DonnaMarie "I eat; therefore I am"

Brunch and Happy Hour!

After splashing around in a fountain, we wandered into Il Forno and discovered they have a 2-for-1 Happy! Extra star just for that plus no crappy cheap pretzels or snack mix here. GARDETTO’S snack mix is served and the bowl is automatically refilled when you get near the bottom of the bowl. I probably need to tell the ‘Tender to NOT do that since I could polish off about 3 bowls of those things. Also offered are two hot dishes for those sitting at the bar. The Chicken A La King is really good. Last night was pasta with mushrooms w/spicy olive oil and sautéed veggies. Delish. The bartender, Robert, is friendly and attentive and makes my usual Fizzy Screw just right. The fellow patrons are also friendly as one offered me a taste of his Salmon special and au gratin potatoes! Maybe the man thought I would say no since you shouldn’t take candy from strangers. But this wasn’t candy. If you offer me food, I WILL take it.

The owner also is very friendly and warm and always stops to say hello and chat. And this is how I found out about the buffet champagne brunch on Sundays. So we promised to stop in and try it out. Everyone’s favorite was the Breakfast Quesadilla. It appeared to be similar to whole wheat tortillas with eggs, potatoes, and sausage joining the cheese. Also a hit was the pasta with mushrooms and sausage and the frittata. The usual breakfast fare was offered along with traditional Italian favorites like pizza, lasagna, pastas, and salad. You can end your meal with Crème brulee.

The food is good, the service is good, what better way to spend your happy hour or brunch?

The jalepeno rolls are wonderful. Spider rolls delish, and the sushi chef, Hiro, is wonderfully friendly, helpful, and darn cute to boot! . Every time I have been there, the people at the sushi bar are friendly, so it feels like a cozy social gathering. The menu boasts creations such as the Ashley Special or the Scott Special named after Shogun patrons who have earned their place there.

Always make sure to check out the “Special” board. My favorite specials when they have it: The twice fried pompano was quite the experience for me and I would get it again. I never dreamed I would eat a fish head! Tastes like bacon! The baked salmon roll is truly divine. No rice in it. Truly. Fresh Soft shell crab, I could eat a bucketful. Garlic squid- I thought I hated squid! But noooo, and it has garlic shoots that my friend thought was string beans for the longest time, ha! and Enoki mushroom..Mmm…sauted with garlic and shrimp. Tiger eye is a warm dish with fish stuffed inside a squid. Another riceless delicacy.

I was forced to try an oyster shooter. Not my thing. really. No REALLLLYYYY. They don’t get the hint and I somehow end up with one in front of me. I almost gagged the last time. But they DO have a vegetarian oyster shooter. So now I can shoot with the rest of them. And the unfiltered saki reminds me of spiked horchata. ha!

Something you don’t see on the menu board or the special board is the seafood salad. This is not to be overlooked. tuna, salmon, one more raw fish that escapes me now, crab, and shrimp atop a bed of lettuce, carrots and avocado, and a wonderful dressing.

The prices are reasonable, so I can afford to stop by regularly. Maybe much too regularly.

It’s the Cheesecake. I don’t know where else to go and find such a variety of cheesecake. I love the lemon raspberry and I usually hate raspberry cheesecakes. The Tuxedo Cheesecake is just to rich and sinful for words. The chocolate coconut? Oy ve.

Yea, the wait. I know, it sucks. I don’t find the food worth the wait. I am probably emotionally scarred since the one time I did pay my dues and wait a sickening amount of time, I ordered the Thai pasta. Some sort of Thai dish. Terrible. But I blamed myself. What was I thinking ordering Thai food at an All American restaurant? My bad.

I have since found Avacado Rolls, Fire Roasted Asparagus, Portabella Burger, Chicken Tostada, Eggplant Sandwich. And there is definitely a HUGE variety. Something for everyone. But ONLY if there is no wait. AND ONLY if we are getting Cheesecake to go.

We came for breakfast once, and it was pretty good. Think the man got breakfast burrito and I had artichoke omelette. But not much of a breakfast variety if you are into breakfast.

