Tooting Their Horn at Tutto Fresco

Tutto Fresco

30642 Santa Margarita Parkway

Rancho Santa Margarita, CA 92688

I don't like to pigeonhole my friends, but I do it almost every time we go out. I have friends that are my steak experts. I have friends that know about great burgers. I even have friends and family that know about great sushi places to try. This is the second time we have been out with Chuck and Stephanie, and they are quickly becoming my, "Italian food couple".

On our first journey out with them we went to Antonucci's in Mission Viejo. For this dining adventure, we made the trek out to Tutto Fresco in RSM. I had not realized how popular this place is. They get very positive reviews on Yelp, and they have an 85 percent approval rating on Urbanspoon. There is also another location of Tutto Fresco in Orange. That location is more of a casual Italian restaurant. They even have a drive-thru. Now that is casual.

No drive-thru at this location. When we arrived here at 7 on a Friday night, the restaurant was packed. We did not have to wait for a table though. The dining room is comfortable even though the tables are pretty close to each other. High-backed chairs give you a kind of intimacy that you might not get without them. After perusing the rather large menu this is what we came up with.

First off, the obligatory bread basket shot. The bread here was soft and good. It was definitely seasoned with some herbs. The bread was made even better by dipping it in olive oil and vinegar.

The last time we were out with Stephanie and Chuck we had a very good bruschetta. At Tutto Fresco we hoped lightning would strike twice with the Bruschetta al Pomodoro. This, "do it yourself", bruschetta was served in a bowl and then we put it on the toasted bread. This bruschetta was very citrusy and was mostly in a liquid state. Not a bad bruschetta, but not the best we have had.

Both Katie and I had salads to start us off. She went with the Garden Salad. This salad included cucumber, carrots, tomatoes, croutons, and shredded zucchini, along with her choice of dressing, Ranch. She liked the fresh ingredients here, and the salad was a nice start to the meal. I had the Caesar Salad, which was your basic Caesar with romaine lettuce, croutons, Parmesan cheese, and Caesar dressing. I liked that they added extra dressing here. Basic, but still a solid salad.

I was always told to defer to my elders, so we will start with Old Man Chuck's meal. In his infinite wisdom, he selected the Jambalaya Risotto. This plate combined rice with chicken, sausage, shrimp, red and yellow peppers, onions, tomatoes, and celery in a lightly spiced Cajun sauce. You don't see this on a lot of menus at Italian restaurants. The meats were pretty good in this, but there were zero spicinesses going on here. You can not call it a jambalaya if there is no spice. Chuck summed up his meal as, "good, but not great".

What we all agreed was great was Stephanie's dinner, the Chipotle Chicken Linguine. This flavorful dish was made up of blackened chicken, red and yellow peppers, roasted corn, and onions, in a spicy chipotle cream sauce. The chicken was tender and full of flavor with the spices used on it. The sauce was spicy, without taking away from the rest of the dish. It woke up the taste buds without being overpowering. I would recommend this meal on visits here.

I have come to the conclusion that I should give up on ordering veal in restaurants. Not based on some moral grounds, but because I am almost always let down by it. Not saying this was a bad dish or anything, but I thought it would be better. Vitello alla Romana was my choice at Tutto Fresco. Veal scallopine sauteed in butter and sage, then topped with rosemary ham and provolone cheese. This sounded like it could not go wrong, right? Well, it was served only lukewarm, but was sent back and came out much better temperature-wise. The veal was not as tender as the veal should be. If I order veal I should be able to cut it with only my fork, that is the whole point of veal. The flavors here were not bad on this plate, I just expected more. This was served with a side of Spaghetti Checca, which is a pasta sauteed with tomatoes, feta cheese, capers, basil, and garlic. Not a bad side pasta dish. It helped round out the plate.

The last of our meals was Katie's, the Linguine Alla Cardinale. This dish was comprised of ribbon pasta, with sun-dried tomatoes, grilled chicken, and a tomato cream sauce. Not a bad meal at all. The flavor of this was a little on the mellow side but was easily spiced up by some red pepper flakes. The tomato cream sauce was very good and clung to items well. Sun-dried tomatoes added a nice little sweetness to the plate.

Dessert time at Tutto Fresco. We decided to get two of their selections and split them. The first choice was the Tiramisu. I am not usually a tiramisu kind of guy, but this one was very good. Moist, without a very heavy espresso taste. You could still taste the espresso in there, but it did overpower the whole dessert. This is a very well-made tiramisu and a very good serving size. More than enough for two people to share.

