A New Burger Comes to Town, Welcome Smashburger - CLOSED

Smashburger

26541 Aliso Creek Rd. Ste. C

Aliso Viejo, CA 92656

As we near the end of 2012, it has become clear to me that this year's burger craze will continue well into next year, and who knows how long it will be after that. The OC area has been inundated with new burger places this year and last. I welcome all these burger places, many of which are from outside this area. The Habit, Five Guys, Boardwalk Burgers and Fries, and Umami Burger are all encroaching on what used to be, or for some people still is,  In N Out territory. I will leave the debate for which burger place is best for another post, but for now, I was one of the lucky ones to attend a media tasting of another newcomer to the area, Smashburger.

I had heard of Smashburger before because I had read a few San Diego food blogs. This new burger concept has 11 San Diego locations, and now they are spreading northward. The food bloggers in our south enjoy the burgers here, so I knew I would be in for a treat. It just so happens that this latest location is mere blocks away from my "real" job, so I was able to make the lunchtime media preview of Smashburger. I was also lucky enough to bring my friend Steve along so he could get the food blogger and Smashburger experience.

Back to Smashburger, though. To say that they have shot out of nowhere would be an understatement. They recently topped Fast Casual's 2012 Movers and Shaker list and were also named one of America's Most Promising Companies by Forbes magazine in 2011. With these great accolades, it is no wonder that they are now operating 191 restaurants across the US, Canada, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Costa Rica. All this from a company started less than five years ago.

Here's a quick look around the place. Ordering is done at the counter, where you are given a number, then the food is brought out. The interior design of Smashburger is clean and sleek. Like other burger places, their logos and walls are dominated by red and white. I really enjoyed the video menu boards above the counter. They gave this burger spot a more modern feel. For those of you who would like an adult beverage to accompany your meal, they offer wine by the glass and at least five different bottled beers. Some of the beer selections I saw were Corona, Stone IPA, Stella's, and two more, which I missed. I was here during lunch hour, so there would be no drinking, but I ate my fair share. This is what came to our table after we had ordered.

We will start with my good friend Steve's meal first. Steve had the Avocado Club Smashburger ($5.99). This burger came with avocado, tomato, lettuce, ranch dressing, applewood-smoked bacon, and mayo, all on a multi-grain bun. Steve was a delighted boy eating this burger. The burger was cooked exactly medium, which is the way he likes them. The produce at Smashburger was all very fresh, and some nice flavors and textures were added to the burger. The avocado was exceptionally creamy. The mayo and ranch combination worked well, and the bacon here is not to be missed. I was unsure about the multi-grain bun, but it did not taste as healthy as I imagined. It held all of the burger parts well. The Chili Cheese Fries ($2.99) was a good-sized portion. The fries were layered with meat-based chili, cheddar cheese, onions, and some of the hottest jalapenos. What I liked most about these chili fries was their layered well. I hate when places put all the toppings on top of the fries, so when you get to the bottom, all you have left are plain fries. The chili was not spicy, but the fresh jalapenos had enough heat to remedy that situation. I could tell Steve was very happy with his meal because this was the only time I remember him being so quiet. Thanks, Smashburger.

The base model I judge any burger place on is their version of a bacon cheeseburger. At Smashburger, it is their Classic Smash with Bacon added ($7.49). This burger was seasoned well, and the applewood smoked bacon was one of the best I have had on a fast food burger. The juiciness of this burger needs to be mentioned as well. I got the spicy chipotle mayo to add to the burger for a little extra kick. The sauce did not overpower the burger but complimented it rather nicely. The egg bun used at Smashburger was very fresh, pillowy, and soft. I ordered the Smashfries (1.99) to go along with this burger, but I did not get a chance to snap a picture before they were gone. I know; it's a real rookie food blogger mistake. The smashfries are their regular french fries tossed with rosemary, olive oil, and garlic. Since these are the same price as the regular fries, it is a no-brainer that I would get these again. The french fries were a skinny, fast-food fry, but adding the garlic, rosemary, and olive oil really kicked them up a notch in the flavor department. The garlic was the most prominent, which was fine because I am a garlic fiend.

