Kaisen Sushi Bar

Kaisen Sushi Bar
3855 S Bristol St
Santa Ana, CA 92704
714-444-2161

Kaisen Sushi is known for their revolving sushi and their $1.75 daily specials. They have a $1.75 lobster hand roll on Wednesday. Not sure what their other daily specials maybe but they are all $1.75.

They had a jumbo shrimp tempura special for $3.75. This was awesome. Shrimp the size of a damn tree branch, covered with a crunchy tempura coating, served hot!!!! A steal at $3.75. This was up on their daily special chalk board.

I had to try the tuna and yellowtail sushi, $2.25 each. Both of these were fresh, tasty and well worth the price. I could have ordered two orders and this would have been the same size but half the price of Asakasa in Hacienda Heights.

Shrimp tempura hand roll, $2.75. This was so much better than Asakasa. Fresh, the shrimp tempura was decent size and there was actually shrimp inside that tempura. The avocado, imitation crab meat, everything was so fresh.

The lobster hand roll, $1.75 on Wednesday. A great great hand roll, lots of lobster, fresh

Service is good. I was right in front of the sushi chefs, so I didn't get the full revolving sushi experience. But the sushi was served up quick and fresh. The server refilled drinks quickly. But they don't take away the dishes because that's how they add up the bill. Each plate color is a certain price, ranging from 99 cents to $3.75.

I would go back to Kaisen anytime. The shrimp tempura roll was worth the $2.75 but would be a steal at $1.75. The lobster rolls are a steal at the regular $.3.50 but one of the best deals at $1.75. After a bad experience at Asakasa, I'm glad I made the drive to Kaisen. Good, fresh sushi at good prices. I would have never thought that a sushi place next to a Staples would be so good!!!

Update: Dec 4th.




I went back to Kaisen and added a picture of their daily specials.

I decided to get the lobster hand cut roll, $7. It was just as good as the hand roll, filled with lots of lobster and avocado. A good deal at $7.

I went on a Thursday so it was soft shell crab hand rolls for $1.75. I'm not a big fan of a soft shell crab but I figured why not try it. It's only $1.75. What a surprise. The soft shell crab was nice and crunchy and very tasty. There was also sushi rice (duh), imitation crab meat and avocado. All very fresh and good. I finished off three orders.

Service was pretty good but I'm really starting to get mad about servers asking, when they pick up the check, they ask if I need change. No that's not professional. A better way to handle this situation is, "I'll be right back with your change." That serves two purposes. I could be a reminder to the customer, ME, to say keep the change. Of course the other is not to piss off people, who are tipping you.

Akasaka-Hacienda Heights

Akasaka-Hacienda Heights
14926 Clark Ave
Hacienda Heights
626-336-0871

The night before Thanksgiving while people are getting drunk, I'm stuck at home doing nothing. The Hot Stove League is just starting and stupid owners are offering Constant Choke Sabathia, $140 million to choke in the playoffs. Scott Boros is making a fool out of owners who made millions in business by whoring his clients to the highest bidder. I can't wait for baseball season to start. It is suppose to rain but other than a sprinkle here and there no rain at all.

So I decide to try Akasaka in Hacienda Heights. I have been to Akasaka in Walnut, not good. But I heard good things about Akasaka in Hacienda Heights, so I had some high hopes.

Akasaka is set in a residential and industrial area off of 7th St and the 50 freeway. North side of Clark has wharehouses and industrial areas. Southside is houses and apartments. You can't really miss it.

I ordered the yellowtail sushi, $8.80, and the tempura shrimp hand roll, $7.70. The yellowtail sushi was aweful. Mushy, not fresh, no flavor, nothing. It takes a lot of gall to charge $8.80 for that. The portions were bigger than most sushi places but they weren't double the size, though they were double the price.

The tempura shrimp hand roll was also big. But again not fresh, the asparagas were mushy and just bad, the avocado was also bad. The only fresh thing was the rice. The shrimp had more tempura than shrimp but was OK. Not really worth the $7.70 price.

