Running Hot and Cold at Fire + Ice

Fire + Ice Grill and Bar

321 W. Katella Ave. #315

Anaheim, CA 92802

Katie and I went to the Taste of Anaheim awhile back, and  it was hosted at the Garden Walk in Anaheim. One of the few restaurants that was open during the event was Fire + Ice, a different kind of take on Mongolian barbeque. They let attendees from the Taste of Anaheim come into their restaurants and see what they were all about. I thought that was a great idea, which most of the other eating establishments should have embraced. From what I have heard, the stores at the Garden Walk need all the help they can get at this struggling outdoor mall.

Fire + Ice has six locations and only two in California, (the other California branch is in Tahoe). They were founded in 1997. The basic premise of Fire + Ice is that customers walk around and gather raw vegetables, meats and pastas, combine them with sauces, and then hand them off to the cook to finish off the process. Let's take a look at how this all works.

Along the back wall they have suggestions on blackboards for guests to try. None of the three of us used these suggestions however. We all winged it, and went with what sounded good.

This is part of their salad bar. Ryan opted to get some salad before his meal. They had limited salad bar options here. About eight items are offered here for you to put on your salad, all basic items you would expect to see at any other salad bar. The empty salad bowl above is a precursor of things to come.

Here are most of the meat offerings from the night we were there. Shaved steak, rib eye steak, hot dogs, mahi mahi, scallops, hamburgers, tuna, tilapia, mussels, chicken, shrimp and pork chops were in the lineup for us. It was hard to make a choice the first time through, so I went with a hamburger and hot dog, not the most daring choices, but I knew I would make another trip through the line. Ryan chose to get a whole meat parade on his plate, and Katie got a pasta dish to start off.

The next station is what I would call the extras station. These choices included jalapenos, carrots, bacon, onions, garlic, pinto beans, and pineapple. There were more choices but I failed to get pictures of them. Again notice the bowls, and the emptiness of some of them. More on that later.

Okay, so now after getting your sauce that you want on the side, you are ready to turn your creation over to the chef at the twenty-five foot grill table in the middle of the restaurant. The above picture with the hot dog and hamburger was mine, Katie had the pasta dish and Ryan, of course had the meat-topia plate. Here is a look at the cooking process.

The cook provides you with the buns and cheese, and then you take your plate back to your table. The entire cooking process takes between five to ten minutes, and the cook has multiple orders going at the same time.

Here are some of the finished plates. My hot dog tasted good, but I would not waste my time on another one of those again. Katie's  pasta plate was good, and I got something similar to that the next time I went up. The hamburgers were really good and juicy. The steak tasted great, maybe a little plain, but you could adjust that with some seasoning. I liked that they had unlimited bacon, which should be their big selling point.

These were some of the other dishes that we got on our last trip through the line. These both tasted good, but the oil taste really stays with you for awhile. We had gotten here at 8, and they close at 10, but they start closing up shop around 9:30. They had stopped bringing out new food before that, so we only made two trips through the line. I understand that they may not want to waste food, but I was disappointed not being able to go through again.

We chose to share one of their signature drinks, the Scorpion Bowl. This libation featured white and dark rums, gin, brandy and fruit juices. They were a little heavy on the fruit juice, and the taste of this was refreshing, but too fruity for me, Ryan thought the fruitiness was just right.

I have mixed feelings on Fire + Ice. First the negative things about the place. They needed to have another guy or two behind the counter refilling the bowls of food, and sauces. A lot of times we had to wait for things. I also think that they started to wrap things up too early. At least let the people eating here enjoy their unlimited food. The service could have been better, and the operation explained better. We made the mistake of sitting in the bar, and I think if we would of had a regular waitress, it would have gone more smoothly.

Now the good things about Fire + Ice. I really liked the variety of the foods that they have. I have been to one Mongolian restaurant and they did not have this much variety. It also is a plus that they have hot dogs and hamburgers, so you can feel free to bring the kids along. It did taste good, but at the same time it was also greasy. Even though there was only one cook, he did an awesome job of cooking and keeping everything on track. I think this restaurant can make it, if it irons out the kinks, and if the Garden Walk can attract some visitors.

