Holly "fleet admiral" W.'s Profile

I cannot understand for the life of me -- why, oh why can't I ever get a decent meal at this place?!  I must have the worse luck of any run-of-the-mill craft beer lover, who also happens to LOVE EATING EDIBLE FOOD while sipping on a cold one.  Is that too much to ask?!

It must be, because after frequenting the Seal Beach location more than my fair share of times over the last few years, I was fooled once again. But this was for good reason: by the laxest standards, it is perfectly logical to believe that any place that serves Greenflash's Palate Wrecker ON TAP (plus many great others) might be able to serve a hamburger that doesn't make me want to gag.  Add to the mix that this establishment boasts their own state of the art brewing facilities, and an edible hamburger almost becomes a given.  But if you concede that this place is Beachwood Brewing & BBQ, you really do expect a lot more than...well, let me tell you.

Granted, their "slightly more upscale than a bar"-type offerings make me think that this place is trying to appeal to the food(ie) crowd, but my singular visit to this new location just told me that they bear the same handicap as their location in Seal Beach.  Save for the thinnest ranch dressing you'll ever see (on request only), no dressing dresses the most tasteless fried green tomatoes you'd be sorry you ever laid teeth on.  Mini lamb corndogs, perfectly "JUST OK" at the Seal Beach location, are perfectly raw, fit to be sent back, returning with little improvement except for actually being cooked :( But that hamburger -- oh, that friggin hamburger.  I'm unsure if they themselves grind their meat fresh daily,  but that patty seemed to contain onions (or something else) in the grind, which does nothing for the texture but make you NOT capable of eating it.

Thank goodness this place has one of the BEST craft beer selections in all of OC/Long Beach combined, or else, I would never ever come back again.  Ever.  If you REALLY love beer, come here (or go to the one in Seal Beach).  Just don't ever eat the food.  Ever (same for Seal Beach).  Yes, I will be back for the beer and nothing else.

2.5: When it comes to M.B. Post, I'm a bit torn.  On one hand, judging by the double row of cars that flood the restaurant's valet, the triple row of extremely tanned executives overcrowding the bar with orders for mojitos, and the fact that the first available table that particular evening inquired about 2 weeks prior was for a deuce at 10:15 p.m., I can't deny that the restaurant has singlehandedly resurrected this part of town from the dead. On the other hand, despite fighting my way through the beautiful nonsense and having the loveliest time, I also can't deny that I was disappointed with the execution of food and the rather slim selection of craft beers on the menu.

Since I had long been wanting to try what the LA Times had termed "bold & exciting", I fought hard for the two seats at the corner of the bar -- something you must be willing to patiently do on a Friday night without a reservation.  Charming as they may be, the long communal tables they have set up for walk-ins actually redefine the meaning of small and narrow.  Crowded with Manhattan Beach-an-ites, the deep-set bar places much more than an arm's length between you and your expert mixologist, but if you don't mind making a few strappy sandled slash rainbow sandled friends and being a little more assertive than normal, it makes for a pretty nice place to nosh on M.B. Post's highly touted "Charcuterie & Cheese Platter" paired with a beer or glass of wine (or cocktail), and subsequently paired again with their much-more-highly-touted bacon cheddar biscuits.  However, if you're highly inclined towards craft beer, please don't expect to go digging for gold here.  After perusing the menu for a good 5 minutes, we conceded and ordered a few pints of some pale ale on tap, probably Duvel.  

As expected, the charcuterie platter in all of its house-made accoutrement glory, arrives to a chorus of oohs and ahhs, which also could've been because the Lakers just scored.  Even so, it doesn't change the fact that the average selection of meats and cheeses is elevated by said accoutrements.  Who's gonna argue with house-made mustard, house-dried currants, or house-pickled vegetables?  Not me, no sirree. But what's even better are those damn biscuits -- perfect in every way, bacon and cheddar never seem so distinctive in this very simple, down-to-earth format.  I only wish we ended it right there.

