Finbars Italian Kitchen

Finbars Italian Kitchen
620 Pacific Coast Hwy
Seal Beach
562-430-4303

This location of Finbars used to be a Chinese Buffet, that closed down about five years ago. I went to Finbars about two years ago for their happy hour and thought the food was pretty good. So today, I was in the area and dropped by Finbars, to try their happy hour again.

Monday-Friday, Finbars offers a $5 happy hour menu- that includes, pizza, calamari, some pastas, and shrimp- in the bar area.



I got the coconut shrimp, $5, which was pretty good. The batter was filled with coconut, was pretty crunchy, and, while a bit thick, it was good. The shrimp was fairly good sized and sweet. This is a steal, six good sized shrimp for $5. It was served hot, I'm guessing they were sitting under heat lamps, until somebody ordered them.



Another steal is the calamari. A ton of calamari, again, not served hot, sitting under heat lamps, was good. Nice batter, not salty, crispy. The calamari was fresh. It wasn't rubbery and chewy.

The marinara sauce was mild, not spicy or tangy.

Service, at the bar, was very good. The bartender was nice and friendly.

I would go back to Finbars for their happy hour. I have not tried any of their Italian dishes but may give it a try.

The Catch-Closed

The Catch 2100 E. Katella Ave. Anaheim 714-935-0101 What used to be an Anaheim Stadium tradition has returned! The Catch, used to be across State College Blvd, from Anaheim Stadium. With Anaheim whoring itself to the Mouse, the city torn down the old location, in order to build condos. The new location for the catch is the street level of a condo complex, that is now renting, because of the housing market crash. I wanted to try The Catch's happy hour, before thinking of going back for dinner. They have $6 specials for happy hour, including calamari. So I got the calamari. The calamari was a tale of two batches, in one plate. One side was nice fresh calamari, fried in a light batter, that was cripsy and wonderful. The other side had the same crispy batter but the calamari was just a mushy mess!!! Not impressed but for $6, it wasn't that big of a deal. Service was interesting. The first server, was a nice, friendly server who was very attentive. For some reason the server was sent home, maybe because it was slow, at the time but got busy by the time I left. The second server was below average. She didn't come around that often and the worst, she asked if I needed change!!! She didn't even look inside that thing they put the bill in. Very rude. What was also rude was the hostess or somebody. I was meeting about ten other people and found the perfect spot for us, a corner area by the bar. I sat down and all of a sudden this bitch with glasses, comes and places a reserved sign at the other end of the table. She never looked at me, never said anything to me, until I ask what was going on. She said we are reserving that for 3-4 people. I said what about my group. What a stupid bitch. I would never go back to this crappy place again. The service is terrible, the food is terrible, the entire experience was terrible. I don't see this new edition of The Catch lasting too long.

Rain Forest Cafe- Costa Mesa-Closed

Rain Forest Cafe
3333 Bristol St Ste 1073
Costa Mesa
714-424-9200

I always thought the Rain Forest Cafe was a neat concept, design a restaurant with a rain forest theme. I love seeing the smiles on kids faces when they see the Rain Forest Cafe. Those moments are priceless!!! I always wonder what the food was like at Rain Forest Cafe. About a year ago I went to the Rain Forest Cafe and got the appetizers sampler, which had chicken tenders, egg rolls, spinach dip, and cheese sticks. Nothing outstanding but then again nothing bad.

Today I was with the pretentious jerk people of South Orange County, at the South Coast Plaza. I had some time so I went back to the Rain Forest Cafe. I sat at the bar where they had some happy hour specials. I got the wings, $4.99, and the shrimp bites, $3.99.

The wings were kinda of small and weren't too crispy but they were so moist and tender inside. Different than most wings I've had. Worth the price but nothing outstanding.

The shrimp were great!!! Ok they were small but wow, what a great crunch. Whatever batter they use on these shrimp, it was great. The shrimp inside themselves were fine.

What wasn't fine was the service. Ok I went at an off time but still service was terrible. I barely saw the bartender at all. He never bothered to ask how the food was. He never asked if I needed a refill. He was barely behind the bar at all.

What really bothered me was that he just left my credit card out on the bar, where anybody could have taken it. Before I went to the restroom, I gave the bartender a credit card to pay the bill. When I came back my credit card was out in plain sight for anybody to take. There was a couple about two seats down and they could have taken it too. And don't give me this BS that it is pretentious OC, anybody can commit a crime.

I would not go back to Rain Forest Cafe, at least the Costa Mesa location. Terrible service can ruin anybody's experience at a restaurant.

