Socializing at Saint and Second

Saint and Second

4828 Second Street

Long Beach, CA 90803

Katie doesn't have many friends that she hangs out with. Preferring to be with her family, playing with her nieces and nephews, and staying home to watch tv, have her eyes glued to her phone for long stretches at a time, or her favorite pastime by far, sleeping as much as she can. So, it's very rare for Katie to make plans with one of her friends, and actually keep those plans instead of weaseling out of them. That's how I know that she really enjoys someone, like her friend Diana and her boyfriend Carlos, with whom we were going to be meeting for brunch on a recent Sunday morning. 

They live in Long Beach, and since we never make it up this way, we decided to come up their way to check out the Long Beach dining scene. I had sent Diana a list of brunch spots, and let her pick where we'd be eating. She said my list was pretty good, and she selected Saint and Second, which is in the Belmont Shore area of Long Beach. 

Saint and Second opened in 2015 and is brought to us by the Hofman Hospitality Group, which is under the same umbrella as Hof's Hut and Lucille's BBQ. In fact, this site used to be a Lucille's but was converted to this new concept six years ago. They are going for a restaurant experience that is comfortable, yet sophisticated at the same time. A very tough balance to achieve. Their website states that they strive for food that is local and organic, from purveyors that equal their very high standards. I was intrigued. 

Traffic from OC was lighter than usual, and we had some good, "parkma," getting a spot pretty much right in front of the restaurant. Adding to everything coming together nicely, Diana and Carlos pulled up just as we were getting out of the car. Our little quartet made our way to the restaurant and was seated to the side of the restaurant, where they had constructed some booths on the sidewalk. 

Brunch at Saint and Second is served on weekends from 9 to 2pm. The one-page menu is not going to blow you away with its diversity, but there's enough here to satisfy most people. There's six egg dishes to choose from, followed by a couple of hashes, one flatbread, and one each of pancakes, waffle, and two offerings of french toast. Prices range between $12 to $19 for entrees, which is pretty modest when you consider the area this restaurant is situated in. Let's see if Diana made a good pick from my list of brunch places in the LBC. 

Let's start things off with what Carlos had as his first meal of the day, the Classic Eggs Benedict ($14). This version of a benny uses a cheddar biscuit as a base and then tops it with thick-cut Canadian bacon, poached eggs, and hollandaise sauce as a topper. Carlos seemed pretty pleased with this meal, as it did not stay around very long. From my vantage point, the eggs looked nicely poached and the hollandaise sauce appeared to be thick. The house potatoes that came alongside this looked like they would be right up my alley, as the potatoes were different sizes, so there would be some variety in texture from bite to bite. 

Diana has been described as a spicy dish many times before, so it was no surprise to the three of us that she went with the Chicken Chorizo Avocado Hash ($18). Joining the chicken, avocado, and chorizo on this plate were some potatoes, green beans, butternut squash, two poached eggs, and a chipotle hollandaise sauce. An unusual mixture of ingredients for a breakfast hash, but one that was lighter than most, and did not sacrifice flavor. 

I got the other hash on the menu, the House Smoked Tri-Tip Hash ($19). This hearty meal combined potatoes, tri-tip, onions, broccolini, bacon, two poached eggs, and the same chipotle hollandaise sauce that was used on Diana's hash. I really enjoyed this. I thought the tri-tip was going to get lost here, but it was front and center, and very good. The poached egg and hollandaise sauce tied everything together well, and the potatoes did offer some bites with creamy potato, and others that were on the crispy side. My only criticism would be that they could have added a little extra bacon, but I'm always clamoring for extra bacon with my meals. 

The most straightforward meal between the four of us belonged to Katie, who got the Traditional ($13). This came with two eggs, she got them over hard, two strips of bacon, potatoes, and a cheddar biscuit with butter and preserves. Katie was impressed with the high quality of the food she had here, which helped set it apart from other breakfast spots. She was especially fond of the cheddar biscuit, which was worth breaking her keto diet for, at least for a few bites.  

