Anticipating an Awesome Night at Antonucci's?

Antonucci's

24190 Alicia Pkwy.

Mission Viejo, CA 92691

Doing nice things for people can sometimes pay off. We drove my old friend Chuck to the airport recently, and he repaid us by taking us out to dinner. That's a steep price you say? Well, it was LAX, at 7 on a Sunday night. Luckily traffic was light. Don't tell Chuck, but we did not need to be paid off by dinner, but it was nice though. I was of course in charge of picking a restaurant. I picked one that was local for both of us and got a good rating online. That restaurant would be Antonucci's.

Antonucci's has been a local institution since 1976 and been in the same location since 1986. It was bought from the original owner in 2001, by Bob Canori. Bob has been known to hug his guests on entering. We must have gotten here on his day off, but the restaurant was still inviting. The decor was dominated by the color white, and the staff was very friendly. The restaurant seems a lot larger on the inside than it appears from the outside. The menu here is dominated by the usual items you would find in an Italian restaurant, but they also feature a good many seafood items as well. Chuck and Stephanie were ready to order, so let's see what we came up with.

Before our meal began we were presented with this Garlic Bread. This bread came out hot and was pretty garlicky. A little mushy in the middle, but it was free bread, so it was no big deal.

The waitress informed us that there was a special on the Bruschetta, so we ordered it. Toasted garlic bread, topped with tomatoes, basil, even more, garlic, and olive oil was the lineup for this dish. I am usually not too big of a fan of bruschetta, but this one was not too bad. The bread was softer than most bruschetta's, and the tomatoes really had the garlic flavor going on. Everyone at the table really enjoyed this.

When ordering an entree here, you can opt to get a salad for $2.50 more. This dinner salad was a good sized portion, and the dressing was very good. Your basic greens were accompanied by a slice of salami, tomato, and olives. I really enjoyed the amount of dressing here, but I could see that it would be too much for some people.

Chuck, true to his nature, went old school with his choice for dinner, when he chose the Homemade Lasagna. This brick of pasta, cheese and meat sauce came out scalding hot. He liked the sauce a lot and was surprised at how light this dish actually was. He had no problem at all finishing this plate and enjoyed every bite.

Chuck's wonderful wife Stephanie jazzed it up with her selection for the evening, the Chicken Tequila Fettuccine. This dish featured a great sauce made up of a tequila-lime and jalapeno cream sauce. The sauce featured a kick at the end of each bite. The chicken was tender, and this dish was a perfect pick for this chilly night.

I had a harder time than normal picking what I wanted from the menu at Antonucci's. Not sure why that was the case,  but I finally ended up with the Mostaccioli Calalora. A classic pasta dish made up of chicken, garlic, mushrooms, red chili pepper, and marinara with a touch of cream. The marinara here was very good. Very smooth and not too acidic. The chicken was tender, and the pasta was cooked well. Not a bad pasta dish at all. I would have liked this even better if it was offered with sausage, but I would definitely get this again.

Probably my favorite item of the night was Katie's dinner, the Tortellini Boscaiola. Here cheese tortellini was blanketed by a great cream sauce, with ham and mushrooms added. Katie enjoyed the saltiness of the ham, along with the smoothness of the sauce. She claims that this would be her go-to item when we return to Antonucci's.

This is a very solid choice for Italian in south OC. We really look forward to exploring the rest of their menu, and some of their seafood plates. The prices here were a little on the high side, but nothing too out of the norm for a sit down Italian restaurant. The service was pretty good, and the food came out hot and fast. Don't plan on eating here for lunch, because they open their doors at four. Don't tell Chuck, but we would be happy to drive him back to LAX for another chance to eat here on his dime.

Out of five torches, (because the city seal of Mission Viejo has the Olympic torch on it because the city hosted road cycling events during the 1984 Olympics), five being best to zero being worst, Antonucci's gets 3 torches.

For more information on Antonucci's, click here: https://antonuccis.net/

Corona Cuban Cuisine a Capital Choice! - CLOSED

Mi Habana Cafe

712 Main St.

Corona, CA 92882

Corona is not a place one thinks of when it comes to great restaurants. Culinarily, speaking the city has given us some bland Mexican food in Miguel's and chain restaurants on almost every corner. So when we were going to be meeting up with our good friend Anthony and his mediocre wife Sabrina, I wanted to find a place that was different, and not a chain restaurant. That is how we happened to arrive at Mi Habana Cafe.

