Acapulco (Marina Pacifica-Long Beach)

Good Morning Foodie Friends. I'm back with another restaurant review. I'm sorry for the gap between reviews, but life has been throwing many pitches at me lately. To give you the run down. . . I got a new job as an Aquatics Director, working in two bands: Good Luck Shark, a ska project and The Humble Hooligans, my long standing Irish Band, plus, unfortunately, Natalie and I have been eating a lot of fast food, which I won't write about, because you get what you pay for at fast food restaurants.

So, last night we made plans to go to dinner and movie with Natalie parents. To accommodate Natalie and her crazy freeway drive we met fairly close to our house in Long Beach at the Acapulco Mexican Restaurant on PCH and 2nd Street in the Marina Pacific Shopping Center. Mike and Lisa picked me up and we arrived at the restaurant a short time before Natalie. It was busy and there were many people waling in and putting their names on the list, but we were seated within about fifteen minutes. As far as location, this Acapulco has to be the best since its main dining area overlooks the Marina which sits directly below its giant windows. We unfortunately did not get a window seat, but were sat in a large booth against the wall. The waiter took our drink order and quickly brought out chips and salsa, my favorite and the salsa at Acapulco is very good! The chips were light and fluffy and the salsa was super fresh. You chips and salsa people know what I'm talking about with the fluffy chips, warm, fresh cooked and not stale. We were about halfway into the chips and salsa when we put our orders in and then I got a call from Nat. She was a little turned around, having never really driven to the Marina Pacifica before, so I went outside and waited for her, while guiding her in via cell phone.

When we got back the chips were at the same level and I jumped right back in. It wasn't long before the food came out and let me tell you, there was not an inch to spare on our table. Lisa, Natalie's mom had to take the plate her soup was on and remove it, putting her soup bowl on her other plate. My plate was so large that it actually went over the edge of the table quite a bit. So, lets talk food! I ordered a three item combo for Natalie. It had a dinner salad (with creamy Italian), two chicken flautas (basically giant taquitos), a cheese enchilada, rice and pinto beans (not refried) and for desert a bowl of fried ice-cream. The kicker was that her whole combo only cost $9.99! What a deal! I got a four item combo, which was why my plate was so large. I better adjust my last statement, I probably shouldn't call it a plate, rather more like a serving dish. The first Item I ordered was the Shrimp Brochette, which is a 3 shrimp skewer with onions, peppers and tomatoes. The second item was a Shrimp and crab meat burrito and the third and fourth items were two Tecate Beer Battered Shrimp Tacos. To top things off, the whole meal with served with a heaping helping of rice and beans. Sounds like a ton of food right? Well, it was! The price was pretty awesome too, $14.99 for my whole meal. As you can see, there is quite the value trend!

One silly thing. I ordered a Pacifico and for those of you who don't know, Pacifico is a light Mexican Style beer that goes great with the flavors of Mexican food. Now traditionally, Pacifico is known as a surfer's beer and in America, no matter where I've had it, it has always been served with a lime. The lime is in the top of the bottle and you push in it, thumb the opening, tilt the bottle to get a nice lime zest throughout the beer. The silly thing is that when they brought out the beer, it was sans lime. I asked our server for a lime for my beer and he literally brought me a whole lime cut into slices. By this calculation I was supposed to drink eight Pacificos which was not happening.

We were stuffed by the time the fried ice-cream came and Lisa and I helped Natalie eat it. Then we were off to the movies!

Business Time!
If you could gather by my review thus far, I think that last nights dinner was one of the best valued restaurants I've come across. I don't always think about Acapulco when I think Mexican food, but obviously I should. We got a ton of food for a small price. Our totally bill came to $69. I'm not even sure how they can make money with food being that cheap. Lisa insisted that she pick up the tab, but we made a deal. If they picked up the tab this time, then when I got my first paycheck from my new job, I was taking us all out to eat in celebration. We all agreed and left the restaurant! In addition to great prices and huge quantities of food, the restaurant seemed very clean and had a huge staff of people to attend to you. They also had both an upstairs cantina and a downstair bar for waiting, pretty cool. I give it five out of five stars for Value!

