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Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Fleming's Steakhouse - Newport, CA


you go to a steakhouse for steak. its not really brain surgery. but a lot of people would look right past the appetizers and maybe even the sides and just enjoy their meat on a plate. flemings is one of my favorite steakhouses (whether im in oc or at la live before a laker game) and to me some of the gems on the menu come from the often overlooked appetizers and sides.


lobster tempura. frying usually makes regular things better. frying lobster? game over for all other fried things. its not exactly low in cholesterol, but who cares - light, crispy, flavorful and delicious. served with a sweet soy ginger sauce to give it a sweet and salty contrast or a little jalapeno pepper for some heat, somewhat expensive, but always worth it.


beef carpaccio. the first time i went to flemings the server was trying to push me on this app. i decided to not get it, but the server bought it for me and my friend anyways and ive been hooked since. thinly sliced beef tenderloin with capers, cheese, a creole mustard aioli and basil. served with manna aka cheesebread from heaven - eat them like soft tacos - roll one up homie.


onion rings. its hard to label something as "best" or favorite but i do think flemings has the best onions rings ive ever had. have you ever bit into an onion ring and the onion slides right out and your left with a ring of batter? well i was told that when they prep their onion rings that they remove the membrane from both ends of each sliced onion so when you bite into it, it breaks and wont slide - and this makes the onion rings at flemings the most time consuming prepped item on the menu. in short, no membrane = no slide = best ever.


bone-in ribeye med-rare. any questions?

if you dont feel like spending a fortune or just going lighter - flemings has a pretty awesome happy hour - 5 different apps/drinks/wines for $6 until 7. the beef carpaccio is one of the apps and its definitely a solid deal. if you go before a laker game or event at staples or la live go early, this place gets packed.

Monday, May 30, 2011

Matsui - Torrance, CA

owned by the famous hideki 'godzilla' matsui, this place serves the best tempura in the south bay area.


i know it's a very bold claim...but it is the best.

and they serve godzilla-size portions.

Friday, May 27, 2011

Marche Modern - Costa Mesa, CA


if you ask a girl out and she only gives you a lunch date (bad) but you still think you have a shot and want to impress her - you should take her to marche modern. its one of the few fine dining places open for lunch in oc, and its awesome. and its located at south coast plaza so you can go shopping after you win her over...and spend more money.

kobe beef carpaccio & lump crab

theres really nothing fancy about this combination. thinly sliced raw kobe beef, lump crab, arugula, olive oil. i love dishes that are simple, delicate, and fresh. attention to detail and execution are key and thats what makes dishes like this amazing. or its because crab and beef are delicious. you pick.

beef short ribs

if there was a fantasy draft for fine dining and comfort foods - beef short ribs would be my first round pick. theres something about the complexity of flavors that comes from slow cooking as well as the pot-roast-like-now-i-need-to-nap-because-of-comfort-food that short ribs give you. melt in your mouth, eat them with a spoon - theres a reason why a bunch of restaurants have short ribs and theres a reason why they always cook them on the top chef finale - they're impossible to cook bad.

get in my pork belly

one of my favorite ingredients. if youre unfamiliar with pork belly, its as if someone gave you bacon and forgot to slice it, leaving you with a slab full of bacon. whats better than bacon? more bacon. just ask the guys from epic meal time. slow cooked, marinated in a sweet sauce like misoyaki and it essentially becomes bacon candy. if all candy was like this and not like candy corn, halloween would be my number one holiday.

seriously though, this is a nice little place on the third floor of south coast so theres not a whole lot of foot traffic. it has the "outdoor" feel even though youre inside a mall. the food is solid, theres a good wine list, and the menu changes time to time. make a reservation though, the place isnt that big.

Thursday, May 26, 2011

Mr. Pollo - San Francisco, CA

mr. pollo is THE hidden gem amongst all hidden gems in san francisco

after seeing this place on best thing i ever ate for 'best bang for your buck', my friend insisted we try the venezuelan cuisine of mr. pollo. honestly, this is one of the coolest restaurants i've ever been to in my life. if i knew how to cook or had enough money to start a restaurant or wanted to start a restaurant, i would want to do exactly what this guy does.

this place is super tiny, but that's what makes it so unique and awesome.

go with the $15 4-course tasting menu that's customized daily by the chef. yes you read that right. $15. fifteen. dollars.

and every day it's a different menu. A DAILY DIFFERENT MENU!!! COME ON!!!! HOW AWESOME IS THAT?!!?!?