Service was OK. Though I did have to ask for water, three times and the table was very sticky when I sat down, like some kid spilled some soda.

I would not go back to Akasaka again. What a terrible sushi experience.

Bar Louie-Closed

Bar Louie
321 W Katella Ave
Anaheim
714-495-4170

Bar Louie is really popular in Chicago but this chain that has made it's way to Anaheim and The Garden Walk. Since the city of Anaslime, got rid of all those fleabag motels on Katella and Harbor, they want more retail space. So Garden Walk is built. They have a McCormick's and Schmidt, a bowling alley, 23 HR fitness, Bubba Gump's and other chain restaurants.

Bar Louie has a great happy hour special from 4-7pm everyday, $5 martinis, $3 pints and buy one appetizer and get the other one free. On Tuesdays it's even better that specials last for the entire night!!!

So I got the tempura shrimp, $9.99, and my free appetizer was the small order of wings, that are normally, $7.99.

The wings are OK. They were either baked or not fried long enough because they weren't crispy at all. They were fairly meaty but the sauce was so mild. I want hot wings. Not mild wings. Oh well.

The shrimp were crispy and tender. I did like the shrimp but the sauces they had sucked. A buffalo sauce that was actually hotter than the wings sauce, a sweet and sour, a spicy-sweet. All were terrible. I should have asked for just plain cocktail sauce. I thought for the price, $9.99 the portions were a big small. Of course if I got two shrimp orders for the price of one it would be a steal. So I will only come when they have these buy one, get one free specials.

Service was poor. Before going to Bar Louie I did read that service is poor. Well I experienced it. I think it has more to do with staffing than the servers not being well trained or not caring about their job. There was one bartender and two servers. That's all. I would say there were about 40 people and these three servers have to cover everybody? They either need to, schedule more servers or hire more servers. I was waiting forever to get drink orders and refills on water. The food also took longer than it should. I assume the kitchen staff was also short handed.

Parking is actually pretty good in their lot. 2 hours free parking. 3 total hours free parking with validation from any business in The Garden Walk. 4 hours free with validation from the movies. 5 hours free, with validation from the bowling alley.

I thought the food overall was good. I saw sliders that were huge and that's the next thing I'm going to get. My advise is to sit and order at the bar. At least the bartender will see you. So I will go back to Bar Louie again.

Update Dec 9th






I went back to Bar Louie and ordered the crab cake and cheeseburger sliders, $9.99 but with happy hour prices, buy one, get one free.

The cheeseburger sliders were OK. They come with pickles and fried onions but no ketchup or mustard. Weird. So these were a bit dry unless you add ketchup. The meat itself was a bit tough and was pretty bland.

I did like the crabcake sliders. The crabcakes were full of crab, not fillers and fried to a crisp brown. The crab was fresh and flavorful. I am tempted to get a entree portion of crab cakes.

I found the key to getting good service at Bar Louie, sit at the bar. The bartender was nice and helpful. He greeted me as I walked towards the bar and was very friendly. I was only lacking for a refill on lemonade but otherwise he was great.

While the sliders were huge, I think I will only go to Bar Louie during happy hour. The cheeseburger sliders would not be worth the $8.99 price.

La Rocco's Pizzeria-Closed

La Rocco's Pizzeria
101 Main St #112
Huntington Beach
714-374-2555

La Rocco's Pizzeria is a New York style pizza place. As with any NY style pizza, I compare everything to Village Pizzeria. La Rocco's is good, matter of fact damn good. But it doesn't rate as high as Village Pizzeria. It maybe the best NY style pizza place in OC but there really aren't that many NY style pizza places in OC.

I got their special, two slices and a soda, $6. I got a cheese and the Bronx special, pepperoni, meatball, sausage. The first thing I noticed is that the slices are smaller than Village Pizzeria. They reheated the two slices but they were barely luke warm, so they could have kept it in the over a little longer. But the cheee was damn good, good tasting sauce, crip crust but lacking the gooey cheese.

The Bronx special also had the same sauce, crispy crust and lack of gooey cheese but they had plenty of sausage, pepperoni, and meatball.

