Having Carolina's On My Mind - CLOSED

Carolina's Italian Restaurant

915 South Harbor Blvd. 

Anaheim, CA 92805

I've come to realize that there are two kinds of Italian food. There's the real deal, which is the more authentic. The stuff you might see while traveling through Italy, such as Neapolitan pizzas and the like, is mostly served in the more expensive Italian restaurants around OC.

Then there's what I like to call "stick to your ribs Italian food." Americanized Italian food usually features heavier sauces and more meat and cheese than its more authentic Italian counterparts. I like both kinds of Italian cuisine, but predictably, I enjoy American Italian food better. So when I heard that there was a new Carolina's Italian Restaurant opening a few blocks away from Disneyland, and they invited us in to try it, Katie and I were excited about it.

I was excited because we had already been to the original Carolina's, located in Garden Grove. If you want to see our first visit to the original Carolina's, click here. Carolina's has been in business for over 35 years and shows no signs of stopping. Even when a grease fire burned the Garden Grove restaurant nearly to the ground, customers, employees, and friends helped Managing Partner Tim Ibrahim get the restaurant back open in a remarkable two months. They may have done this as a thank you for all the things Carolina has provided for the community over the years, like feeding first responders, fundraisers for sports teams, and more. Now, they have finally achieved another milestone, opening a second location.

This new location of Carolina's shares a parking lot with the Anaheim Ramada, near the corner of Harbor and Vermont, in what used to be a Carrow's, not that you would recognize it as an old Carrow's now. The inside was painted brightly, with murals by a local artist. There are themed rooms that can accommodate the hungry masses coming to and from Disneyland. Also, just like their original spot, Carolina's offers the most extensive beer list in Orange County, with 400 cans and bottles in their impressive refrigerated case. No Budweiser or Coors here. This is the good stuff and things you can't get just anywhere. I was also surprised that they had an herb garden in the planter boxes in front of their restaurant. I also spied some peppers growing out there. Seeing this got me very excited about my anticipated meal. Let's see if this new Carolina's has it going on like the original.

I usually shy away from sweet drinks, but I was talked into trying one of their Italian Cream Sodas ($3.99). These come in six different flavors, and I was given the orange one to try. This was a pretty stellar cream soda, which brought to mind a 50 50 bar from when I was a kid. Not overly sweet, this was refreshing and went down rather easily. It was even topped with a red heart.

We didn't need them, especially since I know the entrees are hefty here, but we got the Famous Carolina's Meatballs ($8.99) as an appetizer. It's easy to see why these are famous; they were as good as they look in these pictures. These came five to an order and were densely packed but still tender meatballs. They came served in plenty of Carolina's well-done marinara sauce and sprinkled with Parmesan cheese. It was terrific, and Katie and I fought over the fifth one until we finally decided to cut it in half. Compromise is the key to surviving marriage.

The menu does not state it, but each entree comes with Soup or Salad. Katie took my selection (see, there's me compromising again), the Garden Salad. This is your basic dinner salad, which comes with fresh romaine lettuce and is then topped with red cabbage, cucumbers, diced tomatoes, and shredded carrots. This was brought to the next level by a delicious ranch dressing, which was thick and made fresh. I'm usually not much into soup, but this Minestrone was pretty tasty. This was a lovely version of this classic Italian vegetable soup, full of carrots, tomatoes, potatoes, Italian squash, and cabbage.

Entree time, and Katie selected the Chicken Alla Anthony ($16.99), which blew me away. This dish has got me rethinking my eggplant bias. This dish combined breaded chicken and breaded eggplant in their franchescana sauce, a creamy meat sauce. It is then topped with ricotta, spinach, mushrooms, peas, and mozzarella, then served over penne. All of these things combined to make a very comforting and filling dinner. The pictures do not show this, but this was enough to feed two people, as the bowl was nearly bottomless. The chicken was tender, and the eggplant added a nice textural element I was not expecting. The franchescana sauce was on point, and there was just enough cheese, so it did not get in the way of the other parts of the dish. I'd get this the next time I'm at Carolina's.

