Bringing Back Some Good Memories at La Cave

La Cave 

1695 Irvine Ave. 

Costa Mesa, CA 92627

There are certain places that you can return to, and you instantly feel the years wash away. It can be a spot where you spent quite a bit of time with the best friends you have ever had. It can be somewhere that brings to mind the world before you became a real adult. Really it just needs to be a place where you feel comfortable, and have made some great memories. One of those places for me is the venerable Costa Mesa landmark, La Cave.

In my early twenties I moved down to the Santa Ana Heights section of Newport Beach with two of my really good high school friends. I ended up living with these guys for over ten years, and as is the case with youngsters in their 20's and early 30's, there was a lot of drinking going on.

We had a circuit of bars we would hit up weekly. Monday we would hang out by whatever softball field we were playing at, Tuesdays would be Muldoon's for the dart tournament, Fridays you could find us at Rudy's and then Newport Brewing Company, Saturdays we would head to Habana at the Lab, and Sundays we would take it easy and just hang at TGI Fridays.

Wednesdays? That would always be La Cave, but only after 10pm. You never wanted to be here too early because the drinks were stiff, and the smells from the kitchen were too intoxicating to us young guys, who did not have enough money for the steaks and seafood here, and we really just wanted to save our money for the strong cocktails. Anyways, we could always just hit up Jack In The Box on the way home.

La Cave has a wonderful history, even before I started coming here. Now in its 53rd year of business, La Cave has had John Wayne as a frequent guest, Justin Bieber has taken the stage in the lounge area, and I even had the pleasure of meeting Dennis Rodman here on one evening. The dining room here can be described as part Pirates of the Caribbean ride at Disneyland, add a part of the movie Swingers, and then throw in a hint of a speakeasy, and that's how I would describe the vibe here.

Old school is how others would probably describe La Cave. There's no menu here, instead they wheel a refrigerated cart over, and show you today's offerings under the glare of a flashlight. Some of the wait staff have been here for years, and they know many of the regulars that have been coming here for years. The chef is in the front of the restaurant cooking up steaks and seafood, and the aromas gently wash over the smaller than you would imagine room. After waiting for Tom and Daniele to show up, and after an initial cocktail, I was excited to add another chapter to my history at La Cave.

Once seated at La Cave, you will be presented with their Garlic Cheese Bread, which is included with dinner. Usually I'd air on the side of caution about filling up on bread, but this bread is worth gorging on, and they are not shy about refilling the empty basket numerous times during your stay. This bread is a little light on the garlic, but the excess cheese makes up for it. I put this bread pretty close to the one from North Woods Inn. Delicious, and there's no way you'll be able to stop at just one slice.

Along with the garlic cheese bread, dinners also include your choice of soup or salad. Tom tried the Soup, which I did not actually catch what kind it was. Looking at the picture, it has some kind of chicken in it, but other than that I have no idea whether he enjoyed it or not. He usually likes to keep his opinions to himself, so he can share them on his own blog. Selfish. I went with the Salad option, and I'm rather happy I did. Really this is a basic dinner salad with a red beet and cucumber added. What pushed this salad above the average mark for me was the blue cheese dressing here. First, they got more than enough on here, which made me very happy. Second, the dressing clung to the produce well, and had a very nice blue cheese flavor to it. I ended up making quick work of the salad.

I walked into La Cave thinking I was going to have the New York steak, but I ended up with my favorite steak, the 16 Ounce Boneless Ribeye ($37.95). This was actually a pretty good ribeye. Not ribboned with tons of fat, like some ribeyes tend to be, it had just enough to flavor the beef well. Cooked to a very nice medium rare, this was a pretty tender steak. The dinners here also come with your choice of rice or a twice baked potato. I've never had the rice, but I do not think it could rival the potato option. My potato was left under the broiler a little too long, but was still delicious, with just the right amount of cheese topping it.

Katie must have been pretty excited it was Friday, because she went big with the 7 Ounce Filet Mignon and a Half a Lobster Tail ($60.95). I must have become accustomed to Katie ordering her steaks well done, because I did not even flinch when she ordered it this way. I didn't try it, but Katie felt this was an amazing piece of meat. She let loose with adjectives like juicy, tender, and melt in your mouth. Pretty good for a steak that most would consider being overcooked. She also was a fan of the lobster. Not the best she has had, but it satisfied her seafood craving on this night.

