Our Quest Has Taken Us to the Hobbit

The Hobbit

2932 East Chapman

Orange, CA 92869

People get a little worked up over my grading system. My dad has always said I should do it on a scale of 1 to 10, but as I have explained countless times, with the half-stars that I give out, it's already like that. My friend Erven has another passionate gripe about my rating system.

He laments that I have not given out a five-star review to any of the restaurants we have been to. The fact is, most restaurants hover right around the average to slightly above average level. I'll share these stats with those who think I'm too harsh of a critic. Of the 655 restaurants rated so far (we don't rate restaurants that we get invited to), 189 have been average or below, leaving 466 restaurants scoring higher than average. I'd say that's pretty generous.

As for the upper echelon of places we've been to, seven restaurants have gotten 4 and a half stars. A five-star restaurant would have to be exceptional in every way. Such a restaurant would be world-class and make me want to forget about eating at all other restaurants. I have not been so blown away by such a restaurant yet, but I hope it will happen someday. Erven was hoping that the five-star drought would be broken on a recent Sunday evening when he suggested we dine at one of his favorite restaurants, The Hobbit in Orange.

The Hobbit has been around for a ton of years. 45 years this week, which is pretty impressive in the restaurant business. They have been around so long that I remember being left with a babysitter when my parents came here. Okay, that was only last year, but still impressive that I recall that far back. For the last 30 years, The Hobbit has been run by Executive Chef and Owner Michael Philippi and his wife, Debra Philippi, who holds the title of Executive Coordinator and Owner.

The Hobbit is not really so much a restaurant as it is an event. They have one seating Wednesday thru Sunday at 7pm. The menu is a seven-course prix -fixe affair, and their website is regularly updated so you can make reservations based on your preferences. The food price only is $88 a person, with all beverages, excluding the champagne served in the wine cellar, added to the bill for an additional charge. The setting is a red-tiled, Spanish-style house on Chapman Avenue, next door to Johnny Reb's. Unfortunately, I could not find out much about the home online, and the wait staff here did not really elaborate on any of the history of the place, which I would date at about the 1940s, give or take a decade or two.

We got to The Hobbit at about 6:30 and got a cocktail upstairs in their bar. We took them downstairs and enjoyed them on the patio in front of the restaurant. A half-hour later, we were whisked down to the wine cellar for champagne and, as you can see from the pictures, quite the array of hors-d'oeuvres. All were very good, but the standouts were the Liver Mousse Pate, which had an incredible creaminess and a smokiness that rivaled bacon over an open fire. The best pate I have ever had. The French Sandwich was another winner. Ham and cheese sandwiched between some very soft bread cut into small pieces. So simple but as addictive as anything. I wanted to fill my pockets before leaving the wine cellar. The Steak Tartare, Mussels in a delicious wine broth, and the Artichoke Dip were all memorable and excited me for what was to come.

After about an hour of noshing on the hors-d'oeuvres, we were ushered back upstairs and directed to our table. We were seated in the front dining room, which had no more than ten tables inside it, with a very comforting ambiance. We could hear ourselves talk but were not bothered by the other parties' conversations. I enjoyed the table setting and was especially fond of how the butter was presented as a rose. Very unique and appreciated. The dinner rolls were a cross between a regular dinner roll and a popover. These kinds of rolls always remind me of my grandmother, a cherished memory. They were not shy about keeping them coming either, which was nice.

Course number two was a Seared Diver Scallop perched atop a sweet corn succotash and a smear of house-made pesto streaked across the plate. The scallop and the pesto went well together, but the corn succotash was the weak link here. A little out of place and not really adding too much to this. The scallop was tender and seared perfectly. I could have eaten a bunch more of these.

I'm always excited to see quail on a menu, which was the case when this Grilled Quail sat in front of me. A few bites of this quail were delicious, but then I got down to the meatier part of the bird, and it was slightly overcooked and dry, and the blueberry and red wine reduction could not save it. Also adding to my discomfort with this dish was that it was served alongside white quinoa, which is my arch nemesis. My disdain for quinoa also held true in The Hobbit, as I found it to be flavorless and left a lot of it untouched. The rest of my dining party enjoyed it, so it might have just been my quinoa bias rearing its ugly head again.

