A Full House at Bobby V's

Buddy V's Ristorante

3327 south Las Vegas Blvd. 

Las Vegas, NV 89109

Last year when we were in Las Vegas with my parents for a hockey game, they had wanted to visit Carlo's Bakery. No, make that, they were adamant that we visit Carlo's Bakery. Apparently, they are very big fans of this place because they watch Cake Boss, a reality show that features the bakery that Buddy Valastro runs with his family in Hoboken, New Jersey. I've never seen the show, but it must be a hit because there are now 18 Carlo's Bakery locations spread throughout the US. The show also spawned the place where we would be eating dinner on our first night in Las Vegas, Buddy V's Ristorante.

Buddy V's is located at the Grand Canal Shoppes at the Venetian, right across from Carlo's Bakery. This hotel property has some of my favorite restaurants in Las Vegas; Canaletto, Bouchon, and Grimaldi's, and others that I am very excited to try in the near future, (Yardbirds, PrimeBurger, and more). Another added bonus about eating at Buddy V's was that we were able to make a reservation for our party of six on Open Table, so there was no waiting around for our table to become ready.

With reservation in hand, we arrived at Buddy V's at 8pm on a recent Friday. The restaurant was very busy but it was more of organized chaos. Not sure why, maybe it was the black and white tiled flooring, the wafts of Italian food being brought out to the tables, or something else, but the inside of this space reminded me of a slightly more upscale Maggiano's. Lots of people at the bar, a very open and active kitchen, and a display of some of the good looking cakes from across the hallway immediately caught our attention.

We were seated in the back row of booths, near the window featuring a fantastic view of the north side of the strip. The layout of the restaurant was pretty spacious, with plenty of room between tables, so you did not feel like you were on top of other parties. Even with the extra space though, it was really quite loud in here, which helped me drown out what I assume was a boring conversation at the end of the table.

The menu here is predictably broken up into starters, salads, pizzas, pasta, main dishes, sides, and of course since this is the Cake Boss's restaurant, desserts. Prices are pretty modest by Vegas standards, with entrees ranging between $25 to $46, pasta dishes hovering around the $25 mark, and pizzas going for $18. Let's see how this evening's dinner turned out for us.

Since Katie's brother and sister in law were staying at another hotel farther south down the strip, they were delayed waiting for their Uber, so we started with three appetizers to keep us occupied. The Macaroni and Cheese Carbonara ($13)  was a good way to start things off. This dish exuded hominess with its smoked mozzarella and fontina cheese blend, egg, pancetta, and peas rounding it out. It was delicious, but the consistency was just a tad too soupy for my taste. A little better was Grandma's Meatballs ($13). Six meatballs made up of a mixture of veal, beef, and pork and then bathed in a marinara sauce with a sprinkle of parmesan. The meatballs were fork tender and the marinara was a great accompaniment, as it was not too acidic, with just the right sweetness to the sauce. I dreamed of having these in a sandwich, which they offer only during lunch. The Grilled Garlic Bread was another winner. They use the same cheeses on this bread as they use in their mac and cheese, fontina and mozzarella, and it gets nice and bubbly underneath the broiler. Very crunchy on the sides and soft in the middle, just like a good piece of garlic bread should be.

I was pretty full from the appetizers and the lobster roll I had earlier in the day, so I did without my usual Caesar Salad ($12), but luckily someone got one so I could snap a picture of one. It looked pretty good, with plenty of dressing, a sprinkling of parmesan and fresh romaine. The menu says they use polenta croutons, which I would have liked to have tried. Katie got a Dinner Salad ($9) which featured mixed greens, a variety of tomatoes, sliced cucumbers, and a vinaigrette dressing. Pretty basic, but she seemed to like it well enough.

Entrees were up next, and we'll start with Rachel's selection on this evening, the Cheese Ravioli ($23). This pretty traditional ravioli was filled with ricotta and dusted with plenty of parmesan and a Pomodoro sauce. Rachel said she picked this because it seemed like the lightest of all the dishes here, and she was right about that. The six ravioli was one of the most manageable meals, as you will see as you scroll down.