Mi Habana Cafe is hidden in a corner of a large, almost desolate shopping center. Sabrina and Anthony have lived here for a long while and never even knew this place existed. You have to almost be looking for this restaurant because it is not easily seen from Main Street. Since 2007 this has been home to this little slice of Havana in Corona. It is owned by a man named Martin, who had two Cuban restaurants, one in Downey, not far from Porto's, and the other was in Huntington Beach. He sold those and settled here. Let's see if this will cure my craving for great Cuban food.

First off is a quick shot of our breadbasket. This was just your standard bread here. Not served warm or anything, with pads of butter.

We ordered two appetizers, the first one being the Yuca Al Mojo. This was yucca root steamed in a garlic sauce. This starchy item had a very subtle flavor but was called delicious by first-time yucca eater, Anthony. I liked this yucca but was not floored by it. It needed a little something extra.

The second appetizer was something I was a little more familiar with, the Empenda de Carne. This meat pie was a great price, $2.25, and the inside beef was seasoned well and satisfying. The crust was nothing to get excited about and was a little on the dry side.

Both Katie and Sabrina's dinners came with soup or salad. They both went the salad route. This was your basic dinner salad. Again, nothing too out of the ordinary here.

Both Sabrina and Katie got the same meal, the Arroz Con Pollo. This Cuban favorite combined chicken, yellow rice, and Sofrito sauce together to make a very flavorful meal. This was a little more on the soupy side than we were expecting, but it was spiced well, and big on flavor. Katie summed it up best by calling this, "Cuban comfort food at its best." This was served scalding hot. It had to sit for a few minutes before they attempted to eat this.

The Ropa Vieja was calling Anthony's name. This shredded beef dish was served in a classic red sauce.  This pot roast type dish was very flavorful and featured very tender meat. Anthony could not have been more pleased by this. This was served with black beans and rice, along with plantains. The plantains were not his cup of tea, but he did enjoy the rice.

The last time I ate at a Cuban restaurant I ordered a beef dish, and I was disappointed. So this time I went with a pork dish, and I struck out again. This Pierna De Puerco Asada was bone dry. The pork leg was served with garlic and mojo Cubano, along with onions. It was as dry as my Dad's humor, and that is very dry! Just kidding Pops! The black beans and rice helped the dryness a little bit, but I would not get this again.

I would have been more upset with my meal, but I also ordered this Media Noche sandwich. This sandwich came with roasted pork and ham, Swiss cheese, pickles, mayo, and mustard, all on a slice of toasted sweet bread. This has been the closest sandwich we have been able to find to the one we had in Miami. The meats were salty, mixed with the sweetness of the pickles and bread, it resulted in a well-balanced sandwich. The only thing that would have made it better, was a little more mustard and mayo, but it was still worth ordering.

By this time I was pretty stuffed to the gills, but I was in a Cuban restaurant, with an amazing looking bakery case, so I had to get the Tres Leches Cake. This cake was really pretty good. It was moist, without being overly so. Some tres leches I have had are almost on the border of being called soup. This one was nice and firm, with a great sweet flavor. We would definitely get this again.

Mi Habana Cafe is probably the best Cuban restaurant we have been to so far. There is a new Cuban place in Costa Mesa that is on our list to try, and I hear good things, but so far this has been the best. Everyone with the exception of myself loved what they ordered. This restaurant is huge. It can easily seat about 150 people no problem, and the service here was great, very friendly, (even to Sabrina). They seem to cater to lots of big families. We got here at 8 on a Saturday night and they were pretty busy with about two parties of fifteen or more. The decor is not going to make you fall in love with this place, but the good Cuban food might. See, there are some decent, non-chain places to eat in Corona.

Out of five guitars, (because Fender Musical Instruments is headquartered in Corona, not far from this restaurant), five being best to zero being worst, Mi Habana Cafe gets 3 guitars.

For more information about Mi Habana Cafe, click here: http://www.mihabanacafe.com/index.html

Pumping Us Full of Food at the Filling Station

Filling Station Cafe

201 N. Glassell

Orange, CA 92866

I have been gearing up for the busiest time of the year at my work, but I still found time to meet up with my cousin Chris. Everyone is very proud of him because he is doing great at Chapman College. I am proud of him because he chose to go to school in Old Towne Orange, and there are lots of restaurants that we can try. On this occasion we went with a place that has been on my list for awhile, The Filling Station.

