Sunday Funday at Taps Fish House! - CLOSED

Taps Fish House and Brewery 

101 E. Imperial Highway

Brea, CA 92821

I know what you probably think: "Didn't they just review Taps?" You would, of course, be right. Taps was the first restaurant that we reviewed in Brea early this month. Since that time, we have done two other reviews in Brea. The reason for our quick return to Downtown Brea? We were invited to try Taps Brunch.

After my first trip to try Taps lunch was a great success, I was very excited to see what they had in store for us, especially since brunch is one of my favorite meals. We got to Taps right at noon, and the place was packed. We were ushered to the back of the restaurant, where our party of some of the best food writers and bloggers our county offers were assembled. Most of the blogs listed to the right, under "my favorite blogs," had a representative in attendance. I always like meeting up with this great group of foodies. Trading stories, getting some tips on where we should eat, and just catching up.

Our hosts for the brunch were Proprietor/Founder of Taps, Joe Manzella, and Taps award-winning Brewmaster Victor Novak. Both men were very hospitable to us. We even tried to persuade Joe to open up in South OC. He told us that they are working on it. Victor learned his craft in Philadelphia and continued his brewing education on European trips. As an added bonus, we were given a bottle of their award-winning Imperial Russian Stout, Remy. Have not tried it yet, but with the beers that we did try, I am sure it will be great.

When we entered the room, we were handed this very well-garnished Bloody Mary. At Taps, they feature a Build Your Own Bloody Mary Bar for an additional charge. With all of these fixings and the delicious Bloody Mary mix that they use as a base, each concoction is sure to be a winner.

Since Taps is first and foremost a fish restaurant, let's start with the seafood portion of the brunch buffet. Oysters on the half-shell, Shrimp Cocktail, and Salmon are just some of the many offerings from the sea. All were fresh and tasted great.

Here is a quick look at some of the salads at Taps. When I am at brunch, I tend to avoid this section because I like to focus on hot foods. I did, however, try the Crab Macaroni Salad, Baked Potato Salad, and Garlic Crostini. I am not a big macaroni salad fan, but the added crab was a real flavor booster. All the salads were refilled many times throughout our visit.

This is where I kill at a buffet brunch with the hot items. Numerous items were offered at Taps. Sliced Turkey with gravy was a must-eat. I also was a fan of the Cheesy Potatoes, and no brunch buffet would be complete without a carving station featuring Prime Rib. This prime rib was cooked a perfect medium rare. Also featured were the usual breakfast items, Bacon Sausage, Waffles, and the Bread Pudding and Cinnamon Rolls deserve special mention. Both merited return visits to the buffet line.

Desserts are not to be missed at Taps for sure. They have slices of Cakes, Creme Brulee, and Flan, but the Chocolate Fountain is the big draw.  Dipping items included, pretzels, fruit, rice crispy treats, marshmallows, and graham crackers. We spent a lot of time here. The beignets are ordered off of a menu, along with all egg dishes, and are included in the price of the brunch. Having the kitchen prepare omelets and egg dishes helps keep the flow of the restaurant moving.

Here is a quick shot of two of my full plates at the brunch. I really did some damage at Taps. Brunch is served from 9:30 to 2:30 every Sunday at Taps. Reservations are strongly advised, and this place definitely fills up. They offer over 100 items, so there will be something for everyone at Taps.

We would like to thank everyone at Taps for the wonderful hospitality. Service was first class on our visit here. Special thanks to Joe Manzella, who knows his stuff and was a real pleasure to talk with. Thanks also to Victor Novak for the beer samples, which all tasted great. Tom Hope is also worth spotlighting for the wonderful brunch buffet that is done under his tutelage. One last thanks goes to our hostess for the brunch, the amazing Lee Heally. Thanks so much for the invite to another wonderful event.

To find information about the brunch or any other meals at Taps, click here: http://www.tapsfishhouse.com/brea/

Hail to the Sandwich King?

Sandwich King

17885 Sky Park Cir.

Irvine, CA 92614

This is another one of those posts where we were not where we were supposed to be. We were all set to go to another lunch spot, but due to circumstances beyond our control, they were remodeling, we ended up driving past Sandwich King and decided this would be as good a place as any to eat. I would like you to think that we had this all planned out. That we had sought out this hidden sandwich shop in the back of a business complex, but that is not the case. Also, Katie only had an hour for lunch, so we probably did not have time to drive anywhere else.

