Anniversary Dinner Part One - CLOSED

La Bettola

18504 Yorba Linda Blvd. 

Yorba Linda, CA 92886

It's anniversary time, which means both sets of our parents want to take Katie and me out to celebrate our three years of wedded bliss. Between our parents, they have 97 years of marriage combined. There is some pretty impressive stuff there, and it is something to aspire towards. I'm always up for dinner with our parents. Not only will we get a free meal out of the situation, but we might also be able to glean a little insight into a lasting marriage. First up was dinner with my parents, a visit back to my hometown of Yorba Linda, and a restaurant I've wanted to try for years, La Bettola.

La Bettola is situated on the corner of Lakeview and Yorba Linda Boulevard, in the middle of the tiny Firestone Village shopping center, including a 7-Eleven, Auto Zone, and Round Table Pizza. They have been here for over 15 years, and this would be my and my parent's first visit, even though my parents have lived in the Land of Gracious Living for over 40 years.

Very dim but brightened up a bit with stringed lighting hanging from the ceiling. There are maybe 15 tables in this Italian bistro, but even in this relatively small space, I did not feel we were right on top of other diners. The menu here was different from what appears online. The online menu features many items that are not listed on the restaurant menu we were given, but we were assured by our server that they could make whatever we were craving. Prices range from $15 to $28 for the pasta entrees, and the more substantial chicken, veal, and steak entrees are priced at $20 up to $34 for their New York steak. Even though my parents were generous enough to pay the bill this evening, I would not take advantage and have the steak. Let's take a look at what we did have, though.

Bread service was up first for us, and we all really enjoyed this Foccacia sliced in strips. It went well when we dipped it in the olive oil and balsamic. Our server was very generous about refilling this as we went through three baskets of this fresh bread without even blinking an eye.

I love it when Italian restaurants include a salad in the price of an entree. It's a nice touch, as is the case at La Bettola. The salad in the top picture is their House Salad, which included an excellent selection of mixed greens, shaved carrots, and tomato with a house dressing that was a very solid creamy vinaigrette. I'm usually partial to Caesar Salads ($4.50 upcharge), but here I thought it was just average and not worth the extra money for the more superior house salad. The Caesar, which included hearts of romaine, garlic croutons, and dressing, needed something added. It might have required a more substantial hand when applying the dressing, or some large parmesan squares would have livened up this drab Caesar.

My mom was pretty heartbroken to see that spaghetti was not on the menu like she had seen when she had perused the online version before coming here, but true to their word, La Bettola made her something that was not listed on their menu. This Spaghetti Bolognese ($17.95) was a very generous serving, and my mom allowed me to take her uneaten portion home for lunch the next day. I enjoyed the bolognese sauce, which had some excellent hunks of meat, and the pasta was done nicely. If this had been my entree, I would have added some sausage to this dish to make it even better.

When I looked at the pictures of the food at La Bettola on Yelp, I knew I would have this Fettuccine Meatball ($24.95). Yes, that is a softball-sized meatball sitting on top of a plate of fettuccine. The meatball included some cheese inside and was very dense. I was underwhelmed when I ate this in the restaurant, but my leftovers tasted awesome. The sauce, noodles, and meatballs may have had time to meld together. Italian leftovers always taste better the next day. Still trying to figure out why that is. I got this for the wow factor it would cause on Instagram, and I'd probably not get it again on future visits, but it ended up being a solid meatball and pasta dish.

My dad picked out something I also had my eye on, the Linguine Mala Femina ($21.95). This linguine is joined on the plate with chicken, sausage, sundried tomatoes, cajun spices, and a mellow white wine sauce. This dish had a slightly spicy tinge to it. The sausage was less prominent than I would have liked, but it was another solid dish. My dad, whose appetite is not as voracious as it once was, had no problem finishing this plate off, which was a good sign that he enjoyed this meal.

Last but not least, Katie will be having this Ravioli Special ($34.95 with chicken added). Inside the ravioli are mushrooms and cheese, with a wine-based sauce covering the well-made ravioli. She found the sauce to be delicious, while the ravioli themselves were good but did not knock her socks off. She'll try another dish the next time she visits La Bettola.

