Mulling Over Our Meal at Mulleady's

Mulleady's Sports Pub and Grill

27695 Santa Margarita Parkway

Mission Viejo, CA 92691

Good sports bars in South OC are like trying to find good baseball being played at Angel Stadium. You really need to look hard, or just look at the team that the Angels are playing on that particular day. The Angels are such a bad team right now, they could even make a men's 50 and over softball team look good. If you could not tell, I am a little frustrated by our local baseball team. They of course have just under 130 more games this season, so they do have time to turn it around, but I am not going to hold my breath. Just like I am not going to give up on finding a good sports bar in South OC. That is what brought us to Mulleady's in Mission Viejo.

My good friend Kevin has been singing the praises of Mulleady's since he heard about my food blog. Kevin works at the golf course at Coto, so this place is kind of an after work hangout for him. We decided to meet up with him after his long hard day at work, talk some hockey and about some of the crazy times we have had in the past, and of course my primary objective, sample the food here.

We got to Mulleady's about 7 on a recent Thursday night. This is not a huge restaurant. The higher than average ceilings give it an openness, even though  the restaurant is long and narrow. The tables are a bit close together, but nothing that would make a person uncomfortable. The close proximity to your fellow patrons really encourages the neighborhood type feel to this place. We could really sense that many of the people here were regulars. The predictable sports paraphernalia and the brick walls really dominate the dining space. There is also an enclosed patio in the front of the restaurant for people that want a little more airflow. There are plenty of TVs around the room, and they were more than happy to turn the hockey game on for us.

Mulleady's has been around for awhile now. They opened their doors in 2001. Owners Gary and Kris Mulleady can be seen on most nights running food and chatting up customers. On the night we were here, there was no sign of Gary, but Kris was very hospitable and friendly. After waiting for Kevin to arrive we checked out the menus, and were ready to eat. This is what we decided on.

I am always a sucker for cheese fries, so it was a natural that we ordered the Pub Fries ($5.95) to start. These fries were topped with cheese and bacon, then finished off in the broiler. I really liked the nice touch of browning the top of these fries. The fries were of the thinner variety, and did not hold enough of the ranch dressing for my taste. I would have liked a thicker fry here. The cheese was mellow, and these were not as greasy as other cheese fries we have had. A good size portion as well.

Mulleady's is a very subtle Irish bar. They have a four leaf clover as their logo, but they are not all in your face about the fact that they are an Irish bar. I kind of like that. Anyways, lets start with Katie's selection for dinner, the Corned Beef Sandwich ($7.95). This sandwich came on marbled rye, with mozzarella cheese and yellow mustard. I thought the mozzarella cheese was an interesting choice for this sandwich. Katie liked this, but felt that it needed a little kick to it, like maybe some spicy deli mustard or some pickles. The bread was very soft, but the corned beef needed to be sliced a little thinner. Otherwise the meat had a very subtle flavor. Katie did enjoy the homemade potato salad that came with this sandwich. It had a very good consistency, and was topped with real bacon bits. Never a bad thing. Katie would probably opt for a different sandwich on future visits here.

The menu at Mulleady's has just about something for everyone. They have regular bar food, steaks, Mexican food, pizzas, burgers and pastas. I ordered this Shepherd's Pie ($9.95) from the Irish section of the menu. When I ordered this, the waiter let me know that this is a sweeter version of a shepherds pie. He was not mistaken. This version was made up of seasoned ground beef, chopped tomato, carrots, and is then topped with mashed potatoes and cheese. The taste of the beef kind of reminded me of a Sloppy Joe, with mashed potato over it. The ground beef was left in bigger hunks which I liked, but the sweetness took some getting used to. I admire them for trying to make this dish their own, but I would have preferred the more hearty version of this Irish classic.

From the food standpoint of what we had on this night, I would say that Mulleady's was just a little bit above average. Like I said earlier, their menu was kind of all over the place, so I am sure that I will be able to find other items that I might like here on future visits. Don't get me wrong, nothing we had here was awful, but it was nothing that made us stand up and take notice. I think the atmosphere kind of overshadowed the food. The neighborhood type vibe that surrounds this place really has made me excited to try it for NFL football in the fall. Sometimes neighborhood type bars can be kind of snobby towards newcomers, but I did not get that feeling here at Mulleady's. We might not see good baseball being played at Angel Stadium anytime soon, but there might be hope that their is a good sports bar in South OC.

