Come Home to Mama's Comfort Food and Cocktails

Mama's Comfort Food and Cocktails

11122 Los Alamitos Blvd. 

Los Alamitos, CA 90720

It used to be that after graduation from high school, friends you had been with for all those years would scatter, and most you wouldn't hear from again. If you were lucky you'd maybe see one of your childhood friends by chance at the mall, or maybe every ten years at high school reunions. Now with social media, for better or worse, we are now more connected to the people we grew up with more than ever. It was through social media that I ended up reconnecting with a childhood friend and trying a restaurant that I've wanted to go to for a while now.

It had been about thirty years since I had last seen Steve. He went to my elementary school from third grade on and we worked together at the supermarket during our high school years. He, fortunately, was smart enough to get out, while I am stuck there at least for another four years before retirement calls my name. Steve went on to college in Ohio, became a doctor, got married, and has two kids. He lives in the South Bay area and works in Los Alamitos, an area we do not frequent nearly enough, so when he reached out for a long overdue meetup, I knew I wanted to meet at Mama's Comfort Food and Cocktails.

If this place sounds a little familiar, it's because this is the sister restaurant to Mamas on 39 in Huntington Beach. Opened in late June, this outpost of Mama's was not situated on Highway 39, also known as Beach Boulevard, so they had to rename this Los Alamitos location Mama's Comfort Food and Cocktails. Even though I have not been to the Huntington Beach spot, from what I can ascertain, the menus at the two sister restaurants are similar, with both serving Thrifty brand ice cream, but more on that later.

This location has had a recent string of failed restaurants, most recently Spin Pizza and Mighty Kitchen. If the overflow crowd on this Thursday evening we were here is any indication, that streak of failed restaurants will be halted by Mama's Comfort Food. This restaurant features large garage-style windows on each wall providing plenty of natural light, a U shaped bar in the center of the restaurant, and TVs festooned to every corner of the place.

The menu at Mama's is as big and vibrant as the dining room. Plenty of starters, burgers, sandwiches, and entrees to choose from. Pretty much any item that comes to your mind when you hear diner food is available here. Another perk is that you can get breakfast any time of the day here, and the breakfast items I have seen online look pretty stellar. After catching up with Steve for a half hour or so, we made our selections, and this is how everything came out for us.

I've really become a big fan of cauliflower after many years of avoiding it on veggie trays and salads. Now when I see it on menus, I gravitate towards it, like we did by ordering this Buffalo Cauliflower ($9.99). This generous portion was lightly fried and tossed with a slightly spicy buffalo sauce and came with a side of ranch dressing for dipping. Just like buffalo wings, but without the messiness and the bones. Some of the pieces could have been cut up a little smaller, but a very satisfying start to our meal.

I could tell that Katie was really contemplating what to get off the rather large menu at Mamas. She finally went with the Mama Maria's Tuna Melt ($14.99 with avocado added) and could not have been happier. She threw out words like, "best ever", "delicious", and "excellent comfort food" to describe this tuna melt. She loved the addition of the creamy avocado to the well-done tuna salad and the crunchy toasted bread. If she had to pick out a weakness with this it would be her fries, which she claimed were just okay. Still, she would have a hard time passing this sandwich up on her future visits to Mamas.

I did not know this going in, but Steve is a practicing vegetarian. I guess I'll still keep him as a friend after finding this out. He's pretty much a regular here, as he knew a couple of the staff and ran into other patients, even though he was trying to stay incognito. For his meal, he got the Cayla's Vegan Sam-Wich ($12.99). This veggie lovers sandwich included marinated tomatoes, arugula, red onions, avocado, basil aioli, and a balsamic vinaigrette reduction on a ciabatta roll. He also went for the dollar upgrade here and got the tater tots, which they topped with cheese. No complaint from the good doctor, as it appears that this is his go-to order when having lunch at Mamas. He had no problem putting this sandwich away but left half of the tater tots. 

