Living Large at Fat Fish Sushi?

 Fat Fish Sushi

20761 Lake Forest Dr. 

Lake Forest, CA 92630

I have a complicated relationship with sushi. I like it, but I don't really seek it out. I've had some really expensive sushi, and while I appreciate it, I don't like it enough to justify paying a lot for it. An all-you-can-eat sushi option is a better option for me. I know some AYCE sushi places can be a little dicey, with inferior seafood, but I have not had any issues with subpar fish. My favorite AYCE sushi place is Sushi Damu in Tustin, but maybe Fat Fish Sushi would replace it. Read on to see. 

My aunt Hiroko picked this place for her birthday dinner. Like me, she picks restaurants with high Yelp ratings. I think most people head to Yelp to post negative reviews, so if a place has a good rating, it must be above average. Fat Fish Sushi has a 4.1-star rating, with close to 400 reviews posted. This is a small sample size, but it is enough for my Japanese aunt to think this spot might be a good choice for her to celebrate her birthday. 

One of the reasons Fat Fish might have only 300+ reviews is that this restaurant seems somewhat isolated. It's not close to any major freeways; it's in a small strip mall where the big draw seems to be a tire store to its left and a liquor store to its right, and this is an area that I feel is not going to draw a lot of people to. 

Fat Fish has been around since 2017 and is small, with room for 20 people at a time. Reservations for larger parties are a must. The AYCE menu is not the biggest we've seen, but there's enough diversity on it to satisfy most people. As with all AYCE sushi places, there are some rules you must abide by. There's a two-hour limit; everyone in your party must get the AYCE option; no to-go items are available, and items not eaten will be charged at the price listed on the menu. These are all standard rules we've seen in other places. Now that you know the ground rules, let's check out the food.

I will not bore you all by explaining everything we ate this evening. The $37 price for the AYCE option was fair, and I felt I got my money's worth when I walked out the door. I'm not a sushi expert, but the fish here was fresh and presented well. I liked the variety of their menu, and even my uncle, who is not really into sushi, had enough to choose from. The service was okay. We did not order some things that came out for us, but we ate them anyway. I also wish they had left a menu on the table so we knew what each item was on the order sheet for the AYCE. 

Ultimately, Fat Fish will not replace Sushi Damu, my current king of AYCE sushi restaurants in OC. Still, it was slightly above average and worth visiting if you live in the area or want sushi nearby. 

Out of five ocean sunfish (the actual fattest fish in the world, the heaviest of which was 5,100 pounds, which I imagine could be used in quite a lot of sushi rolls), five being best to zero being worst, Fat Fish Sushi gets 3 ocean sunfish. 

Fat Fish Sushi does not have a website that I could find online, so find out more about them by checking out their Yelp page by clicking here: https://www.yelp.com/biz/fat-fish-sushi-lake-forest-2 

Coming up Smelling Like a Breakfast Burrito?

 Rose Cafe

20672 Lake Forest Drive, Suite B 

Lake Forest, CA 92630

It's been a hot minute since I reviewed a breakfast burrito. It's not that I've grown tired of them. However, since football started, Katie and I have become lazy on our only day off together. We usually just get one of our favorites from a nearby place and sit in front of the TV watching grown men tackle each other from 10am til almost 8 at night. It's gotten a little ridiculous, and I feel guilty about wasting the day. 

Our team had a bye week this Sunday, so we decided to get up earlier than usual, walk one of our favorite trails in Irvine, go to Costco, and then grab breakfast somewhere. I had been obsessed with an Instagram account belonging to Rose Cafe in Lake Forest. Their breakfast burritos looked so good, and they had been active on that photo-sharing platform for a while. They have since cooled off a bit with their posting, but that sometimes happens. 

We arrived at Rose Cafe just before noon on a Sunday and were met with a line of about four people deep waiting at the register to place their orders. They opened in June 2020 near the Weinerschnitzel, Fuji Grill, and Los Cabos Bar and Grill on Lake Forest Drive. I wonder if there's any connection to the other Rose Cafes in Corona Del Mar or San Clemente. Their burritos look similar and are wrapped in the same red and white paper. 

