Smashburger

Smashburger - Orange County
26541 Aliso Creek Rd, Ste C
Aliso Viejo, CA 92656
949-716-3855

1003 The Shops at Mission Viejo
(Inside the mall food court)
Mission Viejo, CA 92691
949-364-1246

www.smashburger.com

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SmashBurger, a chain that started in Denver CO, has recently begun to expand into Orange County. I was invited down to sample some of their offerings. SmashBurger sets themselves apart from their competition by literally smashing their burgers down on a flat top grill. They say that this puts a good sear on the meat and thereby gives the beef patty a good exterior crust while retaining the juices. Below is a video of the process they go through to create a SmashBurger.

It seems that Smashbugers across the country all have regional specialty burgers in addition to the standard SmashBurgers. The two regional burgers for the Orange County area are "The LA Burger" and "The OC Burger." I decided to try the LA burger and V tried the OC burger.

The LA burger consists of a beef patty topped with a crispy wonton, fried egg, cilantro, cucumber, lettuce, tomato and a Japanese Steakhouse ginger dressing. The burger was very good. The cucumbers and the cilantro gave the burger a very fresh, crisp taste. However, I felt that the dressing was a little on the bland side.

The OC burger was topped with baby portabella mushrooms, baby arugula, grilled onions, aged swiss cheese and truffle mayo. V enjoyed her OC burger a lot. She loved that the grilled onions were nice and caramelized instead of barely grilled like at some other burger places. She thought that the truffle mayo was very good but felt that there was a little too much of it on the burger. She said she would definitely get this burger again, but would just ask them to go easy on the mayo.

I also got to try one of their Fresh Mex chicken sandwiches. A chicken breast is pounded out until it is really thin and then grilled on the flat top. The chicken was topped with guacamole, cilantro, pepper jack cheese, tomato, onion, sour cream and chipotle mayo. I would usually never choose a chicken sandwich over a burger, but I think I really enjoyed this sandwich more than my burger. The chicken was cooked well and was not dry at all. The sandwich had a nice spicy kick to it and was full of flavor.

Smashburger offers a variety of side dishes. Their signature Smashfries are tossed with rosemary, olive oil and garlic. They were very tasty with a pungent kick of rosemary. Fries are also available in sweet potato form and can be smothered with chili and cheese. Fried pickles and onion haystacks are available at the Aliso Viejo location. They also offer fried green beans and carrot sticks.

In addition to burgers, SmashBurger offers a variety of chicken sandwiches, hot dogs and salads. Burgers are also available with a veggie patty. Ice cream shakes and malts are made with Haagen Dazs ice cream and are very rich and decadent. I love the fact that they offer a malt option, instead of just a plain milkshake.

Overall, I was very happy with the food at SmashBurger. I feel that the prices are reasonable and the burgers are much better than your standard fast food joint. I also appreciate the fact that they take the time to present the burgers nicely, instead of just wrapping them in paper and throwing them in a bag. SmashBurger currently has the two location in Aliso Viejo and Mission Viejo and plans to open a third location in San Clemente in the next six months. They are also currently looking for a location in the Irvine area.

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Bagels & Brew - Lake Forest

21771 Lake Forest #100,
Lake Forest, CA
Phone: (949) 951-8985

Alternate Location:
23052-A Alicia Parkway,
Mission Viejo, CA
Phone: (949) 837-6977

www.bagelsandbrew.com

Whenever the Mrs. and I feel like going out to a casual weekend brunch, but don't feel like spending a lot of money, we very often end up at Bagels and Brew. Bagels and Brew is located in a strip mall, in a location you can hardly see as you drive by. It's right across the parking lot from Heritage Hill Historical Park. If you're looking for someplace nice to walk after your breakfast, the historical park is the perfect place.

The name "Bagels and Brew" makes it sound like this place has only bagels and coffee (not beer like one of my friends thought) to offer. This is far from the truth though. In addition to their 20+ bagel varieties, Bagels and Brew offers sandwiches, bagel pizzas, omelets, soups, salads and more. They call themselves "Your Neighborhood Cafe," and that is exactly what it feels like. They even have a nice outdoor patio so that you can sit and enjoy your meal with your dog.