The Filling Station is located on the corner of Glassell and Maple. The most distinctive part of the restaurant is the laid back patio. We were sat here on this Thursday afternoon. Back in the day the restaurant used to be a gas station, hence its name. They have many pictures on the walls depicting its past times as a gas station, and in case you did not correlate the petrol background of the Filling Station, they also have a gas pump on the partially covered patio. I was here for the food, so lets see if they are cooking with gas.

We will start with the scholar's choice for lunch, the Filling Station Burger Special. This came with avocado, bacon, and Swiss and cheddar cheeses. Chris called this burger, "good, and the meat was flavored well." This burger was good sized, and he could not finish it, so I took over the reigns and finished the rest of it. The burger was pretty solid.

I was in the mood for a burger as well, and I was going to order the same as Chris, but I knew I had to get something else to sample for varieties sake. I went with the Chili Burger, which is served open faced with their turkey chili and cheese. The burger itself was good, but a little over done for my taste. The chili was very mild, and really needed to be kicked up a notch in the spice department. Not a bad chili burger, but not too memorable either.

Chris was still recovering from the half a burger he ate, (lightweight!), so I was going it alone for dessert. I asked the waiter to bring out their best dessert and he came out with this Pumpkin Pie. The pumpkin part of this was as good as any pumpkin pie filling I have had, but what made this pie was the crust. Most of the time crusts are just an item to keep the pie together, but not here. This crust actually complimented the filling. The crust was light and flavorful, and really made this pie.

The Filling Station is not going to blow you away with their menu. They offer nine sandwiches and eight burgers on their lunch menu. They also have salads and soups, but come on, those are just appetizers. The food here is good, but safe. The prices are not too bad for a sit down restaurant. Our burgers were below the $10 mark, and they definitely filled Chris up. The service was unobtrusive and speedy. They were pretty crowded for lunch, and there was a wait when we left. I hear good things about their breakfast here, so I will definitely be back. I also look forward to many more meals with Chris, but hope he eats more in the future. Just kidding big guy!

Out of five gas jockeys, (a worker at a full serve gas station that pumps the gas, checks the oil, and cleans the windshield for you. Now these guys are only seen in Oregon and New Jersey, where you are not allowed to pump your own gas.), five being best to zero being worst, Filling Station gets 2.5 gas jockeys.

For more information on the Filling Station, click here: http://www.fillingstationcafe.com/index.html

Chilling Out at Chelas -CLOSED

Chelas Mexican Grill

29975 Alicia Parkway

Laguna Niguel, CA 92677

Orange County has an embarrassment of great Mexican restaurants. The competition among these places is pretty cutthroat. Almost every neighborhood has its "go-to" place for great food. These places range from a hole-in-the-wall spot to fancy restaurants where a single taco costs $11 (the delicious El Jefe taco at Sol Cocina). With all this competition, it must be daunting for a new Mexican restaurant to try to distinguish itself. That is what the new Chelas in Laguna Niguel is trying to do, distinguish itself from other Mexican restaurants.

Chelas opened within the last couple of months. It is owned by the Vasquez family, who have taken their recipes from their mother and brought them into the fold here at Chelas. We entered Chelas at about seven on a Wednesday night. Ordering here is done at the counter, and the food is brought to you. The menu is basic Mexican food consisting of tacos, burritos, quesadillas, etc. Let's see how everything turned out.

Pictured above is one of Katie's choices, the La Gringa Taco. This taco comes with your choice of chicken or beef. She had chicken, which also came with guacamole, onion, cilantro, cabbage, sour cream, and Monterrey jack cheese. Katie liked the addition of cilantro but was not wowed by this taco, calling it "nothing too special."

Katie deemed this Crispy Chicken Taco much better. She was not overly impressed by the chicken here but liked the Colby jack cheese.

It is probably difficult to tell from the picture and the cheese on top of this, but these are the Tacos. I would sum these tacos up by calling them average. They were a little greasy, but the grease did not translate into big flavor. I was also disappointed with the amount of guacamole served with this. Not even enough for one and a half taquitos, even though this order consisted of three.

The Chelas Burrito was the last portion of my main meal. This burrito was stuffed with carnitas, refried beans, cheese, sour cream, guacamole, cabbage, onion, and cilantro. This burrito did nothing for me. The flavor of this was bland, and it really had temperature issues. One bite would be warm, and the next would be cold. I am sure it is from the produce used in it, but it was off-putting. The burrito was good sized, but it was way over-stuffed with lettuce, and I am still trying to figure out if there was even cheese in this.