Salads were out next, and we were given this Frisee Salad, which for those of you that do not know, like me until I looked it up, is made up of curly endive. This one was served with a black pepper caramel gastrique and at the center of it all was a mission fig stuffed with gorgonzola cheese. Unfortunately, this salad did not work for me. The endive was a little too bitter, and the gastrique promised caramel but did not deliver. All I got was a slight peppery tinge. The fig was okay, but I expected more from the gorgonzola. Blue cheese would have been a better choice as it would have woken up this kind of sleepy salad.

After the salad course, we were asked to vacate the dining space so they could reset the table for the main course and the dessert to follow. We were encouraged to explore the house and even tour the kitchen. The chefs were very generous with their time and answered everyone's questions. I was shocked at how small and hot their workspace was. It gives you a better appreciation for how many meals they can crank out in such a cramped and uncomfortable space. Much respect for all the kitchen workers out there.

The main course on this particular evening was a Wild Mushroom Stuffed Filet Mignon. The beef was tender, but I wished the mushrooms had added more earthiness. The meat also needed to be seasoned more, as I was waiting for a big rush of flavor that did not come. However, I did enjoy the veggies here. The Chinese long beans, squash, and radishes were all done expertly. Solid, but nothing that really made this dish too memorable.

Last but not least was dessert. Almond Cake was topped with some house-made vanilla ice cream, surrounded by some streaks of strawberry across the plate. The almond cake was fair, but this show's star was the well-done ice cream. I should have asked for an extra scoop. I love small batched ice cream. Since it was Rocio's birthday, we were presented with some truffles, which were a nice touch to end our meal.

If you've read this review up until this point, you can probably guess that this is not our first five-star rating. Sorry, Erven. We had a good time with our friends this evening, but the company overshadowed the food. When someone asked me my thoughts on The Hobbit the next day, I said it was like elevated wedding food. I enjoyed the event more than what was sitting in front of me. I admire what they do in such a tiny space; they should be commended for it. The highlights were the excellent appetizers in the wine cellar and the scallop. Everything else was fine, but nothing that would make me return to The Hobbit anytime soon. Service was impeccable, and I can see why they get very high marks and awards for their waitstaff. I thought the pricing was fair, but the cocktails were overpriced at $14 per drink. The Hobbit is an OC restaurant institution and something to experience at least once.

Out of five rings (because, of course, when you hear the name of this restaurant, you automatically think of the Lord of the Rings work by J.R.R. Tolkien), five being best to zero being worst, The Hobbit gets 3 rings. 

For more information about The Hobbit, head on over to their website here: http://www.hobbitrestaurant.com/

A Little Touch of the Irish at Cassano's - CLOSED

Cassano's

818 South El Camino Real

San Clemente, CA 92672

Pizza is probably the most subjective food in America. Everyone has a preference. New York style, deep dish, Neapolitan, thick crust, and thin crust are just the tip of the iceberg before you also consider what toppings don't belong on a pizza. I'm looking at you, pineapple. Anyways, with all these different versions of pizzas, any kind of best-of-pizza list will be hotly debated. I prefer deep dishes or New York style, but I simply like pizza. It's an unusual pizza that recently brought us to try Cassano's in San Clemente.

Before we get to that pizza, we will review a bit of Cassano's history. They have been around for 31 years, the first 28 years they were situated near the San Clemente Pier. They lost their lease to Beach Fire Pizza and opened up the hill across from Ralph's on El Camino Real. They are started by a husband and wife team, Dave Cassano and Sharon Torres, both of whom are from Chicago but have been California residents since 1976, making them natives by this point. They are no longer married but have remained business partners.

The move up the street has not deterred many locals from coming here. We visited on a recent Sunday evening right about half-past six, and the restaurant was doing a brisk business between the people seated at the cozy nine-seat bar,  the parade of customers waiting for their pickup orders, and those of us dining in the small, but comfortable dining area. The menu at Cassano's is not only pizza-driven (they have 7 house pizzas offered, along with the usual build-your-own kind), but they also have sandwiches, pasta, starters, and salads. We quickly made our selections and amused ourselves with the football game airing on one of the two TVs above the bar until our food came out.