Since I had a whole pie from Village Pizzeria earlier this week, I only ordered the slices. Ordering a whole pie is always the way to go for a fresh pizza. I have had fresh pizza from La Rocco's before and it was good.

Service was OK. They had three guys, one who must be the owner, screwing around when I walked in. After a couple minutes one of them took my order. I know they want to get the hell out of there but come on. At least pretend you want to be there.

I'm rarely in that area because parking sucks and it's filled with a bunch of surfers. But if I was in the area, I would go back again. You can always eat your pizza and watch all the girls with silicon and botox during the summer.

KC BBQ Company-Closed

KC BBQ Company
10863 Magnolia Blvd
North Hollywood
818-754-0030

Today was a good and bad day. Bad in that I found out the Swinging Door BBQ is now closed. But about two miles away a new BBQ place opened up. I'm sure glad KC BBQ Company is now opened.

KC is the BBQ capitol of the US. They BBQ anything and everything, over hickory.

KC BBQ Company was opened up by a guy who lived in KC and learned to BBQ from some of the best pitmasters around. In KC there is debate about which BBQ restaurant is better, Gates or some other guy. Gates kicks ass, trust me.

Anyways since we're not in KC, but snobby LA, KC BBQ Company has to cater their business to their customers. So that means no spare ribs, only baby backs. The half order of baby backs, $14.06, were sooo good. Now as readers of The New Diner know, I think spare ribs are yuppie, white suburban food. I hate it. But I will eat it. These ribs were so moist, tender and flavorful. TThey had a nice bark and good amount of meat on them. The BBQ sauce was a mild tasting sauce. Not too sweet and not hot. I think just right for the ribs. But I just couldn't help thinking how great spare ribs would be from KC BBQ Company.

Some people may not know the difference between ribs. There are usually three kinds of ribs. Spare ribs and baby back ribs are PORK ribs from a pig. St. Louis ribs are spare ribs, with the top part cut off. Baby back ribs are cut from the top of the rib cage on a pig. They are close to the loin, which is the best cut on a pig. Baby back ribs are more expensive and easier to BBQ.

Spare ribs are taken from the belly side of the ribcage. They are bigger, have more fat, and are tougher than baby backs. But spare ribs in the hands of a great pitmaster, can be BBQ'd to be tender, not fat, and better tasting than baby backs. It takes a skilled pitmaster to make great spare ribs. Anybody can make a good rack of baby back ribs.

Beef ribs are from a cow. Beef ribs are bigger, since cows are bigger than pigs. If done correctly beef ribs are tasty.

There is nothing fancy about KC BBQ Company. The red and white checkered table clothes are clean but fading. They fake log cabin wood planel is always a welcoming site. But really what gives a damn.

Service was poor. When I got there somebody else had just finished ordering, so I walk up to the counter and the guy behind the counter, walks away and cleans off a table. He couldn't wait five minutes, after I order, to clean the table? When he gets back, he talks my order and things are fine. But I don't think it's good customer service when somebody walks away from a paying customer.

Dispite the poor service, I would go back because the ribs were great. I will try the beef ribs because the table next to me ordered some beef ribs and they looked so good.

Update March 14, 2009



WOW what a change. First the KC BBQ Co has been fixed up. New coat of paint, the bar, which is attached to KC BBQ Co is opening tomorrow and has a great selection of beers.

I got the burnt ends sandwich, $8.99. Burnt ends are brisket. When pitmasters smoke brisket, the ends always get burnt. Pitmaster cut off those ends, when the brisket is done, chop them up and serves them.

This was really the first time I've ever had burnt ends and they were great. The ends had a wonderful smoked flavor. Very good stuff. The BBQ sauce did not overpower the flavor, many times the meat is drowned in BBQ sauce and the smoked flavor is ruined. But this is a very good example of burnt ends. Remember KC BBQ means a sweeter sauce, though some places have made a spicer version.

Service was also much better. I walked in and was greeted. I told the guy that I had a group of about 12 people. He saved an entire section of seats for us, even though the group wasn't scheduled to arrive until 30 minutes later.

