Hurry! King Crab Combos Are Ending Soon

Black Angus

1350 North Tustin Ave. 

Santa Ana, CA 92705

Your choices for a reasonable steak dinner are shrinking. With the closure of Lone Star Steakhouse earlier this year, it is becoming increasingly difficult to find a good steak dinner, without breaking the bank. Yes, there's still Outback and Sizzler, but I haven't been to either of these two chains for a long time now.

I hadn't been to Black Angus either, until late last year. Before that visit, it had probably been about ten years since I had been inside a Black Angus. Part of the reason for this was because the location nearest my house had closed years ago. I ended up being pretty impressed with that visit late last year and had eagerly awaited a chance to return.

That return trip came last week when my sister and I had made plans to meet up for a long overdue happy hour session. This was a sort of homecoming for her, as she used to tend bar at this very Black Angus location in the mid 90's. We both had some pretty good memories in this building, which is situated right across the street from Western Medical Center.

Our happy hour date turned into more of a dinner date when we ran into District Manger for Black Angus, the very personable Jeff Gadberry. He insisted that we try their wildly popular special going on right now, the King Crab Combos. With these combos, you not only get a good amount of crab but also get your choice between a Top Sirloin, Filet Mignon, or their very good Prime Rib. Who are we to resist crab and steak on the same plate?

 We took a seat in their very comfortable lounge, which is accented with some nostalgic pictures of sports stars from yesteryear. The open seating bar area filled up rather nicely during our stay, as people took advantage of the great happy hour deals. Happy hour goes from 3 to 7 Monday through Friday and all day on Tuesday and Sundays. They offer beer, wine, cocktail, and appetizer choices anywhere from $4 to $7 during these times. A great deal where you have a few drinks and two appetizers and still won't spend $20.

We started things off with the Crispy Fried Garlic-Pepper Zucchini ($4). I've always had a soft spot for the zucchini here, which comes with a wonderful housemade cucumber dip. The combination of the very good panko crusted breading and the consistency of the dip goes great together and makes this a winning choice for starting out any visit to Black Angus. Very well done.

Since we were going to be gossiping about some family matters, a couple of cocktails were definitely in order. We tried the Irish Winter ($8.50) and the Tangerine Drop ($8.50). These are both on their featured cocktail menu and are available for a limited time. The Tangerine Drop was a favorite of my sister, as she had two of these during our stay at Black Angus. This more refined take on a lemon drop starts out with Absolut Citron Vodka, then a fresh tangerine and a lemon elixir is added. It's then finished off with a splash of champagne. My sister enjoyed the citrus explosion this provided, and would not hesitate to get this on her next visit. I was a little hesitant when the Irish Water was put in front of me, as I'm not really a big fan of Jameson Irish Whiskey, but it was downplayed in this beverage. This is their Texas tea with a shot of Jameson and a splash of cranberry. Very refreshing and delicious, but be advised, this could sneak up on you if you have too many.

Now the focal point of our experience at Black Angus on this particular evening, the King Crab Combo with a Filet Mignon ($34.99). This was a good amount of food, which I happily tackled earnestly. The three crab legs provided plenty of sweet and fresh meat. I was informed that these crab legs came from the Pacific Ocean, near South America. So maybe these were centolla crab, but I'm not sure. Whatever they were, it ended up being fantastic. My sister, who is not really a fan of crab really enjoyed the tiny bite I gave her. I did not really want to share.  The six-ounce filet was done to a perfect medium rare, and was very tender, while the caramelized shallot and bleu cheese butter added an unneeded, but welcome flavor boost to my steak. With this meal, you also get your choice of two classic sidekicks, and I went with the Mac and Cheese and the Roasted Brussels Sprouts. The mac and cheese was a tad on the runny side, but I liked the breadcrumbs topping this and the creamy cheese covering the elbow-shaped pasta. The brussels sprouts were very good, with some good caramelization included here, which added some sweetness. A very good end to this wonderful meal.

