Another South OC Gem?

Pub Thirty-Two

23962 Alicia Parkway

Mission Viejo, CA 92691

A lot of people kind of give South OC a bad rap for being the land of chain restaurants and fast-food joints, but there's kind of been a renaissance of unique, once-off restaurants hiding in the strip malls and shopping plazas of South OC. Yes, you might have to look a little harder to see them, but they are there. Hiding behind the Denny's, or in weird shopping plazas, you drive right past all the time.

Restaurants like Dublin 4, South Coast Kitchen, Delize's, and Cocina de Ricardo have brought credibility to south county. Yes, you might still have to drive up the 5 Freeway for a great meal, but the restaurants south of the El Toro Y are closing the gap in a hurry, so the northerly drive will become a little less frequent. We were hoping that our trip to Pub Thirty-Two in Mission Viejo would continue this trend. Let's see if it did.

Pub Thirty-Two has been opened for pretty close to a year now, in what was the former Tijuana Gillies spot, which just happened to be my second ever review on this blog. Oh, the memories of the awful salsa, bland Mexican food, and empty tables all over the restaurant. We were not surprised when they closed but were surprised at how long that spot sat vacant, nearly 5 years until Pub Thirty-Two moved in.

The place is almost unrecognizable from how it used to be. The restaurant has really opened up and is not that dirty and dark Mexican restaurant it used to be. A wall of windows lines one part of the dining room, with a skylight adding even more light to space. Relaxing grey walls, along with bare floors do little to quell the chattering of other diners, which was actually quite loud at times. Not really a spot for a romantic evening, but Katie and I have been married for two months now, so all that mushiness is long past.

We arrived at Pub Thirty-Two with reservations at 7 on a recent Saturday night. The bar area was pretty full, with two large TVs showing hockey. This place is owned by Diarmuid Noone, who grew up in his parent's pub in Ireland, and once he moved to Southern California, he opened up his own place, Molly Bloom's in San Clemente. From what I hear, Molly's is a little more casual than his latest venture. The chef here is Glen Tinsley, who has worked up in Northern California, Hawaii, and also a stint in Italy. His focus here is to put together a seasonal menu, with an emphasis on the fork to table philosophy and also finding the highest quality ingredients to cook with. Let's see if he hit his goals with the food that we ordered.

Katie is an ahi fiend, so I was not surprised when she zeroed in on these Spicy Ahi Tostadas ($12). Ahi is all the rage right now, and this version was pretty good. The tuna was tender but chopped a little too fine for Katie's taste. She also felt the cilantro overpowered, but she's more sensitive to cilantro than most people. I liked the flavor of this, but I wish the wasabi was a little more prevalent. The crunch of the tostada added a nice texture component to this appetizer.

Long-time readers of this blog know my love of Caesar Salads ($9), and I had to try Pub Thirty-Two's version when I saw it on the menu. All the key elements are here; pecorino croutons, Parmesan cheese, romaine lettuce, and a very good house-made Caesar dressing. The presentation of this salad looks good on the plate but involves a lot of work cutting the lettuce up. Once it was all cut up I was surprised at the large serving size doled out here. I wish they were a little more heavy-handed when it came to the dressing, but it's a very good version of my favorite salad.

The menu here is not overly huge, with only eight or so items offered, but Katie selected my first choice for an entree, but me being the gracious husband let her have the Grilled Flat Iron ($24). The moist and tender steak was flavored by blue cheese, and accompanied by potatoes, onion, and asparagus. Even though Katie is partial to steaks being well done, she had this one medium and loved it. There might be hope for her yet. Even though this plate was anchored by steak, it was not a heavy plate. The asparagus and the pearl onions were flavored nicely by the juice from the steak and the blue cheese. The potatoes were fork tender, and this plate left Katie completely satisfied.

Since Katie took my first choice, I went with my second, the Crispy Pork ($21). This plate came with four pieces of crispy pork, mac and cheese, and green beans. The pork was very tasty, and even though the sarsaparilla BBQ sauce did not add too much in the way of flavor, it did not need it with this well-cooked pork. The mac and cheese was understated, but still, a really good side dish, even though it was served lukewarm. The green beans were some of the freshest I have had, and I'm not even a big green bean fan. A very satisfying dinner.

There's always room for dessert, and we went with the Chocolate Molten Cake ($8) to finish things up at Pub Thirty-Two. This cake had a nice texture too it, not too mushy like a lot of these kinds of desserts tend to be. Not overly sweet, the bourbon sauce did not overpower here either, and the smoked blueberries on top were a nice touch. My only complaint about this was that it could have been larger, but that's just because I selfishly wanted a few more bites of this.