Their breakfast menu features 13 breakfast burritos, bagel sandwiches, omelets, breakfast sandwiches, and pastries and donuts, which are only offered on weekends. Rose Cafe has a lunch menu for late risers, including burgers, grilled and deli sandwiches, and wraps. Be advised that they are closed on Mondays and Tuesdays and only open until 3pm the rest of the week. We quickly ordered at the counter, grabbed our number, and found a table. Let's see if the burritos tasted as good as they look on their Instagram feed. 

I promised breakfast burritos, but we started with this Pecan Roll ($4). This was fresh and not overly sweet. Lots of chopped pecans on top, with a limited amount of the sugary sauce pooled on top. It could have been heated a bit more, but an excellent way to start things off while we waited for our breakfast burritos. 

Katie has an affinity for breakfast burritos, and she went straightforward with her pick here at Rose Cafe with their Classic Burrito ($9.75 + $4.75 to make it a combo with a side and drink). This burrito comes with egg, hashbrowns, cheddar cheese, and your choice of protein. She selected bacon. Katie liked the balanced nature of this burrito and that it was well crafted. She could get elements of each part of this burrito in each bite. Not her favorite breakfast burrito, but she'd get this one again. It could have had a bit more cheese for her taste, but still good. She chose the hashbrowns patty as her side, which was very reminiscent of the one served at McDonald's. 

I went a bit more complex with my breakfast burrito this early afternoon, with the Supreme Breakfast Burrito ($11.50 + $3 adding avocado). This burrito included the trinity of breakfast meats; ham, bacon, and sausage. It also came with egg, cheese, and hashbrowns. This is one of the most photogenic breakfast burritos, but how did it taste? The first half of the burrito was excellent, but it was a little too greasy as I got to the end. I liked how they crafted this burrito, allowing each bite to include a little bit of everything. However, there needed to be more cheese included to make this more balanced. Not a bad burrito, but not as great as it looks. 

I liked Rose Cafe, but their breakfast burritos are not drive-worthy like the ones from Nate's Corner, LJ's Lil Cafe (review coming soon), Glee Donuts, and Pepe's, to name a few off the top of my head. However, Rose Cafe will satisfy your craving if you are in the area and feel like a breakfast burrito. The price of these burritos is reasonable, considering you will not be hungry until right before dinner or later after eating one. The service was good, as they quickly got the food to us even though they were busy when we arrived. I'm glad we could tear ourselves away from the NFL for at least this Sunday. 

Out of five parade floats (because this is the time of the year when people line the streets of Pasadena for their famous Rose Parade to see all the floats decorated with roses), five being best to zero being worst, Rose Cafe gets 3 parade floats. 

For more information about Rose Cafe, head to their website by clicking here: https://rose-cafe-be7e9d.webflow.io/

Don’t Be Yellow, Head to Crimson Coward

 Crimson Coward

23706 El Toro Road

Lake Forest, CA 92630

The hot chicken trend shows no signs of slowing down. Every time I log on to Instagram, it seems there's a new Nashville-style chicken restaurant that catches my eye. I keep thinking this chicken craze will fizzle out, like the poke, frozen yogurt, and bacon fads before it, but it hasn't seemed to happen yet, and we are going on nearly four years strong of a continuous stream of hot chicken restaurants popping up. The latest one I've tried is Crimson Coward in Lake Forest. 

The man behind Crimson Coward is Ali Hijazi. Before opening his first location in Downey three years ago, he took several trips to Nashville to perfect the rub for his chicken. It's a secret, of course, but they have let it slip out that it contains 16 primary and 32 secondary spices. They apply the rub to the chicken 24 hours in advance, so all the flavors can meld. Their chicken is also worth noting. They use hormone-free chicken from a farmer with whom they have a direct relationship. 

People seem to have taken notice of Crimson Coward. Even with new hot chicken restaurants opening almost daily at this point, they now have four locations open. Their Downey location was first, then Artesia, Lake Forest, and in April of this year, they cut the ribbon at their Long Beach store. Each of these locations possesses at least a four-star rating on Yelp, and they were named one of the top 20 best-fried chicken places by USA Today. So it's no wonder that they have such an aggressive expansion plan in place, as they are eying going national by the end of this year. 

My friend Owen from work is a chicken sandwich fiend. He always seems to know all the new places sprouting up. He knew about Crimson Coward way before I did. He suggested that we meet up here on a recent Thursday. We arrived at the Lake Forest location at 11, right when they opened. This Crimson Coward is situated in the Arbor shopping plaza, which is also home to Lucile's BBQ, Crumbl Cookies, Habit Burger, and other eateries. 

