Dropping Into the Shwack

The Shwack Beach Grill

24502 Del Prado

Dana Point, CA 92629

My boss has been talking almost non-stop about The Shwack. He told me his wife had been and really liked it, so he wanted to know my take on it. I think he just really likes saying the name of this restaurant. It kind of rolls off of the tongue. Shwack.

The Shwack is a brand new burger spot in Dana Point. Opened this summer, they feature burgers, chicken sandwiches, and salads. The vibe here is definitely beach casual, with a very heavy surfer influence. Owner Max Fisher, a local surfer has opened his first restaurant in a building that formerly housed a Starbucks. The coffee is all gone, and in its place are surfboards hanging on the walls and Bob Marley wailing over the speakers. Let's see if the food is going to make us hang ten, or wipe out.

After ordering at the counter, we sat down at the wooden tables inside. They have about ten tables inside, and more out on the patio in front. Just in case you missed the numerous surfing items here, they have a copy of various surfing magazines on each table.

I had looked at the menu before coming here, so I was all set to order the Big Al's Bacon Burger. This bacon cheeseburger comes with crispy onions and BBQ sauce. I liked the bun and it stood up to the burger, but it was a little too bready for me. The patty was seasoned well, but I would have liked a little more barbecue sauce on this. For some reason, the bacon did not really stand out for me here. I would equate this to a decent backyard burger.

As I was eating my burger, Katie could not stop going on about her Good Vibes Veggie Burger. Calling it, "the best veggie burger I have ever had". Even now, two weeks later she tells me that she still thinks about this burger. The veggie burger here is made with mushrooms, onion, zucchini, potato, and quinoa. Then it is topped with Shwack sauce, tomato, arugula, and Swiss cheese. Just in case she did not get enough vegetables, she also added avocado to this burger. We were told that this burger takes 7 hours to make from start to table. Katie did not feel this was trying to be meat but could stand on its own.  I tried this and thought it was okay, but I am more of a fan of beef.

Instead of fries, they offer Shwack Spuds here. The half-moon potatoes are baked and then fried in canola oil. You can definitely tell that these are freshly made, but I would have liked these a little crisper. Also, the seasoning was a little bland for my taste. What did help these out a bit was the Jalapeno Bacon Ranch dressing that was served with these. Good consistency and a decent flavor. Very good ranch dressing.

I can say I am not in love with The Shwack, but it does have a lot of good things going for it. The energetic, good-looking staff really brought the place to life. The prices here are very good as well. No hamburger goes for more than $6. The menu is limited, but I have heard good things about the Ahi Tuna Burger, as well as the breakfast that started being served last week. Not in the mood for a hamburger? They also offer four different salads.

I hope they will expand their side items to include some onion rings or zucchini. I will definitely ask for more BBQ sauce next time I am here, and maybe a side of the Shwack sauce to make the burger pop with more flavor. I would definitely come by the Shwack again. The burger was good enough, and I know that Katie will want to have the veggie burger again soon. Anything to keep her happy.

So out of five kooks, (in surfing lingo a kook is a surfer of limited skill, and I definitely qualify as that), five being best to zero being worst,  The Shwack Beach Grill gets 2.5 kooks.

For more information on The Shwack, click here: https://beachgrill.theshwack.com/

Silver Trumpet Full of Hot Air?

Silver Trumpet Restaurant and Bar

3350 Avenue of the Arts

Costa Mesa, CA 92626

A lot of people ask me how we pick the restaurants we go to. Some restaurants we know we need to go to because they are really popular, and we want to see what all the fuss is about. Some places just really appeal to us, those are usually hit or miss. Some restaurants are close to home when we do not want to drive too far. We get tips from readers and friends, those places are usually the best. Then sometimes, like in this place, we are asked to do a review by a PR person.

After reading the press release I put it on our list of places to try. The Silver Trumpet is located in the Wyndham Hotel, right near the Performing Arts Center. It must be challenging for a hotel restaurant to draw locals to dine there. I imagine that a high percentage of guests at hotel restaurants are also guests of the hotel. I very rarely eat at hotel restaurants. Not sure why that is. They just do not stick out in my mind.

We had made reservations for 6:30 on a Friday night. As you can see from the picture, they were unnecessary. The restaurant was deserted. From the time we got here to the time we left, we were the only two people in the dining room. There were two parties two out on the patio throughout our stay. It is usually not a good sign when the waitstaff of a restaurant outnumbers the guest in the dining room, but we kept an open mind and ordered. Here is how it all came out.

Starting of course with the obligatory bread basket shot. This was some of my favorite bread that we have had recently. Good flavor and the butter was rich and creamy. The only drawback with this bread was the tough crust.

For a starter, Katie went with the House Pulled Mozzarella. This cheese was served with marinated peppers, toasted almonds, and sherry. Katie remarked that this dish was very fresh. She was also a fan of the peppers and nuts here, feeling that they added different layers of texture to this appetizer.

To be honest, none of the traditional appetizers appealed to me, so I went with an old standby, the Romaine Lettuce. This Caesar wanna-be had Parmesan cheese, a garlic crouton, and Parmesan dressing. This was a decent salad, but I would have liked more dressing on this. The lettuce featured a few bitter parts. The cheese here was good and plentiful.

No shocker here, Katie had a shrimp entree. This is the Roasted Shrimp. Here the shrimp are accompanied by a roasted polenta cake, a paprika sauce, and a roasted pepper stew. This spicy-sounding dish made Katie pretty happy. The flavor hit her in waves but was not overwhelming. She was pleased with the polenta cake but would have liked more shrimp served with this.

My first choice for dinner was the Short Rib, which they were out, so I deferred to my second option, the Flat Iron Steak. This steak was cooked just the way I wanted it, medium rare. Good flavor, although I would have liked more of the red wine sauce that this was served with. More tender than other flat iron steaks I have had recently. The vegetables this was served with were average, but the roasted potatoes really stood out here. Crispy on the outside, and fluffy on the inside, these were some spectacular spuds. I love alliteration.

I guess you can say that I am in search of a great Creamed Spinach, so I had to order it here. I liked the sauce, but it was a little too watery. I would have liked the sauce to be able to stick to the spinach a little bit. The spinach was cooked well, but I am still in search of great creamed spinach.

Caramelized Banana Chocolate Tart, with peanut butter ice cream, sounded so good on the dessert menu, but sadly this was a big letdown. The main downfall of this was the crust. Very plain tasting. I think a chocolate crust on this would have been better. The peanut butter ice cream needed more peanut butter flavor also. The caramelized bananas were the one bright spot here.

The service at the Silver Trumpet was of course good. How could it not be good, with only three tables out of forty being in use? The trick for a waiter when it is so slow is not to become intrusive, that was the case here. Our waiter did not seem bored and really did not crowd us. The decor was nice and relaxed, with of course trumpet music piped in. According to our waiter, they have been through renovations recently, and they have one more to go through in the bar area, and they are also going to create an entrance from the street.

Overall, we liked the food here. The dinners that we had were really good, maybe a little over-priced, but that might be due to the fact that this was in a hotel. People on vacations tend not to worry about prices while they are on vacations, and then when they get home they wonder why they paid $31 for a steak. It was also a little eerie being the only people in this restaurant. Hopefully, this was out of the norm for this restaurant. I am not sure how a hotel restaurant can become a destination restaurant for locals, but this one might have a shot at it.

So out of five Satchmo's, (famous trumpeter, Louis Armstrong's nickname), five being best to zero being worst, the Silver Trumpet gets three Satchmo's.

For more information on the Silver Trumpet, click here: http://silvertrumpetrestaurant.com/

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/