Sandwich King is in the same business complex as Harry's Deli, which was remodeling. Sandwich King is far from the street, and I am sure they get a lot of their business from the overflow at Harry's. The restaurant is a real mom and pop kind of place. Ordering is done at the counter, and your name is called when your sandwich is ready to be picked up.

We got to Sandwich King at about 12:30 on a Tuesday. They have about ten tables, and most were occupied with business people and others from the industrial park. The restaurant was pretty clean, our order was taken promptly, and the guys in the kitchen got the food out quick. Let's take a look at how it came out.

Katie went the traditional sandwich route at Sandwich King with a Turkey Avocado and Swiss. The sandwiches at Sandwich King all include tomatoes, onions, and pickles for those inclined to get them. Katie was surprised by the smoothness of this sandwich. From the creamy avocado to the thickly sliced Swiss cheese. The turkey was sliced a little thicker than she usually likes, but overall this sandwich was a hit for her.

I may not have rocked the world with my sandwich selection, but it is something I have never had before. Pastrami, Avocado, and Cheese. Of course, I have had pastrami before, but never with avocado. These two do not seem like they go together, but the contrasting saltiness of the meat and the smoothness of the avocado really worked here. Add in the onion and the sturdy bun, and the result is a well-balanced sandwich. All of the ingredients were very fresh from the avocado to the onions, and the pastrami had a good bite to it. The large size was indeed large, and would easily tide anyone over until dinner time. At $8.49 it was well worth the extra $3, you would have paid at Subway for an inferior sandwich.

The menu at Sandwich King has enough on it for us to come back and try more. They feature over fifty varieties of sandwiches. Sure, most of them are pretty basic, like Ham and Swiss, or Roast Beef, Ham and Cheese, but if all the other sandwiches are as fresh and stuffed as the ones we had, it will be a pleasure coming back to try them, unless they are closed for remodeling.

Out of five Peanut Butter, Banana, and Bacon sandwiches, (because this was Elvis Presley's favorite sandwich, and he is referred to as the King), five being best to zero being worst, Sandwich King gets 3 Peanut Butter, Banana, and Bacon sandwiches.

For more information about Sandwich King, head to their website here: https://www.skirvine.com/

Shuffling Our Feet to Cha Cha's

Cha Cha's Latin Kitchen

110 W. Birch

Brea, CA 92821

People always ask me how we pick the restaurants that we go to. It is quite simple really. I get a good many tips from people that I know or meet. It seems everyone is passionate about some of their favorite restaurants. I also read a ton of restaurant/food blogs, and find out where the best places are and put them on my list. In rare instances, I hear about restaurants from press releases that I receive. This is the case with Cha Cha's Latin Kitchen. I probably get about one press release a week from them. Well, their persistence has paid off because we were headed their way.

We already had one failed attempt going to Cha Cha's a few weeks ago. At that time they were not open for lunch. We did find out that they would be opening for lunch in a few weeks, so our first Cha Cha's experience would have to wait. It just so happened that I would be getting another vacation the week after they started lunch service. So my Mom and I were once again headed to downtown Brea.

Cha Cha's is located in refurbished Downtown Brea. This area has seen a rebirth lately, and restaurants are spearheading the comeback of the downtown area. We got to Cha Cha's at noon on a Monday. The weather was great, so we took a seat out on their large patio. The lunch crowd was a little slow in arriving, but there was a steady stream of people eating here during our lunch.

Cha Cha's has been open for close to three years now. They are not a Mexican restaurant. They state on their web site that they are a Latin restaurant. Or to be more precise, they claim to offer a California-Latin menu. I don't care what they call it as long as it tastes good. Let's see how the food turned out for us.

Here are the chips and salsas that were brought to the table after ordering. They have a green tomatillo salsa that everyone raves about. I thought it was just okay. A little too citrusy taste for me. I was more into the red salsa. Had a decent amount of heat, without being too over the top. The chips tasted very fresh.

