A Little Italian Before Takeoff - CLOSED

Scarantino's Sports Bar and Grill

23862 Bridger Road

Lake Forest, CA 92630

It seems like it had just happened last week, but it has been a couple months now, and it was again time to take our good friends Chuck and Stephanie up to LAX for their seasonal trip to South Carolina. They usually leave the picking of a restaurant to me, but this time our wise, old friend Chuck wanted us to try one of his favorite places, Scarantino's Sports Bar and Grill in Lake Forest.

I've lived in South OC for a good amount of years now, and have seen this restaurant numerous times while passing it on El Toro Road. It's really kind of out of the way, sharing a building with Arby's and across the street from McDonald's and Honey Baked Hams. This area of El Toro Road is always hard to get around because there's always so much traffic, so we almost always try to avoid it, unless good old Chuck is driving, which he was on this evening.

When we arrived at Scarantino's on a recent Friday around 6, we were met with a change of ownership announcement on the window and an alert that they are only going to be open Thursday through Sunday for dinner during this transitional phase. I've also heard rumblings that they might just close or be remodeling this restaurant, but haven't gotten confirmation on that as of this writing. There's also no mention of them closing on their Facebook page, which is updated rather frequently.

The sports bar portion, along with the front patio of this restaurant was teeming with people all throughout our stay, but the restaurant side only had us and one other party eating here. The restaurant is dark, sunken, and almost cave-like. Not dirty exactly, but definitely its seen better days. The menu has all of the Italian classics that you would come to expect from an Italian restaurant in Southern California. There are plenty of pasta choices, along with seafood, chicken, and beef dishes, with none of them exceeding the $20 price point. Now I was starting to see why Chuck wanted to eat here. Let's check out what each of us had to fuel us up for our long drive up the 405 Freeway.

Shortly after ordering, this bread basket arrived. Toasted Bread and Herbed Foccacia were included here, with plenty of butter. Nothing out of the ordinary, but pretty decent for a bread basket, and they were pretty good about refilling this.

Main entrees come with either your choice of minestrone soup or a house salad. Katie and I both selected a House Salad to start out with. Again, this was a pretty basic salad, with iceberg and romaine lettuce, red cabbage, a few shards of carrots, tomatoes, and your choice of dressing. The produce was fresh, and they did use plenty of dressing on it.

Not that we needed any more bread, but we ordered this Garlic Bread ($5) appetizer before we knew we would be getting a bread basket to start our meal. This garlic bread kind of resembled one that I grew up with, made with the Lawry's Garlic Spread. They also added some seasonings to top this off. Pretty good bread, which was toasted well, and included a good amount of garlic flavor.

Entrees were out pretty quickly, and we'll start with Katie's choice, the Cannelloni ($12). These pasta crepes were filled with ricotta and Romano cheeses, meat, and spinach, and served on top of a meat sauce, with Mornay sauce covering the crepes. Katie called this a solid Italian dish, but nothing that knocked her socks off. She thought it would be heavier than it was, and she liked the way the red sauce and Mornay sauce balanced each other out. She'd probably get something else on her next visit to Scarantino's though.

Not wanting to fill up on a big meal before their flight, (or is it another cost-cutting move by Chuck?), Stephanie and Chuck split this Chicken Parmesan ($16). Two lightly breaded chicken breasts, doused with marinara and topped with mozzarella cheese. Chuck predictably loved this dish, while Stephanie thought it was just okay. The menu did not state it, but this came with sauteed veggies and a side of pasta. I tried both, and they were both all right.

Before showing up at Scarantino's, I did a little research about what people online liked here, and the overwhelming favorite was this Lasagna ($12). They used words like huge, delicious, and cheesy. I'd use words like tiny, okay, and cheesy. I was expecting this to be huge, but I polished this off rather easily. The bolognese was good, and I liked the fact there was a lot of cheese here, but the rest of this was kind of flat flavor-wise. This could have been helped with some sausage or even more meat in their sauce. I doctored this up with some much needed red pepper flakes and Parmesan cheese, but even then this was just average lasagna. Not one of my favorites.

Scarantino's really failed to impress. I'd sum this restaurant up by saying that it wasn't awful, but if you want food that's going to satisfy, you might want to head somewhere else. Of course, they are getting new owners, so this restaurant might improve in the future. We all declared that there is much better Italian dining around this area, (Biaggio's, Tutto Famiglia, and Romano Cucina just to name a few). We did experience some polite and efficient service this evening, and the food did get out on time, so we could get Chuck and Stephanie to the airport in plenty of time to catch their flight.

