The Gastronome

The Gastronome
Cal St. Fullerton

Classes first started at Cal St. Fullerton in 1957. In 1988 they finally got dorms for about 800 students, at the time enrollment was about 20,000. In the early 2000's Fullerton added a second phrase of dorms. Both phrases of dorms did not have a traditional dining hall. Students would have to cook their own meals or buy a meal plan at Hope International University, which is across the street from CSF.

Then in August of 2011, with enrollment well over 30,000, CSF opened a third phrase of dorms that finally included a dining hall!! Called The Gastronome, it's a huge complex that is broken up into five sections; deli/grill, salad bar, dessert bar, fried food bar, meal of the day.

The first college dining hall The New Diner reviewed was, McConnell Bistro at Pitzer College, and I was very impressed with how far "dorm food" has come. But, then I was reminded of how bad dorm food can still be when I went to Los Olivos Dining Commons at Cal Poly Pomona.

Since CSF is part of the same college system as Cal Poly Pomona, I figured I would get more of the same. $12.39 for dinner and is all you can eat.

There was a large salad bar, stocked with tons of veggies. Some were fresher than others. I got romaine lettuce, spinach, chopped eggs, kidney and garbanzo beans, and cucumbers, topped with ranch dressing.  Most of the veggies I got were fresh, except for the cucumbers, which had been sitting around too long.  The dressing was diluted with water, making it very runny and hurt the flavor.  Overall, a pretty standard buffet salad bar.  But, I didn't find any carrots!!

I got the regular and buffalo chicken wings are from the fried food section, which also had some bacon wrapped hot dogs. The wings are already fried and they will toss the buffalo wings sauce when you order it. The wing were crispy and juicy. The sauce was a bit mild for me, but a pretty good example of wings.

The chicken curry-with carrots, peas and potatoes, was located in the "entree section." The other entree offering was meatloaf, which I didn't want, it just didn't look appetizing. I like that this station offered two entrees and the entree choices changes daily.

The chicken was white meat and pretty flavorful. The curry had a mild flavor, I'm more used to a bolder flavor when it comes to curry.

The busiest and longest section served freshly grilled chicken sandwiches, burgers, a pizza area, and had sandwich bar, where you wrote what you wanted on your sandwich and it was freshly prepared.  I got a turkey, salami, and capocola with cheddar cheese.  This was a very fresh sandwich with good sliced meats.  I'm not expecting the best sliced meats, but I was satisfied with the quality of meats.

Pepperoni pizza. The pizza are made in a wood fire oven. But the quality of ingredients were lacking. The cheese was very rubbery, the crust was mediocre, and the pepperoni was just ok. I really thought this was a pizza from Little Caesars and that isn't a compliment.

The chicken sandwich is made to order, is a good sized piece of chicken breast that is well seasoned with salt, pepper and onion and garlic power. It was cooked perfectly on the grill. The lettuce and tomatoes were fresh, but the bun was just a regular bun, nothing special about it. I really liked the sandwich, which was flavorful, tender and moist.

I didn't care for the burger, which tasted like mystery meat burgers and wasn't good at all. It was just too greasy, it must have been 70-30 meat to fat ratio, which is terrible.

Service overall was very good. The cashier was nice and friendly. All the servers were nice. But, the guy at the grill, who prepared your burgers or sandwiches, was moving in slow motion. I mean there are people in line and he's going so damn slow. The guy cooking your burgers was nice and moved quickly.

The students at Cal St. Fullerton are more down to earth kids, not the spoiled, snotty rich kids who attend Pitzer.

Overall, I enjoyed my first trip to The Gastronome. I'm not sure it's a good value at $12.39, but there was a wide variety of food and the quality, overall, was pretty good.