There is something to be said for overly Americanized Mexican food that is mass produced in large chains. Thankfully Acapulco doesn't seem to follow the standard. The food was good, not too greasy and seemed like a lot of thought had been put into the menu. There were so many options to choose from that it was hard to make a decision, but when the food came out, starting with the great chips and salsa I was yet again impressed. One of my new favorite trends that is showing up at Mexican Restaurants is the use of Cotija cheese, but I'm applauding Acapulco for not following the trend. They stuck to their guns, I didn't see any cotija, and I'm okay with that. Every Mexican Restaurant uses it now and it is being overdone. Food quality is high, let's say 8 out of 10 seconds.

The category is easy, prototypical Mexican Restaurant. Good food, vibrant colors, staff in bright shits with dark slacks, just what I expect from a Mexican Restaurant, and they have the added benefit of overlooking the Marina and all the boats. I think this place will be in business for a long time, that is if they can make any money on their ridiculously inexpensive food! 10 out of 10 for Category.

Resumen (Summary in Spanish:)
Value: Go there, eat and be thankful your wallet will not be very much lighter! 5 Stars (Out of five).
Food Quality: I based my rating on how long the food could sit on the floor before I would just leave it there on a scale of 1 to 10 seconds. Good food is in the seven second range, great food is eight and above. I give it a rating of 8 seconds!
Category: Mexican Restaurant, well, it fits the bill! 10 out of 10!

So there you have it folks, go to Acapulco in the Marina Pacifica, eat until your pants burst, then go see a movie!

Until Next Time!
Cheers!
Troy@BonVivant

Acapulco Mexican Restaurant
6270 East Pacific Coast Highway  
Long Beach, CA 90803
(562) 596-3371

La Traviata (Long Beach)

Hello friends! Our (Nat and myself) Christmas eve adventure took us to La Traviata. Honestly I had never even heard of it, although it seems that many people really like it. We were driving around town in our new car. . . Natalie got a new Subaru Outback for Christmas and we stumbled upon La Triviata. We dove around the block, parked and walked to the restaurant. Upon entering, there is a wonderful feeling of warmth which is totally old world. It definitely reminded me of France or Italy with the wood work and lighting. I was really happy with the decor and there was no wait. We sat in the bar at a high table. I wasn't really hungry which was probably pretty good since the prices were up there. Definitely not your cheap night out. To add insult to injury we were a little dressed down compared to the rest of the dinners, but no so much so that we didn't want to eat there.

We ordered immediately and our waiter brought us two waters. They had no dark beers to offer, so I went with water. They did have an amazing wine selection, but because Natalie is pregnant and I don't drink wine there was no real appeal for us. We ordered Macaroni and Cheese with Golden Truffle drizzle, Wild Mushroom Flatbread Pizza and an order of Mediterranean Fries.

Lets start with the Mac and Cheese. Who knew that truffle oil on Mac and Cheese would make it worth so much? Who knew it would taste so darn good!!! Very impressed, not a huge portion, but excellent flavor and the right balance of sauce to noodle. Well done.

The Wild Mushroom Flatbread pizza was a little lack luster for me. The bread was so thin that it got soggy and floppy before it even got to our table and was hard to eat. It also came with onions which Natalie doesn't like so she ended up taking most of the toppings off. It never mentioned onions on the menu.

Mediterranean Fries are skinny French Fries with Feta cheese. They were good, but not spectacular.

In addition to the atmosphere there was a female vocalist performing Christmas songs to karaoke backing tracks. She wasn't very good unfortunately.

