Is Tustin the New Little Italy of OC?

Roma D' Italia

611 El Camino Real

Tustin, CA 92780

I really enjoy all kinds of Italian food, but I've come to realize that there are two distinct types that are available here in OC. There's fancy Italian food, which is more what you will see in Italy. Restaurants like Prego, Delize's, Andrea, and Antonello's are good examples of this type of Italian, which is lighter with the sauces and cheese, but take a heavier dent out of your wallet due to the authenticity of the ingredients they use.

The second type of Italian cuisine is what I would term, informal Italian. This could best be described as Americanized Italian food. This kind of fare features dishes with heavy red sauces, lots of meat, and items that you would be hard pressed to find on a menu in Rome or Naples. Examples of OC restaurants that fit into this category are Mama D's, Conca De Oro, Angelo and Vinci's, and the restaurant we were going to be eating at on this particular evening, Roma D' Italia in Tustin.

Tustin probably has one of the most underrated collections of Italian restaurants in any OC city. They have both types of Italian spots included within its city limits, along with one of the best Italian markets you will find in OC, Claro's. As far as fancy Italian joints go, you can't beat Pina's Bistro or Barolo Cafe. For more informal Italian spots, they have Ameci's, Pizza Shack, which has been on my list forever, and this place, which was the first Italian restaurant in the city and is still going strong. Roma D' Italia, which opened in 1961, has been run by the Corea family for the last 48 years.

The matriarch, Anna "Nina" Corea passed away in May of this year, but her legacy lives on through her recipes and beloved restaurant that is now being run by her children and grandchildren. The next generation must be doing something right because when we were here, this larger than it seems restaurant was filled with hungry patrons, with much more waiting to be seated on this early Sunday evening at 6. It had been about twenty or so years since I had last eaten here, but I was looking forward to seeing if they could continue our hot streak of very good Italian restaurants in Tustin.

Since we were waiting patiently for our friends Angel and Rebekah to arrive, we decided to start with this Sausage Bread ($9.75). Too bad they showed up as this made its way to our table because we had to share this delicious starter. For this one, they wrap their pizza dough around a mild sausage, and bake it with mozzarella cheese, and then brush the top of it with butter and Parmesan cheese. It's served with a very good meat sauce, or if you prefer ranch dressing. Not overly greasy like other versions I have had, I was pretty impressed with this, and it got me excited for the rest of my meal at Roma D' Italia.

I almost forgot to share the bread that comes to the table before every meal here. I liked this bread, it was freshly baked and was a great vessel for sopping up any extra sauce left on your plate. It was also good with the provided butter as well.

Both Rebekah and I sat this one out since we are not really big fans of tomatoes, but Angel and Katie loved this Caprese Salad ($10.95). Even I have to admit that the bright colors of the ingredients of this salad really brought this to life. Each slice of vibrant red tomato was topped with a small ball of buffalo mozzarella, which was ringed by red onions and topped with basil, garlic, and olive oil. I did try a little of the mozzarella and it was one of the creamier that I have had in awhile.

Entrees were up next, and we might as well start with Rebekah's selection since she did not have any of the Caprese. She ordered this good looking Chicken Marsala ($16.95). This traditional Marsala dish included chicken breast, mushrooms, onions, and a very tasty Marsala wine sauce. I tried a bite, which included a very tender piece of chicken and that very good sauce. A very comforting dish. This was served alongside a side of mostaccioli with meat sauce, which I did not try.

I've come to the conclusion that baked pasta dishes photograph almost as well as burritos, which is to say that they are not very photogenic, but they are usually delicious. Angel felt that was the case here with this Cannelloni ($13.95).  Two pasta crepes are filled with ground veal, and then topped with a generous amount of mozzarella, meat sauce, and Angel asked to have some red pepper added, which they obliged. He was pretty pleased with this dish and called it one of the better ones he has had. He thought there was plenty of meat included in here, and liked the hint of spiciness that the red pepper flakes provided.

Again, not the most picturesque food photo you will ever see, but Katie was pretty happy with this Eggplant Sorrentino ($13.95) at Roma D' Italia. With this plate, they start with rolled up eggplant, which is then filled with ricotta, mozzarella, eggs, Romano cheese, herbs, and then topped with plenty of meat sauce. Kind of like a lasagna made up of eggplant. Katie really liked this original dish and did not miss the presence of noodles, which helped make this more of a low carb option than it otherwise would have been. She ate the side of mostaccioli sparingly because the eggplant was so filling.

