Food Pundits of Southern California

Orange County Chef Fights

On August 21st at the Standards of Excellence showroom the Food Pundits group got together for the first time to attend a Sunday Night Chef Fight hosted by Chris Kern of Forgotten Grapes. Jen and I have attended one of these events in the past and were excited to see what chef Nicola Bellazzi of Enne Cucina Italiana was going to bring to the challenge because he beat out the former champion chef Lindsay Smith-Rosales of Nirvana Grille in Mission Viejo and Laguna Beach who was the crowned champion when Jen and I attended back in February. So the nights challenge this night was between chef Bellazzi and chef James Harris of the Royal Hawaiian in Laguna Beach and what a fun night it was!

First of all let me start by pointing out that the three random ingredients were shrimp, mushrooms and brown bread with the mystery ingredient being cinnamon. Each chef was given 35 minutes to cook and serve their dishes. They are allowed to create as many dishes as they’d like so long as they incorporate one or more of the ingredients into a single dish and they had to find a way to create dishes using each of the ingredients. One of our Food Pundits was allergic to shrimp and another one didn’t like shrimp or mushroom but was a champ and came out anyways and ended up enjoying herself immensely. Both competing chefs were kind enough to come up with a few alternatives for the person who was allergic to it and even she went home with a full belly.

Chef James Harris – Royal Hawaiian

James is a young successful chef who came to the challenge as the underdog and walked away with the trophy. A couple of the single Food Pundit ladies said it was because he was young, attractive and could cook while a few others said that he won it with the first dish he served which was a cinnamon infused mai tai but in truth I’ll venture a guess and say he won because each dish was creative and unique from one another and he also engaged with the audience a lot more. Here’s what chef James Harris ended up preparing for us:

Mai Tai
Cinnamon Spiced Rum

(Three wine tastings during the event AND this… yeah we had a good night!)

Wild Mushroom Bruschetta
Chanterelle, Oyster, Maitake Mushrooms, Thyme & Pecorino

(Jen is a sucker for bruschetta so this was easily her favorite dish of the entire night.)

New Caledonian Blue Prawns
Togarashi Rub, Pickled Veggie Ponzu Sauce

(My favorite dish from chef James and not only because he gave me seconds after the challenge. He also educated us that overcooking these results in them being mush which was kind of neat that he knew that and shared that.)

Cinnamon Scented Wheat & Mango Bread Pudding
Macerated Mango

(Anyone who knows me will tell you I do not like bread pudding type desserts of any type. I decided though that I’d try this dish and then found myself finishing all of it… maybe a new love affair with bread pudding is heading my way?)

Chef Nicola Bellazzi – Enne Cucina Italiana

Nicola made a shrimp soup that I and many of the other Food Pundits really enjoyed. The dish itself was the highlight of his dishes in my opinion and even a week and a half later I wish I had more of it right now. Chef Nicola created a menu where each dish had as many if not all of the required ingredients in them and in some ways this worked and other ways I think it resulted in him losing the championship trophy. Either way though, many of the Food Pundits I spoke with after the challenge said they scored highly for him in the creativity section because of his creative menu. Here is what chef Nicola Bellazzi ended up preparing for us:

Tramezzino Caramella (candy)
All wheat bread snack sandwich with portobella mushroom, shrimp, both oven baked and marinated in garlic and olive oil, with brandy cinnamon mayonnaise spread.

(I’ve since seen one more sandwich like item like this. I loved the fullness and fresh taste this “candy” had and thought it was a great introduction dish.)

Vellutata Di Gamberi
Velvety cream of shrimp soup with dark sweet bread croutons, beach mushroom and sprinkled with cinnamon

(My favorite dish from him. We all agreed we wanted more and the beach mushrooms sitting in the soup was a nice touch.)

