A Meal Fit for a King at Royal Wok?

 Royal Wok

1868 North Tustin St. 

Orange, CA 92865

Birthday meal number two, and this time it's my parents' turn taking us out to celebrate. As usual, it's up to me to choose a restaurant to try. I have three criteria that I use when my parents are taking us out to dinner. One is that it should be centrally located between both of us, which means in Tustin or Orange. Two, it has to be something that they will like, and not too out of their comfort zone. Lastly, and most importantly, it must be moderately priced. Royal Wok in Orange was the perfect fit fresh from my restaurant wishlist. 

Royal Wok took over the space that was home to Yang Ming Garden, which garnered a lot of love from almost everyone in Orange. When they closed a few years back, and eventually moved on to a new address just across the city limits in Villa Park, many wished this spot would house an equally impressive Chinese restaurant. After reading a review in the OC Register about Royal Wok, I think those people might have gotten their wish. 

The Liang family has been in the restaurant business since 1993. They operated a Chinese restaurant in Longmont, Colorado, which is about 40 miles north of Denver. Replacing a favorite among people in the city of Orange was not an easy task, but they seem to be living up to this challenge. Besides the glowing OC Register review, they have garnered a very respectable four and a half stars on Yelp, with over 100 reviews. I was definitely intrigued to see how our early evening would turn out Royal Wok. 

We arrived just before 4pm on a recent Sunday in June. I had never been to this location when it was Yang Ming Garden, but what I found when walking into this space was a sleek and modern restaurant, with minimal Chinese decor, except for what was sitting on top of the bar area to the right of the entrance. The grey walls matched the tabletops, and there was a large row of half booths lining the far left wall, with a "good vibes only" sign painted above the booths, which was the only decor visible on any of the walls. 

I was definitely hoping for some good vibes from the food at Royal Wok. Their menu is just what you'd expect from a Chinese restaurant in the US. It was divided into appetizers, soup, different proteins, chow mein, chop suey, egg foo young, and fried rice. Entree prices hover around the $12 price point, with only a few seafood items exceeding this. There's also plenty of lunch specials to choose from, which will set you back $8 to $9. My family usually picks four dishes and we share them amongst each other. Let's see if Royal Wok is a worthy replacement for the beloved restaurant that graced this address for many years. 

We started off with an order of Egg Rolls ($5.95). They were filled with plenty of cabbage and shredded carrots and came with a sweet and sour sauce which boosted the flavor profile. I'm not a big fan of egg rolls, as I think they are usually quite bland, but at Royal Wok these were fried very nice and crisp but were not as greasy as others tend to be. Not a bad start to our meal. 

We did not order this, but they provided this Egg Flower Soup ($6.95) to the four of us. This was a pretty basic soup, with some carrot and peas thrown in. It was an okay soup, but more of a palette cleanser, as it was not too big on flavor. To be honest, this is not a soup I'd ever see myself ordering, as I'm way more partial to hot and sour soup when dining in Chinese restaurants. 

When Brad Johnson reviewed Royal Wok for the OC Register he raved about this Mongolian Beef. ($11.95), and I'm excited to report that he was correct in his praise of this plate. It was one of the best I've had. It had a large part to do with the very tender sliced beef that was the star of this plate, but the flavorful sauce, along with the sliced mushrooms and green and white onion combined wonderfully to make this dish a winner. I found myself trying to downplay how much I enjoyed this so I could maybe sway my parents and Katie from liking this too much, which in turn would mean more for me. No such luck, as they would not be fooled. 

I have a love-hate relationship with Orange Chicken ($11.95). I'm no fan of the one from Panda Express that most people enjoy way too much. I do find myself liking other versions of this cult favorite that is fried nicely, so each bite has a nice crunch when bitten into. This one from Royal Wok falls into that category. The sweetness was muted a bit too much, but each chicken piece was coated nicely and had a satisfying crunch to each bite. The veggies were prevalent, and the pineapple chunks helped bring up the sweetness quotient of this entree.  

