Tony's Bella Vista a Beautiful Sight? - CLOSED

Tony's Bella Vista

3116 West Magnolia

Burbank, CA 91505

It is Katie's grandfather's birthday, so we headed up to Burbank to take him out for dinner. Since I have been dating Katie, trips up to LA have been more and more common than in my past, and that means many more restaurants to try. Tonight it is Tony's Bella Vista in Burbank that I get to experience for the first time.

Tony's Bella Vista holds a special place in the hearts of Katie's family. It is a place where her parents went on dates, many, many, many years ago. They have held wedding dinners, baby showers, and even wakes at Tony's. Now it is grandpa's turn to be the guest of honor at Tony's Bella Vista.

Tony's has been around since 1965, and it shows in the atmosphere. The restaurant area is dark, and not very decorative. Big red leather booths and paintings on the walls dominate the place and add to the old-school feel of the restaurant. Brothers, Angelo and Giovanni bought the place from the original owners back in 1987, and still use their original recipes to this day. Those recipes have won Tony's Bella Vista countless awards for the best pizza in Burbank. Let's see if the awards are deserved.

We were all really hungry so we started off with an order of Garlic Bread. This garlic bread looks better in the picture than it tasted. The crust was too hard, and the insides were not soft. The price was right for this, $2.95, and it did have a mild garlic taste.

The other appetizer we tried was the Fried Calamari. I thought that this was decent calamari. Cooked well, and seasoned fine. It did not really stand out as one of the best calamari I have ever had, but I found myself eating a lot of this. Again, maybe I was just hungry.

We each ordered an entree, and this is the soup and salad that came with the meals. Nothing out of the ordinary here. The soup was Kevin's, and he was not enamored with it. I am not sure what kind of soup it was, but from the picture, it looks like it could be some kind of vegetable soup.

When I see Carbonara on a menu, I generally always gravitate towards it. I did the same here. This is the Spaghetti Carbonara. This was a very different carbonara from what I was used to. The sauce was more like an Alfredo sauce, very heavy. The sauce was also kind of bland. I really needed to doctor this dish up with lots of Parmesan cheese and red pepper flakes. The meat that was incorporated into this dish, usually bacon, guanciale, or pancetta, ( I could not tell what they used here), was not very salty, and thus added nothing to this dish. Not very happy with this.

Katie, on the other hand, could not be more pleased with her choice for the night, the Tortellini 3P. Why do they call it that you ask? Because it comes with Peas, Prosciutto, and Parmigiano. This was also a very rich dish. Katie felt that the plate was made up of very fresh ingredients.

The big draw at Tony's is of course the pizza. Here is a slice of pepperoni and sausage, with a thin crust. This was one of the thinnest crusts I have ever seen. Very close to the width of a tortilla. I am usually not too big on the crust, but even I wanted more crust than this. The toppings were okay here, and the sausage really did not stand out. The cheese had a good flavor though. Katie complained that this had too much grease on top of it.

Katie's wise aunts and uncles got the much better pizza at the table. They went with the Ham, Artichoke, Sliced Tomatoes, and Basil Pizza. The toppings on this were not my cup of tea, but the crust was the thicker regular crust. A much better crust, than the thin one. The toppings on this were good, but a little too mellow for me. These toppings almost tasted like they were good for you, and when I eat pizza, I want to know that I am eating something bad.

Tony's Bella Vista is a family-style restaurant. Do not go here for a romantic night out on the town. You are not going to have the best Italian food of your life here. You need to take it for what it is. It is a family-run restaurant that makes everyone feel comfortable. The quantity of food that you get for the price is very reasonable. The service was pretty good for our party of 15. I did think it was a little odd that they serve their sodas out of the can, but that just shows how old-school this place is.

Out of five cantaloupes, (because the first official seal of  Burbank had a cantaloupe on it), five being best to zero being worst, Tony's Bella Vista gets 2.5 cantaloupes.

Tony's does not have a website, but you can find information about them here: http://www.yelp.com/biz/tonys-bella-vista-restaurant-and-pizzeria-burbank

Football Frenzy #6 - Players Sports Bar - CLOSED

Players Sports Grill

24401 Ridge Route Dr. #105-B

Laguna Hills, CA 92653

All this football season we have been trying to find the ultimate place to watch football. It is now January and we still have not found that place. We have come close, but I am sure that we can do better. So before we get to the playoffs, and my team is officially eliminated, I wanted to try out Players Sports Grill in Laguna Hills.

