Birthday Bonanza at Bubba Gump's

Bubba Gump Shrimp Co.

321 West Katella Ave.

Anaheim, CA 92802

Another blog post, another birthday. This time it is Katie's sister Emily's turn to blow out the candles. Last year we went to the Loft at the Montage for her birthday, and this year we are headed to another of her favorite restaurants, Bubba Gump Shrimp Company.

I have never been to a Bubba Gump restaurant before. They started in Monterey, California in March of 1996. Now in their fourteenth year, they operate 33 restaurants, including such exotic locales as, Malaysia, Japan and the Philippines. Bubba Gump's are usually located in high traffic, tourist areas. Another claim to fame for Bubba Gump's is that they are the only major restaurant chain to be based upon a motion picture, (Forrest Gump, for the two people left on earth that have not seen it).

For Emily's birthday we had a party of twelve, (she is a very popular girl). We arrived at about six on a rainy Sunday night. We had reservations but, I had heard that the wait was running about fifteen to thirty minutes, at this Garden Walk location.  All of us seated, this is what we got to eat.

We ordered the three appetizers above. None of these really impressed any of us. The Onion Rings were pretty pedestrian, and over-priced at $7.99. That worked out to just under eighty cents per onion ring, not worth the price, even if they were gold plated. The Mama Gump's Garlic Bread Basket was next.  Rachel put it best when she said, "The garlic bread had too much butter, and very little garlic". Lastly, we had the so-called Best Ever Popcorn Shrimp. This was heavily breaded, which really took away the shrimp flavor. The sauce served with this helped a little, but not enough.

Above is the All-American Burger and Fries, or as Kevin called it, "the best burger I have ever had!". I did not get to try this burger, but it did look juicy, and the cheese was perfectly melted. If I ever go back I will have to try this to see if it would be my best burger ever.

Here is something that I did try, my choice for dinner, the Shrimp New Orleans. I liked the spicy after taste of this dish, the shrimp however, did not stand out to me. I also would have liked more bread to sop up the sauce that came with this. A pretty average meal. I am also not a big fan of shrimp served with the tails on. I am sure this makes them seem fresher, but it is just a quirk I do not like.

Jimmy went south of the border for his choice of dinner with the Baja Shrimp Tacos. These three shrimp tacos are served with Mayan salsa, avocado tomatillo sauce, and Mexican crema. These condiments could not save this meal from Jimmy's wrath. He called this dish, "un-spectacular, and nothing he could not have made better at home".

The shrimp parade continues with Katie's, "I'm Stuffed!" Shrimp. These shrimp were stuffed with crab stuffing, then baked in garlic butter, and topped with jack cheese. Katie felt that this dish was very rich, and really salty. I tried one of the shrimp, and it was okay, it did not wow me.

Sara's choice for dinner was the, "Of Course We Have Scampi!". Here the shrimp were sauteed with capers in a lemon garlic sauce, and served over linguini. Sara claimed that this dish was very sour, and the lemon really took over the plate. I would just say that this dish matches her personality, sour. I am just kidding Sara, you know you are my favorite!

What we have here is Rachel's pick, the Dumb Luck Coconut Shrimp. Rachel felt that this should have been called the bad luck coconut shrimp. She did not feel very lucky to have picked this. I tried this and felt that the breading that was used on this was dry, and plain tasting. The coconut was not very prominent, and the shrimp was buried under the odd breading.

Marcy, the health nut amongst us, ordered the Pear & Berry Salad. This salad consisted of greens, chicken, strawberries, pears,  glazed pecans, feta cheese, and was served with raspberry vinaigrette salad dressing. Marcy felt that the berries in this were very fresh, and of a high quality. She also mentioned that she liked the dressing.

Katie's Mom, Lynn went with the Shrimp & Veggie Skewers. These large shrimp were surrounded on the skewers by red bell peppers, red onions, squash and zucchini. They were served with jasmine rice and lemon garlic sauce. Lynn was not a fan of this dish. She stated that she was, "very disappointed with this". She felt that this was very bland and lacking in taste.

Our birthday girl went big with her choice for dinner, (actually she split this with her boyfriend). Emily got the Shrimper's Heaven. This had coconut shrimp, chilly shrimp, fried shrimp, tempura shrimp, and fries. Now Emily is not the worlds biggest eater, and she left most of this on her plate. I do not think it is because she didn't like this, but she was probably just excited about turning another year older.

So what were our general thoughts about Bubba Gump's? I thought that the place was trying to hard, the service and food were just about average, the prices were too high for what you got, and the whole atmosphere seemed hokey, even for the tourists.  I also found it odd that they chose to base a restaurant around Forrest Gump. Sure I liked the movie when it came out, but that was many years ago.

