If you ever need food so you don't die, this is the place to go. No surprises, nothing special - but you get what you order and it tastes like its supposed to.
A tiny little place that has nothing to boast about for atmosphere, Tom's has got maybe 10 tables, an outdoor patio I've never seen anyone use, and a drive thru window. It also has a menu board that will take you 10 minutes to read. So far, I've yet to get anything I don't like. Went for the breakfast for dinner motif this day - a breakfast burrito. Three eggs, tomato, potato, and cheese mushed in a giant flour tortilla. You can get salsa in there too, but I'm a big baby, so I got that on the side. A solid piece of dinner, right there. Easily consumable while driving as it is wrapped securely and doesn't drip. I added bacon because I really like bacon. I mean, bacon. Yum. Love bacon.
The wonder and appeal of the place is that everything is fresh and you can watch the dude prepare it. It is truly 'poetry in motion' to watch a good short order cook. The egg smashing, the stirring, the blending - all at the same time as a burger is getting fried and a tuna melt is getting assembled. Fascinating!
Great prices, food like it was meant to taste. A fallback for me and mine; especially when we need to hurry and get food because there is a new episode of Vampire Diaries on TV. We do have our priorities.
Friday, February 25, 2011
Monday, February 21, 2011
Market Broiler, Huntington Beach, 2/21/2011
"Eat more Fish"
It says so on the sign. So, okay, I ate a fish. A trout to be more specific. A farm bred little trout. With paprika and butter and no bones. No head either and that is good because I really don't like it when my food looks at me. I think it's rude. Very tasty for a fish that really doesn't have a whole lot of flavor. I know, there are a lot of fish in the sea, but I happen to like this little lake denizen. And when it is served with the steamed veggies - perfectly done so you can stab a carrot without trying - that have little flecks of some herby thing on them and the cheesy potatoes - which are more like twice baked potatoes with something on them that looks sorta like cheese - that taste really, really good, you have got one fine meal.
I miss the half price wine special they used to run on Monday's. Sigh. Now they offer some label I've never heard of and no Pinot Grigio. I get water in silent protest. No one, so far, has noticed my boycott.
There were some odd people sitting next to us. She was worried they were making too much noise. They were eating fish and potatoes, how much noise can a person make? Whatever; maybe she just wanted attention. Seemed very nice, though. Great view out the window to the street (not) though we did get to monitor the existence of our vehicle. Some comfort in that I suppose.
So . . . "eat more fish"!
It says so on the sign. So, okay, I ate a fish. A trout to be more specific. A farm bred little trout. With paprika and butter and no bones. No head either and that is good because I really don't like it when my food looks at me. I think it's rude. Very tasty for a fish that really doesn't have a whole lot of flavor. I know, there are a lot of fish in the sea, but I happen to like this little lake denizen. And when it is served with the steamed veggies - perfectly done so you can stab a carrot without trying - that have little flecks of some herby thing on them and the cheesy potatoes - which are more like twice baked potatoes with something on them that looks sorta like cheese - that taste really, really good, you have got one fine meal.
I miss the half price wine special they used to run on Monday's. Sigh. Now they offer some label I've never heard of and no Pinot Grigio. I get water in silent protest. No one, so far, has noticed my boycott.
There were some odd people sitting next to us. She was worried they were making too much noise. They were eating fish and potatoes, how much noise can a person make? Whatever; maybe she just wanted attention. Seemed very nice, though. Great view out the window to the street (not) though we did get to monitor the existence of our vehicle. Some comfort in that I suppose.
So . . . "eat more fish"!
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Cheesecake Factory, Newport Beach, 2/20/2011
If you time it right, you can actually get in without having to wait forever. But you do run the risk, by coming early, of having to dine with a zillion children. Why people in Newport think it is appropriate to bring young humans to a restaurant that does not have accomodations or crayons for them, I don't know. But then people from Newport Beach do a lot of things I don't really understand.
Anyway, this was dinner of choice for today. I wasn't all that hungry - having indulged in a Subway ham sandwich for lunch. You can get the $5.00 footlong, bring it home and add bacon and it's really good. The menu has recently been altered to include a combination section. Some of the big favorites have been combined into one dinner - perfect for sharing. Steak Diane (covered in mushrooms and stuff) along with Chicken Maderia (also with mushrooms and stuff) discretely separated by a snowdrift of mashed potatoes and a spring of something green and leafy made for not only a lovely display, but also a treat for the nose. I absolutely adore thier mashed potatoes.
