A New Sushi Option for Fashion Island

Sushi Roku

327 Newport Center Dr.

Newport Beach, CA 92660

I have to admit that when I started writing this blog, I was not really a big fan of sushi. I'm sure it's not really a shock to regular readers that this was the case. I mean, we go out for burgers, Italian food, hot dogs, and breakfast all the time, but sushi was something that I only ate, because I had to satisfy Katie's cravings for it. She would eat it once a week if I liked it more. We settled on going once every other month, but after eating at the latest sushi joint to hit Fashion Island, I might even want it more often than her.

Sushi Roku opened up earlier this month, and before they started serving their cuisine to the public, we got a special sneak peek at a lot of their menu. Sushi Roku is part of the Innovative Dining Group, which includes Katana, the Robata Bar, Soleto Trattoria and Pizza Bar, and the world famous Boa Steakhouse. I've never been to Boa, but know of it because that's where the paparazzi hangout to snap pictures of the rich and famous.

There were no rich and famous on this night, just a bunch of hungry food media checking out this new spot, which is located across the parking lot from True Food Kitchen and Fleming's, and situated in the old Pascal space. I never ventured into that restaurant, but from listening to others, they all remarked on what a nice job Sushi Roku did remodeling this space. I heard that it is now much lighter than it was before, and earth tones abound here, with a very modern feel to the 5,100 square foot space. We were all seated on the covered and heated patio, which I can imagine will become a coveted seat here at Sushi Roku. We were served tray passed items off of their menu, so let's take a look at some of the offering from Sushi Roku.

Sushi Roku was very generous when it came around to getting us drinks, and I tried two of their signature cocktails. The first one I did not quite catch the name of, but a lot of people remarked that they thought it was too strong, but I found the opposite to be true. It was a little too sweet for my tastes. Just like Goldilocks, the one I found to be just right for me was the Far East Mule, which is their take on the trendy Moscow Mule. This version utilizes gin, fresh lime juice, Thai basil, cucumber, and ginger beer. This version is as refreshing as the original cocktail, and I liked the inclusion of the gin here, as it gave an extra bite to this beverage. Not a cocktail fan? They offer a ton of sakes here, one sure enough to appeal to your liking. Also of note, the happy hour, which includes food priced from $3 to $6, and libations in the $3 to $7 range. A very good value, and I predict this will be a go to spot for happy hour at Fashion Island.

I was becoming a little loopy after my two cocktails, so I was pretty excited when the food started making its way out for us. Starting things off was this Tuna Tartare, which was topped with a dollop of guacamole and a Tamari soy truffle. Very fresh tuna here, and the truffle and guacamole added a flavor boost. An excellent offering off of their appetizer portion of the Sushi Roku menu.

Longtime readers of this blog might have noticed my aversion to kale. I'm not really a fan, but this Organic Kale Salad was not too bad. The inclusion of king oyster mushrooms, a crispy shiitake, and a very well done plum vinaigrette dressing almost made me forget my distaste for my leafy green nemesis. I also enjoyed the edible flower used to distract the diner from the kale in here. Very nice presentation with everything on this night.

Predictably, we had a bunch of sushi on this preview night, and some of the highlights were the Baked Lobster Roll and the Crab Sushi. Both were very delicate, but did not sacrifice flavor. I especially loved the baked lobster with its creamy miso sauce. The crab was a little understated, but the fresh crab shined here. All sushi was delicious, and I could not help but think that this sushi would definitely be in Katie's wheelhouse. Can't wait to bring her back here.

I was surprised when this Popcorn Shrimp Tempura made its way out to us. It kind of reminded me of an American Chinese dish, but after trying it, it was so much better. The tempura batter was nice and light with a little crunch to it, which allowed the shrimp to be the star. I definitely had my fair share of this. So delicious, and way better than what you can get at Panda Express.

Sushi Roku saved the best for last for us. They had a number of items served on skewers, the best one being the Bacon Wrapped Shrimp, which was as good as it sounds. These shrimp were huge, and of course bacon makes everything taste better. The Ji-Dori Chicken Skewers were tender, with just a twinge of teriyaki to it. All of these skewer options made a lasting impression on me as I headed home.

As I was looking over the menu for Sushi Roku when I got home, I realized that this is much more than just a sushi spot. It's more of a well rounded Japanese restaurant that will satisfy both sushi lovers and non-sushi diners alike. There's plenty on this menu that will keep people coming back here, and this is exactly the type of restaurant that this area needed so badly. There's traditional sushi represented, as well as dishes with a modern twist. I am really looking forward to coming back here again real soon, and sharing my experience with Katie and my friends.