Honey Walnut Shrimp ($14.95) can either go very wrong or be one of the best things you consume on a particular evening. This one unfortunately fell flat for me. The shrimp was overly breaded and the sauce lacked any real sweet tinge that you'd expect from this dish. All I really got was a heavy mayo flavor which was broken up a bit by the candied walnuts. I was also a little taken aback by the ring of broccoli surrounding this, which seemed like it was just there to bring a little color to the plate. We'd skip this on future visits. 

As we all pick at least one entree when the four of us go out for Chinse food, Katie always suggests something a little out of the norm for my parents. On this evening it was the Moo Shu Chicken ($10.95). This Chinese classic stirfry came with grated carrots, shredded cabbage, onion, and sliced chicken with the plum sauce on the side. We all enjoyed this very much. It was very comforting and not as salty or oily as others we have had at other places. I did not use the provided pancakes, but Katie liked them well enough. 

Even with a few minor missteps, Royal Wok was a pretty impressive Chinese restaurant. I really enjoyed most of the entrees that we had, with the lone exception being the honey walnut shrimp. Everything was fresh and came out of the kitchen piping hot. Even though they were not crazy busy at this early dinner hour, the service was very cordial, and we could feel that they really were happy that we were here. I felt the prices were very competitive and the portion sizes were large enough for the four of us to all be full walking out of there. Royal Wok hit all the right boxes for us and was a great place for my parents to take me out for my birthday dinner. 

Out of five minutemen, (because the largest wok of all-time was a 2,500-pound one that was used to make over 4,000 pounds of stirfry at UMass, and their sports teams are called the minutemen), five being best to zero being worst, Royal Wok gets 3.5 minutemen.  

For more information about Royal wok, head t their website here: http://www.royalwokca.com/

A Meal Fifty Years in the Making

 Pacific Hideaway

500 Pacific Coast Highway

Huntington Beach, CA 92648

It's birthday time for me, and this year it's a big one. I have finally hit the half-century milestone. That seems like a big number, but seeing so many of my high school friends already go through it on social media made it a little less scary. While I was waiting for my AARP card to arrive, I began looking for a restaurant to eat at off of my ever-growing restaurant wishlist. Katie was going to be playing hookey from work so we could celebrate with a birthday lunch. After much deliberation, I finally selected Pacific Hideaway in Huntington Beach. 

Pacific Hideaway is located in the Kimpton Shorebreak Hotel, which is a block north of the Huntington Beach Pier. The restaurant is situated on the third floor of the hotel. The vibe is hip, but not pretentious. It feels very open and airy, thanks in part to the two large roll-up doors that bring the outside in on the 300 plus days of perfect weather in this seaside paradise. 

This place caught my eye from the numerous media mentions I have spied since they opened four years ago. There's been some change in the leadership of Pacific Hideaway, but they still maintain a solid four-star rating on Yelp and get excellent press for their cocktail program. I had made reservations, but it was clear that they weren't needed when we visited here on an overcast Thursday afternoon early in June. We were one of three parties that dotted the dining area. 

The operating hours for Pacific Hideaway are pretty much all day, 8am to 10pm daily. They have a brunch menu in play seven days a week, then they start their dinner service at 4pm, although it's not listed on any menu. We were relegated to the brunch menu, which did have a wide variety to choose from, whether you are looking for breakfast items or a midday meal. Prices are $15 to $35 for their lobster roll, which at that price better have a pound of lobster on it. That's a little rich for my blood, even though it was my birthday. Let's see what we did end up having on this momentous occasion. 

Starting us off will be Katie's meal this afternoon. She went with the Crab Toast ($18) and Sweet Potato Fries ($7). Lump crab was placed on top of the housemade sourdough slice with a smear of avocado, pickled onion, and chili garlic oil. She loved the lightness of the crab and the way that the chili oil and pickled onion had a yin and yang thing going. I'm no fan of sweet potato fries, but these were some of the best I have had. They came with both ketchup and a garlic aioli that I think Katie asked for when ordering. The garlic aioli was my favorite, but I found myself using the ketchup as well, just for a little diversity.  

What to have when you reach a half-century? Fish and Chips ($26) would be the answer. Pacific Hideaway uses halibut instead of the usual cod most places use to make this. The difference was very apparent, even after one bite. The fish was fresh and the crunchy breading was very flavorful and lacked the greasiness you often associate with fish and chips. This came with coleslaw and fries. The fries were your basic fries but made better with the very nicely done remoulade sauce that I used with the fish also. The coleslaw kind of got lost here, as it was the loser of this plate. Not very flavorful whatsoever.  