After leaving La Bettola, I had mixed feelings about this experience. First, I wish they would update their menu to include everything they offer. The online menu shows way more than the stripped-down menu presented to you tableside, and pictures on Yelp show even more items not listed on either the online or hard copy menu. Very confusing. I also do not usually comment on the pricing at the restaurants we eat at, but La Bettola's price point is a little out of whack, especially Katie's ravioli. Without the ten-dollar chicken topping her ravioli, her meal would still cost $25 for five ravioli containing only mushrooms and cheese. A little excessive. The food was okay here but needed to be better to warrant a return visit from us. Nothing really wowed us, but La Bettola is suitable for the people of Yorba Linda. This city needs more independent, locally-owned restaurants within its borders, especially regarding Italian food. Very happy my parents took us out to dinner, and even happier if we can live up to their outstanding example of what a marriage should be like. 

Out of five taverns (because bettola translates to a tavern in Italian, another thing that people from Yorba Linda have to do without), five being best to zero being worst, La Bettola gets 3 taverns.

La Bettola does not have a website, but you can find out more information about them on their Yelp page here: https://www.yelp.com/biz/la-bettola-yorba-linda

Heading to Hayashi in Our Neck of the Woods - CLOSED

Hayashi

27531 Puerta Real

Mission Viejo, CA 92691

I can finally report that Katie got a new job, which was much needed after the rather adventurous year and a half she spent at her old one. Even better than getting away from that place, she now only has a block and a half away commute. No more toll road fees, filling up with gas every few days, and the usual wear and tear on her car. As an added bonus, she even got a restaurant tip near where we live, as they brought food into the office during her first week. She was so impressed we had it for dinner that evening.

Hayashi has been here a lot longer than we have lived here. Their first Yelp review is dated from 2008, but they only get a little love from Yelpers because they only have 156 reviews in those ten years. It's not surprising since they are in a shopping center hidden behind the Kaleidoscope, and there needs to be a bigger anchor store to bring people into this shopping plaza. There is some construction at the vacated Sports Chalet spot, which I've heard is going to be a Mini Target, but it was not listed on the Target website, and I have nothing to confirm this other than a bit of hearsay that I've picked up on.

Whatever goes in here will hopefully increase foot traffic, although based on our visit, Hayashi does not appear to really need it. On the recent Wednesday evening when Katie and I visited Hayashi, the two-man culinary team behind this restaurant handled numerous to-go orders and a handful of orders for dining in with ease.

The low-key dining room is small and has about ten tables of two, which probably fills up with the numerous working professionals who inhabit the plethora of office buildings nearby. The menu at Hayashi is surprisingly extensive. They offer teriyaki plates and bowls, bento specials, over 20 varieties of sushi, noodles, and combo meals. 84 numbered things to choose from, direct from a tiny kitchen. Very impressive. We quickly made our choices at the register, and about ten minutes later, we were digging in. Let's see if I had the same love of this restaurant that Katie had when she had it at work.

It's not really too cold outside, but Katie started things off with this Chicken Ramen ($6.50). She loved this soup that came out lava hot in a metal bowl, which did little to cool it down too quickly. She claims that this had a tinge of spiciness, the chicken was flavored well, and she loved the rest of this bowl enough to come here two other times after this visit to have this for lunch. You can say she's addicted.

Not content with the soup, Katie also feasted on this Philadelphia Roll ($7.50). This Philly roll comes with, you guessed it, cream cheese, along with some salmon, cucumber, and avocado. I'm not too big of a fan of cream cheese, so Katie had this all to herself. She also enjoyed this. She called the fish very fresh and found it the perfect accompaniment to the chicken ramen.

