Hoping for an Epic Meal in Yorba Linda - CLOSED

Epic Noodle

17401 Bastanchury Road

Yorba Linda, CA 92886

It's May, so it must be time for another family celebration. I am always interested to see where my family picks to eat for dinner for these things. There are three nieces in my family to consider, ages 12, 10 and 7, so you have to factor them into the decision making. This time it was my sister's turn to pick since it was her birthday. She decided on a place close to their house, Epic Noodle in Yorba Linda.

The rest of my family had been to Epic Noodle before, and all really liked it. This would be my first visit here. Epic Noodle is a Mongolian BBQ place located at the intersection of Bastanchury and Imperial Highway. Kind of in an awkward shopping center, with no direct access from Imperial Highway. If you are coming north on Imperial, then you'll have to make a right on Los Angeles Street and work your way back to the restaurant.

Epic Noodle has been around for three years and has had one ownership change that I know of. According to Yelp reviews, it seems that people are more partial to the last owners than the current owners, but that's only if you choose to believe the people on Yelp, (which I usually don't).

At Epic Noodle the barbecue buffet is located in the front of the restaurant. As with many all you can eat places there are some rules you need to follow. Every glass partition above the food asks that you not smash down the food in your bowl. Not sure why this is a big deal, so I smashed all of my stuff down. It is all you can eat, but once you get your second plate, you are not allowed to take leftovers home with you. You then take it to the guy, who grills it on the heated circular table. Here are a few shots of the process.

Okay, that was way more than a few pictures, but this way you get the process. For the less adventurous, they had some suggested bowls you could make. They offer four kinds of meat at Epic Noodle; beef, pork, chicken, and lamb. The meat comes curled and frozen, maybe to prevent you from overfilling your bowl. Their menu states that they have 24 veggies to fill your bowl with, and I'll have to take their word for it because I was not going to bother counting vegetables. They did have more sauce options than other Mongolian BBQ restaurants I have been to. I spotted twelve kinds of sauces that could be mixed and matched to create your desired flavor for your bowl. Lastly, you have the option of topping your bowl with the neon orange noodles provided. At this point, getting all the noodles to stay in my bowl, was like me trying to play Jenga after a few cocktails. I managed to get it over to the guy without dropping too much on the floor. From there it is dumped on the steam table, doused with water and oil, then placed on your plate with your choice of rice.

My first plate ($12.95 for all you can eat) was made up of all the items that would make it spicy. I started with lamb and pork, then added jalapenos, onions, peppers, fire sauce, and hot sauce. When I first got back to the table, I noticed this was not nearly as spicy as I would have hoped. It only got a little spicy with the addition of the Sriracha that was provided on each table. I think the amount of oil and water added during cooking kind of diluted the sauces. The lamb and pork were not very tender here either. Really tough to get through, and they were in too big of pieces. I went with their famous bacon rice, which was cooked fine, but the bacon really did not come through for me here. Tasted just like fried rice from other places.

Soup and Bread are also included in the cost, maybe from keeping you from making too many trips through the buffet line. The soup here is kind of like a vegetable chicken soup. There were some big hunks of chicken in here, along with the lots of veggies. It had a decent flavor to it. I'm used to having pocket bread with Mongolian BBQ, but with this bread, you could not make a pocket out of it. I took one bite of this bread, and that was it for me. Not very fresh, and not worth filling up on.

Since my nieces were here, and they are not too fond of Mongolian BBQ, they opted for the Chicken Nuggets with Fries ($6.95) instead. Lillie and Gracie were not too fond of these, and they did look like they were overcooked a bit. They even had a hard time getting through the frozen fries here, which is surprising since they are french fry fiends.

Yes, I had one other plate before I left Epic Noodle. This time I went with chicken and beef as my proteins, then added white and green onions, noodles, and a ton of their garlic-based sauce. Again the sauce was kind of bland, and I had to add Sriracha to bring my plate alive. At least the beef and chicken were easier to get through than the pork and lamb. These meats are a much better choice here. I did not finish my plate but made a pretty good dent in it. I felt bad about leaving food, but they were pretty stringent about not giving me a to-go container for this second plate of mine.

I left Epic Noodle kind of feeling like I knew I would when I walked in. I know that does not sound like I had an open mind coming here, but we all have preconceived notions walking into a restaurant, and it's up to the restaurant to change our minds. Epic Noodle did not do that for me on this trip. The food was all fresh, but kind of lacked flavor. We have definitely been to better Mongolian restaurants than Epic Noodle. The service that we had on this night was pretty good. The employees working at the table were all very nice, and the wait staff was all very friendly. Glad we made it through another family get together, looking forward to seeing where our next one will be.

