Exiting Our Comfort Zone at OC Poultry and Rotisserie - CLOSED

OC Poultry & Rotisserie Market

2117 E. Ball Rd.

Anaheim, CA 92806

As I have mentioned before, Katie and I have been going to hockey games this season. We have tickets to about fifteen games. That is fifteen chances to try a new restaurant. We have been to all the chain places around the Honda Center, and now it was time to venture out and try somewhere new.

I had remembered reading a blog post about local, non-chain places, located in the Anaheim Stadium area. The blog post was written by one of the great writers over at Stick a Fork In It, Dave Lieberman. You can read his post here.

Anyways, Dave listed about eleven places, and one of them was OC Poultry and Rotisserie Market. To be honest, this was a little out of our comfort zone, but 2011 is all about trying something new, so we headed over. This was going to be Katie and my first time having Vietnamese food.

As we walked in the store/restaurant we were greeted enthusiastically by the owner of the restaurant, Thu. All of the reviews on-line about this place mention the great service, and they are not lying. She is willing to talk at length about any of her food, and dole out samples of the tart yogurt she makes every day. After going through the menu, this is what we came up with.

The first of two of our appetizers was the Spring Rolls. These were filled with shrimp, rice, and I believe chicken. I am not much of a spring roll person and thought that these lacked flavor. I liked these a lot better when I added the brown sauce to them, and then I liked these even better when we were presented with a bottle of Siracha sauce. Katie liked the freshness of these.

The Egg Rolls were more my style, and these definitely did not disappoint. These were filled with pork, fried to perfection, and had a great taste. We initially ordered only three of these, but quickly ordered three more. The sweet sauce that came with these added even more excitement to the egg rolls. I could easily have polished off about 20 of these with no problem.

Katie really wanted to try the Vegetable Soup. I am no expert on this kind of soup, but it tasted good. The chicken was cooked nicely, the veggies were fresh, and the noodles were done perfectly. The broth tasted a little funky to me at first, but I grew accustomed to it by the end of the bowl. Katie liked the soup and made this better when she added Siracha sauce for a little kick.

The raves on-line are numerous about the Chicken Banh Mi, and they are warranted. The chicken is a great tasting. Thu mentioned that she was trying to copy the chicken of a place by her school in Vietnam. The pickled vegetables, cilantro, and chicken worked well together. The only complaint I would have about this sandwich would be the bread. I thought it was a little too crusty, but it would not stop me from getting this sandwich again. Katie fantasized about this sandwich the next day, and to think I only thought she fantasized about me. The real truth comes out.

A new addition to the menu at OC Poultry is the Lemon Grass Beef Banh Mi. I felt this was a good tasting sandwich, but was no match for the Chicken sandwich. The beef could have been a little more tender, but it was flavored well.

For the next day, I got a Steamed Bun filled with pork. To be honest I was not too big of a fan of this. The pork was my favorite part of this, and I felt the rest of the steamed bun was too dry. This could be because I warmed this in the microwave, so I will have to try this again at the restaurant on a future trip.

OC Poultry and Rotisserie is a great hidden gem, and I was happy this was our first introduction to Vietnamese food. Thu answered all of our questions and made us feel comfortable. The restaurant is very small. There is seating for about ten people here, so if you are here during a peak time, (lunch), it could be tricky getting a seat. The value for the money here is the best we have seen in a long time. All of the food above really meant for four people instead of two costs $25. The chicken banh mi was an incredible $2.89, one of the best values in all the county. Thanks for the tip Dave, we look forward to trying other places on your list.

Out of five Áo Dài's, (the national dress of Vietnam), five being best to zero being worst, OC Poultry and Rotisserie gets 3.5 Áo Dài's.

OC Poultry and Rotisserie does not have a web site, but you can find information and reviews about them here: http://www.yelp.com/biz/oc-poultry-and-rotisserie-market-anaheim.

Sweet Life at C'est La Vie?

C'est La Vie

373 South Pacific Coast Highway

Laguna Beach, CA 92651

My parents got me an Entertainment book for Christmas. So now that the holidays have wound down, it is time to put it to good use. Only problem was that it was a Friday night at seven, and a lot of places do not take the Entertainment card on Friday nights. Our choices were very limited. We could drive all the way up to Anaheim, but it would be almost 8:30 by the time we ate dinner, or maybe try the Jolly Roger again, (not going to happen), or we could just forget the book and go where the wind would take us. I was ready to take the last option, when I saw that C'est La Vie accepts the card everyday. So that is where we ended up.