I knew going into Pub Thirty-Two that this would definitely be an upgrade from the last time we ate at this address. That is an understatement though. The food here was great, and we loved the little twists that most items featured. Yes, a few things could be tweaked a bit, but the cuisine here is solid, and we look forward to coming back to this chef-driven restaurant. Chef Tinsley nailed the farm to fork feel that he was going for. You could tell there was a freshness to his food that we appreciated. We also were pretty stoked with the service we received from our waiter, Jonathan. He took really good care of us and gave us some excellent tips regarding his favorite menu items. Owner Diarmuid Noone was very hands-on, running food and checking on tables. Good to see an owner take such an active role. I think it's safe to add Pub Thirty-Two to the list of very good South OC restaurants that have suddenly sprung up, but you still have to hunt for them.

Out of five hockey pucks, (because one of my favorite hockey player of all time was Stu Grimson, who once threw me a hockey puck during a game, and wore number 32), five being best to zero being worst, Pub Thirty-Two gets 3.5 hockey pucks.

For more information about Pub Thirty-Two, go to their website here: http://www.pubthirtytwo.com/

Stepping Back In Time in San Juan

El Adobe De Capistrano

31891 Camino Capistrano

San Juan Capistrano, CA 92675

A few weeks ago I got a link to a list of the oldest restaurants in Southern California. Like with most of these lists, there were a few restaurants that the author missed, but of course, the Internet being what it is, people told her all about the ones she omitted. The one restaurant I had thought of immediately was not on the list either, but it would have only made it the 5th oldest restaurant in OC. That restaurant is El Adobe in San Juan Capistrano.

It just so happened that we would be eating here, and I was surprised to see that we haven't blogged about our experience at this 67-year-old restaurant yet. It was Katie's brother's graduation dinner, and the whole family was supposed to come to celebrate with him. As is usually the case at Katie's family gatherings, there's always a random few who flake out on the event, and this time it was Katie's sister, Sara who would not be joining us. No big loss here, as she usually only gets a plate of rice, like a glass of water can give her heartburn at any time.

Anyways, back to El Adobe. The building is even older than the restaurant itself. Recognized as a historical landmark by the State of California, it was originally two structures, the Yorba Adobe (1778) and the Juzgado Court and Jail (1812). Brought together to form a single residence in 1910, it lasted in that incarnation until 1947, when the building was bought by a farmer who built it to be a restaurant. The restaurant opened on July 8th, 1948, with the wedding and reception of the First Commandant of Camp Pendleton, starting a tradition that continues to this day, as many weddings and receptions are still held here in the back patio portion of the restaurant.

No history of El Adobe would be complete without a mention of OC's own, President Nixon. During his administration, and after he left the White House, he enjoyed the food prepared by the chef at El Adobe. President and Mrs. Nixon's favorite meal is still on the menu, which we will see in a bit. Speaking of food, we were all pretty hungry, so let's see if it's the history or the food at El Adobe that brings the people in.

Of course, we definitely need to take a look at the Chips and Salsa before we check out the food. These were pretty darn good. The tortilla chips were nice and fresh, with a crispness that made them a pleasure to eat. The salsa was also pretty strong, with a good chunkiness to it, and just a tinge of spice, which did not overshadow the natural sweetness of the tomatoes. Pretty tasty.

As is almost always the custom when eating out at a Mexican restaurant with Katie's family, guacamole is a must to start with. This Rancho O'Neill Guacamole ($11) is made tableside, which somehow always make things taste better. I should have taken a few action shots of this being made, but I was a little lazy. So I do not exactly know what was in their guacamole, but it was pretty solid, and I do know that it was topped with cotija cheese, which is always a plus in my book. The guacamole could have been a little spicier, but Katie's family is kind of averse to spice, so this milder version worked out fine for them. The texture of this was worth noting as well. It walked the thin line of being too smooth and overly chunky. Very well made.

Katie's mom Lynn ordered something I don't think I have ever seen before on a menu, a Cheese Enchilada Salad. ($14). Basically, this is chopped romaine, tossed with a cilantro pepita dressing, and two cheese enchiladas placed on top of it. I'm not much into mixing hot ingredients into my salads, but Lynn was pretty pleased with her dinner on this night. She liked the mildness of the red sauce and loved the uniqueness of this dish. She would definitely get this again.

Combo plates abound here at El Adobe, and Dennis put together his ultimate 2 Item Combo ($15) which included a shredded beef taco and a cheese enchilada. He seemed pretty pleased by his choice and did not have any leftovers to take home. I thought the taco shell looked a little odd, but he made no mention of it.