My sister is pretty basic when it comes to her meals, and that held true at Black Angus on this evening. She opted for the Top Sirloin Center Cut ($19.99) with the same shallot and bleu cheese butter I had on my filet.  As is the case with lots of top sirloin steaks, there were a few bites that were a little on the fatty side here, but the majority of this steak was done nicely, and extremely tender for a top sirloin. For her sides, she went with the Grilled Asparagus and the Au Gratin Potatoes. The asparagus was done nicely over the grill, which helped this vegetable pick up some extra flavor. The potatoes tasted almost the same as my mac and cheese, but with a better consistency. Definitely the better choice between the two.

My sister had just ordered her second Tangerine Drop so I could not let her out drink me, so I ordered one of my all-time favorite cocktails, a Montana Mai Thai ($8.50). Drinking this automatically brings to mind a tropical island out in the Pacific. Malibu Coconut Rum, Captain Morgan's, orange and pineapple juices, and a splash of Meyer's Dark Rum as a floater combined to bring a little touch of the South Pacific to Santa Ana. Dessert had to be ordered as well, especially when I heard they had Peanut Butter Cup Pie ($6.50) as their seasonal dessert. Any Resse's fan will get behind this pie. It starts with a peanut butter and graham cracker crust, and is then layered with chocolate ganache, peanut butter mousse, whipped cream, both chocolate and peanut butter drizzles, and finished with a miniature Reese's peanut butter cup. That's a lot of peanut butter, and perfect for a self-professed peanut butter fiend like myself. Make sure to get into Black Angus soon, as this is a limited timed item.

Speaking of limited time things, like I stated earlier, the King Crab Combos are only available for a very limited time now, so if you want to experience them, it would probably be best to get into your nearest Black Angus this week. Fret not if you don't make that deal because a little bird told us that they are going to be having a lamb special coming up next, and a lobster and steak promotion which is one of their most popular of the year. Once again, Black Angus proves that you can still get good steak dinner at a value price, and that's probably why they are sticking around while their competitors are falling by the wayside.

We would like to thank everyone that we encountered during our visit to Black Angus. Our waitress Lindsay could not have been nicer, even if she did stump me on one of the world capitals that I profess to know all of. She made some great recommendations and kept excellent care of us. General Manager Jennifer Sarte was a whole nother story. She and my sister ganged up on me more than I care to remember. Even she could not dampen this visit. Kidding, of course, Jennifer, or am I? Lastly, we would like to thank the graciousness of District Manager Jeff Gadberry, who not only shared his passion for what they do and serve at Black Angus, but he's an equally great man who we enjoyed reconnecting with. We hope our paths cross again soon Jeff.

To find your closest Black Angus, head to their website here: https://www.blackangus.com/

Happy Hour, Happy Stomach at Del Frisco's Grille

Del Frisco's Grille

772 Spectrum Dr.

Irvine, CA 92618

One of the questions that I get a lot in your emails is, "Where is there a good happy hour?" To be honest, I rarely go out for happy hour. Katie has to work til 6pm almost everyday, so that means I would have to drive myself to a happy hour spot, drink alone or meet up with a friend, and then behave myself and only have one or two drinks, so I can drive home under the limit. Also, most of the time happy hour food items underwhelm me. That was until me and my good friend Danny were invited to try out Del Frisco's Grille's version of happy hour.

Del Frisco's is a part of the Del Frisco's Restaurant Group, which also includes Sullivan's Steakhouse, and Del Frisco's Double Eagle Steakhouse. I haven't eaten at either of these, but I've heard great things about them. This DFG opened at the Irvine Spectrum over a year ago now, and they recently added a happy hour menu to the delight of many of their regulars. We reviewed them the first of this year, when we ate here on New Years Eve. You can see that review here.

The Spectrum is a big place, so if you are coming here for happy hour, it's best to park in the parking structure nearest Nordstrom's, and exit the structure near the valet stand. Located right next door to Brio, Del Frisco's is easy to get to, and you can avoid the hustle and bustle of the main part of the Spectrum.