Since I'm always fond of combining sweet and savory at breakfast, I also got the seasonal favorite, the Tres Leches French Toast ($13). The two slices of french toast were topped with caramelized banana, pecan and oat crumble, and caramel whipped cream. This was the weak link of my meal at Saint and Second this morning. It was just kind of bland, and the muted sweetness did nothing to rouse my taste buds. It would have been better with some syrup alongside it. 

Even though the french toast failed to impress, the same could not be said about the rest of our meal at Saint and Second. The four of us all enjoyed our meals and would come back again for another visit. This trip whetted my appetite to try their lunch or dinner next time. I especially have my eye on their tri-tip sandwich, signature burger, and smoked pork chop on future visits. Back to this meal though, I did not find their prices crazy expensive, which is not always the norm when you are eating out in the Belmont Shore area. Service was pretty solid this morning, as our server kept tabs on us regularly, without being too intrusive while we were busy catching up with Diana and Carlos. Hopefully, Katie will make more time for her friends as things open up more and more. 

Out of five knots, (because Belmont Shore is the site of a youth sailing program which was founded in 1929, and I'm sure they have taught many of their young sailors to tie many knots over those 92 years), five being best to zero being worst, Saint and Second gets 3 knots. 

For more information about Saint and Second, head to their website here: http://saintandsecond.com/

Getting Sauced in Orange

Sauced BBQ and Spirits

1535 West Katella Ave. 

Orange, CA 92867

I have to admit I was a little skeptical walking into Sauced BBQ and Spirits. The last time I was in this building it was Old Crow Smokehouse, and although I liked the meats that I got during that visit, the rest of the meal, including the sides, cornbread, and dessert kind of fell flat. Proving once again that it's hard to find a well-rounded barbecue restaurant in OC, even though the barbecue landscape has improved dramatically in the last couple of years. 

I was also a little doubtful about Sauced because I had looked at their website, and they had five locations, all of them except for this one in Northern California. In my experience, the best barbecue restaurants are the ones that have no other locations. Sorry, that rules out a lot of people's favorites like Lucille's, Famous Dave's, and Dickey's. 

So, it was with a little trepidation that I made reservations for us and my parents on a recent Sunday afternoon. For those who are not aware of where this restaurant is, it's near the Honda Center, in the Stadium Promenade, which is also home to King's Fish House, Lazy Dog, Tilted Kilt, and Anchor Bar, a place I also want to try soon for their wings. 

Sauced wants to make sure that you are aware that they are a completely different restaurant than Old Crow. They state on their website in bold print that they have completely different management, menu, concept, and a new team from the previous tenants. To further distance themselves from the previous occupants of this space, Sauced transformed their restaurant a bit by lightening the walls up and creating a nice and open ambiance. When you walk in there's a bar to your right with some very large TV's providing plenty of sports to watch. Towards the restaurant's back, there's ax-throwing cages, which seems to be all the rage right now, as I've seen it on ESPN numerous times recently. 

The two-page menu at Sauced is pretty good-sized. Separated into sections of starters, salads, burgers, barbecue plates, combo meals, and sandwiches. Prices range between $10 to $20 for starters, sandwiches, will set you back on average of $18, and entrees are competitively priced compared to other barbecue restaurants in the area, with prices ranging between $17 to $40 for a full rack of St. Louis Spare Ribs. The menu was a lot to take in, but we managed to make our choices. Let's see if Sauced could squash my skepticism. 

I was outvoted when it came to the starter that we eventually had. I really wanted to try their brisket chili cheese fries, but my parents and Katie really wanted these Hand Grenades ($14.99 +$4.39 because we added an extra one). Hand grenades are oversized breaded jalapeno poppers filled with pulled pork, cream cheese, and sharp cheddar cheese. I've never been a big fan of jalapeno poppers because I'm not really too fond of cream cheese, but these were a little light on the cream cheese, and the addition of the cheddar helped counteract the cream cheese. The pork also got a little drowned out by the other things going on here, like the crunchy outer layer and the muted heat of the jalapeno. A little more ranch dressing would have been appreciated for these four enormous poppers. They were fine, but I'd try another appetizer on my next visit. 

