Pizza Night in RSM - CLOSED

Pizza e Vino

31441 Santa Margarita Parkway

Rancho Santa Margarita, CA 92688

Katie's sister and brother in law, (Sara and Kevin), were nice enough to take me and Katie out for an early birthday dinner. After very little deliberation, we decided on heading over to Pizza e Vino. This tiny eatery right near the lake in Rancho Santa Margarita has gotten a lot of buzz for their pizzas. In fact, by some, they have been crowned the best pizza in the OC. So needless to say, I was excited to try it out.

Pizza e Vino is a pretty small place. They have maybe twelve tables inside, and about ten outside on the heated patio. We arrived at 7 on a Thursday night and were sat immediately. The restaurant was pretty busy. The atmosphere here is subdued and dark. The menu is what you would expect, very pizza oriented. They feature a few appetizers, a few salads, one pasta dish a night, and about twenty or so pizzas.

The pizzas at Pizza e Vino are crafted like those in Naples, Italy. Their red sauce is created by using tomatoes from Mount Vesuvius, the flour for the dough is imported from southern Italy, and the pizzas are baked in a wood-fired oven at 850 degrees.  Let's find out if all of this extra work makes for a better pizza.

But first, before we get to the pizzas, both Katie and I wanted to try their salads. I had the Caesar salad above. I liked this salty salad. It came out nice and chilled, but more croutons on this would have made it better. Katie had the House Salad. This mixed green salad came with carrots, tomatoes, cannellini beans, and balsamic vinaigrette. Katie really liked the beans in this salad, because they made for a nice texture.

I know I promised you pizza, but as usual, Sara did not want to cooperate when she ordered the Pasta Special of the day. This night it just happened to be angel hair pasta served with tomatoes, olive oil, garlic, and Parmesan cheese. Sara said, "this was delicious". I had a bite of it and I would have called it plain tasting but made with fresh ingredients. This is something I would see on a menu and would never order. I need a little more complexity to my pasta dishes.

Finally, we come to the pizzas. Up first was Katie's choice, the Pesto Pizza. The toppings on this, "no red sauce"  pizza included chicken breast, goat cheese, oven-dried tomatoes, mozzarella, and of course pesto sauce. Katie found the chicken to be tender, the crust to be really nice and chewy, and flavor here to be abundant and mellow. I had a small piece of her pizza and felt that she was right on about all of her claims. Not to ruin anything, but I would say this was the best pizza of the night.

Kevin, the real traditionalist amongst us ordered the Pepperoni Pizza. This also came with mozzarella and pepper flakes. Kevin felt that the pepperoni was saltier than normal, but he liked that the crust was thinner than other pizzas, so it was not too heavy. One thing he noticed, that I did as well, was that the pizza was soggy in the middle. Not sure why this was, maybe it was the way it was cooked, but it was noticeable on my pizza, as well as his.

I had a hard time choosing my pizza, and after some deliberation, I went with the Salsiccia pizza. This came with mozzarella, fennel sausage, oregano, and chili flakes. This was basically like the pizza I had at Pizzeria Ortica. The sausage was good, but they were not very generous with it. The rest of the pizza was a little plain tasting. The menu said there were chili flakes on this pizza, but I did not sense any.

For dessert, the four of us split a Chocolate Cannoli. I had never had a chocolate cannoli before, and I actually liked this a lot. I think I liked this because of the filing. It was not so cheesy, like some cannoli's can be. This might have been due to it being a chocolate cannoli. I definitely could have eaten a few more of these.

So is Pizza e Vino the best pizza in the OC? Simply, no it is not. I would classify their pizza as fancy pizza. So far my favorite fancy pizza is still Pizzeria Ortica. The crust here was not as flavorful, and the toppings did not pop with flavor. The sogginess in the middle of the crust also concerned me. The service when we were here was average. I was still happy to try this place though, and it was a great birthday dinner. Thanks, Kevin and Sara. You guys are the best.

Out of five ink pens, (because the city of Rancho Santa Margarita is the longest city name in California, and you would go through lots of ink pens to write out your address if you lived there), five being best to zero being worst, Pizza e Vino gets 2.5 ink pens.

For more information on Pizza e Vino, click here: http://www.pizzaevino.net/

Jimmy's Pizza Party at Pizza Port!

