Happy Times at Charlie Palmer's Happy Hour - CLOSED

Charlie Palmer at South Coast Plaza

3333 Bristol St.

Costa Mesa, CA 92626

I feel pretty blessed to have started this blog and to have eaten in some of the best restaurants our great county has to offer. My list of places I want to eat at has now ballooned to three pages long. I get a good many of the recommendations  from you, our readers. I get the other restaurant tips from the almost thirty blogs that I read about OC dining establishments. It is from other peoples blogs that I had written down the name Charlie Palmer.

The man for whom this restaurant is named opened his first restaurant, Aureole in New York City in 1988. Since that time he has blown up. Now he has 12 restaurants, he has branched out by becoming a hotel owner, written four cookbooks, operates a chain of retail wine stores, he's been honored by the James Beard Foundation twice, including being named best chef in New York City in 1997. I am in awe just listing all of these accomplishments.

Almost since the opening of Charlie Palmer at South Coast Plaza, this restaurant has gotten glowing reviews from some of my favorite OC food bloggers. With all of this great press I knew it would just be a matter of time before we got to experience Charlie Palmer for ourselves. Lucky for us we were recently invited to Charlie Palmer to experience their new happy hour small plates and cocktails.

We arrived at South Coast Plaza just before five on an unusually warm March day. Charlie Palmer is attached to Bloomingdale's, in the most southern part of South Coast Plaza. Walking through their door I was shocked by the sleekness of the bar area. It had a real hip vibe, but not in an uncomfortable way. The chairs and sofa were comfortable, the staff was not uptight, and they even had sports on a very large plasma TV. Of course they would have gotten bonus points for having hockey on instead of basketball, but then I would not have been able to concentrate on all of the great items that started to make their way from behind the bar and out of the kitchen.

The drinks started coming out rapidly. Luckily we only got tasters of each, otherwise I would have been in trouble.  I am usually a very simple kind of guy when it comes to cocktails. I like two ingredients in my drinks; rum and Coke, gin and tonic, and vodka and soda are some of my favorites when I go out. The cocktails at Charlie Palmer are a little more advanced than that. Two drinks that grabbed my attention right away were the Blood Orange Mojito and the Little Gypsy (all cocktails are $14). The Blood Orange Mojito was made with Bacardi rum, lime, blood orange, mint, and a splash of soda. This one was fruity, without being overly sweet. A very good balance. The Little Gypsy was a gin based drink that combined the unusual ingredient of rhubarb bitters, along with sage, simple syrup, and grapefruit juice. I really got a good amount of rhubarb in this beverage, along with the tang from the grapefruit. A very well made cocktail.

Before we had gotten to Charlie Palmer, I checked out their happy hour menu and one drink really piqued my interest, the Two Thumbs Up. I only got a picture of the sample we got to try, but this was the best drink of the night for me. It combines house made popcorn vodka and vanilla syrup. The popcorn really stood out for me here. The flavor of that, along with the vanilla, almost made this like drinking some kettle corn. A very unique cocktail.

Cocktails are great, but I was definitely ready to try some of the food at Charlie Palmer. First out were a couple of salads. I very rarely eat beets, but after eating the Roasted Beet Salad ($8), I may have to rectify that situation. The cubed beets were joined in this salad by hazelnuts, oranges, and goat cheese. This salad had a very good balance to it. The sweetness with the oranges was perfect with the goat cheese, and the beets were done well here. The hazelnuts added an earthiness to this salad. Another salad that I might shy away from, but I was glad that I tried was the Seaweed Salad ($12). Seaweed always reminds me of the Sigmund and the Sea Monsters TV show, from when I was a kid. I know this salad tasted better than I would have imagined that sea monster would have tasted. The seaweed had a nice pleasant flavor to it, along with the slightly sweet apple-miso vinaigrette. I enjoyed the crunchiness that the nori chips added here.

I have never really been a big fan of pate, but the Chicken Liver Pate Sandwich ($10) was so creamy and rich, that if you did not know what you were eating, you wouldn't give it a second thought. To go along with the well made pate, was an interesting red onion fig marmalade and some arugula. I would have liked a little less arugula on this, and maybe smaller pieces of it as well. The bread was very nice and toasted.