It's very rare that Katie doesn't get fajitas when eating in a Mexican restaurant, and that held true to form on this night as well. These Chicken Fajitas ($19) came out with the usual steam and pops that these plates always come out of the kitchen possessing. The sizzling chicken was accompanied by the usual red and green bell peppers and red onion. Also served with beans and rice, and your choice of flour or corn tortillas. Surprisingly, the chicken here was pretty tender but still was not as big on flavor as I would have liked. Katie ended up really enjoying her meal here, and will probably have chicken fajitas the next time we eat at a Mexican restaurant. Keep an eye out for it.

Not a very big eater, Katie's sister Emily took most of this Quesadilla Capistrano ($12) home in a to-go container, which probably sat in the fridge for the next few days before being thrown out. Yes, I know these people pretty well. Anyways, with this quesadilla, you have the option of having it with beef or chicken, and Emily went with the latter option. It was served with a small scoop of sad-looking pico de gallo, guacamole, and sour cream. One of life's great mysteries to me is how they can charge so much for what is essentially two tortillas, a handful of cheese, and some shredded chicken. It's just not here at El Adobe, but most places charge way too much for something that could only cost about $5 or so to put together. Sorry, end rant.

 
Jimmy's much better half, Rachel, also had a combo meal, opting for the One Item ($13) variety. Her entree of choice was the carne asada taco, which was joined by beans and rice. The beans here were fair, but a little on the watery side. The rice was pretty average as well. Neither really stood out.

A meal fit for a king, or in this case a president. This was President Nixon's favorite three-item combo at El Adobe, the President's Choice ($17). This combo consists of a chile relleno, chicken enchilada, and a shredded beef taco. Playing the role of president on this evening was my soon to be brother in law, Jason. He felt this was just average, safe Mexican food. Nothing on this plate really grabbed his attention. Not awful, or anything, but nothing that would make him order this again. Not exactly a ringing vote of confidence.

I guess we are all kind of creatures of habit because when I'm eating at a Mexican restaurant for the first time, I usually steer myself towards carnitas. When this Carnitas Michoacan ($18) was placed in front of me, I thought it looked a little odd. The pork came in a large hunk that kind of resembled a Cornish game hen, or maybe my eyes were deceiving me a bit. The pork was not very tender, and a little on the dry side. This was pretty good portion size, and the beans helped add moisture to the pork. A very underwhelming plate of food.

I think Jason summed up El Adobe the best when he said that this is safe, non-threatening Mexican food. There were no pops of flavor, and the heat was turned way down in their food. I get why people still come to this restaurant though. It's probably a tradition thing, but there's much better Mexican food to be had nearby. We did experience really good service on this night, and it seemed like our waiter has been here a long while since he knew so many of his customers. We also really enjoyed the guitar player that was set up right near our table. He played a good range of music and kept us entertained, even when the food failed to do so.

Out of five headless friars, (because like a lot of older restaurants, people have seen ghosts, and the one that is said to frequent this place is a headless Friar, out in front of the restaurant), five being best to zero being worst, El Adobe De Capistrano gets 2.5 headless friars.

For more information about El Adobe De Capistrano, go to their website here: http://eladobedecapistrano.com/

A New Sushi Option for Fashion Island

Sushi Roku

327 Newport Center Dr.

Newport Beach, CA 92660

I have to admit that when I started writing this blog, I was not really a big fan of sushi. I'm sure it's not really a shock to regular readers that this was the case. I mean, we go out for burgers, Italian food, hot dogs, and breakfast all the time, but sushi was something that I only ate, because I had to satisfy Katie's cravings for it. She would eat it once a week if I liked it more. We settled on going once every other month, but after eating at the latest sushi joint to hit Fashion Island, I might even want it more often than her.

Sushi Roku opened up earlier this month, and before they started serving their cuisine to the public, we got a special sneak peek at a lot of their menu. Sushi Roku is part of the Innovative Dining Group, which includes Katana, the Robata Bar, Soleto Trattoria and Pizza Bar, and the world famous Boa Steakhouse. I've never been to Boa, but know of it because that's where the paparazzi hangout to snap pictures of the rich and famous.

There were no rich and famous on this night, just a bunch of hungry food media checking out this new spot, which is located across the parking lot from True Food Kitchen and Fleming's, and situated in the old Pascal space. I never ventured into that restaurant, but from listening to others, they all remarked on what a nice job Sushi Roku did remodeling this space. I heard that it is now much lighter than it was before, and earth tones abound here, with a very modern feel to the 5,100 square foot space. We were all seated on the covered and heated patio, which I can imagine will become a coveted seat here at Sushi Roku. We were served tray passed items off of their menu, so let's take a look at some of the offering from Sushi Roku.

