Moo Dae Po Friends and Family Event - CLOSED

Moo Dae Po

1841 Orangethorpe Ave.

Fullerton, CA 92833

Okay, I admit it to all of you that read this blog, I have never had Korean BBQ before. I am not sure why this is. I love to eat BBQ. I like trying new and adventurous food, but I have yet to try Korean BBQ, until now. Both Katie and I were recently invited to the new Moo Dae Po restaurant in Fullerton for their 1st Annual Friends and Family BBQ.

Before the food came out, I wandered around Moo Dae Po a bit. I was struck by how large this restaurant actually is. The restaurant does not seem big from the outside, but once inside you can see how cavernous this 13,000 square foot restaurant is. To match the big restaurant, they also have a large display of all the wines that they offer. I was also struck by how clean the tabletop grills were.

After being seated we were treated to a slicing exhibition by the chef at Moo Dae Po, along with Moo Dae Po founder and owner, Brian Chong. They cut all of their meats here by hand, and this chef cut this meat with surgical precision.

The city of Fullerton, along with Fullerton City Council Member, Bruce Whitaker presented Brian Chong and Cindy Chong with a Certificate of Welcome from the city. With all of the presentations done, it was now time to focus on the food.

Before getting to the main course we got these appetizers, which are known as, Banchan. These included the Korean staple, kimchee, a green salad, macaroni salad, fish cake, a yam, and tomatoes. I really enjoyed the macaroni salad and the fish cake the best. The macaroni salad had some apple cut up in it, which I thought was different and worked out quite well. The fish cake was actually cut into strips and had a nice mellow fish flavor. It was a major accomplishment for me to eat all of this with my chopsticks. I was very proud of myself.

Now it is time to bring on the meat! At Moo Dae Po they are an "all you can eat restaurant", which features different menus and prices. Prices start at $16.99 for a menu that features 19 different kinds of meat, and the menu that features 31 varieties of meat, is an incredible value at $24.99. Everything we ate here was so good. I must thank our, "table chef", the fantastic Kat, from Kat's 9 Lives, without whom we would have been lost as to how to eat any of this stuff. She doled out the meat with great authority. She even taught us the correct way to eat the meats. You need to place the meats in the provided rice paper, then add any of the sauces you would like. It was a messy process for me, but one I look forward to refining in future visits. See Kat, I can actually be really nice sometimes! My favorite meats here were the Beef Brisket and the Pork Belly. Really good pieces of meat.

Round two of the meat was the assorted marinated selections. We got chicken and short ribs. These were marinated in a sauce that did not overpower the taste of the meat but enhanced it. Here again, Kat did a great job of cooking the meats to the right doneness. You know this is killing me being so nice to you Kat, just don't get used to it!

This Bulgogi is only served at lunch, but they gave us this steaming hot bowl of it to try. I think it is finally cooled down enough to eat. Man, it came out roaring hot! This was my favorite thing of the night. It was like a comfortable beef stew with scallions and noodles. Really tasty, with a great flavor. I was very happy with this and kept eating this in between bites of the meat from the grill.

After eating, and while our food settled, we were entertained by a young group of performers out of Los Angeles. They entertained us by rapping, singing, and playing music for us. A very pleasurable way to end a wonderful night.

I was very happy that Moo Dae Po introduced me to Korean BBQ. We really enjoyed our time here, and I look forward to eating here and other Korean BBQ places soon. Moo Dae Po is opening in a few weeks in Rowland Heights, it will be their fourth location. I am sure that the restaurant will be a hit as well. We would really like to thank Brian Chong and Mary Chong of Moo Dae Po for this special event. Also, special thanks to the staff, including the waiters, bussers, and hostess staff for the wonderful service they offered us this night. One last group of thanks goes out to Jennifer Chung, Michael Wong, and Mary Park at Kollaboration Creative and Marketing for the invitation to this great event. Thank you very much.

Moo Dae Po does not have a website, but you can find directions and info about them here: http://www.facebook.com/mdpfull

Johnny Rebs' Bringing a Touch of the South to OC? - CLOSED

Johnny Rebs' Southern Roadhouse

2940 E. Chapman Ave.

Orange, CA 92869

When it is time to pick a restaurant, who do you think everyone looks at in the group? Yes, that is right, me. Not that I mind, but it really is a large responsibility. Many a night has been made or ruined by a meal. I usually have to take into account what area we will be eating in, what price range we are looking at, and most importantly, what other reviewers have said or written about restaurants. I knew that Orange is in the middle for all of us meeting this night, so I suggested heading to Johnny Rebs.

