I should mention, I have worked for 5 star companies, owned two restaurants and have an intense background in F&B and the hospitality business. I spent years scouting reservations to figure out the likely AAA reviewers and all of this upper crust stuff has formed a very prissy and entitled attitude about food and service.
I first heard about Brew Baker's in a filer about children's parties. Kids make their own pretzels and bottle root beer. They also advertise that you can bottle your own beer here and that they sell bread, food and beer. So I was envisioning a sterile environment that was child friendly. When the kids asked for a pizza for dinner we decided to check it out.
First, it's the kind of place that looks like it feels sticky. The first thing I noticed was the bar, the second was the amount of breasts on the labels on the wall. Two picnic tables are set up for eating. The tables are covered with the writings of patrons, and these beer labels are everywhere. Right off the bat the girl reads something about how "Everyone needs something to believe, I believe I'll have another beer." I cringed knowing that this will be stored in her mind and probably recited on her school playground the next day.
The service is very, but also genuine, friendly and attractive. The large pizza ($17plus a charge for the topping) was the size of a frozen pizza and the pretzel crust was quite good. It's served on a wooden board and napkins are on the tables. I suppose plates would have just been in the way. The cheese and pepperoni were greasy but not heavy. The only thing that could have improved the pizza was a less sweet sauce.
I'm not sure if the root beer was brewed there or regular root beer off the tap, but it was served without ice and we were given a choice - glass or plastic.
This restaurant is for kids who usually accompany mom and dad to sports bars. As I don't watch sports, my kids were very unfamiliar with the bar scene. This place is perfect for dare I say "less stuck up people". I know my brother would LOVE this place because he is the sort to know everyone and would make fast friends with the locals and staff. I think I would have been more comfortable if I were drinking and with friends than with the kids.
I cannot imagine choosing this location for a child's party (or church group-also advertises for this clientele). Especially with breasts, asses and profanity on most of the walls.
So go with your 21 and over crowd - try out the beer and meet some really nice down to earth people. The pizza is decent and try the soft baked pretzels. Just leave your stuffy friends (and kids if they can read) at home.
Brew Bakers
(714) 596-5506 www.brewbakers1.com
7242 Heil Ave, Huntington Beach, CA 92647
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Friday, February 29, 2008
Does your favorite eatery get a passing grade?
And is passing enough?
http://www.ocregister.com/news/orange-county-restaurant-1985774-inspections-violations
Type in your favorite restaurants and see how they stack up. Los Angeles has a food rating system and the owner has to display their grade. I've eaten at B restuarnats in the past, but feel much happier eating something like sushi at a perfect score establishment.
Even more curious, type in your child's cafeteria.
One surprising rating: places like 7-11 generally score well. I suppose hot dogs on a rolling aparatus isn't a cause for certain death.
http://www.ocregister.com/news/orange-county-restaurant-1985774-inspections-violations
Type in your favorite restaurants and see how they stack up. Los Angeles has a food rating system and the owner has to display their grade. I've eaten at B restuarnats in the past, but feel much happier eating something like sushi at a perfect score establishment.
Even more curious, type in your child's cafeteria.
One surprising rating: places like 7-11 generally score well. I suppose hot dogs on a rolling aparatus isn't a cause for certain death.
Places I refuse to eat (and why)
1. Naples's at Downtown Disney in Anaheim
Reason - was served a marinated salad with shards of glass in it. They remedy - remove the salad from the bill.
2. Hot & Spicy Thai - Aside from hairs in the food, their fried rice is the most embarrassing for a Thai restaurant. Instead if fresh hot rice with slices of onions, you get old rice that tastes old and hard with old frozen peas and carrots. My guess is the chef is from a bad Chinese buffet restaurant. No care of quality, just get rid of the old food into customers plates.
