Breaking Bread at Bosscat's Brunch

Bosscat Kitchen and Libations

4647 MacArthur Blvd. 

Newport Beach, CA 92660

It's hard to believe that it had been nearly three and a half years since we had visited Bosscat Kitchen and Libations. We had a very solid dinner here, and I have been seeing a lot of shenanigans online about their Sunday brunch over the last few years. The food and the atmosphere I saw in their Instagram posts really intrigued me, so when Angel and Rebekah tasked me with finding a brunch spot for the four of us, it was an easy decision to head to Bosscat Kitchen.

There was one problem. I had waited until Wednesday to make brunch reservations and was told that there were no reservations available, but we were welcome to wait in line and be seated when a table became available. No problem, Katie and I got here extra early and waited in line with about sixty to seventy-five others who failed to plan ahead, like myself. When the doors opened at 11, both the reservation line and the standby line got seated rather quickly. We were told that we had to finish our meal in an hour and a half, which would be no problem since we did not want to hang out with Angel any longer than that.

Bosscat Kitchen is situated a stone's throw away from John Wayne Airport and shares a wall with Ten Asian Bistro on MacArthur. They have been open for four years, and in that time they have won rave reviews for their pork belly poutine, red velvet churros, and their brunch. This is not your typical quiet, sleepy brunch restaurant. It's a young, hip spot, with a DJ spinning a wide array of tunes on the corner of the patio, mimosas and bloody mary's flowing on just about every table, and over the top menu items, many of which bring to mind the fair food that you'd see at the nearby OC Fair in mid July.

Bosscat Kitchen is helmed by executive chef Peter Petro who has been here since the start, which is kind of rare to see in these days of musical chefs. Business must be good for the owners of Bosscat. Not only do they have a line of sixty people waiting out front for a table for brunch a half hour before they open, but they also have a location that opened last year in Houston, and another restaurant concept which debuted earlier last month, also in the Houston area. Since we only had an hour and a half to eat before our table would be turned over to the next party with reservations, let's take a look at what we ate here on this Sunday morning.

See what I was saying about not your typical brunch? Katie and I started with The King ($15). This Elvis inspired breakfast dish had blue suede pancakes as its base, which was really just pancakes that were dyed blue, a maple peanut butter sauce, a few pieces of crumbled bacon, and a banana cream pudding? As you can see from the picture above, I think they forgot to add the banana pudding, which would have helped this out a lot. The maple peanut sauce was very good, but they really skimped out on the crumbled bacon, which is not the way this dish is presented in the numerous pictures on Yelp. Without the banana pudding, lack of bacon, and a blue dye that surprised us later, this was kind of a lackluster start to our brunch. 

Angel and Rebekah did not want to be outdone by Katie and me, so they also started with a sweet option to start off their brunch session, the "Fruity Pebbles" French Toast ($14). Again, this one kind of left us underwhelmed. The french toast was done nicely, but there was not nearly enough of the condensed milk glaze or bacon that the menu promised. Without these, this was just a photo op showcasing the Fruity Pebbles on french toast. Disappointing, and again, nothing like the other pictures you see on their Yelp page. 

I cringed a bit when Angel ordered this Crawfish Queso and Eggs ($15) as his brunch entree. I thought there was no way that this could deliver a great crawfish experience, but I was wrong. This skillet was packed with delicious crawfish, plenty of crunchy Fritos, a lick your plate clean Hatch chili sauce, and sunny side up eggs to tie everything together. It would be hard for me not to get this on my next trip to Bosscat. I loved the different textural components of this, and the flavors were amazing. Great choice Angel.

This is another one straight from the fairgrounds, the Sticky Bun Breakfast Burger ($16). I really had no intention of getting this until I was looking at their Instagram feed before leaving the house, and the burger looked so good. Yes, that is burger patty topped with Canadian bacon, Gruyere cheese, and a duck fat fried egg, sandwiched between a sliced in half sticky bun. Just for good measure, I also added the optional scoop of vanilla ice cream to finish this off. There was a lot going on here. After taking these pictures I moved the ice cream off to the side to eat for later. The sticky bun was very good, reminded me of the ones I get from the fair, and did a better job than I imagined it would of keeping everything together on this burger. The fried egg was a little overcooked and did not feature very much of the runny yolk that I would have liked on this. The burger portion of this was pretty solid, so I'd probably just opt for their Bosscat burger the next time I'm here.