I was pretty full from the burger and fries, but I was convinced to try the Chili Cheese Dog ($4.99). This all-beef Angus hot dog came with chili, cheese, onions, and hot jalapenos. The hot dog had a great beefy flavor, but I had to take a few of the jalapenos off to avoid some of the heat they emitted. The chili was mild but congealed well with the hot dog, cheese, and onions. My only complaint about this chili cheese dog was that it needed more cheese. Other than that, this was an excellent chili cheese hot dog.

No, I did not eat all of this as well. I snapped pictures of other people's food before they could eat it. Special thanks to my good friend, Shelby, from Glitterful Felt Stories for letting me take photos before they dug in. She seemed delighted with her food. Smashburgers is not just all about burgers and hot dogs, they also offer four salads as well. I did not sample the Baja Cobb Salad ($5.99) above, but it was a very generous serving size. The Veggie Frites ($2.99) will not replace my love of french fries anytime soon, but they were a crowd favorite this afternoon. The OC Burger ($5.99) will be the next burger I will try on my next trip here. Smashburger has a signature burger for each region, and in Orange County, it is the aptly named OC Burger. This burger comes with portabella mushrooms, arugula, and grilled onions. Swiss cheese and truffle mayo. That sounds like a winning combo, and I can not wait to try it.

As a special treat at the end of our meal, we were taken to the back of the restaurant and made our own Smashburger with company founder Tom Ryan. To say that we were in awe of Tom Ryan would be an understatement. My buddy Steve, pictured above on the right with Tom Ryan, called him "a food genius." Why the high praise for Mr. Ryan? He only created the Stuffed Crust pizza and the Lovers line of pizzas for Pizza Hut, the McGriddle, Big and Tasty, and the Dollar Menu at McDonald's, and as if that was not enough, he also came up with the Steakhouse Beef Dip and the Sammie's at Quizno's. Quite an impressive resume, to say the least. Both Steve and I attempted to make our own Smashburger. Steve's turned out better than mine, but I expect that since Steve is a butcher by trade. The grill at Smashburger can handle only four burgers at a time, so each patty gets the attention it deserves. The 100 percent Angus beef is packed loosely into a ball and then flattened with a tool that Tom came up with. The secret to creating a good Smashburger is not to overhandle the meat. The burger is flipped once and then ready to be placed on the bun. It was an absolute honor to be able to cook with this legend of fast food. Both Steve and I still talk about this experience we shared together.

After this introduction to Smashburger, we look forward to our next visit. What sets Smashburgers apart from its competition is the quality of the ingredients it uses. The produce, meats, and condiments had a freshness you do not see from a fast food concept. The menu is varied enough that anyone can definitely find something on it that they will like. We hope to see this burger trend of other regions' favorite burger places invading Orange County continue into the new year and beyond. As their expansion into OC continues, Smashburger may soon become one of our county's favorite burger spots.

Special thanks to everyone at Smashburger for the opportunity to experience Smashburger firsthand. Starting at the top, we thank Tom Ryan for talking with us and allowing us to flip burgers with him. We also need to mention the franchise owner of this location and the Mission Viejo Mall location, Ernie Sandoval. Ernie, you may have a hit on your hands here. Our gratitude also goes out to the staff of Smashburger, all of whom took outstanding care of us on this particular afternoon. Lastly, we must thank Ali Metzger at Bolt PR for the invitation to this great event. Thanks so much, Ali. We had a great time.

Experience Smashburger for yourself. Visit their website for locations and other information here: http://smashburger.com/

Cruising Up to Stanton's Park Avenue

Park Ave.

11200 Beach Blvd.

Stanton, CA 90680

When I put my mind to visit a restaurant in every city in OC, I had no doubts about where I would be eating when we finally made it to Stanton. I have lived in OC all of my life, and yet I can not ever remember spending any significant time in this three square mile city. I am sure Stanton is a great city to live in, but I guess I have never had a reason to visit this landlocked metropolis until I had to pick a restaurant to eat at here. When people think restaurants in Stanton, Park Ave. is almost always mentioned near the top of their list, so we made the trek up the five freeway to see what all the fuss was about.

