Making Katie Happy at Zenko Sushi

Zenko Sushi

28892 Marguerite Pkwy.

Mission Viejo, CA 92692

So Katie came home on a Friday night and told me that she wanted sushi for dinner. Not that I dislike sushi, but I was really in the mood for a big meal. Something with a lot of substance behind it. That is when inspiration struck, and I looked up all-you-can-eat sushi places around us. One that sounded promising was this place, Zenko Sushi.

We live in Mission Viejo, but this is a part of MV that we rarely go to, just because it is out of the way and because we have had no reason to come down this far on Marguerite Parkway until now. This sushi restaurant looks like it has been around for a long time. It is really off the beaten track, sitting below Capistrano Valley High School and alongside the rushing traffic, depending on the time of day, of the northbound lanes of the 5 Freeway.

Many people must know about this secluded spot because plenty of people were here at six on a Friday night. We quickly got a table, but by the time we left at 7:30, there was a long wait. The restaurant is not big by any means. They have about fifteen to twenty tables, with a sushi bar accommodating about eight customers. The tables were placed together snugly, but we did not feel too cramped. After being seated, we are presented with a menu and a pencil, and you mark what you would like. Appetizers, Sushi, and Rolls are included in the All You Can Eat Option ($24.95). That, of course, is the option we went with, and this is how it turned out for us.

For round one, we ordered three different specialty rolls. Lobster Roll, Crunch Roll, and a Mexican Roll. The lobster roll was very rich tasting. The lobster was placed on top of four California Rolls. Good, but very decadent. The crunch roll had a lot of items that I liked, shrimp tempura, crab, avocado, and cucumber, but it really steered me wrong. I think there was just too much going on here to enjoy this. The best of this bunch for me was the simply prepared Mexican Roll. This is just a California roll with maybe Siracha added. These really had a good kick to them. I could have eaten another round of these, but there was more to try. On to round two!

In round two, we went with all appetizers. With this quartet, I liked the Teriyaki Chicken the best. The chicken was not overdone, and the teriyaki sauce had a nice sweetness. The Baked Green Mussels were good, but I have had better. They seemed to be missing something. The Edamame was pretty basic and needed to be seasoned a little more than they were. The Calamari came out of the kitchen sizzling hot, but the taste was boring to my taste buds. All of the appetizers we had here were good, but nothing to get all that excited about. We went back to the sushi menu for round three.

This was our big round of the night when we ordered four different rolls. They were the Jalapeno Roll, a Philly Crunch Roll, a Fire Cracker Roll, and a Spider Roll. The Jalapeno Roll was one of the hottest things I have had in a long while. They stuff a jalapeno with spicy tuna and cream cheese, then deep fry it. The jalapeno turned Katie's face bright red. We must have gotten a really spicy jalapeno. The cream cheese cut the heat a little, but this thing was scorching! I really enjoyed it, though. The spider roll was an excellent counterpart to the heat of the jalapeno roll. The crab, avocado, and cucumber put the fire in our mouths. Very rich, but oh so good. I did not get a good shot of the firecracker roll, which had spicy tuna and scallops on a California roll. This one was very fresh tasting. The last of our rolls was the Philly crunch roll, filled with cream cheese, salmon, avocado, and cucumber, then deep fried. Another very rich roll. All of these basically had the same ingredients but in different combinations. Not a bad one in the bunch.

 
By this time, I was full, but Katie wanted to do one more round. So I went with something that would only get me two pieces, the Spicy Scallops. These were just okay. Not something I would get again, but they did have a nice little kick to them, but the texture of these was a little off for me. Katie made the mistake of ordering a California Roll with 8 pieces. By this point, my stomach was nearing total capacity, so I could only help her with two pieces of this. She was a trooper, though, and finished the other five. I liked this very basic piece of sushi. Very light and fresh, this was a subtle end to our dining adventure at Zenko Sushi.

