Legado Hoping to Create a Legacy for Themselves - CLOSED

Legado Bar + Kitchen

30065 Alicia Parkway

Laguna Niguel, CA 92677

There's not too much that I like about the holidays. Not to get too much bah humbug on ya, but my real job is in retail, and the holidays make people lose their minds. It's like they haven't bought butter all year long, and they just stare at it endlessly as other people are trying to get into the case.  The holidays also bring in people that have never been in a supermarket before. No, we don't have tennis balls, and why would a supermarket carry sporting goods? That's just one example, and I have much more I'm saving for my upcoming book that I plan to write after I retire.

Anyways, I bring this up because there are very few things that I enjoy about the holidays. There is a newish tradition of Katie and I go out with her parents a few days before Christmas that I really like. It's a time to reset before the craziness at work, and they let me pick the restaurant we are going to eat at. This has been going on for probably five years now, and for this years pick we went to a restaurant near her parent's house, Legado Bar + Kitchen.

Legado has been open since April of last year. This used to be a Pick Up Stix, but it's pretty unrecognizable from those days. Once you walk in the door there's a u-shaped bar, and behind that, there's a view of the happenings in the kitchen. The dining room is pretty narrow but comfortable enough. Table spacing was good, and you did not feel like you were eating right on top of other customers.

Before coming to Legado, I checked out their menu, and it kind of intrigued me, and with all the places I have eaten, that does not happen too often. Almost all of their menu allows you to pick a full or small-sized portion of your entree, pasta, salad, or starter. This is great for someone like me who is a big eater and can get two small entrees so I can try twice as much. I was also interested to see how they pull off such a varied menu. For a small restaurant, there's a lot to choose from. 16 appetizers, 8 pasta choices, 11 salad options, and 13 entrees. Let's see how our first Legado experience played out.

Up first is the small-sized Wedge Salad ($7). This was a pretty traditional version of a wedge. Iceberg lettuce, cherry tomatoes, red onion, crumbled bacon, and a liberal amount of blue cheese dressing was included on this. Katie's mom Lynn had no qualms with this wedge. She loved the freshness of the produce, the salty bits of bacon, and the tinge of flavor that the red onion provided. A winner in her book.

Katie's dad Dennis was also fond of this 3 Cheese Heirloom Stack ($9). The three kinds of cheese used in between the sliced tomatoes were gorgonzola, goat cheese, and fresh mozzarella. This stack was finished off with some red onions and a cabernet vinaigrette. Dennis praised the fresh tomatoes here, and also liked the uniqueness of this salad, with the use of the three kinds of cheese.  He'd get this one again.

I think Katie and her family think they are aspiring hand models or something, as they always manage to get a hand in the pictures. Not off the salad portion of the menu, was Katie's selection of the Ahi Tartare ($9). This starter had a lot going on with it. It was formed in a mini-tower, with layers of ahi, cubed mango, cucumbers, red onion, avocado, and a streak of a sweet Thai chili sauce across the plate. She really liked this starter, as the tuna was fresher than she imagined it would be, she liked the different layers and what they added as far as taste, but she was not really too big of a fan of the tuiles, the baked wafer that this came with. It was too sweet, and a bit awkward to go along with this appetizer.

Back to the salads, and of course, my choice this evening would be the Caesar Salad ($6). This might look like a pretty boring version of a Caesar, but it left me satisfied. It had good-sized pieces of shaved parmesan, crunchy croutons, and just the right amount of Caesar dressing. Nothing too crazy or out of the norm, but I enjoyed this and would order it again.

Not content with just a salad alone, I was the only one at the table to order an appetizer as well. There were plenty of options but I zeroed in on this House Made Meatball ($8). This 4-ounce meatball was made with ground beef and then is doused with marinara and some parmesan. Not bad, but nothing really made this stand out either. The meatball was not crazy tender or seasoned enough to make it stand out. The marinara was fine and I liked the inclusion of the shaved parm, but this meatball was nothing that got me too excited.

Entrees were up next and we'll start with the Pappardelle Carbonara ($11) that Katie got. I was surprised that the small-sized portion of this was as big as it was. It was the perfect size for Katie. This was a classic presentation of a carbonara; bacon, egg, and grated parmesan cheese topping the pappardelle noodles. Katie felt this was fine, but it lacked a pop of flavor and the egg was overcooked in this. She would get something else on her next visit to Legado.

Chicken Piccata ($12) is a favorite on menus across our county, and this was what Katie's mom went with on this evening. Not to ruin the rest of this review for you, but as far as the rest of the entrees went, she was the only one of the four of us that loved her entree. Again, this is the small-sized portion, which was a very large chicken breast with a lemon cream sauce and capers covering it. She found the chicken to be tender and was a big fan of the interaction between the lemon sauce and the capers. She might have found her go-to item at Legado on her first visit.