Park Ave has gotten a lot of acclaim throughout the years. They have been called the best restaurant in Orange County, by Orange Coast Magazine. They have received glowing reviews from both the LA Times and the Orange County Register. They are mentioned in the very condensed OC portion of the Zagat guide. In fact, on your way to the restroom at Park Ave, they have plastered their walls with tons of reviews for you to peruse. With all of this buildup, I was really looking forward to a great dinner.

We had seven o'clock dinner reservations the day before Thanksgiving. I had expected the restaurant to be dead because when I called to make reservations they said they would be closing early because of the holiday, but there were plenty of people dining inside when we arrived, and well after we left. From the outside, this restaurant resembles a 70's style house that you could imagine the Brady kids living here. I checked for astroturf in the backyard but was surprised to have found none.

Once inside the restaurant, the vibe changes to, "rat pack" sleek. It would not be a stretch to think of Sammy, Frank, and Dean eating here for dinner. The front dining room, where we were seated, had about fifteen tables or so and is dominated by a large rock wall. The color scheme at Park Ave. is governed by browns and dark red booths. The lighting is low, but the noise level in the dining room was pretty high. Enough with the ambiance of this restaurant, let's get to the food.

Starting us off is the breadbasket that was placed on our table after sitting down. The bread here was pretty good. Not anything that rocked our world, but a nice start to the meal, and because we were so hungry, this breadbasket disappeared rather quickly.

I'm a sucker for avocados, so when I saw that they had Grilled Avocado ($10) on the menu, I knew we would be trying this appetizer. Avocado never disappoints, and it doesn't here either. This simple appetizer is seasoned with sea salt and extra virgin olive oil, then served alongside sourdough toast. The grilling of the avocado really brought out its creaminess. This would be a great, easy way to prepare avocados at home. The sourdough went well with this, but the avocado was so big we definitely could have used more crisps to go along with this.

I am really picky about macaroni and cheese, so I usually do not try it in restaurants. Both Katie and I could not resist trying the Spicy Lobster Mac N Cheese ($15) at Park Avenue though. This mac and cheese was topped with bread crumbs, roasted red peppers, and made with three kinds of cheese. We did not get the spiciness that I thought we would, but that was made up for by the abundance of lobster in this cup. Every spoonful of mac and cheese contained a very generous amount of lobster as well. The mac and cheese were very comforting, but could not outshine the lobster here. This was a small portion, but very rich in flavor.

Wedge salads are a lot of trouble to eat, but they are hard for me not to order. This Iceberg Wedge ($8) was prepared simply, with only peppered bacon, a few tomatoes, and a blue cheese dressing. The dressing here must have been homemade. It had a great thick texture to it, with a great blue cheese kick. The bacon was crisp and the pepper really showed up here as well. The iceberg is grown in their garden and was very fresh. One of the better wedge salads I have had.

As much as I love wedge salads, Katie's, "go-to", salad seems to be the Heirloom Tomatoes ($12). Park Ave's version of a Caprese salad came with fresh buffalo mozzarella, basil, and a balsamic vinaigrette. She called this salad, "one of the best I have had". All of the ingredients were so fresh that it was hard for her to say anything bad about this dish. The tomatoes had a great freshness about them that really brought out their sweetness.

We might as well stick with what Katie ordered for dinner, the special of the night, the Wild Swordfish ($30). This swordfish was topped with a mound of arugula and lemon juice. Katie had not had swordfish before, so she was a little taken back by the steak like the feel of the fish. She did end up liking this though. She liked that the dish came together by having the bitter-tasting arugula, with the sourness from the lemons and the sweetness of the fingerling potatoes. Really made this a balanced plate. She's not sure she would get this again but was glad to have tried it on this visit.