Vicious Dogs

Amy K, is from Chicago and said the Chicago dog here is very good. Now I'll be honest, I think Yelp is filled with a bunch of liberal assholes, who voted for the wrong candidate for President and wouldn't have a clue if an 18 wheeler ran them over. But even those assholes may find a good restaurant every now and then. Amy K is pretty cool, though her choice of baseball teams leaves a hell of a lot to be desired. Plus being from Chicago she must know her hot dogs.

So I go to Vicious Dogs and I have high expectations. So I ordered just the all beef Vienna dog, $2.99, but I don't like all the crap that comes on a Chicago dog. So I just ask for mustard and onions. The manager says, you can put the condiments on yourself from the table. OK I figured. You can get your hot dog grilled, charbroiled or fried. I asked for grilled but got a light charbroiled. Not off to a good start. Then I go to the condiment table and the onions are in a container and the mustard is regular French's mustard. Nothing fancy, but what the hell?

So I bite into the dog. It's a good sized dog but doesn't have a good snap. Terrible in fact, almost as if there isn't a casing. Or the damn kid burned the casing off. But once you got past the charbroiled, the hot dog was OK, nothing great and certainly not how Amy K described it. The only thing I did like about the hot dog was that it came on a steamed poppy seed bun.

Service was bad. From the first picture you can see the manager sitting outside reading the paper. I thought he was a customer but no, he's the manager. Inside I see a couple surfing the net and hanging out, again, I figure they are customers. So the guy from out front comes in asks what I want, I place an order for the Chicago dog. Then the kid comes up from cyberspace and starts cooking my hot dog.
They are friendly enough but damn at least pretend like you work there.

I would not go back to Vicious Dogs again. I had high hopes but they didn't come close to being met.

The Donut Man

The Donut Man
915 E Route 66
Glendora
626-335-9111

A few years ago I learned the difference between A and The. For example, when somebody say The New Diner is a A blog to read, if you want reviews on a wide range of restaurant. That means there are other blogs out there that also review a wide range of restaurants. But when somebody says The New Diner is THE blog to read. That means The New Diner is the BEST!!! That person would also be speaking the truth. :) Just kidding.

So when somebody calls themselves The Donut Man, their donuts better be damn good. I got a chocolate and an apple filled donut, $2.20 for both. I base every donut shop on their chocolate glazed donut. If it's good I'll go back there. This chocolate donut was among the best I've had. The first thing you notice is the thicker, richer chocolate. VERY impressive. The next thing is the denser donut. These aren't the light fluffy Krispy Kreme kind. These are much more dense. I like this chocolate.

But what Mr. Donut is known for is their fresh fruit filled donuts. Whatever is in season, they will fill into a donut. I have heard that their strawberry filled are awesome!!! But they didn't have any strawberry since they are not in season. So I got the apple filled. The donut was again the dense, heavier kind. But the apple filling was too sweet and tasted as though it belonged in a Hostess apple pie. I wasn't impressed at all.

UPDATE: It has come to my attention that Mr. Donut only does two seasonal fruits, strawberry and peach.

Service is pretty good. I thought both donuts were fresh and that's a good sign since I got the donuts about 11am.

I wouldn't go out of my way for The Donut Man but if I was in the area, I would go back. I didn't think it lived up to it's hype.

One more thing, as I was driving to The Donut Man, I noticed that Bam Bam Bar B Que has now closed. I'm so shocked. Please notice that dripping sarcasm.

Merhaba-Closed

Merhaba Restaurant
2801 W Ball Rd
Anaheim
714-826-8859

Merhaba is really an Erirean restaurant. Erirean broke away from Ethiopia. But the food is very much the same.

I ordered the sambusa, thin, crispy pastry shells stuffed with ground beef, $4.25 and the Kelwa Tseada, $11, mild sauteed chunks of beef tossed with onions, tomato and green peppers in butter, red pepper and assorted spices.

The sambusa came right out of the fryer, very good sign. The pastry shell was very crisy and the ground beef wasn't as spicy as I thought it would be. This was OK but I don't think worth the $4.25.