For more information about Sushi Roku, check out their website here: http://www.innovativedining.com/restaurants/sushiroku 

Going Old School Italian in Lake Forest

Biagio's Restaurant

24301 Muirlands Blvd.

Lake Forest, CA 92630

I know some of you that have sent in restaurant tips are a little apprehensive that we actually listen to your suggestions. It's true, we have been getting a little slower lately with getting out to readers suggested restaurants. It always seems that something is going on with us though. Wedding plans took over most of the first half of this year, then it was off to Jamaica for a relaxing honeymoon, and finally, it was Ducks Stanley Cup playoff time, and we had to rearrange our schedule around watching and going to the games. Thanks to the unshakable Chicago Blackhawks, the Ducks title run has come to an end, but that means we have extra time in our schedule to fit in some restaurants on our reader's tip list, like Biagio's.

Biagio's lands on our list because of Alex, who works or worked at the Coldstone by where we used to live. Yes, it has been on our list for at least a year and a half, but no time like the present to hit up his favorite Italian restaurant. He claimed that he's been going here since he grew up, which by looking at him meant he's been going to Biagio's since the early 2000s.

Biagio's has been around a lot longer than our friend Alex though. In fact, they have been in business at the shopping center at the corner of Muirlands and Ridge Route since 1976. That's close to 40 years, which makes this an institution in these parts. They even survived having the very good, Sabatino's a few doors down from them, and have outlasted them, as Sabatino's shuttered in early March after less than two years in this shopping center.

Besides the rave review that Alex gave us, I have heard other good things about Biagio's from other sources. When Claudia Koerner used to write Food Frenzy for the OC Register, she raved about the meatball sandwich here. Back in 2008, OC Weekly claimed that they had the best dinner salad in all of OC. Pretty big praise for an Italian restaurant that is located in an out of the way shopping center. I have to admit I was pretty excited to give this place a try.

We arrived at Biagio's at about 5pm on a recent Saturday. We were lucky and sat in a booth along the wall. If you come, and all the tables are filled, you write your name on the blackboard by the front door and wait for a table to become open. There's not really any room for a hostess stand, so it kind of was a little chaotic a few times when people did not write their names down. This is not a fancy spot. A little on the loud side, this family restaurant is very old school, with their very broken in booths, and a cluttered, but clean appearance. The menu here is what you'd expect from a neighborhood Italian restaurant; pasta dishes, sandwiches, pizzas, and entrees. Katie and I made our selections, and this is what made its way to our table.

Biagio's started us off with a couple pieces of their crusty bread, with butter. This came out very warm, which helped melt the butter a bit. A pretty decent piece of bread, even if it was toasted a little too much for my taste.

Entrees at Biagio's come with either soup or salad, and I don't even know what the soup tasted like, but do yourself a favor and get their House Salad instead of the soup. You won't be sorry. The salad is pretty basic, iceberg and romaine lettuce, a few slices of tomato and cucumbers, and a couple of olives tossed in. What brings this salad up to legendary status is the house dressing they liberally add to the greens. A thick, not quite ranch, more like a garlic dressing covers the produce, and you can't quite grasp how this dressing makes this simple salad so good. It's easy to see the praise this dressing gets, and you can definitely see why people buy some to go home with them.

You're probably looking at the pictures above, trying to guess what Katie ordered. She went with the Large Biagio's Antipasto Salad ($14). This thing was huge and sat in our refrigerator for a few days as we whittled it down to only one to go container, instead of the two that we left the restaurant with. Lots of meat, spiced carrots, and other veggies are placed over a mound of lettuce. The meats here were actually a lot better than I thought they would be, and the hot capicola was very addictive, and I knew that I had a lot of food coming my way. This would have been a good enough sized salad to feed at least 6 adults.

It might be my subconscious, but I know I'm usually in for a treat when Italian food is served to me in a metallic baking dish. Not only does this ensure that it's going to be coming in scalding hot, but it also seems to make the food taste better, for whatever reason. This was the case with this Lasagna ($14) from Biagio's. This version of the classic Italian dish had plenty of cheese and a very good red sauce. I thought I got ripped off with a lack of meat, but it was all huddled in the middle, and there was plenty of it. Even though this was in a smaller baking dish, this was still a pretty good sized piece of lasagna, which I enjoyed the next day for lunch.