The menu here features sandwiches, tenders, wings, and sides, including fries, potato salad, fried pickles, slaw, and a Crimson onion; if you've ever had an Awesome Blossom or Bloomin' Onion, it's basically that. There are five levels of heat that you can choose from. On my maiden visit to a hot chicken restaurant, I generally go for the middle of the heat levels. Let's see how this worked out for us on this trip. 

Owen and I got the same sandwich, The Crimson ($14). He got his sandwich country style, which meant with no heat, and I got mine with the medium spice level, described on their menu as a slap of heat, which was right on the mark. Their namesake sandwich comes with coleslaw, pickles, and crimson sauce, all on a brioche bun. The crimson sauce is best described as a spicy mayo. I liked it better than others I have had. The flavor was good, but what made it for me was that the texture was a little thicker than their competitors, so it stuck to the chicken better. The chicken is pounded flatter than others, which led to it overhanging the bun quite. I treated the excess chicken as a chicken tender and dipped it into the sauce. The chicken was moist, and the medium spice level might have been perfect for me, as the heat grew as I ate this. The bun did an excellent job keeping everything together. I also got a single Chicken Tender ($3.75) which I did not snap a picture of because I was pretty hungry. I got this extra tender hot, one spice level up from my sandwich. It was hot but not unbearable. I liked the crunchiness of the tender, and the inside was tender. 

For a side, I got their Crimson Onion ($9). This version of an awesome blossom was anything but awesome. This was way over-fried and not seasoned correctly. Most bites I had tasted like burnt onions, especially the inside pieces. Their ranch is good, but it could not save this side item. I left most of this behind. 

I've been a real Potato Salad ($4) addict lately, so I gave the one here at Crimson Coward a try. This version is what I'd consider to be more of the chunky variety instead of my preferred version, a more smooth and creamy adaptation. It was good with a little of what I assume is their spicy rub sprinkled on top. The first bite I had was rather hot due to the rub, but the rest of this was mellow. Not an awful potato salad, but nothing that blew me away either. 

Owen got his potato intake by getting these Crimson Fries ($5). I've noticed that they usually give you a lot when you get fries at a hot chicken restaurant. This was the case here. Way more fries than what Owen could eat. They were fried crisp, seasoned ever so slightly, and came out nice and hot. 

I liked Crimson Coward, even with the slight hiccup from the overcooked onion. Their chicken was good, and writing this review kind of got my juices flowing to make another return visit soon. That said, I'm still looking for the hot chicken spot that will dethrone my favorites to this point; Crack Shack, Cluck Kitchen, and Gus's World Famous Fried Chicken. Crimson Coward was close but just missed getting into this top three. Their prices seemed a little high, but when I cross-checked them with their competitors, they were priced the same. The service was satisfactory, as I believe it was the franchise owners that served us and prepared our meals. Thanks for joining me, Owen, I'm sure it will be no time before another hot chicken restaurant opens, and we will try it. 

Out of five nests (because the crimson sunbird is the national bird of Singapore, and they build their nests in acacia trees), five being best to zero being worst, Crimson Coward gets 3 nests. 

For more information about Crimson Coward, head to their website by clicking here:https://www.crimsoncoward.com/

Goldenbox Express Full of Surprises or Disappointments? - CLOSED

Goldenbox Express

21212 Bake Parkway Unit C and D

Lake Forest, CA 92630

If there's one thing I've learned in the past 12 months, it's that some foods are conducive to takeout and many others are not. We've gotten meals from high-end steakhouses that we have enjoyed and were left underwhelmed when we brought them home. French fries don't travel too well either, and they are never quite the same when reheated. Seafood is also a little dicey to bring home, but the worst traveling food by far is naturally ice cream. 

However, many foods travel like champs. Pizza, Mexican food, and hamburgers come to mind right away. You could also add Chinese food to that list. The Chinese takeout container is so iconic that it could not be left off this list of the best takeout foods. I had been feeling like some Chinese food after a long-overdue haircut. A quick Yelp search led me to GoldenBox Express, which had some promising reviews. 