Whenever I think of head cheese, I always think of that horrible looking stuff that is hanging by the packaged deli meats in the grocery stores. I never thought people would actually cook with that, but Charlie Palmer has helped me to change my view. The Head Cheese Croquettes ($12) are paired with a kimchi remoulade and I could have easily dusted off a few more of these easily. The croquette was fried perfectly, without being greasy. I should have taken a picture of the inside, but I ate these too fast. The pork had a great flavor, and did not resemble anything close to what was on the supermarket deli shelves.

The Red Wine Braised Oxtail Risotto Cakes ($9) came out the same time as the croquettes, and they paired nicely with each other. I expected these to be a little more flavorful than they were. The risotto really seemed to take over here. There also needed to be a little more of the romesco sauce on these, but I always prefer a heavy hand when it comes to sauces.

This was probably my least favorite thing of the night, but it was one of Katie's favorites. Can we ever agree on anything? Anyways, these Lamb Belly Steam Buns ($9) came with Gochujang, cucumber, tamarind, and sesame. My problem with this dish was the steamed bun. It was way too much bread for the contents of the bun. I took the insides of the sandwich out of the bun and ate them with a fork. I really enjoyed the Korean flavors of this meat. Katie liked the sweetness of the bread, and felt that this had a dim sum kind of feel to it.

Katie is not a big shell fish eater, so I had her plate and mine to polish off, but I made quick work of these Steamed Clams ($14). They came with a nice garlic aioli that added a big pop of flavor to these clams. The meat was very easy to get to, and it went well with the toasted bread that came with this.

Probably one of the funniest parts of the night for me was when we were given the Steamed Escargot Dumplings ($10) to try. Katie was deep in conversation, so she did not hear what she would be eating before popping it in her mouth. Later when asked what she thought of the escargot, I could see she was surprised that she actually liked it. I have never minded escargot. There is always plenty of butter and garlic, so that can never be a bad thing. At Charlie Palmer they even added Parmesan cheese to this to make it even more appealing. This was my first time having snails in a dumpling, and I liked this different presentation.

I have an admission to make to all of you. I feel that I have to get this off of my chest. My life as a food blogger has been a sham up until this point. I had never had bone marrow until this night. I know, the trendiest thing since foie gras has left our state, and I had yet to try it. Charlie Palmer has put an end to the bone marrow drought in my life.  The Roasted Bone Marrow ($14) here was described by my friend Rich as, "butter of the gods." He is not too far off. At Charlie Palmer the bone marrow is topped with a black garlic pesto, and served with grilled bread. The bone marrow was less dense than I thought it would be, but it was very rich. Very good and I can see why people like this so much. I guess I am a new fan as well.

By the time the dessert made its way around I was filled to the brim. I will be honest, I did not get the in depth explanation of what these desserts were. I know there was a very nice sorbet, a rather bland tart, and a very good chocolate? macaron. I was very happy we did not have a very heavy dessert, because I don't think I could have handled it. Also listed on the happy hour dessert menu is a trio of creme brulee's that we need to try on our next visit here.

The happy hour at Charlie Palmer is two happy hours for the price of one. These items, and others that we did not get a chance to try are available daily, and are served from 4 to 7, and then again from 9 til they close. The perfect time for a late afternoon snack or to celebrate another successful shopping day at South Coast Plaza. We only really scratched the surface of the happy hour menu at Charlie Palmer. They feature 28 items on their happy hour menu and ten signature cocktails. That is a whole lot of eating that you will need to do to get through this wonderful menu. We are already looking forward to our next trip.

We would like to thank the great Lee Healy for the wonderful opportunity to experience the greatness that is Charlie Palmer. As always, another great event Lee. We would also like to express our gratitude to Executive Chef Seakyeong Kim for providing us with all of the awesome food that we ate on this night. You can tell that he put a lot of himself into the food here at Charlie Palmer. Also, thanks go out to General Manager of this Charlie Palmer, Chris Moran. You and your staff made us all feel very welcome, and we definitely enjoyed meeting and chatting with you. We would like to thank all of our servers and bussers, who took such great care of all us bloggers. Thank you all so much. Lastly, I would like to thank all of the great bloggers that were in attendance on this night. It is because of you guys that I started my blog, and being a part of your community has made this blog such a pleasure to write. Thanks guys, and I can not wait until our next meal together.