I never did get an answer to my question about whether this Carrot Cake ($8.95) was made in house, as the waitress left to find out and never came back with the answer, but it doesn't matter because it was a pretty solid version of one of my favorite desserts. This four layer cake could have been a little more moist, but it had subtle cream cheese frosting and a good cinnamon flavor to it.

La Cave is a bygone restaurant that is still here today thankfully. Not like today's upscale steak restaurants that serve everything ala carte. For what you pay for just the steak at those places, at La Cave you get the salad, side potato, and of course the very good cheese bread. These are not the same quality of steaks that you can get at Maestro's or Ruth Chris, but they are still real good for the price and they are prepared well, and a great value for the money. I did think Katie's dinner was a little overpriced though for the tiny portion of lobster that came out with the filet. That little bit of lobster was not worth the extra $20 I assume that it costs. Still, the service was good, the atmosphere is always great here, and the company on this night was just alright. Glad I could add another page to my history at La Cave.

Out of five sprockets, (because the same year that La Cave opened for business, 1962, was the same year that The Jetsons premiered on TV, and George Jetson worked at Spacely Sprockets), five being best to zero being worst, La Cave gets 3.5 sprockets.

For more information about La Cave, go to their website here: http://www.lacaverestaurant.com/

  

A Standing O for Red O

Red O Restaurant

143 Newport Center Drive

Newport Beach, CA 92660

Writing this blog, we have not only had the opportunity to eat at some of the best restaurants Orange County has to offer, but more importantly, we have had the pleasure of meeting some of the nicest people on earth, restaurant people. I'm not sure what it is, but people that work in restaurants are some of the greatest people. From wait staff to bussers, from executive chefs to management, we have met some really fantastic people that we would even consider friends.

One of those friends recently reached out to us about trying her latest place, Red O Restaurant. We met Lindsey when she was working nearby at Canaletto. She had us in for a wine dinner, and we ended up really having a great time, and really enjoying her and everyone's company at this event that we still look back on fondly, even though it was over two years ago.  We were very pleased that Lindsey would be joining us for dinner, as it gave us plenty of time to catch up with her, and also learn about this restaurant that we had heard so much about, but had yet to visit.

Red O opened almost two years ago, where Coco's used to reside, just across from Muldoon's at Fashion Island. The Coco's was torn down to make way for this restaurant, and Fig and Olive, which is right next door. Any talk about Red O of course has to start with its chef, Rick Bayless. I could use the rest of this post to list all of Chef Bayless's accolades, but I'll just leave it at this, he's won six James Beard awards, is the host of Mexico-One Plate at a Time, which is in its 9th season on PBS, he's written 8 cookbooks, and won awards for many of them, and as if all that was not enough, he also won the inaugural season of Top Chef Masters, beating out an impressive lineup of notable chefs. Simply put, we are extremely lucky to have a Rick Bayless restaurant in OC.

As if having a world renowned chef was not enough for Red O, the inside of the restaurant is something to behold. They are on record as saying that they are going for a Mexican resort kind of feel to the place, and I'd say they nailed it. From the moment you walk in, until the moment that you leave, you will have that sense of a vacation stay wash over you. The beautiful tequila display that catches your eye as you enter, to the red painted ceiling with white lanterns hanging from it, and the comfy booths with just the right amount of pillows, you will leave here more relaxed than when you arrived, just like a trip to the Mexican Riviera.

The menu at Red O can best be described as upscale Mexican, with an emphasis on steak and seafood. Yes, you can still get carnitas and a number of enchiladas, (I hear the short rib enchiladas are phenomenal), but there are no combo meals listed, and not a burrito to be found here. After a little debate, we made our selections, and I looked real forward to what would be making its way out for us. Let's check it out.

The kitchen at Red O is a scratch kitchen, and that includes their Chips and Salsas, which they make every morning. I could definitely taste the freshness of the chips, and the red and green salsas were pretty solid. The best though was the habanero salsa. It had a real nice kick to it. If you're a heat seeker, this is the salsa for you.

We were eating with Katie, so an appetizer of guacamole definitely needed to be ordered. Katie's a guacamole fiend, and she gave two thumbs up to this Classic Guacamole ($11). This freshly made guacamole was made up of tomatoes, fresh lime juice, onion, cilantro, Serrano chilies, and of course chunky avocados. They nailed this. The guacamole of course tasted great, but what really impressed me was the consistency of it. It was smooth, but still had enough chunk to it so you did not think you were having soup. A lot of places screw this up in my opinion, but not Red O.