Pallazzo's Pizzeria-Closed

Pallazzo's Pizzeria 3228 Yorba Linda Blvd. Fullerton 714-528-7499 As readers of The New Diner know, I love broasted chicken. I couldn't believe a New York style pizza place served broasted chicken, so when I heard about Pallazzo's Pizzeria, I went right down for some pizza and broasted chicken. Medium half pepperoni and half cheese, $11.99. My idea of New York style pizza is very thin crust, with the dough so think you can almost see through it. Lots of gooey good quality cheese and a sauce that is full of flavor but not that tangy. The pizza at Pallazzo's Pizzeria, is much thicker than what I expect for a New York style pizza. The crust was pretty good for regular pizza but not New York. There was a ton of cheese, which I like, but it wasn't gooey and I don't think it's the best quality cheese. The cheese was more like the kind you get from a chain pizza place. The pepperoni was also like a chain pizza place. Nothing special or great about it. Two piece broasted chicken, $3.99. The surprising thing about the broasted chicken, you can get either white or dark meat for the same price. The breast piece came out about five minutes after I ordered. It wasn't cooked fresh to order, but it had been cooked within 15 minutes of me ordering. It was hot, not pipping, out of the fryer hot, but hot. The skin wasn't as crispy or light as other broasted chicken I've had. The meat wasn't as juicy, really it was rubbery and bland. Service was OK. The guy who took my order, who I believe is the owner, was pretty nice when I ordered. But there was a couple having pizza and he asked them about five times how everything was, but he only asked me how everything was, once, when I had basically finished eating. He had to pass by me, to get to the couple. At least he asked but why did that other couple get better service? I would not go back to Pallazzo's Pizzeria, again, either for the pizza-which isn't really NY style pizza, or the broasted chicken.

Thai Basil

Thai Basil
2431 E Chapman Ave
Fullerton
714-738-0888

I heard some good things about Thai Basil and decided to give them a try. Thai Basil is a very popular name for Thai restaurants. Any other restaurant named Thai Basil, has nothing to do with this Fullerton Thai Basil.



Chicken chow mein, $6.95, with chicken, green onions, baby corn, carrots, celery, and noodles. This was on their lunch special and I was surprised they included rice with chow mein. Oh well. I thought this was just OK,; lacking some flavor and seasoning. Portion was a bit small.



Shrimp with asparagus, $7.95. Very salty. This was also on the lunch special. The thing I remember the most is how salty this was. I needed so much water, after eating this. Baby asparagus with about 5 small sized shrimp. The shrimp was a bit overcooked, tough rubbery. The asparagus were cooked nicely but, as I mentioned before, so salty.



Chicken pad thai, $6.95. This is the first time I had pad thai. This had bean sprouts, chicken, crunched peanuts, egg noodles, and onions. This had a tangy taste to it, that I didn't care for. This may look like a big portion but there wasn't much chicken in here.

Service was pretty good. I got take out and the food came quickly.

I heard some good things about Thai Basil but I wasn't too impressed. Just the prices are good, but the portions are small and I didn't care for any of the three dishes I had. I would not go back to Thai Basil again.

Mikey's Sports Bar-Closed

Mikey's Sports Bar
3159 Yorba Linda Blvd
Fullerton
714-528-9150

Mikey's Sports Bar. If I'm not mistaken Mikey's used to be a pizza place and they expanded and became a sports bar. I went to Mikey's awhile ago and had a sandwich and I thought it was pretty good. I saw they had a special on their NY pizza, 2 for $14.95, so I decided to give Mikey's another try. As you walk into Mikey's, you are greeted with a "What do you want?" sign in the window.



I got the sausage pizza. This isn't true NY pizza. The dough is much thicker than good NY pizza. The dough was more bread like than the crispy NY pizza. But it comes close enough and the price is right. The sauce was just a mild flavor sauce, there was nothing special about the sauce at all. The sausage was ok but the certainly could have put more on the pizza. The pizza is 18 inches and I doubt there were more than 8oz of sausage on the pizza, some slices only had two or three pieces of sausage.



The second pizza was topped with mushrooms. This pizza was very wattery. Which gives me the idea that the mushrooms were frozen!! In contrast to the sausage pizza, there was a ton of mushrooms on this pizza. The same crust and sauce. But I'm not a fan of the mushrooms. Too salty, too mushy and just plain bad.

Service was below average. There are actually two entrances for Mikey's, one a sports bar at the corner, and the regular restaurant a few doors down. I went into the restaurant part and the lady there told me, I could order a pizza on the other sports bar side. I go the sports bar side and the bartender is busy and I didn't get help until I was standing there for five minutes. There was somebody who worked in the kitchen and he just ignored me. The bartender was nice and everything but I shouldn't have had to wait that long for service.

The pizza at Mikey's is better than any chain pizza place, but that isn't saying it a great pizza. I think Mikey's pizza are a good value, two large, 18in pizzas for about $16, you can't beat that. I think the pizza are between 6-7 on a scale of 1-10.