On my first visit to Hayashi, I used the same strategy I use when eating in a barbecue or Mexican restaurant, getting a combo meal, and at Hayashi, that equivalent would be this BBQ Beef Bento Special ($9.25). I like doing this so you can try more of their menu all in one shot. This Bento special included 4 pieces of a California roll, a scoop of rice, miso soup, mixed green salad, 2 gyoza, and a choice of salmon, tempura, or what I got the BBQ beef. The beef was excellent and tender, but it would have been better if it was served a little warmer than it was and with more teriyaki sauce on it. Unlike a few Yelp reviewers, I found my California roll freshly made with plenty of crab and avocado inside the outer rice casing. I remember liking the gyoza, but they were not overly stuffed, which left the insides forgettable. The salad was good, with a very flavorful ginger dressing, where a little of it went a long way. The weak link of this plate was the miso soup, but I've never been blown away by any miso soup I've ever had, and that held true here.

Katie ended up loving her visit to Hayashi, while I liked it enough, but would come back again since it is so close to our place and will be convenient for dinners when we want to stay close to home. Hayashi is not really destination dining, but it is good enough if you are in the area craving quick and affordable Japanese cuisine. Service was rushed because they were busy with only two people running this place and a steady stream of customers filtering in. Still, they were polite and in control, promptly getting the food out. I'm so happy that Katie finally has a great work environment, and it has already led us to another spot in our heavy restaurant rotation when we want to stay close to home.

Out of five cabins (because Hayashi is a Japanese surname that translates to forest or woods, and there are tons of cabins in forested areas), five being best to zero being worst, Hayashi gets three cabins.

Hayashi has a very bare-bones website, but you can find their address and a menu on it here: http://famoushayashi.com/menu.html

Hoping La Choza Will Be a Good Choice - CLOSED

La Choza

7402 Edinger Ave.

Huntington Beach, CA 92647

I love restaurant lists. Half of the bookmarks I save on my web browser are restaurant lists. I can't resist the best Chinese food in OC or a list of the top ten most romantic restaurants. I quickly save these and use them for later. This brought us and our good friends Scott and Cynthia to La Choza in Huntington Beach.

In the middle of last year, OC Register restaurant critic Brad A. Johnson published his list of OC's 20 best full-service Mexican restaurants. I had been to fifteen of the restaurants on his list, and some I agreed with (Gabbi's Solita and Sol Agave), while others I was not so keen on (Puesto, Carmelita's, and one of the most overrated, Javier's). Lists are subjective, so I gave Mr. Johnson a pass on the clunkers that populated his list and decided to give some of the ones I had yet to eat a try. La Choza was one of those.

La Choza comes to us from Enrique Haro, who opened the original La Choza in West Los Angeles 1976. After a remodel, he renamed his Olympic Boulevard restaurant Tia Juana's and updated the menu by adding some seafood dishes. It stood until 2007 when they had to move to make way for Walgreens. Enrique brought back the La Choza name for the move to Huntington Beach. Still, he kept the Tia Juana's menu and many of the employees, including his mother, Alicia, who has run the kitchen since the first inception of La Chozza all those years ago.

Sitting across the street from an apartment complex and a block west of the always-busy Bella Terra Shopping Center, La Choza brings to mind the old-school Mexican restaurants I'd sometimes visit with my family. When walking into La Choza, a lady making tortillas behind a glass partition counts out the number of your party, and then the server sends over the freshly made tortillas. The whole restaurant feels old-school with its brightly painted walls and an extensive menu that features plenty of combo plates, seafood, burritos, and regional specialties from around Mexico. We could only talk for so long to Scott, who is always charismatic, so let's find out if La Choza belongs on the list of best Mexican restaurants in OC.

As always, I like to share what the Chips and Salsa look like when dining at a Mexican restaurant. These were run-of-the-mill tortilla chips, but I did enjoy the choice of having the red and green salsa. Both were solid flavorwise, with the green being a tad spicier, but I missed having some chunks included in these salsas. Some chopped-up tomatoes and onions would have made these a bit better.

