini nights, so Cayla went that route ;)  I started out with a bowl of the Italian Wedding Soup.  This soup is GREAT!  I love the little noddles in it and the meat balls. 

For dinner I had the Chicken Parmigiana with spaghetti.  Forgive the photo above, I moved the chicken off the pasta before I remembered to take a picture and ruined the presentation.  It was very good and an INCREDIBLE amount of pasta.  I have never been able to finish all of my food when eating here.  There's always left overs for the next day!

Cayla went with a pizza with sweet bell peppers, peperoni, and sausage.  VERY good as well.  This is one of the best pizzas I've had in a long time.  The food and service is always great here.  You can't go wrong with this place!

Has anyone else tried Roman Cucina?  What did you think???

My Birthday Night

The night of my birthday was a fun one!  Cayla and I started out at Izakaya Wasa at the Irvine Spectrum for dinner.  Rather than review the restaurant again so close to my last review, I'll just share a few photos from dinner.

I started with my usual Maguro (Tuna) Sashimi, but made it a double order.  EXCELLENT!

Next was Snow Crab Sushi.  This was a first for me.  It was very good, tasted a little sweet :)

Then it was on to Tobiko (Flying Fish Eggs) Sushi.  This was also a first for me.  It had a crunchy texture to it.  I liked it but I still prefer Masago (Smelt Eggs).

This next dish was one that Hiroshi the sushi chef made special for me for my birthday.  I told him to surprise me with something and that the only direction was nothing spicy.  He surprised me with the BEAUTIFUL and DELICIOUS work of art.  He worked on this for at least 15 minutes!  I wish you could see all the detail and effort in this dish.  Truly VERY impressive!!!

Next it was onto Paul Martin's American Bistro at the Irvine Spectrum Center for after dinner drinks.  Above is a drink called a Manhattan Sour that Cayla tried.  It has red wine and whiskey in it.  I wasn't a big fan of it because it tasted too much like wine and I don't like wine :/  Cayla is a wine fan and she loved it though!  I went on to have an Old Fashioned and a bourbon on the rocks. 

We finished up the visit with their Cinnamon Apple Crisp.  Absolutely EXCELLENT!!!  It you like apple cobbler or pie it's a MUST TRY!

Next it was on to Patsy's Irish Pub in Mission Viejo for a few drinks and some karaoke.  Cayla and I like to come here Sunday - Wednesday nights when it's not busy to do karaoke.  Actually Cayla likes to watch me do karaoke.  She doesn't sing ;)  There were about 15 people total inside when we arrived around 10:30 pm.  I had a great time singing and drinking and also watched someone in the alley behind Patsy's climb the VERY tall wall (see above picture).  It was definitely entertainment watching this guy!  After that I sang an awesome rendition of "In the Air Tonight" by Phil Collins with the DJ there.  IT ROCKED!  Sang a few more songs after this too.  Had a great time and a great night!

How about you guys?  Any experiences at any of these places???

Mastro's Steakhouse - Costa Mesa

So last Saturday night my parents took Cayla and me out for my birthday dinner with them at Mastro's Steakhouse in Costa Mesa.  As usual it was an amazing evening!  If I had to pick a favorite restaurant anywhere, it would probably be here or Mastro's Ocean Club in Newport Beach.  We met early to all have a drink in the bar before our dinner reservation.  I love the bar here.  It was a Saturday night and the place was jumping.  Like the rest of the restaurant it is dark with awesome mood lighting.  The bar also had live music playing.  Picture a place where the Chairman of the Board and the rest of the Rat Pack would hang out.  THAT is Mastro's ;)  Cayla and I both decided to go with one of their signature martinis and each got the Fleur de Blu martini.  This is a great martini with a subtle blueberry flavor.  Tastes great!  One of the cool things about getting martinis at Mastros' is that they also bring you the mixer with your drink.  The mixer has enough in it that it will fill up your glass again, so it's almost like getting two drinks ;)  My mom is planning a vacation to Hawaii and was in a tropical mood, so she ordered a Mai Tai.  My dad went with a glass of red wine. 

After this we were seated in a very cool looking room near the front of the restaurant,  The room was dark red with awesome looking yellow mood lighting.  I love the atmosphere here!  I switched to a Belvedere Gimlet up with a twist for the rest of the night, while everyone else went with red wine.  The bread they serve comes in an assorted basket.  It is all very good, but their Pretzel Bread is AMAZING!  To start we went with the Seafood Tower.  This is a custom dish where you tell the server what chilled seafood you want and for how many people.  We went with lobster cocktail, shrimp cocktail, snow crab claws, Bluepoint oysters, and Dungeness crab cocktail.  ALL of it was EXCELLENT!

