Tustin Brewing Company - Tustin

August 3, 2008 · Filed Under OC Food Reviews · 5 Comments

I’m back! I know you all missed me. My wife and I just celebrated our 2 year anniversary down in San Diego. I’ll post about our eating experiences there probably later tonight; we had some great food and great times in LoCal. And now back to the reviews!

Tustin Brewing Company

Between the running of errands and house hunting in Tustin, we had the pleasure of going to the Tustin Brewing company for lunch today (8/03/08). I figured they were pretty much a pizza joint, since most brewing companies in Southern California seem focus around pizza (BJs, Oggi’s, etc.). I was right that they served pizza, but that it’s just a small part of their menu. We were set on pizza when we entered so that’s what we had on our mind. Of course this being a brewery I was also focused on beer. So as the waitress asked us for our drink order I located their beers and ordered a Lemon Heights Hefeweizen ($4.00 a pint).

Tustin Brewing Co. Lemon Heights Hefe

Now I’m not sure if they actually make their beer there, since a couple years back one of my friends smashed my dreams by telling me BJ’s and Oggi’s don’t actually brew their beer at their restaurants. I lived through that devastating discovery! But back to the Hefeweizen; it was a good solid unfiltered wheat, a great beer for a hot day. Next was an order of Buffalo wings.

Tustin Brewing Co. Buffalo Wings

It appears they only serve them one way, spicy! The wings came piping hot with a lot of sauce on them, they were juicy and extra hot in spicy. Both I and Mrs. DanGarion enjoyed our 10 drumette wings ($8.95 or $6.95 during 3pm-6pm happy hour). Then it was on to the main show, pizza. Tustin Brewing Company only has one size of pizza since it’s just part of their menu, but they have nine different pizzas on their menu; three cheese to garlic shrimp. Their pizzas are “wood fried” and can be made into a calzone for an extra dollar. We went ahead and ordered the old standby Pepperoni Pizza with extra sauce ($9.95 others range up to $12.95). They make it with homemade tomato sauce, mozzarella, pepperoni and oregano.

Tustin Brewing Co. Pepperoni Pizza

The pizza is about the size of a medium from a normal pizza place. The pizza came out hot from the oven, with steam rising from it. The crust was average, not too thick and not to thin and crunchy on the outside. The sauce tasted fresh like it is was advertised with a good amount of oregano. There wasn’t too much cheese and about 3-4 pieces of pepperoni per slice (6 slices). We both agree that it was a good solid average pizza, one we would come back for.

Inside the place is open and airy. Each wall has a couple medium size HDTVs on the wall as well as two huge projection screens on opposing sides. It looks like a great place to watch the game, especially with their assortment of beers. Service was average, can’t complain about average service. There is a full bar, and also outside seating. They are also going to celebrating their 12th anniversary later this month.

Rating:

Tustin Brewing Company
13011 Newport Ave # 100
Tustin, CA 92780
(714) 665-2337

Tags: Bars, Brewery, Pizza, Tustin

The Crab Cooker - Tustin

June 26, 2008 · Filed Under OC Food Reviews · 1 Comment

After we finished running some errands on Tuesday we decided to go and get some dinner. We were on our way to Charo Chicken in Tustin, but as we were driving down 17th street to get there I suggested we check out The Crab Cooker instead. Mrs. DanGarion had a knack to have more shrimp after the shrimp she had at Koji’s the previous night so my suggestion paid off.

: The Crab Cooker, Combination Plate

: Inside The Crab Cooker

: The Crab Cooker entrance

: The Crab Cooker Shrimp on a Skewer

The Crab Cooker in Tustin is pretty much the same as the one in Newport Beach, except it’s not near the beach and I’m assuming probably isn’t as popular. But they seem to have pretty much the same menu, although checking their website it does say that there are some things not available at the Newport Beach location. The restaurant also has a small fish market that one could purchase food to go as well as fresh fish. The restaurant is decorated with paintings and maritime items over all the walls, as well as a large shark hanging from the skylights in the main dining area. The kitchen is open and you can watch the cooks through windows placed right in front of their grill.

My wife ordered the Shrimp on a Skewer (10 medium sized shrimp) along with Romano Potatoes and sliced tomatoes (diner plate $14.95). I ordered the Combination Plate (4 medium sized shrimp, two cuts of fish, and 2 scallops) with Romano Potatoes and cole slaw (dinner plate $14.50). The food is all prepared the same way, it’s broiled on the grill and lightly seasoned with some oil, salt, pepper, and I think some paprika. Because of the broiling the fish sometimes has a little burnt flavor to it, but it’s not something that detracts from the flavor of the fresh fish. We both agreed that the shrimp was good; I even got extra since my wife got full! The fish was perfectly cooked and flaked a bit as I picked it off my fork and fingers. I didn’t know they scallops could be broiled but they were pretty good as well. Overall the Romano Potatoes stole the show; we each got 1 delicious ice cream sized scope of the Romano seasoned mashed potatoes. I think we would have both enjoyed a meal of just the potatoes. Unfortunately the cole slaw left much to be desired, it was very bland and somewhat bitter, but I’ve come to terms that cole slaw is hit or miss from restaurant to restaurant. Both our meals were good, and they weren’t too big to overwhelm us.

