Hopefully Spirito's Will Move Us

Spirito's

2508 El Camino Real

Carlsbad, CA 92010

The month of May means that I have to start thinking about birthdays. My family has a lot of birthdays this month, and they pretty much continue right through the summer. First up is Katie's birthday, which is only two days into the month. I had a few things in the works for her for our anniversary, so I had to play it cool for her birthday. She's been toting around a broken purse for awhile now, so I told her I'd take her to get a new one at the Carlsbad Outlets. After we got a great deal on a purse, and other things, we had grown quite an appetite. Before we left the house, I had made a mental note of where I wanted to eat, so we headed to Spirito's.

I found out about Spirito's like a lot of people, when they appeared last year on Diner's, Drive-In's and Dives. They were featured about eight months ago, so we waited until the crowds died down a bit, and hit them up. On that episode they showcased their old school way of doing things. They make their pizza dough from scratch, they hand roll their ravioli, and they even bottle their own garlic dressing here. They pride themselves on being an old school Italian restaurant, reminiscent of the owners grandfather's place in New Jersey. With all of this talk of doing things from scratch, I was really looking forward to trying them out.

We got here at the odd time of 3PM on a recent Friday afternoon. Too late for lunch, and a little early for dinner, (unless you are part of the senior set), we hit this restaurant during a lull, but that just meant we had the place all to ourselves. Ordering here is done at the counter, then the food is brought out to you. Because the food is pretty much made from scratch, it does take some time for the food to make its way out to your table. We waited over twenty minutes for our food, and there was no one else in the restaurant during our time here. We were told that this place can get busy during meal times, and after their episode of Triple D airs on the Food Network. Let's see if this will be another hit that we will have to thank Guy Fieri for, or will we wonder why he showed up here.

Not featured on the show, but Katie really wanted to try this Spinach Bianco Pizza ($10) to start with. Since it was her birthday, I indulged her. This non-red sauce pizza came topped with spinach, Gorgonzola, Parmesan, garlic, and olive oil. Not really my favorite type of pizza, but this pizza won me over. I liked the thin crust on this, while the bite from the Gorgonzola kept me interested. This pizza was topped with just enough cheese, and the spinach was well done on this. Having this pizza piqued my interest about the rest of their pizzas, which I look forward to trying on future visits.

What was shown on Diner's, Drive-In's, and Dives was this Spaghetti and Meatballs ($9). This is a real solid version of this classic Italian dish, with a twist. You have your choice of either having a regular meatball, or a Roman meatball, which has pine nuts and raisins tucked inside of them. Definitely get this version. I'm pretty anti-raisin, but here the dried grape added a touch of sweetness that went well with the pine nuts. The meatball was also pretty tender. At Spirito's they do not call it sauce, they call it gravy. Whatever they choose to call it, it was pretty good. The gravy was more on the sweet and mellow side, with the absence of that acidic taste that a lot of sauces have. The pasta was of course really fresh, and this plate was made even better after I added some Parmesan cheese and red pepper flakes to it. A very memorable spaghetti plate here at Spirito's.

Not on their regular menu, but written as a special on the butcher paper by the register, this Ravioli with Pork and Beef Ragu ($16) was also shown on TV. The raviolis here are hand made, light, and very big. Some of the biggest we have seen. The meats were pretty tender and flavorful, while the sauce had the same sweetness that the spaghetti dish possessed. The bread served with this was a great vessel for scooping up the rest of the left over sauce.

We ate almost all of this food at Spirito's between the two of us, and did not have that real heavy feeling that you get when leaving an Italian restaurant. I think that can be a testament to them using quality ingredients. Everything we had on this afternoon could best be described as solid Italian cuisine. We would definitely come back when we are in the area. Spirito's is proof that there is definitely some good Italian restaurants on the west coast. With everything being made from scratch, I did not think that the prices were crazy, or absurd at Spirito's. Be advised that they do not have a soda fountain, so all drinks are sold out of the can or bottle. Service was fair during our visit, as it seemed they had a lot of prep work to do in the kitchen, so they pretty much just left us alone to enjoy our meals. Katie was pretty pleased with this birthday dinner, almost as pleased as she was with her new purse.

Out of five skateboards, (not only because Carlsbad is the birthplace of skateboarding legend, Tony Hawk, but the city is also home to one of the first skateboard parks, built in 1976), five being best to zero being worst, Spirito's gets 3.5 skateboards.