For more information about Charlie Palmer at South Coast Plaza, click here: http://www.charliepalmer.com/Properties/CharliePalmerAtBloomingdales/

Fish Camp, Seafood That's Off the Hook? - CLOSED

Fish Camp

16600 Pacific Coast Highway

Huntington Beach, CA 92649

It used to be that you could only get fish at fancy restaurants—places with white tablecloths, waiters dressed in bow ties, and prices that you had to take out a second mortgage to afford. At least, that was the way it seemed to me while growing up. The only fish we ever ate when we were young came from the freezer or H. Salt Fish and Chips.

Times have definitely changed. Since starting this blog, I have written about several casual fish restaurants. Slapfish is a casual seafood restaurant and one of my favorite restaurants in OC. Spike's Fish House opened in RSM last year. Boneheads is also a pretty solid fast fish restaurant with a great Peri-Peri sauce. Almost every other shopping center now features a fish taco place to help squelch your fish cravings. We recently became aware of another casual seafood restaurant to try in Huntington Beach,  so we made the trek up to Surf City to try out Fish Camp.

Fish Camp comes to you from the same restaurant group that gives us King's Fish House.  I have always enjoyed my numerous trips to King's Fish House, as you can read here. Fish Camp is King's answer to the casual seafood craze that has taken over lately. Opened in 2010, Fish Camp strives to deliver fresh seafood at more affordable prices. They recently revamped their menu to simplify and allow customers to personalize their dining experience. Customers now pick their favorite fish, select how they want it served (sandwich, salad, plate, or taco), and then choose a preparation style: grilled, crusted, blackened, BBQ spiced rubbed, and a la plancha. All these choices work out to over 700 combinations you can partake in. That is almost two years of dinners before you must have a repeat dinner.

We arrived at Fish Camp at 6pm on a Wednesday night. The restaurant has a cabin feel, lots of wood, and a lovely large patio off the dining area. Right near the registers is a nice-looking fish counter where customers can buy seafood and take it home to cook it themselves. There was a little backup of people at the register, but that is understandable, given that so many choices exist. It also gave me some extra time to figure out what I wanted for dinner. After ordering, guests are given a pager, and the food is brought to their table. Let's see what came out of the kitchen for us.

One of the things we love about King's Fish House is the bread, which is the same bread here. This Half Loaf of Sourdough Bread ($1.25) is a great way to start your meal. This came out warm, with butter packets. I could have eaten this all by myself, but I would have felt bad doing that to Katie.

I am a sucker for crab, so it was natural that we try the Fish Camp Crab Cakes ($7.95). These two crab cakes were good sized for being listed on the small plates section of the menu. They were not greasy, but the crab could have been more prominent in these. These were paired with a cocktail sauce and a tarter sauce. The cocktail sauce was okay, but the tarter sauce was where it was. It went very well with this crab cake.

There was a little chill in the air the night we were here, so some New England Clam Chowder ($2.95) was in order. I like my clam chowder a little thicker, but this flavor was spot on. I crushed up some of the crackers to thicken this soup. There were a good amount of clams in this chowder as well.  The chowder ultimately did its job of warming me up.

Now for the main event, the entrees. Katie had a little trouble deciding what to get here, but she finally settled on the Blackened Mahi Mahi ($16.50) served with a Remoulade sauce. Katie had one issue with this fish: it needed to be cooked thoroughly. The ends were cooked well, but the middle was a little raw. Nonetheless, the blackening seasoning was perfect on this fish, and the portion size here was generous. The fish plates come with two sides. Katie selected the Jasmine Rice and the Stir Fry Veggies. She felt the vegetables were fresh and prepared well, while the jasmine went well with the soy sauce on the table.

Fish Camp offers its Camp Favorites portion of the menu for those who do not want to make too many decisions. Seven items for the people who want to take the easy way out, like me. I was immediately drawn to the Wild Parmesan Crusted Sand Dabs ($12.95) for some reason. This plate came with three pieces of fish, which were fried pretty well. I really liked the flavor of this, and the Parmesan really did not overtake the sand dabs. They could have used more sauce on these, but the capers helped ramp everything up. I had the Cheesy Grits and the Fresh Sauteed Spinach for my two sides. I am not a grits connoisseur, but I found these flavorful, and the texture was right on for me. The sauteed spinach was a tad overcooked but very full of flavor. A good plate of food.