Yes, this was all mine. I have a bad habit of almost always ordering a side of meatballs when getting a new pasta dish in a restaurant. I feel that if I'm not a fan of the pasta dish, I can usually doctor it up with extra meat and red sauce. I did not have to do that with this Penne Amore ($13.95). The penne is sauteed with mushrooms, onions, and prosciutto, with a Marsala sauce, and finished with a sprinkle of Parmesan. This was a good dish, but I wish the sauce was a little more prevalent, as it was a little on the thin side. The rest of the plate was good, with plenty of prosciutto. Since I did not mix the red sauce and meatballs into my dinner, I ate them separately. Very tender meatball, which melded nicely with the delicious sauce. I liked this meal, but would probably explore more of their menu on future visits.

All four of us left Roma D' Italia full and satisfied. There's really a family feel to this restaurant, and not just because there are so many families eating here. You can feel the family atmosphere in the food and service as well. This is good, stick to your ribs Italian food. Sure, some might scoff that this is more Americanized Italian cuisine, but that's what I crave sometimes. Not sure why they have closed their other two locations that were once in Orange and Ladera Ranch. It seems like this is the kind of Italian restaurant which would work in any neighborhood, including Italian rich Tustin. This will not be our last trip to Roma D' Italia.

Out of five footballs, (because at one time Tustin High School had the most active NFL players in the league, and I'm also pretty excited for the NFL season to start), five being best to zero being worst, Roma D' Italia gets 3.5 footballs.

For more information about Roma D' Italia, head to their website here: http://www.romaditalia.com/

Mojito Madness 2016

This post is going to be a little different from our usual restaurant reviews. My good friend Richard never gets to come hang out with his friends, but on his birthday this year, I had an excellent idea of taking him on a bar crawl to find him a great mojito. It just so happens that mojitos are his favorite alcoholic beverage, and he got permission to come out and find the best one with me.

The first task was scouting a location with an abundance of mojitos available for us to try. There are not too many places left in OC where you can do pub crawls. Yes, there are the beach cities, but after this evening, he was going to need a ride home, and since his wife had already relented into letting him go, we could not put her out more by making her drive any further to pick his presumedly drunk ass up.

For those of you that are new to the mojito scene, they are a rum based drink, which also includes sugar, lime juice, soda water, and of course muddled mint. The birthplace of this cocktail is Cuba, but there are conflicting stories as to who invented it, and how it got named. It's also been rumored to be Ernest Hemingway's favorite cocktail, but this is also doubted by some historians.

I did a quick search online and found that the Irvine Spectrum would fill the bill nicely for us. Not only is it centrally located between mine and Richard's abodes, but a quick Yelp search confirmed that nearly 10 of their restaurant tenants serve, or are capable of serving a mojito. Score.

We were not going to be drinking ten mojitos, and I wasn't even going to be ordering one, as they are not really my favorite. I picked five places to try, and we can maybe try the other five next year. We also would be ordering something to eat at each of these places, because we're responsible like that. So sit back, relax, and watch the mojitos fly, as we try to find the best mojito at the Irvine Spectrum.

We started things off at Del Frisco's Grille due to their proximity to the parking structure that I parked in. We were here at just after 3 pm, and the bar was pretty empty but filled up as we approached their happy hour, which starts at 4. They do not have a mojito on their cocktail menu, but their amicable bartender, Diane made Richard his initial birthday Mojito ($11.50) happily. This beverage drew rave reviews from Richard, who thought it had the right amount of sweet, with just a tinge of bitterness on the back end of the drink. He was less excited by the Cheesesteak Egg Rolls ($13), which he called bland. I've always said that these would be made better with the sauce served on the side, instead of streaked across the plate. On to spot number two.

Yard House was next on our journey. The best part about our time at Yard House was that we hit this place right at Happy Hour, which goes from 3 to 6 pm weekdays. The Mojito ($7.75 with the $2 off during happy hour) was obviously made from a mix, and not really good. Way too sweet, Richard couldn't even tell if there was alcohol in here or not, as it tasted just like sugar water. The Blue Crab Cakes ($7 on HH, but $12.45 most of the time) were also not worth the bother. These good sized crab cakes were mostly filler, overly breaded, and placed in this weird, runny white sauce, along with diced mango, papaya, and passion fruit. Nothing about this screamed order this next time to us, so we'll skip it on future visits.