It has now become tradition that I include a picture of Emily on her birthday. So here she is showing off some of the bling that she received for her birthday. Happy birthday day Em, I can not wait to see where you pick to go for your birthday next year.

Out of five boxes of chocolates, (yes I took the easy way out here!), five being best to zero being worst, Bubba Gump Shrimp Company gets 1.5 boxes of chocolate.

For more information on Bubba Gump's, click here: http://www.bubbagump.com/

Birthday Palooza at Polly's

Polly's Pies

18132 Imperial Highway

Yorba Linda, CA 92886

It's my Mom's birthday, and where does she want to go? Polly's Pies of course. This should be where I say something about Polly's being for old people, but hey it is her birthday and I will not take the easy shot here. She also had a coupon for a free piece of pie for the entire party, if she came in on her birthday, so with our family that comes out to nine free pieces of pie! A big bargain.

Polly's has been around since 1968. They have fifteen locations. I have always had a special fondness for Polly's. Every Friday night in the early eighties my parents would play tennis with the Booth's, then we would roll on over to Polly's in Orange for dinner, and then cap it off watching J.R. Ewing  wreak havoc on "Dallas". Ahhh, the memories!

Okay now back to the present. After an hour on the freeway from south county I made it to the Yorba Linda location. This Thursday night there was no wait, and for a majority of the night we had our big room all to ourselves. The Polly's menu has not seemed to change for some time now. Let's see what we got off of it.

My beautiful nieces made me promise that I would include their food and pictures on the blog, so here you go girls. The kids meals here are only $3.99. Choices include; a Kid's Pollyburger, Grilled Cheese, Corn Dog, Chicken Fingers, or Macaroni and Cheese. Gracie and Kaylie got the chicken fingers and thought that they were really good. Lillie, trying to be different from her sisters, ordered a corn dog and fruit cup, then was upset because she didn't get fries. Parenthood seems like such a good time!

Here is a quick shot of my salad that came with my dinner. The salad also came with the two dinner rolls above. The rolls are very soft, and are a staple at all of our family holiday dinners. They also make great mini sandwiches with leftover turkey.

My Dad ordered the Grilled Sourdough Burger. He woofed this thing down real quick. I snuck a bite, and it was pretty good. The bread was toasted perfectly, and had a nice crunch to it. The meat was average, but I liked the grilled onions on this.

My Mom has been raving about the tuna at Polly's for as long as I can remember. So it is without much surprise to anyone at our table that she chose to get the Famous Tuna Salad Sandwich. The tuna here is made with chopped eggs, sweet onions, celery, relish, mayo, and Polly's special seasonings. Katie, who also got the tuna, felt that the tuna here is one of the best she has had in any restaurant. I did not get a quote from my Mom, but I am sure she would second that opinion. I did try the tuna, and I thought it was good, there was more to it than your basic tuna, but I am not too much of a tuna kind of guy, so I do not see myself ordering this in my future.

Jarrod, my brother in law, ordered a California Tuna Melt. This was a little twist on the tuna sandwich, with avocado, and cheese added. I did not try this sandwich, but I would have liked to have had the cheese melted, because it is not a melt, unless it is hot, and this was not.

Looking for something a little different, I got the Best Salisbury Steak in the West. Was this really the best? No it was not. I found the meat, and the whole plate, tasted like a giant salt lick. The creamed spinach and mashed potatoes that came with this also failed to impress. It is a safe bet to say I would not get this again.

We did have pie, but my nieces were getting antsy, so we got the free pieces to go. I had the Chocolate Silk, and it was very good. Light and fluffy, with decent whipped cream on it also. My favorite pie at Polly's is the Banberry Pie. Part strawberry pie, part banana pie, and then a very good custard on the bottom of the pie, makes this pie a winner. Sorry I did not get any pictures of the pies.

What to make of the meal at Polly's? You have to know what you are getting into before you get to Polly's. Stick with the staples. Sandwiches, hamburgers and pie are the sure bets here. The breads are all very good, and you can tell that they are freshly baked. Comfort food is the way to go here. Once again, happy birthday Mom!

Out of five grits, (because my favorite Polly is Polly Holliday, who coined the phrase, "Kiss my grits"), five being best to zero being worst, Polly's gets 2.5 grits.

For more information on Polly's Pies, click here: http://www.pollyspies.com/

Picture Perfect at Piccolino?

