Rollin' down to Proud Mary's

Proud Mary's

34689 Golden Lantern 

Dana Point, CA 92629

Now that I have been getting Sundays off from work with a little bit of regularity, I've become pretty lazy on the last day of the week, or the first day depending on how you look at it. We usually don't start moving around until 9 am and then we throw about ideas on what we are going to do with our day. Most of the time Katie goes to see her nephew and I get some work done on this restaurant blog. This particular weekend she had no plans with her family, so we decided to take a jaunt around Dana Point Harbor, and while down there, of course, get some breakfast. We tried Proud Mary's for the first time.

It's pretty amazing that this was our first time at Proud Mary's when you consider how often we have walked this picturesque harbor, and how long Proud Mary's has been around. Mary Merrill opened this place up in 1977 and then sold it to the Zdrakas family in 2005. After a 2007 fire destroyed the original restaurant, the family vowed to come back to the community that showed them so much support while they were closed, with a new and improved version of Proud Mary's. They enlarged their patio, taking advantage of the great year round Dana Point weather, they reimagined their dining room and added a banquet space with a new menu so they can hold special events at the restaurant.

We got here just before 11 on a very busy Sunday morning in Dana Point. We parked quite a ways away, but walking was part of the reason we came down here. Proud Mary's is situated between Turk's and the Wind and Sea Restaurant, right near where you catch the Catalina Express for your trip 26 miles across the sea. We had a close to 10-minute wait, which wasn't too bad, but it was a much longer wait for a table on their happening patio.

The breakfast menu at Mary's says that they only serve breakfast until noon, which has been a bone of contention among customers since the old Proud Mary's used to serve breakfast all day. The breakfast menu has all the items you would expect to see on it. There are breakfast sandwiches, egg dishes, breakfast burritos, griddled items, and a decent selection of combination plates. We couldn't wait to dig in and continue our walk after breakfast.

This good-looking California Scramble ($13) was Katie's selection. When this was placed in front of her, the colors just seemed to emanate from the plate. This scramble was made up of turkey, bacon, tomatoes, and avocado. This was a pretty good-sized portion, and one that Katie felt was good, but it didn't really pack the flavor punch she was expecting. Maybe some cheese on this would have helped push this up a notch.

I was also feeling the scramble vibe at Proud Mary's, where I ordered the Meaty Scramble ($12.50). I'm always in when I see the holy trinity of breakfast meats on one plate on a breakfast menu. This scramble included ham, bacon, and sausage, and was bound together with some cheddar cheese. I kind of had the same feelings about my breakfast as Katie had about hers, it was fine, but kind of average. The home fries were decent, but needed more seasoning and maybe a little more crunch to them. No, I'm not into wheat toast, but that's what came with this, and it didn't seem like they had any other bread options available.

As is my usual need when eating my first meal of the day, I need a sweet item to go along with my savory breakfast option. On this morning I tried this Short Stack of Pancakes ($7.50 with chocolate chips added). I was pretty impressed with these. Not too doughy, full of chocolatey goodness, and not dry either. A pretty impressive plate of pancakes. Still heavy, but I have kind of come to expect that from pancakes.

Proud Mary's ended up being a decent option for breakfast in Dana Point Harbor area. It's not as good as What A Dish Cafe, but it's not as bad as the overly hyped RJ's Cafe. Proud Mary's is kind of situated in the middle of the restaurants we've tried down there. Service was a little spotty during our stay, maybe because we were sitting in an out of the way corner of the restaurant which was easy to miss. We'd still come back here again if we can shake off the laziness that we always seem to have on Sundays.

Out of five Vulcans, (because everyone knows the CCR or Tina Turner version of the song Proud Mary, but you probably don't know that Star Trek's Leonard Nimoy also sang the song), five being best to zero being worst, Proud Mary's gets 3 Vulcans.

For more information about Proud Mary's, head to their website by clicking here: http://www.proudmarysdp.com/

Mixed Review of Crocker's

Crocker's The Well Dressed Frank

211 Marine Ave. 

Newport Beach, CA 92662

I never feel like we take enough advantage of our coastline. Katie and I might be nicknamed the pasty posse because we burn within minutes of being exposed to the sun, but we seriously love being down at the beach. Taking advantage of the cool ocean breezes, getting a little exercise, and the general feeling of a mini getaway that the seashore can inspire makes us grateful for being able to call OC home. One of our favorite seaside strolls is around Balboa Island, which also gave us an opportunity to cross Crockers off of our restaurant wishlist.

