Mulberry Steet Ristorante
114 West Wilshire Ave.
Fullerton, CA 92832
Ever since I have known Sandy she has wanted a grandchild. She's the mother of my life-long friend Clay. Clay had a let's say, colorful dating life. He went from woman to woman, but never quite found that perfect match until he met Jen about eight years ago. They got married three years ago and gave Sandy her first grandchild late last year. Sandy was, of course, ecstatic, but there was a problem.
After getting married, Clay and Jen high tailed it to Kentucky for new opportunities. As we all predicted, Sandy and her long-winded husband Kenton put their house up for sale right away to be closer to their grandson Christopher. So this dinner was not only a long overdue catch-up but also a sort of going away dinner for all of us. As it was my job to pick a restaurant, my trusty restaurant wishlist guided us to Mulberry Street Ristorante in Downton Fullerton.
The neon sign out in front of Mulberry Street states that they have been open since 1984. I seem to remember coming here as a kid for a Sunday brunch with my parents a long time ago, but my parents don't remember that, and now my memory is a little hazy about it as well. Mulberry Street is located right across the street from the Villa Del Sol, where Katie and I got married, and just removed enough from the craziness that is Harbor Boulevard.
Mulberry Street has the feel of an upscale Italian restaurant, without the stuffiness. It kind of brought to mind Maggiano's, but on a smaller scale, and without the corporate feel that has taken over Maggiano's. The Italian tinged menu has plenty to offer. Steaks, seafood, and pasta entrees range from $12 to $28, and there's also appetizers, soups, and salads. Probably about 25 or so tables in the dining room, which is decorated simply with plenty of framed pictures and tables with white tablecloths. Just as Kenton was starting some story that none of us were interested in, our server saved us by having us order. Here's how our night went at Mulberry Street.
Have to start out with a quick shot of the Bread Service at Mulberry Street. This bread came out warm, with plenty of butter. Even better they were not shy about refilling it.
Kenton has grown an affinity for Fresh Oysters ($13.95), and since Sandy is not too fond of them, I decided I'd split them with him. These came six to an order and came with their own cocktail sauce. These were not the best tasting oysters I have had by a long shot, but with the provided cocktail sauce they became passable. A few still had some grit to them, but at least they were fresh. I'm always a little skittish about having oysters at a restaurant that is not a seafood-focused place, but it turned out fine here.
As if we did not already have enough bread, we also got this Garlic Bread ($4.95) as an appetizer. Carbs be damned! This was a basic, but delicious version of garlic bread. Plenty of butter, some parmesan cheese, and it came to the table warm. Very comforting.
Entrees at Mulberry Street come with your choice of soup or salad, and Katie and Kenton both tried the soup. Kenton could not stop raving about the Clam Chowder that he got. He claimed that this was the most creamy, and one of the better clam chowders he has ever had. I guess I'll have to take his word for it as he was pretty stingy with offering me a spoonful. Very selfish Kenton. Katie scoffed at the $2.50 upcharge to get the opportunity to try the French Onion Soup. She felt it was a very comforting version of french onion, with a thick layer of cheese topping it, and a warm, rich broth underneath.
I guess Sandy and I are more into salads than soup, as we both opted for the greenery at Mulberry Street. The House Salad is made up of your basic mixed greens, some red cabbage, a tomato wedge, and your choice of dressing. No complaints from the always wonderful Sandy and the salad appeared to be very fresh from across the table. I went for the $3.50 upcharge and got the Caesar Salad option. I've had unbelievable luck with Caesars lately, and this held true on this evening. Chopped romaine, plenty of parmesan squares, crunchy croutons, and a liberal amount of Caesar dressing made this one a winner. Worth the extra three dollars to me.
This colorful plate belonged to Sandy. She had this veggie-centric Fettuccine Primavera ($16.95). A ton of vegetables, including broccoli, carrots, mushrooms, peas, spinach, and zucchini were mixed with a very tasty light cream sauce and then served over fettuccine. Fresh and light, this entree had Sandy singing its praises. She was excited to box half of this up for lunch the next day.
Katie's entree did not live up to her lofty expectations. She went with the Chicken Pomodoro ($18.95). With this one chicken pieces were sauteed in olive oil, garlic, tomatoes, mushrooms, and some white wine, and then placed above some linguini. Really bland, this dish fell flat. It was livened up with the addition of some grated parmesan, but not much. The bite of chicken that I had was a little on the dry side.
Kenton must really love seafood, probably because everyone keeps telling him to take a long walk off a short pier. He went with the special of the evening, which was a bunch of assorted seafood; shrimp, calamari, scallops, and other treats from the sea. Kenton was a little disappointed with this meal, as it was rather pedestrian. He thought the seafood was fine, but he would have liked a more prominent sauce with this entree. He'd skip this the next time he's here.
I don't order veal nearly enough, but I'm glad I took a chance on this Veal Marsala ($25.95). Medallions of veal sauteed with butter and mushrooms in an excellent marsala sauce made for a wonderful entree. My one complaint about this dish was that the sauce and the mushrooms kind of overpowered here, so the veal was pushed to the background. It was hard to get the feel for the veal. Maybe I'd get the chicken marsala next time and save $6.
A sweet end to a wonderful evening. When our server brought over the dessert tray, it was a little difficult to pick from the eight or so offerings, but we ended up singling out the Strawberry Shortcake ($6) and a slice of Coconut Cake ($6). I really liked the coconut cake. It was not overly sweet and had a pretty solid icing topping it. It could have been a tad moister, but still worth trying. I'm not really a big fan of strawberries, (I know I'm weird), but Sandy really enjoyed this slice. I really enjoyed that Kenton could not partake of any of the desserts since he's averse to sugar. Too bad Kenton.
Mulberry Street was a good spot but there were some hits and misses. This is not Italian food that is going to blow you away, but there are some gems to be found on the menu here. The soups, salads, and the marsala dish really shined, but the seafood and chicken entrees missed the mark for us on this evening. I felt the prices were very fair here based on the amount of food that you get. Service was excellent, as our waitress was very sociable, and came by to check on us frequently. I like the fact that Mulberry Street is set a little off the beaten path of the busier downtown area a bit, as it's a little less chaotic, easy to get a reservation, and not as many people will see us with Kenton. Sorry, Kenton, I had to get one more in on ya. Good luck to you and Sandy in Kentucky, and enjoy your grandchild.
Out of five yards of silk, (because mulberry trees are a key habitat for silkworms, which are a primary producer of the fabric), five being best to zero being worst, Mulberry Street Ristorante gets 3 yards of silk.
For more information about Mulberry Street Ristorante, head to their website here: https://www.mulberryfullerton.com/
No comments:
Post a Comment