New Winter Menu Offerings at RA Sushi

RA Sushi

2401 Park Ave. 

Tustin, CA 92782

Katie does not ask too much from me. Yes, I have to sometimes take out the trash, maybe make the bed, and every once in awhile, I have to empty the dishwasher. When she asks me to do these things, it's not really nagging either. She genuinely feels sorry about asking me to do these things, so I try to accommodate most of her wishes most of the time. One of those wishes is that we have sushi once a month.

I could give or take sushi. It's not my favorite thing to eat, but I really don't mind it either. Katie on the other hand wants it a lot more than me, so when we were approached by RA Sushi to come in to try their new Winter Menu offerings, Katie was beyond excited. She even made plans to leave work early, and we headed off to the District at Tustin Legacy.

We had not been back to RA Sushi in about five years. We reviewed it once, which you can see here. Please excuse the awful pictures. I have since learned that pictures need to be in focus to look good. It also helps you to see what we actually ate. We had a very pleasant time that night five years ago at happy hour, and just haven't found time to go back. RA still has that hip, fun vibe that we loved so much on our first visit. Red and black dominates the color scheme here, and with the vibrant music playing over the sound system, it gives this restaurant a hip, almost club kind of vibe to it.

RA Sushi opened for business in 1997, and has since expanded to 27 locations in 9 states. We are lucky to have six of these spots in the Southern California area, including another OC location at The Strand in Huntington Beach. We arrived at this Irvine spot at 5pm, and the restaurant was already packed with people consuming copious amounts of sushi and appetizers during their great happy hour.

The happy hour at RA is more like an all day thing. It starts at 3 and goes until 7pm Monday through Friday, then starts up again from 10pm til closing. They even have happy hour on the weekends, running from 10pm to closing on Saturday, and 8 until closing on Sunday. That's a lot of hours to take advantage of their nearly 30 food items that they have on their happy hour menu, which is nicely matched by their numerous beverages that are marked down to celebrate the end of the workday. Happy hour would have to wait for us, as we were here to try their new Winter Menu Offerings.

As quickly as we sat down, this Chili Garlic Shrimp Starter was place in front of us. Quite a warm welcome by the people at RA Sushi. These shrimp featured a spicy kick, from a flavorful chili ponzu sauce, and were served on a bed of sauteed garlic and bok choy. Big time flavor with this appetizer, but the spice did not overpower. I liked the crunch from the tempura batter on the shrimp, and since Katie does not eat shrimp, I got to enjoy hers as well. Really solid start to their new Winter Menu Offerings.

Next up was the new King Crab Salad. This was the only miss of the night for me, but one of Katie's favorites. We can never agree on anything. This salad had large hunks of king crab included with the mixed greens, cubed avocados, cucumber slices, and grape tomatoes, which all came together with a Suehiro vinaigrette. I liked the fresh produce here, but would have liked more dressing on this. It was too lightly dressed for my taste, so I'd definitely ask for more dressing next time. For those of you still keeping your New Years resolution to eat lighter, this is the salad for you.

Since this is RA Sushi, sushi was definitely on the menu on this night. We started things off with this non-traditional Crunchy Yami Roll. It came with tempura sweet potato, cucumber, avocado, and was topped with crunchy shredded sweet potato and spinach tempura, and was finished off with a sweet eel sauce. Even for this carnivore, I did not miss the absence of meat in this roll. I liked the crunch of the outer portion of this, and the soft center. Very tasty eel sauce brought this all together.

This showstopper of the night is just in time for Valentine's Day, the Red Heart Roll. Everyone in attendance on this night really enjoyed the presentation here, but I was more impressed with the taste. Crab, avocado, and cucumber are rolled up, and topped with a spicy tuna, spicy mayo, and Sriracha. This really popped when consumed. Absolutely delicious, and the hearts on the plate will symbolize the love you have for this when you try it.

Anytime Katie sees ahi on a menu, she gets a little giddy. So when this Seared Ahi tuna came out, she could barely contain her enthusiasm. This beautiful tuna came seasoned with togarashi and black pepper. I learned writing this that togarashi is the Japanese name for red peppers, and this added a nice flavor to the ahi, which was served on top of asparagus, and a very nicely made shiitake mushroom cream sauce. I really enjoyed the sauce, which complimented the asparagus and tuna equally. Nicely done RA Sushi.