For more information about Spirito's, go to their website here: http://spiritositaliandiner.com/welcome.html

A Pleasing Summer Menu at Prego Ristorante

Prego Ristorante

2409 Park Ave.
Tustin, CA 92782 

I love this time of year. Restaurants are rolling out their new menus for summer. Showing off lighter items, so people don't feel guilty when they go to the beach, and have to show off their beach bodies. Of course, we live in Southern California, home of 47 weeks of summer, so rolling out these menus is pretty much the only way to tell that the seasons are changing.

We were recently invited to try the "Spring Into Summer" menu at Prego Ristorante in Irvine. In all truthfulness, this restaurant had not been on my radar until I heard of the fire that broke out here nearly two years ago now. That fire caused them to be closed for five months, but they are back, and doing a thriving business.

Sandwiched between two high rise office buildings, Prego has the feel of an upscale, executive lunch restaurant, but it also exudes a family restaurant, mainly because it is. Owners Tony and Ruth Bedi are very active mingling with guests and making sure things are running smoothly, their son is a manager here, and even their daughter works here doing the books. Also, not blood related, but we could sense that they have taken Executive Chef Ugo Allesina into their family, which is a good thing since he has been at Prego for 14 years now. Italian born, and with 25 years of experience cooking, Chef Ugo makes a habit of getting out of the kitchen from time to time, getting comments for customers, and finding out how they enjoyed their meals. This instant feedback helps Chef Ugo gauge what they are doing right, and wrong. From what we have heard about Prego, they are doing very little wrong.

We were given a quick little tour of Prego before drinks and appetizers out on the patio. The first shot is of the private room where we would be having our dinner. Bordered by glass almost all the way around, it fits thirty-plus members of the media comfortably, while conveying an openness. I really liked the open kitchen you pass to get to your table here. Open kitchens are the best, as it gives diners a rare view of all the hard work it takes to get meals out to their table. I quickly took a shot of the bar area, which I am happy to report was showing hockey on their three TVs. Our tour concluded with a trip to their panetteria, which not only is a prep area for their fantastic desserts, but can be used for early morning meetings, or the setting for a unique dining experience. The aroma here was enough for me to want to find a reason to host a party in this room.

Back out to the patio for some hors d'oeuvres. The tray passed appetizers were a very well done Bruschetta Toscana and an Antipasto Crudo. I am pretty picky about bruschetta, because I'm not a real big fan of thick cuts of tomato, but this one was great. The tomatoes were diced finely enough, big burst of flavor on this, and the toasted bread was a great vessel for this bruschetta. Very well done. The star of the appetizer round for me was the meats here. I did not actually catch the specific names of these meats, but they were all first class. The salami was some of the best I have had, while the prosciutto was pretty epic as well. Very high-quality stuff at Prego.

After chatting with other food bloggers and food media people that we have become great friends with, it was time to get down to what I love the best about these events, the eating. Starting things off for us on this night was this Asparagi Delizia. When I had looked at the menu and saw this asparagus salad, I was not too excited, but once I saw it and tried it, I was very happy with this. The grilled asparagus is wrapped in wonderful parma prosciutto, with shaved Parmesan, and placed on a bed of organic greens with light truffle oil. I was worried that the truffle would overpower, but it added just enough pop of flavor here. I liked the slightly crisp prosciutto, and the asparagus was done perfectly. A very good salad, and one I look forward to trying again soon.

Risotto Alla Sovazzese was up next for us. Delicate arborio rice is mixed with porcini mushrooms, fontina cheese, and fresh herbs. This dish really had the mushroom vibe going on. They provided an earthiness, with a touch of creaminess from the cheese. I liked this dish but felt that the arborio was a touch overdone. This was our friend Daniele's favorite dish of the night.

The main course time and something I was not expecting were up next. This Cotechino e Lenticchie had more of a German vibe going on here, rather than an Italian feel. It was really good nonetheless. Allesina homemade sausage was placed above a bed of lentils and paired nicely with a whole grain mustard sauce. Not as heavy as I would have expected, the mustard sauce went nicely with the well-made sausage. The lentils added an almost stew-like taste here. Very hearty, but light. My only minor complaint was that there was not enough sausage on this, as I could have eaten another ten slices of this great sausage. I was really happy that Chef Ugo opened my eyes to the fact that there is more to Italian cooking than just pasta and sauce.