Rebekah went with a more traditional breakfast option at Bosscat, this Chorizo and Potato Benedict ($13). This skillet started with a milk biscuit as its foundation and then built upwards with a slow cooked egg, potatoes, chorizo, and a topping of fried chicken hollandaise sauce. I liked the contrast between the crispy potatoes, the airy biscuits, and the bringing it all together of the hollandaise sauce. The chorizo was kind of secondary here, but this was still a winning dish.

I really enjoyed the couple of bites that Katie allowed me to have of her breakfast entree, the Short Rib Chilaquiles ($15). This skillet was brimming with deliciousness. Plenty of tender shredded short rib, tortilla chips, a duck fat fried egg, avocado, cheese, and sour cream were melded together with a very delicious red sauce, which Katie felt was very spicy, and I found it to be just right. She's got a pretty low tolerance for spice. A nap-inducing meal that left us both very satisfied, and was one of the better chilaquiles we have had in some time.  

Okay, there were some misses on this visit to Bosscat, but I still really enjoyed our time here. The sweet items were the ones that we had the most problems with, but the savory stuff more than made up for the lackluster french toast and pancakes. I'd have a hard time picking between the crawfish dish and the chilaquiles on my next visit here, but I do have my eye on the chicken fried steak and the loco moco as well. Angel was a little put off by the crowd here, but I liked the young, exuberant customers on this particular early afternoon. Everyone seemed to be having a great time and making the most of their Sunday-Funday. As was the case when we ate here for dinner three years ago, the service on this visit was fantastic. Our server Danielle could not have been better, and she even offered to move us to another spot if we were not done with our meal before our hour and a half time limit. Very nice people here, and we will make this one of our frequent brunch spots. 

Out of five rockets, (in honor of the new Bosscat Kitchen in the city of Houston, which has one official nickname, Space City, and of course you have to explore space in a rocket), five being best to zero being worst, Bosscat Kitchen and Libations gets 3 rockets.

For more information about Bosscat Kitchen, head to their website here: https://www.bosscatkitchen.com/

Chocolate Chip Cookie Quest Continues - CLOSED

Portola Coffee Roasters/ Mr. Holmes Bakehouse

2493 Park Avenue

Tustin, CA 92782

I'm not anything close to a coffee drinker. My wife Katie drinks enough coffee for both of us. In fact, that's an understatement. She drinks enough coffee for about ten people. Her caffeine addiction is so bad that when she goes through the drive-thru at any of our local Starbucks, they know her name and order just by her saying good morning through the speaker. Yes, she's a little obsessed with coffee.

Katie is also a big fan of Portola Coffee Roasters, and she usually stops by here when we are at SOCO, Union Market in Mission Viejo, and this particular Portola outpost in the Union Market at the District at Tustin Legacy. She always enjoys what she gets here and usually just gets me ice water.

On this trip, though, Katie was at work, and I was with my good friend Danny, finishing a long overdue lunch.  We had walked by the bakery case at Portola on our way to eat, and we both made a mental note to have dessert at Portola.

We have been searching for the best cookie in Orange County. So far, Danny's best is the chocolate chip cookie from Urban Plates. I have to admit it is a pretty solid cookie, and what makes this even crazier is that this cookie is not made with butter but Earth Balance margarine. I never would have known, except it's listed in their description on the menu. My best cookie so far is the ones from Paderia Bakehouse in Fountain Valley. Their Peanut Butter Chocolate cookie is what dreams are made of, and at 6 ounces, it will definitely fill you up. We were both beyond excited to give the cookies at Portola a try.

The cookies here are made by Mr. Holmes Bakehouse, which used to have a booth at Union Market, but now they sell their baked goods through Portola. From what I can gather, Mr. Holmes started in San Fransisco and has expanded south to LA, and now they even have an outpost in South Korea. Mr. Holmes delivers baked goods from their Highland Park location to each of the six Portola Coffee Roasters daily, except for the Orange location inside the Provisions Market. Sorry, no baked goods for the good folks of Orange. Let's see if Mr. Holmes could top our best cookie list.

