Our Little Slice of New York in OC

Benjies

1828 N. Tustin Ave.

Santa Ana, CA 92705

I worked in Santa Ana the decade of the 90's. Okay, typing that sentence really makes me feel old. Really, twenty years has passed since then? Man that is crazy. Anyways, my original point is that I must have passed Benjie's over 2,500 times while I worked in Santa Ana. All those times passing by, and I never went once, until this Labor Day.

We had plans to go to two other restaurants, but both were closed for Labor Day. Who knew that restaurants would be closed on this holiday? So after Katie whipped out her smart phone, we scoured Urbanspoon for restaurants close by, and up popped Benjies. I am usually in the mood for a great sandwich, so that is where we headed.

Benjies has been around since 1967. Ions of years in the restaurant business. Located between Old Tustin Avenue and Tustin Avenue, this deli was started by native New Yorker, Stan Weinstein. Stan, like most of Orange County, wanted an authentic NYC deli, so he opened this place up. Stan's son, Lloyd now runs the place, and not much has changed since they first opened. It is kind of like Benjies is in some kind of time warp. I half expected one of the Brady Bunch kids to come out and ask Alice what was being cooked for lunch. Okay, enough nostalgia, let's check out the food.

Katie was feeling breakfast when she walked in here, but as soon as she learned she could have her sandwich on a bagel she changed her mind. She went with the Albacore Tuna Salad on a bagel. She called this sandwich, "comfort food at its best". She felt that the tuna salad was fresh, and the bagel was very good. She was also pretty happy with the macaroni salad. 

Of course I had to go for my favorite sandwich in a deli, the Reuben. Corned beef, Swiss cheese, and sauerkraut, all surrounded by grilled rye bread. Quite simply, this is one of the best Reuben's that our county has to offer. They were very generous with the corned beef. The sauerkraut did not over power the meat, but complimented it nicely. The meat itself, had a great taste to it, and the bread held up to the contents of the sandwich with no problem. The cheese added a little moisture, and as an added flavor enhancer, I also got a side of Russian dressing to dip the sandwich in. For my side item I chose the Potato Salad. This potato salad was good, but did not really stand out as much as the sandwich did. 

I saw that they had Chocolate Chip Cookies on the menu, so we ordered two of them for a light dessert. The cookies were okay. This cookie was more on the crunchy side, and it reminded me of a Chips Ahoy cookie. We would probably skip this the next time we were here.

I think that Stan Weinstein fulfilled his dream to have an authentic New York deli in Orange County. The sandwiches were great, and could rival some of New York's finest. The menu here is very large, and we look forward to trying more items from it. The service was pretty good. Most of the waitress's have been employees of Benjies for thirty or more years. The prices were not cheap here, but the sandwiches will fill you up. My Reuben was $12, and Katie's tuna sandwich was $10, but you do get a choice of a side with them. Eating here really makes me wish I would have stopped by at least a few of those 2,500 times. 

Out of five stray dogs, (because the 1974 movie, Benji featured a stray dog that saves two kidnapped children, and also because at Benjies they probably have not updated the decor since 1974), five being best to zero being worst, Benjies gets 3 stray dogs.

For more information about Benjies, click here: http://www.benjiesdeli.com/index.php

Sailing to Las Barcas

Las Barcas Gourmet Mexican Food

21032 Beach Blvd.

Huntington Beach, CA 92648

We get tips about places from everyone, and we are trying to get to them all. Right now I have a list of over thirty places people have told us about. My friend Stephanie gets credit for this one, and judging by the amount of people eating here at 8:45 on a Sunday night, I had very high hope for this restaurant.

Las Barcas is a Huntington Beach institution. Ask anyone in Surf City about Mexican food, and this place definitely gets a mention. Opened in 1987, by a couple from Argentina. They left their home country to come to HB and create a Mexican restaurant that features fresh and gourmet food, at reasonable prices. Now run by their sons, and still in their original location, lets see if they are still churning out great Mexican food.

We usually always get a side of guacamole to go along with our chips and salsa, and at Las Barcas, the side order only set us back $1.35, a real bargain. The guacamole was seasoned well, and was almost neon green. Very fresh, you could tell they had made this up recently. The chips were okay, maybe a little over salted for my tastes. I did not get a clear picture of the salsas, but they were okay as well. All of them seemed more on the mild side to me, but had a decent flavor.

