Cooling down at the Coast - CLOSED

H.H. Cotton's

201 Avenida Del Mar

San Clemente, CA 92672

When the temps start climbing into the triple digits, we look for any excuse to head to the beach cities for relief. As our first summer heat wave was searing into South OC, we had plans with our great friends Tom and Daniele to meet up, catch up on all of their big news, and, of course, have dinner out somewhere. Since we are food bloggers, or in Tom's case, a recovering food blogger, it's always a spirited discussion on where we will eat.  They must have liked my suggestion of going towards the coast and trying H.H. Cotton's in San Clemente.

The twenty-degree temperature change was very noticeable once we arrived at this seaside paradise. I had not been in this bustling area of San Clemente in quite a long while. It immediately reminded me of Manhattan Beach but on a smaller scale. We were not the only ones in OC with the great idea of beating the heat inland and making a beeline for the coast. There are numerous restaurant options in this area of Del Mar; Nick's, Avila's El Ranchito, Beach Fire, and The Cellar, all packed on this Friday evening.

We had wisely made dinner reservations at H.H. Cotton's beforehand, so we only had to wait about five minutes after our arrival time of 7:30. We were seated deep inside the deceptively large restaurant, where the air conditioning seemed to be working the best. H.H. Cotton's had a real Jimmy's Famous American Tavern feel, with reclaimed wood throughout the space, a rowdy bar near the front door, and a darkened dining room.

One thing that is certain from dining here is that they are proud to be part of the San Clemente community. Not only do they have the names of San Clemente streets proudly displayed inside their booths and a large city map projected across the back wall of the restaurant, but this place is named after one of the two founders of this beautiful city, H.H. Cotton. He's Hamilton H. Cotton, to be precise, and he led a very colorful life, which included being the builder of his self-named estate, which we all know better as the Western White House, which not only was the home to President Nixon but also hosted FDR during his trips to the west coast.

The restaurant H. H. Cotton's is a joint effort by four local families. Their vision for their restaurant is to provide a family-friendly atmosphere, a place where locals come to celebrate milestones and others come to partake in the packed bar while watching local sports on one of the five TVs scattered throughout the restaurant. Like their Chef Jason Gamble, the menu draws inspiration from many places he's lived, including New Orleans, Hawaii, and California's Central Coast. Intrigued, we made our selections, and while we waited, we listened non-stop to our good friend Daniele's ongoing stories that we had definitely heard before since she had posted them all on her Facebook wall since the last time we had seen her. Here are my thoughts on the food we had this evening.

We were supposed to have two appetizers this evening, but our server only brought these Thai BBQ Wings and Drums ($14), so the poke would have to wait until our next visit. I'm usually partial to the spicier buffalo variety of wings, but this sweeter Thai sauce was nice for a change. The wings were very meaty, with tender, not overdone chicken underneath. The sauce was not too sticky, which made these very easy to eat with your hands.

Daniele had heard that it was National Fried Chicken Day on this particular Friday, so she wanted to get in the mood by trying out the Fried Chicken and Waffles ($21). She raved about this plate. She loved the fried chicken, which she called nearly perfect. The waffle was also good, and she loved this plate's sweet and savory feel. We finally got a respite from listening to her drone on and on about things while she ate this. The silence did us some good. The portion size did not warrant a price over twenty dollars, but that's my opinion.

Katie did not know it was fried chicken day but unwittingly participated by getting this Bird's the Word Chicken Sandwich ($14). I actually tried this, and it was a delicious chicken sandwich. You can get this either grilled or fried, and it comes with arugula, tomato, caramelized onion, and the unusual curry aioli. The bun was nice and soft, the chicken tender and the curry aioli added a good flavor boost to this sandwich. Katie chose the side salad with her sandwich instead of the fries. It was a basic but fresh side salad.

Tom finally broke the chicken juggernaut we had going here at H. H. Cotton's when he ordered this BBQ Spare Rib Plate ($18). This came with five pork ribs on a cutting board, coleslaw, half an ear of corn, and a cheddar biscuit. Let's start with the ribs. They were dry and challenging, and they needed the sauce they came out with to make them go down easier. I did not get a report on the corn, biscuit, or coleslaw, but Tom did finish them, which is a good sign.

