Doing a Blooming Business in San Juan Capistrano

 Bloom Restaurant and Bar

31760 Old Mission Road

San Juan Capistrano, CA 92675

I owe the guys from RJB Restaurant Group an apology. No, I never dissed one of their seven restaurants in one of my reviews. To this day, I've always had nothing but great experiences at all of their eateries. Russ and his partners probably do not know I'm still writing this blog. But, in 2013, when blogging was in its heyday, I was invited to their media day at their first restaurant, Vine, in San Clemente. It was excellent, and I became a fan. 

I then ate at their next few spots, Ironwood, Olea, and Sapphire, and was kind of bummed that they were almost all the same. Still good, but I expected them to branch out a bit. All their locations had more than half the same or similar menu items. I figured that they all had different names, so I was surprised they were more or less copies of each other. I felt gypped. I guessed they came upon a winning formula and did not feel the need to change it. That was until Bloom Restaurant and Bar came along. 

Bloom opened late in 2022, across the street from Mission San Juan Capistrano. The building dates from the 30's and was once a city hall, fire station, and pharmacy. The red brick building features large arched windows, a ten-seat bar that runs alongside the right-hand side of the space, comfy booths that occupy the dining room, and a glass-enclosed kitchen that allows spying on the inner workings of the preparers of the food. 

We were meeting our dear friends Michelle and Rudy for a long overdue meetup. It had been ages since we had seen each other, and true to form, Michelle was late. That at least allowed us to catch up with her much better half, Rudy, who would have difficulty getting a word in once his blushing bride showed up. It also allowed us to peruse the menu, which differed significantly from their other restaurants. I was proud of them and excited at the same time. 

Chef Jared Cook put together a menu that is approachable and unique at the same time. It's divided into starters, salads, entrees, and desserts. Entrees start at $24 for their sandwiches and burgers and then go up to $62 for a 45-day age bone-in ribeye. I had my eye on about three different items, but you'll have to read ahead to see everything the four of us had this evening. 

Before Michelle made her grand appearance, we started with some Warm Artisan Rosemary Focaccia Bread ($8). It's good she was late, as there were three pieces, one for each of us. The bread was grilled and came with a lovely whipped honey butter. The bread could have been taken off the grill a minute earlier, as it was nearly burnt. Luckily, only the ends got charred. The rosemary tinge was present, and I liked the honey butter, but I wish we had been given more of it. 

The bread was fine, but this Skillet Mac and Cheese ($14 plus $4 with bacon added) was spectacular. I thought about this mac and cheese for weeks after I had it. I don't even know the best part of this was; the five-cheese blend coating the macaroni, the crispy chicken skin topping, or the generous amount of bacon that topped this scalding skillet. Add everything together, and you have the best mac and cheese I have had in a decade. This is a must-get when visiting Bloom, or we might not be friends anymore.  

It's entree time, and we might as well start with our latecomer, Michelle. She's very special to everyone who knows her, so it was no surprise that she got the seafood special offered this evening. I'm pretty sure this was the Shrimp Scampi ($39). It was served over pasta with a really delicious sauce. The shrimp were good-sized and cooked perfectly. Michelle really enjoyed this meal. 

I usually avoid ordering chicken, but looking at Rudy's plate from across the table has me reconsidering that. The Jidori Half Chicken Picatta ($29) had my mouth watering. The golden chicken was topped with a Meyer lemon and caper butter sauce and was plated with fingerling potatoes, bacon braised kale underneath the good-sized chicken, and cippolini onions. I tried a bite of the chicken, which was as tender and juicy as the picture makes it look. Very well done. 

Katie also went the chicken route and picked the Crispy Chicken Sandwich ($24). This upscale chicken sandwich came with garlic dill aioli, dill pickles, and tangy coleslaw, all on a challah roll. The roll did a masterful job of staying together, and the chicken's breading was crunchy but lighter than she thought it would be. I thought all the dill would overpower, but it was mellower than I imagined. This also came with their hand-cut herb fries, which are addictive. I was excited when Katie threw in the towel but left a third of her fries for me to pilfer. 

I was torn between getting the burger or the Applewood Bacon Wrapped Meatloaf ($29), and from the pictures above, you can tell which way I went. I was one happy camper with this plate. The meatloaf at Bloom is a blend of beef, pork, and chicken wrapped in bacon, then topped with wild mushrooms and a sherry reduction. How can that not be good? The meatloaf was dense and flavorful, and I enjoyed the bacon's smokiness. The savory meatloaf paired wonderfully with my new best friend, their mac and cheese, this time with truffle. This was just as good, but I'll have to give a slight nod to the skillet mac and cheese with bacon. The cheese and truffle combo made this very decadent and rich. I used some of the bacon from the meatloaf to cut the richness a bit. 

