Memphis Cafe - Costa Mesa

August 26, 2008 · Filed Under OC Food Reviews · 5 Comments

I have read numerous reviews about Memphis Cafe in Costa Mesa from people on Yelp to Kat at the OC Register, so we finally were able to check it out I’m just going to make this a quick review because I’ve lost my pictures and I’m starting to forget specifics of my meal.

Mrs. DanGarion meant to order a half order of the grilled chicken cobb salad, but ended up ordering the full salad ($10.50). I ordered the buttermilk friend chicken ($17.00). The salad was big, not huge, but definitely enough for any normal human to eat in one sitting. The salad came with a very light cracked pepper & herb dressing which was lightly drizzled on top of the mixture of lettuce, tomato, avocado, egg, croutons, gorgonzola, apple smoked bacon. My wife liked it a lot but wished it had just a little bit more dressing because it was slightly dry. There were so many different flavors that it didn’t need too much dressing but it stills needs a bit of moisture to help it go down. The buttermilk fried chicken was served with collard greens, mashed potatoes, country gravy with andouille sausage. The chicken consisted of a boneless chicken breast along with the drum part of the wing sticking up from it. The chicken was perfectly moist and the breading added extra flavor to it. The collard greens were my first experience and I liked them for the most part, they have a very distinct flavor (they were better than those from Burrell’s BBQ). The mashed potatoes were wonderful with just the right amount of gravy on them to use for the chicken as well. It was a great meal that I wouldn’t probably order again, although I feel I can get a friend chicken of the same caliber elsewhere for slightly less.

When we first walked in we weren’t greeted and it took a minute or two for any of the staff to realize we were waiting to be seated. One of the unfortunate things about places that don’t have a proper hosting area, people that have never been there before tend to get a little frustrated because you don’t know what you are supposed to do, do you seat yourself, or do you wait? We did like the hole in the wall roadhouse feel though. I’m happy it wasn’t too hot though because they don’t appear to have an air conditioner and it took a minute for me to adjust to the temperature. We sat inside, but there appears to also be a large covered outdoor area as well.

I wouldn’t put them on the top of my list, but I’d like to try some more of their dishes, I was very split on my order and almost got the grilled pork porterhouse ($19.50), I’ll have to save that for my next visit. I did hear they have a great happy hour.

My rating would be a 4 for the food and 2 for the experience when we entered, fortunately our waitress was really cool and on the ball with our orders and keeping out drinks running, which gives them back up to a solid 3 rating (don’t question my math!).
Visit 8/9/08 for Dinner

Rating:

Memphis
2920 Bristol Street
Costa Mesa, CA, 92626
(714) 432-7685

Tags: American, Costa Mesa, Southern

BJ’s Restaurant & Brewhouse (Review #2) - Huntington Beach

August 25, 2008 · Filed Under OC Food Reviews · Comment

We went to BJ’s Restaurant & Brewhouse in Huntington Beach two weeks ago. Now I’m a huge fan of BJ’s pizza, so much so I’d never ordered an entrée, until my most recent visit! Everyone else in our party shared a BJ’s Favorite Pizza, while I splurged and got a new item on their menu, the Parmesan Crusted Chicken Breast, as well as a side caesar salad.

BJ's Caesar Salad

I used to like their caesar salad but it wasn’t really that good this visit, it was so drenched with dressing that it overpowered my mouth, but the croutons were good. My entrée however was delicious that it made me regret previous visits to BJ’s that I contemplated getting an entrée. The chicken is marinated, lightly coated with Parmesan and panko. Next it is pan fried to a nice golden brown. It was served with white cheddar mashed potatoes and steamed broccoli. The chicken topped with a lemon chardonnay butter sauce, sun dried tomatoes, fresh basil, and parmesan cheese.

