Another Fast Casual Fish Option in Aliso Viejo - CLOSED

Fish District

26541 Aliso Creek Road

Aliso Viejo, CA 92656

It used to be that you had to get all dressed up, get a sitter for the kids, and fork over half of your life savings to have a seafood dinner. Not so anymore. Almost every large strip mall has a casual fish restaurant occupying it. There's California Fish Grill, Spike's Fish House, Baja Fish Tacos, Rubio's, Wahoo's, about a hundred poke places, with many more on the way, and my favorite fast casual seafood-centric restaurant of all time, Slapfish. My uncle talked up one of his favorite fish spots, so we joined him at Fish District in Aliso Viejo.

Fish District has been open in this spot, sandwiched between Panera Bread and T-Mobile, since February. Thankfully, this part of the large Town Center shopping complex is a little less hectic than the rest of the center, so parking and getting around this area are a breeze. From what I can gather, this is Fish District's fifth location, with three of them located in San Diego County, and the only other OC outpost is in Irvine.

As you would expect, the menu is seafood-driven, with options including tacos, bowls, plates, wraps, sandwiches, and more. Ordering is done at the counter, and the food is brought to you. The menu board type above the register is a little on the small side, so I grabbed a paper menu and made my selections from that. The restaurant itself is spacious, with plenty of tables, which are nicely spaced apart. It's a bright dining area with white tiled walls, light wood flooring, and plenty of overhead lighting. Enough of the atmosphere; let's see how the food treats us.

My aunt Hiroko got the East Hampton Clam Chowder ($3.50). From my vantage point across the table, it looked like a runny version of a clam chowder. It did not appear to have too much chunk to it, but my aunt did not complain about this.

Here is a little riff on one of my favorite items at Slapfish: Fish District's version of Chowder Bacon Fries ($6). This, unfortunately, was not as good as the one at Slapfish. As I had seen from across the table, the chowder here could be better, but it needs thickening. Positive points for the fries staying crisp under the weight of the toppings and plenty of bacon included here, but that was about all I could say about this starter. It's not awful, but when compared to others, it could have been better.

My aunt and uncle are not big eaters, so it was no surprise that they split this Two-Piece Fish and Chips ($9). Again, I did not try this, but it looked pretty good from across the table. It had a good-looking batter around it and lacked the usual greasiness that sometimes accompanies fish and chips at other places. Again, they had no complaints about this plate.

Much like at a barbecue or Mexican restaurant, I almost always get a combo meal to try as much of the menu as possible during one visit. There were no combo plates here at Fish District, but I selected three different tacos to try; the Traditional Fish of the Day Taco ($4), the Battered Fish Taco ($3), and the Marinated Skirt Steak Taco ($4). It's not good news for a seafood restaurant, but the steak taco was the best of the bunch. The steak was tender and came with plenty of greens, tomato, and sauce, which the menu said was Sriracha, but I know it wasn't. Whatever it was, it boosted the flavor here, making this an above-average steak taco. The battered Fish Taco ($3) was my next favorite. The outer casing had a nice crunch, while the inside was moist and flaky. The taco could have been made better with extra sauce and fewer greens. The weak link here was the Catch of the Day Taco ($4). I did not note what this fish was, but it tasted plain, and the sauce and greens did not save this. The tortillas on all of these kept everything together, but not much else in the way of taste. I'm definitely asking for more sauce on future visits.

Closing out our entrees, Katie selected the Fish of the Day Plate ($15). This comes with two sides, grilled fish, and your choice of sauce. Mahi Mahi was the chosen fish on this particular day, and Katie could not have been happier with this plate. She loved this grilled fish, which was flaky and fresh and made even better with the lemon tartar sauce provided with this. She completed her meal with quinoa and asparagus as her side items. Both got glowing reviews from her, and she loved the healthy aspect of this meal, which eliminated any guilt that she usually feels when she eats out. She's excited to return to Fish District to repeat this meal. 

My uncle Jerry raved about the dessert at Fish Camp, so we tried their one and only offering, the Bread Pudding ($5). This bread pudding came out scalding hot and was topped with nuts and a whiskey sauce. I liked this, but I wish that the sauce had a little more sweetness to it.

Fish District was fine for what it is, but it will not replace Slapfish or any of my other go-to spots when I crave seafood. I'm excited that there's another seafood casual restaurant around, but I thought the food here was average. There was not really anything here that popped except the steak taco. Everyone we encountered at  Fish District was friendly and made us feel welcome. This is another seafood restaurant option that won't break the bank.