Players has been around since 1995. Located dangerously close to Laguna Woods, this place is a little off the beaten track, tucked in the corner of a shopping center anchored by a 7-Eleven. I got the feeling that most of the people here to watch Thursday night football were regulars. The bar has a kind of loungy feel to it, with big comfortable chairs. Televisions are everywhere, they have over forty here, including some on the smoker's patio. The atmosphere gets the thumbs up from us, but how about the food?

To start off our culinary adventures at Players both Katie and Richard got salads with their meals. Nothing too out of the ordinary and the salads seemed like they were made with fresh ingredients.

Richard went with an unusual pick for a sports bar, the Chicken Fettuccini. He was not too pleased with this dish. He felt this was bland tasting and the sauce was straight from the jar. I did not get a chance to try this though.

Katie called this Players Club Sandwich, "the best turkey sandwich I have ever had!". That might be an overstatement, but every time we go to Players this is her go-to menu item. Katie liked the smokiness of the turkey meat and the way it is sliced thin. She did not want the bacon that came with this, so she asked for it on the side so I could have it. What a great girlfriend to sacrifice her bacon for me!

Sorry for the blurriness of the picture above. I ordered one of Player's specialties, the Patty Melt. This sandwich is served on sourdough cheese toast and comes with lots of onions, cheddar cheese, and thousand island dressing. A pretty solid patty melt. The sandwich is pretty greasy, but I always think that adds flavor. The fries were a little overdone for my taste but still good.

The service at Players was pretty good. All of our drinks were refilled, and all of our requests were met. The crowd was okay, most were not too into the game, but I am sure that is just because there was only one game on this Thursday night. We will have to come back here next year, when there is a full set of football games going, and when my team is not eliminated.

So out of five contracts, (because players get contracts, and sometimes that is all they care about), five being best to zero being worst, Players Sports Grill gets 2.5 solid contracts.

For more information on Players, click here: http://www.psgrill.com/index.html

My Best and Worst Restaurants of 2010

Happy New Year! New Years is a time to reflect on the last twelve months, and everyone seems to be doing best of lists, so I thought I would do the same. So without further ado, here are the worst and the best restaurants we have gone to in 2010.  Hope you enjoy the list, and I look forward to showing you more food adventures in 2011.

Worst Restaurants (in no particular order)

The Jolly Roger, in Dana Point harbor has been around forever, and on our visit it really seemed ready for an update. The food could be described as bad wedding reception food, and the service was not much better.

It is rare that a Mexican restaurant can not deliver flavor, but Carmelita's in Rancho Santa Margarita succeeded in doing just that. The bland food was over priced, and the food was under seasoned. Not a good combination.

It seems like just a few days ago that we went to Bubba Gumps Shrimp Co., maybe because it was only a few days ago, but we are still trying to get this place out of our heads. This tourist trap of a restaurant was the joint where our beloved Emily wanted to eat for her birthday. No worries Em, we do not hold it against you!

We tried to find a spot to go for happy hour, and we unfortunately found ourselves at Elephant Bar in Laguna Hills. The prices were good, but the food was not. Run around outside with your mouth open, and you will get more flavor than the food here at Elephant Bar. The many drinks we had could not make us forget the boring food.

The last of our worst restaurants of 2010 is Marmalade Cafe in Tustin. The food here was awful, and the menu did not give us much hope that future visits would be any better.

Best Restaurants (in no particular order)

Mr. Stox continues to be one of the best restaurants that Orange county has to offer, and our visit in May was not any different. This Anaheim institution has been around for over thirty years, and I am hoping for at least that many more.

Since we got back from Dallas, we have been trying to find great barbecue in the OC, and finally after some failures, we came across Blake's Place in Anaheim. This place had the trifecta of barbecue goodness; great meats, excellent sauce, and good side items.

We made it to Bungalow way back in January, and what brought us here? Of course it was the good food, but it was also the special that they were running on Sunday nights, all you can eat filet mignon! Yes you read that right. I ate four filet's and only spent $25, it was almost like I was making money eating here.

In August, Orange county welcomed Five Guys  to the city of Orange. We waited through the long lines and were rewarded with one of the best fast food burgers we have ever had. The lines have still not dwindled even late into this year, so I guess the word has gotten around.

