Sweet Music at Kagura? - CLOSED

Kagura Japanese Cuisine

6324 E Santa Ana Canyon Road

Anaheim, CA 92807

It almost felt like I was cheating. I was in the same shopping center as Slater's 50/50, and I was not having one of their awesome burgers. Of course, we did meet at Slater's for a drink, but then it was off to the opposite side of the parking lot to Kagura Japanese Cuisine.

Our friend Lindy told us about this place the last time we were at Slaters. Kagura is a small, quiet restaurant tucked away in the corner of this shopping center. They have six tables and a small sushi bar. The muted colors and dim lighting give this place a very relaxed, almost tranquil feel. According to the waiter, they have been in business for almost two years. Most of our party of eight opted to try the three course prefixed dinner. These included an appetizer, entree, and dessert for $28. Not a bad deal. Let's see what Kagura has in store for us on this night.

Steve starts off the food portion of this blog with his Small House Salad and Miso Soup, both were served with his entree. He felt that the miso soup was served hot, and served its purpose. Not exactly a ringing endorsement, but how great could miso soup really be? He thought that the side salad was a bit on the salty side, but felt it was made with fresh produce.

I forgot to write down who had this appetizer, sorry guys. This is the Octopus Carpaccio. The octopus, as you would expect was pretty chewy, but this was not too big on taste. Not one of our favorites this night.

This was one of our favorites of the night, the Kobe Beef Carpaccio. This appetizer had big-time flavor to go along with its good-sized portion. This is definitely a must-have when coming to Kagura.

For my appetizer selection, I went with the Takenoko Foie Gras. This was my first time having foie gras, and I was really happy with my choice. It was very good, and everyone at the table that tried this had a great response to this rich plate.

This is not like any tuna salad I have ever seen. This is the Spicy Tuna Salad, which is a Hawaiian big eye tuna sashimi with spicy soy dressing. I did not get a chance to try this dish, but I was told it had great flavor, and the tuna was very fresh.

Lindy did not opt to have the three course meal, instead, she wanted to have some assorted sushi. I am not very well versed in sushi, and I do not know which is which, but I wrote down that she had Bluefin, Spanish Mackerel, and Amber Jack. She raved about all of these, especially the Spanish mackerel.

Katie followed suit with Lindy, by going the sushi route. She was so excited to go out for sushi, she ordered three rolls, a Philly Roll, California Roll, and a Spider-Man Roll. The spider man roll was made of deep-fried soft shell crab, crab meat, avocado, and smelt egg, wrapped in cucumber. Katie liked this unusual combination. She was also pretty excited by the other two rolls, calling the Philly roll smooth and velvety, and the California roll very fresh. These quenched her sushi addiction for at least a few days.

Steve's entree was the Jidori Chicken. Steve thought that this free-range chicken could have been more tender, but he liked the sauce, calling it sweet and spicy without being too much of either.

My great friend Richard ordered the Braised "Karubi" Short Rib. This short rib is braised for five hours and served with a red wine sauce. Richard called this Japanese pot roast very tender, and he loved the sauce so much he told me he wanted to lick the plate. Glad I did not have to watch that PDA.

The prefixed meal also featured an Assorted Sushi option. Tuna, salmon, albacore, hamachi, shrimp, halibut, and a California roll made up the contents of this plate. There were no complaints from the people that had the sushi. I was told that the shrimp was the best. Heather said she was not cool with the wasabi.

I saw Rib Eye Steak on the prefixed menu, and of course, I gravitated towards it. This eight-ounce steak was served in a light garlic port sauce. I ordered this medium rare and it was cooked perfectly. I did not notice the garlic as much as I would have liked, but the flavor of the meat was enough to make up for this. I also enjoyed the way this was already cut into strips. It helped speed up my eating time. The veggies that came with this were okay, nothing too remarkable.

