Taking It Easy at Delizie

Delizie Ristorante and Bar

25380 Marguerite Parkway

Mission Viejo, CA 92692

After living in Mission Viejo for the last five years, you might have thought that I would have gone to all of the restaurants in the city where I live. The fact is that there are 229 restaurants listed on Yelp for the city of Mission Viejo. Sure some of those are fast food places and still others are now closed, but that number kind of amazed me. I could eat at a different place from January 1st to well into August. Fortunately, this blog is not called, "Eating My Way Through Mission Viejo", because we would have already exhausted all of our dinner options.

I had heard about Delizie's from a reader of the blog, S. Hurd. She had written to me asking advice on where to go out for her birthday dinner. After I gave her my suggestions, she struck out on her own by going to Delizie's. After getting back she emails me to tell me that I must go, that the service was great, and it would make for a great review. Not one to shy away from a great tip, I set up a long-overdue double date with our friends Richard and Lindsay, and we headed to Delizie Ristorante and Bar.

As I was doing a little research for this review I found out that this restaurant is owned by the same owner of another Italian place in Mission Viejo, Piccolino's. We have been to that restaurant before and enjoyed our experience there. The two restaurants serve the same style of Italian cuisine but are trying to distinguish themselves from one another by featuring different menu items.

Delizie's is located in the same shopping center as Michael's and Big Lots, across from the City Hall of Mission Viejo. This was the same location of another Italian restaurant, Capriccios. I never did make it there, but that place has been gone for almost two years now. We did not have a reservation on this Sunday evening, but the restaurant was not very busy. Maybe three or four tables during our visit here. The restaurant has a nice colorful vibe. Walls are a brighter shade of green than I would have expected, which lends to the cheerfulness of the space. There is a small bar off of the hostess stand right when you walk in the door. The menu is pretty large and features the usual Italian staples; pasta dishes, salads, pizzas, and entrees. Since Richard was running about ten minutes late, I was starving. So we checked out the menu, and this is what we got.

Of course, most Italian restaurants start you off with a bread basket, and Delizie's was no different. What was different was that instead of butter, they give you a cucumber based dip that was kind of like a cross between an aji sauce and a tapenade. It was pretty mild but went well with the rather average bread.

We all must have been hungry because we each got something before our meal. Let's start with Lindsay's pre-meal selection, the Cream of Celery Soup ($8). This was the soup of the day on the day we were here. Lindsay thought that this was a pretty bland tasting soup, but she did like the creaminess of it and the toasted bread that was placed on top of it.
 

There is something I can almost always count on when I am at an Italian restaurant with Katie, she will almost always order the restaurants version of a Caprese. This Mozzarella Alla Caprese ($13) was made up of yellow and red beefsteak tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, basil, and extra virgin olive oil. Katie felt the items used in this were very fresh, she liked the inclusion of the yellow tomatoes as well, and the serving size of this was pretty good sized. This is one Italian appetizer I can not really get into, so I passed on having any of this.

By this time in my blogging career, I feel I have become a pretty good judge of Caesar salads. This has been my go-to salad choice for some time now. It was again at Delizie's as well. This Caesar ($7) was a pretty traditional version, with the chopped romaine hearts, shaved Parmesan, croutons, and Caesar dressing. This was a better than average Caesar. The produce was good, the dressing could have been poured with a heavier hand, but I always favor extra dressing. I liked the large squares of Parmesan, but the croutons were a little on the bigger side, and not easily broken down with my fork.

When we are dining with people, it is always tricky taking pictures of their food. I try to be quick, so that explains why I only got one faraway shot of Lindsay's dinner, the Pollo Marsala ($18). This basic chicken dish did not win much praise from Lindsay. She felt it was okay, but nothing she would get again. This was served with roasted potatoes and vegetables. She also got a side of Asparagus ($5). She commented that she liked the side items here, more than the chicken.

In contrast to Lindsay's feelings on her dinner, Katie seemed pretty happy with hers. She went with the Tagliolini dell' Orto with Chicken added ($18). This plate started with a base of small flat ribbon pasta, which also contained leeks, spinach, green beans, and chicken broth. It kind of had a chicken noodle soup feel to it, but just not quite as wet. Katie liked the lightness of this plate and loved the freshly made pasta used here. The chicken was tender and was a good add on in her opinion.

Lindsay's much worse half, Richard went for a baked pasta dish for his meal, the Rigatoni al Forno ($14). This heavy-looking plate included ricotta, mozzarella, tomato sauce, and Italian sausage. I never thought I would hear Richard complain about there being too much sausage around him, but that was his major gripe with this plate. He felt the sausage really overpowered the well made pasta and sauce. I guess Richard is not as much of a sausage lover as I thought. Who knew?

