Food Frenzy Invades Taste of Sicily! - CLOSED

Taste of Sicily

655 N. Tustin Ave.

Orange, CA 92867

You may think that being a food blogger is a pretty solitary experience. I thought it would be as I started this blog over two years ago. What I have discovered, though, is that I became part of the food community of our grand county. I have been lucky enough to be invited to great events from time to time, and up until now, everyone has been so lovely and welcoming. So it was with great excitement that I was headed to another great food event, the Food Frenzy Foodie Fest.

In case you do not know, the Orange County Register has a food blog (http://foodfrenzy.ocregister.com/),  where they review restaurants, pass on information, and on rare occasions, meet up to eat, find new places, and talk about our passion, food. This meet-up would be extra great because we would be able to meet Food Frenzy's newest blogger Kathleen Luppi. As well as Kathleen, other bloggers in attendance were Nathan from Papa Kaster Eatin, Niyaz, representing Fat Dude On A Diet, and one of my favorite blogs to read, Eat In OC, which is written by Dan. With all of these food bloggers and readers of Food Frenzy here, of course, we talked about food and shared some laughs and food-related stories, but when the food came, everyone turned into TMZ, and the cameras came out, just like on the red carpet. So let's see if the food is ready for its close-up.

After being seated, we were presented with these Garlic Knots. Katie prides herself on being a garlic knot connoisseur, and she pronounced these as some of the best she has had. They were soft on the inside and were not overly saturated with garlic. I would have liked more garlic here, but these were good, and I ate my fair share. Next time I will ask for a side of ranch dressing with these.

Both mine and Katie's meals came with a Dinner Salad. This was your basic dinner salad. I did enjoy the cheese added to this, and they were very liberal with the dressing, which is always a plus for me.

Food Frenzy reader Michael ordered some Fried Calamari and was generous enough that allow all of us to sample it. I felt this was a little overdone, but I enjoyed the breading here. It was thick but did not get in the way of the squid. Thanks for the sample, Michael!

When it was my turn to order, I was at a loss for what to get, but I finally decided on the Pasta Carbonara. This mostaccioli dish was served with bacon, basil, and a cream sauce. The first few bites of this were good, but as time passed, it became too rich. The sauce was very heavy, and I could only finish three-quarters of this plate. I would probably choose something different from their menu next time.

Claudia, our event organizer, barely made a dent in her medium Green Margherita Garlic Pizza. This thin-crust pizza came with a green pesto sauce, mozzarella, and roasted garlic. I wanted to try some of this but was too full from my meal. However, she seemed very pleased with her choice here, and I am sure she had leftovers for a long while after.

Niyaz was thoughtful enough to package his wife some of his Baked Ziti, with sausage added, to go. I forgot to ask him how it was, but I did not hear any complaints from him.

Katie also went the pasta route with her selection, the Tortellini with Blush Sauce. She liked the sharpness of the cheese used in the tortellini and felt the blush sauce had a nice full body, which complimented the pasta well. I tried a bite of hers and felt this was an excellent, mellow dish.

Nathan was more than happy to show off his Sausage Sandwich. This $12 sandwich was huge. Unfortunately, the picture does not do it justice. This sandwich could easily feed two people with a normal appetite. It looked terrific too.

Taste of Sicily was not a bad spot for this Food Frenzy Foodie Fest. The restaurant was comfortable, low-key, and could easily accommodate our party. The prices here were not bad for a sit-down Italian place. The pasta dish ranged in the $10 to $15 range, and the chicken and beef dishes were a little more. The serving sizes were definitely suitable. You will probably have leftovers. The service on the night we were here was outstanding. They are under new management, so the menu will be tweaked, but all of the pizza, sandwiches, and pasta will probably be safe.

So another Foodie Fest is done. I look forward to the next one. I would like to thank Claudia at Food Frenzy and, of course, all of the people we had the pleasure of dining with at this food event. I look forward to swapping food stories and many more meals in the future.

Out of five Coppola's (a traditional flat cap worn in Sicily, and now regarded as the definitive symbol of Sicilian heritage), five being best to zero being worst, Taste of Sicily gets 2.5 Coppola's.

