Mario’s Butcher Shop, so Nice I Went Twice

Mario's Butcher Shop 

1000 Bristol Street North

Newport Beach, CA 92660 

This post is a little different from most of my restaurant reviews. Usually, when I visit a restaurant they have only one chance to make an impression. Since I pay for most of my meals, I can not make multiple trips to the same restaurant, as that would get quite expensive. I almost always try to eat with a group of friends or get a combo meal, so I can share with you a better view of what a restaurant is all about. For this review, I did make two separate trips a few months apart to Mario's Butcher Shop. 

Mario's opened in June of last year, and almost immediately after opening their doors, I started hearing amazing things about their sandwiches and burgers. The OC Register has run a couple of articles about this place, citing their smoked pastrami sandwich as one of the best around, and also naming Mario's one of the top 7 butcher shops in OC. There were also nice write-ups in the Newport Beach Independent and a very detailed article on the Eater LA website.  

There actually is a Mario here, and it's Mario Llamas. He's originally from the South Bay, went to culinary school, and moved to Mexico for fourteen years to work at an Argentine steakhouse in Guadalajara. When he moved back to the states, he was working in restaurants, but the long hours kept him away from his kids. He took an apprenticeship with West Coast Prime Meats and learned the art of becoming a butcher. When he was furloughed in 2020 because of the pandemic a friend suggested that he open a butcher shop, and thus Mario's Butcher Shop became a reality. 

Mario's is located near the corner of Bristol and Jamboree, in the same shopping plaza as French fave, Moulin, Vibe Organic Kitchen and Juice, and Il Barone Italian Restaurant. The inside of the space is dominated by the well-stocked meat case, which has some nice cuts of high-end meats for sale.  There's also a grab-and-go section that features salads, beverages, and other sides.  

I purposely picked pre-lunch times to order from Mario's. Ordering was very easy through their website, and once I reached their storefront, my food was ready within a couple of minutes of the promised time. The online menu features a great number of sandwiches and burgers, along with breakfast items for early risers. I'm not entirely sure if they serve breakfast all day, as the hours are not posted on their website. Also, keep an eye out for specials on their Instagram page, which they update semi-frequently. Enough background, let's see the food. 

Here's the first of two things that I got on my maiden voyage to Mario's Butcher Shop, starting with their Grass-Fed Burger ($12) and Potato Salad ($6). This burger came dressed with sliced cheese, tomato, and a little lettuce on a very soft bun which got a little misshapen on the car ride home. The burger patty was thick, with crispy sides due to contact with the flattop. The meat was juicy and full of flavor, while the rest of the burger components complimented the beef wonderfully. I'd probably get this with bacon next time, as I think it would make the burger pop a bit more. The potato salad at Mario's is probably the best I have ever tasted. Great consistency to it, lots of herbs included, and a good creaminess to it. I could not get enough and found myself licking the container clean.  

For the second part of my initial Mario's visit, I selected the Corned Beef Rueben ($15). Ths sandwich came with Russian dressing, sauerkraut, pickles, and thinly sliced corned beef on toasted rye bread. I'm more partial to pastrami, but this corned beef was fine. I expected a little bit more meat on this sandwich, which would have helped the corned beef stand out a bit more. It was a little overshadowed by the kraut and Russian dressing. A well-put-together sandwich, but one that I would personally skip on my future visits to Mario's. 

I went big with my second visit, starting things off with this Smash Burger ($7). Smash burgers are all the rage right now, as my Instagram feed is filled with them every time I log on. For those of you that are not aware, a smash burger is smashed on the grill, which causes more surface area in contact with the heat source, thus creating a toasty, crisped burger. I'm not a big smash burger fan, as I usually like more girth to my burgers, but this one was delicious. Not dried out like some tend to be. I'd probably get a double smash burger next time, which would be right in my wheelhouse. 