I had a little trouble deciding what I wanted here, but I am really happy I settled on the Penne Con Salsiccia ($14). This dish consisted of small tube pasta, Italian sausage, mushrooms, onions, garlic, and a spicy tomato sauce. All of these items went really well together. The pasta is well made, the sauce was not as spicy as I would have liked, but it coated the noodles well and still had a decent flavor to it. The sausage and mushrooms were well placed in this dish, and not over the top at all. A very good pasta dish that I would have a hard time passing up again. Both Richard and I split an order of Meatballs ($4) and a Grilled Italian Sausage ($6). I very rarely order extra meats at Italian restaurants, but I kind of like this idea now. The meatballs were pretty tender, with a very good meaty flavor. The sausage was very flavorful, but a little on the dry side. I think I would stick with the meatballs on my next visit.

All of us were pretty full from the meal at this point, but passing up dessert was not an option. Richard and Lindsay decided to split the Chocolate Gelato ($7). Both of them thought the gelato was good, and they really liked the edible bowl it came in and the fresh strawberries. Katie and I tried their Dessert Special, the Chocolate Spec ($9). This tiramisu like cake was pretty good. Not as moist as other Italian desserts seem to be, but with a real subtle chocolate flavor. Not very heavy, this was a very good send off for a good meal.

Both Katie and I liked Delizie's more than Richard and Lindsay did. I felt all the dishes that we consumed had fresh ingredients, were made well, and the presentation was pretty strong here. There is definitely nothing that we experienced on this visit that would prevent us from coming back again. I think the prices are a tad too high, but a nice meal could be had here for under $30 a person. I really enjoyed the service during our stay. Our waitress had plenty of help, and it was a real team effort service wise. Glad that a reader of the blog pointed us in the right direction by giving us this hidden gem, right in our own backyard. It definitely proves that there are more great restaurants that we need to try out there.

Out of five surfboards, (because the word delizie in Italian means delight and the birthplace of Glen Campbell was Delight, Arkansas. In turn, Glen Campbell was a touring member of the Beach Boys from 1964 to 1965. I know it's a reach, but that is what I came up with.), five being best to zero being worst, Delizie Ristorante and Bar gets 3.5 surfboards.

For more information about Delizie Ristorante and Bar, click here: http://deliziemv.net/

Scratching the Culinary Surface at Surfas - CLOSED

Surfas Culinary District

3303 Hyland Avenue

Costa Mesa, CA 92626

Truth be told, I was not too excited to come to Surfas. I am not much into shopping. I very rarely cook at home, even though I love to cook. I had only been to the South Coast Collection (SOCO) center once before and was not so excited by the hipster type vibe I experienced there. I mainly went to Surfas because when Katie had heard that we were invited, her eyes lit up like I haven't seen them in a long time. She was ecstatic about our trip to Surfas. I have to admit that after our trip, I was pretty ecstatic about the store also.

First a little history behind Surfas. Started in 1937, this is truly a family-owned business, now with their third generation working here. The original Surfas operated in Los Angeles as a major supplier of equipment to the burgeoning culinary market that LA was becoming. In 1989, they outgrew their warehouse/showroom on Jefferson and moved to their current LA location in Culver City. This larger location allowed them to carry gourmet cheeses and other specialty food items that are just not available anywhere. Still only open to wholesalers and restaurant industry personnel, in the mid-'90s Surfas flung open their doors to the public to allow them to experience some of the 20,000 food products, along with their large collection of commercial quality kitchen necessities. After many years of people asking for another location of Surfas to be opened up, the owners found what they think is the perfect spot, the South Coast Collection in Costa Mesa.

This is the third location of Surfas, (they have a small storefront in the resort town of Hot Springs, Arkansas). This OC location has become a culinary wonderland to the many kitchen designers, chefs, foodies, and just your average run of the mill consumer. From the moment we walked in I was amazed at all of the things that they carry. Lucky for us, we had the wonderful Kaitlin Novell to guide us along on a tour of this food lovers paradise.

We started off our tour by checking out all the products used to make great food. I was really impressed by all of the state of the art kitchen items that they carry. Deep fryers, pots, and pans of all sizes and types, mixers, ovens, ranges, sinks, faucets, freezers, shelving, and more. Surfas not only sells these items but for over sixty years they have helped design and install commercial kitchens for a good many clients, big and small.

