Getting Away from It All by Staying Close to Home at Islands

Islands 

799 The Shops at Mission Viejo Suite A

Mission Viejo, CA 92691

When Katie and I are not out finding new restaurants, we are homebodies. We curl up on the couch and watch the four plus shows we are currently watching on Netflix. I love trying new restaurants, but sometimes you just need a break. On these rare nights, we usually stay close to home. One of the places we find ourselves at probably once a month or so is the new Islands at the Shops at Mission Viejo.

It's hard to believe that this Islands location escaped the cursed Kaleidoscope center nearly a year ago. Now with plenty of parking, no more broken escalators, a much more open floor plan, and a wonderful patio to take advantage of outdoor dining, Islands has seemed to have hit its stride at this almost always packed restaurant, which is situated next door to P..F. Chang's and the entrance to the food court.

It's also kind of hard to believe that Islands has been around for 35 years. That's when Islands founder Tony DeGrazier opened his first location in West Hollywood, bringing a little bit of Hawaii to Southern California. He wanted a place where you could get a burger, fresh hot fries, and drinks after a long day. My first Islands experience was in the mid-eighties and has continued to the present day.

We were lucky enough to have been invited to our local Islands to try their limited time menu items. That's one of the things I admire most about Islands, is the fact that they always have some limited menu items, keeping things fresh for those of us that visit their restaurants frequently. I look forward to every year when their spicy Nalu Nalu Burger is available as a limited time item.

We arrived at half past six on a recent Thursday evening and the restaurant was humming with activity. We were seated right away and perused the menu not out of necessity, but more out of habit since Katie pretty much always get the same thing, and I already knew I'd be trying their limited time items. Let's see how everything turned out for us on this evening.

The first of the two limited time items offered was this Islands Golden Ale ($8.55). Since it's been so hot and humid lately, this brew, which is exclusively crafted for Islands by Karl Strauss Brewing Company really hit the spot. I was afraid this was going to be too hoppy for my taste, but it had just the right amount of bite to it and a very clean finish. They say this pairs well with their Waimea Burger, but I could see this pairing well with just about anything.

Can't come to Islands and not get their Cheddar Fries ($8.65). Looking back on it, I think Islands was the very first place that I ever had fries with cheese on them. They are still as good now as they were back in the 80's. These fresh cut fries are fried crisp and then topped with plenty of melted cheese and scallions. Yes, you can have these with chili and bacon added, but they are perfect this way, with just a little ranch to dip them in.

I always think it's a little odd that Katie gets these Northshore Tacos ($9.79) at Islands because I always think of this place as a burger spot, but this is her, "go to" item here. These chicken tacos are filled with plenty of cheese, lettuce, and come with sour cream and salsa to round things out. Katie also always orders a small side of guacamole to complete her meal. She loves the tender, slightly spicy chicken, and the ranchero beans that accompany this.

Alright, it was burger time, and this Waimea Burger ($11.75) is available for a limited time. This burger features some Kalua pulled pork, caramelized onions, teriyaki glaze, pineapple, and Swiss cheese. This burger screamed Hawaii and really fit in perfectly with the Islands vibe A little on the sweet side, I'd probably ask for the teriyaki on the side when I have this burger again. Since I had the cheddar fries as a starter, I decided to forgo the endless fries option and get a Caesar side salad instead. This was the right call. The Caesar salad at Islands is very underrated and came with some flavorful dressing, crunchy croutons, and a little parmesan.

Maybe because I had a big lunch, this meal really seemed to fill me up, but I would not be deterred from getting a little something for dessert. Katie and I split this individually sized Fudge Brownie ($2.69), which really hit the spot. The small brownie was topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and some chocolate sauce. Simple, yet delicious and a great end to our visit to Islands.

As usual, it was another stellar visit to our local Islands restaurant. Both of the limited time items I tried were a nice change of pace and something I would totally get again. Manager Hector and his entire staff did a great job of meeting not only our needs but also making sure that all of their guests were having a great dining experience. We consider ourselves pretty lucky to have this Islands location situated right across the street from where we live for those rare nights we stick close to home.