It was a week after Michelle's birthday, so we mentioned that while our server was around, and they surprised us with this free dessert. It was a large scoop of vanilla ice cream with cake crumbs and a drizzle of caramel sauce. It was very nice of them and a sweet way to end our meal at Bloom. 

I left Bloom Restaurant and Bar feeling good about the meal we had just eaten there. Not a clunker plate was on the menu. This is proof that the boys from RJB Restaurant Group can do more than excellent wine country food; they can also do comfort food classics just as well. Months later, I still dream of their skillet mac and cheese, hand-cut french fries, and droll over pictures of their burgers on Instagram. I'll be returning for them soon. As with all of their restaurants, service was top-notch, and we had no issues. Another hit restaurant for San Juan Capistrano, which has quietly become one the top cities in OC for foodies. 

Out of five emus (because the only petting zoo in South OC is in SJC, and one of the star attractions is Angel the Emu), five being best to zero being worst, Bloom Restaurant and Bar gets 4 emus. 

For more information about Bloom Restaurant and Bar, head to their website by clicking here: https://www.bloomsanjuancapistrano.com/

Easy Breezy Breakfast in San Juan Capistrano

 Breezy

31761 Camino Capistrano Suite 4

San Juan Capistrano, CA 92675

Football season is rapidly approaching, and if it's anything like the last few years, Katie and I will be sitting in front of the TV every Sunday until January from 10am til 8pm. For the first time in years, we have legitimate hope that our football team, the Jacksonville Jaguars, will be relevant this year. In the last 20 years, they have only had a winning season five times, and last year, they showed signs that they were ready to have another winning season this year. Time will tell, but as our Sundays will soon be filled with nothing but football, we needed to get out and try a brunch spot that has gotten quite a lot of buzz in the last year. That's what has brought us to Breezy in San Juan Capistrano. 

Breezy has been open for 11 months, and their Yelp rating is a respectable four and a half stars with close to 300 reviews. They have had write-ups in the Orange County Register and the Los Angeles Times. They were also mentioned as having one of the best breakfast burritos in OC by Eater LA, and the throngs of people waiting for a table on weekends are a testament to their apparent popularity. 

Taking over the former Ramen Shack space in the Capistrano Plaza, which is mere steps away from the famous San Juan Capistrano Mission and the always bustling train station, Breezy was brought to life by commercial real estate developer Jasmin Gonzales and a collaboration between the guys from Shootz Hawaiian and butcher shop Primal Cuts, both tenants at Rodeo 39 Public Market in Stanton. Jasmin wanted to bring a brunch concept that featured Filipino-inspired breakfast items to the people of South OC. 

The one-page food menu is broken up into pancakes and French toasts, benedicts, avocado toasts, acai bowls, and specialties of the house. Most items hover around the $16 price point, with only the Ribeye Steak and Eggs and the Crab Cake Benedict over the $25 threshold. We were met with about a half-hour wait on a recent Sunday morning at half past 10. During less busy times, you wait to be seated, and during peak times, like when we visited, you sign in through the Yelp stand at the front of the restaurant and wait for your party to be called. 

The restaurant is very comforting, with its pink-hued walls, flower-shaped lighting fixtures, and ivy-covered wall proclaiming to everyone to " keep it breezy."  The decor here appeals to the Instagram set, but not in an annoying way. We waited about fifteen minutes for our food, which was good considering how packed they were. Let's see if all the love this trendy brunch spot gets is warranted. 

Up first for us was the S'Mores French Toast ($16.99). For their French toast, they utilize milk bread and top this version with a Nutella drizzle, toasted marshmallows, mixed berries, graham cracker crumbs, and an ube whipped cream. This had a muted sweetness on its own, but I added some of the maple syrup available on each table to make this a tad sweeter for my tastes. I would have also liked this better if it featured more of a s'mores taste. There was just a dusting of graham crackers, and this needed a bit more Nutella to represent the s'mores feel they were going for. It was still good, but I decided to try the more popular Ube French Toast on my next visit.   

Katie's a creature of habit when it comes to eating breakfast out. About ninety percent of the time, she'll opt to get a breakfast burrito, and at Breezy, that meant she'd be having this Adobo Breakfast Burrito ($14.99). Shredded adobo pork is not included in most breakfast burritos that we've come across, but it was here. Joining the pork here were some scrambled eggs, garlic rice, avocado, sour cream, cotija cheese, salsa verde, and pickled red onions. Katie has been daydreaming about this burrito since she had it. She loved the tender pork and the fluffy scrambled eggs in this, but most of all, she loved the garlic rice that added even more flavor to each bite. 