These last two items belong to our new friend Sam. Sorry Sam, but I did not write down what you ordered. I know, what a horrible blogger I am! One of them looks like Yellowtail Sashimi, but I could not even begin to guess what was on the tray above. He was definitely happy with his choices though.

Finally, it was time for dessert. Everyone, other than Katie had the Panna Cotta. I had not known it until I got home and looked it up, but panna cotta is an almond Italian cream. Here it is served with a raspberry sauce. It definitely had an interesting flavor, very subdued. The texture was smooth and resembled a more plain tasting flan. Katie was the lone person to try the Sesame Ice Cream. Again, this was something totally different. The taste was not bad, just odd. I did not really get a sesame taste, but I would not even know how to describe a sesame taste. This ice cream kind of tasted earthy to me, but maybe that is just what I got out of it.

Kagura was a great find, thanks to Lindy. The service in this tiny restaurant was very solid. Our waiter had a great sense of humor and was really on top of things. He suggests that people make reservations on weekends because it can get very busy here. The prices here were not too crazy either. Like I said before, a three course meal will set you back $28. I feel I definitely got my monies worth here. The sushi and sashimi prices seem to be on par with other sushi places I have heard about. All in all, it was a great night out, with some really great friends. It almost made me forget about the burgers over at Slaters. Okay, at least for one night.

Out of five sheets of music, (because Kagura translates to English as, entertainment of the gods, which includes music), five being best to zero being worst, Kagura gets a solid 3 sheets of music.

For more information on Kagura Japanese Cuisine, click here: http://www.kagura-sushi.com/index.html

Excellent Adventure at Ted's?

Ted's Place

23990 Aliso Creek Road

Laguna Niguel, CA 92677

Almost every neighborhood (okay, maybe not Aliso Viejo, but almost everywhere else) has a place like Ted's Place. Usually, it is owned by a Greek family, the menu is enormous, and most of the time, locals crowd this kind of restaurant on weekend mornings to eat large breakfasts. Ted's is no exception to these generalizations.

Ted's Place has been around for as long as I have lived in South OC (almost ten years). It is owned by a Greek family, and the owner is here nearly every time I visit. The menu features breakfast items, sandwiches, Mexican Favorites, Greek meals, salads, and full-on dinners, like seafood plates and meatloaf. I won a bet from Mario at my work, so he owed me a meal here. After ordering at the counter, this is how Mario paid his debt to me.

I started with a heaping plate of Chili Cheese Fries. This portion was about the size of a football. I know the fries are probably frozen and not made fresh, but they are fried to perfection and complimented the chili and cheese well. The chili is not spicy nor significant in flavor, but it works. Almost every fry was covered in chili and cheese.

I was a little full from all the fries, but I still managed to finish this Bacon Avocado Cheeseburger. This burger was good, but I do not understand why it is good. The patty is skinny and probably made well in advance. The cheese is okay, nothing spectacular. The avocado was fresh but unremarkable. The bun is sturdy, but it does not add too much to the overall taste of the burger. Bacon is always good, but I can not detect the difference between this swine and others. I concluded that the burger works because these ingredients interact to create a satisfying burger.

Mario and Mike each ordered the same burger, Ted's Signature Burger. This burger came with a treasure trove of condiments. Swiss cheese, bacon, lettuce, tomato, raw onion, onion rings, and Cole slaw. I am sure I forget some of the hundred things on this burger. But, again, Mario and Mike felt this burger was delicious. All of the big flavors worked together to form a great-tasting burger.

I am trying to explain why I like Ted's Place so much. Maybe it's because of the portion sizes. Burgers and other plates are enormous here.  I have had much better burgers, but I feel delighted whenever I leave Ted's. The service is okay here, and the owner is very nice. Prices are pretty good for what you get. Burgers are in the $4 to $7 range. They even offer a one-pound cheeseburger with fries and a drink for $10. The breakfasts here are pretty good as well. They make a decent breakfast burrito, and all of their breakfast skillets will keep you stuffed well into dinner time. I'm glad I went to Ted's Place. I just am not sure why I liked it. Guess it is best not to overanalyze it and enjoy the food coma.