Before I started this blog three years ago, I had never had a short rib. I know, sheltered right? Now I can not get enough of them. The Bone-In Short Rib ($30) was so tender it just fell off the bone when I lifted up my fork to cut it. This short rib was like a giant piece of the most tender stew meat you have ever had. Not over seasoned, it let the natural meat flavors rule the roost. This was served with a braised celery, which added a nice texture to the dish, but not much else, and a horseradish whipped potato. The promise of horseradish was diminished after my first few bites of these potatoes. I liked the smooth texture of the potato, but the flavor was pretty pedestrian. I would get this again though because the short rib was so good.

Dessert time at Park Ave and Katie got to choose first. She had the Macintosh and Golden Delicious Apple Turnover ($8). This turnover was topped with brown sugar and bourbon ice cream. All of the ice creams at Park Ave are made in house by Head Baker, Alice Castro. Not the best tart she has had, but what made this dessert for her was the brown sugar bourbon ice cream. It really kicked this dessert up a few notches.

Since I saw that they make their own ice cream here and that they have a Peanut Butter Ice Cream Sundae ($7), I decided to splurge with my own dessert as well. This sundae was pretty good-sized, with three scoops of peanut butter ice cream as the base. The ice cream was very smooth, with a nice consistency. I really got the peanut butter flavor from the ice cream. The sundae was complimented with mini chocolate chips and a marshmallow cream that was nicely toasted on top. I am not too big of a fan of marshmallows, but this one was pretty good. I would have liked more chocolate on this sundae, but that is just because I am a chocolate and peanut butter fiend. Not a bad end to this meal though.

Park Ave. was a very solid place to have dinner. I think a lot of the hype around this restaurant stems from the fact that it is not in a place that you would expect to get this kind of meal. This is the kind of restaurant that could exist easily in other areas of OC though. The food was all pretty good, with very few exceptions. I thought some of the portion sizes were a little on the small side for the price being paid, but all of the food here is very fresh. They have their own large garden in the back, where they grow many of their own herbs, fruits, and vegetables. This extra effort really shows up in the quality of the food they serve. The service on the night we were here was very good. Rachel kept great tabs on us all night and kept things moving along at a very gentle pace. After finishing up our meal, we were invited to stroll through the gardens in the back. Like many bloggers and print media people before I have said, it was hard to believe we were in Stanton. We were, and I can now say that I have spent some considerable time in the city of Stanton.

Out of five birds of paradise, (because this is the official flower of the city of Stanton), five being best to zero being worst, Park Ave gets 3.5 birds of paradise.

For more information on Park Ave, click here: https://www.parkavedining.com/

Zipping Over to ZPizza

ZPizza 

25672 Crown Valley Parkway

Ladera Ranch, CA 92694

There really seems to be a rebirth of pizza this year in OC. Pizza places pop up quicker than Santa's ringing bells in front of the stores during this holiday season. Almost every time I open my email, there is another pizza place coming to town. Pie-ology, Blaze Pizza, Pitfire Pizza, and others are either here or on their way. One fall afternoon, I opened up my email, and there was something from ZPizza. I had not been to ZPizza in years, but they wanted us to come to try their food, so we waited until a crisp winter night and headed out to give them a try.

Compared to others in the chain pizza game, ZPizza has been around forever. They are a true Orange County original, started in Laguna Beach in 1986. That was so long ago. I was still in high school back then. Anyways, ZPizza has now expanded to 18 states, as well as international locations in Mexico, Vietnam, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. Proving that pizza is a global phenomenon.

ZPizza strives to serve pure food. Their menu promotes natural ingredients, including MSG-free sausage and pepperoni, antibiotic and hormone-free chicken, and many vegan and gluten-free options. For those of you that know me, all of this stuff doesn't really make a difference to me. The end result is that the food must taste good. So let's see how it turned out for us.

We got to ZPizza at about six on a Friday night. This ZPizza is more geared towards takeout than dining in. They have three four-person tables, and we were the only ones eating here during our visit. All of their other business was for pickup. A steady stream of customers kept the young staff busy making plenty of pizzas. We ordered at the counter and waited about fifteen minutes for our food. This is what came to our table.