Pizza Port

301 N. El Camino Real

San Clemente, CA 92672

This time of year we always have lots of birthdays going on. This time it was Jimmy's turn to blow out the candles. Where did Jimmy choose to have his birthday dinner? Pizza Port in San Clemente. I had never been here before, so we grabbed my camera and headed south down the freeway.

First a little history. Pizza Port was started by a brother and sister in 1987. They bought a struggling pizza joint in the quiet beach town of Solana Beach, which is just north of San Diego. They re-worked the menu, adding their own special touches, and five years after they opened, they started brewing their own beer. Now almost twenty years later they have four restaurants, and have won some major awards for their beer brewing. Let's see if they should win anything for their pizza.

We arrived at six on a Sunday night. The layout of Pizza Port is a little odd. You park on the roof, then walk down three flights of stairs to order. The vibe here is beach casual. It seemed like the Sunday we were here there were lots of people that had hung out at the beach all day, then they decided to come have some beverages and pizza here.  Let's check out the food.

Starting us off we had their Beer Buddies. This is their pizza dough, brushed with garlic, and served with Ranch dressing and marinara. An interesting take on garlic bread. I actually really liked this basic appetizer. This would have been made even better with a little cheese on it, but it was still worth getting.

The salads at Pizza Port were average. We ended up with two of their Party Sized Salads. The one above is the Garden salad, and the other one that I did not get a shot of was the Caesar salad. The Caesar came with dressing on it, but it was so light on dressing, that it was barely noticeable.

Alright, here is a shot of the pizzas from Pizza Port. I just want to make it known that I did not get a say in the topping choices for these pizzas. Pretty standard choices here, but to be honest I was pretty impressed with their pizza. The simplicity of the toppings really showed that their dough and cheese was good quality stuff. Of course next time I go, I will have to try their Meat Extreme Pizza, or their BBQ Cheeseburger Pizza, but this was a good introduction to their pies.

Pizza Port piqued my interest with this visit. The atmosphere was pretty chill, the pizzas that we had were pretty solid, and I definitely will try their award winning beer the next time I am here. The birthday boy, Jimmy seemed pretty pleased with his selection of restaurants as well. I was just glad to be able to help share in his big day.

Out of five Wolf Men, (because former San Clemente resident Lon Chaney Jr. was famous for portraying the canine character in movies), five being best to zero being worst, Pizza Port gets 3 Wolf Men.

For more information about Pizza Port, click here: http://www.pizzaport.com/

Birthday Trip to the Tilted Kilt - CLOSED

Tilted Kilt

6575 East Pacific Coast Highway

Long Beach, CA 90803

It was my buddy Riley's birthday. He was turning 24, and I was trying to think of a place to take him for his big day. After reading OC Weekly's review of the Tilted Kilt, it seemed like this place was almost made for him. So we headed just across the county line to Long Beach to give it a try.

The Tilted Kilt launched in 2003 and today they have 30 restaurants in 20 states. They expect to have 80 units opened by the end of this year. The reason for the rapid expansion? It probably has to do with a term that I learned while writing this post, breastaurants. The Tilted Kilt has their waitresses dress in short, plaid skirts and matching bras, with knee-high socks and white shirts tied to show their midriffs. Easily one of the best waitress uniforms to come along in a long while. Of course, a restaurant is not judged by a waitress's attire alone, so let's check out the food.

It took us an hour in rush hour traffic to get to Long Beach, so we were pretty hungry when we got to the Kilt. So we started with two appetizers, the Mozzarella Sticks and Potato Skins. The fried cheese was good and crispy, without being real greasy. The potato skins were crisp as well, but they did lack an abundance of cheese. Both of these appetizers came out real quick. Like less than three minutes after we ordered them. I was worried that they had been sitting around, but they did come out hot.

The birthday boy Riley ordered Maggie Mae's Fish and Chips. These two pieces of cod came with tarter sauce and Cole slaw. Riley, always the clever one remarked, "these fish and chips are a 10, to match the waitresses." I think that he is hoping that one of the waitresses will read this and want to get in touch with him. Anyways, I did try these and they were pretty good. Again, they were not greasy, and the fish did seem pretty fresh.

