Remembering El Ranchito

Avila's El Ranchito

27941 La Paz Road

Laguna Niguel, CA 92677

Avila's El Ranchito always seems to get lost in the shuffle for me. I never think about going there, and I really have no good reason why that is. I have never had a bad experience there. I have always liked their food. So when Emily asked me if I was going to blog about our dinner here, I had to rethink if I had already reviewed El Ranchito. After going back through my mind I realized I hadn't yet, so this would be a perfect opportunity.

El Ranchito is a mini chain that is a family affair. They have 11 locations, all but two of them are in OC. Started in 1966, in Huntington Park, each location is run by a member of the family. They are now into their third generation of family members running restaurants. Each El Ranchito is distinctive because they all have different house specialties. Let's take a look at our trip to this El Ranchito.

Our party of six arrived at 6 on a Thursday night. The restaurant was very busy inside, and also where we were sat, the patio. The young, good looking staff really had things running smooth. We were greeted quickly and our orders taken in a timely manner. Here is how the food came out.

We started with a side of Guacamole Fresco. Here they added onions, tomato, garlic and lime to the avocados. The result was a very fresh guacamole, just like when my Mom makes it. The chips were okay, not bad, nothing great.

We will start with everyone's favorite person in the family, Emily. She is a very simple food eater, and it showed when she ordered the Chicken Taco, with a side of rice. She felt that the chicken taco was average. She was not really a fan of the rice either, calling it dry.

Next up we have Lynn's choice for dinner, a Two Item Combo featuring a cheese enchilada and a chicken soft taco. This is Lynn's go to choice every time she is here. She loves the enchilada sauce because it is so mild, without giving up flavor. She called the chicken moist and delicious.

Well we might as well get all of the chicken tacos out of the way right now. Our last chicken taco review comes from Rachel. She was the third person to order this very popular taco. C'mon guys we need more variety here. Anyways, she ordered this with beans and rice as well. She felt the chicken taco was dry, until she added guacamole to it. She did not comment on the beans and rice, so I will assume they were to her liking.

We might be done with chicken tacos, but we are not done with chicken. Jimmy had the Chicken Flautas. He called this meal filling and rich. He added that, "the chicken was cooked perfectly." So if you are keeping track, that is two votes that the chicken here was dry and two votes that the chicken was moist. Unfortunately, or maybe not for the sake of variety, there is no more chicken reviewed on this night, so we will have to call the battle of the chicken a draw.

Katie headed to the sea for her meal. She ordered the Two Item Combo with a Shrimp Taco and a Lobster Taco. Adding shrimp or lobster to a combo meal adds $2.49 an item, making this dish a $16 two item combo plate. Yikes! Anyways, Katie could not tell the difference, without looking between the lobster and the shrimp. I actually had the same thing happen with my dish, which you will hear about in a moment. Katie liked this dish, but was not overly impressed with it. She did mention that the Fresco Beans were definitely worth getting.

Last but not least was my meal, the Enchiladas Camarones Ranchera. These enchiladas supposedly had shrimp in them, but I think the kitchen messed up and put lobster in them instead. They did not have a shrimp taste at all, and did not look like shrimp. I asked the waiter about it, but he said it was shrimp. Either way I was fine with these enchiladas. They had plenty of the mystery seafood in them, and the sauce was decent as well. The beans and rice were okay, not among my favorites that we have had recently.

I understand why I never think about El Ranchito now. It is not awful food, but it is not great food either. It is smack dab in the middle, average food. I have never had anything here that I really crave. It is safe Mexican food. Not popping with big flavor, it is more like Mexican food for the masses. Which would explain why a lot of people like this place, and why they always seem to be so busy. I am not dissing this place, because there is definitely a market for this kind of restaurant. They have good service and keep everyone comfortable. Which is part of what people really want when they go out to eat.

So out of five triangles, (because like Avila's El Ranchito, Tex Winter is from Huntington Park, and he helped perfect the triangle offense in basketball), five being best to zero being worst, Avila's El Ranchito gets 2.5 triangles.

For more information on Avila's El Ranchito click here: http://www.avilaselranchito.com/index.php

Vacation Day at Tommy Bahama's

Tommy Bahama's Bar and Grille

854 Avocado Ave.

Newport Beach, CA 92660

I have been dreaming about going on vacation for some time now. Unfortunately, vacation is months away. So I will have to find places that will fool me into thinking I am already on vacation. Enter Tommy Bahama's Bar and Grille.

Before dinner, we strolled through the retail store that is attached to this restaurant. I had never been to a Tommy Bahama store before. If you are like me, think Hawaiian shirts of varying colors with price tags that are priced in the triple digits. The t-shirts in this store can go for as much as $75. Luckily, we were not here to buy clothes, we were here to eat.