Out of five koala bears, (because some of you are probably not aware that the city of Lake Forest is home to a 400 plus acre grove of eucalyptus trees, a favorite among koala bears), five being best to zero being worst, Scarantino's Sports Bar and Grill get 2 koala bears.

Scarantino's Sports Bar and Grill does not have a website, but you can find information about them on their Yelp page here: http://www.yelp.com/biz/scarantinos-sports-bar-and-grill-lake-forest

Sliders Going Down the Hatch - CLOSED

Hatch

2493 Park Avenue Suite #27

Tustin, CA 92782

It's not every day my good friend Richard can get out of the house for a little guy time. He's a very doting father, a great husband, and loves spending time with his family when he is not at work. So it's really rare that he can make our weekly Tuesday night poker game. The problem is we don't start playing until 6 pm, and we get off of work at 3, so it really wouldn't be wise for him to head home, just to turn around and come back down the busy 5 Freeway for cards. So, while waiting for our card game, we decided to try out a new slider place at the Union Market at The District in Tustin, Hatch.

It seems like it has taken the Union Market at the District a long time to launch, but I think they are finally on their way. There's finally more shops than empty retail spaces, and every time we come here, there seems to be a new spot that has opened up, and been featured on my Instagram feed. On my list of places to hit up here are, the Kroft, Churned Creamery, and Crepe Coop. This visit was all about Hatch though, which Richard had seen when he was here watching the latest Disney movie and had wanted to give it a try.

The Hatch concept comes to us from Leonard Chan, who has had a string of successful restaurants lately. He is responsible for The Iron Press, The Blind Rabbit, Rolling Boil, and California Shabu Shabu in Costa Mesa. This restaurant is his nod towards a mid 20th century-inspired bar specializing in craft beers, rum/tiki inspired beverages and the real reason I was here gourmet sliders. They totally nailed the decor, as it really reminded me of what I imagined the Brady Bunch set to look like in real life. Satellite looking lights hanging above the bar, plastic chairs like the ones we used to sit on in school all around the space, and muted wood paneling give this restaurant a mod feel to it, one where you would expect Austin Powers to hangout if he were around now.

The menu is pretty straight forward, with 20 sliders offered, and they are ordered in pairs ($14), but you can mix and match them, and they also come with a half order of a side of your choosing. There are three each offering of sliders from the following categories; beef, pork, poultry, fish, and veggie. There's also a Loco Moco available, but other than that, this is a joint for sliders. We arrived at the odd time of 3:30, found a seat at the bar, and ordered our food. Let's see how everything turned out for us on this guy's afternoon out.

Of course, I had to start off with a beverage since we were celebrating Richard's one-day independence on this afternoon, and I went with the first cocktail listed on their drink menu, Donn's Dream ($10 usually, but happy hour priced at $6). From what I could gather, this drink was inspired by the disputed inventor of the mai tai, Donn Beach, more famously known as the man behind Donn the Beachcomber. This was not like those sugary Mai Tai's I have had before. This was a more grown-up version, which used Plantation Grand Reserve 5-Year-Old Rum, Flor de Cana 4-Year-Old Rum, Clement Creole Shrubb Orange Liqueur, and their own simple syrup recipe. A little more of a punch than I was expecting, but still rather good. The bartenders here know their stuff and take great pride crafting these cocktails with high-quality ingredients.

Richard and I came up with the game plan of sharing 4 of their 20 sliders that they offer, starting with this Fried Soft Shell Crab Slider. The crab was fried nicely, with limited greasiness, and was topped with a tomato slice and togarashi aioli, which had a faint wisp of heat from the chili used in it. I would have used a little more of the aioli on this, but the crab was already kind of missing in action here. Not a bad slider, but I was expecting a little more from the crab.

More to my liking was their namesake burger, The Hatch. An all-beef patty is placed between the very sturdy bun, along with fried onions, hatch sauce, which resembled a thousand island dressing, and what made this for me was the fried cheese hat. The cheese had a very good texture to it, the beef was pretty solid, and the hatch sauce was tasty, but they could have used a little more on here. A very solid slider.

