Shhhhh! Pie Society is Open in Costa Mesa

Pie Society

353 East 17th St.

Costa Mesa, CA 92627

When I heard that a speakeasy was being opened in Costa Mesa, my mind immediately went to a time of gangsters, flappers, and a time when the foxtrot was all the latest craze on the dance floor. Speakeasies became necessary when the US went through prohibition from 1920 to 1933. It is hard for me to imagine a time when you could not get an alcoholic drink anywhere, but these secret clubs. Luckily, the law was repealed, and booze is again free flowing.

Pie Society is located in the rear of Pitfire Pizza, on 17th Street. We have not made it to Pitfire yet, but walking through the restaurant to get to Pie Society, we took note of the great looking pizzas, salads, and pasta dishes. The atmosphere was so awesome, they even had a DJ spinning records in this restaurant. I have now made a vow to come experience Pitfire for myself, but tonight was all about Pie Society.

You enter Pie Society through the back of the Pitfire building. I'm not sure if there are any signs, as we were invited to a special preview media event, and met at the front door of Pitfire Pizza. The space is not huge. 600 square feet, a fifteen seat bar, and about another six tables are about all there is around the darkened room. Even with the other 30 or so assembled media, the space never really felt cramped.

With the dark paneled walls, eyes are immediately drawn to the lightened bar area. As an ode to the former tenant of this building, Marie Callender's, the Pie Society places their top shelf bottles on what was the original pie oven. I was also drawn to the knockout pose of Muhammad Ali along the far wall, with the tag line, "I was born bad". He definitely was one bad dude in his prime.

No, I did not drink all of these beverages, but I did sample all of them. Needless to say, I was feeling pretty good after our night was done. The man behind these cocktails is OC native, Steve Garcia. Steve has quite the resume. He's an original member of the Orange County Bartender's Cabinet, and he's been in charge of the cocktail program at Mesa Restaurant and Broadway by Amar Santana. Now he's created the cocktail and beverage program for Pie Society. What I got with these drinks, even before I took my first sip, was that theses cocktails are very labor intensive. The three bartenders behind the bar were really working hard getting the concoctions just right and adding the correct garnishes. Their hard work really did payoff when I got the chance to try these cocktails. Some favorites of the night included The Art of the Kill ($10), which is the second picture from the top. Using Death's Door Gin, Gran Classico Cynar, a tangerine garnish, and one large ice cube, this was a drink I could imagine one of the Rat Pack drinking. It was a very grown up drink, with a hint of sweetness. The Old Man and the Sea ($12) is the fourth picture down, and was made up of Zaya 12 year old Rum, St. Elizabeth Allspice Dream, Barspoon Turbinado Syrup, a lime ribbon, and one large ice cube. I'm not going to lie to you and make you think that I know all of these ingredients that went into this drink, but this take off on an old fashioned was very delicious. I really got a lot from the all spice that was used in this beverage. The last drink I wanted to highlight was the Mai Thai ($12) in the last picture. This is not you Grandmother's Mai Thai. At Pie Society they use Smith and Cross Jamaican Rum, Rhum Argicole, Orange Curacao, Lime juice, mint, and an orchid garnish. This was not like any Mai Thai I have ever had. Not real heavy on the orange, it was more minty than it was anything else. Very good, and really took me out of Costa Mesa and put me somewhere in French Polynesia, without having to go through customs.

After all of the drinking, I was definitely ready to try the food at Pie Society. When we entered the room they had bar snack laid out on each table. These are not your normal pretzels and Chex mix though. Pie Society's holy trinity of bar snacks include Our Pickles ($4), Pastrami Peanuts ($3), and Smoked Olives ($5), or you could get the whole trio for $8. I'm not a big olive fan, but the olives were a big hit around the table. The nuts did not really taste like pastrami, but they were more of a candied nut variety, with salt on the outside. Three kinds of pickles are offered at Pie Society, Dill, Bread and Butter, and Siracha. I did not get a chance to try the Siracha pickle, but the bread and butter pickles were right on point. I wanted to smuggle some home and put some on a burger.