I shouldn't harp on Katie about always getting the same thing at breakfast restaurants because I'm pretty predictable when I spy chilaquiles on a menu. I had initially entered Breezy thinking I would be having the Loco Moco, but I reverted to my tried and true love, the Adobo Chilaquiles ($15.99). Two sunny-side-up eggs topping a mound of fried tortilla chips, shredded adobo pork, sour cream, radishes, pickled red onion, a sprinkling of cotija cheese, and just enough salsa verde made up this very filling plate. I really enjoyed the uniqueness of these chilaquiles. The adobo pork was tender and had just enough tang to it without being too much. The tortilla chips stood up well to the toppings and stayed relatively crispy throughout the meal. The eggs added a lovely richness that helped balance this a bit. I will try the loco moco next time, but I will find it hard to skip this.  

I've always said that it's hard for breakfast restaurants to set themselves apart from each other. Most menus are basically the same, with a few minor tweaks. Breezy is one brunch spot that has carved out its niche with its nod to Filipino flavors and ingredients. Filipino food has been primed for its breakout in OC for years, and Breezy is just another step in that direction. The love this restaurant has garnered from the people of SJC in its first year might prove my point. Even if you're unfamiliar with Filopino flavors, I think you should visit Breezy. The waitstaff worked as a team, which worked perfectly on this particular morning. We never waited for refills, and plates were cleared promptly. Breezy will find its way into our breakfast rotation with some regularity, even during football season.  

Out of five silver salmon (because Cold Bay, Alaska is the breeziest/windiest city in the US, and they hold the Silver Salmon Fishing Derby every year), five being best to zero being worst, Breezy gets 3.5 silver salmon. 

For more information about Breezy, head to their website by clicking here: https://www.experiencebreezy.com/

A Heritage We Can All Be Proud Of

Heritage BBQ

31721 Camino Capistrano

San Juan Capistrano, CA 92675

Did you feel the culinary shift that happened in OC earlier this month? After over ten years of writing restaurant reviews, there has never been something really, really worthwhile for people that live north of Irvine to drive south on the 5 Freeway for. Yes, there have been some standouts, but nothing that has garnered the buzz that Heritage Barbecue has generated in just a few short weeks. 

Not to jump ahead or anything, but this will be the first 4 and a half star review I've had in the last four years, and one of only four that I've experienced in OC. That's out of 879 restaurants I have been to. Yes, I am a tough reviewer, but after so many years of doing this, it's really hard for a restaurant to distinguish itself, but Heritage Barbecue has done just that.   

Even with all of these praiseworthy words, I'm sharing with you, my dear readers, I know a lot of you won't go through the trouble of eating here. Yes, it is not a place where you can get your food and be on your way within 15 minutes. There's no online ordering, no delivery service, and there's only one way to experience Heritage Barbecue, wait in line. This is barbecue that you have to plan your whole day around. Like the big barbecue spots in Central Texas. Where you line up hours before they open and hope and pray that they do not run out of the meat you were hoping to get before getting up to the order window. 

I've had Heritage Barbecue one time before, at one of their many pop-ups that they had at breweries throughout OC. You can read that review by clicking here. To summarize, we waited two and a half hours, but they had run out of their brisket, and I was so famished when we reached the front of the line that I forgot to order the sausage that was available. The items that we did have were all pretty spectacular though, and I knew I'd get another chance to try them out when they opened their long-awaited brick and mortar a few miles from where I live. Talk about feeling like I hit the lottery. 

Heritage Barbecue is run by a husband and wife team, Brenda and Daniel Castillo. In the early days, they started as a catering company but eventually transitioned into doing pop-ups at local breweries. Wherever they went they had huge lines, gained a considerable following on social media, and got raves from customers that waited a long time to try their food. On weeks when they did not have events lined up, they went to Texas to learn even more from some of the greats of barbecue. 

Last year it was announced that they were going to be opening in San Juan Capistrano, but as is the case with restaurant openings, delays turned into months, but they finally opened in early August. They have a pretty prime spot, right near the train station, across from the mission, and situated right near the intersection of Ortega Highway and Camino Capistrano. Parking is not really an issue, as I parked at the train station and walked a short distance up the hill near their patio. 

