Lots Going On at Five Crowns

Five Crowns

3801 E. Coast Highway

Corona Del Mar, CA 92625

It seems like the team behind the venerable Five Crowns restaurant in Corona Del Mar are not resting on their stellar reputation. Yes, the restaurant has been around for 50 years, and they could just stand behind their prime rib, which is some of the best in OC, but they want to be innovative, and entice new customers through their doors.

Earlier this year they revamped their menu, brought back some of their classic items with a modern twist, and named Steven Kling their new Executive Chef. We were lucky enough to be able to attend the unveiling of their 50th anniversary menu, and were pretty impressed. You can see all of that here.

This time we were guests of Five Crowns again as they launched their new summer menu, told us about their impending logo and uniform changes, and let us in on some great themed dinners that they have planned, while showcasing their excellent beverage program and wonderful cuisine.

Before we get to the summer menu, the young man above playing the violin is the very talented Andrew Hull. Andrew is part of LA's wild Up, a modernized classical music ensemble, which is pairing up with the culinary team from Five Crowns to create a five course food and beverage menu inspired by their music, called Dinner in Five Parts. This cutting-edge performance will be taking place Wednesday July 29th on their fabulous patio. More information can be found on their Facebook page here. This is not going to be your grandmother's classical music show. If Andrew's performance was any indication, it will be a rocking, fun filled evening, with some really great food and drinks.

Summer menus are always a little lighter than other menus, but Five Crowns proves that just because they are light, you don't have to sacrifice flavor. They started things out with this Watermelon Gazpacho and Lemon Sorbet. This chilled soup had hints of watermelon, but was not as sweet as expected. The lemon sorbet melted into this also provided a surprise burst in selected bites. Not said by me too often, a very refreshing summertime soup. This was paired with a very well made Garden of Eden Gimlet. We have made two trips to Five Crowns this year, and each time we have been more impressed with their Head Bartender and Libations specialist, Amber Billard. Her cocktails have so much personality, and this gimlet was no exception. Made with cucumber vodka, lavender honey syrup, lime, and a hint of absinthe, this cocktail screamed summertime, with it's light and airiness, but it was still complex enough to keep you interested. Nicely done.

A little spin on the regular, old caprese that you can get just about anywhere. This Stone Fruit Salad really had people talking. At Five Crowns they grilled some summer squash and placed it on top of some creamy burrata, a few drops of pesto, a few sprigs of arugula, and some sliced almonds. Very tasty, and I loved how the components of this played with each other. The burrata and the almonds went well together, and because the pesto was used sparingly, it did not overpower the grilled squash.

I was pretty excited for our next taste when I looked ahead to see what we would be having. This Petrale Sole served Drunkard Style had a lot going on with it. Puff pastry was stuffed with crab and spinach, and then sole placed on top with a newburg sauce. Some real classic portions to this plate. Chef Kling mentioned that puff pastry is not used nearly enough anymore, and he's right. It was a great vehicle for this, and the newburg sauce was on point. Really tasty, and it went well with the crab. I could have eaten a bunch more of this.

I apologize for the odd looking pictures here. The lighting on the patio was getting quite dark, but not dark enough to use the flash. I was kind of in limbo here. We were given small portions of the food, so keep that in mind when coming to Five Crowns. Your portions will be noticeably larger. I definitely could have used a larger portion of each of these fine entrees off of their summer menu. This Duo of Prime Skirt Steak and Cooks Pig Ranch Pork Ribeye were delicious. It's probably no surprise that the guys in the kitchen at Five Crowns know how to cook red meat. This skirt steak was meaty, flavored simply with a little garlic, and cooked to a nice medium rare. The pork was grilled, and topped with a corn garnish. This was a very clean tasting piece of pork.

Dessert is kind of where Five Crowns lost me. I'm not really fond of fruit desserts, but that's what we had when this Summer Plum Pavlova was placed in front of me. I'm of the mind that desserts need to be decadent, and this was almost healthy. The macerated plum was sandwiched between meringue and whipped cream. Others at our table enjoyed this light end to the meal, but Five Crowns signature dessert, the C.C. Brown's Hot Fudge Sundae is definitely more my style.