Out of five rosin bags, (since I learned that Gary Mulleady was a minor league pitcher back in 1969, and pitchers always use rosin bags), five being best to zero being worst, Mulleady's Sports Pub and Grill gets 3 rosin bags.

For more information about Mulleady's Sports Pub and Grill, click here: http://mymulleadys.com/

Cleared for a Great Meal at Nieuport 17? - CLOSED

Nieuport 17

13051 Newport Ave.

Tustin, CA 92780

When I think about the restaurant Nieuport 17, two things come to mind. This was a restaurant that my parents frequented back in the seventies and eighties, and we always had to stay home and be babysat while they ate here. We liked all of our babysitters, so this is not a bad memory. My other recollection about this restaurant is a little later in life. I was interning at my Dad's work in Santa Ana at the age of sixteen. I had won a radio contest, and had to go to Hollywood to see if I had won the grand prize of $86,000. A lot of money for 1986. I had made the promise of buying my coworkers lunch at Nieuport 17 if I won the grand prize. Needless to say, I did not win the prize, and it took me nearly 27 years to make it, but I finally got the chance to come to Nieuport 17.

Back in the old days, Nieuport 17 was located on 17th Street in Santa Ana. That's not how it got its name though. It is named after a single seat, French fighter plane used in WWI. Original owner of this restaurant, former naval aviator Bill Bettis, realized his dream of opening a restaurant with an aviation theme. Along with  authentic artifacts and pictures spotlighting the glory days of flight, Nieuport 17 has also hosted some of the greats of aviation, including the flying groups the Thunderbirds and the Blue Angels.

Nieuport 17 has been around forever in restaurant years, but they just recently hired a new chef to help breath some new life into this four decades old restaurant. Award winning chef, Greg Moro, formerly of Laguna Beach's French 75 took over the helm of this venerable restaurant in February of this year. With new owner, Cameron Irons, both he and Chef Greg are trying to slowly add new items to the menu, while trying not to anger the longtime regulars that have become accustomed to their favorites. A very delicate balance I am sure.

We had made a long overdue double dinner date with our good friends Erven and Rocio on a recent Sunday night. We met them in the Barnstorm bar area for a quick drink before dinner. In the bar area they feature live music every night. Moving to the dining room, the feel of this place kind of reminded me of the now departed Mr. Stox. This restaurant definitely draws an older crowd. The restaurant is a little on the quiet side, even with a good number of the tables full. I was good and hungry when we got here, so I was more than ready to eat. Let's see if we would be flying high after this meal or still stuck at the gate.

Starting out our visit to Nieuport 17 was the bread basket. The bread served here was toasted and it came buttered with some herbs on top of it. It had a nice crunch and went well with the sun dried tomato and olive oil tapenade. I liked this version of tapenade better than the olive versions I have had previously. It was a very nice twist.

We must have been really hungry, because we started out with three appetizers. The first of which was the Escargot ($18). This was not like any escargot that I have had before. I have always had it the more traditional way, with lots of garlic and butter. Here they use garlic parsley butter and a mirepoix (celery, carrots, and onions cut very finely), to create this greener hued escargot dish. I actually liked this take on escargot. Sometimes when it is just butter and garlic, you can not taste the escargot. With this variation, the meatiness of the escargot was present, surrounded by the mellower flavors that did not overpower. Well executed, but more escargot would have been favorable.

Sauteed Button Mushrooms ($18) were out next for us. Sorry I did not snap a picture of the serving size, but there were a fair amount on the serving plate. These mushrooms were paired with a Cabernet jus. These really failed to impress me. They were cooked fine, the meatiness of the mushroom was evident, but the Cabernet jus was very subtle and kind of made these boring in my opinion. I would pass on these next time.

Here's two shots of Rocio's appetizer selection, the Jumbo Shrimp Cocktail ($20). She was very generous and let me have one of these huge shrimp. The shrimp cocktail at Nieuport 17 is made with avocado and escadrille sauce. Not sure what escadrille sauce is, and when I googled it, nothing came up. The sauce was brownish in color, very tart, with maybe a horseradish tinge to it. I liked this little twist on shrimp cocktail. The shrimp were very fresh, and this is something I could see myself getting here next time.