There are thirteen Tommy Bahama restaurants operating today. Orange County is home to two of these, with the other OC location being Laguna Beach. This island-themed restaurant is located just outside Fashion Island. The clientele is on the older side, with an up-class-casual feel to the restaurant. The lazy ceiling fans and swaying palm plants temporarily transmit you to a tropical island or a Jimmy Buffet video shoot. Before we snap back to reality, let's check out the food in our island oasis.

Both Mary and I started our night off with an alcoholic beverage. She had the Grapefruit Basil Martini. This concoction was made with Grey Goose, fresh basil, and of course grapefruit juice. The result was an interesting combination that Mary called refreshing. My drink was the manly-looking Mai Tai. This was an average-tasting mai tai. Not the best, nor the worst one I have ever had. Wish this one was a little sweeter.

The first of our two appetizers was the very island-inspired Macadamia Encrusted Goat Cheese. This was served on a bed of mango salsa and drizzled with a sweet soy glaze. I am not much of a goat cheese person, but I felt that this sounded better than it was. Even Matt, who loves goat cheese, did not rave about this dish. I also thought that the flatbread was an odd choice for this appetizer.

My choice for a starter did not draw raves either. The Crab Tacos were over-stuffed with greens, and the crab tasted bland, even after adding the two sauces this was served with. I would skip this starter the next time.

Now on to the salad portion of our show. I went with my old reliable, the Classic Caesar. This was an average salad. The pecorino romano cheese was good, but there could have been more dressing on this. Katie had the Harvest Salad, which featured baby greens, heirloom tomatoes, and dried cranberries, with a lemon vinaigrette. She was not impressed with the dressing, calling it, "tasteless and bland".

Now on to the main dishes. Katie opted to get something off of the special menu when she ordered the Italian Butter Fish. This light and flaky fish got rave reviews from all that tried. it. The rice and lemon sauce complimented this dish very well. She was a very happy girl after getting this.

Great minds must think alike, because Mary also ordered a fish dish off of the special menu, but this time it was the Barramundi. She was not as enthusiastic as Katie was about her meal. She felt the fish was a little too fishy, and the capers and sauce made this a very heavy dish, which led her to remark that she would skip this plate next time she was here. The side items of potatoes and sliced, grilled tomatoes really got lost here and added nothing to the meal.

Matt, to no one's surprise, had a steak. He chose the Petite Filet Mignon. Every day this is prepared differently. I am not sure what kind of sauce this was presented with when we were here, but Matt said this was very tender, and cooked well. His only complaint about this was that the eight-ounce portion size did not fill him up enough.

Prime Flat Iron Steak was the order of the day for me. This steak was not as good as I thought it could be. The steak was overcooked, and not very tender. The Maytag Bleu cheese and sauce really helped bring this steak to average status. The garlic mashed potatoes were good but could have had more garlic flavor. Not sure I would get this again.

Okay I admit, we went a little crazy with the desserts here. We ordered four of the six that they offered this night. We will start off with the best one for me, the Chocolate Malted Cake. This rich, chocolate disc started with a great cookie crust, then topped with a dense chocolate mousse, light chocolate flavored cream, and finished with Heath bar crumbles. Wish I had more room when this came around because it was really that great.

Red Velvet continues to be a big draw. In fact, on our way to the restaurant, we walked by Sprinkles, with a line out the door. Most of the people I saw eating cupcakes outside were indeed having red velvet cupcakes. At Tommy Bahama's, we did not just settle for a tiny cupcake, we had a whole slice. The cake portion of this was a little on the dry side, but what really redeemed this dessert was the icing. Classic cream cheese frosting really saved the day here. Red Velvet fans should not miss this cake.

The Butterscotch Pudding was next and had the most polarizing effect at our table. The girls felt that the pudding was too gritty, while both Matt and I liked the smoothness of the pudding. In the end, we were right and they were wrong. I did not really get a big butterscotch taste here, but that might be because my mouth was still preoccupied with the chocolate malted cake.

What would an island-themed restaurant be without a coconut cake? Here the coconut cake is three layered with pineapple frosting between the layers. The coconut was not as prominent as I would have liked here, but the cake was very light and moist. Very good cake.

What did I learn from our visit to Tommy Bahamas? I learned that, just like Tommy Bahama clothes, the restaurant might not be for everyone. The service the night we were here was very good, but I felt the prices were a little on the high side, for the portion size that you receive. The meals were okay, nothing fantastic. What really impressed me were the desserts that we had. All of them outshined the entrees and appetizers. We will probably forgo the dinner next time and just head straight to the dessert tray. But isn't that what you are supposed to do when you are on an imagined vacation?