For more information about Islands, and to find your nearest location head over to their website here: https://www.islandsrestaurants.com/

Finally Making It After Everyone Else - CLOSED

Afters Ice Cream

2738 Alton Parkway

Irvine, CA 92606

As with most things in my life, I'm behind the times. I bring up a song or catchphrase to my coworkers, and they look at me and say that was so yesterday. My wardrobe has been called grandfatherly. We were the last ones on earth to get Netflix. I was also one of the few people among my friends who wanted to get a smartphone, and now that I have it, I am curious to know how I got along without it for so long. Even though I write this restaurant blog, I'm sometimes behind the times in trying some of the hot items on Instagram, or as we cool kids call it, The Gram. What, we are not doing that anymore?

I was recently invited to try one of the hottest ice cream sensations to hit OC in years. I can't scroll through my Instagram account and not see something from Afters Ice Cream. It's unsurprising, considering that this was Scott Nghiem and Andy Nguyen's first venture together. These lifelong friends came up with this concept three and a half years ago, and it has blossomed into a mini-empire of 15 locations spread throughout Southern California. The pair have gone on to start other non-ice cream projects, GD Bro Burger and Pig Pen Delicacy, which has the excellent Mac Daddy Burger, which is fantastic.

Back to what has finally brought us to Afters on this warm weekday afternoon. As if this place needs another popularity boost, they have partnered with Sanrio, the world-renowned brand that has given us the wildly popular Hello Kitty and other characters. Afters has created two Hello Kitty-inspired flavors, available at all 15 locations until Sunday, August 13th. My friend Erin and I could not wait to try these two flavors and experience Afters for the first time.

While all the Afters locations have limited Hello Kitty flavors, their Irvine location is the most decorated with Hello Kitty decor. All the walls are plastered with this little feline, and there's plenty of Hello Kitty merch to buy while you wait for your ice cream to be scooped. We saw many people snapping pictures in front of the walls this early afternoon.

Now, on to the main event, the two limited edition Hello Kitty-inspired flavors. We first tried Mama's Apple Pie, a vanilla-based ice cream with applesauce, apple pie filling, and crumbled cinnamon sprinkled on top. We got this in a cup and in their Milky Bun, a warmed glazed donut with ice cream inside. Of course, the Milky Bun version is the way to go. The contrast between the warm donut and the cool ice cream was excellent. This apple ice cream was okay, as the cinnamon topping overshadowed any apple flavor we could taste in the ice cream. Great hand modeling, Erin.

This Yummy Strawberry Cake is the flavor to get at Afters. Erin and I loved this ice cream, loaded with plenty of strawberries, a strawberry swirl, and shortcake bits. This ice cream would fit right in at the Garden Grove Strawberry Festival. Again, the Milky Bun was the way to go if I had a choice. They topped it with rainbow sprinkles this time, which helped make the picture pop. I talked briefly with Afters Founder Andy Nguyen, and I was surprised to find out that they make their own ice cream and the glazed donuts they use in making the milky buns. I was impressed.

Even if you're reading this after August 13th, try Afters Ice Cream. I can't wait to come back and try the Banana Walnut Fudge and their interesting-sounding Churro flavor. Glad I finally got with it and made it to Afters Ice Cream. It won't be our last visit.

For more information about Afters Ice Cream and to find your nearest location, head to their website here: https://www.aftersicecream.com/

Our Position on Puesto

Puesto

8577 Irvine Center Dr. 

Irvine, CA 92618

It might not be fair, but most of the time I'm in a restaurant it's hard not to compare it to one of their competitors. This is especially true when I've eaten at the competitor recently. This was the case when we ate at Puesto in Irvine. I immediately thought back to early June when we dined at Urbana in Anaheim. The menus are kind of reminiscent of each other, and I'd describe both as fancy Mexcian cuisine. I loved Urbana and had some pretty high hopes for Puesto.

Puesto is new to Orange County, but they have been open in La Jolla since 2012 and opened another spot in San Diego after that. This Puesto is situated in the suddenly restaurant rich Los Olivos Shopping Center, which is located right across the freeway from the hoards of people trying to to find a parking space at the Irvine Spectrum. I know one of these days those people are going to find out about Angelina's, Burnt Crumbs, and Burger Lounge, and it might become hard to find a parking space in this center.

Back to Puesto though. It was started by a couple of brothers, Eric and Alan Adler, along with their cousin and partner, Isidoro Lombrozo. Executive Chef and Partner Luisteen Gonzalez and Executive Creative Chef  Katy Smith hold down the kitchen duties for this rapidly expanding mini chain. They are opening in Santa Clara and also have another Irvine spot opening soon at Park Place Irvine. The menu here is of course taco driven, but there's also a decent selection of snacks and share plates, a few seafood offerings, and two enchilada choices.

