Mellow Mushroom

Do we need another pizza place in the area? Yes, yes we do. If you hate LaRosa's pizza like I do, you'll welcome Mellow Mushroom into your pizza options. It is a bit out of the way for some and I question if Wilder was really the best location for this restaurant. I'm sure there was a monetary motivation.

We ordered the garlic bread with cheese. It came on one of their sesame seeded hoagy buns. Pretty tasty - a little lacking in the garlic department. But tasty.



I ordered half red skinned potato (red potato, ranch, bacon, chives) / half Kosmic Karma (tomato, spinach, pesto, sun dried tomato). It was really good. Next time I'd prefer the Kosmic Karma with an olive oil base instead of red sauce.



You know, I'm starting to find that there is something wrong with my camera phone. What is up with these photos?

This, if you can see it, is a vegan calzone. There's mushroom, spinach, tomato and vegan cheese. I had a bite of it and it was pretty excellent. The vegan cheese they use is apparently the only one that melts. And melt it does! It tasted kind of like a fresh mozzarella, very creamy. BTW - The calzone was the size of a 10" pizza.



Here's a vegan hoagy on pita bread instead of hoagy bun with Tempeh. Mixed in are mushroom, onion and green peppers. This sandwich was huge! It comes with a small bag of chips which you may not be able to eat.



Pat got the Mighty Meat pizza. It was pretty mighty. 5 different kinds of meat, all the usual suspects. Their crust is really delicious. It's large and brown, crunchy and pillowy soft on the inside. It tastes really freshly made. Pat also had a mixed drink called "Dirty Bong Water" it was good. It just tasted like purple though.



This is going to be an instant hit with the vegetarian/vegan crowd because they finally have another option that isn't Thai food. For the meat eaters out there it's going to be equally popular because the pizza is good, tons of beer choices, friendly staff.

Campo's Famous Burritos and Tacos

I was realllly craving some tacos while in SoCal. After not being able to find one place and going to a location that had recently closed I ended up at Campos and was glad to get there. It was a dizzly cold day in December and I desperately wanted something hot.

I ordered all this food. Seriously. $10! The guy who helped me out was really sweet and helped me along with their extensive menu.



Here's the tacos - carnitas, carne asada and chicken. Delicious. I don't know what it is about these type of tacos but they are my favorite! I have never had radishes as a side in any type of Mexican cuisine but I like radishes so I thought it was a nice touch. I think the chips and salsa was free. Their salsa is that delicious fresh watery salsa that was not too spicy but had some heat.



Here's the inside of my beef burrito verde. Very tasty and filling.



I could go here 5 times a week or more just for tacos. It's great comfort food if your comfort food is Mexican food.

Napa Rose

Julie over at Wine Me, Dine Me gave me the tip to go to Napa Rose. The resort of the Grand Californian is just beautiful. You arrive and check in at the complimentary valet. The resort is decorated in a beautiful lodge style with Tiffany lighting accents. Once you make your way out of the hotel you walk down a nice promenade to the Napa Rose.

They seated me pretty quickly and at the bar near the kitchen where I got to see all the action. I got to talk to the head chef for a bit who was really nice. If you look at this guy in this picture he's the one who makes the spare ribs - helped me decide pretty quickly what I wanted to order.



I got a delightful little amuse bouche that I didn't photograph but was delicious.

I also ordered a mushroom appetizer with cheese filled potato dumplings, which are those 2 little spheres on either side of the enormous mound of mushrooms. This was very tasty. I could eat a larger plate as an entree easily.



Here's the spare rib which was impeccably cooked and fell completely off the bone. It had a gorgeous wine reduction flavor to compliment the beef. Delicious!



I would love to go back but it would be more convenient to do so if I were staying near Disney - not something I'm really interested in. I might make a special trip in a cab though!

In-N-Out Burger

I love In-N-Out Burger! I wish we had these back home. Straightforward food. Just good burgers and shakes.

Need I say more?



I am not bowled over by their fries but they are incredibly fresh and what more could you want?

Matsu

I cannot express how disappointed I was in Matsu. How could I have gone wrong with the 4th most popular sushi restaurant in Orange County?

First off the smell of the building was like a retirement home. The decor was the type of Asian decor that looks like it was picked out by returning GI's in the 40's. Seriously, I saw a frosted glass panel with Siamese cats with slaaaaaaanty eyes and bucked teeth. It was uncomfortable.

I ordered the:
spicy salmon - not spicy,
the spider roll - had chopped up imitation crab meat inside - gross,
some sort of crunch roll that was so sweet I couldn't eat it. 



It was so bad that I thought I was going to be sick. Thankfully there was a Wienerschnitzel across the street.

Jerry's Wood Fired Dogs

Hot Dogs!!! Hot dogs very nearly make me lose control.

I ordered the LA Dog - spicy sausage with the peppers and onions with a cool ranch on top. Not too shabby!



I also got the chicken sausage with peppers and onions on top. Delicious! I love chicken sausage and can never get it in a restaurant back home.



They have also these great kitchen chips.