I usually do not partake in alcohol when we are out; I usually try to focus on the food instead, but since Scott was going on and on about his love for his future bride, Cynthia, I felt the need to dull the pain of listening to this lovesick puppy by partaking in a Margarita on the Rocks ($8.75). Cynthia must have felt the same, as she had the Blended Margarita ($8.75). Both were solid, with a good balance of margarita mix and tequila, which was evenly distributed once I stirred it up with my straw. This was a little more tart than I usually like, but it did the trick of helping me forget what Scott was talking about. Man, that guy can be a real chatterbox.

Katie and I have gotten into Queso Fundidio ($7.75) since we started this restaurant blog, and with the fresh tortillas served here, we felt we needed to try this one. This was not the best version of this delicious starter that we have ever had. The menu claims this had chorizo, but if it did, it was just a tiny bit, and I did not detect any. I got some shredded chile strips but needed more to make this average. Not only was the flavor lacking, but the consistency of this needed to be corrected, and it was very oily. Not even La Choza's delicious tortillas could have helped this out.

As is her usual tradition in a Mexican restaurant, Katie always gets an appetizer of Guacamole ($7.95). She learned this from her dad, who I have seen do this many times in the almost decade I have known him. This was average guacamole. A little on the runny side, I like my guac the same way I like my salsa, with some chunks to it. This runny green puddle was splashed with a little tomato sauce (why?) and sprinkled with a few shreds of cheese, which did little to save this from being anything other than mediocre guacamole.

Most meals at La Choza include your choice of soup or salad, which I always appreciate. We all picked the salad, which fit in with the theme of our meal so far but was very lackluster in looks and taste. The iceberg lettuce was very pale and only garnished with a tiny amount of shredded carrots and very thin salad dressing. Until this point, La Choza was consistent with their food; bland, thin sauces, and not very photogenic. I would like a turnaround once our entrees come out for us.

The first plate to make its way out to us was Katie's, and she had the Two Taco Combination Plate ($14.95). The menu states that these are hard-shelled tacos, but they let her have one soft-shell chicken taco with their hard-shelled version. She felt this was an okay plate, nothing special. The tortillas highlighted her meal, but they could not hide the fact that the chicken was dry and bland. Not one of her favorites.

Mr. Personality, AKA Scott, selected this Carne Asada Burrito ($9.95) as his evening meal. This wet burrito was topped with red enchilada sauce and cheese, while the inside contained broiled steak, beans, and salsa ranchera. This was a large burrito, but our good friend Scott finished it like a champ. However, he was not too impressed with it, as the beef inside was a little bland. He'd probably get something else the next time he was here.

Scott's way better half opted for the simple Carne Asada Taco Combo Plate ($10.95). Cynthia chose to have this taco soft instead of crispy. She agreed with both Katie and Scott that this taco was nothing special and that she'd try something else next time she was here.

When I'm new to a Mexican restaurant, I usually gravitate towards Carnitas ($14.95) on my maiden visit. The carnitas at La Choza were listed under their menu's regional section, with Michoacan as their area of origin. I had heard that this was where this pork dish was created, but I had never had the pork prepared this way in little cubes. They were okay, but I missed the crispy ends when the carnitas were shredded. The beans and rice were adequate, but more guacamole would have been better. Kind of an awkward plate, and I'm in agreement that I'd probably get something different on another visit here.

I should have snapped a picture of the tortillas earlier, but I got this one before Katie snapped it up. The tortillas are the best thing about this restaurant, and to their credit, they were not shy about getting you some more when you scarfed down each round they'd bring.

It baffled me how La Choza could end up in the top 20 Mexican restaurants in the OC Register. Our experience was far from top list material, but as is the case with all of these lists, they are subjective, and restaurant reviewers have different tastes depending on their visits. Even though the food we ordered failed to impress, the tortillas were tremendous and made us wish that more Mexican restaurants would offer freshly made tortillas, even though it was time-consuming. None of us would return to La Choza, but please let us know if you have a different experience.

Out of five pizzas (because choza translates to hut in Spanish, and the most famous hut is probably Pizza Hut), five being best to zero being worst, La Choza gets 2 pizzas.

