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.

Que N for Kids

Que N for Kids is BBQ competition and fundraiser. Admission is $10. Food tickets are 5 for $10, each ticket gets you 3oz samples of BBQ, for ribs, you get one rib. You can pick your favorite BBQ by turning in the People's Choice ticket to your favorite BBQ team. I will write the review of each team below their picture.

The money raised from this competition, goes to Kristie's Kids, a non profit organization that provides assistance, support and cherished moments to critically ill children and their families. You really have to be an asshole, not to support this cause.

I bought $20 worth of tickets and a very nice lady gave me an extra ticket because she couldn't eat anymore BBQ!!! This is a great way to try some great BBQ. For other meats like pulled pork and brisket you get a 3oz sample but nobody is really weighing the damn meat and I saw some people get a huge amount of meat. But if you figure 5, 3oz servings at $10, it is a great deal. And you get all meat!!! Ok it is $20 if you include your admission but it is going to a good cause.

I will review each BBQ team's ribs and ribs only. The general feeling is that in California, the judges like sweet ribs. So I kept that in mind when I did my reviews, since I am not a sweet ribs fan. The ribs need to have some spice to it.
Also you'll notice that for REAL BBQ, there is very little if any sauce. Real BBQ ribs, if done correctly do NOT need sauce. Sauce covers up the lack of smoke flavor.




Rib Tickler: Not that impressed with these ribs. The ribs were a bit dry and lack much of a smoke flavor. There wasn't much fat in the ribs but otherwise I wouldn't buy ribs from Rib Tickler.




Here's the Rub: Not that impressed with these ribs either. Their "secret" is using a root beer rub. It was sweet, too sweet for my tastes. A bit dry and lacked much smoke flavor. Not impressed.




Notley Que. A very good rib. Well smoked, not lacking in smoke flavor or overpowered by smoke. Good rub, very tender, no fat, just a great example of a rib.




Slap Yo Daddy BBQ: These ribs were competition ribs. Competition ribs are ribs that are turned into the judges. BBQ teams use better quality spices and rubs for their competition ribs. So I am using a higher standard when reviewing these ribs.

These ribs were great. No fat, very well smoked, a nice rub with a bit of a kick, and just wonderful example of ribs. Not surprisingly these ribs finished #1 among the judges.




All Hogs Go to Heaven: I was a bit surprised at these ribs. They looked pretty good and I was expecting them to be good. But sadly these were very average. A slight hint of smoke flavor, a bit dry and tough, some fat and lacking a bark.




7 Kinds of Smoke: A very, very good rib. Well smoked with hickory and pecan, a nice combination, if you do it right and 7 Kinds of Smoke does it right. They will soon open a BBQ restaurant in Commerce. Look for a review when they open.




Smokin Yankeees: These ribs must have been finished on a grill, because they were hot to the touch. Real BBQ ribs are not hot to the touch. They were dry and a bit flavorless. Not impressed.




BLQUE: Another dry rib. They were tough, not tender and pretty fatty. A slight smoke flavor, I think hickory but otherwise not an impressive rib.




Papa Smokehouse BBQ- They have a huge display and spend a lot of money on their stand. They need to work on their ribs. Very fatty, a bit tough, and lacking smoke flavor. I wasn't impressed at all.




Road Whore's BBQ- Interesting name for a BBQ team. The ribs here had a decent smoke flavor, a bit fatty, and dry. I wasn't too impressed with these ribs.


The above photo is courtesy of Soul Fusion Kitchen!!!!



All Sauced Up BBQ: I forgot to take a picture of his stand. But with the help of Soul Fusion Kitchen there is a picture of All Sauced Up BBQ's Stand.

These ribs were very dry but as you can see from the picture, I got the last few pieces of ribs. But the ribs had a good smoke flavor, I think they used a combination of hickory and apple woods. I would need to try a fresh batch of ribs to make a fair judgement. He should not combine the ribs in the same warming tray as the brisket.