Starting us off was the Chicken Caesar Salad ($7.95). They say that the salads at ZPizza can feed one to two people, and they are right. Katie and I ate plenty of this salad, which was a small size. This salad contained hand-leafed romaine, grilled chicken, shaved Parmesan, and large croutons, all with a zesty Caesar dressing. The produce was fresh, adding plenty of tender chicken and Parmesan cheese. The one drawback of this salad was the homemade croutons. We like croutons with some crunch, and these failed to deliver.

Pizza Party Time and Katie selected one of ZPizza's rustic pizzas. This Mediterranean Pizza ($8.95) came with mozzarella and feta cheeses, artichoke hearts, roasted red peppers, Greek olives, oregano, and pili oil. Katie loved this fresh-tasting pizza. She liked the creaminess of the cheeses, along with the fresh toppings. She would ask for easy olives on this next time, though. The size of this pizza is what impressed me the most. More than enough, she had some of this for lunch the next day.

I am sure that most of our blog's regular readers are pretty shocked by my pizza choice, the Thai Pizza ($9.95). I was trying to branch out a little bit, and I have been craving Thai food as well. This pizza used peanut sauce as a base, then piled on the mozzarella, spicy chicken, red onions, cilantro, carrots, bean sprouts, and Serrano chilies. I thought with all of these big-time flavors on this pizza, it would be blazing hot, but the heat here was very subtle. I would get this pizza with a little extra peanut sauce on further visits. That stuff was excellent. The dough at ZPizza is made fresh daily, and it really showed here. It had a great chew while holding all of the toppings admirably. A different pizza than I am used to, but a pizza that I really enjoyed.

It is easy to see why ZPizza has been around for as long as it has. They make some delicious pizzas that you can also feel good about eating. After eating here, we did not feel as sluggish as after eating other pizzas. That is probably due to ZPizza using the freshest, most natural ingredients. There are plenty of other pizzas for us to try on future visits here and some sandwiches that sound pretty good. Portion sizes were excellent at ZPizza, and the prices were exceptional value. This restaurant really hit the mark on this cold winter night.

We would like to thank everyone at ZPizza for the opportunity to try their pizza. We would also like to thank Janine Nickel for getting in touch with us and providing us with this incredible chance to try ZPizza.

For more information on ZPizza, click here to visit their website: http://www.zpizza.com/

Popping In On Pop N Sons - CLOSED

Pop N Sons Diner

4812 N. Dale Mabry Hwy.

Tampa, FL 33614

I love it when a plan gets executed perfectly. We had just gotten off of our cruise ship and had to high tail it over to our hotel so we could drop off our bags and get to the Buccaneers game at Raymond James. We checked our bags and found out that we had about an hour to kill before the one o'clock football game. Since we did not eat breakfast on the boat, this would be the perfect opportunity to find a place to have breakfast. Wanting to avoid the high stadium food prices, we asked the girl at the front desk about nearby breakfast spots. She recommended Pop N Sons Diner, so that is where we headed.

We stayed at the Holiday Inn Express, and Pop N Sons is about a five-minute walk from the hotel. Pop N Sons will not blow you away with their excellent decor. They play up the 50s diner vibe here but do not take it to the extremes of having their waitresses wearing poodle skirts or anything. There are some 50's memorabilia on the walls and fifties rock and roll coming through the speakers. That is just part of the atmosphere here.

This place really has a homey vibe. We arrived for our first visit at about 11 on a Sunday morning. As soon as we walked in, the average age of the customers dropped by about two decades. Almost every table was packed, but we found one near the back. Everyone who walked in was greeted by name and told that their coffee or drink was coming. We were given some time to review the menu, which we chose to provide us with energy for the football game.

