A Slice of the Big Easy in Fullerton

Bourbon Street

110 E. Commonwealth

Fullerton, CA 92832

There are so many good places to eat in Downtown Fullerton, that some places kind of get lost in the shuffle. I mean, restaurants seem to be opening up in a rapid rate in DTF. Just within this year, Hopscotch opened to some rave reviews, JP 23 started serving some barbecue out of the old Church location at the corner of Commonwealth and Harbor, and on this latest trip up to Fullerton we spotted a new pizza joint, Fuoco Pizzeria, which one of our friends told us we must try on our next trip up the 57 Freeway. This excursion was all about a restaurant that has been around for over five years, and has been serving up California Cajun cuisine, Bourbon Street.

To be honest, I had Bourbon Street confused with another restaurant that I used to eat at as a kid, Sombrero Street, which was a few streets over. We used to go over there for brunch when I was in elementary school. That restaurant is long gone now. Bourbon Street is located right next to Stubriks, and in the same shopping area as Knowlwood's and the Old Spaghetti Factory. Kind of in a corner spot, it is well worth the trouble finding it though.

We got here at 7:30 on a Saturday night. The whole downtown area was practically deserted on this Labor Day weekend, which we at first thought was odd, but made sense when you think about it. The Orange Street Fair was going on, the heat keeps a lot of people at home, and a lot of people head out of town for the last big weekend before school starts up again. We took advantage of this lull in the almost always busy Downtown Fullerton area, by getting a great parking space, less than thirty feet away from the entrance to Bourbon Street.

When we walked in Bourbon Street, the first thing I noticed was the great decor that really captures what they are trying to bring to California from New Orleans. They had a cobblestone walkway, the lampposts were reminiscent of New Orleans, and colorful walls brought back to mind the Crescent  City. The other long wall is made of brick, and is dominated by maybe 15 to 20 large HD TVs, which were all playing a different college football game on this particular Saturday night. They were even gracious enough to turn the TV nearest to us, to my beloved Washington Huskies, as they dominated Boise State. Hopefully a sign of things to come this season.

Much like the rest of Downtown Fullerton, Bourbon Street was not very busy on this night. There were maybe about five tables eating here during our visit. Most of the action was happening at the long bar, which was at the end of the long, narrow restaurant. We were greeted promptly, and given one of the nice sized, comfy booths facing the bank of TVs. Our waiter gave us a few minutes to ponder the menu, and this is what we came up with.

It was a very warm night out, and we had a long drive up from South OC, so I definitely felt a drink was in order. Katie opted for her usual designated driver inspired iced tea, so I went for a New Orleans beverage staple, the New Orleans Style Hurricane. At Bourbon Street they make their hurricanes with Myer's Plantation Rum, Myer's Dark Rum, orange juice, cranberry juice, and grenadine. I love rum, and this really hit the spot. It was fruity, but I could still taste the rum in this drink. It brought me back to when I was having one of these at O'Brien's in Cancun. So refreshing.

Checking out the appetizer portion of the menu, a lot of things popped out at us, Bacon Mac and Cheese, Wings, and the Onion Rings, but when it came right down to it, we could not pass up the Louisiana Fries ($12). This heaping mound of fries was topped with pickled vegetables, pulled pork, baked beans, ginger slaw, BBQ sauce, and garlic aioli. This kind of resembled a Philly cheesesteak to me. The fries were crisp, seasoned well, and provided a very sturdy base for this appetizer. The pork was very tender, while the garlic aioli had a great flavor. I was a little skeptical about the pickled veggies used here, but they added a nice tang to the dish. Even though this was a big mound of fries that could have easily fed four, with the absence of cheese here, this was a much lighter appetizer than it would appear to be. Don't make a mistake and leave Bourbon Street without getting this appetizer.

Who could come to a New Orleans style restaurant, and not try their Shrimp Jambalaya ($6)? Not me, that's for sure. This chicken and rice stew, with assorted peppers, and shrimp came out scalding hot. Even with the scorching temperatures outside, I still think I made the right decision to have this jambalaya. It was real solid, with plenty of shrimp in it. I think I counted six good sized shrimp in just this one cup. The spice was spot on. No need asking for hot sauce with this jambalaya, it really brought the heat.

