Benjies

Benjies
1828 N. Tustin Ave
Santa Ana, CA 92705
714-541-6263

Among the many things lacking in the OC is a good New York style deli. It sure as hell isn't the Katella Deli and after my trip to Benjies, I am still searching for a good New York style deli in the OC. Some idiots on Yelp think Benjies is a Kosher deli but it is NOT a kosher deli since it serves cheeseburgers and sandwiches with meat and cheese.

Anyways I ordered the #5 triple decker; corned beef, pastrami, and swiss cheese on rye bread, $11.50 and comes with fries. The sandwich was cut into thirds, piled pretty high and came hot. But the cutting the sandwich into thirds, may make it seem as though the sandwich is big, the sandwich is smaller than other delis I've been to.

But the quality of the meat wasn't that good. Both the corned beef and pastrami was dry and very salty. And I know that both pastrami and corned beef are made from the brisket, which has a lot of fat, it was too fatty for me. The rye bread was standard, nothing special.

The fries were crinkle cut fries of the frozen variety. Again nothing special.

Service was pretty good but our server was gone for a long period of time.

Benjies is better than Katella Deli but that is like saying you're the tallest midget. No reason for me to come back here.

Geisha House- Santa Ana-Closed

Geisha House
2773 North Main Street
Santa Ana, CA 92705
714-564-0350

Geisha House is much like RA Sushi, an upscale Americanize sushi place. Geisha House opened in Santa Ana about a month ago.

I went during a happy special that offered 25% off all food. So I had the Maine Lobster roll, $10, with lobster, creamy spicy sauce and cucumber, and the beef skewers, which is suppose to be filet mignon, $12 menu price.

The Maine Lobster roll was great, very fresh and tasty. They gave you a good size piece of lobster. The rice paper was different but had a nice texture. I would order this roll again. And $10 is a very good price.

The beef skewers were very tender, so it was filet. They ask you how you like the the beef cooked, I asked for and got medium rare. A nice teriyaki sauce added to the flavor of the beef. I would order this again but at $12 it is a bit pricey.

Service is good in the bar area. The tables in the dining room were surprisingly empty. Not sure why they aren't drawing a crowd because the parking lot was packed.

While I did think the Maine Lobster roll was worth the $10 price, I think a lot of the food item are overpriced. The quality of the food is good and generally the portion are good sized, but the prices are just a bit high, especially in this economy. What got me was the price of a bottle of Fiji water, $8, the same bottle you can get for about $2 at the store. So basically the 25% discount I got was spent on the bottled water. Come to think of it, maybe it is the high prices that keep people from coming to Geisha House.

Chicago Pizza-Closed

Chicago Pizza
3332 S Bristol St
Santa Ana
714-557-5950

The last Chicago style pizza place I have tried, Chicago Joe's, was a fake pretender. Chicago Pizza, in Santa Ana follows in Chicago Joe's footsteps.

The pizza served at Chicago Pizza is best described as thick crust pizza. It is not deep dish, Chicago style pizza. I got a medium, that was the largest size they had that day, mushroom and half sausage and half pepperoni, $9.45.

For what it is, the pizza is pretty good. A thick crust, lots of cheese, mushrooms, spicy pepperoni, and good sausage. There wasn't too much sauce on the pizza but the sauce was pretty good, nice seasonings and good balance. Not too sweet, not too spicy.

Service was OK. Nothing special but nothing bad either.

I would not go back to Chicago Pizza. The prices are good, about $10 for a medium pizza with a lot of toppings, but it is not good enough to make a special trip down there. If I was in the area, I may go. But I wouldn't go out of my way for it

Newport Seafood Santa Ana

Newport Seafood Santa Ana
4411 W 1st St
Santa Ana
714-531-5146

This Newport Seafood in Santa Ana is owned by a different owner than the Newport Seafood in Rowland Heights. But they both serve great seafood. I came here with seven people and we ate family style. We all left stuffed.

Hot and sour soup, $8.95. Great for a rainy night like the night I was there. Lots of tofu, green onions, and bamboo shoots. Not too hot or sour. Nice thick brooth. I would order this again.

Lobster, 5lbs at $14 per pound. This was served Newport Special style which is baked or fried, then green onions and spices are added. The lobster is sweet, tender, cooked just right and oh sooo good. This is nice presentation. If you come to Newport Seafood you must order the lobster.

