Category Archives: Restaurant Review

Restaurant Review: Pascucci in Santa Barbara, CA

Posted on by
Reply

Pascucci

729 State St.
Santa Barbara, CA 93101
805-963-8123
PascucciRestaurant.com
Yelphttp://www.yelp.com/biz/pascucci-santa-barbara

 

StarfruitStarfruitStarfruit

 

 

A co-worker and I are in town for a conference and decided to try this place for dinner. I had high hopes when walking in. The restaurant was packed to the gills on a Sunday night. We were seated directly in a corner, which was actually good for me because it means my poor hearing will focus better on my conversation. The waiter showed up fairly quickly to take our drink orders, and excitedly suggested his favorites when we asked for recommendations. He then gave us a few minutes to decide, but not too long.

That’s nearly where my satisfaction ended. Service getting just water was really slow, and I had to ask about where my wine was before it was brought to me. I had the Chicken Picatta, hold the capers, and it was good, but the twang of the lime in the white wine-lime-caper sauce was a bit stronger than I’d anticipated. It was definitely a good sized portion for it’s $14 bounty, and that I was pretty satisfied with.

One of the reasons we picked this restaurant was a description of their creme brûlée with raspberries, and being a creme brûlée buff, I was looking forward to it the whole meal. It was hands down the worst creme brûlée I’ve ever had. It was runny and dripped, which it shouldn’t do. It wasn’t as set as a custard should be – it wasn’t even as set as a pudding or yogurt. The raspberries were good, but you can’t screw that up.

My co-worker had their butternut squash ravioli. The cinnamon in the dish was very fragrant, but she liked it. She ordered the cheesecake with home made butterscotch sauce, which also sounded delectable. The cheesecake itself was good but the sauce was cold and congealed to a weird, gross consistency.

So, all that said, I’d go there again, expect to tip modestly for mediocre service, and save my dessert appetite for the Ben & Jerry’s shop around the corner inside the Paseo Nuevo shopping center.

Restaurant Review: The Crown in Danville, CA

Posted on by
Reply

The Crown

331 Hartz Ave.
Danville, CA 94526
925-855-2185
CrownPub.com
Yelphttp://www.yelp.com/biz/the-crown-danville

 

StarfruitStarfruitStarfruitStarfruit

 

 

This is my kind of dance club.

Clearly, this isn’t a dance club… and that’s pretty much my point. I enjoyed the food the couple of times I ate here and I went in a couple times for the DJ on Saturday nights and danced. I like that it’s not super crowded, and the DJ they have plays a pretty good mix of some current music and some old favorites. And it’s not pumping techno and I don’t have to squeeze my ass through a sea of people to get to my friends.

As well, I LOVE that they still have all the seats and such available after dinner service during the dancing so I can easily still have a home base for my coat, drink, and take a breather when I don’t feel like dancing.

As for the food, because that’s probably why most of you are going there… it was solid. Good quality, impressive portions, fair prices. I’ve had the fish & chips… and let me tell you, if you’re expecting a few fish portions you’re going to be surprised. It was one gigantic fish fillet battered deliciously… literally about 3″ wide at it’s widest and 9-10″ long. Huge and delicious.

I like the clientele, pretty low key, and I never had any issues with the bartenders knowing what to recommend or knowing how to make a drink I ordered (which happens more than I’d like when trying to order some drinks I used to think were pretty common).

The biggest downside of this place for me is that it’s in Danville… and I live in San Leandro… I’d pretty much have to get someone else to drive me to really have some drinks & have a good time because that long of a cab ride is out of the question 🙂

Restaurant Review: Rothmann’s Steakhouse in New York, NY

Posted on by
Reply

Rothmann’s Steakhouse

3 E. 54th St.
New York, NY 10022
212-319-5500
Rothmanns54.com
Yelphttp://www.yelp.com/biz/rothmanns-steakhouse-new-york

 

StarfruitStarfruitStarfruitStarfruitStarfruit

 

 

The best steak I’ve ever had – no joke. I was lucky enough to be taken here by my company while in town for a conference. We were seated in the back room due to being a large party and I loved the atmosphere and food.