Okay, not a cookie, but we could not resist trying this Chocolate Cream Donut ($3.50). It reminded me of a malasada, but they call it a donut here. It's rolled in sugar, filled with a very light but flavorful chocolate cream, and its hole is plugged with a candied nut.  This was way better than I expected it to be. The donut portion was soft and fresh, while the chocolate cream was not overpowering. A lovely start to our experience at Mr. Holmes.

I'm usually partial to chocolate chip cookies, but we wanted to give this Cornflake Cookie ($3) a shot. We are glad we did. This unique cookie combined cornflake cereal and brown butter toffee to form a fantastic combination. The cookie was soft but held its form wonderfully. The taste was like my mom's cookies for Christmas, but way better. Sorry, mom. After I finished this cookie, I knew it would be my favorite from Mr. Holmes, but I still was not going to pass up an opportunity to try the chocolate chip.

This Chocolate Chunk Cookie ($3) was delicious as well. At first, I thought the sea salt topping was too much, but it worked well with the well-made cookie underneath. They got the delicate balance just right. The cookie was softer than I usually liked, but the high-quality chocolate chips and the buttery taste made up for it. A solid representation of a chocolate chip cookie and one that I'll always look for when swinging by the Portola Coffee Roasters.

For Danny, this was the best cookie he had ever had. He was beyond giddy with the cookies here, and I was not that far behind in his excitement. They are definitely in my top 3, with only the ones from Paderia Bakehouse and Susie Cakes surpassing it. If you have been having a problem getting to Portola before they run out, they will hold them for you as long as you contact them the day before and commit to getting a box of six cookies. Trust me, you will want six for sure. These cookies were so good it almost made me wish I was more of a coffee drinker. Fortunately, I live with one of the world's biggest coffee lovers, so I'll have plenty of opportunities to get these cookies on one of Katie's numerous visits to Portola Coffee Roasters.

Out of five magnifying glasses (because the most famous Holmes I could think of was the fictional detective, Sherlock, who used a magnifying glass to help solve some crimes), five being best to zero being worst, Mr. Holmes Bakehouse gets 3.5 magnifying glasses.

For more information about Portola Coffee Roasters, click here: http://www.portolacoffeelab.com/ and for info about Mr. Holmes Bakehouse, click here: http://mrholmesbakehouse.com/

Far Out Lunch at the Kroft - CLOSED

The Kroft

2493 Park Avenue

Tustin, CA 92782

I feel like there's never enough time to catch up with the restaurant scene in Orange County. There are always new places to try and restaurants that have been around for a while that I haven't made it out to. The Kroft is one of those places.

It still amazes me that I have not been to The Kroft yet. They describe themselves as reinvented comfort food, and that, along with their Instagram photos, definitely has been my attention for a while now. So I decided it was time for action. I had a long overdue lunch date with my good friend Danny, and he'd be driving, so I decided we'd be heading to The Kroft at the Union Market in Tustin.

The Kroft opened in 2014 at the Anaheim Packing House. They instantly drew raves for their sandwiches and poutines, which actually feature real cheese curds, which most so-called poutines almost always lack around these parts. High on the heels of their success at their first location, they opened their second spot at the Union Market in Tustin, which for those of you who are unaware, is at the Tustin at District Legacy. There are also plans for a Los Angeles outpost very soon.

Back to this visit, though. My good friend Danny and I arrived at the Union Market just before lunchtime, and I was relieved to find that the lunchtime rush had not filtered in yet. In fact, it was never too crazy busy during our stay this Thursday afternoon. The Kroft is situated towards the back of the Union Market, right near the Portola Coffee Roasters. Their menu features sides, poutines, and sandwiches. Prices hover around the $10 mark, which is not as bad as I thought it would be. So let's see how our first trip to The Kroft turned out.

Okay, Danny and I went crazy with our fry situation at The Kroft. Danny wanted to try their regular French Fries ($4), while I went wilder and had the Country Fried Chicken Poutine ($9). The fries on their own were pretty good. They are twice-fried, which I almost always feel provides a better fry, which is crunchy on the outside but leaves the inside pillowy soft. That was the case here. The fries were made even better with my garlic mayo dipping sauce. A good amount of garlic made this a winning sauce. The fried chicken poutine was good, but I expected more. The fries were good, but this needed more country gravy to tie it all together. The chicken nuggets were kind of a disconnect for me as well. They were too big to be eaten in one bite and challenging to cut with the plastic forks and knives used here. However, since this was my first time having real cheese curds, I do have to admit that I liked them a lot. I can't wait to try their original poutine on my next visit.