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Ten Ten - Anaheim, CA

ching chong bing bong! herrro prease!

i love chinese food. specifically, i love dim sum. but if i hadnt grown up eating it, being the picky eater that i am, i probably wouldnt touch it. dumpling-like things that you have no idea whats in them? and its not like the ladies pushing the cart will really tell you what it is. what if its a dumpling filled with bleu cheese and mayonnaise? but fortunately, i DID grow up eating dim sum. if you're in the anaheim area, ten ten is my favorite dim sum/chinese restaurant located right off the 5.

whats the best part about chinese food? ordering 10 dishes for the table instead of one. variety is the spice of life, chinese know this. its easy to figure out what you like because the portions are small, cheap, and you get to try a bunch of dishes instead of just one. and btw if you dont care for shrimp and pork, id run away from any dim sum place like the plague.


shrimp har gow (r is silent, rhymes with cow) - if this were mcdonalds i'd get the 20 piece mc-har gow meal no lie. i love these so much - whole shrimp steamed inside a clear dumpling skin.


ham su gok - or as i call them "footballs." pork and shrimp with veggie mixture, served inside a sticky mochi-like fried thing in the shape of a football.


not even sure if these have a chinese name. fried shrimp balls. take it from shrimp guy, legit.


shumai (shoe-my): filled with, you guessed it, pork and shrimp. whats the only problem with shumai? they put mushrooms in them, yuck.

basically one of the best dim sum places in oc, im not gonna say it tops monterey park or arcadia but if youre around the area this place is awesome, its cheap, and gets the job done. the service staff is really nice as well, if you care about that at a chinese place, where they usually are notorious for terrible service.

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Santouka - Costa Mesa, CA

if you like ramen and live in orange county and have yet to visit santouka in the costa mesa mitsuwa food court....


WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?!!!?!?!?!?!?






luckily i've crafted an 8 step plan for you below.

Monday, May 23, 2011

Spoon House - Torrance, CA

no idea why they call it spoon house. none.

1. they don't specialize in soups...so you don't use a spoon a lot.
2. it looks like a building, not a house.
3. even if it looked like a house and they served a lot of soups, why would you call it that?!? i don't see ruth chris being called 'fork and knife place' or tony roma's being called 'eat with your hands and then lick yo fingaz!'

haha....wait a meeeneet...do they even have tony roma's around anymore?!? if there are some still around, can you let me know?

aside from my tangent, reviewing spoon house....

the complimentary bread is pretty average for pre-meal bread. it's really crumbly (which isn't always bad, but it's mos def bad when you don't get small bread plates), and the butter is semi-frozen, so you can't even spread it, but they give you A LOT, so that's nice.


since it's an italian place, it's got all sorts of dope pastas, but done in a japanese way.

i would recommend coming here if you are looking for something different than a traditional plate of pasta. their clams with shiitake pasta is excellent. it's got japanese spices sprinkled throughout and nori all over the top. very top notch.

normal size spoons. the mystery continues

other than that? i dunno. the napoleon pasta is pretty dope too. so is the carbonara pasta. 

so overall, this place is above average. not blow your mind phenomenal, but it's really cool because i'm going to go out on a limb and say 84% of people have never been here and it's always fun going and trying new and different restaurants that are dope.

except for indian food. 

TLDR version: solid japanese italian food. awesomely unique!!

Spoon House Bakery & Restaurant on Urbanspoon

Friday, May 20, 2011

The Counter - Irvine, CA


who doesnt love a burger? on top of that, who doesnt love to have it their way? thats why burger king has been so successful over the years right? the counter has multiple locations, and takes the basic burger and lets you create your own or try their set burgers or burger of the month.


their basic menu looks somewhat like a test, as you build your burger from the ground up, the size, the meat, the bun, the cheese, toppings, and sauce. dont like holding it? throw it all in a bowl and eat it like a dog if thats whats hot right now (or use a fork). the sides are good to share, and the fifty fifty gives you a choice of two, my friends and i usually end up with the sweet fries (great with bbq sauce, just sayin) and onion strings.