When I saw the description of the Chili Verde ($17) on the menu here, I veered toward it, thanks in part to the inclusion of cheesy grits. I have been craving them since Lillie's Q closed almost two years ago. Including the grits, this was a chili verde with a southern slant. Also included in this was some shredded pork shank, salsa verde, cotija cheese, pickled onion, and, of course, those grits. This plate was good but a little disjointed. The pork was delicious, but not enough in here, and it was too small of pieces. The grits were done well, but the salsa and cotija cheese felt out of place here. About three-fourths of my way through this, I found the corn tortillas that came with this as they hid alongside the bottom of this rather large bowl. I don't know why they needed such a large bowl with the portion size that this came out with.

This meal taught us this evening that they do chicken rather well at H.H. Cotton's, but the other proteins fell flat. Tom and I would get something else next time, as I have my eye on one of their four burgers. I understand the higher price points at beach area restaurants, but they could have offered more significant portions, especially with my and Daniele's meals. Service was definitely spotty, to say the least. As mentioned, our server just plain forgot about our poke appetizer. Refilling or taking drink orders was not too quick, leaving us to fend for ourselves for long periods, especially when it came time to pay the check. Beach casual is to be expected, though, and luckily, we were not in that much of a rush since we were catching up. Even with these few hiccups, we would return and give them another try if we were in the area and wanted an opportunity to cool down during one of our summer heatwaves.

Out of five memoirs (because the Western White House, which H.H. Cotton had built is where Richard Nixon came to write his memoirs after his presidency ended), five being best to zero being worst, H.H. Cotton's gets 3 memoirs.

For more information about H.H. Cotton's, head to their website here: https://www.hhcottons.com/

Dipping into Poqet Donuts - CLOSED

Poqet Donuts

17655 Harvard Ave. 

Irvine, CA 92614

Ever since I was a little kid, I have loved donuts. Not only are they delicious, but they were part of my morning ritual with my dad while growing up. My mom and sister always slept in, so it would just be my dad, and I left to fend for ourselves for breakfast. Sometimes, he would make pancakes, but because he made so much noise, he would usually opt to just head to Winchell's or any other local donut shop to buy a dozen for us and my sleeping mom and sister.

He always let me pick out the dozen. I felt like a kid in a candy store (okay, a donut store would be more precise). I knew all of my family's favorites. My mom was partial to the crumb, my dad enjoyed the chocolate long john, and my sister liked the rainbow sprinkle, even though she only ate the top portion with the frosting and sprinkles. I loved every donut. I swear I could have eaten the whole dozen by myself, but my dad limited me to three, which usually meant the crumb, devil's food, and the buttermilk bar would be my choices before I was cut off for my own good.

My point is that I still have a deep-rooted love for donuts to this day. As the years have gone by, my tastes in donuts have also evolved. I'm no longer satisfied with the donuts offered in the supermarket's bakery section. With the exception of an occasional Entenmann's, I don't get my donuts on the bread aisle anymore, either. I do, however, perk up when I see someone at work bring in a pink box from one of the neighborhood donut shops.

In recent years, I have become a big fan of the gourmet donut genre that has sprung up. It started when Sidecar Doughnuts opened up in Costa Mesa in late 2012. These are the gold standard of donuts I have tried, and I've had them numerous times in the six years they have been around, and they just keep improving. Not that I have dismissed others. We briefly had the Donut Bar in Fountain Valley, which turned into Crafted Donuts, which I have yet to try, but I've heard good things. Just like I had heard good things about the shop I had chosen to visit on this day, Poqet Donuts in Irvine.

Poqet, pronounced like "pocket," has been around for three years. My friend Danny and I had eaten lunch nearby and wanted to try this place. I was a little nervous because I know that as the day goes on in a donut shop or bakery, things get picked over and are less fresh.  I knew we were pushing it to show up here at close to 2 pm, but we were met by a full display case featuring a good assortment of their most popular flavors.

Poqet Donuts differs from its competitors because it allows you to customize your donuts. You build your own donut masterpiece by picking the kind of donut you want to use and adding your favorite fillings and toppings to finish it off. It would be cool to try this, but for now, Danny and I just picked the donuts we wanted from behind the case, some for here and some for his family waiting patiently at home.

Here's a quick overview of what we got. The top picture shows the ones Danny was going to bring home to his family. The bottom picture shows the ones we were going to try out in front of their shop. Let's take a closer look at each and our thoughts on it.