3. Lazy Dog - I don't eat with pets and find the concept alone to be horrifying.
4. La Choza -I'm just not impressed. The salsa is bland, the tortilla's blah, and the food is just ordinary. My companions loved the chili relleno, I'm not one for the item itself.
5. Rodrigo's - Cute place, lots of money in the renovation, the food is uninspiried.
Reason - was served a marinated salad with shards of glass in it. They remedy - remove the salad from the bill.
2. Hot & Spicy Thai - Aside from hairs in the food, their fried rice is the most embarrassing for a Thai restaurant. Instead if fresh hot rice with slices of onions, you get old rice that tastes old and hard with old frozen peas and carrots. My guess is the chef is from a bad Chinese buffet restaurant. No care of quality, just get rid of the old food into customers plates.
3. Lazy Dog - I don't eat with pets and find the concept alone to be horrifying.
4. La Choza -I'm just not impressed. The salsa is bland, the tortilla's blah, and the food is just ordinary. My companions loved the chili relleno, I'm not one for the item itself.
5. Rodrigo's - Cute place, lots of money in the renovation, the food is uninspiried.
King's Pizza
A friend and I were talking a couple years ago and I said, "There is no such thing as a bad pizza". He countered and I argued. A year or two later I did encounter a bad pizza, so he was right.
King's Pizza is a manly place. Crappy menu board, old pictures of what the pizzas look like, bar signs in burned out neon. It feels a little divey and unsanitary. However, when you walk in the door, you are hit with the smell of really good pizza and all of your cleanliness phobias fly out the window. The men behind the counter are maybe Middle Eastern (Lebanese?)and have thick accents, swarthy looks (ah my pirate obsession is rekindled) and are flirty. It's like going to your brother's best friends house - out your feet on the table and have a beer in a bottle. Customers talk in line and there is this anticipation that the wait is worth it.
Sometimes your order is wrong, but you really don't care. All you care about is cheesy goodness with lots of hand sliced veggies and meats. napkins and paper plates are at a premium - if you ask for napkins, you will get one or two of the cheapest napkins in the world, the paper plates are thin and soaked through almost instantly. But it makes up for poshness with it's great flavors. The crust is thinner and chewier than chain places. It's the kind of pizza you have to fold to eat. A perfect pie, every time.
King's Pizza
5908 Edinger Avenue
Huntington Beach, CA 92649
(714) 846-5555
King's Pizza is a manly place. Crappy menu board, old pictures of what the pizzas look like, bar signs in burned out neon. It feels a little divey and unsanitary. However, when you walk in the door, you are hit with the smell of really good pizza and all of your cleanliness phobias fly out the window. The men behind the counter are maybe Middle Eastern (Lebanese?)and have thick accents, swarthy looks (ah my pirate obsession is rekindled) and are flirty. It's like going to your brother's best friends house - out your feet on the table and have a beer in a bottle. Customers talk in line and there is this anticipation that the wait is worth it.
Sometimes your order is wrong, but you really don't care. All you care about is cheesy goodness with lots of hand sliced veggies and meats. napkins and paper plates are at a premium - if you ask for napkins, you will get one or two of the cheapest napkins in the world, the paper plates are thin and soaked through almost instantly. But it makes up for poshness with it's great flavors. The crust is thinner and chewier than chain places. It's the kind of pizza you have to fold to eat. A perfect pie, every time.
King's Pizza
5908 Edinger Avenue
Huntington Beach, CA 92649
(714) 846-5555
Saturday, February 23, 2008
California Pizza Kitchen
I normally try to avoid chain restaurants, but I know when I got to CPK, my kids will be happy and I am guaranteed a good salad.
Last night was no exception. The girl and I were there at 6 - just before the big rush and we had a lovely large table near the bar. She was starving so she had some bread and butter (hey CPK - remember when the bread was warm??? We miss it!). We split the Cobb half salad and a 4 cheese and tomato pizza. Is it gourmet? No, but it is consistently good. Unlike Wolfgang Puck's it is also clean and the service is more attentive. It's one of the few places that makes a large salad that consists of more than iceberg, cabbage and a couple cherry tomatoes. The iced tea was clean tasting and the waitress didn't charge us for the kids drink (we didn't order off of the kids menu).