Another happy hour spot we were lucky to hit was Paul Martin's American Grill. I've always kind of been let down by this restaurant, as I've always though it should be better than it is. This was not the case on this late afternoon. The Mojito ($5 on HH or $13 all other times), was pretty solid and helped wash away the taste of the one we had back at Yard House. It was definitely made to order and was just a tad too heavy with the rum for Richard's palette. Happy hour goes on from 3 to 7 pm, seven days a week here at Paul Martin's, which gives you ample time to take advantage of their Bistro Burger Special ($14), which also comes with fries and your choice of a craft beer. The burger was pretty solid and was made even better with great melted cheese, which spread evenly across the warm beef. This simply dressed burger is rounded out nicely by a very well done bun, which is soft, but keeps its integrity. The fries were good as well and seasoned with salt and herbs. The perfect spot for two guys visiting as many bars as possible in a short time.

I've always been a big fan of Wood Ranch. Yes, their barbecue is good, and in fact, I think they are one of the better of all the chain barbecue restaurants, but there's something else that I crave when I walk by here at the Irvine Spectrum, their Oreo Cookie Crunch ($6.95). Of course first, we had to try the Havana's Best Mojito ($7 for happy hour, or $9 the rest of the day). This was not an awful version of this drink. It was pretty sweet, and the mint was kind of lost here, but you still knew you were drinking a mojito. Pretty good balance. Glad they took the time to prepare this cocktail the right way. The Oreo cookie crunch was delicious and so simple. It's a scoop of good vanilla bean ice cream, rolled in Oreo cookie crumbs, and then served with chocolate and caramel sauces. This works wonderfully, and the only way to make it better would be to swap out the chocolate sauce and use hot fudge instead. Still one of my favorite desserts I've had during the seven-year run of this blog.

Yes, we had already had dessert, but we still had about twenty minutes before Richard's wife would pick him up, so we decided to try the Mojito ($10) at Cucina Enoteca. When we were at other bars, bartenders told us that they thought this would be the best mojito that we would encounter on our trip around the Spectrum. It wasn't. It wasn't horrible, but was definitely on the bitter side, and was rather boring due to the lack of mint used in it. What wasn't boring was this Giant Meatball ($9). The food has always impressed me here, and this meatball was no exception. Very tender, with a great flavor to it. I liked the melted cheese on top of it, but what rounded this all together for me was their very tasty red sauce, which really made this dish pop. A must get when eating at Cucina Enoteca.

So we made it through five different mojitos in the span of three hours. Who had the best? We liked the one at Del Frisco's Grille as our number one pick. It was the most balanced and refreshing versions that we tried on this afternoon. Second place would go to the one at Paul Martin's, and then the one at Wood Ranch would probably be third. The worst was by far the one at Yard House, which almost every bartender that we asked had predicted it would be.

Their food was not much better. The Yard House crab cakes definitely were the worst thing we ate on this afternoon. Not a very good showing for the folks at Yard House. The best food item for me probably was the meatball from Cucina Enoteca, then the Oreo Cookie Crunch and the bronze medal would go to the Burger at Paul Martin's.

All in all, this was a great afternoon with my friend Richard. We got to celebrate his birthday, go bar hopping, and try some pretty good food. I can hardly wait until next year when we get to hang out again and try the rest of the mojitos offered at the Irvine Spectrum.

To help plan your pub or food crawl around the Irvine Spectrum, check out their website here: http://www.shopirvinespectrumcenter.com/

Come and Get It at Cowgirls Cafe

Cowgirls Cafe

1720 South Grand Ave.

Santa Ana, CA 92705

Father's Day is a little rough on married couples. You have to make time to see both dads, and that usually involves some sort of a compromise. Luckily, Katie's family is pretty flexible about when they get a chance to see us. They pretty much allow my family to make plans, and then we work around them to make sure we get to see Katie's family. This year, my parents were doing something later in the afternoon, so that left Father's Day morning open to spending with my dad. Since they live in Yorba Linda, we always try to meet somewhere in the middle, and this time it just so happened that we met at Cowgirls Cafe in Santa Ana.