Another pasta dish was next, as Katie tried the little heftier Orecchiette and Italian Sausage ($24). This pasta dish had a lot of flavors included in it. The well made orecchiette and subtle sausage was joined in the bowl with broccoli rabe, basil, pecorino, tomatoes, and a very good pesto sauce. Katie loved the pesto sauce at Buddy V's, as it went well with the freshly made pasta. The sausage was not as prominent in this as she imagined, which lead to a lighter tasting dish.

I was a little surprised by Lynn's selection on this evening, the Chicken Marsala ($27). She usually goes for a smaller meal, but maybe since she was in Las Vegas she was going a bit wild. The tender chicken was under a bunch of mushrooms and a delicious and rich marsala sauce. She put a pretty good sized dent in this, but could not finish it. This also came with linguine on the side, not that she needed it with this big plate.

Definitely, the best looking of all the entrees was this Nonna's Lasagna Al Forno ($26). This brick sized square of lasagna was made up of all things good; Italian sausage, pork, beef, mozzarella, provolone, and ricotta. This was a fantastic version of one of my favorite of all Italian dishes. It had a good balance of meat and cheese, the noodles were nice and firm, and the sauce covering this was a nice compliment to the rest of the dish. Dennis had no chance of finishing this but gave it a noble effort. Better luck next time big guy.

My smart-aleck brother in law thought he could slip a middle finger in the picture of his Quattro Formaggio Pizza ($18) but I cut around it. Got ya, buddy. Anyways, this four cheese pizza included ricotta, mozzarella, provolone, parmesan, and was finished off with a touch of truffle oil. This was definitely an elevated cheese pizza. Good, crispy crust and the cheeses were of course fantastic. Nicely done.

When I perused the menu at Buddy V's, there was really only one thing that I just had to order, the Valastro Sunday Gravy ($28). This Italian combo plate came with meatballs, sausage, lamb, and pork covered in a zesty tomato sauce. The meats were wonderfully tender and I loved all of them. This came with a bowl of rigatoni that I really did not even bother with because I knew there was no way I was going to finish this plate. I was totally right.

It's been our tradition when we are making reservations in Las Vegas to let the restaurant know we are celebrating a birthday, even if it's still quite a way in the future. This time it was our beloved Rachel that had her faux birthday dessert. Buddy V's sent out a Canoli ($9). which was piped with sweet ricotta cream and studded with pistachios and chocolate chips on separate ends. I confess I did not try any of this because I was pretty uncomfortable with everything that I had eaten here. Everyone else really enjoyed this dessert, but next time I'd like to try their Nutella Cake, which I hear is amazing.

I'd say the moral of the story of our time at Buddy V's is to show up very hungry or be prepared to split meals because most entrees can be easily split between two very voracious eaters. This being Vegas, you also don't want to be lugging leftovers all over town with you. I'd characterize the food here as better than my last few trips to Maggiano's, which I used to love. This is stick to your ribs Italian cuisine. Italian food that makes you well aware that you just had a gigantic meal before going out and hitting the tables or seeing a show. Service was professional and moved things right along at a pretty good clip. Prices were not out of control based on the size of the meals. The next time we are in Vegas and have the cravings of Italian food dancing through our heads, we'd make a beeline right back to Bobby V's.

Out of five cakes, (since this is the Cake Boss's restaurant after all), five being best to zero being worst, Buddy V's Ristorante gets 3.5 cakes.

For more information about Buddy V's Ristorante, head to their website here: http://buddyvsrestaurants.com/

Look for Luke's Lobster in Las Vegas

Luke's Lobster

3200 South Las Vegas Blvd. 

Las Vegas, NV 89109

It was another jaunt through the desert for a quick Las Vegas getaway. Katie wanted to watch a live taping of her favorite podcast with her brother and sister in law, and I wanted some time away from work. Of course, it also gave me a chance to try some more restaurants in the desert oasis that is Las Vegas.