I did envy those drinking wine and sangria. Why did I develop an allergy to wine???
Last night was no exception. The girl and I were there at 6 - just before the big rush and we had a lovely large table near the bar. She was starving so she had some bread and butter (hey CPK - remember when the bread was warm??? We miss it!). We split the Cobb half salad and a 4 cheese and tomato pizza. Is it gourmet? No, but it is consistently good. Unlike Wolfgang Puck's it is also clean and the service is more attentive. It's one of the few places that makes a large salad that consists of more than iceberg, cabbage and a couple cherry tomatoes. The iced tea was clean tasting and the waitress didn't charge us for the kids drink (we didn't order off of the kids menu).
I did envy those drinking wine and sangria. Why did I develop an allergy to wine???
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Panda Palace is Perfect!
I love Chinese food, but only in Oakland or Irvine (go Sam Woo on Culver!). I'm too picky. I don't like bland, thick cornstarch sauces, overly breaded bits of low quality chicken, and overly salted food with limp vegetables. I also don't like the authentic pork fat and chicken legs.
That knocks out about 99 percent of the Chinese food in Southern California.
Panda Palace is a pretty restaurant, booths, tables, and a banquet room with the giant lazy susan tables. There is also a full bar and a patio. The service is old fashioned Chinese restaurant - something missing form a lot of upscale restaurants. Cloth tablecloths and napkins, appetizer plates, putting the napkins on your lap, and the waitress or waiter serving your plate for you all remind me of when going out for Chinese food was a special event.
The food is cooked to order. It comes out of the kitchen a little slowly - not so slow you are feeling forgotten - just more of a leisurely pace.
I loved the orange chicken. No breading - just a quick stir-fry and the dried orange peels. It's pungent and tasty. The pu pu platter was fun - who doesn't like flames on the table? Also delicious was the kung pow beef. You have a choice of white or brown rice and the brown rice is tender. The only lackluster dish was the Mongolian beef. All the meets and vegetables are a high quality.
If you're looking for a Chinese restaurant that will help you remember why people used to go out to eat (good food, great service and a little pampering), please stop by the Panda Palace.
http://www.pandapalacehb.com/
Located at Peter's Landing
16400 Pacific Coast Highway, suite 112
Huntington Beach, CA 92649
Restaurant Hours:
Sunday -Thursday: 11am to 10:00pm
Friday & Saturday: 11am to 10:30pm
That knocks out about 99 percent of the Chinese food in Southern California.
Panda Palace is a pretty restaurant, booths, tables, and a banquet room with the giant lazy susan tables. There is also a full bar and a patio. The service is old fashioned Chinese restaurant - something missing form a lot of upscale restaurants. Cloth tablecloths and napkins, appetizer plates, putting the napkins on your lap, and the waitress or waiter serving your plate for you all remind me of when going out for Chinese food was a special event.
The food is cooked to order. It comes out of the kitchen a little slowly - not so slow you are feeling forgotten - just more of a leisurely pace.
I loved the orange chicken. No breading - just a quick stir-fry and the dried orange peels. It's pungent and tasty. The pu pu platter was fun - who doesn't like flames on the table? Also delicious was the kung pow beef. You have a choice of white or brown rice and the brown rice is tender. The only lackluster dish was the Mongolian beef. All the meets and vegetables are a high quality.
If you're looking for a Chinese restaurant that will help you remember why people used to go out to eat (good food, great service and a little pampering), please stop by the Panda Palace.
http://www.pandapalacehb.com/
Located at Peter's Landing
16400 Pacific Coast Highway, suite 112
Huntington Beach, CA 92649
Restaurant Hours:
Sunday -Thursday: 11am to 10:00pm
Friday & Saturday: 11am to 10:30pm
Znow's, I Want to Love You, Really I Do!