This beautiful looking burrito was Katie's choice for dinner. She had the Shrimp Burrito with enchilada sauce and cheese added for an additional $1.35. The burrito contained  beans, rice, cheese, guacamole, pico de gallo, smoked cream sauce, and a lot of shrimp. This burrito was very good sized, and they did not skimp on the shrimp. Katie enjoyed the flavor and freshness of this burrito.

As I am sure you have guessed by now, if you are a loyal reader of this blog, I always try a Carnitas Plate at any Mexican restaurant I am trying for the first time. No exception here. The carnitas here were very good. Crispy, with a little bit of chew to them. The pork could definitely stand on its own. When I first saw this plate, I was a little underwhelmed by the amount of meat here, but it made three tacos easily, with some to spare. The beans were very good, and the rice was above average as well. Solid plate of food here.

We had also heard about their fish tacos, so we of course had to try one. Above is the Grilled Fish Taco. Katie was very happy with this taco, calling it, "amazingly fresh, with great taste". The taco was stuffed, and the two tortillas held there ground and kept the contents of the taco inside. The fish was mild, the cream sauce was good, but I would have liked less lettuce on this. It would have even made the taco photograph better.

I could not let Katie out eat me, so I also tried one of the tacos here. I went with a Grilled Steak Soft Taco. This taco came with pico de gallo, lettuce and guacamole. This taco was good, but did not wow me. The meat was okay, and again too much lettuce on the taco. Solid taco, but a little over priced at $3.50.

La Barcas is a pretty good Mexican restaurant, and I understand all of the praise for it. The food is fresh, but I am not sure about gourmet. The counter guy was very patient with us, as we took in the large menu here. The restaurant area is a little cramped, and I have been told that it is best to call in orders ahead of time during peak times. The prices were a little on the high side. The shrimp burrito went for $7.75, and the carnitas platter was $9.50. I would not hesitate to eat here again though. One last tip, the shopping center Las Barcas is housed in is going through some renovations, so it might be a little hard to find this place, but it is definitely worth the hunt.

Out of five boats, (because translated from Spanish, barcas means boats), five being best to zero being worst, Las Barcas gets a solid 3 boats.

For more information on Las Barcas, click here: http://www.lasbarcas.com/

 

Expanding Our Food Repertoire at Natraj

Natraj

24861 Alicia Parkway

Laguna Hills, CA 92653

I am not going to try and fool you. I have no idea what Indian food is all about. The last time I had it in a restaurant could be like fifteen years ago. I know what you are thinking, what kind of food blogger are you? Okay, I admit I have to get out of my food comfort zone more. In my defense though, we have gone to our first Thai place this year, along with trying the cuisines of Lebanon and Peru. So slowly, but surely we are eating around the globe, as we eat around OC.

A wonderful couple, Maureen and Dennis really wanted us to try one of their favorite Indian restaurants, Natraj. This restaurant has been around since 1991 and been in its present location since 1993. Two partners ran the business, and at one time operated four restaurants. After one of the partners wanted to move back to India, they sold off three of the four restaurants. The three restaurants that were sold kept the Natraj name, adding to the confusion, but these restaurants are not owned by the original owners or family members. The owner that stayed here now operates the original Natraj in Laguna Hills and has opened three fast food/casual Indian restaurants, Natraj's Tandoori, (two in Irvine and one in Foothill Ranch).

Natraj is tucked in the back of a shopping center that features a Dick's Sporting Goods and a Big Lots. The restaurant is spacious, yet a little dated in its decor. The waiters, all men the night we were here, are all dressed in white dress shirts and black pants. Very professional looking to match the service they offered us this night. The Natraj menu is a little overwhelming. They offer close to sixty entree items, and even more if you count the appetizers and bread. Let's see what we went with off of this big menu.

Our meal started off with the Indian equivalent on a breadbasket. Not sure what they call this kind of bread. It looked like a tortilla, but it was stiffer and less bready. We also had three sauces served with this. They ranged from sweet to a little spicy. I forgot to write their names down, but they were pretty good.

Much like my strategy in any restaurant, I always want to try as many items as I can on one visit. So, of course, we went with the Mixed Hors D"Oeuvres. This sampler platter came with chicken tikka, samosa, seekh kabob, and pakoras. Out of these, my favorite was the chicken tikka. The chicken was tender and the spice used here really popped with flavor. The pakoras were vegetable fritters, that I could see myself dipping into ranch dressing next time. They were fried just right. I was not so excited by the samosa, which is the cone looking item. The insides of this were filled with potatoes and peas. I found it to be a bit boring when it came to flavor. The seekh kabob was made of lamb and really left no mark on my memory.