Not only does this new Winter Menu offer new food options, but it also has a number of new beverage options. There is a Blue Ginger Martini, and a Lychee Margarita for the more adventurous of people. What peeked my interest was their new Passion Punch Bowl. Meant to be shared, it is a fruity and refreshing drink served in a fish bowl. Coming back with friends for that one for sure. I was also pretty impressed with the TY KU Coconut Sake, which is a premium Nigori sake imported from Japan. The coconut was present, but hints of vanilla still came through. They offer this sake alone, or as a Seasonal Sake Flight that features three 2 ounce tastings, for people that are indecisive about their sake.

I really liked this new seasonal menu at RA Sushi, but what I liked more than that is they are trying to keep their menu fresh. So many successful restaurants would rest on their laurels, and not offer something new to their regular guests that might want to try something new. This is not the case at RA. I really enjoyed the ahi and the red heart roll the best. Make sure to make it out to try these soon, as they will only be around until the end of April, and are only available at the six Southern California area RA Sushi locations. Glad I could make Katie happy for once, even if I had a big assist from RA Sushi.

For more information about RA Sushi, go to their website here: http://www.rasushi.com/

Devouring Disney Delectables

Disneyland Resort 

1313 Harbor Blvd. 

Anaheim, CA 92802

This post will be a little different than our usual restaurant reviews. Somehow I got suckered into going to Disneyland last week, and while I'm not really into amusement parks, I decided to make our trip more about the food, than the rides, crowds, and lines. I know, big shock.

As you can see from this picture, Disneyland was not crowded on the day we were here. No ride had a wait of more than 20 minutes, and you could actually walk right down Main Street and not bump into all the tourists craning their necks to take it all in.

It was family day at the Magic Kingdom, and since Katie has two relatives working for Disney, they could get the ten of us in the parks for free. Thanks go out to Emily and Bridget for getting all of us in. This would be Katie's nephew, Andrew's first time here. Even though he's only 19 months old, it was pretty cool watching him take in everything. With such a large group we were moving through both California Adventure and Disneyland at the speed of a glacier, but that gave us plenty of time to stop and get food. I had a list of things I had wanted to try on this day, many of which I have never tried before, so let's see if the food could take my mind off of my aching feet.

This first stop at Fiddler, Fifer, and Practical Cafe was less about food, than it was to get everyone some coffee. They sell Starbucks at this California Adventure quick service restaurant, and that is the fuel that definitely makes Katie's family get moving in the morning. Not a coffee drinker, I tried their Signature Cinnamon Roll ($5.29) while waiting for their caffeinated concoctions to be ready. This cinnamon roll was topped with cream cheese frosting. It really reminded me of the Pillsbury ones that you get in the tube in the dairy department. That's not a bad thing, because I love those, it's just what this reminded me of. It could have been heated a bit more, but a decent cinnamon nonetheless.

Our only other food stop at California Adventure was a snack at Award Wieners. We were waiting for the rest of our group to get out of the Frozen attraction, and it had been at least an hour since my cinnamon roll, so I snuck over to order this Barbecue Hot Link ($8.19). This was one of six varieties of hot dogs that they serve here. This hot link was topped with barbecue sauce and grilled onions, and came with a bag of Lay's potato chips. The hot link had a good meatiness to it, but was not really too spicy. The barbecue sauce was okay, and the grilled onions were not even detectable. A very average hot dog, that did its job by satisfying me until lunch time.

I was pretty stoked that when lunchtime rolled around, that everyone wanted to eat at the Plaza Inn, which is located right at the end of Main Street and at the entrance to Tomorrowland. Plaza Inn is probably most known for their character buffet breakfast, where guests can enjoy all you can eat breakfast, while Disney characters make the rounds to all the tables. I was excited to eat here because I had heard good things about their fried chicken, which we will get to in a moment. Plaza Inn is a cafeteria style restaurant. You pick up your tray at the front, then select your plates you want, and seat yourself. No free refills here, as they have a very strict policy, so plan accordingly. Here's a quick glance at the Penne Pasta with Marinara ($13.99) and the Penne Pasta with Chicken Pesto Alfredo Sauce ($13.99). I did not get a chance to try either of these, they looked a little on the boring side to me, but no complaints from anyone that had these. The House Salads ($4.39) looked like it featured fresh produce, and Katie enjoyed the one that she got.

Here's the reason I was so excited to come to the Plaza Inn, the Fried Chicken ($15.99). You get three pieces of chicken, mashed potatoes, green beans, and a biscuit. It might be heresy to say this, but this might be better fried chicken than what you can get at that amusement park on Beach Boulevard. This fried chicken had a nice and flavorful breading, while the meat inside was moist and tender. What clinches this as one of the better fried chickens is that it was not greasy at all. Really impressive. The sides were okay. The mashed potatoes were a little on the dry side, and while the gravy added moisture, it did not add too much in the way of flavor. Green beans are not my favorite, but Katie liked them. The biscuit was pretty middle of the road as well, but the chicken is the real star here.