I've never really been a fan of Beef Stroganoff ($13),(too many experiences with my mom's lackluster version growing up, sorry mom), but Katie's dad is very fond of this comforting dish. The version here is served with pappardelle noodles, mushrooms, and cut up steak. I'm not sure what kind of steak they used in this, but it was not the most tender of beef. The sauce was okay according to Dennis, but it did not really overwhelm him as being the best stroganoff he has had.

I took advantage of the small-sized entrees at Legado, and ordered two different things, the first being this Homemade Meatloaf ($11). This meatloaf gets a lot of praise on Yelp, but this was overcooked and rather dry. The crust of the meatloaf was pretty tough to get through and the center parts were not much easier. The brown gravy did not add too much flavor and did little to moisten this up. The best part of this plate was the mashed potatoes, which were fine but nothing special. I used alternating forkfuls of the potatoes to help me finish off this disappointing meatloaf.

I was hoping for a better result with my second plate, the Short Rib ($15). It didn't happen. It's really a shame when a short rib is not tender and flavorful, and that was the case with the one on this evening at Legado. The beef was tough and the same gravy that was used on the meatloaf failed to give this an extra pop. The mashed potatoes were okay, but the best part of this plate was probably the crispy onions topping the bland short ribs. Beef might not be the thing to get here.

Dessert would be our last hurrah at Legado, and we tried two of their six house-made offerings. The better of the two was the Chef's Bread Pudding ($10). Bread pudding is a tricky dessert, as a lot of them are either too moist or to dry. This one was just right. It kind of reminded me of the cinnamon roll that I love at the OC Fair. A nice crust and softer inside. I was sad that Katie's mom had picked this, as I would have abandoned my selection, the Peanut Butter Mousse ($7) for it. The mousse was heavier than it should have been and the peanut butter flavor kind of got tiresome after a few bites. Maybe a drizzle of chocolate would have helped keep me interested in this dessert.

Our visit to Legado started out promising, but after the salads, the meal went downhill fast. Maybe they were having an off night, but the entrees that we got were nothing above average, and not anything that we are excited to return for. I liked the variety of the menu and the fact that you have the option to pick your entree size, I just wish the execution was better. Service was spot on this evening, even with a pretty full house. Our food came out in a timely manner and our server could not have been nicer. Even though Legado failed to impress it did not damper one of the few traditions that I enjoy about the holidays.

Out of five masks, (because there used to be an annual professional wrestling event in Mexico called Legado, and many of the wrestlers participating wore masks), five being best to zero being worst, Legado Kitchen + Bar get 2 masks.

For more information about Legado Bar + Kitchen, head to their website here: https://www.legadobarandkitchen.com/

A Reader's Tip Brings Us to Antonio's

Antonio's Mexican Food

5771 La Palma Ave. 

Anaheim, CA 92807

I'm not usually this fast at getting around to readers tips. For the most part, people will give me a restaurant suggestion, and then I put it on my restaurant wish list. It usually sits there until we are in the area of the restaurant, and then we end up visiting. John from Twitter had told me that I must give Antonio's in Anaheim a try.

That tweet was from December 1st, and I found myself at Antonio's six days later. It just so happened that I had a dentist appointment nearby, and after a trip to the dentist, I definitely felt like I should reward myself with some Mexican food. I called my sister and had her meet me at Antonio's, which is located in the same shopping center as a Marie Callender's, Carl's Jr., and a Wholesome Choice at the corner of Imperial Highway and La Palma Avenue.

John had given me a little info on his favorite Mexican restaurant. It was run by two brothers, Mario and Eddie, and the rest of the family pitches in and works there as well. He also said that it's a very local place, as they know almost everyone that walks in the door. I was definitely intrigued.

We got to Antonio's just before noon on a Wednesday. John wasn't kidding, this place is small but cozy. If you are getting your food for here, take a seat at one of the ten or so tables and they'll take your order there. The menu is pretty basic, with combo plates, burritos, a few seafood items, and tostadas. Make sure to check out their white erase board for additional specials and offerings. Prices are pretty inexpensive, as only a few items reach the double-digit mark, and most of those are the seafood options. 

Since I was running a little late, my sister had ordered a side of Guacamole ($3.89) to go along with the Chips and Salsa. The guacamole was very fresh and had a good flavor to it. I thought the serving size for the small was very generous. The chips and salsa were okay. The salsa was a little too thin for my taste. I like a little more chunk to my salsa. It did have the tiniest of spice kicks to it, which was appreciated. The chips were pretty average.