Instead of a birthday dessert, I was given this Birthday Shot. To be honest, I do not remember what they called this, but it showed up on our check as a Kim Birthday item, and I do know it was made with Cruzan white rum and maybe some mango juice or another tropical juice of some sort. It was a nice touch to a solid birthday lunch. 

I really have no big qualms with the food at Pacific Hideaway. Besides the lackluster coleslaw, everything else was very tasty and impressed both Katie and me. I did find the prices to be a little high. Katie's slice of bread with crab and avocado was scrumptious, but not nearly enough to warrant almost paying $20 for it. I know that hotel restaurant prices are usually higher, but that seemed a little extreme. The service was cordial and very relaxed, which is what you really want at a beachside hotel. I'll definitely visit again to experience their dinner menu. I'll just have to make sure it's payday so I can enjoy their $62 new york strip steak or the eye-popping, wallet clearing $90 Thai snapper. Maybe on my next milestone birthday. 

Out of five train tracks, (because like me, 1971 was when Amtrak debuted, and just like them, I plan to keep chugging along), five being best to zero being worst, Pacific Hideaway gest 3.5 train tracks. 

For more information about Pacific hideaway, head to their website by clicking here: https://www.pacifichideawayhb.com/

Just How Excellent Is Franco’s Famous?

 Franco's Famous 

26538 Moulton Parkway

Laguna Hills, CA 92653

Every city has that one shopping center, which is just a dead zone. Whatever happens in one of these Bermuda triangles of retail centers, the stores only last a couple of months at the most. Most of the time, property management decides that a remodel could drum up foot traffic and attract more business for the unfortunate tenants who have the misfortune of opening a storefront in these cursed centers. Still, most of the time, it doesn't work out. 

This is precisely the situation that Franco's Famous has walked into. The Village at Nellie Gil Ranch is situated at the corner of Moulton and La Paz and is anchored by Smart and Final, Mod Pizza, and Chuck E. Cheese. This rebranded shopping center had a remodel within the last couple of years. Still, there's been a lot of turnover even after that, and you can always get front-row parking at the almost desolate Smart and Final. 

Franco's Famous is trying to buck that trend, though. Opened in late 2019, Franco's was very busy on the recent Wednesday we visited. The inside is comfortably styled with a bar centrally located as soon as you enter, comfy booths off to the right, and a smaller seating section to the left. The wall to the restroom is lined with framed discs proudly displaying their sister restaurants, including the nearby Flamingos and El Cortez in neighboring Laguna Niguel. 

Unlike those restaurants mentioned above, Franco's has no combo plates. Instead, their menu is divided into starters, tacos, burritos, and specialties. Entrees range between $14 to $20, while three street tacos will set you back $10. It's alright for this part of South OC. We were seated right away and waited only a minute or two for our good friends Mazi, Marita, and their baby boy Zayne to arrive. We quickly made our selections, so let's see if Franco's can break the curse of this shopping center. 

This is the obligatory picture of Chips and Salsa when dining at a Mexican restaurant. The chips were freshly fried and pretty solid, while the salsa was too mild and needed many more chunks, which would have helped with the watery texture. Katie also ordered a guacamole de la casa ($10), which had a pleasing texture and was mildly spiced. 

Katie started our entree portion of the evening with her selection, the Pastor Street Tacos ($10). These mini tacos came with red-hued sliced pork, a Verde salsa, and a slice of charred pineapple. Katie described these as decent, as the pork was dry, and the dominant flavor came only from the pineapple. She'd get something else on future visits. The menu did not specify that this came with beans and rice, so I'm sure Katie got them as a side item. She was fond of them both. 

This qualifies as a combo meal, but it's not one you get to build yourself. The Carne Asada Tempiquena ($20) comes with a marinated steak and a cheese enchilada and is rounded out with beans and rice. Mazi was generous enough to share a bite of this with me, and the steak was nicely tender and flavorful. The enchilada was full of cheese but needed more sauce to balance it out. It was a good-sized plate of food.  