For more information about La Choza, head to their website here: https://www.lachozaoc.com/

Punching Our Passport at North Italia

North Italia

2957 Michelson Dr.

Irvine, CA 92612

It was time once again to meet up with our good friends, and fellow foodies Tom and Daniele. Most of the time when we see each other we head to an all you can eat sushi restaurant, or we try to take turns picking a place that we all want to try, which can be a challenge with all of us having such strong feelings about restaurants. On this particular double date night, we all selected four restaurants we wanted to eat at and decided to make our selections based off of these lists. That's how we ended up at North Italia in Irvine.

Katie and I had scored an invite to North Italia when they were having their friends and family event when this location opened back in late 2015. We really loved our visit, but I did not feel this special sneak preview was fair to write about because it might not be indicative of their true restaurant experience. I also knew that the friends and family event had impressed Katie and me, so I knew we would eventually make a return visit to do a proper review, and that brings us to the present.

North Italia is part of Fox Restaurant Concepts, which is based out of Arizona. North Italia is their largest and probably most successful of their restaurants. They are now located in 8 states and have 17 locations open or coming soon. At North Italia, everything is made from scratch every day. The pizza dough, pasta, and sauces are all prepared in their open kitchen, which you can see through the huge window at most tables.

This is the building that used to house the old California Pizza Kitchen, although it is now unrecognizable from those days. Parking has always seemed to have been a problem in this Park Place Shopping Center, but Katie and I got a good spot near the Mother's Market, which was a short stroll to the restaurant. Wait times of an hour plus are not uncommon at North Italia, but I made a reservation two days beforehand, so we got sat right away, and waited for the always perpetually late duo of Daniele and Tom. He's worth waiting for, her not so much.

The menu at North Italia has plenty of small plates to choose from, and six to seven salads, pasta dishes, pizzas, and main entrees to select. I'd describe the food here as farmhouse Italian. Not too many big heavy plates drenched in cheese and big red sauces, which I'm more than happy with, but what North Italia has here is lighter Italian dishes, made with a little more finesse. Let's take a look at what we encountered on this evening.

Since we were waiting patiently for Daniele to peruse the menu at her leisure, we thought we might as well start with one of their starters while we waited. Fried Cauliflower ($13) was so much more than I thought it was going to be when I read it on the menu. Green and white cauliflower is the base for this starter which is served in an iron skillet and is then topped with some baby asparagus, toasted bread crumbs, lemon, pancetta cream, and a fried egg to tie it all together. A very hearty starter, without being too heavy. Cauliflower is quickly becoming one of my favorite vegetables as of late since we had this, along with a great version at Lido Bottle Works, and a deep-fried version at a Mediterranian restaurant recently. A very versatile veggie that I could not stand when I was a little kid. It's crazy how tastes can change over time.

After Daniele's lengthy ordering process, in which she bombarded our poor server with tons of questions, we got to the green portion of our meal. The top pictured salad was the Arugula and Roasted Fennel Salad ($10). Katie surprisingly got this salad, which came with plenty of arugula and fennel and was dressed simply in lemon, extra virgin olive oil, and grana padano, which is a close relative to parmesan cheese but is produced exclusively in the Po River Valley of Italy. See you can learn some stuff by reading this restaurant blog. I had my usual Caesar Salad ($10) which I enjoyed. It came with chopped romaine, shaved radicchio, more of the grana padano cheese, and croutons. This salad was lightly dressed, which allowed the cheese and the produce to be the star of this show. A very fresh and satisfying Caesar, although a few extra croutons would have been appreciated. The last salad in the picture sequence above is their Simple Salad ($9). This is North Italia's version of a dinner salad, with greens, baby tomato, gorgonzola, pine nuts, and a vinaigrette. No complaints from Tom about his salad selection.