Yankee Doodles- Long Beach-Closed

Yankee Doodles- Long Beach
4100 E Ocean Blvd
Long Beach
562-439-9777

I've been to the Yankee Doodles in Santa Monica. So when I found out there was Yankee Doodles in Long Beach, I was expecting basically the samething. But I was in for a big surprise.

I got the combo platter, $10.50, with wings, chicken strips, and popcorn chicken. I got one chicken strip, that was cut up it up into four pieces. Give me a break. This chicken strip was about as good those frozen chicken strips you get at the market. Not impressed.

Another item that wasn't impressive was the popcorn chicken. Most were warm, as if they were sitting under heat lamps. There wasn't much chicken at all. Yes, there were a lot of popcorn chicken but most were just filled with air. Not impressive.

The only thing that was impressive was the wings. They were hot, spicy, and good size. They had a lot of meat on them. The sauce was very good and spicy. Four wings made up for the sorry popcorn chicken and chicken strips.

Service was good. There was only one bartender there and she was working pretty hard.

I'll be honest, this is a dive. A dump. I was shocked to see a sports bar in this time period, that isn't full of flat screen HD TV's. Most of the TV's there were the old models. The seats were ripped, carpets dirty, just a dive.

I am not sure if they the Yankee Doodles in Long Beach and Santa Monica are part of the same chain or if they are owned by different owners. But whatever the case, if I lived in Long Beach, I would drive up to Santa Monica location than go back to the Long Beach location again.

Charley Brown's-Closed

Charley Brown's
909 San Gabriel Blvd
Rosemead
626-288-6001

Charley Brown's used to be very popular in the 70's and 80's. But now this location in Rosemead maybe the only one left. Charley Brown's was Black Angus before Black Angus came to LA.

I came here for appetizers at the bar. I got the calamari, $7.95, and the chicken tender, $7.49, during happy hour. Happy hour runs Mon-Fri, from 4-7pm. Charley Brown's happy hour isn't that great. They do have a buffet with some veggies and some tacos. But their happy hour menu is seven items from their happy hour menu discounted to $7.49.

The calamari was OK. Nothing great. They were pretty crispy but too chewy, as if they weren't fresh. What was weird is that there were some machine made rings and pieces that looked like octapus. It doesn't bother me but I know it may bother other people. I would not order this again. The tartar sauce was awesome. A great tangy flavor and just awesome. I wish I could bottle their tartar sauce.

The chicken tenders were so small and dry, I thought this was McNuggets. There is nothing great about this appetizer. Why the would even serve this is beyond me.

Service was very good. There was only one server working but she was working her butt off. I wasn't lacking for anything.

If their appetizers are any indication of the quality of their food, I would not go back to Charley Brown again. They were good back in the 80's but judging by their appetizers, it's no wonder why most of their locations have closed.

3 Thirty 3-Closed

3 Thirty 3
333 Bayside Dr
Newport Beach
949-673-8464

3 Thirty 3 has a great view of the water and overpriced appetizers. If you can put up with the pretenious, jerkoff people of Newport Beach, this is a nice place to enjoy a drink after work.

I got the Thai calamari, $13. The calamari is flash fried and is drowned with Thai spices, like they do with Buffalo wings. It's not that spicy but it is different than regular calamari. Most of the calamari was crispy and fresh, not rubbery. But there is just something off about it. Maybe Thai spices don't work with fried calamari. I'm not sure exactly what it is but something just doesn't work. Another thing that doesn't work is the $13 price tag. Yes, it is a good sized portion but come on, an appetizer of calamari for $13? Overpriced.

Service here is pretty good. I came here for a happy hour and the female bartender was very nice and helpful. But the cocktail waitresses can be rude and stuck up. I heard one of them tell somebody, not me, to get the hell out of the way.

I would not go back to 3 Thirty 3 for appetizers again. I think the food is average and overpriced. The view is great but hell, I could fire up a BBQ on the beach and have a great meal.

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.

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.

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-Closed

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.

Parker's Lighthouse

Parker's Lighthouse
435 Shoreline Village Dr
Long Beach
562-432-6500

I went to Parker's Lighthouse for their Tuesday Happy Hour Special. $7 Martinis and Panini's. I got the shrimp and fontina and chicken pesto paninis. The shrimp panini was left under the heating lamp too long. The bread was too hard and crusty, the shrimp was way overcooked. I should have sent it back but I was pretty hungry.
There was a good amount of bay shrimp and the fontina cheese was very tasty with a nutty flavor.