Even better was the Patty Melt ($13). Cheese, onion, and pickles on rye bread. Yes, the patty was a little on the thin side, but I could taste the high-quality beef that they use here and the cheese and onions were plentiful. I'd probably ask for a double patty the next time I get this, which will make it even better.   

Pastrami on Rye ($14) is what gets the most love at Mario's, and after my first bite, I can see why. This is one of the better pastrami sandwiches in OC. The pastrami is sliced perfectly, not too thin not too thick, so it showcases the delicious pastrami really well. The coleslaw, Swiss cheese, and a touch of mustard add just enough supporting clout, to make this a very balanced sandwich. It was a true pleasure eating this, and I did not want it to end. After my first trip to Mario's, I could not skip the potato salad. It might have been even better on this second visit. Do not miss it.  

Mario's is a true gem not only for people living nearby but for all of OC. The pastrami is the thing to get here, but I look forward to eating my way through the rest of their menu in the near future. They have recently run a Cuban sandwich special that looks amazing, and I'd also like to try their breakfast options at some point. The prices here are pretty competitive with other spots right now, so you might as well visit Mario's to try their elevated sandwiches and burgers. I'm very happy I made two trips here, but they will definitely not be my last. 

Out of five wrestling mats, (because the most famous Mario I can think of is Mario Lopez, star of Saved By the Bell, where he played wrestler, A.C. Slater), five being best to zero being worst, Mario's Butcher Shop gets 3.5 wrestling mats. 

For more information about Mario's butcher Shop, head to their website by clicking here: https://www.mariosbutchershopdeli.com/

Rock and Roll All Night at Rock and Brews

 

 Rock and Brews

1222 Irvine Blvd. 

Tustin, CA 92780

Theme restaurants have never done it for me. Theme restaurants are eateries that use a theme to create a memorable experience. Some examples that you might be familiar with are Bubba Gump Shrimp Company, Chuck E. Cheese, Hard Rock Cafe, Planet Hollywood, Medieval Times, and Rainforest Cafe. Not really a glowing collection of restaurants that I would ever want to return to. Tasty food seems to be an afterthought for all of these places, but I was hoping that maybe Rock and Brews in Tustin was going to be able to break the curse of bad theme restaurants. 

Rock and Brews started off as a whim between five guys after a KISS concert in 2010. In attendance were a concert promoter and his brother, a well-respected restauranteur, and Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley of the rock band KISS. They all wanted to create a restaurant that prepares their cuisine in a scratch kitchen using the freshest ingredients they can get their hands on, all in a rock and roll atmosphere. That's what their website states, so I was definitely intrigued, and enlisted my sister and nieces to join Katie and me on a long-overdue dinner meetup. 

By my count, Rock and Brews now have 12 locations, not including a number of spots in casinos and airports. Their menu predictably features plenty of musical wordplay in describing their menu items. Plenty of starters, pizzas, sandwiches, burgers, salads, sides, and desserts are available. Just a couple of items eclipse the twenty dollar mark, with most hovering around the $15 mark, which is a pretty low price point these days. 

This Tustin location we visited used to be home to a Lonestar Steakhouse, but it has been completely revamped and is unrecognizable from those days. The restaurant seems way more spacious, with high ceilings, a large bar off to the right side of the restaurant, and lots of band posters and TVs hanging throughout the restaurant. We were seated on the outside patio, which was heated, so we were pretty comfortable. Let's see if Rock and Brews can break the theme restaurant curse of mediocre food. 

Katie has been pretzel crazy ever since she went off her keto diet. I guess she's making up for the lost time. The Giant Soft Authentic Bavarian Pretzel ($12.95) is not really my cup of tea, but everyone else seemed to dig it. It came with spicy mustard, which definitely had a kick to it. Katie decided to upgrade her pretzel experience by opting to have the Bier Cheese ($3.95). I found this sauce to be a little on the thin side, so I preferred the mustard in the few bites that I had. 

