Roundup #8

Here's another one of my catchup entries where I discuss things that don't fit nice and neatly into a particular restaurant review.

Taco Time

While driving around Garden Grove recently I saw that there is now a Taco Time in Orange County (see my report of Taco Time from when I was up in Utah last June). I wondered if it had been there all along but then saw a banner mentioning that their Grand Opening is December 15th and 16th and that they are having a two-for-one sale those two days. So, if you are in the area try to stop by today or tomorrow to take advantage of their grand opening special.

Taco Time
10832 Katella Ave
Garden Grove, CA 92804

Taco Time Official Site

Restaurant Roundup

Some of the non-Mexican restaurants I've been to since the last roundup include: Kung Pao Bowl (love the paintings on their walls), Angelo's & Vinci's (this place is huge; you could get lost in it), Pagolac, Market Broiler (twice), Cathay Newport (you get a lot of food at a great price), Funashin, Johnny Rockets, Wei's Chinese Restaurant, Kabuki, Broadway Pizza & Grill, Park Ave., Ebisu, Ruby's, and Frenzy Sushi.

Frenzy Sushi

Visited Frenzy Sushi last Wednesday night with "Beach," Joy & Carter, "Elmo" from the Monster Munching blog, "ChubbyPanda" from the Epicurious Wanderer blog, and Nguyen from the Oh-So Yummy blog. Our little group of Orange County food lovers is growing, but we still miss having SqueezeOC's Omar along with us. Each of the bloggers present will be posting their own separate review.

Identify the famous food bloggers:

This is the "Sombre-Roll" ("Sombrero" combined with "Roll" . . . get it?), with spicy tuna, avocado, cucumber and jalapenos:

Find out what's featured in this blurry shot in somebody else's review:

• Oh-So Yummy's Frenzy Review

Some of the Mexican restaurants I've already reviewed but have been back to for non-review purposes since the last roundup include: Las Barcas, Taco Rosa, Taco Bell, Taleo Mexican Grill, Gabbi's, Azteca's (the mom and pop place near my mom and pop's place), Baja Fish Taco (the location near South Coast Plaza), and El Torito (but this particular visit to El Torito was just for karaoke where I performed "I Will Survive," "La Bamba," "Baby Got Back," and "Islands in the Stream.") Have also been to Ernie Jr.'s Taco House in Glendale a couple of times.

La Sirena Grill - Review #1

Date of Visit: December 8, 2006

La Sirena Grill 347 Mermaid St Laguna Beach, CA 92651 (949) 497-8226 Listing on Yahoo! Local Listing on Ask.com's Citysearch No known official website.

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Yes, it used to be a real cottage (the white one on the right)

Yesterday on my birthday I took the day off of work and decided to hit a Mexican restaurant up for lunch (surprise, surprise). I went to my secret list of restaurants to try and was reminded that I've been meaning to get to La Sirena Grill in Laguna Beach. It turned out to be a beautiful day for a drive through Laguna Canyon, one which almost justified the $4 toll I had to pay on the 73 South.

There really is a mermaid here

La Sirena Grill began in 1999 when a family bought an old cottage on Mermaid St. in Laguna Beach and saw it as their opportunity to offer contemporary Mexican dishes. It's no coincidence that Sirena is Spanish for "Mermaid."

Small but respectable salsa bar

I'd heard this place was small and when I arrived I saw how small it really was. With quarters as cramped as this and lots of friendly people coming to enjoy good food it's hard to not find yourself striking up conversations with perfect strangers, in other words, friends just waiting to be met. So when you go to La Sirena be prepared to converse with some of the other patrons there.

Inside the restaurant there is enough seating for three people at bar stools. Outside I believe there are four tables that seat roughly four each. Parking is also tight. Expect to shovel coins into a parking meter or the pay station across the street, unless maybe you have really good connections with the locals.

I ordered one of their signature Sirena Plates: "Grilled pasilla chile, herb-marinated bell peppers, onions, and cheese, served over fresh corn tortillas, and topped with pico de gallo" with blackened shrimp as my choice of meat (you can also choose carne asada, pollo, carnitas, pescado, or vegetarian). If you like setting your mouth on fire then this is the dish for you. I'm sure most of the spicy hotness came from the pasilla chile which is a huge component of this platter. I was tempted to run in from my outside seating and spray their fire extinguisher into my mouth. My watermelon/strawberry aguas frescas helped douse the flames a little bit but I wish they offered desserts here such as flan or deep-fried ice cream which are both good for finishing off a spicy meal.

There are numerous other items on their menu I'm looking forward to trying such as their vegetarian quesadilla, and their tortas and sopes. On my next visit I think I will try one of their Avocado-Lime Salads.

With a mailbox like this how could you go wrong?

La Sirena has a second location (30862 PCH, also in Laguna Beach) which I am told is five times larger and a couple I was talking with told me of a possible coming third location. As usual, anytime we get more such information we will post it here.

La Sirena Grill earns a very solid four Speedy Gonzales rating:

Cocina Cucamonga Holiday Dessert

This is probably the last in my recent line of "quick mentions." Was at Disneyland yesterday and for the first time in three decades of living just a few miles from Disneyland I signed myself up for an annual passport. When I did they gave me the current issue of Backstage Pass magazine for passholders. One of the things it pointed out is that the Mexican restaurant inside Disney's California Adventure, Cocina Cucamonga, is offering for a limited time a holiday-themed pastel de tres leches dessert. Hope to get a picture of it soon. For further reading on Cocina Cucamonga, check out our prior review.