Strike one with my visit to Goldenbox was that they did not answer their phone when I tried to call in my order at half past 11 on a Thursday morning. This is one of my biggest pet peeves about getting takeout. I shy away from using third-party delivery services, as they cut into restaurant profits way more than they should. If restaurants don't answer the phone, it tells me they don't really want my business or would rather I order through a delivery service. 

Undeterred, I soldiered on my quest to have Chinese food for lunch and drove the fifteen minutes to Goldenbox, situated on the corner of Bake Parkway and Trabucco Road. This cramped parking lot was teeming with many people getting an early jump on their lunch from one of the other food offerings at this location; Subway, El Pollo Loco, and Kanji Japanese. I ordered and then waited 25 minutes for my to-go order. Strike two. 

The menu at Goldenbox is dominated by a wide array of bento combination meals. They list 15 on their menu. There are also plenty of single items to choose from, many that you've come to expect at your local Chinese takeout spot, to a little more exotic stuff like duck legs, sea bass, yellow croaker, and pigs feet. Nothing on their menu will set you back any more than $20, and they also have a wide selection of teas, smoothies, and other beverages available. Let's see if they can make up for not answering their phone or the long wait for the food. 

Before we get to my bento meal, I needed to try their Orange Chicken ($12.99). Everyone loves the orange chicken from Panda Express, but I need to tell you that there are better versions out there, and this was one of them. This good-sized portion relied on something other than an overly sweet and syrupy sauce. It was more subtle, with a big orange flavor contrasting nicely with the tender chicken. Each piece of chicken had a nice crunch, which was a feat in itself since the breading here was lighter than most versions of orange chicken I've ever had. This had temperature issues (something that will become a trend as you read deeper into this review). 

Bento boxes are the way to go at Goldenbox Express; as you can see, you get an entire meal for the same price as most of their single-item entrees. This Combo H2 ($16.99) is the one that piqued my interest. It came with a sweet-skinned duck leg, spicy Szechuan chicken, a whole bunch of egg-fried rice, honey balsamic salad, and a drink. Let's start out with the proteins. There were five duck legs in here, and the meat was pretty solid, but there wasn't much of it. The chicken was ice cold when I got it home, but it was much better after half a minute in the microwave. There was some spice with this, but I could go up a spice level on future visits. The abundance of peanuts added an earthiness that detracted from the tender chicken. The egg fried rice is one of the lightest you will find anywhere. It lacked the greasiness that others possess. The salad was a spring mix topped with quinoa and a vinaigrette. I used some of it but switched to the blue cheese in my fridge midway through. Last but not least, this meal was rounded out with a strawberry green tea, which I found a bit too sweet, as I'm more of a black tea with no sugar kind of guy. 

Goldenbox Express showed some promise on this visit, but there were too many miscues for me to rate them too high based on this one visit. Would I go back? Yes, they may have been having a bad day with not picking up their phone, how long I waited for my order, and the almost unforgivable temperature issues with the food. Even with all of this, this was elevated Chinese takeout, lighter than most, and not relying on overly sweet sauces to distract you from the inferior meat that they use. I'll try their online ordering process the next time I am up this way. This is another example of one of the biggest lessons I've learned during these last twelve months, all takeout is not created equal.   

Out of five helmets (because Lake Forest is home to the largest public skatepark in all of California, but you need a helmet to use it), five being best to zero being worst, Goldenbox Express gets 2.5 helmets. 

For more information about Goldenbox Express, head to their website here: https://goldenbox.us/

A Taste of Peru in Lake Forest - CLOSED

Renzo's A Taste of Peru

24354 Muirlands Blvd. 

Lake Forest, CA 92630

Whenever someone asks me what kind of cuisine I think will trend next, I always have it in the back of my mind that it will be Peruvian food. Peru, much like the US, could best be described as a melting pot when it comes to the culinary scene of this South American nation. Besides the dishes of the indigenous inhabitants, Peruvian fare draws from Europe, Asia, and Africa to create its own mashup. Peruvian food is ready for its moment in the sun, just like quinoa or rainbow-colored fads of the last few years. 

A quick Yelp search of Peruvian restaurants in OC yielded nearly 40 restaurants, which was more than I thought there would be. I feel bad I have not done my part to promote Peruvian food, as I've only reviewed two Peruvian restaurants during the run of this blog, both of which have since closed. On one of my recent days off from work, I decided to remedy that with a trip to Renzo's in Lake Forest.  