Loaded Potato Skins ($12.95) are way more my jam. These ones at Rock and Brews come with a mix of cheddar and pepper jack, candied bacon, green onion, and ranch. These were just okay. They kind of skimped on the cheese, and I'm not even sure if there was any pepper jack included here. They placed just a small sprinkling of bacon on each potato and I would have rather had sour cream instead of the ranch that these were topped with. Not awful, but not memorable. 

My niece is approaching adulthood but still orders off of the kid's menu for some reason. This is an improvement over the two years when she ate nothing but buttered noodles when she was younger. On this evening she ventured out by getting the kid's menu Mac and Cheese ($8.95). From what I saw this appeared to have come straight from the Kraft box, which makes sense since kids love that stuff. This also came with fries, which made this a double starch meal for my beloved niece.  

My sister had the Beer Battered Fish and Chips ($17.95). I'm not sure what kind of fish they use here at Rock and Brews, but it's probably not a good sign that my sister was unsure whether they had made the mistake of giving her chicken strips instead of fish. She decided it was fish, but wish it had a crunchier breading around it.  

Katie was pretty happy with her Key Club Turkey BLTA ($15.95). This turkey sandwich came on a french roll with sliced turkey, avocado, tomato, garlic aioli, lettuce, bacon, and melted swiss. She felt this was a nicely put-together sandwich with fresh produce and a nicely done garlic aioli. The onion rings are the way to go here. They had a crunchy breading and were served nice and hot. 

I steered clear of the pretty tasty burger I had here once during the pandemic and went with the Demon Chicken Sandwich ($17.95). This scary-sounding sandwich came dressed with sliced pepper jack cheese, jalapenos, a habanero slaw, chipotle ranch, marinated red onions, and just for good measure the fried chicken breast is tossed in their Rockin hot sauce. You'd think this would be way too overloaded with heat, but it was more subtle than I thought it would be. The chicken breast had a nice crunch to it, and as I ate this, the heat intensified, but not to the point where it became unbearable. I opted to not get the fries with this and went with the Caesar Salad instead. The salad was okay, but tomatoes do not belong on a caesar salad, ever.  

The grand finale for us this evening was the Giant Brownie Sundae ($9.95). A very simple sundae with a brownie topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, chocolate syrup, and whipped cream. This was fine but it would have been better if the brownie was warmed up a bit and if they would have used hot fudge instead of chocolate syrup. I had two bites and then let the rest of them spoon fight over the rest. 

Rock and Brews definitely could not break the theme restaurant curse. For all the talk on their website about being a scratch kitchen and using locally sourced ingredients, I find it hard to believe that what I tasted this evening was not delivered on a truck within the last week or two. That's not a knock on them, but don't try to portray themselves as something they are not. Rock and Brews is fine for what it is, safe, casual food, with a menu where almost everyone can find something that they'd like to order. It's like a Chili's with better music. Not awful, but not anything that I'd rush back for. 

Out of five jars of face makeup, (because I'm sure the guys in KISS have used more than their fair share of face makeup over the decades that they have been in the music industry), five being best to zero being worst, Rock and Brews gets 2.5 jars of face makeup. 

For more information about Rock and Brews, head to their website by clicking here: https://www.rockandbrews.com/

Dinner With the Old Boss at Craft by Smoke and Fire

 Craft by Smoke and Fire

195 West Center Street Promenade

Anaheim, CA 92805

Some Instagram feeds just draw me in. One such account is Smoke and Fire Social Eatery in La Habra. They opened a month into the pandemic, which probably made me love their pictures even more. Their food can best be described as a collection of comfort food from all across the country. There's Nashville hot chicken, Texas barbecue, smash burgers from the west coast, and giant steaks that look like they would rival what's served in uppity east coast steakhouses. 

Opened by three guys who had roots in Southern California, but spread their culinary wings in corporate restaurants like Red Robin, Bubba Gump Shrimp, Pizza Rev, and Wood Ranch. Smoke and Fire is the culmination of what they liked to eat from across the nation, served in a variety of ways throughout their menu. It's definitely struck a chord with customers, as they have now opened three other locations, Paramount, Pomona, and the one we were visiting this particular evening with our good friends Kyle and Melissa, in Anaheim. 