Both owners of Cassano's have a salad named after them on the menu, and Katie was very partial to Sharon's Salad ($10.95). This was a good-sized salad, which we ended up splitting. It featured romaine, kale, cucumber, tomatoes, shredded carrots, feta cheese, olives, red onion, and cranberries. It came with a balsamic dressing. The produce was fresh, and I enjoyed how the different textures interacted in this salad. Katie and I had different opinions concerning the dressing, which I found too acidic, but I'm usually partial to creamier salad dressings. Katie loved the uniqueness of it, and it was actually her salad, so we'll go with what she thinks.

Let's stay with Katie's selection for this evening. She's partial to White Pizzas ($8.95) and enjoyed this version at Cassano's. The white pizza at Cassano's came with some ricotta, a Romano cheese sauce, and mozzarella and was finished with some basil topping. Even though this lacked meat, I still enjoyed the piece that Katie allowed me to have. The crust on this was delicious, and I liked that the pizza was not too heavy but did not sacrifice flavor. I'm not going to forgo my usual meat lovers pizza for this, but it was still a solid pizza and one of the better white versions that either Katie or I have had.

I don't know where I learned about this St. Patty's Day Pizza ($8.95), but I've had this on my restaurant list for a long while. It's not even the oddest pizza on the Cassano's menu. That honor would go to the Peanut Butter and Bacon pizza, which also comes with mozzarella cheese. I can't even imagine, but our server swears it's good. I took baby steps by getting this Reuben/pizza mashup. Corned beef, sauerkraut, onions, mozzarella, and a mild mustard sauce accounted for the Reuben feel to this. I was afraid the mustard sauce would overwhelm me, but it hid in the background and allowed the other toppings to be in the forefront. A little more corned beef and a drizzle of Thousand Islands would have made this even better. I'll try their bacon and peanut butter pizza next time.

I'm a sucker for a good Meatball Sandwich ($9.25), and this one at Cassano's was good. It came with a sturdy Italian roll filled with five meatballs, cheese, and marinara. The meatballs were tender and meaty, the cheese was nice and bubbly after being left under the broiler, and the only fault I could find with this was that it needed a little more marinara to balance things out. I used the peppers served on the side to kick up the heat factor. I only ate half of this and had the rest for lunch the next day. As with most Italian food, it was even better the next day. This also came with a little side salad I picked at after filling up on Katie's salad.

Cassano's is a great neighborhood Italian restaurant. We will definitely be back when we are in the area, possibly after walking the beautiful San Clemente Beach Trail. The prices were more than fair, and the items we tried this evening were stellar. We received excellent service on this night, and it was nice seeing the staff interact with their regulars but treat us first-timers like the people they visit weekly. Glad they have relocated from the pier area, and I look forward to trying more of their menu, but I might chicken out about trying their peanut butter and bacon pizza.

Out of five castles (because the most dominant feature of the Northern Italian town of Cassano d'Adda is the Borromeo Castle, built around 1000 years ago), five being best to zero being worst, Cassano's gets 3.5 castles.

For more information about Cassano's, head to their website here: https://www.cassanos.net/

Solita Searching

Solita Tacos and Margaritas

24201 Valencia Blvd. #3470

Valencia, CA 91355

Whenever we come up this way to see Katie's cousins our plans always seem to go out of whack. We had these great intentions to hit a brunch spot in Sherman Oaks or Glendale on the way home, but after a late night of drinking, laughing, and not getting back to our hotel until close to 2 am, we threw our ambitions out the window. Wanting to sleep until right near our 11 o'clock checkout time, we instead chose a brunch spot near our hotel and one where we knew we could get a table right away. We ended up at a restaurant that was very familiar to both Katie and me, Solita.

Solita opened up in Huntington Beach almost four years ago. Man does time fly. We were there for a media dinner a few weeks after they opened and really enjoyed our experience. We have been back to the HB location sporadically since that first visit, but never for brunch. This Valencia outpost, which is situated at the front of the Valencia Town Center has been open for three years now.

Our love for Solita is probably not much of a surprise to any of our long-time readers of this restaurant blog. Solita is headed by Partner and Executive Chef Deborah Schneider, who we fell in love with, and her cuisine at Sol Cocina in Newport Beach. She's been nominated for a James Beard Award for her cookbook, Cooking With the Seasons at Rancho La Puerta, written five other cookbooks, was instrumental in the farm to table movement and has over 25 years worth of professional cooking experience.