So, out of five palm trees, (since this is an island-themed restaurant, and I told myself I would not include any Gilligan references), five being best to zero being worst, Tommy Bahama's gets 2.5 palm trees.

For more information on Tommy Bahama's Bar and Grille, click here: http://www.tommybahama.com/TBG/Stores_Restaurants/Newport_Beach.jsp

Another Great Night of Mexican Food in Placentia

El Cantarito

120 W. Santa Fe St.

Placentia, CA 92870

Some cities in Orange County are just known for some things. Newport Beach is known for high-end restaurants. Garden Grove has lots of great Vietnamese restaurants. Fullerton gets my vote for having the best bar food in our county. Now after going to our second straight great Mexican restaurant in Placentia, I am almost willing to crown Placentia best Mexican food city in Orange County.

Okay, maybe we have just hit a hot streak in picking Mexican restaurants in Placentia. We had recently been to El Farolito, which is right around the corner from El Cantarito. El Farolito was awesome. So when I heard that there was another great Mexican restaurant in the same neighborhood, I was a little skeptical that it could be as good. Not wanting to ruin the surprise for you, but it was very close to being as good.

El Cantarito is a very laid back, local restaurant. This place is not a dive, because it is clean, but not exactly popping with atmosphere and decor. They have about fifteen tables, a jukebox, and two TVs to add to the family feel of this place. The service was subdued but attentive. Let's check out the food.

Of course, the first thing you notice about a Mexican restaurant is the chips and salsa. Here we even ordered as a bonus, a side of Guacamole. How could you not, at only $1.99? The chips were obviously made here and had a good thickness and crunch to them. A touch of smoothness from the oil these chips were fried in still remained on them and added to the flavor of the chip. The salsa was good, not great. A little too mild for me, but still very flavorful. The guacamole was okay as well. My Dad was the first to notice that there was some seasoning missing from it. We should have maybe added a little salt to it, to enhance the flavor. Maybe next time.

Let's start with my Mom's meal here. She went with the 2 Item Combination Plate. She had a Cheese Enchilada and a Soft Carnitas Taco. She was very pleased with this $7 combination plate. The cheese enchilada was filled with lots of cheese, and the sauce was nice and mild. The taco had sour cream added to it and was called, "great", by my Mom.

After some great deliberation, my Dad wanted to have breakfast for dinner, so he chose the Huevos Rancheros. He felt that this dish was light and flavorful. The highlight of this dish for him were the beans served with this. They were really fresh and tasted homemade.

Just like my Mom, Katie also had a 2 Item Combo. Katie had a Chile Relleno and Chicken Taco. She called the relleno well made and full of flavor. She liked the fried shell of the chicken taco a lot and felt that the chicken inside was well seasoned and very tender. She also liked the lightness of the rice. Very good rice here, maybe some of the best we have had in a long while.

Not only did I have my meal that is coming up next, but I also ordered the items above. I did share these with the table though, just to ease my guilt. The thing with most Mexican food is that it does not photograph too well, plus I was really hungry and did not want to take much time to snap pictures. The Taquitos here was very good, without being too greasy. We had the beef, but carnitas and chicken are also available. The Quesadilla was filled with carnitas and toasted perfectly. The meat was very flavorful in this and got me really excited for my meal.

When I first saw my Carnitas Plate, I was a little disappointed because it looked like I was jipped on the amount of meat I was given. After eating this though, I had made four tacos out of this and was feeling very full. The carnitas was a little greasy, but that added to the flavor of these. The meat did feature portions of crispness along with tender pieces of pork. A very good combination. The flour tortillas I had here were also superb. Homemade tasting and they really hold up to the tacos I made with the carnitas. The refried beans were silky smooth, but the rice really stood out to me. Well cooked and flavorful, even for me a very tough critic of rice.

When we were leaving El Cantarito we could not help but compare this restaurant to El Farolito. I mean we passed right by it and everything. At the time we could not decide which restaurant we liked better, but after writing this review, and taking some time to think about it, I decided that I liked El Farolito just a tad better. The food here was great and I would not hesitate to return. I just liked the atmosphere a little bit better around the corner. The menu at both places are similar, but the prices are also a little better at El Farolito. So that is why it gets a slight edge over El Cantarito. A very solid restaurant though.

So out of five jugs, (because Cantarito translates to jug), five being best to zero being worst, El Cantarito gets 3.5 jugs.

For more information on El Cantarito, click here: http://el-cantarito.cafes-usa.com/

Citrus City Sweet or Sour?