Cremini Ripieni
Baked cremini mushroom stuffed with a mix of bay shrimp, cinnamon and whole grain bread crumbs, topped with tiger shrimp

(I’m a sucker for stuffed mushrooms so I really enjoyed this dish as well. The shrimp was cooked like what you’d expect it to be and was tasty but nothing to memorable)

Fusilli Con Le Polpettine
Corkscrew pasta with bay shrimp, shitake mushroom, cinnamon and brown bread crumbs mini balls, in a fresh tomato sauce

(The meat… “shrimp balls” were more bread crumbs than shrimp balls and over all we questioned if he had used the same stuffing he used for the stuffed mushroom for the meatballs. We were also really expecting something more than a simple pasta dish with fresh tomato sauce. Good but not to par with what we were expecting.)

Tiramisu Di Pane E Cannella
Classic tiramisu made with dark sweet bread, soaked in cinnamon espresso and covered with mascarpone cream and cocoa powder.

( I personally couldn’t finish this dish, going back to my dislike of bread puddings and such this kind of dish falls into that category and its texture and strong expresso flavor was a turn off for me; I did give it a try though! I did see that others enjoyed it though so while not my favorite, it must have been a win for others.)

The chef fight was an amazing challenge for these two chefs with the ingredients and even malfunctioning ovens during the event. They both pulled off some great dishes and I really do hope that we will eventually see chef Nicola Bellazzi back at a later date as a challenger. In the meantime though, enjoy some of the photos taken through out the event and next time consider a night out at one of the next Sunday Night Chef Fights!

September 1st, 2011 by John Jones

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Bann Thai Revisited

This last week we had some friends visiting from Illinois and while we usually go to Don Jose’ or Anchos in Riverside, this time they wanted to do something a little different so we returned to Bann Thai which is our favorite Thai restaurant in Riverside. We ordered a side of fried wontons and shrimp rolls for appetizers; I really enjoyed the meatiness of the shrimp rolls, definitely nothing skimpy there. We each ordered our own entree dishes from chicken ginger delight, garlic chicken with green beans and a couple curry dishes. We ended our dinner sharing a coconut ice cream and sticky rice with mango which begs the question even several days later… why didn’t I order dessert here in my previous trips?

Last but certainly not least, I have to give a shout out to Sam the owner. He’s always there and always friendly and never without a joke or two. I thought for sure he was going to question my photo on my ATM card since I change in appearances all the time. He’s a great guy and I think one reason the food is so great at Bann Thai is because Sam puts his heart into his customers, business and food which really shows.

Enjoy some of the photos I’ve taken and some others from around the web I found. Also visit Bann Thai’s website or read other Bann Thai reviews on Yelp

August 28th, 2011 by John Jones

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Christophe’s Restaurant & Lounge in Upland

Christophe’s Restaurant & Lounge in Upland California

Last night Jen, JJ and I went out with our friend Jasmeer to Christophe’s Restaurant and Lounge. While this may be my family’s first visit to this establishment, Jasmeer has been here several times and after tonight I know why he’s made the trip time and time again. Bottom line, it was a really great experience.

When we first arrived we gave our names for the reservation, which was not required but likely helpful during busier hours of the dinner service, and our waiter informed us that our table was already ready for us. Through out the rest of the dinner experience he addressed us by name which was pretty neat and thoughtful. Our waiter, who I believe was Corey, was helpful in discussing menu items from both the dinner menu and the 101 martini list and even gave suggestions that we ended up taking advantage of.

For our Hor D’ Oeurves we ended up ordering the Bruschetta and the Baked Escargot Bourguignonne. No one else in our party was as willing as I was to have the Escargot which was fine by me because that meant I got all of them to myself. While I can’t comment on the Bruschetta, I can say the Escargot was cooked perfectly and the garlic butter flavor wasn’t too over powering which I am usually used to with Escargot. Hat tip to Jasmeer for his willingness to even dip his bread in the butter mix that layered the bottom of the plate after I devoured the Escargot. Speaking of bread, Christophe’s would be great to visit for their bread alone. I should have asked but instead chose to believe this but I’m pretty sure they bake their bread fresh and serve it just the same. Warm and fluffy bread is served with a whipped butter and before you knew it we had gone through two baskets of this treat.

Our Dinner Selections

Both Jasmeer and I ended up ordering the New Zealand Lamp Chops. Jasmeer went with the lamb chops with the green peppercorn sauce and a side of authentic rice pilaf while I went with the balsamic red wine reduction sauce and the vegetables. The only negative take away from this dish is that I was extremely disappointed that I couldn’t eat more of them, the flavor of the sauce and the orange persillade crust was perfect.