Sushi Roku was very generous when it came around to getting us drinks, and I tried two of their signature cocktails. The first one I did not quite catch the name of, but a lot of people remarked that they thought it was too strong, but I found the opposite to be true. It was a little too sweet for my tastes. Just like Goldilocks, the one I found to be just right for me was the Far East Mule, which is their take on the trendy Moscow Mule. This version utilizes gin, fresh lime juice, Thai basil, cucumber, and ginger beer. This version is as refreshing as the original cocktail, and I liked the inclusion of the gin here, as it gave an extra bite to this beverage. Not a cocktail fan? They offer a ton of sakes here, one sure enough to appeal to your liking. Also of note, the happy hour, which includes food priced from $3 to $6, and libations in the $3 to $7 range. A very good value, and I predict this will be a go to spot for happy hour at Fashion Island.

I was becoming a little loopy after my two cocktails, so I was pretty excited when the food started making its way out for us. Starting things off was this Tuna Tartare, which was topped with a dollop of guacamole and a Tamari soy truffle. Very fresh tuna here, and the truffle and guacamole added a flavor boost. An excellent offering off of their appetizer portion of the Sushi Roku menu.

Longtime readers of this blog might have noticed my aversion to kale. I'm not really a fan, but this Organic Kale Salad was not too bad. The inclusion of king oyster mushrooms, a crispy shiitake, and a very well done plum vinaigrette dressing almost made me forget my distaste for my leafy green nemesis. I also enjoyed the edible flower used to distract the diner from the kale in here. Very nice presentation with everything on this night.

Predictably, we had a bunch of sushi on this preview night, and some of the highlights were the Baked Lobster Roll and the Crab Sushi. Both were very delicate, but did not sacrifice flavor. I especially loved the baked lobster with its creamy miso sauce. The crab was a little understated, but the fresh crab shined here. All sushi was delicious, and I could not help but think that this sushi would definitely be in Katie's wheelhouse. Can't wait to bring her back here.

I was surprised when this Popcorn Shrimp Tempura made its way out to us. It kind of reminded me of an American Chinese dish, but after trying it, it was so much better. The tempura batter was nice and light with a little crunch to it, which allowed the shrimp to be the star. I definitely had my fair share of this. So delicious, and way better than what you can get at Panda Express.

Sushi Roku saved the best for last for us. They had a number of items served on skewers, the best one being the Bacon Wrapped Shrimp, which was as good as it sounds. These shrimp were huge, and of course bacon makes everything taste better. The Ji-Dori Chicken Skewers were tender, with just a twinge of teriyaki to it. All of these skewer options made a lasting impression on me as I headed home.

As I was looking over the menu for Sushi Roku when I got home, I realized that this is much more than just a sushi spot. It's more of a well rounded Japanese restaurant that will satisfy both sushi lovers and non-sushi diners alike. There's plenty on this menu that will keep people coming back here, and this is exactly the type of restaurant that this area needed so badly. There's traditional sushi represented, as well as dishes with a modern twist. I am really looking forward to coming back here again real soon, and sharing my experience with Katie and my friends.

For more information about Sushi Roku, check out their website here: http://www.innovativedining.com/restaurants/sushiroku 

Going Old School Italian in Lake Forest

Biagio's Restaurant

24301 Muirlands Blvd.

Lake Forest, CA 92630

I know some of you that have sent in restaurant tips are a little apprehensive that we actually listen to your suggestions. It's true, we have been getting a little slower lately with getting out to readers suggested restaurants. It always seems that something is going on with us though. Wedding plans took over most of the first half of this year, then it was off to Jamaica for a relaxing honeymoon, and finally, it was Ducks Stanley Cup playoff time, and we had to rearrange our schedule around watching and going to the games. Thanks to the unshakable Chicago Blackhawks, the Ducks title run has come to an end, but that means we have extra time in our schedule to fit in some restaurants on our reader's tip list, like Biagio's.

Biagio's lands on our list because of Alex, who works or worked at the Coldstone by where we used to live. Yes, it has been on our list for at least a year and a half, but no time like the present to hit up his favorite Italian restaurant. He claimed that he's been going here since he grew up, which by looking at him meant he's been going to Biagio's since the early 2000s.

Biagio's has been around a lot longer than our friend Alex though. In fact, they have been in business at the shopping center at the corner of Muirlands and Ridge Route since 1976. That's close to 40 years, which makes this an institution in these parts. They even survived having the very good, Sabatino's a few doors down from them, and have outlasted them, as Sabatino's shuttered in early March after less than two years in this shopping center.