With the appetizers disappearing so quickly, it was now time for soups and salads. Up first was Katie's choice, the Nieuport 17 House Salad ($8). This very basic salad was made up of romaine and iceberg lettuce, tomatoes, and garlic croutons. Kate very much enjoyed this salad calling it, "delicious, with fresh lettuce, and crunchy croutons". Guess she is easy to please after all.

Erven could not resit trying the French Onion Soup ($11) at Nieuport 17. He felt this was a better than average onion soup. The top of the soup held a special surprise for Erven. It contained a thin garlic crostini and bruleed Gruyere cheese. He could not stop talking about the thin layer of bread just underneath the cheese. The onion was in very thin pieces and the soup was not too salty in Erven's opinion. He would definitely get this soup again.

I almost always get a Caesar salad when I go out, but I was branching out at Nieuport 17 with an Iceberg Wedge Salad ($11). This traditional wedge was topped with bacon, red onion, tomatoes and blue cheese crumbles and dressing. I like the sharp flavors of wedge salads. This one was pretty good, but it needed more of their house made blue cheese dressing. The dressing was very thick, with a good taste to it, but they needed more of it to help even things out here.

It was Sunday when we visited Nieuport 17, and on Sundays they feature a Southern Fried Chicken Dinner ($30). Katie heard about this special when we sat down and could not resist it. This dinner comes not only with the above plate, but also soup or salad and a slice of pie for dessert. The fried chicken was pretty good here. It really reminded me of Mrs. Knotts fried chicken in Buena Park. The chicken was moist, with good breading, and was not crazy greasy. The green beans were very fresh, but the mashed potatoes kind of got lost here. The texture was right, but they kind of lacked any pop of flavor from either the potatoes or the gravy. Katie did like the biscuits that came with this dinner.

Erven did not take too long to decide what to have for dinner. The Sauteed Scallops and Jumbo Prawns were his quick choice. The seafood was joined on the plate by a Bearnaise and caramelized onion beurre blanc sauce, along with charred asparagus. Erven said this plate could best be described as, "mild". He liked the way that the prawns were cooked, but the scallops were a little on the gritty side. The mildness came from the sauces that were a little runny. The asparagus was a nice compliment to the seafood.

Erven's beautiful wife, Rocio went with the Peppercorn Black Angus Boneless New York Strip Steak ($36).  This steak was paired with a green peppercorn sauce. Although this was spiced with peppercorns, they did not overtake the taste of the meat. The steak was cooked a very nice medium rare, like Rocio had requested. This steak came with baked potato and asparagus. Much like her husband, she thought the asparagus was pretty good.

Last but not least was my dinner for the evening, the Filet Mignon Fungi ($39). I had ordered another Filet dish, but this is the one that came out instead. Instead of making a big deal about it, I decided to try this one. This ten ounce charbroiled filet came with an abundance of mushroom demi-glace. The steak was pretty tender, and cooked medium rare just as requested. The mushroom demi-glace kind of took over this plate, but it was not a deal breaker here. This steak came with Dijon mashed potatoes and roasted kale sprouts. The mashed potatoes texture was spot on, but the Dijon was undetectable. The roasted kale sprouts had a nice texture and flavor to match. I believe this was my first time having roasted kale, and after this, it will not be my last.

So what to think of Nieuport 17? Just walking in the door, sitting in the dining room and looking at the menu, you can definitely tell that this restaurant has been around for awhile. I kind of got the feeling that things are about to change for this restaurant. New chef and new twists on the menu can not be far behind. Some changes have already occurred, but I sense that more might be on the way. For now the menu is very safe. A few chances are taken, but all of the traditional favorites are here. It is evident that Chef Moro knows his way around a kitchen, as everything was prepared well. We all liked our food, but nothing wowed us enough to make us want to return again and again. Of course that is not a bad thing, Nieuport 17 is more of a special occasion restaurant, than a place you would eat weekly. I did feel that the prices were on the high side for the serving sizes. The service on this night was very good. The waiters here are of the older variety, but our waiter Art really was a first rate server. He even had no trouble dealing with my good buddy Erven, who can sometimes be a handful. I'm glad I finally made it to this iconic OC restaurant, and look forward to seeing what the future holds in store for them.