Johnny Rebs Southern Roadhouse is located right on Chapman Avenue. As you are driving down this street, it really sneaks up on you. A good landmark to look for is The Hobbit. It is located right next door. Once you pass this venerable Orange restaurant, turn into the next driveway and you are at Johnny Rebs.

Not that I have ever been to a real roadhouse, but at Johnny's they really have the vibe down as to what I think a roadhouse would be like. Wood walls, peanut shells on the floor, and mismatched chairs all over the place. The restaurant kind of has a cabin feel to it. The middle of the restaurant is dominated by a long, communal, high top table.

We got here at about six-thirty on a Friday night. No trouble getting in at this time, but the restaurant filled up during our stay here, so I imagine that there could be a wait at peak meal times. I have been here a long time ago, and remember liking it, but I have not been back since. I was excited not only with the company we had at this dinner but also with the promise of some good barbecue. Let's see if Johnny Rebs can deliver.

So after sitting down one of the first things you notice is a big bucket of peanuts on the table. These peanuts are part of Johnny Rebs, "Shell Out For Charity" program. They offer you peanuts in exchange for any cash donation. Since they opened they have raised over $300,000 for numerous charities, including Operation Homefront, which aids military families of deployed service members and wounded service members who return home. A very worthwhile charity, and it is really nice that Johnny Rebs and their customers donate to this great cause.

Not sure what the deal was, but the manager that sat us said that since I suggested that we come here, he would get us an appetizer of our choosing. I asked which one he would suggest, and he said the Fried Green Tomatoes ($7.95), so that is the direction we took. These tomatoes are fried in a cornmeal mixture and served with a chipotle dip. These were okay, but I am not much of a tomato fan. The breading really was thick and changed the tomato texture. I did like the chipotle sauce that was served with this. Not a spicy sauce, but a little flavor seeped out of it.

Tim was the only one of us to get a salad. He called this, "a basic side salad". This Bitty Salad came with his meal, and it featured greens, tomatoes, red cabbage, and pickle chips. I thought the pickle chips were a little odd, but Tim did not seem to mind.

On to the entrees, and we will start with Anthony's selection. He ordered the 2 Item BBQ Combo ($22.50), with pulled pork and a hotlink. He really liked the flavor of the sausage but thought that the pulled pork was on the dry side. It really needed lots more sauce on it. With each combo meal, you get your choice of two of the twelve side items which are called, Fixin's. Anthony chose the Mac 'n Cheese and the Onion Rings. He felt both side items were okay, but nothing that he would crave on his next visit here. Along with the two side items, you also get to choose a bread item, and he went with the hush puppies. Much like the pork, the hush puppies were drier than Palm Springs on a July day at noon. I have never had a decent hush puppy though. Maybe they are not my thing.

Next up is Dee's dinner, the Barbecue Chicken ($15.75). I have been out with Dee one other time, and  I sense that she is a finicky eater. So when she said she did not like her chicken I thought she was just being picky. I must apologize to you though Dee. If Anthony's pork was dry like Palm Springs in July, this chicken was as dry as the Sahara Desert after a fifty-year drought. If I had ordered this I probably would have sent it back. Even the dark meat was tough to get through. There was no amount of sauce that could have saved this bird. For her two side items, she went with mashed potatoes and veggies. The vegetables were the highlight of the night for Dee, while the potatoes were just okay, but she felt the gravy was too peppery. She selected a biscuit for her bread items and thought it was just average. I still think you are a finicky eater Dee, but with this plate, you had every right to be.

Dee's other half, Tim wanted to be just like Anthony, so he ordered the Two Item BBQ Combo ($22.50) as well. He did select different items though. He had the country fried steak and tri-tip. Tim questioned whether the country fried steak was made fresh, or just taken from a frozen dinner. He felt that the gravy was okay but bland. This country-fried steak also had temperature issues as well. Cold in some parts, and not overly hot at all. He did enjoy the tri-tip, calling it good, but it did not save the plate for him. Tim is a real vegetable guy, so he ordered double vegetables. He thought that the vegetables were cooked perfectly and very tender. For a bread item, he got the cornbread. We all tried some of this, but I was not thrilled with this. Not sweet at all, and like almost everything else up to this point, very dry.

This is usually the part of the review that I say something mean about Sabrina, but I will refrain from doing so. I just want to keep her guessing! Anyways, sensational Sabrina selected this Johnny Rebs Special Sandwich with Pulled Chicken ($12.50). This sandwich is served with their North Carolina sauce on it. She liked this sandwich, but she needed more sauce to get through it due to the, yes you guessed it, dry chicken. For her side item, she got the French fries, which she thought were average. See, I made it through this whole section without trashing horrible Sabrina.  Man, I should have quit typing a sentence before!