Even without a hot fudge sundae, this evening was a great night of dining and wonderful company. Yes, summer menus are always a little on the lighter side, and I am definitely more of a heavier eater, but I really ended up enjoying the food here. I admire Five Crowns because they are always trying something new. Whether it was to open one of the first gastropubs in OC, (Side Door), or it is to have a five course menu based on modern classical music, they are willing to do whatever it takes to make you think of their restaurant as not only a special occasion spot, but a restaurant where you want to experience what's new and exciting at this 50 year old OC landmark. We can't wait to see what's coming next.

A special thanks to all who made this visit to Five Crowns possible. Thanks go out to General Manager Jim Colombo and his wonderful staff, including Chef Steven Kling, for the fantastic hospitality and excellent cuisine on this evening. Also for taking the time to answer all of our silly questions. Much appreciated. We would also like to thank Ashley Eckenweiler, and her staff at the ACE Agency for this great opportunity to experience this new summer menu.

If you would like to see all that's new at Five Crown in Corona Del Mar, check out their web page here: http://www.lawrysonline.com/five-crowns

Feeling the History at Saugus Cafe

The Original Saugus Cafe

25861 Railroad Ave.

Santa Clarita, CA 91355

I can admit that I have become pretty obsessed lately. Someone posted this list of the oldest restaurants in Southern California on Facebook, and I find myself staring at it, and making plans to visit a lot of the restaurants on it. This list of restaurants was compiled by Nikki Kreuzer of The LA Beat. You can see her very well-researched list by clicking here.

According to the list, the oldest restaurant within an hour's drive of Los Angeles is the Original Saugus Cafe, which happens to be in Santa Clarita. A place where we would be spending the night after attending Katie's cousin, Steve's 50th birthday party. After a wild night of listening to the world-famous Steagles, a great Eagles cover band, enjoying a taco guy, and having a few cocktails, we made plans to meet up the next morning and have breakfast at Saugus Cafe with some of Katie's relatives.

Not really some, but it seemed like all. We had a party of 17 for this tiny diner. Katie called at 10 to see if this was going to be a problem, and they said they would put her name on the list, and the tables would be ready in about an hour, which gave us plenty of time to check out of our hotel, and head over. When we arrived they said they had remembered the call, but they still did not have our table ready, and it would be another hour before we could be seated. Luckily, another guy, possibly a manager intervened and got us seated within a half hour. Crisis averted, and we got to cross this 1905 landmark off of our list

Saugus Cafe has been pretty much in this same location for over 110 years. It has a very colorful past, had a number of owners, and hosted many famous people during its century-plus run. John Wayne, Clark Gable, Frank Sinatra, Marlene Dietrich, Whoopi Goldberg, and Drew Barrymore have all occupied these premises at one time or another. In 1952 the original building was torn down and moved a few feet south. Since 1994, Saugus Cafe has had new owners who have worked to modernize the restaurant, while maintaining the history of the place.

The cafe definitely has an older feel to it. We were seated way in the back, near the attached bar area. Our long, narrow table was not really conducive to chatting, but Katie and I had a good enough time with Katie's cousins, goofing on other family members, and talking about the last evening's hijinks. This 24-hour spot has a menu that is very breakfast focused. Breakfast is offered all hours of the day, and features lots of specials, egg dishes, and griddle items. We ordered in a pretty orderly fashion for a large group and waited for the food that we hoped would soak up some of the alcohol from last night's festivities. Let's see how it all turned out for us.

Listed first on the breakfast menu, Katie selected this Saugus Special ($10.05) as her first meal of the day. This three-egg omelet came with sausage, avocado, mushrooms, and Swiss cheese, and was topped with sour cream. Katie really enjoyed the size of this breakfast but did remark that it was an average diner breakfast, nothing special. She'd probably get this without sour cream if she came back here again. Omelets come with your choice of hash browns, home fries, tomatoes, or cottage cheese. Katie went with the hash browns, which she said were good.