Need a gravy boat, tea kettle, bar supplies, or maybe some new glassware? Surfas has small stuff covered as well. Aisle upon aisle of kitchen gadgets of the higher quality than you can find at your local Target store. In fact, I was recently at Target trying to find an ice pick, a simple item that I was sure they would carry. No such luck. During our visit to Surfas, I not only found an ice pick for $4.70, but I also found an ice chisel, ice carving knife, and an ice carving toolset. Great for when I start my new career as an ice block designer. I will for sure know where to go for my tools.

Katie made me promise that I would spotlight the seconds that are offered at Surfas. These are dishes that may have a tiny chip on the bottom of them or have a slight factory defect. The prices on these are incredible, and of higher quality, since they are to be used in restaurants. They have to be sturdy since they are being used every day. These seconds are reason enough for Katie to come back to Surfas.

We, unfortunately, did not get a chance to tour the test kitchen at Surfas because they were holding a cooking class at the time of our visit. This test kitchen is located right off of the showroom and hosts a variety of events. The already mentioned cooking classes take place here on a regular basis, along with chef demos, workshops, and private events, such as wine tastings, pop up dinners, and group parties.

Surfas also boasts a cafe that helps feed hungry shoppers. A good many of the items served here feature items from around the store. Back in 2006, when the first Surfas Cafe opened in Los Angeles, they were named by Zagat as one of the top ten new restaurants in Los Angeles. A pretty big honor for a store that started out as a kitchen supply store. Kaitlin kept us moving right along, but both Katie and I made a mental note to come back to Surfas soon to try out their cafe.

Now for the part of the tour that I was most geared up for, the food portion of the tour. Looking for Himalayan coarse pink salt? They got that. Searching your supermarket for Guajillo powder? They definitely will not have that, but Surfas does. Want to find that olive oil that you had while in Italy? They have close to 100 kinds of olive oil at Surfas, so there's a chance that they will have it. I have worked in the grocery business for 25 years, and have yet to see a collection of food items like the ones they have Surfas. They carry items that other places simply do not. From Swedish pancake mix straight from Sweden, to honey mustard powder to give your popcorn an extra flavor boost, Surfas can definitely get a chef's creative juices flowing.

Not only does Surfas carry dry goods, but they also have a wide array of refrigerated and frozen items as well. Clarified butter, rare bottled sodas, black truffle butter, rabbit, gourmet ice cream, and clotted cream can all be easily gathered at Surfas.

This is not like your Ralph's or Pavilion's deli case. The Epicurean Center at Surfas had almost any kind of cheese you have heard of and a lot of them that I had never heard of. There were plenty of people behind the counter to help you select the right kind of cheese or packaged meat you are looking for. Unsure about some of the cheeses? Off to the side of the cheese, counter are two communal tables where they offer Cheese Taster Trio's ($16.00) and Salumi Samplers ($18.00). After our tour around the store I was very excited to have this opportunity to sit down and rest, and of course, try some of the meats and cheeses.

These were much more than your average meat and cheese trays. You can see that the guys behind the counter really take great pride in their work. For the Cheese Taster Trio, we selected Cowgirl Creamery's Red Hawk, the Midnight Moon, and the Le Amuse. I am by no means a cheese connoisseur, but my favorite of the three was the Midnight Moon. It had a good earthy flavor, while still being a little on the buttery side. The jam that came with the cheese plate was made by the good people behind the counter, with items made from things right in the store. So good, and it went well with the cheese too. For the Salumi Sampler, I wanted something a little peppery, so our guy suggested the Olli Speck Duroc. This was probably one of the best prosciutto's that I have had. It was peppery but did not overshadow the meat. Very well balanced, but still with a kick. This was paired with a San Danielle Prosciutto, which comes exclusively from one of ten regions in Northern Central Italy. The meat can never be frozen and has to be matured for a certain amount of time. This was a very clean prosciutto, very meaty bite, and good texture. It was hard for me to keep from gorging on the slices of bread here, but I definitely had my fair share. This plate was garnished with some dried fruit, almonds, and chocolate. Really good respite after our tour of Surfas.

Surfas really won me over. I admit I went into this with a bad attitude. I thought everything was going to be overpriced, that the employees would look down on me for not being gourmet enough and that the customers here would be too snooty. I was wrong on all accounts.  I found the prices to be pretty good actually. The employees were very helpful, even taking the time to explain cooking methods and making suggestions based on our interaction. The customers were actually nice, and when we stopped to look at an item, more than once a fellow customer would let us know what they thought of a particular item. That's something people don't do at Albertson's. It was a really nice experience at Surfas, and with so many reasons to return, it will not be long before we do.

We would like to thank everyone at Surfas for the opportunity to visit their wonderful store. We were really impressed with all of you, and because of you, we will be back soon. We would also like to thank our tour guide and new friend Kaitlin from Purry Communications Group. She set up this opportunity and took time out of her Sunday to drive down the 405 to show us around the store. We can not thank you enough Kaitlin.

