Sasoon Chicken-Closed

Sasoon Chicken
3440 E Chapman Ave
Orange
714-516-9600

Sasoon Chicken was right behind Pacific Coast Hot Dogs, so I put that on my to go list. So I went back and I was fairly impressed with the food.

I ordered a shish kabob and a shish tavouk kabob, which is chicken, $11.99. The shish kebob was small pieces of beef, fairly tender and flavorful. They spices here aren't that tangy, more mild. Which I like.

The shish tavouk, was tender pieces of chicken, mostly white meat. They were also flavorful but not tangy. I enjoyed the chicken and would order it again.

What I didn't like was the rice. They just cooked a new batch and it was watery. Not good. The hummus, which is ground chick peas and tahini, which is seasame seed paste, was very nice and mild. Not that tangy flavor I get from most Middle Eastern places.

Service was pretty good. Sasoon is the type of restaurant you order and pick up at the counter. But I waited a long time for the food to be ready. The reason was they needed to cook another batch of rice. Which is fine, but no need to rush. Make the food right. I would much rather wait a few minutes longer for good food, than have some half cooked, watery rice.

I would go back to Sasoon Chicken. I like the mild seasonings to their meats but I would stick with the chicken kabobs.

Outlaw 's BBQ and Chili-Closed

Outlaw 's BBQ and Chili
500 N Harbor Blvd
Fullerton
714-446-9369

Decided to try out Outlaw's BBQ since it opened in Fullerton.

Ordered the St. Louis ribs, $11.99 with their dirty rice. The ribs were not smoked. Not a good sign. They had a lot of fat and grizzle. Not a good sign. They were overcooked. Not a good sign. The BBQ sauce does have a nice spiciness and is pretty good. But the ribs are not good at all. They did have a good amount of meat but it was covered in fat.

I read a Yelp review and I had to laugh at the owner having a mullet and having dying his hair jet black. He look strange but he was friendly. I didn't care for his food but it was ok service.

I would not go to Outlaw again. I talked to the owner about their BBQ beef sandwich. Of course it's not smoked and the worst thing is they don't even use a certain cut of meat. Not the brisket, not tri tip etc. They buy some bulk beef and then start pretending it's BBQ and their beef jerky. The worst thing is the beef jerky is suppose to be the filet mignon cut. While I've never had it, Yelpers were not impressed with it.

Joey's Smokin BBQ- Tustin-Closed

Joey's Smokin BBQ
2933 El Camino Real
Tustin, CA 92782
714-544-4106

I know I said I wouldn't go back to a Joey's Smokin BBQ after having their terrible ribs at their Manhattan Beach location. But I decided why not give them another chance. After all, they could improve. So I decided to try their Tustin location. Big mistake.

I ordered the half rack of dry rub baby back ribs, $12.99, buffalo wings, $5.99, and a pulled pork sandwich, $6.99.

The ribs were among the worst I've ever had. No smoked flavor, very dry, with lots of fat and grizzle. Not even sauce could save this terrible rack of ribs. If there is no pink in ribs, they are NOT smoked!!!! Ribs should not be boiled then cooked in an oven. Ribs should not be cooked with liquid smoke. Ribs should not be baby backs either!!!

The pulled pork sandwich was very dry, also had lots of fat and the bun was soggy for some reason. No reason to be soggy since there wasn't much BBQ sauce. A terrible example of what pulled pork should be.

The Manhattan Beach location had great buffalo wings. But the Tustin location had among the worst wings I've ever had. Look how small those wings are. No meat at all. The Manhattan Beach location the wings were huge and had a ton of meat.

Service was TERRIBLE. I got there a bit early, so I ordered a drink and the girl taking my order was rude, unfriendly and just a bitch. I paid for my drink in cash but didn't get a discount, even though they were running a pay cash and get a 7% discount. Now the discount isn't that big of a deal. But when she gave me my change she never said Thank You or even bothered to look at me.

I placed my food order with who I think is the manager and he was a moron too. I asked for a to go box for 3-4 ribs and the macaroni salad. He gives me a box that would fit a hot dog. Now he's either stupid or blind. But I wanted a box for both. But maybe it's a good thing after all the bad food, the mac salad might have made me sick.

Also the restaurant was hot as hell. I saw the tempurature setting on the air conditioner and it was set at 82. They need to drop the tempurature in that restaurant.

I will NEVER go back to any Joey's Smokin BBQ again. Terrible food, terrible service and the prices are a bit high.