Yes, we kind of went a little overboard here with the food we ordered, but we wanted to try a couple of things, and we don't mind eating leftovers. This Medium One Topping Pizza ($12) was pretty solid. The pepperoni was layered underneath the cheese, which is the way I like it, as it traps the greasiness of the meat under the blanket of cheese. For those that like a thicker crust, this pizza is for you. The cheese and toppings separated easily from the pizza crust, so this was a little hard to eat. This pizza brought to mind the pizzas of my youth. The pizzas of independent pizza parlors, that are not trying to be too fancy, or fashion themselves after pizzas from Italy. I'd call this stick to your ribs pizza, and I liked it.

The one thing we were not too crazy about was this Chocolate Chip Cannoli ($3.50). Maybe we just caught them on a bad day, but the pastry shell was overcooked, and the inside of this had no sweetness to it, and that's with the chocolate chips included. The drizzle of chocolate sauce and powdered sugar was not much help either. Not one of our favorite cannolis we have had.

Even with the lackluster cannoli, we still really enjoyed our time and meal at Biagio's. If you're looking for fancy Italian you might want to keep on going. If you're looking for a traditional Italian restaurant from yesteryear with big portions, a really good salad dressing, and some solid pizza, this might be the place for you. We loved the family atmosphere here. From the time we were sat, we were treated like we were regulars, even though this was our first time here. It won't be our last trip here though. Prices might be a tad too high, but you can definitely get away with splitting some of the items off of the menu. Glad we finally had a lull in our schedule, so we could knock off one of our reader's recommendations. Maybe yours will be next.

Out of five corks, (because the city of Mount San Biagio in Italy is one of the few places outside of Sardinia that produces wood for corks), five being best to zero being worst, Biagio's gets a very solid 3 corks.

For more information about Biagio's Restaurant, go to their website here: http://www.biagiositalianrestaurant.com/home.html

The Rebranding of Rubio's

Rubio's Coastal Grill

27000 Alicia Pkwy

Laguna Niguel, CA 92677

Keeping things fresh in the restaurant business is always challenging. On one hand you have your faithful customers that love the look, feel, and taste of your food. Then,  on the other hand you have to keep trying to grow your business by enticing new guests to give you a try by creating new menu items, redesigning your restaurants, and creating a welcoming atmosphere that will get people not only coming in the door once, but coming back many times. This balance of keeping your old customers happy, while attracting new customers has to be nerve wracking for restaurant owners. If it is, the Co-Founder of Rubio's, Ralph Rubio, definitely does not show it.

We had the pleasure of dining with Ralph Rubio for the first time recently, at Rubio's first OC restaurant to get the makeover treatment. This new redesign started in San Diego County last fall, and there will be 45 restaurants re-imaged this year. Gone is the tiki/Baja California look that customers have come to expect from Rubio's, and its been replaced with a sleeker and cleaner decor package that draws inspiration from the sea, and artwork showcasing Rubio's history and brand philosophy. Ralph was not even a little bit upset, when I had commented that I thought the old decor was a bit hokey. I did apologize, but I still felt a little bad about it later on.

It was great getting to talk with Ralph Rubio, who had his first fish taco when he was a college student living in San Diego. He would take surfing trips down to Mexico, and that's where his love affair with fish tacos started. We also talked about the way the business has shifted now, since they opened their doors in 1983. These days people want to know where their food is actually coming from. Responsible fishing practices are apart of everyone's vocabulary now, and seafood, more than any other kind of food is at the forefront of this. We also talked about food development, and the amount of tries it takes some items to find their way to the menu boards above the registers. It took 40 tries to get their blackened seasoning just right, with two times being brought out to be tested in selected stores before they got it. There's really a lot that goes into getting the food out to the public. I was excited to see some of the new and classics items that they had in store for us on this evening.

Before we get to the food that we had on this night, I started out with a Lolailo Sangria ($4.50). I really had no idea that Rubio's served sangria, and this one is imported from Spain, and was really good. Lolailo sangria is made with indigenous grapes from Spain, and cherries and oranges from the Mediterranean region. The result was a very refreshing beverage, which will satisfy people that love a sweeter wine, like myself.  Along with the sangria, Rubio's also offers craft and Mexican beers, and premium bottled drinks, such as Fanta and Coca Cola.

