Chapter One: the modern local - Santa Ana

Yesterday a buddy and I went to brunch at Chapter One: the modern local, located in the Artists Village in Santa Ana.  They call it their "Sinatra Sunday Brunch" Sounded good to me!  This was my first time here and I had been looking forward to it after hearing a lot of good things about it.  I would describe Chapter One as a hip and modern gastro pub with an Old-World/European feel.  They have a large VERY well stocked bar as well as a dining room side to the restaurant.  We sat on the dining room side next to a window looking out to the street.  One of the things I immediately liked about this place was their drink menu.  They have A LOT of specialty cocktails that they make listed in it, but what made me really like it was that they list all the different types of alcohol that they have.  I wish more restaurant and bars would do this that way you know what your choices are.  They have a very large selection of alcohol to choose from :)

To drink I went with their Moscow Mule.  This drink is served in a traditional copper cup and made with spicy house made ginger beer, Russian Standard vodka, and lime juice.  As many of you know, I am a big fan of classic drinks from years past, so when I found out that one of their specialty drinks was a Moscow Mule (which I've wanted to try for years), made famous in the 50's and actually responsible for America's vodka craze in the 50's, I WAS IN!  I would describe this drink as both refreshing and spicy (ginger spicy, not hot spicy)  The combination of the ginger and lime creates a taste that develops in your mouth after you take a sip.  It was good, but since I'm not a ginger fan I don't think I'll be ordering one again.  Nothing against the drink or the bartender, it just wasn't for me. 

My buddy decided to get their Sinatra Mimosa Flight.  Now this isn't your usual brunch mimosa.  At Chapter One you get endless champagne and several different types of juices all for $5!  Pretty cool!

To start with we went with the scones.  Seemed like a good brunch starter.  The scones have almonds and cranberries in them and are served with strawberry preserves.  These were very good.  The scones were just the right amount of flakey, fresh, and lightly dusted with powdered sugar.  The strawberry preserves seemed house made and were the perfect thing to compliment the scones.

For our main courses we both went with their dish called the S.O.S.  This dish is filet mignon tips, au jus gravy, Texas toast, a fried egg, and just a small amount of hollandaise sauce.  This dish is excellent!  The filet tips and the brown gravy go very well together as does the hollandaise and fried egg, but when you combine all of these over the Texas toast, you have a GREAT combination of flavors.  Both gravy and hollandaise are traditionally heavy sauces, but somehow Chapter One has managed to make these sauces not quite as heavy as you'd normally expect them to be and still make them delicious!  I highly recommend this dish.

I really enjoyed my first visit to Chapter One and hope to return soon to try it out at night. This place is known to be a hot spot at night and I can't wait to check it out!

House of BIG FISH and Ice Cold Beer - Laguna Beach

I went to House of BIG FISH and Ice Cold Beer  in Laguna Beach the other day for lunch.  I saw that it had great Yelp reviews and its large and diverse menu sparked my interest.  I got there at 11:30am when they opened to get a good seat with a view of the ocean.  I was pleased and surprised that I was the first customer of the day, although after I was seated it got semi-busy.  The hostess told me to have any table that I wanted, so I picked a nice one next to the window with a view over PCH looking at the ocean.  The decor of the restaurant is very casual and beachy.  I love the fish that are mounted all over the restaurant! 

To drink I went with a large Stella (had to with a name like this place has ;)  although they do have a full bar if beer isn't your thing.  To start with I went with the Coconut Shrimp served with a sweet chili sauce.  The above picture is missing a few shrimp since I forgot to take a picture when it first came out LOL!  I would describe the shrimp as 'OK'.  The batter they were dipped in didn't have that much flavor and the shrimp were kind of greasy. 