Jen decided on the Steak Poivre which is a pepper crusted rib eye steak served on top of a bed of French fries and topped with a spicy peppercorn sauce. We ordered our son JJ the Fettuccini Alfredo which I’ll end up taking to lunch with me today since he only eats when he wants to eat and that only happened when we ordered our desert. Regarding the Steak Poivre; my wife enjoyed the flavors but thought the meat was a little too much on the fatty side. When all was said and done she had a rather decent amount of fat scraps left on her plate which isn’t the greatest thing when you are talking about an 8oz steak.

Desert Menu

So I’ve been to plenty of establishments where the desert menu was not found on the main menu but I’ve never had a platter of the desert options brought to our table by a waiter for us to select from. I had to take a photo of this but unfortunately it didn’t come out well enough to do justice to most of the items on the tray. Christophe’s offers seven different types of desert including two types of chocolate cake, cheesecake and even a red velvet cupcake. We decided on one of the chocolate cake slices which was really heavy on the chocolate, rich and creamy and hit the spot for all four of us sharing it. Whatever you end up choosing for your desert selection I think you’ll be pleased but I’d certainly suggest either of the chocolate cake items.

Drinks!

Christophe’s has a martini list with 101 martinis on it. I ended up having the Nutty Irishman which is a whiskey martini with Jameson, Bailey’s and Frangelico as well as one called a Sexy Alligator with Malibu, Midori, Pineapple, Chambord and Jager. Jen went with the Raspberry White Chocolate martini that has a raspberry vodka, vanilla vodka and white chocolate and raspberry in it. Jasmeer opted for a local beer named Dale Brothers Pomona Queen which I tasted and went down smoothly.

Final Thoughts

The ambiance of Christophe’s was high class yet I was still able to come in a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. While they are not really kid friendly and don’t have a kid menu, you can bring your children to this place though I doubt they have high chairs or booster chairs. The food and over all experience was much better than a visit a few years ago to a certain French establishment in Riverside near the Tyler Galleria.

We met two people worth noting in this post. The first was a gentleman called Skip who turned out to be a well known regular at Christophe’s. He was a thankful distraction to JJ at times and even came in from the patio to talk to us and the kiddo for awhile. Thanks Skip and thanks for suggesting we look for Red Breast Irish Whiskey next time we are out and about trying different drinks. The second person we met was Christophe himself who came out to our table and asked us how everything was. It appears that Christophe also works in the kitchen itself because he had on an Apron and looked as if he had been cooking. This speaks volumes to me because an owner chef tends to instill a quality and care into the food that is prepared. Rather or not he visits his customers tables on a regular basis I can’t say one way or another because it may be that all of my photo taking gave our waiter Corey the idea we were from some media outlet but if Christophe doesn’t visit his tables often he should because it was nice to meet him.

Here are the photos we took during our dinner experience.

May 26th, 2011 by John Jones

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Salted Pig Revisited

Jen and I went to The Salted Pig back in February for their grand opening event and for our Valentines Day dinner. The Salted Pig was the first food review I wrote for this blog and I had mixed feelings about the place. They’ve since revamped the menu and have been very responsive and active socially on their Facebook Page which kept reminding me that I needed to get back their to try more food and maybe some drinks.

I’m not so big on beer but lately I’ve been sampling different tastes here and there with my friend Jasmeer. I’ve got a long way to go before I really like any type of beer but so far I like the lighter beers a little and The Salted Pig has a wide variety of beers to select from. Back in February Breean, who is a bartender there suggested via Facebook I try a scotch drink called the Flaming Heart which I found out tonight is a type of scotch not a mixed drink with scotch. That same day on Facebook I was also told that they could do a scotch flight… I was sold on the idea and tonight I got to give it a try!

Bunnahabhain 12 Year Scotch - This was one of the four on our scotch flight and one of my favorites between the four. It has a very strong taste going in, down and afterwards that really came with a punch even after I’ve already had a beer and my Flaming Heart.