At Chelas, they pride themselves on making their "secret recipe" Carrot Cake. It was actually pretty good. The icing was not overly sweet, which is a good thing. The cake was moist, but it could have used a touch more cinnamon or another spice to enhance it. The portion size of the cake was very generous.

Chelas did not knock my socks off. The food was on the bland side. It really reminded me of Chipotle. They do use lots of fresh ingredients. The produce was fresh, but they might have used too much of it in everything. The meats should have been the show's star here, but getting past all the produce was hard. The prices were okay. My burrito was a little high at $8, and the Gringa Taco was $3.49. On this trip to Chelas, they could have done more to set themselves apart in OC's crowded Mexican food market.

Out of five fish (because a chela is a small, minnow-type fish), five being best to zero being worst, Chelas Mexican Grill gets 2 fish.

For more information on Chelas, click here: http://www.chelasmexicangrill.com/

The Fish Were Flying at Sushi Wasabi

Sushi Wasabi

14460 Newport

Tustin, CA 92780

This is the first year I have ever kept one of my New Years resolutions. Usually I blow my resolutions by the second week of the year, but not this year. What is this resolution that I kept? My resolution was to get out of my food comfort zone and try as many foods as possible. Okay, it was a pretty easy resolution to keep since it did not involve gyms, money, or any real effort on my part, but I have been proud of myself none the less. We have had Vietnamese, Thai, Indian, Colombian, and Lebanese this year.  We have also been to a Japanese place, and you can add another one to the list, Sushi Wasabi.

We had a long overdue dinner with our friend Kat, from Kat's 9 Lives. She had suggested that we have sushi, from one of her favorite places. We arrived at about six on a Wednesday night. Sushi Wasabi is not exactly on the beaten track, and not where you would expect a great sushi restaurant to be. Tucked into a small strip mall with an auto parts store and a donut/smoothie shop, Sushi Wasabi has a great reputation among local sushi lovers and foodies.

We took a seat at the sushi bar, where everything is served, like the sign says, "Omakase Style". There was no ordering, no say in what you would be given, and there are signs on the door, and above the sushi bar that state that they will not be serving any California rolls at anytime. The stoic owner and chef of this restaurant was in full control of what we were given, and this is what he came up with this night.

Starting us off was the Albacore, which really had a fresh taste, and a very generous portion size. This fish was served in a ponzu sauce, with scallions. Very tasty start to the meal.

I could not decide which picture I liked the best, so I decided to put both of them up here. This Tuna from Hawaii was far from fishy tasting. It was as clean tasting as it was good looking in the pictures.

Next up in our fish parade was the Red Snapper, this one from New Zealand. This was also served with ponzu sauce. It has probably become obvious to you now that this fish was as fresh as you can get, just like all of the stuff we were served here.

The only roll we would be served all night would be this Blue Crab Roll. This would be the only one we would need. This was deemed best by all of us. It was dressed with mayo and rice, and had a consistency like a tuna sandwich, but much smoother, and way more rich and flavorful. Kat loved this enough to have many more of these. I could have eaten this crab by the shovelful.

This mellow looking piece was the Yellowtail. Do not let the plain look of this fool you, this one was delicious.

With a striking resemblance to Nemo, this Scottish Salmon was the next to grace our plates. The toasted sesame seeds on top of this was a nice touch here, and helped enhance the flavor of this. I even got a second one of this wonderful salmon.

At this point we had a nice change of pace with the Baked Scallop. This warm fish dish was big on salty flavor, but Katie was not a fan of this. She felt that the scallop's here were too small, and she prefers a meatier scallop. I liked this well enough, but maybe because it broke up the monotony of all the sushi.

The Chopped Toro was next up. Not only did this toro look like cotton candy, but it evaporated just as quickly. Very light and mega smooth.

And the fish just keep swimming by. These are the Oysters served with ponzu sauce. These were not as chewy as I expected, and the flavor of the sauce really enhanced the flavor of the oyster.

The one miss of the entire night for me was the Uni, which the chef said was from Santa Barbara. I have never had uni before, and the texture and flavor of it did not sit right for either Katie and I. I am sure it is not bad, but more of an acquired taste.

Finally we come to the last of our sushi cavalcade, the Shrimp. This shrimp was not as flavorful as I have had other places, but I am not used to having it prepared this way either. It was okay though.