My dad almost always gets sandwiches when he's at a barbecue restaurant and that held true with his selection of the Brisket Melt ($18.99) on this late afternoon. This came on Texas toast with cheddar cheese, bacon, and cubed brisket. My dad was very excited by the brisket here, calling it, "killer." He also enjoyed the toast but wished for a bit more cheese to be included on this sandwich. Still, this was one of the better barbecue sandwiches he's had. He got the stone ground jalapeno cheese grits for his one side, and after his first taste, he became a big fan. 

My mom has always been a light eater, so she forgoes the big plates at barbecue restaurants, instead, veering towards smaller portions. She ordered these Sliders ($13.99) off the stater portion of the menu. These three mini sliders were perfect for her, and she also took one home for lunch the next day. She got two sliced brisket and one with pulled pork, but you can mix and match any way that you want. She loved the slightly sweet bun and was partial to the brisket. Out of the four sauces available, she could not get enough of the Pig Candy bbq sauce which had equal parts sweet and tangy coming through in each bite. 

Katie got the more substantial Two Meat BBQ Combo Plate ($28.99 + $1.49 + $2.99 for upgraded sides). Picking from the eight types of meat offered, she went with the Smoked Jalapeno Cheddar Sausage and the Pulled Pork. Both portions of meat were very good. The pork had a nice mixture of bark and a little bit of fat that made each bite a joy to consume. The sausage was well made, with a nice snap to the casing and just enough cheese to support, but not overwhelm the sausage. The upgrade for her salad was an extra buck and a half, but as you can see from the picture, the salad was very good sized. The Buffalo Chicken Mac was another three-dollar upcharge and Katie enjoyed this twist on regular mac and cheese. 

To no one's surprise, I one-upped Katie by having the Three Meat BBQ Combo Plate ($37.99). My meat selection was the Sliced Brisket, Pork Ribs, and Pork Belly Burnt Ends. All were pretty stellar, but I liked the pork belly burnt ends the best. They were a little fatty, but that just added to the flavor that these emitted. The glaze on them added an additional element that I was not expecting. The ribs came clean off the bone and were nice and moist. The brisket for the most part was good, but in the bites where there was no fat present, it was a tad dry. The meats are not over-smoked like other barbecue places, so the natural flavor of the proteins shines through. I did not need too much barbecue sauce with this, but I liked the variety that was available, with the sweet version being my favorite, when I could pry it away from my mom. The jalapeno cheese grits had a very comforting feel to them, but some added heat from the jalapeno would have made this even better. The jalapeno sweet heat slaw was sweeter than spicy, and as a result, was a little boring. 

Ever since the pandemic started, I've been on a real banana kick; banana chocolate chip bread, chocolate-covered bananas, and of course, banana pudding. I can not get enough and had to try the Banana Pudding ($6.49) at Sauced. This one came in a small mason jar with sliced bananas, nilla wafers, and whipped cream on top. The banana pudding portion of this was very smooth and satisfying, but they could have used more nilla wafers in here for a change of texture. I'd still get this the next time I'm here, but I'd get my own, as this was way smaller than I was expecting for six dollars. 

I'm big enough to admit that I was wrong about my preconceived notions about Sauced before even visiting here. Like I stated earlier, I thought Sauced could not be good because they had several other locations, but I was wrong. Based on the meal we had this afternoon, this is a definite upgrade from the barbecue restaurant that was here before. The meats were all stellar, and not as overly smoked as other places that are popular at this moment. Sides were fine as well, but I'd like to try others the next time we visit, which will be often once the Ducks allow more fans to their games, which should be this fall. Service was another black mark for the former tenant here, but Sauced provided some very good and pleasant service throughout our stay. Prices were a little high, but barbecue is worth treating yourself to every so often, or in my case almost every two weeks. Welcome to OC Sauced. 