Out of five bears (in reference to teddy bears), five being best to zero being worst, Ted's Place gets 3 teddy bears.

For more information about Ted's Place, head to their website by clicking here: https://tedsplacelaguna.com/

Finally Making It to Los Sanchez!

Los Sanchez

11906 Garden Grove Blvd.

Garden Grove, CA 92843

My friend Sammy has been telling me that I have to try Los Sanchez, ever since I started this food blog. Two years into the blog, and I have finally made it to one of Sammy's favorite places. Sorry for the delay big guy.

Los Sanchez is a Garden Grove institution. Everyone from GG, always tells me that I have to try Los Sanchez. They are in a new location. Not sure where the old one was, but even switching locales has not hurt business here. They proudly state that they serve Sonoran style Mexican food. After a quick web search, I came across Chowhound's lively debate on what makes Mexican food Sonoran. You can read it here.

We arrived at Los Sanchez at about eight o'clock on a Saturday night, and the place was hopping. The restaurant is pretty good sized for a Mexican fast food place. They feature a large outdoor patio in front and a large dining room containing about 25 tables. The menu is a little overwhelming when you come in. There are tons of pictures hanging above the register, so it took sometime for us to decide what to get, but this is what we came up with.

Starting us off is the chips and guacamole. The chips were pretty average, but the guacamole was below that. Very runny guacamole here. Almost seemed like it was made in a blender that was set on liquefy. It was not very flavorful either.

One thing I have learned while writing this blog is that there is no way to take a great picture of a burrito. You can take a picture of the cross section, but even then it never really turns out that great. So here is the Barbacoa Burrito that Richard ordered. He was not very enthused with his choice. The burrito here just contained barbacoa beef and cheese. Richard summed the burrito up like this,  "It was bland, a Chipotle burrito has more flavor." Not so sure about that, but I did not get a chance to try this burrito, so I will have to go with what Richard said.

Katie went with an unusual choice for her, when she ordered the Quesadilla Dinner. She opted to get this with  cheese only, even though meat was an option. The quesadilla was very greasy. Kind of reminded me of one that I have had at Del Taco. I am not one that is skittish about grease, but this might have been a little much for even me. Katie said words that I never I thought would be uttered, "there was too much cheese on this". She did like the rice here though.

The first part of my meal was the Super Taco, with Asada. Not sure what makes this a super taco, it could be all the lettuce and cheese that was added to this. I had enough lettuce left over to make a side salad. The meat on this taco was okay, not very tender. I would skip the asada the next time I came here.

For the main part of my meal, I went with my standard meal at a Mexican restaurant, a Carnitas Plate. I judge  Mexican restaurants based on whether they can prepare this dish properly. Here it was just okay. The pork could not stand on its own. It was average tasting, but made a little better when mixed with the beans and the runny guacamole. I liked the beans and rice okay, and I thought the portion size of this plate was pretty good.

My friend Sammy just happened to be at Los Sanchez when were here, so I snapped a quick picture of his Albondigas Soup. This big bowl of soup really seemed to please Sammy. The soup looked freshly made, and had plenty of meat and veggies.

Needless to say we were not too impressed with Los Sanchez. Maybe we just hit the wrong items on their massive menu. Maybe we hit them on a bad night. The meats here were a little on the bland side, and the cheese made everything greasy. I can see this spot being popular with the late night crowd, and I am told they do a great business for lunch. The service was great here. From the counter girl, to the girls clearing the tables in the dining room, to even the guy with the deep voice, bellowing out the numbers for pick up. All of them were really great. The prices were pretty great as well. All of the items here are in the $4 to $9 range, and the portion sizes are a great value for the prices they are charging.

