The Catch
2100 E. Katella Ave., Ste 104
Anaheim, CA 92806
The Catch has been across from Angel Stadium for as long as I can remember. I remember my parents telling me that the Catch is where the Angel players go after the games, so it always had this cool aura around it. When I was finally old enough to go there, I remember it being dark and crowded after games. There were some player sightings and some good times at the bar.
The Catch recently moved into their new building, a few blocks from the old one. This whole area of Anaheim is trying to get that big city vibe with high-rise apartments, concert venues, and restaurants. The Catch is located on the ground floor of one of these high rises, the AvalorBay building. This version of the Catch restaurant is anything but dark. The bar area is wide open, and there are windows everywhere. We arrived on a Sunday at 5, and there was still a good-sized crowd left over from the baseball game in the bar area. There was even a baseball player sighting Angel's first baseman, Mike Napoli. But enough with baseball player stalking. How about the food.
Here are some random pictures of the dining room, the iced tea, and the bread they serve. The dining room was nice and cozy. Lots of windows in here as well. It was empty on this night. All of the action was in the bar. I was wondering how busy this place would be on a non-game day. The iced teas we ordered were accompanied by their carafes for each of us. I liked this touch because you never had to ask for more tea. The rolls that they had were sourdough rolls, and they were adequate.
Now on to the salads. Above is Katie's salad, the Caprese. Tomatoes, basil, mozzarella, olive oil, and balsamic vinegar made this salad. I liked this presentation, and my parents and Katie raved about the flavor of this salad. I did not try this, though.
For my salad, I got the Slice of Ice. This cool salad (ahh, get it, because of the name, wow I am so sorry, my sense of humor is awful), anyways, this salad was half an iceberg lettuce, with Point Reyes blue cheese, red onions, grape tomatoes, bacon, and blue cheese dressing. I liked this salad, the flavors were big, and it came out cold. The dressing-to-salad ratio on this was good as well.
The winner of the salad portion of this meal has to go to this one, the Vermont Maple Salad. Mixed greens with maple vinaigrette dressing, Cotija cheese, sliced apples, candied black pepper bacon, and toasted pecans. Yes, I said candied bacon! Also, the unusual maple dressing was killer on this. I am not big on salads with fruit in them, but this one worked. I would for sure get this salad next time.
Our appetizer arrived at the same time as our salads, so the Teriyaki Dragon Rolls were made to wait. The dragon roll consisted of marinated pork and shrimp, with vegetables in a spring roll and flash fried. These were served with a black bean sauce with a little kick. They were delicious, and we all liked these.
Now we move on to the entree portion of the meal. Katie got the Shrimp, Christopher. Large shrimp are butterflied and stuffed with crab, scallops, and fish. It was like a mini crab cake on top of a shrimp, not what I had pictured when she ordered this. It was okay, not excellent. With all of these killer items in this dish, I would have thought it would have tasted better. The garlic mashed potatoes that came with this were pretty good, though. The rainbow chard was sauteed perfectly but got lost under all the potatoes.
My Mom chose to get Victor's Fish and Chips. Cod dipped in beer batter, then fried and served with a tarter sauce. This is served with garlic fries, which did not seem too garlicky, and Louisiana hot slaw, which definitely had a kick. I liked the fish but again was not wowed by it. It was not oily and was flaky on the inside. I usually like more dressing for my slaw, but this was good slaw.
The winner in the main dish category was again chosen by my Dad. He opted for the Drunken Mahi-Mahi. Blackened fish, splashed with tequila, over tomato risotto. The fish was done perfectly, and it was hard for me to get a bite from my Dad because he liked this so much. The fish was presented well and paired with crab tostadas (which were more the size of a nacho). The tostadas were topped with tomatillo-avocado salsa and Cotija cheese. Delicious, solid dish here.
I was the only one that did not go for fish at the table. I saw the Double Header on the menu and knew that was what I would have. Two filets, one with shrimp scampi over it, and the other were prepared Oscar style, with hollandaise sauce and crab. I loved that they offered this on the menu, but that is where my love ended for this dish. The hollandaise sauce was too thick, and the crab was unnoticeable. One of the filets was overcooked (the other was cooked perfectly the way I ordered it, medium rare). The scampi steak was okay, and they did not shortchange you on the shrimp with this one. The flavor just did not pop out at me.
I had mixed feelings about the Catch. I really liked the salads and appetizers. I felt the entrees were not the best, but they seemed to be trying hard. The service was good, but there were only two tables in the dining room, so it might be different on busier nights. The bar seemed like the place to be, and I am looking forward to trying their huge, four-pound burger (with friends, of course) and some of their different appetizers.
Out of five Willie Mays gold gloves, (because he was the one who had, "The Catch"), five being best to zero being worst, The Catch gets 3 gold gloves.
For more information on The Catch, check them out here: http://www.catchanaheim.com/
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