El Toro Bravo - Review #1

El Toro Bravo Tortilleria 745 W 19th St Costa Mesa, CA 92627 (949) 631-4464 Listing on Yahoo! Local Listing on Ask.com's Citysearch Official Site

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Walking the Costa Mesa beat, guest reviewer Shelly Borrell checks in with her review of El Toro Bravo on 19th St.

El Toro Bravo Tortilleria is tucked back in the corner off 19th Street in Costa Mesa, near Wallace Avenue. You'll never see it just driving by. Although I live right down the street, Christian had to tell me about it and I'm glad he did. They make and sell their own chips and tortillas on the premises, which you don't see too often. The Tortilleria is set back in a small strip mall near Jugos Acapulco and Smart & Final, both of which are visible off 19th Street. Once you see those locales you'll be getting warmer.

El Toro Bravo has two doors—You enter on the left, curve around, then exit on the right. The system works well. There is no dining inside. As you make your way through the line, you'll first see prepared dishes with various meats in sauces and enchiladas. Then as you curve around to the right, you'll see the meat choices that are listed on the hanging menu, ready to be chopped up and added to a taco or sold alone to make your own.

This visit I tried 3 different meats, Barbacoa (Beef), Carnitas (Pork) and Pollo Rostisado (Chicken). I had 3 tacos with rice and beans, which is a good way to taste a sampling of flavors. All meats were fall off the bone good, but they do just chop it up all together, so you might want to inspect your taco before diving in. I had to pull a couple cartilage pieces out of my chicken taco, but after that I enjoyed it very much.

The Tortilleria goes through a lot of corn making its own tortillas, chips and tostada shells. It's fun to get a glimpse of the process while progressing through the line. I should add that the portions are very generous. My 3 taco combo must have weighed about five pounds. And those ordering the meat and fixins on the side also received a sizeable portion of all. Overall, I think it's a great place to purchase tasty cooked chunks of meat for a party. I think your guests would appreciate it. They'll also deliver or cater upon request. I'm glad it's in the neighborhood and I finally made it over there.

Click here to see the unedited album (19 photos) at .

Super Pollo - Review #1

Super Pollo 1731 Superior Ave Costa Mesa, CA 92627-3614 (949) 642-7574 Listing on Yahoo! Local Listing on Ask.com's Citysearch No known official website.

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Here's Shelly, our Costa Mesa correspondent, reporting on a place I told her I thought I'd seen before while driving around. Basically all I said to her was, "I think I've seen some place in Costa Mesa that has a cartoon chicken on it." She said she knew the place and had been there before and about two weeks later her review was submitted.

You've seen it for years if you live in the neighborhood, or pass through on Newport Boulevard. It's tucked back just a little on Superior. There's a chicken wearing a cape painted on the front, hence the name. If you haven't been there, and you should go there, it's a Grilled Chicken/Mexican Restaurant that's been in operation since 1984. It's mainly a place to get good take out, since there's only ten seats inside the small grill, plus three more tables outside. It's well kept and the employees have always been Super Friendly, pardon the pun.

I've eaten there about six times. One can't go there (initially anyway) without getting the Grilled Chicken with Garlic Lemon Butter -- Its flavor always draws me back for more. When ordering the Grilled Chicken, you'll get to pick a seasoning. The picture taken of the partial menu shows the options. This visit I opted for the ¼ Chicken Meal with a leg and thigh (vs. a breast and wing), which comes with beans, rice and tortillas, corn or flour.

This time I also tried their Taquitos. The meal comes with four Taquitos, rice, beans and guacamole. Since I wanted to try both the Beef and Chicken Taquitos, I ordered ½ and ½, which isn't a problem if you wish to do the same. I wanted to try their beef, but when I got to them, I learned they were all chicken. They must have forgotten -- I was chatting them up quite a bit. Now I have another reason to go back. Please note, the chicken ones were perfect, crispy with nice pieces of white meat chicken inside. The salsa is also worth mentioning -- It's spicy with a really great flavor.

To add a little weight to this assessment, I'll give you some related background about me. I once worked for the El Pollo Loco Corporation for about two years. One requirement for all corporate employees is to work in a restaurant once a year, which I did twice. In doing so, I learned a lot about grilling chicken and making salsa, therefore I respect it when others can make it just as good, if not better. Super Pollo does it right.

Super Pollo also offers Burritos, Tacos and a few other items. The place is too small to take a picture of the full posted menu. For guidance when you get there, the chicken items are on the left of the menu and a variety of beef (Carne Asada) and fish items are on the right. In the event you've been confused on just how to get there, just take Superior North until it practically ends, or South where it virtually begins, then you can't miss it.