Coke Free Style-Fullerton

Coke Free Style Machine at Subway
2514 E Chapman Ave
Fullerton
714-446-0591

As many of you know I did a review of the Coke Free Style machine at Carl's Jr. But the machine was silver at Carl's and to me Coke means that bright red logo. So when I found this Subway has a red Free Style Machine, I wanted to do a review.

This Subway is opened 24 hours. The soda cost me $1.62 and I made good use of all the flavors that Coke offers. You push the lever for ice, then using the touch screen you select what you want; Coke, Sprite, Dansani Water, Powerade, etc. Then press the pour button and you get nice refreshing Coke product.

I again got the Lime Coke because I like the crisp finish.

But this time I tried the flavored Sprite. Raspberry Sprite was pretty good, a bit too sweet. Strawberry Sprite; basically strawberry soda.

Again, I think this Coke Free Style machine is awesome. It gives people a bunch of flavor choices for their sodas. The fact that you can get 100 different types of Coke products, 24 hours a day is awesome!!!

Molcasalsa

Molcasalsa
115 Imperial Hwy
Fullerton
714-870-8936

After having dinner at Mad Wolf Mongolian BBQ a few years back, I passed by this Molcasalsa and always meant to stop in. But until last night's, late night hunger got to me, I still hadn't tried it. I naturally assumed this Molcasalsa was part of a chain like the Molcasalsa in La Habra. But the person working there told me they have nothing to do with the Molcasalsa in La Habra. Oh well who cares anyways, let's talk about the food here.

I ordered the flying saucer tostada, $3.60 and Carne Asada taco, $2.50.

The flying saucer tostada is basically a huge tostada willed with beans and every vegetable known to man. I mean there was lettuce, tons of onions, bell peppers, tomatoes and cheese. It should have shredded beef too. But there was no meat and because there is no meat, I think the $3.60 price is too high. Well at least I didn't see or taste any meat. Maybe they forgot it? The tostada shell was light and crispy but it needs to be eaten right away, it doesn't hold up well and gets real soggy.

The carne asada taco was very good, though they could cut down on the gucamole. The carne asada was tender and very well seasoned. A soft corn tortilla wrapped around a very generous portion of carne asada. The gucamole was mild, didn't have an overpowering flavor, that I find in most gucamole. I would order this again.

They are opened 24 hours and I used the drive through since the dining area was closed. The service was nice, friendly and quick.

Dispite the flying saucer tostada, I would go back to Molcasalsa, I just wouldn't order the flying saucer tostada.

Florentine's Grill-Closed

Florentine's Grill
102 N Harbor Blvd
Fullerton
714-879-7570

Florentine's Grill is offering a 50% off deal. I went to Florentine's Grill about six years ago and at that time, thought they were overpriced and the food was average. So I figured why not give them another try, especially with the 50% off.

I got the Chicken Parmesana, $13.49, with veggies and penne pasta. The Chicken Parmesana, was watery, almost as if it was just taken out of the freezer and then cooked, but the extra moisture stayed. The chicken was pretty tender but kinda of bland. If it wasn't for the cheese and the marinara sauce, there would have been no flavor.

Service was OK. I was greeted, though I had to walk to the back of the room, and seated quickly. But I did have to wait a long time to have my order taken. The server was nice and friendly though.

Now I have a couple issues. First with the lowered prices, they add 15% tip to the bill. But what they don't tell you is that they base the tip off the regular price. So the regular price for the Chicken Parmesana, was $26.99, so that's how they got a $4.05 tip, on a $13.49 bill.

Now this isn't the fault of the restaurant. But there were only nine people in the restaurant. The restaurant has two levels and I was sitting on the upper level and a group of five people with a punk, seven year old kid, was sitting on the lower level. This punk kid was hanging and walking on the railing and yelling. The parents didn't do jack. Now this kid wasn't doing anyhting bad. But a restaurant isn't a babysitter service. Allowing a kid climb onto a railing and yelling in a nice quiet restaurant is not acceptable behavior for any kid. Why the parents didn't do anything is beyond me. Tip for parents, if you can't or won't discpline your kid in a restaurant, hire a damn babysitter.

I would not go back to Florentine's Grill again. The food is very average and even though the food was half price, it was still overpriced!!!

Outlaw 's BBQ and Chili-Closed

Outlaw 's BBQ and Chili
500 N Harbor Blvd
Fullerton
714-446-9369

Decided to try out Outlaw's BBQ since it opened in Fullerton.