It was a lovely evening for us to get away and it felt like somewhere far away from home, which for us is a nice reminder of our time in Europe:)

Value: This is not a place you go to for large portions and cheap meals. The food portions are very small and fairly pricey, but the atmosphere really makes up for the lack of food. The cheesy singer who performed Christmas songs was also a let down, but I really like the feel of the place. The service was sub par, but they were busy and we looked poor. A little disheartening since their advertising card said they try to make every customer feel like a member of the family. 3 Stars.
Food Quality: If it were based solely on the Mac and Cheese I'd give it a ten, but the other items were only okay. Small portion size doesn't help. 6 Seconds.
Category: I'm going to classify La Traviata as a bistro, and I love the atmosphere. Very Old Style and I want to go back even if to hand out and have a beverage. La Traviata gets a 10 out of 10!

The Scoop. . .
Value: 3 out of 5 Stars. A little Pricey and not in a good way.
FQ: Amazing Mac ad Cheese! Okay other stuff. 6 Seconds (Out of 10)
Category: Bistro-Awesomeness! 10 out of 10!

Definitely going back, even if to satisfy a morbid curiosity!

Cheers!
Troy@BonVivant

La Traviata
301 North Cedar Avenue
Long Beach, CA 
90802-2818
(562) 432-8022 ‎

Baja Sonora (almost Bixby Knolls)

Hi Everyone! Don't say I never gave you anything for Christmas! Today, for your holiday pleasure I am giving you not one, but two awesome Christmas reviews! First on the docket is Baja Sonora on Atlantic which is technically not Bixby Knolls, but is on Atlantic past the 405 in Long Beach.

Natalie and I were Christmas shopping and we decided that we needed to get some food. We ended up going to Baja Sonora for dinner. We walked through the door and the restaurant was fairly full. We walked up to the counter but could not see the menu. . .Oops! The Menu is on the wall to the right of the register which is kind of a weird place for a menu.

We were both pretty hungry and I ordered a little more than normal so natalie could have some of my leftovers for her lunch the next day. I had a bean and cheese burrito with rice and beans, which came covered in red sauce. I also ordered the two potato taco plate which also came with rice and beans. In addition to all the food I ordered a soft drink and we hit the chips and salsa bar. Everything started all right:)

We ended up grabbing a seat in the main dinning area and I got some Orange Bang! and it was really creamy and good. I don't think I've ever had better, so there was an awesome plus for Baja Sonora! Natalie grabbed the chips and salsa. The chips were fully fried corn tortillas. I've always found this to be the laziest way to serve chips. I don't particularly care to break the chips myself, and there is always broken chip fragments left over that you can't eat. The salsa was also bland and lifeless. Seriously I almost started CPR, no flavor and runny like water. The Salsa Verde was better, but I wasn't thrilled.

Our food came out and I got a refill of Orange Bang! I decided to dig into the burrito first. Unfortunately another bland food item. The burrito was so plain that I was compelled to stop after a few bites. The beans were okay, but the rice was bland too! What a let down! The red sauce was everywhere and it wasn't very good. If I could describe the flavor, it was like water with too much paprika. I didn't even bother eating the tacos because I was hoping that they would be better than the burrito and Natalie could at least have a good lunch the next day.

They had a sign on the wall that said they were rated the best catering company of Long Beach. I really had to wonder who would cater from them with the quality of their food being so bad. We left and took a few mints to get the taste of Baja Sonora out of our mouths.

Spin it again!
Value: The portion size was good, the prices were average, the atmosphere was okay but the food was awful. I hate to say it but I think with food that bad the value goes way down. Haven't had food that bad in a while. 2 out of 5 Stars.
Food Quality: Portions were good, the food was bad. The only redeeming quality was the Orange Bang! If this food were to fall on the ground I would leave it there. . . 1 second rating. Which gives Baja Sonora the first ever one second rating.
Category: Pretty Generic Fast Casual Mexican Style Restaurant. 5 out f 10. Nothing really spoke to me to weed itself out of the pack of every other americanized fast casual Mexican food shack.

