Horsing Around in Downtown Fullerton

 High Horse Saloon

102 North Harbor Blvd. 

Fullerton, CA 92832

No one would ever consider me a country boy. I've never been a fan of country music. In my early twenties, I took a country line dancing class, but that was to impress a girl who ultimately started dating the class instructor. If I were a songwriter, that story would make for a great country song, but that experience might have altered my view of the country music scene. My scars have healed from that event thirty years ago, enough that I had no problem entering High Horse Saloon in Downton Fullerton. 

I needed a place to have an early dinner with my parents, and as they have gotten older, I find myself picking spots closer to their home so they don't have to drive so much. High Horse gets excellent reviews on Yelp (4.3 stars with over 400 reviews), frequently helps out at community events, and was mentioned by OC Register Restaurant Columnist Brock Keeling as having one of the best patty melts in OC. I was sold. 

We met my parents at 5 pm on a Saturday, a couple of hours before Fullerton gets slightly rambunctious. We have been to this location before when it was Florentine's Grill, and even farther back, when my sister used to work here when it was Pete and Tony's. Due to the early hour, we had no problem finding parking behind the restaurant. I'm sure that's not always the case, but Fullerton has done a great job adding parking structures, which helps alleviate parking struggles. 

High Horse Saloon comes to us from Mario Marovic and Andrew Gabriel, who know a little about bars and restaurants. Their roster of spots includes Muldoon's, Malarkys, Madero 1899, Playa Mesa, Wild Goose Tavern, Country Club, and Mickey's Irish Pub, which is located right next door. Predictably, they did a great job transforming this place into a country bar/restaurant. Plenty of exposed wood, hanging wagon wheel lighting fixtures, saddle seat bar stools at the bar, and a stage that features live music most nights and a DJ later in the evening. 

We were, of course, more interested in the food scene at High Horse Saloon. The lunch and dinner menu includes starters, soups and salads, burgers, sandwiches, entrees, sides, and desserts. Items are modestly priced, all under $20, except four entrees that will set you back a bit more. Their happy hour menu is offered from 3 to 7 pm and includes many of the same food items as their regular menu but at three to four dollars less per item. I don't know if happy hour is limited to the bar area or the whole restaurant, but it's something to be made aware of. Let's check out what we had on this visit. 

I'm not the world's biggest cornbread fan, but everyone else wanted to try this Corn Bread Skillet ($9). This came to the table scalding hot in the cast iron skillet and was brushed with honey butter. I liked the contrast between the sweet honey and the cornbread itself, but the menu mentioned some jalapeno, which I did not detect. It would have been better if it had some heat to accompany the sweetness. Not a bad cornbread, though. 

Katie was not content with just the cornbread, so she ordered the Ranch House Salad ($10). For ten dollars, this was a good-sized salad. It came with a base of mixed greens, cherry tomatoes, shredded carrots, avocado, cheddar jack cheese, cornbread croutons, and a choice of dressing. She went with the blue cheese dressing, which she enjoyed, and found it was distributed evenly throughout the salad. The cornbread croutons were also a treat, but the avocado was turning brown, as seen in the photo above. However, it was not a deal breaker as Katie would get this salad again. 

These Pa's Pulled Chicken Potato Skins ($14) were listed under the starters section of the menu, but my mom had them as her entree. The potatoes were fried nicely, filled with jack and cheddar cheese, pulled chicken, green onion, and drizzled with a ranch crema. My mom generously offered me one, and I rather enjoyed it. The chicken-to-cheese ratio was on point, and the potato was nice and crunchy. I would have liked the ranch crema to be served in a ramekin instead of drizzled over the top, as it was unevenly applied. This would have allowed the guest to control how much went on each potato skin. 

I've said it before, but my dad is always a wild card when eating in a restaurant. When I look at a menu ahead of time, I'm never quite sure what he will get. This time, it was the Tri-Tip French Dip ($19). The tri-tip was piled high between ciabatta with Swiss cheese and fried scallions.  It came with a side of horseradish sauce and an au jus. The tri-tip was average by itself but made better with the cheese and sauces. I really enjoyed their bread, which held up to the contents of the sandwich, au jus, and the creamy horseradish sauce. With the sandwich, you can pick between fries and onion rings. I did not try their fries, but the onion rings are the way to go here at High Horse Saloon. They had a nice breading, seasoned well, and the onion stayed encased inside the outer shell of the breading. The provided ranch crema was an excellent dipping sauce for these rings. 

Katie also chose the sandwich route when she picked this Nashville Chicken Sandwich ($16). This large piece of chicken was joined on the brioche bun with slaw, pickles, chipotle aioli, and Nashville oil, which I just learned is a concoction of cayenne and other spices mixed with oil from the fryer and then brushed over the chicken. Katie liked that this sandwich had a muted heat, which allowed the tender chicken to be highlighted. I found this to be a very mellow spiced chicken sandwich, so if you are expecting more heat, you might be able to ask for that. The coleslaw added a good texture, and the pickles added some tanginess. Next time, a little more of the aioli could be added to the sandwich. 

Since I had just had a burger the night before, I decided to try one of their entrees. I settled on the Saloon Steak ($25). This was good for a mid- to lower-priced steak. The flat iron steak is grilled or blackened and served with chimichurri, pickled red onions, seasonal veggies, and garlic mashed potatoes. The steak was cooked nicely to my desired temperature of medium rare and was reasonably tender. The chimichurri was not as pronounced as others I have had, but still added a nice flavor boost. The veggies were seasoned well, and the mashed potatoes had a good texture but could have used more garlic. 

After reflecting on our meal at High Horse Saloon, I was delighted with everything we tried on this early evening. Food at bars is usually pushed to the background, as the primary focus is to sell cocktails and other libations. This was not the case here or at any other bars/restaurants these guys operate. The food was well thought out and surprisingly affordable. Nothing here will blow you away and demand that you return immediately, but if you are here for some country music or to soak up the pleasing atmosphere, you will not have to eat before or after you leave High Horse Saloon. We also experienced outstanding service, but I did not catch our server's name. I'm not going to be running out to buy cowboy boots anytime soon, but this visit helped me put my sorted past with country music to rest a little more. 

Out of five suits of armor (because the term "high horse" originated in medieval times when soldiers wearing suits of armor rode on high horses to show their superiority over everyday people), five being best to zero being worst, High Horse Saloon gets 3 suits of armor.  

For more information about High Horse Saloon, click here to visit their website: https://www.highhorseoc.com/