Danny seemed to struggle to decide what sandwich to have this afternoon, but he finally settled on the Prime Rib Dip ($12). This sandwich came with plenty of sliced prime rib, horseradish mayo, and caramelized onions, all on a french roll. Unfortunately, I did not get a chance to try this, but it looked pretty solid from where I was sitting. Danny was slightly underwhelmed by the sandwich but still said it was good. Very hard to please that guy.

I was a little more decisive when it was my turn to order my sandwich. The Porchetta ($10) would be my pick for this afternoon. A triple threat of pork is included; pork belly, loin, and cracklings. The pork is supported by seasoned arugula, salsa verde, and caramelized onions. Predictably the pork is the star of this sandwich. I enjoyed the cracklings' texture, and the pork was done well. I would ask for more salsa verde next time, and arugula, whether seasoned or not, will never be one of my favorite things on a sandwich. I ended up taking half of this home for lunch the next day, and I'm not sure if the flavors had a chance to meld together more, but I liked the sandwich better the day after. The ciabatta and other bread they use are stellar.

The cuisine at The Kroft is right up my alley. I liked everything well enough, but I was not blown away by anything we had on this one visit. I'll definitely be back, though, as their Instagram feed always features some great shots, and I want to try their other three sandwiches and more of their loaded fries and poutines. It's hard not comparing this restaurant to the guys over at Burnt Crumbs. However, based on this one visit, I have to give the edge to Burnt Crumbs, as I liked their fries and sandwiches better. The service at The Kroft was charming, as the girl at the register was amiable and gave us her suggestions of what we should have. I'm glad I finally got the chance to try this place, but as with restaurants in Orange County, there's no time to rest because there's always a new place to try.

Out of five hats (because I could not go through this whole post without mentioning one of my favorite shows from my childhood, Lidsville, which was a live-action show created by the Kroft Brothers in the early '70s), five being best to zero being worst, The Kroft gets 3 hats.

For info on The Kroft, head to their website here: http://www.thekroft.com/

Getting Some Chicken Fried Steak with a Little Help from My Friends

Friends Cafe

17391 17th Street 

Tustin, CA 92780

It was my second week off of work, and I was craving a good breakfast. I would also be meeting my sister, who lives in Yorba Linda, and since I reside in South OC, we decided to meet halfway, which puts us somewhere in the middle of OC. I searched my restaurant wishlist and found Friends Cafe in Tustin.

I had jotted this place down because it was one of the last restaurant reviews by Gustavo Arellano in the OC Weekly, and more importantly, he gave them glowing praise for their country fried steak, which is one of my favorite breakfast dishes, but it's very rare to find a good one. With Gustavo's recommendation, I had very high hopes for Friend's Cafe.

One of the things that I loved about Gustavo's restaurant reviews was that they were always little out of the way places, restaurants that do not have a PR person, and thus would not get all the restaurant bloggers, Instagrammers, and other food influencers to walk through the door looking for a free meal in exchange for being highlighted on their overinflated IG accounts. These are the kind of restaurants I love to write about, places that real people go to, and not just because the food looks so pretty.

Friends Cafe is located right across the street from El Torito on 17th Street, and in the same shopping center as a Dollar Tree, Marshalls, and a Dickey's BBQ. Opened since June of last year, this restaurant is way bigger than it appears from the outside. The dining room is almost cavernous, with a high ceiling, well-spaced tables, and comfy booths lining the walls of the restaurant. There's even a ten-seat bar so you can glimpse the inner workings of the kitchen. The decor is very modest, with a few pictures of California landmarks adorning the walls, and three large TV's which most customers ignored on this weekday morning.

For a restaurant that's only opened until 3pm, I was a little surprised that they had so many sandwiches, burgers, appetizers, and wraps available on their menu. We were here for breakfast, so we focused on their egg dishes, pancakes and french toast, benedicts, and other breakfast specialties. I knew what I'd be having, so let's see how the country fried steak would end up treating me.