The servers were incredibly knowledgeable when making recommendations and quick with the drink refills, more bottles of wine, etc. And the food was delicious – seriously, I dream about this steak!

I had the Filet Mignon with some potatoes, I believe, and it was perfect. We were sharing the sides and I seriously could have eaten the whole thing myself. So good. I’d love to go back… if I can just convince my boss… 🙂

Restaurant Review: Rodz Grill in Angel’s Camp, CA

Posted on by
Reply

Rodz Grill

730 S. Main St.
Angel’s Camp, CA 95222
209-736-0170
Yelphttp://www.yelp.com/biz/rodz-grill-angels-camp-2

 

StarfruitStarfruitStarfruit

 

 

Solid food, pretty good quality, friendly service, good prices. All of that warrants 3 stars easily.

I can’t give it more than that, in fairness, as I’m not a regular and wasn’t really blown away by anything here. I do appreciate that they have a “ground beef steak” and eggs meal, which I love and don’t get enough, and everything was cooked well. The hash browns were impressive though as they were the perfect balance between crispy and soft.

Will I go there again? Yes, I would. And probably will since it’s next door to the motel I’m staying at on this trip. It was quality food and I’d be happy to give them more chances to wow me on future trips to Angels Camp.

Restaurant Review: Camps Restaurant in Angel’s Camp, CA

Posted on by
Reply

Camps Restaurant

676 McCauley Ranch Rd.
Angel’s Camp, CA 95222
209-736-8181
CampsRestaurant.com
Yelp

http://www.yelp.com/biz/camps-restaurant-angels-camp

StarfruitStarfruitStarfruitStarfruit

 

 

Off the beaten path, but delicious! After frustratedly being unable to find the restaurant we were looking for in old town Angels Camp, I remembered seeing this place in our motel’s visitors guide and looked up directions on my phone. As we drove down the long, dark expanse that Angel Oak Dr. and then McCauley Ranch Rd. we were beginning to think Google Maps didn’t know where we were going again. But then we found it.

For a Saturday night it was active, but by no means crowded. We were seated right away. We’d decided against a different restaurant that boasted live music on Saturdays because I had a headache, so at first I was leary of seeing the live keyboard and sax players, but we were sat in a back corner of the restaurant far enough away from the speakers that it was still clearly audible but their jazz stylin’ was pleasurable as my headache subsided (thank you Excedrin Migraine!)

Anyway, the outlook was dicey at first… we didn’t see a waitress for 10-15 minutes, and when she did come over she went to a table that had been seated after us before us. Once she came over and we aired that we were a bit miffed at that, she apologized and the evening was delightful from there out.

We ordered the tempura battered asparagus appetizer, the hubs ordered prime rib, and I ordered fettuccine Alfredo. Delicious! We were pretty certain that the batter on the asparagus was not a true tempura batter at all and more of maybe a beer batter, but it was still good. The hubs liked the chili sauce they were served with and I was happy with the lemon aioli.

The hubs reported that his prime rib was perfect, and my pasta was perfect as well. I loved the bits of asparagus in the pasta and that the chicken in it was seasoned simply and didn’t overpower the light sauce and didn’t seem like an afterthought.

The little bread they brought to the table was cheesy and lightly garlicky, which I appreciate not being slapped in the face with garlic, and our desserts were good, but a little different. The bread pudding seemed to be closer to a cinnamon french toast – good in it’s own right, to be sure, but not exactly what the hubs was expecting. My vanilla creme brulee had a somewhat odd texture – almost more whipped than custard. If I had to hazard a guess I think it might have been made just with egg whites and not the yolks too, but the flavor was good. The bruleed sugar on top was a bit thick and a bit dark, but not burned.

The quality of the food was great, we’d go again when in this area, and it definitely made up for the lackluster lunch we had!