As is my custom when eating in a Mexican restaurant for the first time, I generally steer towards carnitas as a barometer as to whether a Mexican spot knows what they are doing. That meant the Carnitas Jalisco ($17) would sit before me. Unfortunately, the pork was bone dry, and there were not enough beans to make this enjoyable. I used much of the sour cream Katie requested with her meal. Like with Katie's meal, I'd get something else on future visits to Franco's. 

Lastly, Marita went with the Beef Fajitas ($20). I have scoured their menus online for this item but have not found it. I must have missed it because I've seen others getting this on Yelp. Maybe I'm just getting old. Like most fajita dishes, this came out scalding hot, with red and green peppers, onions, and sliced marinated steak strips. Marita seemed to enjoy this very much. 

It was a little hit-and-miss at Franco's Famous this evening. Katie and I were not thrilled with our choices, but Mazi and Marita could not have been happier with their selection of meals. I'd return to see if I could find something much more to my liking. I felt the prices were not crazy out of control, and the service we experienced this evening was more than satisfactory. With the crowd present during our stay, Franco's is the type of place that can turn things around for this shopping center. 

Out of five blackboards (in honor of Nellie Gail, the real-life woman whom this shopping center is named for and who, before her move to California, was a school teacher in Washington State), five being best to zero being worst, Franco's Famous gets 2.5 blackboards. 

Franco's Famous does not have a website for some reason, but you can find more information about them on their Yelp page here: https://www.yelp.com/biz/franco-s-famous-mexican-kitchen-and-cocktails-laguna-hills

Adya Is Doing Good in the Community - CLOSED

 Adya 

4213 Campus Drive

Irvine, CA 92612

I really like to show support to restaurants that have a conscience. Most restaurants do way more for the community than just nourish us. Think back to your childhood and the local pizza parlor that sponsored all those local sports teams posted proudly on their walls. Many other restaurants provided coupons in the now-forgotten Entertainment Book, which allowed many non-profit groups to raise money for new sports equipment, uniforms, or fund outings for kids. 

This spirit of giving has brought us to Adya in Irvine. Back in mid-May, Adya donated one hundred percent of its weekly sales to COVID-19 relief efforts in India. At the end of the seven days, they raised $29,100 for the American India Foundation, which will be used to provide portable hospitals in hard-hit India. Katie and I decided to do our part and headed to Adya, one of our favorite Indian food restaurants in OC.

Adya is an Indian street food restaurant that utilizes local ingredients to create modern Indian cuisine. Chef Shachi Mehra opened the first Adya at the Packing House in Anaheim seven years ago, and two years later opened this second spot at the very popular University Center, which is tucked neatly into UCI. Chef Shachi was the opening chef at the critically acclaimed Tamarind of London at Newport Coast and, more recently, was triumphant on the TV show Chopped. Joining her as a partner at Adya is Chef Sandeep Basrur, who gained prominence as one of the best Indian chefs in Northern California. Quite a team these two have become. 

Every time I eat at Adya, I am amazed at how much lighter their Indian food is than others we have tried. However, they don't sacrifice the bold flavors and spices you have come to expect from Indian cuisine. Their menu features a quartet of starters: pavs, kathi rolls, kebabs, curries, and, of course, everyone's favorite, naan. Let's find out our thoughts while we do some good for the people of India. 

It's nearly impossible to visit an Indian restaurant and not gobble up copious amounts of naan. It's even harder when Goat Cheese Naan ($5.99) is offered. Katie zeroed in on this, and after our first bite, we were hooked. I'm not the biggest goat cheese fan, but the tart, earthy cheese flavor went well with the well-made, leavened flatbread. 

Since we visited New York way too long ago, Katie has been looking for a Chicken Biryani ($13.49) that would rival the one she found on the street there. This biryani was offered as a special on the evening we visited, so she gave this one a shot. She loved the moist chicken and sauce here but felt the rice-to-chicken ratio was way off, as all left after getting halfway through this was rice and a little bit of sauce. Still a very comforting dish, but it needed to be better to supplant the one she had on the East Coast. Her search continues.  