Citrus City Grille

122 N. Glassell St.

Orange, CA 92866

Downtown areas in the OC have seen a rebirth lately. Fullerton has always had a large downtown fan base with its bars and restaurants. Brea has been opening and closing retail outlets and restaurants almost weekly for awhile now. Then there is downtown Orange. In the last few years they have increased their restaurant credibility by opening a number of highly touted dining spots. Haven Gastropub, Gabbi's, and Bruxie moved in to downtown Orange to join old stalwarts like Felix, Watson's, and the restaurant we were headed to this night, Citrus City Grill.

Citrus City Grill has been around since 1996, which just barely makes it a veteran restaurant at The Orange Circle. It was bought by three longtime friends back then, but it was sold to its current owners in 2000. They revamped the menu, renovated the concept, and even expanded, when they opened another CCG out in Corona. We came to downtown Orange to take a haunted walking tour, but first we wanted to see if the food here would be a trick or a treat.

Here is a shot of the bread basket. This bread was not very memorable. I did not even write anything about it in my notes, so I guess it failed to make an impression.

Jamie started her night off with the Butter Lettuce Salad. This salad featured poached pears, Gorgonzola, and a raspberry vinaigrette. The ever articulate Jamie, claimed that eating this salad reminded her of Christmas time. Not sure why she said that, but she wanted me to make sure I put that in. I liked this salad, because of the varying textures that were included here. A little more Gorgonzola would have made this salad even better.

I had not realized it until I looked back over my last few posts, but I have been on a real Caesar salad kick recently, and here at Citrus City Grille that trend continued. The thing that distinguishes this Caesar from others is the capers that are added to this, in place of anchovies. This was a good twist, but the croutons here were not as good as I would have liked, and the result made this Caesar average.

Katie bucked the trend by not opting for a salad, but having the Vegetable Spring Rolls instead. These rolls had a crunchy outer shell, were a little greasy, but had a good flavor. These were not what we had expected, but I am not usually a big fan of spring rolls because they can seem rather flavorless. These had a decent flavor, the veggies were slightly crisp, and peanut sauce was milder than usual, but it worked well with these rolls.

Now on to the main entrees, starting us off is Nathan's selection, the Reserve Angus Filet Mignon. This 12 ounce steak was over cooked according to Nathan. He felt that the veggies and potatoes were cooked very well, and over shadowed the filet. Not something that you want to happen when you are paying $38 for steak. The bite that I had of this was okay, but it was cooked too much for my taste as well.

To put it mildly, Jamie is a real picky eater. She does not eat meat, and I never see her eat anything other than pizza. Okay, maybe that is because we are in a bowling league where we get a pizza every week, but that is besides the point. This was my first time seeing her eat grown up food, and she chose the Bow Tie Pasta. The bow tie pasta comes with basil, Parmiggiano cheese, pine nuts, (which she omitted), and a tomato cream sauce. She really enjoyed this dish and I did as well. The sauce was a little on the thin side, but was very flavorful.

Katie sees Shrimp Scampi on any menu, and it is usually a good bet that she gets it. At CCG the scampi is served over linguini, with feta cheese, Roma tomatoes, and of course a garlic butter sauce. Katie called this dish, "mild". The feta did add some bite to this dish, but the shrimp was served lukewarm. It is not usually a good sign when a scampi is described as mild. This dish should pop with flavor, and this one failed to do so.

I admit it, I stole Nathan's choice for dinner. Sorry big guy! I had the Prime Pork Flat Iron. This 10 ounce hunk of meat was cooked very well, and had a nice flavor. I wish I had more maple syrup glaze with this, but that is my only complaint with the pork. The veggies served with this were average, but the Gorgonzola potatoes were a step above the vegetables. I also enjoyed the caramelized onions that were served along side the meat. They gave a nice contrast to heartiness of the pork. I also ordered the side dish above, the Sauteed Spinach. This was not very good. The spinach was a little over cooked, and lacked a big flavor punch that I had expected.

By the time dessert rolled around we were all pretty full, but we had to try their Vanilla Bean Creme Brulee. This was very pudding like, but not as creamy as we would have liked. The flavor was also just a bit off for us. Not a horrible creme brulee, but not the best one we have had.

The ambiance is pretty good at Citrus City Grille. The mood is relaxed and casual. Kind of an older crowd the night we were here. We got here at six on a Friday night and the place was very busy. Almost all of the thirty tables were taken, and most of the bar seats were occupied as well.  The service was very attentive, without being too pushy. We felt that the prices might be a little on the high side for what you get.The menu was varied just enough, so that I am sure almost anyone could find something to their liking.