Also, a big serving was our other dessert, the Carrot Cake. Four layers of cake with cream cheese frosting and walnuts. I just have to say it, this has been the best carrot cake I have had since writing this blog. Great moist cake, solid cream cheese frosting, and a nice, comforting spice added up to making this a great finish to this meal. Even if the meals were awful, I would plan to make a trip back here just to have that carrot cake again.

Fortunately, the meals were not horrible, and we will probably return here in the future so I can have some more of that carrot cake. I might have been disappointed with my meal, but everyone else liked theirs. I will have to try something else on our next visit. The prices were not crazy out of control here either. Prices hovered around the $14 mark for almost all items on the menu. Service was very strong during our visit here. Glad we spent some time with our Italian experts, Chuck and Stephanie. Can not wait to do it again in the future.

Out of five hockey pucks, (because Rancho Santa Margarita native, Jonathon Blum, has played for the Nashville Predators in parts of two seasons. Pretty good for a kid from sunny Southern California), five being best to zero being worst, Tutto Fresco gets 3 hockey pucks.

For more information on Tutto Fresco, click here: https://tuttofresco.com/trattoria/

Educating Ourselves on Macarons - CLOSED

Merely Sweets

260 W. Birch

Brea, CA 92821

We have done some firsts around Eating My Way Through OC lately. We recently did our first review in the city of Brea. Now, this will be our first full-on bakery review, which happens to be in Brea. Crazy how that works!

My family has recently been introduced to macarons. To be honest, I had never had one until a few weeks ago. I had read about them on other people's blogs but had yet to try them. I really did not understand the hype surrounding them. I was still trying to distinguish between macarons and macaroons. I think I got that part down now. Macaroons with an extra "o" are the coconut-based cookies we grew up with. These are found on shelves in your local supermarket. Macarons are sandwich-like cookies in various flavors and colors, filling inside.

After going out to lunch, I went to Merely Sweets with my Mom. She was raving about these macarons, so I was excited to try them. Merely Sweets is a small bakery in the downtown district of Brea. This area has been cleaned up since the last time I was here. Lots of stores and restaurants all over the place. Merely Sweets is a very clean/sterile bakery. White is definitely the dominant trait here. All baking is done in the back, away from prying eyes. Let's see what they have in store for us.

Merely Sweets has a small space, so only four glass cases are full of baked goods. When we were here, they featured about six different cupcakes, some tarts, a few varieties of cookies, and some buttery-looking palmiers that I will have to try on future visits. For now, though, I was focused on macarons.

The first lesson that I learned about macarons is that these little suckers are a little pricey. $1.65 apiece, or $18.50 for a dozen, which brings them down to about $1.54 each. Merely Sweets had 10 different flavors the day we were here. Some of the more interesting-sounding ones were Gingerbread, Earl Grey, and Vanilla Bean. My Mom did not want to mess around with any of these flavors. She already knew what flavors she wanted. So we picked up a dozen and headed home to disperse them among the family.

My favorite macaron of the day was this Salted Caramel version. I have been on a real salted caramel kick lately. The two flavors work so well together that it is frightening. When I first bit into the macarons, I was surprised at how soft they were. They melted away in my mouth. The flavor was dead on what it was supposed to be: salted caramel. These were also richer than I imagined they would be.

In my family, there is great debate over which of these two macarons is better: the salted caramel or the Peanut Butter and Jelly. I liked this one, but I give the edge to the salted caramel. This one reminded me of being a kid. The PB&J was right on. Again, the outer shell dissolved right after the initial crunch, leaving the taste buds to savor the peanut butter and jelly. It was a very close second to the salted caramel.

The Hazelnut Chocolate did not reach the critical acclaim that the other two macarons did. They were good, but the hazelnut flavor did not shine through. Got more chocolate here.

Cake Pops are also all the rage right now. My nieces each had one. These are definitely different from Tootsie Roll Pops; it only takes three bites to finish them. Five-year-old Lillie said, "This is the best cake pop I have had!" That is a bold statement for a five-year-old who has had her fair share of cake pops in her half-decade.

Merely Sweets was a great place to be introduced to macarons. They were a lot better than I had imagined. These will be the macarons that I judge all others by. I am also happy that I finally learned the difference between macarons and macaroons.

Out of five Big Macs (because macarons are so popular in France that even McDonald's sells them), five being best to zero being worst, Merely Sweets gets 3 Big Macs.