To be honest with you this was a very hard post for me to write. I admit I am not very knowledgeable about sushi, and I do not appreciate it as much as I should. Hopefully that will come in time. I can admit something that I never thought I would say about a sushi place, I was really full after eating here. I had it all planned out to pick up something else on the way home, but it became unnecessary after the amount of fish I consumed here.

I do know that this was some high quality fish, and it was prepared well. After reading Monster Munching's review it seems that the chef's selections do not really deviate too much. He basically had the exact same meal two years ago. It was delicious, but a little pricey. For the three of us our bill came to $252, which works out to $84 a person before tip. A little on the high side for my novice approach to sushi. The service was not overly friendly, but they were quick to clear plates and refill our drinks. The sushi chef was very focused on his work, and only spoke to inform us what we were eating. No need for him to talk, because it gave us plenty of time to catch up with our good friend Kat. Thanks for taking us here Kat.

So out of five roots, (because writing this blog I learned that Wasabi comes from a root), five being best to zero being worst, Sushi Wasabi gets 3.5 roots.

Sushi Wasabi does not have a web site, but you can check out reviews and information here: http://www.yelp.com/biz/sushi-wasabi-tustin

Football Frenzy #8 Rudy's Pub and Grill - CLOSED

Rudy's Pub and Grill

26772 Portola Pkwy.

Foothill Ranch, CA 92610

Okay, I admit I have been pretty lax on trying to find the best sports bar to watch football on Sunday mornings. It has been a crazy fall for me, but I think the real reason is that my favorite team the Jaguars, stink. I know that this is not a sports blog, but they get rid of their quarterback four days before the season, they have a coach who makes some questionable decisions, and they do not play their star player nearly enough. Ugh, it makes me not want to watch football, but I am a true fan, so we headed out to a sports bar I have never been to before, Rudy's Pub and Grill.

I guess I should clarify that I have never been to this location of Rudy's. Their other location on the peninsula in Newport Beach used to be my old stomping grounds. My friends and I used to hang out there, even before they added the retractable roof, and got rid of the pool tables. This location opened in 2008, far away from the hustle and bustle of the Newport location, in the quiet suburban spread of Foothill Ranch.

We got to Rudy's just before kickoff, and lucky for us our friend Richard had saved us two seats at a high top table in the back of the restaurant, where our game was playing. The place was packed with spirited fans, that I was surprised to see in this quiet community. They have lots of TV's, but they seemed too high. The place was also very warm inside. After watching my team give up a touchdown in the first five minutes, I was ready to order some food.

Katie will start us off with her breakfast, the Huevos Rancheros. At Rudy's, this traditional Mexican breakfast was served with black beans. Katie called this, "better than expected". She also felt that the black beans gave this dish a smokiness that really stood out. She also ordered a side of hash browns, which looked, and tasted very similar to those served at McDonald's.

To be honest, I have no idea what Richard was thinking when he ordered this Egg Dipped Bagel. Maybe he was not hungry or did not read the description of this right. Anyways, this bland-looking dish was just called okay by our good friend Richard. I had a feeling Richard would get something off of their lunch menu later on.

This colorful dish belonged to me, the Southwest Scramble. This scramble included eggs, cheese, chorizo, potatoes, onions, and chili. With all of these ingredients, you would expect this to burst with flavor, but the opposite was true. This plate was dry, the eggs were unnoticeable, and Tabasco did not help this dish in the least.

As I predicted, Richard, of course, had lunch here. We had smelled the brisket cooking on the back patio all game long, and I was glad when Richard got it, so I could try a bite. The brisket was cooked perfectly to a nice medium rare. The sandwich was good sized and came with guacamole, lettuce, and tomato. It was good, but the meat could have been more tender. The bun was decent and held up to the contents of the sandwich. Not bad, but I am not sure I would order this sandwich the next time I was here.

Rudy's was an okay place to watch football on Sundays. Our criteria are great food, great service, and great atmosphere. The service was the only thing great while we were here. Our waitress kept coming over and asking if she could get us anything else and refilling our glasses on a regular basis. The atmosphere here is just okay. The restaurant is loud, and the fans are a little more on the rambunctious side. The food is really what does this place in. The breakfasts that we had did not satisfy, and the sandwich was average. Just like my team's lackluster performance this Sunday, Rudy's matched it with a lackluster breakfast.

Out of five leprechaun's, (because the movie Rudy was based on a Notre Dame football player, and their mascot is a leprechaun), five being best to zero being worst, Rudy's Pub and Grill gets 2 leprechauns.

For more information on Rudy's Pub and Grill, click here: http://rudyspubandgrill.com/