Recap. . .
Value: 2 Stars (out of 5)
FQ: 1 Second (Out of 10)
Category: 5 out of 10. Nothing Special, right down the middle.

So, if you want a good meal for a great price, do not go to Baja Sonora.

Cheers!
Troy@BonVivant

Baja Sonora
3502 Atlantic Avenue
Long Beach
(562) 981-1950

Hot Off The Grill (Fountain Valley, CA)

Hey Everyone. This will be the hardest blog to write. To most of us food is so personal. In America there is a connection with food that really amazes me. Natalie (my wife) and I have traveled all over Europe and I just can't describe American's and their desire to eat well. It's really unique. We have memories associated with food, special times, heck I even own a plate that is specially made for birthday meals only. The reason I bring this up is that last week, as many of you know I had to euthanize my best buddy Tips. He was an amazing dog and lived a long and very full life and in tribute to everything he gave to us we took him to breakfast on the last morning of his life. I'm writing this with tears in my eyes, he really was a special guy.
     We went to Hot Off the Grill in Fountain Valley and sat on the outside patio. They automatically get bonus points for allowing dogs on the patio. The waitress came up to us and asked us what we would like to drink. After we ordered our drinks she brought them out and we placed our order. I ordered the bacon and eggs with sourdough toast and Natalie ordered the same. Then I ordered the steak for Tips. Our waitress was so nice. She brought it out on a styrofoam plate and never questioned what we were doing, though she probably thought we were those weird "spoil your dog" people. When the food came out I prepared mine first. I like to place the eggs (over easy) on top of my hasbrowns, break my bacon into small pieces and place it on top of the eggs, then I mix them all together and salt and pepper them. After my food was prepared I cut Tips' steak into tiny bite size pieces and started feeding him a few pieces at a time. He was in heaven. Natalie and I were choking back the tears as we ate our food and Nat, for the first time in months (she is 6 months pregnant) did not finish her food. We gave tips some of her bacon (which he almost bit me to get at!) and a piece of toast. We paid and I took Tips back to the car and we took Tips to see some of his very favorite people. It was a hard day, but absolutely made better with kind service and an establishment who really wants their customers to be happy.

Honestly, I'm not going to rate the food, because I don't even remember how it tasted. Natalie and I are just grateful that we got to give Tips an awesome farewell. Thank you Hot of the Grill for letting me spend the final minutes with my Best Friend in Dignity and Style.

Cheers, but with a heavy heart. . .
Troy@BonVivant

Hot Off The Grill

9945 Warner Ave
Fountain Valley, CA 92708

(714) 593-3000

Miguel's (Corono, CA)

Hi everyone! We it has been one crazy December so far. I have many new restaurants to post for you, but I have been so busy that I really haven't had time to do anything. The first thing I have to say is thank you to everyone who has been reading this blog. I have actually made a little money writing for you, so my thanks go out to you all!
     So, I don't normally go out to a sit-down restaurant alone, but recently I was taking a class in Corona California and I had a lunch break. The class was right next door to Miguel's Restaurant, so I thought I would go in and have some lunch.

Miguel's Mexican Food Restaurant

I have never eaten at a Miguel's but I have driven past them from time to time and I was exited to try something new. This Miguel's has a really nice Spanish style fountain in the courtyard entryway and large double doors with a Spanish/Mexican feel to the architecture include the red roofed tiles. I walked through the door and was greeted by a young woman in a traditional Mexican Style Dress. She asked if I was dining alone and I told her I was. I inquired about bar seating, since I knew that it would be a little quicker and I could watch whatever was on the TVs. She told me it was open and I wandered into the bar and sat at a table for four right in the middle of the bar area. My server (the bartender) greeted me upon sitting, handed me a menu and brought my dink order within minutes. It was fantastic service. I looked over the menu and was stuck. I had to choose between the shrimp tacos (rice and beans) or the fajitas, so I thought I would put my waiter to the test. I asked him which he would recommend. Mind you that the shrimp tacos were $12 and the Fajitas were $14. There is a quality about a waiter who is honest even if the sale would bring more money to the restaurant or to him. He told me both were very good, but that he personally did not like shrimp. He then told me that if I was a shrimp person then I would probably enjoy them the most as most of his customers loved the shrimp tacos. I went with his suggestion and ordered the Shrimp Tacos.