My sister had wanted just an enchilada and taco ala carte, but it ended up being cheaper getting this Cheese Enchilada and Carne Asada Taco Combination ($7.49). She was pretty excited by this meal. She really liked the cheesiness of the enchilada and the mellow enchilada sauce that they use here. The carne asada at Antonio's is pretty solid, and a lot of it was included in her taco. I liked that they were pretty heavy handed with the cilantro and onions on this, and they chop their beef into very little pieces. I did not try the beans or rice, but no complaints from my sister.

I was hungry after skipping breakfast because of my dentist appointment, so I ordered both a Carnitas Burrito Supreme ($7.49) and a small order of their Asada Fries ($7.99). This ended up being quite a bit of food. The burrito supreme comes with your choice of meats, beans, and cheese on the inside, and then is topped with sour cream and guacamole. The burrito was okay. Not too much pork inside of it, and I think they forgot to add the cheese. It basically ended up being a bean burrito with sour cream and guacamole on top. The asada fries looked really pretty on the plate, but they kind of fell flat. The asada was good, but the rest of the plate kind of suffered. The fries came out lukewarm at best, there was not enough cheese, and the cheese that was on here melted onto the paper plate. I ended up leaving almost half of this.

Antonio's ended up being fine, but I did not really think it was anything above average. It's a decent choice if you are in the neighborhood and craving Mexican food. John wasn't kidding when he mentioned that these are some really nice people that run this place. They really made us feel welcome from the start. Prices seemed more than fair and the portion sizes were generous. I'm glad we could get to John's suggestion quickly, and look forward to going to more readers restaurant picks this year.

Out of five footballs, (because Antonio Brwon lead my fantasy football team to a solid third-place finish this year, and in honor of the football playoffs starting this week), five being best to zero being worst, Antonio's Mexican Food gets 2.5 footballs.

Antonio's does not have a website, but you can find more information about them on their Yelp page here: https://www.yelp.com/biz/antonios-mexican-food-anaheim

Open to the Public - CLOSED

Public House by Evans Brewing

7511 Edinger Ave. 

Huntington Beach, CA 92647

If there's one trend that has endured through the eight-plus years I've been writing this blog, it's that craft and small-batch beers are still as popular as ever. There used to be a time when it just used to be the big boys, Coors, Budweiser, and if you looked way down at the end of the beer list you might even spy an MGD. Those days are long gone, and almost everyone would say for the better. Now, craft and small-batch beer rule the grocery aisles and the tap handles of almost all the restaurant bars we run across.

I did not know this walking in, but Evans Brewing Company is the oldest brewery in OC. They have quite a colorful history too. Started in 1994 as Orange County Brewing Company, they began brewing beer at the McCormick and Schick's restaurant in Irvine. A quick name change to Bayhawk Ales and they began brewing beer for a number of restaurants, but all under those restaurants names. Evan and Mike Rapport took over the business in 2013 and rebranded as the current Evans Brewing Company. A fire at the brewery in 2014 halted production, but the boys at Evans Brewing Company came back stronger with a reorganization of the brewing process and improved equipment. In 2016 they opened their first tasting room and restaurant in Downtown Fullerton, and now they have opened up their second at the always busy Bella Terra Shopping Complex in Huntington Beach.

We were recently invited by Evans Brewing Company to have our first experience at Public House. I brought along my friend Angel, who is way more into beer than I am. I was very excited to give a good majority of their food menu a try. We lucked out as the freeways were holiday light, so it took no time to make it to Huntington Beach. Public House is located right off of Edinger, right by Corner Bakery, Pei Wei, and sharing a common wall with Luna Grill. This used to be a Spin Pizza, but of course, there are far too many build your own pizza concepts out there, and they decided to focus on their Midwest restaurants.

Back to Public House. They opened in mid-December, and when we arrived on a recent Thursday night at 6 pm they were pretty packed. The restaurant is pretty good-sized, with a good amount of tables, an outdoor patio for when the weather is a bit warmer, and at the center of the space is a u-shaped bar, with excellent views of not only the bartenders in action but of a large bank of TVs, so you won't miss a moment of your favorite teams. I was not here to watch TV though, so let's see what Public House has to offer.

As soon as we sat down we were asked what we wanted to drink. A quick glance at the beer and beer cocktail menu yielded these first of two beverages for Angel and me. Angel gravitated toward their award-winning beer lineup and ended up being very impressed with the Stout At the Devil ($6). Angel thought this was a very substantial Russian imperial stout, and one that he could imagine himself enjoying more than one of, but at ten percent ABV and drive home in an hour or so he decided to be responsible and only have this one. Since I'm not really too much of a beer guy, I veered to the beer cocktail menu, and this Dandy Shandy ($10). This cocktail uses vodka and triple sec as a base, along with lemon juice, simple syrup, blackberries, and the wildly popular Pollen Nation honey blonde ale from Evans Brewing Company. This beverage kind of surprised me. I thought it was going to be a lot sweeter than it was, but the honey ale really came through in spades and mellowed out the sugary aspect of this cocktail. I'd probably get another beer cocktail the next time I'm here, as the rum-based Sail Away With Me has piqued my interest.