Katie's not much into spicy things, so it was not a surprise to me that she did not try the jambalaya or the gumbo here. She was much more content with the Bourbon Street Salad ($13). This was a very good sized salad, with a whole laundry list of things in it. Starting with mixed greens, then adding Roma tomatoes, red onion, Gorgonzola cheese, candied walnuts, and cranberries. This salad usually comes with a ginger balsamic vinaigrette, but Katie opted for ranch dressing with this salad. She liked all the different textures and flavors of this salad. She liked the crunchiness of the nuts, and the fresh produce here. She would definitely get this salad again.

I usually share Katie's meals first, but I can not wait to share what I got with you. The Black and Bleu Sirloin ($20) was a big hunk of meat. This sirloin was cooked to a prefect medium rare, then had plenty of Gorgonzola cheese in the middle of it, along with plenty of mushrooms, onions, and Cabernet sauce poured on top of it. This steak was big on flavor. The sweetness from the onions counterbalanced the Gorgonzola a bit. I ended up taking a quarter of this home. This steak was also served with veggies and au gratin potatoes. The vegetables here are organic, and come from Melissa's Produce, so you know they are good. I have a love hate relationship with au gratin potatoes, but these were pretty solid. They had plenty of cheese on top of them, and I liked that some of the potatoes were crisp. This was a big plate of food for a person with a large appetite.

When I saw the menu, I had it narrowed down to two things that Katie would get, one of which she eventually did get, the Cajun Penne Pasta ($16). I guess after four and a half years of being together, I should have her figured out by now. This dish not only had penne pasta, but came with chicken, andouille sausage, peppers, mushrooms and onions, with a creamy cayenne sauce. I tried this, and really enjoyed the smokiness of it. Katie was pretty happy that the cayenne sauce did not get to be too spicy. She called this comfort food at its best. The noodles and chicken were cooked well, but she did think that the sausage could have been more prominent in this dish though. She was pretty impressed with the garlic bread that came with this, and even took a slice home for the next day.

We were very full, but we allowed ourselves to be talked into having dessert. They had three choices, which all sounded good, but we went with the one that involved ice cream, the Bananas Foster. This was prepared table side by our waiter Scott. They used three large scoops of ice cream to make this traditional dessert. I always like when the ice cream to banana ratio is in favor of the ice cream. The bananas were good here, and the rum they used was pretty evident. Even though I was full, I ate a good amount of this to cool me down.

As we were sitting here, we could imagine that this place gets pretty crazy for NFL football on Sunday mornings. On the door they advertise this as a Saints bar naturally, but our waiter, Scott, said that a lot of other teams fans come in on Sunday mornings to root on their team. He told us that we were sitting in the Minnesota Vikings booth, so I felt we were in good company, since neither the Vikes, or my beloved Jaguars have any shot of making the Superbowl. Back to Bourbon Street though, they have a pretty solid brunch menu for Sunday mornings, and one item definitely caught my eye, The Big Easy. This breakfast chimichanga is filled with pulled pork, bacon, sausage, eggs, Gouda and cheddar cheeses, pico de gallo, and a chorizo cream sauce. Yeah, this is something I can really get behind. We are really going to have to make Bourbon Street one of our stops during this football season.

We really enjoyed our time at Bourbon Street. Everyone we encountered was very nice, and answered all of our many questions about this restaurant. They even do a lot for the community as well. They are very active raising money for Autism Awareness, with many events held throughout the year. It is always nice when a restaurant not only wants to feed the community, but also wants to give something back to the community. We really look forward to coming back to Bourbon Street again real soon. With the wealth of restaurants in Downtown Fullerton, Bourbon Street should not be missed.

For more information about Bourbon Street, go to their website, which is here: http://bourbonstreetfullerton.com/

Checking Out Chixy In Costa Mesa

Chixy Natural

488 E. 17th Street

Costa Mesa, CA 92627

I get a lot of my tips from reading other blogs, magazines, and newspaper food reviews. Our visit to Chixy Natural is thanks to the great people over at OC Weekly. I have religiously read almost everything that they have posted on their Stick A Fork In It blog, as well as what they put in their print edition of the OC Weekly for a good many years. One of my favorite columns is the Hole In The Wall, written by Gustavo Arellano. Just from reading Gustavo's words all of these years, I can tell that he has very particular tastes, especially when it comes to hot sauce. He was the one that gave me the heads up on the habanero salsa that you have to ask for at Taco Adobe in Orange. In his review of Chixy Natural, he mentions another fine salsa, and it was enough for us to make the trip to Costa Mesa.