For more information on Merely Sweets, click here: http://www.merelysweets.com/

Tapping Into Brea's Restaurants - CLOSED

Taps Fish House and Brewery

101 E. Imperial Highway

Brea, CA 92821

It's hard to believe, but this will be the first restaurant we have reviewed in Brea. A few reviews back, I lamented that there were some cities in OC that we had not made it to—--eight, to be exact. Don't worry, La Palma. We are on our way to see what you have to offer culinary-wise.

For now, though, we can finally cross Brea off of our list. This is really crazy to me because when I was growing up in Yorba Linda in the early to mid-80s, Brea was the city we went to a lot for dinner. There were very limited dining choices in Yorba Linda. Some might say that is still the case, but that is a topic for another post.

Back then, Brea had the new two-story mall. We made way fewer trips to the one-story Orange Mall. Dining options in Brea were numerous, too. They had a large food court, a Bobby McGee's, and a Big Yellow House, which was a chicken restaurant. They weighed the kids upon entering, and that determined how much you would pay. I also liked drinking out of the mason jars; very cool.

Okay, getting a little off track now with all of this nostalgia. Flash forward to today; of course, everything is a little more built up around here. The city of Brea has done some great things to their downtown area. Houses are being restored, new hip restaurants are moving in, and they are attracting people from outside the city with their movie theaters and comedy clubs.

One of the first businesses to have the foresight of what was to come was Taps. They opened in 1999 when the revitalization of Downtown Brea had just gotten going. It must have been a roll of the dice to open a seafood restaurant in landlocked Brea, but it is a gamble that has seemed to pay off. They now have another Taps in Corona, even farther from the ocean. Let's see the food in this stalwart of Brea restaurants.

After being seated for lunch, we were brought this quarter loaf of warm Sourdough Bread. Accompanied by an olive oil dip, this bread was very good and did not stand a chance. First, my Mom and I were both hungry; second, it was very good bread. It had a chewy crust while being soft on the inside, and it had a solid sourdough flavor throughout.

After a little lag in the action, our appetizer came out. I'm unsure what they call this because I forgot to write down the name, which is not on their online menu. This fried potato skin was topped with crab, asparagus, Bearnaise sauce, and bacon, like an "Oscar" style potato skin. This well-put-together appetizer had great crab flavor, while the crunchiness and saltiness of the bacon really popped here. The potato was fried perfectly, but the $14 price tag for three potato skins was a little over the top.

My Mom was not feeling seafood on this trip to Taps, so she went with the interesting named B.L.A.T.T. Sandwich. This sandwich combined bacon, lettuce, avocado, tomato, and turkey, with mayo substituted for the normal Green Goddess dressing that usually goes on this. She was very happy with this sandwich. Lots of soft turkey and bread that still held the contents of the sandwich without being toasted were some of the highlights for Mom with this sandwich.

Of course, I would not let this opportunity go by without trying some seafood, so I went with the Maine Lobster and Shrimp Roll. Shrimp and lobster are tossed with a lemon creme fraiche aioli and put in an authentic New England-style roll. This needed a little something extra. The lobster and shrimp were good but could have used more to fill the bun and make this sandwich less bready. The lemon was not too noticeable here, which actually helped make the seafood the star of this sandwich like it should be. The truffle potato chips that came with this were very good and not overpowered by the truffle. The Cole slaw was very subdued here.

We got to Taps on a Monday at noon after another restaurant we wanted to try was closed. Taps was not busy, so we did not have to wait for a table. The atmosphere here was that of an upscale seafood restaurant, without the stuffiness that usually comes along with places like this. Some businessmen filled in the comfortable booths around us, but they never got that lunch rush. The service was very professional. The food lagged a little bit, being brought from the kitchen, but that lent to the leisurely vibe of this restaurant. Prices were okay for a seafood restaurant that was not named Red Lobster. My sandwich was $15, while my Mom's turkey sandwich was $11. If Taps is any indication of how good the restaurants are in Brea, we will have to come back real soon.

Out of five barrels of tar (because the Spanish word brea translates to the word tar, hearkening back to Brea's days as an oil town), five being best to zero being worst, Taps Fish House and Brewery gets 3.5 barrels of tar.

For more information about Taps Fish House and Brewery, click here: http://www.tapsfishhouse.com/brea/

Out of This World Italian at Cosmo's? - CLOSED

Cosmo's Italian Kitchen

23411 Aliso Viejo Parkway

Aliso Viejo, CA 92656

I read lots of food blogs. I like being in the know on what's going to be opening, closing, and what are the latest trends. I read all of the posts that the great writers put up at Stick A Fork In It. They do a great job of keeping all of us from OC up to date with the food happenings around here. One of my favorite writers there is Dave Lieberman.