Out of five strawberries, (because Garden Grove is home to the Strawberry Festival, even though there is only one strawberry field remaining in the city), five being best to zero being worst, Los Sanchez gets 2 strawberries.

For more information about Los Sanchez, click here: http://www.lossanchez.com/

A Little R and R at the Surf and Sand Resort

Splashes at the Surf and Sand Resort

1555 Pacific Coast Highway

Laguna Beach, CA 92651

Do you dream of being lulled to sleep by the waves rolling over the shore? Do you long for a place that washes away the troubles of your day, just by enjoying the view from your seaside table? Want to get away from it all, even if it is just for one night, or one meal? Luckily, Katie and I got to experience this, thanks to McCue Marketing Communications and The OCeanfront.

The setting could not have been more perfect as we rolled in straight from work. The traffic we battled to get to the Surf and Sand Resort was just a mere annoyance after our first glimpse of the views from the legendary Laguna Beach hotel. We were lucky enough to be invited to a Seafood BBQ poolside, but first we got to tour the rooms, let's take a look.

The rooms at the Surf and Sand have recently gone through a $3 million renovation. They now feature a California coastal theme, modern lighting, and  marbled entryways. The suite we toured had a very relaxed feel to it. I usually always focus on TVs when I enter a hotel room, and here I am not even sure if they have a TV,  wonder why?

Oh yeah, I probably did not notice the TV, because of these great views. I did check the Surf and Sand web site and they do have TVs in their suites, but why would you waste your time with them when you have this view staring back at you?

After the tour of the suite, it was off to the poolside BBQ. Of course the surroundings were gorgeous. There was even a couple getting married on the beach below us. I am not sure if it was the ocean air, or if I am just always hungry, but I was ready to eat. So let's checkout what was prepared for us.

Starting us off was the Roasted Corn Salad. This salad not only featured corn, but tomatoes, olives, and peppers, among other items. The result was a fresh tasting salad, which was light, and combined flavors and textures well.

Chef Armstrong, of Splashes Restaurant located at the Surf and Sand Resort, offered up two kinds of Ceviche for us to try. The green one, was a ceviche made up of local fish. This one had a real mild taste, and the green sauce, whatever it was made of, was very smooth. The more traditional ceviche was a lot more what I am used to when I think of ceviche. This one had a little more bite to it, which really brought out the seafood.

Katie was of course pleased to see Grilled Shrimp Skewers in the buffet line. The shrimp was very good, and when paired with the Grilled Pineapple Salsa, really made a winning combination.

The star of the show this night for me was BBQ Octopus. I really could have eaten the whole plate by myself. I was not shy having two servings of this. I had never had octopus served this way before, and hopefully this will not be the last time. The octopus was a little chewy, but not like you would expect. The seafood flavor definitely was present, and the sauce this was served with paired up nicely. Very well done.

We were also served Grilled Red Snapper, pictured here with more octopus of course. This mild tasting fish was nice and flaky. A little on the mild side for me, but Katie really enjoyed this.

For dessert we were given the option of three desserts, so of course I had to try all three. The S'more Tart was my favorite out of the three. I really enjoyed the playfulness of this, and it really brought to mind my childhood, sitting on the beach, cooking s'mores. The White Chocolate Bavarian Shooter was very smooth and light. The Savory Apple Tart was good, but I did not get a lot of apple flavor out of this.

This was really a great night, with great food, and awesome people. It was really nice catching up with bloggers I have already met, Kat, from Kat's 9 Lives and  Holly, from the Endless Supper, as well as bloggers I met for the first time, Michael, from South Bay Foodies and Priscilla, from She's Cookin. We all had a great time enjoying the food and atmosphere. Thanks also to Chef Jeff Armstrong for the wonderful dinner. We can not wait to come back and try his restaurant Splashes. Also, thanks again to everyone at McCue Marketing Communications, especially Sienna, Michelle, and Anne, for the invite.