Finding Our Way to El Maguey

El Maguey

31481 Camino Capistrano

San Juan Capistrano, CA 92675

I have been on a quest to find my favorite south OC Mexican restaurant. Ideally, it will be very comparable to my favorite OC Mexican spot, El Farolito in Placentia. Since we live in Mission Viejo, it's not always convenient to drive to northern OC for dinner. We have found some pretty good Mexican spots south of Irvine, like Cocina de Ricardo, La Sirena Grill, and Tacos Ensenada, but these have not made me forget about my love for the legendary El Farolito.

Both Katie and I were craving Mexican food on a recent Saturday night, so it was off to Yelp we went to hopefully find our new favorite spot. Yelp lead us to El Maguey in San Juan Capistrano. El Maguey is located directly across the street from J Serra High School, and about a block and a half away from the famous Mission San Juan Capistrano. They get 4 stars on Yelp, with over 120 reviews, so we were pretty excited about our trip to El Maguey.

This restaurant looks like it used to be a house in a former life, and it has now been converted into a restaurant. There are two rooms, both with very nice TV's hanging on the walls. The night we were here, they were tuned to preseason football. El Maguey has a very comforting feel to it. Kind of old school, with many comfortable old booths, and a nice patio, which seemed to be the seating preference of many of their patrons on this warm southern California evening. We made our choices from the rather large menu and waited with bated breath for our food to come out.

Starting things off are the customary Chips and Salsa that hit the table while we were deciding on what to order. This was a pretty good version. The chips were fresh, with little greasiness, and the salsa was mild in spiciness but had a decent flavor profile. The salsa was a little on the runny side, with little to no chunks of tomato in it. Not a bad start to our meal.

It is almost always a done deal when eating with Katie in a Mexican restaurant, she will always order Guacamole ($6.98) to start. I surmise that Katie learned this from her parents, as I have observed them ordering this almost every time we go out for Mexican food as a family. This was a very good version. It was chunky, and not overly seasoned. My one complaint about this guacamole was that they are a little stingy with the portion size. For seven dollars, I'd expect enough of this to be around for our dinners, but it was gone by the time our entrees hit the table, and I was using this sparingly.

We went big on this night, as we ordered another item from their appetizer section of the menu, the Chorizo and Queso ($9.98). Known on other menus as queso fundido, this came served with a side of tortillas. If you have never had this appetizer, make sure you order it with a group, because it's very rich, and expands once ingested. This was more than enough for Katie and I. The cheese, of course, was great, and I liked the larger chunks of chorizo in this. They only provided two tortillas for this appetizer, which was not nearly enough. We should have asked for more.

El Maguey gets lots of love from their mole online, so I was pretty happy when Katie ordered the Enchilada en Mole ($13.25). She ended up being happy as well. The mole sauce here is fantastic. Not an overly sweet mole, but still rich in flavor. She selected a cheese enchilada and a chicken one. She liked the chicken version better, as the chicken was very tender, and went well with the mole. She would definitely get this again on future trips here.

I went with my standard item when judging a Mexican restaurant for the first time, Carnitas ($11.98). This plate of pork was spot on. Some of the pork was crispy, some fatty, but all were flavorful and tender. Not a bad bite in the bunch. One of the best versions I have had in a while. The beans and rice are worth noting here as well. I'm not really into the rice as much, but this version was seasoned right and held my taste buds attention. The beans were good and creamy but lacked the heaviness of other refried beans. Very impressive plate.

We left El Maguey very full and satisfied. I'd say this is our new favorite Mexican spot in south OC. It's not as great as El Farolito, but when we don't feel like tackling the freeways, El Maguey will definitely fit the bill. Everything we had food-wise was pretty solid and made very well. Even though El Maguey's food is stellar, they could use a little help when it comes to their service. It was inconsistent, to say the least. Drinks were left empty for stretches at a time, and it took quite a while to get the bill and get it back after it was paid for. I noticed other tables having issues as well, but none of this would keep us from coming back here anytime soon. Glad we finally found an adequate substitute for our beloved El Farolito, in south OC.