After the four hour trek, Katie needed a quick nap before our first night's festivities, which included dinner with her mom and dad, (who also happened to be in town for one of their many visits to Las Vegas), drinks back at the hotel where her brother was staying, and of course a little gambling or as many call it, donating.

As Katie slept off the effects of driving, her mom, dad, and I went out for a quick bite, and to see what kind of trouble the three of us could get into on this late afternoon. I had eaten a Double Western Cheeseburger at the Outlets in Primm, so I was not overly hungry, and Lynn and Dennis just wanted a little something to tide them over until dinner. On our way to the Wynn, we spotted a place that would be the perfect spot for a quick bite, Luke's Lobster.

I had Luke's on my list of places to try for a while now, but we haven't been to this end of the Strip in forever. I guess I had not done my homework, as I was a little shocked that this was little more than a kiosk located in front of the Fashion Show Mall, facing busy Las Vegas Boulevard. Okay, a kiosk might not be the right way to describe this place, maybe small shack is the way to go here. Luke's is  245 square feet, with a tiny covered patio that features five small tables, just large enough for ten or so people.

Another thing I did not know about Luke's is that they are a chain restaurant based in Maine, which just happens to be the state that harvests the most lobster in the US, a staggering 40 million pounds a year. Luke's Lobster started 10 years ago in New York and has spread out to 38 locations, with most being on the East Coast, but they also have outposts in San Fransisco, Chicago, Taiwan, and Japan. Luke's buys directly from lobsterman so they can trace where their seafood comes from. When we were here the lobster came from Maine, the crab came from St. John's Newfoundland, and the shrimp was from Quebec.

The menu here is pretty straight forward. They have shrimp. lobster, and crab rolls, which come in the standard quarter-pound size, or you can go for the jumbo version, which includes fifty percent more seafood in each roll. You also have the option to get your roll as part of a combo with one side item, or with a side soup. There are a couple of seasonal items and sides of chips or poppy seed slaw. Now that you know the lay of the land, let's see what we thought of our quick afternoon snack.

Much like eating in a Mexican or Barbecue restaurant, I figured the best way to try out more stuff at Luke's was to get the Luke's Trio ($29) which came with a half of a lobster, shrimp, and crab roll, cup of soup and a drink. The seafood comes out chilled and served in a buttered bun with mayo, lemon butter, and a dash of their secret seasoning. I'm always partial to heated seafood, but understand this is how it's served back east. Out of the sandwiches, my favorite was the shrimp, which I did not think would have been the case before eating here. It had the most flavor of the three. The lobster and crab was definitely fresh but lacked that spark that would hook me in. I liked the buns, which were heated a bit, but these sandwiches needed to be dressed with a bit more of the mayo and lemon butter to help make the seafood shine a bit more. There are two soup options at Luke's and my father in law got the Clam Chowder. The soups are made by Hurricane Soups, which is based in Greene, Maine. They have won numerous awards for their chowder and we could see why when we tasted this. It was full of clams and cubed potatoes, in a very creamy chowder base. Very good on a chilly late afternoon. I look forward to trying their lobster and corn chowder next time.

I look at this visit to Luke's Lobster as an initial test. The trio of sandwiches that we had was a little too small of a sample size for me to truly get a firm grasp of what they have going here, especially since I split each small sandwich with Katie's mom. I did like what I had but was not blown away. I'm always in favor of quality seafood becoming more available to the greater public. Not how it was when I was growing up, where the only options for seafood were either a Filet O' Fish at McDonald's or the fried stuff from H.Salt Fish and Chips. Back then if you wanted good quality fish, you had to make reservations at a restaurant with a white tablecloth. Places like Luke's Lobster have changed that, and it's an encouraging trend. We will definitely be back when we are back at this end of the strip and craving lobster and don't want to pay a fortune for it, especially after we lose all our money playing craps.

Out of five toothpicks, (because Luke's Lobster is based in Maine, and that state produces 90 percent of the nations toothpick supple), five being best to zero being worst, Luke's Lobster gets three toothpicks.

For more information about Luke's Lobster, head to their website here: https://www.lukeslobster.com/

Too Many Irons in the Fire?