shrimp guy's burger

beef or turkey - depending on if im in a healthy mood or not
1/3 or 2/3 - depending if im in a hungry mood or not
american cheddar - boring, i know, but im not cheese guy, im shrimp guy, in fact, im almost like anti cheese guy but more on that later
grilled onions & lettuce blend, possibly the corn salsa - standard burger stuff on the free toppings side
bacon and homemade guacamole - i opt for the guac instead of the avocado so i can use it like a spread, the avocado usually comes out thick and it basically makes my burger slide around a lot
(chili and fried egg are bomb too - of course all the good stuff cost more money!)
bbq sauce or steak sauce - if i get guac, its like my sauce
onion bun - onion bread is the greatest kind of bread out there

if you feel like splurging, the milkshakes have multiple make your own flavor combinations and are a good alternative to dessert. if they ever bring it back, they had a crab cake "burger of the month" that was absolutely delicious.

what would make the counter better? a shrimp burger - yea, like the ebi burger you can get at a japanese mcdonalds. but even still, a solid burger joint with multiple locations in socal.

Thursday, May 19, 2011

Mr. Lee's BBQ House - Artesia, CA

10 bucks. what can that buy these days?
  • an old blu-ray movie like the rundown or friday.
  • 90% of a movie ticket
  • 2 decently sized yogurtland yogurts
  • 2 paintball grenades
  • a website domain for one year
  • a tranquility fountain for your desk
  • 10 things like pencils from the 1 spot at target.
2 gallons of gas

LOTZ OF SILLY BANDZ!!!!!!
5 shirts!!

plants vs. zombies hd for the ipad

1 stock in wendy's/arby's

a sakshat.....errr maybe not.
so those are some pretty good things.

now would you rather have any of those.....

OR....



















ALL YOU CAN EAT KOREAN BBQ. for ten bucks.


it's not only unlimited meat, but marinated salad, fantastic dipping sauces, radish and rice paper to roll around the meat, and dozens of small appetizers to change up the pace from eating just meat all night long.


some people might say ma dang sae is better, but i completely disagree. this place is more awesome because all of the side things - salad, rice paper, radish, dipping sauces are in a communal area so you can get it yourself without having to bug all the servers there.

whereas at ma dang sae or other AYCE kbbq places, service is a lot slower because you have to ask for every little thing along with your meat.

the quality of the meat is identical at both places. i bet you would not be able to tell the difference in a mind taste test.

i guarantee it.

TLDR version: $10 AYCE kbbq....how can you go wrong?

Mr. Lee's BBQ House on Urbanspoon

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Lawry's - Beverly Hills, CA


lawry's is the in-n-out of fine dining restaurants. how are you a successful establishment with about 5 items on your menu? those 5 items are really freaking good. you basically come here for the prime rib, pick a size, pick some sides, and you're good to go - just like in-n-out, get a burger, how many patties, donezo. no staring at the menu for 15 minutes wondering whats good. i've been here one time and someone asked for the chicken, im not saying ordering chicken here is stupid, but its like driving on the freeway and going 50 mph. nobody does it, people will stare at you, and people will judge you. just sayin. go to el pollo loco or kfc. btw, they dont have chicken here anyways.

lawry's is all about the prime rib. they have about 5 different sizes, regular is a good portion, diamond comes with a bone, and the beef bowl is an absolute monster in size.

do u like lobster? yes, of course, who doesnt. probably people who drive 50mph on the freeway dont. add on two tails for about $20. deal of a lifetime. i will add on lobster tails everyday and twice on sundays.

the prime rib comes with sides, mash potatoes and yorkshire pudding. yorkshire pudding is my absolute favorite side and always ask for extra. yorkshire is a starchy bread like thing originating in england. its light, fluffy, and perfect covered in gravy. soooo good.

+ +
yorkie + shire + pudding = yorkshire pudding = UH-MAZE-ING

lawry's is a pretty good deal, you get a salad with your prime rib with mash and yorkshire pudding. the prices are very fair, the food is delicious, and the ambiance is beautiful. the service is always consistent, mostly tableside service, and ive never had a bad experience at this place. if you sign up for their vip club, you get $25 for ever $25o you spend, not bad if you and 15 friends go here and you're the only one with a card, free $150 for me.

hopefully they dont seat you right away, in the lobby they have free meatballs and potato chips. and yep, they're bomb.


if you're at south coast plaza or la live lawry's carvery has petite cuts of their prime rib, and also a french dip style prime rib sandwich. the sandwich is a little small, but melt in your mouth delicious, if only you could add on lobster tails to the sandwich and it was wrapped in yorkshire pudding...