Besides the rave review that Alex gave us, I have heard other good things about Biagio's from other sources. When Claudia Koerner used to write Food Frenzy for the OC Register, she raved about the meatball sandwich here. Back in 2008, OC Weekly claimed that they had the best dinner salad in all of OC. Pretty big praise for an Italian restaurant that is located in an out of the way shopping center. I have to admit I was pretty excited to give this place a try.

We arrived at Biagio's at about 5pm on a recent Saturday. We were lucky and sat in a booth along the wall. If you come, and all the tables are filled, you write your name on the blackboard by the front door and wait for a table to become open. There's not really any room for a hostess stand, so it kind of was a little chaotic a few times when people did not write their names down. This is not a fancy spot. A little on the loud side, this family restaurant is very old school, with their very broken in booths, and a cluttered, but clean appearance. The menu here is what you'd expect from a neighborhood Italian restaurant; pasta dishes, sandwiches, pizzas, and entrees. Katie and I made our selections, and this is what made its way to our table.

Biagio's started us off with a couple pieces of their crusty bread, with butter. This came out very warm, which helped melt the butter a bit. A pretty decent piece of bread, even if it was toasted a little too much for my taste.

Entrees at Biagio's come with either soup or salad, and I don't even know what the soup tasted like, but do yourself a favor and get their House Salad instead of the soup. You won't be sorry. The salad is pretty basic, iceberg and romaine lettuce, a few slices of tomato and cucumbers, and a couple of olives tossed in. What brings this salad up to legendary status is the house dressing they liberally add to the greens. A thick, not quite ranch, more like a garlic dressing covers the produce, and you can't quite grasp how this dressing makes this simple salad so good. It's easy to see the praise this dressing gets, and you can definitely see why people buy some to go home with them.

You're probably looking at the pictures above, trying to guess what Katie ordered. She went with the Large Biagio's Antipasto Salad ($14). This thing was huge and sat in our refrigerator for a few days as we whittled it down to only one to go container, instead of the two that we left the restaurant with. Lots of meat, spiced carrots, and other veggies are placed over a mound of lettuce. The meats here were actually a lot better than I thought they would be, and the hot capicola was very addictive, and I knew that I had a lot of food coming my way. This would have been a good enough sized salad to feed at least 6 adults.

It might be my subconscious, but I know I'm usually in for a treat when Italian food is served to me in a metallic baking dish. Not only does this ensure that it's going to be coming in scalding hot, but it also seems to make the food taste better, for whatever reason. This was the case with this Lasagna ($14) from Biagio's. This version of the classic Italian dish had plenty of cheese and a very good red sauce. I thought I got ripped off with a lack of meat, but it was all huddled in the middle, and there was plenty of it. Even though this was in a smaller baking dish, this was still a pretty good sized piece of lasagna, which I enjoyed the next day for lunch.

Yes, we kind of went a little overboard here with the food we ordered, but we wanted to try a couple of things, and we don't mind eating leftovers. This Medium One Topping Pizza ($12) was pretty solid. The pepperoni was layered underneath the cheese, which is the way I like it, as it traps the greasiness of the meat under the blanket of cheese. For those that like a thicker crust, this pizza is for you. The cheese and toppings separated easily from the pizza crust, so this was a little hard to eat. This pizza brought to mind the pizzas of my youth. The pizzas of independent pizza parlors, that are not trying to be too fancy, or fashion themselves after pizzas from Italy. I'd call this stick to your ribs pizza, and I liked it.

The one thing we were not too crazy about was this Chocolate Chip Cannoli ($3.50). Maybe we just caught them on a bad day, but the pastry shell was overcooked, and the inside of this had no sweetness to it, and that's with the chocolate chips included. The drizzle of chocolate sauce and powdered sugar was not much help either. Not one of our favorite cannolis we have had.

Even with the lackluster cannoli, we still really enjoyed our time and meal at Biagio's. If you're looking for fancy Italian you might want to keep on going. If you're looking for a traditional Italian restaurant from yesteryear with big portions, a really good salad dressing, and some solid pizza, this might be the place for you. We loved the family atmosphere here. From the time we were sat, we were treated like we were regulars, even though this was our first time here. It won't be our last trip here though. Prices might be a tad too high, but you can definitely get away with splitting some of the items off of the menu. Glad we finally had a lull in our schedule, so we could knock off one of our reader's recommendations. Maybe yours will be next.

Out of five corks, (because the city of Mount San Biagio in Italy is one of the few places outside of Sardinia that produces wood for corks), five being best to zero being worst, Biagio's gets a very solid 3 corks.

For more information about Biagio's Restaurant, go to their website here: http://www.biagiositalianrestaurant.com/home.html