We were full but got talked into having dessert by our food runner. We settled on the Banana Pudding ($4.45). This good-sized dessert featured smooth banana pudding, whipped cream, sliced bananas, and a couple of Nilla wafers. The pudding was a little light on the banana flavor, but the sliced-up bananas made up for that. I would have liked more Nilla wafers in this, but it was a solid dessert.

You can add Fish Camp to the growing list of good casual seafood spots in OC. I really enjoyed our time here. From what I can gather from the menus of Fish Camp versus King's Fish House, you can expect to pay about four to five dollars less per plate at Fish Camp. I did not notice a big difference in the serving sizes of the plates at Fish Camp either. We had a few minor hiccups with the food, but nothing would prevent us from returning if we were in the area. The people at the counter were accommodating in ensuring customers got exactly what they wanted, while the food came out reasonably quickly and with no temperature issues. We left Fish Camp having a good seafood dinner without withdrawing from the bank.

Out of five schools (because fish swim in schools, and the fish probably look forward to going to camp), five being best to zero being worst, Fish Camp gets 3 schools.

To check out the Fish Camp website, click here: http://www.samsfishcamp.com/

Battaling LA Traffic to Get to Britt's BBQ

Britt's BBQ

408 Main Street

El Segundo, CA 90245

Believe it or not, this is a milestone post in our blogs three-plus years of existence. Of course, it will not be a post about a place in our beloved OC, but will instead be a review of a restaurant in El Segundo. We were on our way to taking Chuck and his lovely wife, Stephanie to LAX for yet another trip to South Carolina. In return for our dropping them off, Chuck graciously offered to buy us dinner near the airport, as long as I could find a suitable place to eat. I did a little research and came up with what would be our 400th post, Britt's Bar-B-Que.

I was a little worried when we were driving up this way though because I was looking on the wrong side of the street for this place, but we eventually found it. Because it was a dark and misty night, this beach town was pretty sleepy. I could imagine that when the weather is nicer, it could be a lot harder to find parking on this main drag of El Segundo. The inside of the restaurant matched the lack of people from outside. There was only one other table of two eating at Britt's when we arrived. Throughout the course of our visit though, there would be numerous people coming and going to get to go orders.

Britt's is not a big restaurant by any means. They have eight tables, with some seating outside when the weather is a little more conducive to sitting out there. Britt's is owned by the Kovar and Cail families. The restaurant is named for the deceased daughter of  Tracy Cail, one of the co-owners. It had always been Brittany and Tracy's dream to open a business together, but a 2008 traffic accident prevented that from happening. Britt's is a living tribute to Brittany and a place that both families hope she would be proud of. I love when there are little stories behind family-run restaurants. I also love when the food is good too, so let's see how Britt's Bar-B-Que stacks up.

The four of us were pretty hungry from our hour drive up the 405, so we got the Potato Rounds ($3.95) to start us off. These sliced potatoes were a cross between a potato chip and a french fry. They were freshly fried and good without being too greasy. They were heavily salted, but that just added some needed flavor to the potato. Nothing earth-shaking, but it quelled our hunger until our food arrived.

This is one of the newer sandwiches over at Britt's. I did not get the exact name of it, but from what I remember it was called a Jalapeno Chicken Melt ($9.95). This was Stephanie's choice for dinner. I like dining with Steph because she always gets something that has a lot of spiciness to it. Maybe it is because of her other half, Chuck lost his spiciness long ago, during the Roosevelt administration. It was natural that she would be getting a sandwich with jalapenos in it. This sandwich featured pulled chicken, macaroni, and cheese, and diced up jalapenos, all on Texas toast. Stephanie must not have read the description of this sandwich too closely, because she was thrown by the fact that this had macaroni and cheese in the middle of the sandwich. She is watching her carbs, so she kind of ate around this sandwich. She felt the chicken was moist and tender, and the jalapenos added just enough spice. I did not try this sandwich, but the Texas toast looked really good, and I would have been happy ordering this sandwich.

