Who has the biggest pizza in Orange County?

I was down in Balboa the other day when I came across "New York Style Pizza." I remembered this little pizza shop, from when I was a little kid, as having the largest slices of pizza I had ever seen. The slices didn't look as big as I remembered, but they were still pretty big. The slices came from their extra large 28 inch pizza. I was going to buy one to take to the bonfire that I was on my way to, but they only took cash and the pie was $35. I didn't have the cash on me so I decided to move on.

As I walked away, I wondered to myself, "Was that the biggest pizza in OC?" I'm pretty sure I have seen 24 inch and 22 inch pizzas at other pizza parlors, but I think this is the first time I can remember seeing a 28 inch.

So my question to all of you out there is; what is the biggest pizza you have seen in OC and where did it come from? I'm talking about round pizzas too, not those big rectangle ones. Also, if you bought the giant pizza, how was it? Let me know!

Ajisen Ramen - Irvine-Diamond Jamboree

2700 Alton Pkwy
Irvine, CA 92606
(949) 833-3288

www.ajisen.ca


I went down to Ajisen Ramen the other day because V had a craving for some really good ramen. Ajisen Ramen is a fairly new restaurant in the Diamond Jamboree center in Irvine. We headed down to the restaurant as a party of 5. The parking lot was so packed that it was crazy. There was no wait however, at Ajisen.

We were seated quickly at a nice comfortable table. We looked over the menu and tried to decide what to order. We were happy that most of the items on the menu had pictures so we could easily tell what looked good to us.

Since this was a Ramen house, I figured I'd order what they are known for. I decided to order the Ajisen Ramen ($7.50). I'm also a big fan of Japanese fried rice, so I ordered the Spicy Pork Fried Rice as well ($8.95). V ordered the Spicy Pork Ramen ($8.95), R and S both ordered the BBQ Pork Ramen ($8.50) and J ordered the Premium Pork Ramen ($9.75). S and V also decided to split an order of Gyoza (aka Japanese potstickers $5.50)

Our food arrived after a pretty short wait. I looked into the bowl of white murky broth and licked my lips in anticipation. I took a sip of the broth and I was immediately disappointed. Instead of steaming hot, the sip of broth was lukewarm. The flavor was pretty good. It was salty, but not too salty and had a nice pork flavor to it. It seemed to be a little extra oily though. The noodles didn't taste like anything special to me, but they didn't disappoint me as much as they disappointed V.

(Ajisen Ramen)

V's Spicy Pork Ramen looked like my basic Ajisen ramen with the addition of some ground pork that was flavored with spices. V stirred up her ramen to distribute the flavor and took a bite. She declared that the ramen wasn't very spicy and that the noodles were not ramen noodles. She said that she felt like she was eating Italian spaghetti noodles in ramen broth. She thought that the broth was ok but tasted overly fishy. She said she would not return to this restaurant due to the noodles.

(Spicy Pork Ramen)

R and S both seemed to enjoy their BBQ pork ramen. S was disappointed in the pork though and felt that it was too fatty. She thought that the noodles tasted fine and said that she'd be willing to eat there again.

(BBQ Pork Ramen)
J's opinion of the ramen here was very different than everyone else. J ordered the Premium Pork Ramen. It came with thin slices of leaner pork on top. J really enjoyed her ramen. She loved the noodles, the broth and everything else about it. She later declared that she liked Ajisen ramen better than Santoka and Khoryu. That's a pretty bold statement...

(Premium Pork Ramen)
After they brought out the ramen, they brought out my Spicy Pork Fried rice. I thought I had ordered a side dish, but apparently I ordered an entire meal. They brought the fried rice out with a bowl of miso soup and a bowl of pickled cucumbers. They put all the plates in front of me and I felt like such a pig. The fried rice was pretty bland. It barely had any flavor at all. The way they made the rice spicy was by dousing it with spicy sesame oil. This didn't make it any better. The rice was basically a bland, oily, greasy mound of bleh.

S and V thought that the gyoza here was just average. They both felt that there was nothing special about it.