As Sol Cocina is more of a polished and upscale Mexican restaurant, Solita was created to cater to the neighborhood as a more casual and relaxed concept. They want to become your local go-to spot for Mexican food. Their menu is filled with a bunch of appetizer options and Mexican favorites. There's only one item that is over the $20 mark, and they are well thought of for their bar program, with margaritas and the frozen horchata being favorites. Still having to drive 2 hours home, a drink was not in the cards for me, but I was excited to spend some quality time with Katie's cousins and try Solita's brunch for the first time.

I devoured my fair share of these tortilla chips and duros when they were sat in front of us. I could not control myself, and while they were delicious, the crunch also prevented me from having to listen to the birthday girl Yvette, who was rambling on about how good she feels for turning 80. Both the duros and the lightly fried tortilla chips were a great vessel for the salsa which provided a nice and steady heat to it.

Since Steve wanted to keep the party going from the night before, he ordered two of these Watermelon Margaritas ($11) on this early afternoon. They are made with Agavales Blanco Tequila as a base and then crushed watermelon and lime juice is added. Very refreshing and it probably did the job of numbing the pain of being married to Yvette.

Entrees made their way out to us, and up first was Katie's choice, the colorful Mad Scramble ($14.50). With this one, you have the choice of chorizo, carnitas, or chicken, which is what she went with. The scramble is also made up of tomatoes, spinach, onions, potatoes, peppers, chipotle chiles, Mexican crema, melted cheese, and of course scrambled eggs. Katie felt that the sauce on this was a bit too spicy for her palette, and she'd ask for it to be on the side next time. She claimed that this was filling and she also was a big fan of the tortilla strips topping this, as they added a nice crunch to most bites. I really enjoyed the bite I had of this. The sauce was a bit spicy, but not overbearing.

Not the most picturesque plating, but how can you really make a burrito visually stunning without cutting into it? Steve was feeling the Breakfast Burrito ($10) on this early afternoon at Solita. This red flour tortilla was wrapped around refried black beans, scrambled eggs, and cheese. Steve did not really seem too jazzed about this burrito, as he tried to trade half of it to his wife, but no dice. Yvette was having no part of it. I would have added some meat to this burrito to give it a little more substance.

I can not get chilaquiles off of my mind lately, so it was a foregone conclusion that I would get the Chilaquiles ($11.75) at Solita. I have to say this was a pretty satisfying version of my favorite Mexican breakfast. I did add the carnitas at a $2.75 upcharge, but it was totally worth it. The fried tortilla chips were nice and firm like I like them, and I had the choice of green or red salsa, so I went with the red. Scrambled eggs, sliced avocado, cheese, and crema topped the chips. When this was sat in front of me I thought the serving size was a little on the small size, but it was a very filling plate. The pork was nice and tender, the wedges of avocado were fresh and creamy, and the red salsa gave this a little spark of heat which was appreciated. I got to choose a side item to go with this, and I went with the beans, which were a little too watery, but they ended up tasting fine.

Even though we did not plan on coming to Solita on this trip to the valley, it ended up being a pretty good brunch. We got in and out rather quickly, my chilaquiles were well above average, and we got to spend a little more time with our favorite cousins, Yvette, Steve, and Gaby. Service was efficient and friendly, just like we have come to expect from our trips to Solita in Huntington Beach. I'd like a little more variety to choose from with the brunch menu, and I think they would put out a killer brunch buffet. We will try to hit the brunch spots we were supposed to try on this trip the next time we are up this way. Of course, with Katie's family, it might not happen.

Out of five Vikings, (because the mascot for Valencia High School is Vick the Viking), five being best to zero being worst, Solita Tacos and Margaritas gets 3 Vikings.

For more information about Solita Tacos and Margaritas, head to their website here: https://www.solitatacos.com/

Going Back in Time at Antonio's

Antonio's Pizzeria

13619 Ventura Blvd. 

Sherman Oaks, CA 91423

When we drove up to Antonio's Pizzeria, I took one look at the green neon sign above and had a good feeling about this place. After walking inside this restaurant that is celebrating their 60th year in business, the good vibes continued to grow inside of me. We had just driven the two-hour trek up from Orange County and were ready for a good, sturdy Italian meal. Just being inside of Antonio's, a nostalgic feel washed over us, and we felt we were in for a real treat.