Not only a great writer but a good guy as well. I had the privilege of meeting him once at an event, and we talked about numerous things. The one thing that stuck out for me was that he offered me $5 if I could find something worthwhile to eat in Aliso Viejo. Being put on the spot, and even later when I could not think of anyplace, I put it in the back of my mind to take that Lincoln bill from his wallet. Every time we eat in the AV, I always have it in the back of my mind that this is could be, "the one". That is what I was thinking when we came to Cosmo's in Aliso Viejo.

Cosmo's is in a little strip mall, away from the larger shopping center of the area, the Aliso Viejo Town Center. Cosmo's has been around since 1998. They have two locations, with their other location being in Las Flores.

We arrived at the restaurant at 7 on a Friday night. Prime dining time for sure. We had about a twenty-minute wait. Once inside we were treated very warmly. The place was packed and loud. Tables are very close together. After checking out the large menu, we made our selections, and this is how it all came to our table.

Here is a quick look at the breadbasket. Nothing too crazy about it. We were all very hungry, so we made quick work of this basket. The bread was soft and went well with the olive oil and vinegar. 

This wonderfully plated dish was the Mozzarella Caprese. Not really my kind of appetizer, but they all liked the freshness of this plate. Fresh buffalo mozzarella with tomatoes, olive oil, and basil made up this good-sized appetizer. More than enough for three people to share.

At Cosmo's, they really like to garnish their appetizers with almost a whole salad in the middle of the plate. The Britt's Bruschetta, Toscana Style was no exception to this. The fresh tomato was joined by garlic, green onions, and herbs on toasted bread. We all really liked this appetizer. The flavors melded well together, and the fresh ingredients really made the plate come alive. 

Matt and I both got salads to go along with our meals. He went with John's House salad. This one came with red onion, shaved Parmesan, and vinaigrette. I had the Caesar Salad, which was your basic Caesar. I did like the amount of dressing that they use here, but I usually like more than the average person. This salad could have used a little more cheese, but the croutons were pretty good here. 

This odd-looking dish was Katie's selection, the Rotelle Emiliana. Described in the menu as rolled pasta with spinach, ricotta cheese, and Parmesan, with a tomato cream vodka sauce. I am very against adding to menu items in restaurants, but she wanted chicken added to this dish for some reason. The chicken was added to the outside of the dish and was on the lukewarm side. I give Cosmo's credit for doing what the customer wants, so they get no knocks for the chicken. However, the rest of the dish had temperature issues as well. Katie called this meal, "unremarkable". Based on the bite I had of this, I would have to agree. I liked the sauce, but there was nothing going on with the pasta. 

A much better meal was Stacy's pick, the Pasta Rustica. This familiar-sounding plate included bow tie pasta, chicken, artichoke hearts, sun-dried tomatoes, and mushrooms in a roasted garlic cream sauce. The sauce really clung to the pasta well, and the taste was right on. All of the items in the bowl worked well with each other to make this the best plate of the night. Good picking Stacy!

Both Matt and I went with the same thing here. At least it is less typing for me. I do not know why I always gravitate towards Carbonara's, because it is a tough dish to make me happy. At Cosmo's the carbonara is made with spaghetti, cream, butter, Romano cheese, peas, eggs, and prosciutto. This meal was very ordinary. The prosciutto was way too mellow. Bacon would have added some much needed salty goodness here. The sauce was creamy but was very plain tasting. The pasta was cooked fine, but I would opt for something different here on future visits. 

We were with Matt, so of course, dessert is a must. He selected the Cheesecake. This cheesecake was pretty good. Not chalky like some can be. It was light and had a good milky flavor. The graham cracker crust was good and helped break up the taste of the cheesecake. 

You can never go wrong with Chocolate Bundt Cake, but when ice cream, whipped cream and chocolate sauce are added it makes it even better! The cake portion of this was moist and very chocolaty. The ice cream enhanced this as well. Could have used a little more ice cream, but when would that ever be a bad idea? Solid dessert. 

After eating at Cosmo's, I can safely say that Dave's $5 bill will stay in his wallet for now. The food was not awful, but nothing that is jaw-dropping. The menu items we had all were pretty average but lacked the wow factor. Service was very good the night we were here, and it was very busy. Pasta dishes run about $14 on average and are a little overpriced for the serving sizes that you receive. Still on the lookout for the best of Aliso Viejo, so get that $5 ready for me Dave.