You can call me basic all you want, but my favorite Indian meal is Chicken Tikka Masala ($13.99), which most novices get at Indian restaurants. No apologies; I enjoy this dish with its flavorful spiced curry sauce bathing in the cubed chicken. This version was nicely done with the masala sauce covering the tender poultry pieces on a basmati rice bed. For an extra $4, I made it a thali, which I'd describe as an Indian combo meal. I added a small green salad, butter naan, and some delicious cucumber raita, which went well with my and Katie's leftover rice. 

The food at Adya was just as good as I remembered. The flavors are bold, the spices are prevalent, and it is comforting. Their portion sizes are a little out of whack compared to their price point. We had way more rice than chicken at the end of our meals. Service this evening was fine, but be aware that this is a pretty small restaurant, with only two tables inside and a few tables out in front of the restaurant. During peak mealtime hours, call in your order and take your food to go, especially on chilly evenings, like when we visited Adya. I'm glad we could do a small part to help the people of India by eating at Adya during their weeklong event. Still, I'm way happier that there are restaurants like this that want to not only fill our bodies with excellent food but also want to do some good in the world. 

Out of five sundials (because the largest sundial in the world is located in the town of Jaipur, India, and measures an imposing 90 feet tall), five being best to zero being worst, Adya gets 3 sundials. 

For more information about Adya, head to their website here: https://adyaoc.com/#home

Happy 25th Anniversary to Blake's Place

 Blake's Place

2901 East Miraloma Ave. 

Anaheim, CA 92806

25 years is a pretty long time when you think about it. Twenty-five years ago there were no cellphones, debit cards, or caller ID so you could ignore your bill collectors when you failed to pay your credit cards on time. In 1996 I was living a carefree life with my best friend in Newport, working until ten every night, then hitting up a different bar every night of the week, depending on where our bartender friends were working, so we could maybe score some free beverages. 

Good times, but while I was out sowing my wild oats, others were doing way more worthwhile things. Gene Hobel, owner of Blake's Place was creating a legacy for his son Blake. Back in 1996, Blake was six months old when Gene opened Blake's Place in an industrial area of north Anaheim. Gene took over a small sandwich shop all those years ago and built a thriving restaurant and catering business that he will someday pass along to his son.  

Fast forward to the present day, my friend Daren and I were recently invited to experience what's new at Blake's Place since my last visit over ten years ago. They now have a covered patio that has almost nearly tripled their seating area, and has made the restaurant way more comfortable, as there's no more waiting for tables during their legendary lunch rush. I'm not entirely sure, but the menu seems to have been expanded a bit also. There's a bunch of entree salads, a trio of deli sandwiches, and some good-looking loaded fries to go along with their award-winning barbecue. 

Unfortunately, when we visited on a recent Thursday just before noon, Gene was away on business, but Blake, who is now a manager at this busy spot, filled in wonderfully for his father. He could not have been any more gracious to the two of us, not an easy task when you consider the lunchtime rush was happening all around us. The restaurant business is definitely in his blood. We ordered rather quickly, as I knew what we would be having, as I checked out their menu on their website before visiting. We easily found a table and waited for our food to be brought out to our table. 

Yes, your eyes are not deceiving you, it really is that big. This is The Beast ($29.99). Two and a half pounds of sheer awesomeness. Not to be messed with by just anyone, Daren was hoping that he was the man to tackle this monstrosity. This big pile of deliciousness was made up of pulled pork, pulled chicken, chopped brisket, coleslaw, pickle, red onion, and Blake's BBQ sauce, all placed between a custom-baked extra-large bun. 

When ordering this behemoth you have the option of doing it at your own pace, or you can attack it as a challenge like Daren did. He needed to put this away in 20 minutes or less, and then he'd get a bumper sticker, a T-shirt, and more importantly, his picture would go up on their wall. He started off slowly, as he couldn't get over how good it tasted, and he was taking too much time to savor it. He also took the bun off to save it for later, which I knew was a mistake. I told him to concentrate and finish the bread as quickly as possible, as it would be harder to eat as the time was ticking down on the stopwatch they brought out to our table. He eventually finished with just seven seconds to spare, a far cry from the standing record of four minutes which someone inhaled this sandwich. Maybe next time Daren. 