When most people think of desserts in an Italian restaurant they almost always think of tiramisu, but Chef Ugo and the folks at Prego threw us for a loop by presenting us with this Tronco ai Cioccolati. When I came home I learned that this translates to Trunk with Chocolates, which perplexed me a bit, because the chocolate was not really what caught my attention here. This puff pastry was filled with white and dark chocolate mousse, with creme englaise and a raspberry sauce drizzled on the side. This dessert reminded me kind of a cinnamon roll, but not as sweet. The mousse was pretty thick and almost resembled cream cheese frosting. Everyone at our table really enjoyed this dessert, but a few of us had hoped for a little more raspberry sauce included with this. Still a good dessert though.

For a restaurant that was not on our radar when we walked in, Prego definitely made a great impression on us. I really liked this summer menu because it was unique, and had a different spin on traditional Italian cuisine. Both Katie and I left Prego fully content and looking forward to our next visit. Hopefully, we can make it back before this limited-time summer menu is gone.

We would like to first thank our hosts for this wonderful evening, Tony and Ruth Bedi. You were both as charming as your restaurant. We also would like to thank the entire staff at Prego for everything they did for us on this night. You guys were all really great. We, of course, would be remiss without thanking the man of the evening, Chef Ugo Allesina, who came up with this great summer menu that we really enjoyed a lot. Lastly, we would like to thank one of our favorite PR people we have run across during our time doing this blog, the great Mona Shah-Anderson, who not only invited us to be part of these festivities but is also expecting twins very soon. Hopefully, she gets some rest before they arrive. We can't wait to meet them, Mona.

For more information about Prego Ristorante, click here: http://www.pregoristoranti.com/

Going Old School at Pie 'N Burger

Pie 'N Burger 

913 E. California Blvd. 

Pasadena, CA 91106

Well it was another trip up to Katie's grandfather's house in Sunland. This time we would be having a garage sale to get rid of all his junk, oh sorry, I mean stuff. I am no fan of garage sales. I'm not too keen with the idea of people picking through your stuff, trying to get things for pennies on the dollar. I had a lady ask me how much a working wall clock was, and when I replied that it was a dollar, she shrugged her shoulders, and said it was too much. This is the kind of people we had to deal with all day. So when it was time to wrap up everything, and put a "free" sign on everything left, I was pretty hungry. Katie had promised to take me anywhere I wanted, so I made her take me to Pie "N Burger.

Pie 'N Burger is pretty much a Pasadena institution. They have been in business for 51 years, in this same location, just south of Lake, on California. Michael Osborn is the current owner of the place, and he started eating here as a nine year old boy, and started working at Pie "N Burger in 1972. It seems to be a theme here, as many of the employees have been here for as long as the customers can remember. There's a waitress that has been here since they opened, and they have had the same baker since 1971. Much like the people, not much has changed at Pie "N Burger, so I had a feeling we were in for a treat.

We got to Pie "N Burger just after three on a recent Saturday. There was a wait for the few tables that they have, but we got seated at their very long counter right away. A lot of people don't like sitting at the counter, but it was fun watching all of the employees getting the food out. The decor here is minimal. Wood paneling, many awards framed on the walls, and the infamous, and comfortable swivel chairs at the counter are all part of the old time feel here. The menu here is not going to blow you away with its diversity. They have a couple of daily specials, sandwiches, salads, and of course their legendary burger. We put in our order and out came our food in a timely manner.

Katie started things off for us with Pie 'N Burger's legendary Cheeseburger ($10.25 with a side). The burgers here come with a house made thousand island dressing, thick cut pickles, and lettuce, all on a toasted bun. This simple burger blew us away. It was clean tasting, the meat was really juicy, and the thousand island was one of the best ones I have had. This burger kind of reminded me of what Knowlwood's used to be like when I was a kid. I actually was sad I did not get this burger, but Katie did offer me two bites of it, such a giver. She opted for the potato salad as her side item. This was a pretty good version texture wise, as there were some decent chunks to it, but the flavor was a little too subtle for me. Katie liked the simplicity of it though.

Since Katie had gotten the burger, I went for what I thought would be the next best thing, the Patty Melt ($9.90). This was a traditional patty melt served on rye bread, with plenty of grilled onions and cheese inside. Not overly big, but the same great meat that was evident in the burger, was also on display on this patty melt. I wish the burger would have been equally split, as half of my sandwich was more melt, than patty. The fries here were nothing special, except that they reminded me of the ones at Bob's Big Boy.