Out of five maple leaves, (because the longest spaghetti noodle ever created was 503 epic feet long, and created in Toronto, which is also home to the Maple Leafs), five being best to zero being worst, Epic Noodle gets 2 maple leaves.

For more information about Epic Noodle, go to their web site here: http://www.epicnoodle.com/index.php

New Spring Menu Items at Stonefire Grill

Stonefire Grill

3966 Barranca Parkway

Irvine, CA 92606

When I was a little kid, and my parents were having a party, I always looked forward to the food of course. I would park myself as close as I could to the table, and just gorge myself. Yes, things have not changed too much from today. Anyways, I would eat everything, but I always made sure to get my fair share from the veggie tray that would inevitably be put out. I'd eat the carrots, broccoli, and even a few sticks of celery, but would never touch the cauliflower. Even now, I'm a little leery of cauliflower, but that might just change after this visit to Stonefire Grill.

We were recently invited to Stonefire Grill, where they debuted their Spring menu last month. Not only does their new menu include a few dishes featuring my nemesis, cauliflower, but they also premiered some new sandwiches, a new salad, and a shrimp dish.

For those of you that have not heard of Stonefire Grill, they are a mini chain of fast-casual restaurants, featuring freshly made American favorites. Started in 2000, by sisters Maureen and Mary Harrigan, there are now seven locations of Stonefire Grill in Southern California, with two of those in OC, (this Irvine one, and another in Fountain Valley). Their menu is dominated by salads, sandwiches, pasta, pizza, and grilled items, but they are probably most known for their breadsticks and tri-tip, but I am very partial to their carrot cake. Of course dinner is before dessert, as I heard my mom's voice in the back of my head, urging me to try all of the cauliflower dishes.

We were at an event, so the serving sizes were portioned out as samples thank goodness, because there was lots to try. Starting things off was the Roasted Cauliflower Pita ($5.99). This pita was inspired by one of the sister's trips to Israel recently. In fact, the pita bread used here is sourced directly from a bakery in Jerusalem. Inside this very well made pita is roasted cauliflower, lemon tahini, chopped tomato, green onion, and a spicy cilantro-Serrano sauce. I was a little taken aback by this. I thought it was going to be very light and mild, but the cilantro-Serrano sauce really made this pop. It gave the cauliflower a good boost, I liked the slight citrus tinge, and the pita bread was excellent. If you like spice, this sandwich is for you.

Man can not live by cauliflower alone, so Stonefire Grill has added three slow roasted, hand-carved turkey sandwiches to their menu, the first of which we tried was the Traditional Turkey ($6.99). This November favorite included red leaf lettuce, cranberry sauce, mayo, and plenty of turkey, all on a whole grain bread. The turkey was nice and moist, and the cranberry added a nice sweetness. Brought back memories of Thanksgiving dinner, without the family squabbles.

Another turkey favorite at this media dinner was the Italian Turkey ($6.99). This time the thickly sliced turkey was placed inside a French roll with sliced tomato, shredded lettuce, red onion, mozzarella cheese, mayo, and a Dijon mustard vinaigrette. The bread used for these new sandwiches is from La Brea Bakery, which delivers fresh bread every morning to Stonefire Grill. The bread was a great vehicle for this tangy sandwich. Loved the red onion and mustard vinaigrette on this one.

Recently at another sandwich spot, I had a caprese sandwich, and I actually liked it. I have never been a big fan of caprese salads, but maybe I am more of a caprese sandwich fan, because this one was good as well. Stonefire's version of a Caprese Sandwich ($7.99) had all of the usual suspects you would expect from a caprese; grape tomatoes, pesto, fresh mozzarella, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and arugula, all on a toasted ciabatta. Big flavors, which helped me forget that there was no meat on this sandwich.

Stonefire Grill added two new salads to their Spring menu, a Cauliflower Salad ($1.59 for a single serving), and a Keen Green Salad ($8.99). Both of theses salads were pretty solid, but I was surprised that I liked the Keen Green one the best. It included quinoa, chopped spinach, artichoke hearts, avocado, sun dried tomatoes, Parmesan cheese, and fresh pesto. I think they definitely got the name right with all of these green items in this salad. Even with my disdain with quinoa, it did not get in the way of the other items in this salad. The avocado added a nice creaminess, the pesto added some moisture, and the spinach brought everything together. I felt pretty good eating these healthy salads, they made me feel like I could have two slices of the carrot cake that was to come later.