Not to be outdone by Daren, I also went pretty large at Blake's with Blake's Big Barbecue Plate ($29.99). As is my custom when eating in a barbecue joint, I always veer towards combo plates to get the most variety offered. This good-looking plate came with baby back ribs, sliced brisket, pork spare ribs, coleslaw, bbq baked beans, garlic bread, and plenty of french fries. All the meats were very solid, but if I had to choose a favorite it would have to be the pork spare ribs. They had the perfect amount of sauce on them, which was present, but allowed the meat's natural flavor to shine through. Each rib had plenty of tender meat attached, which gave way with just a little pull. The baby backs were nicely done with more meat on them than other baby backs I have encountered recently. The lean brisket was thinly sliced but lacked a ribbon of fat that I like included with my brisket. The sides were good, with the beans leading the pack with nice bursts of flavor in each forkful. This was a lot of food, which could have easily fed two adults, but I wanted some of the glory that Daren had garnered while conquering the beast, so I finished everything, but a few of the fries. 

It's good to see that Blake's Place is still thriving after a quarter of a century of serving north OC residents some of the best-barbecued meats in these parts. Keep an eye out on their social media accounts for some special events to mark their silver anniversary. I'd like to thank Gene and Blake Hobel for the invitation and opportunity to visit their restaurant, which you can clearly see is a labor of love for both of them. Gene has created quite the legacy for Blake, which I hope will live on for well past another 25 years.  

For more information about Blake's Place, head to their website here: https://www.blakesplacebbq.com/

Welcome to the Neighborhood Calo Kitchen and Tequila

Calo Kitchen and Tequila

28141 Crown Valley Parkway Suite A

Laguna Niguel, CA 92677

The empty restaurant that used to be home to a TGI Friday's on the corner of Crown Valley and Greenfield seemed like it had been empty for decades instead of the five years it had really been vacant. There were plenty of rumors about what was going to happen with that space. I had heard a Raising Cane's was going to be a possibility. Another tip had led me to believe that a BJ's Brewhouse was going to be setting up shop there. I had even heard it was going to be converted into a bank. None of these tips proved to be true though. 

Early last year a chain-linked fence went up around the property. The building was stripped down to its frame. Some major work began. About three months later a few signs went up around the chain-linked fence ending all the speculation once and for all. Our new neighborhood restaurant was going to be Calo Kitchen and Tequila. 

A quick Google search answered a lot of my questions about this new arrival. This would be their second location, with the other spot being in El Segundo. That restaurant gets a very respectable 4.5 stars on Yelp with over 600 reviews for those that want to know. I also learned that this is the sister restaurant of Carmelita's Kitchen, which is probably familiar to those of you that have been to their locations in Rancho Santa Margarita, Laguna Beach, or maybe you were visiting Northern California and went to one of their two spots up there. 

Calo is a family-run restaurant. This spot appears to be run by their third generation in the restaurant business. From looking at the menu, I'd describe this as upscale Mexican food. Combo plates range between $16 to $21, while their Mexican favorites section of the menu is in the $14 to $25 price range. Specialties are listed last on the menu, and they go anywhere from $19 to $35 for a prime skirt steak served over chicken enchiladas. Sounds pretty good to me. 

Predictably, this place is unrecognizable from the old Friday's days with the total tear down of this former building. Calo shares a common wall with morning favorite Snooze AM Eatery, which might cause some major traffic and parking issues when Calo starts serving lunch in the early part of July. With the large doors opening up to the rather large patio and the abundance of white used on the painted and tiled walls, the inside of the restaurant feels bright and airy. We were seated in a comfortable booth on the patio for this special friends and family opening event. We enlisted our good friend Oz to join us to experience our first taste of Calo. Let's see if Calo will be a welcome addition to our neighborhood. 

Calo ups the usual humdrum Chips and Salsa that you get at most Mexican restaurants. The chips were nicely fresh, but the star of this show was the bean dip that came with them. I could not get enough, and they generously refilled our bowl numerous times during our visit. The deep earthy flavor mixed with some spices made up for the much more mundane salsa, which needed a little more chunk to it for my tastes. 