Overall, I would classify Ajisen as a decent ramen place. The broth is pretty good but a little oily. I'd also like it if they served it a little bit hotter. If you're looking for a bowl of ramen in Irvine, Ajisen would probably be a pretty good place to go, if not your best option in the city. Granted I have not tried every restaurant that serves ramen in Irvine though. I have heard good things about Takaraya from Chubby Panda, so I will have to try them out soon. V also still believes that her ramen at Ajisen was quite possibly the worst ramen she has ever had. As I sit here writing this review, V is still ranting in the background. "There's something magical about the noodles in ramen! This place just threw spaghetti in there! They might as well toss some fettucini in there as well!"

My free breakfast at Marmalade Cafe

2667 Park Ave
Tustin, CA 92782
Tel: (714) 566-0100
Fax: (714) 566-0102

www.marmaladecafe.com

Also located in Santa Barbara, El Segundo, Rolling Hills Estates, Santa Monica, Malibu, Los Angeles, Calabasas, Sherman Oaks and Westlake Village.

Fresh off the high of my free breakfast at Mimi's Cafe, I received a coupon good for a buy one, get one free breakfast at Marmalade Cafe. Woo Hoo! I just love free breakfast. V and I decided to head down there to cash in our coupon. Marmalade Cafe is a fairly new restaurant in the The District at Tustin Legacy. It is in a stand-alone building near The Winery Restaurant. We walked in and were greeted by a friendly host that sat us at a nearby table. The interior of the restaurant is very nice and has a cozy feel.

We looked over them menu and were happy to see a lot of items that sounded very good to us. When the waiter came by to take our order, I asked him if the Corned Beef Hash ($8.50) or the Eggs Benedict($10.95) were more popular. He told me that the hash was more popular, so that is what I ordered. V decided to get the Cross Creek Breakfast ($8.95) with Blueberry Pancakes ($1.00 extra).

It didn't take long for our breakfast to arrive and it looked fantastic. My Corned Beef Hash came with 3 eggs, toast and breakfast potatoes. The dish was then covered in hollandaise sauce. I asked for an English muffin and soft poached eggs so it was almost like Eggs Benedict, with corned beef hash instead of ham. The hash was pretty good. It tasted very light, and not greasy at all. It basically tasted just like ground up, lean corned beef, potatoes, onions and green bell peppers.

V's Cross Creek breakfast came with 2 eggs, 2 pancakes and her choice of breakfast meat. She decided on ham. The pancakes that came with her breakfast were quite big, much bigger than I'm used to seeing at a restaurant. (The pancakes were actually bigger than they appear in the picture.) The pancakes were filled with plenty of blueberries. V also liked that the pancakes came with extra fresh blueberries on top. She liked the ham that came with her meal but commented that it tasted really lean, so it was a little dry.

Overall it seems that Marmalade Cafe serves hearty portions of great tasting food that isn't overly greasy or fattening. I also think that the prices are very reasonable for what you get. I definitely look forward to visiting Marmalade Cafe again.

My free breakfast at Mimi's Cafe - Irvine

4030 Barranca Parkway
Irvine, CA 92604
949-559-8840

140 Restaurants in 20 states (Owned by Bob Evans)

www.mimiscafe.com

Mimi's is currently offering a free breakfast if you sign up for their free E-club. (Click here to get your coupon. I'm not sure how long this offer will last.) I signed up for the E-club, printed out my coupon and headed down there for breakfast today. I can't remember the last time I had breakfast at Mimi's Cafe. After today though, I think I'll keep Mimi's on my list of approved breakfast places.

I looked over the menu and tried to decide what to order. I noticed that most of the breakfasts here came with fresh squeezed orange or grapefruit juice. I thought this was a very nice touch since most restaurants charge $3-$4 a glass for fresh squeezed orange juice. The prices on the menu also seemed very reasonable. The most expensive item on their breakfast menu is $12.99 for a 10-oz flat iron steak with eggs, potatoes, a muffin and fresh squeezed juice. Every other meal is less than $10 with many meals for only $5.99. I asked the waitress if the corned beef hash ($8.49) or the eggs benedict ($8.99) were more popular. She said the hash was, so that is what I ordered.

My corned beef hash meal was served with 2 eggs, breakfast potatoes, juice and my choice of toast or muffin. They had many muffins to choose from. I chose the coffee cake muffin. My food came out a few minutes later. It looked and smelled really good. The hash had a lot of fresh herbs in it. It was pretty good, but not the best corned beef hash I have ever had. I wish it would have been grilled up crispier. I would consider ordering it again though. The breakfast potatoes were nice and crispy and my eggs were poached perfectly. I was surprised with the large amount of food I got. I actually filled up on the hash, eggs and potatoes so I never got to try my muffin. I brought it home and will have to try it later.