Out of five jars of mayonnaise, (because the most popular sauce/condiment in the US is mayonnaise, which brings in 2 billion dollars annually in sales), five being best to zero being worst, Sauced BBQ and Spirits gets 3.5 jars of mayonnaise. 

For more information on Sauced BBQ and Spirits, head to their website here: https://www.saucedbbqandspirits.com/

Betting the Farm on a Good Meal at Farmhouse

Farmhouse at Roger's Gardens

2301 San Joaquin Hills Road 

Corona Del Mar, CA 92625

I've always considered myself lucky. No, I have never won the lottery, but as a kid, I won a TV at Angel Stadium, I entered a contest in the Orange County Register and won four tickets to Knott's Berry Farm, and I got to skip school when I was selected as one of four kids in the fifth grade to watch one of the first showings of the movie Annie. 

My luck returned recently when I entered an Instagram contest on the OC Restaurant Week Instagram page. I just had to like both the OC Restaurant Week page and Farmhouse at Roger's Gardens page, something I was already doing, and then tag one of my friends to be entered. Out of 545 entries, I was picked as the winner of the $100 gift card. I tried to make reservations during restaurant week, but they were booked solid by the time I could pick up my gift card, so we waited a few weeks after and coaxed my wonderful inlaws to join us. 

Farmhouse came across my radar back when they first opened in 2016. As soon as they premiered they landed on just about every best restaurant list I saw. At the Golden Foodie Awards in 2017, Farmhouse won for best cocktails in OC, best chef, and was nominated for the best lunch spot in OC. As recently as last year the OC Register named them one of the best patios in OC, and the glowing reviews have continued ever since. 

The reason for this I believe is the fantastic ambiance of the seven-acre Roger's Gardens Nursery, which has been around for over 55 years now, and Chef/Owner of Farmhouse, Rich Mead. He is pretty much one of the first chefs to practice the now way overused phrase, farm to table. He is very keen to develop relationships with only local purveyors and merchants that he feels do things the right way and provides the highest quality goods. He tailors his seasonal menu to what he feels are the best things available at the time, something that was very rare when he opened his first OC restaurant Sage back in 1997. 

Always a tough reservation to get, I could only procure an 8pm reservation on a recent Wednesday evening. Since it was already dark when we arrived, we did not get the full brilliance of the Roger's Gardens experience, but from what we could see of this partially covered space, it might be worth another visit to dine on their patio on one of the over 300 days of sunshine that graces Corona Del Mar. The venue on this evening was filled with lots of beautiful people, let's see if they were here for the food, the great venue, or both. 

A signature at Chef Mead's restaurants throughout his career is his Parmesan Crisps, which he serves instead of the usual bread basket you get at other places to start your meal. These crackers were very flavorful and went wonderfully with the provided hummus. We made very quick work of this but sadly were limited to only one serving between the four of us. 

Katie was the only one of the four of us to elect to get a starter from the menu. She went with the Brussels Sprouts with Cipollini Onions ($10). This was one of the cleanest versions of sprouts we have had. They let the fresh sprouts be the star of the show, while letting the fish sauce, garlic, and chili paste come through in short muted bursts. Definitely a wonderful option for true Brussels sprouts fans that don't need a detracting sauce to keep things interesting. 

Katie's parents and I went with soup and salad for a beginning course this evening. To be honest, I'm not entirely sure what the Daily Soup of the Day ($8) was on this evening, but there must have been two options because they both got different ones. Both of them must have been very good as well because they did not last very long. I'm a very big Caesar salad fan, so I went with the closest thing Farmhouse had on their menu this evening, which was the Kale and Little Gem Lettuce Salad ($12). I'm not the world's biggest fan of kale, but this was one of the better ways I've had it. The greens were topped with garlic croutons, plenty of grated parmesan cheese, and a roasted garlic anchovy vinaigrette. The greens were farmer's market fresh, while the cheese and croutons did a great job subduing the sometimes too bitter taste of the kale. I would have loved a touch more vinaigrette on this, but a very solid salad nonetheless.  