I must admit that I left Zenko very full and completely satisfied. I know that many people turn their noses up at all-you-can-eat sushi places, but this is the way to go for me. I do not enjoy sushi as much as I should. I know what good fresh sushi is, but I don't want to pay an arm and a leg for it. At Zenko, you get fresh sushi and large rolls with pops of flavors for one fixed price. I added up all of the stuff we ate on this night based on the prices on the sushi sheets, and it came to just under $40 per person without the four appetizers we ate. That is a savings of at least $30 between us. Not too bad. I got a meal that made me very full, and Katie fulfilled her sushi craving, at least for another week.

Out of five Olympians (because the city of Mission Viejo's Nadadores swimming and diving teams have produced many Olympians throughout the years), five being best to zero being worst, Zenko Sushi gets 3 Olympians.

For more information about Zenko Sushi, click here: http://www.zenkosushi.com/images/allyoucaneat.pdf

Will We Be Making Chronic Tacos a Habit? CLOSED

Chronic Tacos

26131 La Paz Road

Mission Viejo, CA 92691

If you have blinked you might have missed all of the Chronic Tacos popping up all over. It seems like this chain of casual Mexican food has been reproducing at a very rapid rate that would get many rabbits jealous. I looked at their web site and they have 43 locations listed as coming soon or open for business now. They even have numerous outposts in Mexican food mecca, British Columbia! Crazy.

I definitely felt like it was time for me to try Chronic Tacos. They have been on my list of places to try for so long, they were two spots away from the top of my list. Don't worry Wild Artichoke, your position on the top of our list is still solid. We will make it to your place one day, but this was our day for Chronic Tacos.

We were done walking the track at a nearby junior high school, and wanted something close by. Chronic Tacos filled the bill perfectly. We got to this location, which is in a sleepy strip mall anchored by a Taco Bell and a Comerica Bank, at about seven o'clock on a Thursday night. We were the only two customers in the place when we arrived, but they would have a steady stream of customers throughout our visit here.

The atmosphere of this Chronic Tacos really reminded me of a Wahoo's, with the ordering process of a Chipotle. There is lots of sheet metal all over the place, and the walls are dominated by surfing and music stickers. The two guys working behind the counter were odd and had a hard time interacting with us. When we walked in they acted like we had caught them doing something wrong. Not sure what that was all about, but we ordered and this how the food came out for us.

I started with an Al Pastor Taco ($2.99) on a flour tortilla. After the tortilla was grilled for a few seconds, I was asked what I wanted on this taco. I selected their salsa and cheese. I went simple with the toppings here, because I thought the meat would be big on flavor. It wasn't. The al pastor was very bland, with no hint of spice whatsoever. The salsa was not a big flavor enhancer either. Basically it was just cut up tomatoes and onions with no hint of seasoning.  A very bland start to my meal.

Much better was this Carnitas Burrito ($5.99). The carnitas were average, but had more flavor than the al pastor. I liked the meatiness of the carnitas, and the red sauce was much better than the salsa. I had beans, rice, cheese, and guacamole put into this burrito. This burrito was pretty good sized, but I had no problem putting it away.

Katie also selected two items to try off of the Chronic Tacos menu, starting with this Fish Taco ($3.49). She felt this taco was, "average". The predominate taste of this taco came from the green salsa. The fish was not noticeable, and really got lost here. Really needed more seasoning. Not something that Katie would get again.

The last item we got was the Chicken Taquitos with Guacamole ($5.99). I am not a real big fan of chicken taquitos. I always think that the chicken gets dried out by the frying, but this is always Katie's choice when it comes to taquitos. These really tasted like nothing to me. I was hoping that the cheese or guacamole would help these, but they really just tasted like grocery store taquitos.  Nothing special.

Chronic Tacos was not as good as I thought it would be. With these build your own burrito type places, it might take more than a few trips to find the perfect combinations of items to make your perfect meal. We were not overly excited by any of the items we had on this visit. They mostly tasted very bland, and nothing we ate would entice us to come back. I would choose other locations to return to, because as with all franchised places the quality can be quite different from location to location. The prices were pretty fair for the serving sizes, although I thought that the tacos were about a dollar too expensive. Glad we could cross this place off of our list.

Out of five surfboards, (because Chronic Tacos sponsors several surfers), five being best to zero being worst, Chronic Tacos gets 2 surfboards.

For more information about Chronic Tacos, click here: http://eatchronictacos.com/index.php/home

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/