I found this place, as I usually do, on Yelp, and it was highly rated, and fit our criteria of being near the midpoint for all of us. I'm not sure of the history of this restaurant, but it's been in business for over ten years. Located just south of Edinger, in a heavy industrial area, the restaurant has a classic diner vibe. It kind of felt like a retro Denny's, with a western tinge to it. The booths were comfortable, there was a tiny six-seat, old school counter, along with plenty of cowboy pictures hanging on the wall, with a special emphasis on John Wayne. Also of note, a wall of license plates covering one wall, right above the counter seats.

We were a little worried this place was going to be packed, with it being Father's Day and all, but we got right in at 8:30. The menu here is dominated by American breakfast classics, with five items offered for those of you that would prefer a Mexican slant on your first meal of the day. They also have a whole page of their menu dedicated to lunch items, but be advised that they close by 3 on most days, and by 2 pm on the weekends. As usual, I showed up here knowing already what I wanted to have, so I waited for my parents to make up their minds, and then waited patiently for our food to arrive. This is how our Father's day went down at Cowgirls Cafe.

Even though it was Father's Day, it's still ladies first, so we'll check out Katie's choice, this Breakfast Burrito ($7.65). This was listed on the front of the menu, under specials. This double wrapped breakfast burrito came filled with egg, sausage, onion, green chilies, cheese, and ranchero sauce, which Katie opted to have on the side. She called this a solid breakfast burrito which was easy to handle, and she liked it, but, was not wowed by it. This also came with a side of hash browns, which she enjoyed.

Also listed on the front of the menu, under the specials was this Breakfast Croissant ($7.45) that my mom took down. Two eggs divided between each half of a croissant, then topped with bacon, cheese, and usually tomato, but my mom decided she did not want the tomato. My mom loves breakfast sandwiches, and even though this was a pretty simple one, she enjoyed it. The croissant was fresh and was a nice deviation from the usual breakfast sandwiches she usually orders. Instead of the hash browns that usually come with this, she opted for a bowl of fresh fruit, which she shared with the rest of us.

Now the man of the hour on this Father's Day, my dad's meal was the Cowgirl Omelette ($9.95). This three-egg omelet was filled with cheddar cheese, bacon, tomato, mushroom, and topped with plenty of avocados. Even though this was three eggs, my dad had no problem finishing this meal. He called this, "a solid meal, and a great way to start the day." I guess it was a trend on this morning, my dad also wanted to forgo the potatoes that come with this and had the cottage cheese instead. I'm not a fan of this option, but it was his day, so I held my tongue.

I'm not really big on surprises, so I almost always check out menus before we leave the house, so I knew I'd be having this Country Skillet ($9.95) on this morning. I'm a big fan of skillet breakfasts, and this was a very good and hearty one. The base was of course diced potatoes and is then topped with three eggs, cubed sausage, bacon, cheddar cheese, and country gravy. The cheese and bacon kind of was pushed to the background here, but there was also enough to keep me interested. The gravy was pretty solid, with plenty of flavors, and a nice smooth texture. I also was a big fan of the sausage used here. Potatoes could have been cut up a little more, but still a good, stick to your ribs kind of meal. This also came with toast, which was nicely toasted and buttered well.

Yes, I had enough with just the skillet, but I like to have sweet to go along with my savory for the first meal of the day, so Two Hotcakes ($3.45) were brought out for us also. These were some pretty tasty cakes. They were lighter than others, and still retained their flavor, a very delicate balance to achieve.

The food at Cowgirls Cafe is not going to blow you away with its creativity, but if you are in the mood for an honest and solid first meal of the day, then you may want to head over here. Service was spot on this morning, as they were very intent on keeping glasses full, checking on us regularly, and turning over tables, so they could seat everyone waiting at the front door. The staff did all of this in a nice, relaxed way, which was much appreciated by all. My dad summed it up best, when he commented, "This is the kind of breakfast spot that we need in Yorba Linda." He's right, and I'm not just saying that because this was Father's Day. Every neighborhood deserves a good breakfast spot, a place where you can sit down with your neighbors, have a cup of coffee, and chow down on some legit breakfast foods. For the people of southeast Santa Ana, this is your place. For the rest of us, it's a great spot to visit if you are in the area.

Out of five horses, (because all cowgirls need a horse to get around), five being best to zero being worst, Cowgirls Cafe gets 3 solid horses.