What was worth the price was the Kelwa Tseada. To me this was better than the dish I had at Tana. This was more flavorful though the beef wasn't as tender. I asked for mild but next time I think I may get the medium spice.

What I really like was the injera, the sourdough flat bread, wasn't as sour as other places.

Service was a bit slow but there was a party of 11 and there were only two people working.

I would go back to Merhaba before I went back to Tana. But both are good options for Ethiopian or Eritean food.

So Kong Dong

So Kong Dong
2716 W Olympic Blvd Ste 104
Los Angeles
213-380-3737

So Kong Dong is known for their tofu. Now I like tofu but I rarely order it. But the Korean style of tofu isn't my style and I decided to try something else.

So I got the beef bulgogy, $12.99. This dish was filled with mushrooms and onions and was so flavorful. Much more flavorful than the Korean BBQ. The beef was OK. There were some fatty pieces and most pieces were fairly tender.

Service was OK. They do not speak much English so it's almost like point and ask. They were slow in being our table the sides, which I never eat, and taking our order. Oh instead of water they give you ice tea though they must use one part tea is 20 parts water, one of the most diluted teas I've ever had.

My issue with Korean food is that it is expensive!!! $12.99 for the bulgogy? Not that good of a value when you consider an all you can eat Korean BBQ place may charge $18.

Overall it was a nice experience to come to So Kong Dong but I don't think I would go back.

Dickey's Barbecue Pit-Closed

Dickey's Barbecue Pit
15435 Jeffrey Rd
Irvine, CA
949-679-0050

Dickey's Barbecue Pit is a Texas BBQ chain. I believe this Irvine location is their first in CA.

Texas BBQ means brisket smoked over mesquite wood. But as readers of The New Diner know I love ribs, so I got the rib plate, $14.99, with double mac and cheese.

They are called sweet pork ribs. They are St. Louis style and pretty flavorful and tender. But I'm not sure if they truly smoke the ribs. There was some smoke taste but nothing great. The BBQ sauce had a nice kick to it though. I also thought the portions were small for the price.

The mac and cheese seemed like it came from a box. I'm betting Velveeta shells and cheese. Why would I go out for something I can make at home?

Service was OK. The girl was kinda of unfriendly and not really that helpful. I asked how many ribs you got with the rib plate. It was like asking how old she was or how much she weighs.

I would not go back to Dickey's again. I think it's overpriced and the ribs are just OK. One thing I've learned is that there isn't good BBQ behind the Orange Curtain.

Centerfield Sports Bar

Centerfield Sports Bar
17296 Beach Blvd
Huntington Beach
714-848-0113

I came to Centerfield Sports Bar to see my BALTIMORE RAVENS get their asses kicked by the NY Giants. But I ate breakfast before the game so my review isn't a reaction to ass kicking my Ravens suffered.

I ordered the Full Court Breakfast, $7.99, three eggs over medium, bacon, hashbrowns, and wheat toast. The eggs were not over medium. They were overweasy. Now I'm not really that picky about my eggs. I do like overeasy but I prefer over medium, and I do know the difference. Over medium doesn't mean a running yolk. But the eggs were fresh and good, not salty at all. The bacon was chewy, which I like and it was big. I hate some size bacon. If their burgers are any good, this bacon would make a great topping. The hashbrowns were ok, but they were not hot, they were barely lukewarm.

I always ask for dry toast. I hate it when they just soak the toast in butter. So I usually keep it dry and make a sandwich out of the eggs and bacon. But either the server got the wrong order, maybe since the eggs were over easy, or she is just bad.

Service was below average. My server did not smile the first few times she saw me. She gave the attitude she didn't want to be there. My order was messed up and some of it was cold.

I would not go back to Centerfield again for the food. But for a sports bar there were some cool people there. Most times at sports bars you get jerk people. But when I walked in, wearing a Ravens shirt, somebody said Good Luck today. I then noticed his Giants cap he had on backwards and the NY logo. So I said Thanks, good luck to you guys too. Even the Traitor fans were cool. Loud but it's a damn game, so what's the big deal?