Maureen informed us that she always gets the same thing when she eats at Natraj, the Chicken Pasanda. This mild chicken dish is served in a nut sauce. She loves the mildness of this dish and felt that the chicken was cooked well.

Dennis almost got an identical dinner from his wife, the Chicken Korma. This chicken dish is simmered in a mild almond and cream sauce. Dennis had no complaints about this meal. From where I was sitting, the sauce looked velvety smooth.

Katie and I ate at a Biryani cart in New York, and that was about the extent of our Indian food knowledge. She stuck to what she knows when she ordered the Chicken Biryani. This dish combined chicken with herbs and spices, with basmati rice. Katie enjoyed the slight heat this dish had, and it definitely reminded her of that street cart in NYC. Her pleasure of this dish was enhanced when she combined the yogurt sauce and garlic naan with this plate.

I admit I was intimidated by the large menu here, and I choked. Maybe, I should rephrase that since this is a food blog and everything. I mean to say I think I ordered the wrong item. I went with the Lamb Saag. Lamb served with spiced cream spinach. I love creamed spinach, and I love lamb, so I did not think this could go wrong. Unfortunately, the lamb was not very tender, and the spice used in the spinach did not find favor with my taste buds. I should have gone with a safer bet. Maybe at the next Indian place.

To go along with our meals we also ordered the Garlic Naan. This leavened bread was sprinkled with fresh garlic. This is a must-have when eating here. The garlic is very prominent and really makes the bread come alive.

We had three of the six desserts offered here. Starting us off is Katie's choice, the Mango Ice Cream. She called this dessert, "very refreshing and delicious". Maureen always goes for the Kheer, which is an Indian rice pudding with a pistachio garnish. I had the unusual sounding Gajjar ka Halwa, which is a carrot pudding with pistachio and almond. I thought this would be like a pumpkin pie flavor, but there was definitely no cinnamon or nutmeg in this. In fact, there was no sweetness in this at all, and it was served warm. It was not awful but it is something I do not think I would get again.

To sum up my first experience at an Indian restaurant, I would say I did not make the right choices when it came to my preferences for food. I did get exotic items, and I liked the spices used, but I would definitely get different things next time. The other foods I tried here I liked, and I am looking forward to trying Indian food again in the future. Most meals were in the $13 to $17 range, and the portions were average-sized. So I guess you can say this was my practice run for Indian food. Thanks, Maureen and Dennis for the company, and we look forward to trying Indian food with you again.

Out of five tandoor's, (a small, clay oven used here at Natraj and other Indian restaurants), five being best to zero being worst, Natraj gets 2.5 tandoors.

For more information on Natraj, click here: https://www.natrajusa.com/

Grape Night at Tannins?

Tannins Wine Bar and Lounge

27211 Ortega Highway, Unit C

San Juan Capistrano, CA 92675

Tannins has never really been on my radar. I had bought a Groupon, and had almost forgotten to use it. I got the email telling me my deal was about to expire, and I did not want to waste the money, so I told Katie we had to get down there. She agreed readily, and like the swallows, we were returning to Capistrano.

Tannins is located on the opposite side of the freeway from the mission in San Juan. The menu is straight forward Italian. The vibe here is comfortable, without being too much like a dive. We arrived at seven on a Wednesday night. The restaurant was busy and loud. Let's hope all of these people were here for the great food.

First stop on our food tour of Tannins is the bread basket that was presented to our table. I always like when they serve more than one kind of bread in a basket, as was the case here. They gave us a plain Italian bread, which was accompanied by some sort of olive spread. I am not much into olives, but the spread had a subtle olive flavor and it was very creamy. They also supplied us with a garlic/cheese bread which was very flavorful. If the bread on this one would have been a little more fresher, this would have been a home run, but we will rule it a stand up double. Not bad for a bread basket.

Katie spotted the Tannins Salad on the menu and immediately gravitated towards it. This salad combined mixed greens with tomatoes, garbanzo beans, capers, green onions, and avocado, all with a poppy seed dressing. She felt the capers and avocado added a different texture to the salad, and she was pretty happy with the poppy seed dressing.

Like Katie almost always trying a shrimp dish, I almost always go with a Caesar Salad, and that was the case here. This is your basic Caesar, but the part of this salad that stood out for me was the coarsely chopped Parmesan cheese served with this. It was grated thicker than usual, and that was a good thing. This had just the right amount of dressing for my taste, but the salad could have been served a little colder.