The last of our best restaurants of 2010 is Heroes in Fullerton. This downtown bar and grill has big food, served by a cool staff, and at a decent price. I dare you to finish the Southwest Meatloaf dinner that I ate here. It was even too much for me!

Okay so there are the best and worst of the year that was 2010. I hope that you all have a great new year, and I would like to thank each and every one of you for reading my blog throughout this year. I am very humbled that you have taken the time to read what I write. I also am looking forward to many more dining adventures for 2011, and hope that you will read right along with me. Again, many thanks!

Colombian Food Has Arrived in the OC - CLOSED

Colombian Cuisine at Mitze's Kountry Kitchen

25381 Alicia Parkway

Laguna Hills, CA 92653

I was so excited to hear that we have a Colombian restaurant in the OC. Not because I have any knowledge about what Colombian food is, or have ever been to South America. My joy over Colombian food stems from my good friend Luis, who is Colombian. When we were talking about the food of his homeland, his eyes lit up like mine after seeing Sofia Vergara (come on, you knew I would throw a Sofia Vergara reference into my review of a Colombian place, right?). So I told Luis about the place, and we headed over within the week.

Colombian Cuisine is sharing space with Mitze's Kountry Kitchen. The small, strip mall eatery takes over Mitze's at 11 and stays open until 8. We showed up on a Saturday at 3, and we were the only ones in the place. Of course, that is an odd time to eat, and the waiter did say that they have been doing a good dinner business. Let's headway south of the border, and check out the food.

Our first foray into Colombian food was the Yuca Frita above. This was fried cassava but tasted more like a giant, starchy French fry. Surprisingly not greasy and garnished with pieces of chicharron, it was an okay starter—not too big on flavor.

Our next appetizer was the Bunelos, which is a fried cheese hushpuppy. We all thought that this was a little bland on its own, but was made better with what Luis called aji sauce. I would describe it as green salsa, and it gave the hushpuppies some much-needed moisture.

Here is a picture of Juan's dinner from two different angles. This mound of food is the Bandeja Paisa, which I guess translates to country dinner. I would call this a Denny's Grand Slam on steroids. This plate consisted of beans, chorizo, white rice, beef, plantains, an egg, pork, and an arepa. Juan felt that this plate was just average. He thought that the steak was a little tough, but he loved the chorizo. I would agree with him about this, but I thought that this was better than the average plate. The meat was not of the highest quality, it was a little chewy, but the seasonings tasted good to me. I also really liked the chicharron that was served with this. It was like really fatty bacon, very delicious.

Luis went with the Sobrebarriga en Salsa or Brisket in the sauce. This was also served with rice, cassava, green plantain, and a salad. Luis felt that this was a pretty good representation of Colombian food. He said that it is made differently, depending on what part of the country you are from.

I ordered one of the most interesting-sounding things on the menu, the Bistec a Caballo. This translates to Steak on a Horseback. Top sirloin beef in a flavorful tomato and onion sauce, topped with an egg and served with rice, cassava, and plantains. Again the meat here was a little chewy, but I liked the sauce that came with this. The egg on top was cooked well. The plantains are not my thing, but my few bites were good. By the time I got to this plate, I was over the cassava, so I did not even eat it.

Katie went on a different route for her entree and got a Tamale. Colombian tamales are made with cornmeal, containing chicken, pork, beef, and vegetables, and then wrapped in a banana leaf. This was bigger than any tamale I have ever seen. The cornmeal was sweeter than I am used to with other tamales, and I liked that. Katie had a few issues with this, though. The tamale came out a little cold in the middle, and the bones inside were something she was not used to.

Katie also had the Empanada. This was made with ground beef and had a pretty good taste. It came out piping hot, and we had to let it cool off for a while. I would definitely get this next time for an appetizer.

We all liked our Colombian food experience but did not love it. I would go back for sure. The restaurant itself is a no-frills place. The waiter was cool, there were no free refills on the drinks, and the decor was seriously drab. This is not the place to go to try to impress your date unless it is Sofia Vergara. The value here was good. The prices ranged from $8 to $10 for an entree with a ton of food. Even with my serious appetite, I had trouble finishing my plate.

I thought Luis would be so excited to have Colombian food in the area where he lives, but he seemed only mildly excited. When I asked him how he would rate this place, he said it was average for Colombian food. Average or not, at least he does not have to go all the way to LA for Colombian food now.