So many good choices to choose from here, but if I'm eating in a restaurant that specializes in diner food, I almost always veer towards a patty melt, so that lead me to this All-American Beach Melt ($15.99). This double-decker patty melt came with plenty of melted American cheese, onions, pickles, and Mama's sauce, which was a thinner thousand island dressing. The good toasting of the bread along with the insides of this sandwich made this one of the better patty melt I have had. I might next time go even crazier and add bacon to this to bring it up to an even better level. Unlike Katie, I liked the fries here, which had a good amount of garlic and parmesan flavor to them, and they were bottomless, but I only went through one serving. I know, I've turned into a lightweight.

When you walk in a joint and they have a Thrifty ice cream stand right next to the hostess desk, you know you are definitely going to save room for dessert. They offer eight flavors for you to choose from at Mamas, and you can get your ice cream in a cone, cup, milkshake, or as we got ours, in a Toasty Hot Giant Waffle ($10.99). This folded over waffle was filled with Nutella, sliced bananas, and candied pecans and then topped with a classic barrel-shaped scoop of vanilla ice cream in a cone. Of course, I liked this dessert, but I would have liked it better if the ice cream was inside the waffle and if the waffle was a little softer. It was kind of hard getting our forks through it. We ended up cutting this up with a knife. I'd probably get a Chocolate Malted Crunch milkshake next time. Man, that sounds good right about now.

It's no secret that diner fare is one of my favorite genres of food, and Mama's Comfort Food and Cocktails is an excellent choice for this. The things we had on this evening with our good friend Steve were all pretty stellar, and my only wish was that they were closer to where I live so I could try more of their menu, including their breakfasts and their more substantial dinner entrees like their meatloaf and the beer can chicken. Service was warm and friendly, even when they were busy earlier in the evening. Prices were a tad on the high side, but portions are big, and you can stretch your meal to have half for lunch the next day, which is what I ended up doing. Mamas was a great meetup spot for us catching up with Steve. This dinner proves that Facebook and other social media can be useful for more than arguing about politics, posting memes, and trying to entice your friends to join your pyramid scheme. It can also help you stay friends with great people that you grew up with, that you might otherwise have lost touch with.

Out of five cottonwoods, (because in Spanish Los Alamitos translates to little cottonwood trees, of which there are numerous in the city), five being best to zero being worst, Mama's Comfort Food and Cocktails gets 3.5 cottonwoods. 

For more information about Mama's Comfort Food and Cocktails, head to their website here: http://www.mamason39.com/

Can This Place Cut the Mustard?

Mustard's Chicago Style Hot Dogs

3630 Katella

Los Alamitos, CA 90720

Hockey is back. Yes, as many of you may know from knowing me, or reading this blog, I love hockey. I have been going nuts with no sports to watch. I have never really been a basketball fan, my football team was pretty much counted out when they opened up training camp, and my college basketball favorite will be lucky to make any kind of appearance in a postseason tournament. To say that my teams stink, would be an understatement. So I was very excited when my beloved Ducks would be back on the ice after a delay of 113 days due to the NHL lockout.

One of my favorite days is when we divvy up our season tickets, so I can get to planning what games I will be going to. We usually do this in an area that is conducive to the three of us. My Dad works in Long Beach, Steve lives in Los Alamitos, and I live in south OC, so I am usually the one that has to drive the farthest. I don't usually mind because it gives me a chance to try a restaurant in an area that we do not frequent as much. This year we would be getting our game day tickets at Mustards in Los Alamitos.

Mustard's is located in a small strip mall on Katella. If you blink you may miss this place. It is sandwiched by a McDonald's and Maderas Steak and Rib Restaurant. Mustard's specializes in Chicago style food, although their menu covers just about everything from chicken sandwiches, burgers, and numerous sandwiches. Not only a large menu, but they also feature daily specials that are plastered near the register. I was ready to eat, so let's see how this compares to other Chicago style food joints we have visited.