Ordered the St. Louis ribs, $11.99 with their dirty rice. The ribs were not smoked. Not a good sign. They had a lot of fat and grizzle. Not a good sign. They were overcooked. Not a good sign. The BBQ sauce does have a nice spiciness and is pretty good. But the ribs are not good at all. They did have a good amount of meat but it was covered in fat.

I read a Yelp review and I had to laugh at the owner having a mullet and having dying his hair jet black. He look strange but he was friendly. I didn't care for his food but it was ok service.

I would not go to Outlaw again. I talked to the owner about their BBQ beef sandwich. Of course it's not smoked and the worst thing is they don't even use a certain cut of meat. Not the brisket, not tri tip etc. They buy some bulk beef and then start pretending it's BBQ and their beef jerky. The worst thing is the beef jerky is suppose to be the filet mignon cut. While I've never had it, Yelpers were not impressed with it.

Larry's Pizza

Larry's Pizza
926 W Orangethorpe Ave
Fullerton
714-871-3484

I went to Larry's Pizza in the mid 90's and wanted to see how good their pizza is now. I was surprised at the good quality and freshness of the pizza.

I ordered the Sicilian style pan pizza with pepperoni, $20.45. The dough was very soft and fresh. Good start. There was a lot of cheese and pepperoni and they were not greasy at all. The sauce was pretty good but they could have put a little more on the pizza. But overall a very good, solid pizza.

It isn't Crosby Pizza Stop but it's damn good for Orange County.

Service was good but when I got change they gave it in dimes. I ordered a Corona but they didn't have any limes. They said they just ran out. I told them, they should run next door to Food 4 Less and buy some limes.

Overall I liked the pizza at Larry's and would go back anytime. The square pan pizza was huge and filling and worth the price.

Stubrik's Steakhouse

Stubrik's Steakhouse
118 E. Commonwealth Ave
Fullerton
714-871-1290

Stubrik's Steakhouse used to be a very nice steakhouse that served good steaks and provided quality service. I haven't been to Stubriks in over six years and I'm sad to report that they quality of steaks and service has gone down.

I ordered the rib-eye medium rare, $24, which comes with salad, mashed potatoes and gravy and veggies. The salad is a simple green salad with sunflower seeds and onions. Standard stuff, nothing outstanding but fresh.

The steak arrived and was cooked correctly. But it was very tough and not tender. They do say their steaks are USDA Choice so it's not like they are trying to pass off USDA Prime. But the steaks weren't seasoned at all, very bland. I also thought there were a lot of fat and grizzle with the steaks. Not a good piece of meat.

The mashed potates were made from real potatoes and the veggies were crisp and fresh.

Service was below average. It took a long time for our salads to arrive. Not sure what the delay was. It wasn't busy, maybe ten tables. And it's not like it's hard to make a salad. Our server was unfriendly, she never smiled, she just gave us the impression it was a job she hated and clearly wanted to be somewhere else.

I wish my trip back to Stubrik's was better. I am sad to see the quality of food and service slip at Stubrik's. It was once a very good steakhouse for the price. Now it's an over priced steakhouse with bad service. Not a good combination.

The Old Spaghetti Factory

The Old Spaghetti Factory
110 E Santa Fe
Fullerton
714-526-6801

The Old Spaghetti Factory is set in the old train Fullerton train station. It serves good Italian-American dishes.

I ordered the baked lasagna, $10.95. They gave me a huge piece of lasagna.The lasagna has both beef and pork and came covered with tomato sauce. But I'm not used to lasagna being covered with tomato sauce. I'm used to lasagna being served "dry" But the lasagna was very tasty with nice Italian spices and cheese.

Service was very good considering it we had about 20 people in our party. We were celebrating the 16th birthday of a kid, I call my godson. Parking is terrible at this location. This area is a hub for the OC bus. Yes, I know it's shocking that some people in the OC use public transportation. It's also a Metrolink and an Amtrak train stop. There is plenty of parking, you may just have to walk a long way to find parking. Parking is free.

Rockin Taco-Closed

Rockin Taco
111 N Harbor Blvd
Fullerton, CA
714-525-8226

Rocking Taco is in downtown Fullerton. It's really a dueling piano bar that happens to serve food.

I ordered the cartinas plate, which comes with refried beans and rice. Now what I got was the carne asada plate. ($8.95) Now I didn't mind, since I like carne asada, but that should give you a clue about the server I had. Now the carne asada was flavorful and they gave you a ton of it. It must have been close to a pound. It was pretty tender but a little on the dry side. The beans and rice was standard everyday stuff. Nothing special.