Zena's Lebanese Restaurant

Zena's
2094 N Tustin St
Ste C2
Orange
714-279-9511

Zenas is an expensive Lebanese restaurant. I noticed Zenas when I had lunch with a friend at the Subway next door. I should have walked in and looked at their menu.

I ordered the three skewer combo, $25.95, this had a chicken breast, kafta-ground beef, and beef skewer. All three skewers were good size and The chicken breast was very tangy and a bit on the dry side. I didn't care for this too much. the kafta skewer was overcooked on the outside and a bit dry on the inside but the quality of the ground beef was good. The beef skewer had three huge pieces of top sirloin. These were my favorite, very tender, cooked to about medium, and full of flavor. Among the best beef kebobs I've had.

The salad picture was given to me by the owner/server, either because he felt his service was slow, it was, or somebody canceled that salad. The salad was very tangy, too tangy for my taste, I only took a few bites. This is a theme at Zenas because the hummus was also too tangy for my tastes.

Service was below average. After I was seated, I could hear the server/owner talking to another guy a few tables from me. I turned and he was sitting at another table, as if there were no other customers. So it took at least five minutes before I could place my order. I didn't think it took any longer for my order to come but the server didn't come around often. He was too busy doing whatever. It took awhile for my drinks to get refilled, from them to clear the table, and get a box to go. There were maybe six other people in the dining room and a few more outside on the patio. So it wasn't busy by any means.

I would not go back to Zenas because the food isn't worth the very high prices. I will say the beef skewers are among the best I've had but $21? I could get a top sirloin steak for that price.

Hida'Way Restaurant-Closed

Hida'Way Restaurant
2117 N Orange Olive Rd
Orange
714-998-8756

While visiting a friend, who lives in the area, we passed by Hida' Way Restaurant. It looks like any neighborhood greasyspoon but I was attracted by their BROASTED Chicken sign!!! So I decide to drop in when I was in the area.

So I ordered two breast, $5.37. The owner told me it will take about eight minutes. I'm not in a hurry so I said no problem. I decide to eat there so I wait and talk with the owner about the restaurant. First on Yelp, you will find the restaurant listed as Hide Away Restaurant. It's been around for fourty years but now most of the business is take out.

The breasts finally arrive and I'm ready to dig in. I slice the breast and both of them are NOT done, yet. I would say they were about 90% done. So I told the owner, he quickly said he'll cook up two more. About 3-4 minutes later, he came out with the original pieces that he finished cooking. I checked to make sure they were done and they were. I found them to be OK, not like other broasted chicken I've had before.

I got the other two pieces and they were crispy and juicy, just like other broasted chicken I've had before. If you have a choice between broasted and regular fried chicken, get the broasted. The chicken is more crispy and juicy than regular fried chicken.

Service was good. The owner was very nice. Yes, I was put off by the first batch of chicken not being fully cooked. But I understand and he did make up for it.

I would go back to Hida'Way for the broasted chicken. They do have other things like broasted fish, shrimp, burgers and ribs. I may get a combo the next time I go.

Chicago Ribs-Closed

Chicago Ribs
9901 Yorktown Ave
Huntington Beach
714-963-7427

I was really looking forward to going to Chicago Ribs. But when I got there, I found that this was really a Chicago For Ribs, that was brought out by a different owner, but it was still Chicago for Ribs.

I got the half rack of baby back ribs, $16.99 and the chicken breast and fried shrimp, $17.99. The ribs are cooked in an oven, covered in BBQ sauce and served up. They are OK but nothing great. I got double mac and cheese and the mac and cheese tasted like it came out of a box. Hell I can do that at home.

The chicken breast as thin and a bit dry. The BBQ sauce was the same sweet sauce that covered the ribs. The shrimp was good size and had a nice crunchy. But they weren't hot when they came out. Otherwise I don't really have many complaints.

Service was below average. It was a fairly small place but the server took away to refill drinks, take my order, come out with the cornbread and was generally slow. Maybe he was watching the World Series? Or just goofing offf. But he wasn't around a lot.

I would not go back to Chicago Ribs again. Wasting money on below average food isn't my idea of dining out.

Pacific Coast Hot Dogs

Pacific Coast Hotdogs
3438 E Chapman Ave
Orange
714-744-1415

There is a Pacific Coast Hotdogs in Huntington Beach, that I passed by a ton of times, though I've never stopped in. So when I found out that there is Pacific Coast Hotdog in Orange, I decided to finally give them a try.