Chicago is known for their hot dogs, but I do not think they are known for their chili dogs. Nonetheless, both Steve and my Dad got the Windy City Chili Dog ($3.49). I  guess if you slap a Chicago style name on anything it becomes a Chicago kind of food. This chili dog came with the requisite poppy seed bun, onions, chili, and cheese. Both Steve and my Dad liked their dogs, as was evident by how quick they were gone from the table. The chili was not a spicy chili but added moisture and a little flavor to this hot dog. The chili and onions were pretty plentiful on here as well.

The people of Chicago do their hot dogs a little differently from the rest of us. I would describe this Classic Chicago Dog ($3.09) as a salad bar on top of a hot dog. Each of these hot dogs comes with more vegetables than I probably eat in a week. This hot dog starts with a soft poppy seed bun, and a 100 percent pure beef Vienna Kosher Style Hot Dog. The hot dog had a very nice pop to it, and the beef inside had a great flavor. Then here comes the cavalcade of veggies. The hot dog is topped with onions, relish, tomato, neon green pickle relish, a pickle spear, hot sport peppers, celery salt, and mustard. No ketchup ever touches a true Chicago dog. I learned that lesson the hard way. I took one bite with all of the veggies but took off the tomato and the pickle spear to finish this pretty good hot dog. This version lives up to the one that I had just outside the gates of Wrigley Field. I recommend getting this dog when coming to Mustard's.

To go along with my Chicago dog I had to have a side item, so I went with the Onion Rings ($2.89). These are a very basic onion ring. Not awful, but not anything that you couldn't get anywhere else. I did like that these came with ranch dressing, without me having to ask for it.

Along with the Chicago hot dog and deep-dish pizza, probably the next most iconic Chicagoland food is the Italian beef sandwich. My favorite variation of this fantastic sandwich is the Italian Beef and Sausage Combo ($6.95). You basically get two sandwiches in one with this variation. Thin sliced roast beef is placed alongside an Italian sausage in the same bun, then topped with sweet bell peppers, grilled onions, giardiniera (a relish of pickled vegetables), and au jus. Normally the sandwich is dunked into the au jus, but at Mustard's, they have the au jus on the side and you pour it on yourself. For someone that likes their sandwiches double dipped, I did not have enough au jus for my taste. I know I could have asked for more, but you do not get the sandwich submerged by pouring it on yourself. The sausage had a nice mild taste to it, but the Italian beef was lacking in the flavor department. It kind of tasted like nothing. The bun held up to the contents of the sandwich, but this was just a mediocre Combo sandwich.

One chili dog was not going to fill my Dad up, so for round two, he got this Turkey Melt ($5.75). This turkey melt came with tomato, Swiss and American cheeses, and mayo, all on rye bread. I did not think this sandwich looked appetizing at all, but the old man had no complaints about it. The turkey patty appeared to be very thin, but again this did not last long once it hit the table. This sandwich came with a side of potato salad. The potato salad was pretty solid. Not anything that wowed us, but it was good enough.

Mustard's fills a need when you need a taste of the Windy City, and want to forgo the cost of plane tickets to the Midwest. This restaurant is not as good as Portillo's in Buena Park, but if you are nowhere near Buena Park, you can get a good Chicago dog here. The Italian beef sandwich leaves a lot to be desired but will do in a pinch. Side items were pretty average, but on future visits, I would try the chili fries or fried zucchini. You are also not going to be wowed by Mustard's ambiance either. It is a little cluttered, and predictably there are lots of Chicago memorabilia on all the walls. Service was fair, we ordered at the counter and then your number is called and you pick up your food at another window. The food did come out fairly quick. We got here at about five on a Wednesday night, and there was a steady stream of customers through the doors. The food here kind of took a backseat to the excitement we felt about a new hockey season and getting our Ducks tickets.

Out of five stovepipe hats, (since Chicago is in Illinois, and that state is known as the Land of Lincoln, and Abe is known for wearing a stovepipe hat), five being best to zero being worst, Mustard's Chicago Style Hot Dogs gets 2.5 stovepipe hats.