No meal at Rubio's Coastal Grill would be complete without a trip to their world famous salsa bar, and some of their Chips and Guacamole. They make their guacamole fresh everyday, and use an abundant amount of avocados throughout the day. There's definitely a freshness that you get when you taste it. The chips are made in house as well, and fried crisp, with little greasiness to them. What I like most about the salsa bar at Rubio's is that the salsas here actually have flavor. The hot ones are actually hot, and not made milder for the masses. Even the milder ones may ease up on the heat a bit, but they still have a great salsa flavor to them, and are not just here to add moisture to your food.

For the first time in 25 years, Rubio's now has tostadas on their menu. These Tostada Frescas are a must try for tostada lovers. They are served two to an order, with your choice of shrimp, chicken, or roasted veggies. Being the carnivore that I am, I was happy we got to try the shrimp and chicken versions, which also came topped with their new lemon white sauce, that fresh guacamole, a blend of spring mix and butter lettuce, and salsa fresca. I learned that there's no real easy way to eat a tostada. I just ate mine bite by bite, but others broke there's in two for easier handling. These are light, but still had big time flavor. The shrimp one was my favorite of the two, with five good sized shrimp on the crisp corn tostada shell. I found the spring mix to have some bigger leafs than I would have liked, but these are still a great option for people who want a lighter lunch or dinner.

We were discussing how many fish tacos Rubio's has sold in their history, and it's almost inconceivable that the answer is 200 million sold, but that's the figure we were given. So, it's definitely true that they are pretty iconic in the fish taco game. My love for the Original Fish Taco is well known to my friends and family, even having them at numerous poker games, but Rubio's Coastal Grill is much more diverse than their most recognizable menu item. We were treated to two of their other tacos, the Blackened Regal Springs Tilapia Taco and the Pacific Mahi Mahi Taco with Fire Roasted Corn. They ended up getting the blackening spice just right, as it gave a pop of flavor, but did not mask the natural flavor of the tilapia. The mahi mahi taco is probably made for milder tastes, but I brought this taco to life by adding their very good Diablo Hot Sauce. I had no idea that Rubio's had a hot sauce to offer, but I will be making sure that I get my fair share of this on future visits to my local Rubio's Coastal Grill.

Katie and I eat at Rubio's probably once every month, which is a lot considering that we are always on the search for new restaurants for the blog. I was kind of embarrassed that I had never had a Gourmet Shrimp Taco before, and after tasting it, I thought of all my wasted trips not coming to Rubio's and not having this taco that is right up my alley. It's made up of a crispy, toasted cheese blend, with bacon, avocado, cilantro, onion, a chile sauce, and of course shrimp. I loved the crispy cheese, and of course bacon and shrimp go together like peanut butter and jelly, while the avocado added a creaminess that helped cut the salt a bit. A new favorite for me off of the menu at Rubio's that will be hard to resist.

For a long while, if you wanted dessert a Rubio's, you had only one option, the churro. Now they have added three new desserts to their menu, and I was lucky enough to try them all. Chocolate fiends will not want to pass up the Caramel Ganache Brownie, which is as decadent as it sounds. A very well made brownie base was made even better with the addition of plenty of caramel and ganache. Absolutely sinful. I'm definitely not a fan of lemon bars, but this Limon Coconut Bar might have won me over. It actually won me over because the coconut cut the lemon flavor a good amount, and the shortbread this was placed on had a good crunch to it. Cookie fans will have to give their Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie a try. This was probably my least favorite of the three, but just because I liked the other two so much. This is my favorite kind of cookie, and now I know where I can get one anytime my cravings strike.

I would say that the re-imaging that's going on at Rubio's Coastal Grill is going to be a big success from everything we experienced on this evening. It will help bring in new guests to their restaurants, while adding some diversity to their menu, and keeping faithful patrons very happy with the new choices here. The new additions to the Rubio's Coastal Grill menu has really spotlighted that there's way more to them than just their iconic Original Fish Taco.

We would like to thank some people for the invite to experience this transformation at Rubio's Coastal Grill. First, we would like to thank Ralph Rubio, who took time out of his busy day to share his passion for the restaurant he co-founded with us. He was so down to earth, proud, and excited to show off his restaurant, it got us all excited to be here as well. We would also like to thank all of the staff of Rubio's, who made us feel so welcome, and made sure we had everything that we could want. You all did a wonderful job on this night. I'd also like to thank my dining companions on this night. As usual the people behind the popular OC blogs always make these nights even more fun than they already are. Lastly, we would like to thank the great folks over at i.d.e.a, and especially Venice Lahey, who invited us to experience everything new at Rubio's. Thanks so much for thinking of us Venice.