I ordered the hot dog, $2.50 and the sauerkraut dog, $2.95. The hot dog comes with mustard, ketchup, relish and onions. Well no self respecting hot dog fan would eat a hot dog with ketchup on it. So I asked for no ketchup and no relish. This was an amazing hot dog. A great snap and wonderful flavor to this steamed hot dog. The bun was steamed and the onions were fresh. Well worth the price.

The sauerkraut dog also had that great snap and flavor. There was too much sauerkraut for my liking, so I took about 60% of it off. But the sauerkraut was nice and warm and fresh.

Service was very good. There was only one person working but he was working his tail off. There was a bit of a wait but not because he wasn't trying to get orders out. The amazing thing was he would wash his hands after handling money. So after each customer, he would wash his hands.

I would go back to Pacific Coast Hotdogs anytime. I may finally go try their Huntington Beach location.

Update Oct 31.




I went back to Pacific Coast Hot Dogs to try their chili dogs and fries. The chili dog, $2.75, came with mustard, onions and chili. It was the same hot dog, great snap and flavor but the chili was so bland, thin, and runny. It was so flavorless. I would stay away from the chili.

The fries, $1.86, was crispy and really good. A real treat. What a McDonald's fries hopes to be when they grow up.

I do like Pacific Coast Hot Dogs and would go back, but I would not order the chili. A simple hot dog with mustard and onions is the way to go. Also, I forgot to mention, the Orange location is cash only.

Carmen Rocha

The LA Times wrote a story about Carmen Rocha, who is credited with bringing nachos to Los Angeles. She passed away October 9, 2008.

Reading the story about her, I was very touched about how she handled the news about her son's death. Her son was killed while serving in the Army during the Vietnam War. She went to back work at El Cholo restaurant, the next day.

What is very troubling and just downright wrong is that it took her family 20 years to have her son's name spelled correctly on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington DC. I don't give a damn how much it costs, the man, Robert Salas Rocha, gave his life defending this country. He wasn't a gutless, draft dodging loser. He served his country and he made the ultimate sacrifice for this country. He deserves to have his name spelled correctly. And it should NOT take 20 years to have the name spelled correctly.

Ce Fiore-Closed

Ce Fiore
20700 Avalon Blvd #B32
Carson
310-538-8769

So after having a burger at Five Guys, I decided to get dessert at Ce Fiore, Italian Frozne Yogurt. I got the raspberry-pomegranate yogurt with mixed nuts as the topping, a child's size for, $3.95, The yogurt had a nice tart flavor, nothing too tart, just right. It was nice and freshing after the burger and on a hot day.

I couldn't believe this was a child's size portion. It was huge. Worth the price? Well this was a much better value than the burger but I still think it's crazy to pay $4 for frozen yogurt.

Service was good. The line moved along quickly and the people behind the counter were friendly.

I would go back to Fiore, but I prefer those self serve yogurt places like Yogurtland. Hell give me a double-scoop of Thirty's Ice Cream.

Five Guys Famous Burgers

Five Guys Famous Burgers
20700 Avalon Blvd
Carson, CA 90746
310- 515-7700

This is a Maryland based chain that is trying to make Californians forget about In N Out. Five Guys uses fresh, never frozen meat, just like In N Out. Their store decor is red and white tile. Just like In N Out.

I ordered the cheeseburger, $4.99. A cheeseburger is a double meat and cheese burger. You get to pick your toppings, all free, so I got a basic burger, mayo, ketchup, lettuce and tomato. The first time I noticed was the lettuce was white. I prefer green lettuce and get that almost all the time, when I get a regular double-double. Oh well it was fresh but white lettuce to me just doesn't look good. The beef was a good quality beef. As good as the beef In N Out uses. The burgers are bigger than In N Out, but I don't think they are worth the $2 extra price. So I think Five Guys isn't worth the price for what you get. A good burger but nothing outstanding.

I did not order any fries because $10 for a burger, fries and drink isn't something I wanted to pay for at a fast food place. I know people say their fries are so much better than In N Out but I don't go to a burger place for their fries. I did like the fact they offered Cherry Coke. I love Cherry Coke almost as much as I hated New Coke. Sorry for this random comment but I over heard somebody say "That's a new Coke machine." and I was reminded of that terrible tasting New Coke. I almost never came back to Coke, even when they produced Coke Classic. But Coke Classic is still the best cola around.

The biggest difference I noticed is that Five Guys offers bacon burgers and the following toppings, mushrooms, A-1 steaksauce, BBQ sauce and hot sauce.

Service is good and they served up the burger pretty quickly. I did find it weird that dining in, they still wrap up the burger in foil and it's placed in a paper bag.