It seems like everywhere we have been recently they have had hard boiled eggs on the menu. Pie Society was no exception, with their Kimchi Deviled Eggs ($4). My Mom will be shocked to hear that I tried one of these. I am not a big fan of deviled eggs, but in a room of fellow food bloggers, I did not want my food cred to take more of a hit than it probably already has, so I tried one of these deviled eggs. Not too bad. I did not get any of the kimchi flavor that the name of these promised though. The texture was smooth and the paprika added a slight pop. I'm still not going to eat these all the time, maybe only when my peers are in the same room.

I have been a shrimp fiend the last few weeks, so when this Crispy Dim Sum Shrimp ($8) hit our table, I was very excited. I'm not entirely sure why they called this dim sum shrimp though. It more resembled a honey walnut shrimp dish to me. You can not see it from the picture, but under the shrimp is a sweet mayo sauce and pineapple, which gave this a sweetness. There was just enough sauce under there that you could dip your shrimp into it. The shrimp was cooked well, a little crispy on the outside, and not overdone on the inside.

The big hit of the night for me was the Tater Tots ($7). Yes these were regular tater tots, but what made them extra special was the chorizo fondue that was served alongside of the spuds. I could not help myself from dipping my fork into the chorizo mixture and almost eating it all by myself. Of course I did this after everyone was done with this dish. I wanted to get some extra to take home, and have it on hot dogs the next day. I'm not even sure what the white dipping sauce was, because all of my attention went to my beloved chorizo fondue. This will be a dish we get on return visits.

I just realized that I have not mentioned anything about the chef that is responsible for all of this food at Pie Society. Chef Jason Neroni is the man behind the menu. Chef Jason is from Superba Snack Bar in Venice. That restaurant has won critical acclaim from tons media outlets and foodies alike. Superba is also owned by Pitfire Pizza founder, Paul Hibler. They are hoping that their winning combination works down in OC. To help hedge their bets, they have brought the Superba Fried Chicken ($8) down south. This chicken was very good. Not like any I have ever tasted. The menu says it has a red wine vin glaze, chilies, and Parmesan. All of these flavors play against each other really well. I got the Parmesan first, then a slight heat from the chilies, then the overpowering, but great taste of the almost vinegar like tang from the wine glaze. Great flavor waves. The chicken was tender as well. This is another must get dish at Pie Society.

My love for pork belly is well known to lots of my friends. My mantra has become, "if you see pork belly on a menu, order it". The Sweet and Sour Crispy Pork Belly ($8) could not come around quick enough. The cubes of crisp pork belly were topped with pineapple and opal basil. The pork was a tad on the dry side, but the pineapple helped to moisten that up. The hunks of the belly are like eating bacon dice, so good. I kind of hoarded this dish when others were too busy talking.

The Cheeseburger Hot Pocket ($8) did not win much praise from the people at our table, but I kind of liked them. They kind of had a lumpia kind of feel to them. The ground meat was finely chopped, the cheese was not overly present for me, and the house made ketchup and mustard provided a good one-two punch for dipping. These were not overly greasy like I had expected, and even though the name conjured up visions of those vile frozen Hot Pockets that you can find at your grocery store, I ended up enjoying these much more than I thought I would.

Being under the same roof as Pitfire Pizza, it is probably no shock that there are two pizzas on the Pie Society menu. The first one we got to try was the Deli Pizza ($12). This was my favorite pizza of the two. It featured pastrami meatballs, Gouda cheese, mozzarella, and lots of caraway seeds. The meatballs were divine, and the cheeses all worked well together, without overpowering the pizza. The crust was pretty solid for being a thin crust. The Soprano Pizza ($13) was the pizza that mostly everyone liked. It came with tomato, mozzarella, caramelized onion, olives, Fresno chilies, salsa verde, and sopprasta, which is a dry salami. I liked this pizza, but I needed more flavor from it. It was very mellow.