Of course, after I call out Katie for always getting shrimp, she throws us a curve ball and gets the Lobster Ravioli. Katie called this dish, "fresh and delicious". She felt there was abundant lobster here, without being too over powering. The ravioli I had was pretty good, the pasta was cooked well. Katie also praised the spinach that was served as a side item with this.

I veered from my norm as well, when I had the Veal Marsala. The veal was served in a Marsala wine sauce, with mushrooms, and topped with basil. I felt this $18 dish should have been a little bit bigger. Also the veal was not as tender as I think it should have been. Unfortunately, the sauce and veggies out shined the veal here.

Katie and I split two desserts at Tannins. My choice was the Carrot Cake. This cake had a very good icing, but the cake portion of this was more on the dry side. Katie chose the Cannoli. We both agreed that this was not the best cannoli we had ever had. The chocolate sauce was good over this, but the outer shell of the cannoli was very tough, and the inside was not much better.

Tannins was an okay choice for dinner. I don't think we would seek this place out, but if they offered another Groupon I might consider getting one. The service the night we were here was spotty at best. Our waitress was very slow, not just with our table, but with others as well. Drink refills were pretty close to non-existent. The food was okay, not great. The meal peaked with the bread basket and salads, and went down from there.

Out of five wineries, (not only because tannins are found in wine, but also because the first winery in California was in San Juan Capistrano), five being best to zero being worst, Tannins gets 2.5 wineries.

For more information on Tannins, click here: http://tanninsrestaurant.com/index.html

Can Philly's Best Overtake John's?

Philly's Best

30461 Avenida De Las Flores

Rancho Santa Margarita, CA 92688

About two months ago we reviewed John's Philly Grille. You can read that review here. Not wanting to ruin it for you, but we really liked John's. It was the first cheese steak we had reviewed, and it might be the best one that our county has to offer. In the comment section, one of our readers, MikeHu, had asked about Philly's Best. He wanted to know our take on Philly's Best and how it compared to John's. Since this involved me eating another cheese steak, I was more than happy to oblige him.

Philly's Best is a southern California based chain, which has 22 units, and half of those are in OC. They not only specialize in cheese steaks and hoagies, they also sell other Philadelphia food staples, like Wise Chips,  Tastykakes, and Frank's Soda. I am not here for any of this, I am here to see if Philly's Best can take down John's Philly Grill. Let's see how it all turns out.

Of course I am going to tease you a little before we get to the cheese steaks. Katie was not in the mood for the famous Philadelphia sandwich, so she went with the Philly Turkey Breast Hoagie. The hoagies, as well as the cheese steaks are made on Amoroso rolls. Amoroso rolls are as authentic to Philadelphia, as the Liberty Bell itself. They also use Boar's Head meats here. Katie really liked her sandwich, but felt there was way too much mayonnaise on this. The bite I had was good, but even I felt the mayo really was over done here.

Now on to to the cheese steaks. First, this cheese steak hybrid, the Philly's Best Chicken. This chicken cheese steak, which would probably be frowned upon in the city of brotherly love, had mushrooms and sweet peppers added to it. Sara could not finish this sandwich, so I gallantly stepped in. The sandwich was good, but lacked the bite because of the classic cheese steak. If you are not a big beef eater, this might be the sandwich for you.

Now, the reason we are all here, the Philly's Best Cheese Steak.  The first thing I noticed, when compared to John's was the core temperature of the sandwich. At John's the sandwich contents were molten hot. Here, the sandwich was more on the warm side, so it was easy to dive right in without any chance of burning your mouth. The meat was good and the bun held up, but this sandwich lost me because there was no burst of flavor. The sweet peppers and mushrooms added nothing here, and the cheese was barely noticeable. All of this combined to make this an average cheese steak. An average cheese steak is still better than most of the sandwiches out there though.

Philly's Best is no John's Philly Grille. Philly's Best does serve its purpose though. If you are nowhere close to Huntington Beach, and want a cheese steak, chances are there is a Philly's Best close to you, and this place will probably quench your cheese steak craving. The store was clean and the service was good when we were here. The prices are what you would expect for a sandwich shop. Just under $10 will get you a large cheese steak. We are still looking for someone to dethrone John's Philly Grille, so if you know of a place, please let us know.

Out of five boxing gloves, (in homage to the Rocky movies set in Philadelphia), five being best to zero being worst, Philly's Best gets 2.5 boxing gloves.

