Wilbur "Meeeooow" L.'s Profile

decent ramen that gets better over time.

had the kotteri ramen and thought it was just ok.  the pork was not as tender as i hoped....and to make matters worse, the pork belly wasn't as tender as it should have been.  perhaps i need to come by later in the day (we went when they opened) to allow the protein to break down more?

however, i took my leftovers home and ate them a few days day.  wow, i thought it was better than having it fresh as the flavor profile built up and really infused everything with porkiness.

weird huh?

gonna keep this short and sweet.

very good service
- our waitress was friendly and the bussers cleared plates efficiently

good apps
- spicy mambo salad was the shiznit.  it's a good caesar salad kicked up a notch with horseradish
- oysters on the half shell: fresh and briny. the shucker needs to make sure he/she cuts the muscle holding the flesh in as he/she did a half assed job
- escargot: decent but a tad bitter

excellent steaks
- chef's cut rib eye which is a 33oz behemoth. the steak was ordered medium rare - and was cooked PERFECTLY!  nice char on the exterior and bright red and slightly warm in the center.  the medium rare was uniform in the steak, almost as if it was prepared sous vide. delicious!

very good sides
- creamed corn was awesome
- lobster mashed potatoes were a bit on the salty side but the first few bites were really good
- mac n cheese was ok. i can live with some bleu cheese but this dish was loaded with bleu cheese and kind of blew out my taste buds.  however, it was super creamy and the thick layer of cheese on top was killer.

very good cheesecake
- what can i say but the fresh fruits + cheesecake + homemade whipping cream was bomb

tagine was my first foray into moroccan cuisine and damn, i had a great time.

we opted for the tasting menu and off we went on a pleasurable dinner experience.

food
- hummus served with marinated olives and berbere bread: damn, this is some good hummus.  what a great way to whet our appetite.

- tomato and cucumber salad: sounds plain jane but this dish personifies the reason simple = great.  great flavor and textures, the lemon sorbet on top really made the dish pop.

- bastilla - light layer of phyllo with cornish hen and scrambled eggs, sprinkled with saffron and powered sugar: wow, wow, wow.  i wanted seconds of this dish.  the sweet and salty combo along with the textures really made this dish sing in my mouth.

- tiger shrimp: the shrimp was cooked very well and flavorful.

- sea bass - roasted striped bass with chermoula sauce, served with oyster mushrooms and lentils: good stuff, the bass was cooked very well and the accompaniments really pulled the dish together.

- lamb - marinated in the seven spices, finished with dates and prunes, served with couscous, very tender lamb that was braised for 3hrs.  the lamb hardly had any gaminess to it and was infused with flavor.

- baklava - served with a chocolate soup and vanilla ice cream: good stuff. the baklava was super duper sweet and was tempered by the chocolate soup.  i think we got pralines and cream ice cream and i liked the fact they added granola for add'l texture

service
- very good service. plates and silverware were cleared quickly. glasses were topped off efficiently and everyone was all smiles.

tagine is tiny, but serves ups awesome food.

gloria's is legit.

came by for a lazy lunch and was greeted with a smile and led to a booth.

as we perused the menu, salsa and chips showed up.  nom nom nom.  good stuff.

we ordered:
- duo of pupusas: revuelta and frijol v queso.  both pupusas were good but the revuelta rocked....then again i love pork products.

- guacamole: a bit expensive for the size but it was made fresh and had chunks of avocado in it.  could have used a bit more salt and lime though.

- bistec encebellado: this was good.  the beef was cooked well and the tomatoey sauce pulled it all together

- beef nachos: good stuff. they don't skimp on the beef, cheese, guacamole or sour cream in this dish. i like how they bake it so that the cheese melts through the tortilla chips.

- sangria: pretty decent value considering it is a small pitcher for $14.00.  we got about 5 glasses out of this pitcher.

service
- great service with a smile.

i'll be back to try the carne adobada next time.

i really really really wanted to like lazy ox but my early dinner there this weekend was meh.

food
- ricotta fritters: nice idea but somewhat flat.  couldn't tell if it were an appetizer or dessert.

- poached egg, quinoa and pork belly: i'm a huge fan of pork belly but this dish didn't do it for me either.  the poached egg was well executed but the lemon in the quinoa and the over-fried pork belly brought the dish down.

- burger: this was the saving grace, the burger was cooked a perfect med-rare and was quite flavorful.  the fries were cooked well but a bit too salty.

service
- quite good and attentive without be intrusive

what a bummer of a meal.

dropped by newport coast pharmacy to get a prescription refilled as i happened to be in the area.  the staff was nice and my refill was filled quickly.  gotta love efficiency.

the location is very convenient if your doctor is in the medical complex and parking is very easy.

kagaya is home to high quality, albeit expensive, shaby shabu. for the most part, there is typically a wait...even with reservations, however we were lucky and were seated right away.

i really like the fact that the chef provides you with a few appetizer course prior to digging into the shabu shabu.

appetizers
- hamachi sashimi: very fresh and firm texture

- tofu soup: very good tofu. i wonder if they make it in house?

- deep fried halibut: super tasty, not greasy and the halibut was flaky and delicious

shabu shabu
- prime beef: nice but blown out of the water by the wagyu

- wagyu beef: KILLER, this stuff is so damn good.  i found that cooking it till it was medium rare yielded the best results as the fat melted a little bit and made the beef, for a lack of better words, unctuous.

- rice soup: after you are done with the shabu shabu course they will either make rice or noodle soup. we opted for rice soup which totally filled me up.  the soup was simple and rustic.

dessert:
- green tea mousse: this was ok.  you really need to get a lot of the cream sauce in every bite to really have the flavors work

- banana tart ice cream: this was very good, flaky pastry on top of banana which was covered with a scoop of ice cream. yum!

service was quite good and the quality of the food was excellent.  btw, we had a bottle of their own kagaya branded junmai daiginjo.  this was very good.

but keep in mind this place is super pricey if you opt for the wagyu beef.

to sum it up.......expensive thai food dumbed down for the mountains.

thai'd up is one of the few delivery options in mammoth and after days of eating steaks, potatoes and pasta, we needed a change of pace so we ordered thai delivery.

- tofu nuggets: decent, then again, fried foods = yummy food

- yellow curry: dull flavor but spicy.  the beef was overcooked and really tough.

- beef fried rice: once again, dull flavor but spicy and the beef was also overcooked and super tough. i had to pour all the sweet/spicy sauce that accompanied the tofu nuggets over the rice to give it flavor.

at least they delivered the food on time and the delivery dude was really cool..

1* for delivery and 1* for being on time

i was quite a disappoint by the jerky we got at mahogany cause they tasted stale and were super duper tough to chew.

perhaps this is what "homemade" jerky is supposed to taste like but i am not a fan.

we ordered:

- sweet and spicy turkey: really really tough....had a plastic and odd floral taste to it.  really really weird.

- sweet and spicy beef: same plastic and odd floral taste to it.

perhaps we got a bad batch or maybe i just don't get it?

chili cheese bread

ham and chese bread

that is all.  this place rocks......but can be quite the zoo.