Our visit, and this special media preview event were definitely a success in my book. I really am excited to come back to Pie Society and see how it does. I know that the word will definitely get out about this place, because almost every food media person I could think of from OC was here on this night. I talked to a lot of them, and they were all pretty excited for Pie Society to open. They are now open Tuesday through Sunday, from 5PM til Closing. The Pie Society Bar Menu kicks into gear at 8PM, and they offer a limited Pitfire menu from 5 to 8. We are really looking forward to heading back through the unmarked Pie Society door again.

We would like to thank everyone at Pie Society for making us feel so welcome, and for allowing us to come see what this place was all about. I was pretty impressed with what I saw on this night. The bartenders, waitstaff and food runners all did a great job for us. I also wanted to thank all of the other food bloggers and traditional media invitees. You all help make these events even better, and we always enjoy catching up with you. Lastly, a big thanks goes out to Devon Klug and Juilana Pesavento of Wagstaff Worldwide for the invitation to join them on this great night. You put together a great night for all of us. Thanks again.

Pie Society does have a web site, so click here to go to it: http://www.piesocietybar.com/

Eat Chow? Sounds Like the Place for Me

Eat Chow

1802 Newport Blvd. 

Costa Mesa, CA 92627

I love getting two things done at once. The second weekend of May this year included both my Dad's birthday and of course Mother's Day. This double dip seems to happen almost every year. So killing two birds with one stone, I decided to combine both celebrations with one dinner for the both of them. I consulted one of my favorite food resource sites, Urabanspoon, and looked up restaurants in Costa Mesa. Eat Chow had over a ninety percent approval rating, and a few of the blogs I read regularly had liked the food, so that is where we headed.

Eat Chow has a Newport Boulevard address, but it is really located on 18th street, a stones throw from one of my favorite bars, Goat Hill Tavern. Eat Chow shares this address with a clothing store, and the windows of the restaurant look out on shoppers buying what I assume to be, expensive apparel. The restaurant is not big, maybe ten or so tables. Even with the cramped quarters we really felt pretty comfortable here. The restaurant kind of had an LA feel to it. Part hipster, but in a laid back kind of way. The restaurant's decor is dominated by darker woods, but with the large windows facing the street and the windows in the back, Eat Chow conveys an openness.

We got to the restaurant at about 4PM on a recent Saturday evening. There was a smattering of customers here when we arrived, but the place filled up around us as we ate. The menu here is dominated by some Mexican dishes and sandwiches, among other things. I was pretty impressed with their sandwich selection. They offer 17 different kinds, and I really had a hard time deciding which one to have. Everyone else must have been having the same problem as me, because it took us awhile to decide on what we were going to have. After some tough decisions, this is what hit our table.

Reading the reviews on-line before I got here, almost everyone had mentioned the Beer Battered Onion Rings ($4.50) and the Truffle Parmesan Fries ($5). Let's start with the better of the two, the onion rings. These were a very solid onion ring. The breading stuck to the onion, the batter was not too greasy, and the Point Reyes blue cheese dip went well with these rings. Not a bad one in the bunch. The fries had a good amount of truffle flavor on them, but I thought a bigger french fry would have been preferable here. An increased surface area would have made the truffle and Parmesan more intense, but that's just my opinion. Everyone else really liked these fries. I thought the serving size for these was pretty generous.

Katie went big here, with the #1 Ahi Burger (Market Price, but the day we were here it was $18). This very rich tuna burger had a lot going on with it. Not only did this contain a big slab of ahi, it also came with a chili aioli, Roma tomatoes, and a ginger wasabi slaw, all on a toasted brioche bun. The mild spiciness of the condiments helped to cut down on the richness from the ahi. Everything played off each other nicely here. Katie could not finish this, leaving about a quarter of it for me, which I did not mind. The sandwiches here come with either a side green salad or a Caesar. Both Katie and I chose the Caesar with or meals. I really enjoyed this Caesar. It kind of had a Cole slaw type vibe, and was dressed nicely with a good Caesar dressing. Very fresh produce and plenty of cheese, made this Caesar a winner.