Because from there, it just goes downhill.  Not only does our beer selection not get magically more interesting, every single dish seems to be ever so slightly misfired and with flavors (or lack thereof) that fail to excite.  The very-much-talked-about "Roasted Brussel Sprouts" are mushy little buggers with hardly any sage or detectable Emmental cheese in the mix, and the poor little "Oak Grilled Shishito Peppers" don't fare much better from a texture standpoint (sitting too long under a heat lamp?) even though they've been delectably covered with tons of bonito flakes that appear as though they've been gracing the dish for about 20 minutes. Sadly, though it's a rather tasty representation, the "Moroccan BBQ Lamb Belly" served with polenta and braised carrots, doesn't really speak to why I've been obsessing about eating at this restaurant for months.  And that dish we were hoping was gonna be a ringer -- "Chicken Pot Pie" -- is completely devoid of any sort of gravy to support its seemingly tasty innards which have no choice but to be bound by a very thick, floury and mushy sort of...well...mush. "Le sigh" would've been an understatement, further proving that even the magnificent Chef David LeFevre will occasionally have off-nights, such as this one.

Overall, I will do that whole song and dance like everyone else pretends to do and say this: I really wanted to like this place and can concede that they probably had an off-night.  But from a general flavor standpoint, judging from the fact that I've had tastier representations of everything I ate at M.B. Post elsewhere, I'm just going to say that this restaurant is best suited to the demographic area in which it's built -- i.e. Manhattan Beach.  And from a business standpoint, that certainly makes sense.  So because of that, I cannot in good faith recommend anyone driving great lengths to eat out there. If you're in the area, that's one thing.  If I miraculously happen to be in that neck of the woods, I'd certainly give 'em another whirl.  Until then, I'm just gonna have to conclude that all of this hype won't be including chime-ins from me anytime soon.

After a handful of times visiting this place, they seem to have gotten a lot less notable.  While pizzas are certainly passable, their wood fired crust is tasteless and nowhere as good as Pizzeria Mozza.  And while pizza toppings run the gamut from anything you can pair with a San Marzano tomato to your average, ordinary white pizza, there is not one single pie that is particularly memorable when it comes to taste or flavor.  It made me sad, really.  You would think that a pizza with guanciale, thinly sliced red pear, mozzarella, gorgonzola & mascarpone would've sent my eyes rolling to the back of my head, but no.  I just stared at the lifeless disk on the table expecting a hell of a lot more.

But what made me even sadder had to be those things they were calling "calamari fries", which were nothing more than limp, dry and dreadfully chewy pieces of squid, deep fried after being coated in a breading that needed more salt.  The butterscotch budino depressed me even more -- it was horribly thin, not butterscotch-y at all, and not nearly as good as Pizzeria Mozza's.  Is it even fair or correct to make this comparison, even though the restaurants are in the same category?  Probably not.

But there is one thing Ecco does have over its competitors, and "intimacy in ambiance" is certainly one way to say it.  Another way could be: during my 5 times eating on the premises, I've never seen more than 10 people in the building, including the employees  And it's sad, because for as hard as I am being about the food, in reality, Ecco renders itself as average, and average is certainly passable, good enough to masquerade as "good" on a quiet evening out.  But Ecco could be SO MUCH BETTER than passable masquerading as good!!!

Note: their wine list is underwhelming to say the least.  In fact, if you find yourself in the unfortunate situation dining with people who don't drink, you may find that the wines by the glass" don't even include Italian reds on any given days. IF YOU COME HERE, ALWAYS BUY WINE BY THE BOTTLE OR BRING YOUR OWN.

Orange County is seriously lucky to have this place, because it's almost like Los Angeles finally decided to throw us a bone.  The pizza (and entire experience) is probably one of the better thin crust experiences, if not *the* best you're going to find all over South County.  The problem is, when the place gets jammed execution and service can suffer.  Furthermore, it's completely clear that the waitstaff know they're catering to people who are primarily dining due to name alone, and who aren't necessarily there because they want an excellent dining experience where they're "blown away" by any sort of originality or newness (yes, the typical OC diner, I guess).  You may notice this when all they try to steer you towards old reliable favorites you've heard about from everyone and their mother, and may not necessarily answer any of your questions about anything else, despite looking them square in the eye and trying to show 'em you mean business.