So far this must have been Katie's dream meal. She's a big fan of guacamole, but an even bigger fan of ahi, so she must have felt like she needed to go out and buy some lottery tickets when this Ahi Tuna Tostadita ($19) came out next for us. After eating these, we were all winners, unlike the lottery. These little mini tostadas had a lot going on with them. Of course you had the very fresh sushi grade ahi tuna, then throw in the avocado, cabbage, harissa aioli, pickled red onion, habanero, and finish it off with a chile cumin oil, it puts this over the top. Lindsey had left the table before this arrived, and it was hard for us to save her one. We did manage, but it took a great effort. A must order for ahi lovers dining at Red O.

We left the ordering up to Lindsey, and she had the wonderful idea for the three of us to split the Red O Tablita ($125). This was a wise decision since I was busy filling up on the chips and guacamole, and still wanted to save room for dessert later. The tablita is made up of a 32 ounce tomahawk ribeye chop, topped with a chipotle crema and a one and a half pound Maine lobster tail. It's brought to the table sizzling, like a fajita platter on steroids. It made people in the dining room stop conversing, and stare in disbelief. It's presented at the table, then sliced tableside for easier eating. One of the more impressive dishes we have had recently. The steak was extremely tender, and went well with the very well made chipotle crema. The lobster was of course very decadent, and prepared nicely. It's always a treat to have lobster, and this time was no exception. It's definitely worth the inquiry to see if this is available when you visit Red O.

Also included with the tablita is the inclusion of Traditional Black Beans, Mexican Red Rice, Classic Guacamole, and their great Tortillas. A very good way to round out this special meal. I'm usually not a big fan of black beans, but these had a great taste to them, and I loved that they were topped with plenty of queso fresco. The tortillas are made all day long in the kitchen by the masa ladies, and after tasting these, I can safely say that they are excellent at their craft.

It's not included in the tablita, but the Cotija Mashed Potatoes ($9) are worth ordering. You wouldn't think of having mashed potatoes in a Mexican restaurant, but these were awesome. Made with Yukon gold potatoes, and then the cotija cheese is placed under the broiler, so it gets a nice and crispy texture. I'm still thinking of these potatoes. So good.

I have become addicted to butter cake. My addiction started at Maestros of course, and has followed me to every place that offers a version of this fantastic dessert. At Red O their version was the Passion Fruit and Coconut Butter Cake. A little more fruity than I like my butter cake, but the cake portion of this was right on point, and the coconut ice cream paired nicely with this. Like i said, I am not to into fruit, but Katie was a fan of the strawberries and passion fruit on the plate here.

We left Red O being very impressed by everything we had here. Not your traditional Mexican spot, but more of a steak and seafood restaurant with a Mexican twist is how I would describe this eatery after eating here. The restaurant was lively, and not stuffy like other high end places tend to be in this area. The staff was very welcoming, and our waiter Rigo, was not only very attentive to our table, but his others as well. He was very knowledgeable about the restaurant and its menu, and passed along some great recommendations to us and his other guests. The staff really helped facilitate the resort vibe that they are going for at Red O. We will be back soon, as I have heard great things about their Short Rib Enchiladas, Filet Mignon, and other menu items.

We would like to thank everyone at Red O for their fantastic hospitality, and great cuisine on this evening. A special thanks to our good friend Lindsey Goetz, the Director of Events at Red O, who was not only having dinner with us on this night, but checking in with two other events that she had going on this very busy Monday night. If you have an event coming up, and want to insure it's a great success, you should consider getting in touch with Lindsey and her team at Red O. Thanks for the invite to experience Red O first hand, and we look forward to seeing you again real soon.

If you would like to find out about Red O for yourself, you can find more information about them on their website by clicking here: http://www.redorestaurant.com/

Escaping to Pina's Bistro - CLOSED

Pina's Bistro

640 West First St.

Tustin, CA 92780

I have had a great hunger for Italian food for the last month. I crave it almost every time dinner time rolls around. For a while, I couldn't put my finger on the reason for my craving, but it suddenly came to me because we were streaming TV now. Yes, Katie and I have finally got with it and signed up for Amazon Prime, so we've spent quite a lot of time sitting in front of the TV. The first series we binge-watched was The Sopranos. A month later, we were just about done with the entire series, and I figured out that this show about Italian mobsters living in New Jersey was the genesis of my Italian food craving. The food they discuss on the show gets my mouth watering almost every episode.