We'll skip to my Dad's dinner next, the Hot Turkey Pastrami Sandwich ($13). This was listed as one of their specials, so I'm not sure if it is available all the time or not. Here they take their house made turkey pastrami and then add Swiss cheese, a creamy three mustard jalapeno slaw and some cotija cheese. I did not really get the taste of the cotija cheese with this one, but I did detect the slight heat from the jalapeno slaw. The turkey was done nicely, and my Dad could not have been happier with his sandwich. Glad to make the old guy happy every once in awhile.

If you have been an avid follower of the blog, you might know that I am always looking for great Cuban sandwiches when we go out. To me there is not a more balanced sandwich than a Cuban. My Mom beat me to the punch by getting the Media Noche Cubano ($10) here at Eat Chow. Stuffed between two grilled pieces of sweet egg bread was plenty of roasted pork, smoked ham, house made pickles, Swiss cheese, and spicy mustard. You get the sweet from the bread, the saltiness from the meats, and the sour from the pickles. A little taste of everything for your tongue. The version at Eat Chow was pretty spot on. It really conveyed the media noche taste, and my Mom had plenty left to bring home to my bother in law. She also really enjoyed the side salad that was served with this sandwich. Not sure what kind of vinaigrette was on this salad, but she made a point of saying that she really liked it.

I really did have a hard time narrowing down my choices at Eat Chow, but I finally made my choice of the Reuben ($11). The sandwich was served on sourdough, with house made corned beef, thousand island dressing, Swiss cheese, and a red cabbage kraut. I really liked that they grilled the sandwich. It added a nice crunch to the bread. The overall taste of the sandwich could have been a little better though with a few tweaks. The red cabbage really overpowered the sandwich, thus the meat got lost in most of my bites. This sandwich also could have used a little more dressing, which I ended up asking for. A good sandwich, but there are too many other items on their menu that I want to try before getting this again.

All four of us were pretty full by this point, but we persevered and split one dessert four ways. The Banana Chocolate Chip Bread Pudding ($8) was our almost unanimous choice. This bread pudding was drizzled with caramel and chocolate sauce, and topped with whipped cream. I had higher hopes for this dessert when we ordered it. The bread pudding was a little on the dense side, and the chocolate chips did not shine through for me. Again, not bad, but not something I would probably get again.

Eat Chow really made both Mother's Day and my Dad's birthday a great success. Both of my parents left Eat Chow very happy and satisfied with their meals. I liked mine, but I will definitely have to come back to find my ultimate meal here. I really liked the playful way that they tried to make each item their own by adding something that you might not expect. The prices were pretty reasonable for the serving sizes offered. The service on this late afternoon was pretty solid. Jessica and her busboys really took good care of us, refilling our drinks and clearing plates. It was a very good day, celebrating two family celebrations at the same time. Now if I could just do that with every family occasion, I would have more time on my hands than I would know what to do with. I know, its not going to happen, but I can still dream.

Out of five dog houses, (because the Chow Chow is a breed of dog, and I could come up with anything better), five being best to zero being worst, Eat Chow gets 3 dog houses.

For more information about Eat Chow, click here: http://www.eatchownow.com/

Rick's Atomic Cafe is the Bomb

Rick's Atomic Cafe

3100 Airway Ave. 

Costa Mesa, CA 92626

This is another long overdue visit to a restaurant that has been on our list of places to go forever. One of our readers, John gave me the heads up on this place close to three years ago. If you are still out there John, we finally made it to Rick's Atomic Cafe. We actually had shown up here one time, I think it was on Labor Day, and they were closed. So at least we did try to make it once in those three years. It is just so rare that Katie and I have the same day off during the week, when it is not a holiday. Rick's is not open on holidays, weekends, or after 3pm. The stars had aligned just right the day of Katie's birthday though. I was off on a Thursday, she had asked for the day off, and we were up this way staying in a hotel for a romantic getaway. Probably more info than you need to know, but I feel the need to explain myself a little bit.