Make note that they are closed on Monday and Tuesday each week. On Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays they open for service at 3, and on Saturdays and Sundays, they start selling their barbecue at noon. As with most barbecue, they have a limited amount of food that they can sell in a day, so they are open until they sell out. I'd suggest wearing a hat, sunscreen, having water handy, and maybe even bringing chairs while you wait. Capistrano Brewing does offer beer and other beverages to the people waiting in line, which saved me from overheating. 

On a recent Wednesday, I arrived at 2:20 and still waited 90 minutes to get up to the window. Most meats are served in half-pound incremates, with the exception being the sausages, which are sold singularly. They offer turkey breast, pork ribs, pulled pork, sausage, and brisket every day, with the much-coveted beef ribs served only on weekends. There's also an assortment of sides and baked bread to help round out your meal. Keep an eye out for their specials board which features some hidden gems that you won't want to miss. Let's see if this initial trip to Heritage Barbecue's new spot was just as good as when we had it earlier this year. 

We might as well jump right in with what is the star of the show, the meats. For both Katie and myself I ordered One Pound of Brisket ($30), a Half Pound of Pork Spare Ribs ($13), a Pound of Pulled Pork ($26), and Two Sausages ($12). The only thing I missed out on was the turkey, which will have to wait until next time. The brisket was the best I have had, with a ribbon of fat running alongside the top of it, a beautiful smoke ring, and a melt in your mouth tenderness. However much you plan on ordering, add an extra half-pound to your order, you won't be sorry. I actually liked the ribs the next best. An excellent rub on the outside and with just the slightest of pulls, the pork came off the bone easily. These are not the tiny ribs you get at most places. They were full of meat. The pulled pork was another winner, with an excellent mixture of textures from the bark, tender pork, and little bits of fat chopped into a perfect pile. The meats are not overly smoked, where that's all that you can taste, but it hangs out in the background allowing the meat to stand out. They change out their sausages daily, and on this particular day, they offered a Serrano and Cheddar Beef Pork Link and a Pork Linguisa. The cheddar cheese and serrano one was the better of the two. The marriage of the beef and pork in the sausage, along with the cheese made this delicious. It could have used a bit more of the serrano though. The linguisa was the weak link in this tray of meat, (sorry for the awful pun). I was not in love with the texture of it inside its casing. It was almost gristly, and the flavor did not pop like the other proteins. Onto the sides.  

In my experience, it seems like when a barbecue joint has excellent meat, they let their sides suffer, but that's not the case with Heritage Barbecue. Sides are served in half-pint containers, and I'd say they could feed one to two easily, but if you really like one of them, you're going to have no trouble inhaling one all by yourself. That's how I was with the Red White and Blue Potato Salad ($6), I did not want to share any with Katie. This gets its name from the cubed red potatoes, white pickled eggs, and the blue cheese crumbles spread throughout. It's also topped with bacon on top for added flavor. I loved the marriage of flavors in this. The burst of blue cheese in some bites, along with the creaminess of the potatoes and eggs, and the smokiness of the bacon made this the best potato salad I've had in a number of years. I'm getting two of these next time for sure. The Texas Trinity Chili ($6) was a special on this afternoon, and if it's available when you are here, you won't want to miss it. This meaty chili is made up of bits of brisket, sausage, and pork rib. A very hearty chili, and one you don't want to eat while wearing white, this had a depth of flavor that I was not expecting. The Classic Mac ($7) is made with cheddar and jack cheese and mixed with a mornay sauce and topped with a little chicharron. This is a pretty good mac and cheese, but as I ate it I kind of lost interest a bit. Maybe a little more of the topping would have kept me interested, but I will definitely try the one with chorizo and chiles on my next visit. 

To wrap things up, I got the Banana Bread Pudding ($7). This sweet little dish was a nice respite from all the savory items I had eaten earlier. It was not really a bread pudding, but more like pudding with sliced bananas and little bits of banana bread distributed evenly, and topped with candied pecans on top. Not an overly sweet dessert, but still it was a nice ending to any meal at Heritage Barbecue. 

Needless to say, I was beyond excited about this visit to Heritage Barbecue. Some might even say I'm a little obsessed. I have caught myself checking out their Instagram posts and stories very regularly, I find myself stalking their Twitter account to find out how long their line is, even though I have no plans to head over there, and whenever I'm asked about any new places I've tried, Heritage Barbecue is the first place that comes out of my mouth. Again, this is not the most convenient of restaurants to hit up, but trust me you will never think that Lucille's or Dickey's is great barbecue again. There's a reason there's always a line here, it's really just that good, and the people of South OC can count themselves lucky that Heritage Barbecue opened right in their own backyard. It's about time that people in North OC finally have a reason to venture south. 