C'est La Vie is located right on PCH, in downtown Laguna. They are on the ocean side, so when the weather is warmer, the spot to be is on their patio for a stunning view. This night though is in the 50's, so we take a seat in the dining room. The restaurant is almost deserted except for us and two other couples. C'est La Vie's menu is Californian French, and this is what we got off of it.

Okay we did not actually get this off the menu, it was given to us. I really just wanted to show you the bread basket. It was nothing spectacular. We were also given a taste of their Bisque de Homard. This lobster bisque was very creamy, and went down real smooth. I remember they gave us this taster the last time we were here. Very rich, but this could have been heated up more.

For a starter we ordered the Jumbo Mushrooms. These were stuffed with lump crab and a garlic herb sauce. These had plenty of crab on them, but the sauce over powered the crab, and pushed it out of the way. If I was blind folded and asked what I was eating, I would not have guessed crab. The mushroom was nicely cooked though.

Katie had the elegant sounding Crevettes a la Crime de Homard for dinner. Translated this means, shrimp scampi with a lobster brandy glace. This was served over linguine, with roasted potatoes on the side. Katie liked the taste of the glace, and also felt that the potatoes were great, but she had an issue with the temperature of the plate. It came out lukewarm.  

I was having issues with the lighting here all night. We had a light right above us that was dimming in and out while we were here, so this is the best shot I got of my meal. I went with the Filet Mignon de Boeuf au Roquefort. The sauce served with this was a Cabernet sauvignon reduction. The steak also came with mashed potatoes and green beans. I ordered this steak medium rare and that is the way it came out. The Roquefort was very strong, and took me by surprise how it over powered the steak. I like blue cheeses, but this was really pungent. I would have liked more of the Cabernet sauce to balance this dish out. The mashed potatoes were okay, they kind of had a lack of heat issue as well. The greens beans were just average.

C'est La Vie is a full on bakery also. According to the waiter this is their best selling dessert. He said there was no name for it, they just call it the Filo Dough filled with Chocolate Mousse.  This was a very rich dessert. The mousse could have been lighter, and the filo dough was hard to break into. In case you did not have enough chocolate on this, they also added a dollop of chocolate ice cream on the side. I liked the presentation, but I might try something else in the future.

Our trip to C'est La Vie was just average this time. The kitchen on this night had issues getting the food out nice and hot. Nothing that we had would make us yearn to go back here. The service was okay, and the value was a little over-priced, $29 for my steak and Katie's scampi was $27. We did get $16 dollars off with the Entertainment card, so it paid for the tip though. They did not punch the card, so we can use it again, but we will only do that if it is a Friday night and we can't use the card anywhere else.

Out of five dominoes, (because that was the name of the second hit from Robbie Nevil's 1986 album. His first hit was... of course C'est La Vie), five being best to zero being worst, C'est La Vie gets 2 dominoes.

For more information on C'est La Vie, click here: http://www.cestlavierestaurant.com/

Deeming Deemer's Worthy?

Deemer's American Grill

27221 La Paz Road, Suite E

Laguna Niguel, CA 92677

New year, and a new burger joint. So I guess that new years resolution will have to wait until 2012. Okay, you know me better than to make a resolution about not eating. That is not going to happen! I do hope that you had a great new years, and I look forward to a great year ahead of eating and sharing some great places with you.

To start off the year we headed to Deemer's, a new hamburger place that just opened up close to my work. Deemer's, according to their web site, says that their purpose is simple, they want to, "grill handcrafted burgers into perfection".  Let's see if they make good on that promise.

Deemer's kind of has a "Counter",  feel to it. Minimal decor is the order of the day at Deemer's. You order at the counter, get your number, and the food is brought out by the eager to please, young staff. I actually made two trips to Deemer's, one on a Sunday afternoon, and the next was a weekday for lunch. Sunday was a real busy day, almost every seat was taken. The weekday was not too packed, but they had a steady stream of customers coming through the door. Now on to the food.

Katie's burger will start things off for us. She opted for the Napa Burger. This burger featured goat cheese, roma tomatoes, red onion, baby spinach, and basil pesto aioli. This unusual burger got high praise from Katie. Starting with the bun, that she found to be, "sturdy". She also thought that the burger was juicy, and the fact that they did not pile on the toppings, really brought out the flavor of the meat.