Piccolino

28731 Los Alisos Blvd. #B3

Mission Viejo, CA 92692

Piccolino seems a little out of place. It is tucked away in a shopping center most people do not even know exists. Right up Los Alisos, almost to the 241 toll road, right next to a Vons grocery store. This is the kind of restaurant that seems like it should be vying for customers dollars in the Newport  area, but has been jettisoned to the foothills of Mission Viejo.

In Italian, Piccolino means small, and this place is not large by any means, so the name fits. Opened in 2007, this restaurant has a very loyal following, and has gotten good reviews. We arrived at seven on a Saturday night, and the place was moderately crowded, with what seemed like middle aged to older families, coming here after leaving Saddleback church. We were seated quickly and after perusing the menu, this is what arrived at our table.

Here is a quick shot of the bread basket that was served to us. The bread was just okay, but the sauce above was interesting. Katie and I both tried to identify it, but were unable to do so. I think it was an avocado/pesto/yogurt blend, but I am still not too sure about it.

For an appetizer, we went with the Focaccia Farcita al Forno. This is just a fancy way of saying cheese bread. This cheese bread was stuffed with fontina and mozzarella cheese, and when I say stuffed, I mean stuffed, as you can see from the bottom picture. I thought this was okay, but was not in love with it. The fontina cheese seemed a little over-powering to me. When the red sauce was added, it did mellow out the cheese a bit. The bread part of this dish was good, but kind of got pushed to the side by the big cheese taste.

Katie's choice for dinner was the Fettucine Panna, Pollo & Piselli. This dish combined the pasta with chicken, peas, and parmesan sauce. We both felt that the chicken was tender, and the pasta was cooked perfectly. You could tell that they took great pride in their pasta's. The sauce was just average, and did not stand out.

I went with a pasta dish as well, the Fusilli Salsiccia & Funghi. This dish featured Italian sausage ragout, onion, mushrooms, tomato sauce, and pecorino. I liked all of these big flavors coming together. The sausage was cooked well, but the big spot light was shining on the pasta. The corkscrew shape held on to the sauce well, and the denseness of the noodle held my interest. A very good dish, but I would have wished for more sausage.

Piccolino is a good restaurant to try if you are in the area, and are looking for good Italian food. Is it destination dining? Probably not. I can not see people coming all the way from Newport Beach to eat here, but it is good enough that maybe some people who live in the Mission Viejo area may not have to drive to Newport, or another area to get their Italian fix. The service was very good the night we were here. The wait staff and bussers were right on top of everything. The atmosphere was business casual, and we felt that the prices were competitive.

Out of five top hats, (because in the 1935 movie Top Hat, Ginger Rogers sang and danced to a song called Piccolino), five being best to zero being worst, Piccolino gets 3 top hats.

For more information on Piccolino, click here: http://www.piccolinomv.com/index.html

Swinging By Side Street Cafe

Side Street Cafe

1799 Newport Blvd. Suite A105

Costa Mesa, CA 92627

It was the Saturday after Thanksgiving, and frankly we were tired of turkey sandwiches. Not being big shoppers, we needed to get out of the house and get our blood flowing. We decided to get up early, eat a good breakfast and walk the Back Bay Trail. So Katie left it up to me where to eat, and I chose Side Street Cafe.

Side Street is located right on Newport Boulavard. It has a homey/local feel to it. You can sense that a lot of the people who eat here are regulars. On busy weekends, I can imagine that you would have to wait for a table, since there are only fifteen tables inside this tiny cafe. This weekend most people were battling it out at the mall, so we got a table as soon as we walked in. Here is what we got.

I started with a Cinnamon Roll. We liked this big and dense roll. The frosting was very good and plentiful. We tore through this very quickly.

Katie had the Sampler. This consisted of one piece of French toast, one pancake, eggs, and potatoes. Katie felt that the French toast was cooked well, but she would opt for the stuffed French toast next time. The pancake was okay, it soaked up a lot of syrup. The eggs and potato were solid according to Katie, and she liked that the potaoes were cooked crispy.

What we have here is the S.O.S. I am not sure how it got it's name, maybe someone got lost in this massive helping of food. This big portion started with biscuit, covered with ground beef and onion, and then topped with gravy. This was also served with potaoes and eggs. I liked the size of this plate for the $9.50 price tag. I did have to add a bunch of Gringo sauce to make this taste like anything. Before I added the sauce, the plate had a mild, almost bland flavor. Not the best gravy I have ever had.

Side Sreet Cafe is fine for breakfast. If you are in the area, it is a nice choice. I liked the laid back feel of the place, but the food that we had did not really standout. Maybe we got the wrong items, but I would still be open to trying other things on their menu. Service was good, and the value for the money was good as well, because of the sizes of the plates.