Out of five flowers, (because maguey in Spanish is an agave plant that flowers once in a hundred years, and then dies after flowering), five being best to zero being worst, El Maguey gets 3.5 flowers.

For more information about El Maguey, check out their web site here: http://www.elmagueysjc.com/

Parental Meetup at Bonefish Grill - CLOSED

Bonefish Grill

3040 El Camino Real

Tustin, CA 92782

Since we stopped bowling in our league, we have not seen my parents and family nearly enough. So we made plans to see each other every other Friday. We try to meet somewhere in the middle of all of us, so that usually puts us near Irvine, Tustin, or Santa Ana. Not only do we get to spend some quality family time together, but it also gives us a chance to explore some restaurants that are in the area, and some that have been on my list of places to hit up.

One such restaurant is Bonefish Grill, which is on the Tustin side of the Tustin Marketplace Center. I don't even remember what I saw that made me put this on our list. Bonefish Grill is new to California, with just this location, and a recently opened Northridge spot. They are a relatively new restaurant chain, which started in St. Petersburg, Florida in 2000. Fast forward fourteen years and they now operate close to 200 restaurants in 36 states. Talk about a rapid expansion plan. They are now owned by Bloomin Brands, the parent company of Outback Steakhouse.

People here in OC must have heard good things about Bonefish Grill, because we arrived here on a Friday night at 6pm to a packed house. This restaurant is in the same spot where the old Black Angus used to occupy, but they tore that down and started anew. Luckily my parents had made reservations, so we could bypass the thirty minute wait.

Not a big restaurant, it's basically a large dining room, with tables placed very close to each other, and a small bar area on the other side of the divided space. We were seated at the very back of the restaurant, near the busy kitchen. The menu here is predictably seafood focused, but there are some steaks, chicken, and burger options scattered throughout the menu to appease non-seafood eaters. I was pretty hungry after my short drive up the 5 Freeway, so let's see what Bonefish Grill had in store for us.

Bonefish Grill starts off your meal with this Bread and Olive Oil Dip. This bread really reminded me of the one at Macaroni Grill. It came out hot, and the loaf was in the same shape as the one at Macaroni Grill. Yes, there is balsamic vinegar on the table, which you have the option of adding to the olive oil.

The most talked about thing on the Bonefish menu online is the Bang Bang Shrimp ($11.50). This appetizer is definitely a close relative to honey walnut shrimp, but with a little lighter sauce. The shrimp comes out crunchy, but the sauce provided more sweetness than spice to me. A very tasty appetizer, and I can see why it is so popular. If you are going to order this, there is no need to order a salad. After you are done with the shrimp, there's more than enough lettuce and sauce under there for you to make an impromptu salad. One other tip, we got this for free, just by making our reservation on their website. Well worth the two minutes to make the reservation.

Since we did not have to pay for the Bang Bang Shrimp, we decided to splurge on another appetizer, the Singapore Calamari ($10.70). This is served with flash fried peppers and an Asian sauce. I thought this was just okay. The squid was in pretty small pieces, and the sauce is what made this appetizer. A little sweet, and then you got a touch of the spice. Good sized portion for the price.

Katie is not very fond of shrimp or calamari, so she decided to try the Bonefish House Salad ($3.50 with entree purchase). Their version of a house salad comes with hearts of palm, Kalamata olives, a citrus herb vinaigrette, and grape tomatoes. Kind of a Greek feel to this salad. As far as dinner salads go, Katie felt this one was pretty solid. She liked the uniqueness of it, the produce was fresh, and she thought the dressing was one of the better ones she has had.