I've heard such good things about the RG Burger ($18), but Dennis beat me to the punch by ordering it first. They build their burger with some really good bacon, Vermont white cheddar cheese, and garnish it with lettuce, tomato, and red onion at Farmhouse. According to my fantastic father-in-law, the burger was very good, and he's had his fair share of burgers from coast to coast. He was gracious enough to let me try the fries, which I found to be too starchy and they definitely needed more salt or another seasoning. The house-made ketchup did the fries no favors either, as it needed some sweetness or something to wake it up. Truthfully, I'm never a fan of house-made ketchup though. 

Lynn was over the moon with her Herb Roast Jidori Chicken ($26). Never one for hyperbole, she claims that jidori chicken is the best, as she enjoys the freshness and robust flavor of it every time she encounters it. Even I admit this was a good-looking bird, beautifully browned and served over a bed of broccolini, carrots, peewee potatoes, and cipollini onions. It took all my willpower to not reach across the table and try some of the crisped chicken skin. With the chicken au jus, there was no way there was going to be a dry bite to be had with this plate. Very well done.  

Since we had our gift cards, Katie decided to go big at Farmhouse and get the Grilled Autonomy Farms Grass-Fed Flat Iron Steak ($34). This dish had a lot going on with it. It came with a chimichurri sauce and a red wine au jus, which I thought was going to contrast, but both were a nice compliment to the tender beef that was expertly cooked, even though Katie asked for this to be cooked medium-well. Ugh. The beef came with cipollini onions, (must be Chef Mead's favorite), sauteed spinach, shitake mushrooms, fingerling potatoes, and garlic. A very hearty meal that was equal parts comforting and lighter than expected at the same time. Not a combination that happens too often. 

I went with another comforting meal, the Pork Tenderloin ($30). This reminded me of a meal I had years ago at Cedar Creek, but way better. The pork on this one was moist all the way through and I liked the combination of the applejack brandy sauce and the apple raisin compote with the savory pork. It was a kind of yin and yang thing that kept me interested all through my meal. This also came with some braised red cabbage and two parmesan potato cakes. The potato cakes were good but needed a tad more seasoning and some extra parmesan wouldn't have hurt either. Still, it was a solid meal that helped erase the bad memory from Cedar Creek all those years ago. 

I've never really been a big fan of fruit desserts, preferring chocolate way more, but I got outvoted on this evening into sharing two fruit desserts, the Warm Fair Hills Farms Apple Crisp and the Meyer Lemon Bread Pudding. Both made me rethink my chocolate addiction. The bread pudding had a nice sweet and slightly sour vibe going on with it, and the consistency was very pleasing. The apple crisp was nicely executed with brown sugar and oat topping, an apple sage sauce that was not too sweet or syrupy, and plenty of vanilla ice cream. I could have eaten this one all by myself. It was like eating the best parts of a slice of apple pie ala mode. 

I left Farmhouse very pleased with the meal that we all enjoyed. Sometimes these farm-to-table kinds of places think that they just have to have fresh and local food, and that's enough to make people happy. They don't realize that they still have to execute good cooking skills, have menu items that appeal to the dining public, and have enough variety to keep people coming back. Farmhouse checked all of these boxes for me. Yes, some tweaks could have been made, but for the most part, everything we encountered was cooked wonderfully, and I did not leave here with that overly heavy feeling, even though I ate a lot of food on this evening. Service was another story. I know that they were busy, but our server was slow to greet us and from what our empty glasses told me, he might have been stretched a little thin. It's sadly become a trend these days since every restaurant has gotten overrun with people tired of eating at home for the last 14 months. I'm sure it will be rectified. Hope my luck has not run out with Instagram contests, but even if it has, we will be returning to Farmhouse again. 