Out of five parking meters, (because some side streets have meters, and I could not think of anything else), five being best, to zero being worst, Side Street Cafe gets 3 parking meters.

For information on Side Street Cafe, click here: http://sidestreetcafe.tripod.com/index.html

Celebrity Sighting at Burger Town U.S.A!

Burger Town U.S.A

24418 Muirlands

Lake Forest, CA 92630

Lake Forest does not have a shortage of hometown celebrities. Ginger Reyes, (bassist with the band Smashing Pumpkins), Christine Woods, (actress who was in the now canceled Flash Forward), and beach volleyball player, Elaine Youngs, have all called Lake Forest home sometime in their lives. But now we can add one more name to that list. The Asian lady that works at Burger Town U.S.A.

After reading the reviews of Burger Town, I was a little nervous about walking in there. Everyone kept mentioning the woman that works here, and giving tips on how to avoid her ire. The advice ranged from, "Do not look her in the eye", "Do not ask any questions about how the food is prepared", "Have exact change and do not stutter when ordering", and lastly, "whatever you do, don't ask for more than two sides of ranch dressings". Armed with this knowledge I was ready to take on Lake Forest's version of the Soup Nazi.

We walked in and the place was bigger than it looks from the outside. If you have ever been to the Mad Greek on your way to Vegas, it kind of has that vibe to it, but no Greek statues here. As we got to the counter, I spotted our adversary. I made the mistake of telling Katie about her legend, and she was totally nervous. I ordered first, and took two steps to the side. No problem.

Now it was Katie's turn to order. But she was taking to long to decide. I was getting nervous, I went over the rules with her, and she was breaking rule number four. Come on Katie you can do this, was all I was thinking. She finally ordered, money was exchanged, and we hurried to our seats to wait for our food, so far un-scathed. Here is what appeared at our table.

First off was Katie's burger. She ordered the Garden Burger with cheese. I am not one to try Garden Burgers, but she said it was average, and did not set itself apart from others she has had. I did try her fries though. They were fried perfectly. I do not know who the fry chef is here, but these had a great crunch to them, without being to over done, and not greasy at all. Not a bad french fry in the bunch!

I chose to get the Colossal Burger and Fried Zucchini. First the burger. This burger came with a very generous serving of pastrami on it. The patty was thin in girth, but was round enough to encompass the whole bun. This burger would have been made better by adding some cheese to it, but I did not want to press my luck when I was ordering. The zucchini was fair, not as good as the fries. I should have salted them a bit to make them better.

So we made it out of Burger Town alive. We must have hit the Asian woman on a good night. She probably just freaks out if it gets really busy, or if high school kids get out of line. She was not friendly to us, but we got our food and did not have any problems. I still would be afraid to look her in the eyes though.

Out of five Mayor McCheese's, (because if I had to vote for anyone to be the mayor of Burger Town, it would be him), five being best to zero being worst, Burger Town U.S.A receives 2.5 Mayor McCheese's.

Burger Town does not have a web site, but you can read the reviews of the restaurant and the Asian woman here: http://www.yelp.com/biz/burger-town-usa-lake-forest

Prime Cut Cafe a Cut Above the Rest?

Prime Cut Cafe

1547 W. Katella Ave.

Orange, CA 92867

Hockey season is back! Katie and I usually meet near the arena and get something to eat beforehand. For this game, we headed to Prime Cut Cafe. Prime Cut Cafe is ideally located within a short walking distance of the Honda Center, and the best part is there is no charge for parking.

This is Prime Cut Cafe's only location. According to their website, they "strive to achieve affordable luxury with modern American Flavor." They have a wine bar that offers over seventy-five wines by taste, flight, glass, or bottle. But on this night, we are here to sample the food. Let's see what we got.

While waiting for Katie to show up, I was seated and had about ten minutes to kill before she made it to the restaurant, so I ordered a cup of the Clam Chowder. The menu said that they make this soup in-house, along with a lot of the rest of the menu. I liked the creaminess of this soup, but it was devoid of clams, and the bacon overpowered the clam taste, which is not necessarily a bad thing, but just not what I expected from a clam chowder. I should have gotten the bowl of soup since it was just a dollar more, and I knew Katie would be late anyway.

Once Katie did arrive, she went the salad route and got the Cafe Club Salad with ranch dressing on the side. This is their version of a Cobb salad but with organic greens. This also featured bacon, tender chicken, tomatoes, avocado, chopped eggs, and blue cheese. I am not much of a salad guy, but even I picked at this after finishing my meal. Katie felt this salad was "fresh tasting, and the chicken was solid."