Katie also got a sandwich, the Smoked Tri-Tip Sandwich ($13.50). Along with the tri-tip, this sandwich also came with lettuce, tomato, onion, BBQ sauce, and mayo. Katie thought the tri-tip was okay but not as tender as she would have liked. She also could not really taste the flavor of the meat, because there was so much mayo on this sandwich. Her two fixings were the mac and cheese and collard greens. She liked the mac and cheese, saying it was, "creamy". She was not too big of a fan of the collard greens though. They were way too salty for her taste.

I always enjoy getting large combo plates when I am eating at BBQ restaurants. It really gives you the best chance to try a larger variety of restaurant offerings. On this night I had the largest dinner they have, the Pork Out Dinner ($26.50), which comes with your choice of three types of meat. I went with the country fried steak, tri-tip, and beef ribs. Like Tim, I thought the country fried steak was very mediocre. It was very tough to get a knife through, and it tasted like the ones they used to have at Carl's Jr. The other meats were a different story though. The beef ribs were very tender and came off of the bone nicely. The tri-tip was definitely not the best I have had, but it was still pretty tasty. Moist and the slightly sweet sauce went really well with the meat. I also thought the macaroni and cheese were good. Not too cheesy and very creamy. The mashed potatoes were average, and the biscuit was just all right. Not a bad plate of food, as long as you do not count the country fried steak.

No one else wanted dessert except for me, so I ordered the Banana Pudding ($5.25). This was not just banana pudding, however. It had layers of vanilla wafers, bananas, vanilla pudding, and was topped with whipped cream. Not overly sweet, this was a decent dessert. I would have liked the wafers to have been more prominent here. They were all crumpled up, so it was hard to tell where they were. The pudding was smooth but needed to be colder.

I remember Johnny Rebs being better than this. I really thought they did all of the red meat items well on this night. I would stay away from the chicken and the pork though. These meats were way too dry. The side items were all pretty average, with nothing wowing us. Barbecue is one of the toughest foods to get right because there is just so much that can go wrong. The meats can be great, but the side items are sub-par, or the sides could be great, and the meats are awful. There are just so many components to a great barbecue place. Service on this night was pretty good. I thought the prices were a little on the high side. I did not feel like I ate $26 worth of food. I feel slightly bad for choosing this place, but I will do better next time guys!

Out of five bouncers, (because Johnny Rebs call itself a roadhouse, and in the movie Road House, Patrick Swayze played a bouncer), five being best to zero being worst, Johnny Rebs' Southern Roadhouse gets 2 bouncers.

For more information about Johnny Rebs' Southern Roadhouse, click here: http://johnnyrebs.com/

Papa's Big Night Out at Cask 'n Cleaver! - CLOSED

Cask 'n Cleaver

125 North Village Ct.

San Dimas, CA 91773

When I told people where we would be taking Katie's Grandfather for dinner, almost everyone said, "they are still in business?" Yes, believe it or not, they are. I can see where most of you would think they have gone the way of record stores, payphones, and VCR's. I mean all of the Cask 'n Cleaver's in OC have closed, but there are three still operating. Rancho Cucamonga, Riverside, and this one we were at, San Dimas, can all lay claim to having a Cask n Cleaver in their cities.

Cask n' Cleaver has been around since 1967. Opened by college sweethearts, Chuck, and Linda Keagle, they wanted to combine their love of the restaurant business with their growing interest in wine. They opened their first location in Rancho Cucamonga, with just six items on their menu, which were printed on wine bottles. They created a steakhouse without pretentiousness. The servers wore shorts, and they were one of the first Southern California restaurants to feature a salad bar. Enough about their past, let's talk about today.

This location of Cask 'n Cleaver is located in a large shopping complex, which featured many vacant spaces. I thought this was odd considering that this shopping center is in a great location right off the freeway. I found it weird also that there was a Sizzler right next door to Cask 'n Cleaver. Talk about having your competition right on top of you.

We got to Cask 'n Cleaver at about 4pm on a Sunday. Throughout our hour and a half long visit, there would be no more than four tables of people at one time in this restaurant. Maybe because this place was empty, but this restaurant seemed really large and quiet. Ceilings are high, and the inside of this restaurant might be in need of a makeover in the decor department. They do seem to keep the lighting low, but we were sitting under a skylight, so my pictures had a chance of turning out. Let's see if the food needs a makeover as well.