I also enjoyed my choice this evening as well. I took a shot with the Carolina's Trio ($18.99) and was not disappointed. This trifecta of Italian entrees included cheese ravioli, fettuccine alfredo, and meat lasagna. Again, there was a lot of food and plenty to take to work the next day. The meat lasagna was the best, with plenty of beef and cheese and delicious marinara covering it. The fettuccine was creamy without being too heavy. I used a little of the excess alfredo sauce to mix with my cheese ravioli, and it made an excellent pink sauce for the ravioli. A very hearty meal.

Not that we needed it, but I remembered how much I enjoyed the Tiramisu ($4.99) the last time we were here, so it had to be ordered. It was just as good on this visit, if not better. It was moist but not overly damp like most tiramisu tend to be. I also enjoyed that the coffee flavor was muted and not as prominent here. Of course, they also got points for topping this with plenty of chocolate sauce and doing it artfully.

We left Carolina's with full stomachs and plenty of food for the next few days. Not only is this restaurant good for tourists refueling after an action-packed day at Disneyland, but also for locals who want to experience some solid Italian food before a Duck or Angel game or for anyone who wants to consume some comforting Italian food with heavier sauces and large portions. This place will definitely do the trick. The prices were more than fair with the food you get here. Carolina's is one of our favorite old-school Italian restaurants in OC, and we're happy that their new location is just as good as the original one in Garden Grove.

We must thank everyone who made this visit possible, starting with the PR guru, Chelsea McKinney, at Powerhouse PR. Thanks so much for setting up this visit, and we always look forward to hearing from you because we know good food is right around the corner. We would also like to thank all of the staff at Carolina's, including the General Manager David, who took such great care of us and waited on us personally. You could really sense the pride he has in his restaurant. He's also done a great job of training his staff, as they were all very professional and seemed to enjoy being there, which is a rarity these days. Thanks for everything, guys.

If you would like to experience Carolina's Italian Restaurant for yourself, find out more information about them when you visit their website here: http://carolinasitalianrestaurant.com/

Marching Into Laguna Cafe

Laguna Cafe

24310 Moulton Parkway

Laguna Woods, CA 92637

It looks like my breakfast days may be numbered. Due to a lack of people at my workplace, I have been hoodwinked into working on Sunday mornings, the only day that both Katie and I usually have off together to explore breakfast spots. I also have a weekday off, but it's pretty lonely eating the first meal of the day alone.

So now that our Sunday mornings are down to a precious few, we got a hot tip from our good friend CJ that her friend just took over Laguna Cafe, and she wanted us to try it out. Being that CJ's pretty particular about eating out, we decided to head over to the senior-laden city of Laguna Woods to try out Laguna Cafe.

This place first crossed my radar when Katie's mom ate here with her father. It was then owned by a seven-year military man, who recently sold the business a month and a half ago. Now CJ's friend, Monja White Chavez has taken over, and during our visit in late February, not too much has been changed from the last owner. There's still plenty of military items adorning the walls, and they still have the same menu, although they were working on updating it when we were here.

It's got to be a little scary opening up a business in this shopping center, that has definitely seen better days. They lost their anchor store, a Vons in mid-January, and there was not much open when we visited this shopping plaza, which is on the corner of Moulton and El Toro Road, on this Sunday morning around 11. Even with the ghost town vibe in these parts, Laguna Cafe was serving breakfast to a full house, with each of its 11 tables full at one time or another during our stay. This gave me some hope that CJ was on to something here. Let's see if that bore out after we ordered.

Starting things off is Katie's selection, the Breakfast Burrito ($8.25). This was built your own style, with your choice of breakfast protein; bacon, ham, chorizo, or sausage. Then you have your choice of either hash browns or cafe potatoes, either inside the flour tortilla or alongside it. The burrito is then finished off with salsa and cheese. Not the biggest burrito we have seen. Katie really liked that this was very manageable and better than she expected. It lacked a greasiness to it and was one of the lighter breakfast burritos we have encountered.