I grouped these all together because they were all basically the same. The breakfasts here were all standard items in any other diner across the US. I had the Three Eggs, Three Bacon, and Three Pancakes ($6.99). The eggs were cooked just as I wanted them, the bacon was very crisp, and the pancakes were the best part of the breakfast. They were heavy, without being overbearing. They soaked up the maple syrup well and had a good buttermilk tinge. Katie got the Two Eggs with Bacon ($6.59). She had her eggs over easy and went with the home fries instead of the hash browns. Katie thought the home fries were seasoned well and were less greasy than she thought they would be. Sabrina ordered two eggs and sausage ($6.59) and a fruit cup ($2.49), which she thought was part of her meal but wasn't. Way to read the menu correctly, Sabrina. She really wanted Anthony to ask the waitress about it, but she would have been wrong, as usual.

We made two trips to Pop N Sons during our short stay in Tampa. We had a late afternoon flight, so we had lunch here before we went to the airport. Again, the menu for lunch at Pop N Sons is standard for a typical diner. Katie surprised me with her food choices on this trip, and her selection of a Tuna Melt ($6.99) was not what I expected her to have here either. This tuna melt came on rye with Swiss cheese. She thought the sandwich was pretty solid. She even said that this was one of the best tuna melts she has had in a while.

I also had a melt, but mine was the Patty Melt ($6.99). This traditional patty melt consisted of ground beef, grilled onions, and Swiss cheese, all on rye bread. The burger patty was thin, but this was a solid-tasting patty melt. The bread here was what made this sandwich. It had a great rye flavor and really went well with this sandwich. The french fries were average and nothing to write home about.

Pop N Sons is not anything that is going to wow you. What they will do, though, is make you honest, old-school meals here. In this age of chain restaurants, places like Pop N Sons are a nice respite from the cookie-cutter type places that dot almost every corner of every town in America. The food here was fine, but what makes it even better is that you support a local business while eating here. Our server, Grace, knew almost all her customers' names when they walked through the door. That does not happen at your local Chili's or chain restaurant. Pop N Sons is open 24 hours, so whatever time hunger hits, you can bypass Denny's and try it out. We had a great conversation with the owner, Jerry, as we paid our bill. He felt these types of restaurants may soon be a thing of the past. That is a shame, but the good news is you still have time to experience authentic diner food at Pop N Sons.

Out of five weasels (because when I hear the word pop, I almost always think of the nursery rhyme, "Pop Goes the Weasel"), five being best to zero being worst, Pop N Sons Diner gets 2.5 weasels.

To find out more information about Pop N Sons Diner, check them out here: http://www.popnsons.com/

Football Sunday at Champions Sports Bar - CLOSED

Champions Sports Bar

700 S. Florida Ave.

Tampa, FL 33602

When you are on vacation, you sometimes have to go with the flow. We were in Tampa to depart for a seven day Caribbean cruise. We had gotten to Tampa a few days earlier and were all set to get on the ship this Sunday afternoon, but Mother Nature had other plans for us. The Port of Tampa had been closed because of fog, so the ship was out circling in the ocean. How airplanes can fly in fog with no problem, but a big cruise ship can not enter a port still amazes me, but I am sure there are reasons for this.

Anyways, we found ourselves stuck on dry land on a Sunday afternoon, so we did what we would normally do at home when this is the case, we looked for a place to watch football. We had already turned our rental car in, so we had to find a place within walking distance. The first sports bar we had come to was packed, so we returned to our phones and found Champions Sports Bar at the Marriott Waterside.

The Champions Sports Bar is located right across the street from the Tampa Bay Times Forum. I imagine that when there used to be hockey this bar could get packed. This Sunday there was no problem finding a seat. This bar was pretty good sized. It is broken up into three separate rooms, with plenty of seating on high table tops and booths. There were easily about fifty people here, but because of the size of this place, it did not seem too cramped.

Hotel bars can sometimes be very dreary places. This was not the case at Champions. The folks over at Marriott really have taken some time to turn this into a well-themed sports bar. They have the requisite sports plaques and pennants hanging on every wall. They have even gone so far as to construct an ice hockey penalty box in the front room of the bar. Sabrina had a great time cross-checking me into the fiberglass of the penalty box. TVs are plenty at Champions. Whichever seat you choose, there will be at least three TVs in your line of sight. We were getting hungry, so let's see what came out of the kitchen for us.