Note: Take a look at the pictures, the blue door in front appears to be the main entrance, but it's not. It's the entry into the kitchen, employees only. You will enter through the side door with all the stickers.

Thanks, Shelly!

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El Chinaco - Review #1

El Chinaco 560 W 19th St Unit D Costa Mesa, CA 92627 (949) 722-8632 Listing on Yahoo! Local Listing on AOL City Guide No known official website.

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Here's Shelly Borrell with her take on Costa Mesa's El Chinaco.

El Chinaco has served up authentic Mexican and Salvadorean food since 1988. My friend and I had not previously eaten there so we wanted to try a sampling of several items To Go -- The pictures will show all. It started with wanting to try a Papusa, a Salvadorean specialty which consists of a homemade corn tortilla stuffed with a filling of your choice. We simply opted for the bean and cheese Papusa. You can’t go wrong with that. But please note, if taking your Papusa to go, be sure to carry it upright so the filling doesn’t leak out, as did with ours. For the record, they did package it correctly, but it shifted in the transition. All are served with Coleslaw, which is the tradition.

In addition, we had a Chile Relleno, Chicken Taquitos, a Chicken Enchilada, and a Carnitas Taco. I really liked the generous servings of sour cream with the enchilada and relleno, plus the large size of the Taquitos, also described as crispy rolled tacos. The menu offers many more dishes further to those we tried. The prices aren’t bad either. A few other items to mention are the Breakfast Burritos, Tortas, Huevos Rancheros, Menudo on the weekends, Fried Bananas, Salvadorean Tamales, and their two different types of Tacos and Burritos, regular or Chinaco style, which is generally the addition of cheese, guacamole and sour cream.

The fresh salsa bar presents a variety of very good and somewhat unique salsas, plus spicy marinated carrots and jalapenos. The salsa lids are dispensed by the cashier to detour some from going too crazy. They told me once a guy made himself thirty to go containers, which resulted in the current rationing to the rest of us. They’ll give you what you want within reason -- I asked for three lids and they gave me five. I was glad to have it.

Locals appear to be in and out of the place all the time. The menu states that everything is cooked in their facility to achieve a homemade taste. It’s worth going back to. Next time I want to try the Empanadas de Platano.

Note: I learned that Salvadorean, Salvadorian and Salvadoran are used interchangeably. El Chinaco uses the spelling above, thus it was applied to the review.

Thanks again, Shelly!

UPDATE (May 15, 2008)

Shelly has written in with an update and a couple new photos from El Chinaco:

I've been going to El Chinaco a fair amount lately. They print coupons in Clipper Magazine and it's right across the street from me. I've come to realize that they have some really great things. Their Carnitas Plate is excellent. I've had it my last three visits. This time I used a buy-one get-one free coupon and tried their Carne Asada Plate (both are pictured) -- But I prefer their Carnitas. The Salsas are outstanding too. I'm not sure how much I emphasized that in my first review, but they're very good, especially the second one from the left in the Salsa Bar. One other discovery is their Beans. I usually don't eat much Rice or Beans on any dish, but their Beans are so tasty. I would order a side of them. I was just there a couple days ago and will probably have it for dinner again this week. Well, it is close, and I do get on food kicks…right now it’s Carnitas. I’'m just getting it out of my system and enjoying it. I'’ll move on soon, but you should try it.

Image hosting courtesy of . Click the logo to see Shelly's whole El Chinaco photo album.

Taco Surf - Review #2

Taco Surf 1969 Harbor Blvd Costa Mesa, CA 92627 (949) 645-9934 Listing on Yahoo! Local Listing on Ask.com's Citysearch Official Site

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(UPDATE (April 30, 2008): Have recently received word that this Taco Surf has closed down.)

Continuing her coverage of the Costa Mesa area, Shelly B. checks in with a review of the Taco Surf on Harbor Boulevard:

It's been open for over 3 years, but I finally visited Taco Surf’s Costa Mesa location. I’ve enjoyed the atmosphere of the Long Beach and Sunset Beach (Surfside) locations. And if any area needs more appeal, it's where the Costa Mesa restaurant is situated, off Harbor Boulevard near 19th. It’s an oasis amidst the hustle and bustle outside. Around there everyone is trying to get somewhere.

Once inside, you forget all about the seriousness elsewhere. Its bar is reminiscent of a palapa, which took me back to Mexico. They even have a Jukebox with excellent song selections – Love that. This location is franchise owned, as like the one in Dana Pointe, only 2 as yet. The owners do a good job, everyone was attentive and friendly. They’ve got a great selection of beers, including a refreshing Hefeweizen with Lemon, plus margaritas made with vino. Another fun thing about this location is the open air patio in the back. It’s cozy, uses heaters when necessary, and contains couples booths, tables and a TV. The feel is comfortable and laid back.