Out of five Hekla's, (Iceland's most active volcano, get it because of the name of this restaurant!), five being best to zero being worst, Fire + Ice gets 2.5 Hekla's.

For more information on Fire + Ice, click here: http://fire-ice.com/index.php?src=

Can Carmelita's Satisfy?

Carmelita's

31441 Santa Margarita Pkwy. #P

Rancho Santa Margarita, CA 92688

Visiting Sara and Kevin is always such a good time. They live out in Rancho Santa Margarita, and it is always interesting to see where they pick for dinner. We have been to numerous restaurants out there, some good and some bad. They suggested that we go to Carmelita's, on the lake. We had all been there one time before, and I remember liking it, but I did not have my camera, so I did not bother blogging about it. This time, I would not let that opportunity go to waste.

Carmelita's is located lakeside in RSM, in a building that has hosted numerous restaurants. They have two other locations, both in the Sacramento area. This is the first one open in Orange county. The Sacramento restaurants have been around since 1962, and this one has been here at least a year now. Let's see if the food is as good as our first trip.

Above is the chips, salsa, and black bean dip that comes with the meal. All of these were very good. The black bean dip was a nice change of pace from the norm at Mexican restaurants. The salsa even had a little kick to it, which I liked. The chips were average but were made better with the salsa and bean dip.

Sara and I decided we were going to each have a margarita, so we let the waiter talk us into getting a pitcher for ourselves. I knew Sara would not be able to keep up, so I would have most of this for myself. I am conniving like that. We did not know at the time that the pitcher was going to be thirty dollars, but that is what we get for not asking, and for me being greedy. The margarita was smooth and simple. Not too bad of a drink. I would even say that it is one of the best I have had in a while.

Katie got the Costa Brava. Shrimp sautéed in salsa and butter. Served with chilies, onions, and tomatoes. She liked the buttery taste of the rice and thought that the shrimp had a great flavor. I liked the taste of this mild dish, but I was a little annoyed by the shrimp tails being left on this. Why do they leave the tails on, maybe it is because it keeps the shrimp fresh. Not sure, but it is annoying to cut the tails off.

This plain-looking dish is Kevin's. He went with the Chimichanga de Camaron. Usually, this comes with salsa on top, but Kevin wanted this without it. He liked the taste of this but did not rave about it. I thought the oil streaks on the plate were a little disturbing here, but he did not seem to mind.

Sara opted for the Flautas de Pollo. I can not pull any punches here, this could be the worst dish I have ever had at a Mexican restaurant. The chicken was so dry it was like eating sandpaper. I even dipped it into the salsa, and it soaked up the liquid like a sponge and still was as dry as the Mojave desert in August. I would have been very angry if this was my meal. Even Sara was disappointed in this plate.

I went with the Royal Combination. The first part of this seafood combo was the sub-par, crab quesadilla. This tasteless concoction was so bland, it could have come from Chipotle. The plain look of this quesadilla is a clue as to how plain this tasted. Not good at all.

This is the second item of the Royal Combo, the lobster enchilada. This was okay, it really lacked the wow factor, which is difficult when lobster is an ingredient. Just an average item.

The last seafood item was the one I was least excited about, but it turned out to be the best. The shrimp relleno was very flavorful, and something I had never had before. The chili part of this could have been better, but the shrimp and salsa, with the cheese was pretty good. This part of the plate saved the meal.

Carmelita's was not very good this trip. I feel that it is way over-priced, but that is not a surprise considering the area. My seafood three-item combination was over twenty dollars. The service was good but was almost too good. It seemed like every three minutes there were people asking if we needed anything, or if they could clear plates. I am not sure I would give Carmelita's another try. I imagine you can find something on the menu that is good, but you may go broke trying to do it.

Out of five patos, (because Carmelita's is located on the lake and there are many ducks around), five being best to zero being worst, Carmelita's gets 1.5 patos.

If you would like to get more information about Carmelita's, click here: https://www.carmelitaskitchen.com/

Paying Pei Wei a Visit - CLOSED

Pei Wei

23632 El Toro Road

Lake Forest, CA 92630

I have never been to Pei Wei. The little brother of P.F. Chang's, this fast/casual offspring has escaped my attention until now. As I had said in my original review of P.F. Chang's, I never really crave Chinese food. I like it well enough, but Chinese food is so hit and miss, that I do not usually bother with it. Katie, however, has been talking up their shrimp pad thai, so we decided to give it a try.