First out of the box for us was this Oreo Cookies and Cream ($3). This used a slightly glazed donut as its base, which was then topped with plenty of Oreo cookie crumbs and finished off with piped cream over half of the doughnut. This was not as sweet as I expected and did not convey the Oreo cookie vibe I had hoped it would. The problem was that the cream was only over half the donut, so there were only half the bites that resembled America's favorite cookie. A more spread-out cream would have made this more enjoyable.

As I stated above, one of my favorite donuts growing up was the crumb, so we had to try this Vanilla Coffee Cake Donut ($2.75). Glad we did. This was a good rendition of one of my favorite donuts growing up. There was plenty of cinnamon crumb topping, a nice crunch to the outward donut portion, and it was soft and moist on the inside. The sweetness was toned down by the cinnamon, a nice touch. It is one of the better versions we experienced this afternoon.
 

A little more elaborate than your normal donut, this is the Apple Pie ($3.75). This was a glazed donut with apple pie filling in the hole portion, with graham cracker crumbs, a caramel drizzle, and a dollop of cream topping this visually appealing donut. It was good, but there was not enough apple on this to really make it stand out. It was a very sweet donut, but I'd probably pass on it the next time I was here.

Lastly, one of the most popular donuts at legendary M and M Donuts in Anaheim, which you do not have to wait in line for at ten o'clock at night here at Poqet Donuts, was their version of a Blueberry Donut ($3). I actually liked the simplicity of this donut. It had a fair amount of blueberry specks in the cake portion of the donut, and the icing had a nice mellow flavor. Very well done.

Even though we had shown up at an awkward hour for a donut shop, our trip to Poqet Donuts this afternoon was solid. Yes, the donuts did not blow us away like Sidecar, but they are better quality than many mom-and-pop donut shops in almost any shopping center. You can tell they use high-quality products, resulting in a lighter, less greasy product than many competitors. I liked the simpler donuts we ordered rather than the more outrageous ones we indulged in. Service was pleasant enough, especially since we were here about an hour before closing. The three-dollar price per donut is a little exorbitant, but these are more like special occasion donuts. A donut for when you want to pamper yourself. Or think back to a particular time you experienced as a kid with your dad. You can't put a price on memories that bring you back to those great times. 

Out of five computers (because one of the first portable computers available to the public was the Poqet PC, which sold for $2000 back in 1989), five being best to zero being worst, Poqet Donuts gets 3 computers.

For more information about Poqet Donuts, head to their website here: http://poqetdonuts.com/

Shooting for the Moon at Luna Grill

Luna Grill

26921 Aliso Creek Road

Aliso Viejo, CA 92656

I think that it's safe to say that Mediterranean cuisine has hit the mainstream. It used to be that if you wanted some hummus, kabobs, or falafel you would have to seek out a sit-down restaurant a few cities over. Now it seems that Mediterranean options abound, and almost every shopping center has at least one option where you can partake of skewered proteins, delicious basmati rice, and fresh pita bread. One quick service restaurant that is leading the charge to bring this food to the masses is Luna Grill.

Luna Grill was founded by Sean and Maria Pourteymour back in 2004. They started this business because they were looking for a quick and healthy option to provide for their daughter. Back then the options would have been a Happy Meal or maybe some fried chicken from a supermarket. Not the case anymore thanks to their Luna Grill, which has now expanded to 49 locations in California and Texas.

Luna Grill serves a fusion of Mediterranian and Middle Eastern cuisines, which not only tastes good but is way more healthier than a lot of the other options out there. Sean and Maria are doing things the right way here, as they provide food that is sourced with a focus on sustainability, quality, and animal welfare. They also support locally harvested produce on their plates, which means a fresher and better meal for you and your family.

I had never visited Luna Grill before we were invited in to experience what they have to offer. Katie was traveling for work, so I grabbed my good friend Oz, who was a Luna Grill veteran to come with me and show me the ropes here. We arrived at the Aliso Viejo location right after 6 on a recent Wednesday evening. The restaurant was pretty packed, with plenty of people happily eating in their deceptively spacious dining room, and out on the patio to the right of the restaurant. Oz and I quickly made our selections at the register and found a nice table near the window, which was ideal for people watching while we vented about work. After a short time, our food was brought out to our table.