Jerry's is a great casual place to get some uniquely common food.

Crab Cooker

I was led to believe that Crab Cooker was on the waterfront. I desperately wanted to eat some seafood while looking at the ocean. Oh well. Next time. I stayed for the crab anyways.

I got the clam chowder which came Manhattan style - not my favorite. But this one was pretty good. I've had others before and they weren't impressive. This one was flavored well. Another reviewer said that they couldn't find the clams in it. I don't know if its the fact that they've only had canned chowder or not but the clams were very plentiful. Fresh clams resemble shredded chicken in consistency, not shriveled knots like in canned chowder. Think of it as seafood vegetable soup.




I had the crab cakes - which were more crab than cake. That is my only request when ordering a crab cake. They were of the deep fried variety - not my favorite. But they were flavored well and had lots of crab.



I got the Alaskan King Crab plate with cole slaw and potatoes. The crab was delicious. I ordered these "romano potatoes" that they have. They're great! They're like cubed potatoes with mashed in romano cheese all brown on the top. MMMM!



If you're in the area - check them out. It's a really casual place to eat great seafood.

Mesa

I forgot to take my camera with me but whatever. I was searching for a late night food option and let me tell you - it took some doing. Lots of places close at around 9 or so in Orange County. I finally found Mesa. They had a reasonable valet that complimented my green Fiesta rental in a parking lot that included a Bentley. I think he was sincere.

I had the salumi plate - I was not blown away by this one. I didn't particularly care for all of the salami choices - I'm more of a cheese girl anyways. The presentation was great - giant slate slab. Believe them when they say it's large enough to share.

I also had the sea bass that had sauteed parsnips and lemon. This was really delicious and was just flavored so delicately.

After a certain point of the day Mesa turns into a night club. I could barely see where I was walking. I ended up being seated in a small banquette table in the corner where I could people watch. I really liked their check boxes. They have little tins that they put your check and credit card in. Seems like a small detail but how many times has your check gotten separated from your credit card?

I would go back to Mesa but not alone. I think I ended up looking creepy all alone in the corner. The food was worth it though.

True Food Kitchen

Although I am not a native to SoCal I had heard some buzz about True Food during my weeks stay. I got back to Fashion Island in enough time on one day and wanted to try it. I loved the interior. Exposed ventilation, exotic hardwoods and thoughtful details like a kitchen towel as your napkin.

My server Dedra was really sweet and attentive. My favorite part about True Food is their wine menu. They have it separated into price levels. You can choose $5, $6 or $7 pours. Genius!

Here's a look at the inside with the soft ligthing, and open atmosphere.




Caramelized onion and fig tart. This thing was pretty big, over a foot long and big enough to share. The onion and fig on this were really tasty. I'm not ashamed that I ate the whole thing - believe it!



Oh this was just what I needed. Miso glazed black cod with mushrooms and bok choy. This was so delicious. The miso glaze was really seared sweetly onto the fish making a sweet, smoky, crunchy exterior. I asked my server for extra mushrooms and she hooked me up. It all just worked. Just 4 flavors and they just made my day.



With my appetizer, entree and 2 glasses of wine it was about $50 for my meal - totally reasonable. You can opt out of the wine or split appetizers for more budget conscious. The casual environment and delicious food make this a great place for a date or special occasion, the price makes it great for just every Wednesday.

Anchor Grill

(NO)Thanks to Andy's Mediterranean we ventured back to Covington from Mt. Adams where we went to the Second City show. We met in Covington to ride in the same car and after Andy's was so rude to us and we left we went to Anchor Grill.

To be clear - I did not have a like "craving" for Anchor. It was simply open and reliable on a Sunday night.

If you've done the bar scene in Northern Kentucky then you know the Anchor. Favorite of hardworking people that still want a good meal for a cheap price. And the occasional delusional homeless person. I was almost delusional about putting some sort of food between my teeth. I hadn't eaten all day. If one of those two put some mayonnaise and bacon on my hand, I'd probably try to take a bite out of it.


Our server was as sweet as could be and took very good care of us.

Christine and Ann got the Turkey Club which wasn't without charms. It came with all the usual toppings on a club with a side of chips.



I got my "heart healthy" favorite. Goetta Omelette (exxxxxtra crisp) and hash browns with onion and cheese. Actually the nation of Gambia's per capita yearly amount of cheese, but that's neither here nor there. My omelette was delicious as well as my crisssspy hash browns. Christine and I secretly ate an order of biscuits and gravy as well but ravenous hunger prevented us from capturing it on photo. It's relegated to the "secret eating" list of foods.



I'm sure that there are folks out there for whom this is their favorite restaurant. But it's not exactly mine. But as sure as we are about constants such as death and taxes, we can also be sure about Anchor Grill. It's assured to be open whenever you need them, whether you had fancier dinner plans or not.

Andy's Mediterranean Grille

I would have loved to have eaten here tonight but the fates were not with me.

I did everything right. Or so I thought. I made a reservation on OpenTable.com for 9:30 on a Sunday (they took reservations past 9:30pm - they close at 10), I arrived on time and what happened next was no short of shocking and infuriating.