Rick's Atomic Cafe is a pretty hard spot to find. Located on the backside of John Wayne Airport, and not on a major street, Ricks is hidden in an office park. Luckily, it is in the front of the business center, or we may have given up our search for it. If you are coming here, and make it into the right office park, look for the neon open sign hanging in the window, or the little Italian chef guy holding up the special of the day curbside.

Once inside, you will notice how small this place really is. The kitchen area takes up at least three quarters of the place, which leaves just enough room for four small tables. This is probably the type of lunch spot that the people in the surrounding offices call in their orders, and take them to go. I can imagine that it gets really packed at Rick's Atomic Cafe during the lunch rush. We made it a point of showing up here at 10am, smack dab in between breakfast and lunch time. During our stay here, there was no one else that walked through the door. Rick's is truly a one man operation. While we were here he was updating his Twitter feed, waited on our table, and did all of the cooking. The menu is not going to knock your socks off with lots of variety, but there are enough choices to keep most everyone happy, plus there are the daily specials that are said not to be missed. Our order was taken then we waited while Rick did his magic in the kitchen. This is what came out for us.

Katie felt like having breakfast, so she went with her go to item at breakfast time, a Breakfast Egg Sandwich ($4.50). This sandwich used two eggs, American cheese, and ham, all piled on a slightly toasted bagel. This simple sandwich was made even better by using fresh items to create it. The eggs were done perfectly, the thick cut ham had a nice smokiness to it, and the bagel, even though it was toasted, still had a softness to it. Katie was pretty happy with this egg sandwich.

On our trip to Rick's, I did a little brunch thing with my ordering. I started with this French Toast ($5.75). This may look like your usual French toast, but it was really heightened by a wonderful orange zest that really packed the citrus punch to this breakfast staple. The bread was not too eggy, while the batter was not heavy at all. A very nice balance that is very hard for other breakfast restaurants to get right. I was a little worried that the two slices were not going to be enough for me, but of course I had another plate headed out of the kitchen for me.

When I saw the special of the day, I could not resist it. The Angus Tri-Tip Sandwich ($8.50) kind of had an Argentinian thing going on, that I found hard to resist. This sandwich started with a very soft ciabatta roll, that I had my reservations about being able to hold up to the contents of the sandwich, but it did an admirable job. The insides of the sandwich included tri-tip, Swiss cheese, tomato, and a very well made chimichurri sauce. The steak was very tender on this sandwich, and could have stood on its own. The Swiss went well with the steak, the veggies were fresh, and the chimichurri brought everything together wonderfully. One of the best sandwiches I have had in some time. This special was also served with a salad. The salad was dressed just enough in a vinaigrette. Not too oily, but still with lots of flavor, this salad was better than I thought it would be by looking at it.

When we were just about to leave, another lady came in to help Rick with the impending lunch rush. It turned out she was the baker of the Chocolate Chip Cookies ($1.75) that were stationed on the counter. I could not resist trying one on the way home. I really liked the texture of these cookies, they had a nice crunch to them. You could definitely tell that they were from scratch. I thought the flavor was just a tad off for me. I missed the butteriness that you get with a Tollhouse cookie. Not a bad cookie though.

I was pleasantly surprised by how much we liked Rick's Atomic Cafe. I thought that the breakfasts were better than average, but what really put this place over the top for me was the sandwich that I had. It has been almost a month since we visited, and I still crave that sandwich. We of course were taken great care of by Rick. He really made us feel welcome, and answered all of our annoying questions. Thanks for a great experience Rick. I really thought the prices here were a steal. Nothing on the menu was over double digits, and most items can be had for just a five dollar bill. Not a bad place to have a great lunch, and still have money left in your pocket. I look forward to coming back to Rick's again soon, and it will not take us three years to make a return trip.

Out of five gamma rays, five being best to zero being worst, Rick's Atomic Cafe gets 3.5 gamma rays.