Let's start the entree part of this review with my Dad's selection, the Shrimp and Sea Scallop Skewers ($22.80). This came with three shrimp, and four small scallops to an order. I would have thought that for twenty dollars, you might have gotten a bigger portion size, but my dad did not seem to mind. The shrimp were better than the scallop which were kind of rubbery. With the purchase of an entree, you get seasoned vegetables, and a choice of a side item. My dad selected the Garlic Whipped Potatoes. These had a good texture to them, but needed more garlic to live up to their name. The veggies were cooked well, and seasoned nicely.

If you are a frequent reader of this blog, you know that when we eat out with my mom, she's not the worlds biggest eater, and that held true at Bonefish Grill. She order these Maryland Crab Cakes ($14.50) off of the appetizer section of the menu. These two crab cakes came with a red remoulade sauce, and were the perfect serving size for my mom. She really liked these, but I thought they were a little too small, and the breading overpowered what should have been the star of the show, the crab. I did enjoy the sauce though.

Now this was more like it, when it came to filling up the plate. Katie has been on a real fish taco kick lately, and she held true to form on this night as well. These Baja Fish Tacos ($14.50) were filled with what I believed to be tilapia, and topped with mango salsa and lime crema. Katie called these tacos delicious, and stated that the fish was very fresh. The tacos were very full of liquid, maybe from the salsa. These came with their house made chips as a side item. For the most part, the chips were good, but some of chips became soggy due to the dripping tacos.

I had two things I wanted to try, and when I asked the waitress which she liked best, she steered me towards this Pecan Parmesan Crusted Rainbow Trout ($20.70). I can't recall having trout before, and this version was pretty good. Of course it was hard to get a real good taste of the fish, with the heavy crust surrounding the fish. The fish was then topped with artichoke hearts and a lemon butter sauce, which this plate needed more of. I also opted to get the garlic whipped potatoes, and like my dad, decided that these were a little on the bland side. Not a bad plate, it was pretty average, but it really filled me up. Next time I'm trying the tilapia stuffed with crab and shrimp.

Just like being at a beach bonfire, we started with the S'Mores Flatbread ($5.90) for our first dessert. This had almost all of the elements of traditional s'mores. The flatbread was topped with creamy, almost Nutella like chocolate spread, a slightly charred marshmallow, slices of almond were added, but there was not really a graham cracker taste to either the flatbread, or any graham cracker crumbs on this, like the menu promised. Still a good dessert, but I expected just a little more from this.

It's hard to pass up Creme Brulee ($7.30), and we could not resist this one at Bonefish. It was garnished with some very nice blackberries and whipped cream. The crystallized crust was good, and underneath was the smooth and creamy custard treasure you would expect in a creme brulee. All four of us started being polite when digging our spoon into this, but by the end we were angling to get the last bite.

Bonefish Grill was good, but not great. I liked that it did not have a chain restaurant kind of feel to it, like some of the other brands under their same ownership group. The food was all slightly above average, with nothing but the shrimp appetizer and the creme brulee making a huge impact on me. I am however always excited when a restaurant strives to sell fresh seafood at affordable prices. I like that Bonefish Grill gives the middle class an option to eat seafood, without having to take out a second mortgage. We will keep Bonefish Grill in mind when we are meeting up with my parents every other Friday.

Out of five submarines, (because two submarines of the US Navy were named Bonefish), five being best to zero being worst, Bonefish Grill gets 3 submarines.

For more information about Bonefish Grill, go to their website here: http://www.bonefishgrill.com/

A Night of Excellent Indian Cuisine at Tamarind of London - CLOSED

Tamarind of London

7862 E. Pacific Coast Highway

Newport Coast, CA 92657

Writing this blog has taken us to some great restaurants. If it weren't for me writing this, we probably would have never experienced all that we have, and for that I am thankful. Five years ago, before this blog, I was like a lot of people that you know. I ate what I was familiar with, and what was close to me. Even now people still think that it's crazy that we drive forty minutes in rush hour traffic to have dinner, but that's what we do for our readers. All three of you.