We walked in at about seven o'clock on a Sunday night. The place was packed. Sleek looking decor, and video screen menu boards, met us as we entered. We ordered at the counter and made our way to the new-fangled drink bar. I had heard that some Pei Wei's had new Coke machines that had over one hundred offerings, but this one did not. It did have a good amount of Coca Cola choices and some of the best ice tea from a fast/casual restaurant ever. Okay, so let's get to the food.

To start off our meal I ordered two Pork Egg Rolls. These are filled with pork, napa cabbage, carrots, scallions, and black mushrooms. These were also served with a spicy mustard sauce. I liked these a lot. They were good without being greasy, and the mustard sauce was good when I alternated between that and soy sauce.

For my meal, I took a chance on the Thai Dynamite with Chicken. This is a chili-based dish, with carrots, bell peppers, scallions, and soy sauce. It was fair. I expected it to be spicier, but it was a rather bland tasting. It did get better after I had added some Rooster sauce. I got the brown rice, which I like better than the white, but it is just okay.

Here is the reason Katie wanted to come here, the Shrimp Pad Thai. This dish combines pad thai with tofu, crushed peanuts, bean sprouts, egg, and cilantro. I actually liked this better than my choice, and I do not say that about many places that Katie and I go to. I liked the flavor of this a lot. The peanuts added a little crunch that made this dish have a good texture. Good solid choice.

I liked this place. It had a nice casual vibe that was less stuffy than P.F. Chang's. Their menu is a little more reasonable also. All of their items are under $10. The staff here were a little slow at cleaning up tables, but there were plenty of places to sit, so it was not a problem. I am still looking for a Chinese place to knock me off of my feet, so if you know of one, leave me a comment, or send me an e-mail.

Out of five panda bears, five being best to zero being worst, Pei Wei gets 2.5 panda bears.

If you would like more info on Pei Wei, click here: https://www.peiwei.com/

Jamming at Marmalade Cafe? - CLOSED

Marmalade Cafe

2677 Park Ave.

Tustin, CA 92782

Saturday date night, but where to go? We were going to see a movie at the District in Tustin, so we were sure to find a good place to eat. We decided to try somewhere neither of us had been before Marmalade Cafe. A few blogs I read regularly visited here, but only for breakfast, and all of those were positive, so we decided to give their dinner a shot.

Marmalade Cafe has a Mimi's Cafe vibe. It opened in 1990 in Santa Monica as a catering business but soon opened a cafe in the same location. Marmalade Cafe has ten locations, and the Irvine restaurant is the first outside LA County. Let's see if this is the perfect way to start our date night.

We chose to sit outside, and the lighting made it easy to take pictures. The bread was good—a sourdough roll with some herbs inside. These came out really warm. I mainly just wanted to show off this picture.

For an appetizer, we got the Warm Artichoke-Spinach Cheese Dip. Unlike its name, this came out really hot. We let it cool off for a few moments and then dug in. This is served with their homemade potato chips. Their chips were thick and stood up to the dip with no problem. They were almost like a pita chip. The dip itself was okay. They make it with three cheeses plus feta cheese, but the dip was average. I did like that they were open to using a lot of spinach and artichokes in this.

Here is Katie's choice for dinner, the Artichoke Chicken. This is chicken breast, artichoke, basil, and mushrooms with a Dijon mustard sauce, served over a bed of spaghetti. I liked the first few bites of this I ate, but then the mustard sauce they put over it took over. It became too much. The chicken was cooked fine, but I could not get over the sauce. This was also accompanied by a baby arugula-onion salad. The salad was fair, but not my thing. Katie liked her entree but did not rave about it.

What you see above is the 18oz Bone-In Rib eye with bleu cheese butter on top. This is served with your choice of two sides. I went with the Mashed Potatoes and Broccoli Parmesan. I could not be more disappointed in this dish. The sides needed more flavor. The potatoes needed to be seasoned with something, anything. The broccoli was okay, but the parmesan still needs to add something. The bleu cheese butter had no bleu cheese in it. It tasted like regular butter, I even tried some on a roll, and could not tell the difference between it and the regular butter. The rib eye was cooked the way I liked it, medium rare, but there was way too much fat on this one.