Kung Pao Chicken, $7.95. This location is known for their Kung Pao Chicken. This is pretty good with lots of breaded chicken, which are tender and flavorful. Pretty mild in terms of spiciness but a pretty good dish.

Combination sizzling plate, $13.95. This was an interesting dish. Filled with squid, shrimp, chicken, beef, and liver with assorted veggies. It does come sizzling and fresh to your table. I passed on the liver but the shrimp, chicken and beef were very good. I didn't like the gravy too much. If I ordered this again, I think I would order just the shrimp or just chicken.

Scallop Peking style, $10.95. This was my second favorite dish, next to the lobster. Their Peking style is basically "orange chicken" The outside had a very nice orange flavor, not spicy but flavorful. The scallops were huge, fresh and wonderful. A great dish and I think a steal at $10.95.

The service is very good. There were about 4-5 other large groups but we were never lacking for anything. The servers kept changing our plates, a good thing since lots of lobster shells were piling up. Water was always refilled. And the food came out quickly.

I like both locations of Newport Seafood. I would go back to either location anytime.

Update Dec 27, 2008.






I went back to Newport Seafood and got the following:

House Special Fried Rice, $7.95. This wasn't any good. The first thing I noticed was the rice wasn't hot at all. The Chinese sausage was very dry, the calamari was rubbery, the shrimp was a bit tough. I would just stay with the steamed rice.

Beef Loc Lac, $11.95 This is a dish that I see everybody ordering so I wanted to see what this is all about. This is a very good dish, lots of black pepper and a gravy over tender pieces of beef. This is suppose to come with lime and the lime juice does add a nice tangy flavor to the beef. A good dish. Maybe a bit overpriced at $11.95 but still good.

House Special Fish, $24.95. This is a very good dish. My favorite. This is striped bass, fried, then you pour the sauce over it. The sauce is a bit spicey but nothing overwhelming. The fish is nice and flakey in the inside and crispy, even with the sauce, on the outside.

Service wasn't bad that time around. I went on a Friday night and it was packed with families of eight or more. Our party of two got seated quickly but the service was spotty at best. Water wasn't refilled, they took awhile to take our order, the first guy who took our order after two items, was replaced by another guy. Why? I asked for an itemized receipt and didn't get it.

But what pissed me off the most was that the table of eight to ten people next to us, was served their food, two dishes, before we were. Even though we put in our order and was seated first. What was really bad was the damn fried rice not being hot. The other dishes were hot but the fried rice was cold.

I still will go back but when it's not so crowded.

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.

Morton's

Morton's
1641 W. Sunflower Ave.
Santa Ana, CA 92704
714-444-4834

Why would somebody go to Morton's and not order a steak? You maybe asking that. But I found that Morton's has a very good happy hour special. Mon-Fri from 9:30pm to 11pm they have a nice happy hour special. $5 prime cheeseburgers, $5 petite filet mignon sandwiches and $2.75 colossal shrimp.

I got the $5 sliders and six colossal shrimp, $16.50. The prime cheeseburgers with lettuce, tomato and purple onions, are among the best burgers I've had. They were decent sized for sliders but the meat was juicy, tender and full of flavor. A great burger and a steal at $5.

I love the colossal shrimp. They were so huge, I couldn't believe it. They were so fresh, they must have been in the ocean two hours before. Something I've learned about seafood, if you can smell it, it's not good. You couldn't smell anything on this shrimp. What a treat. I didn't like the very mild cocktail sauce. But oh well, what can you do?

Service is pretty good. I won't complain that I ordered the mini cheeseburgers ten minutes before the happy hour prices and they couldn't give me the price. But that's really my fault.

I would go back to Morton's for the happy hour. I don't think I would go to Morton's for steak. Why? I just don't feel any steakhouse is worth the price. I can go to a butcher get a prime cut of steak and put it on the grill myself for about 25% of the price. Why do I need to go to a steakhouse and pay the extra money? But Morton's happy hour is among the best deals around.