Out of five trees, (because when you look back on your heritage, you are also looking at your family tree), five being best to zero being worst, Heritage Barbecue gets 4.5 trees. 

For more information about Heritage Barbecue, head to their website here: https://www.heritagecraftbbq.com/

Real Texas Barbecue Coming to OC Soon

Heritage Barbecue

31727 Camino Capistrano

San Juan Capistrano, CA 92675

I admit I'm a little obsessed. I check Instagram about ten times a day. No, I'm not stalking Instagram models, checking to see how many people have unfollowed me, and no, I'm not keeping tabs on Katie's whereabouts. My usual first stop on this photo-rich social media platform is usually Heritage Barbecue.

I had started hearing raves about Heritage Barbecue about a year ago when they had transitioned from running a catering company to doing pop-ups in a wide assortment of breweries in Long Beach and Orange County on weekends. They grew legions of fans at these pop-ups which included hour-long lines, and the disappointment of having your favorite meats sold out before you could make it to the front of the line. Just based on word of mouth, their Instagram following has ballooned to over 20,000 and climbing.

The husband and wife duo behind Heritage Barbecue is Brenda and Daniel Castillo. Daniel graduated from the culinary program at Orange Coast College. From what I can tell from stalking them on Instagram, the weekends they did not have brewery dates, it seems like they were always in Texas learning more and more about barbecue from their barbecue friends at some of the best barbecue spots in the country. The couple was soon making more money on weekends selling their very in-demand barbecue, so the decision was made to forgo catering and go all-in on the barbecue.

It was announced last year that they would be opening a spot in San Juan Capistrano, right across the street from the mission, in the old Mission Grill spot. As is the case with most restaurant openings, delays are to be expected. What was originally an opening date in the fall of last year, is still in a holding pattern, but we have heard things are getting closer.

I could not wait to try Heritage Barbecue, so in late February, Katie and I trekked up to Bruery Terreux in an industrial area of Anaheim. Being that this was our first time attempting to have Heritage, we showed up at 12 noon and were met with a line. Service was to begin at this time, so we decided to not drive up here in vain, and decided to wait it out.

As the minutes turned into hours, I was starting to wonder if this was all worth it. I did have one beer while waiting in line, which did take a little of the edge off. We also made small talk with the people in line around us. Some who have had this barbecue before, and others who were like us, Heritage Barbecue virgins. By the time we had made it up to the menu board, two and a half hours in, the hunger pains became really strong. A stinging jolt rattled through me every time they announced that they had run out of an item, with the biggest punch to the stomach being when they ran out of brisket.

The brisket, alas would have to wait for another time, with me already planning on arriving at least an hour or two before they were going to be serving food the next time I attempted to have Heritage Barbecue. As we arrived at the ordering station, we had a limited selection we could order. We decided to get everything we could but made the mistake of not ordering the Chili Cheese Sausage, due to my extreme hunger pains by this point. We hastily grabbed our tray of portioned out food, found a place to sit, I quickly took some pictures with my hands shaking from hunger, and we finally dug in. Let's see if Heritage Barbecue was worthy of all the hype and the hours in line.

Here was the tray we waited close to three hours for. I loved the splashes of color on the tray, which resembled a painters palette to my hunger hallucinated eyes. When you are up at the front don't forget to ask for bbq sauce, mustard, white bread, pickled onions, peppers, and pickled cucumbers if they have them. Let's take a closer look at each item. 

First up is the Pulled Pork ($12 for a half-pound). Pulled pork is tricky meat for a lot of barbecue spots to master. It's hard to get it right because the pork can come out too moist, or very dry like sandpaper going down the hatch. Heritage hit the sweet spot between these two ranges. The shredded meat was tender and had just the right smokiness to it. I also liked the little shards that took a little more effort to chew through. Really good pulled pork.

Due to the hunger pains, I have mentioned numerous times in this post, and the excitement of actually having the food in front of us, I did not take a detailed picture of the Pork Ribs ($12 for a half-pound) that we also consumed way too quickly. The ribs came lightly brushed with just a small amount of barbecue sauce and a flavorful dry rub coating the outside of them. The meat underneath had just the right amount of smokiness to it, just like the pulled pork. It pulled off the bone with just a little tug, which is what I like in my ribs. Not that it needed it, but I used alternating bites of the pork with the provided bbq sauce and mustard. The bbq sauce was not overly sweetened like a lot of places make the mistake of doing.