When I knew we were going to be up this way for a birthday party, I did quite a bit of research on where to eat on the way up to the valley. One of my favorite web resources for LA restaurants is Eater LA. They have many interactive restaurant maps, with many different genres. I have particularly become enamored with the 28 Classic LA Restaurants for 2017, which you should totally check out after finishing reading this review. I like this site because I'm not too familiar with all parts of Los Angeles, and it's easy to find restaurants near where we will be or driving by.

Antonio's was our pick on this trip, and man did they nail the old school feel of this place. Located on busy Ventura Boulevard, near its intersection with Woodman, Antonio's has been here since 1957. For the first year of its existence, it was known as Miceli's, but after a family rift, it has been known as Antonio's ever since. Antonio retired in 1988 and has been owned by siblings Steven and Alexandra Lunardon since then. They have made a few changes since then, mainly for their customer's tastes, but for the most part, this restaurant is just like the way it was when it opened 60 years ago. Their mantra is to keep things simple, real and tasty.

After finding the tiny parking lot in the back of the restaurant, we were lead to our small, red and white checkered clothed table in the corner of the restaurant. I was instantly charmed by the colorfully stained glass windows of Antonio's, the hanging Chianti bottles strewn around the dining room, and the charming murals depicting the Italian seaside lining the wall above our head. Antonio's really felt like a step back in time, but at present, we were pretty hungry, so let's see what we had in store for us at dinner.

With Katie's meal, she got her choice of soup or salad and went with this House Salad option. She was pretty excited by this dinner salad which included sliced cucumbers, kidney beans, garbanzos, a tomato wedge, beets, and mixed greens. The dressings are all made here, and she was impressed with their Italian dressing. Not a bad dinner salad at all.

Since we did not get an appetizer, I justified getting this Individual Sized One Topping Pizza ($10) to start off with. Yes, I did share some with Katie. At first, I was not in love with this pizza. It had something to do with the crust. It might have been a little too doughy for me, but as I ate it I kind of liked it more and more. They did not go overboard with the cheese, and the pepperoni was pretty solid. Not really as heavy of a pizza as I was expecting, maybe that's what threw me off at the start as well.

Part two of my dinner, and if you can not tell from the picture above, under all that sauce was the Lasagna ($15). The lasagna at Antonio's came highly recommended from the online reviews and our server. I liked it but was not in love with it. They have three kinds of lasagna here, chicken, veggie, and you all know I went with the beef selection. What threw this all out of whack for me was the sauce. It was a little too tangy for my taste and with the amount they poured over this it really overpowered the lasagna. I also like a more cheesy lasagna, and with all of that sauce, I did not notice too much cheese involved with this. Next time I'd definitely ask for light sauce, or maybe gets some bread or rolls to help sop up some of the sauce.

Last but not least was Katie's meal, the Chicken Romano ($20). This homey dish started with a boneless chicken breast as it base, which was blanketed with mozzarella cheese and surrounded with onions, celery, carrots, and mushrooms in a marinara-wine sauce. This was the best entree of the evening. Very comforting, almost like a stew. The chicken and veggies were nice and tender, and the sauce worked well with this. Again, some rolls or bread would have been appreciated for sopping up the excess sauce, but I dipped some of my pizza crust in it. This dinner also came with a side of spaghetti with meat sauce, which Katie picked at sparingly.

Okay, I think my expectations might have been a tad too high for Antonio's based on the nostalgia of this restaurant. It was good but did not knock my socks off. Of course, this is just based on one visit, and maybe if we had gotten other things, we might have liked Antonio's better. Service was good, and they really did make us feel welcome. I thought the prices were pretty fair for the amount of food that you get, and we saw lots of people taking leftovers home. Lots of old-school charm here, and worth a visit if you are in the neighborhood.

Out of five railroad cars, (because Sherman Oaks is named after Moses Sherman, who made big money in the railroad business), five being best to zero being worst, Antonio's Pizzeria gets 3 railroad cars.

For more information about Antonio's Pizzeria, head to their website here: https://www.antoniospizzeriala.com/