To be clear, this location in downtown Anaheim is Craft by Smoke and Fire, which is a slightly different concept from their locations slightly north of here. I haven't been to those spots, but from what I hear they are smaller, and do not have such a polished atmosphere and elevated cocktail program as this Anaheim spot. 

We had made reservations on a recent Friday evening at 7:30 and were met with a very full restaurant. We ended up having to only wait a couple of minutes before we were seated. The restaurant is pretty loud when it is full. The feel of the place is comforting, with large TVs on many of the walls, black ceiling tiles, grey accent walls, hanging chandeliers, and wooden floors. There's also outdoor seating on their good-sized patio in the front of the restaurant. I already kind of briefed you on the menu, so let's take a look at what we had this evening. 

Before we even ordered, we were brought this Ay Dios Mio Guacamole ($9) as a comped item, which was a pleasant surprise. From the reviews I've read online, they comp items with regularity to show appreciation for your business. A very nice touch. This guacamole was a mixture of jalapeno, green salsa, tomatoes, cotija cheese, and a smattering of pomegranate seeds on top. This was a very freshly made guacamole, which had plenty to offer the four of us flavorwise. I could not really detect too much jalapeno, so if you are averse to heat, you should have no problem eating this. It was nicely seasoned and the green tortilla chips were a fine vehicle for dipping. 

Birria is the big food trend going on right now. Even places like El Pollo Loco and Norm's are serving it, so I was not surprised to see birria on the menu here. One of the birria offerings at Craft is this Short Rib Birria Quesadilla ($12). This football-shaped quesadilla was filled with cheese, tender prime short rib, and the outside was drizzled with their comeback sauce, which I'd describe as chipotle ranch, with a hint of spice to it. I really enjoyed the crisped cheese on the outside of this quesadilla, and they filled this with a good amount of smoked rib meat. Definitely a very good start to our time here. 

As you can see from the guacamole picture and now this shot, Melissa is very subtle about getting her on-point Yorba Linda manicure included in each picture. Yes, we are all impressed by your nails, Mel. She was just as impressed with her sandwich this evening, The Madison ($15), which is piled high with smoked pastrami, coleslaw, cheese, pickles, and comeback sauce. From across the table, it looked really tasty, and she felt this was one of the better pastrami sandwiches that she has eaten. 

Probably their most popular sandwich, and the one that gets featured the most on their Instagram, is the Mac Rib Sandwich ($31). This monster of a sandwich comes with three kinds of meat; brisket, short rib, and just for good measure, a cheese-covered Smashburger. It's dressed with more of their comeback sauce and three pieces of Texas toast. The sandwich comes with the bone, and our server took it out clean with a flourish at our table. It was challenging getting the first bite into my mouth, but it was worth the trouble. One of the best sandwiches I have had. The short rib and brisket were tender and flavorful, while the Smashburger kind of got lost in the shuffle, but it made no difference. This was a very heavy sandwich as you could predict, but it was amazingly balanced. I ended up saving half of this for lunch the next day, and it was still just as good. Yes, it's a thirty-dollar sandwich, but so worth it. 

Another favorite was Katie's selection, the Brisket Grilled Cheese ($17). This is comfort food to the max. Lots of gooey cheese with a big helping of brisket. Katie was shocked by the richness of this, but she powered through to finish it. It was dressed with a very good barbecue sauce and some pickles to help cut the richness of the meat. Another winner. 

Since I follow Craft by Smoke and Fire on Instagram, I get to see some of the off-the-menu specials that they sometimes offer. When we visited they had this Smoked Barbecubano Sandwich ($27). It's their take on one of my favorite sandwiches. Here they use smoked turkey and brisket as the meats, then finish it with swiss cheese, mustard, and pickles. I was a bit let down by this sandwich. The turkey to brisket ratio was off, as there was way more turkey than the delicious brisket. I also felt that there was not enough mustard included in this, which would have helped tie everything together a bit more. I still enjoyed the half of this that I ate the next day, but I did end up adding mustard from my fridge, which helped out. 