Listening to the people around us, some were dissing the Green Chili Mac and Cheese with Chicharon ($4). I thought it was pretty sold. I mean it was not the best I have had, but I liked it. The cheese was not overpowering and clung to the noodle nicely, while the green chili kept things interesting. An added bonus was the crumbled chicharron for texture and the cubed rib tip perched on top, which was heavenly.

Maybe if pressed, I'd have to say the El Rancho Potato Salad ($4) was the weak link on this tray, but I even liked this. It had a great consistency to it, I liked the peppery bits, and even though I'm not a big celery fan, it added a nice crunch. Yes, another pop of flavor would have helped, but this was not too bad.

This long visit to experience Heritage Barbecue just whetted my appetite for when they eventually open in San Juan Capistrano. Just based on their pork offerings that we had on this afternoon, and the fact that they are known for their wildly popular brisket and beef ribs, I'm going to go out on a limb and proclaim that Heritage Barbecue is going to be the best barbecue that OC has to offer. Yes, a lot of people will be turned off by the fact that you have to wait in a long line, that they run out of items that you want, and it's not going to be the most convenient restaurant to eat at. After your first few bites, all of those negatives will melt away, and you will yearn for your next visit. If that's not the case, maybe Lucille's or Dickey's might be more up your alley. That'll be at least one less person in front of me in line.

Out of five school busses, (because I think every kid in every school in OC has visited San Juan Capistrano on a field trip), five being best, to zero being worst, Heritage Barbecue gets 4 school buses. 

For more information about Heritage Barbecue, it's probably best to check their Instagram page by clicking here: https://www.instagram.com/heritagebarbecue/?hl=en

Feeling the Love at Ramos House Cafe

The Ramos House Cafe

31725 Los Rios St. 

San Juan Capistrano, CA 92675

With all the recent world events going on, Valentine's Day seems like it was about ten years ago. In reality, of course, it was only less than two months ago from when I'm writing this review. Katie and I are not really too into Valentine's Day. We prefer to stay home usually, as most restaurants are too crowded, have limited menus, and try to rush you out so they can turn over tables for the other waiting patrons.

We decided to break our Valentine's Day restaurant moratorium when we found out that we were both going to be off during the morning portion of the day before Katie had to head up to Westlake Village for an overnight business trip. We figured brunch wouldn't be too crazy, and I knew exactly where I wanted to try, the legendary Ramos House Cafe in San Juan Capistrano.

Situated on the oldest street in California, Los Rios Street (1794), the Ramos House was constructed in 1881. It was home to one of the founding families of San Juan for a long time. The Ramos House Cafe began its current life as a restaurant and residence when Chef and Owner John Q. Humphreys opened for business in October of 1995.

Ramos House is open every day from 9am to 2:30pm, except on Wednesdays, when they are closed. On the weekdays they have an ala carte menu, but on weekends, and on this Valentine's Day they have a brunch menu, where it's $35 a person, no matter your age, so you might want to leave the small kiddos at home when visiting Ramos House on weekends.

The easiest place to park in this sometimes challenging area of town is in Los Rios Park, which has a gravel lot, but usually has plenty of parking and is a short stroll to the restaurant. We arrived at 10am and only had to wait about ten minutes for a table to open up. This is patio seating, but they have plenty of heaters warming customers up on chilly mornings. We were also joined by the house cat, Mr. Pickles who lazily slept on a chair at our table for most of our meal.

The menu at Ramos House Cafe is not going to shock you with a dazzling array of selections. The brunch menu is pretty compact, with six small plates and 11 big plates offered, and you get to choose one of each on weekends and holidays, like this particular Valentine's Day. Let's see if the food at Ramos House will be love at first sight or a blind date gone wrong.

I thought for sure that Katie was going to start with the lentil soup as her small plate option, but she threw me a curve by getting the Small Basil Cured Salmon Lox. She claims that she has dreamt about this dish many times since we visited Ramos House. Thinly sliced salmon is the base of this and is layered with diced hard-boiled egg, red onions, and capers, which provided a nice flavor boost. This small plate is rounded out with toast points and basil. Katie loved the lightness of this dish, which did not overcompensate by adding something that would take away from the fresh salmon. She was a big fan. 

I went the sweet route with my smaller plate selection and had these Cinnamon Apple Beignets. They were good, but I expected a bit more sweetness and missed the apple portion of this, as it was not very prevalent. I thought the sauce lining the plate was a little drab and did not add enough in my opinion. I do give them credit for serving these nice and hot. I'd probably try their Nutella-banana french toast on my next visit.