Katie's cousin Steve was pretty indecisive when it came time for him to order. He was torn between the chili cheese omelet but eventually went with the Corned Beef Omelette ($9.45) after much debate in his head. Even though Steve appears to be a picky eater, he had no qualms about this breakfast. He loved the girth of the omelet and had no complaints with his food.

For my breakfast, I had to give their Chicken Fried Steak and Eggs ($9.85) a try. As drab as these pictures look, the food on this plate was about the same. The chicken fried steak was very average, with a very bland gravy, whose only saving grace was that it added moisture to the meat. The eggs were cooked fine, and the home-style fries were a little better than the hash browns I tried off of Katie's plate, with the addition of onions to the spuds making the difference.

From my awkward position where I was sitting at the table, I could not get any other pictures of anyone else's food, but no one really raved about their breakfast here. Saugus Cafe did its job of helping us get over a late night of partying with some classic diner food. It definitely served its purpose and sent us on our way back to OC with a full stomach. The history of this restaurant is enough for at least one visit, but I'm not sure the food will keep people coming back. Not awful, but not worth the drive from OC, and even our cousins from Santa Clarita were not wowed by this visit to Saugus Cafe. On the plus side, even with such a large party, the service we experienced by the staff after being seated was right on the spot, even with a few challenging members of our group. I'm glad I had the opportunity to eat here, as it's not every day you can dine in a restaurant that was around when Theodore Roosevelt was president.

Out of five airplanes, (because the year this restaurant started, the Wright brothers third plane stayed in the air for 39 minutes, which was the first time a plane stayed aloft for more than a half hour), five being best to zero being worst, The Original Saugus Cafe gets 2.5 airplanes.

Saugus Cafe does not have a website, but you can find a very interesting article on its history by clicking here: http://www.scvhistory.com/scvhistory/sauguscafe.htm 

Adya One Year Anniversary Dinner

Adya

440 South Anaheim Blvd. #201

Anaheim, CA 92805

When I started this blog, I never really had any exposure to Indian food. No one in my family ever thought of going to an Indian restaurant. My friends never suggested eating Indian food either. In fact, there are no Indian restaurants in the city of Yorba Linda, the city where I grew up. To my knowledge, there has never been an Indian restaurant in the, "land of gracious living." It really wasn't until I started this blog and was invited to an Indian restaurant that I really started to appreciate Indian cuisine.

We were recently invited to attend a one year anniversary party for Adya, which is located at the Anaheim Packing District, a place that I was ashamed to say that we had yet to visit. For those of you that are not aware, the Packing District is like a mini Grand Central Market in Los Angeles. There are 20 plus eateries in this downtown building, and the whole vibe of this place was cool. After walking around, I made a mental note of all the places I wanted to visit next; Georgia's, The Kroft, and The Chippy, just to name a few. For now though, I was excited for Adya.

Adya is brought to us by the very talented Chef and Executive Owner, Shachi Mehra. She was the first executive chef at another of our favorite Indian restaurants, Tamarind of London in Newport Coast. Her new place showcases Indian street food, which is prepared using wonderful local items, but are made in traditional Indian ways. Growing up in New Jersey, and spending summers in India, she wants to show that Indian food does not have to be that heavy, curry focused cuisine, but instead she features lighter food, which does not sacrifice the bold flavors of Indian cuisine. I was definitely looking forward to seeing if she could achieve this delicate balance with the food we were about to have.

The people of Adya were kind enough to set up a table for us on a recent Tuesday evening. I've heard that getting seating at the Packing House can be a little bit tricky, and that is even more so on weekend nights. On this night the crowd definitely swelled during our stay at the Packing District. We were seated at a long communal table, with Puffed Lotus Seeds, Papadum, and a Trio of Chutneys, spaced about every four seats. Already I could tell that this was unlike any Indian food we have had. The papadum was lighter, more like a tortilla chip, than the kind of rigid papadum we are used to. The three chutneys represented here were tomato, mint, and tamarind varieties. It's hard to say which one was my favorite, as I found myself using each in equal measures. The lotus seeds were again light, but kind of missed the mark with me. I was more in the mood for something a little more substantial, and these had more of the texture of chicharon, which kind of melted away after consuming them. Others in our party were pretty impressed with these though.