We started things off with one of the newest items on the Luna Gill menu, this Dip Trio ($7.75). Can't decide between your favorite Mediterranean dips and sauces?  This is the starter for you. You get your choice of spicy or regular hummus, garlic sauce, and spicy feta. It's also served with sliced carrots and celery, along with soft and fresh pita. One of my favorite things about eating Mediterranean food is the sauces and this was a great option to go along with our meal. The spicy hummus had a nice kick to it, which kept me coming back for more. I liked the garlic sauce with my chicken entree which you will see coming up. I was not in love with the spicy feta, but I'm not normally a feta fan, but Oz seemed to enjoy all right.

Both Oz and I got the same thing, which benefits you as it's less of my awful writing that you have to endure. The Flat Cut Chicken Kabob Plate ($12.75) would be our meal this evening. This very balanced meal came with thinly sliced chicken, a house salad, a big mound of basmati rice, sliced pita, a grilled tomato garnish, and plenty of cucumber yogurt sauce. I'm always a little leery about getting chicken in restaurants because a lot of time its overcooked and comes out dry. That was not the case here at Luna Grill. The chicken was tender and moist and got a good char on it from the grill. It was made even better when I alternated eating it with the garlic sauce from the dip trio and the addictive cucumber yogurt sauce. The serving size of the rice was more than adequate for me, and the salad featured a butter lettuce and romaine duo with red onion, cucumber, and a tangy house vinaigrette. I'd probably forgo the vinaigrette next time in favor of the cucumber yogurt sauce, which I would imagine would be an excellent dressing for my salad.

I left Luna Grill full and satisfied but did not have that sluggish feeling that I usually get when exiting a restaurant. I felt pretty good eating this healthier and lighter meal than I am used to. My body seemed to be thanking me for taking care of it. I'm not going to shy away from burgers, burritos, and pizzas anytime soon, but I probably will find the time to come back to Luna Grill rather frequently. The food made me feel good, they got it out quickly, and the staff here were very welcoming. We saw them checking on their guests in their dining room numerous times during our stay. I'm eyeing the lamb or the filet on my next visit. Glad Mediterranean cuisine is more readily available these days.

For your nearest location or for more information about Luna Grill, head to their website here: https://lunagrill.com/

Trying to Reveal the Identity of Heroes and Legends - CLOSED

Heroes and Legends

22741 Lambert St.

Lake Forest, CA 92630

This place had a familiar feel to it. You know, the feeling you get when walking into your old elementary school or maybe a former workplace. This place felt like the Heroes in Fullerton and Riverside, right down to the peanut shells littering the floor, but they almost didn't want to advertise the connection between these places. I even asked our server, who played coy, and she told me there was a connection, but she's not sure what it is. There's not even a website for this bar and grill. They do know that this is 2018, right?

Another odd thing about Heroes and Legends is that they have been open for two years, and I'm just finding out about them now. I used to think I was pretty knowledgeable about restaurants, but they kept sneaking up on me. I find it funny that I live and work near this place, and no one has ever mentioned it. It's a secret that no one wanted to share, even though I'm a big fan of Heroes in Fullerton and Riverside.

They may be flying under the radar, but not on purpose. When my sister and I arrived here just after 3pm, we were two of the six customers. As our visit stretched into more regular after-work hours, this restaurant and bar never filled up with more than a handful of people at one time. Unheard of for the Riverside or Fullerton locations. When we inquired with our server whether Heroes and Legends ever really gets busy, she said not and suggested that a lack of a happy hour might be at the root of it.

The menu here is slightly more condensed than its stepsister restaurants, but there is plenty of overlap, even with some of the names. Yes, the famous Chili Nachos come out on a pizza pan and can easily feed three to four people. Both menus have Bud's Chili-size burgers, and a Southwest Meatloaf is also offered here. At this location, they do not match the 100-plus taps that the others possess, but they offer a very respectable 70 beers on tap, one of the largest I have seen down this way. Now,  I was intrigued to see if the food would also be the same. Let's check it out.

Here's a bit of a personal note before we go any further. I've been doing this food blogging for nine years now, and in that time, my dining partners have graciously allowed me to take numerous pictures of their food before they have dug in. Since they are nice enough to allow me to do this, I try not to steer them into getting what I want. It's a give-and-take thing. When my sister inquired about these Fresh Oysters on the Half Shell ($16/market price), I was slightly worried about her. She's been dieting and found a new love for oysters a month ago. Oysters in a not-very-busy restaurant and this far from the ocean always make me nervous, but our server assured her they were very fresh. Eight rather large oysters came out over ice, with sliced lemon and a combination of cocktail sauce and horseradish. I tried the oysters, which were fresh and not too gritty. The sauces provided made them go down as easily as oysters can. I will still not get these here on my next visit, but they were fine on this particular day.