Out of five drumsticks (because my favorite fictional fish of all time is Jabberjaw, and in that 70's cartoon, he played drums in his band, The Neptune's), five being best to zero being worst, Fish District gets 2.5 drumsticks.

For more information about Fish District, head to their website here: http://www.fishdistrict.com/

A First and Last Trip to Jason's - CLOSED

Jason's By the Circle

513 E. Chapman Ave. 

Orange, CA 92866

I wasn't even sure that I was going to write this review. I used to have a rule that I would wait until a restaurant was around at least a year before visiting them. My reason for this was because I did not want a long list of restaurants featured on the blog that had gone out of business. The restaurant industry is a tough one, and it claimed another victim, Jason's By the Circle.

Last week it was reported that Jason's had closed for good, just a few weeks past their one year anniversary. From what I can gather, they are still doing catering and will hold special events at this space through the end of the year. This building, east of the Plaza in Orange is one of those cursed spots that almost every city has. It's been a Coco's, Spiros Greek Restaurant, Ways and Means, and finally Jason's.

I'd like to say that I didn't see this coming, but when we visited on a Wednesday, a month before their eventual closure, there were monstrous signs that something was amiss. The reservations I had made were not even close to being needed. The 4,700 square foot restaurant, with seating for up to 155 customers that they were so proud to trumpet on their website, was empty except for me and my friend, along with six other diners, and about a half dozen staff killing time until their shifts were mercilessly over. Even our waiter, after we commented on the lack of traffic here said, "I think the catering business is what keeps this place open." Guess he was right at that time.

The Jason behind this restaurant is Jason Kordas, who's had a very successful catering business for years. If you've been to a good number of weddings in OC, you probably have been to one catered by Jason's Catered Events. He's prepared food for events where President Clinton has attended, and done dinners for Depeche Mode and Van Halen.  He's also dabbled in the restaurant business before, with Jason's Cafe in Tustin, and also Jason's Downtown in Santa Ana, which lasted over two years before the economy tanked, and people were not going out nearly enough. This was his latest attempt at the restaurant business, and we know how it eventually turned out for him but was it this supposed cursed location or the food? Let's find out.

The first of our two appetizers on this evening, this Spanish Tortilla ($8.50) was not what I was expecting when Ryan ordered it, but it ended up being delicious. I learned that a Spanish tortilla is a frittata layered with potato, caramelized onion, garlic, Fontina cheese, and rosemary. This version was then topped with a garlic aioli and garnished with a corn relish. I really enjoyed this unique item. It had a soft texture and was full of flavor. It could have been served a little warmer. I really liked the aioli topping this, which I felt brought this all together. The corn pepper relish was fine, but kind of an odd pairing for this appetizer.

If there was a trademark item at Jason's, it was probably these Monkey Bites ($7.50). A plantain wrapped in bacon and then drenched in a rum maple glaze. Kind of like the rumaki my mom used to make when we were kids, but she wrapped that bacon around a water chestnut. These were good, but I actually enjoyed the Spanish tortilla more. These were a little too sweet, and the bacon was not as prevalent as I would have liked. The sauce really overpowered here. I can see why these were popular, but I'd skip them.

Ryan went big here at Jason's, with the most expensive thing on their menu, the Dry Aged Rib Eye ($32). This sixteen-ounce hunk of meat had Ryan singing its praises. Very tender, the normal marbling which makes the ribeye the best steak of all, and the added bonus of having this steak topped with a tasty Gorgonzola pine butter, made this dish a winner. This also came with grilled asparagus and garlic mashed potatoes. A very impressive meal.

As is my usual, I was torn between a few things on this menu, but eventually went with the Anne Marie's Meatloaf ($18). This meatloaf, which is named after Chef Jason's mom, did her proud. Thick slices of tender meatloaf, which is made up of a trinity of meats; ground chuck, Italian sausage, and ground turkey. It's then covered in a tomato and basil sauce, which I kind of detected the tinge of maybe some curry, but I might be wrong about that. One of the better meatloaves I have had in recent memory. This was also served with some mixed veggies and garlic mashed potatoes. Both were pretty solid and contributed to this very comforting meal.

If the monkey bites were the most popular item at Jason's By the Circle, then this Sticky Pudding ($7) dessert is a close second. This toffee sponge cake was so good, that Ryan immediately ordered an extra one to go for his family at home. A very sweet dessert, which had a sharp richness to it. I would not hesitate to have this again.

I know that the sticky pudding gets a lot of love from people, but you should not overlook this underrated Carrot Cake ($7). This was a very solid piece of cake, with some good cinnamon spice flavor to it. The cream cheese frosting was a little thicker than I usually like but still added a nice sweetness here.