Another winner for me was this Buffalo Slider. I love buffalo flavored anything, and this was like a buffalo wing in slider form. It used a buttermilk fried piece of chicken, and then was doused with a sriracha buffalo sauce, and paired with Parmesan cheese and a carrot and celery slaw. The only thing this was missing was either some blue cheese or ranch dressing. The chicken was good, the sriracha sauce had a nice low kick to it, and the slaw provided a nice crunchy texture element.

Our last slider of the afternoon before we had to head off to poker was this Rum Braised Slider. I had some pretty high hopes for this pork slider, but it did not live up to my expectations. The rum braised pork was tender, but the roasted garlic aioli, pineapple chutney, and cilantro kind of canceled each other out here, and left this slider in chaos. I think this would have been better with just the aioli, but I can see that they were going for a sweet and savory thing here. For what its worth, this was Richard's favorite, so maybe I just wasn't feeling this one for some reason.

Like I said earlier, each pair of sliders comes with a half side of your choice. The options include fries, onion rings, Caesar salad, or a chopped salad. We, of course, went with the fries and onion rings. The fries were pretty standard, but the onion rings rose above the norm. They had a good thick breading, did not break away from the onion, and went well with the provided togarashi aioli. One of the better onion rings in my recent memory.

I've been on quite a roll with bread puddings this year and wanted to see if my luck would hold out with this Aloha ($8). This dessert was fried bread pudding, with ice cream and a few strands of caramel. I liked this dessert because the bread pudding was not mushy like a lot of bread pudding tends to be, but they could have used a little more ice cream and caramel here. Still good, and my hot streak with bread pudding desserts continues.

Before we hit the road for my ultimate demise at poker on this evening, I ordered one more cocktail, the Hemingway's Ghost ($10). This simply made drink used Papa Pilar's Blonde Rum, lime juice, and simple syrup. This really was a strong drink, and I left half of it on the bar, or I wouldn't have been able to make it to poker. Not really my kind of cocktail, but for rum purists, this is probably right up their alley.

I'd have to say that I was not really a big fan of the drinks I had at Hatch. I know they are made with great ingredients, and by bartenders that really take great pride in crafting cocktails, but I'm usually looking for more of a refreshing beverage, than one that will knock me out for a while. As you may have guessed, I'm more of a food guy, and I liked what we consumed at Hatch. For the most part, the sliders were good, but did not blow me out of the water with their awesomeness, but definitely pretty solid for bar food. I would have liked to have had the option to have a full-sized burger here, but I guess sliders are their thing. For people that are cocktail enthusiasts, Hatch might be a destination spot for you, but as far as the food goes, I'd come back here if I were in the area, and looking for a spot to eat, at this kind of underwhelming, restaurant rich, shopping center. Service was on point this afternoon, as the bartenders did a great job of answering questions, and making sure we had everything we needed. This was a great afternoon hanging out with my long lost friend Richard, even though I ended up losing at poker.

Out of five chilies, (because whenever I hear the word hatch, I automatically think of the delicious hatch chilies from New Mexico), five being best to zero being worst, Hatch gets 3 chilies.

For more information about Hatch, head to their website here: http://www.eathatch.com/

A Dinner 70 Years in the Making

17th Street Bar and Grill

17320 17th Street

Tustin, CA 92780

70 is a big number. I remember when I was a kid, I thought 70 years old was ancient. Part of that had to do with the fact that three of my four grandparents didn't live to see their 70th birthday, but the real reason for it of course is that when you are kid, time goes real slow, but as you get older, it seems like Christmas is here almost every month. My dad was turning 70 years old, and that's a pretty big deal, so I was tasked with finding a restaurant that was going to be good for my entire family, one that would not break the bank, and one that was centrally located for all of us to meet. I decided on spending the big guy's 70th at 17th Street Bar and Grill in Tustin.

Located right off the 55 Freeway, in the Enderle Center, which also hosts Zov's, Crab Cooker, and El Torito, 17th Street Grill definitely met my first criteria of being centrally located for everyone. This is the same spot that used to house Hof's Hut years ago, when I used to work in this area. 17th Street Grill is owned by the same guy, Steve Silverstein, who runs the very popular North OC mini chain of pizza restaurants, Zito's Pizza. In fact, this spot used to be called Zito's Bar and Grill up until a year ago, when they switched over to the 17th Street name, and I'm guessing they wanted to distinguish themselves as more of a full service restaurant, rather than a pizza restaurant that most people probably expected.