I would go back to Five Guys if I was in the area. But it wouldn't be my top three choices. Again a good burger but not worth the price.

Bouchees Bistro-Closed

Bouchees Bistro
515 Long Beach Blvd.
Long Beach
562-951-8222

Gourmet burgers!!! I'm a pretty simple guy. Give me a good burger that's fresh and tastes good. I don't need a lot of fancy stuff. But Bouchees Bistro does gourmet burgers well. You can tip your own toppings or you can get a predesigned burger.

The first picture if the ahi tuna burger, $10, lemon caper aioli, lettuce and tomato. The ahi tuna is grounded and cooked rare. It was OK but not as fresh as I hoped. The topping were fresh and tasty. I had high hopes for this burger but wasn't impressed.



So I got their happy hour trio. From 4-7 they have a happy hour mini trio, for $9.



The first one is the american beef burger with cheddar cheese : angus sirloin beef, lettuce, tomato, pickles, onions, ketchup. This was very good and fresh. I thought the meat was among the most flavorful and moist, I've had. This isn't your McDonald's angus burgers.



The second was the turkey and shiitake mushroom : tenderloin, roma tomato, red onion, peppercorn dijonnaise. I thought this was a bit salty. But overall I liked it. It had a nice spiciness and the turkey was flavorful. I think next time I will say no mushroom.



The third mini burger was the ahi tuna and avocado burger: ground ahi, sliced avocado, baby lettuce leaves, tomato, spicy chili garlic sauce. Again the ahi wasn't as fresh as I would have hoped. This was more spicy than the ahi burger I had, due to the chili garlic sauce. But a decent burger.



My favorite burger is the applewood bacon, chipotle cheeseburger: sirloin beef, $11, pepperjack cheese, caramelized onion, smoked jalapeno sauce. Next time I go, I will get the regular sized burger. This had an amazing combination of flavors that just worked well. The smoked spiciness of the jalapeno with the smoked bacon and pepperjack cheese. Just wonderful!!!

Service was very good. I wasn't lacking for anything. Though when I called to make reservations I talked to somebody who is very confused. How can somebody who grew up on the Southside of Chicago be a fan of the NSLL? Southside is SOXSIDE!!!!!!!!!!

I would go back to Bouchees Bistro anytime.

Update November 4th.




I went back to Bouchees and had the full sized applewood bacon cheeseburger, $11. As with the mini version this was great. A great burger. Juicy and flavorful. I was a bit worried that maybe with a bigger piece of meat it would be a bit dry. But cooked perfectly. What a treat.

Another treat was the mac and cheese. Ok I'm not a fan of mac and cheese made with anything other than regular macaroni. But Bouchees used shell pasta but the cheese was so creamy and flavorful, that it didn't mattter. What a treat. Maybe a bit pricey for the amount you get.

I would go back to Bouchees anytime. The place to go for a gourmet burger in Long Beach.

Porky's BBQ- Long Beach-Closed

Porky's BBQ Muggies Chicken
937 Redondo Ave
Long Beach
562-434-9999

I've been to Porky's in Long Beach, for their BBQ. But I found out that they now serve fried chicken!!! So I just had to go back and see how good their fried chicken is. The fried chicken is called Muggies Chicken and it's very good.

I got the two breast meal, $4.29 with mac and cheese as my side. The chicken was so tender and juicy and wonderful. The two breasts weren't that big but then again they don't have silicon for chicken breasts. But they were a wonderful treat. Maybe the best fried chicken in Long Beach.

Service was good. But remember this is basically a take out only. They have a couple tables outside.

I would go back to Porky's for the fried chicken.

Update November 9, 2008

I went back to Porky's for their fried chicken. I got there about 9:40pm and they were 20 minutes away from closing. I placed an order for the two piece breast with biscuit. They young woman behind the counter, made the chicken fresh to order. She told me it was going to be about 15 minutes. I said no problems.

Now I saw a lot of chicken under the heat lamp. She could have easily taken the chicken from there but instead took the time and effort to freshly fry the chicken, even though she was about to close.

During my wait, she even gave me a sample of the pulled pork, not bad.

What great service and the chicken was great!!!!

Update March 14, 2010.

I tried to go back to Porky's BBQ for some fried chicken. I walked up to the window and the lady was talking on the phone. She then said "I'll help you at that window." So I walked over to the other window and waited and waited and waited. I must have waited for about five minutes. She was too busy talking and I walked away and told her keep talking on the phone.