Yes, of course, Katie came with us here, and she went with the Chicken Tender Wrap. With this, she got to choose her sauce, and she went with TK's signature sauce, which was spicy and sweet. She liked the chicken in this because it was not heavily breaded and it was tender. The only fault she found with this wrap was that the tortilla did not stand up to the contents inside. It fell apart halfway through her eating this. She also upgraded to sweet potato fries for an extra charge. She felt these were just average, and would try a different side next time.

This being a bar and everything, I of course had to get a burger, so I had the BBQ Bacon Cheeseburger with the BBQ sauce on the side. This burger was cooked fine, and very tasty. The bun was fresh, the meat was juicy and the bacon cooked crisp. The fries were okay as well. I liked this but would like to try other items on their menu next time. The meatloaf sandwich and Sheppard's pie piqued my interest the most.

Since it was Riley's big day we got a free dessert, which was the Tilted Guilt. A chocolate chip cookie topped with ice cream and chocolate syrup. This was served warm and is the Tilted Kilt's answer to the Pizookie from BJ's. The only complaint I have with this was that there was not enough ice cream on this. More would have made this much better.

Comparisons to Hooters are of course going to be made in the battle for the best breastaurant. In my opinion, there is no contest. Starting with the atmosphere, the waitresses, and trickling down to the food, the Tilted Kilt beats them in all facets. The waitresses were friendly without being over-the-top flirty or trashy. The menu here is more substantial and has higher quality foods than at Hooters. At Hooters the girls are the main focus, while at TK, the girls are great to look at, but they also have better food and a better atmosphere behind them. This makes the Tilted Kilt more of a full package.

Out of five golf balls, (because this place has a Scottish theme, and Scotland is the home of golf), five being best to zero being worst, the Tilted Kilt gets three golf balls.

For more information on the Tilted Kilt, click here: http://www.tiltedkilt.com/

Encountering the Counter - CLOSED

The Counter

6416 Irvine Blvd.

Irvine, CA 92620

The Counter is one of those places that you always hear about. I have been here once before, but this was before I started my blog. I had meant to come back sooner and blog about it, but the opportunity had never come up until now. We have really been on a burger kick lately. We have been to Slater's 50/50, Five Guys, Bravo Burger, and Fuddrucker's within the last month, so it was the perfect time to compare The Counter to the other burgers.

The Counter has been around since 2003. Since then, they have expanded to nine other states and even opened restaurants in Ireland. Their next wave of expansion is taking them to the Middle East, where they plan on having three units in operation by the end of the year. There has to be a reason for this expansion. Let's see if it is the food.

We arrived at The Counter at six on a Wednesday night. I was expecting a wait, but we were seated right away. The decor here strikes me as very sterile but with a hip vibe. You are seated with a clipboard to help you build your perfect burger. You get to choose the type of burger, size, toppings, cheese, and sauces that you want on your burger. They have just about anything you could imagine for a burger. They did the math, and with all their ingredients, you could have a different burger every day for the next 312,000 days. That is the equivalent of 854 years. Of course, eating all those hamburgers would probably decrease your odds of living to 854 years old, but what a way to go!

To start our meal out, we got a few side items. We selected French Fries, Crispy Onion Strings, and Sweet Potato Fries. Honestly, none of us were in love with any of these sides. The fries were average, the onion strings were bland, and I am not a fan of sweet potato fries anywhere. However, my dining companions felt that the sweet potato fries were the best, so I will defer to their opinion about these.

Now, the reason we are all here is the burgers. Up first is Ryan's creation. He wanted blue cheese, bacon, red onion, spicy pepperoncini, roasted corn, black bean salsa, and chipotle aioli, all on a wheat bun. Ryan quickly gobbled up this interesting burger. He felt the burger was full of flavor and enjoyed the bun.

Richard was very amped to try the Counter, and after some deliberation, he chose this as his burger. He went with herb goat cheese spread, red onion, lettuce, tomato, bacon, and roasted garlic aioli. Richard had no problem putting this burger away. He really enjoyed this burger but felt this burger was good because of the high quality of the toppings.

I went for a more traditional approach to my hamburger. My two-thirds-pound burger was topped with grilled onions, bacon, cheddar cheese, red onion, and mayonnaise. This was a very juicy burger, to say the least. I ordered this medium, and that is the way it came out. The toppings on this were definitely high quality. The meat was good but could have been seasoned a little more.