My first burger at Deemer's was the Hickory Burger. The hickory burger is comprised of cheddar cheese, bacon, onion rings, tomato, lettuce, and BBQ sauce. This burger tasted fresh, but could have used a little more BBQ sauce. The burger lacked the wow factor that I was looking for. It was a decent burger, but nothing that had me craving more.

The French Fries and Onions Rings here really needed to be salted more. Unfortunately, there were no salt shakers on any table, so there was no chance for me to try them with salt. The crispness of the fried foods is spot on, but they are lacking in flavor. The french fries are fresh, but they seem to be missing something. The last picture shows the absolute absence of grease anywhere on the paper that the once held the fries. I found this to be a little odd. The same was true of the onion rings, no grease. I guess that means they are good for you.

My second burger was the B & B Burger. Blue Cheese, bacon, tomato, lettuce, and herb aioli all combined to make this burger. This was better than my first burger. The flavors were more pronounced, but the burger patty was cut in half, along with our other burger we got, I assume to check for doneness. Not a big deal, but I thought that was a little weird. I would get this burger again, but I would ask for more aioli on it, they put so little on it that it was un-noticeable, and I think it would add to this burger.

Richard was very excited to see his burger on the menu, the Caliente Burger. A rare burger that is made with queso fresco cheese, jalapenos, tomato, lettuce, and Deemer's fire sauce. Richard felt that the meat alone was under-seasoned, but he liked the toppings on this burger, and would get this one again.

Deemer's has a few kinks to work out, which is to be expected. First, and foremost on their list of tweaks, should be the introduction of a value meal. A burger, fries and a drink should not cost over $12. They also need to work on their seasonings, and the way they apply their condiments. I am not saying to go the Carl's route, where you slather sauces all over the place, but a little more would push this burger  into a higher class of burger. I liked the uniqueness of the burger choices here, and I look forward to trying a few more in the future.

Out of five verdicts, (because a deemer is an occupation that is tasked with pronouncing the verdict in a court of law), five being best to zero being worst, Deemer's gets 2.5 verdicts.

Okay, I went to Deemer's one more time this week, but forgot to bring my camera. They now have salt shakers on the tables, and that did add to the fries and onion rings. The burger still needed some seasoning, but it still tasted pretty good. I again had the B & B burger, and the extra aioli really made this burger better. I also got to try their BLT, and it tasted great. The sandwich came on parmesan crusted texas toast, which really enhanced the sandwich. I will stick with my rating, but they are moving in the right direction.

For more information on Deemer's, click here: http://www.deemersgrill.com/

Tony's Bella Vista a Beautiful Sight? - CLOSED

Tony's Bella Vista

3116 West Magnolia

Burbank, CA 91505

It is Katie's grandfather's birthday, so we headed up to Burbank to take him out for dinner. Since I have been dating Katie, trips up to LA have been more and more common than in my past, and that means many more restaurants to try. Tonight it is Tony's Bella Vista in Burbank that I get to experience for the first time.

Tony's Bella Vista holds a special place in the hearts of Katie's family. It is a place where her parents went on dates, many, many, many years ago. They have held wedding dinners, baby showers, and even wakes at Tony's. Now it is grandpa's turn to be the guest of honor at Tony's Bella Vista.

Tony's has been around since 1965, and it shows in the atmosphere. The restaurant area is dark, and not very decorative. Big red leather booths and paintings on the walls dominate the place and add to the old-school feel of the restaurant. Brothers, Angelo and Giovanni bought the place from the original owners back in 1987, and still use their original recipes to this day. Those recipes have won Tony's Bella Vista countless awards for the best pizza in Burbank. Let's see if the awards are deserved.

We were all really hungry so we started off with an order of Garlic Bread. This garlic bread looks better in the picture than it tasted. The crust was too hard, and the insides were not soft. The price was right for this, $2.95, and it did have a mild garlic taste.

The other appetizer we tried was the Fried Calamari. I thought that this was decent calamari. Cooked well, and seasoned fine. It did not really stand out as one of the best calamari I have ever had, but I found myself eating a lot of this. Again, maybe I was just hungry.

We each ordered an entree, and this is the soup and salad that came with the meals. Nothing out of the ordinary here. The soup was Kevin's, and he was not enamored with it. I am not sure what kind of soup it was, but from the picture, it looks like it could be some kind of vegetable soup.

