Pickled Monk
101 North Harbor Blvd. #100
Fullerton, CA 92832
I'm a little in awe of my cousin DJ. While I've been at the same job for 32 years, resided in OC all of my life, and pretty much have been in cruise control for the last twenty years or so, my cousin DJ has been out taking risks and making some fantastic life experiences.
He moved to Chile on a sort of a whim, learned enough Spanish to live there for 4 years, and even started a hot sauce company while staying abroad. When DJ moved back to OC in 2017 he kept the hot sauce company going and won a second-place prize at the World Hot Sauce Awards for his Gateway Green. Shameless plug for his award-winning Heatseeker Hotsauce, which you can find and purchase here.
Back to the present, and now DJ and his better half, Marci, is back on another adventure. This time only moving a time zone over, to Denver. Before leaving they were going to be having a going away party with friends and family at one of their favorite places near where they live. A place I have never been to but have wanted to try for a while, the Pickled Monk.
I guess I should clarify, I have actually been to this address before when it was Bolu Bakery and Cafe back in 2016. We were here for dessert during that visit, but I don't really remember much more about it other than that. Pickled Monk has been occupying this space since late 2018. The layout is kind of the same, but they have made numerous enhancements to the space. There's a smallish bar to the right when you walk in, with six TVs perched on a wall showing sports. There's booth seating to the left-hand side of the restaurant, but the majority of the seating is in the bigger room down the ramp.
Ordering is done at the center of the restaurant, and after you order you are given a tracking device that alerts the staff where to deliver your food. Behind the ordering desk, there's a pour your own beer and wine station with a rotating selection of 30 taps to choose from. The menu starts off with shareable sides and appetizers, works up to nine main dishes, and is rounded out by two salads and two desserts to end your visit with. There's also weekend brunch offered from 11 to 2pm.
The chef behind the menu at Pickled Monk is David Fume, who we became familiar with when he was working at the Surf and Sand Resort in Laguna about six years ago. Before that, he was at Temecula Creek Inn and also Pechanga Resort and Casino. He's a pretty busy guy these days, as he has this gig at the Pickled Monk, along with concurrent jobs at the Balboa Bay Resort as Executive Club Chef and at Salt Creek Grille as their Corporate Executive Chef. Let's see if the food here is worthy of sending off my cousin and his partner in crime.
With the word pickled in its name, we definitely needed to give the Fried Pickles ($5.99) at the Pickled Monk a try. I'm not the world's biggest pickle fan because I think they overpower every sandwich they invade, but I really enjoyed these. They are house brined and battered. You still get the pickle flavor coming through, but it's muted a bit, maybe due to the thin cut of the pickle. The ranch dip was a great accompaniment. Definitely, a must-try here.
Yes, Brussels Sprouts ($9.99) are on lots of menus all over OC. You might even be tired of them, but before you skip these miniature cabbages, you should try this version at Pickled Monk. They come crispy with a bacon gochujang jam, honey, and blue cheese. Each bite kept my tastebuds interested. You have the savory bacon, the slight heat from the gochujang sauce, the sweet from the honey, and the flavor burst from the unexpected blue cheese. The blue cheese bites were my favorites. The burnout from sprouts might be put on hold for a lot of you after trying this version.
For Katie's main meal she went with the Mediterranean inspired Chicken and Hummus Flatbread Sandwich ($13.99). This grilled naan bread was stuffed with chicken breast, hummus, plenty of lettuce, tomato, red onion, feta cheese, and tzatziki sauce on the side for dipping. This sandwich exceeded Katie's expectations. The chicken was nice and moist, while the fresh veggies and tzatziki sauce were also standouts. She would definitely get this sandwich again.
Every gastropub has to have Mac and Cheese ($7.99) on their menu, and that was the case here at Pickled Monk as well. This version has crumbled bacon and a smoked garlic emulsion joining the asiago cheese clinging to the elbow noodles. I was not too in love with this version. The cheese here was too subtle and even the bacon did not save this for me. It was really kind of boring and after a few bites, I was over it. My sister, who seemed to like this more than I, ended up taking this home for lunch the next day.
It had been a while since I have had a good burger, so I was pumped to try one this evening. They have two to choose from here. One is a build your own version with a double patty, and the other is the Monk Burger ($12.99) shown above. This namesake burger comes with a dijon-mayo hybrid, blue cheese, arugula, and a bourbon-bacon jam all on a brioche bun. This was an okay burger but did not blow me away. It needed a little more blue cheese to give it a flavor boost. The bacon jam and the dijonnaise left me wanting more, just like the underseasoned patty.
My sister called an audible at the last minute, and we also tried Skinny's Garlic Fries ($6.99). These came out tossed with plenty of garlic, seasoned with parsley, and a good amount of asiago cheese. Nice and hot when they came out, I could not stay away from them. Next time I will definitely upgrade to the waffle fries for the extra dollar fifty, as I think the larger surface area of the waffle fries will make these even better. The very good ranch also helped out here.
There were some hit and misses on this evening for me at Pickled Monk. I loved most of the appetizers, but my burger and the mac and cheese fell flat. I'd definitely come back and maybe try their bacon-wrapped bratwurst, Reuben, or french dip the next time I visit. I found the prices to be more than fair, with nothing on the menu eclipsing the $16 mark. Service was pretty good, although you are kind of left to your own devices once your food arrives. They were pretty quick to clear plates and get you anything that you may need though. I'm looking forward to seeing what the future holds for my cousin DJ in his new hometown of Denver. I'm sure I will be in awe.
Out of five glaciers, (because the TV character Monk has many phobias, one of which is the fear of glaciers), five being best to zero being worst, Pickled Monk gets 3 glaciers.
For more information about Pickled Monk, head to their website by clicking here: https://pickledmonk.com/
No comments:
Post a Comment