Appetizers were first up for us, and we started things out with this Hummus and Dips Board ($13). This was not something I was expecting to have liked as much as I did at Public House. The hummus here was really smooth and good, I liked the tomato jam that came with this, but what made this for me was the warm toasted bread used as a vessel for the dips. It was a nice deviation from the usual pita or hard crostinis that most restaurants would use for this starter. Very nicely done.

I never order ceviche out, and after having this one at Public House I should really change that. This Coastal Ceviche ($18) uses citrus-cured fish along with an interesting gooseberry pico de gallo, cubed avocado, and is then finished up with some cilantro. I'm not sure what kind of fish they use for this, but it was very fresh and the citrus flavor was very pleasing. A little more avocado would have made this even better.

Probably the most photogenic of everything we ate on this night was this Duck Confit Poutine ($12). It got an auditory gasp when it was placed in front of Angel and myself. Herbed fries are topped with some crispy duck, a sage gravy, and some Mahon cheese. Not true poutine of course, but very satisfying. The richness of the duck and cheese burst through, and the fries were nice and crisp. I had wished for a little more gravy on this, and maybe having it layered a bit better, as when we got past the top layer of this we were only left with fries.

I realized that after these Moule's Public ($18) had come to the table, not everyone was as excited to see them as I was. I had a stack of shells on my plate, and everyone else had only one or two. At Public House, they use local black mussels, some very solid Spanish chorizo, dried tomatoes, and Evans Hefeweizen to make this dish. I loved the sauce with this, and the use of the chorizo was wonderful. Sure a few of the mussels were a little gritty, but the combination of everything here made this a winner for me.

Salads snuck their way to our table next. Angel and I had a difference of opinion as to which one of these we liked more. He favored the Kale and Beet Salad ($10). Baby kale, roasted beets, croutons, fennel, citrus slices, candied walnuts, and a chia seed dressing had Angel raving about the freshness of the produce on this and his love for beets. I preferred the Chicory Salad ($10) with its exotic mix of greenery; endive, radicchio, frisee, mustard greens, and the addition of pears, dried cherries, squash, candied pecans, ricotta, and a pear cider vinaigrette. I'm usually not fond of salads that also include fruit, but this one worked. I liked the different textures working together, and the dressing was not too tangy. I definitely could see myself ordering this one on my next visit.

There are four pizzas on the menu at Public House and we got to try two of them. The Pesto Pie ($10) was the better of the two, with some roasted garlic, pepper flakes, tomatoes, and mozzarella. Simple, and not trying to do too much. I felt the Fall Chicken Flatbread ($12) was kind of too busy. A squash puree for the sauce and then topped with caramelized onions, kale, pomegranate seeds, gouda, and parmesan cheese. The pomegranate seeds really overpowered here and were kind of awkward on this pizza. Surprisingly, my archnemesis kale melded in well with this flatbread, but some extra chicken spread out on this would have been appreciated.

Much more to my liking than my beer cocktail was this Son of a Beach Blonde Ale ($6). This is the lightest beer on their menu, and it was still flavorful and went down real smooth. I could see myself ordering a whole bunch of these while sitting out on their patio when the warmer weather rolls around.

As we moved to the entree portion of the menu some more substantial food hit our table, including this Evans Signature Burger ($13). It was cut into fourths for us all to share since we had all slowed down a bit after eating so much this evening. For their patty, they use blended ribeye, brisket, and short rib and it was cooked to a wonderful medium rare. It was a nice tasting burger on its own, but then they topped it with cheddar cheese, coleslaw, caramelized onions, pickles, and thousand island dressing. I would have liked a heavier hand with the condiments on my segment of this burger, but I would have no problem having this, or maybe trying their Nashville  Hot Chicken Sandwich on my next visit to Public House. Like most of the food community, I'm a sucker for hot chicken all of a sudden.

With an assist from my hand model Angel on this evening, here's a shot of the Grilled Black Angus Flat Iron Steak ($22). This medium rare steak came garnished with a chimichurri sauce, pickled red onions, and some fingerling potatoes. The steak was tender, but the piece I had did not have enough chimichurri sauce on it and was left a little underseasoned. I liked the inclusion of pickled red onion and the tender little potatoes. Don't think about quitting your day job and becoming a hand model Angel. Ain't gonna happen.