BJ's Parmesean Crusted Chicken

The chicken was cooked just about perfect, since it didn’t appear to retain much grease, and the sauce had a different flavor to it because of the lemon, but it was a very refreshing flavor, it didn’t overpower and went well with all the other flavors. The mashed potatoes were great, I mean unless they are runny or something I don’t see how anyone could screw them up. The broccoli was just a little on the overcooked side, but went well with the bits of sauce on my plate. I would order this meal again, if I wasn’t feeling up to pizza.

The rest of my party thoroughly enjoyed their pizza. BJ’s pizza is one of my wife’s favorite which is funny because she is usually only interested in thin crust pizza, but BJ’s has a special place in her heart.

BJ's Pizza

The BJ’s Favorite comes with oven-baked meatballs, pepperoni, Italian sausage, mushrooms, green peppers, black olives, white onions and fresh Roma tomatoes. The crust is great; especially the outside parts that crisp up a bit with the mixture of slightly burnt cheese on top. I’m sure someone out there will cry foul saying I consider a chain companies “Chicago Style” pizza superior to most, but they really know how to make their pizza, I’m not biased to a chain if they do a good job (as I’ve stated in the past when I reviewed Islands).

BJ's Pizza

Service was good, and I’ve always liked the atmosphere of this BJ’s. I love that if you are in the main area of the restaurant that you can watch the huge screen TVs they have in the bar area. They also have a great selection of house label beers, I didn’t have one tonight but I’ve had them in the past. Mrs. DanGarion is a big fan of the berry cider that they pour.

Visit 8/5/08 for Dinner

BJ's Berry Cider

Rating:

BJ’s Restaurant & Brewhouse
16060 Beach Blvd
Huntington Beach, CA 92647
(714) 842-9242

Tags: American, Brewery, Huntington Beach, Pizza

Burrell’s BBQ (Review #2) - Santa Ana

August 23, 2008 · Filed Under OC Food Reviews · 2 Comments

Burrell's BBQ Inside

Ah beautiful Santa Ana, California, the sun, the breeze, the Burrell’s BBQ?!?! Barbeque isn’t normally the first type of food that anyone thinks of in Santa Ana, it’s not normally the first food on the mind when you speak about California, but that doesn’t mean Californians can’t do BBQ. Tucked away deep inside Santa Ana is Burrell’s BBQ. Hidden inside a neighborhood, and disguised as a house, Burrell’s is quite unassuming, except for the 3 or 4 catering vans, the smokers in the driveway and the cuts of wood on the side. After playing nearly 2 hours of racquetball I wanted to reward myself for getting back into the swing of exercise with the reward of completely healthy all American BBQ. Ok maybe the healthy part is a stretch, but I think most Americans agree that BBQ is right up there with apple pie.

I arrived right at opening; in fact I even helped the lady running the counter put out one of the rugs. After she had everything situated I asked her what was good today, and she laughed and said everything. I went on to tell her I had the tri-tip my previous visit and that I liked baby back ribs, she said the baby backs are good and juicy, which sold me.

Burrell's BBQ Lunch Plate

Being that I’m a food connoisseur and that I have to appease my adoring fans (actually I think only the voices in my head really read my reviews) I decided to not only get a lunch plate of baby back ribs ($8.95), with macaroni and cheese and a slice of cornbread, but I also toughed it out and got a side of collard greens ($2.00). The lunch plate consisted of ½ rack of ribs that were deliciously smoked and then smothered with a sweet sugary BBQ sauce. This is where Mr. Burrell and I will agree to disagree. I’m much more of a fan of the slightly sweet with a good amount of spice BBQ sauce, while Mr. Burrell coming from the Carolina’s appears to prefer a couple more cups of sugar then what I’m used to. It’s not to say that the sauce is bad, it’s just in BBQ there are so many differences of philosophies as to what’s the best.