No diet for me, of course. I went with one of my favorites at Heroes, the Patty Melt ($12.99). It was the same here at Heroes and Legends. The beef patty is joined on the grilled parmesan by Swiss and cheddar cheese slices and grilled onions. I usually like some Thousand Island dressing on the side with my patty melt, but the juiciness of this negated the need for it. I had asked for this to be medium, but it came out more of a medium rare, which I did not mind. The curly fries were just like the ones at the other locations. Seasoned well, coming out hot, and more than enough to share with my sister, who broke her diet by having a few of these fries. Sorry to blow your cover, sis. Yes, they charge an extra 75 cents for ranch dressing, which is a bone of contention for many online reviewers, but having curly fries without ranch would be sacrilege. I'll gladly pay the three quarters.

Since my sister took me out for a belated birthday meal, some cake had to be had. I'm a big fan of Carrot Cake ($8); this one was all right. They did not make this here but tried to jazz it up with a little extra icing. I appreciated the effort, but the cake could have been more moist and was served ice cold, which led me to believe it came right out of the fridge. I took half home and let it sit out. It was noticeably better when eaten at room temperature.

I left Heroes and Legends excited about the food we encountered this early evening but also perplexed as to why this restaurant and bar were not busier. It could be the business park setting, but more than likely, it's the lukewarm reviews they get on Yelp for their service. We had no issues with the service, except at the start of our meal when it took a few minutes to get things rolling as our server wanted to finish her conversation with the bartender. Nothing too tragic since my sister and I had some significant catching up to do. I look forward to coming back soon and trying more of their menu, including their thick-cut pastrami sandwich, more of their burgers, and chili spaghetti. Hopefully, I will have learned the secret connection between this place and the other locations by then. For now, I'm glad it'll cut down on my long car trips to Fullerton and Riverside.

Out of five bowls of cereal (because Lake Forest is the final resting place for William Hanna, producer of all the best cartoons of my youth, and I watched them all with a bowl of cereal in my lap), five being best to zero being worst, Heroes and Legends gets 3 bowls of cereal.

As I mentioned before, Heroes and Legends has no website, so you can find out information about them from their Yelp Page here: https://www.yelp.com/biz/heroes-and-legends-bar-and-grill-lake-forest

Hoping the Yolks Not on Us - CLOSED

Stacks and Yolks

30281 Golden Lantern

Laguna Niguel, CA 92677

Breakfast can either ruin your whole day or give you the energy to power your way through a productive day. Nevermind the quality of the food you are going to consume at the start of your day,  I'm talking about the amount of food you are going to eat. I have very little willpower when it comes to the first meal of the day, so I usually go big and then want to come back home and take a nap after eating out for breakfast. Not too smart, since I had just woken up about two hours earlier, and I'm pretty much food wasted for the rest of the day.

Checking out Stacks and Yolks, newly opened in Laguna Niguel, I had a feeling I wouldn't be very useful the rest of the day after eating here. So, I decided that if I was going to be down and out for the rest of the day, I was not going to be alone. I enlisted the rest of my family to come and try out the new breakfast spot in town.

Stacks and Yolks is an import from Las Vegas, not that you'd probably know that since their two locations are well off the strip hidden in North Las Vegas. From what I can gather they opened in 2010 under the name Griddle Cakes and changed their name in 2014 to Stacks and Yolks. Their second location opened in 2016, and they have now branched out with an outpost in Laguna Niguel of all places. Maybe one of the owners was tired of the desert heat and wanted to be closer to the beach?

This Laguna Niguel spot, located in the Laguna Heights Marketplace, on the corner of Marina Hills and Golden Lantern has not really had a very auspicious opening. Opened since early this year, I had heard that they had a kitchen fire that had them close for a bit, and their service and food has really taken a beating on Yelp, which has resulted in a 2 and a half star rating, with over 100 reviews and counting so far. I'm not a big fan of Yelp ratings, so we had to give Stacks and Yolks a try for ourselves.

Our party of seven showed up on a recent Sunday morning,  just before nine, and we were met with a nearly empty restaurant, which I thought was a little odd for such a new place. The decor here could best be described as peppy and colorful. There's a patio out front, which did not get used during the entirety of our visit. Inside, there are about fifteen tables, which are spaced a little too close for comfort to each other for my liking.