Oak Cross Scotch – This was the mildest between the four and really didn’t have much of a kick or taste going in but there was taste as I swallowed it. This is probably a good scotch for experimenting scotch drinkers.

Spice Tree Scotch - This was a sweet scotch which really surprised me. It tasted fine but I’m not sure I care much for a sweet scotch.

Hedonism Scotch - The owner of The Salted Pig, Reynaldo suggested this scotch be the last one we try and he was right because it was probably the strongest of the four on the flight but finished off the samples perfectly.

The Flaming Heart – This is a brand of scotch that closely reminds me of a high caliber brand of my preferred scotch which is Bowmore. This was one of the more expensive scotches to buy as a bottle but very tempting and well worth it in terms of quality and taste.

Food!

So on top of the different scotches and the beer we had, we also ordered a side of popcorn shrimp and the Pig Burger which is a bacon and beef patty with a sunny side up fried egg and covered in a garlic mayo. The bucket of fries and homemade ketchup were amazing, I didn’t want to stop eating them to be honest about it…

We each finished off our meals with homemade icecream. Jasmeer got the vanilla bean ice cream while I got the candied bacon carmel vanilla bean ice cream. All I can say… I’m never going to Baskin Robbins, Cold Stone or any other place for ice cream again; for three dollars for a scoop of homemade ice cream I can never go wrong!

People!

Carlos was our bartender and was very helpful on both the beer and scotch. We also got to meet the owner Reynaldo who we found out later was the owner. Reynaldo was the one to select the four scotches for our scotch flight and didn’t mind when we asked him to keep the bottles in front of us for awhile so we can look at the different details as we sampled the scotch.

Over all we had a really good time, enjoyed the people, drinks and food. I’m not just saying this because our bill was 80% drinks and 20% food… I feel perfectly fine and can see straight I promise!

Happy Hour is from 3pm – 6pm Monday through Friday with $5 snacks, drafts and more. Come on out and give The Salted Pig a try but be sure to come hungry and come with plans to call a taxi if you are going to try a scotch flight or two!

Here are some of the photos from our visit today to The Salted Pig…

April 27th, 2011 by John Jones

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Dining Meetup – Fire and Ice

Hello Food Pundits!

We are coming together once again to enjoy one another’s company, meet new people and most most importantly to a food-a-holic, enjoy a good meal and maybe a drink or two for those of us interested. This Food Pundit Dining Meetup is going to be at Fire and Ice on May 7th at 1pm in Anaheim at the Garden Walk.

Please RSVP on the Food Pundits Facebook page for this event or comment on this post letting me know you would like to come and how many people will be joining you. We won’t need reservations but it does help when we all show up to be able to give them a good solid number so that we can dine together. Weather pending we will hopefully be able to eat out on the patio or if the majority want air conditioning we can do that too. All are welcome, friends and strangers, so long as you come hungry and want to hang out with a bunch of other foodies.

Mongolian BBQ is a style of dining where you pick from a wide selection of meats, pastas, veggies and sauces and then watch as a chef prepares the food for you on a round grill. There are usually a dozen or more sauces to choose from, easily that many veggies, half a dozen types of meat and three or four types of pastas to choose from. You should come hungry because you can return time and time again to the food bar for another heaping portion of tasty goodness.

Fire and Ice is located in Garden Walk in Anaheim and Fire and Ice does do parking validation for up to two hours. Here is the address:

321 West Katella Ave #315
Anaheim, CA 92802

You can visit their website or click on their logo above to be taken to their Anaheim location Facebook page.

See you there!

John F. Jones III
Head Food Pundit

April 26th, 2011 by John Jones

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Umami Mongolian Grill

When John first asked me to write a little ditty for his blog, I was a little shy because I’m not some culinary whiz who samples the finer foods in life and I don’t have an eclectic taste for fusion type foods. I however am a simple girl with simple taste and recently visited a new Mongolian restaurant in Buena Park called Umami Mongolian Grill. Mongolian BBQ isn’t new to this girl, I love anything that I can assemble myself and add all the toppings I want. I’ve been to many of the local normal spots and have always left feeling disappointed and turned off over the whole experience… until now.