We arrived and got great street parking in front of the door. We were greeted at the door (which had to be unlocked, hmm) by a woman holding a baby. Was she a patron, employee? Did the baby work there? Who knows? I told another woman that had to be summoned that I had a reservation on opentable.com. She then asked me which table I had reserved. I tried to clarify that I needed her to check my reservation off so that I could get my points. She never made any attempt to do so.

She seated us at a bar table and when we placed our order for iced tea she immediately said that "we may not have enough for all of you". What the hell? So somehow she "found" some iced tea and while we waited about 10 minutes for the tea the woman with the baby actually did work there and was placing clean glasses on a glass shelf. Re-read she was sliding glasses across a glass shelf. It was the same noise as nails on a chalk board or some other cringe-worthy noise. I very politely asked her if she could not do that while we were there.

When the server arrived with our 3 glasses of tea she immediately said that they were out of straws and gave us bar straws. She told us that it had been a slow day, they hadn't had a table in over an hour and were wanting to close early. I asked her if we should go and she told me that she stopped everyone from leaving and it would be fine. We just left.

I have never in my life been treated so poorly at a restaurant. I was wanting to go because I had a $25 gift certificate but I can assure you I won't be back, not for discount and not for free. I'm giving my certificates to some vegans who somehow love this place. I wish that I'd had the opportunity to sample their food to offer an opinion on it but I didn't want to risk it since I was so badly inconveniencing them.

Sorrento's Restaurant and Lounge

Not good. Really not good. Have you ever eaten somewhere where afterwords you need to eat something extra greasy or bad for you to get the taste of it out of your mouth? Such is the case with Sorrento's.

There were red flags. There were signs that it was going to be bad. First, the smell. It had that retirement home, funeral parlor, glade smell. Second, it was dark. Similar to a cave. It was still sunny outside but it looked like 10pm inside. Third, the decor. There is wood paneling everywhere. I recognized the same wood paneling that I grew up with: wood borders with pheasants inside. The decor fun did not stop there! The corner we sat in had a "clown theme". When is that ever a good thing? There were velvet clown paintings, clown figurines, etc. It was terrifying.

Not as terrifying as the food. Our server didn't bring us bread after requests, we ordered what I think was manicotti and it came out looking like it arrived from a can. The best way I can describe it is as a lipstick. If you imagine a manicotti and when you turn it the cheese comes out the top like lipstick? Appetizing, right?
The cheese tasted like paste and the sauce tasted like it had never seen the top of a stove. It tasted very "green". I brought my "leftovers" home to my husband a huge fan of Italian foods, he wouldn't eat it.

Another weird, creepy aspect is that it's a piano bar. Kind of. They have a piano, why you can eat dinner on top if it in fact. And they have a bar. I wouldn't so much call it a piano bar.

I am not sure who this restaurant really pleases. But every time I drive by it (several times a week) I just cringe.

Arnold's

I finally got a chance to get to Arnold's. I'm not ashamed - I have no idea where I'm going on the east side of downtown. Sycamore and things near it are virtually unexplored territory. I found it during the day with a little trying.

When you step inside it looks like any normal bar, but isn't. Arnold's has weathered through the decades of downtown bar scenes and come out still standing. I won't give you the whole history lesson here - many other people have done that better than I could.



Potato and leek soup - pretty good on this cold day outside.



I got the mushroom burger with Swiss. Their fries are pretty good and the burger was juicy and cooked properly. It didn't seem like a handmade patty but the tasty bun and fresh toppings made up for that easily enough.



Arnold's has something for everyone and is a piece of Cincinnati history. Try it on a lazy day, like I did.

 

Zola's

I love me some Zola's. I cashed in one of my super cheap restaurant.com coupons tonight with some friends from work. It was a little bit packed for a Monday night.

They have a pretty good chili at Zola's - not to spicy not too mild. Chili/Cheese it for $1 extra.



I got the California burger which was pretty good. The great thing about Zola's is handmade burgers. You can clearly tell when you get one that it's fresh and not frozen. Every burger comes with a delicious bun and regular burger toppings. My burger came with banana peppers, red peppers and swiss cheese. The side choices are fries, onion rings and their "unique slaw". I love their slaw! It's a cabbage based slaw and then the twist is that instead of mayo it's tossed in a delicious sesame based Asian style vinaigrette with crunchy noodles. Very refreshing change from the usual ol' slaw. 



Others had the chicken fingers - nothing unusual there, they were pretty moist but I'm almost 100% certain they were frozen.



We had their loaded potato spud bites which were a chopped potato/cheese/jalapeno mixture fried up in a spear form. Horseradish sauce on the side for dipping made this pretty good for fried bar fare.



Pretzel bites were pretty good. Pretty straightforward. Salty, soft pretzel-y goodness.



Zola's has daily specials. Monday is 50 cent wings. Wednesdays is $6 burger and fries - one of the best deals in town! Stop in for some unusually good bar fare!