Both Ryan and I left Jason's By the Circle completely satisfied with our meals, but of course, they are no more. I can only assume that being this far from the busy OC Plaza is kind of a tough spot to operate from. I did not think that the prices were too outrageous, and the food was definitely not the reason this place closed. I really liked Chef Jason's kind of down home, globally inspired cuisine, and hope that he may give it a go again. Maybe this time in a better spot. For now, I'll just have to hope that he caters the next wedding I'm invited to.

Out of five skateboards, (because I learned that actor, Jason Lee, who was born in Orange, was a professional skateboarder before he made a name for himself in the TV show, "My Name Is Earl"), five being best to zero being worst, Jason's By the Circle gets 3.5 skateboards.

For more information about Jason's By the Circle, click here for their website: http://jasonsbythecircle.com/wordpress/

All Aboard the Streamliner Lounge

Streamliner Lounge

186 North Atchion Street

Orange, CA 92866

I'm going to get this out of the way in this first paragraph. Yes, this is a Ruby's Diner location, but it's unlike any Ruby's you've ever been to. Located in the old 1938 Santa Fe Depot building, this historic structure really houses two restaurants in one. On one side you have Ruby's, which includes their iconic burgers, shakes, and servers in their trademark red and white striped waitress uniforms. On the other side of the building, the side they were showcasing on this evening, there is the Streamliner Lounge, which has its own menu, a full bar, and a much more adult kind of vibe. This got me very intrigued.

This Orange Depot spot had last been Cask and Cleaver but was taken over by Ruby's over five years ago. The two owners of the Streamliner Lounge gave General Manager, Rebecca Ford carte blanche to remake this space, revamp the cocktail and food menus, add a brunch menu, and pretty much change the whole atmosphere on this side of the building. The end result has been a hit with many of the train riding commuters, locals, and long time Ruby's customers.

This spacious lounge transforms you into a long-ago time, with its art deco decor and furniture, music on most nights, and the nostalgic feel of trains pulling into and out of the station. I also have to give props to whoever did the soundproofing at the Streamliner Lounge, because you hardly notice that large commuter trains are passing mere feet away from this spot. The vibe here got my attention, but I was invited here to experience the new menu, so I grabbed my good friend Richard, and we tried a good portion of it. Let's see what we thought of the new fare at the Streamliner Lounge.

Since this is a lounge, after all, an adult beverage was definitely in order, and I started things off with this Berry Lemonade ($9). This adult lemonade uses Chopin Rye Vodka as a base, sweetens the glass with some lemonade and your choice of berry, I went with the blackberry option, but they also offer raspberry and blueberry as well. I enjoyed this refreshing beverage with a kick. I was afraid it was going to be too sweet, but the good amount of vodka used here really balanced this out. Richard was pretty impressed with the small, but mighty craft beer menu here, and had two of them that I can't remember off the top of my head.

I'm a sucker for tater tots, and will pretty much order them whenever I see them on a menu, and that includes these Loaded Tater Tots ($7) at the Streamliner Lounge. These nicely fried, not too greasy little barrels of potato goodness were topped with plenty of bacon, shredded cheese, green onion, and a drizzle of sour cream. Just like an Irish nacho, but in tater tot form, these impressed us, and it was hard for me to share with Richard.

Lucky for me, Richard had ordered his own starter, the Lobster Mac and Cheese ($11). Not something that you would expect to see on the menu at the Orange Depot, but this won raves from Richard. More like shells and cheese, due to the absence of macaroni, this dish had plenty of hunks of lobster included here. The cheese sauce did not overpower the richness of the lobster, and the bread crumbs added a nice textural component to this. Richard would totally get this again.

Both Richard and I wanted to give you readers of this blog a great lay of the land here at the Streamliner so we might have ordered a lot, but it was really all for you. We started things off with this Tijuana Street Dog ($9). This very beefy grilled hot dog was topped with plenty of roughly chopped onions and bell peppers, bacon, and jalapeno crema. I liked the toppings on here, even though I wished the jalapeno crema would have had more of a spicy punch to it, but the hot dog itself was of a very high quality that I imagined would be very good served with chili. I hope they read this and add a chili dog to their menu in the future.

Richard zeroed in on this Caprese Burger ($14) right away. Must be some of his Italian heritage coming through. Anyways, this burger included sliced tomato, mozzarella, a basil pesto, and sundried tomato aioli, all on a grilled ciabatta roll. This unique burger kind of missed the mark with Richard, as he felt the cheese needed to be a little more in the forefront, but he loved the inclusion of the very good pesto and tomato aioli on this. The sweet potato fries were tasty and came out hot and fresh.