Carm's Coneys-Closed

Carm's Coneys
488 E 17th St
Costa Mesa
949-515-7888

Sadly, this location of Carm's Coneys has closed. They are trying to open locations in Orange and Irvine. Hopefully it will happen soon.

I've known about Carm's Coneys since October, 07 but I haven't been there mostly since I don't go to Costa Mesa much. But I was finally in the area and decided to have a couple hot dogs at Carm's.

I got The City Dog, $4.50, a coney, $3.95, and the 1/3 Pounder, $4.65. The hot dogs are grilled to order so expect a wait. This isn't like those nasty Dodger Dogs that are kept in a warmer.

I loved The City Dog. Again no snap but this was a Sabrett hot dog. If you're from New York you know all about Sabrett. This was an great hot dog, though it did lack a snap. The hot dog was well spiced and flavorful. The City Dog comes with that special red onion sauce that makes getting a hot dog in NY a great experience. The sauce is best described as a tangy, thin, tomatoey sauce with onions. The buns are slightly grilled and very fresh.

The Coney was very different. I've never had a white hot dog before. The Coney is made with all white veal and very mild. Not a spicy dog and there is not snap. But a good hot dog but different. I liked it but not enough to order this again.

The 1/4 pounder was an all beef dog that was ok. I put yellow mustard and raw onions and the dog was OK but nothing overwhelming. Again no snap and little flavor or spice.

Service was GREAT. I know I have a very high standard for service. I know I've called high school aged kids punks because they have no clue about customer service. But this was very different. I had two younger kids help me. A young girl who looked to be a high school kid and a guy who looked a little older, maybe a senior in HS. Both were GREAT.

The guy took my order first. He greeted me promptly and was very nice. I ordered the Coney and the City Dog and he answered my questions. I then went to get refills and the young girl was very helpful and friendly. After eating the two hot dogs, I ordered the 1/4 pounder from the young girl. She was again friendly.

I liked Carm's Coneys. I know the prices are a bit high but they have a happy hour, Mon-Thur, half priced hot dogs, wings and sausage from 2pm to 4:30pm. OK not the best times but I'm going to try and make a happy hour and try their wings and sausage. But overall good quality hot dogs and good service. So look for an update very soon!!!

Update August 10, 2008






So I made it back to Carm's Coneys for their happy hour. I had the small order of buffalo wings, $3.50, a Frank, $2, and a Polish Sausage, $3. They were all half priced during happy hour, Mon-Thr 2pm-4:30pm. The buffalo wings were huge, not small wings you get at other wing places. The wings were fried and had a mild sauce on them. They were good and I would have ordered them even at full price.

The Frank is a Hoffman's beef frank. Again it lack a casing and thus no snap. But a good solid overall hot dog.

The Polish Sausage was very good. A huge piece of kielbasa that was pretty spicy. But they overcooked this. If this was cooked right, it was have been great. But charred outside is not what a polish sausage should be.

Service was great again. I placed the order with the same young girl from Saturday. She was nice and friendly again. I ordered the wings, City Dog, and the Polish sausage at first but then she said they had run out of wings and the owner was bringing them down to the store. I didn't mind the wait, I wasn't in a hurry and was told it was no problem. I ordered a beer, Blue Moon, with the wings and the manager told me she was buy me another beer. I said no problem, I understand things happen. When I went to pay she took off $2 for the beer. I wasn't expecting it but I thought it was good customer service.

Chronic Cantina-Costa Mesa-Closed

Chronic Cantina
1870 Harbor Blvd,
Costa Mesa
949-646-BAR.

Want to go to a restaurant that has average food and music blasting, go to Chronic Cantina in Costa Mesa.

Chronic Cantina turns into a club after 9pm on Saturdays. It's very loud and dark in there and it makes it hard to enjoy your food. I would describe Chronic Cantina as a El Torito. Nothing special about it.