On our most recent visit, V decided to get the Baja Scramble ($6.55). I stared at the menu for a long time trying to find something different to order, but in the end I ended up ordering my favorite item here, the Mission Viejo bagel ($4.50). I also added a side of bacon (can't remember the price), because you can't have a good breakfast without it!

I took my number and sat down at a nice outdoor table. The only thing I'm not thrilled about at Bagels and Brew is that they serve Diedrich's coffee. While Diedrich's isn't horrible, I don't really care for it. I wish they would serve Starbucks coffee instead. After about 7 minutes our food arrived.

My Mission Viejo bagel came with my choice of bagel. I chose the Jalapeno Cheddar bagel. The bagel is toasted and topped with cream cheese, fresh tomato and avocado. It is then sprinkled with a generous portion of lemon pepper. This bagel is so good that after the first time I had it, I went to Costco and bought a huge container of lemon pepper so I could re-create it at home all the time. The bacon was crispy and delicious.



V's Baja Scramble had bacon, tomatoes, cilantro, onion, green chiles and pepperjack cheese. Her meal also came with her choice of any bagel with cream cheese. She also chose Jalapeno Cheddar for her bagel. V and I are both very big fans of Jalapeno Cheddar bagels. The Jalapeno Cheddar bagel that Bagels and Brew offers is pretty good, but not the best we've ever had. The problem with the bagel here is that it is basically a plain bagel topped with melted cheese and jalapenos. We both prefer to have jalapenos and cheese mixed into the dough of the bagel as well.


Bagels and Brew is the perfect place to go if you're looking for a quick and tasty breakfast or lunch. You can also stop by and pick up some bagels to take home or to the office. They offer discounted bagels after 3:00 PM and close at 6:00 PM everyday except Sunday when they close at 5:00 PM. They also have a variety of prepackaged cream cheeses and specialty coffees. If you're in the area, I highly recommend that you stop by.

Salvatore Cucina Italiana - Mission Viejo

27001 La Paz Rd Ste 390
Mission Viejo, CA 92691
Phone: (949) 859-4572

www.salvatore38.com


As most of you know, I am a big fan of using Restaurant.com certificates. It enables me to try out new restaurants without spending a lot of money. So I had this certificate sitting on my desk for Salvatore for about 9 months. I bought the certificate, but for some reason I didn’t have that much of a desire to go there. I was tired of seeing the certificate on my desk though, so I finally decided to go. I invited another guy from my office and we headed down there for lunch.

We arrived at the address and were both surprised to find that it looked like a medical/office building. The restaurant is located on the first floor of this small office complex. We walked around to the center courtyard of the office building to access the front door of the restaurant.

We entered the restaurant. It was dimly lit and completely empty. I knew they were open for lunch because I had checked their website earlier. “Hello!?” I said. Nothing. “HELLO!?!?” I said a little louder. Still nothing. My buddy and I looked at each other, confused as to what to do. We thought about leaving. I wanted to use this coupon though. I ventured a little further into the restaurant and peeked into the kitchen. There were people working in there. “Hello? HELLO? HELLLLLOOOOO!!” After about two embarrassing minutes of yelling “Hello” at increasingly louder volumes, someone finally emerged from the kitchen and greeted us. “Are you open?” I asked. “Yes,” he responded, “Take a seat wherever you like.”

We looked at all the open tables in the restaurant and finally seated ourselves at one by the window. The dining room seemed so dark. I wondered if it always looked this dark in here during the day, or if it was just because it was a cloudy day. The gentleman that greeted us, brought us over some menus. I asked him if it was always this quiet during lunch. He told me that they get most of their business at dinner, but they open for lunch since they’re in the kitchen preparing food for dinner anyway.

We looked over the menu. Most of the menu items were around $10.00 and came with bread, and your choice of soup or salad. I decided to order the Ravioli Gorgonzola ($9.95) and my buddy decided to order the Lasagna ($9.95). The soup of the day was Pasta Fagioli. We both decided to go for the soup instead of the salad.