Country Fried Steak and Eggs ($13.79) is one of the most photogenic of breakfast foods. The fried steak peeking out from underneath the blanket of gravy, and the pop of color from the sunny side up eggs is breathtaking to me. Hopefully, you share my view, or at this point, you just think I'm some crazed breakfast lunatic. Gustavo was right, this was a pretty strong contender for the best country fried steak in OC. The serving size of the steak was bigger than my outstretched hand, had a good crunchy layer of batter, and was tender underneath. The gravy was seasoned well and had a good thickness to it. I hate when gravy is too runny. The plate was rounded out with a giant heaping of hash browns, which I mixed with my eggs. A very solid, stick to your ribs first meal of the day.

My sister has been working very hard to maintain her new year's resolution, and I applaud her willpower as she had to endure watching me inhale my country fried steak, while she ate this Chilled Fresh Fruit ($6.95). The fruit selection on this day was blueberries, cantaloupe, and honeydew. The fruit was incredibly fresh, and she could not finish the whole thing, so she boxed it up to eat later at home.

Friends Cafe was a great little find, which I might have never heard of if it wasn't for Gustavo's review in the OC Weekly. I'll definitely miss his Hole In the Wall column, but I look forward to seeing what's next for him. As for the country fried steak at Friends Cafe, I'd have to say, like Gustavo, it was very good but not as good as the one I had at Paul's Coffee Shop in Fountain Valley eight years ago, but it was close. I also hear that they have some killer potato pancakes, which I'll have to try the next time I'm up this way for breakfast.

Out of five coffee mugs, (not only because I'm sure they sell lots of coffee here, but because the TV show Friends was for a large part set in a coffee shop), five being best to zero being worst, Friends Cafe gets 3 coffee mugs.

For more information about Friends Cafe, head to their website here: https://www.friendscafetustin.com/

Hoping R.T.E. Can Improve the Food Cred at the Kaleidoscope - CLOSED

R.T.E. 

27741 Crown Valley Parkway #329-23

Mission Viejo, CA 92691

It's hard to review a restaurant in the Kaleidoscope and not mention my thoughts on what is wrong with this shopping center, which overlooks the 5 Freeway in Mission Viejo. It's tough now since you can see that the people who run this center, some would say cursed shopping center, are really trying.

We've made a few recent trips here, and the escalators have been working fine each time, which was a big gripe I've had with this two-level shopping center. Yes, the lighting in the underground parking structure is something right out of a horror movie, and the lack of good retail stores and giant anchor retailers is really holding this center back. You can still see them trying to make this ill-conceived center work.

Besides the functioning escalators, the significant addition at the Kaleidoscope is Union Market, a collection of small, independent retailers and, more importantly to me, specialty restaurants and food purveyors. The biggest draw to Union Market is the Portola Coffee Roasters, and for me, a non-coffee drinker, the fantastic Mr. Holmes baked goods they sell there. The cornflake cookie and the salted chocolate chip are delicious, as long as you get there early enough to grab them before they sell out. This visit to Union Market was not for coffee or cookies but to try one of their restaurants and meet up with my aunt and uncle for a long overdue dinner. We decided to give R.T.E. a try.

R.T.E. stands for Ready To Eat, and this is a barbecue on a-stick restaurant. Except for their ramen and sides, everything comes on short skewers here. The skewer portion of the menu is divided into three parts, land, ocean, and garden. Prices range between $1.95 to $4.95 for the scallops, and they do offer a combo that includes three skewers, pickles, and your choice of rice or salad. They also offer a happy hour in which pre-selected skewers are priced at a dollar off, and so are all the sides. Happy hour is every day from 4 to 7pm. Other menu items include sides like salads, peppers, rice, tater tots, and more. They also have a couple of dessert items, and be sure to check the chalkboards behind the bar for other specials they are running. Let's see what we ended up ordering this evening.

