Harbor House Cafe - Sunset Beach
Inside Harbor House Cafe
Harbor House Cafe in Sunset Beach is what places like Dennys and Norms strive to be. It’s the quintessential greasy spoon that made America what it is today. Harbor House is located just North from Huntington Beach on Pacific Coast Highway, right before you reach Seal Beach, it’s right next to the Water Tower House. There is another Harbor House Cafe located in Dana Point, but I’ve only ever been to the original in Sunset Beach that’s been around since 1939. The first thing you will notice when you enter Harbor House are all the old movie posters that adorn not only the walls but also the ceiling. Next you’ll think it’s a pretty small place, until you realize that hidden behind the front part of the restaurant is closed in patio that seats as many if not more then the front!
Inside Harbor House Cafe
We’ve ate here a number of times, especially on some late night occasions after quenching our thirsts with numerous libations, and they have never failed to hit the spot. On this visit it was Sunday at around 2:00 PM when we arrived and it wasn’t too busy which was nice because we got to sit in the front at a window seat. They have a huge menu, with well over 100 items to choose from, so it should be able to appease all of those in your party.
Both myself and the Mrs. were starving but didn’t want anything too heavy since we were having a late lunch so we both decided on sandwiches. Mrs. DanGarion ordered the
Harbor House Avocado and Bacon Sandwich
Avocado Sandwich ($9.95), which had a whole avocado on it that was perfectly fresh, along with 4 thick slices of bacon, lettuce, tomato, mayo, and 2 slices of cheese. There was so much bacon the Mrs. took off half of it, which I happily ate for her! I always have a difficult time choosing what to order when there are more then 10 items on a menu, especially since I like to order different things from time to time, so I can review more then what I always order on a menu. I went with something I’d never had before at any restaurant; a
Harbor House Hot Crab Meat Sandwich
Hot Crab Meat Sandwich ($10.95), it came with 100% crab meat, that was topped with a whole avocado, along with a bunch of melted Monterey jack cheese, lettuce and tomato on grilled sourdough. The crab meat was great, it had a very good steamed crab taste and you could tell it wasn’t from a can or fake, it was delicious real fresh crab. Their was a little more cheese then it probably needed, so I took some of it off, but others might love the overflow of Monterey jack cheese. Along with both the sandwiches we had our choice of fries, onion rings, or cole slaw. We went with the onion rings, which were just the normal fare you get from a burger join, but they were huge and crunchy, plus they have a nice somewhat spicy BBQ sauce to drench dip them in.
Harbor House Hot Crab Meat Sandwich
Service was average, nothing out of the ordinary, nothing bad or exceptionally good. On other occasions service has been average to good as well. This is definitely a place to bring a big appetite, they have a huge menu that includes breakfast, lunch, dinner, and desserts. Talking about desserts they have some killer malts and shakes ( Handmade Choice of Oreo Cookie Bits, Blueberry, Chocolate, Pineapple, Strawberry, Fresh Banana, French Vanilla, Butterscotch, Peanut Butter, and Orange Juice); peanut butter shakes are my favorite! If you go in the morning on Saturdays or Sundays be prepared to wait if you get there after 8:00 AM, since they will be busy, but aren’t all the great places like that?
Visited on Sunday 09/28/08 @ 2:00 PM for lunch.
Rating: 
Harbor House Cafe
16341 Pacific Coast Highway
Sunset Beach, 9074
Wings ‘n Things - Huntington Beach
Here is a quick review from Wings n’ Things in Huntington Beach from last month. Unfortunately I don’t have any pictures, but just imagine some wings along with some fries and you will pretty much have a picture of what we ate here. I ordered the 10 piece medium buffalo wings ($7.25) served with bleu cheese dressing; were spicy and not too hot, I probably should have got the next step up. Mrs. DanGarion ordered the 10 piece BBQ wings ($7.25) and they were slightly overcooked. Along with our wings we got a regular order of Curly Cue Fries ($2.25), they were great. Overall everything was average. The staff was really nice and checked on us as we ate our meal.
They have a bunch of other really tasty sounding items on their menu in addition to wings.
Visit 08/10/08 or 08/11/08 for dinner (can’t remember exact date).
Rating:
Wings ‘n Things
18302 Beach Blvd.
Huntington Beach, CA, 92648
(714) 848-2767
BJ’s Restaurant & Brewhouse (Review #2) - Huntington Beach
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
BJ’s Restaurant & Brewhouse - Huntington Beach
I will preface this review with this.
*MY WIFE HATES DOUGHY PIZZA!*
With that said she loves BJ’s Chicago style pizza. It’s our favorite pizza to eat and the price is right. We can get a small pizza, caesar salad, a beer, and another drink for under $25. And when we leave we are fully satisfied with the size of our meal. We usually order the veggie combination with extra sauce and it always comes out great. I’ve tried most of their beers and my favorite is the Hefewiezen, but I’m a big fan of Hefe’s. Also one of my wife’s favorite things to get there is the Framboise that they have, it’s a delicious Belgium beer that has berry added to it after the brewing process.
The atmosphere is that of a sports bar if you are sitting in the main area next to the bar, they have a large screen that shows 4 sports channels at the same time. Appetizers are great, with my favorite being the avocado eggrolls and the spinach with artichoke dip.
We have never had any issues with the wait staff and they have always been able to handle any special requests we make in the years we have gone here.
Rating:
BJ’s Restaurant & Brewhouse
16060 Beach Blvd
Huntington Beach, CA
(714) 842-9242
Fred’s Mexican Cafe - Huntington Beach
I was a pretty happy with Fred’s up until my last visit. After checking with the hostess who said the way was 15 minutes, we waited 25 minutes, and then I checked back with the hostess and our name wasn’t on the list. We waited about 10 minutes because of this mistake. Once we were seated it took about 15 minutes to get our waitress to take our order. Another 20 minutes later our food arrived. The food was good but everything else began to go downhill. During our entire meal the waitress never came back and no one in party was ever given a refill on our drinks, nor were we asked how our meal was. We finished our meal the waitress came by and went to get me a refill of my coke. When she handed me the glass something looked wrong with it but it didn’t register with me at first. As I drank the coke I saw slimy stuff in it and realized that my glass was not only USED but had remnants of sludge from food! I nearly vomited from this experience but I was able to control myself. As we waited 20 minutes for our check I asked another waitress if they could get me a manger. Some guy that looked like he was “in charge” came over and I explained to him that we were not happy with our experience. His reaction was brush me off and giving me his business card saying he’ll take care of me next time we come in (whatever that means). He didn’t take my name, and he didn’t offer to comp our dining experience that was horrid. He got us our check and another 15 minutes went by as we waited for the “waitress” to take our money. Overall we were at the place for 2 1/2 hours just for a meal for two with nothing special. This was the worst dining experience I have ever had in my life and I highly doubt it will be beat.
We will never go to Fred’s in Huntington Beach again, but we have gone to the one down in San Diego in the Gaslamp District and had a pleasant experience.
Rating:
Fred’s Mexican Cafe
300 Pacific Coast Hwy
Huntington Beach, CA.
(714) 374-8226
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