Now the big boys were on the way out for us. Up first was this Crab Masala, garnished with corn, asparagus, and a very light mustard yogurt sauce. This is not what you would probably expect when having Indian food. The crab was light, and had the consistency of a very well made crab cake, but with a unique flavor profile that did not mask the natural taste of the crab. The corn added a nice texture element, and the mustard sauce played along nicely with the rest of the plate. Very well done crab plate.

I'm always a fan of lamb, so when I heard that Lamb Kofta was up next, I got pretty excited. I don't order lamb nearly enough, which I need to rectify. These lamb meatballs were in a tomato tamarind glaze, which burst with flavor. The lamb itself was very tender, dense, and spiced perfectly. Luckily, a few people that we were sitting with were not a fan of lamb, so I had four of these by myself. Score.

Next up for us was a Thali, which I had to look up what it was. I learned that a thali is a plate of food, which includes six different flavors; sweet, salty, bitter, astringent, sour, and spicy. I'd say this plate got all of them, but I don't really recall anything being crazy bitter. This thali included black lentils, chicken tikka masala, raita, kokum fish curry, rice, and salad. All of this was pretty stellar, but the chicken tikka masala really stole the show. The sauce was delicious, and could make an old shoe taste great. The chicken was tender, and again, the masala sauce was incredible. I liked the rest of the plate as well. The fish curry was good, and the kokum spice gave off a tinge of sourness to the fish. Raita is not really my thing, since I'm not a fan of yogurt, but Katie enjoyed it, as did other people at our table. The lentils are always a favorite of mine at Indian restaurants, and they impressed at Adya as well. A very well balanced meal.

Desserts at Indian restaurants have always kind of let me down. I like sweeter desserts, than most people like, so I'm usually left out of luck at most Indian joints. This was not the case at Adya. The White Chocolate Rabri with Cardamom Grilled Peaches was one of the better Indian desserts I've had. Rabri is made of condensed milk, sugar and other spices, and it kind of has the consistency of a less smooth budino. The peaches were good, and added even more sweetness to the rabri. We were also given some Coconut Date Naan to wrap up our meal. This was a very good version of a dessert naan, but I have a feeling they could do anything with their phenomenal naan, which we enjoyed very much earlier during this meal.

Chef Shachi and her team at Adya really did deliver on their promise of lighter, but still flavorful Indian food. Even though we ate all of this food, we did not feel crazy stuffed, and even had room left to try some ice cream at Hans' Homemade Ice Cream. The menu here changes frequently, depending on what's available, but if our dinner is any indication, you will have no trouble finding something that you will enjoy. I'm so happy that this blog has opened me up to liking more than just burgers, Mexican, and Italian food.

We would like to thank Chef Shachi, and everyone at Adya for having us on this very special occasion. It's easy to see why you guys have made the coveted one year mark for your restaurant, and why you'll be around a lot longer than that. Not only was the food great, but their hospitality was also on full display. We would also like to thank Mona and everyone at Moxxe PR for thinking of inviting us to this wonderful event. You guys rock.

For more information about Adya check out their website here: http://adyaoc.com/#about-intro

Old School Donuts in Inglewood

Randy's Donuts

805 West Manchester Blvd.

Inglewood, CA 90301

Some of my earliest memories involve donuts. Going to our local Winchell's with my dad on weekend mornings. Having that sweet smell smack you in the face when you walked in the door. All the donuts behind the glass case and my dad let me choose what we were going to bring back to my sleeping mom and sister. My dad has imparted a lot of wisdom to me over the years, but one of the first things I can remember him teaching me was the names of all those donuts.

I was in awe of the way he could rattle off a donut order. They had fritters, long johns, old fashioned's, buttermilk bars, devil's food, crumb donuts, and many others. Yes, I was small, and when you are small it seemed like we had endless donuts to choose from. I still run into people that don't know the names of the donuts. It kind of makes me cringe when I am behind them in line at the donut shops, and then it just makes me happy that I have a great dad who taught me the right way to order donuts.