The food at R.T.E. came out to us in waves, and the first group was some of the sides we had ordered. It might have been because I was hungry, but the Tater Tots ($5) were satisfying. These little potato barrels came out perfectly, crunchy on the outside and soft inside, with a touch of truffle sea salt to keep things interesting. The House Salad ($6) was underwhelming. A spring mix of leafy greens was paired with a very mild sesame dressing. The dressing needed to be slightly punched in the flavor department to make it more noticeable. The Shishito Peppers ($6) was a pleasant surprise. They were lightly fried, dusted with a bit of sea salt, and had a great flavor. There were a couple peppers in there that really packed some heat. The Edamame ($4) was fine, but I did not get my fair share of them because my cousin Chris had a big pile of empty edamame pods stacked on his plate, almost to eye level. Thanks for sharing, Chris.

The central part of our meal came out on a platter. The meats, Short Rib ($3.95), Pork Belly ($2.95), and Chicken Thigh ($2.95), were all solid, but I was hoping for more meat on these. They were very thin. The Cherry Tomatoes ($2.95) were not my favorite, but I'm not a tomato kind of guy, even though I tried one of them. The Zucchini ($1.95) was more my style. I liked the light seasoning, and the grill marks added a subtle flavor.

Both Katie and my aunt Hiroko got a Bowl of Tonkotsu Ramen to accompany their skewers. Hiroko is a ramen expert, and she really enjoyed this version, which is not on the regular menu but was listed as one of the specials on the blackboards behind the bar. It featured a hard-boiled egg and plenty of green onion—a perfect vehicle for a rather chilly evening.

To be honest, I was only partially full after our skewers, so Katie returned to get me a few more meat options, and she also returned with a few more things. I liked the Brussels Sprouts ($2.95) but thought they needed to be cooked more as they were hard to bite. The Fried Plantains ($3.95) were mushy, but Katie liked them well enough. The Hojaldre ($2), listed on the menu as a Panamanian fry bread, was good, but it needed something else to go along with it. The second round of sides was not as good as our first.

R.T.E. was good but could have been better for big eaters like me. I liked the food here but thought it could have been a better value for what we paid. I'm not sure how we ended up paying $95 for our first round of food, even though it was happy hour. With the five of us, it worked out to almost $20 per person, and I still had to go back and have another two chicken skewers and some of the sides that Katie got on her second go-around. The sides, for the most part, were okay, but the standouts for me were the peppers and the tater tots. The red meat options were best for the proteins, but the pork belly was overcooked and did not have that characteristic pork belly feel that I have come to love. One thing that did shine at R.T.E. was the people working there. Service was first-rate, and they ensured we had everything we needed during our stay, even though we were seated behind the restaurant, out of their eyesight. Pretty impressed. We are impressed with some of the changes in the Kaleidoscope Shopping Center within the past year. At least they can say they are not the worst shopping center in OC anymore; that honor now goes to the Anaheim Garden Walk by a mile.

Out of five remote controls (because RTE is also the abbreviation for the public broadcasting system of Ireland), five being best to zero being worst, R.T.E. gets 2.5 remote controls.

For more information about R.T.E., head to their website here: https://www.rterestaurant.com/

The Crusade for the Choicest Chilaquiles Continues - CLOSED

Cafe Calacas

324 West 4th Street #B

Santa Ana, CA 92701

I think my love for Mexican breakfast has now eclipsed my love for more traditional breakfast foods. Just looking over my list of breakfast spots that I want to try, it is loaded with plenty of places that tout chilaquiles, huevos rancheros, and breakfast burritos as their specialties. I used to be very partial to breakfast skillets and pancakes, but now I find myself checking out restaurants on Yelp for the best breakfast tacos and breakfast tortas.

My love for breakfast foods from south of the border has become so much an obsession, that when my friends Angel and Rebekah casually mentioned their recent visit to Cafe Calacas, Katie and I made quick plans to meet them on a recent Saturday in downtown Santa Ana and give it a try.

Cafe Calacas is situated in the West End Theater building, which is in the shadows of the Ronald Reagan Federal Building across the street. When we arrived at Cafe Calacas at 10am, there was a slow-moving line, about twenty people deep. I grew anxious that we would not be able to get a table, but these things usually work themselves out, and we snagged one of the four tables out in front of the restaurant as a family was getting up to leave.