Kyle had the same sandwich as Katie, but he still wanted to be included in this review, so he got the Brisket and Short Rib Sausage ($6) to try. This came pre-cut to our table, which made it very easy to share. The casing on this was very sturdy and the meat inside had a very pleasant texture to it. Flavorwise, it did not blow me away, but it's worth trying at only six bucks. 

One side is included with each sandwich, and since we had five between the four of us, we got to try five of their eight options. The best one was probably the Loaded Mac and Cheese. If you like a gooey cheese that clings to each noodle, this is for you. There were little bits of meat in there as well, and the bread crumb topping rounded this out. My second favorite was the Creamy Blue Cheese Slaw. The one we got was not as creamy as others I have seen in other pictures, but I still found myself hogging this. The Brisket and Grits were just straight-up the definition of comfort food. I usually like a creamy potato salad, but this Loaded Brisket Potato Salad was very good, big chunks and all. The worst of the bunch was the purple-hued Garlic and Herb Mash Potatoes. I detected some herbs here, but this fell flat because there was no garlic in any of the bites that I had. The only bland item of the evening.   

Craft by Smoke and Fire is worthy of all the love they get online. They prove that they are not just pretty food, like others I can think of but won't name, they actually back it up with some really delicious stuff. If this was merely just a barbecue spot, it would be really good, but you add their special spin to it, and it makes them great. The service was really good, especially when you consider how busy they were when we visited. Yes, the prices are a tad high, but the serving sizes are very good sized, and some of you can make two meals out of one of their sandwiches. I can definitely see us visiting here again in the near future, especially for that incredible Mac Rib Sandwich.  

Out of five fire trucks, (because when you see smoke or fire, it's probably a pretty good tip that you should call to get some fire trucks real quick), five being best to zero being worst, Craft by Smoke and Fire gets 4 fire trucks. 

For more information about Craft by Smoke and Frie, head to their website by clicking here: https://www.craftbysmokeandfire.com/

Lunch With the New Boss at Beale’s Bbq

 Beale's Texas BBQ

16400 Pacific Coast Highway #117

Huntington Beach, CA 92649

For most of my 34-year career, I've been fortunate enough to have some pretty good bosses. Unfortunately, there have been a couple of clunkers, and one that I still feel could be the spawn of satan, but I consider a great many of the rest to still be friends to this day. Of course, I'm not sure they feel the same, but I like to think that we are still friends. 

Late last year I got a new manager, and right from the start we had a great rapport. We are around the same age, have the same attitude toward our industry, and share a few of the same interests, minus his affinity for cultivating orchids, his weird obsession with Mocha Mix, and making sausage for friends. Yes, some real diverse hobbies there. I did not let those deter me from driving up to Huntington Beach to meet him for lunch at Beale's Texas BBQ. 

Beale's is situated at Peter's Landing shopping center, which is also home to  Mother's Market, Golden Road Brewing, and other retail shops. Brett Beale is a Santa Ana native, who was a backyard barbecuing enthusiast, smoking meat and making sides for his friends, before opening his first restaurant in Fontana back in 2015. That location has since shuttered, but he came back to OC to open this Huntington Beach spot in May of 2020, right in the middle of the pandemic. 

For a time Beale's was just open on weekends, but they have since expanded their hours to half-past 11 until 8pm seven days a week. The menu is pretty much what you'd expect from a barbecue restaurant in these parts. Tri-tip, St. Louis ribs, brisket, pulled pork, hot links, rib tips, and chicken are offered here, along with smoked salmon for those that want to try something a little different. These proteins are offered as plates, sandwiches, and in family meals, which serve anywhere between 4 to 12. Beale's also has seven sides to choose from, along with two dessert options, one of which, the banana pudding, was called out by OC Register restaurant critic, Brad Johnson as the best thing he ate that week. High praise and I was pretty pumped to try Beale's BBQ, even though I'd be with my boss Chris. 