Flights and Irons Urban Kitchen

376 Camino De Estrella

San Clemente, CA 92672

It was another adventure with our good friends Tom and Daniele. I love them so much, but they have become one trick ponies. Every time we make plans to go out to eat, they automatically suggest their favorite all you can eat sushi place. Sushi is fine, but I do not love it as much as they do. It's also pretty difficult for me to write about. So, I usually counter with a list of restaurants I have not been to yet, and then we eliminate them as a group until we end up with where we are going to be headed. On this particular Friday meetup, we decided to try Flights and Irons Urban Kitchen in San Clemente.

I put this restaurant on my list after reading some very positive reviews in both the OC Weekly and the OC Register. They do not take reservations, so Katie and I arrived a little bit before our mutually agreed upon time of 7pm, and were met with a very packed restaurant. We were quoted a wait time of about a half hour, which was fine because we were still waiting for the perpetually late duo of Tom and Daniele to arrive. Just as they arrived, ten minutes later, our table was all ready for us.

Opened less than six months now, Flights and Irons has a great local following. The reason for their name is really quite simple. With their extensive and unique wine and beer lists, they like to steer people towards their flights, which allow patrons to try small samples so they can find their favorites. The iron part of their name is due to the fact that a large number of their menu items are cooked in cast iron and then finished off in their wood burning oven.

The darkened dining room on this evening was crowded and very loud. Tables were pretty close to each other. The chairs were not the most comfortable we have sat in, so maybe request one of the half-booths near the back of the restaurant and then draw straws to see who gets to sit on the hopefully comfier booth side.

The menu at Flights and Irons features a small irons section, which is their appetizers, a small selection of soups and salads, sandwiches, big irons, which are their entrees, and the menu is finished off with a trio of sides and three desserts. Prices for the entrees range between $23 to $36 for the most expensive, the Ribeye. Appetizers will only set you back $10 to $13. I was really torn as to what to get here, as a number of the items sounded appealing. Let's see what the four of us ended up trying on this evening.

I was not really feeling like any of the appetizers, so Tom, Daniele, and Katie ended up picking this Fire Roasted Tomato and Brie Cheese ($12). In the skillet were fire-kissed grape tomatoes, garlic, and basil. The sliced bread was drizzled lazily with balsamic and a wedge of brie cheese was also included on the plate. All three of them liked this dish and made quick work of it. I did try a slice of the bread with a tiny sliver of the brie and thought it was fine.

Both Tom and Daniele got the soup on this rather chilly evening, and both ended up really enjoying their selections. Daniele tried the French Onion ($8), which was a pretty standard presentation. It had a blanket of Swiss cheese keeping the onions, broth, and large crouton scaldingly hot underneath there. Great flavor and lots of cheese made Daniele a very happy girl. Tom could not stop gushing over his Irons Tomato Soup ($8).  This creamy tomato soup was brought to an even higher level with the addition of jalapeno and coconut milk. The spice of the jalapeno was tempered by the soothing coconut milk, a little yin and yang thing going on here, which Tom really enjoyed. Our favorite couple gave plenty of praise to the soups at Flights and Irons.

Just by looking at the picture above, I bet you could not guess what kind of salad this is. It's the F and I House Caesar Salad ($14). Yeah, I wouldn't have guessed Caesar either. A romaine heart was topped with red onion, tomatoes, pepitas, a pepita lime dressing, with some roasted corn and croutons scattered about the plate. This deconstructed salad was not bad, but I would have liked it to be chopped up a bit for easier eating and it needed more of the better than average dressing. Not really a Caesar, except for the fact that it uses romaine, but I still like that they tried to make this Caesar their own. 

Katie very rarely orders burgers, but that's the way she went when she ordered the Flights and Iron Burger ($14). This half-pound burger came with two slices of cheddar, some house spread, and lettuce, tomato, and red onion on the side. This burger was okay but reminded both Katie and me of a burger we recently had at Coco's. There was nothing that really made it stand out. Not enough of their house spread and the burger patty itself was not seasoned near enough. Good bun though, but who orders a burger for the bun alone?