Out of five scoops of ice cream, (because the band Phish has an album named Farmhouse, and they hail from Burlington, Vermont, the same city as Ben and Jerry's), five being best to zero being worst, Farmhouse at Roger's Gardens gets 3.5 scoops of ice cream. 

For more information about Farmhouse at Roger's Gardens, head to their website here: https://farmhouse.rogersgardens.com/

Another Jewel in the Crown of a Local Restaurateur?

Sapphire Cellar. Craft. Cook

1200 South Coast Highway Suite 101

Laguna Beach, CA 92651

The juggernaut that is Russ Bendel and his merry band of partners has been on quite a roll lately. When Russ left Flemings eight years ago to take over ownership of Vine Restaurant in San Clemente, I don't think even he and his partners expected the great success that they've had. In those ensuing eight years they have opened four critically acclaimed restaurants, all in different cities. The aforementioned Vine in San Clemente, Ironwood in Laguna Hills, not far from Russ's childhood home, Olea in Newport Beach, and their latest acquisition, Sapphire in Laguna Beach. 

Sapphire stands on the site of the old Pottery Shack, at the corner of PCH and Brooks Street. The Pottery Shack was a mainstay in this beach town from 1937 until it closed in 2004. After two years of renovations, the site was made into a mixed-use retail space, with specialty shops, restaurants, and offices inhabiting the place. A year later Sapphire Laguna Restaurant and Pantry joined the collective. When that restaurant was put up for sale in March of last year, Russ and his team jumped at the chance to be able to share their cuisine with the people of Laguna Beach. 

Each of the four restaurants has some overlap of menu items, but tweaks seem to be made to keep each restaurant from becoming a carbon copy of the others. Sapphire is the only one to offer brunch, so I was instantly intrigued. It also just so happened that in my latest issue of Orange Coast Magazine they got a glowing review for not only their dinner menu but their brunch as well. Pushing me even farther out my front door was the fact that my good friend runs one of the car lots in Laguna, so the hassle of finding parking on a weekend was not going to be a problem. I quickly made a reservation. 

The brunch menu at Sapphire is available Saturday and Sunday from 10 to 2:30pm. There's around fifteen offerings that range in price from $16 to $42 for a filet mignon and eggs. Even though I didn't have to pay for parking, I could not justify paying close to fifty dollars on my first meal of the day. I did narrow down my choices to a couple things before arriving but left it to how I was feeling in the moment to make my decision as to what I'd be having. Let's see if Russ and his team members have another hit on their hands at Sapphire. 

Sapphire runs a pantry, off to the right of their entrance, where they offer grab and go breakfast and lunch items, along with some more substantial offerings, like their delicious-sounding egg sandwich, breakfast burritos, a burger, and a chicken sandwich. I'm not sure if they allow you to order from the pantry menu while sitting in the dining area, but our server was gracious enough to get us some pastries to start off with this morning. We went with the Chocolate Croissant ($3.95) and the Cinnamon Pull-Apart ($3.95). Of the two, I liked the chocolate croissant better. It was filled with plenty of pieces of chocolate and the outer croissant was made the right way. The cinnamon pull apart was fine, but a little bland in parts and needed more than the drizzle of icing that was placed on top. Both could have been boosted with the option of having them heated. Still, a good way to get some sweetness in with your first meal of the day. 

Even after nearly 12 years of being together with Katie, I am still sometimes shocked by her choices when we are out to eat. On this morning she went with the Smoked Salmon and Blue Crab Omelette ($27), mostly because this was the most keto-friendly offering here at Sapphire. This well-crafted omelet was topped with a dollop of garlic formage blanc cheese and chives to go along with the plentiful fresh salmon and flaky blue crab inside. She felt this was one of the lightest and most delicate omelets that she's ever had. She was a little worried about the textures working well together here, but her worries subsided after her first bite. Each item worked well with each other to showcase the other. She was also a fan of the fingerling potatoes and heirloom vegetable hash, which is an upgrade from the breakfast potatoes you get just about everywhere else. The menu did not say anything about getting a salad, but the farm fresh greens with a splash of dressing were appreciated and helped round out the plate. 