For my entree I had the Bone-In 12 oz. Filet cooked medium plus.  It was cooked PERFECTLY.  For side dishes we had their famous Lobster Mashed Potatoes, Sauteed Mushrooms, Sauteed Sugar Snap Peas, and Alaskan King Crab Black Truffle Gnocchi.  All EXCELLENT, especially the Lobster Mashed Potatoes.  For dessert we had Mastro's Signature Warm Butter Cake.  This is one of the best cakes I've ever had!  It melts in your mouth!

Amazing meal, amazing birthday, AMAZING EVENING!  Can't wait to come back!

Does anyone have any Mastro's stories of their own???

Paul Martin's - Irvine

This review will be a short one due to a busy weekend.  So last night Cayla, several friends, and I went to Paul Martin's American Grill located in the Irvine Spectrum to kick off my birthday weekend.  This was to be birthday dinner #1 of 4 that I have in a row starting last night at Paul Martin's.  It's going to be a good weekend!  I like the ambiance and feel of this restaurant and bar very much.  It's what I would describe as Modern California.  We all met for drinks at the bar at 6:30 before out 7:15 reservation.  The bar was PACKED, but we managed to find standing room and eventually one seat at the bar.  I LOVE this bar.  This would be the first night any of us in the party had ever eat here, but I've been coming to this bar since it opened about five months ago.  The bar tenders are quick with your drinks and very knowledgeable about cocktails.  My favorite bartender is definitely Ryan.  Ryan personally specializes in prohibition era drinks, so they are all from scratch (he doesn't use premade mixes of any kind, and they are strong!  Last night my drink of choice was a Belvedere Gimlet served up and with a twist.  They were very good and made with lime juice that he squeezed right then and there.  Everyone in the party was happy with their cocktails and the service.
So at 7:15 we were seated for dinner.  The table started out by sharing an order of the Spinach Dip and Town Dock Calamari (fried calamari).  The table agreed that both were 'OK'.  I ordered the Braised Short Ribs.  It was salty and VERY 'OK'.  Cayla wanted a salad and to have chicken added to it.  When she asked the waiter he said they were out of chicken.  I thought it was very strange that they were "out" when she asked since they have chicken dishes on the menu.  It seemed like they just didn't want to accommodate the request.  Normally that would cause me to make an issue out of it with the server and manager, but Cayla told me not to say anything, so I complied and kept my mouth shut.  Everyone else also agreed that there meals were 'OK'. 

After dinner we returned to the bar to Ryan where he took good care of us for the rest of the evening.

I would absolutely recommend coming here for drinks at the bar before or after dinner after eating SOMEWHERE ELSE, but I will definitely not be returning for dinner.  The rest of the party last night agrees with me on that.

Izakaya Wasa - Irvine

Last night for dinner Cayla and I met my parents for dinner at Izakaya Wasa  located at the Irvine Spectrum Center.  I am a long time customer here and usually sit at the sushi bar in front of Hiroshi, my favorite sushi chef.  He is awesome, and in fact I usually call ahead to make sure he is working and won't go unless he is.  If you go ask to sit on his side of the bar and tell Hiroshi, Chad sent you.  With that being said, we sat at a table last night since there were four of us and it would be hard for us all to talk to each other seated at the bar. 

To drink I went with my "usual" here, Kirin Light and Hakutsuru Junmai Gingo sake.  Hakatsuru Junmai Gingo sake is my FAVORITE sake, I even stock it at my house :) 

To start I went with the Maguro (Tuna) sashimi.  This is one of the things I love most about Izakaya.  It is consistently fresh, dark red in color (I hate when tuna sashimi is pink!!!), and has such a tender texture that you barely even need to chew it!  My mom went with Maguro sushi, and she agreed that the Maguro was excellent. 

Next up I went with the Masago (Smelt eggs) and quail egg (on the left of the photo).  It was very good.  The texture is one of the things I love most about it, it barely requires any chewing, and it tastes great!  My dad went with Topeka (flying fish eggs, in the center of the photo) and Hamachi (Yellowtail, on the right of the photo).  My dad said both were fresh and tasted great!

Next on the list for me was Sweet Shrimp.  Sweet Shrimp is prepared using a Spot Prawn.  Two come in an order.  The shrimp is cut in half where the tail meets the body.  The shell is removed from the tail and served raw on rice. You then have the option to have the head tempera fried or turned into a soup.  I always get them fried.  It is AMAZING!!!  The shrimp tail is, like the name suggests, just a little bit sweet naturally.  The fried head is THE BEST PART!  It tastes almost like an amazing fried chicken, but even better!!!  I highly suggest it!