Even though we were all getting pretty full by this point, this salmon drew raves. The Skuna Bay Salmon ($24) was a pretty generous piece and came perched on top of Israeli couscous, pickled radish, cucumber, and an unusual spinach soubise. The salmon was flaky and delicious, and the couscous was done right. I liked the spinach soubise but would have liked a little more to be included on the salmon. A nice big plate for lighter eaters.

The last of the entrees and the chef probably brought this one out last as the grand finale because it was visually stunning. The Pollen Nation Braised Pork Shank ($24) was so tender it fell apart before our fork even touched it. Very warming and comforting dish. It had a roast quality to it, which was made even more so with the barley pilaf, pistachios, cranberries, and squash surrounding it. A very nice end to the savory part of our evening.

A trio of desserts would end our time at Public House. The best of the bunch ended up being the Chef's Choice Bread Pudding ($8) which just happened to be a roasted pear version this evening. The bread pudding was neither too mushy or too dry, which I find is very rare when getting bread pudding elsewhere. Both Angel and I loved the ice cream used here, which kind of had a butter pecan feel to it, without the nuts. Angel was quick to box up the rest of the Cheesecake ($8) so his way better half, Rebekah could enjoy it as much as he did. I was more fond of the Chocolate Budino ($6) which reminded me of a richer and more creamy version of the chocolate pudding my mom would make when we were kids. It was a good tradeoff since I'm not much of a cheesecake person.

I was pretty impressed with our visit to Public House, especially when you consider they just opened a couple weeks ago, and it usually takes about two months for new restaurants to really hit their stride. Restaurants that are beer-focused also usually do not put much thought into their food, but I did not find that to be the case here. Yes, they took some risks, some that did misfire a bit, but the effort is apparent and was much appreciated by myself and a good portion of the media in attendance on this evening. The menu is diverse enough to appease all the diners in your party, and the prices are not going to overwhelm you at Public House, as only a couple items are listed over the $20 mark. I was also fond of how the chef tried to incorporate Evans beer into most of the dishes. Speaking of the beers, after having them it's easy to see why craft beer is still as popular today as it was in the early part of this decade, and why craft beer is not a fad that's going away anytime soon.

We'd like to thank everyone at Public House for the wonderful opportunity to see what they are all about. The servers, food runners, and bussers were all very committed to making sure we had our every need met, and did a great job of keeping tabs on all of us. I'd also like to thank Lindsey Mee of Blaze PR for thinking of inviting us to this fantastic event and coordinating the whole thing. It was great seeing you again Lindsey.

For more information about the Public House by Evans Brewing, head to their website here: http://www.evansbrewco.com/pub/#thebrewery-1

Best Restaurants of the Year 2017

It seems that New Years comes around quicker now. I never really believed my older family members when they used to tell me that time moves faster as you grow older. Now I know the truth. So here I am, another year is coming to an end, and I am naturally thinking back over all of the meals we had in 2017.

There were very few that I would deem awful dining experiences. We only ate at two restaurants that I rated as below average, Famous Dave's BBQ and Javier's at the Irvine Spectrum. Talk about some awful BBQ and tasteless Mexican food.

Anyways let's look on the positive side. Out of the 77 restaurants, we dined at this year, 21 of them got a very respectable rating of 3.5 or higher. I had wanted to try to make 100 restaurants this year, but of course, a more steady workload at my job helped to prevent that. Thanks, job!  Hopefully, 2018 will be the year that we have more opportunity to venture out and try more restaurants, and finally make a dent in our ever-growing restaurant wishlist.

Before I get to the top 10 restaurants for this year, some thanks need to be spread around. I would first like to thank those of you reading this restaurant blog, which started over eight years ago. I love eating out, writing these reviews, and sharing my newest food finds with all of you. So without you, I probably would have stopped writing long ago, like so many of the other blogs I used to read back when I started. I appreciate all of the questions, comments, recommendations, criticisms, and even the irate emails that people send me telling me that I don't know anything about restaurants or food.

I also have to thank my friends and family, many who long ago stopped reading the drivel I have written on this blog, but have continued to support me by going out to some pretty shady looking restaurants with me, and didn't complain too much when things are not that great. I appreciate your company and experiencing these places with all of you. I look forward to more food adventures with all of you in the coming year.

As is the case with all of my year-end posts, I would like to save the last thank you to the person that means the most to me on this entire earth, my beautiful wife Katie. She has been my biggest supporter since day one and is always ready to go out and explore the next great restaurant in OC with me. She is not only my partner with this blog, but also my partner in life, and I could not ask for a better one. Here's to many more years and restaurant experiences together.