For more information on Rick's Atomic Cafe, click here to go to their website: http://ricksatomiccafe.com/

Partaking of P.F. Chang's New Summer Menu

P.F. Chang's 

61 Fortune Dr. 

Irvine, CA 92618

My parents absolutely love P.F. Chang's. So, when we were approached with the opportunity to try some of their new Summer menu items, it was an easy choice as to who would be joining us. The Irvine Spectrum location is a test kitchen for P.F. Chang's around the country and the world. We have not been back since our last visit, which you can read here. Sorry for the out of focus pictures and the even worse writing in that review. It's funny how things change in just three short years, not the writing, but at least the pictures look better.

Speaking of changes, this Irvine location recently underwent extensive renovations to the restaurant. I first noticed that the door now faces out into the center, instead of coming in through the side of the restaurant. This gives the restaurant a more inviting feel to it and makes it way more prominent. The inside of this P.F. Chang's is way more open now. They have a large patio in the front of the restaurant, the kitchen is now closed off, and the high ceilings really give this place a bigger feel to it.

We were here over the recent Memorial Day holiday. Meeting at the early dinner hour of 4PM, we had our pick of almost any table in the restaurant. Throughout our stay, the restaurant would have a steady stream of customers, but the restaurant was never more than half full. Most people at the Spectrum were watching one of the big holiday weekend blockbusters at the theater across from the restaurant. P.F. Chang's had plenty of staff on hand at this early dinner hour. Our waitress, Fiona, greeted us warmly and made sure we were well taken care of throughout our stay. She took our order, and this is how it all came out of the kitchen for us.

Okay, not from the kitchen, but new on the Summer menu are two seasonal cocktails. I debated on which one to get, and settled on the Long Island Rum Tea ($9). This refreshing concoction combined Cruzan Mango, Guava, and Aged Light Rums, with a fresh sour mix and a splash of cranberry. I'm not very partial to sweet drinks, but my parents really enjoyed this beverage. I would probably try the Long Island Tequila Tea on my next visit.

With this new Summer menu, P.F. Chang's is getting into the sushi game with these two offerings, the California Roll ($6.95) and a Spicy Tuna Roll ($7.50). For the two people left that do not know what goes into a California roll, it is crab, cucumber, and avocado, held in place by a sesame seed rice. The spicy tuna came with cucumber, daikon sprouts, and the same sesame rice. Predictably, I enjoyed the spicy tuna out of these two rolls. It really did have a pop of flavor, and when I added the Wasabi that was provided, it really got my taste buds going. The California roll was more subdued, but with very fresh ingredients. I was pleasantly surprised by both of these rolls.

As soon as the rolls were done, our food hit the table quick. Up first is another new item, the Korean BBQ Chicken Stir Fry ($13.95). This spicy chicken stir fry came with red peppers, green beans, onions, a kimchi slaw, and a spicy red chili sauce. The sauce was what really made this dish for me. It started off kind of sweet, then when it was about to go down, the heat was released. The veggies were very fresh, the chicken was cooked well, but the sauce used here really got my attention. Not to ruin the rest of this blog post for you, but this was the best dish of the night in my opinion.

Not a new item, but one my Mom requested that we get, the Chang's Spicy Chicken ($13.95). I did not detect too much spice in this, it was more on the sweet side on this visit. This very simple dish takes chicken pieces and stir-fries them in the sweet and spicy sauce. Tender chicken, but a little too plain for my tastes.

Since my Mom got to choose a dish, it was only fair that my Dad gets to choose one also. No surprise to me that he went with the Shrimp with Candied Walnuts ($15.95). His standby dish at P.F. Chang's comes with some pretty good-sized shrimp in a sweet cream sauce, with candied walnuts and honeydew melon balls. The perfect dish for a warm summer day. The sauce could have been a little more prevalent here, but it did its job of coating most of the dish. The earthy taste of the walnuts went well with the sweet taste of the sauce and melon, along with the slight saltiness of the shrimp. Really a well-balanced plate of flavors playing against each other.