That's why I met my parents at Pina's Bistro in Tustin. Not only is it geographically in the middle of both of us, but I was hoping that eating here would squash my Italian food cravings for at least a night or two. Pina's has been around for twenty years and is truly a family-run business. Pina's mother and two daughters also work here, helping run the kitchen and waiting tables.

It is wise to think ahead and get reservations when dining here, as the restaurant is not huge. A few walk-ins were welcome, but they were excellent about holding tables for people with reservations. A simply decorated dining room has eight tables inside and a lovely patio out front with another four. The menu features items from Pina's homeland of Naples, and this is definitely a scratch kitchen. Everything is made on the premises, and I was very excited to try their stuff. Let's see if the food here will help me quench my hunger for Italian food.

Even the bread served before the meal is made here, and they were very generous in replenishing it after we gorged ourselves on it. This bread came out warm and with plenty of butter. A straightforward, rustic bread went well with our upcoming appetizer.

People online were raving about the sausage at Pina's, which is handcrafted on the premises, so I had to try the Sauteed Sausage Appetizer ($7.95). This was not what I was expecting, but it was totally delicious. Not a spicy sausage, this loose sausage was bathed in a very lovely red sauce, enhancing the meat's flavor. Spread this on the supplied bread, and you will find yourself in a euphoric state.

We'll start the entrees with my mom's Chicken Parmigiana ($19.95) selection. This differs from the overly breaded version you can get at Maggiano's. This lighter dish had a lightly breaded, tender chicken breast, plenty of mozzarella, and marinara sauce. My mom enjoyed this dish and loved that it was not as heavy as others. Along with the side of spaghetti that this came with, she had more than enough to send to work the next day with my dad for his lunch.

Katie must have really enjoyed the sausage at Pina's because she also ordered this Penne with Sauteed Sausage and Asparagus ($18.95). This had the same freshly made sausage from the appetizer but with an excellent aurora sauce engulfing it. I had never heard of aurora sauce before but learned it's a mix of bechamel, cream, and tomato puree, making it a beautiful combination. This dish was terrific and very comforting to eat. You could feel it coating your insides like a warm blanket, but the freshly made penne kept things light. Another solid selection from Katie, who's been on quite a roll when we've gone out to eat.

Like I've said before, there used to be a time when I could predict what my dad would order, but those days are long gone. He went with this Shrimp and Scallop Arrabbiata ($24.95). I usually shy away from seafood in Italian restaurants because I love meatballs and sausage, but my dad really enjoyed this plate. Even though the scallops were on the small side, there was plenty of shrimp, and the freshly made pasta made this a winner in my dad's book.

It's been a long while since I have had such a good piece of veal as on this night. In fact, I need help thinking of a time during the six-year run of this blog when I wrote about Veal, but this one will be hard to top. It's not on their regular menu, but if you see this on the chalkboard displaying their specials, get it. The 16-ounce Veal Chop Marsala ($39.95) is worth every penny. This veal came straight to us from New Zealand and was prepared simply with a bit of seasoning and garlic and paired with an equally simple side of penne pasta. This veal was tender and had tons of meat included here. It took me some time to finish everything, but I eventually conquered it. I was also glad they chose a lighter pasta to go with this, as it would have been too much if they had included a different sauce. An extremely satisfying meal.

Pina's Bistro really impressed all of us. For being such a small restaurant, they put out some really delicious dishes. You will enjoy Pina's if you are a fan of traditional Italian cuisine rather than American-Italian food, with its heavier sauces and tons of cheese. Yes, you will be paying a little more than you are used to for Italian, but the fact that it's all made here by hand is the reason for that and makes it well worth it. We experienced some outstanding service tonight. It was an authentic family atmosphere as if they had welcomed you into their home. This night's food definitely helped satisfy my Italian craving, at least for one night. Those same cravings came back the next night when we continued our Soprano's marathon, so a return trip to Pina's is definitely in order again soon.

Out of five carriages (because the man that Tustin is named for, Columbus Tustin, was a carriage maker in Northern California), five being best to zero being worst, Pina's Bistro gets 4 carriages.