I ordered the carne asada chimichanga burrito, $7.99. The burrito has carne asada, rice, beans, cheese, onions, and lettuce. The carne asada wasn't the most flavorful, lean or flavorful. There were plenty of pieces with fat and grissle. Not good. I've had leaner more flavorful carne asada at hole in the water Mexican places for less or the same price. I did enjoy the nice flakey flour tortilla. That was the best part of the chimichanga.

Service was OK. The server was nice and attentive. But she didn't come by often to refill drinks and she never asked how the food was.

I would not go back to Chronic Cantina again. I don't need to drive to Costa Mesa to get average Mexican food. Plus I don't need to have music blasting in my ears while I'm eating dinner.

Wing Nuts

Wing Nuts
3030 Harbor Blvd
Costa Mesa
714-434-7700

Wings Nuts claims to liberate taste buds one wing at a time. Pictured is the Signature Wing Trios, Soutwest style with Tequlia Lime, Chipotle BBQ and Chile Garlic flavors, 4 wings of each flavor. The Trios come with regular or blue cheese coleslaw and propeller chips for $10.55.

The Tequila Lime has a nice tangy flavor. The Chile Garlic was my favorite. It had a nice kick at the end. The Chipolte BBQ is OK but not more spicy than mild. The wings are huge, much bigger than Wing Stop.

Wings come in 30 different flavors and come in 12, 20, 50, and 100 pieces. But when you order the 12 piece you only get ONE flavor, which is a stupid idea. The trios are a good idea.

Service was TERRIBLE. I placed a to go order. The hostess was very nice. She greeted me quickly, handed me a menu, and told me to place my order at the bar. The bartender was a female dog. RUDE, had a big ATTITUDE and just very unfriendly. When my order was ready she said "Here you go." No Thank you. No enjoy. She also forgot NAPKINS. Though I did get two wet naps.

The wings are good at Wing Nuts and maybe service would be better if I sat down and ate or if somebody else besides that female dog bartender was helping.

Wings Nut will open in Ontario sometime this summer. I may try it if I'm in the area. But I'm not happy with the idea you can only have one flavor when ordering 12 wings.

The Beach Pit BBQ

The Beach Pit BBQ
1676 Tustin Ave.
Costa Mesa, CA
949-645-7487

The Beach Pitt BBQ is owned by the son of former Baltimore Orioles and California Angels Doug DeCinces. (The Angels were called the California Angels when DeCinces played for them thus the name)

But just as Doug DeCinces could never replace Brooks Robinson, Tim DeCinces should NOT own a BBQ restaurant and try to pass if off as real BBQ.

I walked into the Beach Pitt and went inside to the counter. The man behind the counter asked "For here or to go?" I said "I'll eat here" He replied to take a seat anywhere outside and he'll take my order.

So I go outside find a table and sit and wait. And wait and wait. I must have waited 15 minutes before he came out to take my order. What the hell he was doing, I have no idea. NOBODY was in the restuarant.

Well he finally comes and I order the big portion of the ribs for $11.95 with sauce on the side and a double order of cole slaw. What is really stupid about the pricing is that the "bigger portion" is $13.95 and you only get one more rib. While the cost per rib is about 50 cents cheaper when you get the "bigger portion" it's still not my idea of a good value.

I wait about five minutes and the order comes out with the sauce on top of the ribs. I told him, I ordered sauce on the side. He takes it back and I get a new order of ribs with sauce on the side. If he would have bought back the ribs with the sauce wiped off, I would have walked out. That has happened at other BBQ restaurants before. But he didn't so I start in on the ribs. Big mistake.

The ribs were way too tender, like they were over cooked. I wish this myth of falling off the bone tender, would stop. When ribs are fall off the bone, it's too done. They didn't have any real smoke flavor and they were same of the smallest ribs I've ever had. The sauce is good. A nice flavor that would enhance a good piece of ribs. Too bad the Beach Pitt doesn't make a good piece of rib.

I would not go back to the Beach Pitt. The service is terrible. Nobody is there and I wait 10-15 minutes for somebody to take my order??? What the hell? Prices are a little high and the ribs are terrible. Not a good combination.