Cowgirls does not have a website but check out their Yelp page for more information: https://www.yelp.com/biz/cowgirls-cafe-santa-ana-3

Feed Your Pie Hole Here

The Pie Hole

177 N. Glassell St. 

Orange, CA 92866

I have to admit that when I heard that the Pie Hole was headed to OC, I had to reread the news article numerous times. It seemed almost unreal. Like we were winning the dessert lottery or something. To have one of the best pie joints I have ever had the pleasure to dine in, come to our neck of the woods, it was a dream come true, but not for my waistline.

The Pie Hole came across my radar about five years ago when I was reading a Foodbeast article, which was listing the best spots to eat pie in each state. Of course, you can probably guess that the California representative was Pie Hole, but if you want to plan a pie lovers trip around the US, read the rest of their article here. Anyways, we made a trip up to their original Arts District location about a year after that article was published, and became big fans of Pie Hole. You can read about that first visit by clicking here.

Pie Hole is now starting a thoughtful and slowly evolving expansion process. They are taking things nice and slow by picking locations to open up that meet certain criteria. They of course want high-traffic areas, but they also want places that will allow them to become part of the community. They want to be a meeting place for the neighborhoods they occupy, which also helps them keep advertising costs down since they do not seem to advertise at all.

Even though they now have four locations, (the original Arts District spot, along with Pasadena, Hollywood, and Orange), they are still a family-run business. Started by mom, Becky Grasley and her son, Mathew Heffner, they are also joined by Matt's friend, Sean Brennan. Becky always dreamed of selling her award-winning pies, and once she retired from a nursing job, this trio set out to make their dream a reality.

Opened in the forgettable Old Towne Grinder spot on the corner of Glassell and Maple, right across the street from the Filing Station, they started selling their pies in early May. Their menu not only features sweet pies but savory pies as well. The current menu on their website has four breakfast pies offered, along with 7 pies more suited for a meal than a dessert. We had already eaten a few doors down at Burger Parlor, so we got in line, ordered our slices of pies, and waited for them to come out. Let's see if the quality has been diminished as Pie Hole has expanded.

This Mexican Chocolate Pie ($6.50) is probably one of the Pie Hole's most well-known pies, so of course, we needed to give it a try. Not an overly sweet pie, the chocolate comes through, but was not sickeningly sweet, like others tend to be. The crust is good here, and I'm not even a real fan of crust. It's not just a vessel for the filling of the pie, it's actually part of the pie. I like that they incorporated the sugary crystals in the crust. A very well-rounded slice of pie.

The first pie I ever had at the Pie Hole in Downtown LA was this Mom's Apple Crumble Pie ($8.75 with ice cream added). It blew me away then, and it did the same now. The apples in here are not drenched in syrup like almost every other apple pie out there. They allow the natural sweetness of the apples to shine, with very good cinnamon crumble topping the slice. Just the right amount of sweetness here, this really is a balanced piece of pie that is brought together with the optional, but I say necessary scoops of vanilla ice cream. To my knowledge, my grandmothers never baked, but this is the kind of pie I'd imagine a grandmother would bake.

My dad is always a little screwy when it comes to pies that he likes. When we were growing up he always would get coconut cream or sour lemon. I never really understood why he did this until he let it slip that he got these weird flavors, so he wouldn't have to share with anyone. He probably thought this trend would continue when he ordered this Maple Custard ($7.25), but he was wrong. This was another winner this evening. The custard was nice and smooth, and the maple flavor came through strong. I really enjoyed the texture of this unique pie. Of course, the crust was just as good as the other pieces we had. Very impressive for a pie I would normally not order.

If you could not tell from the preceding, I love the Pie Hole. I know what some of you are probably thinking. How can I justify paying over $7 for a piece of pie, when you can go to Marie Callender's, Polly's, or Coco's and get a whole pie for that same amount? Those places are fine, everyday kinds of pie shops, but for a real, homemade style pie, you will want to make it to the Pie Hole. Their pies are just better and do not taste like mass-produced, overly sweetened pies. Ordering is done at the counter, and then the food is brought out to your table. We had no problems with the service this evening. So happy that the Pie Hole has come to OC, and look forward to finally trying their savory pies in the near future.

Out of five teeth, (because a pie hole is a slang term for a mouth, and of course, you can't eat without teeth), five being best to zero being worst, the Pie Hole gets 3.5 teeth.

For more information about the Pie Hole, head over to their website here: http://www.thepieholela.com/