Chixy Natural is located on the corner of Irvine and 17th Street, right across from La Cave. I lived in this area for over ten years, and never once found myself in this tiny strip mall. Of course, Chixy was not around then, they opened just over two years ago. In that time Chixy Natural has had numerous write ups in the OC Register, along with some mentions in OC Weekly. We were on our way to the OC Fair for the second time, and did not want to have fair food again. So we swung by Chixy on a Saturday night at about 6PM.

You know that you have found this place, when you see the chickens that appear to be on fire in the window. Stepping inside, this not a huge restaurant. Maybe seven tables, and ordering is done at the counter. The menu is not large either. There is no doubt about it, they are definitely chicken focused here. They offer chicken combo plates, salads, bowls, and wraps. There was definitely a steady stream of customers on the night we were here, most of which had their orders prepared to go. We would be eating here, and after about five minutes our food was brought to our table.

Let's show Katie's meal first. She went with the Chicken Wrap ($7.50). This wrap was filled with chicken of course, but also had lettuce, tomato, cucumber, pickle, mint, basil, and their house dressing inside of it. As if that was not enough, Katie also added avocado in there for an extra dollar charge. This had some good, and some bad things going for it. The wrap was filled with tons of tender chicken. They definitely do not short change you when it comes to chicken with this. She was not too fond of the house dressing used here. She felt it overpowered the meal, and she used a lemon garlic sauce to help cut the sweetness of the dressing. She would probably get a bowl on her next visit here, but hold off on the house dressing. She also got a side dish of Couscous Salad ($2.50). Gustavo had raved about the salad, but we both thought it was just okay. To be fair though, I am not much of a couscous kind of guy. This one was better than most, because it had raisins in it, which gave it a little sweetness. Let's see if my meal turned out better than Katie's.

I went the more traditional route at Chixy Natural, with the Number Two Combo ($9.90). This combo included half of a chicken, two regular sides, and a tortilla. Let's start with the chicken. The chicken was very tender, juicy, and fell off the bone rather easily.  I did make quick work of this half of a bird. For my sides I went with Mashed Potatoes and Baked Beans. The potatoes were a little on the dry side, but made much better with the provided gravy. The beans were a much better choice. They were cooked well, had a good spice to them, and the consistency was spot on. The tortilla served with this was a little too wheaty for me. I would have rather of had a flour tortilla.

Of course I have not forgotten to mention the Spicy Hot Sauce that ultimately brought us here. This green sauce was very good, and went well with the chicken. Just like Gustavo, I used more than my fair share of this. I expected more spiciness, but it definitely did add flavor. They also offer seven other sauces, so if you are not feeling like a hot sauce, you have other options here.

I liked our visit to Chixy Natural, but was not blown away. The meals were pretty good, but what made this place for me were the sauces. They brought this restaurant just above the average mark for me. I felt that the prices here were a tad too high for the amount of food that you get. The chicken was just a step above what you could pick up at the local supermarket deli case. The ladies behind the counter were pretty nice, and patient with newcomers coming in and taking quite a long time to peruse the menu board above the register. If I were in the area, and one of my friends wanted to meet here, I would still totally go, just so I could have that green hot sauce again.

Out of five deep fried Oreo's, (because we were on our way to the OC Fair on this day, and during the month long fair, fair patrons consumed 100,000 deep fried Oreo's), five being best to zero being worst, Chixy Natural gets 3 deep fried Oreo's.

For more information about Chixy Natural, go to their website here, http://www.chixynatural.com/index.html

Having a Great Time at the Live and Dine Event

To Live and Dine Event

South Coast Collection 

3303 Hyland Ave. 

Costa Mesa, CA 92626

I love food events a lot. I know, not exactly earth shattering news coming from me. I especially love food events when the admission price includes all you can eat samples. I don't want to have to worry about the admission price, plus dealing with food and drink tickets. I always feel ripped off by those kinds of events, like the now on hiatus Taste of Newport. You could easily spend close to $60, and still need to go out to dinner afterwards. The To Live and Dine Chef's Challenge definitely did not require dinner after this event, in fact I was still full even the next  morning.