I know, you are supposed to get this with some spiffy selection from the full bar, but I am a Dr. Pepper addict and they serve it, so I have to have it. It was a splendid complement.
We also got their little house salad with a vinagrette dressing. Not as great - it had that nasty lettuce that looks like kelp on it. Yuck. And some of the leafy field greens looked a little too fresh from the field. But that's just me. Apparently people like the forest leavings salad. Whatever.
Another nom they have that we got was the Pasta Evelyn (Elvira? Eloise? Some woman's name.) Very, very nice. Lots of fresh veggies and herbs and perfectly cooked pasta. Defintiely a 'gonna get that one again'.
Anyway, this was dinner of choice for today. I wasn't all that hungry - having indulged in a Subway ham sandwich for lunch. You can get the $5.00 footlong, bring it home and add bacon and it's really good. The menu has recently been altered to include a combination section. Some of the big favorites have been combined into one dinner - perfect for sharing. Steak Diane (covered in mushrooms and stuff) along with Chicken Maderia (also with mushrooms and stuff) discretely separated by a snowdrift of mashed potatoes and a spring of something green and leafy made for not only a lovely display, but also a treat for the nose. I absolutely adore thier mashed potatoes.
I know, you are supposed to get this with some spiffy selection from the full bar, but I am a Dr. Pepper addict and they serve it, so I have to have it. It was a splendid complement.
We also got their little house salad with a vinagrette dressing. Not as great - it had that nasty lettuce that looks like kelp on it. Yuck. And some of the leafy field greens looked a little too fresh from the field. But that's just me. Apparently people like the forest leavings salad. Whatever.
Another nom they have that we got was the Pasta Evelyn (Elvira? Eloise? Some woman's name.) Very, very nice. Lots of fresh veggies and herbs and perfectly cooked pasta. Defintiely a 'gonna get that one again'.
Auld Dubliner, Tustin CA 2/19/11
I just wanted a soothing alternative for a too-long line to Harry Potter 7.1 (which would have been the third time anyway) and finding some cider seemed just the thing. Where to go was the dilemma solved by remembering an Irish pub completely out of place in a shopping mall surrounded by food and goods from a variety of ethnicities and tastes.
The pub advertised 'craic' which seemed odd, if not illegal, if you say it with the wrong inflection; it did, however, get the giggles started. The semi-naked, headless dress dummies on display in the window continued the giggling, but did not dissuade me from entry. A good choice. I was reminded of a little pub in London that had the same heavy wood and high tables. The enormous bar was very similar, albeit the pub in London did not serve Dos Equis. [And it did not have a giant hamster ball, either, which this place did.]
Magners apple cider was a tasty choice, not as good as some, but not as bad as others. Cold and delivered by a smiling server, it was just lovely. And after the first goes down, the second is that much better. It has a wee bite to it, which is appealing and isn't as sweet as some so the 'apple juice' flavor is nicely subtle.
The atmosphere of the place is as pleasantly cheeky as the flavored chips. Parmesian garlic was the nom of choice on this fine rainy eve. An excellent comfort food. I usually indulge in catsup with fries, but it was totally superfluous with the semi-melty cheese aqnd garlicky parsley. Even more nifty was the goofy conical metal spiral in which the chips were served.
A nice place - good prices and happy people!
The pub advertised 'craic' which seemed odd, if not illegal, if you say it with the wrong inflection; it did, however, get the giggles started. The semi-naked, headless dress dummies on display in the window continued the giggling, but did not dissuade me from entry. A good choice. I was reminded of a little pub in London that had the same heavy wood and high tables. The enormous bar was very similar, albeit the pub in London did not serve Dos Equis. [And it did not have a giant hamster ball, either, which this place did.]
Magners apple cider was a tasty choice, not as good as some, but not as bad as others. Cold and delivered by a smiling server, it was just lovely. And after the first goes down, the second is that much better. It has a wee bite to it, which is appealing and isn't as sweet as some so the 'apple juice' flavor is nicely subtle.
The atmosphere of the place is as pleasantly cheeky as the flavored chips. Parmesian garlic was the nom of choice on this fine rainy eve. An excellent comfort food. I usually indulge in catsup with fries, but it was totally superfluous with the semi-melty cheese aqnd garlicky parsley. Even more nifty was the goofy conical metal spiral in which the chips were served.
A nice place - good prices and happy people!
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