For an appetizer, we ordered something that we had never had before, the Wood Fired Queso Fundido. This is a baked blend of cheeses cooked in a small pot with roasted poblano peppers and potatoes. We decided to add the optional chorizo for a dollar more. Glad we added the chorizo because it really added more flavor. The peppers were not too noticeable here. This is served with three of their house-made corn tortillas, so it makes this more of a cheese taco. Their corn tortillas are actually pretty good. I am not too big of a corn tortilla guy, but these were some of the best I have had. Wish we had more than three of the tortillas though. We had plenty of cheese leftover that we had to eat with our fork. Very rich start to the meal.

Let's start with my lunch, Wood Fired Carnitas with achiote onions and served with black beans and rice. When I first saw the portion size of this I was a little disappointed. At $14 I was expecting a bigger plate of food, but it might have been the cheese dip to start, or the serving size of this was a little bigger than I initially thought, but I had a little trouble finishing this lunch. The carnitas were full of flavor. Cooked perfectly, with little bits of crunchiness on the ends and tender pieces of pork attached to them. The onions were marinated well, and the beans and rice were pretty solid also. I had asked for flour tortillas, but corn tortillas came instead. No worries, because they were still pretty good.

Cha Cha's offers three very affordable lunch combinations, including my Mom's choice, the Chicken Flautas, and Organic Mixed Greens. The flautas are stuffed with tender chicken, Oaxacan cheese, guajillo chile, and corn, then topped with refreshing mango salsa. The cheese in these flautas really stood out for me, maybe because it was unexpected. The mixed greens included cherry tomatoes, cotija cheese, tortilla strips, and a sherry vinaigrette dressing. The dressing really overpowered the salad for me. Should have gone with another dressing choice. Not a bad lunch option at only $8 though.

I was pretty happy with the food at Cha Cha's. Everything was pretty fresh and flavorful. Not your typical Mexican restaurant. The menu is not overly large here, and the prices can be steeper than you are used to paying at other Mexican/Latin restaurants.  Lunch entrees average about $16, but the lunch combinations are a steal at $8 for the smaller portion size. They do have plenty of specials during the week, and their happy hour is seven days a week, and all day on Sunday through Thursday. Service was pretty good. Our waitress kept things moving at a good clip. We are pretty happy for all the press releases, and that we finally made it to Cha Cha's for lunch.

Out of five yellow scarfs, (because the character Cha Cha Digregonio used this to signal the start of the race at Thunder Road in the movie Grease), five being best to zero being worst, Cha Cha's Latin Kitchen gets 3 yellow scarfs.

For more information on Cha Cha's, click here: https://chachaslatinkitchen.com/

A Healthy Meal for Our 300th Post!

True Food Kitchen

451 Newport Center Drive

Newport Beach, CA 92660

When I first started this blog two and a half years ago I never dreamed of reaching 300 posts. That is a lot of eating! I also never thought it would be this much fun. I have really enjoyed meeting all of you, whether it is through email, comments, or even in person at various food-related events. I would have also never thought that our 300th post would be a health-conscious restaurant, but here we are at True Food Kitchen.

True Food Kitchen does not want to put itself out there as a healthy food restaurant. Instead, they want you to think of them as a nutritious restaurant that focuses on flavor and taste. The menu at True Food is guided by Dr. Andrew Weil's Anti Inflammatory Food Pyramid. This is Dr. Weil's eating guide to help reduce the risks of age-related diseases and improve overall health through diet. Of course, I go way off of the pyramid, but I am game to try it for at least one night, as long as the food tastes good.

True Food is located right next to Fleming's Steakhouse at Fashion Island. We arrived at 6:30 on a Thursday night to a bustling dining room and a twenty-minute wait. Once we were seated the airy and bright-colored dining room became apparent. Wood floors and lots of greens and yellows around the room added to the earthiness of this restaurant. Just in case you do not get the vibe of this place, check out the zen garden, complete with a rake, near the restroom. Enough of the ambiance of this place, let's check out what comes out of the kitchen.

The drink menu at True Food is a little funky because of the absence of Coke, Pepsi, and other soft drinks. These apparently do not fit inside the food pyramid. What does fit inside the pyramid are their Natural Refreshments, such as the Medicine Man beverage above? This antioxidant blast combines pomegranate, sea buckthorn, cranberry, black tea, and soda. The result was a refreshing drink that was not overly sweet and quenched Katie's thirst. A little pricey at $6, so I just stuck with regular iced tea.