You probably do not believe me, but this was my favorite item of the night. Even I was shocked when I found myself up at the buffet line getting seconds of this Whole Roasted Cauliflower ($5.99). I had never had roasted cauliflower before, and the roasting gave the tips a tinge of crunchiness, while the inside was very tender. The cauliflower was topped with a lemon tahini and parsley. I added a little extra tahini, which made the cauliflower sing. On our next visits to Stonefire Grill, I can see Katie and I splitting this side item.

The last of the entrees that we tried was this Shrimp ($12.99) dish. The plentiful shrimp is seasoned with lemon, olive oil, garlic, and chopped parsley, then served atop a big mound of quinoa. I stayed away from the quinoa on this one, but the shrimp were seasoned very nicely. Since everyone had filled up on the other items here, and this one was bought out last, I pretty much had as much shrimp as I could handle.

This of course was the moment I was the most excited about, the time when the desserts hit the table. At Stonefire Grill they have three deserts offered. They offer cheesecake and fudge brownies, which I am sure are good, but for me, it's all about their Incredible Carrot Cake ($3.29). This is one of the best carrot cakes we have had. It's moist, but still firm enough to stand up to the good amount of cream cheese frosting that tops this. The frosting is not too sweet, and does not go overboard with the cream cheese flavor. Just like Goldilocks said, "it's just right." A very good end to a wonderful night.

Stonefire Grill and their new menu surprised me on this night. I was surprised that I enjoyed all of the vegetable dishes and salads as much as I did. I even managed to take down some quinoa, although I am still not a fan of it. The turkey sandwiches were pretty good as well. Stonefire Grill is the kind of place that you can bring the family to, and everyone will be happy with their selections. For families, they have plenty of Family Meals that will give you a night off from cooking. They also have several Crowd Pleasing Meals for bigger groups of six or more, at pretty affordable prices starting near $7 per person. A real bargain. Stonefire has helped me get over my cauliflower aversion, and now I might even eat some off of the next veggie tray I see.  

We would like to thank everyone at Stonefire Grill for making us feel so comfortable during our visit on this night. From the servers, the cooks, and the hostess staff, you all made this a wonderful night. We would also like to thank Elly Salter and Allie Briscoe for hosting this great event, and answering all of our questions about Stonefire Grill. You guys were awesome. We would lastly like to thank Erick Martinez and Jenna Satariano of the fabulous PR agency, Groff-Hinman, for thinking of inviting us to this great event. It was great seeing you both again.

For more information about Stonefire Grill and all of their menu options, go to their website here: http://www.stonefiregrill.com/

Starting a New Burger Quest at BLK Burgrz - CLOSED

BLK Burgrz

27742 Antonio Parkway

Ladera Ranch, CA 92694

The OC Register's restaurant reviewer, Brad A. Johnson, recently wrote about his top ten destination burgers. Burgers he feels are worth the drive. These are not fast food burgers, but burgers that are more expensive than what you are used to paying, but he reasons that you get what you pay for with these burgers, and I agree with him on that point. I won't shy away from spending $20 on a burger as long as it is worth it. One place that was high on Brad's list is right around where we live and has been on our list of places to try, so we met some friends on a recent Friday night at BLK Burgrz.

I usually give a restaurant six months to iron out their issues before coming in to review them. I had a hard time waiting six months with this place. I had kept hearing such good things about their burgers, but I stayed away until now. Now open for over six months, we showed up without a reservation on a recent evening. We were told the wait would be close to an hour and a half, but we were determined, so we put our names in. Luckily, it was only an hour's wait, and we had plenty to discuss with our good friends Tom and Daniele.

BLK is housed in the former Newport Rib Company spot we reviewed about four years ago. Man, time flies. I barely remember what it was like back then, but now, the restaurant's focal point is the front patio. There's a fantastic vibe out there, with music around eight. We were going to be talking, so we sat inside. It's a small restaurant inside, with maybe 12 or so tables. We sat at this irregularly shaped high top, which I doubted would fit the four of us, but we made it work.

The menu at BLK is geared towards burgers, but they also have some salads, chicken, and steak dishes for the three people who do not enjoy burgers. This is a proper build-a-burger restaurant. Much like Slater's, they have a checklist for creating your burger masterpiece. You choose the size, style, and condiments you want to partake in. I'm always a little nervous that I'm going to screw up my burger when I order like this, especially since you can have as many toppings as you want here because they're all included in the price of the burger. It's a lot of pressure. Let's see how I handled the pressure when our food started to come out.