We had just had breakfast a couple of hours ago, so we just opted for some appetizers at Champions. The first one was the Nachos ($14). Nothing says sports bar more than nachos. This large portion came with tortilla chips, BBQ pork, cheddar cheese sauce, melted cheddar cheese, tomatoes, jalapenos, green onions, and olives. Served on the side were sour cream, red and green salsa, and guacamole. First the positives about this plate of nachos. The portion size was pretty large, the BBQ pork was a nice change of pace for a plate of nachos, and the chips refrained from getting too soggy. Now on to the negatives. Why did they have to include cheese sauce with these? Melted cheese would have been just fine here. I have a big gripe against cheese sauces anyways, but I was not the only one that did not like this cheese sauce. Also, the salsas and guacamole did not add any flavor here. The salsas were very watered down, and the guacamole was more like the guacamole that you get out of the bag in the supermarket aisle. If they were going for the ballpark experience nachos they nailed it. I just don't like ballpark nachos.

I will give Champions some credit for having some very colorful food. The Cheese Fries ($10) was no exception in the color department. These waffle fries were topped with cheddar cheese sauce (again!), melted cheddar cheese, bacon bits, tomato, and green onions. The fries were okay but only served lukewarm. You already know how I feel about cheese sauce, so I won't get into that again. I could be wrong, but I think these bacon bits were actually real bacon. They added a good smoky flavor to these fries and were one of the few good things this dish had going for it.

Katie and Sabrina shared the Classic Chicken Quesadilla ($13). This quesadilla was stuffed with chicken, pepper jack cheese, cilantro, and green onion, then served with pico de gallo, sour cream, and guacamole. Besides being way overpriced, this quesadilla had many things going wrong with it. The cheese inside had a weird texture, almost like it was half cheese and half sauce. Weird. The tortilla was pretty hard. Not that it was stale, but it also had texture issues. The condiments here added nothing but moisture to the quesadilla. The only thing this quesadilla had going for it was that the chicken was not dried out. There could have been more chicken on this, but at least it wasn't dry.

When we are at home we judge places where we watch football on three things. Service, atmosphere, and food. Champions Sports Bar had two of these things going for it but failed miserably on the food portion of these categories. The food here was not our favorite at all. The appetizers we got were all below average, with no big flavors involved in them. Not only were they all pretty bland, but they were all overpriced as well. We should have expected that from a hotel bar though. The atmosphere here was pretty laid back for a sports bar. Not too many fans screaming at the TVs, but some cheering was going on. Definitely, a place you could bring the kids if you wanted to watch the games. The service we had on this afternoon was pretty good. Our server really took very good care of us. Always made sure our glasses were full, cleared plates quickly, and had a good personality. Wish the food would have matched the atmosphere and service.

Out of five storms, (because the arena football team, the Tampa Storm have won five championships, more than any other arena football league team), five being best to zero being worst, Champions Sports Bar gets 2 storms.

For more information on Champions Sports Bar, click here: http://www.marriottmodules.com/restaurant/hotels/hotel-information/travel/tpamc-tampa-marriott-waterside-hotel-&-marina/champions/

Forgoing Our First Choice, For First Watch

First Watch

3712 Henderson Blvd.

Tampa, FL 33609

This is another review of a place that we did not mean to go to, but ended up at anyway. We had it all set up that we would be having breakfast at Datz Tampa, but the wait for Datz was an hour and a half. I am sure it would have been pretty good, but that is an awful long time to wait, when you are hungry now. Plus, the parking situation was not the greatest at Datz. So, it was off to Yelp to help us find a breakfast place that might not have as long of a wait. After perusing the local area, we found First Watch.