Entree time, and let's start with Katie's pick, Strozzapreti ($19). This would have been my dinner pick had Katie not ordered it ahead of me. The sacrifices I make for a peaceful marriage. This pasta dish comes with roasted mushrooms, pine nuts, chicken, spinach, and a parmesan cream to tie everything together. The little-used strozzapreti noodle, which means priest chocker in Italian was a great vessel for this rustic dish. The noodle was dense and allowed the delicious creamy sauce to cling to the pasta. The chicken was tender, while the mushrooms added a depth of flavor that helped balance out this dish. Very well done, and Katie left here very happy with her meal.

Pizza would finally be Daniele's choice on this evening. She hemmed and hawed for a good long period over getting this Margherita Pizza ($14). Of course high maintenance Daniele had to customize this by having them add mushrooms to this, which they did without even blinking an eye. The fungi were joined by the traditional mozzarella, basil, olive oil and red sauce that usually comes with this pizza. There were no complaints from Daniele about this pizza, but after having a bite of Katie and mines food, I kind of think she was a little envious of the pasta on our plates.

One of the more common Italian staples on American-Italian menus is probably Chicken Parmesan ($21) and that would be my meal on this evening. This was easily one of the lightest versions of this classic dish that I have ever had. The chicken was pounded thin and fork tender. It was not drenched in cheese and sauce, which allowed the very well done breading coating the chicken to break through. Nicely done. The parmesan rigatoni was a nice accompaniment that showcased their freshly made pasta. This was made even better when our server sprinkled fresh parmesan over the pasta, which gave it an added layer of flavor. Nice and light, this meal did not leave me feeling bloated like I do most of the time after I have Italian food. 

Tom had all sorts of problems at dinner on this evening. First, he had to eat rather light because he was going to be having a blood test for his physical at the start of the next week, and second his meal would be delayed well into our last couple of bites due to what our server called a computer glitch. He finally received his Grilled Branzino ($29) after a 15 to 20-minute delay. This fish comes with cippolini onion, fennel, farro, broccolini, and a lemon-butter sauce, which Tom asked the kitchen to use with a light touch because of his impending blood test. This fish was okay, and I'm not sure whether it was because of the lack of sauce or if that would have helped it out at all. This plate was kind of boring and lacked any kind of pop of flavor. 

Due to Tom's dinner arriving late, our server was more than apologetic and also made up for it by making these four desserts complimentary. The winner in my eyes was the Hazelnut Torta ($9), which was not what I thought it was going to be at all. It was a hazelnut cake topped with a very generous scoop of salted caramel gelato, then topped with a hazelnut toffee and a streak of Nutella across the plate. Sweet, salty, warm, and cold all in one dessert. My only complaint would be that the Nutella could have been incorporated a bit more into this, but it was a standout for sure. The Bombolini ($8) gets a lot of love online and for good reason. These Italian donuts come out hot and are so addictive that they don't last too long, and have no chance to cool down. I'm not really a big lemon fan, so I'm not all in with the Meyer lemon curd these sit atop of, but the vanilla mascarpone helps dull the citrus vibe just enough for my taste. Salted Caramel Budino ($8) is always a winner, but with Daniele hogging most of this, (and why are all budinos always so small?), I did not really get to have too much of this, but I liked what I tried. Lastly, the Tiramisu ($8) was probably my least favorite of the desserts, not surprising since I'm not too keen on coffee, and this had a strong coffee flavor running through it with its heavily drenched Kahlua soaked ladyfingers. I did like the little crunch from the balls on top of this though. 

Yes, there were some minor misses at North Italia on this evening, but they were kept minimal. This restaurant does not really have the look or feel of a chain restaurant. All the food was fresh and light, the service was polished, and this is the kind of restaurant that can help change Americans perception of the Italian food that we grew up with, which is heavy on the cheese and sauces. A more upscale, and modern take on Italian, getting away from the red and white tablecloths and the stereotypical mustached chef mascot. We will definitely be back, but we'll maybe leave Daniele at home. Just kidding D!

Out of five ski poles, (because some of the best skiing in the world takes place in Northen Italy, and of course you need ski poles if you want to get down those massive hills in one piece), five being best to zero being worst, North Italia gets 3.5 ski poles.