Entrees were out next, and Katie got the Bubble and Squeak, which I learned is a British breakfast dish that is traditionally made with potatoes and cabbage. I'm not sure if the cabbage was included in this one, but the potato was here in the form of a very well-done fried potato patty on the bottom of the scrambled egg, bacon, onions, and vinegar tomatoes. This was an excellent breakfast plate. I liked the contrasting textures and the flavors kept things interesting throughout the short time this was around.

Similar in presentation to Katie's choice, I had the Crab Hash. Another winner. The crab cake was fresh and not filled with very much filler. It incorporated into the eggs and bacon wonderfully, but what tied this all together for me was the dollop of citrus cream that I used in alternating bites. Another plate I enjoyed immensely from my first to my last bite.

As an added bonus with the brunch menu, we got to each have a Buttermilk Biscuit with Apple Butter. I was a little let down by this. I thought the biscuit was a tad on the drab side, while the apple butter consistency was too runny, and I'm not sure there was even any butter included in this.

Even with the few minor missteps this morning (the beignets and the biscuit), both Katie and I really enjoyed our Valentine's Day brunch at Ramos House. It's not only well-executed and quaint food, but the whole feeling of the place is also one that will bring you back for special occasions and when you want to have the feeling of a little mini-vacation for an hour or two. This entire area of San Juan Capistrano is like stepping back in time and visiting Ramos House is just like visiting someone's home for breakfast, which you basically are doing. Service was warm and hospitable, and all the overall-clad young servers really seemed happy to be at work and share this place with their guests. A feeling that I definitely could agree with while writing this review.

Out of five mulberry trees, (in honor of the tree that you will dine next to on the patio of this very restaurant), five being best to zero being worst, The Ramos House Cafe gets 3.5 mulberry trees.

For more information about The Ramos House Cafe, check out their website by clicking here: https://www.ramoshouse.com/

Hoping Not to Be Derailed at Trevor's

Trevor's at the Tracks

26701 Verdugo St.

San Juan Capistrano, CA 92675

It used to be that San Juan Capistrano was a sleepy little town, which only came alive for the Swallow's Day Parade, Mariachi Festival, and the steady stream of school buses rumbling into town loaded with kids visiting Mission San Juan Capistrano. Now, thanks to a myriad of restaurants, many of which feature live music every night of the week, the Downtown District hums with activity every time we are down this way.

One place we had not been to yet in this downtown area was Trevor's at the Tracks. They opened for business in early 2017, replacing Sarducci's. Trevor's is housed in a building that dates from 1894 and was used as the San Juan Capistrano train station for many years. Now the building host both Trevor's and the Vintage Steakhouse, both of which are steps from the north and southbound trains dropping off passengers.

No train rides for us on this evening, as Katie and I were here to have dinner with her mother, who was enjoying the single life for the week, while her husband was off training for his new job venture. The three of us arrived at Trevor's just before 6pm on a recent Thursday. There are three distinct dining areas in this restaurant. The patio area appears to be the most popular, especially with the happy hour and the live music-loving crowd. There's also a more formal dining room, and then there's the area we were seated in, which is a long hallway, running parallel to the train tracks a mere few feet away. The trains did not come rumbling in, as they had to slow down to drop off their weary travelers, so it was very easy to keep your conversation going as life went on outside the restaurant.

Trevor's food offerings would appeal to a large range of people. There's really something for everyone on this menu, which they tout as locally acquired ingredients, with a globally inspired tinge to it. The menu is broken up into plenty of appetizer options, seafood, flatbreads, starters featuring meat, and a whole host of starters that feature items from their trackside garden. Rounding out the menu are entree salads, sandwiches, and more substantial entrees. The man behind the menu is Executive Chef Joesph Tripi, who has been with this restaurant since its inception, and before that held the same position at Rock Bottom Restaurant and Brewery. Let's see which side of the tracks our meal at Trevor's will land.

When I told one of my friends I was coming to Trevor's, they made me promise that I would try their Brussel Sprouts ($15), and not wanting to disappoint a friend, I totally complied. Don't think about the soggy Brussel sprouts you had as a kid, and instead, think of a roasted, almost crunchy Brussel sprout, which is made even better with some cranberries, goat cheese, and a balsamic drizzle over the top of them. I really liked the different layers of flavor popping through this at different spots. You had the earthiness of the sprouts themselves, the cranberry coming through in bursts, the creaminess of the goat cheese, and the tang from the balsamic. The end result was a balanced appetizer that I can see myself getting again for sure.