If you would like to know all the latest happenings with everything going on at Surfas, do not hesitate to check out their web site: http://www.culinarydistrict.com/

Stacking the Deck for a Great Breakfast

Stacks Pancake House

27680 Marguerite Parkway

Mission Viejo, CA 92692

I figure that in the span of writing this blog, I have eaten in restaurants close to three times a week. A lot of these restaurants kind of just blend into each other. It is really hard for most restaurants to stand out from the others. That probably explains why most restaurants that we have rated only get average, to slightly above average scores. I sometimes even have trouble remembering what I have eaten in some of the restaurants we have reviewed.

That is not the case with Stacks Pancake House. We first went to Stacks in Dana Point almost one year ago. I can clearly remember the ride down there and the weather on that day. More importantly, I can remember how much I liked our experience, and one item, in particular, the Captain Mac French Toast. More on that later. I was very excited when Stacks had announced that they would be opening a second location, one that would be cutting our breakfast drive time to no more than ten minutes, with none of that time spent on the freeway. So we waited a few weeks to let them settle in, then when we could wait no longer, we headed to their new location in Mission Viejo.

We got to Stacks at about half-past nine on a Sunday morning. This restaurant is located in a pretty low traffic shopping center that features Jojo's pizza, a Chinese restaurant, and no other real stores of note. The word must have gotten out about Stacks because when we arrived the line was nearly out the door. One qualm I have had with Stacks is the ordering process. Ordering is done at the counter, then you have to hunt for a place to sit. This process is not as bad at this location, because the dining area features more tables. We did not have people watching us eat while they were waiting for our table like we had at the Dana Point location. We were given a number and this how the food came out to us.

Let's start off our dining adventure at Stacks with Katie's choice for breakfast, the Kahlua Pork Benedict ($8.50). This Hawaiian twist on the classic eggs Benedict was a favorite of Katie's. She really liked the pork used here, felt the hollandaise sauce was on point, and the egg was well done. She did think this dish was rich, and she did have trouble finishing it all. This was served with home fried potatoes, which Katie thought were pretty standard, but good.

I also could not resist the call of the pork, so I opted for the Kahlua Pork Omelette ($8.50). This omelet comes stuffed with pork, cheddar and jack cheeses, onions, and was topped with a chipotle ranchero sauce. The egg and pork portion of this omelet was very good. The egg was very buttery and well cooked, while the pork was very tender, with just a hint of the Kahlua flavor. I was really surprised that they jammed so much pork in this omelet. My problem with this omelet was that there needed to be more cheese inside, and the chipotle ranchero sauce was used sparingly over the top of it and added no flavor to the plate. Like Katie, I liked the crispiness of the home fried potatoes, but they ended up just being average. I would get this again but ask for more cheese and some Tapatio on the side.

One of my favorite items that we have photographed on this blog has been the Captain Mac Nut French Toast ($6.95). Like a supermodel, this breakfast dish can not take a bad picture. At Stacks, they use King's Hawaiian sweet bread as the base for their french toast. Then they add crushed up macadamia nuts and Captain Crunch cereal to the french toast. As if that was not enough, each table is stocked with a syrup dispenser filled with coconut syrup. The result is one of the best breakfast plates we have had. The sweetness of this french toast is not as overpowering as you might think, due to the earthiness from the macadamia nuts and the coconut syrup. The outer portion of the french toast has a slight crust to it, which gives it some good texture. This is a must-try item when coming to Stacks.

After having the Captain Mac french toast, I could not be happier that Stacks has chosen to move closer to my house. This one item really makes this restaurant for me. We liked the egg items that they have here, but they pale in comparison to the awesomeness that is the french toast. The menu at Stacks is kind of a hodgepodge of different influences. The heavy influence is Hawaiian, but for lunch, they also serve Korean short ribs, teriyaki plates, and crepes, along with burgers and traditional sandwiches. It would be hard for me to come here and not get breakfast though. The service during our visit was pretty good. The girls running the food out and clearing the tables were working pretty hard. I think the prices here are on the good side, and definitely on par with other breakfast joints in the area. I am really happy that Stacks has brought one of our most memorable menu items closer to my house. Thanks, Stacks for cutting down on what we would have spent in gas getting to you.

Out of five kangaroos, (because the leading producer of macadamia nuts and the birthplace of the famous nut is not Hawaii, but Australia), five being best to zero being worst, Stacks Pancake House gets 3.5 kangaroos.

For more information about Stacks Pancake House, click here: http://stackspancakehouse.com/