The chicken pesto was better. A large piece of chicken breast with pesto, tomatoes and I believe swiss cheese. A very good panini, that wasn't left under the heating lamp. The bread was nice and toasted, not burnt.

Service was below average. I ordered from the bar and while the bartender got my drinks quickly, the food service sucked. Yes, there was a large party of about 40 people. But get more servers and bartenders. When I got my chicken panini, there wasn't a big crowd but about three hours later, when I ordered the shrimp and fontina panini, it was crowded and the bartender just forgot to get the panini until I reminded him. The staff was nice and pleasant, even with a near full house. But they need to be quicker and/or hire more servers.

I don't think I would go to Parker's for dinner. I looked at the menu and prices were high. The $7 panini is a good deal, so I may go back for again for the panini.

McCormick and Schmick's- LA-Closed

McCormick and Schmick's- LA
633 W 5th St
Los Angeles
213-629-1929

I've been to the McCormick and Schmick's in Pasadena, but I figured I would try the happy hour at their downtown LA location.

McCormick and Schmick's is known for their great happy hour food prices. A $1.95 cheeseburger with fries!!! Where else can you get that. I decide to get an order of buffalo wings, also for $1.95. You need to order at least $2.75 in drinks to get these happy hour food deals. Have a couple drinks, $5 and up, and you're covered. The burger is cooked medium well and is good but a bit dry. There is just lettuce, tomatoes, and onions on the burger. They could put mayo or ketchup to make it a little more moist but overall a good quality burger. But the burger was warm, not hot.

The buffalo wings were great. There were a lot of meat on those wings. But the skin wasn't crispy, it seemed as though they baked instead of fried. But the sauce was very spicy, among the spiciest, I've had. I got about six wing for that $1.95 price and what a steal.

Service was good, much better than the service in Pasadena. The server was friendly and the food came out quickly.

McCormick and Schmick's is a great value for happy hour. I enjoy them. I liked the downtown LA location because there were real people, not the arrogant jerk you might expect. Or maybe I was there on a good day. I would go back to McCormick and Schmick's for happy hour anytime. I've seen their dinner menu and I think their prices are high and I've heard the food isn't worth the price. So I may do a dinner review but don't expect one soon.

Yardhouse Long Beach

Yardhouse
401 Shoreline Village Dr
Long Beach
562-628-0455

Any place that has between 100-250 beers on tap is going to be my kind of place. Yardhouse is a chain restaurant that serves good food, has a ton of draft beers, and is almost always packed with people.

I have been to the Yardhouse in Costa Mesa, Irvine, Brea, Pasadena, and Long Beach. I'm reviewing their Long Beach location.

I went for their happy hour. Selected appetizers are half priced Mon-Fri from 4-6pm and then again from 10pm-midnight.

I got the blue crab cakes, $5.47, and the seared ahi sashimi, $6.32. The crab cakes came with a mango and papaya chutney, passion fruit beurre blanc and tomato oil. It would have been better with tartar sauce and more crab!! Two decent sized crabcakes came out but when I but into them, I could see it was going to be mostly fillers, breadcrumbs etc. But the little amount of crab was pretty good, I loved the crispy outside. But I thought all this other stuff was out of place. There are many foods that are perfect because they are simple. Crab cakes are one of them. Just give me some damn tartar sauce for my crab cakes. Mango and papaya chutney just do not go with the crab cakes. At $5.47 the crab cakes are a good deal. The full price, $10.95, if served in the same portions would be a bit expensive.

The seared ahi sashimi were blacked with a soy vinaigrette. This was pretty good. The ahi was very fresh, tender, and tasty. I really liked this. I thought it was a better quality ahi than the Daily Grill, and the portions were bigger.

I was at the bar and the service is good. But the Yardhouse is one of the most anal places for checking ID. I've seen men and women in their 50's being asked for ID. I understand it's a big issue but come on there are people, including me, who are and look much older than 21.

I've gone back to Yardhouse all the time. I like the food, though the prices are a bit high. I have not notice much difference in service and food quality at any of the locations I've been to.

Kendall's Brasserie

Kendall's Brasserie
135 N Grand Avenue
Los Angeles
213-972-7322

Kendall's Brasserie is a part of the Patina restaurant group. That sentence, should give you enough information about how overprice and average their food is.

One reason Kendall's gets such a good crowd is that after performances there isn't another place to eat or get a drink. So they have you trapped and they take advantage of it.