Maybe one of the most eye-catching breakfast plates I've seen in a long while, this Kurobuta Pork Belly Benedict ($22), also might have been one of the tastiest. Sapphire's riff on a benedict uses one of my favorite proteins, pork belly layered on top of sturdy rosemary focaccia with a perfectly poached egg placed on top with a champagne bearnaise sauce which I could easily drink by the glass. The richness of this dish kept me satisfied well past dinner. The pork belly was flavorful and not as fatty as others I've had, while the poached egg when pierced released the rich yolk that tied everything together wonderfully. Like Katie, I was a fan of the farmer's market hash and fingerling potatoes, which were lighter than other potatoes you are accustomed to at other breakfast places. 

The hits just keep on coming for this four-unit restaurant group, and brunch is a new dimension where they excel, not unexpectantly. Even though their restaurants differ from each other in some ways, it's nice to see the creativity that adding brunch to their repertoire has brought here at Sapphire. I feel Sapphire is the type of brunch spot that begs to be your go-to spot for special occasion brunches. Nearly thirty dollars for an omelet, no matter how good it is, is not in the budget for a lot of us, but once in a while for food this fine, it seems to justify the cost. Service was predictably warm and friendly, and management seemed very active in making sure their guests were happy with everything. I'm looking forward to where Russ and his team will land next and seeing how long their winning streak will keep on rolling. Probably way longer than any that his beloved Philadelphia Eagles will have in the upcoming NFL season. Sorry Russ, could not resist.   

Out of five cups of tea, (because the world's largest sapphire, the Star of Adam was found in Sri Lanka six years ago, a nation which ranks fourth in the production of tea on the planet), five being best to zero being worst, Sapphire Cellar. Craft. Cook gets 3.5 cups of tea. 

For more information about Sapphire Cellar. Craft. Cook, head to their website here: https://www.sapphirelagunabeach.com/

Up and Down Night at El Mercado

El Mercado Modern Cuisine

301 North Spurgeon Street

Santa Ana, CA 92701

Now that restaurants and other businesses are opening back up, it's time to face some facts. It's going to still take some time for things to get back to where they were before. Restaurants have had to pivot in all sorts of directions in the last year. Delivery and takeout ordering only, placing their employees on furlough or letting them go permanently, social distancing guidelines, mask-wearing mandates, and dealing with people who do not want to comply, are just a small percentage of what restaurants have had to deal with. 

So, as we move forward it's important to remember that we've all been through a lot, so a little compassion and understanding needs to be the rule of the land. I bring this up because there's going to be some growing pains at some of your favorite spots, including our recent visit to El Mercado in Santa Ana. This was not the smoothest of evenings that we have encountered in a restaurant. 

I am totally cognizant that restaurants are having a hard time finding staff, that there might be new cooks in their kitchens and there could be new management running your favorite restaurant. Since people read this restaurant review site to help them decide if they want to part with their hard-earned money on a particular place, I feel it's my duty to give you an unbiased, honest review, even if there might be some issues with a place that I'm unaware of. They may have just had an off night or maybe it's a regularly occurring problem, but the following was our experience. 

Last month was Orange County Restaurant Week, and since both Katie and I had gotten our first shot, we felt comfortable enough to head out and support Orange County restaurants. I had made a plan to eat from six restaurants in seven days, all but this meal at El Mercado was going to be eaten at home. I made reservations at El Mercado for 2 at 7pm on a Saturday evening. We arrived promptly and were seated near the back of the restaurant, close to the bar. 

El Mercado is situated in Downtown Santa Ana, right by the Yost Theater, and a stone's throw away from Playground, Wursthaus, and 4th Street Market, among others. Their menu leads off with nine appetizers, there's four taco plates to choose from, and ten entrees to select from. Prices range between $13 to $29 for entrees. I was going to be having the prix-fixe $30 restaurant week menu and Katie decided to order off of the regular menu. 