For more information about Mustard's Chicago Style Hot Dogs, head to their website here: http://www.mustardhotdog.com/

Hoping That Volcano Burger is a Real Hotspot

Volcano Burgers

3652 Cerritos Ave.

Los Alamitos, CA 90720

A lot of pressure was put on me a few weeks back. My niece was performing at a cheerleading competition in Long Beach, and I was assigned to come up with a place for the whole family, plus others to eat after the festivities. Of course, being the seasoned food blogger that I am, I went online and found a place that I hoped would satisfy both young and old, Volcano Burgers.

Burgers are becoming the new pizza. It used to be that almost every neighborhood has its favorite pizza places. Now almost every neighborhood can lay claim to what they consider a really good burger spot. Being a burger guy, this makes me very happy. After sitting through numerous cheerleading routines, all of which seemed to contain the song, "Call Me Maybe", we had worked up quite an appetite.

In Los Alamitos, everyone's favorite burger destination is Volcano Burger. This well-established burger joint has been serving up burgers for this community for over forty years. They have prime real estate by being situated right across from Los Alamitos High School. I can imagine this small restaurant is a zoo on weekdays when school is in session. On this particular Sunday, we got here just after one, and the last of the lunch rush was still chowing down on their burgers. Ordering is done at the counter, and then orders are picked up at the side window. Seating is all outside but under a covered roof. Let's see how this burger stands stacks up.

Starting us off are the Fries ($2.89) and the Onion Rings ($3.89). Both of these came out of the kitchen pretty hot. The fries were very sturdy, and when paired with the thicker than normal ranch dressing, they really hit the spot. The onion rings were not as heavily breaded as I thought they would be, but they still achieved average status. The real side item to get was up next.

The Chili Cheese Fries ($3.89) were so good, they definitely deserve two pictures here. These chili cheese fries were not only good, but they are in the upper echelon of chili cheese fries. Served in a tin to-go container, they got the perfect amount of each component here. The chili is superb. Great consistency, with more spice than I was expecting. Most burger places just add a pedestrian chili to their fries, but that was not the case here. The chili coated the fries well, and the cheese and fries came together to create a great combination. If you do not get the chili cheese fries here, you have no one to blame but yourself.

The burgers above are the pretty basic-looking Volcano Burger ($2.79). This is the base model for the burgers here. They come with thousand island dressing, onion, lettuce, and tomato, on a sesame seed bun. Nothing too revolutionary about this burger. The patty was a little on the thin side, but it was larger around than I thought it would be. Apparently, you have the option of having either shredded lettuce or leaf lettuce on your burger here.

Katie loves avocado, so it was no surprise that she wanted to try the Avocado Burger with Cheese ($4.19). This burger definitely had its fair share of avocado. The creaminess of the avocado went well with this burger. Katie would have liked a little more thousand island dressing on this burger but found it to be a solid burger.

It is probably no shock to anyone that knows me, but my burger was the Bacon Burger with Cheese ($3.99). They were not shy with the bacon on this one. Bacon was included in every bite of this burger, and it was good thick swine. This burger was bigger than it appears in the picture above, but I definitely had no trouble polishing this burger off. The bun did an admirable job staying together with all of the items piled in here. I liked this burger but found it to be just like others I have had in similar types of restaurants.

Almost everyone seemed very pleased with my recommendation for lunch. Volcano Burger was a good choice to bring the kids to, and the grown-ups enjoyed it as well. The burgers were good, but nothing that will make you forgo your neighborhood favorite burger spot. The real reason to come here is the chili cheese fries. Probably one of the best we have written about on this blog. Worth the trip the next time you are in the area. Prices here were very good for the amount of food you get. Nothing on the menu comes close to the ten-dollar mark, with no burger being over $4.50. Not a bad pick for lunch, and to top it all off, the Yorba Linda Chargers won this cheerleading competition and are now headed off to Florida to compete for a national title. Get those earplugs ready for when they play "Call Me Maybe", for the 83rd time in a row!

Out of five parrot heads, (because Jimmy Buffet released an album in 1979, called "Volcano", and no it did not include his famous hit Cheeseburger in Paradise), five being best to zero being worst, Volcano Burger gets 3 parrot heads.