When we walked in here at just after 4pm, the restaurant was near empty, but that changed rather quickly as the after work crowd congregated in the comfortable bar area to take advantage of the Sip and Share Happy Hour promotion. This is the first DFG location where they offer happy hour, and according to General Manager Katie Pavkov, the early buzz has been overwhelmingly positive. Happy hour runs Monday through Friday 4pm to 6:30, and is offered in the bar only. Danny and I were excited to experience it for ourselves, so we headed to one of the high top tables, with a great view of the basketball game on TV, and ordered almost everything on the happy hour menu.

Before we showcase the culinary exploits of the happy hour menu, we started things off with some cocktails. Danny selected the White Sangria ($6 during happy hour or $12 the rest of the day) to start off with. I'm usually not much into wine based cocktails, but this one was delicious. Pinot Grigio was the base for this, and then they added white peach puree, peach schnapps, and garnished it with a strawberry peach Popsicle. Very refreshing, and not overly sweet. This kind of brought a little touch of summer to this December afternoon. I ordered The VIP ($6) because I wanted to be a VIP for once in my life. This concoction consisted of sweet Hawaiian gold pineapple-infused Svedka Clementine Vodka. When this arrived I was afraid this was going to be over the top sweet, but it was mellower than I imagined, and went down rather easily. I wanted another one, but the food started coming out, so I ultimately saved some space for the happy hour grub.

If you are an ardent fan of this blog, you know that I'm pretty partial to the ahi tacos here at Del Frisco's Grille, but sadly they are not offered on the happy hour menu. There are tacos on their happy hour menu though, Asian Street Tacos ($6). These tacos definitely brought to mind a bahn mi sandwich. It had plenty of barbecued pork, pickled daikon and carrots, cucumber, cilantro, and chiles. The sauce provided was good, but I really enjoyed their very well done chipotle ranch paired with these. Really good tacos, and hard to limit ourselves to only one order of these.

Almost as iconic as DFG's ahi tacos, their Cheesesteak Eggrolls ($6) luckily were included on their happy hour menu. These taste just as they sound, like the insides of a cheesesteak wrapped in an eggroll wrapper. I'm always astonished that these are not as greasy as I imagine them to be, and they still feature the best part of a cheesesteak, the meat. These come with a spicy mustard sauce and a very well made sweet and spicy chili sauce, which has a great yin and yang thing going for it. These are a must try when coming to happy hour here.

If any of you enjoy blue cheese, you need to try these Buffalo Blue Cheese Chips ($6). House made potato chips are doused with a buffalo wing sauce, then sprinkled with blue cheese crumbles. Something so simple, but yet very addicting. The blue cheese kind of overpowered here, but these chips were mellowed out with an avocado ranch dressing. I could see these chips becoming the next flavor that the guys at Lay's use in their yearly contest to come up with new flavors.

DFG went a little south of the border on their next happy hour item, the Pulled Pork Nachos ($6). This mini nacho skillet started with some very sturdy tortilla chips as a base, then they were topped with jalapenos, crema, something that appeared to be taco seasoning, cheese, cilantro and pulled pork. I really enjoyed this, especially the top layer, where all the flavors were co-mingled. The pork here is very good, with a nice natural flavor to it. This was Danny's favorite food item of the night.

Up next were the misnamed on the menu Frites ($6). These were actually a mixture of frites, which is the fancy way of saying french fries, and sweet potato fries. I'm not really into sweet potato fries, but these were some of the best I have had. I'm not yet a convert to this variety of fries, but I would not thumb my nose at having these again. The regular fries were much more to my style, as they were seasoned just enough, and went well with the chipotle ranch dipping sauce provided. I also had to keep Danny from snaking the little squeeze bottle of ketchup from the restaurant. You can't bring Danny anywhere.

The last happy hour food item we had on this afternoon were these Wagyu Corndogs ($6). I was very skeptical about these when they came to the table, but they turned out to be pretty good. The hot dog inside was beefy, and the batter on the outside, along with being crunchy, had a great flavor to it, even better than the ones you can get at the mall. Both dipping sauce were good, but I enjoyed the better than most honey mustard sauce with these, and I'm not even a mustard person.