I've been a handful of times to the Los Angeles location, and this OC location isn't quite up to snuff yet.  Don't get me wrong, the food is good, but it's just been inconsistent on a few visits -- not to the point of being bad -- but just to the point where the luxury of first-hand comparison has made it particularly evident.  Still, they do their perfectly blistered crust remarkably well, so much that you really can't go too wrong with many of the pizzas -- my favorite is the fennel sausage with onions, as well as the white pizza with sage (add on fennel sausage to kick it up a notch).  For appetizers, if they have bone marrow in house, you absolutely must get it, and you can't go wrong with several orders of the pane bianco with Nancy Silverton's signature chopped salad.  Don't forget to get several quartinos of some Italian red -- they only do Italian wines here fyi.  For dessert, that butterscotch budino is always a big hit and don't be afraid to request a few extra orders of the rosemary cookies it is served alongside with.  Try and request the outside patio (normally reserved for walk-ins) if you happen to go for lunch.  

Overall, try not to hate on the place just because it's popular aka "hyped".  Like I said, we're lucky to even have this restaurant in the vicinity.

I don't mind this place at all, and in fact, I actually like it.  Even though the crowd is typical Laguna, the parking is difficult (park on Cress on the North side of PCH in the neighborhood and walk), the cocktails a bit expensive and really nothing to write home about, the Rooftop Lounge ends up being functionally awesome.

Functionally awesome? What's that you say?  The Rooftop Lounge is actually what it says it is, where a full bar exists on the top of an old-style Laguna-beachy-boutiquey hotel, outside on the roof and complete with a whole lot of tables, benches, chairs and heat lamps.  I love the view at night and during the day (note: for best results, watch the sun go down).  You know, the Pacific Ocean can be quite charming once you get to know her like this. Trust me.  Take someone you actually like here to help you figure it out.

Oh, and from a taste-perspective, the highly-touted mojitos aren't really that life-changing but they're something you might wanna consider for the occasion alone.

I remember VERY LITTLE of how, when, and where exactly the "Secret Pizza" place was, but I do remember the delicious aftermath.  After finding the "secret" hallway, we stormed in like gangbusters, asked the nice pizza man what was "good"  to which he rightfully suggested his own "meat lover's" version -- a seemingly off-the-menu creation concocted of pepperoni, sausage, peperoncinis, some other kind of meat, and some other stuff I'm failing to remember.  It was SO DAMN GOOD -- the not-so-soggy thin crust was absolutely what we needed, so much, that it got the stamp of approval from the two Manhattanites I was...ahem...dining with.  This WHOLE PIZZA easily fed 3 inebriated people or would feed about 37 models, 4 normal people or 15 people on a diet.  It should be noted that the two latter classes of people really don't belong in Vegas anyway.

There is minimal seating inside, but you can take your pizza "to-go" and park it on one of the Cosmo's luxurious couch seating areas in the hall right outside.  Beer and wine only.

You know that handy dandy rack of gift cards that Ralphs has now begun to carry?  You know, the rack that proudly displays that you can now buy a gift card to Red Lobster, Starbucks, Best Buy, and even some AMEX and Visa gift cards?

Well, don't buy any of those, because many of these cards will bury a 10% "activation fee" (or perhaps even more) in the fine print, and will factor that 10% fee into the price.  SO, if you think you're getting a $50 Visa Gift card for fifty bucks, think again.  It'll cost you $4.95 extra, for which, I shouldn't have to point out is highway robbery for this type of situation.

This is really dangerous if you're in a hurry like I usually am and don't exactly mentally add up the price of all purchased goods if you're purchasing a bunch of items together.

Oh, and once you figure out that you were essentially robbed by this extra charge, Ralphs won't let you return the gift card (also buried in the fine print) and sure enough the manager might be a douche when you ask them to explain why.