Out of five baggage carousels, (due to the airplane theme here), five being best to zero being worst, Nieuport 17 gets 3 baggage carousels.

To find out more information about Nieuport 17, click here: http://nieuport17.com/

Previewing Anepalcos New Dinner Items

Anepalcos Cafe

3737 W. Chapman Ave.

Orange, CA 92868

I have written it before on this blog, and I still stand by it. Breakfast is the hardest meal for a restaurant to make memorable. Most breakfasts contain the same old items. So when you find a breakfast that you still think about, months, if not years later, you know that you have been to a good restaurant. That is why I was so excited to try Anepalcos, a restaurant that is known for their legendary Mexican breakfasts with a French twist, for dinner.

Anepalcos started out serving just breakfast and lunch at their original Main Street location. When they opened this new location, which is attached to the Ayers Hotel, they started serving dinners. It is hard to believe that they have already been open for a year now and that we have not made it in for dinner until now. A lot of the numerous OC food blogs that I read are always crowing about how great the dinners are here. Our experience for breakfast/lunch was great and can be seen here.

We were recently invited by Anepalcos Owner and Executive Chef, Daniel Godinez and one of the best food bloggers, not just in OC, but anywhere, Anita Lau, from Diary of a Mad Hungry Woman to come to try out some new dishes that will be appearing on the Anepalcos dinner menu. This very intimate dinner was also attended by Terri Williams of Great Taste Magazine, Priscilla Mayfield of OC Food Nation, and Anita's son, Seb, or as I like to call him, the Human Garbage Disposal, because that kid can eat.

We arrived at Anepalcos on a Thursday night just before seven. I have always observed that restaurants in hotels never seem very crowded, but that was not the case at Anepalcos. The dining room here was bustling with much activity. The dining area is definitely dominated by the color brown, with the darker walls, trim, and the dark wood tables which are handcrafted in Mexico. After the drive up here from Irvine in rush hour traffic, I was definitely ready for some food. Danny must have known I was hungry because the plates started coming out of the kitchen at a furious pace. Let's check out some of the new menu items at Anepalcos.

Chef Danny really started things off with a bang. The Pambazo Ahi Crudo is listed under the small plates portion of the menu, but the taste was anything but small. He starts by soaking the ciabatta in a Guajillo marinade, then tops it with ahi tuna, avocado puree, cilantro, red radish, Serrano chili, and chili oil. Even with all of these big flavor enhancements, the tuna was still the star of the show. It was very fresh and tasted great. The chili was not overpowering but played along nicely with the tuna. I had expected the bread to be a little soggy, but it still held its crunch. A great way to open this tasting session, and it really got our whole table excited.

The Ancas De Rana did not garner the same excitement from Katie. She is no fan of frogs legs. I have only had frog legs maybe a dozen times, and I can say that these were the best-prepared ones I have ever had. They did not taste swampy like the others I have consumed. The frog legs were served with a black chili, baby carrot puree, a maple glaze, and sprinkled with some pepita dust, then placed on a corn cake. The corn cake was a little on the heavy side and seemed a little out of place to me. The frog leg had an ample amount of meat and was very well executed.

The last of the new small plates was the Tacos Orientales. This Asian inspired taco came with one of my all-time favorite foods, pork belly. The pork belly at Anepalcos was very crispy, and I could not get enough of it. Joining the pork belly in this unconventional taco was a chili de Arbol salsa and micro cilantro. The tortilla here was thicker than a normal tortilla. I'm not sure what kind it was, but it kept the contents all in one piece. A definite must order on my next visit here.

I was pretty excited to see this Al Adobo come out next, because not only did it feature a very finely cooked coulette steak, but it also came with a mini chilaquiles on the side. The chilaquiles at Anepalcos is, of course, a classic, but the steak was not to be outshined either. It was very tender, and the adobo sauce, along with the chimichurri sauce, really kept my taste buds intrigued with these two great sauces. A very satisfying plate.

