Sunday, November 30, 2008

Spaghettini Grill & Jazz Club – Seal Beach, California.

The Sunday Jazz Brunch at the famous Spaghettini Grill is a most wonderful time and a great place to celebrate your special occasion.

We attended a Sunday Brunch that features exquisitely prepared dishes that include lush California salads, authentic Italian pastas, traditional breakfast Dishes, waffles, a fresh caught seafood station and mouth watering homemade desserts.

Spaghettini Grill features a Jazz club with smoking live Jazz performances and on Sundays is hosted with a live broadcast from Southern California's 94.7 The Wave radio station. (Click pictures to see larger views)

On this visit we were met at the door by a beautiful girl offering drink samples made from designer labeled vodka. The Jazz club was buzzing as the crowd listened to the jazz styles of the Al Williams Jazz Society.

Entering the restaurant the grill is open for the public’s view and lovely dishes of Chilean Sea bass, center cut sirloin steak, New Zealand lamb chops, Sockeye salmon and a pan seared chicken breast are rapidly being sent hot to the tables.

As we were taken to our tables we passed by the wonderful eye catching buffet and could not help but realize that Brunch at Spaghettini Grill was going to be a gastronomic feast. There was so much great food offered that I knew that I would have to use restrain in what I selected.

The service was polite, quick, and yet they offered plenty of time for you to take in the menu, enjoy the surroundings. They also were quick to keep glasses full of Campaign or mimosa.


The buffet was just wonderful and I noticed every item was fresh, the hot food, hot; the cold food, cold and each buffet station was well stocked as the staff pampered every aspect of it.

When our entrees came, the food had an excellent presentation and my New Zealand lamb chops were perfectly cooked and excellently flavored; by far a dish worth revisiting to have again.

The restaurant decor is modern and sheik having a comfortable upscale club atmosphere. The booths are large and large groups would comfortably fit into the many dining rooms.

The bar area featured televisions with sporting events and was in plain view of the large stage. The wave broadcast booth was set in the bar area and the radio station cut from recorded music to live music which was most enjoyable.

Overall first experience was grand and I am looking forward to a return visit. The price I would say is expensive; brunch was $59.95 for adults and $16.95 for children. Yet the price was a great value as the entertainment was excellent.

Reservations are recommended and the restaurant has a web calendar so that you can reserve a table to see one of your favorite artists. Our recommendation is to request seating facing the stage, for the some dining areas is remote from a view of the stage.

Rating (1-10)

Service = 10

Food =10


Spaghettini Grill & Jazz Club
3005 Old Ranch Parkway,
Seal Beach, California 90740

Web

Directions

Friday, November 28, 2008

No Worry's - Again!

Resaurant Reviews would like to thank the ownership of the excellent "No Worry's" Restaurant in Cabo San Lucas for sending such great memory items to us.

If you remember Restaurant Reviews featured No Worry's after a family vacation to Mexico. We had such an awesome time that I had to feature No Worry's and recommend it to all who travel to Mexico or to Maui.

In thanks for such a wonderful gift of gratitude, I thought I would share with our readers the package and announce that No Worry's as launched a line of hair care products; shampoos, conditioner, and spray gel.


The shampoo is an emollient and is protein & vitamin enriched providing UV protection from the sun. The shampoo contains natural botanical extracts and is designed to help dry or damaged hair.

The conditioner is heaven to your hair as it penetrates deep into the hair follicles and leaving it nurtured, soft, and bouncy.


The No Worry's gel is designed to help hair hold without making it look or feel sticky. These three products are a great addition to a already fabulous line of clothing.

Visit the No Worry's Web site and drop them a line saying that you heard about them through Restaurant Reviews.





The Beach Pit Barbecue – Tustin California

One day at Anaheim Stadium, when heading to the cheap seats, I came upon the best find ever when it comes to ball park food. The Beach Pit Barbecue had opened a satellite location in the outfield upper pavilion. To my amazement, the Pulled Pork Sandwich was the best I ever ate.

Game after game I took family, friends and bragged about it to anyone who would listen. Now I’m writing about it for I visited one of the two other locations, located in Tustin, California.

The Beach Bit Barbecue is located in an old automotive garage style building and is appropriately called The Tustin Garage. Though I say “old,” the interior is new and kept in pristine condition. Nice booths, brush stainless steel tabletops, and an upscale conversion look.

Walking in to the restaurant you come face to face with a southern style smokehouse order window. Posted above is a good size menu offering all the barbecue favorites. Just to the right are a few games that are well placed but do not impede or over crowd the dining area. And to one side of the restaurant is a sports bar with flat panel televisions.

Monday through Thursdays they host a happy hour between 3-6 pm. This is place for people who like family but are serious barbecue eaters.

Now, I have to tell you that I cannot get the pulled pork sandwich out of my mind. Like I said, I ate one at every Angel’s baseball game that I attended this year. Now it is the off season and I was hoping to get the same quality sandwich and that I got at the ballpark.

The pulled pork sandwich is served on a white bun and a drizzling of my choice of sauce, which is spicy. However, there are several different types of sauces. The meat had that excellent smoked flavor, with a perfect crust and that nice pink smoke ring. The flavor is out of this world.