I very rarely do it, but I had breakfast for dinner this evening in honor of the Streamliner Lounge launching their brunch menu this past month. I had narrowed my selection down to the Sunrise Burger or the Hangover Omelette ($13), and as you can see from above, the omelet won out. This south of the border inspired egg dish included house marinated shredded pork, pepper jack cheese, green chilies, sour cream, black beans, and topped with plenty of avocado slices. First of all, the carnitas here really surprised by how flavorful and tender they were. They did not skimp on the meat here, and the rest of the omelet was pretty stellar as well. We are already making plans to come back for their brunch, which is offered on Saturdays and Sundays from 7 to 2 pm.

We were already tapped out, but when we told Rebecca that, she insisted that Richard and I finish our meal with one of their new Boozy Shakes ($9). Luckily she agreed to split it in half for us, which made this a lot more manageable. Not sure what went into this adult styled ice cream drink, but it was a sweet ending to our meal here, with a nice banana undertone and plenty of caramel, which I could not get enough of.

I have to admit I was pretty happy with the food that we experienced this evening. Not at all what we were expecting, and many surprises, and we just scratched the surface. I have my eye on the Ribeye Melt and the Maple Glazed Salmon on my next dinner trip, while the Maple Bacon Waffle and the Southern Fried Benny are on my radar for brunch in the near future. There are many other reasons to head to the Streamliner Lounge, besides the food. Sports fans should avoid the parking fees and traffic at Angel Stadium or Honda Center, and take advantage of the express trains to both sporting venues. The Streamliner Lounge is also far enough away, but still walking distance from the sometimes hectic Plaza area of Downtown Orange. When those restaurants are packed, there's a pretty good chance that you can get right into, and have a great meal at the Streamliner. I know we'll be back for sure.

Special thanks to everyone from the Streamliner Lounge for this wonderful evening. From Managing Partner Joe Campbell to General Manager Rebecca Ford, and the rest of her staff of servers, bartenders, and everyone else we encountered on this evening, it was a pleasure to see you all being so proud of your restaurant, and it made us excited for it as well. We are honored to have been able to share your new menu launch with all of you, and also share it with all of our readers.

For more information about the Streamliner Lounge, check out their webpage here: https://www.thestreamlinerlounge.com/

Cafeteria Comeback Continues in Irvine

Urban Plates

13380 Jamboree Road

Irvine, CA 92602

If there was one kind of restaurant that I thought was pretty much dead and buried, it would be the cafeteria. Not all that long ago, they seemed almost archaic. They were places where I imagined elderly people would grab a tray, select some jello and some really dry turkey, find a seat, and not have to shell out a lot of money for it. Part of this perception of mine was based on the fact that my grandparents used to frequent Clifton's Cafeteria back in the day, before their recent lackluster revival, (read about our trip here).

Now there seems to be a rebirth in this genre of cafeteria-style restaurants, not that they want to seem to embrace it. Only Lemonade mentions the word cafeteria on their website when describing their concept, while Tender Greens and Urban Plates seem to shy away from the use of this word, and favor using words like casual and quick dining. They are for the most part cafeterias, as you have to grab a tray, go to a counter, pick your items as you go, pay at the register, and find your own seat. We had been to Tender Greens before and liked it, and now it was our turn to try Urban Plates.

There are now ten locations of Urban Plates around Southern California, with three of them being in OC, (another Irvine location and one in Brea). This Irvine Marketplace spot is located very close to Lowe's and shares a wall with Starbucks.  Opened for over two months, the crowds have definitely found this place, as we arrived here at just before 6 pm on a Friday night, and were met with a line nearly to the door.

The line did move pretty quickly, though. The line is split between those who want salads and those who want plates or sandwiches. There is also a station for braises, stews, and soups. For the plates, there are about six options, while there are eight sandwich offerings. We found that there were plenty of people behind the counter, and the process went pretty smoothly until you reach the bakery and beverage section. Here is where it kind of bogged down for us, as the cake case was not manned, and they were pretty slow getting drinks and ringing up the food. This caused the food to lose some of the warmth that it once had. This could have been remedied by a self-serve drink station to speed things up. Anyways, with trays in hand, we navigated through the bustling dining area, with its mix of communal tables and more secluded booths, out to their front patio.

First up we'll take a look at my mom's selection, the Chicken Salad Sandwich ($11). I'm sorry I did not get a close-up shot of this sandwich that my mom enjoyed so much. The chicken salad at Urban Plates is made up of free-range chicken, walnut, apple, sage, grapes, celery, red onion, arugula, and garlic aioli. A lot of things went into this, and all of the flavors still melded well together. It had a good texture to the chicken salad, and the flavor was on point. I was a little worried that the ciabatta was going to be a little too bready, but no complaints from my mom. Sandwiches come with chips and your choice of one hot or cold side. My mom got the garden tomato mozzarella salad, which she seemed to enjoy.

