Reeling In A Good Lunch at Waterman's Harbor for OC Restaurant Week - CLOSED

Waterman's Harbor

34661 Golden Lantern 

Dana Point, CA 92629

OC Restaurant Week always seems to go by way too fast, and it always seems like we have a bunch of other commitments when this restaurant bloggers' dream week finally gets here. This year we made it to two restaurants out of the over 140 restaurants that participate in restaurant week. Not a very good ratio, but there are only so many meals one can consume.

Since we only had two opportunities to dine at these fine restaurants, I limited where we would be going, with what was on my now-growing restaurant wish list. I had jotted Waterman's Harbor down when I read that the OC Register's Restaurant Reviewer, Brad Johnson raved about a great burger he had here, and when I saw the great review this restaurant received from Orange Coast Magazine, it made me take notice. What cinched our visit here was when I saw their pretty impressive restaurant week menu. I immediately made reservations, so we wouldn't miss out on our opportunity to experience restaurant week at Waterman's Harbor.

Waterman's Harbor has been open for a year and a half, and they took over the old Jolly Roger spot right in the heart of the Dana Point Harbor, right where people board the Catalina Express to take the 26-mile trip across the deep blue sea. Their Executive Chef, Mike Doctulero is formerly of Scott's Seafood in Costa Mesa, so he definitely knows his way around this seafood-focused restaurant.

I was a little skeptical when arriving here, because usually when views are this nice, restaurants sometimes skimp on food, expecting people to be distracted by the ocean breezes and views. We sat on the partially covered patio this Sunday afternoon. There was a singer in front of the restaurant because the Festival of Whales was going on this particular weekend. There was a wait time of about thirty minutes for a table, which I assume is the result of the increased crowds during this popular festival in the city of Dana Point. There were lots of people enjoying the weather, and enjoying their Sunday Funday.

The menu at Waterman's is predictably seafood-focused, but there are also a few steaks, chicken, and salad options for non-seafood lovers. We of course were here for their $20 three course menu, which also included a specialty cocktail. A very good deal, and one that showcases some of their regular menu items. I like when restaurants use their regular menu items on their restaurant week menus, as it's a truer interpretation of what the restaurant is truly like. Let's see what Waterman's Harbor is truly like by checking out their food.

Since Katie does not drink more than a sip of alcohol at a time, both of these specialty cocktails were mine to guzzle during our stay here. No idea who Mr. C is, but I enjoyed this Mr. C's Old School Mai Thai very much. Made with Cruzan rum, mint, lime, orgeat syrup, Lahina dark rum, and garnished with a cherry, this version was a little less sweet than usual. The orange flavor was toned down a bit, and this went down rather easily. Usually, with a mai thai I get tired of them rather quickly, but I could see myself having quite a few of these at a time. The other drink I had here was the Waterman's Punch. This fruity cocktail was comprised of Sailor Jerry Spiced Rum, Malibu Rum, blackberry schnapps, flor de Cana dark rum, pineapple, and orange juices. This was a very lively beverage that if you are not too careful with it, could really sneak up on you. A drink that I could easily imagine having before boarding the nearby Catalina Express to start off a great weekend in Catalina. After these two cocktails, I definitely needed something in my stomach, and luckily the appetizers were coming up next.

Each section of the restaurant week menu had two selections to choose from, so I knew Katie would be getting the Ahi Poke Lettuce Wraps. The ahi was seasoned with sesame, scallions, and a soy chili sauce. This gave the tuna a slight spice to it, and the fresh avocado slice helped cool this down a bit. Lettuce wraps are always a little awkward to eat out of, and this was true at Waterman's as well. I eventually just forgot about the lettuce and ate the very fresh ahi with my fork, which did not diminish this appetizer at all.

Since Katie had the ahi, this freed me up to have these Crab Beignets. These little balls of crab were very tasty. The outer pastry was not as heavy as I thought, which allowed the crab inside to be the star of the show. There was plenty of crab in these, but they needed more of the old bay aioli to go along with them. Another good appetizer though.

When these Trap Caught Cod Fish and Chips came out, I was pretty impressed with the portion size of this entree. Both Katie and I got this entree, and we both really enjoyed the four pieces of cod that were placed on this plate. The batter used had a nice crunch to it, while not being overly heavy and oily. The cod was very moist, and in some parts, almost too moist. Not sure if they make their own tartar sauce, but it was good, and added to this plate. The fries were good and crisp, and like the fish, there was plenty of them.

There were two desserts offered, the first of which was this Homemade Kit Kat. I'm usually not into deconstructed desserts, but this one was pretty solid, and I could see where they were going with this. Plenty of hazelnut and brown sugar graham crackers did kind of resemble a Kit Kat Bar, but mainly because of the texture, more than the taste. This came with a generous serving of vanilla ice cream, which did not seem to jive with the Kit Kat theme, but I'm never one to dismiss ice cream coming with dessert.

When I see Butter Cake on a menu, I almost always order it. One of my favorite desserts ever, and this one was just okay. On the positive side, I really liked that this had a lot of ice cream topping it, but the cake portion of this was off. It was not as moist as it should be, and its sweetness was lacking. Not an awful dessert, but we've had way better versions of this cake before.

Even with the lackluster butter cake closing out our meal, our visit to Waterman's Harbor was still pretty impressive. Even if we did not get this meal for $20 a person, we still would have left here very satisfied. A quick check of their regular menu puts this meal at closer to $40, so be on the lookout for this restaurant the next time that OC Restaurant Week rolls around. Restaurant week definitely had the desired effect on both Katie and me, as we look forward to coming back here to try more of their menu on future visits. Service was shaky at first, as it took a long time for our waiter to greet us, but then the service picked up throughout the rest of our meal. Glad we made Waterman's Harbor one of our two OC Restaurant Week stops.

Out of five fountain pens, (because one of the most famous makers of fountain pens is Waterman, which was founded in New York City in 1884), five being best to zero being worst, Waterman's Harbor gets 3.5 fountain pens.

For more information about Waterman's Harbor, head to their website here: http://watermandp.com/

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