From the salad section of the menu came Daniele's choice on this evening, the Ahi Salad ($18). Seared ahi was joined in the bowl by a spring mix of leafy greens, diced tomatoes, and a balsamic and wasabi vinaigrette. The highlight of this salad for Daniele was the very fresh and well-executed ahi. She was not a big fan of the dressing, which at first she feared would be too overpowering with the wasabi, but it turned out to be just the opposite, as it was too sweet for her palate. The serving size was pretty good here, even if most of this was just the spring mix.

After some great debate, I went with this Shepard's Pie ($23). I should have gone with what our server had suggested, the pork chop. This was a pretty boring and awkward shepherd's pie. The top layer of mashed potatoes was way too soupy and did not cover the whole top of the skillet. I love pork belly but was not sure why the need for the strip to be floating in one big hunk over the rather mundane bottom portion of this Shepard's pie. There was not nearly enough beef filet included in this to become noticeable. I like a much more structured Shepard's pie. This was a very disappointing entree that I had such great hopes for.

The best entree of the bunch, and most unexpected was Tom's choice, the DD's Fried Balonga ($13). It's not every day that you find a fried bologna sandwich on a menu in OC, and this one should not be missed. Ignore all of your preconceived notions of the bologna you get on the lunch meat aisle of the supermarket, and think more in lines of a more mellow, freshly sliced deli pastrami. This high quality sliced fried bologna is piled high on toasted bread with lettuce, pickles, mustard, pickled onions, and red-eye mayo, which is a southern staple of coffee and mayo and is used prominently by David Chang of Momofuku fame. Tom called this the best sandwich he has had all year. He loved the textures and different layers of flavor on this one. He would not hesitate to get this again.

People on Yelp rave about the butter cake at Flights and Irons, but according to our server she said they could not keep up with the demand due to the size of their oven, so they scrubbed it from their menu. So we had to go with our second choice, the S'Mores Skillet ($9). I did not really get the s'mores vibe with this skillet dessert. The cake portion of this, which supposedly included both chocolate and graham cracker was way overcooked and dry. The marshmallow, which was the only part of this that resembled a s'more to me, (and my least favorite part of a s'more) was a few seconds away from being burnt. The only thing that saved this was that we had ordered a scoop of Cinnamon Ice Cream ($3) with this, which helped moisten it up and mask the burnt pieces of the marshmallow and dry outer ring of cake. I hope they find some way to bring back their butter cake.

I was pretty disappointed with our visit to Flights and Irons, but even more disappointed in my choices this evening. I should have listened to the suggestions of our server, instead of going with what I had my heart set on. Maybe the pork chop would have left me with a better taste in my mouth at the end of the evening. Serving sizes and prices are definitely out of whack here as well. You can't look at my salad and tell me that is anywhere close to a $14 salad. The Shepard's pie was also on the small side for $23, as I was done way before the others, and that's even after I had to let it cool down for a few minutes. Service was pretty good on this evening, and the owner was very hands on making sure her guests were well taken care of. Glad we could finally catch up with our good friends Tom and Daniele, and I'm sure they will suggest sushi the next time we meet up.

Out of five skyscrapers, (because Adrian Smith is the architect for the worlds tallest building, 163 stories in Dubai, and he grew up in San Clemente), five being best to zero being worst, Flights and Irons gets 2.5 skyscrapers.

For more information about Flights and Irons, head to their website here: https://flightsandirons.com/home

A Warm Welcome to OC for the Taco Stand

The Taco Stand

240 West Chapman Avenue

Orange, CA 92866

Downtown Orange has done it again. They have lured another out-of-town restaurant concept to add to their already fantastic collection of eateries. Recently, the city was lucky enough to hook the Denver-based, hot breakfast spot, Snooze Eatery, celebrity darling Urth Caffe opened up the first of this year, and Chef Ryan Adams left the cool ocean breezes of Laguna Beach and brought his fried chicken concept inland. These three join an already impressive established list of restaurant options in Old Towne Orange, which include; Gabbi's, Bruxie, Burger Parlor, Zito's Pizza, and others. Now, you can add another soon-to-be-packed restaurant to that list, San Diego's own The Taco Stand.