The Auld Dubliner

The Auld Dubliner
2497 Park Ave
Tustin
714-259-1562

The Auld Dubliner is an Irish pub stuck in the middle of a new development Tustin, called The District. As with all Irish bars, it's filled with drunk idiots, below average bar food, and stupid people pretending to be Irish. Why anybody would want to be known as a drunk, moron, like all Irish are, I have no idea.

I ordered the small order of wings, $7.99. The wings were huge but I think they were baked and the sauce wasn't hot at all. The wings did have a lot of meat but I got too many of the wing part, I want more drummettes. The wings were about the same as Hooter's wings. One thing I did like is that the ranch dressing came in a wide bowl. It made it much easier to dip the wings it.

Service was pretty good. The server was nice and friendly and even though there was a big crowd, she got my food quickly.

I do not like going to Irish bars. Just too many drunk idiots around. You won't see me anywhere close to a Irish bar on St. Patty's day. But The Auld Dubliner is among the worst. The food is below average and just being around a bunch of drunk idiot micks isn't my idea of fun.

Scottie's Smokehouse-Closed

Scottie's Smokehouse
129 E. Collins Ave
Orange
714-997-3844

While driving home from Tulsa Ribs, I saw a sign for Scottie's Smokehouse, so I had to drop in and see if this is a real BBQ place.

I ordered the Meat Combo A, $12.61. The combo included 2oz of brisket, 2 pork ribs, 1 andouille sausage, and two sides, double mac and cheese for me.

As readers of The New Diner knows, I usually only get ribs, but I wanted to get the combo. The piece of brisket you see in the picture was tender, was full of smoke flavor and when topped with their BBQ sauce, which is on the spicy side, was a great treat. But the piece of brisket under it, was tough, chewy and pretty bad.

The andouille was very good, with a nice snap and more on the mild side.

The ribs were damn good, St. Louis style spare ribs. But they confused me at first. They had a wonderful smoke smell but there was no pink at all. I'm not sure if they use liquid smoke or what, but the ribs were tender, flavorful, and had a ton of meat and little fat. A damn find example of what ribs should be like.

After dinner, I got the pulled pork sandwich, $6.20 on wheat bread. The pulled pork was tender and flavorful but again it confused me. Smoke flavor but no bark or pink. Not sure what the story is but either way Scottie's is a damn good BBQ place.

Service was good. There were three workers behind the counter and the guy taking orders was helpful. The owner came in later and was very nice and friendly. There are two tables and a counter that seats about four people. They also have seats outside but the scumbag smokers from the bar next door are smoking up a storm, so it's not comfortable to eat outside.

One thing to keep in mind, Thursday is Bike Night. They usually show up around 7pm. So it could be crowded at that time. But service is good and you will get your meal quickly.

I would go back to Scottie's again. Good food, reasonable prices and good service.

Grecos New York Pizzeria

Grecos Pizza Pizzeria
6400 Hollywood Blvd
Los Angeles
323-464-8212

I stopped by Greco's about a year ago. I remember at the time that the pizza sauce was very tangy and had lots of oregano and the crust was very hard, almost like a cracker. Greco's is a New York style pizza place. I judge every New York style pizza in LA to Village Pizzeria. Greco's couldn't hold Village Pizzeria's (Do a search for their review on The New Diner. I'm too lazy to create a link right now.) rolling pin.

Well I stopped by tonight and nothing has changed. I ordered a slice of pepperoni, $4.55. Now the slice is huge, almost as big as the slices at Village Pizzeria. But again the pizza sauce was very tangy and while they decreased the oregano, it wasn't tasty. The crust was exactly like a cracker, hard and crunchy. There wasn't enough cheese and the pepperoni was pretty bland. Not good for a New York style pizza. This is the type of pizza that kids are served during lunch at school.

Service was OK. The guy working behind the counter was in a hurry to kiss and hug his girlfriend, he didn't bother being behind the counter. When he finally got behind the counter, he was OK, nothing outstanding but nothing bad.

I would not go back to Greco's again. I can't believe it's still in business the pizza is so bad.