This is a breakfast-centric restaurant, although they do serve lunch as well until they close at 3pm. The breakfast menu features plenty in the way of different types of pancakes, egg dishes, and a number of house specialties. I had already known what I was going to have before leaving home, so I just had to wait for the rest of our indecisive party to make their selections. They finally did, and this is how everything turned out for us on this visit.

I was a little surprised that my sister in law Emily went with this Florentine Benedict ($12.99), as she's a very basic eater usually, just opting for a simple egg dish most mornings. She must have been feeling pretty adventurous getting this benedict with its three poached eggs, spinach, tomato, home fries, hollandaise sauce, all perched atop a split English muffin. True to form she only ate a quarter of this, but did take the rest home. She liked this well enough but did not think it was anything above average. The hollandaise sauce was very thick and kind of overpowered the rest of the dish. The poached eggs were overcooked, but she did enjoy the home fries which were hidden underneath.

Both of my brother in law's got the Lumberjack Breakfast ($13,99) which comes with two buttermilk pancakes, three eggs, home fries, and choice of bacon or sausage. They both thought this was okay, but nothing that really blew them away. Jason felt his pancakes were a little on the doughy side, and could have been a little better if they were left on the griddle a bit longer. Eggs were done the way they had requested and the bacon was cooked nice and crisp. Potatoes were definitely on the dry side and needed to be seasoned up a bit, along with some ketchup added to moisten them up.

I'm always partial to skillet breakfasts because I feel you get to experience almost all of the breakfast items in the kitchen all on one plate. When I read the description of this Meat Lovers Scramble ($12.99) I knew I was going to order it. Three eggs piled on top of home fries and then topped with the holy trinity of breakfast meats; ham, bacon, and sausage, and then finished off with grated cheese. As if that was not enough, the plate also featured a split biscuit with plenty of gravy. Let's start with the biscuits and gravy. The biscuits seemed to be a little on the stale side, and I'm not sure that they were even made here. The gravy was okay, but no depth of flavor. The scramble was fine, but I expected a little more from it. The breakfast meats kind of canceled each other out and I could not get a really good bite of this massive heaping of food. It might have been better if I had gotten my eggs sunny side up instead of scrambled because the yolk would have been a good binding agent on this. It was fine, but kind of disappointing because I had expected a bit more from this based on the description on the menu.

Another one of my things when eating out at a breakfast restaurant, I always need a good mix of sweet to go along with my savory dish. This morning that meant I had to get a Short Stack of Elvis Pancakes ($8.99). These pancakes used a peanut butter batter and were studded with a good amount of chocolate chips and whipped cream. I liked my pancakes, as there was an abundance of chocolate included, but I did not get the slightest tinge of peanut butter from the pancakes themselves. Definitely forgo the short stack here, as these pancakes are about the size of a human head, and one will feed most people easily.

My sister in law Sara loves French Toast ($7.99) and she went big here with three slices, which she shared with her well behaved son, Andrew. Predictably she only ate half a slice, and Andrew was more interested in watching YouTube videos than eating anything. She did claim that the french toast was pretty good, but this is coming from someone that thinks the best Mexican restaurant in OC is Javier's. So misguided is my sister in law Sara.

Katie stuck to her usual when eating breakfast out when she got this Breakfast Burrito ($10.99). This burrito was filled with ham, green peppers, onions, and shredded cheese. She ended up liking this a lot more than she thought she would, but she would get this with avocado next time to boost it up a bit. She was not a big fan of the salsa that was served on the side of this burrito, as she called it salsa that you could get at any supermarket in the Midwest.

With a few exceptions, none of us were all too thrilled with what we had at Stacks and Yolks on this particular morning. Nothing was too awful, but in an area that has quite a few options for good breakfast spots, Stacks and Yolks are going to have to step up their game to compete. Not even close to the great breakfasts at Stacks Pancake House, Paul's Pantry, Mollies Country Kitchen, or What A Dish, but they were probably on par with your local Denny's and definitely better than the atrocious meal I had at the Broken Yolk in Mission Viejo. Service was not awful like a lot of the online reviews have stated, but while we were here there seemed to be one server for each of the occupied tables, so maybe service suffers when they are busier.  True to form, and with the help of the huge portions and my lack of willpower, I was in a food coma for the rest of this Sunday.