The Taco Stand comes to us from Julian Hakim and his uncle, Aram Baloyan, both Tijuana natives that lamented the fact that there was no place in San Diego to get the tacos they grew up with across the border. They decided they needed to open up a spot, and that's how The Taco Stand came to be. Their vision was for a place that had homemade tortillas, a trompo for al pastor, and a fun and inviting atmosphere. This formula must have worked because since they started out in La Jolla, they are now operating six locations, including one in Miami. Look for another to pop up later this year when you are visiting Las Vegas.

This Orange location has been open for less than two weeks now. They hit the gold mine location-wise. They are situated right in between Snooze Eatery and Buttermilk, and less than a block away from the newly constructed parking structure that makes parking in this always-packed area way less challenging. Since we parked with relative ease, I could not wait to enter what I hoped would be the city of Orange's next great restaurant.

Here are some quick shots I took of the interior of The Taco Stand. The registers and menu board are directly in front of you when you enter. The production line was something to definitely key in on when visiting here. There were so many people back there, like organized chaos. It was great watching the team put together each order. The trompo, which is the spinning tower of al pastor was mesmerizing., as it basted in its own juices and pineapple. All of the salsa and sauces are made daily, and I liked the variety they offered. The bright and colorful murals on the walls added to the atmosphere nicely.

The menu is broken up into sections; tacos, burritos, quesadillas, sides, five breakfast burritos, which are offered until noon, and then beverages. We met up with V.P. of Restaurant Operations Mike Roels. Mike has been very busy commuting between OC and San Diego, but you could sense his excitement about showing off the food of his restaurant. We could sense that we were in very capable hands, so we allowed Mike to bring out the items he thought we should try. We quickly found a table in the rapidly filling restaurant and waited with bated breath to see what Mike and The Taco Stand had in store for us.

I mentioned that all of the sauces and salsa were made fresh here, and after tasting it, it really showed. I'm a real sauce guy, and all of these were pretty stellar, but my favorites were the Chipotle and the Cilantro, which both added another layer of flavor to the items we tried here. I must not have been thinking because I did not try any of their Habanero, and I love spicy. Next time for sure.

Since we were situated at our table with our sauces, we became pretty excited when Mike brought out our first plate, The Taco Stand's famous Al Pastor Tacos ($2.99 each). These are a must-try when visiting here. Rotisserie marinated pork sliced off the trompo and joined in the homemade tortilla with cilantro, sliced pineapple, onion, and cilantro sauce. The first thing that caught my eye was that these tacos were really filled up with pork. The pork was rich and tender and I liked the way the pineapple cut the richness. What makes this al pastor better than others? Mike claims that they leave it on the trompo marinating longer than other places. Another highlight is the corn tortilla. Definitely not a dry taco, the corn tortilla held everything in place right through the final bite. One of the best al pastor tacos I have had in OC.

Next up were these beautifully constructed Spicy Shrimp Tacos ($3.79 each). Not only was I pretty excited by the looks of these, but I know Katie is not too fond of shrimp, so I knew both of these would end up being mine. Thank you shrimp allergy. The menu calls these spicy shrimp, but I did not really get too much in the way of spiciness, but they were very flavorful. Plenty of shrimp, a slice of avocado, cheese, cabbage, tomato, and their awesome chipotle sauce round out these tacos. Each bite included the crunch of the cabbage, the brininess of the shrimp, the creamy avocado, and everything was tied together with the chipotle sauce. Again, I'm glad I did not have to share.

When Mike brought these Mar Y Tierra Fries ($9.89) to our table, I could not help but notice all of the eyes following this basket as it was placed on our table. Other customers were definitely drawn to it. It was almost too beautiful to eat, but not wanting to let it go to waste, I felt it was our duty to scarf it down in record time. Some very nicely fried and crisp fries were buried underneath plenty of grilled shrimp and carne asada, cheese, guacamole, and chipotle sauce. What made this for me were the sauces and the higher-than-average quality of fries that they use. Most places would skimp on the fries, probably figuring that most people would focus more on the toppings, but The Taco Stand used some of the best fries I have experienced in a loaded fries dish. Another must try when visiting here.