With our stomachs full from all that we had eaten, we wanted to have another round, just so we could finish watching the basketball game and enjoy the happy hour atmosphere at Del Frisco's Grille. I went with the Dutch Mule ($12, and not on the happy hour menu). This twist on the very popular Moscow mule still used ginger beer and mint, but also added some Nolet's Silver Gin and was garnished with a slice of grapefruit. This was good, but I'd probably stick with the standard version, which I've had here before. The grapefruit kind of threw this off for me. I really liked Danny's beverage selection better, the Apt 5D ($12, also not on the happy hour menu). This vodka based drink also came with fresh strawberries, lemon sour, simple syrup, and a dash of balsamic, which helped even this out. I liked the balance of this, but Danny thought it was on the sweeter side.

Both Danny and I really enjoyed this happy hour at Del Frisco's Grille. It's really a great option for people in the Irvine area, who want to take a break from a long day at work, shopping at the Spectrum, or just want to have some really good food. The Sip and Share happy hour program here is also very economical as well. All of the happy hour items we had on this afternoon would have only set us back  $48, and there was easily enough food here for more than just us two. Also not shown, but offered on the happy hour menu are their very good flatbreads and deviled eggs, which are also $6. All draft beer is $5, and there's also a selection of spirits and wines that are offered at the affordable $6 price point as well. Basically something for everyone is offered here. Now when someone asks me about a great happy hour spot, Del Frisco's Grille will be near the top of my list.

Both Danny and I would like to thank everyone that we encountered on this afternoon at Del Frisco's Grille. They took such great care of us, along with their other guests, and they made sure we had everything that we needed during our stay. A special thanks to our good friend, General Manager Katie Pavkov for an excellent afternoon of catching up, and showcasing her wonderful restaurant. We'd also like to thank Executive Chef, the very talented Sarah Daniels for taking the time to come out and say hello during the start of the dinner rush. It was much appreciated Sarah. We'd also like to thank the food runners, bartenders, and other management who stopped by to say hello. You all make a great a team.

If you would like to experience Del Frisco's Grille, and their happy hour for yourself, you can find out more about them by going to their website here: http://delfriscosgrille.com/

Checking Out Cha Cha's Happy Hour

Cha Cha's Tacos and Tequila

110 W. Birch St.

Brea, CA 92821

Happy hour is something that I do not do nearly enough. There are probably a few good reasons for this. My first excuse is that Katie does not get off of work until six, and that is when most happy hours are winding down. I could go with some of my coworkers, but to be truthful, I am not too fond of most of them, and spending more than the eight hours I have already spent with them, makes me a little queasy. Probably the biggest reason I do not get to as many happy hours as I would like to, is because I have not found too many good ones around. That was all about to change when we were recently invited to experience the happy hour at Cha Cha's in Brea.

For those of you that have not been to Brea Downtown, it is a dining, shopping, and entertainment district located at Birch and Brea Boulevard. There are numerous shops, theaters, and some pretty good restaurants located within this three square block area. Some of the standouts around here for me are Bruxie, Merely Sweets. Yard House, and of course Cha Cha's. I had been to Cha Cha's one time before, when I went with my Mom for lunch. You can see that review here.

Cha Cha's comes from a guy that knows a thing or two about the restaurant business, Don Myers. Don opened the El Torito Grill at Fashion Island, he was a Joint Venture Partner at Roy's Hawaiian Fusion Cuisine, and he was a Managing Partner at The Catch in Anaheim. A very impressive resume, and now he also owns Bruno's Trattoria a few doors down from Cha Cha's. I have not been to this Italian restaurant yet, but it is now on my list after seeing how busy they were on this Wednesday night when we walked by.