Out of five ziggurats, (because one of the most dominant features of the city of Laguna Niguel is the Chet Holifield Federal Building, which resembles a ziggurat), five being best to zero being worst, Stacks and Yolks gets 2.5 ziggurats.

For more information about Stacks and Yolks, head to their website here: http://www.stacksnyolks.com/

You'll like Brunos Just the Way They Are

Brunos Italian Kitchen

210 West Birch St.

Brea, CA 92821

If you are anything like me, you probably get a lot of offers through email. I have two email accounts, one for personal stuff, and one that I use for all of my promotional stuff. You know, like when you are asked to sign up for the club card at the supermarket, enter an online contest filling out an NCAA basketball bracket for a million dollars that you know you have no chance of winning or even signing up with a restaurant so you can get a free hamburger or dessert on your birthday. We all do it, and I usually like keeping these less meaningful emails separate from more pressing matters.

I bring this up because of the one promo that I must have let slip through the cracks of my personal email, the one from Brunos Italian Kitchen and their sister restaurant, Cha Cha's Latin Kitchen, which is a few doors down from Brunos in Downtown Brea. I get at least four emails a week from these two restaurants, which are linked together by not only geography but by owners Don Myers and Peter Serantoni, a team with decades worth of restaurant experience, with stints at El Torito, Chevy's, Paul Martin's, Scott's Seafood, The Catch, and Roy's Hawaiian, among others. They seem to be the perfect team, with Peter on the culinary side of things, while Don works the business and front of the house operations.

Brunos came to be after Cha Cha's opened in 2009, and Brunos followed suit a short three years later. The inspiration behind Brunos is Peter's time he spent in Venice, Italy as a youth. Bruno was his father and inspiration to pursue food as a career, while his grandmother shared her cooking philosophy and her rustic recipes. This winning combination has gotten tons of positive press from the local food community, and the restaurant is full on most nights. All those email blasts seem to have worked, as we found ourselves here on a busy Saturday evening in downtown Brea.

The rest of Downtown Brea seemed almost deserted on this early Saturday, save for Bruxie, Cha Cha's and Taps. Lending to the apocalyptic vibe was the numerous empty storefronts that once welcomed lots of customers, like the departed Lillie's Q, Tower Records, and the Melting Pot. The badly needed second parking structure behind Buffalo Wild Wings provided parking relief to this area and it was only a short stroll to the jam-packed and rambunctious crowd at Brunos.

I was kind of taken aback by the noise at Brunos, which I eventually got used to. We were seated well inside the darkened restaurant, which had a good number of tables. The premiere seating appears to be the patio in front of the restaurant, nearest the street and seems like it would be excellent for people watching.  The inside portion of the restaurant utilizes numerous wine bottles lining the walls, a partially separated bar along the right-hand side of the restaurant, and hanging light fixtures that function more as decoration than providing light. Even with the large crowd on this evening, the restaurant conveyed a coziness that came around shortly after we acclimated to the environment.

The menu at Brunos is comforting as well. It's broken up into Italian favorites of appetizers, plates of pasta, entrees, and a couple of sides. Pasta is priced from $16 to $23, while the entrees will set you back right around the $25 mark. As my four times a week emails alert me, there's always some kind of specials going on here most nights of the week, (Meatball Monday, Two for Tuesdays, Wine Wednesday, Trio Thursday, Seafood Sundays). We were here on a Saturday, so no specials promos for us, but we were excited to give the food here a try, so let's see how everything turned out for us on this evening.

Bread was of a very sturdy variety here at Brunos. It was served lukewarm with a thick crust and soft and pillowy inside. Good flavor and good chew to it, just what you want in a solid piece of bread. It was made even better with the provided oil and vinegar that has become the standard dipping sauce in any good Italian restaurant these days.

These Arancini ($9) easily have the award for the most colorful appetizer of the year wrapped up, and we're only halfway through the year so far. These lightly fried risotto balls included a little mushroom, mozzarella and fresh herbs inside, and a trio of sauces splattered on the plate. These were definitely lighter than I imagined they would be, but they also lacked the flavor punch I was expecting. Even though it wouldn't have looked as beautiful on the plate, it probably would have helped to have the sauces in a ramekin for easier dipping. This was fine, just a little too subtle from what I was expecting. 