To Live and Dine was put on by the great folks at Riviera Magazine. They assembled over twenty of the hottest restaurants in OC to participate in a chefs contest. Each person in attendance was given one coin, and told to place that coin in the restaurant's container that they liked best. With so many great restaurants, I knew it would be a hard choice for me to decide, but I was definitely up for the challenge. Not only was this going to be a great night of eating, but this was also a night of giving. A portion of the proceeds from the $20 admission went to a very worthy cause, Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA). CASA volunteers are appointed by judges to watch over and advocate for neglected and abused children going through the overburdened court system or to prevent children from languishing in group homes or inappropriate foster homes. For a lot of these kids, this CASA volunteer is the only constant adult presence in their life. A very worth while charity to get behind.

This chef challenge was held appropriately at the South Coast Collection, which is also known as SOCO to us more hip people. Okay, I am not really hip, I just heard someone else call this place SOCO, so I wanted to try to be cool as well. If you have not been to SOCO, you need to head over there. They feature over 300,000 square feet of home decor, fashion, design, and culinary retails spaces for you to peruse. Of course being a food lover, I am of course drawn to the food more than the fashion side, (my wardrobe probably gives that away though). SOCO features OC's largest Farmer's Market, along with some of the most buzz worthy restaurants to hit Orange County in years. A good many of these restaurants are on our ever growing list of places we will eventually eat at. That is for another day though, because as soon as we entered, I made a beeline for the first restaurant I saw giving out what they hoped would be the winning entry in this chefs challenge. Let's check out the competitors.

Mastro's probably would have gotten my vote if they would have given out their Butter Cake, which is one of my all time favorite desserts. They settled on handing out this Smoked Salmon with a parsnip puree. Very tasty, the puree was done well, and the salmon was nice too. This would have paired nicely with the butter cake. Sorry, but I really do love that dessert.

Mare Culinary Lounge is located in Laguna Beach, so it is no surprise that they went with something from the sea to showcase. This Lobster Ravioli was full of lobster, made with a limoncello pasta, and topped with a sauce that I did not catch the name of. With this one sample, Mare Culinary Lounge has made it onto our must try list.

The sign says coming soon, but Taco Maria is now open at SOCO. This former food truck takes it turn becoming a brick and mortar restaurant, and all the foodies in OC could not be more excited. This was actually my first time having anything from Taco Maria. I am not a big food truck guy, so that explains why I have not tried them before this. They definitely made a favorable impression on me with this Soft Egg with chorizo and verde sauce. Not like anything I would expect from a Mexican restaurant, this whetted my appetite for more from them.

Nice hand modeling Katie. This is the restaurant that I lost my coin at. I voted for this to win the Live and Dine event, but of course, just like my sports teams, Brasserie Pascal did not win this contest either. It really could have though. This Oyster was topped with caviar and a very subtle cream sauce. It melted in my mouth. So good, and bonus points for bringing oysters to an outdoor event, where temperatures were not optimal.

Sandy's comes to us from Surf City, Huntington Beach and brought us their version of a layered seafood cocktail. This contained lots of my favorites, lobster, shrimp, avocado, and an orange chili sauce. This had a lot of things going on with it. The slight spiciness from the chili, the cool avocado, the rich lobster and the brininess from the shrimp, all worked wonderfully together.

Not only were restaurants here, but event planners, Posh Events was on hand with guest sushi chef, David Fernandez, and his Spicy Tuna Wonton Cups. These were topped with avocado and Dave's Jalapeno sauce. These really packed a punch. The tuna was fresh, and I liked the inclusion of the wonton cup instead of the traditional rice paper or seaweed.

I sing the praises of The Ranch Restaurant every chance I get, so it is no surprise that this was one of my favorites from this night. The Ranch always outdoes themselves. On this night they were giving out samples of their Diver Scallop with a prosciutto wrapped fig. The scallop was wonderful, and the prosciutto and fig were nicely done as well. I liked the salty and sweet combo. For dessert they were giving out Macaron Ice Cream Sandwiches. They had other flavors, but I am a sucker for mint. These were as good as they look. The Ranch won this event last year, but there would be no repeat in their future. Still a solid entry though.