Now without further ado, here are our top 10 restaurants that we had the pleasure of eating at this year, starting with number ten and working our way to the best of the bunch at number one. Happiest of new years to all of you, and may this be the most delicious year yet for you.

#10 Cassano's - San Clemente

We were pretty excited to find this local, family-run Italian spot that had a couple of out of the ordinary pizzas, a solid meatball sandwich, and other Italian-American favorites. Just the kind of place we wished was in our neighborhood.

#9 Crack Shack - Costa Mesa

I feel that OC hit the restaurant lottery when celebrity chef Richard Blais and his business partner decided to convert an old Chase Bank into another location of their critically acclaimed San Diego all day chicken and egg restaurant concept. The chicken sandwiches are great but don't sleep on the fries, some of the best I had in 2017.

#8 Burritos La Palma - Santa Ana

After all the mentions of this place in the OC Weekly, I had to give them a try. The hype is real. Definitely the best tortillas you will find in OC, but I kind of fell in love with their Torta also. This Zacatecas restaurant is a refreshing change from the usual Mexican joints you are used to. We will be back for sure in 2018.

#7 Urbana - Anaheim

The parking and crowds at the Anaheim Packing House haven't really gotten any better, and some of the reason for that is probably due to Urbana. Gourmet taco places are still popping up in OC, but the best of the bunch are the ones here. Yes, five dollars a taco are a bit much, but these are special tacos that look almost like works of art but are way more delicious than what you'd imagine the Mona Lisa to taste like.

#6 Burnt Crumbs - Irvine

The Spaghetti Grilled Cheese sandwich got them on the map, and it is delicious, but the rest of the menu needs to be explored as well. I loved the Crispy Pork Sandwich and their burger and fries are also very solid. Not just Instagram-worthy food, it's good as well.

#5 Tio Flaco's - Fountain Valley

A basic menu, cooking their proteins over wood, and some excellent tortillas and salsas had me loving this little restaurant that I think used to be a Wienerschnitzel in a former life.  If I had an uncle that made tacos like these, I would never leave his house. Good and simple, the owners wanted to recreate the tacos they had in Tijuana, and they have achieved their goal.

#4 Paderia Bakehouse - Fountain Valley

The same day we hit Tio Flaco's we also made it to Paderia. You can safely say it was the best food day we had in 2017. The cookies here are what dreams are made of, and blow any other cookie you have had away. Sure it's a challenge getting here before they run out, but you will be happy once you get their cookies home. I'm still trying to find reasons to do some of my errands in Fountain Valley just so I have a reason to stop by.

#3 Sabroso! - Anaheim

You know you've hit restaurant gold when you aren't really hungry when you go to a place, and you are blown away by the food and can't stop eating. That happened to me here. Restaurants that have been on TV are sometimes hit or miss, but the Chili Verde and the tamales at Sabroso! made this visit feel like a home run. One of the best Mexican restaurants we've been to during the run of this blog.

#2 Hendrix - Laguna Niguel

From the team that has given us Driftwood Kitchen and The Deck in Laguna, they have their biggest hit to date with the opening of this Laguna Niguel eatery. Rotisserie is the star of the show at Hendrix, and whether you get their lamb, chicken, or pork you will leave happy and satisfied. Starters and sides are not to be missed either.

#1 Old Vine Cafe - Costa Mesa

It takes a lot of originality to make breakfast stand out, and Chef Mark McDonald has done just that at his restaurant at The Camp for over 10 years now. Old Vine has notoriously long waits for brunch, with innovative breakfast dishes like the Reuben Omelette, Rabbit Mole, Baked Caramel Apple French Toast and my favorite item, the Open Faced, which is an omelet with a biscuit inside of it and a chipotle gravy that will have you licking your plate clean, the wait times are not going to diminish any time soon. Impressive, and the reason Old Vine is our restaurant of the year for 2017.

Thanks again for taking the time to read this restaurant blog, and I look forward t seeing what restaurants and what is in store for all of us in 2018.

Not Such a Hidden Secret in Vegas

Secret Pizza

3708 South Las Vegas Blvd. 

Las Vegas, NV 89109

So my trip to Vegas was kind of a bummer. Of course, I had no luck gambling, but I pretty much knew that was going to be the case even before getting on the plane. There were a string of other mishaps as well. I had left my drivers license at the Monte Carlo when we were checking in, I forgot my camera when we stopped to play some slot machines at the Cosmopolitan, and when I went back for it security had it, but they wouldn't release it to me because I did not have my ID. Running late for the hockey game we were in town for, I knew I'd have to make a return trip to the Cosmo to retrieve my camera after the game. So I turned this unfortunate set of events into an opportunity to try a spot I had heard so much about, Secret Pizza.