For more information on Philly's Best, click here: http://www.eatphillysbest.com/

The Secret Is Out About Burger Parlor - CLOSED

Burger Parlor 

108 W. Wilshire Ave.

Fullerton, CA 92832

When I heard of Burger Parlor, I knew I had to go. When I read the reviews from other blogs, Burger Parlor immediately moved up my restaurant wish list. If you have ever read my blog before, you know that I love hamburgers. They are such a diverse yet simple food. Our county has an embarrassment of riches when it comes to great burgers here. I was just hoping that Burger Parlor could live up to the hype I had built up in my mind.

Burger Parlor comes to us from Joesph Mahon, a classically trained chef. From La Habra, he left to learn his craft, but now he is back in OC, building burgers four nights a week. Oh yeah, did I mention that Burger Parlor is a pop-up restaurant? They share space with Rialto Cafe Wednesday through Saturday nights. The pop-up aspect of Burger Parlor added to my excitement. It was like a secret spot, even though it had already been written up in numerous places. Enough chit-chat, though; let's take a look at the food.

Before our dining partners arrived, we ordered the Snack Shack to start us off. This is not your standard chili cheese fries. At Burger Parlor, they serve Belgian fries with a short rib chili and a cheese sauce. I am not usually one to like cheese sauces, but this one was very smooth and not crazy cheesy. The potatoes were different from what I had expected, too. They came cut larger than I would have liked, but it worked here. They were cooked all the way through and were a great compliment to the chili. My one complaint about this would be that I would have liked more chili served with this. Otherwise, it was a delicious starter.

I will start the burger portion of our show with my choice for the evening, the Mahon Burger. This burger features pastrami, Swiss cheese, caramelized onions, pickles, and a mustard sauce. Once again, this burger was different from what I had expected, but it was terrific. The pastrami was not sliced. It was cubed. This allowed for more pronounced bites of the meat. The burger was very juicy, and the cheese was good as well. The mustard did get lost here, but that can usually be a good thing because mustard tends to overpower foods. I would definitely get this burger again, but first, I have others that I need to try on future visits.

Some people like putting potato chips on their sandwiches; that is what Katie's burger reminded me of. The Chip Shot combines fontina cheese, chipotle aioli, mushrooms, and tomato confit, with potato chips added to the top. Katie felt the burger tasted fresh, but she would have liked a more robust cheese. The fontina was too mellow for her, so all she could taste was beef and potato chips. She did mention that the bun was incredible. Mahon worked with a small bakery to perfect his bun recipe, and the buns really stood out from the items inside the burgers.

The health nut of our group, Heather, ordered the OC Burger. This one featured a turkey patty with sprouts, avocado, carrots, provolone, and an herb sauce. I usually stay away from turkey burgers, but the bite I had might change my mind about the holiday fowl being used in a burger. The patty was very moist, and the condiments used here were fresh. They melded together nicely. She also had some fries, which were sliced thicker than I would have liked, but they were crisp and cooked all the way through, so they turned out to be all right. Heather was pretty happy with her choice.

Trevor had one of the more unusual burger offerings at Burger Parlor, the Lasorda Burger. With a name like that, you would expect it to be a bloated burger featuring blue cheese (Get it? Because the Dodgers wear blue, and because he is a big guy!). This burger came with a sausage patty, a fried mozzarella patty, oregano, and roasted peppers. Trevor enjoyed this burger but was not overly impressed. He felt that the fried cheese here was a little over the top. He would opt for a more traditional burger the next time he was here.

We also ordered Beer-Battered Onion Rings. These had a great outer coating that overshadowed the onion inside, but that is easy to do with onion rings. They came out scalding hot. We ordered feta sauce to go along with them, which went very nicely with them.

Burger Parlor was all it was advertised to be. The burgers were fresh, and the combinations worked well. The menu is small compared to other burger spots, but you will find a burger you like. They offer ten different burgers, three sides items, and three salads. Next time, we will have to save room for desserts. The Ice Cream Sandwich and Banana Bread Pudding really caught our eye.

The prices were a little on the high side, but these are gourmet burgers, and it is okay to splurge occasionally. They run in the $8 to $11 range, and with fries and a drink, it will run you about $16. A little higher than that combo meal at Carl's Jr., but way more satisfying. This place really reminded me of Umami Burger. Smaller burgers that really hit the spot. We were glad to be part of the, "in crowd", on this particular night.

Out of five glasses of Hawaiian Punch (because it is a little-known fact that Hawaiian Punch was invented in a converted garage in Fullerton), five being best to zero being worst, Burger Parlor gets a solid 3.5 glasses of Hawaiian Punch.

For more information on Burger Parlor, click here: http://www.burgerparlor.com/