For more information on Taste of Sicily, click here: http://www.tasteofsicily.net/

Fulfilling Breakfast at Flappy Jacks

Flappy Jack's Pancake House

2848 N. Santiago Blvd.

Orange, CA 92867

I go to my parents house in Yorba Linda every Monday. Right before the 55 freeway merges into the 91 freeway, there used to be a Spires Restaurant, just off of Lincoln. It was there for as long as I can remember.  I always used to think it was an odd place for a restaurant. It was so removed from all of the other business's on nearby Tustin Avenue. It is seen from the freeway, but the off ramp is before you can see the restaurant, so I would not imagine them getting a lot of freeway traffic stopping by. What do I know though? The Spires was there for a long time, and the new joint is busy every time we drive by. This new breakfast place in the neighborhood is Flappy Jack"s.

Flappy Jack's has filled out the rather large restaurant nicely. They definitely need the room. We arrived at 8:30 on a Sunday morning, and the place was bustling with activity. I have been told that at some of their peak times, waits can be as long as an hour, or more. The restaurant is decked out with large murals of the downtown Orange area, statues of Elvis and other 50's icons, and classic rock and roll music over the PA system. They are definitely going for a diner vibe here, without going over the top by having the waitress's wearing poodle skirts.

This is the second location for Flappy Jack's. The other location is in Glendora. Checking out Yelp, they really get glowing reviews. The menu here is huge. The portions are supposedly huge, and I could not be more excited to try the food here. So let's see what we ended up with.

Okay, I know what you are thinking. After all that build up about big portions and everything, I use this as the first meal that I show. Well, I figure I will gets this one out of the way first. It is my Mom's breakfast, the Bacon and Eggs. This two egg dish came with four strips of bacon, (she gave my Dad and I a strip each before I snapped the picture). This breakfast also comes with toast or pancakes, she of course went with toast, and the option between home style potatoes, cottage cheese, or tomatoes. As if you could not tell from the picture, she went with the healthy option, the fruit. This $7 breakfast was called, "solid", by my Mom. She felt the fruit was fresh, and the price was more than reasonable.

Do not tell the good guys over at Disney that they are serving Mickey Mouse Pancakes here. This one was off of the kids menu, for my niece Lillie. It was more than enough breakfast for her. She took close to half of this home. She liked the melted chocolate chips, and felt there was enough of them here. I did not get to try a bite of this, but looking back on it I would have liked to have tried this.

At Flappy Jack's they offer 22 different omelette's to choose from. After some great debate, my Dad went with the Mushroom and Swiss. This four egg omelette was not finished by the old man. He managed to put a lot of it away though. This omelette was stuffed with more than enough mushrooms and cheese to satisfy.

Instead of getting one of the omelette's, Katie got one of the 12 skillets that are offered here. This Santa Fe Skillet came with tomato, onions, bell peppers, spicy bacon, and Monterey Jack cheese. This skillet only came with two eggs, but the amount of the other items here more than made up for that. Katie felt this was hearty and delicious. I had her leftovers for lunch the next day, and there was more than enough to fill me up. I would have liked this a lot better with a runny egg, but Katie is not a fan of that kind of egg.

The skillet parade continued with Kristin's pick, the Oklahoma Skillet. This simple skillet combined ham and cheddar cheese, with potatoes. Again, this was enough for breakfast here, and lunch later at home. She was impressed with the jelly selection here, but was not a fan of the potatoes. The potatoes here were cut very thin, almost had a noodle texture to them. Besides not liking the cut of the spud, we all felt that these potatoes needed to be crisper.

My nautical themed breakfast was the Neptune Omelette. This breakfast dish was as big as a life preserver. This omelette included bay shrimp, crab, bell peppers, green onions, Cajun seasonings, and I added jack and cheddar cheese to this. In case this omelette was not rich enough, this one was topped with hollandaise sauce. I am a very big eater, but even I could not finish this plate. The omelette was good, and had a good flavor. This breakfast would have been made better with different potatoes, but the girth of this omelette more than made up for the spud's deficiency.