The service was good. It was sort of funny that their placemats say they will serve water upon request when our waitress just gave us cups of water without asking. They serve their soft drinks in biodegradable corn cups, which I thought was neat, but then they give you plastic forks, knives, paper plates, and a paper cup for the water. I’m not sure if they are trying to save the environment or if they just are using whatever they can instead of having real silverware and dishes.

The Crab Cooker is a Orange County staple and they didn’t disappoint, they gave us a solid meal with good service, nothing stood out, but nothing detracted from our dinner.

Visit 06/25/08 for dinner

Rating:

Crab Cooker Restaurant
17260 17th St
Tustin, CA 92780
(714) 573-1077

Tags: American, Seafood, Tustin

Beach Pit BBQ - Tustin

May 17, 2008 · Filed Under OC Food Reviews · 2 Comments

: Beach Pit BBQ from El Camino Real

: BBQ Chicken Dinner

: BBQ Baby Back Ribs Dinner

Little did I know when we walked into Beach Pit BBQ that I was walking into an establishment created by Tim DeCinces, a former baseball player whose father I cheered on for the California Angels in the 80’s. I didn’t catch wind of this information till today when I researching some information for my review.

Our visit to Beach Pit BBQ was on Monday, May 12, 2008. As we walked up it appeared pretty busy, we quickly found out there was some type of benefit going on for the daughter of a local man that passed away recently. We were told later by one of the wait staff that it wasn’t normally that loud. It didn’t really matter to us we just wanted good food! So we walked up to the counter and ordered our food; that’s right this isn’t a place where you are seated and have the wait staff take your order, you place your order and then take your seat. I did have one question about this type of set up, since you are ordering and paying for your meal before you sit (just like a fast food place) does that mean you are not expected to tip? The only reason I ask this is because all the staff did was bring my order, we did everything else ourselves, including get and replenish our drinks. Either way, that being the case we placed our order. I ordered the BBQ Baby Back Ribs dinner with beans and macaroni and cheese, while Mrs. DanGarion ordered the BBQ Chicken with beans and potato salad.

We took our seat in a secondary area near what would normally be called the front of the building. This section was walled off from the primary seating area. There were a lot of families with children, and many of the children walking and running around. Don’t get me wrong I like kids but when I was a child my parents had strict rules that I had to sit at the table with my family when we went out to dinner. But I’m getting off track; it’s not the businesses fault that parents aren’t respectful of the other patrons.

So we took our seat in the area that no one else was sitting and watched the traffic pass by in the quiet Old Town area of Tustin. After about 15 minutes our food came out. Everything looked good and piping hot! My wife said the chicken was really good, it was moist and had a lot of flavor, she was afraid that it was a little pink, but I explained to her that smoking will cause that with chicken. She wasn’t a big fan of the potato salad; it was bland and had big chunks of potatoes. My ribs were great; they fell off the bone with a little bit of work and were very flavorful. The ribs were lightly covered with their mild BBQ sauce which actually still had a bit of spicy kick to it. I loved the taste of the sauce so I covered them with even more as I worked on finishing off half of my full rack. The macaroni and cheese was good, it had a faint taste of sour cream in the background, I wasn’t sure if it’s a baked Mac’n'cheese, which is normally my favorite because I like to have some of the crusty part that was on top from the baking, but it was good nonetheless. We both agreed that the BBQ beans seemed sort of like a sweet version of chili, and although we thought they were good, they just weren’t something we would recommend to most people. I sort of wish they had done a more traditional BBQ bean with just their BBQ sauce and some pieces of meat. Overall the meal was good, and we do plan on going back and trying other items on the menu. I think our new visit will be for lunch so we can try some of their BBQ sandwich items, a Tri-Tip sandwich is always a good item to try, especially with the temperatures getting hotter nothing is better than having some BBQ in summer.

The pricing of items is about normal for BBQ, my rib dinner was $24, the chicken was $16, along with drinks our bill was approx. $45.

Overall we were pleased with our visit to Beach Pit BBQ. Our visit was fun, our food was good, and it proved itself a worthy leftover as I took the other half of my ribs with me to work the following day.

Rating:

Beach Pit BBQ
560 El Camino Real
Tustin, CA 92780
(714) 929-7427

Tags: American, BBQ, Sandwich, Tustin

Oggi’s Pizza and Brewing Co. - Tustin

March 18, 2008 · Filed Under OC Food Reviews · Comment

We have gone to three Oggi’s, and this one being the closest is now the most likely one we end up at. They have great pizza with lots of different types of toppings you can order it with. We normally just get something basic when we order pizza there, pepperoni and extra sauce or just a veggie.

Our most recent visit we decided to mix it up and order regular food instead of pizza. I got an order of fish and chips which were delicious. They were lightly breaded with panko and deep fried. The chips were lightly breaded with some seasoned flour and had good taste, especially when I asked for a side of BBQ and the BBQ was served to me hot. I love hot BBQ sauce.

My wife ordered the caesar chicken wrap which also came with fries. She liked it a lot, I had a taste and it was full of flavor.

Oggi’s is a really nice place to go if you are just looking to have a nice relaxing night out watching the game. The place is filled with TVs and some HD projector screens. It’s pretty much a sports bar, pizza place, brewery. It’s a nice change of pace from BJ Pizzeria which we love.

Rating:

Oggi’s Pizza and Brewing Co.
13612 Newport Blvd
Tustin, CA 92780
(714) 731-6444

Tags: American, Bars, Brewery, Burgers, Italian, Pizza, Tustin