Katie's burger of the night was a multi-grain bun with guacamole, fried egg, grilled onions, roasted red peppers, roasted green chili, queso fresco, and chipotle mayo. She really enjoyed this self-named "Mexican omelet burger." The guacamole really stood out for Katie. She also felt that the toppings at the Counter were fresh and helped make this a superior burger.

Every month at The Counter, they have a shake of the month, and while we were here, it was the Churro Shake, and Richard could not resist it. Little pieces of churro were sprinkled into this vanilla-based shake. Richard felt this shake had a subtle flavor but was really good and creamy.

To finish our meal, we also got a Caramel and Chocolate Brownie Sundae. The brownie was very chewy, which I like. I would get this again, but ask for more ice cream. There was not nearly enough ice cream for the size of the brownie that they gave us.

So you ask, how does The Counter rate among the titans of the hamburger world? I liked The Counter. I feel that what makes them good is their high-quality toppings. Do I like them more than Slaters? No. The burgers at Slater's are a little more inventive. Unfortunately, the meat at The Counter can not stand on its own like Slater's (maybe because the meat at Slater's is half bacon, which can never be a bad thing). I am not dogging on The Counter, though. I would definitely return. I did have an excellent experience here, and there is always room in my hamburger repertoire for more than one burger place.

Out of five Formica countertops (for obvious reasons), five being best to zero being worst, The Counter gets 3 Formica countertops.

For more information on The Counter, click here: http://www.thecounterburger.com/

Taking a Walkabout to Outback

Outback Steakhouse

25322 Cabot Road

Laguna Hills, CA 92653

Okay, I know what you are thinking. Is this really going to be a review of Outback Steakhouse? As a matter of fact it is. I told myself when I started this blog that I would review restaurants to find some of the best eats that our county has to offer. Whether that is a hole in the wall, a restaurant that is critically acclaimed, or a chain that appeals to the masses. So when my parents and their friends wanted to go out to dinner at Outback, I chose this opportunity to see what they have to offer.

One thing you can say about Outback is that they are very popular. They operate over 1,200 locations in 22 different countries. Eight of these are in the OC alone. Started in Tampa, Florida in 1988, they have averaged opening 52 new restaurants a year, or one per week. That is some crazy expansion for a sit down restaurant. We got here at 6 on a Saturday night, and had to wait a half hour. Let's see if all the waiting was worth it. 

Of course you know that we had to start with a Bloomin" Onion. In case you have been living under a rock, this is a one pound onion cut opened, breaded and deep fried, and then served with a tangy bloom sauce. To put it simply, this was addicting. Just like chips and salsa at a Mexican restaurant, you can not stop picking at this until your food comes. 

Here is a quick shot of the Bread and House salad served here. The bread is kind of like the dark bread served at Cheesecake Factory, but a little less soft. The dinner salad was your average side salad, nothing too out of the ordinary.

Of course this is a steak place, so Katie and Mary both ordered the No Rules Parmesan Pasta with Grilled Shrimp added. Fettuccine tossed with a creamy Parmesan sauce was the description of this meal. I did not try this pasta, but they both seemed to like this. Katie called this pasta fresh tasting, but would have liked more shrimp on this. 

I could count on my Dad to get a steak at a steak restaurant, right? Wrong. Here is my Dad's choice for the evening, the Shrimp En Fuego Fettuccine. This dish consisted of shrimp, combined with noodles, tomatoes, mushrooms, and a spicy cream sauce. I was not offered any of this dish either, (Man, do they not know the rules of eating with a food blogger?), my Dad felt there was ample shrimp in this, and he thought the standout part of this plate was the sauce. 

Dale was not so happy that I was taking pictures of his food, so I had to snap this shot from across the table. Otherwise my camera would have wound up on the 5 freeway. Dale always orders the Norwegian Salmon when he comes to Outback. Geez, am I the only one that orders red meat anymore? Anyways, from way across the table it looked like this was blackened and served with garlic mashed potatoes. Of course I was shut out of having a bite of this, so I will have to assume that it was okay. 