One of the things Cayla got was a Sky Dragon Roll.  It's a California Roll with Ebi (cooked shrimp),spicy tuna, and avocado on top.  She said it was good, which is a compliment from her since she's not what I would call a "Sushi Person" LOL!

My mom decided to try the sesame chicken in addition to sushi.  It also came with a California Roll.  She said there was too much sauce on the chicken, which was sweet,  and they wound up making her another order of chicken with the sauce on the side.  However I must say, she's often like Meg Ryan's character in When Harry Met Sally, meaning she usually orders and likes everything ON THE SIDE, so take that into consideration when reading this ;)

To end the meal I went with an order or Tako (octopus) sushi, and Ohyou (halibut) sashimi.  Both were very good and tasted fresh.  The Ohyou had lemon on top and came with a ponzu sauce on the side for dipping.  Very good combination!

To some things up, you CAN'T go wrong with Izakaya for sushi.  In my opinion it is the best sushi I've tried in OC and I've tried a lot, including a few in Laguna which people rave about.  Those are very good, but I think Izakaya is even better!  Also, if you go with someone who doesn't like sushi, they have a very large menu of Japanese food to choose from.  This place is very consistent and I can not recommend it enough!

How about you?  Have you been to Izakaya before?  Do you know of another place that is amazing for sushi in OC???

Javier's - Newport Beach (Crystal Cove)

So I decided to meet Cayla on her lunch break and go to Javier's in Crystal Cove.  We met at 3:30pm for what I call "linner" (a combination of lunch and dinner).  We sat in the main dinning room.  I really like the ambiance of Javiers, although I like the look of their location at the Irvine Spectrum Center even better ;)  The atmosphere is very dark and traditional, but with a modern twist.  I especially like their fountain that is made of a wall of wine type bottles that slowly drip water into a small pool below it.  Very cool!  Great views of the ocean across PCH too!

To drink it was Pacifico with lime for me and Cayla did the responsible thing while on her lunch break and went with a soda.  Started out with an order of chips and guacamole.  The guacamole NEVER disappoints here, SO GOOD!  The chips always come out hot and are just moist enough to help the salt stick :) 

For lunch I had one of their combination plates.  I chose a cheese enchilada, shredded beef hard shell taco, and green corn tamale.  For the side, as always I went with all  rice instead of beans and rice since I HATE beans.  Javier's didn't disappoint as usual.  Their shredded beef taco is my FAVORITE taco anywhere.  To me this is as good as a taco can get.  It has a generous portion of shredded beef, shredded lettuce, pico de gallo, and cheese on it.  It is always juicy and never dry!  On an interesting side note you can also get the same exact tacos at Tortilla Flats on Lake Mission Viejo.  You may wonder how that is.  Well I'll tell you, years ago Javier started out working at Tortilla Flats before he could open his own restaurant, so when he did leave he brought with him a lot of the recipes.  This is seen in a lot of their dishes.  And know you know ;)  Anyways, back on topic.  The cheese enchilada was so cheesy it was amazing!  The green corn tamale didn't disappoint either.  It was a generous size and tasted GREAT!

Cayla had the taco lunch.  It had two shredded beef tacos, rice, and beans.  Cayla said they were awesome!

Javier's consistently has great food and has a great vibe and ambiance.  I would absolutely recommend this place to anyone and will definitely be back!

What's YOUR favorite Mexican restaurant in OC!?!?

Friends on Super Bowl Sunday - Rancho Santa Margarita

So yesterday two friends and I decided to go to Friends Sports Tavern in Rancho Santa Margarita to watch the Super Bowl.  Some of you may be surprised by this since many of you know that I am not a sports fan.  However, it seemed like it could be fun so we headed out.  We got there around 1:30pm to get a seat since kick off was 3:00pm and were surprised that the place was pretty much empty.  There were a lot of tables with reserved signs on them, but we were able to find a good table with views of televisions without a reserved sign on it.  Our server was very nice and very attentive.  So was the busing staff.

The three of us started out with a pitcher of Stella to drink.  We started out with 3 orders of "Chicken Roll-Ups" and an order of buffalo wings.  The Chicken Roll-Ups were almost like taquitos served with sour cream and salsa on a bed of shredded cabbage.  We all agreed that they were good.  The buffalo wings looked ridiculously small.  I really wish I had gotten a picture of them.  The amount of meat on each one was incredible small.  I didn't try them since I'm not a spice person, but my buddy said that taste wise they were 'OK'.  Right around then was Stella Pitcher #2 :)  After this I had their Prime Rib French Dip sandwich.  It was served on a toasted roll with provolone and grilled onions, and fries on the side.  The sandwich was very good as is usual here.  My buddy also got a Turkey Club and fries.  He said it was good. 