Crocker's earned their way on to our list when they got a glowing review from who I believe was OC Register Restaurant Critic Brad Johnson for their Chili Burger and their Chicago Dog. I quickly made a note and it sat on our list for a while.

Crocker's has been open for three and a half years now and is owned by Victoria and John De Frenza, who named their restaurant after Victoria's grandfather, who just happened to be the first paid Fire Chief on Balboa Island. It's this nostalgia that has inspired their menu of pure American comfort food. Burgers and hot dogs headline here, but there are a few sandwiches, sausages, and a couple of seafood options as well. We also hear that they make a pretty decent clam chowder, which we didn't try on this trip, but maybe will in the future when it cools down a bit.

To be honest, this is not the most comfortable of restaurants. Not good for large groups for sure, there's one table for four, one that sits two, and some counter seating facing a wall. If things do get a little tight here, we've heard that you can also order and sit at their restaurant next door, the slightly larger Croker's Abundant Table. Other than those options, it might be wise for locals to do what we saw a lot of people doing, getting their food for takeout. We got lucky and got one of the two tables, so let's see if our luck would hold with a great meal at Crockers.

I must admit that I was a little taken aback when Katie got the Chief's Chicken Sausage ($9). Not the most photogenic of sausages, this albino looking sausage came with Swiss cheese, thousand island dressing, warmed kraut, and a poppy seed bun. Katie liked the snap of this mellow chicken sausage, which went well with the Rueben feel of this. She also mentioned the bun as a standout.

I was all set to try the Chicago dog before arriving here but switched it up at the last minute to this Wild and Wet Chili Dog ($9). This steamed skinless frank came with chili, shredded cheddar cheese, diced onions, and a strip of bacon perched on top. This was a very good version of a chili dog. It starts with the bun, which was freshly baked, soft, but pliable, and I have a sneaky suspicion that they might come from Blackmarket Bakery, but I don't have any official confirmation on this. Whoever makes them, they are excellent. The chili is pretty good, not of a spicy variety, but still flavorful. I had wished that the bacon would have been tucked into the bun so I could have it included in each bite, but still satisfying.

As much as I enjoyed the chili dog, I was underwhelmed by George's Patty Melt ($11.50). This half-pound burger was seriously underseasoned, and the Swiss, onions and thousand island dressing could not salvage this. The bread was very sturdy, but that's about as memorable as this sandwich gets. Should have gotten the chili burger instead.

Rounding out our meal was these Fries ($5). I rather enjoyed these fries seasoned with parsley and sea salt. They had a great crunch to them, while the potato inside was pillowy soft.

Looking back over this visit, I should have probably stuck with the items that I was gonna try when I first came here, the chili burger and the Chicago dog. Even though the chili dog shined, I'm not sure it was a $9 chili dog. In fact, I think most of the prices were a few dollars too much for the amount of food you get, but you have to consider the high rents in this touristy area. Service was pretty solid, and the food came out in a pretty timely manner. Even though Crocker's did not blow us away, it was great getting out and enjoying Balboa Island, one of our favorite beach spots.

Out of five boxes of cake mix, (because whenever I hear the name Crocker, it always brings to mind the advertising icon, Betty Crocker of General Mills fame), five being best to zero being worst, Crocker's The Well Dressed Frank gets 2.5 boxes of cake mix.

For more information about Crocker's The Well Dressed Frank, head to their website here: http://crockersfranks.com/

Consuming CroCreams at Churned Creamery

Churned Creamery

2493 Park Ave. #21

Tustin, CA 92782

After a rather lackluster dinner experience nearby, I was really ready for some dessert. Since it has been so warm and humid out there lately, ice cream was, of course, the natural choice. A quick check of Yelp led us to Churned Creamery, which is located on the backside of the Union Market at the District at Tustin Legacy.

Not knowing too much about Churned Creamery before getting here, the ordering process was a little confusing at first. The three step process starts with how you want your ice cream; in a bowl, a brownie bowl, cone, or in a croissant. Then you pick your flavor, which on this particular evening they had 13 available with the wildest ones being either the honeydew or the whiskey and cream. There are also four sorbets available. The third and final step in the process is to add your toppings and maybe a drizzle of Nutella or caramel over your creation. There's also shakes and soda floats for people that would rather drink their ice cream than eat it with a spoon.