So that's where my love of donuts stems from. That's why I'm always on the search for my next great donut. We were going to be going up the 405 Freeway to Katie's cousin's birthday party in Santa Clarita, and I was always taught, (this time by my mom), not to show up to a party empty-handed. I made a quick search of best donuts in Los Angeles and found about three or four that were along our route. Not wanting to get too far from the freeway, we picked Randy's Donuts in Inglewood.

Even if you have never been to Randy's donuts, you know the place. Maybe you've seen the big donut when you were flying into LAX, or maybe you've seen the iconic donut stand in one of the many movies or TV shows it has been featured in. Once part of a 10 unit chain of donut stores owned by Russell Wendel, he sold it off in the 70's so he could focus on his Pup N' Taco restaurants. Since 1984 Randy's has been owned by the Weintraub brothers and thrives until this day. Oh yeah, and in case you are wondering, the donut that sits on top of the building is just over 32 feet tall, and my younger 8-year-old self probably thinks I could finish it all.

We arrived at Randy's just before 4pm on a Saturday afternoon and were met by a line of approximately 15 people, and a packed drive-thru. We opted to park and wait in line. The line moved rather slowly, and I watched as people only ordered one or two donuts at a time, which I thought was odd, since they had waited in line for at least twenty minutes. Once it was our turn to order at the window, I noticed that the sweet aroma of fresh donuts from my youth. We got our Two Dozen Assorted ($10.50 a dozen), and we were on our way up to Santa Clarita. Sadly, three of the donuts did not make it to the party though, as I couldn't help myself.

I'm not going to bore you all with descriptions of all the donuts I had on that trip up to the valley, but I did not have one that was a clunker. My favorite donut, the Buttermilk Bar had a great flavor and was cooked perfectly all the way through, which is a hard trick for a lot of donut shops to replicate. Also of note, these donuts were not greasy at all. The Apple Fritter was one of the best I have had. Full of apples and cinnamon, this was a first-rate apple fritter cooked perfectly, with no soft spots. The other donut I consumed rather quickly was a Cinnamon Crumb. The cake donuts at Randy's are more like cake than at other spots. A lot lighter than most, but without sacrificing the stability of the donut. These donuts made the drive up to Santa Clarita way more enjoyable.

These donuts are not crazy, think outside of the box donuts, like you can get at other places. They are traditional, old school donuts that are made really well, and because there is always a demand for them, they are fresh all the time. Even if you get them at 4pm on Saturday like us. No cronuts or trendy donuts at Randy's, just good solid donuts, which brought to mind the donuts of my youth, and they were a real hit at the party.

Out of five hockey pucks, (because Inglewood is the city where I first fell in love with my favorite sport, hockey), five being best to zero being worst, Randy's Donuts gets 3.5 hockey pucks.

Randy's does not have a website, but you can find some information about them on their Yelp page, by clicking here: https://randysdonuts.com/

Taps Opens in Irvine - CLOSED

Taps Fish House and Brewery

13390 Jamboree Road

Irvine, CA 92602

Many new places have recently opened up at the Tustin and Irvine Marketplace. These two centers, which are really one, are divided by Jamboree Road, and they have really stepped up their culinary game in the last few months. Opened just recently is a new sushi spot, Mizu Sushi, Inland Empire staple, Miguel's Jr., Class 302, and Piadina Italian Sandwiches are all now in full operation here, and there are more on the way. It's been announced that The Melt, Famous Dave's BBQ, and Wokano, which is erupting like crazy, will open here in the coming months. I was excited to try another new restaurant that brought us here on a recent Thursday afternoon, Taps Fish House and Brewery.

Taps are not entirely new, though. They have outposts in Brea and Corona, which have been wowing people in those areas with their fantastic Sunday brunch, seafood, and award-winning beers. This move to South OC did not come suddenly, either. Owner Joe Manzella had been looking for this spot for a while now. In fact, back when we experienced Taps brunch for the first time in April of 2012, Joe had let Katie and me know that they were scouting out where to put their next Taps restaurant in South OC. Over three years later, they are opening up in the old Buca Di Beppo spot across the street from Lazy Dog Restaurant.