I was very surprised that there were still a few empty tables during the game.  I was expecting standing room only on Super Bowl Sunday at one of RSM's only two sports bars!  Not too far into the third quarter the three of us decided we were all full and none of us were really that into the game.  We got the check and headed out.  All in all most of the dishes here aren't amazing, but they are at least 'good'.  That with the lack of restaurants in the RSM area, I'll be back for sure. :)

On a side note.  I guess the being up since 12:30am at work, plus the food and beer got to me because I wound up going to sleep at 7:30pm which most of you know is CRAZY for me since I am a major night owl.  Wound up sleeping 13 hours, another very rare thing for me!!!  Oh well, I enjoyed it!

Have you been to Friends before!?!?  Tell me what you think!

My name is Chad and I am a self proclaimed "foodie" here in Orange County, CA.  I'm very passionate about dining out, trying new restaurants and bars, and just food and drinks in general!  If the food and service is good (and a view is always a plus ;) I am in!  For awhile now I've been posting Check Ins and pictures of food and drinks on my Facebook.  Recently I've received a lot of suggestions from friends to start blogging about my dining experiences.  So after these suggestions, and some encouragement from my girlfriend Cayla, I've decided to give it a go.  I'm not a very good writer and I've never done anything like this before, but HERE WE GO!

BeachFire - Ladera Ranch

Cayla and I were tired and I didn't feel like making anything at home so we decided to go out for dinner.  It was 7:00 PM Friday night, so we were trying to figure where we could go without having to wait a long time to be seated.  Like I normally do in this type of situation I went to my Open Table app (awesome app!) on my phone and checked for restaurants in the area that had reservations available.  The only thing I found in the area that sounded good at the moment was BeachFire with a 7:30 reservation.  I made the reservation on the app and we were on our way. 

Cayla was drinking red wine and I was drinking Kettle One and Tonic.  We sat on the enclosed heated patio.  It's very nice and has a great ambiance.  It has very dim lighting on the patio which I love, but if you have bad eyes you may need a flashlight (or cell phone) to read the menu ;)  We started off by sharing the Coconut Shrimp appetizer.  We were both disappointed in this dish.  We had had this before several months before and LOVED it!  However, this time when we ordered it we found out that they had changed the preparation.  There were less shrimp this time, only 3 in the order, and it came with sticky white rice and served over a Thai basil mint sauce.  Cayla described the taste of the sauce as "soapy" :/  I wasn't a fan of it either.  It used to be served with a sweet plum sauce that was amazing! 

For dinner Cayla had the Smoked Turkey & Candied Bacon sandwich.  She decided to substitute wheat bread for the Parmesan sourdough.  Her opinion of the sandwich was 'OK', and that she wouldn't order it again.  However she said the macaroni salad it came with was amazing! 

For dinner I had the Prime Beef Dip sandwich with no horseradish (not a fan of horseradish)  The sandwich came on a very soft roll (way too soft) with onions and mushrooms on it and with au jus on the side for dipping.  The sandwich was VERY 'OK'.  I'm a bit of a connoisseur on beef dip sandwiches and would never order this sandwich again here.  However the french fries it came with were EXCELLENT!  It seems like they do side dishes well here, but not the main dish :/ LOL!  The service was also just 'ok'.  On a side note, if you want an EXCELLENT beef dip sandwich try SideDoor in Corona del Mar, Daily Grill in Irvine or Newport Beach, and Hanna's in Rancho Santa Margarita.  You won't be disappointed.

BeachFire is a fun place with a fun bar vibe, live music, and dancing every night.  With that being said, I think I would come back here to drink and have fun in the bar, but Cayla and I both agree that we won't be coming back here for dinner in the future.  We were very disappointed with the food.

Have you been to BeachFire before?  Was your experience different???  I'd love to know about it!

Fisherman's - San Clemente

Cayla and I went to Fisherman's Restaurant and Bar (North side of pier on the right) on the San Clemente Pier for lunch.  At the suggestion of Cayla we got there early, around 11:00 AM to get a good table outside next to the railing.  The view here is AMAZING and it was a beautiful day!  It's a good thing we did because it filled up real quick! 

To drink Cayla had red wine and I had Stella.  We both started with New England Clam Chowder and sourdough, both of which were very good.  Next Cayla had the Fish and Chips and I had the Eggplant Parmigiana Sandwich, both of which came with french fries.  Cayla and I both agreed that each of our meals we 'OK'. 

The service was good, but as far as food went, it seems like Fisherman's relies on it's location and view rather that it's food to bring people in, which was working because it was packed with customers as we left.  The food wasn't 'bad', and because of the location and view we will definitely be back!  Maybe around sunset next time :)

Tell me about your Fisherman's/ San Clemente Pier experience!