I had made reservations on a recent Saturday night at 7 pm, and this stylish restaurant was hopping with activity. Puesto uses artists to create their dining space. For this Irvine spot, they utilized San Diego artist, Paul Basile who used contemporary Mexico City and the Mexican jungle as his inspiration for this restaurant. Highlights for me were the three dining tables located inside the open kitchen and the bar area, which straddles the inside of the restaurant and the outdoor patio with its agave shaped firepit. So now that we settled into our seats and made our selections, it was time to see what we thought of the food at Puesto.

Unlike our visit to Urbana earlier in the month, Puesto gives you some Chips and Salsa to start off your meal. The chips were very fresh and crisp. The salsa here was more like a hot sauce, as there wasn't any chunkiness to it all. It did have a bit of heat to it, which I enjoyed. A good start to our meal.

I've heard some good things about the Crab Guacamole ($14), which is one of four types offered on the Puesto menu. They all start with their classic guacamole as a base, which comes with plenty of fresh avocados, and then they add cilantro, onion, a fresh squeeze of lime and orange, and some chile habanero to finish it off. This crab version is then topped with flaky, white crab. This is some solid guacamole, but save yourself the extra four dollars and forgo the crab. It really didn't add much, and I never thought I'd write this, but the guacamole is the headliner here, instead of the crab. It had a great texture to it, which was both chunky and smooth at the same time. They could have added a little more habanero for a kick, but still a very good effort.

When I see a fundido on a menu, I almost always get it. It's one of my favorite things to get as a starter in a Mexcian restaurant, and the one here intrigued me because it was a Queso Fundidio Verde ($8). This was my first time having green chorizo, which I think is just green chiles being mixed in with the ground pork. This was a more subtle version of this cheesy appetizer. It was not as heavy as some we have had. I had thought the chili would have been more prominent with this, but the cheese did take over. It went well with the provided blue corn tortillas that Puesto is famous for. Not a bad fundido, but I was hoping for a bigger burst of flavor.

Both Katie and I got the Three Taco ($15) option for dinner, so we got the opportunity to try half of their tacos that they have on the menu. She opted for the Grilled Market Fish (+$2), Chicken Verde, and the Chicken al Pastor tacos. On this particular evening, the market fish taco featured salmon, and this was her gold medal winner out of these three. The salmon was done nicely and the provided adobo verde, salsa fresca, tinga verde, and habanero massaged kale gave this plenty of flavor. All these weeks later, and Katie still raves about this taco. She was also fond of her two chicken choices, but not as much as the salmon. The Chicken Verde taco had a lot going on with it. It featured cilantro- cumin tomatillo sauce, their signature crispy melted cheese, caramelized onion, serrano tinga verde, and was topped with cilantro and a slice of avocado. This was a good taco, but the chicken was kind of overshadowed by the other items in it. The Chicken al Pastor was probably the most basic taco she had on this evening, but even that one had a cavalcade of items in it. Hibiscus and chipotle tinga, avocado, pina habanero pico, and the crispy cheese made up this taco, which was the one that showcased the chicken the most, which was moist and tender. A good trio of tacos for Katie.

I went a little more diverse with my Three Taco Plate ($15) than Katie. I had the Carnitas, Baja Fish (+$1), and the off the menu Heroe (+$3.50) taco. The best of the bunch was the Heroe, which is the surf and turf version that our server suggested. It had some lobster and filet mignon, crispy cheese, avocado, and onion strings. I really liked this taco. The lobster was a big hunk and definitely worth the upcharge. I thought the crispy cheese was going to be more prominent, but it blended in nicely, just like the rest of this taco. The Carnitas Taco failed to impress. The pork was not flavored very well, and some of the strands of meat were dry, but the guacamole and tomatillo fresca helped to hide it a bit. The Baja Fish Taco sounded good on the menu with its shredded cabbage, avocado, chile crema, and salsa, but I never got that big flavored bite I was looking for. The cod also needed to be seasoned a little more.