Volcano Burger does not have a website, but you can find reviews and information about them here: http://www.yelp.com/biz/volcano-burgers-los-alamitos#query:volcano%20burger

Deli Day in Los Al!

Katella Deli

4470 Katella Ave. 

Los Alamitos, CA 90720

Well you can cross another city off of our list of cities we have yet to venture to. After our visit to Katella Deli in Los Alamitos, we are now down to six more cities that we need to hit before we can honestly say that we are eating our way through all of OC. It was a real toss up as to where we were going to hit in Los Alamitos. I had five or six choices staring me in the face, but a highly rated deli almost always gets my vote, so Katella Deli is where we ended up.

I have been hearing about Katella Deli for almost as long as I have been writing this blog. I know this place has been around forever, and the clientele here looks like they have been around just as long. We arrived on a Saturday after what we thought would be the lunch rush. Wrong. We had a thirty minute wait at 2pm. Maybe this is the new dinner hour for the elderly. Talk about your early bird special!

Since we were going to have about a half hour wait, we took some of that time and went to the attached service deli and bakery, just off the main lobby of the restaurant. Just like the restaurant, the deli and bakery were busy helping lots of customers. We did not get anything here, but it everything looked great.

After being seated I was amazed at how large this place is. They have counter seating, booths and tables. For as crowded as it is, the pace of the workers was nice and relaxed, while getting the orders out pretty quickly. After checking out the very large menu, this is what we came up with.

Almost one hundred percent of the time when we are in an authentic deli, and Matzo Ball Soup is on the menu, Katie will order it. Katella Deli was no exception. She described the matzo ball as velvety, and the noodles were cooked well. According to Katie, this was a very filling soup, that could stand on its own as a meal. This was served with a choice of bread, so she selected the cornbread. This mini loaf was pretty moist and was served with a sweet honey butter. Not much of a cornbread fan, but this one was pretty good.

I selected a soup that I have never had before, a cup of Sweet and Sour Cabbage Soup. This soup was like two tastes in one. At first I got the sweetness, and then it turned sour. This soup also had chopped up tomatoes, bits of brisket, and of course cabbage. Very good soup that is only served on Saturdays here. For my bread item I ordered the Zucchini Muffin. This muffin was very fresh. It was moist with a spongy texture. The muffin had little bits of zucchini that you could see. I was very tempted to get some of these in the bakery on the way out.

I don't know what it is about delis, but they make Katie a creature of habit. Like at Benjie's, she ordered a Tuna Sandwich on an Egg Roll. The tuna was served cold, finely chopped, and very fresh. She liked the egg bread, and called it, "delicious". The sandwiches are served with one side item, and she went with Macaroni Salad. She felt this salad was very mellow tasting, but still decent.

I guess I should not chastise Katie about always getting the same thing in a deli, especially when my, "go to item at a deli I have never been to",  is a Reuben. At Katella Deli they offer their Reuben with either corned beef or pastrami, I went with the corned beef. The sandwich overall was good, but the meat was a little on the dry side. I did order some Russian dressing, which did help a lot. The sauerkraut was a little overpowering here, and really took over the taste of the sandwich. The rye bread and Swiss cheese were very good on this sandwich. For my side item I got the potato salad, which was mild tasting, with some bigger hunks of potato for texture.

I liked our trip to Katella Deli, but it can not match the sandwiches at Benjie's. The bakery items and soups were very good, but the sandwiches were just a step below those of other delis we have been to recently. The menu at Katella Deli is very large. Visitors will easily find something that they like on this mammoth menu. Service during our visit was polite and very efficient. They got the food out to us quick. Prices were not overly outrageous. No sandwich on the menu is over $11, and that is something that a lot of delis of this type can not claim. Glad we made this the first Los Alamitos restaurant we went to. Now it's time to find out what else this city has to offer.

Out of five sugar beets, (because the city of Los Alamitos was brought to prominence by a sugar beet factory in the 1890's, when most of Katella Deli's customers were born!), five being best to zero being worst, Katella Deli gets 3 sugar beets.

For more information on Katella Deli, click here: http://www.katellabakery.com/