You did not think that we would go to a restaurant named, Flappy Jacks, and not get Flap Jacks, did you? Lucky for us all of the breakfasts here come with your choice of toast or pancakes. A no-brainer of a choice in my opinion. The pancakes here are light and fluffy. They do not sacrifice flavor though. The buttermilk flavor comes through.

Flappy Jack's was all it was said to be. The menu was indeed huge, with the portions to match. The service was actually really good while we were here. They have an army of servers, bussers, and hostess's to get food in and out quick. The prices here were a little on the high side, but with the amount of food you receive it is easier to rationalize an $11 omelette. Not the best breakfast we have had, but this place will definitely fill you up and start you off on your day. If you are like us, you may not even have to eat lunch after eating here.

Out of five wrestlers, (because a flap jack is a move in wrestling, and after eating here you may need to do some wrestling to work off the humongous breakfast you just ate), five being best to zero being worst, Flappy Jack's gets 3 wrestlers.

For more information on Flappy Jack's, click here: http://flappyjacks.com/

Bomb Breakfast Burrito at Troy's?

Troy's Burgers

404 E. Lincoln

Orange, CA 92865

Anyone who has read this blog regularly knows that I am a fanatic about breakfast burritos. I had the best breakfast burrito of my life when we visited Lucky Boy Drive-In in Pasadena last year. Since then, I have searched for a breakfast burrito in OC that equals or surpasses that experience, but I have not found it.

I had read one of my favorite blogs, Eat In OC, and he exclaimed that Troy's in Orange makes the best breakfast burrito in Orange County. Likewise, another blog I read, Papa Kaster Eatin', raved about the breakfast burrito here. So, it was a non-issue where we would be eating breakfast after taking family pictures in North OC. We were headed to Troy's Burgers.

Troy's is a small joint off the beaten track. It has been around for a long time. After ordering at the counter, we went into the small, five-table restaurant to wait for the breakfast burritos. After about ten minutes, they arrived, which is how they turned out.

The first picture with the dollar bill will show you how big of a burrito we are discussing here. It's not the biggest one I have had, but it's good-sized and filled me up. Above is the Bacon Breakfast Burrito. The burrito really had a good flavor on its own. The potato can sometimes get in the way with lots of breakfast burritos, but that is not the case here. It complemented the egg and cheese well. The bacon added saltiness, but the only complaint I could make about this burrito was the slight lack of bacon. A few more slices would have made this even better, but they did have a secret weapon to counteract the lack of swine.

The salsa verde really added big-time flavor to the breakfast burritos. It was spicy and flavorful without being overbearing. Sometimes, salsa can take over proceedings, which is all you taste. This was not true here. The flavor was delicious, and you get a little kick at the end of each bite.

Here is a quick shot of the Sausage Breakfast Burrito. This one was like the bacon one above, but it had sausage links. I would have liked this better if the sausage had been sliced up instead of just left whole. I usually do not go for sausage in breakfast burritos, but we wanted to try a variety.

Since we had just finished getting our family pictures, my nieces ate with us but were not keen on breakfast burritos. They were disappointed that no pancakes were on the menu, so they settled for Chicken Strips, Fries, and a side of Sausage. I know, crazy kids! The chicken strips were cooked well because they used fresh oil, and everyone ate breakfast burritos. Lillie had the sausage, and when I asked her how it was, she commented, "it is good, and they are not spicy". The fries were good as well, your standard fast-food fries.

Am I ready to declare Troy's the best breakfast burrito in the OC? I am prepared to do that, but there are a few more that I want to try before I declare them the king of the breakfast burrito. I know Pepe's is in Placentia, Ham 'n Scram in Westminster, and Athenian III in Buena Park. I look forward to doing some delicious research, but like my Dad said at Troy's, "This is the best breakfast burrito I have had in Orange County." Up until this point in time, I have to agree with him.

Out of five gemstones (because gems are weighed using the Troy system, and great breakfast burritos are as valuable as precious stones), five being best to zero being best, Troy's Burgers gets 3 gemstones.

Troy's Burgers does not have a website, but you can find information about them here: http://www.yelp.com/biz/troys-drive-in-orange

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