Jack Shrimp-Closed

Jack Shrimp 2400 W Coast Hwy Ste M Newport Beach 949-650-5577 Jack Shrimp-a New Orleans/Cajun style restaurant in Newport Beach, has been on my list of places to try for a long time. I was joined by a very nice woman, who had been to the Jack Shrimp in Irvine that closed down and wanted to see if the Newport Beach location was as good and a man who had never been to Jack Shrimp. Half portion of JACKshrimp, $13. This is what they are known for, shell on gulf shrimp in a savory spicy sauce. They give you a ton of french bread to dip up the left over sauce. There are five shrimp in the half order. I assume the shrimp are from the Gulf of Mexico, but wherever they are from, the shrimp was cooked perfectly, tender, sweet, and delicious. Now the spicy savory sauce. This was pretty good. The sauce starts off nice and clean with a slightly sweet taste, but then the spices hit you. It doesn't overwhelm you, but you know it's there. There is some butter, rosemary, chili powder, paprika, and coriander in this sauce. I liked the sauce, but wasn't in awe of the sauce. I did think the price was a bit high for the amount of shrimp. But, if they are from the Gulf of Mexico, I can understand why it is priced so high. Jammin Jambalaya, $13, andouille sausage, chicken breast, onions and green bell peppers over rice. You have a choice of rice or pasta, but the server never asked. But, I prefer jambalaya with rice, not pasta. This was a good dish, but the portion size is very small and not a good value for the price. The andouille sausage was a bit bland. I like more flavor in my andouille sausage. The chicken breast was well cooked, good flavor and not dry at all. But, there was barely any rice; the rice was long grain rice and well cooked. The bell peppers weren't that fresh, a very very bitter taste to them. Also, the portion size was very small for the $13 price tag. Service was good. The server was nice and friendly. We didn't lack for refills on drinks and our orders came out quickly. But, she did forget to ask if I wanted rice or pasta, with my jambalaya. Not that big of a deal, but something I wanted to point out. I liked Jack Shrimp, but I wasn't overwhelmed by Jack Shrimp. I'm glad I went, but I wouldn't rush back. This is more of a restaurant, that if you're in the area, you would go, but it's not a destination restaurant.

Kitayama-Closed

Kitayama 101 Bayview Pl. Newport Beach 949-725-0777 I think almost all restaurants in the Orange Curtain are very average and overpriced. Most of the idiots living in the Orange Curtain are so arrogant and full of themselves, they have no clue what good food is. Kitayama fits this tot a T!! The sushi here is very average and overpriced. Halibut, $4.50. Not fresh, mushy texture and lacking flavor. Halibut is a solid fish and shouldn't be mushy. If it is, that means the halibut isn't fresh. Bluefin tuna, $7. My first time having bluefin tuna. I did like this. Fresh, full of color and a rich flavor. I may start ordering bluefin tune instead of regular tuna. Yellowtail, $5. My usual sushi, but again not fresh and lacking. Toro, $13. For $13 I would expect a fresh, great tasting toro. But what I got was mushy, I know it is suppose to be the fatty part of the fish, but mushy and no flavor. Rainbow roll, $16. Rainbow roll had salmon, shrimp, tuna, and yellowtail, all with a spicy tuna inside. The shrimp was nice and big and flavorful. Good stuff. The salmon was fresh, maybe the freshest fish I've had here, and flavorful. The spicy tuna seemed average and bland. Not spicy at all. Service at the sushi bar was very good. The chef was very nice and helfpul. The server was attentive and came by often. Kitayama is nothing but the type of place the arrogant jerk people of the OC, go to be seen. This isn't a good sushi restaurant. I've had better sushi at Chinese buffets. There is no reason for me to go back.

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.

Code-Closed

Code
4221 Dolphin Sriker Way
Newport Beach
949-660-0888

If the address of Code looks familiar, that's because this location has been home to about six restaurants in the past 10-12 years. I know this used to be Trophy's and Fury.

I went for a happy hour, got there at 5:30pm and it was empty. Nobody there. It got a bit more crowded by 6pm but it was still shockingly slow.

Their happy hour menu is half off most of their menu items. I got the king crab roll, $6. The roll was very small, pretty fresh, and even at half price not worth it. There were very small amounts of king crab. Even the rolls themselves were bite sized rolls. Everything was fresh but not worth even the $6 price.

Service at the bar was good. The bartender was nice and friendly. Even as it got crowded, the bartender would ask if I needed anything. Very nice young lady. Ok, ok, she is nice to look at but that didn't cloud my judgement of her service.

Code to me is typical of OC, especially south OC restaurants, overpriced, average food. I'll admit the interior looked nice and the bar area is huge but who cares if the food isn't good. No reason for me to go back to Code, unless I want to look at Lisa the bartender again.

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.

Woody's Wharf

Woody's Wharf
2318 Newport Blvd
Newport Beach
949-675-0474

Woody's Wharf has a Sunday Champagne Brunch, where unlimited champagne comes with your meal. The champagne is actually pretty good. I hate dry champagne, the champagne they serve doesn't have that bitter taste. It's not too sweet but very flavorful.