Now let's talk about something that was pretty special, the pie at Pie 'N Burger. Most days they offer just under 20 different kinds of pie, all made early each morning. Katie went with a slice of Dutch Apple ($3.85 plus $1.75 for a generous scoop of ice cream). Quite simply, this was one of the most memorable pieces of pie we have had during the run of this blog. The crust was a great vessel for the nicely spiced, but not overly sweet apples. The crumb topping added just the right amount of crunch, and I was very pleased with the amount of ice cream served with this. This pie really rivaled the one we had at the Pie Hole awhile back. Well worth the trip.

I'm always a sucker for chocolate cream pies, but they only offered Chocolate Meringue ($3.85), so that is what I ordered for dessert here. I'm not usually a big fan of meringue, but this one did not get too much in the way of the very good chocolate cream underneath it. The chocolate was rich, but still light at the same time. A very hard balance to achieve. The crust held firm from the first bite to the last. Even though I really liked this pie, I would definitely have to go for the dutch apple on my next visit here.

Pie 'N Burger is worthy of all the hype that it receives. They are a traditional burger diner, doing things the way they have done them for decades, and they are not going to stop anytime soon. This is the same kind of burger that you can imagine your grandparents eating back in the day. A simple burger, where you do not even miss the inclusion of your beloved bacon. The pie is right up there with some of the best we have had. The only problem is that with so many different kinds, it's hard to choose which one to try. The service we experienced was spot on. The girl taking our order was very attentive, and filled our drinks regularly. Of course there was no getting away from us, as were sitting at the counter. Eating at Pie 'N Burger almost made it worth it to deal with all of those garage sale freaks. Almost.

Out of five Nobel Prize medals, (because this restaurant is a few blocks away from Cal Tech, which boasts 33 Nobel Prize winners from their alumni), five being best, to zero being worst, Pie 'N Burger gets 3.5 Nobel Prize medals.

For more information about Pie 'N Burger, go to their website here: http://pienburger.com/

Sensational Sandwiches at Sessions

Sessions Sandwiches

2823 Newport Blvd. 

Newport Beach, CA 92663

I hate when people say that there are no good sandwich spots in Southern California. Sure we are not as well known for our sandwiches as other parts of the country, but we do have some great sandwich spots. You just have to look a little harder to find them. Unlike New York City, where there's a great deli on almost every corner, our good ones are a little more spread out, but they are becoming more numerous. I'm going to go out on a limb, and say that Sessions will become a favorite new sandwich destination for a lot of you.

We were recently invited to try out Sessions Sandwiches, and after looking at their menu, I was very excited to come here. I have a real love affair with sandwiches. I love them all. I love paninis, subs, hoagies, grinders, cheesesteaks, and just about anything that is put between two slices of bread. I guess even burgers can be described as sandwiches, but that's a whole different matter.

Sessions is located on the peninsula in Newport, right next to Laventina's Pizza, between 28th and 29th street on the northbound side of Newport Boulevard. If memory serves me correctly, this used to be a bike shop awhile back. I spent quite a few crazy nights down in this area for about a decade, but those stories need to stay in the vault.

Back to the present day though. Sessions comes to us from the mind of Matt Meddock, who along with his friends, Max Schlutz and Beckham Thomas, have come up with this west coast deli concept for Sessions. Their goal is to bring the typical sandwich up several notches, using freshly baked bread, locally grown produce, and top-notch meats, while incorporating skate and surf culture.

Sessions has been open for just about a month now. Their initial menu offers eight sandwiches, hot dogs, salads, and some side items. There are limited tables here, but there's a long bar, which encourages people to eat, then get out there and enjoy the surf and sun. Adding to the surf vibe, the large projection screen in the middle of the space was showing surf highlights. The restaurant is dominated by wood, with one wall covered in fake shrubbery, which brought to mind the wall behind the hostess stand at True Food Kitchen. Ordering is done at the counter, and then the food is brought out to you. Let's see if all of my excitement for these sandwiches is warranted.