I've had Taco Surf’s food on many occasions. This time we started with a Fiesta Platter, which offers a sampling of items, including Flautas, Quesadillas, Breaded Shrimp, Baja Fish, and Cheese Nachos right in the middle. It’s perfect for two and comes with guacamole, sour cream and pico de gallo.

We also had an a la carte Chicken Enchilada and their "Famous" Baja Fish Taco, as they describe it. A sample of the same fish is on the Fiesta Platter. The taco also includes a generous slathering of their Signature Spicy Baja Sauce. Overall, I’m glad I discovered its contributions to the locality, since I am able to walk there. Next time I want to try their homemade Tortilla Soup and Huevos Rancheros, and then maybe the Pescado Veracruz. By the way, the salsa and multi-colored chips are very good. There are many good reasons to go back, not to mention there’s a bus stop right out front.

Thanks, Shelly. Here's some more of Shelly's Taco Surf photos:

El Matador - Review #2

Date of Visit: September 12, 2007

El Matador 1768 Newport Blvd Costa Mesa, CA 92627 (949) 645-0324 Listing on Yahoo! Local Listing on AOL CityGuide Official Site

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Here's Shelly B. with her second review which is actually also this blog's second review of El Matador in Costa Mesa (not Newport Beach, although it's close to NB). Shelly had told me this is the region that would be easy for her to focus on and I had read that some remodeling had gone on at El Matador so I asked if she could cover it and a couple days later there was a review in my Inbox. After reading it, be sure to check out her high quality photos at the end.

El Matador recently got a facelift and it turned out well. Established in 1966, its exterior and interior had remained the same for 40 years — Unpretentious on the outside, yet escapist by way of its comforting aromas and deep booths inside. There's definitely something to be said about that, but its new exterior paint color and interior addition are very nice.

All changes tie in with the original dining room, which is on the left side of the restaurant as you walk in. The right side holds the new dining room and bar area, which feels casual and airy. It officially opened on Cinco de Mayo 2007. They now offer a choice of 150 tequilas, which are prominently displayed against a large mirrored bar. It's fun and attractive to see. Having been open for over 40 years, El Matador is heading in the right direction.

One can now choose to eat on either side of the restaurant. It can be a tough decision. On this day we chose old school, since I like those large red vinyl booths so much. They're a bit more private and nostalgic. I do, however, want to hang out in the expanded bar area another time. Although the transfer of ownership is relatively new, the head chefs have worked there more than 20 years. The food remains consistent. We ordered a Tapatia, not to be confused with Talapia, the fish. El Matador's Tapatia is a flat-layered Cheese Enchilada with a fried egg on top. It had the perfect amount of enchilada sauce and cheese. We highly recommend it.

In addition, I had a Chili Relleno and Chicken Taco (hard-shell) with beans and rice. The taco was perfectly crunchy and tasty, but you better eat it fast before the juices come out. The Chili Relleno was good, thin with lots of melted cheese on top. A friend ordered the Cheese Crisp. Sounds good, huh? It's a well-named flour-shelled Tostada that includes chunky beef, chili con carne and melted cheese on the bottom. Here's a tip for you: If you order the Cheese Crisp, be sure to order it under the 'Tostadas' heading rather than the 'Mexican Combinations' heading; it's $2.00 less. It happens to be listed twice on the menu. We asked the server about the difference between the two and learned they'’re exactly the same — To save a couple bucks be sure to conspicuously point to the Cheese Crisp on the right side of the menu. To be fair, it appears the takeout menu corrected the issue to the greater amount.

One more food item to mention is the Carnitas Taco. It's fantastic and includes a generous scoop of guacamole. I've ordered it on a few past occasions. In addition to the above, they offer all the traditional favorites, combination platters, and many a la carte items. Breakfast is served all day, which includes Huevos Rancheros and Chorizo con Huevos, two of my favorites. They have a Children's Menu, and offer Luncheon Specials, Catering Services and a Full Bar.

El Matador is staying true to its old school roots, while seamlessly expanding to offer more exciting things. It turned out to be a good combination. Grab a private booth and/or stop by the bar to try one of their tequilas. The atmosphere is welcoming and the variety of food and drinks is immense.– Now it happily fits more people. It's worth checking out.

Thanks, Shelly!

Here's the rest of Shelly's photos of El Matador:

Taco & Relleno

Tapatia

New Room

Bar

Original Dining Area

Cheese Crisp

View the complete photo album (24 photos so far) at flickr.