So keeping in mind that champagne is included in the price of your meal, I got the turkey sandwich, $13.95. The sandwich came on a baggette with swiss cheese, lettuce and tomato. The sandwich was stacked high with good but not great turkey. It was fresh but nothing better than a supermarket deli turkey. The baggette was soft and chewy and had a nice texture. The lettuce and tomato were very fresh. Overall a good sandwich. Not worth that $13.95 price, even if that included champagne.

The service was average. When we got there, it wasn't that crowded. But people started coming in and by the time we left there was a 30 minute wait for a table. But even when it wasn't crowded our server wasn't the most attentive, we needed refills of drinks, not champagne, a couple times. They have somebody, I believe the hostess, coming around pouring champagne.

There is decent view. There is some water but the marina, with all the boats prevent it from being a great view. Valet parking only for $3.50. But when I arrived, there wasn't a sign and the punk kid, valet was nowhere to be found. When we walked towards the restaurant, he came up and said valet only. He needs to be more visable. Not hiding.

I would not go back to Woody's. The food is good but nothing overwhelming. But the prices are on the high side and even if you have a couple glasses of champagne, it's not worth the price.

Sugar and Spice

Sugar N Spice
310 Marine Ave.
Newport Beach
949-673-8907

After eating at Ciao, I wanted some ice cream and stopped by Sugar and Spice.

I got a couple scoops of ice cream and topped with nuts, about $3. The ice cream they use is standard stuff. Nothing special.

Service is below average. Spoiled, rich, OC kids who are forced to work and lack any work ethic. I doubt the girl behind the counter said more than ten words to me the entire time.

While walking around Balboa on a hot summer day, having ice cream is a real treat. Sugar and Spice hits the spot but the it's nothing great.

I may go back to try their famous Balboa Ice Cream Bar.

Clayton Shurley's-Closed

Clayton Shurley's
4341 MacArthur Blvd
Newport Beach
949-852-8337

Clayton Shurley's used to be the BBQ supplier for the Anaheim Angels but for whatever reason, the Angels took over their own BBQ. I went to an Angel game in 2001 and I happened to be sitting next to the owner of Clayton Shurley's. She was kind enough to give me a coupon for a free sandwich. The pulled pork sandwich was pretty bad and I haven't been back to Clayton Shurley's until today.

I order the half of rack of pork ribs for $11.84. I believe the ribs are babybacks and they are OK, for yuppie, suburban ribs. There was a good enough amount of meat on the ribs. And since they are baby backs, they are tender. There was a decent smoke flavor but nothing very strong. The ribs were served lukewarm, they need to heat the ribs up because lukewarm ribs aren't the way to go.

The regular BBQ sauce was a lot like KC Masterpiece BBQ sauce. They must use a lot of the same ingredients as KC Masterpiece. The spicy BBQ sauce had a decent kick to it but was pretty underwhelming.

The service was pretty good. The guy was nice enough taking my order and my order was up pretty quickly. I see no reason to go back to Clayton Shurley's for anything on their menu. South Orange Curtain is filled with yuppy ribs places and Clayton Shurley's caters to the demographics of the area.

Red Rock Chili-Fashion Island-Closed

Red Rock Chili
401 Newport Center Dr.
Suite A 106
Newport Beach
949-760-0752

Red Rock Chili is located in the food court at Fashion Island. I have heard so many good things about Cincinnati style chili but I've never had the chance to try Cincinnati chili. I sure as hell ain't going to Cincinnati since the city isn't a vacation paradise and I hate the Reds and the Bengals suck.

So when I heard about Red Rock Chili in Fashion Island, I knew I had to go and try it. Now Cincinnati chili is made with cinamon and it's not as spicy or thick as some other styles of chili. I ordered the chili dog with Cincinnati chili and the Red Rock Spaghetti with Cincinnati chili, cheese and onions. In Cincinnati that's called a three way.

First bite and I knew the Cincinnati Chili isn't for me. Just something about the spices doesn't taste right. Red Rock chili had nice pieces of ground beef in their chili but again I'm not a fan of the Cinncy style chili.

But the hot dog said it's suppose to be grilled, but this hot dog didn't have any grilled marks and was cold!!! Not a good start. They actually cut the hot dog in half and it's basically served open faced. Hot dogs are finger foods!!!

The spaghetti with Cinncy chili and cheese wasn't anything special. The spaghetti was cooked just right. Some places, Italian restarants being a strange offender, overcook their pasta.

The service is ok. The cashier tried to be a comic by asking if I wanted a picture taken with the food, after he saw me take a picture of the food. He got concerned when I told him why I was taking picture of the food. Maybe they should worry about getting the food right instead of being a comic.

While the Cincinnati chili isn't the kind of chili I like, I wouldn't go back to Red Rock. First the prices are high. The chili dog and spaghetti was $13.23. Yeah it's in Fashion Island and they give you a good portion it's still overpriced. Also the hot dog wasn't grilled at all and wasn't even warm.