This colorful plate really highlighted Chef Danny's playful plating technique. Just looking at this Surf and Turf plate made me feel really happy. Not only was this plate pleasing to the eyes, but it was also delicious as well. This surf and turf plate was made up of scallops and pork belly, both of which were done to perfection. The dish was all brought together by a nice black potato and truffle puree and an almond salsa. Very complex flavors all working together to create a memorable meal.

You can never have too much steak, and Anepalcos proved that with their version of the Hangar Steak. The steak was matched up nicely with a green potato puree, Enoki mushrooms, a maple glaze, and a black chili sauce. The steak was a little overcooked for my taste, but the sauces helped to hide this fact a bit. The purees and sauce here at Anepalcos are a very big factor in the success of this restaurant. All of them really compliment the dishes they come with.

Proving that you can not do wrong by ordering a seafood dish at Anepalcos, the Red Snapper hit our table next. This fish was flaky and light, with a very nice cauliflower and corn sauce, pink cauliflower, and sauteed corn. This was probably the most mellow of the plates we had on this night. It was a nice change of pace and was Katie's favorite. This is a great choice for people that want a lighter meal.

This would be my first time having nopales ever. I know, I should have had them sooner, but never have. This Mixiote Lamb came with nopales and slow roasted potatoes. The red sauce was, of course, fantastic, but the lamb here was a little overdone. I could imagine eating this dish on a colder night when a hearty meal is called for.

The last of our entrees was this interesting Chile Negro. Arroz Verde, red radish, and micro cilantro join an ancho chile filled with sirloin beef. This dish was pretty good, but not like any chile relleno I have ever had. It was not as heavy and did not have that big pop of flavor that I have been accustomed to with other chile rellenos.

Not new on the menu, but I was happy that we got to try the desserts at Anepalcos. Since this is a French-inspired Mexican restaurant, it is no surprise that they have crepes on the menu. These were way better than the crepes you could get when I was a kid at the Magic Pan, (if you remember that restaurant, you are old just like me). I'm not a big fruit fan, but this strawberry crepe was pretty tasty. The crepe that really caught my attention was the Chocolate Crepe. I was dining with other people and was expected to share, but I had a hard time not hoarding this one all to myself. The crepe portion of this was well made, and of course, you can almost never go wrong with chocolate. The last dessert we had was another Anepalcos classic dessert, the Passion Fruit Panna Cotta. With my dislike for fruit desserts, I was not sure I was going to enjoy this, but the texture was spot on, and the flavor was not overly sweet. Very refreshing, and a great end to the meal.

With all of these new additions to the Anepalcos menu, along with their already fantastic remaining favorites, it will not be too long before we return for dinner. This night could not have gone better. Great dinner guests, great food, all in a pleasant and relaxed atmosphere. What really sets Anepalcos apart is their uniqueness. I have not been exposed to Mexican food with a French twist before. It really makes it even more special to come here knowing that this is not the kind of food that you can just get anywhere. Chef Godinez really knows what he is doing in the kitchen, and it shows when the food hits the table. These new menu items are now being offered at Anepalcos. Thanks again to Anita and Chef Daniel for the wonderful evening.

To find out more about Anepalcos Cafe, click here: http://www.anepalco.com/home-1.html

Trying to Settle the Taco Debate in Yorba Linda

Esther's Taco House

2001 E. Orangethorpe Ave.

Placentia, CA 92870

A few reviews ago, I wrote about a war between restaurants brewing in my hometown of Yorba Linda. On one side of the fence, or should I say one part of town, you have the supporters of Blue Agave. On the other side of town, you have the fans of Esther's Taco House. Now I know that these restaurants probably do not have any ill will towards each other. I mean, Yorba Linda has a population of 65,000, so there is definitely room for the two of these restaurants to survive here. They have done so for almost twenty years apiece. They do not even serve the same kind of food. Blue Agave serves a southwestern style menu, while Esther's is more of what some would call traditional style Mexican food. Okay maybe this war between the two restaurants really is just in my own mind, but I have wanted to try Esther's for a long time now, so I enlisted my Mom into going with me to the Esther's Taco House.