Like the inside of the restaurant, Cafe Calacas menu is not extremely large. They feature a handful of breakfast specialties, some waffles, and then some salads, wraps, and sandwiches to round things out. They are also known for their coffee drinks, juices, and smoothies. Since we had about a half-hour wait in line to study the menu, we made our selections rather quickly when we hit the register. We were given a number and waited for our food to be brought out to us. Let's see if Cafe Calacas would become one of my favorite spots for Mexican breakfast in OC.

I'm not a coffee drinker, but I really enjoyed seeing the designs that they had on top of these beverages. Some real artsy stuff here, and it was a shame that they were going to be ruined after the first sip. I'm not sure what Rebekah's drink was, but Katie had the Cinnamon Latte ($3.75) and really enjoyed it. She claims that the people that make the coffees at Cafe Calacas really know their stuff, and she would definitely swing by here for another one of their excellent creations.

When you are ordering at the register, do yourself a favor and check out the baked goods featured behind the glass. Angel and Rebekah got what I believe they called a Mexican Chocolate Pop Tart ($2.00). It had a crumbly coating with some good chocolate in the inside pouch. This kind of reminded me of a chocolate croissant that was dipped in granola. Tasty.

My Chilaquiles obsession must be spreading, as Katie got this Chilaquiles 2.0 ($12.00). At Cafe Calacas they have two versions of chilaquiles, one is regular, without an added protein, while the other is with your choice of meat added. Katie had the chicken, but chorizo and carne asada are also options. This breakfast dish is made with layered fried tortilla chips, red or green salsa, queso fresco, cilantro, two eggs cooked to your liking, and finished off with a drizzle of crema. Katie selected the green salsa, which had quite a bit of flavor. I was lucky enough to be able to have her leftovers the next day, and I liked hers better than what I had. The chicken was not too dry, and the green salsa had more of a depth of flavor than the red did.

My version of Chilaquiles 2.0 ($12.00) featured steak instead of the chicken and I got my eggs sunny side up because I'm always partial to having as much runny yolk as possible. I really enjoyed the first ten or so bites of this, but then it kind of became boring to me. I think the reason for this was that the ratio of eggs and meat to the fried chips was overblown by a lot. There were lots more chips here as compared to anything else. The red salsa did not really have as big of a flavor profile as the green that came with Katie's chilaquiles. Not awful, but not one of my favorite versions of chilaquiles in OC.

Mixing sweet and savory at breakfast has become a tradition with me when we eat breakfast out, and for my sweet item on this particular morning, I tried the Bananas Foster Waffles ($7.99). For this, they top a Belgian waffle with caramel, sliced banana, and granola, and then garnish the plate with whipped cream and a sprinkling of powdered sugar. This had some winning bites, but most parts of this were devoid of caramel and did not taste like anything. A very boring sweet breakfast item that could have been made much better with some extra caramel or maybe even some maple syrup.

Rebekah had the lone savory waffle on the Cafe Calacas menu, the Puerquitos In A Blanket ($8.99). They use their Belgian waffle as a base and then top it with chorizo, queso fresco, refried beans, cilantro, and is then finished off with a sweet and spicy sauce. She could only finish three-quarters of this, so I obliged her by finishing the rest. It fell in line with most of the other entrees I had here, it was lackluster. I think this also needed a sauce to bind it all together. The chorizo was fine, but a little on the dry side, and there was not enough beans or sweet and spicy sauce on this to make much of an impression. Even though the menu made no mention of it, the crema was a welcome addition here.

Cafe Calacas was fine but did not really stand out other than their coffee drinks and the pop tart thing we had to start. I kind of felt that each of the entrees needed to be sauced a bit more, and needed a little extra pizazz. The setup here was also a little unnerving, as people were grabbing tables before they had even ordered. I was also curious as to why it took so long to order at the register. It took us 25 minutes to just stand in line to place our order. Maybe go to a full-service restaurant where you place orders with a server and then also check in with a hostess when you arrive. The girls running food and clearing tables were definitely hustling on this particular morning, and they were not part of the issue here. My search for the best chilaquiles continues, just as my love for Mexican breakfast grows. Can't wait to tackle more from my list.

Out of five skeletons, (because the word calacas translates to skeletons, and they lend to the decor of the inside of this restaurant), five being best to zero being worst, Cafe Calacas gets 2.5 skeletons.