The first of our two appetizers was the Grilled Shrimp Spring Roll. The spring roll was very fresh, full of shrimp, green papaya, soba, and cashew. The spring rolls were fine on their own but really brought to life by the sauce that accompanied them. Not sure what the sauce was or what it was made of, but it really added the kickstart to get these rolls going.

When Katie ordered the Caramelized Onion Tart, I was a little skeptical. After a few bites, I was turned into a believer in this starter. Smoked garlic, black fig, and Gorgonzola joined the onion to create this delicious appetizer. I could have eaten this whole thing by myself. The tart was kind of like a flatbread. The sweetness from the fig and caramelized onion were balanced nicely by the jolt from the Gorgonzola. This is a must-get when coming here.

Matt was not too excited by any of the appetizers here, so he ordered the odd-sounding Strawberry Chopped Salad. I am pretty anti-fruit in my salad so I did not get a chance to try this. The salad of course had strawberries, snap peas, fennel, goat cheese, and walnuts, with balsamic vinaigrette. Matt was not too into this salad saying, "it lacked flavor and there was not enough dressing on it".

Now on to the entrees and Rene's choice, the All Natural Steak Tacos. These mini street-sized tacos came with avocado, cotija cheese, tomatillo salsa, red onion, and sour cream. Rene felt that the steak was tender and was flavored well. She was also a big fan of the salsa used here. The tacos were served with a bowl of Anasazi Beans. There was no mention of how these beans tasted, but the bowl really looks huge in the pictures, towering over the tiny tacos.

Matt was feeling Italian, so he looked no further than the Turkey Bolognese. This gluten-free pasta was made of brown rice pasta and served with ground turkey and Parmesan cheese. Matt liked the little bit of spice in the sauce but was less than thrilled with the rest of the dish. He claims that the pasta was not as good as regular, gluten, pasta. It is hard making gluten-free pasta taste as good as the real thing. Matt will shy away from this dish on future visits here.

Katie had looked at the menu before our visit here and knew exactly what she would be getting for dinner, the  Asparagus, and Artichoke Pizza. Joining the, "A list" of vegetables was smoked mozzarella, oregano, and sweet onion. Katie detected a pine flavor in the bites of this pizza. She enjoyed this mellow pizza and felt the asparagus was the highlight of the pie.

It was a real dilemma for me to choose from the menu here. I went with the safest bet for me, the Grass Fed Bison Burger. Yes, you read that right, bison! This buffalo-like burger was complimented with onion, Parmesan cheese, umami, mushroom, and mayo on a flax seed bun. I went in with low expectations of this burger but was pleasantly surprised. This burger had a turkey burger feel to it, but it was juicier. The mushroom and cheese probably accounted for some of this juiciness, but it was a very well-put-together burger. Even the flax seed bun did not detract from the burger as much as I thought it would. This burger was served with two sides, a kale salad and a sweet potato hash. The kale salad did nothing for me. Not really a big fan. The hash was not bad, but I am not too much into sweet potatoes. It was the best of the two though.

We were out with Matt, so of course, dessert was a must. Matt is strange when it comes to desserts. He does not enjoy chocolate in the least. He is more of a fruit guy. So it was no surprise that he would get the Lemon Tart with strawberries and coconut cream. We all felt the lemon was refreshing, and the flavor of this was really good. Not surprisingly, the crust was a little off for me on this. Of course, it is gluten-free.

Rene is not averse to chocolate, so her selection was the Flourless Chocolate Cake with vanilla ice cream and caramel. This cake is made with 72 percent cocoa, which of course made the chocolate very prominent here. What did not stand out was the caramel. I had two bites of this and did not detect any of the sweet stuff. Decent flourless cake, but I will stick to regular cakes full of flour.

The dessert that everyone agreed was the best of the night belonged to Katie. It was the Banana Chocolate Tart with something called a mesquite flour crust and crushed Brazil nuts all over it. The banana was very ripe, the chocolate was pronounced, and the crust did not get in the way of the filling. The Brazil nuts were a nice touch here. Not a dessert that will blow you away, but this is the dessert to get here.