Renzo's caught my attention with their very active Instagram account and the delicious-looking sandwiches and plates they feature there. As you will see, their food can even make a subpar photographer like myself take good-looking pictures. I excitedly called in my order on a Thursday before noon and hurried over there within the 15-minute time I was quoted. 

In case you were wondering, there is a Renzo, and he's Renzo Macchiavello, owner and chef of this joint. He's from Peru but has lived in the US since he was 17. Renzo started as a dishwasher in San Francisco and knew he wanted to become a chef after that. He moved to Los Angeles, worked in numerous hotels and restaurants in the LA area, and graduated from culinary school in 1993. His migration south continued when he moved to OC and opened Peruvian Grill in Huntington Beach to wide acclaim. 

That restaurant closed, but now Renzo is back, taking over another Peruvian restaurant after the previous owner suddenly passed away. Renzo's is situated in Lake Forest, near the intersection of Ridge Route and Muirlands, behind the Walgreens, and in the exact center as Avila's El Ranchito and Burger Town USA. A little hard to find, but I was looking forward to finally trying Renzo's take on Peruvian cuisine. 

The menu is small and compact but full of what you'd expect to find at a Peruvian spot. There are six starters, including the national dish of Peru, ceviche, which I learned is a sandwich. There are five sandwiches, three salads, five entrees, and a trio of sides. No main dish will cost you more than $20, and lunch and dinner portions depend on how hungry you are. I was hungry, so let's see how well I liked Renzo's. 

I'm no Peruvian food expert, very far from it, but I'd argue that while ceviche is Peru's unofficial national dish, Lomo Saltado ($18) is the most popular, It's also so damn photogenic, as you can see from the pictures above. For those that don't know, this is a stir fry dish which combines strips of steak, french fries, tomatoes, onions, and cilantro. It came with a big side of white rice also, which soaked up a lot of the soy sauce. Even though the steak was not the most tender I have had, and maybe needed a bit more seasoning added to it, when combined with everything else it was a very good plate of food. The fries stayed crisp almost all the way through my meal, the delicious aji sauce really tied this plate together wonderfully, and the three extra dollars I paid for the dinner portion of this really was a lot of food, even for me. 

 

For part 2 of my meal, I tried the Roasted Pork Loin Sandwich ($11), also listed on the menu as the buttifarra. This hefty sandwich comes with sliced roasted pork, sweet potato, onion, citrus salsa, lettuce, and aioli, all on a French baguette. There was only one issue keeping me from loving this sandwich: the roasted pork. It was extremely dry the day I was here, which is a shame because the rest of the sandwich was excellent. I loved the notes of citrus and the tang from the aioli, and the bread was top-notch. I took off some of the pork, and it made the sandwich better, but I was still bummed. I hope they just had an off day, or I'll try their Cuban or turkey sandwich next time. 

Even with the subpar roasted pork on the sandwich, I'd still suggest you try Renzo's. The lomo saltado alone is worth the visit, and for ceviche fans, I hear you will not want to miss the one here. I found the price point more than fair, especially considering the size of the portions. A regular person could easily split one of the dinner portions with a friend. Service was prompt, as they had my to-go order ready and waiting at the promised time. Renzo himself also thanked me for visiting, which was a nice touch. I'm still sure that Peruvian food will have its moment in the sun, and I look forward to having it more often, especially before everyone else finds out about it. 

Out of five alpacas (because Peru is home to more than 75 percent of all the alpacas in the world), five being best to zero being worst, Renzo's A Taste of Peru gets 3 alpacas. 

For more information about Renzo's A Taste of Peru, head to their website here: http://www.renzostasteofperu.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

Not Just Blowing Smoke at Fire Breather BBQ - CLOSED

Fire Breather BBQ

22722 Lambert St. #1702

Lake Forest, CA 92630

I have often used this blog to lament that there is no good barbecue where I live in South OC. The best is probably Wood Ranch, but the rest is really subpar. I've had a few decent meals at Lucille's, but most of the time, it's been, at best, mediocre. Dickey's was impressive when they first opened up here, but they have gone downhill fast. Bad to the Bone in San Juan gets a lot of love from people, but I've found their stuff to be bone dry like sandpaper going down. Texas BBQ on El Toro Road? Unedible.