Katie has grown an affinity for Queso Fundido ($11) and is on a search for the one that will supplant her favorite one, which is presently from El Maguey, which is down in San Juan Capistrano, With its chipotle cheese, crumbled sausage, mushrooms, sliced onions, and poblanos, this fundido was fine, but did not match the cheesier version from El Maguey. The cheese was off a bit, and the sausage failed to pack much of a punch of flavor. This did come with some very well-made corn and flour tortillas, which helped things out a bit. 

When I'm eating at a Mexican restaurant for the first time, I use the Carnitas ($25) as a barometer to see if a restaurant is worth revisiting. After my first couple of bites of this pork, I can definitely see myself making return visits. These carnitas had exactly what I look for when having this dish. Crispy tips, a little fat running through it for flavor, and tenderness throughout made this plate a winner. The refried beans and rice went well with the pork in alternating forkfuls. A very solid meal, and due to a snafu in the kitchen they had brought out two extra plates that they allowed us to keep, which we enjoyed for lunch the next day. 

Katie is sometimes a wildcard as to what she orders in Mexican restaurants, and at Calo, she veered from her usual fajitas to order the Pollo Serrano ($23). The menu claims that this is a staff favorite, and after a couple bites, it's now one of Katie's favorites as well. The two good-sized organic chicken breasts were blanketed with a green-hued serrano cream sauce and served alongside a scoop of rice and a poblano pepper topped with cheese and avocado slices. The sauce was not only eye-catching but burst with flavor and was a good conduit with the wonderfully moist chicken. I steer away from chicken in restaurants because a lot of the time it's dry, but the bite I had of this is making me rethink this. 

Our good friend Oz was going to go with the carnitas, but I veered him gently to this Seafood Trio ($33) because I had ordered the carnitas already and had wanted a little diversity to this post. Being the awesome guy that he is, he agreed. This trio of seafood items included a shrimp and lobster chile relleno, shrimp taco with bacon, and rounding things out, a lobster enchilada. Oz was pretty impressed with the seafood at Calo, calling it fresh and everything here was well made. Big praise from Oz, whose mom ran a Mexican restaurant in this area for many years. He's very picky when it comes to Mexican food, so to get his seal of approval really means something.  

Even though we were pretty full from our entrees, appetizer, and way more helpings of the bean dip and chips than I care to admit to you, we needed to try dessert at Calo. Our server raved about the Flan ($8) and the Tres Leches Cake ($8), so that's the way we went. I'm not the world's biggest fan of flan, as I think it's a little on the boring side, and hard for restaurants to make it their own. This one was a little creamier than most, and the plentiful amount of caramel made this sweeter than others I have encountered. The tres leches cake was predictably moist, but Katie liked that it was more sturdy than she was expecting. The top layer of icing had a muted sweetness that went well with the yellow cake underneath. I'm looking forward to trying their churros on my next visit. 

Calo Kitchen and Tequila is definitely a welcome addition to the neighborhood, and with the groups of people I see out in front every time I drive by, I think I'm not alone in that sentiment. With the prices per plate, I admit that Calo Kitchen is not going to be an everyday option for a lot of you, but it's definitely one of the better upscale Mexican restaurants in south OC. The food was executed well, and even though this was a trial run for the official first day of opening, the service we experienced on this evening was exemplary. We look forward to many return visits. 

Thank you to everyone we encountered at Calo Kitchen and Tequila this evening for their friends and family event. It was an honor being among one of the first to see what you guys were all about and trying your food. From the management team to bussers, everyone seemed really proud of what they were a part of at Calo. Thanks again for a wonderful evening and we will see you again soon. 

For more information about Cal Kitchen and Tequila, head to their website here: https://www.calokitchen.com/

The Tradition Continues With a Visit to Local Tap House and Kitchen

 Local Tap House and Kitchen

308 South Coast Highway

Oceanside, CA 92054

It's nice getting back into the traditions that we missed in the last year. Katie and I have the custom of heading down to the outlets in Carlsbad so she can get a new purse at one of the high-end stores. No, I'm not partial to shopping, but it does give me a chance to pick a restaurant to eat at in an area that we normally would not get to. After some very careful research, I selected Local Tap House and Kitchen in Oceanside for our post-shopping meal.  