Overall, the above is true of THIS Ralphs, and (I suspect) for all other Ralphs locations.  This is probably not Ralphs' fault per se but it doesn't matter.

BUYER BEWARE!

I happen to love little orange boxes (or big ones) better than the little blue ones.  But the problem with that is, the people who work at the Hermes store will not let me purchase anything so I can obtain said little orange box!  Why?  They absolutely refuse to talk to me!

I don't know what it is.  I've literally been in this boutique 5+ times over the years in hopes of tracking down a Collier de Chien, but every single time I go in and politely say hello, the salespeople stare right through me as if I was some sort of homeless person they hope not to make eye contact with.  And when I ask them for help, they literally pretend like they can't even hear me!  These people act more like disgruntled minimum wage security guards than salespeople who sell $20,000 bags that never seem to exist except on those Kardashian people, let me tell you.

Anyway, even inquiring about a $280 Ulysse MM journal is out of the question.  I saved up some $$$ this month and wanted to purchase it the other day.  Oh well, the blind/deaf/mute salespeople managed to rain on my parade again!  I would've said something mean to them, but I didn't want to reduce myself to their mean level!

Overall, this place is a horrible store associated with an unbelievable brand with tons of uber interesting coffee table book-type history (yes, I've poured over those books my whole life).  Despite how much you love Hermes, I would NOT recommend coming here.  The location in Paris is 1000x less snooty.  I guess we should know better in such a "high-class" place aka the wonderful city of Costa Mesa...ugh

You certainly don't need ME to describe Ferragamo to YOU, because if you haven't seen the Fall/Winter 2011 RTW collection as of yet, it's not my job to tell you what you're missing (read: lots of houndstooth and just plain awesomeness).  But it doesn't really matter, because most of the awesome stuff has already been snatched up anyway.  In fact, I just bought these. http://www.yelp.com/bi...

Funny thing is, I wouldn't have been able to snatch these up had it not been for the salespeople who tracked them down. But doing their job isn't why this place is awesome...*this* is -- after they tracked them down, placed them on hold, and gave me the expected phone call, I didn't even do my due diligence and go pick them up.  I went a full 2 weeks later expecting them to be sold. But they were NOT sold, thank you very much...

As it turned out, the very nice salesdude Mark had essentially renewed the 24-hour hold limit EVERY SINGLE DAY in hopes that I'd come back.  He was just about to give me another call when low and behold, I appeared in my Sunday scruffiness of Converse All Stars in hopes of getting myself prettied up.  Let me just say, I was touched by his kindness and the enthusiasm and courtesy of every freakin salesperson in that store.

Over the years, I've been keeping a careful watch on all the high end designer boutiques at this ego-inflated mall, and Ferragamo is one of the best for customer service (ahem Hermes, LV and Dior!).  Oh, and many of their pumps come in C-widths for you gals with wider feet who have been killing your flip-flop accustomed feets in Louboutins, so just ask -- you will NOT find this at Nordstrom, Saks or Needless Markups.

This place embodies what the coffee culture in OC should aspire to be, if there was a coffee culture in OC.  And rather than getting all prolific on you, I'm just going to ask you to trust me on this one.  This is no Starbucks or some wannabe place brewing some random fair trade coffee ground to a #7 for flat filter.  Portola Coffee Lab takes this shit seriously -- so seriously that they've got a veritable O-Chem experiment going on which just goes to show they're more legit that you could even imagine.  Portola Coffee embodies a seriousness akin to that of Blue Bottle up in the Bay Area.

That said, their beans roasted in house are phenomenal and their drip coffee is drop dead amazing (halogen siphon bar and Hario v60 brewing methods, hence the O-Chem ref).  However, I absolutely love them for their mochas -- yes, those girly drinks normally meant for amateur coffee drinkers are now anything but.  The housemade ganache is not too sweet, and mixes excellently with their perfectly steamed milk.  Cupping a mug (complete with foam leaf art) and sitting on the sofa is enough to transport you back to the nostalgia of the Central Perk Coffee House of Friends, sans the cheesiness.  I f'n love this place.