Johnny Rebs-Long Beach

Johnny Rebs
4663 Long Beach Blvd
Long Beach
562-423-7327

I know I've been to Johnny Rebs in Orange before but I wanted to try the new and improved Johnny Rebs in Long Beach. This location burned down and was rebuilt and opened earlier this year.

I ordered the full rack of St. Louis pork ribs, $18.99. I was surprised not to taste any smoke flavor. I was also amazed at the lack of meat on these ribs. St Louis ribs are spare ribs and most spare ribs have a lot of meat. The ribs were also tough and chewy. I found the mac and cheese to be mushy and not made with enough cheese. The Long Beach location isn't as good as the Orange location.

Service was below average. When I walked in, I told the guy my name but when my table was ready, he got the wrong name. Idiot. Then I had to wait at least five minutes before being greeted by a server. All the while, the family who got seated after me, got seated and their drinks before me. Terrible.

Honda Ya-Tustin

Honda Ya-Tustin
556 El Camino Real
Tustin
714-832-0081

Honda Ya is a Yakitori style, Japanese restaurant. My understanding is that Yakitori means small plates.

Edamanme, $2.95. They were warm and had a little sprinkle of salt on top. Pretty fresh.

Crunchy roll, $5.00. A nice sized piece of shrimp, that was very crunchy. The rice and other ingredients were very fresh and tasty. I thought it was so good, I ordered the crunchy hand roll!!! This was as good as the cut roll. Though the cut roll was $8.

The best dish was the ginger pork, $5.50. What wonderful flavor. So good. The pork was stir fried and mixed with green onions and bean sprouts. Oh sooo good.

My least favorite was the crab shu mai, $5.95. This was very mushy and flavorless. There was more fillers, than crab. I would stay away from this dish.

I did enjoy the tankatsu, $5.95, deep fried pork cutlet. This was a good sized piece and well worth the price. It had a very nice crispy outside and inside the pork was tender and flavorful.

Service was pretty good, though at times you had to ask twice for something.

I would go back to Honda Ya anytime.

Duke's Malibu

Duke's
21150 Pacific Coast Hwy
Malibu
310-317-0777

Duke's is right on PCH in Malibu. I find Duke's to be overpriced, average food.

I ordered the Ahi tuna, $26.95, grilled in a cajun type spices. The ahi wasn't fresh, kinda of mushy. For that price, it should be so fresh, it was swimming in the ocean that morning. They cooked it rare but the cajun seasons were pretty bland. I wasn't impressed at all.

The rice was cold. Hello, rice is NOT suppose to be cold.

Service was average. The server was nothing bad but also nothing special.

I would not go back to Duke's again. Yes, it's a great view. Yes, it's in Malibu but you can get average food for much cheaper prices at the Reel Inn. Don't waste you time or money.

Korea House-Closed

Korea House
18751 Colima Rd
Rowland Heights
626-965-2007

This Korean BBQ house opened up in August. This space has been empty for a long time, over 15 years. Glad to see a business finally going in there.

I got the Dinner "D" $19.95 for all you can eat. The D dinner includes things like shrimp, octpus, beef tongue and special choice steak, along with the regular Korean BBQ things like bogolgi, marinate beef.

Again my reviews of Korean BBQ places will just include pictures of the raw meat. Everybody cooks their meats differently.

The first picture has the special choice steak. These were a sirloin cut and pretty tender. But they lack flavor because the meat wasn't marinated in anything and didn't have any seasonings. I would put a ton of pepper and maybe soy sauce to add flavor.

The second picture is the bogolgi, marinated beef. This was among the most flavorful bogolgi I've had. But I thought the meat was a bit fatty and tough.

The jumbo shrimp was tender and flavorful and tasty. They gave you a good portion dish though of course you can order more if you want to.

The boneless pork ribs is the last pictured item. These cooked up really well and full of flavor. They were pretty lean and tender.

Service was good. We weren't lacking for anything and the changed the grill regularly.

There are 15 different meats for the Dinner D and while I only tried four of them, all except the bogolgi were very good. I think the quality of food and the among of food is well worth the price. I would save the steak for last, the next time I go.

Walt's Wharf

Walt's Wharf
201 Main St
Seal Beach
562-598-4433

I've been by Walt's Wharf and always wanted to try it but never made the journey into the restaurant. So finally I went and I was wondering, why I took so long to go there.

I ordered the orange roughy with papaya and red chile salsa, scalloped potatoes and asparagas, $28.95. The orange roughy was nice and flakly and cooked just right. I didn't care too much for the salsa, if I got this dish again I would ask for no salsa. I loved the scalloped potatoes, they seemed to be homemade and not from a box. A wonderful dish.

Service was good. I wasn't lacking for anything and the server was friendly.

I would go back to Walt's Wharf anytime. Good food and good service.