Walking into the Live and Dine event, I would have been shocked to have seen a movie theater competing with some the best restaurants in OC. I would have been even more shocked by their decision to serve Crispy Pork Belly Sliders. Cinepolis is not your Mom and Dad's movie theater. They serve real food, instead of that hot dog that has probably been in the case since the premier of Star Wars in 1977. This slider was very good. It was a little too bready, but the crispy pork belly was right on point. I went back and had another one while Katie was busy talking.

Chef Seakyeong Kim at Charlie Palmer was really cooking at SOCO, and he had the smoke to prove it. I really enjoyed the playfulness of his Smoked Bulgogi Philly Sandwich. Very tasty, all it needed was Cheese Wiz to make it even more of a cheesesteak.

Wild Goose Tavern comes to us from Costa Mesa, at the same address that the Little Knight used to call home. This new, more hip bar has made our list of restaurants to go, for not only what they sampled at this event, but for the great personalities behind the food. We really enjoyed talking to them, and their Venison with back beans and a spicy salsa really got my taste buds roaring. Very good.

One of the more fancy presentations at the Live and Dine Event was the offering from Wildfish Seafood Grille. They were passing out jumbo scallops with a potato puree, a cilantro sauce, and seasoned popcorn on top of that. The scallop was really the star of this show. It was cooked very well, and the popcorn added a nice texture element. Instead of plastic plates, they were serving these on shells, which was a nice touch.

Newly opened at SOCO is the Greenleaf Gourmet Chopshop. They had a pretty unique sample to hand out, Grilled Peach with burrata, prosciutto, and pecans. Even though I am averse to anything healthy for me, this was pretty darn good. Very mellow, but the highlight of this for me was the burrata, which was excellent.

By this time we were getting pretty full, but a lot of people were talking about the offering at ARC, which is also located at SOCO. They had something that was dubbed, Land, Air, and Sea. This one bite had all of these covered. Placed on top of a duck fat chip was some pork, a little quail egg, and some caviar. If I had not been so full, I could have eaten many more of these. This one bite got me excited to try ARC, which I hear has an awesome off the menu burger.

One last sample before we get to the big winner of the night. This was my first time having anything from the Iron Press. I was pretty excited to try them. This was a cross section of their chicken, waffle, bacon, and tater tot sandwich. It was also drizzled with Siracha ketchup. Very good, and it got me excited to come back and try other things on their menu.

Not to tease you anymore, but before I reveal the winning entry in the To Live and Dine Event, we took a break from the samples, and went inside the OC Mix Mart to see some of the merchants hawking their wares. Two that caught my camera lens were We Olive and Wine Bar, which is an olive oil merchant, and the great girls from Bread. We Olive had a great Jalapeno Olive Oil, which I was thinking up hundreds of uses for it after I sampled it. Really tasty. I can never pass up bread, and the people from Bread know the way to my heart is samples. This wholesale bakery gave away a bag of bread that barely made it out of the parking lot, as we could not stop eating it.

Now the moment we have all been waiting for, the winner of the To Live and Dine Event was this dish from Chapter One: The Modern Local. This Lamb Neck Ragu was not the most photogenic of samples, but the uniqueness of it was enough to give it the win. The lamb was placed on top of a potato gnocchi, curry granola, and crispy kale. This was the brainchild of Chef Chicken Wang, and the different flavors and textures were a great thing. I could have eaten a bunch more of this, but by the end of this event, we were stuffed. Congrats to everyone at Chapter One, we look forward to seeing what you come up with next year.

To be truthful, when we walked into SOCO on this night, I did not know what to expect. I left this event having experienced one of the better food events I have been to. What made this for me was the creativity of the chefs, and the great restaurants that they represented. I will definitely not miss this event next year. We would like to thank the great Jade Schuck from Kitchen Table PR for the invite to this great event. Thanks so much of thinking of us, and it was a real pleasure meeting you. We would also like to thank everyone at Riviera Magazine and the creative folks at SOCO for putting on this great party. You guys nailed this event.