We might as well start things off with what people care about most at a barbecue spot, the meats. Whenever it's available, I like to get a three-meat plate so I can sample as much of the menu as I can at a bbq place. At Beale's, that meant I'd be having the Triple Choice ($29) which allowed me to have my pick of three proteins and two sides. I selected the Brisket, St. Louis Ribs, and the Tri-Tip. Just for good measure, I also got a Hot Link ($4) ala carte. 

The best of the meats was the brisket. This brisket was not overly smoked like others tend to be, but was tender, and had a little ribbon of fat running along the edge of it, which provided a really nice flavor to the meat. The hotlink was another bright spot, as it snuck up on you, with its subtle heat. The texture was nice and meaty, which was very pleasing. The ribs were fine, but not too much meat on them, but they had a really good bark on each one. The tri-tip was the weak link out of the meats that I tried. It was not as tender as the others, kind of dry in places, and even though it possessed a pink smoke ring, had little flavor until I used the provided barbecue sauce. I should have tried the pulled pork or rib tips instead. 

For my two sides, I went with the Mac and Cheese and Potato Salad. When the mac and cheese came out to me, I thought there was no way that I'd like it. It appeared to be devoid of cheese, but looks can be deceiving. The tender noodles were hiding little pockets of cheese that were pretty much in each forkful. Not very overpowering, but with a very pleasing taste, this was one of the better mac and cheese versions that I've had in a long while. Even though I'm not really a big fan of potato salad with big chunks of potato in it, this one was definitely on point flavorwise. I would be tempted to get extra of both of these sides the next time I ate at Beale's. 

I have had the Banana Pudding ($6) once before when someone had brought it to me. It was good then, and just as good on this visit. Big pieces of Nilla Wafers were mixed with a nicely made banana pudding base. I'd like this to be a little cooler than room temperature, but definitely worth getting. The peach cobbler at Beale's gets a lot of love, so if you're a fan of peaches, you might want to give this one a try. 

In August of last year, I posted my top ten barbecue restaurants in OC, after this trip to Beale's BBQ I will have to rewrite that list. Beale's is now probably number six or seven on that list, which means it's worth a visit, especially since OC is suddenly home to some very good barbecue restaurants. With the exception of the tri-tip, which is not really one of my favorite types of meats to get at a barbecue spot, everything else was really good and came out super quick. This was also a good first meal with my new boss, who even overcame the faux pas of not introducing me to his good friend Tom, who happened to be eating here when we visited. I've only brought it up 256 times since, so at least I can hold that over his head until the next time I screw up at work. 

Out of five wagons, (because another famous Beale, Edward Beale surveyed and built a wagon road in 1857 that eventually became Route 66), five being best to zero being worst, Beale's Texas BBQ gets 3.5 wagons. 

For more information about Beale's Texas BBQ, head to their website by clicking here: https://bealestexasbbq.com/

Tis the Season for Thai Food

Season Thai

30486 Avenida de las Banderas

Rancho Santa Margartia, Ca 92688

Thai food is always something that I enjoy, but don't have nearly enough.  A quick check of the type of cuisines I have reviewed on this blog reveals that I have only reviewed seven Thai restaurants out of the 938 different restaurants that I have reviewed. That's pretty unacceptable, and I will try to rectify that right now, and in the future with a review of Season Thai in Rancho Santa Margarita. 

I was taking my good friend and self-proclaimed Thai food expert, David out for his birthday. He mentioned that he'd like me to try this spot. It's located a little off the beaten track, on the corner of Alma Aldea and Banderas, in a little strip of shops that include a Subway, dentist's office, cleaners, and a now-departed IHOP, where I had a forgettable breakfast once or twice when Katie lived nearby. 