Now a little bit about why the happy hour at Cha Cha's has got me a little excited. They have happy hour all day and night Sunday through Thursday, so there is no need to rush here after work to try to make it by a certain time. They even feature happy hour on Friday and Saturdays, from 11:30 til 7:30. What are some of the happy hour specials? Glad you asked. They have drink specials starting at $5, appetizer specials, and special pricing on all signature cocktails, selected wines, and draft beers. All of this has gotten the attention of a lot of people. Cha Cha's was voted best happy hour and best margarita by the Orange County Register. With this high praise, I was very excited to see what they had in store for my friend George and I.

When we sat down, the Chips and Salsa were already on the table. Don was positively beaming with pride over the tortilla chips they serve at Cha Cha's. They make them everyday, early in the morning. They were a very solid tortilla chip. I am almost always a red salsa kind of guy, but the green salsa gets my vote on this night. It really popped with flavor. The red was good, but a little more mellow for my taste.

We had been sitting down for less than two minutes, and we already had our first round of drinks sitting in front of us. My good friend George selected the Mango Habanero Margarita. This would have been the drink that I would have ordered, but George was my plus one for this event, so I let him choose first. This cocktail started with Pueblo Viejo 100 percent blue agave, mango, fresh lime juice, and a habanero chili infusion. Not only a good looking beverage, but one that kept my taste buds on their toes. Sweet, and then mildly spicy, this was a very unique drink, and one I would order on my next visit here. My drink of choice was the Cha Cha's Margarita. This refreshing beverage contained Siete Leguas blue agave, Elderflower liqueur, fresh lime, and ruby red grapefruit juice. While writing this, I learned that Eldenfower liqueur comes from Europe, and is actually made with flowers. What I liked about this drink was that it was not crazy sweet, and still had a nice pleasant flavor. Very refreshing.

I'm a real sucker for guacamole, and the Fresh Guacamole ($5.95) at Cha Cha's is not to be missed. Of course they start with fresh Haas avocados, then they add Serrano chile, and fresh lime juice. A simple, but effective guacamole. Too many restaurants complicate their guacamole, and sometimes less is more. I had a hard time sharing this with my companions at my table. Sorry if I took too much guys.

I have been on a real ceviche kick lately, so I was excited to see that Cha Cha's has Shrimp Ceviche ($8.95) on their happy hour menu. The shrimp here is marinated in orange and lime juice, Serrano chile, red onion, and is topped with cubed Haas avocados. I really enjoyed the flavor of this ceviche. The citrus flavors gave this ceviche a real boost. The shrimp was very plentiful in this dish, and you can never go wrong with the avocado that was on top of this. The only thing George and I thought was missing, was the tostada shells, but the chips did a pretty good job of filling in for them.

George made pretty quick work of his mango habanero margarita, and was onto the Fresh Watermelon Margarita before I had even finished half of my first drink. In this margarita they used El Jimador Tequila, fresh watermelon, hibiscus juice, lime, and agave nectar. With all of these ingredients I thought this was going to be overly sweet, but it was mellower than I had expected. Very refreshing.

While George was busy downing drinks, I was getting excited for all of the food that was coming out of the kitchen for us. Up next were the Chicken Flautas ($6.95). No kidding, these were probably some of the best flautas I have had. They were fried perfectly, without being greasy, but what made them great was the fillings inside of them. The were filled with tender chicken, guajillo chile, and Oaxacan cheese. The cheese is what made this for me. The flautas were then topped with a mango habanero salsa, which added some sweetness. Very good appetizer here.

Another very good appetizer were the Nachos Cha Cha's ($8.95). Not a big mound of chips, where most of the chips miss a lot of the toppings, these were individual nachos that really impressed our table. The crisp tortilla chips were topped with chicken, black beans, and melted cheese, then served with pico de gallo, sour cream and jalapeno escabeche, which are pickled jalapenos. I really liked these a lot. Very easy to eat, each bite contained all the elements you would want in a nacho, and the flavor was right on point.