The soup came out almost immediately. It contained elbow macaroni and white beans in a murky chicken based broth. It was pretty bland. When we were almost done with the soup, we received some bread. The bread was actually pretty good. It was like a little, fresh-baked mini baguette. It was piping hot and tasty.


After our soup, my buddy and I sat in silence. It was so eerily quiet in the restaurant that my buddy and I didn’t even talk much because it felt like our voices were echoing through the restaurant. After a few minutes they started piping in some generic “Italian” music. It was the kind of music you’d expect from an Olive Garden commercial or maybe a funny clip about an Italian guy tossing pizza dough in the air and then missing the dough and having it fall on his face.

After about another ten minutes our entrees finally arrived. The waiter/only guy we’ve seen in this restaurant, brought out a bowl of shaved Parmesan cheese with our meals. He offered us some and sprinkled it on top for us with a spoon.

My Ravioli Gorgonzola looked fantastic. It was meat ravioli covered in a gorgonzola cream sauce. I took a bite. I didn’t like it. Now I know this may be my fault. I know I ordered Ravioli “Gorgonzola,” and I usually love gorgonzola cheese, but the flavor in this dish was so strong. It almost made me pucker. I told myself that it was my fault for ordering it so I forced myself to eat almost the entire dish. By the end of the dish though, I just couldn’t force myself to eat the last two bites. I love gorgonzola cheese, but I would not order this again.

My buddy seemed to like his lasagna. He said that it was served piping hot and that it was really dense. He said it tasted pretty good and he would order it again.

Overall, this is a nice little Italian restaurant with reasonable prices. Their soup isn’t too good, but their other food seems to be ok. I think I just made a bad decision with my dish. It was pretty weird being the only people in the restaurant. I think I’ll probably try this restaurant again some day if I’m in the area, but only if it’s dinnertime.

Shabu Shabu USA Mission Viejo

28201 Marguerite Parkway #9
Mission Viejo, CA 92691
949-347-0075

Lunch 11:00-2:30
Dinner 5:30-9:30
Closed for Lunch on Saturday and Sunday

I visited Shabu Shabu U.S.A. during lunch today for the first time, in a long time. After I began my meal, I kicked myself for letting so much time pass since I last visited. I have been to many Shabu-shabu places, but Shabu Shabu USA has got to be my favorite.

Shabu-Shabu USA is located in a small strip mall behind Mission Viejo Mall. It's a little hard to find, but this little gem is worth it. For those of you not familiar with Shabu-shabu, it is a Japanese style of cooking that loosely translates to "swish-swish". Shabu-shabu is an interactive dining experience where you cook your own food in a pot of steaming, seasoned water and "swish-swish" it around.

Plates of meats and vegetables are placed before you accompanied by two sauces and steamed rice. The first of the two sauces is ponzu. Ponzu is a soy sauce based broth with a citrusy flavor. This sauce is my favorite of the two. The other sauce is a sesame sauce. This sauce reminds me of a watered down peanut butter. I enjoy dipping my cold tofu in it. Delicious! You can also season your broth with garlic, green onions, hot sauce and soy sauce.


My friend and I both ordered the regular size beef lunch. ($10.95) I'm not a big fan of cabbage and other vegetables, so I requested "no veggies, all tofu and udon noodles." My friend wanted vegetables.

We were both served plates of thinly sliced, bright red rib-eye beef.

You take the beef, veggies, tofu and noodles and put them in your own individual pot of boiling liquid. Since the meat is sliced so thin, it only takes a few seconds to fully cook. After removing your food from the liquid, you can choose to dip it in one of the two sauce before you eat it. I like to soak my meat in the ponzu for a few seconds and then eat it with a big mouthful of white rice.

Shabu-shabu is a perfect meal for the cold days we have been having recently. Shabu-Shabu USA is in my opinion, the best shabu-shabu joint in OC. Not only is the food fresh and delicious, but the service can't be beat. The owners and servers are very friendly and willing to help out first-timers. When you are done eating, they will even be happy to turn your leftover broth into a nice soup to finish off your meal. This is a definite favorite of mine and one that you should not miss.