We were on our way back from a business trip in Orange County… evening commute traffic… playing with the GPS trying to find a fun place to have nice meal. Drove to several.. but not interested in them when we saw them. We even walked a few blocks in downtown San Clemente… reading menus and pondering. We got back in the car and headed South on El Camino Real… giving up the idea of finding a new fun spot… and then we saw it. Antoine’s Cafe… exactly what we had hoped to find… cute… charming… Not expensive… and we didn’t know it when we chose it… but outstanding food. The first hint was that it was packed… no surprise after eating there… and it was so good… we’ll go back even though it’s 40 minutes from Bonsall.

We got lucky on the calendar too… they have 1/2 price on bottles of wine each Thursday night. Next time we go back… it will probably be a Thursday :-)

Spotless… nicely decorated… felt fun the minute we stepped in the door and met Rene our server. Great soft oldies … Patti Page etc.. music in the background… and TV’s overhead with Turner Classic Movies… muted… but fun.

We ordered our 1/2 price wine and started weeding through the menu… everything sounded good… so we asked Rene and she said the Meatloaf was excellent and their most popular entree. When is the last time you heard Meat Loaf was popular :-) Well it is… with good reason. She also recommended the “Boeuf Bourguignon” ... a beef stew, marinated in a red wine sauce, with mushrooms and carrots, served with mashed potatoes and fresh vegetables. I think I’ll try that next time… but I went with the “Meat Loaf”... see the dish review… it was spectacular.

Rene also said the “Poulet a la Mourtarde” was very popular and excellent as well… but Terri went with “Pasta a la Antoine”... and it was great too. See the review of it as well.

The service was excellent and fun. The atmosphere… charming and friendly… we even met and visited with a neighboring diner.

Incredibly good Gourmet preparation of basic home style food… and very good prices… how can you beat that. We got lucky and found a new favorite.

Albie’s Beef Inn was one on my Mom’s favorite hangouts in the late 60’s thru the 70’s. For years we have stopped in there on occasion … had a Beefeater Martini up… for “Mom”... and had a dependably good steak or seafood meal. Yesterday we met an old friend of my Mom’s for her 71st Bday….. decided to go to Albie’s… as the friend used to hang out in there with Mom. Physically the place hasn’t changed… great bar… dark :-)... Piano Music… you just think you’ve stepped back 30 years :-) Very good drink prices and they pour a good drink… that hasn’t changed.

But… as the title of the review warns… the food has changed. Happy hour munchies were the first hint that management no longer cares.

The most popular thing on their menu… for all these years has been the bacon wrapped Fillet Mignon. Of course I had that… and will rate it separately.

Terri had their fresh Halibut. They took a beautiful piece of fresh fish… breaded it… slathered it in butter and garlic and ruined it. Was delivered to the table almost raw… took it back… with instructions to not put more butter on it… brought it back … with more butter… and cooked to mush.

One of the four meals being not up to par would be a mistake. The combination of the appetizers… and all meals being mediocre at best was really dissapointing. I used to go out of my way to drive from Bonsall to Albies on occaision… like one of my birthdays somewhere back in my 50’s :-)... but no more. The management and Chef are not paying attention to details at all… and one of my old favorites… gets a really poor review.

This is already one of our local favorites… but we went back last night for my Father-in-laws 89th Birthday. It is one of his favorites… he likes the 1/2 price stuffed mushrooms on Happy Hour :-) At 89… deals are important.

We always eat in the Bar… when we went in… everyone knew my Father-in-law… we find out they have their favorite booth… and the only disappointment of the evening… was that there was not fire in the fireplace :-) I had been showing property that day… and had a big lunch with a client… so I ordered the smallest steak on the menu.. the Sirloin. It was done to perfection… so was Terri’s… Dad’s prime rib was excellent… he said the baked potato was the best he’d ever had… that might be a memory thing???... and Alice his wife had the Fillet Medallions and raved. Wonderful Chocolate Cake for his birthday… good coffee… and incredibly friendly service. How can you not love this place. It gets better… four dinners, two orders of Stuffed Mushrooms… six drinks… Coffee and Desert… $125 before tip… Incredible value… last week we went to the steak house at Aviara… and had no better experience for $150 per person. Do yourself a favor… eat in the bar… have some fun… and this is the place to do it.

Not only is it the best Seafood in Fallbrook… it is a hoot. Kids will love sitting in the Saddles… the patio is always inviting… and the service is always friendly and smiling.

Now this gets five stars as a Sports Bar and Grill. It is fun… it is Friendly… and the food is always good. It’s not gourmet… and it’s not expensive. Yes there are 18 TV’s and 56” Wide Screen… but we’ve never paid too much attention to those. The view of the Golf Course “San Luis Rey Downs” is beautiful. The service is always excellent… and they always have smiles on their faces. We went there last night for Dinner with Friends and we all said… “gee why don’t we remember this place more often”... that’s when I realized I’d even forgotten to put them on our sites.

We love their food… have for several years… And tonight we stopped in for some “Take out”. They were not busy…. we waited… waited… approximately 30 minutes later…after people coming in after us were served… my wife went to the counter… and half of our order was lost.

The cooks were goofing off… laughing and having a great time… but not paying attention to business. Worse than that… the manager wasn’t paying attention either. This company only delivers two things… food and service.

Tonight the service was terrible… the only reason employees act like this is that they have the choice to. If you’ve read out other reviews… you know we love excellence. Tonight from Pick Up Stix… we got “you are not important to us”.... and a little of that goes a long way. We will not be back… and … by the way the food was good… so they followed the menu…. but it was very apparant…. nobody gave a sh..!

A week or so ago I was at one of my listings down the street from this place and really was hungry for lunch. I didn’t want to waste a lot of time… but really wanted something tasty. I went into the Pizza Factory Murrieta West… and they had a lunch special with two pieces of Pizza by the slice… and a drink… but I saw how big the pizza pieces were… and decided one would be enough. It was enough… but I would have eaten two… and been stuffed! It was great. And… usually … Pizza by the slice is not quite up to par. This was tasty… fresh… and I loved it. Give them a try… I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.

We ate recently at the Original Famous Dave’s in Hayward Wisconsin. This is a Franchise Restaurant. We were hoping that this one close to us would be as good as the Original… not close. :-( But is was good… the place was packed…. our table was small… it was a Friday night… they are new… so maybe it will get better… I hope so.

The service was very good. The menu the same… but not as much pride as the original. Nobody explained or offered to explain the many excellent sauce choices.

I Had the same ribs I had at the Original… but they were not the same. They just didn’t have the same flavor…. and they did not seem cooked to the same level of doneness. They were good… but not great.

Wilber’s beans… still great… Fries great… corn (my wife said great)... cornbread… really good. So we’ll go back to see if they make it what it could be… hope so!

This is the Original Famous Dave’s… now they offer Franchises and there is one close to us in Vista CA…. haven’t tried that one yet… but will … and hope it’s as good as the Original. Six of us on Vacation … and we all had different dishes… everything was excellent. Sitting on the edged of Round Lake… the setting was beautiful… and the atmosphere cozy and fun. Great Blues Music… Excellent Service… Beautiful Views… and Incredible BBQ… no wonder he’s Famous!

My follow-up review for this restaurant. Read my previous review for this restaurant here

The best thing about referring a restaurant… is when you know they are consistent… and the food will be great. You can always count on this one… and if you don’t see a Favorite, Try whatever the Special is… it will be Special. And… the Service is as good as it gets… always friendly… and always excellent.