The wait at First Watch was a more manageable twenty minutes. Not being from the area, we had no clue how this restaurant was going to be. The restaurant was very busy, so I thought this would be a sign that we could get a good breakfast here. Writing this post I learned that First Watch is a chain restaurant with over 100 locations spread across 15 states. They opened up shop in Pacific Grove, California in 1983, but left the West Coast three years later to base their business in Florida. This move must have worked for them, because their web site lists a bunch of restaurants that are coming soon. Our twenty minute wait was up, and I was more into the food that was coming soon to our table.

The vibe inside reminded me of a Coco's, or maybe a Corner Bakery with waiter service. The menu here is definitely breakfast focused. They do serve lunch, but you will not see a dinner option offered. All First Watch restaurants close at 2:30. Thus the reason for their nickname, the Daytime Cafe. I always thought this would be a good move for IHOP's to close their doors at 3, because how many people eat dinner at IHOP? That is another topic for another post, because right now it was breakfast time. Let's take a look at the food that was brought out to our table.

Anthony will start us off with his choice for breakfast, the Burrito Vera Cruz ($8.29). First Watch's take on a breakfast burrito combined scrambled eggs, chorizo, green chili's, onions, and jack and cheddar cheeses, wrapped in a wheat tortilla, then topped with a Vera Cruz sauce and sour cream. Anthony must have really enjoyed this burrito because it was gone within minutes. He said that the flavor of this burrito was milder than he is used to, but the ingredients tasted very fresh. This large burrito was served with a side of seasoned potatoes and fresh fruit.

Simple Sabrina went the very basic route with her breakfast. The Traditional ($6.99) comes with two eggs, any way that you want them, (Sabrina got them scrambled to match her brain!), choice of breakfast meat, seasoned potatoes, and an English muffin. This was all pretty standard breakfast food on this plate. Nothing that really stood out. I have decided that turkey sausage might be a healthier option, but I am not a big fan of it. The meat inside is too densely packed, and not enough fat, but I guess that is the whole point.

The menu at First Watch is of course really heavy on the egg dishes, and some of my favorite egg dishes in general are skillets. When I saw the Market Hash Skillet ($8.49) I knew that Katie would zero in on this choice. It has some of her favorite items included; two scrambled eggs, potato hash, mushrooms, zucchini, onions, red peppers, spinach, mozzarella and herbed goat cheese. I would have missed the breakfast meats with this one, but Katie really enjoyed this. She liked the cut up veggies and the unusual cheese choices on this skillet. She claims she would get this again.

Predictably I also had a skillet breakfast, but mine was of a more traditional variety. The Bacon and Onion Hash ($8.29) caught my attention when I first opened up the menu, so it was no contest I would be having that for breakfast. This hash included seasoned potatoes, bacon, roasted onions, jack and cheddar cheese, and two eggs, which I had sunny side up. This skillet was pretty good, not as flavorful as I thought it would be, but still had some punch to it. I would have liked to have had more cheese on this though.

Not that I did not have enough to eat with just the skillet, but I also ordered Two Chocolate Chip Pancakes ($4.59). I was a little worried when I ordered these because the pancakes at First Watch are listed on the menu as multi grain pancakes. To me that means healthy, but I had the chocolate chips ones to help counteract the healthiness. These pancakes were pretty good sized, and a little lighter than I expected. These pancakes were good, but I would have liked a few more chocolate chips in these. If I had not read that these were multi grain, I never would have known.

First Watch was an admirable fill in for our other breakfast place we were headed to, but nothing that rocked our world. The food was on par with Coco's, and definitely better than anything you could get at IHOP. The coffee drinkers at our table enjoyed that they put a whole pot of coffee on our table, to eliminate waiting for servers to refill the coffee mugs. Speaking of service, our waiter was very solid. He had a very cheery personality, and to prove what a small world it is, he used to live in Orange County. It was fun talking about our hometown with him. The next time we are in Tampa we will try to get to Datz earlier.

Out of five sunrises, (because First Watch is open right after the sun rises, but is never open when it sets), five being best, to zero being worst, First Watch gets 2.5 sunrises.

For more information about First Watch, click here: http://www.firstwatch.com/