Secret Pizza is not really too much of a secret anymore. They are the fifth most reviewed restaurant in all of Las Vegas closing in on 4,000 Yelp reviews and a very respectable 4-star rating. When they opened back in 2010 half the fun of this restaurant was trying to find it. There's no sign, there's no mention of it in any directory at the Cosmopolitan, and their website does not even mention it. You pretty much had to know where to look, or just happen to stumble upon it.

Now that they've been open for seven-plus years now, I don't feel bad about letting you know where Secret Pizza is located. When you're at the shops at the Cosmo, take the escalator to the third floor. Once you are there you will be facing Jaleo, which is the tapas restaurant run by Jose Andres. Go to the left and you will see the long hallway in the picture above with album covers adorning the walls and ceiling.  Walk down this hallway and you are there.

Katie and I got here at just before 11 pm on a Tuesday night, and there was a very steady stream of customers. The line moved along at a decent clip. Many people have said it and it's true, this is reminiscent of a New York pizza joint. The pizzas are already made behind the glass and just waiting to be heated up. There's a guy that is making other pizzas to replenish the ones that are being sold. There's also very limited seating here. They have about 5 seats and a very small counter space for people that want to eat standing up.

The menu is also pretty compact. They offer pizza by the slice, or you can order a whole pizza. There are two kinds of pizza here, traditional thin crust and the heftier Sicilian style. So we did not have to wait we selected the pizzas that were ready to be heated up and got our slices in less than three minutes. Since there was no seating, we made our way back down the hallway and sat out front on the comfy couch. Let's see if Secret Pizza is worth all this hype.

Thin crust is synonymous with New York style pizza and that's what Katie tried here for our little late night snack. This Slice ($5.50) was not as big as the ones you can get in the Big Apple, but it turned out to be a pretty tasty slice. There was just the right amount of cheese, but a few extra pieces of sausage would have been appreciated. The sauce here was okay, but it needed to pop more with flavor, it was kind of boring. I was pretty impressed with the lack of grease that came off of this slice. Good quality cheese I guess.

I was intrigued by the Sicilian Slice ($8) that I spied behind the glass. This square slice had both sausage and pepperoni nestled on top of it, with a good amount of cheese. The crust on this one was, of course, thicker, but did a good job of maintaining its integrity. It was not too doughy like a lot of Sicilian pizza crusts tend to be. Some extra toppings added to this would have made this even better, and the sausage came off all in one bite. Still good though.

Secret Pizza was a pretty good find, once you discover where it is. I'm not going to kid you and tell you this is better than any pizza I have had in NYC, but I'd say it is one of the best ones I have had on the Strip in Vegas, not that pizza is all too common in too many of the casinos. The prices are a little out of whack here, but it's Vegas, so bargains are hard to come by. I wouldn't splurge and pay $8 for a Sicilian slice again, but if I was at the Cosmo and wanted a snack, I'd definitely come back to Secret Pizza. With all of the minor hiccups I had on this trip, along with a loss by my beloved Ducks at the hands of the Vegas Knights, Secret Pizza was a definite bright spot on this short trip to the desert. 

Out of five magazines, (because even though this hotel has been around for 7 years, when I hear the name Cosmo it still brings to mind the magazine first), five being best to zero being worst, Secret Pizza gets 3 magazines.

Of course, there is not a website for this place so you can get plenty of information about Secret Pizza by visiting their Yelp page here: https://www.yelp.com/biz/secret-pizza-las-vegas

Wahlburgers Misses the Mark

Wahlburgers

3635 S. Las Vegas Blvd. 

Las Vegas, NV 89109

For those of you that are not big hockey fans, Las Vegas now has its own hockey team. This is the first year that the Vegas Knights are playing, so it made sense that since we are big hockey fans we wanted to see our Ducks play their first game in Las Vegas. Once the hockey schedule came out, we made our plane and hotel reservations, bought the game tickets, and then set about trying to decide where to eat on this short one-day trip to the desert. My mom was very passionate about where she wanted to eat, so after our short plane ride and dropping our bags off at the hotel, we headed to Wahlburgers.

I did not know it until talking to my mom, but there's a reality show based on this restaurant and also the family that runs it, the Wahlbergs. Yes, the same Wahlberg's as in the singer and acting Mark, Donnie, and their Chef brother Paul. My mom is crazy for this show, and from what I can gather has watched all eight seasons with more on the way. Paul has an Italian restaurant, Alma Nove, in Hingham, which is just outside the Boston area. The first Wahlburgers is located nearby his original restaurant and is the one that is mainly featured on the A&E TV show.