Katie also went the sandwich route at Britt's. She had the Tri-Tip Sliders ($11.95). She was really impressed with the quality of the meat here, calling it, "melt in your mouth tender." She also thought that they were generous with the amount of meat that they put on the sliders. The barbecue sauce was given on the side and offered a good amount of flavor when applied to the sliders. Katie would definitely get this again.

Chuck was also enticed by the special menu board above the registers at Britt's. He selected the Short Ribs ($12.95) for his entree. Again, they were very generous with the amount of meat they put on the plate. As short rib can sometimes be, Chuck felt these were a little bony and fatty, but he did enjoy his dinner. Again Chuck did not allow me to sample his plate, (he's very territorial over his food at restaurants). This plate came with two side items, which Chuck went with the Cole Slaw and the Chili Mac. The Cole slaw was pretty average, while I liked the fact that they offered the chili mac. It is something that you do not see on a lot of menus. This one was pretty good, but I would have liked it to have been served warmer.

It was my turn to order next, so I took this opportunity to get the Beef Ribs ($13.95). I am transitioning from ordering baby back ribs to beef ribs when I go to barbecue restaurants. I like that beef ribs have way more meat than the tiny baby back pork ribs. These ribs were definitely full of meat. They were very tender, with a liberal amount of sauce on them. Even with all of the sauce, the meat shined through. Great flavor, while remaining tender. These kept me occupied for a long while.

Here's a closer look at the Chili Mac and the BBQ Beans, which came with my order. I liked both of these sides, but the beans were the better choice here. They were not overly sweet like some places tend to make their beans. They had a good spice to them, and they came out warmer than the chili mac.

From what I can gather reading the online reviews of this restaurant, they give these Cream Filled Donuts to everyone as a thank you for coming in. This was a very nice touch, as well as delicious. The donuts were dusted with powdered sugar on the outside and filled with custard inside. We learned that these are made by an outside bakery. They reminded me of Hostess O's, the raspberry filled powdered sugar donuts that I had as a kid, minus the raspberry of course. A nice end to the meal.

I believe that Brittany would have been proud of what her family and loved ones have created here. I think it would be safe to say that she would be proud to have her name attached to this restaurant. The food was pretty good, the prices are more than fair, and this is the kind of family run business that you can just not help but to root for. The food is not drive an hour out of your way for, but if you are in the area, and are craving barbecue, then this could be the place for you. This was a great send-off restaurant for Chuck and Stephanie, as they went off to see their family across the country.

Out of five airplanes, (because the top four employers in El Segundo are all aviation business's employing at least 3000 workers or more), five being best, to zero being worst, Britt's BBQ gets 3 airplanes.

For information about Britt's BBQ, click here: https://www.bbqelsegundoca.com/home/

Can This Place Cut the Mustard?

Mustard's Chicago Style Hot Dogs

3630 Katella

Los Alamitos, CA 90720

Hockey is back. Yes, as many of you may know from knowing me, or reading this blog, I love hockey. I have been going nuts with no sports to watch. I have never really been a basketball fan, my football team was pretty much counted out when they opened up training camp, and my college basketball favorite will be lucky to make any kind of appearance in a postseason tournament. To say that my teams stink, would be an understatement. So I was very excited when my beloved Ducks would be back on the ice after a delay of 113 days due to the NHL lockout.

One of my favorite days is when we divvy up our season tickets, so I can get to planning what games I will be going to. We usually do this in an area that is conducive to the three of us. My Dad works in Long Beach, Steve lives in Los Alamitos, and I live in south OC, so I am usually the one that has to drive the farthest. I don't usually mind because it gives me a chance to try a restaurant in an area that we do not frequent as much. This year we would be getting our game day tickets at Mustards in Los Alamitos.

Mustard's is located in a small strip mall on Katella. If you blink you may miss this place. It is sandwiched by a McDonald's and Maderas Steak and Rib Restaurant. Mustard's specializes in Chicago style food, although their menu covers just about everything from chicken sandwiches, burgers, and numerous sandwiches. Not only a large menu, but they also feature daily specials that are plastered near the register. I was ready to eat, so let's see how this compares to other Chicago style food joints we have visited.