The first time I went to Kendall's Brasserie, was after a performance at the Music Center. But I didn't bring a camera so I couldn't do a review. But I went back to Kendall's and it happened to be a special event for locals. A way to network and brag about who makes more money or owns a better car.

The menu for both dinner and late night supper is very limited. Not many entrees and what's on the menu is so overpriced. The two times I went to Kendall's I've ordered the shrimp cocktail, $16. Six medium sized shrimp arrive and I'm not impressed. The shrimp aren't fresh, not even chilled. They were tough and chewy because they had been overcooked. The cocktail sauce is basically ketchup, they don't even put any horseradish in there. For $16 I expect a lot more. It got huge shrimp that were fresh and tasty for $2.50 each at Morton's.

Service was good both times I went. The first time we sat down and ate. The next time I was in the bar area. I have no complaints about the service at Kendall's unlike that Pinot Grill, where I had some of the worst service ever.

Both times I've gone to Kendall's it was filled with pretenious, arrogant, jerk people. I seriously wanted to just go to Kendall's take a picture of the shrimp cocktail and then leave. But I couldn't stand being around pretenious, arrogant, jerk people any longer, so I just ordered the shrimp cocktail and within 15 minutes or so, I was out of there.

I realize judging a restaurant based on appetizers isn't ideal but if the appetizers aren't good and/or overpriced, why would I want to go back for an entree?

I would not go back to Kendall's again. Overpriced, average food and being around pretenious, arrogant, jerk people isn't my idea of a good meal. I only went back this time to take pictures so I can write a review.

Steelhead Brewing Company-Closed

Steelhead Brewing Company
4175 Campus Dr.
Irvine
949-856-2227

Steelhead Brewing Company is located across the street from Cal State Irvine. Much like JT Schmidt's is a Brewery with very average food.

I got the Grilled Ahi Sandwich, $12.95. The white stuff you see on the ahi is a spciy lemon aioli. The ahi is cooked medium and placed on a wheat bun. The ahi was overcooked, closer to medium well to well done. They dumped so much aioli on the ahi, it was impossible for the ahi to be dry. But the ahi was pretty bland and flavorless. The aoili wasn't spicy was certainly had lots of mayo. The bun and veggies were fresh. They gave you a good sized piece of thick ahi and that's the only saving thing about this sandwich.

The service was good. I went during happy hour and sat in the bar area. The server was friendly and attentive.

I would not go back to Steelhead again. While the portions are big, the food is bland and average.

Daily Grill-Closed

Daily Grill
1 World Trade Ctr
Long Beach
562-753-2170

Daily Grill is a chain that many people describe as over priced, average food. That maybe true of their dinner menu, but I went to their happy hour and I found the food to be good and the prices were great. I went to the Irivine location about four years ago and had their happy hour food. So I decided to review the Daily Grill in Long Beach. Happy Hour at this location ran from 4pm-7pm, Mon-Fri.

Chicken pot pie, $3.95. At first glance this seems huge. But really it's deceiving. The crust is nice and flakey but it's so big and huge it makes you think the chicken pot pie is huge. It's good sized, especially for $3.95. There were nice tender pieces of chicken, mostly white meat, carrots, onions, peas and mushrooms. It was a bit runny for me but overall it was good. A good deal at $3.95.

Calamari, $2,95, had a great crunch but the calamari was a bit chewy and not fresh. The tartar sauce had a spicy taste to it. I would not order the calamari again.

Popcorn shrimp, $2.95. This was a steal. Tempura battered popcorn shrimp served with a Canjun tartar sauce. I would have prefered cocktail sauce. But oh well. The shrimp were good sized for popcorn shrimp and what a great crunch. They were served hot, right out of the fryer. An steal for the quality and quanity, at $2.95.

Seared Ahi Tuna Sashimi, $3.95. This is one of the best ahi tuna sashimi I've ever had. Cooked extra rare, so fresh, and wonderful texture and flavor. The wasbi was also great, very spicy and wonderful.

Service for our large group was good. All my orders were hot and fresh. It was a bit of wait at times but when there are 25 or so people in your group, you expect to that. Our server was hard working and attentive.

I would go back to Daily Grill for their happy hour items. Many of their dinner menu items were pricey, so it owuld have to be a special occasion to go to dinner at the Daily Grill. But I would go back for Happy Hour anytime.

I did find being at the address of the Daily Grill to be unsettling. 1 World Trade Center. Hard to enjoy Happy Hour, when you know what happened to the World Trade Center in New York.