Season Thai has been in operation for over four years now and replaced another Thai restaurant at this same location. They have a very respectable four and a half star rating on Yelp, but with only 200 plus reviews. Most people rave about their crying tiger, pad Thai, and curries. No entree is going to cost you more than $20, and most hover around the $15 mark, which is kind of rare these days. David is definitely worth $20, but $22 might be pushing it, so this was the perfect spot to treat him to a belated birthday dinner. Let's see if this spot will get us excited for more Thai food in the future. 

We started off the birthday dinner with some Chicken Satay ($11.95). This was seriously the biggest version of this starter that I have ever had. Plenty of chicken on each skewer, but unfortunately it was just okay. The chicken needed a bit more seasoning and was a tad over-grilled. I was hoping that the provided peanut sauce that accompanied this was going to help things out, but it was off a bit as well. Not awful, but we have both had better. 

We had asked for chicken eggrolls, but were given, and charged for, Vegetable Egg Rolls ($8.95) instead. Probably just a misunderstanding, so not really that big of a deal. These five eggrolls came out scalding hot, fresh from the fryer. After letting them cool a bit, we could tell that they were kind of bland, as most vegetable eggrolls tend to be. They were filled with glass noodles, cabbage, and a few carrots. The sweet and sour sauce helped these out, but after my first one, I realized I'd let David have the rest to take home to his mom. 

This is where Season Thai shined brightly. I've had Crying Tiger ($19.95) at other Thai restaurants, but have never really been too impressed with this very popular dish, but this one was the best I have had so far. The prime-cut beef was very tender, and the marinade they use here kept my attention throughout the meal. I would have liked a little tinge of sweetness to the marinade, but it was still really good. This came with a rather large salad which I ate sparingly because I was not really a fan of the way too sour dressing that this was served with. 

The birthday boy picked Thai BBQ Chicken ($14.95) as his meal this evening. I'm not the biggest fan of chicken, but this was nicely marinated, tender, and came with a Thai chili sauce which was pretty good for dipping. This came out to our table scalding hot as well, and we needed to wait a few minutes before digging in. This was something that I'd normally not order but was a very pleasant surprise. 

Things started out slow for us at Season Thai, but the entrees that we encountered here more than made up for the lackluster starters that we got. If I were to come back, I'd have a hard time straying from the crying tiger, but I'd be tempted to try their soups and maybe their pad Thai. The service was very warm and welcoming. I thought the price point was a good deal based on the serving size of our two entrees. This visit has got me excited to try more Thai spots around OC, so if you have any that you love, please don't hesitate to reach out. 

Out of five cinnamon rolls, (because the most used spice in Thai cooking is cinnamon, and the largest cinnamon roll ever made was over 1,100 pounds, which probably used quite a lot of cinnamon), five being best to zero being worst, Season Thai gets 3 cinnamon rolls.  

For more information about Season Thai, head to their website by clicking here: https://www.seasonthairsm.com/

Tres Muchachos, a True Hidden Gem?

 Tres Muchachos 

333 East 17th Street

Costa Mesa, CA 

The term hidden gem gets thrown around a little too much these days. It's definitely a term that has gotten watered down a bit. For me, I feel a restaurant can be defined as a hidden gem if it is in an obscure location, not widely visited by a lot of locals, has been largely ignored by the local food press, and of course, if they serve great food. Tres Muchachos definitely fills the first three requirements as a hidden gem, and I was hoping that they would fill the fourth by serving some really good food. 

You can find Tres Muchachos on 17th Street, in the back corner of a small strip mall which also houses the very visible Pancakes R Us, Tabu Shabu, and Oak and Coal, which is a Japanese restaurant that I placed on my restaurant wishlist while waiting for my always tardy cousin Jenny, who was joining us this evening at Tres Muchachos. Hidden location, check. 

With only 140 reviews on Yelp, Tres Muchachos also crosses requirement number two off of my hidden gem list. They opened just a month before the world shut down due to covid, which might be the reason they have such a low presence on that customer review site. People also might be a little confused by their name, which implies it's strictly a Mexican restaurant, but they also serve Mediterranean food, and just for an added curveball, they serve brunch all day, every day. So if you are feeling like a breakfast burrito or chilaquiles on a Tuesday evening, this might become your spot. 