Out of five Chivas (buses that are recognized as a symbol of Colombian culture), five being best to zero being worst, Colombian Cuisine gets 2.5 Chivas.

Colombian Cuisine does not have a website, but they do have a Facebook page. Click here to see it: http://www.facebook.com/ColombianFoodinOrangeCounty

Sizing Up Cisco's CLOSED

Cisco Burger

620 W. Anaheim Street

Long Beach, CA 90813

My Dad had gotten a new job at the Port of Long Beach a few months back, and he wanted to show off his office, show his co-workers what a cool son he has, and also show us one of his favorite places to eat by his work, Cisco Burger.

Cisco Burger is the brainchild of owner Jesse James. If you have not kept up with your subscription to People magazine or US Weekly, he is the former husband of Sandra Bullock, a reality television star, and owner of West Coast Choppers, (a custom motorcycle company). West Coast Choppers used to be next door to Cisco Burger, but now James has packed up and headed to Austin to be closer to his kids. The only thing he has left behind is Cisco Burger, and that is where we headed.

Cisco Burger is named after Jesse's pit bull. They have been open for four years now, and have a very loyal following at lunch time. They are open daily until four, and on Sundays until 2, so do not expect to go here for dinner. Cisco Burger is also very eco-friendly, they derive most of their electricity from solar panels, participate in local recycling programs, and use real plates and silverware for dine-in orders. Let's see how the food looks on those real plates.

Cisco's is more known for their breakfasts and burgers, but my Mom and her friend Sue split the Turkey Sandwich above. They both mentioned that they liked this sandwich, and felt that it was very filling. They do have very tiny appetites. They also liked the turkey on this sandwich, and felt that it tasted very fresh.

Here is what my Dad got, the Cisco Burger with Cheese. He called this, "a four napkin burger". I think that is just because he is a messy eater. The bite that I had was just okay. I did not get the juiciness of the burger that he got. I also was not too big of a fan of the wheat bun. I will trust his judgement on this burger though. The fries here were pretty good. They came out hot, and had a small amount of breading on them that made them extra crunchy.

Jarrod had a breakfast/lunch hybrid, the Breakfast Burger. This quarter pound burger was topped with an egg, hashbrowns, bacon, cheese, and mayo. The bite that I had was pretty good. I would have liked a little more mayonnaise on this, but all together this was a good breakfast burger. Jarrod had two complaints about this, he would have wanted the hashbrowns crispier, and the burger a little more moist.

I was in the mood for breakfast, so the Cisco's Pile was my pick. This mound of food consisted of eggs, bacon, sausage, ham, bell peppers, onion, garlic, mushrooms, and hashbrowns. As with many dishes that have lots of big flavors, this one was not all that it was cracked up to be. It was hearty, but I expected real big flavor with this, and it failed in that respect. This was made much better when I added hot sauce to it, it brought the flavors alive.

Cisco's is a very clean and sleek restaurant. The staff was all pretty cool, and they got the food out to us quick. By the time we left at 12:30, the place was starting to fill up. I am not sure that Cisco's would qualify for destination dining. If I were in the area, or worked in the area, I would pop in from time to to time, but living in the OC, I do not think it was worth the drive. They did have some interesting specials on their board that maybe I would try the next time I went to visit my Dad at his work.

Out of five routers, (because the Cisco Company was one of the first companies to successfully sell routers to the public), five being best to zero being worst, Cisco's gets 2.5 routers.

For more information on Cisco's click here: http://ciscoburger.com/

Birthday Bonanza at Bubba Gump's

Bubba Gump Shrimp Co.

321 West Katella Ave.

Anaheim, CA 92802

Another blog post, another birthday. This time it is Katie's sister Emily's turn to blow out the candles. Last year we went to the Loft at the Montage for her birthday, and this year we are headed to another of her favorite restaurants, Bubba Gump Shrimp Company.

I have never been to a Bubba Gump restaurant before. They started in Monterey, California in March of 1996. Now in their fourteenth year, they operate 33 restaurants, including such exotic locales as, Malaysia, Japan and the Philippines. Bubba Gump's are usually located in high traffic, tourist areas. Another claim to fame for Bubba Gump's is that they are the only major restaurant chain to be based upon a motion picture, (Forrest Gump, for the two people left on earth that have not seen it).