Katie went the simple route at Churned Creamery with this Single Scoop of Chocolate ($4.50 + $1 for up to three toppings). The ice cream was very creamy and the chocolate shined here. I liked the consistency of the ice cream, as it was not overly heavy, but did stay cold for awhile. I was a little disappointed with the selection of toppings that they had. There were no crushed up Resse's, no crushed peanuts, and no peanut butter drizzle. Sounds like they are anti-peanut or maybe I just really wanted a peanut butter and chocolate vibe. Katie settled on Butterfinger pieces and chocolate sprinkles which she seemed to really enjoy.

Here's the real reason to come to Churned Creamery, their signature Crocream ($7 with three toppings included). I was pretty stoked with this creation. It's a croissant cut open with a scoop of ice cream inside of it and then you choose up to three toppings to complete your masterpiece. I had the Resse's Peanut Butter ice cream with a Nutella drizzle, chocolate chips, and granola rounding this out. They were not shy with the amount of ice cream they added inside of the croissant, so I ate a few bites with my spoon and then finished this off eating it like a sandwich. Even though I would probably not get the underachieving Resse's ice cream again, this was a delicious dessert, and one I have thought about since I had it a few weeks ago.

Churned Creamery finished our evening off well. I'll definitely go back and have another Crocream the next time I am at the District. Now that I got the lay of the land here, I'll create an even better version of my masterpiece next time. Probably a mint concoction with chocolate and Oreos. I didn't think that the prices were too out of control, especially when you consider the area. Service was pretty solid, and the guy who helped us was very patient with all of our questions. A very welcome addition to the Union Market, especially since Mr. Holmes Bakery is always closed when we are here.

Out of five blimps, (because this restaurant is in the shadows of the massive hangars that were once a storage and repair area for blimps during the Marine Corp Air Station days), five being best to zero being worst, Churned Creamery gets 3 blimps.

For more information about Churned Creamery, head to their website here: http://www.churnedcreamery.com/#home-section

Enamored with Ike's Love and Sandwiches?

Ike's Love and Sandwiches

2487 Park Ave. 

Tustin, CA 92782

It seems that all of a sudden restaurants from other regions of the country have been opening up in OC. We are now home to the Midwest favorite, Steak and Shake, (yuck), Portillo's, (delicious), and Raising Cane's, (I could take it or leave it) among others. It didn't use to be this way. It used to be that if you wanted to try let's say, Five Guys, you had to travel to the East Coast. Now at last count, there are 11 in OC so you can see for yourself if this chain truly is the In-N-Out of the east.

It's another import that has brought us out on this early evening, Ike's Love and Sandwiches. Ike's comes to us from the Castro District in San Fransisco, where on most days there's a long line of customers from the time they open until they close. They even had to reduce their hours at one point to keep their neighbors from revolting against this suddenly expanding chain of sandwich shops. There are now 36 places where you can get one of Ike's sandwiches, including three spots in OC, including this location at The District at Tustin Legacy.

Ike's menu is a little intimidating for first timers like myself. There are close to 50 sandwiches named after celebrities and San Francisco pro sports players. As if that's not enough, there are also some secret menu items, and each location of this sandwich chain has its own special menu items tailored towards its clientele. With so many options, I was really nervous about making the wrong choice, so I decided to try two sandwiches, and take half home for lunch the next day.

Ike's is situated in the old Capriotti's location at the ever changing District at Tustin Legacy shopping complex. They have been here for almost a year now, and have gotten plenty of love from Yelp, with a four and a half star rating with over 150 reviews. Ike's is a quick service restaurant, as you order at the register and your sandwiches are made in full view of customers. The space is dominated by large logos featuring Ike Shehadeh, founder of this concept and of course, a good portion of another wall is used to feature all the numerous sandwiches offered here. Let's see what we ended up getting off this humungous menu.

Katie will start us off with her sandwich pick, the Backstabber ($9.99). This sandwich utilizes diced up, tender halal chicken as its base, and then tops it with Caesar dressing, marinated artichoke hearts, and a blanket of provolone. Katie got this on their famous Dutch crunch bread, which is dense, yet doughy at the same time and has a distinctive cracked crust topping it, which yields a slight sweetness to it. Really good bread. Katie loved the chicken here, which she claimed was very flavorful and went well with the Caesar dressing. She could see herself getting this sandwich again. Katie also got a bag of Zapp's Cajun Dill chips and was pretty happy with them. The dill really came through and made this into a pickle in potato chip form. I look forward to trying more flavors from this Louisiana chip company in the future.