Shrimp Tacos, Rice and Beans with Chips and Homemade Salsa

My food came out very fast. The plate was overflowing with food. As I do love to eat I was very happy to see all the shrimp (3 per taco) and the rice and beans. So, not wasting any time I jumped right in and before long my food was all gone! The Shrimp tacos were really good. The beans were perfect, not a huge fan of enchilada sauce on the rice, but to give it a little credit it was mild and not too bad. I paid for my meal and left a decent tip. I had my drink refilled twice and he was very prompt, courteous and genuinely seemed to care about his customer. If I get the chance I would definitely come back to this location again!

Give Us Da' Break Down!
Miguel's was not a high-end restaurant and the food was very simple but I felt it was a decent value. I'm never sure about a two taco plate for $12, but Miguel's makes up for the cost with excellent service, Good chips and salsa (which is a must!) and a pleasant atmosphere. I did not need to use the bathroom during my visit, so I can't comment on the cleanliness, but from what I saw the restaurant was very clean and nice. The portion was of ample size, and the bonus was three shrimp per taco and not two like some places. I give it 4 out of 5 Stars for value.
For Food Quality there was no doubt that the shrimp tacos were good, the beans and the rice were a nice complement. Like I said, I'm not a huge fan of enchilada sauce on my rice, but it wasn't bad and I understand trying to do something different for customers who have been eating American Style Mexican food for years! Portion was great and I had a refill on my chips at no cost. The salsa (homemade) was a bit thin and runny, but all in all a good food experience! I'll give it 7 Seconds!
Category: Miguel's is a Mexican Restaurant, so there are some things that one expects to see, like the red tiled roof and spanish style tile throughout. There was also the really nice dark rich tile floors and the bar was mostly wood and classic surfaces. All the staff wore a form of Stereotypical Spanish/Mexican Dress. To top things off, the TV had a Soccer match in Spanish. If you want the stereotypical Mexican/American restaurant come to Miguel's, 10 out of 10!

One More for the books. . . Tell us what we've won!
Value: I'd Come Back! 4 out of 5 Stars
FQ: Happy Camper, 7 Seconds.
Category: 10 out of 10. Reminds me of Arizona:)

Thanks for Helping Me Keep This Going!

Cheers!
Troy@BonVivant

Miguel's Mexican Restaurant
1920 West Frontage Road  
Corona, CA 92882
(951) 520-8911

Nino's (Bixby Knolls)

I'm back with another great find. Natalie and I went to Nino's for date night a few nights past and its time for me to review our experience for you, my adoring fans. Okay, that might be a bit of an exaggeration, but I still need to get you the lowdown on this wonderful dining experience.

I was not sure how busy they would be so I called ahead and made reservations. When we got there it was empty so we were sat and quickly attended to. Our server was nice and genuinely interested in our dinning experience, which is always nice. Not to mention he had awesome hair! The decor is totally Italy with wine grape motif, all the fixtures, and the stylistic painting and booths. It was a quaint Italian restaurant.

I wanted to have a beer, since I don't regularly drink during our date night i was going to go light and asked if they had Birra Morretti, one of the better Italian beers. Unfortunately they did not. But they did have another beer which I had never tried. When our server came out he said it was the last one. The beer he brought out was "Oro di Milano" roughly translated to "Gold of Milan". Coincidently, Milan was one of the few cities that Natalie and I did not go to while we traveled around Italy, so I'm not exactly sure to the authenticity of the label's claim. The beer was a rich golden wheat color and was fresh and crisp. I drank it straight from the bottle and I found that it was complimentary to the rest of my food. Since I was not planning on having several drinks, the fact that they only had one Oro di Milano was a good things because I could have ordered a few more. It went down easy and the price was right $3.75.