Out of five coffee table books, (because the character Cosmo Kramer on Seinfeld authored a book about coffee tables in season 5), five being best to zero being worst, Cosmo's gets 2.5 coffee table books.

For more information about Cosmo's Italian Kitchen, click here: http://www.cosmositaliankitchen.com/

Casting Our Line at Spike's Fish House

Spike's Fish House

30465 Avenida De Las Flores

Rancho Santa Margarita, CA 92688

It has been four months since Katie has moved to Rancho Santa Margarita. I admit I was a little worried when she moved to the outskirts of OC. I was of course not worried about her safety. RSM is one of the safest cities in America. A city where a major crime can be classified as skateboarders congregating in a park, or two residents fighting over laundry at a laundromat, both of these from the actual police blotter on February 2nd and 4th. What I was really worried about was finding places to eat. RSM always seems so far away from everything, it can take forever to get anywhere from there.

Luckily, since her move four months ago, it has been announced that Bruxie and Mi Casa were coming to town. Really looking forward to these places opening so close. I was also intrigued by this place, Spike's Fish House. Opened in late 2011 by Pasta Bravo founder Tim Aspel, Spike's Fish House is his response to the anti-carb and gluten free hysteria that has taken over in the last few years.

Consumers must appreciate his efforts, because there are now two locations of Spike's, (this one in RSM, along with a location in nearby Laguna Niguel). Fast casual fish places have dotted the OC landscape here and there recently. Boneheads, California Fish Grill, the now defunct Corner Fish Grill, and also fish taco stalwarts, Wahoo's and Rubio's are all trying to get their fair share of the your fish dollars, or should I say sand dollars? Okay I will stop with the bad puns for now, sorry. It is worth noting that Tim opened this location of Spike's right next to a Rubio's. Not afraid of the competition at all. Let's see if Rubio's has any reason to be nervous about Spike's.

After ordering at the counter the food is brought out to your table. First to arrive was Kevin's selection, the Shrimp, Fish and Chips. I was surprised by the very generous size of the battered cod served with this. Two very large pieces, along with three shrimp, and sides of fries and Cole slaw rounded out this plate. Kevin seemed to have enjoyed this meal, as was evident by the quickness in which he inhaled it. All that remained was the Cole slaw, which he admitted to not being a fan of. Not that this one was bad, he just does not like any Cole slaw.

Sara really had no idea what to get here, so after some prodding/heckling on my part she settled on the Panko Style Tilapia Bowl. Joining the fish in the bowl was white rice and vegetables. At Spike's there are five sauces to choose from when getting your fish. She selected the Spike's Sauce, a slightly tangy sauce, that was a little too thin for my taste.

Katie was very excited by her pick, the Basa Bowl. She chose to have the fish prepared Cajun style, and was very surprised by the freshness of the fish here. The veggies were equally as fresh, and she is excited to try Spike's again.

The night we were here they were running a special on Basa Tacos, so that is what I went with. At Spike's the tacos come with cabbage, pico de gallo, and spikes sauce, which is a little tangier than most sauces that come in fish tacos. I opted for flour tortillas instead of corn, and chose french fries as a side item. I liked the tacos a lot, but felt they needed less of the pico de gallo. Too many tomatoes in it. The fish itself was flaky, with a good flavor. I would probably ask for their creamy tarter sauce on my next visit here. The Spike's sauce just did not do it for me. The fries were pretty average.

I enjoyed the trip to Spike's. It felt good to eat a lighter/healthier meal for a change. I would describe Spike's as a build your own meal place, like a Chipotle, but without serving mediocre food. Pick your style of meal; bowl, salad, wrap, or sandwich, then you choose your favorite fish out of the usual eight offerings. Finish it up with the sauce of your choice. With all of these options, you can have schools of different meals for awhile. Prices on the menu average out to be around $11 per meal. Not crazy bad, but not exactly cheap either. When we arrived here at 7 on a Thursday night there was definitely a steady stream of customers through the doors. Service was pretty quick, and the restaurant was well maintained. When we were leaving, I glanced over to Rubio's, and they were much busier than Spike's. It might take some time for Spike's to battle the big fish chains, but they are headed in the right direction.

Out of five fish hooks, five being best to zero being worst, Spike's Fish House gets 3 fish hooks.

For more information on Spike's Fish House, click here: http://spikesfishhouse.com/