Dessert was up next, and I really wanted to try their Pina Colada Carrot Cake, but I let Katie select this Tres Leches de Cafe ($10). This really had more of a tiramisu vibe to it with its soaked sponge cake, mascarpone whip, and mocha sauce. I'm not into coffee flavored anything, but Katie enjoyed this after I had my obligatory three bites. What we do for the ones we love.

I was kind of disappointed with Puesto. It wasn't that it was awful or anything, but I had hoped it would be as good as our trip to Urbana was. It would have been nice to not have to drive all the way up to Anaheim for great fancy tacos when we could have just driven to Irvine. I'd still go back to Puesto though. These tacos were good, but they are going to be better on Tuesdays when they are priced at $2.50 after 3 pm. Puesto also has a happy hour Monday through Friday from 3 to 6 pm when the tacos are $3.50 each. A much better deal, and one that we will take advantage of soon. Our server Jose was great and provided everything we needed during our stay. Management was very hands on here running food and visiting tables which was nice. Unfortunately, it was not enough to get me to forget about Urbana, but it's way better than anything you can get right across the freeway at Javier's.

Out of five cell phones, (because this restaurant was very near to the old Verizon Amphitheater, and lots of music lovers hope there's a new version of this concert venue at the Great Park), five being best to zero being worst, Puesto gets 3 cell phones.

For more information about Puesto, head to their website here: http://eatpuesto.com/

Hoping Kaiser Grill Will Continue Our Roll in the Desert - CLOSED

Kaiser Grille

74-040 Highway 111

Palm Desert, CA 92260

My parents' 50th anniversary weekend in the desert was quickly coming to an end, and we wanted to finish it with a flourish. We could have gone to one of the national steak chain restaurants in town, but we could have eaten at one of those back in OC, and it would have tasted just the same as it does in Palm Desert. No, we needed to take this opportunity to eat at a local spot. After scouring my usual resources for a restaurant, we ended up at Kaiser Grille.

The original Kaiser Grille, founded by Kaiser Morcus in 1992, was located near this latest incarnation of Kaiser Grille. Mr. Morcus relocated from Vail, Colorado, and thought the Coachella Valley would be a great place to retire. Retirement was not in the cards, though, as he opened that restaurant and then another, and soon, the Kaiser Restaurant Group was born. Indeed, a family-run business, his two sons and a daughter also help manage their restaurants here in the Palm Springs area and the famous Hog Breath Inn in Carmel, once owned by Clint Eastwood. Other restaurants included in this restaurant group are The Chophouse, The Deck Restaurant and Sky Bar, Big Fish Grille, Fresh Grind Brgr Bar, and the Jackalope Ranch.

This Palm Desert location of Kaiser Grille used to be the site of Chophouse, which was retooled in 2014 into a Kaiser Grille and run by the very personable and quite impressive Eric Morcus. Eric just happened to be on hand this evening, and we had a great conversation with him throughout our stay at his restaurant. Along with being very hands-on in the restaurant, he also serves on various community and business associations, including being a Board Member of the Palms Springs Restaurant Association, Board Member of the Palm Desert Chamber of Commerce, and President of Palm Springs Restaurant Week, among others. It's a wonder he still has the energy to run his restaurant.

Kaiser Grille, located at the corner of Highway 111 and Portola, is hard to miss, with its large orange awnings providing some much-needed shade over their windows. Parking this Saturday evening utilized a valet, and the restaurant is tucked into the back corner of this small shopping plaza. Once past the hostess stand, the bar and lounge area will lead you into the dining room. There was some live music going on, which would dominate the space, but it was just the right level to not distract dining room guests. We were seated in a very comfy booth with a great view of the moderately busy happenings in the dining room that evening.

The menu at Kaiser Grille has everything for everyone at your table. Of course, there are red meat offerings, but there are plenty of fish, poultry, and pasta offerings. I was also surprised to find so many specials used to entice diners to come in and give Kaiser Grille a try. They have sunset/early bird dinners, which are reasonably priced at $19.99, and happy hour every night, with drink specials and discounts on over 20 food items. Three-course dinner options run from $29 to $59 depending on your entree choice, reminiscent of many Restaurant Week menus we have participated in. With so much to take in, we had difficulty deciding, but we finally put in our order. Let's see if this visit to Kaiser Grille would be a fitting end to our desert anniversary celebration.