One of the things I enjoy most about Katie's family, besides the great company, is that they always get appetizers to start a meal. On this afternoon we got two. First up is the Steakhouse Potato Skins ($7.95). These skins are topped with jack and cheddar cheese, scallions, and bacon. I really enjoyed these. The potatoes were cut into thin strips, fried well, and had a good amount of toppings on them. Not the best potato skins I have had, but not the worst by a long shot. Thanks for the hand modeling shot Sara. Don't quit your day job though!

The second of our starters was the Garlic Cheese Bread ($4.95). I was not too big of a fan of this. The bread might look very flavorful in the picture, but don't let the picture fool you. This bread was not very cheesy, and the garlic was barely noticeable. I also hoped that this bread had been a little softer and come out warmer than it did.

With the selection of steak, prime rib, or other entrees, you have the option of having a wedge or Caesar salad, or you could visit the all you can eat salad bar. I snapped a few shots of the salad bar, while there was no one filling up their plates. This is your basic salad bar. This really reminded me of the salad bar at Marie Callender's, without the potato cheese soup. All of the basic items are here to make your favorite salad, and all the produce really seemed fresh.

I am almost embarrassed to show you my salad creation from the salad bar. I went very simple, with regular greens, bacon bits, cheese, red onions, croutons, and lots of blue cheese dressing. Not a bad tasting salad, if I do say so myself. This is the usual salad I make when visiting a salad bar.

I knew this was going to be an easy review to write after I heard Kevin, Dennis, and Papa Chris order the same thing, The Prime Roast Beef Dip ($14.95). This is served with a horseradish sauce, au jus, and fries. Not one of the three of them mentioned anything positive about this sandwich. Dennis called the meat, "tough and flavorless". Kevin is never into critiquing food, but even he was not excited by this sandwich, saying, "I have had lots better sandwiches". The fries were pretty average.

Of course, I had to try what Cask 'n Cleaver is famous for, their meat. I went with what the menu called, "the king of steaks", the New York Strip Steak ($28.95). If this truly is the king of steaks, it will not be long until the king is overthrown. The meat on its own was tough and fatty, even though I ordered this medium rare. I did opt to add their famous Over the Top option to the meat for an extra $2.95. This is a concoction of melted blue cheese, mushrooms, and onions, which actually saved this by adding at least some taste to the steak. Definitely not the best steak I have had. The garlic mashed potatoes really matched the meat with a lack of flavor. Just because you say these are garlic mashed potatoes on the menu, does not make this the case. You still need to add garlic. The fried onion straws were okay, but nothing to write home about.

Katie kept the meat train rolling when she tried the Steak Kabob ($14.95). With these kabob's you select if you would like these with teriyaki, bbq, or like Katie's choice, mesquite pepper. Katie has the awful habit of getting all of her meat well done, so we are not going to critique her steak here. It would be almost impossible to have a steak cooked well done, and still taste good. She chose the rice pilaf as her premium side item. She called the rice, "plain tasting".

Lynn went to the sea for her dinner selection, Cask Shrimp ($20.95). As with the kabob's you have three options as to how you want your shrimp prepared. Scampi style, tempura fried, or charbroiled, which was Lynn's desired method of cooking. Lynn really admires Cask 'n Cleaver's consistency over the years. She has not eaten here for at least ten years, and this dish still tasted the same to her. This dinner looked a little boring to me, but I did not try any of this. She thought the shrimp was cooked well, and the baked potato was just average.

I guess I now know why most people think Cask 'n Cleaver is out of business. Simply put, people do not come here. The whole two hours we were here, there was never more than four tables eating at a time. The food and concept might have been really good back in the day, but this is the kind of place that time might have passed by. Salad bars were a real novel concept back in the late '60s, but now they seem dated. The prices here are also a little out of whack for the quality of the food we received. My steak was not even close to being a $30 steak. Not tender, and pretty much flavorless, this was a steak I would expect to have at Cocos or Carrows. I also thought Lynn's order of one shrimp skewer with seven shrimp for $20 was as big a rip off as we have seen in a while. The service for us here was pretty good. Our waitress was right on top of things. Glad we could get together with Papa Chris, but next time we might just head next door to Sizzler.

Out of five lifeguards, (because the city of San Dimas, where this restaurant is located is also home to Raging Waters, a water park which employs many lifeguards), five being best to zero being worst, Cask 'n Cleaver gets 2 lifeguards.

For more information on Cask 'n Cleaver, click here: http://www.caskncleaver.com/

California Avocado Week at Downtown Disney

California Avocado Week at Downtown Disney

1580 S. Disneyland Drive

Anaheim, CA 92802

I had a real dilemma ahead of me. I could go to the Second Annual California Avocado Week at Downtown Disney or go to my usual Monday night bowling league. I guess you can tell by the picture above that I went with the first choice. I think I made the right decision.