I always like to start out by showing a picture of the Chips and Salsa when eating in a Mexican restaurant. These from El Mercado were pretty solid. The tortilla chips were nicely fried and salted perfectly. The salsa had a good consistency to it, but I would have liked a little more heat to be present. 

A big thing for Katie growing up was ordering Chips and Guacamole ($9.00) as an appetizer at every  Mexican restaurant that they would eat at. It's a tradition that her parents still do to this day, sometimes ordering two or three if it's the ten of us. This version at El Mercado was pretty stellar. It had a good chunky consistency to it, was seasoned well, and came with pepitas, tomatoes, and onion. They also have a version that includes crickets, but Katie chickened out when I suggested trying it. 

Brussels Sprouts ($12) are having their moment in the sun right now, as they are on almost every menu in OC, including this one. At El Mercado, they crisp up their sprouts nicely and then add parmesan cheese, pickled veggies, and toss it with a chile ancho and xocconostle sauce. Balsamic was not used here, they instead utilized the contrasting slightly sweet and sour sauce, which was a breath of fresh air. I was also a fan of the pickled vegetables that were added. A nice choice of stater if you are a fan of Brussels sprouts. 

We've had the good, now the ugly. With my OC Restaurant Week pre-fixe menu, I could choose between either chicken or vegetable enchiladas, or what I went with the Carnitas ($18). Even the vegetable enchiladas had to be a better option than what I got. This big chunk of pork was as dry as August in Palm Springs. It came with a moat of pork jus, pickled onion, and a sprig of cilantro. The menu said that it was supposed to come with some salsa verde, but they must have forgotten it. It definitely needed it. Each bite was like sandpaper going down. I tried to salvage this by asking for some sour cream to help moisten things up a bit, but the small, thimble-sized amount of sour cream I was given was no match for this dried-up piece of swine that I left half-eaten as our plates were taken away. This was really one of the most awful meals I've had in recent memory. Barely edible. 

As I was struggling with my meal, Katie was waiting another 20 minutes for her Mole ($19). There must have been a snafu in the kitchen or our server did not key in the order. This chicken breast was placed in a pool of reddish mole, with dots of pea puree and jocoque on the plate and plenty of toasted sesame seeds and finely diced onion topping the bird. The chicken itself was for the most part pretty good, but some bites were a little on the dry side. I expected a little more depth of flavor from the mole, but it was passable. Katie ended up liking this more than I did, but she'd get something else if she came here again. 

The last part of my restaurant week experience was this Carrot Cake ($9). The carrot cake was formed into a mini loaf, with a pineapple compote placed on the side and plenty of whipped cream on top. The cake on its own was fine, moist, but not overly sweet. The sweetness of this dessert was provided by the pineapple and whipped cream. I liked this take on a carrot cake, but I do admit to missing the traditional cream cheese frosting that is a big part of any carrot cake experience. 

Okay, so our visit to El Mercado started off really well, and then took a deep drop off as soon as my meal reached the table. Like I said earlier, maybe they have new chefs in the kitchen, maybe they were having an off day, or some other unforeseen things were happening here, but I expected more especially after the glowing reviews I have read about this place from other food writers who I respect. I do give our server and the manager credit that they did try to make things right by giving Katie a free carrot cake, and free guacamole to take home, but I did have to end up getting something at the food truck outside. Other than the long wait for Katie's meal, the service was pretty solid on this evening. I'm going to chalk this one up to getting back into the swing of things after a long year, but I'd definitely avoid the carnitas on future visits. 

Out of five walnuts, (because this restaurant sits on Spurgeon Street, named after the founder of Santa Ana, William Spurgeon, who not only was the towns first mayor but also was a walnut farmer),  five being best to zero being worst, El Mercado Modern cuisine gets 2 walnuts. 

For more information about El Mercado Modern Cuisine, head to their website here: https://www.mercadomodern.com/