Hey guess what, I actually got a steak! Here is the 14 ounce Rib Eye. When this was presented to me I thought it looked a little odd. There were no grill marks on the meat. I guess they cook on a flat top grill. The meat tasted good, and this rib eye was a lot less fatty than a lot of rib eyes I have had recently. The garlic mashed potatoes and vegetables were just average. I was definitely full after eating this steak. 

I am not going to try to convince you that Outback is one of the great steak places around. I think it serves its purpose though. When you do not want to get all dressed up and spend $80 on two dinners, or if you have kids, this is a place you can go to get a decent steak. The sides are not the best, I would call them average at best. The service when we here this night was very pleasant. All the Australian references can seem over the top, especially since they do not even serve Vegemite. Take Outback for what it is, a casual steakhouse that caters to families and serves some decent steaks. 

Out of five kangaroos, (I can get into the Australian theme also!), five being best to zero being worst, Outback Steakhouse gets 2.5 kangaroos. 

For more info on Outback Steakhouse, click here: http://www.outback.com/

Applauding Our Decision to Eat at Bravo Burger?

Bravo Burgers

27200 La Paz Road

Mission Viejo, CA 92692

I am pretty predictable. I hear that there is a new burger place that opens up, and I am usually there within a day or two. I hear that this burger place also features breakfast burritos, then I am there instantly.  I had heard about Bravo Burger before but had never been. So Katie and I headed over there for two separate trips on the same day.

This is a new location for Bravo Burger. They took over a spot that used to be a Weinersnitchel. Bravo Burger was started by a Greek guy that left his native land to work in the restaurants of LA. Gaining the knowledge to open his own place, he started Bravo Burger in 1982. Now totaling eight locations, with one more on the way, this is their second OC outpost, (the other is in San Juan Capistrano). Bravo Burger is known for their large menu, so let's see if they should also be known for great food too.

On our morning trip to BB, both Katie and I got Bravo Breakfast Burritos. We both added avocado to the burritos for an extra 99 cents. The Bravo breakfast burrito includes three kinds of breakfast meat; ham, bacon and sausage, cheddar and jack cheese, two large eggs, and hash browns. The burrito was good sized here. I did finish mine rather quickly though. The potatoes were smooth, and the two kinds of cheese were a nice touch. The meat could have stood out a little more to me. The burrito was stuffed with meat, but it did not pack the flavor punch you would expect. The egg, of course, got lost in the shuffle, but that usually happens in a breakfast burrito. All in all, not a bad burrito.

Our next trip a couple of hours later, we went through the drive-through. Katie ordered the Veggie Burger. I am sure that it is no surprise that I did not try this veggie burger. Katie said it was good though, and it tasted really fresh. Guess I will have to take her word for it.

I went with two items for dinner, the first was the Quarter Pound Beef Chili Dog with cheese. Looking at this hot dog I had such high hopes. I liked all of the onions and cheese, but the chili fell flat. There was no spice or taste to it. The all-beef hot dog did not stand out either. As much as I love chili dogs, I would not get this again.

I needed to try one of their burgers also since the place is called Bravo Burger it would have been a crime not to try one of their hamburgers. I chose the Frisco Cheeseburger. This came with two patties, Swiss cheese, lettuce, and tomato, all served on sourdough cheese toast. The cheese toast was a nice touch, but as you can see from the picture, the patties are very thin. The burger was fine, but not memorable. It could have been under seasoned, or maybe my taste buds were dormant after eating the bland chili dog.

Bravo Burger is okay. It is convenient to where I live, so I will probably come back in the future. I will not go out of my way to eat here for hamburgers and hot dogs, but would definitely keep getting their breakfast burritos, and try some of their other breakfast items. The restaurant was brand new, so of course, it was spotless. The prices were fair, not overly cheap. My burger was just over $6, while the breakfast burrito set me back $7. I don't mind paying that much for a breakfast burrito if it fills me up, and I can skip eating lunch, which I did here.

Out of five guitars, (because on the Brady Bunch, Greg's alter ego Johnny Bravo played the guitar. Okay that is my last Brady Bunch reference for a while, I promise!), five being best to zero being worst, Bravo Burgers gets 2.5 guitars.

For more information on Bravo burgers, click here: https://www.bravoscafresh.com/