One tip I gleaned from reading others' reviews about BLK is that you should forgo the appetizers here because the House Made Chips are so good and free. Think of this as their version of a bread basket. These chips are fried crisp, made fresh, and sprinkled with ranch dressing powder. It took a long time for our food to come out, so we went through four baskets of these, or as Tom put it, a basket per person. That did not make me feel too good, but the chips were addictive, and I was hungry. These were made even better when Tom asked for a side of spicy ketchup, which added a flavor boost to these chips.

We usually do not drink too much when we go out, but it was Friday, we were with Tom and Daniele, so it felt right to have a few cocktails. The big lush Katie had a Virgin Moscow Mule ($8). Since it's a virgin beverage, this one has ginger beer and lime juice. She seemed to like this, though. My first drink was the BLK Mai Thai ($9). This was a delightful version of a Mai Thai. Tom started with a fruity martini called the Frenchie ($9), but he soon finished that and switched to a more manly beer. He seemed pleased with the beer list here. Daniele started with the Cucumber Mojito ($8), then switched to the Orangesicle ($8), and I followed suit and had one of those too. My first sip of this brought me back to when I was eight and having a 50/50 bar on a trip, we took to Mission Beach way back in the day. This was definitely my favorite drink of the night.

The burgers finally hit the table, and we'll start with a shot of Tom's creation. I'm not sure of all that he added to this 3/4 LB Burger ($20), but I spotted bacon, cheddar cheese, jalapenos, fried egg, and mixed greens, all on a cheddar bun, which Tom questioned whether this was a cheddar bun at all. He seemed pleased with this burger but took half of it home. Burgers here include one side, so Tom counteracted all the chips he ate with a side salad. Good plan, big guy.

Katie went with one of BLK's stuffed burger options, the Garlic Roasted Red Pepper Burger ($18). Here, the garlic and red pepper are blended into the beef. This made the patty very juicy and flavorful. She kept it simple with the toppings, lettuce, and Swiss cheese and asked for the garlic aioli and lemon caper spread on the side to control how much went on this burger. The aioli was her favorite out of the two. She liked the bun and felt it did a great job keeping everything together. For her side item, she opted for onion rings, which were crispy while allowing the onion flavor to come through. She left here pretty satisfied with this burger experience.

Man, I had difficulty picking what I wanted for my burger here. I went pretty basic. I had the Three Quarters Pound Burger ($20) like Tom. My basic burger included guacamole, cheddar cheese, bacon, red onion, and Thousand Island dressing. I liked that they did not drown this burger with toppings. They were present but kept the great Wagyu beef used here. The meat was juicy and cooked to my desired medium temperature, and the toppings went well with the meat. When I saw the bun, I was afraid it would be too dull, but it impressed me with its sponginess and structure. After Brad Johnson raved about the fries, I knew I had to try them. He was right. These fries are hand-cut and fried very well. They were not too greasy, had a nice crunch, and were fantastic with more garlic aioli. Really a solid burger and fries.

After eating a big burger and all those chips, I was not totally ready for dessert, but when I saw that they had a BLK Hot Fudge Donut Sundae ($8) on the menu, I got a second wind. This was not a donut but more of a cronut, the trendy hybrid of a croissant and a doughnut that swelled with popularity last year. Flaky layers were dusted with cinnamon and sugar and then topped with a scoop of ice cream and chocolate fudge. I liked my first introduction to a cronut. The layers were easy to get through, and the ice cream was plentiful, but I would have liked a little more chocolate. Good finish to our meal, though.

BLK Burgrz impressed us. It's the kind of restaurant I will need to visit a few times to find my perfect burger, but I will enjoy the delicious journey. I look forward to trying their stuffed burgers on future visits, and I'll be brave enough to attempt their deep-fried burgers, which sounds awesome. For those of you who bristle at paying $20 for a burger, these are worth it. You get to add whatever toppings you want, and you also get to choose a side to go along with the burger. It is only a couple dollars more than what you would pay at Island's or Ruby's. As with new restaurants, and this one is still relatively new, some kinks still need to be worked out. The service on this night was okay, but our food did take a long time to come out, and our server was gone for long periods. It also might be nitpicky, but the water glasses were so tiny that they sat empty for extended periods (why no ice for the water? I thought it was odd). In the end, though, we can not wait to return to BLK, just like we can't wait to tackle more of Brad Johnson's list of destination burgers. Hope they are all as good as this one.

Out of five airplanes (because BLK is also the airport code for Blackpool International Airport, located on England's West Coast), five being best to zero being worst, BLK Burgrz gets 3.5 airplanes.

For more information about BLK Burgrz, go to their website here: http://www.blkburgrz.com/