The little mini cakey delights here are like tiny works of art. And what is more impressive is the packaging it comes in. Darling little cake boxes with handles put into a very nice bag. Hate buying birthday trinkets for all those damn acquaintances and coworkers? Easy now. No one can not be impressed with a beautiful little cake or mouse wrapped so nicely.

I normally don’t like the European style cakes. Dry and spongy. Like I am eating the sponge off my sink with sugar on it. But these had plenty of mouse fillings to moisten things up. And did I mention how pretty it is? The strawberry cake was my favorite. The green tea cheesecake was a disappointment. Very dry and crumbly. Maybe they gave me a stale piece. But the dark chocolate mouse made up for it. Not too sweet and a center of drippy gooey ganache.

The sign said $6 a cake, but I ordered 4 items and the bill was close to $15. Maybe the mouse was cheaper. They also had a sign that said credit accepted with $20 minimum, they still took my debit which I appreciate.

I have learned loud seems to go hand in hand with Dim Sum. Very loud. But that is what I will deal with to get my dose of turnip cakes and taro dumplings and mango pudding. This one has the carts rolling around. I was able to get most of my normal favorites except for the broccoli. We had to ask for that one and it was quite good. Maybe a bit better than the other dim sum places I have tried. And we didn’t have to wait at all during a week day dim sum excursion. I’m not a baked BBQ bun fan, but everyone else always gets it, and I actually thought these ones were pretty good.

I don’t have a huge amount of dim sum experience, but I thought this was pretty good. Another good thing about this place is they are open late for those late night food cravings.

Oh, it’s definitely a tourist place. With the big drink with flags and surfboard stirrers. But on Stearn’s Wharf, I don’t know what else I would expect. So I didn’t expect. Just wanted a bloody mary on this early morning (okay, so Noon felt early after polishing off an obscene amount of vodka the night before), something greasy to ease the tummy, and the hockey game on the tube, and near the water. And, well, I got it all.

No wait at all. Plenty of room at the bar since everyone wanted to sit out side on the deck or be along the windows. That’s fine. We were a bit bleary eyed anyway and the ‘tender turned the big plasma right in front of us to hockey so we didn’t have to focus too far.

The menu at the upstairs bar was short and simple. I don’t know if the restaurant downstairs has a more extensive menu. Ribs, sandwiches, burgers, salads. Everyting came with fries and slaw. Seems to be a theme around here. The fries were really good. Nice and crispy with the peel still on. My Maui burger was was decent. two pattys, BBQ sauce and and onion ring on a yellow sesame seed bun. My friend got a Burnt Tip sandwich. Rip tips and pork. Kinda dry. Needed some extra sauce and the bite I had was a bit chewy, so I don’t think I would want that in the future. They have their own Bloody Mary-Harbor Mary I think. And it was just okay, but it came with big shrimp. Oh, the salads were good. I don’t like ice berg, so I don’t get wedge salads, but it had major chunks of blue cheese and bacon. And my garden salad was all romain with copious amounts of carrots, celery, jicama, tomato. nice. But kinda pricey. I think $8. But everything was a bit pricey considering quality. But you are paying for ocean front locale and tourist trap sucker syndrome.

It’s the view here that is good. Including the view of the waitresses wearing black stretchy shorts that are so short enough to almost moon you. For a very simple lunch, drink, and a hockey game, I was satisfied. I don’t think I would come back to this particular place though.

It was amusing to watch the waitresses try to herd the brave pigeons out of the bar. They would wander right in to grab lost peanuts and fries.

This review is for the brunch. Now it’s Sunday morning, and I want breakfast food and a bloody Mary, and the hockey game before we hit the art fair and the zoo. So, short on time, we walk up State street and say we are hitting the first place that offers all of it.

I think we did well here. They had the hockey game already on on the big plasma and we scored a little table right in front of it. I was surprised they had breakfast and didn’t expect too much from a bar.

But what DID surprise me was more brekkie options than I expected and I found my Rio Grande Omelet with roasted corn and poblano peppers, jack cheese, and applewood bacon hitting the spot. The cheddar jalapeno potatoes w/roasted peppers were good. Could have used more jalapeno. You get a choice of corn tortillas or Hawaiian bread with your meal. My friend chose Hawaiian bread and it was grilled and buttered. Yum. He had steak and eggs and said it good. I always say you can’t screw up breakfast, so what I liked is the choices, while not extensive, had a bit of a flair.