Local Tap House gets a lot of love online. Their Yelp rating is very impressive, with four and a half stars, and over 2000 reviews. There's also plenty of mentions in the local press. Their website touts their executive chef as Daniel Pundik, but he opened a new barbecue restaurant in Fallbrook last year, so I think he is transitioning out of Local Tap House. Nevertheless, when we arrived here at half-past five on a Saturday evening, we were faced with a forty-five-minute wait for a table underneath their heated tent located in their parking lot.  

As we waited for our table we cozied up to the bar, which seemed like a unique experience since we have not been able to sit and watch bartenders work for the last 14 months. It was quite a show watching our very friendly bartender making some pretty labor-intensive cocktails and pouring one of the 30 local beers available on a rotating basis. She deftly filled drink orders, all the while answering numerous questions from other patrons about the beers available on this evening. 

When our table was ready, we turned our attention to their food menu, which is broken down into starters, salads, sandwiches, more substantial plates, and a trio of desserts. Entrees go for $20 plus, while sandwiches hover around the $15 price point, which does not seem that bad for this neighborhood. Let's see what came out for Katie's birthday dinner. 

Katie and I were pretty hungry, so we both picked a starter, to begin with, to try to suppress our hunger. She went with the Mexican Street Corn Empanadas ($13). These golden pockets were filled with chicken,  roasted poblano peppers, kernels of corn, and served with a mixture of mayo queso Blanco, and lime. This was executed well, but these were too mellow for my tastes. I kept expecting a bigger burst of flavor that never came. Some extra sauce or a spicier salsa verde might have helped this out a bit. 

My pick was the WTF Short Rib Fries ($17.50) and they were more to my liking. The fries were placed on top of smoked gouda gravy and the shredded short rib, then this was topped with a fried egg, grated cheddar cheese, cotija cheese, and some green onions. This had plenty of short ribs on the bottom of the plate and was very good when I got everything in one forkful. The longer this stayed around though, the soggier that the fries got. I eventually found myself just picking around the fries to eat the tasty meat. 

The birthday girl was torn between a few items at Local Tap House but eventually went with the Beef Stroganoff ($20). This is one of the most unique versions of this comfort food classic that I've seen. No creamy sauce, instead, relying on a small drizzle of sour cream topping this. The plentiful short rib and pappardelle were joined on the plate by some tomatoes, mushrooms, a sprinkling of parmesan cheese, and a couple of handfuls of arugula. Katie loved this quirky version with its house-made pasta and the contrast between the bitter arugula and the rich meat and brown sauce. She could not finish this, as it had way more meat than she was expecting. 

I didn't realize it until we ordered, but three of our four items we got featured short rib. Sorry for the lack of diversity on this evening, I'll blame the cooler weather on this evening that necessitated the need for comfort food. Anyways, this Short Rib French Dip ($17 plus $3 upcharge for the Caesar Salad option) came with horseradish cream, swiss cheese, crispy onions, and au jus for dipping. This sandwich fell flat in my opinion. Some of the meat was dry in parts, and since they did not give me enough au jus, I was kind of stuck with muddling through some of the drier parts of the sandwich. A little more of the horseradish cream could have also helped to wake things up a bit here. The three-dollar upcharge for the Caesar was totally worth it. The greens were dressed perfectly with the nicely flavored Caesar dressing, and the parmesan and the crispy onions added even more flavor. 

When I left Local Tap House I was a little disappointed. The food was not terrible, it was definitely even a little better than average. It's just that I had it in my head that it was going to be spectacular, based on what I read about them online. In other words, it did not live up to the hype I had set in my mind before even walking in, which is on me, not them. I might have gotten the wrong entree, or we should have gotten a little more variety instead of just getting items with short ribs. With that being said the service was pretty stellar on this visit, from the bar staff while we were waiting for our table, to our sever who took great care of us throughout our stay. The vibe at Local Tap House was one of good times, which was exactly what we wanted as we restarted the tradition of heading south for Katie's birthday. 

Out of five volleyballs, (because some scenes from the 80's movie Top Gun were filmed in Oceanside, and one of the most iconic scenes in that movie is when they were playing beach volleyball), five being best to zero being worst, Local Tap House and Kitchen gets 3 volleyballs. 

For more information about Local Tap House and Kitchen, head to their website here: https://www.localtaphouse.com/