Katie also got in on the act of picking plates here, and she wanted to try the Summer Vegetable Quinoa. This interesting looking dish started with the hippest grain of the moment, toasted quinoa, then squash, tomatoes, snow peas, and a sunny side up egg are added. The only one at the table that was feeling this dish was the girl that ordered it, Katie. I did not hate it, but it kind of tasted plain to me. The egg portion was enough to keep me interested for a while, but that did not last. My parents kind of felt the same way that I did about this plate. Not something that they would normally order.

No trip to P.F. Chang's would be complete without an order of their Dan Dan Noodles ($10.95), or as I like to call them, Chinese spaghetti. This pasta dish starts with egg noodles and ground chicken, then scallions, garlic, and chili peppers are added. This is then tossed tableside. A very simple dish, but one that definitely satisfies.

For the most part, we really enjoyed the new Summer menu items at P.F. Chang's. I always like it when a chain restaurant tries to change things up. It gives their customers a chance to experience something new at a place they have probably eaten at numerous times. I am also thankful that we have the P.F. Chang's test kitchen so near us, so we can be the first to try some of their latest creations. The new items were good, but it is still hard to walk into a P.F. Chang's and not order some of our old favorites though. As usual, when we visit P.F. Chang's, we had great service. Fiona really took care of us and was very pleased with her recommendations for the new items. I would also like to thank Emily Finely at Karwoski and Courage PR for letting us know about the new Summer menu at P.F. Chang's. We look forward to trying more of the new Summer items on future visits.

To find out more information about P.F. Chang's, click here to go to their website: https://www.pfchangs.com/

Captivating Night at the Capital Grille

The Capital Grille

3333 Bristol St.

Costa Mesa, CA 92626

Well, we are getting into that time of the year again. It starts in April with my Brother-in-Law's birthday and goes through mid-June, with my parent's anniversary and Father's Day. Every week during this time of the year, we have either someone's birthday to celebrate or a national holiday, like Mother's Day, Father's Day, Memorial Day, etc. This week it is Katie's turn to be pampered. I picked her up from work and headed out for a nice dinner. She wanted me to surprise her, so I knew exactly where I would take her. We headed straight for the Capital Grille.

Capital Grille has been at South Coast Plaza for nearly three years. They took over the upper half of the old Clubhouse restaurant. Their sister restaurant, Seasons 52, now occupies the bottom level of the space. We have only been to Capital Grille for a media event, but that event impressed me enough to put this restaurant on my list of places to try. Capital Grille is big back east and is trying to win customers' steakhouse dollars here. They operate in 24 states; the only other California location is in Los Angeles, at the Beverly Center. This OC location of Capital Grille helps complete what I like to call the Steak Pyramid. I came up with this because within a two-block radius, there are two other big power hitters in the world of steakhouses, Maestro's and Morton's. I have not blogged about dinner at either of these, but we will visit soon to see who reigns supreme on top of our steak pyramid.

I had made reservations for 6pm on a recent Wednesday night. The dining room at Capital Grille was filled with older customers, all in business attire. More of the same demographic was also located in the small bar area. There are wine lockers throughout the restaurant. This is a steakhouse, so dark colors and muted lighting are expected. They also feature large paintings of what our waiter called local OC people. I did not recognize the name of the old-time tennis star depicted in the painting near our table, though. I also forgot to write the name down, as I was going to do. We had food to consume, so let's see how everything turned out for us.

Starting things off was the bread basket that came to the table shortly after we sat. I can not remember getting a more diverse bread basket anywhere. This had four kinds of bread, including the naan-like creation. I liked the simple poppy seed/sesame roll the best. It was very fresh, and the soft butter that came with this spread over the warmed bread easily. It had a good crunch to the crust, and we could not help but ask for more of these.