The menu here is way more diverse than a pizza joint. They of course offer Italian favorites, including pizzas, but also feature fish, steaks, and chicken entrees, along with burgers, subs, and sandwiches. They also have a dozen or so appetizers, and about the same number of salads. Prices are right in the range of $15 per entree, which helped me out, as I was going to be buying dinner for our party of nine. The menu was diverse enough that even my fickle eating nieces would find something to order here. Let's see if 17th Street was a worthy spot to celebrate dad's big 70th.

Any family celebration needs to start with appetizers, as it helps to limit the conversation to a minimum. Kidding of course, or am I? Anyways we started with the Breaded Zucchini ($10) at 17th Street. This was a very good version of this appetizer. The zucchini had a great breading surrounding it, which was crunchy, but did not overpower the zucchini inside. The ranch dressing here is stellar, and made this even better.

Katie considers herself to be an expert on Garlic Knots ($7), and she considered these to be pretty good, but not good enough to dethrone her defending champ, the ones at Oggi's. These tied pieces of dough were baked and tossed with garlic and butter. I prefer to dip these in ranch dressing, but the marinara was good as well. Definitely a good start to our meals, and got us excited for our entrees.

One more thing before we get to those entrees. Katie was the only one of us to get a salad, and she seemed pleased with this House Salad ($6). The house salad at 17th Street Grill utilizes a base of iceberg lettuce, and is then topped with salami, mozzarella, and mushrooms. Pretty good sized for a small house salad, Katie enjoyed the freshness of the produce here, and they were very generous with the cheese and mushrooms.

Since 17th Street Grill is owned by the folks that brought us Zito's, it was no surprise that pizza was ordered by members of my family. My brother in law went with what I probably would have ordered if I was going the pizza route, the Butcher Shop ($15 for the 12 inch version). This pizza was a carnivore's dream; pepperoni, ham, sausage, and bacon, then covered in mozzarella. My mom, who's a lighter eater went with a simple 8 Inch Pepperoni ($8). No complaints about either of these pizzas. My brother in law loved the thick crust here, the meats lacked a greasiness to to them, and both my mom and brother in law took some home for lunch the next day.

This Jalapeno Turkey Dip ($12) proved to be very popular, with Katie, my sister, and the birthday boy, my dad ordering it. This sandwich included sliced turkey, jalapenos, plenty of provolone cheese, au jus for dipping, all on a french roll. It usually comes with fries, but all three of them opted for the healthier fruit option. Not exactly the meal of choice that I'd want to start my 70th year with, but there were no complaints from any of them with this sandwich. Even Katie, who is sometimes sensitive to heat, had no problems with this sandwich, and liked the way the flavors combined here.

We don't eat with kids too often, so it's always interesting to see what kids order when they go out to eat. My nieces took advantage of the children's menu here, and had the Spaghetti and Meatballs ($4.99) and the Chicken Fingers ($4.99). The spaghetti looked like the better of these two options, but fickle Lillie only ate a few bites of this after being promised she could have dessert at home if she made an effort to eat. Most of this got boxed up for my dad's lunch the next day. The chicken fingers were more well received by Kaylie and Gracie. They liked the chicken fingers well enough, but they both loved the fries here.

For awhile now I've been craving meatball sandwiches, so I tried the Meatball Sub ($11) at 17th Street. This sandwich used a French roll as a base, and then filled it with meatballs, marinara sauce, and plenty of mozzarella. Not one of the best I have had. The meatballs here were too small, and kind of got lost under all the cheese and sauce. The meatballs should have stood out more, but that was not the case here. It was okay, but nothing great. The fries were pretty average, and I ended up giving some of them to my nieces.

17th Street Bar and Grill is not going to blow your socks off with their food, but for this occasion they were a great choice, if I do say so myself. Knowing my family as I do, I knew they would end up liking this restaurant, as it had enough variety, and at a fair price. If I were coming here again, I'd probably stick with the appetizers and pizzas, but I might be tempted to try one of their burgers next time as well. We had great service on this evening, and the food came out in a pretty timely manner. The restaurant side was not nearly as full as the bar side, which made us feel like we had almost the whole restaurant to ourselves on this Monday evening. I'm glad we could all celebrate my dad's big 70th as a family. Happy birthday old man.

Out of five microwave ovens, (not because they use them here, but because they were first sold the same year my dad was born, 1946), five being best to zero being worst, 17th Street Bar and Grill gets 2.5 microwaves.

For more information about 17th Street Bar and Grill,  head to their website here: http://17thstreetgrill.com/home/