What is Mongolian BBQ / Grill?

First a little history of Mongolian BBQ before I get to my experience at Umami…

Mongolian grills allow patrons to fill their bowl with a wide variety of meats, vegetalbes, noodles, bean sprouts and even some fruit like pineapple. Typically you can expect to find many “Asian” flavored sauces and oils that you can dream of to have mixed in with the finished dish which is great for those who want a tangy orange sauce or a spicy jerk sauce.

Once you have a bowl of piled high goodness you simply hand your bowl over to the cook and they cook your food over a large round grill with everyone else’s food. On a busy day the cook will cook many dishes at once by going around the circular grill and when they get back to your food it’ll be ready for them to quickly add the sauce, mix things up and scoop it onto your plate and you are left with a steaming pile of yummyness! (Cue watering mouth). Hungry yet? You won’t be after visiting one of these places like Umami because they are almost always all-you-can eat which is a double bonus.

Umami Mongolian Grill in Buena Park

About three weeks ago we discovered Umami Mongolian Grill and were excited to visit the restaurant because it had recently opened and who doesn’t like the idea of a brand new dining experience? We also were excited because the few that are in the OC area haven’t been all that I’ve wanted them to be.

On our first visit we came at peak dining hours on a Friday night and were pleasantly surprised to see that we weren’t the only patrons already there. There are many New restaurants in Buena Park that are often empty when we walk in so not being the only ones in for dinner that night was a good sign already. We were immediately greeted by a very friendly Hostess and seated at our table with menus. The cute little waitress came over and asked if we had been to the restaurant before and explained the menu and how it work. If you’ve never been to a Mongolian BBQ / Grill you’ll want to have them explain things to you so you get the tour of the food bar and anything special you might be able to request.

Everyone in my family ordered the all you can eat option which included soup, lumpia and some type of pocket bread. My family has kind of a tradition where we all see who can pile the most stuff in the bowl and the fun part is that you are actually expected to do this. My very first trip through, the waitress had to help me pile my noodles into my bowl because it was already filled with veggies and I had no room for the noodles. The photo on the right was my bowl!

The Ingredients

Mongolian BBQ is all about eating fresh and having many options to mix and match from. The ingredients Umami offered are amazingly abundant. They have four different types of meat including Lamb; they have close to fifty different veggies to choose from with all the good ones like water chestnuts, sprouts, and baby corn. They also have several sauces and oils to choose from when creating your Mongolian masterpiece, and don’t forget the noodles! For you health nuts out there Umami gives you the option of white or brown rice with your meal. The cooks do a great job of working your meal around the grill in a clockwise fashion until its ready. When I talk about the Mongolian masterpiece I wasn’t lying; when your meal comes off the grill and is plated it is a pretty sight. A big pile of steamy goodness, I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves.

Meet & Greet with The Owner of Umami Mongolian Grill

During our first visit at Umami we met and hung out with Ted, the owner / Chef of Umami’s for a good 30 minutes. Ted is a great guy and such a talker; he explained his vision for the restaurant and his labor of love in trying to get the restaurant open especially in these touch economical times. One thing Ted told us was that his young son actually came up with the name for the restaurant. Ted didn’t only stop at our table, he stopped at every table and introduced himself to others; he really was a pleasure to meet.

To wrap up this “critique” I’ll just say we have been back twice now in the same month. We had a group of 12 the other night and it was great fun seeing everyone laugh and make fun of each other when piling goods into their bowls. You can tell when the food is good when the table gets quiet and everyone is enjoying their meal rather than talking. If you enjoy reading this blog and have enjoyed looking at these pictures and are ever in the area, stop by, grab a bite to eat, and meet Ted, you’ll be glad you did!

Umami Mongolian Grill is located at:

7855 La Palma Ave, Suite 1
Buena Park, CA 90620

Visit the Umami Mongolian Grill website and check out other reviews on Yelp.