South Coast Winery Restaurant-Closed

South Coast Winery Restaurant
3608 S Bristol St
Santa Ana
714-957-1857

South Coast Winery of Temecula, opened up a restaurant and wine tasting room in Santa Ana, not far from the South Coast Plaza. The wine tasting is $10 for five pours. The servers give you more than a "taste", two tastes almost equal a glass. I love their sparking wines. Not dry but a nice refreshing taste.

As for the food, it's pretty good but pricey. I got the northern halibut. The halibut was a little overcooked, making it on the dry side. Some fish, like halibut are easy to overcook. But the halibut was fresh and putting on some of the salsa helped with the dryness. Was it worth the $30? Hell no. There were some small pieces of vegetables but nothing to write home about.

As an appetizer we ordered the cheese plate for $10. They had four kinds of cheese. Munster was the best and then they had three very bitter cheeses, blue cheese, Asiago and one other. Some people may like those sharp, bitter cheeses, but not me.

Service was very good. We had a party of 10 and we were served quickly and they were attentive. But then again there may have been four other people eating in the restaurant at the time.

I would not go back to South Coast Winery for the food. It's very expensive and the food isn't worth it. The food is average at best. I could get a better halibut at a better price at most other seafood restaurants.

The wines are great at South Coast. But the food leaves a lot to be desired.

Ruth’s Place-Closed

Ruth’s Place
1236 Civic Center Dr.
Santa Ana, CA 92703
714-953-9454

Near the Santa Ana Civic Center is Ruth's Place. Billed as a soul food restaurant more than a BBQ restaurant so taking that into consideration I still wanted to try the ribs. The ribs with two sides, I got double mac and cheese, were $9.64.

First the mac and cheese. Not good at all. Really it's macaroni and small pieces of cheese mixed in. The macaroni was tender but with very little cheese it was dry barely edible pasta.

The ribs weren't much better. The ribs were very thin with a small amount of meat. What's worse it that the ribs were dry and just plain terrible. The tomato based sauce, did add some flavor but nothing could hide the dry, bad tasting ribs. The ribs are not smoked. So for you BBQ purists this isn't a place you want to try.

The cornbread was actually good. A very nice crunch on the outside and moist inside.

Service is good and while there are two tables inside it's mostly a take out place. I wouldn't go to Ruth's again. If you're in the neighborhood, go to Burrell's. It's much better.

El Gallo Giro-Santa Ana

El Gallo Giro
1442 S. Bristol
Santa Ana
714-549-2011

I don't go to many Mexican restaurants. But when I want Mexican, I almost always go to El Gallo Giro in Santa Ana. They have good quality food at good prices. But the service can be and is slow most of the time.

I ordered a carnitas burrito and asada torta for $10.11.

The burrito has rice, beans, cilnatro, and of course the carnitas. The day I went and took the picture, the amount of meat wasn't as much as the couple times before. The meat was pouring out before tonight the meat was about a quarter of what they usually put on. But the carnitas is awesome, very tender and cooked to perfection. They put a little too much cilantro for my tastes.

The asada torta was very good, with fresh avocado, cheese, tomato, lettuce, beans and mayo. The fresh avocado really enhances this torta. It was great. The meat is usually good but again tonight the asada was tough and overcooked or it was in the warmer for too long.

At the Santa Ana location, there is one line for to order the torta and another line to order tacos, burritos etc. That can be confusing and most of the workers there speak little English, which can add further to the confusion. But most people there are friendly enough to help you. The great thing about the Santa Ana location is they are open 24 hours!!!

I do like going to El Gallo Giro but it wasn't up to it's usual standards tonight. I would go back but I want to go to their new location in Long Beach, on Long Beach Blvd and PCH.

Burrell's Bar-B-Que Pit-Closed

Burrell's Bar-B-Que Pit
305 N Hesperian St
Santa Ana, CA 92703-3751
714-547-7441

Burrell's is in a residential neighborhood. They have picnic tables in the back yard. Pictured is a small order of pork spares ribs with mac and cheese and cornbread for $8.08.

The ribs are just OK. They seem to more like rib tips than regular ribs. Many of the ribs were burnt and that doesn't make for good BBQ. The ribs that were actually ribs were ok. Decent smoke flavor and tender. The BBQ is decent, not that sweet or hot.

The mac and cheese is very good. One of the best mac and chesse I've ever had.

Good service and prices are about the same as other BBQ places.