For breakfast, I'm usually drawn to scrambles, and that held true at Laguna Cafe on this late morning. This Bacon Scrambler ($7.25) was made with two large eggs, bell peppers, onion, and cheese. Pretty tasty, and made even better when I added some hot sauce to this. There was plenty of bacon in this, and the cheese did not overwhelm. This came with my choice of potatoes, and I went with hash browns. They could have been a little crisper, but they were passable. The choice of bread was also offered here, and I went with my old standby, sourdough, which went well with this breakfast.

We weren't done yet. When eating breakfast, I like to incorporate a sweet item to compliment my savory one, so we also got this Short Stack ($3.99). These two buttermilk pancakes were pretty good. Not as heavy as some we have had, which is the way I prefer my pancakes. Sometimes after eating pancakes, you can feel them just sitting with you the rest of the day, that was not the case with these fluffy ones at Laguna Cafe. They really hit the spot.

Okay, Laguna Cafe is not going to blow you away with their large portions or the originality of their menu, but you will get a solid breakfast at a very good price here. If I recall correctly, there were no items on their menu over the $10 price point, and that's a rarity for a full-service restaurant in South OC. Be advised that there are new owners here, and it will be interesting to see how they put their own spin on things here, and in what direction they decide to head. Service was very good this morning as the owners were out and about making sure everything was okay, and they were very cordial trying to get to know their new customers. A very locals place, but even if you are not a local, you will feel like one when you leave here. Laguna Cafe will definitely be in our breakfast rotation if I ever get another Sunday off again.

Out of five general stars, (because of the military angle this restaurant has), five being best to zero being worst, Laguna Cafe gets 3 general stars.

Laguna Cafe does not have a website, but you can find out more about them here: https://www.yelp.com/biz/laguna-cafe-and-spirits-laguna-woods-2

Branching Out with Some Mediterranean Food at O-Live Tree - CLOSED

O-Live Tree Mediterranean Cuisine

2010 Main Street 

Irvine, CA 92614

It's gotta be pretty scary opening up a restaurant. So many factors can impose your doom, and that does not even include whether you have great food or not. You must have a great location, or people will need help finding you. There must be good word of mouth, or people will not attend. You also have to self-promote on social media and get your name out there, or you'll be passed up by one of the other estimated 10,000 restaurants in OC.

That's why we found ourselves at O-Live Tree on a recent Friday night. We were invited by the restaurant's PR person as they held their first-ever bloggers night. You know where this place is even if you have never been here. It's a few doors from the iconic Mick's Karma Bar. Mick's has done a masterful job of overcoming this less-than-desirable restaurant location and is buoyed by a vast social media presence.

O-Live Tree is located right in the heart of the Irvine Business Complex. Surrounded by hotels, high-rise buildings, and other restaurants. I'm sure this restaurant does good business at lunch, but you probably can't pay the rent by serving just one meal a day, so the challenge has to be getting people to enter their parking structure and find their way to your restaurant. It's worked for El Torito Grill, McCormick and Schmick's, and the aforementioned Mick's, so why not O-Live Tree. This blogger dinner, along with their recently launched website, was a step in the right direction.

We arrived just before 6 p.m., just as the last of the business people were clearing out of the parking structure. With validation, you have an hour and a half to eat here without incurring a parking fee, which is easily done with the speed of service here at O-Live Tree. When entering the restaurant, takeout is to the right, and the relaxed, well-lit dining room is to the left. We noticed numerous takeout orders being picked up during our visit.

Their menu is what you would expect from a Mediterranean restaurant in OC. They have plenty of appetizers, wraps, soups, sandwiches, salads, and plates. Prices are affordable, with appetizers in the $5 area and entrees between $10 to $16. We quickly made our selections and anticipated a delicious dinner. Let's see how everything worked out for us at O-Live Tree Restaurant.

Katie had been fighting a cold, so she was drawn to this Homemade Red Lentil Soup ($4.90). This creamy soup was made with onion, potato, butter, and red lentils, which she is convinced helped her get over her cold quicker. I'm not so sure about that, but this was just what the doctor ordered for her.