Chicago is known for their hot dogs, but I do not think they are known for their chili dogs. Nonetheless, both Steve and my Dad got the Windy City Chili Dog ($3.49). I  guess if you slap a Chicago style name on anything it becomes a Chicago kind of food. This chili dog came with the requisite poppy seed bun, onions, chili, and cheese. Both Steve and my Dad liked their dogs, as was evident by how quick they were gone from the table. The chili was not a spicy chili but added moisture and a little flavor to this hot dog. The chili and onions were pretty plentiful on here as well.

The people of Chicago do their hot dogs a little differently from the rest of us. I would describe this Classic Chicago Dog ($3.09) as a salad bar on top of a hot dog. Each of these hot dogs comes with more vegetables than I probably eat in a week. This hot dog starts with a soft poppy seed bun, and a 100 percent pure beef Vienna Kosher Style Hot Dog. The hot dog had a very nice pop to it, and the beef inside had a great flavor. Then here comes the cavalcade of veggies. The hot dog is topped with onions, relish, tomato, neon green pickle relish, a pickle spear, hot sport peppers, celery salt, and mustard. No ketchup ever touches a true Chicago dog. I learned that lesson the hard way. I took one bite with all of the veggies but took off the tomato and the pickle spear to finish this pretty good hot dog. This version lives up to the one that I had just outside the gates of Wrigley Field. I recommend getting this dog when coming to Mustard's.

To go along with my Chicago dog I had to have a side item, so I went with the Onion Rings ($2.89). These are a very basic onion ring. Not awful, but not anything that you couldn't get anywhere else. I did like that these came with ranch dressing, without me having to ask for it.

Along with the Chicago hot dog and deep-dish pizza, probably the next most iconic Chicagoland food is the Italian beef sandwich. My favorite variation of this fantastic sandwich is the Italian Beef and Sausage Combo ($6.95). You basically get two sandwiches in one with this variation. Thin sliced roast beef is placed alongside an Italian sausage in the same bun, then topped with sweet bell peppers, grilled onions, giardiniera (a relish of pickled vegetables), and au jus. Normally the sandwich is dunked into the au jus, but at Mustard's, they have the au jus on the side and you pour it on yourself. For someone that likes their sandwiches double dipped, I did not have enough au jus for my taste. I know I could have asked for more, but you do not get the sandwich submerged by pouring it on yourself. The sausage had a nice mild taste to it, but the Italian beef was lacking in the flavor department. It kind of tasted like nothing. The bun held up to the contents of the sandwich, but this was just a mediocre Combo sandwich.

One chili dog was not going to fill my Dad up, so for round two, he got this Turkey Melt ($5.75). This turkey melt came with tomato, Swiss and American cheeses, and mayo, all on rye bread. I did not think this sandwich looked appetizing at all, but the old man had no complaints about it. The turkey patty appeared to be very thin, but again this did not last long once it hit the table. This sandwich came with a side of potato salad. The potato salad was pretty solid. Not anything that wowed us, but it was good enough.

Mustard's fills a need when you need a taste of the Windy City, and want to forgo the cost of plane tickets to the Midwest. This restaurant is not as good as Portillo's in Buena Park, but if you are nowhere near Buena Park, you can get a good Chicago dog here. The Italian beef sandwich leaves a lot to be desired but will do in a pinch. Side items were pretty average, but on future visits, I would try the chili fries or fried zucchini. You are also not going to be wowed by Mustard's ambiance either. It is a little cluttered, and predictably there are lots of Chicago memorabilia on all the walls. Service was fair, we ordered at the counter and then your number is called and you pick up your food at another window. The food did come out fairly quick. We got here at about five on a Wednesday night, and there was a steady stream of customers through the doors. The food here kind of took a backseat to the excitement we felt about a new hockey season and getting our Ducks tickets.

Out of five stovepipe hats, (since Chicago is in Illinois, and that state is known as the Land of Lincoln, and Abe is known for wearing a stovepipe hat), five being best to zero being worst, Mustard's Chicago Style Hot Dogs gets 2.5 stovepipe hats.

For more information about Mustard's Chicago Style Hot Dogs, head to their website here: http://www.mustardhotdog.com/