What a bitch!!! What terrible service!!! Even though I loved the fried chicken, I will never go back to Porky's again. Just terrible service!!!!!!

Lashers-Closed

Lashers
3441 E Broadway
Long Beach
562-433-0153

I went to Lashers for happy hour. I've read many things about Lashers and wanted to give them a try. But there are pricey restaurant that gets so so reviews on the food. So I decided to try their happy hour food and see how it is.

I had the crab cakes, $5. A very good price for crab cakes. But these crab cakes had a lot of filler and not much crab. The little crab they had was dungeoness crab but was bland. At the table next to me, somebody said they bite into a piece of shell, in their crabcake. I didn't have that experience but that's clearly isn't a good thing.

Service was pretty good.

I like the setting and atmosphere of Lashers but I'm not impressed with their food. Ok it was just a $5 appetizer. But if the $5 appetizer isn't good, will the $40 chicken or steak be good? Why waste my money finding out?

Wildfish

Wildfish
1370 Bison Avenue
Newport Beach
949-720-9925


I went for happy hour and I'm glad I did. I find many new restaurants in South Orange County to be overpriced, average food. But knowing the type of people who live there, they think Cheesecake Factory is fine dining, I'm not surprised.

I ordered the Kung Pao-Style Calamari From the Wok with Fine Cut Vegetables, Ginger, Soy and Roasted Peanuts. $6.75 during happy hour. I thought I was getting calamari. But what I got was a calamari salad. A Chinese-Italian fusion, just like Columbus, who stole spaghetti from the Chinese and combined it with red sauce and pushed it off as Italian.

This was one of the most unique calamari dishes I've ever had. I wasn't sure if I was eating an Asian or Italian dish. The calamari was very chewy and not fresh at all. The veggies were fresh and hot, as it came right from the wok to me. I don't think this dish is worth the full, $13 price but for $6.75 it was fine.

Service at the bar was good. The young lady was very nice and always attentive. I was greeted as I sat down and she quickly got me a drink, then brought me the menu. I have been to many other pretenious bars where the bartender would look right through me. But this young lady was great. She could really teach others about service.

I don't think I would go back to Wildfish. The food is just ok and very pricey. I don't think the quality is worth the price. But service at the bar is top notch.

Thai Nakorn- Stanton

Thai Nakorn- Stanton
11951 Beach Blvd
Stanton
714-799-2031

I heard so many good things about Thai Nakorn but I never made it to their Garden Grove location. But when it closed down, I figured I would just miss out. But then I heard they opened a new location in Stanton. So I made it a point to try it.

I ordered my standard, chicken satay, $8.45. This was just OK. I thought the chicken was rubbery and wasn't that flavorful. Not worth the $8.45 price.

Then I had the shrimp with pepper and garlic, $8.75. This isn't want I expected. The garlic just overpowered the flavor. The shrimp was a bit small but overcooked.

Then my usual, spicy shrimp soup, $15.95. This is the most expensive spicy shrimp soup I've had. There was a lot of good size shrimp and they were soft and tender. But they put too much lemon grass in there. It was just too sour. Expensive and lacking taste, not a good combination.

Service was pretty good. Though they didn't always explain what was in each dish, due to the language barrier.

I wasn't impressed with Thai Nakorn. I heard a lot of hype but give me Ocha any day over this place.

Buffalo Wild Wings

Buffalo Wild Wings
3160 Chino Ave
Chino Hills
909-591-9035

Buffalo Wild Wing is a chain from the mid west that is now trying to break into the LA area market. I believe Chino Hills is their first restaurant in the area.

I know, I know, what is a pulled pork sandwich doing on The New Diner. Well I wasn't going to get any ribs with my wings so I decided to get a sandwich, so I got the pulled pork sandwich, $8.49, and ten wings, $5.00 The pulled pork sandwich was very good. I was shocked. Nice tender pieces of pork, mixed with a light BBQ sauce, made this a great sandwich. I thought the sandwich was a bit small but that's my only complaint.

But with a name like Buffalo Wild Wing, I had to try the wings. The wings were on special the night I went, 50 cents per wing and you had to order in groups of five. The wings were among the worst I've ever had. They were not crispy or meaty. They were bland, flavorless and just plain nasty. Your local Chili's has better wings!!!!

Service was below average. Our server who must be all of 17, was slow, didn't explain the special well, never refilled drinks, forgot things, like asking what we wanted to drink, what side order with the pulled pork sandwich.

I would not go back to Buffalo Wild Wing again. I found most of their menu to be overpriced.