Next I went with a Combo Hawaiian Plate with Teriyaki Chicken Breast and Kalua Pork with cabbage mixed in with the pork.  The Hawaiian Plate comes with white rice and macaroni salad.  There is A LOT of food on this plate.  A good choice if you are hungry for sure!  The Hawaiian Plate was 'OK'.  The quality of the food was good, it just lacked flavor.  The teriyaki chicken was average tasting.  The pork was VERY tender, but very bland also.  The cabbage helped add some personality to the pork.  The macaroni salad was also lacking in flavor.  If I had to describe this dish in one word it would be "bland".

House of BIG FISH and Ice Cold Beer has a very cool atmosphere and feel to it.  Very casual and comfortable.  I won't come back here in the future just for food, but I would come back with a group of friends and have drinks and appetizers at happy hour since it's such a cool place to just relax at.  They have an AWESOME happy hour!  Happy Hour starts at 2:30pm with appetizers at $2.30 and gets one dollar more expensive every hour up to 6:30pm.  $1 off all beers, $5 well drinks, $5 margaritas, $5 house wines, $6 martinis, $.25 shrimp, $.25 wings, and $1 oysters.  PRETTY COOL!!!

Have you been here?  What was YOUR experience???

The Harbor Grill - Dana Point

Saturday night Cayla and I met up with my parents for dinner at The Harbor Grill in Dana Point Harbor.  I've been eating here for most of my life and it's always a great experience!  This night was no exception. 

We had reservations at 7:00 that I made on Open Table and checked in right on time.  We wound up having to wait and weren't seated until 7:20 because several tables were sitting and not getting up after paying.  The restaurant had no control over this and we didn't blame them at all, but the manager INSISTED on buying the four of us a round of drinks while we waited and two appetizers once we were seated.  This is a great example of their commitment to EXCELLENT service!  Well done Harbor Grill!

To start we had the Fried Calamari and the Smoked Halibut with tarragon mustard mayonnaise.  The fried calamari was very good.  It was fried to a crisp, but not too crispy golden brown and seasoned with the perfect amount of salt.  Very good!  I am not much of a fish person, but everyone said the smoked halibut was very good, I didn't try it. 

For dinner I went with their 3 Course Prix-Fixe menu.  For the first course I went with their New England Clam Chowder.  Very good creamy chowder with a healthy portion of both clams and potatoes.  One of my favorite clam chowders out there!  For the main course I went with the Louisiana Style Barbequed Shrimp, my 'Usual' here.  These shrimp are AMAZING!  They are cooked on their mesquite grills, which are visible to the dining room through 3 large glass windows to the kitchen.  It's fun to be able to see them cooking back there!  The barbeque sauce is an amazing slightly sweet and slightly tangy barbeque sauce.  This is one of my favorite shrimp dishes of all time ANYWHERE!  For my side dish I went with the rice pilaf.  I always go with the rice pilaf here.  It's hard to describe what it tastes like.  It's light in flavor and VERY good.  Let me put it this way, this is the ONLY restaurant where I get the rice pilaf.  For the third course I went with the HOMEMADE Bread Pudding with Kentucky Bourbon Sauce.  WOW!!!  The desert comes out cut in a large cube covered in the sauce.  The bread pudding itself is a firm, yet soft mixture of the warm gooey pastry and raisins.  The sauce is what makes this dish without a doubt though!  It is sweet and has a slight kick from the flavor of the bourbon in it.  A big plus if you're a bourbon drinker like I am!  

Cayla had the fish special last night, Mongchong.  Mongchong is a Hawaiian white fish.  She said it was excellent.  Full of flavor and very tender.

My dad had the salmon.  He said it was very good.  I don't remember anything else about it.

My mom had the cheese burger.  I have had their cheeseburger in the past and can tell you from experience that this is a GREAT cheeseburger!  Always juicy and tender!  The mesquite grilling really comes out in the dish. 

The Harbor Grill is a restaurant with GREAT food and service.  I highly recommend it.  Also the fact that it's located in the harbor means that you can go to other places before or after that you can walk to.  Yesterday before dinner we all hit up Harpoon Henry's for drinks.  Two other good places in the harbor for drinks before dinner are Turks and Wind & Sea.

Has anyone been here before?  What was your experience?