When my good friend David asked where I wanted to head for dinner for my birthday, I recalled seeing Fire Breather BBQ when I picked up sandwiches at Philly's Best next door. The unmistakable aroma of barbecued meats hit my face when I entered to pick up a menu on that trip. It must have stuck with me because I told David we would meet at Fire Breather. Barbecue restaurants had burned me many times, so I did not come here with such high hopes. Big mistake.

We arrived at Fire Breather at 5:30 on a recent Friday evening. This is a casual barbecue restaurant. Ordering is done at the counter, and the food is brought out soon afterward. There are less than ten tables inside and a few small tables in front of this strip center restaurant. The decor inside is non-existent, except for the large wagon wheel with hanging lights in the center of the room and a wall with artificial turf fastened.

The menu at FireBreather is pretty sparse as well. They offer five kinds of meat for their one-, two-, or three combo meat plates. There are also two sandwiches, (brisket and pulled pork), five sides, and the rest of the menu is rounded out by kettle chips and bottled beverages.  That's basically it, straightforward and to the point, which you can get away with if your barbecue is good. Let's see if that's the case here.

Starting things off for us is the Pulled Pork BBQ Sammy ($12) that tempted Katie. This sandwich had plenty of pulled pork piled on a Hawaiian burger roll. The meat comes without sauce, and it's up to you as to how much you want to add. Not that this pork needed any. It was moist, with a nice subtle smoke to it. The smoke was manageable, and there was not a bad bite during the short life of this sandwich. The sandwiches come with Apple Slaw and your choice of one side. Katie got the Potato Salad, which she was over the moon about. She felt this was one of the better potato salads she has had in a long while. It was chunky style, with plenty of celery and red onion included. Just like grandma used to make. 

There would be no doubt what I'd be having this evening at Fire Breather's, the Beast Mode Combo ($24). I like trying as much as possible on one plate, and this was a perfect choice here. It also helped that David would be paying, thanks, buddy. For my three portions of meat, I went with brisket, baby back ribs, and pulled pork. All were fantastic. Brisket is the king of barbecue meats and indicates whether a place will be good. Fire Breather passed this test with flying colors. The brisket was tender, with a small ribbon of fat running through it, which gave it a nice flavor boost. The outside bark was flavorful, along with the rub that they used. That is precisely what I look for in brisket. The ribs featured a nice-looking smoke ring on them, and they were meaty, while the pork pulled easily from the bone with just a little tug. Just like Katie's sandwich, the pulled pork continued to shine. I liked that some textures were included with this pile of pork. You get some of the crispy ends along with the moist inside cuts. I went with the BBQ beans for my side item, which were fine but did not elevate to anything above average. Some cut-up brisket in these would have made them better.

David probably didn't want me to feel like I was the only one eating a ton of food here, so he also went the Beast Mode ($24) route at Fire Breather. He picked brisket, tri-tip, and pulled pork. Tri-tip can be a tricky barbecue meat to get, as it is easy to come out dry and flavorless. That is not the case here. It was meaty and flavored nicely with a nice rub and a tinge of smoke. Easily one of the best tri-tips I have had in a long while, even though David allowed me to have one slice. He selected the mixed veggies for his side item, which I did not get a chance to try.

Fire Breather BBQ should be where you head when you are in South OC and want a good barbecue. I was impressed with all the meats we tried on this trip here, as they are not just South OC good. They are some of the best we have had in Orange County. The sides were disappointing, as they were all basic. Maybe they don't have room to make mac and cheese, mashed potatoes, or greens in this storefront. This is definitely a family-run business, as Kat, the amiable woman at the counter, is one of the owner's wives, and she had her adorable infant behind the counter with her. They are proud of the barbecue they serve here and have every right to be. Be aware that they are closed on Sunday and Monday, so you only have five days to get your barbecue fix. Based on just this one visit, I can now declare the South OC curse of bad barbecue is broken.

Out of five kisses (because the co-lead singer and bassist of Kiss, Gene Simmons, was famous for breathing fire on stage at their concerts), five being best to zero being worst, Fire Breather BBQ gets a strong 3.5 kisses.

For more information about Fire Breather BBQ, head to their website here: http://www.firebreatherbbq.com/