Burrells BBQ Juicy

I think next time I’ll get something without the sauce and just appreciate good smoked meat. But for someone who really likes SWEET BBQ sauce it’s not bad. Another thing there was a pool of watery liquid that formed under the ribs, I’m unsure if that was from the sauce or just condensation. On to the sides! The macaroni and cheese was just as good as it was my last visit months ago, elbow macaroni puffed up and surrounded by gobs of cheese, my favorite part was the slight dried crunch that the top of the dish gets because of it being baked. The cornbread was ok, I love cornbread, but it was a bit dry unfortunately. Lastly the collard greens… Being born and raised in Orange County my whole life the only collards I knew were the ones on my shirts, and the only greens we ate were of the canned or frozen green bean varieties. I really want to like collard greens, in fact I think for the most part I do, they really are a southern specialty and I want to keep trying different recipes till I find one I really like, Burrell’s were ok, but not the best I’ve had.

Burrells BBQ Pit

So there you have it, Burrell’s BBQ in Santa Ana, a Santa Ana mainstay for nearly thirty years. Order yourself some food, have a picnic, and enjoy some fresh air.

Rating:

Burrell’s BBQ
305 N Hesperian Street
Santa Ana, CA 92703
(714) 547-7441

Tags: American, BBQ, Santa Ana

Lazy Dog Cafe - Orange

July 16, 2008 · Filed Under OC Food Reviews · 3 Comments

: Lazy Dog Kitchen

: Lazy Dog Cobb Salad

: Lazy Dog Tortilla Soup

: Lazy Dog Fish Tacos

: Lazy Dog Blue Burger

Lazy Dog has already been one of my favorite places to go, ever since the first time I ended up at their Westminster location. Once they opened up in Orange I was ecstatic that they were now so close, especially since they are in the same center that we go to watch movies in. The first thing you notice when you walk up to and enter Lazy Dog Cafe is how open and airy it is, it’s a comfortable place to relax and enjoy your meal at, be it inside in the lodge like decor, or outside in their large patio that you can even have your best friend with you (dog)!

In the last week and a half we went to Lazy Dog Cafe three times. On our first visit Mrs. DanGarion ordered the Classic Cobb Salad (Half Order $8.95) which she really enjoyed, so much so that she went on to ordered it the next two visits as well. She recommends ordering it tossed and with the dressing on the side, because if you don’t it tends to be a bit drenched with way too much dressing. The salad’s ingredients are very fresh and even the half salad is more then enough for most normal human beings. I ordered the Chicken Tortilla Soup ($2.95 with meal) and Ahi Fish Tacos ($9.95). The soup is to die for and one of the best I’ve had in Orange County, the flavors of tomato, cheese, spices, and tortilla all come together to perfection. The Ahi Fish Tacos aren’t your normal fish tacos, these aren’t your Rubio’s fried fish tacos, they are grilled Ahi covered with cabbage, island salsa, and horseradish tartar sauce. They aren’t for everyone and I was hesitant to get them, but I’m happy I did, the island salsa was a great addition to the flavor of Ahi Tuna. They are as far away from Rosarita style fish tacos as you can get, but great in their own special way. Along with the tacos I was served a side of steamed rice and some blacked beans which I mixed together and enjoyed. On our next visit I ordered the Bleu Burger ($9.75) with Cajun Fries with Chipotle Ranch ($.95). The burger was a huge 1/2 pounder. It was just a little on the well side even though I has asked it to be medium, but it was still good, loved the blue cheese flavor and one can never go wrong when there is bacon involved. The Cajun fries were great as well and I enjoyed the chipotle ranch so much I had to get more. On our last visit I ordered the Grilled Cheese ($8.25) which probably has more cheese then a person should eat in one day, cheddar, gouda, jack, and parmesan sourdough toast, just one short of the Mimi’s Cafe 5-way (oh did I mention the creator of Lazy Dog was the creator of Mimi’s Cafe?).

Service was excellent on our first two visits, our last visit left something to be desired due to our waiter being on break and when he got back didn’t realize that we had already ate and were waiting for our check. Overall our service has always been good to excellent. The restaurant is always clean and they have a nice sized bar for those nights you just want a drink and be able to watch the game.
Rating:

Lazy Dog Cafe
1623 W Katella Ave
Orange, CA 92867
(714) 769-7020

Tags: American, Bars, Burgers, Orange