UPDATE (November 29, 2006):

Went back to Cocina Cucamonga today for a quick lunch. Found out that they do have the holiday-themed pastel de tres leches dessert as well as holiday-themed "Crispitos" which I suspect are like the old Cinnamon Crispas from Taco Bell. Also noticed that their regular menu has now dropped the fish tacos, pork tacos, and nachos.

The tres leches cake was perhaps the most mass produced I've ever had. It was dry around the edges but moister as I worked my way to the center. The frosting seemed liked it had been zapped from a Zinger and I suppose the red sprinkles on top were what made it "holiday themed."

Taco Bell Breakfast

Just a quick mention that at least some Taco Bell locations are now offering breakfast. I hope to have a list here soon of what all their breakfast items are. When I went through the drive thru of one recently I asked the guy at the window what breakfast items they had and he told me everything and it sounded like it was worth looking into more but all I remember is that it is completely different from the breakfast menu they had briefly about 12 years ago. Leave a comment here if you know more.

UPDATE:

Went back to one of the Taco Bell locations that is serving breakfast (it is only in a few test restaurants now) and found out what breakfast items they are offering:

• Sausage & Bacon Grilled Stuft Burrito
• Guacamole Bacon Grilled Stuft Burrito
• Bacon & Egg Crunchwrap
• Southwest Sausage Burrito
• Egg, Bacon & Cheese Burrito
• Bacon & Egg Taco
• Cinnamon Toastadas

They also appear to have a hashbrown-type side item and orange juice to go with any of the main items.

And here's a low quality photo of their breakfast menu:

UPDATE (January 29, 2007):

Drove through a Taco Bell in Irvine for lunch today and saw that they now also have a Bacon & Egg Taco for breakfast so I have added it to the list above.

UPDATE (February 16, 2009):

Here's updated images of their breakfast menu:

Rose Canyon Cantina and Grill - Review #1

Date of Visit: November 24, 2006

Rose Canyon Cantina and Grill 20722 Rose Canyon Rd Trabuco Canyon, CA 92679 (949) 766-6939 Listing on Yahoo! Local Listing on Google Maps

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NOTE (November 15, 2007): Rose Canyon Cantina and Grill was not damaged in the wildfires of October 2007. They are still standing and open for business. We will have a new review of them here in about a week with pictures taken after the fires. UPDATE: Click here for the second review. Or get a 2008 update by CLICKING HERE.

So, on the lazy day after Thanksgiving (not Black Friday for me) I called up my friends, married couple extraordinaire Chris and Kristanna, and asked if they would like to go with me to try out a Mexican restaurant in Trabuco Canyon. They said, "We were just about to go offroading in that area! We'll come pick you up."

So, we headed on out there winding through the 5, the 133, the 241, and more roads I can't even recall until we found ourselves deep in the country in an area that doesn't at all fit the typical Orange County suburban image. A handpainted sign indicated that Rose Canyon Cantina and Grill was just down the road and a right turn away. We knew we were about to find the spot. Unfortunately, once we found the restaurant another sign indicated that it was CLOSED:

Turns out that on Saturdays and Sundays they open at 11am but on every other day they open at 4pm. It didn't matter that the day felt like a Saturday to us, we were still there three hours too early. We felt like Dorothy and her traveling companions finally arriving in the Land of Oz and being told by the guard at the gate that Oz was closed. Fortunately, none of the trees on our way had been throwing apples at us.

Of course, the fact that they were closed allowed me to take many pictures of the exterior of the restaurant and the charming locale it inhabits.

The fact that we found the cantina closed also allowed us to go offroading in Cleveland National Forest for a few hours in Chris' Dodge Dakota. We found ourselves above the cloudline, saw mountaintops peaking out from the clouds, and even saw deer a couple times that, like Batman at Super Mex, were too elusive for my camera. That's why you have to go exploring yourselves.

When we headed back to the cantina via a different route we found a completely different sign pointing the way:

And the sun faces on the wall outside were now not just happy but bright and happy:

The autumn decorations were out in full force as we stepped inside before making our way through the restaurant to the heated outdoor patio seating:

The requisite chips and salsa were served:

The chips seemed like a peculiar combination between storebought and homemade, almost but not quite too greasy for my tastes. The salsa was unlike any I've had before, with a pungent, perhaps vinegary, component to it.

I ordered the salmon platter, with salmon that was very tender and flaky. It was served with mango salsa with my choice of black beans (over refried beans) and Mexican rice (over Spanish rice). I was tempted to try the halibut with pineapple salsa but that will have to wait until a future visit.

Kristanna made her own three item combo consisting of a flauta, a burrito, and a soft taco:

While Chris, the carnitas king of Orange County, once again ordered the carnitas platter, which he loved:

For dessert Chris and Kristanna shared the deep-fried ice cream. I couldn't touch it due to its coconut content but that didn't stop the other two from thoroughly enjoying it.

I ordered the flan which was cut like a slice of pie from a huge flan. As far as flans go this was the lightest and fluffiest I have ever tried.

With quality and overall intrigue of their food a little above average combined with an excellent, soul-purifying locale, Rose Canyon Cantina and Grill earns a very solid four Speedy Gonzales rating:



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