So out of five tools, (because the location that houses this restaurant, started as a hardware store in 1886), five being best to zero being worst, Citrus City Grille gets 2.5 tools.

For more information on Citrus City Grille, click here: http://www.citruscitygrille.com/

 

Too Much Flour Power at Berkeley Dog - CLOSED

Berkeley Dog

25522 Marguerite Parkway Ste 101

Mission Viejo, CA 92692

We have now written over 200 restaurant reviews. I sometimes wonder about the restaurants we have written about and if they have improved since we last went there. I saw an advertisement for Berkeley Dog, and they were promoting a new bacon hash dog. Bacon hash! That is all they had to say, and I was back with my friends Mike and Richard to give Berkeley Dog another shot.

The last time we were at Berkeley Dog, they were sharing their space with a yogurt shop. Big surprise: The yogurt shop, like many others throughout the county, is not here anymore, and they have the space all to themselves. We arrived at 3 p.m. on a Wednesday, ordered from a very cheerful employee at the counter, and waited for our food to come out. Here is what we had.

On our first journey to Berkeley Dog, I tried the sausages. This time, we went big, starting with the Monster Fries above. Monster fries are topped with onions, bacon, and cheese sauce. These tasted just okay. I am not really a big fan of cheese sauces. I would have rather had grated cheese on this instead. The fries were your average fast-food fries.

Another new item since the last time we were here is the Chili Cheese Dog. Mike and I split this, and we both had the same opinion of this dog. The chili was good, but it took a lot of work to get past the bun. The buns at Berkeley Dog are some of the worst we have had. There is just too much bread for a hot dog. They would be better off getting store-brand hot dog buns and using those. Since there was so much bread, so the hot dog and cheese got lost here.

Now, the reason I came back here is the Bacon Hash Dog. The hash consisted of hash brown sticks, onions, and bacon bits. The hash browns needed to be seasoned with salt. The hot dog and bacon were good, but like the chili dog above, the bun detracted from the flavor and made this specialty dog dry. I had such high hopes for this and was so let down.

The next sausage I had was the Louisiana Hot Link. This really packed a punch. It was very spicy and had a good snap to the hot dog.This was my favorite thing here this afternoon, but again, the bun tried to steal the show from the hot dog and almost won in this case.

Mike has been on a fried egg kick lately, adding it to numerous hamburgers at Slater's 50/50 and other places. Berkeley Dog was no exception for him. Here, he added an egg to the Juicy Habanero. According to Mike, the egg added nothing here. He would have liked to have had the egg seasoned with pepper or salt. The result of not doing this made the egg flavorless and unnecessary.  He felt that the habanero had a decent kick he would leave out the egg next time.

Mike still hoped for a redeeming hot dog when he ordered the Kielbasa with onions and peppers. His hopes were dashed after finishing this, though. Mike described the kielbasa as "bland." Like the hash brown sticks and egg before them, the peppers and onions added nothing to the kielbasa. Finally tired of the bun, he discarded it less than halfway through this sausage. He was very disappointed.

As disappointed as Mike and I were about this place, Richard was even more disappointed about Berkeley Dog. He called the Kobe Beef Dog delicious but was too distracted by the bun to enjoy this hot dog. His second choice, the Calabrese, he did not finish. The fennel in this sausage really over powered the taste, and led Richard to call this sausage, "awful".

Richard also chose to order the Funnel Cake Fries here. These "fries" were listed right along with the regular fries, but they were more of a dessert than french fries. We did agree that these were good, but they were missing something. Maybe some caramel or chocolate dipping sauce would go even better with them. Without a sauce, we grew tired of these rather quickly.

The last thing we went with was the Chili Cheese Fries. Like the chili cheese dog, we liked the chili enough to call these fries solid. I especially liked the grated cheese on top of these. The chili, cheese, and fries ratio here was pretty good, and that can sometimes be hard to get just right.

So, was our second trip to Berkeley Dog better than the first? No, it was not. Like the first time I was here, the main problem with this place is the bun. There is too much of it, and it takes all the moisture out of the hot dog and the toppings you put on it. A simple fix would be offering a more traditional bun,, allowing the hot dogs and sausages to shine. The meats here are delicious but get pushed to the side by the overpowering bread. Also, a little seasoning from the cooks would help bring out some flavor in the grilled onions, egg, peppers, and hash browns. I did like the wide variety of mustards and relishes that they offer, but I am not sure that is enough to make us want to come back.

So out of five golden bears (because that is the nickname for the University of California sports teams located in Berkeley), five being best to zero being worst, Berkeley Dog gets 2 golden bears.

For more information on Berkeley Dog, click here: http://www.berkeleydogs.com/index.html