I was in a weird mood, and my choice is not typical of me, so please do not judge. I had the Dairy Free Organic Chocolate Pudding. Walnuts and pistachios were added to this dessert. Of course, the taste of this was a little off. Kind of gritty tasting and not real smooth. I came to the realization after eating this that pudding must include milk to taste good. I know, shocking.

True Food Kitchen is not my kind of place for sure, but I did not mind eating here. If I was to come back, the Bison Burger would be my choice for sure, assuming that it was still on the menu. They change their menu about four times a year, corresponding to the seasons. I could definitely find something on their menus to order on future visits here. Prices were not out of hand, considering the area. Starters were in the $5 to $12 range, while entrees went from $14 to $24. Our service was really pretty good. A little slow in spots, but we were having a nice leisurely meal anyways. Not really what I imagined our 300th post to be, but there are definitely worse places to eat, (I'm looking at you Bubba Gump Shrimp Co.)

Out of five zen gardens, (because I could still not get that out of my head, and I could not think of anything else to tie in here), five being best to zero being worst, True Food Kitchen gets 3 zen gardens.

For more information on True Food Kitchen, click here: http://www.truefoodkitchen.com/

Stuffed Pizza Showdown in North OC

PHAT Pizza

18340 Yorba Linda Blvd. Suite # 104

Yorba Linda, CA 92886

Shhh! If you listen very carefully you can hear a pizza war being waged in North OC. Okay, maybe I am exaggerating a little bit. After writing my review of Tony's Little Italy, I got an email from my friend Erven about PHAT Pizza in Yorba Linda. As you can tell from my review of Tony's, I really enjoyed their stuffed pizza. Erven told me he liked PHAT pizza better. So we headed to the, "land of gracious living", to give PHAT Pizza a try.

When we entered PHAT Pizza, I was amazed that there was not any Chicago paraphernalia all over the place. Most restaurants from a specific region always have sports posters and pennants all over the restaurant to try to legitimize the food they are serving. Not the case here.

Another glaring difference I noticed between this place and their neighbor in Placentia is the lack of customers. When we went to Tony's for a mid week lunch, the place had a steady stream of customers. At PHAT Pizza, we arrived to an empty restaurant at 5pm on Sunday. In fact, the whole shopping center at the corner of Imperial and Yorba Linda Boulevard was pretty dead. Chronic Tacos, and almost all the other businesses were closed at this early hour.

Owner Rance Ruiz confirmed to us that this shopping center location is a real challenge to his, and others businesses. Access in and out of the shopping center limits traffic to the center. It is for this reason that Rance told us they will be moving to a new place in Costa Mesa soon. This will help make Chicago stuffed pizza less centralized in north OC, and cut down driving times for fans of Windy City style pizza.

After eating at Tony's I now know the protocol with stuffed pizzas. They take a long time to make, about fifty minutes. So instead of hanging around a shopping center with no open businesses, we called our order in ahead of time. Rance had just pulled our pizzas out of the oven when we arrived. Perfect timing. So we paid for the pies and headed to Erven's house to eat. This is how they turned out.

There was going to be eight of us eating pizza, so two pizzas were going to have to be ordered. We went with the Carnivore Pizza and a House Special pizza. Both of these large pizzas had eight slices, but theses are not your run of the mill slices from Pizza Hut. These have some girth behind them. Even with the eight of us we still had leftovers.

First off the House Special Pizza. This one included sausage, green pepper, onions and mushrooms. A few more vegetables than I usually like, but I knew I had to order for the group, not just for me. The first thing I noticed about this pizza were the tomatoes on top. Bigger hunks of tomato on this pizza than the one at Tony's. The toppings on this were a little too mellow for me. The sausage really got lost here.

The Carnivore pizza is way more my style. Pepperoni, sausage, and Canadian bacon went on this behemoth of a pizza. This one still had the hunks of tomato on top of the pizza, but their sweetness was balanced out by the saltiness of the meats here. I definitely preferred this pizza to the house special pizza. Each slice was very flavorful and was full of meatiness.

I liked the pizzas at PHAT, but I think I have to give the edge of this pizza war to Tony's. What did it for me was the crust. The crust here at PHAT lacked the buttery flavor of the ones at Tony's, and could not stand on its own. Also, the cheese seemed to be a little more prominent at Tony's as well.