When I see Carbonara on a menu, I generally always gravitate towards it. I did the same here. This is the Spaghetti Carbonara. This was a very different carbonara from what I was used to. The sauce was more like an Alfredo sauce, very heavy. The sauce was also kind of bland. I really needed to doctor this dish up with lots of Parmesan cheese and red pepper flakes. The meat that was incorporated into this dish, usually bacon, guanciale, or pancetta, ( I could not tell what they used here), was not very salty, and thus added nothing to this dish. Not very happy with this.

Katie, on the other hand, could not be more pleased with her choice for the night, the Tortellini 3P. Why do they call it that you ask? Because it comes with Peas, Prosciutto, and Parmigiano. This was also a very rich dish. Katie felt that the plate was made up of very fresh ingredients.

The big draw at Tony's is of course the pizza. Here is a slice of pepperoni and sausage, with a thin crust. This was one of the thinnest crusts I have ever seen. Very close to the width of a tortilla. I am usually not too big on the crust, but even I wanted more crust than this. The toppings were okay here, and the sausage really did not stand out. The cheese had a good flavor though. Katie complained that this had too much grease on top of it.

Katie's wise aunts and uncles got the much better pizza at the table. They went with the Ham, Artichoke, Sliced Tomatoes, and Basil Pizza. The toppings on this were not my cup of tea, but the crust was the thicker regular crust. A much better crust, than the thin one. The toppings on this were good, but a little too mellow for me. These toppings almost tasted like they were good for you, and when I eat pizza, I want to know that I am eating something bad.

Tony's Bella Vista is a family-style restaurant. Do not go here for a romantic night out on the town. You are not going to have the best Italian food of your life here. You need to take it for what it is. It is a family-run restaurant that makes everyone feel comfortable. The quantity of food that you get for the price is very reasonable. The service was pretty good for our party of 15. I did think it was a little odd that they serve their sodas out of the can, but that just shows how old-school this place is.

Out of five cantaloupes, (because the first official seal of  Burbank had a cantaloupe on it), five being best to zero being worst, Tony's Bella Vista gets 2.5 cantaloupes.

Tony's does not have a website, but you can find information about them here: http://www.yelp.com/biz/tonys-bella-vista-restaurant-and-pizzeria-burbank

Football Frenzy #6 - Players Sports Bar - CLOSED

Players Sports Grill

24401 Ridge Route Dr. #105-B

Laguna Hills, CA 92653

All this football season we have been trying to find the ultimate place to watch football. It is now January and we still have not found that place. We have come close, but I am sure that we can do better. So before we get to the playoffs, and my team is officially eliminated, I wanted to try out Players Sports Grill in Laguna Hills.

Players has been around since 1995. Located dangerously close to Laguna Woods, this place is a little off the beaten track, tucked in the corner of a shopping center anchored by a 7-Eleven. I got the feeling that most of the people here to watch Thursday night football were regulars. The bar has a kind of loungy feel to it, with big comfortable chairs. Televisions are everywhere, they have over forty here, including some on the smoker's patio. The atmosphere gets the thumbs up from us, but how about the food?

To start off our culinary adventures at Players both Katie and Richard got salads with their meals. Nothing too out of the ordinary and the salads seemed like they were made with fresh ingredients.

Richard went with an unusual pick for a sports bar, the Chicken Fettuccini. He was not too pleased with this dish. He felt this was bland tasting and the sauce was straight from the jar. I did not get a chance to try this though.

Katie called this Players Club Sandwich, "the best turkey sandwich I have ever had!". That might be an overstatement, but every time we go to Players this is her go-to menu item. Katie liked the smokiness of the turkey meat and the way it is sliced thin. She did not want the bacon that came with this, so she asked for it on the side so I could have it. What a great girlfriend to sacrifice her bacon for me!

Sorry for the blurriness of the picture above. I ordered one of Player's specialties, the Patty Melt. This sandwich is served on sourdough cheese toast and comes with lots of onions, cheddar cheese, and thousand island dressing. A pretty solid patty melt. The sandwich is pretty greasy, but I always think that adds flavor. The fries were a little overdone for my taste but still good.

The service at Players was pretty good. All of our drinks were refilled, and all of our requests were met. The crowd was okay, most were not too into the game, but I am sure that is just because there was only one game on this Thursday night. We will have to come back here next year, when there is a full set of football games going, and when my team is not eliminated.

So out of five contracts, (because players get contracts, and sometimes that is all they care about), five being best to zero being worst, Players Sports Grill gets 2.5 solid contracts.

For more information on Players, click here: http://www.psgrill.com/index.html