This Falafel ($5.90) was the lone hiccup of the night for me. I found this falafel, which came four to an order, to be a little on the dry side, which was easily remedied with the provided well-made tahini. I'm also used to the insides of a falafel being a little more on the green side than this version. A robust cumin flavor was included here, which was a pleasant surprise.

Entrees were out next, and Katie selected this Chicken Kabob ($10.75) as her meal. I was pretty impressed with the chicken here. It was very tender, well marinated, and had a nice char. You can choose two sides and a sauce with the plates at O-Live Tree. Katie went for the hummus and the rice to balance out her meal. The hummus was tasty and a great companion to the soft pita bread. A very good-sized portion of the price.

As is my strategy when eating in most restaurants, if a combo meal is offered, I gravitate towards it to try more options in that particular restaurant. That happened at O-Live Tree when I ordered this Mixed Combo Kabob ($16.90). For my two kabobs, I had the lamb and the beef. I liked the beef version better, as it was cooked to medium, was still somewhat tender, and spiced nicely. The lamb was seasoned well but a little on the gamy side. It could have been my pieces, but I'd go for the chicken next time. I'm not a tabbouleh or mixed salad fan, so I went with the same rice and humus that Katie got. I liked the hummus, which mixed well with the rice, which is how I want to eat it. The tzatziki sauce was solid here, and I liked that this was a thicker version than most I have had. It really clung to the food and added extra flavor.

Hopefully, this blogger's dinner gets the word out about this hidden restaurant. Owner Melike Mehmetoglu was very hands-on during this dinner, and you can tell how proud she is of her 4-month-old restaurant. You can't help but root for someone like her to succeed in this tricky business. Most of the items we tried were very solid and something we would return for. O-Live Tree is making moves to get its name out there, as it just recently launched its website and is very active on Facebook. Thanks to everyone at O-Live Tree for the invite to experience their restaurant.

If you would like more information about O-Live Tree Mediterranean Cuisine, head to their website here: http://olivetreeirvine.com/

A Piece of Havana on Harbor Boulevard - CLOSED

Moros Cuban Restaurant

1299 South Harbor Blvd. 

La Habra, CA 90631

Yes, it's been a long time since we made it to OC's most northwestern city—the Seattle of the OC if you will. When most people think of La Habra, they almost always question me that this city is not actually in Orange County. Yes, this city contracts with the Los Angeles County Fire Department for fire protection, but trust me, La Habra is in OC.

We had not come this way in over four years when we made our maiden voyage here to visit one of the best burger spots anywhere, G Burger. On this trip, we visited my parents, who live in Yorba Linda, and we all craved Cuban food. A quick search of Yelp brought us to Moros Cuban Restaurant.

Moros is celebrating their 5th anniversary of being in business this year. That's a significant milestone in the challenging restaurant business. Located in a nondescript strip mall, the big draws appear to be a Pizza Hut and Cask and Hammer, an interesting-looking dive bar; this fifth anniversary is even more impressive here, where if you blink driving up Harbor, you might miss this place.

Their website describes their restaurant as a modern take on Cuban cuisine influenced by Spanish and Latin cooking. The kitchen and this restaurant are helmed by Sean Saafan, an Egyptian who moved to New York at 19, attended the French Culinary Institute, and graduated top of his class. This is a pretty impressive resume, and it made us very excited to try the food at Moros.

We arrived at Moros just before 6pm on a recent Saturday. It was not a big place, and I was worried that we would have a long wait, but we just had to wait for one of the 12 tables to be cleared, and we were seated. There's no hostess stand here, and when you walk in, you see the steam tables used for their Sunday buffet. You think you ordered at the counter, but it's waiter service here. Lots of bright colors adorn the space, and the smells from the kitchen really got our mouths watering. We hurriedly made our selections and waited for our food to come out.

Before our food hit the table, we were presented with these Rolls and Black Bean Dip. The rolls had a subtle sweetness, adding flavor to this excellent bean dip. The bean dip appears runny in the picture but has some texture. I ate my fair share of this.