We have recently gotten into Indian food. I had Indian food one time in my 20's and was not impressed. We then had it one time during the run of this blog, and liked it a little more. Then Katie's brother suggested an Indian place for his birthday. I kind of felt that he just suggested this to irk his family, who likes to frequent the same four restaurants over and over again. During that visit, I was even more impressed with Indian cuisine. So when we were invited to try Tamarind of London in Newport Coast, I became very excited.

This is one of those restaurants that we probably would have never gone to before this blog. I would have imagined that it would have been too expensive or stuffy due to the area, and that the staff would be too snobby here. Even just being here for five minutes, I could tell that none of this was going to be the case. Tamarind is located in the Crystal Cove Promenade, which is the same shopping plaza as the cougar den, also known as Javier's.

We arrived at Tamarind at 6pm on a recent Wednesday night. The restaurant is split into two parts. One side is the more formal dining room side, and the other side, which is closest to the bar, is more of an open air patio, with a nice and relaxing garden vibe going on. There's a fountain with trickling water, which almost makes you forget that you are just a few feet away from all the cars whizzing past you on PCH. With the ambient music playing over the speakers, this is almost more day spa vibe than restaurant, but then you get a whiff of the great food coming out of the kitchen, and it gets your mouth watering.

We were lucky enough to have the opportunity to chat with Executive Head Chef Imran Ali. He is from Pakistan, and started working in kitchens as a dishwasher and has worked his way up to the head spot in the kitchen. He travels to India yearly to inspire himself, and the cuisine that he creates. I asked him why so many Americans have not embraced Indian cuisine. He felt that many Indian restaurants do not have enough diversity on their menus, and that their items all kind of taste the same. We were very excited to see the wide array of flavors and dishes coming out of his kitchen.

Just like you would get at a Mexican restaurant, here at Tamarind, you will start your meal with their version of chips and salsa. Of course this is a little different. These are Lentil Chips with a trio of chutneys. These chips are also known as Papadam. They were light and crisp, and were made even better when dipped into my favorite chutney, the Apricot and Fennel Chutney. Sweet, but not over the top, it had a great flavor to it.

To start things off for us, Chef Imran sent us out a small plate of Tandoori Appetizers. This sampler plate is not offered on the regular menu, but after we devoured this small plate, we think maybe it should be. This plate included a Grilled Prawn, Tandoori Chicken, Lamb Roganjosh, and a Spiced Masala Potato Croquette. We were asked which one of these was our favorite, and it was a really hard question to answer. The prawn was very meaty and large, the chicken was tender, and the potato had a great spice to it, but my favorite was the lamb. A lot of places tend to over cook their lamb, but that was not the case here. It was definitely fork tender, and had no need for the supplied chutneys.

Of course Tamarind has a full bar, so I tried one of their drinks off of their cocktail menu. I was told that this Tower of London ($12) is their most popular drink, so it was no contest what I was going to order. This martini like beverage starts with Pinnacle Gin, Chase Elderflower, simple sugar, fresh lime, and muddled mint and lime. Very refreshing, and it brought to mind a mojito that I had recently. The lady behind the bar really knows how to put together a well made cocktail.

The food started coming out of the kitchen fast and furious for us now, starting with this Coconut Prawn Curry ($28). Lucky for me Katie is not a fan of prawns, so I had this all to myself. These jumbo prawns were served in a traditional sauce made with coconut milk and ginger. Just like the prawn used in the appetizer, these prawns were very meaty, and the sauce covered them well. The sauce was not spicy, but had more than enough flavor. I finished this dish pretty quickly.

When we chatted with Chef Imran, Katie mentioned that she had the best tasting Biryani when we were in New York City, off of a biryani cart. He sent out this Dumpukht Biryani Rice Casserole ($26) to see how it compares. Katie thought this was even better than the one we had in NYC. It comes to the table sealed in a pastry lid, then is opened right before your eyes by the waiter. Filled with rice, shrimp, chicken, veggies, and lamb, this was total comfort food. We had to let it sit for awhile, because this thing was smoking hot coming out of the kitchen. It was real tasty though, with lots of chopped chicken and plenty of rice. Perfect for the cooler days we have in store for us this winter.