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Mentatsu Ramen - Costa Mesa, CA

Everyone is looking for a good ramen place. If you haven't found this place in Orange County, I'd highly suggest visiting this place since we all know you've been to Shin Sen Gumi and Santouka. Is it the best ramen in OC? No. But, it's really really really good though.

It really hits the spot on a rainy, cold day. And hot days. And medium temperature days.


Before you go in blindly just ordering anything that looks good, ONLY ORDER THE MABO RAMEN. Maybe the cha han (fried rice) also. Do not get the shio, miso, shoyu, or whatever other kind of ramen they have there. Those are all below average. Well below average. Get the mabo ramen.

yes i know it looks like heaping bowl of crap
You should get the mabo ramen for several reasons:

1. It tastes awesome
2. It's relatively spicy (at least for japanese people. and well, we all know japanese spicy ain't that spicy)
3. You get a gangload of food
4. It tastes even better when you split it with a girl. I don't know why this is. It's crazy. It's inexplainable. unexplainable? inexplicable? Anyways, it's like going to Disneyland with a girl during the Christmas season. There's a list of reasons of why it's so awesome to go there at that time, but there's an intangible aspect that makes Disneyland THAT much more awesome during Christmas. I know you know what I'm talking about.

whee.

BOOOM. 36x better.

Just like Mentatsu's mabo ramen.

So if my subliminal messages weren't enough, get the mabo ramen.

TLDR version: mabo ramen!!!!

Mentatsu on Urbanspoon

Monday, May 16, 2011

Mendocino Farms - Marina Del Rey, CA

i love mendecino farms. everything about it. well, at least everything i've tried. here are the noteworthies...

soda - i know what you're thinking. SODA?!?!!? REALLY?!!?!?!? SODAAAAAAAAA?!?!?!? yes, 99.8% of the time, soda isn't really noteworthy, but here is your 0.2% exception for a place having awesome soda. i'd recommend mixing the black cherry soda with cola. stupid good.


kurobuta banh mi - (japanese black pig vietnamese sandwich) honestly fantasmic. it's way more expensive than any banh mi you'd get in little saigon, but you have a way lower chance at getting in a fight. WHOAAAAAAAAAAAA


french onion sandwich - it tastes exactly like a bowl of french onion soup! sure maybe you can get a bowl of french onion soup for about a third of the cost, but why not just be fun and get something you probably can't find many other places.


peanut butter + bacon sandwich - i think this is their take on a pb&j because it's filled with their homemade peanut butter, apple slices, bananas (maybe their take on jelly?).....and huge chunks of bacon. this is reason #95,116,320 that proves bacon makes everything better.



happiest worker ever - when you're waiting for your food, the HAPPIEST worker of all time will ask you if you'd like a free sample of one of their salads. i'm personally not a fan of their salads, but it's pretty hilarious because she is so happy. she may not be there all the time, but the three times i've been there she was working. i'm not sure if they go through happiness training to work there, but honestly everyone who works is on average three to four times happier than the average person.


TLDR version: great quirky place to get sandwiches you've never had before

Mendocino Farms on Urbanspoon

Friday, May 13, 2011

Rustic Canyon - Santa Monica, CA

this place has just broken into my top 8 hamburger restaurants of all time. it's actually closer to the top. maybe 2nd or 3rd. or 4th. maybe 5th. possibly 6th. i think it could be 7th. or even 8th. i dunno.

as far as what else is in this top 8 hamburger places, i will leave that for another time.

but what should you get at rustic canyon?

niman burger. eat. savor. it's over.





the niman burger is everything you want in a burger. it's super meaty, juicy, the other stuff between the buns are super fresh ingredients, and the bun is nice and fluffy but with a nice crunch from being lightly toasted. you'll be looking around for angels because you'll think you're in heaven.

i would really recommend going on mondays. so every day, they'll have the niman burger, but on mondays they will have two burgers that aren't always on the menu, so you can try something else. i've tried the duck confit burger which was a phenomenal burger by any standards, but the niman blew my mind.

literally.
aaaaand what makes an appearance again?!!? crispy pork belly!!!!! it's so nice and crispy here with this orange sauce to go with it.



i love rustic canyon. maybe i'll try the wine next time i go since it's technically a wine bar.

TLDR version: one of the best burgers. period.

Rustic Canyon Wine Bar and Seasonal Kitchen on Urbanspoon

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