In case you do not know it, Downtown Disney is hosting Avocado Week from July 1st til July 7th. Right smack dab in the middle of the avocado growing season, which runs from April til September. So this makes it a great time to grab some avocados for that Fourth of July barbecue, or even better head on down to Downtown Disney to enjoy some of the fun events that the California Avocado Commission and Disney have mashed up for you.

Each day from July 1st to the 7th, one of the chefs from the restaurants of Downtown Disney will be demonstrating their culinary excellence with California avocados. On the day we were here, Thomas Keavney, from ESPN Zone was showing the captivated audience how to make Mini California Avocado Shrimp Clubs. This recipe seemed real easy, and the best part was that they passed out the finished result after the demonstration. I really enjoyed the salty bacon with the smooth and creamy avocado.

Right after the cooking demonstration, members of the audience get a chance to show off their Guacamole making expertise in the "Guac Off" competition. The three contestants above were given 19 different ingredients to use in any combination, to create their perfect guacamole concoction. The winner on this day was Kristin, with her key ingredient being cilantro. For her efforts, she won $100 gift card for the ESPN Zone, and a California avocado gift pack, worth $85. Not too shabby for smashing up some avocados!

Tortilla Jo's also passed out samples of their guacamole. This guacamole is prepared table side in their restaurant at Downtown Disney. All of the premiere restaurants at Downtown Disney are having California avocado inspired menu items until July 7th. Even Sephora, the cosmetics store is getting into the avocado craze by offering avocado facials.

After the avocado demonstration, a group of bloggers were invited to Catal Restaurant to sample some avocado inspired items that Chef Nicholas Weber whipped up for us. The room we were siting in had a birds eye view of the very crowded Downtown Disney scene. It also had a great view of the recently revamped Uva Bar, which is Catal's outside patio featuring a small bites menu.

After we were seated we ordered drinks. I went with a Catal specialty drink the Mojito. This version was very refreshing, and great after sitting out in the sun watching the avocado demonstration. Kat, from Kat's 9 Lives had a Lava Flow, which is a Pina Colada with strawberries added. She was not very forthcoming in letting me try this, but it looked good from across the table.

Here is a quick shot of the bread basket that we were offered. I really enjoyed this bread. It was really good with the supplied olive oil. I could have eaten more of this, but Kat was very possessive of the bread basket, almost keeping it under lock and key all night. Thanks Kat!

Our first course was a Tartare of Japanese hamachi with green shiso, crispy wakame, agretti and a California avocado-jalapeno sorbet. Yes you read that right, avocado-jalapeno sorbet! The hamachi was very tasty, but the sorbet was velvety smooth, but I did not get much of the jalapeno. That was okay since the avocado really shined through. Not your everyday use for avocado.

The main course was a little less adventurous, but just as delicious. Confit of pork with sweet corn, zucchini blossoms, smoked pork au jus, smoked California avocados, and house made chicharrones. Besides the avocado slices, the best part of this dish for me was the crispy top of the pork. Man that was great. I also admire Chef Weber taking chances by making the chicharrones. Lighter than I have had in the past, but still had a great flavor. The avocado really helped balance the saltiness of the pork. Really well balanced plate.

Of course when I heard that California avocados would be featured in our dessert, I was very intrigued. We were given a double chocolate tart with California avocado mint puree, lace tuille, and blackberries. This was great. The avocado was hanging in the background of this dessert, but you could sense its presence. The tart was very decadent, and the tuille was very addictive. I could have eaten a whole bunch more of these.

I got one last shot from the window of our dining room before I left. California Avocado Week is a must for anyone that loves avocados, which pretty much includes everyone. The most interesting fact I learned while being here is that, the very first Hass avocado tree is from right across the border of OC, in La Habra Heights. So, it would be sacrilege not to enjoy our native fruit. Glad I made the right choice by skipping out on bowling this Monday.

I would like to thank our hosts for this wonderful evening, the California Avocado Commission. Especially Jan DeLyser, actual avocado grower, Doug O'Hara, and my table mate for the evening, the wonderful Angela Fraser. Thanks for the laughs. I would also like to express my gratitude to everyone at Catal Restaurant, including General Manager Albert Leung, Chef Nicholas Weber, and the wonderful waitstaff on this evening. One last thank you goes out to Elizabeth Santos with GolinHarris, for the invite to this great event. Thanks for everything Elizabeth!

For more information about California avocados, click here: http://www.avocado.org/ If you would like information about Catal Restaurant, you can find that here: http://www.patinagroup.com/restaurant.php?restaurants_id=52