For more information about Pina's Bistro, go to their website here: https://pinasbistro.com/

Refueling at Pit Stop Diner

Pit Stop Diner

3825 Mission Ave. #D1

Oceanside, CA 92058

2015 is definitely the year of the wedding for us. Before the year started we had eight weddings to attend on seven different weekends this year. Lucky for us, and unlucky for the intended bride and groom, one of the weddings was postponed, so that still left seven weddings for us to attend. All but one has required us to travel at least two hours, and stay for the weekend. Looking on the bright side, this means seven chances to eat at restaurants where we would normally not be around to eat at.

On this particular trip we were coming back from the fun filled wedding of Katie's cousin, Erin. For her wedding we stayed at Harrah's Resort in Valley Center. After much drinking, gambling, and dancing, we were ready to head home on a hazy Sunday morning. We left the hotel a little past check out time, and hit the road for the two hour, traffic filled drive back home. By the time we hit Oceanside, I definitely needed something to soak up some of the leftover alcohol that was still in my system. A quick check of Yelp guided us to Pit Stop Diner.

Pit Stop Diner is located right off of the 76 Freeway, on Mission Avenue. Situated in the same parking lot as the Oceanside Police Department, it's not the most convenient of places to stop for travelers, because there's not really close freeway access to this area. Still, the Yelp reviews were good enough that we decided to take a chance, and divert our travels by about five minutes or so.

Walking inside Pit Stop Diner, it kind of had the feel of Knowlwood's, for those of you that are familiar with the OC mini chain of hamburger stands. There's lots of car inspired/Route 66 paraphernalia all over the place. License plates and street signs hanging all over the walls, old gas pumps scattered about, and even the car above sitting right in the middle of the dining space. Not sure what kind of car it was, but I do know it was a 1962 model, with a really nice paint job.

Ordering is done at the counter, and then the food is brought out to you. Classic American food rules here. Burgers, hot dogs, sandwiches, and salads dominate the menu, and breakfast is served all day long, which was a plus for Katie, who was not ready to bypass the first meal of the day, even though it was close to an hour past noon. We quickly grabbed a seat at this larger than it appears diner, and waited about five minutes for our food to come out. Let's see if the food was worth stopping for, or should we have driven on by.

I've been writing this blog for close to six years now, and one of the first things I learned during this time is that burritos are some of the most boring items to photograph, which is odd because they can be some of the most delicious items you will eat. Katie had the Wreck Breakfast Burrito ($4.55). This burrito was stuffed with plenty of egg, bacon, cheese, potato, and avocado. All the essentials for a great breakfast burrito. Katie was very pleased with her selection, and loved the amount of avocado used here. She ate this so quickly that I did not even have a chance to try it, so we'll take her word for it.

Unlike the boring looking burrito above, the camera loves chili dogs. The first of the two things that I hoped would sustain me until we got home was this Chili Cheese Dog ($3.49). This chili dog was pretty good sized, but was definitely better off eaten with a fork. The dog was split, and got a nice crispness from the flattop. It had a slight crunch when bitten into. Topping the hot dog was plenty of chili, shredded cheese, and diced onions. The chili here is very mild, and did not offer much in the way of flavor. This could be due to the fact that there was plenty of onions and cheese also occupying this. Not a memorable chili cheese dog, but it does look better in the pictures than it tasted while we were here.

Part two of my meal was this Bacon Avocado Cheeseburger Combo ($6.35). A very standard burger, with a very thin patty. The burger was saved by the crispy bacon, and the generous serving of avocado slices included on this. They kind of went a little overboard with the lettuce on here, but it was easily discarded, which showed more truly how thin the patties are at Pit Stop. The fries were okay, as they're your standard fast food fries. Not the best burger I've had, but not the worst by a long stretch.

Pit Stop Diner definitely hit the spot for what we were looking for on this afternoon. The food here is not going to blow you away, but it's pretty solid for what it is, diner food. It kept Katie and I full all the way back up the 5 Freeway. Ordering at the registers was a little slow, but other than that, the service was great here. There's also enough variety to keep everyone in your party pretty happy, including the person that's going to be paying for the meal. I mean, under seven dollars for a combo meal is something that just doesn't happen very often, even at the large fast food joints. The low cost of this meal, helped to offset some of the loses I incurred at the casino during this this wedding stay, which was very much appreciated. Now on to the next wedding.

Out of five pink racecars, (because when I hear the words pitstop, it always makes me think of Penelope Pitstop from the Wacky Racers, who drove a pink car in that cartoon), five being best to zero being worst, Pit Stop Diner get 2.5 pink racecars.

Pit Stop Diner has a very limited website, which you can see here: http://pitstop.menutoeat.com/