This latest Taps is a mash-up of Taps in Brea and Joe's other restaurant, The Catch, next to Anaheim Stadium. There's a very nice patio here, high ceilings, and a huge bar that brings to mind all that is great about The Catch in Anaheim. The rest of the restaurant is equally grand. Nice comfy booths along the walls, a nice brick archway that separates the two-roomed dining areas, and nice sight lines that direct your attention into the busy kitchen. There's also an oyster bar lined up with all their oysters ready to be consumed.

We were here for a friends and family event, which meant they were still working on staff training, getting the kitchen in working condition, and testing the fire alarms. If this dry run foreshadows what to expect when they open, everything's probably running smoothly. To help with training, every table was given a different preset menu. We saw many wonderful dishes from the kitchen to surrounding tables and were eager to see what was in store for us. Let's take a look.

All meals at Taps start with their very good bread. This was served with oil and vinegar, which went well with the toned-down sourdough. It came out hot and was a great start to our meal.

First up on our preset menu was the Ahi Tartare ($14.99). I'm always a little weary when an item has so much going on with it, especially when that item is ahi, but this was excellent. Ahi tuna is mixed with avocado, red onion, cucumber, scallions, and soy chile emulsion and topped with crispy wontons. This was served with gem lettuce cups, but we preferred it without. The lettuce kind of overpowered the very well-made ahi mixture. It was very tasty.

I really liked this little twist on a regular Caprese salad. The Heirloom Tomato Caprese ($10.99) drew raves from my buddy Joe, who considers himself a Caprese connoisseur. In this version, the tomatoes are joined with one of the best burrata that we have had, a smear of basil and another of vincotto, micro-basil, crisp prosciutto, and toasted pine nuts. Most of you know I'm not a big tomato fan; it's a texture thing for me, but this was stellar. The nuts gave this an earthiness, the burrata was creamy, and the tomato added a little sweetness to even out this plate. Joe was very pleased with this.

The first of our two entrees was nothing I would normally order, but I enjoyed this Grilled Alaskan Halibut ($32.99). The fish was joined by blistered shishito peppers, pork belly, spring veggies, and a citrus herb salad. As I was eating this, it kind of grew on me. At first I thought the vegetables made this more of a salad, and the pork belly and halibut got lost. After we picked away some of the produce, the freshness of the fish and the tasty pork belly shined through. I'm still not sold on this for me, but others who enjoy vegetables more than myself, might enjoy this entree.

You might not think of trying a burger at Taps Fish House, but you would be missing out. This Taps Burger ($13.99) had it going on. The burger comprises aged chuck, sharp cheddar cheese, mayonnaise, red onion, tomato, lettuce, and pickle. It is sandwiched between a toasted brioche bun. All of this contributed to a very juicy burger. The bun did a great job keeping its integrity with all the moisture. The beef was fresh and flavorful, and the sharp cheese complimented the beef well. I was also happy the meat was cooked medium, just the way I like it. An excellent burger that could only be made better by adding a few slices of bacon. Maybe next time. The fries were also pretty good at Taps. A subdued garlic and parsley flavor was detected, and these came out of the kitchen scalding hot.

This visit to Taps Fish House really whetted my appetite for what's coming here. I'm looking forward to trying their brunch buffet, which features many breakfast items, seafood, and a chocolate fountain. There are also a few things they had yet to divulge about their brunch, and I look forward to seeing what those things are. Since they opened on June 8th, I have heard all positive things about Taps, which is rare for a new restaurant. Our server, Talya, was very sweet and dealt with us awesomely. Reducing driving time to Brea will be nice by having this Taps Fish House open closer to us in Irvine.

We would like to thank all of the staff at the new Taps for all the wonderful service we received during this visit. I'd also like to thank General Manager Masaya Yamazaki for taking the time to chat with us and give us a little hint of what was to come at this location of Taps. I'd also like to thank the wonderful Lee Healy, who invited us to the friends and family event. Thanks for everything, Lee. Lastly, I'd like to thank my dining partner on this adventure, my good buddy Joe. I always have a good time hanging out with this guy, and he knows his food as well, way more than he knows how to play poker, but that's a story for another day.

For more information about Taps Fish House and Brewery, go to their website here: http://www.tapsfishhouse.com/