Overall, I was really impressed with the value, selection and service at Mimi's Cafe. Sign up for their E-Club and get your free breakfast coupon while you can. So many of the things on their breakfast menu looked good. If you order something different for your free meal, let me know how it was.

Anepalco's Cafe - Orange

415 S. Main Street
Orange, CA 92868
714-771-2333

www.anepalcoscafe.com

I read some good things about Anepalco's Cafe in Orange, so I decided to go down there for lunch one day to check it out. Anepalco's cafe is supposed to be a simple place that specializes in French and Mexican food. The restaurant is near CHOC and St. Joseph Hospital in Orange, so most of the people in the restaurant were wearing scrubs. The parking lot is tiny, so be prepared to park off-site somewhere if there are no spots up front.

I walked into Anepalco's with R. The restaurant is very small and only has about 6-8 tables. There is a large menu board on the back wall behind the cash register. We looked over the menu and saw a wide selection of crepes, sandwiches and Mexican food. I looked around the restaurant and saw that some of the sandwiches were gigantic. I wasn't that hungry so I decided to order the Enchilada Trio ($7.49). I ordered my trio with one chicken and two cochinita pibil enchiladas (marinated pork). R decided to get a Dejeuner crepe ($6.99).

We placed our order and found an empty table. It was about a 10-15 minute wait before out food arrived. The food arrived at our table and it looked wonderful. The presentation was better than expected for an inexpensive meal.

My enchilada trio wasn't very good. I was surprised that I actually liked the chicken enchilada better than the pork. Neither was very good though. The dish lacked any kind of flavor.

I also thought that the enchiladas came with plenty of red enchilada sauce. When I looked closer though, I realized that the enchiladas were just swimming in a pool of bright orange grease. I ended up leaving this place with a pretty bad stomach ache.

(The bright orange pool of grease)
R's crepe contained ham, bacon, egg and swiss cheese. It was then covered with Béarnaise sauce. R said his crepe was pretty bad. He described it as flavorless and really, really dry. He seemed to be struggling to eat it.

We were both really disappointed with our food. We were surprised since others had written good things about this place. I'm not sure if I would ever return to Anepalco's again. If I do, I will probably try one of their big sandwiches. They looked pretty good. I just hope they taste as good as they look, because the food we tried didn't.

Quick announcement

I would like to apologize for the lack of posts recently. I have been working hard on launching my new career. In launching my new career, I have also launched a new website. GriffinSellsOC.com I am now a practicing real estate agent with First Team Real Estate in Irvine. I would love to help all of you out there buy or sell some real estate. I think the market has found it's bottom so now it is time to buy, buy, buy!!! If you're thinking of buying a new home, I'd like to offer you a free buyer's consultation. If you're looking to sell your home, I'd love the opportunity to show you how I can sell your house faster and for more money. If you owe more than your house is worth, I would be happy to review your options with you. One option may be to do a short sale that costs you nothing!

OK....plug over.....let's get back to the reviews!

Oh, by the way. If you see any of my open signs out there, make sure to stop in and say hi!

Free Chicken! Free Chicken!

Two places are giving away free chicken this week with no purchase necessary! The first is KFC. KFC is giving away one free piece of the new Kentucky Grilled Chicken to everyone that comes to their restaurant on Monday April 27th. Valid 4/27/09 only, limit one free piece per person. Free piece selection is at manager's discretion and may vary by location.

On Tuesday April 28th, El Pollo Loco is having an amazing deal! They are offering a free 2-piece meal with tortillas and salsa to everyone that comes in to their restaurant. Here are the official rules of this offer.

Official Rules

• The Taste the Fire® Offer (“offer”) consists of one flame-grilled leg and one flame-grilled thigh, two tortillas (choice of flour or corn) and fresh salsa.
• Offer is available upon request only.
• Valid only at participating locations.
• No coupon necessary.
• Limit one offer on April 28, 2009 until 8:00 p.m. per customer.
• Must be present to receive. Sides, drinks and breast substitutions are extra.
• Available for walk-in orders only (dine-in or carry-out). Not available for delivery or drive-thru. While supplies last.

So make sure to head down to KFC and El Pollo Loco to get your free chicken! Then come back here and let me know what you thought of it. Happy eating OC!