Not content with just the one thing before my main meal would arrive, I tried this Southern Seafood Chowder ($6) as well. The first few spoonfuls of this were really quite good, as it had a nice rich flavor to it. As I dug deeper the seafood that was in this was what I'd call a little iffy. I then recalled a passage in Anthony Bourdain's Kitchen Confidential, which told of chef's secrets, like how they get rid of fish that was ready to turn by placing it in chowders. Not saying that's what was going on here, but there was a very stringy piece that I had on my spoon, and pulled it out at just the last second. Not sure what it was, but it was definitely not something I wanted to eat. I lost my appetite for this chowder after that.

Both Katie and her mother opted for entree salads this evening. Let's start off with Katie's selection, the Karate Chop Chicken Salad ($16). This is Trevor's rift on a Chinese chicken salad. It included a base of romaine, with ginger soy chicken breast pieces, napa cabbage, bok choy, shredded carrots and bell peppers, sesame seeds, and a peanut ginger vinaigrette. Katie was pretty vague when describing her love for this salad. She said she loved the flavors and the freshness of the veggies, which is her usual response when I ask her if she liked something or not. She's been here many times for lunch with her coworkers and has yet to try anything else other than this salad. A creature of habit I guess.

Lynn went with this more substantial Southwest Steak Cobb ($19) as her meal this evening. From across the table, I could tell that I would have liked this salad. It was made up of a whole host of items, romaine lettuce, tomatoes, jicama for crunch, queso fresco, roasted corn, and cubes of avocado, and it was all tied together with an interesting chipotle blue cheese dressing. Again, this salad had a bunch of textural elements that kept you interested. The blue cheese chipotle dressing was delicious, and I liked the cubed pieces of avocado as well. Oh yeah, I almost forgot to mention the sliced flat iron steak that was served medium rare on side of the plate. It was a decent steak but needed to be seasoned a bit more if eaten on its own. Eating it with the salad really helped it out.

None of the bigger meal options really spoke to me this evening, so I had to decide between either the burger, the Reuben, or the Cuban sandwich. From the picture above, you can see that the Cubano ($18) won out. This was a pretty traditional Cuban sandwich, with its roasted pork and ham, Swiss cheese, pickle, pepperoncini, and Havana aioli on crusty panini pressed bread. When done right, this is one of the most balanced sandwiches around. This one was pretty solid. I did need a little extra of the aioli to counteract the pickles and mustard on this. Both the pork and ham were savory and present. A good crunch from the bread too. Good, but did not blow me away like others have. This came with fries which were nicely fried, with a good crunch to them.

I'm always a sucker for a cookie, and I felt like a sucker after getting this one at Trevor's. Not sure if they make this Chocolate Chip Cookie ($2) in-house or not, but I'd describe this as one of the most chalky cookies I have had. It was hard all the way around, very heavy, and the chocolate chips were not very visible in this disappointing cookie. It was not any better when I placed the half I had not eaten in the microwave at home. It defied logic that it stayed as hard as ever even after being heated. Skip this cookie, unless you need a doorstop.

I know brownies get a lot of love and are way more popular than blondies, but I can not recall having a blondie and not liking it a lot. That streak continued at Trevor's with this Maple White Chocolate Blondie ($10). This blondie was topped with candied pecans, maple bourbon ice cream, and a caramel sauce. After the hard cookie, I was a little worried that the blondie was going to be the same, but it was baked well, with a good cakey feel to it. I was also pleased that they topped this with plenty of ice cream, even though I did not get a lot of maple flavor from it. I'd definitely get this dessert again.

There were some hits and misses on this visit to Trevor's. I liked the dessert and the Brussel sprouts, but the chowder and the cookie were both a letdown. My Cuban sandwich was fine, but nothing really made it anything more than an average version of my favorite sandwich. I get the feeling that the real draw for Trevor's is the picturesque outdoor patio where they have live music featured every day, except Mondays, when they are closed. The food seems to be just fine, but nothing that would probably draw us back, unless we were in the area. Our server did a great job keeping tabs on us, without being too obtrusive. Prices were a tad high for what you get, but that's to be expected in this high-traffic area of town, where people seem to love to soak up the atmosphere of the passing trains and music wafting through the air.

Out of five mousetraps, (because the building that houses this restaurant dates from 1894, which is also the same year that the mousetrap was invented), five being best to zero being worst, Trevor's at the Tracks gets 3 mousetraps.

For more information about Trevor's at the Tracks, head to their website here: https://www.trevorsatthetracks.com/