I ordered an Italian Sausage pasta with thick rottini noodles and mushrooms and Natalie ordered the Spaghetti and Meatballs. We also got an appetizer of fried mozzarella with marinara sauce. It was very good and came out looking familiar to crab cakes, large and flat. We gobbled them up! Our dinner was set down right as we finished. The food was so filling that we took home lots of leftovers which turned into a big mess. The leftovers were put into flimsy to-go boxes and leaked oil all over the car mat. Natalie was bummed out and told me her car smelled like an Italian kitchen for a few days.

Let's get down to the ratings!

Value: Overall, pretty darn good. Great vibe, very Italian with good food and a pleasant staff. We also got to meet the owner, and that is such a great quality of a local restaurant. Good price for a hearty amount of food. 4 Stars!

Food Quality: The food was good quality and seemed to  be made with care and fresh ingredients. The mozzarella was really good, but the main courses were pretty bland and lacked pizzaz. Good price point and really quickly prepared. 6 Seconds.

Category: This is your classic Italian Restaurant. 'Nuff said! 10 out of 10!

Summary:

Value: 4 Stars (out of 5)

FQ: 6 Seconds (Out of 10). Bland food. . .

Category: 10 (out of 10) Italian Sheek!

Verdict. . . Worth the trip, take a date and cuddle up in the booth!

Cheers!
Troy@BonVivant

Nino's Italian Restaurant

3853 Atlantic Avenue  

Long Beach, CA 90807-3505
(562) 427-1003

The Peppercorner (Long Beach)

Good Morning from the Peppercorner! This is the last post from Courtney's Visit and I'm excited that we're at the Peppercorner to eat breakfast before we send her home. If you are a long time Long Beach native then you'll know that this location has changed venues several times. The last time I lived in Long Beach this was the Americana Cafe or something of that ilk. It was okay as the Americana but it is pretty darn good as the Peppercorner. For the sake of the reader I am going to abbreviate Peppercorner to PC.

So, I ordered a veggie burger with fries and a side of biscuits and gravy. I wanted some breakfast, but I also wanted to eat a good veggie burger, so I splurged and ordered both. The food came quick and was good all around: as you can see by my two plates and what was left of Courtney's Bacon and Eggs. They were good too! All in all I really enjoyed the food. 

Let's talk Location. The PC is on a corner which makes its name cheeky. The wait staff is generally nice, but they don't really make you feel welcome, or wanted. They keep to themselves mostly. They have one big TV and it was on NFL pregame which is a bonus for me. The patio is nice and some people bring their dogs and they sit with them on the patio while they eat breakfast. The music was also pretty good. Seemed like something I might have picked from Pandora.

Da' Ratings!

Value: Cost to Portions was awesome. Clean, friendly (but not overly). Great Patio, but no real vibe inside besides lots of pepper shakers painted and put on mini shelves (they must really love pepper!) I give it 4 Stars.

Food Quality: It's hearty! Not supper flavorful, but I enjoy bland food sometimes. They get American Breakfast right on. The veggie burger is good too, so I can say good breakfast and lunch. Good food for good prices, right on point. 7 Seconds.

Category: American Cafe: Seems a little too big to be called a cafe. When I think Cafe I think intimate and small, PC has lots of room and a huge outdoor patio. The food is "dinner", not so much cafe. if you called this a dinner you would be more accurate. The artsy Pepper Shakers are trying to be cafe so that's where I'm going to rank it. Clean, friendly service and decent food. 7 out of 10.

The Round Up!

Value: 4 Stars (Out of five)

FQ: 7 Seconds (Out of Ten)

Category: 7 (out of 10)

Worth s try if you want some comfort food!

Cheers!

Troy@BonVivant

The Peppercorner

601 E Broadway
Long Beach, CA 90802

(562) 435-4030