For more information about North Italia, head to their website here: https://www.northitaliarestaurant.com/

Hoping Chimney Cakes Isn't Just a Smoke Screen

House of Chimney Cakes

173 West Center Steet Promenade

Anaheim, CA 92805

After meeting my parents for an epic lunch nearby, we did not want the good times to end, so I did a quick search of nearby dessert places on Yelp and turned up a bunch of results. One of the most promising was about ten minutes away, so we hopped in our cars and headed to the House of Chimney Cakes.

I had not been to this part of Anaheim for quite some time. The closest I have gotten was the Anaheim Packing House, but this Center Street Promenade area, which is situated across the street from the Anaheim City Hall had a pretty cool, big city vibe going for it. There were some restaurants I have wanted to try here; Pour Vida Latin Flavor, Cervantes Mexican Kitchen, and others, but those would have to wait for another day since we had just eaten a big lunch. This trip was all about itching those sweet cravings we were having.

I had never heard of chimney cakes before this afternoon. Looking at the pictures on Yelp, they kind of looked like the cones were made like churros, with ice cream inside of them, and crazy toppings making them Instagram-worthy. After arriving at this small shop I learned that these are not churros, but a Hungarian sweet bread, traditionally called a kurtoskalacs, which is cylindrical in shape, with a crunchy outer shell and a softer inner core. Their website claims that the chimney cake is like a cross between a donut and a churro. I was intrigued.

Opened since November of last year, the House of Chimney Cakes is owned and operated by a Szandra Szabo, a Hungarian fashion model, who moved to the US to share her love of chimney cakes with the foodies in Southern California. Along with her business partner, she serves as founder, CEO, and head pastry chef at the House of Chimney Cakes.

We arrived here at the awkward hour of 2pm on a recent Tuesday, found parking right away in the adjacent parking structure, and ordered our chimney cakes. The menu here features seven signature creations, which are ready-made options like Oreo Overload, Matcha Madness, Apple Pie, and others. These are perfect for people that don't want to come up with their own creations. You can also build your own chimney cake with the ice cream, toppings, and sauces that you desire. You also have the option of forgoing the chimney cake altogether and getting the soft serve in a cup, like my mom ended up doing. Katie and I wanted the full experience, so let's see how our first chimney cake encounter went over.

Katie went pretty basic here, with her Build Your Own Chimney Cake ($7). She opted for the chocolate soft serve ice cream, a cinnamon-sugar chimney cake cone, and some coconut flakes sprinkled on top. She felt this was good, but not great. She liked that it was not overly sweet, and the soft serve ice cream was of a better quality than most she's had. A pretty basic ice cream treat.

I went a little more crazy, getting their Oreo Overload ($7.95). This signature creation starts with a chimney cake rolled in Oreo cookie crumbs and is filled with vanilla and chocolate soft serve, then more Oreo cookie crumbs are added and then finished off with chocolate sauce and an Oreo cookie. This was just okay, as I was expecting a bit more. Truth be told, I'm not really partial to soft serve ice cream, as I like real deal ice cream better. This was better than average soft serve though. The chimney cone was not what I was expecting either. The outside was crunchy, and I thought the inside was going to be softer, but maybe because the ice cream made it too cold, it was a little harder than I imagined it was going to be. The Oreo experience was lessened even more because they do not have cookies and cream ice cream, which might have helped this out a bit. Thanks for the hand modeling mom.

Much like a lot of these Instagram-worthy foods, the Chimney Cakes were very photogenic, but when it comes to eating them, they do not live up to the hype. These were not awful, but this is more of a place you come once, post your pictures online, and then probably don't return to, unless you are in the area again and want to get some extra likes for your IG account. The chimney cake needed to be sweeter, and with more ice cream flavors available. Very decorative, but not much else going on here.

Out of five falcons, (because the Saker falcon is the official bird of Hungary, the country where chimney cakes originated), five being best to zero being worst, the House of Chimney Cakes gets 2.5 falcons.

For more information about the House of Chimney Cakes, head to their website here: https://www.thehouseofchimneycakes.com/