I know rib eye steaks have the most fat, but this was way too much. It was supposed to be 18 ounces, and probably twelve of it was fat and bone. The meat worked well with the sides because it was not seasoned at all, just like the rest of the plate. It was not a good scene.

The service at Marmalade Cafe was excellent. Our server was amiable, and the bus staff were on top of everything. We might have got the wrong things here, but the food was not good. Nothing on the dinner menu jumped out at me as something I must try next time. I would like to give their breakfast a shot, though.

Of five canning jars, five being best to zero being worst, Marmalade Cafe gets 2 canning jars.

For more information on Marmalade Cafe, click here: http://www.marmaladecafe.com/home/

Party Time at Buca di Beppo? - CLOSED

Buca di Beppo

13390 Jamboree Road

Irvine, CA 92602

It has been about ten years since I had last gone to a Buca di Beppo. I remember the large plates of food and all of the stuff on the walls, but I do not remember if I liked the food. This visit was for my buddy Richard's birthday.

Buca di Beppo started in 1993, in Minneapolis, and has now grown to 83 locations in 22 states. They serve everything family-style, so if you are a party of two, this might not be the place for you. We had a party of nine and wanted to try a lot of different things, so we got a lot of different items to try. Buca has two sizes of entree's for you to try, small and large-sized. We opted for the small-sized and sampled each other's plates. Let's see how the food turned out.

For a starter, someone got the Buca Trio Platter. This consisted of fried calamari, stuffed mushrooms, and fried mozzarella cheese. All of these items were just okay. I liked the calamari the best out of these three. The mushrooms did not have a lot of flavors and the cheese tasted like fried cheese you could get anywhere. For a place that prides itself on serving big orders, I thought this was an average-sized appetizer platter.

We also got an order of Garlic Bread. I liked the flavor of this bread and really liked that there were whole slices of garlic on this. The bread part of this could have been better, and more cheese would have made this better.

My pick for a dish was the Chicken Saltimbocca. Chicken breast layered with prosciutto and sage, topped with capers, lemon butter sauce, and artichoke hearts. This was probably the least liked dish out of the six we got. They needed to have more sauce on here, and some cheese would have been great on this. It was kind of a dry dish.

The Chicken Parmigiana did not get passed my way, so I am not sure how this was. I did get up to take a picture though. It looked like your typical chicken parm. No one really raved about this dish either.

We next got the Nine Layer Lasagna. I have included a picture from their website to show the difference between what we got, and how it looks on their menu. I am not bashing on their lasagna, but look how much more watery the sauce is in the one that we got, compared to the one in the picture. Also, note the absence of all the ricotta cheese. Our table liked the lasagna, but again they did not rave about it.

These last three dishes were the big winners for the night at our table. Starting with the above, Linguine Frutti Mare. This entree included baby clams, mussels, shrimp and calamari in a red clam sauce. The sauce tasted great and the seafood was cooked well. They were giving with the mussels, but they were a little stingy with the shrimp and calamari. I usually am not a big fan of linguine, but this dish tasted great to me, mainly because of the sauce and the mussels.

My friend Louie chose Penne Arrabbiata. This had a nice kick to it. The penne was cooked well, and the crushed red pepper flakes really had a kick. The sausage was a little dried out, but there was enough sauce on this to hide that. I would definitely get this again.

This last plate was my favorite of the night, the Spicy Chicken Rigatoni. This new dish at Buca was cooked with garlic and peppers, peas, and a spicy red sauce. The spice was not overpowering on this one, but it was noticeable. Again they were a little stingy with the chicken, but still, this was a solid dish. 

I have mixed feelings about Buca di Beppo. It was difficult for me to write this entry of my blog. I was not inspired by the food. The food was not horrible, but it was not great either. You have to hunt through their menu to find decent items.  In my opinion, it is better than Olive Garden but not as good as Maggiano's. I like the atmosphere here, the service was good, and it seemed like everyone was having a good time.

Out of five basements, (because Buca di Beppo translated from Italian means, Joe's basement), five being best to zero being worst, Buca di Beppo gets 2.5 basements.

For more information about Buca di Beppo, click here: https://www.bucadibeppo.com/