If you would like to experience the new Rubio's Coastal Grill for yourself, follow this link to find your nearest location, and all the other happenings going on over at Rubio's. http://www.rubios.com/

Uncommonly Good Food at 370 Common - CLOSED

Three Seventy Common Kitchen and Drink

370 Gleneyre St.

Laguna Beach, CA 92651

Usually when we go out with people, it's not a shock who picks the restaurant. They usually leave it up to me. When we go out with fellow food bloggers though, it's a free for all of ideas swirling around. We were going to be heading out with our good friends Tom and Daniele, both of whom are food bloggers. They had mentioned their love for Greek food last time we went out, so I had about three places picked for us. Then the curve ball came. Daniele said that she had a hunger for a great burger. I'm flexible, so I came up with three or four choices, one of which was the restaurant we eventually all settled on, 370 Common.

You might not think of 370 Common for a burger, but I have a copy of an OC Register article where restaurant critic, Brad A. Johnson named his best hamburgers in OC. There was a three way tie for first place, as of when he wrote this article, about a year ago this week. The three way tie involved burgers at A Restaurant, BLK Burgrz, and 370 Common. This was good enough for Daniele and Tom to decide this is where we would be going for dinner. It also helped that 370 Common also had a full bar, which is always a deciding factor for these two.

Katie and I had been to 370 Common before, for my birthday two years ago. That trip was on a Sunday though, and they only have a set family menu on Sundays, but it was still a great dinner, and one of the best meals we had that year. Now with the full menu at our disposal, we were looking forward to another great night of food, and of course conversing with Tom and Daniele.

370 Common is run by Chef-Proprietor, Ryan Adams. He was the chef of Sorrento, which was also in this exact location, and when it shuttered he bought the place. An OC native, he started cooking with his grandmother at an early age, where her garden to table influence can still be felt at this restaurant to this day. Along with this current gig, Chef Adams is also a consultant/chef at another place we have been dying to try, the North Left in Downtown Santa Ana. Reviews have been great, and we can't wait to try it.

We arrived at 370 Common on a busy Friday night in Laguna. Parking was actually pretty easy, and since Daniele had made reservations, we got right in. We were seated on the second floor of the bustling restaurant, and away from the rather rambunctious crowd at the bar. It was a little warm up in this loft area, but maybe that's because of all the hot air coming from Daniele. Anyways, we ordered kind of awkwardly in stages, but this is what came out for us on this night.

In lieu of the typical bread basket, we were served these Soft Pretzel Pieces, which came with a spicy mustard that definitely had its fair share of horseradish included here. Some bites of the mustard had more spice than others. I'm not much of a pretzel guy, but these were pretty good, and a nice departure from regular old bread.

There were definitely more drinks than these on this night, but after the first round, I kind of slacked off taking pictures of all the cocktails we had. I started things off with one of my favorite cocktails, a Moscow Mule ($11). This had all the key elements to it; vodka, ginger beer, lime, and a simple syrup. Very refreshing, and not too sweet, this one was perfectly made. Tom was feeling a little more traditional, and had the Barrel Manhattan ($14) which was made with bourbon. He drank this rather quickly, so I assume that he enjoyed it, although Daniele said it was a very stiff drink. What wasn't a stiff drink was her selection, the Gin Lucie ($11). A unique cocktail consisting of rhubarb, lemon, thyme, simple syrup, egg white, and of course gin. This cocktail was delicious and frothy, and something I would get when coming back here in the future. None of the beverages we had on this night failed to impress.

The first of our two appetizers arrived, and it was the Wild Card Tuna Poke ($16). This version of this trendy dish had a lot of parts to it. Chile, sesame, soy, lime, taro, macadamia, and micro greens. Usually when an item has so many ingredients going into it, especially where you want the tuna to shine, things get a little muddled. Not the case here. The tuna was the star, but was made better with its supporting cast. The macadamia nuts added some texture, the lime awakened the taste buds, and the chili added some spice. A very solid start to our evening.

I know it's not a true poutine, because there's no squeaky cheese curds here, but I really enjoyed this Short Rib Poutine ($17.50). The base is fries, which stayed remarkably crispy under the weight of the short rib, chives, cheddar, crema, horseradish, and onion. This might be best described as a loaded fries instead of poutine, but whatever you decide to call it, it was tasty. The short rib was of course tender, there was plenty of cheese, and the crema added a little needed moisture. My one complaint was that there needed to be maybe some of the braising juice included in this to make it a little more moist. Other than that, a very good shareable starter.