Oh, the Cha Cha Fries ($4.95) bring back some horrible memories for me on this night. It has nothing to do with the fries really. Even though I am partial to smaller fries, these larger steak style fries were fried nicely. Crunchy on the outside, soft on the inside, these Yukon Gold potatoes were then tossed with garlic and herbs, and served with a nice smoked chipotle aioli. Why the bad memory of an appetizer I actually liked? Tom, from Tom's Foodie Blog dared me to a chili eating contest. We each had to eat the pepper that was on top of the fires, and the first person to drink, would be declared the loser. I was feeling pretty good, so I took the challenge. The initial heat was not too bad, but after a minute or so, it really started burning my mouth. I knew Tom was not going to give in, so in order to end the agony, I drank about half of my next margarita in about three seconds. You may have won this battle Tom, but I will get you back someday buddy.

If you happened to catch my first review about Cha Cha's, you know that I am completely enamored with the Wood Fired Queso Fundido ($6.95). This traditional dish is baked cheese, served over roasted potatoes, poblano peppers, and chorizo. This is a very rich dish, that is served with corn or flour tortillas. I learned my lesson last time, and only had two tortillas filled with this. It was hard limiting myself, but I still had five more items to try. This is a must get when coming to Cha Cha's though.

I do not often get to have calamari when I am out, because Katie is not fond of it at all. So when this Crisp Calamari ($7.95) hit the table, I made sure to get my fair share of it. This squid was breaded with Mexican spices, and served with a lime-cilantro aioli. The calamari was a little thicker than I am used to, but it was cooked very well, not rubbery, and the breading had a nice flavor. The breading did break away from the calamari a little too easily though. The lime aioli was a very nice dip for this appetizer.

Sorry for the poor picture here, quesadillas are not exactly known for being photogenic. What the Marinated Grilled Skirt Steak Quesadilla ($8.95) lacked in beauty, more than made up for in taste. It was stuffed with Mexican cheeses, poblano chile, white corn, pickled jalapeno, and of course skirt steak. This quesadilla had a wonderful balance. The cheese was evident, but the steak was easily the star of this show. The meat was tender, and the poblano chile gave off just enough heat. A very solid quesadilla, and more than enough for two people to share.

I was not expecting to see clams on the happy hour menu, but these Fresh Manila Clams ($7.95) were a pleasant surprise. They are sauteed in garlic, chorizo, herbs, white wine, and a little bit of butter. Not exactly the largest clams I have ever had, but the sauce went very well with them. I would have liked some bread to sop up the rest of the sauce, but we still had more food on its way out for us.

Fittingly, we ended our night of wonderful food with two kinds of Cha Cha's famous tacos. My favorite of the two was the Mahi Mahi Tacos. These were filled with chipotle cabbage and pico de gallo, and encased by a soft organic corn tortilla. The fish was very fresh and flaky. The taco was dressed very plainly, which allowed each flavor to shine through. The Shrimp Taco was a little more flashy. There were plenty of pretty good sized shrimp in here, along with mango habanero salsa and chipotle cabbage. This taco was just a tad too sweet for me, but my buddy George really liked this taco best.

Needless to say, we were really full after this happy hour event at Cha Cha's in Brea. I walked in here already knowing that I was going to enjoy the food, just based on my first experience here. I was really wondering what George was going to think of the food and drinks at Cha Cha's. He was pretty impressed, and is already planning to take one of his many girlfriends here on a date night. I was pretty impressed with the freshness of all the food here. This is definitely one of my favorite upscale Mexican restaurants, not that the prices are upscale during happy hour. After eating at Cha Cha's, I may have to make more of a point of making it to more happy hours.

I would like to thank everyone at Cha Cha's for their warm hospitality and wonderful service on this night. All of the wait staff seemed very excited to show off their food and drinks. Thanks also to Don Myers, for taking the time to share more about the food that they make here, and it was a real pleasure meeting him. I would also like to thank all of my fellow food bloggers that were here on this night. You guys make these events even better with your great camaraderie. Lastly, I would like to thank one of the best PR people in the business, Jennifer Morris from Ajenda PR. Thanks so much for thinking of us, and we look forward to seeing you again Jennifer.

For more information about Cha Cha's happy hour, or anything else Cha Cha's related, click here: http://www.chachaslatinkitchen.com/