But what I really really liked, was the fact that they made this brunch. For one hour, you get free Mimosas. I know, only one hour?? Yea, I can drink a LOT in one hour. Especially if you are timing me. But we didn’t realize this little perk and had already ordered a Bloody Mary. What? A do-it-yourself bar Bloody bar? Oh, I was in heaven. Cuz I like my Bloodys my way. With a lot of olive juice and some garlic. So, like Burger King, I got it my way and had fun doing it.

If I had more room, I would have tried the coconut macadamia pancakes. I enjoyed my “brunch” and my hockey at this kitchy, Hawaiian themed bar.

I knew this place was there. I see it. I have heard of it. I just never got around to trying it. Then one afternoon, I desolately thought about the horrible cafeteria food I would be doomed to eating since I didn’t bring a lunch and a fellow Yelper, Marianne M, sent a message asking if I had tried Janet’s yet. Good thinking Watson! Off I went to Janets. I retrieved a menu online and called in our orders.

It’s a little hole in the wall place with plastic/formica table and chairs and the kebabs grilling right in front of you. You pick up food and place orders at the counter. Not a place for a date, but a place to go during your work lunch hour or to pick up food to go. My friend found her lule kebabs a bit overcooked. My salmon kebabs were wonderful. Yea, they could have been a bit less cooked, but still tender and flavorful. The falafel and tabouli was good. What we all loved was the hummus. “Smooooth”, was one description. “Not too beany” another. My take was so flavorful and spicy. They have a variety of appetizers from fava to soujouk (Armenian sausage), entrees from shawermas to quail, and sandwiches, salads.

Definitely a good place to hit for lunch or a quick inexpensive dinner to go on the way home.

Parking can get a little hairy at lunch hour. It’s hidden in a shopping strip on the South side of the street.

Tburger in Azusa now! This is great hangover food. The burgers are good and greasy and the the onion ring and fried zucchini orders are big enough to put your hangover into remission when the food coma takes over.

But what I had today was something healthier. It was hot, and I wanted a cool tuna salad. I didn’t expect much from this burger joint known for its chili cheese fries and pastrami burgers. I expected a clump of tuna on a small bed of iceberg and I would add more veggies at home. But I was pleasantly surprised. It appears there is green leaf lettuce and a smidgen of red leaf lettuce mixed with the iceberg. Also four big wedges of tomato, so I guess I got a whole tomato in there. Bell pepper, and cucumber also. So while I still had to add my celery, napa cabbage and chopped broccoli, it was more than I expected. And now I have half left for tomorrow.

Psst…but this is still the best place for hangover food. Or a late evening post-happy hour meal. They close at midnite.

Trouble ahead. Now that I know Sinagang and Adobo chicken is just a block from my work place, this may mean Sinagang jonesing and fixes for a while.

JoJo’s Lechon is moments from my work place and I dragged along a couple of coworkers with me see what they had to offer. It’s cafeteria style with the steam trays and I had to ask what was everything. I only recognized the Adobo and Sinagang. But the kid behind the counter was very friendly and helpful and didn’t mind my questions. I picked the 3 item combo with a pork dish (I cannot remember what the heck he said it was) to accompany my Adobo and Sinagang. The pork dish was REALLY good. Tender, flavorful. And of course I love my tamarind soup. Lots of greens and eggplant and big chunks of pork. And I can eat the Adobo forever.

My friend had the 2 item combo with the same pork dish and Afritada chicken. We both found the Afritada to be a bit bland, but tender. It was okay, but next to the mystery pork dish and the Adobo, it just couldn’t really compare.

There is a small variety of filipino pre-packaged snacks, sweets, and drinks to add to your meal. Menu items apparently rotate and they have catering and large tray sizes for your next gathering.

Definitely all about the meat. We each got some string beans with tofu (the only vegetable dish offered) to get some fiber in.

They close at 3pm on Sat., Sun., & Mon. So plan accordingly.

I will definitely will be back to this little treat.