Since Katie and I had split our lunch, we decided to splurge on dessert with this Triple Layer Cake ($5.39). Should have opted for an extra piece of chicken. Not that this was a bad slice of cake, it was pretty good, but it looked so much better, and was kind of a letdown. I thought it would have had more of a peanut butter flavor to it. A good looking cake, but it could have been more moist.

I was at a recent food event, and was discussing this post with people, and they made me feel like such a lackadaisical foodie for not ever having a Pineapple Dole Whip ($3.79), or a Dole Whip Float ($5.19). Well I'm not that lazy food guy anymore. I once was a Dole Whip virgin, but not anymore. I had the straight Dole Whip, which is soft serve pineapple ice cream. I liked that the pineapple was not overly abundant here, but hid around the background. I did get a little tired of this near the end, and ended up throwing away my last few bites. Much more to my liking was the float version of this. They use pineapple juice, and top it with the same pineapple soft serve. This helped break up the soft serve flavor a bit for me. I can't say I'm overly in love with this, but I'd get it again on one of the hotter days at Disneyland.

Getting off of the Pirates of the Caribbean ride was the perfect time to head over to the French Market, and their Mint Julep Bar. This is a walk up window right next to the French Market, which specializes in drinks, and these Mickey-Shaped Beignets ($7.19 for a six pack). I was a little disappointed with these beignets. They had plenty of sugar on them, but the inside was way too airy, with not much going on. I would have liked these more if they were more dense. They were freshly made, and came out warm though. Not awful, but they did not quell my desire for a good beignet.

We were on our way out of Disneyland when we stopped for our last item on my Disney foods bucket list, a Corn Dog ($7.69) from the Little Red Wagon, which is right next to the Plaza Inn, on Main Street. These corn dogs, which are also available at the Corn Dog Castle at California Adventure., are hand dipped, and served hot. They have a very thick batter, which encases the hot dog, and makes it take a backseat to the crunchy corn batter. I'd like this a little more with a thicker, more prominent hot dog, but this is still one of the best corn dogs I have had. A great way to end our Disney day.

Even though I was less than thrilled about spending the day at Disneyland, I ended up having a really good eating day here. I remember when I was growing up, taking annual trips to Disneyland, and the food was overpriced and not very good. I was happy to see that this has definitely changed. They have really stepped up their food game at the park, and I did not think the prices were totally out of control, the way admission prices have skyrocketed. There is still plenty more that I would want to eat here on future visits. I hear good things about the food at Cathay Circle, I still have yet to have a sandwich from the Downtown Disney location of Earl of Sandwich, and of course Napa Rose is on my list as one of the most praised restaurants in OC. Maybe this will become one of our families traditions, and we can explore more of the food of Disneyland next year.

For more information about dining options at the Disneyland Resort, check out their website here: https://disneyland.disney.go.com/dining/

Getting the Lead Out to Get Some Great BBQ - CLOSED

Leadbelly's Barbecue

711 North Placentia Ave. 

Fullerton, CA 92831

There are some food genres that will always elicit a response from all of you readers. Pizza seems to be a hot topic, and I can always count on a boatload of comments when I write about burgers. Both of these seem to pale in comparison to the responses I get when I review a barbecue place, though.

It might be because there are so many genres of barbecue, which gets people sticking up for their favorites. There's the Texas variety, Carolina, whose vinegar-based sauces are also well represented, and no one can deny the allure of Kansas City barbecue. I get many responses from barbecue posts because good barbecue restaurants in Southern California are few and far between. Let's see if Leadbelly's could help cure our lack of good barbecue restaurants.

Leadbelly's is housed in the former Shortstop BBQ spot we visited two years ago. I'm not sure what happened to them, as we really liked their stuff, but Leadbelly's took over about 15 months ago, and they have received some glowing reviews on the blogs that I read and, of course, Yelp. If you are driving down Placentia Avenue, they are situated in the back of the shopping center that houses Pepe's and Jack In The Box.

We met my parents here at 11am on a recent Sunday morning. Even at this early lunch hour, their 12 or so tables were filled at one time or another during our stay. The dining area is a little on the small side but very comfortable. Four TVs showing sports, lots of wood, and some whimsical signs are part of the decor here. It might become a little cramped during busier times of the day, so be advised. Ordering is done at your table, and the menu, while manageable, has everything you would expect a barbecue restaurant to have on it. I was geared to try this place, so let's see what we ordered.