Wahlburgers has blossomed into a pretty big chain. They operate restaurants in 14 states and also have an international location in Toronto. Their Las Vegas spot has been opened for a year and a half now and is situated at the Grand Bazaar Shops in front of Bally's on the Strip, right across from the Fountains at the Bellagio. Some people online have claimed that it's hard finding this restaurant, but just key in on the large green Wahlburgers sign and you can't miss it.

We arrived here just after 1:30 on a recent Tuesday afternoon. Walking from the Bellagio, I noticed that Vegas was pretty empty compared to our other visits to this desert paradise. Wahlburgers was much the same, as we got a seat right away, and only about half the tables were occupied during our stay. The restaurant was not as big as I was expecting, but with the cooler weather they had their large roll-up doors closed to the patio, so it may appear to be larger when the patio is being used. The restaurant is dominated by green, grey, and black painted walls, a large picture of the Wahlbergs that my mom could not help but pose in front of, posters of the Wahlbergs' movies and TV shows, and a bar that sits in front and center taking up most of the restaurant.

Predictably the menu here is burger driven, but they do have a few other options for people not wanting a burger. There are sandwiches, salads, and even a Sloppy Joe available. Of course, the big draw here is the burgers, and they have 7 to choose from, ranging in price from $10 to $15. I did some research before coming here and knew what I wanted before walking in the door, so let's see how everything worked out for us on this visit.

Burgers come solo at Wahlburgers, so some sides were definitely in order. Our waiter claimed that the kitchen is not a fan of splitting sides, but he said he would talk to them about it. It kind of sounded like something he has said numerous times to other guests, but it did allow us to try all four of their side items. The best of the bunch was the Tater Tots and Sweet Potato Tots ($4.25). They were crisp on the outside, and fluffy on the inside, just like a tater tot should be. They could have come to the table warmer, but still good even though I'm not really a big fan of sweet potatoes. The Thin Crispy Onion Rings were decent, but again there were temperature issues. The worst of the bunch were the fries, which were obviously frozen and needed to be seasoned to wake up these bland and lukewarm fries. The sauces at Wahlburgers did nothing to really help the fries out either. The ranch dressing was straight from the bottle, and even though the Wahl sauce, a cross between thousand island dressing and Sriracha, added a little flavor it could not save the fries from being anything but mediocre.

My mom is a pretty basic burger eater, so it was no surprise when she ordered this Our Burger ($9.95). This burger comes with the standard lettuce, tomato, and onion, and also includes their Wahl sauce and house-made pickles. This 5-ounce burger was the perfect size for my mom, who is not a real big eater. She seemed to like her burger but said that she has had better.

Both Katie and my dad got the same thing, which helps me by lessening my writing, which we can all probably agree is a great thing. This O.F.D. Burger ($12.95) would have been my second choice, but I left it to the two of them. OFD stands for, Originally from Dorchester, the Boston neighborhood where the Wahlbergs grew up. This one has bacon, Swiss cheese, sauteed mushrooms, and a tomato jam included between its buns. This was a half-pound burger, which my light-eating father had a hard time finishing. Katie thought this burger was a mess, as it was too juicy and fell apart easily. She also thought it was kind of bland.

The BBQ Bacon Burger ($12.95) was listed as Donnie's favorite burger, and I had high hopes for it after ordering it. I was let down after my first couple of bites. I figured with the bacon, jalapenos, white cheddar, and avocado spread on this it would have popped with flavor. Not the case. It was average, but the avocado spread and jalapenos had no flavor to them, and if I did not see them on my burger I wouldn't have even known they were there. The burger patty needed to be seasoned a bit, and the bright spot for this burger was probably the bun, which did keep its integrity the whole time it was around. Who eats a burger for the bun though? Donnie Wahlberg must like boring burgers if this is his favorite.

Even my mom who was very excited to eat here had to admit that Wahlburgers is a place that she would probably not want to return to. She still loves the show, but the restaurant was very average, and that's being kind. It really had the feel of a tourist trap to me, with the constant upselling by our server, the woman who took our pictures and sold them to us after our meal, and the outrageous $5 ice teas in the cups that you can take with you, but who wants to walk around with Wahlburgers cups on the strip?  In a city where almost every hotel has a gourmet/celebrity burger restaurant in it, Wahlburgers really needs to step up their game as something better than what you can get at your neighborhood Chili's. The reality show apparently brings the people in, but the boring burgers and frozen fries will not get a lot of them to return.

Out of five hockey pucks, (because we were in Vegas for the Ducks' first game here), five being best to zero being worst, Wahlburgers gets 2 hockey pucks.

For more information about Wahlburgers, head to their website here: https://wahlburgers.com/