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Thursday, December 20, 2007

Super Pollo - Review #1

Super Pollo
1731 Superior Ave
Costa Mesa, CA 92627-3614
(949) 642-7574

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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.


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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.


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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.


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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.


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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.


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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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Tuesday, December 18, 2007

Zorrito Mexican Grill - Review #1

Date of Visit: December 6, 2007
Zorrito Mexican Grill
24401 Ridge Route Dr
Laguna Hills, CA 92653
(949) 215-4555

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(UPDATE - December 22, 2009: I have heard that Zorrito Mexican Grill has closed down.)

Here's another in my recent patch of very quick reviews while I try toi get caught up by Christmas and then get ready to rev the engines again and hit a flurry of new places between Christmas and New Years.

Zorrito Mexican Grill is a place near my work that I saw when I was actually eating at a Japanese restaurant. A little mom-and-pop, family-run business that recently changed ownership.

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I ordered a fish taco and a bowl of the albondigas soup. The total charge came to $10.05. The soup was hearty and spicy with two very big, very obvious meatballs. The fish taco could've benefited from using handmade rather than store bought tortillas . . . minor complaint. And their aguas fresca was out of commission so I couldn't get horchata. Maybe next time . . .

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3.25 Speedy Gonzales rating:

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UPDATE: Here's a picture from when I went back and got a chile relleno/enchilada combo:

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When I went back I also noticed that they have several vegetarian items on their menu.

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Thursday, December 13, 2007

KFC/Taco Bell

Just a quick note that if you find yourself far from mom-and-pop Mexican places and you need a bite to eat but all you see are fast food places keep in mind that KFC has a Mexican Chicken Bowl with cubed chicken, Spanish rice, beans, and pico de gallo sauce. The official KFC website doesn't even seem to mention this item, but that's the purpose of this blog: to let you know about Mexican food that's out there that you wouldn't have otherwise know about. If you go to one of the KFCs that's co-branded as a Taco Bell you can add on a chalupa and a caramel apple empanada and have yourself a decent meal for about five or six bucks:


Speaking of KFC and Taco Bell, Nancy Luna, the OC Register's Fast Food Maven, has written earlier today about both chains looking to introduce healthier menu items.

Wednesday, December 12, 2007

New Kantina Mystery

Have been getting a lot of people lately doing Internet searches for "kantina closed." It made me wonder if Kantina on the Balboa peninsula had closed for business. When I checked their website a day or two ago and saw that it had been taken down I thought the rumors might be true (the site is now back up). So earlier tonight I drove by it to check it out and saw that it was open and doing plenty of business. I would've even gone in to eat if I hadn't just stuffed myself at a work holiday party. If anybody has any information on the matter please leave a comment or e-mail reviews@ocmexfood.com.

UPDATE (January 9, 2008)

Apparently Kantina really has closed down. Click on the "kantina" label for more information.

Taco Joe's - Review #1

Date of Visit: November 27, 2007
Taco Joe's
12401 Haster St
Garden Grove, CA 92840
(714) 971-5704

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I'm hitting another one of those points where I've got a big backlog of reviews to write and not a lot of time to do it so the next four or five reviews might come lightning fast with lots of pictures and not as many words. You'd think that after over 160 reviews here that things would start to slow down but no such luck.

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Taco Joe's is a mysterious greasy spoon place not listed in any online directory except for an oblique reference in Google Maps. I had never heard of it myself until I saw it and I'm not sure I could find it again if I went looking for it. I think you have to stumble on it accidentally.

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Perusing their menu for anything unique I noticed they had a chorizo torta. Maybe I don't get out to enough Mexican restaurants but I'd never seen a chorizo torta anywhere before. This beast was served on a large roll with loads of spicy ground beef, refried beans, three fried eggs (or maybe four or five), lettuce, and pico de gallo sauce. This sandwich will definitely fill you up.

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Before I knew how big the torta was going to be I had also ordered a taco al pastor, basically the Mexican version of pulled barbecued pork, topped with onions, cilantro, and chile verde sauce with a lime quarter on the side. All components were very fresh and overall better than I was expecting from a greasy spoon burger joint.

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Taco Joe's earns a 3.25 Speedy Gonzales rating:

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Monday, December 10, 2007

Arsenio's - Review #1

Arsenio's Mexican Food
751 S Harbor Blvd
Santa Ana, CA 92704
(714) 531-8012

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Here's Johnny Automatic covering Arsenio's in Santa Ana:

A friend of mine suggested trying Arsenio's on Harbor Blvd. in Santa Ana. It's the only Orange County outlet of a small chain based in Fresno. This place is similar to a Taqueria de Anda, a fast food style Mexican place with a play area that caters to Hispanic families looking for a quick family meal. It's menu is really quite extensive and reminded me independent "Greek" burger joints like Omega Burger or Duke's. I say this because they both seem to start with the premise that if we can cook it on the grill or in the fryer they can put it on the menu. So this little place has 19 combo plates and lots of other options in an extensive menu.


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After checking out this big menu ( click here for menu: prices are 10-15% higher than shown here) I decided to go with an old favorite of mine that I don't see every place. I ordered the carne adobada combo plate. Combinations run from $6.99 to $9.99 and include rice, beans and in most cases fresh tortillas, guacamole and pico de gallo. You get a few chips stuck in the beans but no tortilla chips are served before you pick-up your meal.


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The adobada is pieces of pork marinated in chile, spices and usually something acidic like citrus juice or vinegar to add a little sharpness. Here they cook this up on the grill giving it some nice crispy bits. The pork had good flavor but was not spicy. I have had much spicier versions and prefer those but the flavors were still very enjoyable with this version. The tortillas were grilled up until parts of them were crispy and browned. Served up hot, they were a good vehicle for the meat and condiments. Rice and beans were pretty standard. The refried beans are a pureed style with some cheddar cheese on top. The standard Mexican rice was fresh and well prepared - I've certainly had worse at fancier places. The pico de gallo and guacamole both tasted fresh and each had some heat. I didn't even see them at first buried as they were under a pile of shredded lettuce.


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My friend went with the cheese enchilada and beef burrito combo. He found both to be good and noted the red sauce had a little bit of heat and good flavor.


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There is a small salsa bar with 3 salsas and other sides like radishes, jalapeños and marinated carrots. They have a pretty standard red sauce, a chunkier red and green salsa, but the winner for me was the pureed sauce of hot green peppers and cilantro. It was bug juice green and closer to a hot sauce than a salsa.


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They have the standard non-alcoholic drinks including 4 commercial aguas frescas - horchata, jamaica, piña and tamarindo. Nothing fancy here but all of it is made straightforward and competently. Arsenio's will satisfy you if you are looking for a quick and casual standard Mexican food experience. The wide range of offerings should please anyone in your party. The prices can run a little high for such a standard kind of place. You can easily spend over $10 for a meal and a drink. In a place like Santa Ana there is a lot of competition that can either beat the price or give you more interesting fare for the same money. For a dollar or two more I can go to Taco Adobe for instance. They do have several breakfast burrito specials starting at $2.49 and a couple of lunch specials including 5 rolled tacos and a drink for $4.49. So there are some inexpensive options for a quick meal.

3 and 1/4 Speedys

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Thanks, Johnny!

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