The Tres Muchachos menu is divided into starters, salads, tacos, sandwiches, mains, sides, and desserts. Starters are all under $20, while entrees hover around the $25 mark. Tacos come two to an order and will set you back $16, but they also come with a mixed green salad. After a little chit-chat with our cousin, we made up our minds on what to have. Let's see if Tres Muchachos can solidify their standing as a true hidden gem by serving up some good grub. 

We started things off at Tres Muchahchos with two appetizers. My favorite of the two was the Zucchini Fritos ($12). This version of fried zucchini had a very pleasing and crunchy breading which did not overpower the zucchini underneath. This was enhanced by a very good ranch dressing, which they make in-house. Even though I liked the zucchini better than the Spinach, Garlic, and Artichoke Hummus ($16), this is still a starter worth ordering. The flavor bounced off my taste buds, and I appreciated the large pieces of artichoke included in this. A few more chips served with this would have been appreciated, as we had way more hummus leftover when we ran over the tortilla chips.   

Jenny will start off the entree portion of our evening with her Crispy Pollock Fish and Chips ($18). I can not recall a restaurant offering pollock as their fish and chips, but it was a nice choice. The panko breading provided a nice crunchy outer coating without that greasiness that you usually get at other places.  The fish underneath was tender and flaky, just what you wat when consuming fried fish. Again, the sauce here shined, as this was a delicious tartar sauce with plenty of herbs included, which I could not get enough of. Nicely done. The fries were nice and crisp, and they went well with the tartar sauce. 

I selected the Roasted Porchetta Sandwich ($25) as my meal at Tres Muchachos. This sandwich combines pork tenderloin and pork belly, so you get varied textures in each bite. It's dressed with pesto and lemon vinaigrette tossed arugula on toasted ciabatta. I enjoyed the pork in this sandwich, but I wished for a bit more pesto on here and maybe a little less in the way of the arugula. Still, a good sandwich that had levels of flavor coming from each direction. This was served with fingerling potatoes, which were fried nice and crisp, but should have included one of their fine sauces to boost them up a notch. 

Last but not least, Katie opted for the Fish Sandwich ($16). Again, they use crispy pollock as the vehicle here and then add Swiss cheese, lettuce, tomato, grilled onion, and their house-made aioli to the brioche bun. Katie loved the crunch of this, but it needed a lot more aioli, or maybe since this was a fish sandwich, some of that really great herby tartar sauce that they serve with their fish and chips plate. The hand-cut fries were better than my fingerling potatoes. Seasoned nicely, with a nice crunch. 

If you check out the Tres Muchachos Yelp page, you will see multiple pictures of layered cakes that they used to serve for dessert. Our server explained that when they first opened they had a partnership with a baker, who would bring them in for them. Sadly, they don't have them anymore, so we picked this Belgian Chocolate Mousse ($12) out of the five dessert choices offered. This was a little lackluster. It was very tiny, so the three of us only got one and a half bites between us, and the raspberry flavor really overpowered the chocolate. We would definitely try the churros on future visits.  

Even with a few missteps, Tres Muchachos was definitely worth the visit, and they also checked off all the boxes that I have for being labeled as a true hidden gem. I'd come back for sure to try more of their menu, like the numerous tacos that they serve, or their delicious-sounding pork mole dish. The service was nice and cordial. I thought the price point was a few dollars too much per item, but that seems to be the way of the world these days. Tres Muchachos ended up being a restaurant worth seeking out.  

Out of five chocolate bars, (because the name of this restaurant conjures up the classic Three Musketeers candy bar). five being best to zero being worst, Tres Muchachos gets 3.5 candy bars. 

For more information about Tres Muchachos, head to their website by clicking here: https://www.tresmuchachos.menu/