As is the case in most restaurants, we were brought out this bread basket filled with a generous supply of warmed sourdough bread after ordering. I loved the chewiness of this bread, and it went great with the provided butter. It was hard to restrain ourselves from a second basket, but we managed.

My mom is a sucker for Chicken Tortilla Soup ($7), so she gave the version at Kaiser Grille a try. I really enjoyed this version, which was spicier than most, and the chicken was very tender. With my meal, I had the choice of salad or soup, and I could not resist trying their Castroville Cream of Artichoke Soup ($7). This was a very creamy and muted soup, which was very pleasing. The artichoke flavor lingered in the background, making this a very subtle soup.

Katie is a Caprese Salad ($12) fiend, so it was a no-brainer that she would order it this evening. This version had plenty of fresh mozzarella, basil, tomatoes, extra virgin olive oil, balsamic glaze, and, of course, mixed greens. Katie liked the manageable bite-sized mozzarella balls used here, and she recalls that each bite of this salad burst with flavor.  

We might as well finish off Katie's food this evening, as she got this Pan Seared Salmon ($28) as her entree. This salmon was served over a brussel sprout hash bed consisting of mushrooms, caramelized onions, bacon, potatoes, and a touch of truffle oil. The fish was topped with a very well-done yogurt dill sauce. Katie was impressed with the way this salmon was prepared. It was light and flaky and very fresh. However, she would have liked a tad more of the yogurt dill sauce. The hash was full of flavor and very unique. This a dish she would recommend to all salmon lovers.

My dad also went the seafood route with this Swordfish Special ($38) offered this evening. I missed the description of this dish, but the swordfish came out perched on a bed of sauteed spinach, surrounded by a yellow sauce, with some tomatoes topping the fish. My dad was not a big fan of this plate. The swordfish was boring, and whatever the yellow sauce was did not help matters too much. This was made much better when we asked for some tartar sauce to be brought out. It was not something my dad would order again, even though the spinach was good.

I guess my family did not get the memo that Kaiser Grille is known for their steaks, as my mom also got something from the sea, a Crab Cake ($17). This crab cake was good-sized and came with a bit of coleslaw, which was the perfect meal for my light-eating mother. The crab cake came topped with a beurre blanc sauce, thicker than most but very tasty. The inside of the crab cake did have some filler, but there was also plenty of good-tasting crab inside. My mom was very pleased with this meal.

Okay, I shouldn't give my family a hard time about not ordering steak here, as I did not try red meat at Kaiser Grille either. I could not escape this Pork Chop Special ($29) when our server went through the specials. This was one of the 3-course dinner options on this evening, and it was excellent. This bone-in pork chop was huge and came with a blackberry compote, which went well here. The pork was moist and tender and cooked to perfection. A good quality and clean-tasting chop. I could not resist eating the meat off the bone at the end of my meal. The mashed potatoes and sliced carrots that came with this were okay but could not come close to outshining the pork.

After clearing our entree plates, our table quickly looked like a dessert buffet. Since I had told them about my parent's anniversary when making the reservations, they gave us a dessert, and my meal came with a dessert, and I'm still determining where our third dessert came from. I actually liked the Black and White Mousse the best. It was a simple dessert done well. The mousse was smooth and creamy, and I enjoyed combining the two flavors in the same bite. As is usual, I left the fresh berries to someone else. My parents had a Creme Brulee the first night of our weekend, and they liked this version at Kaiser Grille better than that one, and I would agree. It had a nice crystallized crust topping it, and the custard inside was sweeter and creamier than the one we had our first night in the desert.

Kaiser Grille was a lovely end to our weekend in the desert. Except for my dad's swordfish dish, we all had a delightful evening dinner. Indeed, this differs from the quality of food you can get at Maestro's or any other high-end national steak chain restaurant, but it will not set you back a paycheck and a half either. I appreciated all of the specials they offer here, and it's a great way to entice people to give them a try, which, judging from the pretty full dining room, seems to be working. The service this evening was excellent, and we loved getting to know Eric Morcus and his family's story. It was also a great weekend of celebrating my parents and showing them how much we love and appreciate them.

Out of five footballs (because as I was researching for this review, I learned that Kaiser Morcus was a personal friend of President Ford, who played football at Michigan before becoming a politician), five being best to zero being worst, Kaiser Grille gets 3.5 footballs.

For more information about Kaiser Grille, head to their website here: http://www.kaisergrillepalmdesert.com/