Znow's Ice Cream - 16479 Bolsa Chica Rd., 92649 / 840-1203
I've visited a couple times. The first time was to try ice cream with alcohol content. Creamy delicious with a kick - sounded like a dream come true. You do have to be 21 to buy these flavors - margarita, merlot, Bailey's and others. And the cost is a dollar more than the regular flavors.
So I ate and ate and never got the inkling there was tequila in my ice cream. It tasted much like the Baskin Robbins all age’s variety.
The next visit, I tried coconut. I used to work at this place that made coconut ice cream and I miss it. It was made with coconut milk and was creamy - not bits of coconut, just lovely flavor. Znow's tasted like coconut, just sort of waxy.
On my last trip, I decided to try the mango. It's called Chili Mango because they top the ice cream with what I'm now sure is ground lucas candy. It's an acquired taste, and I don't care for it - like salty, sweet, chili powder. So I asked for a quart to bring home with the chili on the side. So she packed it and I asked for the powder. She looks at me and says she made it wrong - she accidentally put it in and there wasn't enough mango to make another quart. I should have chosen another flavor, but it already took the kids 10 minutes to decide on the mango so we brought it home. The flavor of the powder is overpowering - you can't taste the mango at all.
The price of the ice cream is high - for that price, I want to be wowed. I expect to like it more than Haagen Daas. I paid about $10 for the quart.
The worst part is how the place doesn't seem to know what it wants to be...faux building on the wall and the metal and concrete give the impression of appealing to teens and young adults, the cheap Chuck E Cheese toys spread all over the counters and cabinets yell, bring the kids!
I won't be getting ice cream here anymore. I tried to love you Znow's, I really tried.
I'm waiting for Yogurtland to open. In the meanwhile, Pinkberry, 31 Flavors, and Thrifty ice cream from RiteAid (I know it's not great, but it's a childhood fave and cheap) will have to fill my hand packed ice cream cravings.
I've visited a couple times. The first time was to try ice cream with alcohol content. Creamy delicious with a kick - sounded like a dream come true. You do have to be 21 to buy these flavors - margarita, merlot, Bailey's and others. And the cost is a dollar more than the regular flavors.
So I ate and ate and never got the inkling there was tequila in my ice cream. It tasted much like the Baskin Robbins all age’s variety.
The next visit, I tried coconut. I used to work at this place that made coconut ice cream and I miss it. It was made with coconut milk and was creamy - not bits of coconut, just lovely flavor. Znow's tasted like coconut, just sort of waxy.
On my last trip, I decided to try the mango. It's called Chili Mango because they top the ice cream with what I'm now sure is ground lucas candy. It's an acquired taste, and I don't care for it - like salty, sweet, chili powder. So I asked for a quart to bring home with the chili on the side. So she packed it and I asked for the powder. She looks at me and says she made it wrong - she accidentally put it in and there wasn't enough mango to make another quart. I should have chosen another flavor, but it already took the kids 10 minutes to decide on the mango so we brought it home. The flavor of the powder is overpowering - you can't taste the mango at all.
The price of the ice cream is high - for that price, I want to be wowed. I expect to like it more than Haagen Daas. I paid about $10 for the quart.
The worst part is how the place doesn't seem to know what it wants to be...faux building on the wall and the metal and concrete give the impression of appealing to teens and young adults, the cheap Chuck E Cheese toys spread all over the counters and cabinets yell, bring the kids!
I won't be getting ice cream here anymore. I tried to love you Znow's, I really tried.
I'm waiting for Yogurtland to open. In the meanwhile, Pinkberry, 31 Flavors, and Thrifty ice cream from RiteAid (I know it's not great, but it's a childhood fave and cheap) will have to fill my hand packed ice cream cravings.
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