The first of my two sandwiches was this Paul Reubens ($9.99). This take on a Reuben sandwich has pastrami as a base and then dresses up the sandwich with some french dressing, poppy seed coleslaw, and Swiss cheese. I liked this sandwich but was not in love with it. I got this with their sourdough bread, which went well here, but I would probably get their Dutch crunch bread next time. I'd also ask for extra french dressing, as they applied it pretty lightly, and I like my sandwich condiments to stand out a bit more. A decent Rubenesque sandwich, but I'd probably get something else next time.  

I ordered this sandwich by mistake. I had meant to get the John Wayne but for some reason when  I was ordering, the Bruce Wayne ($9.99) slipped out of my mouth instead. So, instead of the steak and American cheese that comes on the John Wayne, I got the roast beef, swiss, and steak sauce that came with this sandwich. This was an okay sandwich, but what made it for me was the Dutch crunch bread. Other than the bread it was a little boring. Too much lettuce, the swiss cheese really got lost here, and steak sauce is not really my favorite. The serving size of the roast beef was a little on the skimpy side, so I'd ask for double meat next time.

Alright, Ike's did not really impress me too much with this visit, but with so many sandwiches available, and enough ingredients to come up with over 400 sandwich combinations, I still feel like there's hope for me that I could come up with a really great sandwich at Ike's. I'm glad that Ike's is one of the many imports to have opened up in OC recently. Not only do I look forward to finding my favorite sandwich here soon, it also saves us some airfare miles going up to San Fran to try them out.

Out of five cable cars, (because of the ties that this restaurant has to San Francisco), five being best to zero being worst, Ike's Love and Sandwiches gets 2.5 cable cars.

For more information about Ike's Love and Sandwiches, head to their website here: http://ilikeikesplace.com/

Getting Away from It All by Staying Close to Home at Islands

Islands 

799 The Shops at Mission Viejo Suite A

Mission Viejo, CA 92691

When Katie and I are not out finding new restaurants, we are homebodies. We curl up on the couch and watch the four plus shows we are currently watching on Netflix. I love trying new restaurants, but sometimes you just need a break. On these rare nights, we usually stay close to home. One of the places we find ourselves at probably once a month or so is the new Islands at the Shops at Mission Viejo.

It's hard to believe that this Islands location escaped the cursed Kaleidoscope center nearly a year ago. Now with plenty of parking, no more broken escalators, a much more open floor plan, and a wonderful patio to take advantage of outdoor dining, Islands has seemed to have hit its stride at this almost always packed restaurant, which is situated next door to P..F. Chang's and the entrance to the food court.

It's also kind of hard to believe that Islands has been around for 35 years. That's when Islands founder Tony DeGrazier opened his first location in West Hollywood, bringing a little bit of Hawaii to Southern California. He wanted a place where you could get a burger, fresh hot fries, and drinks after a long day. My first Islands experience was in the mid-eighties and has continued to the present day.

We were lucky enough to have been invited to our local Islands to try their limited time menu items. That's one of the things I admire most about Islands, is the fact that they always have some limited menu items, keeping things fresh for those of us that visit their restaurants frequently. I look forward to every year when their spicy Nalu Nalu Burger is available as a limited time item.

We arrived at half past six on a recent Thursday evening and the restaurant was humming with activity. We were seated right away and perused the menu not out of necessity, but more out of habit since Katie pretty much always get the same thing, and I already knew I'd be trying their limited time items. Let's see how everything turned out for us on this evening.

The first of the two limited time items offered was this Islands Golden Ale ($8.55). Since it's been so hot and humid lately, this brew, which is exclusively crafted for Islands by Karl Strauss Brewing Company really hit the spot. I was afraid this was going to be too hoppy for my taste, but it had just the right amount of bite to it and a very clean finish. They say this pairs well with their Waimea Burger, but I could see this pairing well with just about anything.

Can't come to Islands and not get their Cheddar Fries ($8.65). Looking back on it, I think Islands was the very first place that I ever had fries with cheese on them. They are still as good now as they were back in the 80's. These fresh cut fries are fried crisp and then topped with plenty of melted cheese and scallions. Yes, you can have these with chili and bacon added, but they are perfect this way, with just a little ranch to dip them in.

I always think it's a little odd that Katie gets these Northshore Tacos ($9.79) at Islands because I always think of this place as a burger spot, but this is her, "go to" item here. These chicken tacos are filled with plenty of cheese, lettuce, and come with sour cream and salsa to round things out. Katie also always orders a small side of guacamole to complete her meal. She loves the tender, slightly spicy chicken, and the ranchero beans that accompany this.