For Emily's birthday we had a party of twelve, (she is a very popular girl). We arrived at about six on a rainy Sunday night. We had reservations but, I had heard that the wait was running about fifteen to thirty minutes, at this Garden Walk location.  All of us seated, this is what we got to eat.

We ordered the three appetizers above. None of these really impressed any of us. The Onion Rings were pretty pedestrian, and over-priced at $7.99. That worked out to just under eighty cents per onion ring, not worth the price, even if they were gold plated. The Mama Gump's Garlic Bread Basket was next.  Rachel put it best when she said, "The garlic bread had too much butter, and very little garlic". Lastly, we had the so-called Best Ever Popcorn Shrimp. This was heavily breaded, which really took away the shrimp flavor. The sauce served with this helped a little, but not enough.

Above is the All-American Burger and Fries, or as Kevin called it, "the best burger I have ever had!". I did not get to try this burger, but it did look juicy, and the cheese was perfectly melted. If I ever go back I will have to try this to see if it would be my best burger ever.

Here is something that I did try, my choice for dinner, the Shrimp New Orleans. I liked the spicy after taste of this dish, the shrimp however, did not stand out to me. I also would have liked more bread to sop up the sauce that came with this. A pretty average meal. I am also not a big fan of shrimp served with the tails on. I am sure this makes them seem fresher, but it is just a quirk I do not like.

Jimmy went south of the border for his choice of dinner with the Baja Shrimp Tacos. These three shrimp tacos are served with Mayan salsa, avocado tomatillo sauce, and Mexican crema. These condiments could not save this meal from Jimmy's wrath. He called this dish, "un-spectacular, and nothing he could not have made better at home".

The shrimp parade continues with Katie's, "I'm Stuffed!" Shrimp. These shrimp were stuffed with crab stuffing, then baked in garlic butter, and topped with jack cheese. Katie felt that this dish was very rich, and really salty. I tried one of the shrimp, and it was okay, it did not wow me.

Sara's choice for dinner was the, "Of Course We Have Scampi!". Here the shrimp were sauteed with capers in a lemon garlic sauce, and served over linguini. Sara claimed that this dish was very sour, and the lemon really took over the plate. I would just say that this dish matches her personality, sour. I am just kidding Sara, you know you are my favorite!

What we have here is Rachel's pick, the Dumb Luck Coconut Shrimp. Rachel felt that this should have been called the bad luck coconut shrimp. She did not feel very lucky to have picked this. I tried this and felt that the breading that was used on this was dry, and plain tasting. The coconut was not very prominent, and the shrimp was buried under the odd breading.

Marcy, the health nut amongst us, ordered the Pear & Berry Salad. This salad consisted of greens, chicken, strawberries, pears,  glazed pecans, feta cheese, and was served with raspberry vinaigrette salad dressing. Marcy felt that the berries in this were very fresh, and of a high quality. She also mentioned that she liked the dressing.

Katie's Mom, Lynn went with the Shrimp & Veggie Skewers. These large shrimp were surrounded on the skewers by red bell peppers, red onions, squash and zucchini. They were served with jasmine rice and lemon garlic sauce. Lynn was not a fan of this dish. She stated that she was, "very disappointed with this". She felt that this was very bland and lacking in taste.

Our birthday girl went big with her choice for dinner, (actually she split this with her boyfriend). Emily got the Shrimper's Heaven. This had coconut shrimp, chilly shrimp, fried shrimp, tempura shrimp, and fries. Now Emily is not the worlds biggest eater, and she left most of this on her plate. I do not think it is because she didn't like this, but she was probably just excited about turning another year older.

So what were our general thoughts about Bubba Gump's? I thought that the place was trying to hard, the service and food were just about average, the prices were too high for what you got, and the whole atmosphere seemed hokey, even for the tourists.  I also found it odd that they chose to base a restaurant around Forrest Gump. Sure I liked the movie when it came out, but that was many years ago.

It has now become tradition that I include a picture of Emily on her birthday. So here she is showing off some of the bling that she received for her birthday. Happy birthday day Em, I can not wait to see where you pick to go for your birthday next year.

Out of five boxes of chocolates, (yes I took the easy way out here!), five being best to zero being worst, Bubba Gump Shrimp Company gets 1.5 boxes of chocolate.

For more information on Bubba Gump's, click here: http://www.bubbagump.com/