I always like hearing the history of restaurants. Esther's actually has a very long history. In a nutshell, the restaurant was opened in 1957, by Esther Santana in Downey. This incarnation of the restaurant was just a take out joint at first, but after a shoe store went out of business next door, they opened up a dining room. Then in 1972, the family opened another location in Long Beach. Esther passed away in 1994, but her legacy has now passed to her daughter Linda, and her son Brian. Wanting to open closer to where they live, they closed both the Downey location and Long Beach restaurant and opened in Placentia. A Yorba Linda location would follow, and that brings us to the present day.

After we had made a trip to the Yorba Linda restaurant and discovered that they are closed on Mondays, (how about including your hours on your website?), we took the ten-minute drive to their original OC location in Placentia. They are located in the same shopping center as The Pizza Store, Jack in the Box, and Kimmie's Coffee Cup. This restaurant is on the large size, with plenty of tables for the bustling lunch scene. Based on the banter between the staff and customers, there seemed to be a lot of regulars here. The menu was very traditional, with tacos, burritos, enchiladas, and tostadas dominating the menu. They also had a fairly large amount of lunch specials going on here, so we ordered our food, and this is what hit the table.

Of course, as with almost any Mexican restaurant, the Chips and Salsa hit the table before the meal. I was very impressed with the chips and salsa at Esther's, and I do not even think it was because I was hungry. The chips here are thicker than most, with a very nice crunch. They seemed like they were recently fried, with just a touch of greasiness that made them addictive. The salsa had a great consistency to it. The tomatoes were the right size, there were enough onions for flavor, and the liquid to chunk ratio was right on. Good flavor with this salsa, but it could have been a little hotter for my taste. The Hot Sauce would satisfy my heat needs. This was some real hot sauce. It went very well with the chips and really made the food come alive at Esther's. I can think of only a few hot sauces that I have liked better in restaurants.

My Mom is not a big eater, so it was no surprise to me that she would get a one item lunch special. She went with the One Carnitas Taco with Rice and Beans ($6.89). We were both surprised by them adding lettuce to a carnitas taco, but it was easily discarded. My Mom ordered this taco soft, and it came with a decent amount of pork in it. The meat was tender, with a nice flavor. The beans were a tad overdone, but still had a smooth taste to them. The rice here was pretty bad. On the dry side, and really lacked any sort of taste. My Mom would get this plate again, but maybe just ask for double beans.

One thing that no one will ever call me, is a small eater. When I am in a restaurant I want to try as many things as possible, and a combination plate is the best way to do this. I decided on the Three Item Combo ($13.59). For this combo, I came up with the combination of a Beef Taquito, Cheese Enchilada, and a Hard Shelled Chicken Taco. Let's break this plate down item by item. The taquito was one of the better ones I have had. It was not as greasy as I had expected, and it had plenty of meat inside, along with plenty of guacamole served on the side. The cheese enchilada had lots of cheese, with a very mild red sauce. Predictably the cheese did overpower this portion of the meal, but if you love cheese, this is the item to get at Esther's. I was probably most excited to try their chicken tacos here. I had heard good things about them, and they lived up to the hype. The fried tortilla reminded me of my Mom's tacos, the chicken inside was very tender, and they put more than enough cheese on here. A very well made basic taco that I would definitely get again. I will echo my mom's sentiments about the beans and rice. The beans were good but overdone a little, and the rice was not good at all. Put me down for double beans next time I am here as well.

I really enjoyed Esther's Taco House. The food was all good, and it was very safe and comforting. Very basic Mexican food is served here. I did have a couple of gripes with Esther's though. The prices are a tad on the high side for the amount of food that you get. I did not think that my three-item combo was actually worth almost $14 I paid for it. For dinner, one taco and beans and rice comes out to $7.50. That is a little steep for this restaurant. We had spotty service while we were here. They seemed to only have two servers on staff, and a full restaurant during the lunch rush. The ordering process and food came out quickly, but then everything came to a standstill when we had finished our meal. Our empty plates stayed in front of us for a long while, and the check did not come for almost fifteen minutes. Even with these minor hiccups, we will be back to Esther's. As far as the war in my mind over the better restaurant between Blue Agave and Esther's, I will cop out and say that they are both good, and too different for me to say which one I like better.

Out of five stars, (because the name Esther is derived from the Persian word which means star), five being best to zero being worst, Esther's Taco House gets 3 stars.

For more information about Esther's Taco House, go to their website here: http://www.estherstacos.com/