Lastly, Mike brought us out the Corn on the Cob ($3.25). I have to admit, I'm not much of a fan of corn on the cob, but I found this to be very tasty. This elote-style corn was brushed with a light touch of mayonnaise, cotija cheese, and chili powder. The corn was nice and juicy, and I was not sure that the mayo and cotija cheese were going to interact well, but it turned out to be a very nice side item to close out our meal at The Taco Stand.

Both Katie and I were very impressed with our visit to The Taco Stand. It's easy to see why they have lines that stretch out the doors of their San Diego spots, and I predict the same for this new Orange store very soon. They have done no advertising and had only been open for 10 days when we were here, and they still had a full house of diners when we were here. I'm looking forward to coming back soon to try their Sonora Taco, California Burrito, a Breakfast Burrito, and one of their Hot Churros, which they make to order. It appears to us that Downtown Orange has another delicious hit on its hands.

We would like to thank Mike Roels and his team at The Taco Stand for their warm hospitality and their delicious food during this visit. It was very apparent that everyone that works here is very proud of the food they are serving, and loves showing it to the people of OC. We also would like to thank the fantastic Casey Sorrell of Alternative Strategies for introducing us to The Taco Stand and setting up this visit. 

For more information about The Taco Stand, head to their website here:http://letstaco.com/

Au Revoir to Pascal in San Juan Capistrano - CLOSED

Pascal

31451 Rancho Viejo Road

San Juan Capistrano, CA 92675

I'll let you in behind the scenes of this little restaurant blog that I love to write for all of you. When I finally get around to posting the restaurant review, it usually has been about a month since we visited the restaurant. Give or take a week or two. There are a few major major reasons for this. One, is I have a real job, which takes up way too much of my time. Family and friends are another worthwhile distraction. I also have a Netflix/Amazon Prime addiction which also takes some time away from me writing my restaurant reviews in a timely manner. Lastly, I'm not the world's quickest writer. It takes me far too long to get my words down, but I knew I had to get this review done quickly, so any of you that wanted to visit this restaurant could do so before they closed for good.

In case you have not heard, Pascal in San Juan Capistrano is closing as of March 30th. Chef Pascal Olhats is pretty much the most legendary chef in OC history. That is not just hyperbole, it is a fact, and I'd be willing to debate this with anyone dumb enough to disagree. Chef Pascal had been a chef in our great county for 35 years. In that time he has worked tirelessly at his own restaurants, mentored too numerous to list head chefs, he has won plenty of awards and accolades, teaches French cuisine at Saddleback College, raises money for worthy causes, donates his time and energy to plenty of food events we have had the pleasure to attend, and if all of that was not enough to convince you that Chef Pascal is a treasure, he also was invited to cook at Julia Child's 80th birthday party. Some pretty big stuff there.

Unfortunately, in September of 2018, Chef Pascal was diagnosed with T-cell lymphoma. He is doing six rounds of injection chemo. It does seem to be working, as so far 80 percent of the lymph nodes have receded, which is a very encouraging sign. The decision to close Pascal was a difficult one, but lucky for all of us, we all still have opportunities to try Chef Pascal's cuisine. He's still going to be involved at the Cafe Jardin at the Sherman Library and Gardens in Corona Del Mar and plans on having favorite dishes from Pascal available for lunches. There's even talk of special dinners, so stay tuned for that.

Back to the present though, we really wanted to get to Pascal before they shuttered for good, so we quickly made a reservation via the Open Table website. Pascal is located a little out of the way, in a shopping plaza nestled on the other side of the freeway, very removed from the busy downtown corridor of San Juan. His restaurant is one part storefront, with bakery items, prepared meals, sandwiches, and salads available for takeout, and then on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday evenings they offer sitdown dinners in their tiny, yet comfortable 24 seat dining room starting at 5:30.