Alright, it was burger time, and this Waimea Burger ($11.75) is available for a limited time. This burger features some Kalua pulled pork, caramelized onions, teriyaki glaze, pineapple, and Swiss cheese. This burger screamed Hawaii and really fit in perfectly with the Islands vibe A little on the sweet side, I'd probably ask for the teriyaki on the side when I have this burger again. Since I had the cheddar fries as a starter, I decided to forgo the endless fries option and get a Caesar side salad instead. This was the right call. The Caesar salad at Islands is very underrated and came with some flavorful dressing, crunchy croutons, and a little parmesan.

Maybe because I had a big lunch, this meal really seemed to fill me up, but I would not be deterred from getting a little something for dessert. Katie and I split this individually sized Fudge Brownie ($2.69), which really hit the spot. The small brownie was topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and some chocolate sauce. Simple, yet delicious and a great end to our visit to Islands.

As usual, it was another stellar visit to our local Islands restaurant. Both of the limited time items I tried were a nice change of pace and something I would totally get again. Manager Hector and his entire staff did a great job of meeting not only our needs but also making sure that all of their guests were having a great dining experience. We consider ourselves pretty lucky to have this Islands location situated right across the street from where we live for those rare nights we stick close to home.

For more information about Islands, and to find your nearest location head over to their website here: https://www.islandsrestaurants.com/

Finally Making It After Everyone Else - CLOSED

Afters Ice Cream

2738 Alton Parkway

Irvine, CA 92606

As with most things in my life, I'm behind the times. I bring up a song or catchphrase to my coworkers, and they look at me and say that was so yesterday. My wardrobe has been called grandfatherly. We were the last ones on earth to get Netflix. I was also one of the few people among my friends who wanted to get a smartphone, and now that I have it, I am curious to know how I got along without it for so long. Even though I write this restaurant blog, I'm sometimes behind the times in trying some of the hot items on Instagram, or as we cool kids call it, The Gram. What, we are not doing that anymore?

I was recently invited to try one of the hottest ice cream sensations to hit OC in years. I can't scroll through my Instagram account and not see something from Afters Ice Cream. It's unsurprising, considering that this was Scott Nghiem and Andy Nguyen's first venture together. These lifelong friends came up with this concept three and a half years ago, and it has blossomed into a mini-empire of 15 locations spread throughout Southern California. The pair have gone on to start other non-ice cream projects, GD Bro Burger and Pig Pen Delicacy, which has the excellent Mac Daddy Burger, which is fantastic.

Back to what has finally brought us to Afters on this warm weekday afternoon. As if this place needs another popularity boost, they have partnered with Sanrio, the world-renowned brand that has given us the wildly popular Hello Kitty and other characters. Afters has created two Hello Kitty-inspired flavors, available at all 15 locations until Sunday, August 13th. My friend Erin and I could not wait to try these two flavors and experience Afters for the first time.

While all the Afters locations have limited Hello Kitty flavors, their Irvine location is the most decorated with Hello Kitty decor. All the walls are plastered with this little feline, and there's plenty of Hello Kitty merch to buy while you wait for your ice cream to be scooped. We saw many people snapping pictures in front of the walls this early afternoon.

Now, on to the main event, the two limited edition Hello Kitty-inspired flavors. We first tried Mama's Apple Pie, a vanilla-based ice cream with applesauce, apple pie filling, and crumbled cinnamon sprinkled on top. We got this in a cup and in their Milky Bun, a warmed glazed donut with ice cream inside. Of course, the Milky Bun version is the way to go. The contrast between the warm donut and the cool ice cream was excellent. This apple ice cream was okay, as the cinnamon topping overshadowed any apple flavor we could taste in the ice cream. Great hand modeling, Erin.

This Yummy Strawberry Cake is the flavor to get at Afters. Erin and I loved this ice cream, loaded with plenty of strawberries, a strawberry swirl, and shortcake bits. This ice cream would fit right in at the Garden Grove Strawberry Festival. Again, the Milky Bun was the way to go if I had a choice. They topped it with rainbow sprinkles this time, which helped make the picture pop. I talked briefly with Afters Founder Andy Nguyen, and I was surprised to find out that they make their own ice cream and the glazed donuts they use in making the milky buns. I was impressed.

Even if you're reading this after August 13th, try Afters Ice Cream. I can't wait to come back and try the Banana Walnut Fudge and their interesting-sounding Churro flavor. Glad I finally got with it and made it to Afters Ice Cream. It won't be our last visit.

For more information about Afters Ice Cream and to find your nearest location, head to their website here: https://www.aftersicecream.com/