April 5th, 2011 by Deanna

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Phở Vina – Vietnamese Noodle in Anaheim

So I’m still no expert at Vietnamese food but I’m really enjoying eating it on a regular basis because my trip to Phở Vina was even more amazing than my previous experiences at Bò Vàng Bistro a little over a month ago. Today I ordered the Diced Garlic Steak with Buttered Rice and an egg roll appetizer while my co-worker ordered the Grilled Pork and Baked Egg Loaf along with a pickled lemon soda drink.

Pickled Lemon Soda

Sarah ended up ordering a pickled lemon soda which was hands down the strangest name for a drink that I’ve ever heard of but that is pretty much all it is; pickled lemons, sugar and soda water. I got a taste of this and at first I noticed the sweet taste of the drink followed immediately after with a salty taste. This wasn’t a bad tasting drink at all but I might have to try this a couple more times before I think about getting used to it as it is an acquired taste for sure. I’d encourage everyone to at least give it a try once even if it is only a taste. I personally enjoyed the crushed ice as I’m a huge crushed ice fan. I could stop at this place just to pick up a soda and not care if they load the cup full of ice.

Egg Roll… Wraps?

Now I’m a fan of egg rolls so I ordered a side of them but when they brought them out with half a plate of what looked like garnish at first, I was kind of confused. As it turns out the garnish turned out to be cilantro, noodles and I think a pickled carrot mix on a bed of lettuce; I soon learned that I was to use these ingredients to make a wrap with my crunchy egg roll in the center. What a fun and tasty experience, I fear my lunch today may have ruined my egg roll expectations from here on out if they don’t come with goods to wrap them in.

The light sauce they gave us for the egg rolls was a fish sauce with vinegar, garlic and sugar. This was a treat from the typical sweet and sour or spicy mustard that I am used to and enjoy. Maybe I need to explore the world of egg rolls a little more because today’s egg roll experience was an enlightening one and frankly it wasn’t the egg roll itself but the fun of it and combination of extra flavors that the wrap made up.

Below are photos of today’s lunch including our main dishes which I mentioned above but didn’t go into much detail in the post. The main dishes were just as tasty though I assure you of that and you’ll be satisfied for hours if you are looking to get filled up for awhile.

April 2nd, 2011 by John Jones

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Yakitori at Shino in Norco

I have to give kudos to Sarah Glueck, one of our Food Pundit foodies on our Facebook group page, for coming across Shino while randomly reading new area reviews on Yelp. Once she visited and gave her approval I figured it was something I had to try for myself. I’ve only really experienced Japanese cuisine in the form of sushi and bento boxes so tonights trip to try out Yakitori at Shino was a real treat for me. I also learned from Shino herself that traditional Japanese cuisine isn’t centered around Sushi usually except at holidays and special events.

Tonight was all about the skewers and boy did we end up ordering many of them tonight. We had beef tongue skewers, garlic chicken skewers, chicken heart skewers, kobe beef skewers and about six others. Most skewers run anywhere from $2 to $3.50 with some of the others like the kobe beef skewers priced at $7.50. Every one of them including the chicken skin skewer and the bacon wrapped banana skewer are worth the price in flavor and quality.

Not only was this my first night to experience Yakitori but it was also my first time ordering and finishing a beer. I’m not a huge fan of beer but I figured the $2 happy hour Sapporo was worth a shot since I was trying something new anyways. The entire experience from the ambiance, quickly served fresh and hot food and friendly staff made our trip tonight a very satisfying decision for dinner.

Bacon Wrapped Banana Skewer

Now I know this may not sound like these two items go together but the flavors of both banana and bacon combined was absolutely amazing. There was a lingering taste of warm banana and tasty bacon that made me want to order another one or two skewers. This is a must have if you decide to take a trip to Shino any time soon.

Imported Chocolate Ice Cream

While my wife and Sarah decided to go with the regular ice cream options on the menu, I opted for the imported chocolate ice cream. My wife thought I was weird when I told her I wanted to try their imported ice cream since it was chocolate but the ice cream had a very unique flavor to it. While you can certainly taste the chocolate, it was kind of granular like sugar when I ate it. Everyone and anyone can go to Cold Stone or any other ice cream parlor for 31 or more flavors but I’d suggest this ice cream at least once because I don’t think you will really find it anywhere else and if you do I’d love to know where.