Whenever I think empanadas, I always think of Argentina, but other countries also feature these portable meat-filled pies. Moros offers Beef or Chicken Empanadas ($5 for an order of three), so we had to try both. The better of the two was the beef version, but both suffered from a bland and almost dry outer shell. The chimichurri served with these helped a little bit, but more was needed. These were not filled with enough meat to overcome the outer shell. We'd skip these next time.

You must not skip these Papas Rellena ($5), though. These little balls of deliciousness were filled with ground beef and onions, then encased in mashed potatoes and fried—kind of like a bite-sized version of Sheppard's pie. They were served with a thin white sauce, which coated them well and added some extra flavor. It was a delicious appetizer.

Entrees are up next, and I was a little surprised with my sister's selection, the Churrasco ($19). I can't remember the last time I saw her order steak in a restaurant, so this was something rare, no pun intended. This skirt steak was done to her requested medium and was still pretty juicy and delicious. It came with grilled onions and chimichurri sauce. Skirt steak can sometimes be hit or miss, but this was a winner this evening. It also came with a mound of rice and some delicious plantains. My sister did not eat much of this but took the rest home and enjoyed it the next day.

I wanted to try one of their rice dishes here, but the menu states that they take 30 to 40 minutes, and I did not want everyone to wait for my food, so I went with this Lechon Asado ($14). This marinated pork came topped with onions and a mojo sauce. Some pieces were a little dry, but this was remedied by asking for extra mojo sauce. This was a good-sized portion and very good the next day. The rice here was good, but the plantains were better. Fried nicely and not overly sweet. Just the way I like them.

Both Katie and my mom got sandwiches, so we'll start with Katie's first, the Chicken Sandwich de Moros ($11). This sandwich also includes beef or pork, but Katie's always partial to chicken. The chicken was joined on the toasted bread with plenty of greens, tomato, and their secret sauce. Katie felt the chicken here was a little on the dry side, but she enjoyed the flakiness of the bread. She thought this was a decent chicken sandwich but did not think it was very Cuban. She'd get something else on her next visit here.

My mom is a sucker for Cubano Sandwiches ($11), so I was not shocked to see her order this. The Cuban sandwich is one of the most balanced and delicious sandwiches ever created. You have saltiness from the ham and pork, the tang from the mustard and pickles, the creaminess of the Swiss cheese, and a touch of sweetness from the bread they use. All these components make a pretty awesome sandwich, and this one at Moros was right up there. They use a lot of meat in this, a lot more than we are used to seeing in a Cuban sandwich. It could have been pressed together with a little more, but the abundance of meat probably prevented that. This was served with some long, steak-sized fries, which had a nice crispness to the outside. My mom is more partial to smaller fries but found these to be acceptable. A lot of food here, and half of it got packed away for my dad's lunch the next day.

Speaking of my dad, his entree was the last one to hit the table. It's always a crapshoot about what he will order, but he settled on this Camarones Al Ajillo Con Rum ($16). This shrimp dish with peppers and rum made my dad very happy. The waitress talked him into a lower spice level than he would have liked, but the flavors were still pretty stellar. The shrimp were cooked well, but the sauce made this dish for me. When it was mixed with the rice, it resembled a jambalaya. Very tasty and deceivingly filling.

Moros is different from any Cuban restaurant we have been to before. They definitely nailed what they are going for here, and that's a modern take on Cuban food. The flavors were bold, and some of the meats had some issues, but everything was excellent for the most part. The next time we are here, I'll invest the time and try one of their rice dishes, which looked and smelled terrific when brought out to nearby tables. The prices were more than fair for the amount of food you get here. Service was superb, with Diana taking care of our every need, even on this busy Saturday evening. Glad we made it up here to La Habra again, and it will definitely not be four years before we're back.

Out of five horses (because the La Habra Stakes is run at Santa Anita Park almost every year), five being best to zero being worst, Moros Cuban Restaurant gets 3 horses.

For information about Moros Cuban Restaurant, head to their website here: http://www.moroscubanrestaurant.com/#about