For more information about Cafe Calacas, head to their website here: http://www.cafecalacas.com/index.html

Hip Hip Hooray for Humphry's - CLOSED

Humphry's Sandwiches

800 Avenida Pico

San Clemente, CA 92673

I had some unexpected time off due to a minor health issue, and I decided to use my time off by writing up some restaurant reviews and, of course, trying some new places. After a week and a half of being in bed, it was time to get out and get moving again. I decided it was time for a stroll along the beach in San Clemente and enlisted my parents to accompany me. After our three-mile walk, or more precisely, stroll, we definitely had worked up an appetite. We made our way across the freeway to Humphry's Sandwiches.

Humphry's is across the street from San Clemente High School in the Albertson's-anchored shopping center. It has been around for about eight years now and is owned by Tim and Nicole Humphry, former San Clemente High School graduates.

Arriving here a little before noon on a Friday, I was nervous that the place would be overrun with obnoxious high school students on their lunch hour. Still, when we walked in the door, we had the run of the restaurant, but it became pretty busy as our visit went along. The inside of the restaurant was clean and comfortable. Ordering is done at the register; you are given a number, and the food is brought to you. I was surprised that they have a bar here that specializes in craft beer, which we saw more than a few people enjoying at this early hour. No judgments. After being with my parents for a few hours, I also needed a drink. Kidding.

The menu at Humphry's was more extensive than I imagined it would be. Predictably, it is sandwich-focused, but it also features a good selection of salads, burgers, hot dogs, and a breakfast burrito, which I hear some good things about. Prices hover around the ten-dollar mark, with nothing eclipsing that price point. Enough talk. Let's check out the food at Humphry's.

As my dad has gotten older, he's getting less predictable when guessing what he will order at restaurants. I thought the Reuben would be his choice here, but he threw me a curveball by getting this Frisco Burger ($9.95) instead. Good choice. This half-pound burger came with lettuce, tomato, swiss cheese, and Thousand Island dressing on sourdough cheese bread. It's way better than the version I get frequently at Marie Calendars. This was less greasy, had a good amount of Thousand Island dressing, and the beef patty was seasoned nicely. Very rare to find a sandwich shop that does burgers well.

It was not the most photogenic of sandwiches, but my mom was very pleased with this Half Chicken Salad Sandwich ($5.95). She had wanted this sandwich on wheat bread, but the girl at the counter told her they did not have wheat and steered her towards the squaw instead. No worries, my mom went with the flow and enjoyed this chicken salad sandwich with light mayo. My mom claimed that this chicken salad was fresh and had a good flavor. She loved that you could get a half sandwich at Humphry's, which was great for light eaters like herself.

Before coming to Humphry's, I did a little research about the most popular items on their menu, and two kept coming up, the meatloaf sandwich and the one that I ultimately got, The Rachel ($9.95). For those of you that are not aware, a Rachel sandwich is a Rueben, but instead of sauerkraut, it employs the use of coleslaw along with sliced pastrami, swiss cheese, and thousand island dressing. This sandwich was awesome. It utilized the same parmesan-grilled sourdough bread that came on my dad's Frisco burger, and the inside of this sandwich was also excellent. Plenty of coleslaw and Thousand Island dressing kept me interested throughout the short life of this sandwich. The pastrami was sliced nicely, and they included plenty of it here. A very well-balanced sandwich and one that I can see myself getting again. I also wanted to note the chips here, which reminded me a lot of Kettle Brand chips. They had a good crunch and went well with the sandwich.

When I was driving home from San Clemente, I could not help but feel a little jealous that the people of San Clemente have this excellent sandwich shop so close by to enjoy whenever they want. I was impressed with Humphry's. The Rachel and the Frisco burger has excited me to try their meatloaf, cheeseburger, and famous BLT, which features eight pieces of bacon, on future visits to this sandwich shop. Prices align with the portion sizes you get here. Service was satisfactory on this visit. Glad I finally got out and about, but even more excited by the sandwiches at Humphry's.

Out of five Tritons (because that's the mascot of San Clemente High School located across the street, and also the alma mater of the owners of this restaurant), five being best to zero being worst, Humphry's Sandwiches gets 3.5 Tritons.

For more information about Humphry's Sandwiches, head to their website here: https://www.humphryssandwichshop.com/home.html