Katie tried the Oven Baked Salmon ($13 this evening. This rectangle of fish came with a mustard glaze drizzled over the top of it. Katie felt the fish was fresh and tender, and the mustard glaze really made this pop. With the plates, you get to pick two sides, and she went with the roasted rosemary potatoes and roasted Brussels sprouts with turkey bacon. She felt the Brussels sprouts were the better of the two. Cooked til tender, these sprouts really impressed way more than the rather pedestrian roasted potatoes. Some extra seasoning would have elevated these spuds.

My dad was feeling a little adventurous at Urban Plates and wanted to give their Braised Beef and Mushrooms ($11) a try. This comforting meal was made up of slow-cooked beef in a red wine sauce, with carrots, mushrooms, and onions placed on top of your choice of white or brown rice. My dad enjoyed this meal and called it a classic stew. He liked the sauce this came with and enjoyed dipping the bread in it at the end of his meal. I thought the beef was a little on the overcooked side, but my dad enjoys his meat more well done than I do.

I don't remember who I had heard it from, but on my restaurant wish list that I keep, I had this restaurant listed, and next to it, I had written down about their meatloaf. I decided this was an omen, and gave their BBQ Turkey Meatloaf ($12) a shot. I'm of course not really into ground turkey, but the texture of this was pretty good, and the barbecue sauce kind of disguised the usual bland flavor profile of ground turkey. Not a bad meatloaf, but I've had better. For sides, I picked mashed potatoes and macaroni and cheese. I thought the mashed potatoes were good, but the gravy was a little boring. The mac and cheese were fine, but the cheese did not cling to the noodles too well, and what was left in my bowl looked like a cheese soup. The long strip of focaccia was okay but would have been better cut into smaller, more manageable pieces, and maybe some butter or seasoning provided.

As much as I thought that my entree was kind of lackluster, I thought the baked items excelled at Urban Plates. My first experience with a Hummingbird Cake ($5.50) was a few years ago, and you could say I'm hooked. I'd describe this kind of cake as a carrot cake, but substitute the carrots for pineapple. The base of this cake is banana, which is rum-soaked with pineapple added, and then iced with a very mild cream cheese frosting. I did not really get a lot of banana from this cake, but I liked the moist texture, and the cinnamon flavor went perfectly with the frosting. Really tasty.

As if we did not have enough sugar, I could not resist this Chocolate Peanut Butter Pretzel Crunch Cupcake ($3). This moist and decadent chocolate cupcake was topped with one of the better peanut butter frostings I have encountered and was then drizzled with chocolate ganache and peanut and pretzel crumbs. Excellent, and my only complaint was that this was not big enough. Next time, I'm getting two.

After this initial visit to Urban Plates, we went one more time with our food friends. On this visit, I tried their Grilled Steak ($12), which was a much better pick than the meatloaf I had on my first visit. I liked the flavor of the steak, and it was cooked to a wonderful medium rare and was tender. The potatoes were adequate, and the sprouts were the better of the sides on this evening. I also tried some of the macaroni and cheese this night, and it wasn't as soupy as our original visit.

We had a few qualms about Urban Plates on our second trip. On both visits, the food was not hot but was more lukewarm by the time we made it to our table, as there was again another bottleneck when getting baked goods, drinks, and paying our bill. There were also some consistency issues that we noticed. Our friends Christian, and his wonderful wife, Janette had about double the serving size of cake as Katie and mine, but we also had some of their pretty solid cookies, so no need to make a big deal about it. They took the time to weigh the entrees, so maybe they should do the same when serving slices of cake.

So what do these two visits tell us about Urban Plates? We'd definitely make a return visit here when we are in the area. The entrees were good enough, but what I'd really crave are their baked goods. This is not your grandparent's style of a cafeteria. I have not made it to Lemonade yet, but I have been to Urban Plate's other cafeteria-style competitor, Tender Greens, and thought they were pretty similar. Both had issues with the temperature of their food, they had similar menus, and their price points are almost exactly the same. Happy to see cafeterias making a comeback, and looking forward to seeing if there are more on the way.

Out of five butterflies, (because I learned that the official insect of the city of Irvine is the Western Swallowtail Butterfly), five being best to zero being worst, Urban Plates gets 3 butterflies.

For more information about Urban Plates, head to their website here: https://urbanplates.com/