I had heard good things about the Loaded Pork Garlic Fries ($12), and I'm happy to report that all the hype about these was well deserved. This mound of fries was topped with pulled pork, bacon, Parmesan cheese, pork belly, pepper jack cheese, and chives, then served with a white gravy for dipping. This lived up to my mantra: if pork belly is in it, it has to be good. This was really tasty. The four of us had no problem polishing this off. The meats on this were so good that I knew we were in for a treat when our entrees would make it out of the kitchen. Surprisingly, the fries stayed crisp, even under the mound of humanity piled on them. The cheeses were good and did not get in the way of the meats. The gravy was the weakest part of this dish, but it was still so good. You definitely need to try this when coming to Leadbelly's.

Besides death and taxes, there's one other thing I'm sure of: if my mom's eating in a barbecue restaurant, she's definitely ordering a Pulled Pork Sandwich ($11). As you can see from this picture, they put a lot of meat on the sandwiches. The smoked pulled pork was moist, tender, and easy on the smokiness, which I like. I like the meat's natural flavor to be prevalent, not just smokiness. The sandwich usually comes with coleslaw, but my mom wanted it without. The brioche bun did an excellent job of keeping everything together, even after she added some barbecue sauce to it. The fries were decent, but much better when they had things piled on top of them, like our appetizer, which I can not stop thinking about. My mom left here with half of this sandwich for my dad's lunch the next day.

My dad selected the Smoked Tri-Tip Sandwich ($12.49) for his meal. Again, this had plenty of tri-tip, and the meat was moist and flavorful. My dad noticed the smokiness more with the tri-tip than with the pulled pork. Joining the meat in between the very well-made brioche bun was some pepper jack cheese, peppers, onions, and a spicy mustard. I feared all these flavors would clash, but my dad claims that was false. One of the best tri-tip sandwiches he has had. He decided to go for another side besides the french fries with the sandwich, so he opted for the Corn on the Cob for an extra dollar. The corn here is served more like an elote, but my dad wanted this stuff on the side. It came with plenty of chili powder, a house dressing, and what appeared to be cotija cheese. He only used a little of this but liked it well enough. He'd probably get a different side item on his next visit to Leadbelly's.

Katie got the same Tri-Tip Sandwich as my dad, but she added a fried egg to this for a dollar more. This made the sandwich richer and kept her satisfied all day long. She even skipped dinner on this night. The fried egg was done perfectly, so the yolk spilled out and coated a lot of the tri-tip. She also upgraded her side item to try the Jalapeno Mac and Cheese. This was a good version of this dish. The jalapeno did not overpower but hung out in the background; the bacon provided a nice smokiness that went well with the creamy cheese. An excellent side item.

As is my custom when eating most places, if a combo plate is offered, I will try it. I had the Three Meats Combo Plate ($19) this afternoon. I selected the Tri-Tip, the Spicy Pork Sausage, and the Burnt Ends. The best were the burnt ends. If these are available when you are here, get them. For those of you who don't know what these are, they are cut from the point part of the brisket, and these cubes are packed with flavor. One of the best pieces of barbecue I have ever had in my mouth. Yes, they were that good. The tri-tip was good as well. Moist had a small ribbon of fat running through it, providing even more flavor. Not overly smoky, the natural flavor of the meat came through. The spicy sausage with peppers and onions was good but could have been better. A good meatiness to the sausage, but I expected a little more heat here. I'd try the pork belly or pulled pork on my next visit. I had the BBQ Baked Beans and Creamed Corn for my two sides. The beans were the better of the two; they had little bits of meat in them and a delicious sauce coating the beans. The corn, which you can see on the plate above, was very soupy and missed the mark on the sweetness I was expecting, unlike Gulliver's creamed corn.

I was excited about our time at Leadbelly's. Even after this one visit, Leadbelly's has moved to one of my favorite barbecue places in OC. That appetizer and their burnt ends were enough to make me return here again soon. The other items we had this afternoon were good, and none of us really disliked anything we had on this visit. I've read some people grumbling about their barbecue sauce here. They have a house sauce and a spicy version, both of which were good, but with meats this fantastic, you will only use it sparingly. Our service this afternoon was solid; our waiter answered our questions and took great care of us. I'm looking forward to hearing how all of you like this place as well, so don't hesitate to comment or email me. Also, if you have a barbecue place we should hit up, let us know.

Out of five 12-string guitars (because that was an instrument of choice for blues legend Huddie "Leadbelly" Ledbetter), five being best to zero being worst, Leadbelly's Barbecue gets 4 twelve-string guitars.

For more information about Leadbelly's Barbecue, go to their Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Leadbellys-Barbecue/170803192946868