Before we get to the sandwiches here, Matt brought us out this German Potato Salad ($2.50). I love potato salad, and this was a very good one. Matt informed us that he's not a big mayonnaise guy, so this potato salad uses mustard as a base. When I heard this I thought the mustard would be too overpowering, but it was more subtle than I would have thought. Really good flavor, the potatoes had a good texture to them, and I liked the inclusion of the red onion. Not a heavy potato salad, but still full of flavor. Trying this really got me amped up for the sandwiches.

The first sandwich we tried on this afternoon was the Sloppy Barney ($9). This can best be described as a sloppy joe crossbred with a pulled pork sandwich. It starts with a very well made ciabatta roll, (from Dean Kim's, OC Baking Company nonetheless), and is made up of pulled pork, sweet and sour barbecue sauce, pickle, red onion, jalapeno jack cheese, and so cal slaw. This sandwich was pretty darn good. It starts with moist pork, the pickles do not overpower, and the veggies add a nice crunch here. The cheese was melted nicely, but this could have used a touch more barbecue sauce. A pretty balanced sandwich, and one I would have a hard time staying away from on future visits to Sessions.

Normally when I see sprouts and squaw bread, I head for the hills thinking they are trying to push a healthy sandwich my way. That was my initial thought when I saw this Meddock Melee ($9). Matt's namesake sandwich starts with roasted turkey, jalapeno jack cheese, guacamole, razor onion, tomato, cherry pepper, sprouts, and a very well made adobo-buttermilk dressing, all on squaw.  Big time flavor with this one. The turkey was pretty solid, the produce was, of course, fresh, and the guacamole kind of brought everything together here. I'm still not in love with sprouts, but even with them, this sandwich is a winner.

Matt was pretty adamant that we try the sandwich named after his wife Summer, and who were we to argue? Again, the Summer Zephyr ($8) is not a sandwich that I would normally order, but after trying it, it made me reconsider my stance on the subject. This sandwich was kind of like a Caprese salad in sandwich form. Fresh mozzarella, marinated tomato, basil aioli, arugula, pickled onion, and a balsamic reduction was placed on a toasted french roll. Readers of this blog know that I am not too fond of big chunks of tomato, but with everything else going on here, the creamy mozzarella, the awesome basil aioli, and the tang from the balsamic, I enjoyed this sandwich. I know that when I bring Katie here, this will no doubt be her favorite sandwich.

My favorite sandwich this afternoon and one that I have thought about fondly in recent days is this Baller ($8.50). Sessions take on a meatball sandwich is right up there with some of the best sandwiches I have had recently. Not overly sauced, the meatballs had a good beefiness to them, the red pepper marinara had a kick that was appreciated by my taste buds, and the basil aioli I initially felt would have been out of place, went perfect with this sandwich. Maybe I would ask for less arugula next time, but this was pretty close to a perfect meatball sandwich. If you are a meatball lover, try this sandwich and you will leave here very happy.

By this time, my buddy Chris and I were getting pretty full, but I had to try one of their gourmet hot dogs listed on the back of their menu. They all looked so good, but I settled on the Boomer ($8). This one came with bacon, grated cheddar, grain mustard, and red onion. All the fixings that make a good chili dog, minus the chili. I thought I was going to miss the chili, but the absence of it helped showcase how great this twelve-inch, all-beef hot dog was. Very dense, with a nice meaty flavor. Again, the mustard did not overpower, and bacon is always a good thing no matter what. I look forward to trying their pastrami dog, known as the Beast on my next trip.

Both Chris and I left Sessions completely full, but not with that heavy feeling. I think it's a testament to the quality ingredients they are using here. I mean we basically ate two full sandwiches between us, plus a half a hot dog, and did not collapse into a food coma. We even picked up Chris's daughter from school on the way home. We were very impressed with the sandwiches at Sessions and look forward to them rolling out even more deliciousness with their full sandwich menu in the near future. The word is definitely getting out about Sessions. During our after lunch rush visit, they still had a steady stream of customers, including one of our beloved Anaheim Ducks partaking in a sandwich. Unfortunately, I was too distracted by the sandwiches at Sessions to strike up a conversation with him, but that just shows how great these sandwiches really are.

We would really like to thank Matt for taking the time to talk with us and show off his great vision. We look forward to watching this place take off. Also, we need to thank the great PR pro, Janet Pacheco, for coordinating our visit to Sessions. We had a great time Janet.

For more information about Sessions Sandwiches, go to their website here: https://www.sessionswcd.com/