Caesar Salad ($9) is my jam, and this one at Bruno's was pretty impressive. Whole leaf romaine was placed on the plate and drizzled with an oil and vinegar Caesar dressing, a few croutons, and a white anchovy placed on top for a dramatic effect. I'm usually more partial to a creamy Caesar dressing, but this one was excellent and really clung to each inch of the very fresh romaine. A few extra croutons would have been appreciated, along with chopped up romaine, but still, this Caesar was a winner.

Entrees were out fairly quickly, and first up was Katie's choice on this early evening, the Pappardelle Bruno ($20). This dish brought to mind an Italian version of beef stroganoff, but without the overbearing sauce that comes on that dish. The pappardelle noodles were some of the freshest we have had, while the short rib was shredded nicely, very tender and juicy. Not overly heavy, this was a very satisfying plate which has Katie excited for more trips to Brunos to explore more of their menu very soon.

Not the most gorgeous of lasagnas, but my mom really enjoyed this Lasagna al Forno ($18). This was a little different than my mom was used to, it had a delicious bechamel sauce included with a very well done bolognese sauce. The pasta was fresh and lots of cheese was used in this A very comforting lasagna that my mom could not finish, so my dad ate it for lunch the next day.

My dad had zeroed in on this Shrimp and Blue Crab Fettuccine ($23) when he perused the menu at home before arriving at Brunos. This was a very interesting dish to me and was not exactly what I had envisioned when it came to the table. Yes, there was shrimp and shredded blue crab along with fresh fettuccine included. The sauce was a Meyer lemon cream, which predictably went well with the seafood in here, and was pretty subtle but still present. They also added some texture with the addition of cut-up asparagus and the flavor was enhanced even more with the addition of garlic, fennel, and some basil oil. The dish was finished off with an Asian flair when it was topped with citrus tobiko, a flying fish roe that was a risky move with someone like my dad, but it worked out fine here as he cleared his plate in record time.

I have gotten into a routine when eating in Italian restaurants recently. I usually order a pasta dish with a white or cream sauce and then order an extra meatball in marinara, then mix the meatball and the sauce together to create a kind of pink sauce. I did the same here at Brunos with their Rigatoni Alfredo 2.0 ($17.50) as my pasta dish. I'm not sure what the 1.0 version of this was like, but this 2.0 version was hard to beat. Like everyone else at the table, I have to agree that the pasta was indeed fresh here, with a nice tenderness to it. The alfredo sauce was not too heavy but did not sacrifice flavor, and I enjoyed the duo of the mushrooms and the pancetta, but of course, some extra pancetta would have been appreciated. Once I mixed in the meatball and the marinara this dish was just as good as before. The meatball was nice and tender, while the marinara added a nice homey feel to the alfredo sauce. It was just as good the next day for lunch and was the envy of lots of my coworkers.

Desserts were on the house because my mom had let it slip that we were celebrating my birthday a week late, and their impending anniversary the next day. Our server brought us a Raspberry Brown Butter Torte ($7.50) and a Budino al Caramello ($7.50). The favorite of our table was the budino, which featured a layer of caramel pudding, chocolate ganache, and a dollop of whipped cream on top. A little hard to get all three layers in one bite, but when it was accomplished it was magical. The torte was fine, but I'm not much of a raspberry/fruit kind of guy. I did enjoy the base of this though, with its limoncello cream, brown butter shortbread, and salted caramel drizzle that was streaked across the plate. The budino was just better, and I did eat the neglected torte when the budino was all gone.

Brunos was a nice change of pace from Americanized Italian restaurants, with their very heavy red sauces and lots of cheese. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy that kind of Italian food as well, but leaving Brunos I did not feel overly bloated and could stay up and watch a few things on Netflix when we got home, instead of crashing by 8pm. The food here was fresh and light, but still flavorful, which is a difficult balance to achieve. Chef Peter has done his grandmother's recipes proud of the food that we experienced on this evening. Service was professional and cordial. Glad we finally made it to Brunos after all these years, next we might even take them up on one of their great deals during the week. I know I'll definitely get an email or two about them.

Out of five grenades, (because one of the most famous Bruno's in the world is Bruno Mars and one of his first of many number one hits was the song Grenade, which reached number one in 2010) five being best to zero being worst, Brunos Italian Kitchen gets 3.5 grenades.

For more information about Brunos Italian Kitchen, head to their website here: http://www.brunosbrea.com/