Our server was below average. I sat down and she took my drink order. After she dropped off my drink she didn't come back for at least ten minutes. Now there were at most 12 people at tables but I guess when one of the tables has friends of the owner or wait staff they get treated great and everybody else gets the shaft. When she finally came back and took our order, I know I ordered the carnitas. My friend even heard me placing the carnitas order. But when our orders were ready, here comes the carne asada. While waiting for our orders, she refilled my Arnold Palmer. Well I see her go to that table and stand there and carry on a conversation while holding my empty glass. She then fills up the glass and then has another conversation with them. Now maybe they are making a new batch of ice tea, so I can understand the wait before she refilled my glass but there is no excuse for her to go back to that table after refilling my glass. I had to ask for silverware after our orders were delivered. Now she was friendly when she serving us and she's not bad looking but she really needs to improve her skills.

I would not go back to Rockin Taco. Service wasn't good and while they give you a lot of food, it's nothing special.

Cafe Hildalgo

Cafe Hildalgo
305 N. Harbor Blvd.
Fullerton
714-447-3202

Cafe Hildalgo is a restaurant that servers Latin American food in lily white Orange County. Located in downtown Fullerton, parking can be a problem.

I ordered the grilled fish tacos,$8.95, which is fresh grilled halibut, lettuce and pico de gallo wrapped up in a flour tortilla served with rice, black beans and fresh fruit. One bite into the taco, I knew made a mistake ordering the taco. The fish was so dry and flavorless. Even putting the pico de gallo didn't help. Sure they trick you into thinking you're getting a huge burrito but it's mostly lettuce and a very thin, dry piece of halibut. The veggies and fruits were fresh. I didn't bother with the black beans.

Service was OK. Nothing great but nothing bad either.

I would not go back to Cafe Hildalgo again. While the price of the taco was fair, the tacos were dry and flavorless. Also I think of lot of their other menu items are overpriced.

Koo Koo Chinese Food-Closed

Koo Koo Chinese Food
1113 N Harbor Blvd
Fullerton
714-738-8778

Koo Koo Chinese Food is another Panda Express Chinese fast food restaurant. There must be a ton of these type of Chinese food places around. I wonder if somebody would devote a blog to these restaurants? And no, I wouldn't create a blog just for these type of restaurants.

Pictured is the two item combo, $5.99, with fried rice and chow mein, Chinese BBQ pork and teriyaki chicken. The fried rice and chow mein were standard, everyday stuff. Nothing outstanding and nothing bad about them. The BBQ pork was too chewy and tough. It seemed as though it had been on the stem table for too long. The teriyaki chicken wasn't too bad. But I didn't think there was as much of the teriyaki chicken as other places.

Service was ok. You certainly get the feeling are you rushed out there. Order, pay, eat and leave.

I wouldn't go back to Koo Koo Chinese Food. The food isn't anything great and a bit on the pricey side.

Lee's Sandwiches

Lee's Sandwiches
1028 Harbor Blvd
Fullerton
714-525-2989

Lee's Sandwiches serves Asian and European sandwiches, mostly on 10 in, baguettes. Lee's, which is headquartered in the Bay Area, has opened many stores in Asian areas of LA.

The Asian sandwiches include daikan, carrots, onions, jalapero, cilantro, house mayo, salt & pepper, and soy sauce. I ordered the grilled chicken and grilled pork sandwich for about $5. Yes, $5 for two 10 in sandwiches!!

The baguettes are nice and toasted crust with a soft chewy inside. The chicken was dark meat chicken and pretty tender. I thought the amount of chicken was very small. The other ingredients were fresh. But the jalaperos for me didn't work with the sandwich. I don't need or want a kick.

The grilled pork sandwich was filled with lots of pork, much more than the chicken. The pork was tender and tasty. Again the other ingredients were very fresh.

Service is good. Nice friendly young lady took my order. The people at the pick up line were great. I asked for a cup of ice and within a few seconds the cup of ice was there with no attitude. I ate half of each sandwich and asked them to wrap the leftovers. They quickly wrapped the remaining sandwich and was very nice.

I would go back to Lee's but I think I may try their European sandwiches, ham or roast beef. I love the baguette. If I order another Asian sandwich I would ask for no jalapero and cilantro. Service at the Fullerton location was very good.