The lunch came with my choice of sides dishes and I ordered the barbecue staple, beans and coleslaw. The coleslaw is medium sliced cabbages and is not creamy, but has red wine vinaigrette lightly covering it. It was sweet and tangy.

The beans were very good. Now, I am not a bean eater, yet I found myself eating all of them. They are a combination of kidney, pinto, and white bean. The sauce was sweet, but not over powering; together they made for two excellent sides. Additional sides are corn on the cob, macaroni and cheese, blueberry cornbread, and potato salad.

I became interested in returning for breakfast as the menu has egg plates containing smoked meats and pancakes with bananas, blueberries, or chocolate chips.

In addition to a barbecue menu, there are barbecue pork, chicken, sausage, and pizzas. Also they have a a kids menu that features mac N’ cheese, chicken nuggets, spare ribs, and chicken drumsticks. Of course everybody’s favorite French fries.

The Beach Pit Barbecue features pork, beef brisket, chicken, sausage, spare ribs, baby back ribs, and Tri Tip. And as every good barbecue restaurant should have combination smoked meat plates. Yum!

A lunch plate will run you between $10 to $14 and dinner, $14 to $17; yet I’m sure you will be happy once you have had a taste of their hospitality, fun, and food.

I am looking forward to my next visit where I will have to sample more of the delicious barbecue.

Rating

Service 10 – Very polite and food was served quickly.

Food – 8.5 – They have one of the best smokehouses in Southern California.


The Beach Pit Barbecue

560 El Camino Real, Old Town Tustin. California

949-645-RIBS (7427)

Web

Directions

Also visit their location in Costa Mesa &

Anaheim Stadium in the Outfield Pavilion under the jumbotron.

1676 Tustin Ave, Costa Mesa California

714-929-RIBS (7427)


Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Johnny Rebs’ Bellflower California


For years a staple in dining out has been our hometown Jonny Rebs'. When we need to put some South in our mouth it is like coming home.

A friendly staff, great southern cooking, smoke house smell, and a decor that makes you feel that you’re far away from the city and have been transported to a place Elvis once ate.

Established in 1984, Johnny Rebs’ is a home away from home for Southern Transplants.

Once when telling a Southern Gentlemen of our lack of good southern cooking in California, he was quick to raise his finger, tilt his head and tell me “That is not true.” It seems he had the best catfish that he ever ate at a small Road House in Bellflower California, called Johnny Rebs’.

Johnny Rebs’ authentic Southern Menu includes Home Smoked Barbeque chicken, beef, pork, and sausage. They serve Hushpuppies, Collard Greens, Fried Okra, Black-eyed Peas, Fried Green Tomatoes, Peach Cobbler, and Pecan Pie, and even make their own homemade potatoes chips.

The best part of Johnny Rebs is all the food made fresh on the premises and their meats fill the surrounding city with smoke from their own smokehouse.

To get the best idea of what Johnny Rebs’ is all about start with a Sampler Platter of Cajun sausage, hot linked sausage, onion rings, hushpuppies; served with barbecue sauce to dip in.

On this visit, to start, we had the Smoked Chicken Wings with sauce on the side. These wings are so good that once I had them catered into a lunch event for forty as part of the main course. So good are these wings that I look forward to ordering them every time I visit.

I’m also absolutely stuck on the Catfish Caesar Salad. I order this salad at least once per month and it is wonderful every time. Two catfish fillets served on romaine lettuce tossed with cornbread croutons and freshly grated Parmesan cheese. I have it served with the dressing on the side and it is served with hot hushpuppies. I’m addicted; for me it is hard to order anything else.

Also was ordered this visit was the smoked pulled pork sandwich. It comes on a bun, is smothered with barbeque sauce and came with barbeque beans, and a salad. Yet you can select any fixings to make your Southern dinner a success.

Fixings include barbeque pinto beans, fresh mashed potatoes, Southern slaw freshly cut, collard greens, hot black-eyed peas simmered in seasonings, Texas Caviar that is black-eyed peas in chilled vinaigrette, or a Bitty Salad.

For desert there is drop biscuit peach cobbler, key lime pie, fried apple pie, Mississippi mud pie, and Southern pecan pie. If you order desert have it alamod with their Vanilla Bean Ice Cream. These deserts are a throwback to simpler times and should never be lost in our societies.

This restaurant is one that will make you smile, tap the table to the popular songs from the south, and return for more.

In Addition, do not forget to add to your tab a bone for Fido. Johnny Rebs' packages beef bones especially wropped for the dog who had to stay behind.

Johnny Reb’s now has four locations in Bellflower, Long Beach, Victorville, and Orange. Everyone who visits is a guest and will fill your need to “Put Some South in Your Mouth.”

Rating

Food = 9

Service =10 **** Thanks Kyle – You’re a great server!

Johnny Reb’s – Web

Featured in this write up is Johnny Rebs’ in Bellflower

1663

9 Bellflower Blvd, Bellflower. CA. 90706

562-866-6455