Of course we could not come to an Indian restaurant and not have the classic Indian dish, Chicken Tikka Masala ($26). This version was right up there with some of the best we have had. The sauce was nice and thick, coated the chicken well, and had deep, rich flavor. The chicken was tender, but of course I could have used a whole lot more of it. I'm needy like that.

If we were judging the dishes here, like at the county fair, this would win the blue ribbon as the best dish of the night. When I think of Indian food, I very rarely think of seafood, but this Tandoori Sea Bass was pretty darn special. Charbroiled Chilean sea bass is marinated in a mixture made up of saffron, ginger, and green chili, then served with an apricot curry sauce, and placed on top of a mound of Indian risotto. The result was a buttery and flaky fish, with big burst of flavor in every bite. The risotto was done well, and the apricot curry added just the right amount of sweet. This would be the first item I order on future visits to Tamarind.

A couple of side items rounded out our meal on this night. The Yellow Lentils ($12) might be a main course for some people, but if there's no meat in them, I consider them to be a side item. These were very filling, and the cumin and garlic really made these pop. I'm not really a fan of goat cheese, but the Goat Cheese Naan ($9) was a winner in Katie's book. The naan was not overly stuffed, but you could totally tell it was present. Of course I was more partial to their regular naan, but the cheddar naan caught my eye, and will be the one I order next time.

There's a new pastry chef at Tamarind, the very talented Mark Medina. He's got the job of creating desserts for the menu at Tamarind. Knowing that Americans enjoy sweeter desserts than their Indian counterparts, it's a challenge for him to find the happy median. He hit that mark perfectly with this trio of desserts he brought out for us. There was a traditional rice pudding with pistachios on top, which was paired with a lassi yogurt drink. There was also a sweet honey filled doughnut item that was rolled in pistachios. This was my favorite of the three. The trio was completed with an interesting rose flavored paneer with pomegranate seeds. Not my cup of tea, but I liked the originality of this. Dessert items change frequently, so make sure to ask what is being made that night.

We were lucky enough to be invited into the kitchen to watch our Date Naan being made. The naan tandoori oven gets up to 800 degrees, and the bread is placed on the side, where it browns and bubbles up a bit. The cook then skillfully uses two metal rods to take it from the tandoori oven to the block for cutting. We were pretty full from our meal, so we ate this the next day for breakfast. It was still really fresh, and because of the dates inside, it was almost like having a danish.

On our way out the door, I spotted the Golden Foodie Award that Tamarind proudly has on display by the hostess stand. They won this award for best Indian food back in 2012, and are up for the award again this year. If our experience is any indication, they should be a shoo in to win it this year. We really had a wonderful experience at Tamarind of London on this night. Even though we ate a lot here, this food was not as heavy as other Indian experiences we have had. They are using quality ingredients, prepared the right way.

I left Tamarind a little sad. I wish that more people would give Indian food a shot. I told many people about our experience at Tamarind, and most told me that they do not like Indian food, because they have never had good Indian food. I guess it's not something that we all grew up with, but it's definitely a cuisine that I have learned to like, and I think that after eating at Tamarind most people will become converts to Indian cuisine.

We would like to thank everyone at Tamarind of London for making our visit so pleasurable. From the moment we were welcomed by the hostess stand, to the time we left out the same door, we were treated warmly, and made to feel like family. General Manager Christian was a very gracious host, and answered all of our crazy questions without fail. It was a great honor getting to meet Chef Imran Ali, and learn about the great passion that he has not only for this restaurant, but Indian food in general. His passion definitely is apparent when you see and taste everything that comes out of his kitchen. Lastly, we need to thank our waiter, Frankie. He was on top of his game on this night, and we were never in need of anything for too long. Thanks for everything Frankie.

If this has piqued your interest in Indian food, or you just want more information, go to the Tamarind of London website here: http://www.tamarindoflondon.com/