Chicken Heart Skewer

This was my daring order from the menu. I wasn’t honestly sure what I’d think of it but I like to expand my horizons. The best way I can describe this is that it was kind of like eating fried gizzards… or if you prefer… It taste like chicken! Nothing at all was bad tasting about the chicken heart skewer, in fact it had a good texture and taste to it.

Other Daring Options

Sarah had ordered the chicken liver skewer and the chicken skin skewer. I tried both of them and found that I really enjoyed the liver one as it kind of reminded me of my childhood when my mom made liver. The chicken skin skewer took a little more getting used to but I enjoyed the crispy outer crust on one side and the soft skin on other side. While we didn’t order any, you also can have octopus skewers and squid skewers if you want to give those a go.

Shino is located off of Hidden Vally in Norco in the little strip mall where CVS is located and is open for dinner Monday – Saturday starting at 5pm and closing at 11:30. Their exact address is 1161 Hidden Valley Parkway, #107 Norco, CA 92860.

Here are some of the photos that we took tonight and from around the Internet.

March 24th, 2011 by John Jones

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Lounge Around at Lounge 33

I discovered Lounge 33 this week while visiting with a friend. This more upscale bar is tucked away in the Central Plaza in Riverside between El Torito and Forever 21 and has made me decide I need to do more walking around some of the more heavy trafficked areas in Riverside.

The first thing I noticed when I walked up is a sign on the gate that read, “Dress Code Strictly Enforced”. Uh oh, I’m wearing tennis shoes, white shorts and a plain gray t-shirt; I hope they don’t ask me to leave, that’d be embarrassing! Thankfully I didn’t get asked to leave because I really enjoyed the hour or so we were there.

The bartenders were prompt and knowledgeable about every drink on the menu which was a big help for me seeing as I don’t get away from the scotch routine all that much. I ended up ordering two martini’s, the first one was called a Purple Heart which has Crown Royal, Chambord and cranberry juice. The second martini was called a Very Nice martini and what can I say… it was very nice! The Very Nice martini has Bombay London Dry Gin, Peach Schnapps and Sprite.

Typically when I go out for martini’s I end up getting three of them before I consider myself lightly buzzed and stop drinking. At Lounge 33 the two drinks I had made me feel well above the normal buzz I like when I do end up drinking. So I’ve decided to adopt my friends view on martini’s… it is far better to pay a little more for higher quality martini’s than it is to buy three or four of them before feeling anything at all.

Lounge 33 is a hidden jewel in Riverside with a great atmosphere, friendly and knowledgeable bartenders and a perfect blend of everything that makes a great martini even greater. – Me

Here are some of the photos taken during my visit and some from around the Internet

March 18th, 2011 by John Jones

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Bo Vang Bistro in Anaheim

My colleagues have decided that payday Friday is to be phở day Friday so we all jumped in a car and headed over to BòVàng Bistro in Anaheim off of La Palma and Imperial Hwy in the In & Out complex. This was my second visit and experience with Vietnamese cuisine and while the first visit was six months ago or longer, I’m still very happy with both trips even if I do think that phở is nothing more than top ramen on steroids.

Anyways, this time I decided to try the grilled lemongrass chicken which had a light sauce and veggies. The dish really reminded me of food served at a place called Orchid’s in South Lake Tahoe which is my favorite Thai place of all time so far. Now that I’ve discovered this particular dish I’m anxious to try the other dishes.

Most dishes between the seven of us ended up being one phở soup or another but along with my lemongrass chicken dish a tasty looking tofu veggie stir fry was ordered and it looked delicious.

I can’t personally vouch for the authenticity of the food at Bò Vàng Bistro seeing as I’m not a well rounded diner of that particular food but they do tout being authentic Vietnamese cuisine. If anyone wants to chime in with their own opinion via a comment that’d be great.

BòVàng Bistro is located at 5636 East La Palma Avenue and has a minimum of $10 for credit card orders. They were a friendly bunch and the food came out pretty quick which was nice since we were on our lunch break. Here are some additional photos that were taken of the foods we tried.