I went off of the beaten track with my pick for dinner. At Prime Cut Cafe, I should have gotten a steak or prime rib, but I settled on something else. I got the Chicken Burgundy. Thinly sliced chicken breast is perched on whipped potatoes and covered in a mushroom burgundy sauce. I was disappointed by the size of this portion, and the mashed potatoes were not as good as I had hoped. The sauce had a good flavor and complimented the almost forgettable chicken. Note to self: get the beef next time.

The desserts at Prime Cut are all made from scratch and baked or cooked at the time you order. We were already going to be late for the game, so we decided to try a dessert. But what should we get? They have cookies and milk, jelly doughnuts, and fruit cobblers, but we went with the Flourless Hot Chocolate Cake, served with vanilla bean ice cream. Katie thought the ice cream overshadowed the cake, and I felt that the cake was too soupy. It had more of a souffle vibe to it, but it did have a rich chocolate flavor.

Prime Cut Cafe was okay. Like I said earlier, I should have gotten a beef dish. The atmosphere here reminded me of Lazy Dog Cafe, just not as good. Nothing on the menu really got me too excited, especially the starters, where they had marinated olives, deviled eggs, and prosciutto and apples. It's different from my kind of appetizer. The service was good, and the prices did not seem too out of control.

Out of five mobsters (because the 1972 film Prime Cut, which starred Lee Marvin, was about mobsters), five being best to zero being worst, Prime Cut Cafe gets 2.5 mobsters.

For more information on Prime Cut Cafe, click here: http://primecutcafe.com/

Setting the Table at Taco Mesa

Taco Mesa

22922 Los Alisos Blvd.

Mission Viejo, CA 92691

Taco Mesa is a place that kind of gets lost in the shuffle for me. Maybe it is because it is hidden in a shopping center, who's big tenants are a Kragen Auto Parts, and a Baskin Robbins, two places I rarely hangout. It could also be because we have so many choices when it comes to Mexican food in Orange county. The latter is probably the real reason I never think about Taco Mesa, but we recently made two trips to the awkward strip mall, to see what they had cooking.

Taco Mesa has been in business for just short of twenty years now. Opened by the Calderon brothers, Taco Mesa has grown to four locations, (this one plus, Costa Mesa, Orange, and Ladera Ranch). They have even opened up two full service restaurants, Taco Rosa, (in Newport and Irvine).

Each time we have been to this location they have been busy, so people can definitely find them. The brightly colored tables and chairs keep the place lively, and the music over the speakers helps to fill in the silence. They have counter service here, so when they call out our name, this is what came out.

We started off with the Taquitos. We ordered the beef the first time we were here, and chicken the next. The beef were better than the chicken. I liked the presentation of the taqitos, but the taste was just average. They were not greasy at all, and they did give out a generous dollop of guacamole with these.

Katie got the same salad on both trips to Taco Mesa, so I guess you can say that she liked it. She got the King Nacho Salad with chicken added. This salad was comprised of crispy tortillas, topped with beans, cheese, lettuce, pico de gallo, sour cream, and avocado. Katie calls this a cross between a plate of nachos and a taco salad, and she was impressed by the freshness of the produce. I liked the chicken in this, but this seemed too healthy for me. 

It was Burrito Wednesday when we visited, and on Wednesday's you can get a burrito, soft drink, rice and beans for $5, a great deal! I went with the carnitas burrito. I again liked the presentation, and their sauce was really good. I would have liked more meat, and less beans in the burrito, but the meat that it had in there was very tender.

The carnitas were so good my first trip I decided to get the Carnitas Pibil the second time. These carnitas were topped with Yucatan pibil sauce. Pibil is a Mayan word meaning buried, and this dish was traditionally buried in the ground to cook it. I am sure they are not burying this in the ground now, but I definitely dug it, (okay way too bad of a joke, but I had to try). The carnitas were fork tender, and the sauce was good. Not really chunky like a salsa, but had a mild flavor to it. This was also served with flour tortillas, and the beans and rice.

Next up was another item I had never seen on a menu before, the Taco Alambre. This caught my eye because it is steak grilled with peppers, onions and BACON! The menu said this was topped with cheese, but they must have forgotten it. The flavors on this were big, but it would have been better if the steak was a little more tender. I would give this taco another shot though.

We will have to get Taco Mesa more into our repertoire. It is so close to our house, and the food does seem really fresh and reasonably priced. After reading the reviews, I will have to give the lobster burrito a try next time, and the Mesa Burrito is also high on my list of things to try.

Out of five Grand Mesa's, (the largest mesa in the world, located in Colorado), five being best to zero being worst, Taco Mesa receives three Grand Mesa's.

For more information on Taco Mesa, click here: http://www.tacomesa.net/