I think PHAT Pizza will do just fine in their new home in Costa Mesa. A little distance from Tony's will quell the comparisons between the two pizza joints. The distance will also introduce more of OC to this true stuffed pizza. Rance is a great guy, that seems to be passionate about his pizzas, and it shows in the end product. We will definitely come to the new place in Costa Mesa.

Out of five $ signs, (because the city of Yorba Linda is identified as being the richest city in the US, with a median household income of $121,000, more than any other city), five being best to zero being worst, PHAT Pizza gets 3 $ signs.

For more information on PHAT Pizza, click here: http://www.phat-pizza.com/#

Headed South to Memphis

Memphis Cafe

2920 Bristol St.

Costa Mesa, CA 92626

I have a certain fondness for Memphis Cafe. I moved out of my parents house in early 1995, and it just so happened that Memphis opened its doors that year as well. I was lucky enough to move to the same neighborhood as this upstart eatery. At that time of my life I was experiencing my first taste of independence, and I also got my first taste of Memphis Cafe.

Memphis was like no other restaurant I had been to at this point of my life. I was a basic hamburger, pizza and breakfast kind of eater. The food here at Memphis showed me that there was more to life than just eating at Ruby's, Red Robin and Islands, (no offense to any of these restaurants, because I still do enjoy going to them occasionally).

Memphis is located in a building straight out of the 50's. In fact, to be more exact it is from 1953. A trio of friends got together and restored the dilapidated building, turning it into a retro roadhouse joint, serving southern comfort food with a twist. The dining room is furnished in lots of yellows, with wood all over the place. The room is dark and a little cramped, with lots of action going on. Let's see if Memphis is as good as I remember.  

After getting seated, we were brought these Mini Cornbread Muffins. This is their version of a bread basket. I must say that I am kind of a harsh critic when it comes to cornbread, but these little muffins were pretty moist, not too crumbly, and made even better with the real butter that came alongside of them. I definitely could have eaten another bowl of these, but I was saving myself for dinner.

Katie had her heart set on the Zuni Flatbread Appetizer. This flatbread was topped with sage pesto, corn salsa, and pepper jack cheese. This was an interesting appetizer to me. I liked the corn salsa and the lightness of the toppings, but this would have been better with crisper flatbread and the chicken option that is offered for an extra two dollars. Can not say that I would get this again.

Since I did not order an appetizer I got a Caesar Salad instead. At Memphis their Caesar included romaine lettuce of course, along with garlic croutons, Parmesan cheese, egg less anchovy, and garlic dressing. The dressing was very oily, but I warmed up to it as I ate the salad. The best part of this Caesar was the garlic croutons. Really added good texture and flavor.

Katie actually stole the dinner selection I was going to have when I walked in here, but I was gracious enough to let her order the Buttermilk Fried Chicken. What a good boyfriend I am. This chicken is served with mashed potatoes and mustard greens, then smothered in an andouille sausage gravy. Katie felt the chicken was dry in some parts, but the breading helped out some. Of course the gravy helped out too. Very good, without being too rich. The biggest surprise for Katie on this plate were the mustard greens. Cooked well and not too greasy, these could definitely stand on their own. A really good comfort food plate.

So it was plan B for me, with the Southern Meatloaf. The meatloaf was covered with aged cheddar cheese and red wine gravy. This meatloaf tasted like a Christmas tree with gravy. Lots of rosemary in this. Really gave this moist meatloaf a different kind of twist. The mashed potatoes were pretty smooth, and of course they went well with the meatloaf. This meal hugged my insides on the way down.

It's good to know that Memphis is still as good as the last time I was here. Even with the restaurant being busy, the service was still strong this night. The menu is not real large, but there is enough variety for everyone to find something they would like on it. Most of the meals are going to set you back about a $20 bill, not too bad. The serving sizes are not overly large, but you will not have to stop for more food on the way home from Memphis. The vibe here is kind of hipster, and gets even more that way as the night winds on. I can still be proud that Memphis helped in making me the food lover I am today.

Out of five steamboats, (because the city of Memphis, Tennessee has a steamboat on it's city seal, symbolizing the cities transportation, trade and commerce on the Mississippi River), five being best to zero being worst, Memphis gets 3 steamboats.

For more information on Memphis, click here: http://memphiscafe.com/