The menu is broken up into 4 courses and lets the guest create their perfect sized meal. They also have Prix-fixed pricing, which allows you to have a selection from each category for a set price. There was also a special farewell offer, which limited you to two entree options, along with a soup or salad and a dessert. Both Katie and I decided we were going to forgo the first course, which was appetizers, but we ended up hitting the rest of the menu. Let's see how our first and last visit to Pascal ended up for us.

What would a French meal be without bread? Luckily, we did not have to find out since our meal started out with this very generous basket of sliced French Bread. Wow, this stuff was fresh, and the butter that came with this was rich and creamy. None of those cold, hard to spread butter packets here. Katie and I both plowed through this bread in record time.

I had really wanted to have the French Onion Soup ($12), but since Katie had her heart set on it, and in the spirit of showcasing more of the Pascal menu, I let her order it. This was quite simply the best French Onion soup I have ever had the pleasure to try. It came out scalding hot in an iron bowl, had a delicious Swiss cheese topping, fantastic onions and broth underneath, and was finished off with a white port that Katie was instructed to pour into the soup. She called this magical. She was right on the mark with this statement.

So, even though I was a little disappointed that I let Katie have the wonderful soup option, a few bites into this Lyonnaise Salad ($12) almost made me forget the soup she was happily slurping away across the table. This classic French salad included butter lettuce, frisee, which is curly endive, croutons, smoked bacon, poached egg, and a Dijon mustard dressing. I'd call this a breakfast salad, as it had some really good cubes of bacon and the yolk from the poached egg added a nice richness to the salad. The dressing was evenly distributed here as if each piece of green was individually brushed with the slightly tart dressing. Very good balance with this fresh salad.

Katie was back and forth on what she wanted for dinner but finally settled on this Beef Filet ($38). Even though she always requests that her beef come out medium well, this still ended up being very tender medallions of beef. A sign that they know what they are doing in the kitchen. The beef was pepper-crusted lightly, with a very nicely prepared Roquefort port wine sauce. The sauce was not over-bearing, but the Roquefort hung out in the background, allowing the beef to shine. It was accompanied by a sweet onion fondue and a roasted mashed potato. A very comforting dish in Katie's opinion and I definitely concur. 

I never get duck nearly enough, and I wasn't going to let this Duck A L'Orange ($38) slip through my fingers. This was my first time having this very classic French dish. The sauteed duck was sliced and served in a pool of an orange sauce. The duck was very fresh and not musty like some. The sauce was definitely citrus-inspired, but not overpowering. This came with some sliced Periguord potatoes and broccoli. It was a very deceptive dish, as it had way more duck than it looks like in these pictures. Very well executed.

Dessert would be the last thing we ever ate at Pascal, so we carefully decided on the Chocolate Chestnut Tart ($13). This tasted just like a chocolate souffle, but with a little more structure to it. It was topped with some very good vanilla ice cream and surrounded by sliced strawberries that I left for Katie. I liked this dessert, but wish it was a tad sweeter. I've learned that desserts from around the world are not as sweet as what we like in the US. Different palettes for sure.

Even though you only have a couple of more days to visit Pascal, you should totally do so if at all possible. This is the kind of restaurant that has become a dying breed, and that's a real shame. A lot of people would call the French food served here old fashioned and a little out of date, as people these days seem to like lighter entrees. I loved the artistry and the presentation of the food that was presented here. Yes, it was definitely a special occasion place, as the prices were a little too rich for our blood to splurge for on a regular Thursday evening out. Service was very cordial, but due to the fact that there was only one waiter for the 10 or so tables, this meal ended up being a two-hour-plus long affair, which is way too long. It did give us time to savor our first and last time at Pascal and has gotten us very excited for a visit to Cafe Jardin in the near future. We also wish continued success to OC culinary legend Pascal and hope his health continues to improve.

Out of five leopards, (because Chef Pascal was born in Normandy, France, and their provincial flag has leopards on it), five being best to zero being worst, Pascal gets 4 leopards.

For more information on Chef Pascal and his culinary pursuits, head to his website here: https://pascalrestaurants.com/