Let's start with the reason we were eating here on this night, the 10 Napkin Burger ($17.75). Daniele was not the only one who was craving a burger, as I ordered this one too. I'd have to agree with OC Register restaurant critic, Brad Johnson, who favored this very solid burger. It starts with a very good blend of beef, cooked to my desired preference, medium rare, and is then topped with cheddar, fried egg, bacon, mushroom, chile, onion, and aioli. The condiments are used a little sparingly to allow the natural flavor of the beef to come through. A fried egg is always a good idea on a burger, and this very good bun held up to the insides of this burger admirably. Really tasty, as were the fries. They were fried nice and crisp, and you can tell that they were potatoes mere hours ago. I'm not usually a fan of house made ketchup's, but this one was good, with a little kick to it. Having this burger made me glad that Daniele didn't feel like Greek food tonight.

Tom has a signature move when it comes to eating in restaurants, which doesn't involve checking for loose change in the cushions of the seats. We've been out with them maybe a dozen times now, and about 10 of those times he has asked the server, "what would be you're death row meal off of this menu?" A very clever way to ask what their favorite item is. Our waitress, Natalie, claims this Pork Loin ($25.75) would be her last meal if she were being put away for a long time. The pork loin is served on a bed of macaroni and cheese, then topped with an apple and sweet onion slaw, and then there's a smear of harissa barbecue sauce. Just like me, Tom seemed a little disappointed in the size of this plate. This was a very tiny portion for him, and he finished it rather quickly. He seemed to like it, but remarked that he would get something else on his next visit here.

I always cringe when Katie orders steak in a restaurant, especially a chef driven restaurant, such as this. She really likes her red meat well done, so there's no blood to be seen. Well done steak is usually dried to a crispness of beef jerky, with very little flavor. On this evening we talked her into having her Hanger Steak Salad ($29.75) served medium, and she actually enjoyed it. This deconstructed salad came with a good amount of hanger steak, a salad made up of arugula, shallots, chile, crouton of pecorino, a lime vinaigrette, and a side of chimichurri. Katie loved the presentation here. She expected the lime vinaigrette to be more noticeable, but was plenty happy with the chimichurri, which she called, "out of this world." The steak was marinated well, juicy, and paired nicely with the slight bitterness of the greens. She would get this again for sure.

As if we did not have enough food, (except for Tom), we had two side items also. The better of the two was the Broccolini Salad ($14.75). Like I said earlier, anything is made better with a fried egg on top, and this also included prosciutto, Parmesan cheese, and bread crumbs. A definite upgrade from your usual broccolini side dish. The runny yolk went well with the Parmesan and the broccolini. The Vegetable Medley ($9) was all Daniele's idea, and she barely touched them. I don't think it was because she didn't like them, but she was nearing capacity as far as food goes. They looked fresh, as they were being boxed up for her lunch the next day.

It's almost common knowledge that Elvis Presley's favorite sandwich was a peanut butter and banana sandwich, with sometimes bacon on it. We've seen a lot of restaurants try to emulate this sandwich in dessert form, and this Presley For 2 ($12) is the latest we've tried. 370 Common's version starts with cinnamon toast, topped with caramelized bananas, peanut butter ice cream, and a drizzle of honey caramel and powdered sugar. We all really enjoyed this dessert. The cinnamon toast was a great vehicle for this, and the caramelized bananas went well with the peanut butter ice cream. I wish there was more of this ice cream included here, as the ratio was a bit off between the toast, bananas and ice cream, but still a good ending to our meal.

This trip to 370 Common was extremely strong. Glad we came back here to try some of their different offerings, since the last time we were here it was for their Sunday dinner. With the exception of Tom's pork loin, I felt the serving sizes were pretty good for this type of restaurant. Definitely more of a special occasion restaurant, I would not mind spending some future milestones here. The service that we experienced on this night was great. Natalie really had her hands full with us, and all of our questions, but she handled us like a pro. It's good to see that 370 Common has not had a set back since Owner/Chef Ryan Adams has been splitting his time between here and the North Left. I'm also glad that Daniele was feeling like a burger, so we could come back here again.

Out of five skim boards, (because the oldest tour stop on the skim board pro tour is held at Aliso Beach in Laguna, since 1976), five being best to zero being worst, 370 Common gets 4 skim boards.

For more information about 370 Common, go to their website here: http://www.370common.com/