Katie went her usual route when she started with the Fresh Mozzarella, Tomato, and Basil with 15-Year Aged Balsamic ($13). Capital Grille's version of a Caprese salad was really something special to Katie. They start with at least six different types of tomatoes here as the base. Then the big slices of tomato are added on top of that, with large basil leaves. This gives each bite a hit of the basil. The mozzarella is made every two hours in the kitchen at Capital Grille, so you know you are getting the freshest cheese around. Katie could really tell the difference between this mozzarella. Then the plate is drizzled with the fifteen-year-old balsamic and olive oil. Katie thought this was a very generous-sized salad, which could have easily fed two people. She liked the variety of tomatoes on this salad and would definitely get this salad again.

Since Katie was going with her usual salad choice, I decided that was a green light for me to do the same, so I ordered the Caesar Salad ($10). I had mixed feelings about this salad. On the positive side, the Parmesan cheese was plentiful and sound, while the croutons here were not overly crunchy and still had a good chew. This salad could have used a few more croutons, though. The lettuce could have been cut into smaller pieces, and the dressing could have been added more liberally. This salad was not awful, but nothing special either. I'd probably go with the spinach salad or the wedge on my next visit here.

Of course, we are in a steak restaurant, and the birthday girl orders fish. It's just as well, though, because she likes her steak well done, and in these kinds of restaurants, I always cringe when she orders it that way. This Parmesan Crusted Sole with Avocado and Crab Salad ($39) made the birthday girl as happy as any piece of over-cooked steak. She felt the fish was light and flaky, without the greasiness she had expected. The breading did make this dish a little richer than she had thought it would be. Almost overshadowing the fish was the avocado and crab salad. She loved how this simple salad was dressed, the fresh avocado hunks, and the succulent crab's sweetness. She loved this salad so much that she suggested they offer it on their regular menu. Glad this meal made Katie so happy.

I whittled my steak choices down to two, then asked the waiter for his opinion. He told me to go with the Bone-In Kona Crusted Dry Aged Sirloin with Shallot Butter ($46). I was thrilled with this steak. This is really a man's steak. I was a little worried that the coffee flavor would overpower me, but it was a nice compliment to the natural flavor of the beef. This steak was cooked to a perfect medium rare, as seen in the picture above. Even with the bone, this steak had enough meat to satisfy my big appetite. The shallot butter was a nice, not over-the-top complimentary sauce here.

As with almost all finer steakhouses, side items are not included with the entrees. Both Katie and I chose one side item to share. Her choice was the Lobster Mac and Cheese ($16). This is one of my favorite versions of this dish ever. This dish was predictably rich, but the richness did not overpower it. The noodles were cooked quite well, the crumb topping added some texture, and this had more enormous hunks of lobster than most of the other lobster macs I have had. This is a must-get side item when you are at Capital Grille. I really enjoy Creamed Spinach ($10), and this one here really impressed me. It's hard to get the consistency right with this side dish, but Capital Grille did it. The spinach was cooked well, and the extra creaminess could be attributed to adding a bechamel sauce. We were two for two with our choices for sides here.

I had casually mentioned that it was Katie's birthday to our waiter, and at the end of our meal, he brought out a Creme Brulee for us to share. This creme brulee had a very smooth texture with a very mild flavor. It was not overly sweet, like some brulee's can be. The berries resting on top of this dessert were very fresh, and I gave my share of these to the birthday girl. See, I can sometimes be giving.

We really enjoyed our visit to Capital Grille. The entrees and sides really shined here. It has been a long while since I have been to an actual steakhouse, and it was good to eat in one again. Due to the prices, I would classify this restaurant as a special occasion spot. One in which you come for birthdays, anniversaries, and when you get a raise at your job. Worth special mention is the service that we got on this night. Our waiter, Shaun, took great care of us and anticipated our every need. The management team was very hands-on, ensuring every table was taken care of. Bill came by to check on us twice, and on the third time to our table, he wished Katie a happy birthday. It is safe to say that the Capital Grille will now become part of our rotation for family celebrations.

Out of five doughnuts (because Capital Grille was founded in Providence, Rhode Island, and that city has the most doughnut shops per capita as any other city in the US), five being best to zero being worst, The Capital Grille gets 4 doughnuts.

For more information about The Capital Grille, click here: https://www.thecapitalgrille.com/