Category

901-C South Coast Drive. Costa Mesa, CA 92626. (714) 641-3000.
www.finbars.com

Linguine alla Romana (14.99) - chicken breast, pancetta, and artichoke sauteed then tossed in a light parmesan cream sauce with spinach linguine

The flavor of the linguine was very nice for the first bite but after a while, the pasta felt like it was drowning in the sauce. I’m not used to eating italian dishes so it tasted too saucy but Dennis also agreed about the heaviness of the sauce. I would have liked for it to have more artichoke but there was a reasonable amount in the dish. The chicken was tender and delicious though. Overall it was a decent menu selection and more-so if the sauce were a little bit less overpowering.

Ginger-Garlic Black Bean Capellini (12.99) - sauteed chicken breast with broccoli and scallions in a sweet ginger, garlic, black bean sauce with soy and sherry.

As for Dennis’s dish, the broccoli was cooked to a nice softness but the sauce was very oily, reminding me of a chinese dish. The noodles were plentiful, in fact bordering on too much, because the oiliness filled you up faster than you would normally expect a dish would do. The chicken in this one was likewise decent enough but did not stick out enough to remember more, despite us having eaten there just yesterday.

The environment of the restaurant was indeed casual. This place has the white paper tablecloths that you can draw on with crayons. On the way to the bathroom, I noted the colorful drawings posted on the walls, sketched by previous guests of the restaurant! The restaurant seating was a little bit tight due to the way the tables shared a long booth but we had enough space from the customers surrounding our middle table. Ongoing talking was louder due to proximity of others but this restaurant is casual dining after all. It took a while for the waiter to come take our order but at least we had more time to decide what to eat. Otherwise, he was very attentive, despite having to cover a large number of tables that evening.

Taste: 7/10
Service: 4/5
Atmosphere: 4/5
Total: 15/20

815 5th Avenue, San Diego, CA 92101. 1-866-627-7059
http://www.sandiegorestaurants.com/restaurant.cfm/restaurant/30/DeMedici

(click on a thumbnail for a larger view)

Lobster Bisque & Cake

Linguine Pescatore ($24.95) & Lasagne alla Bolognese ($16.95)

I took Lynn out to this restaurant for our 18 month anniversary. We had an early reservation and walked into a sparsely populated restaurant, but within 30 minutes, the place was bustling with customers. The atmosphere was very romantic and friendly. The selection of food was exciting because all of the house pasta dishes are the owner’s mother’s personal recipes. We could hardly figure out what to order!

We ended up ordering the lobster bisque for the appetizer. It was similar to some other ones we’ve tried before, but this one had another trick to it. The center of the soup was very hot! Even though we took our time in eating it, the central portion was always the same hot temperature. Eating it was a delight because it never cooled down.

I ordered the Linguine Pescatore, which is a combination of langostinos, clams, mussels, shrimp, and other seafood sautéed with extra virgin olive oil, garlic, white wine, and plum tomatoes over a bed of linguini pasta. This dish is a great bang for your buck if you’re looking for something that’s interesting, filling, and contains a myriad of flavors. There’s plenty of different seafood portions in this entree that will make your mouth dance with glee. Yippee!

Lynn ordered the Lasagne alla Bolognese, which is fresh pasta layered with a blend of cheeses, ground veal and filet mignon in a delicate tomato sauce with a touch of herbs. This dish was absolutely delicious! It had the perfect ratio of sauce and cheese flavor that made us crave more. Every bite hit home and gave us a lasting pleasant feeling. Lynn had even used the rest of our bread to soak up the remaining sauce at the bottom of the plate, something I’ve never seen her do before!

Service here was outstanding. It would rank among the top 5 that we’ve had thus far. From the very beginning, the staff was very friendly and accommodating. Our waiter made some great suggestions on what we should order and answered all of the questions we’ve asked about certain menu items. The manager even came out to wish us a happy anniversary and presented us with a delightful complimentary cake!

Taste: 10/10
Service: 5/5
Atmosphere: 5/5
Total: 20/20

9225 Mira Mesa Blvd #106. San Diego, CA 92126. 858-271-7376.

I was looking for some new place to eat thats close to work and i found Frankie’s Italian Deli. They got this lunch special from 11am to 3pm that combos their sandwiches, pizzas, and salads. I decided to try out the meatball sandwich and salad combo ($6.50).

French bread sandwich that is lightly toasted with sesame seeds. Contents include warm spaghetti sauce, melted mozzarella cheese, and large meatballs. yummy! It was especially good when i sprinkled some red crushed peppers over the cheese. its like eating a pizza sandwich, but not…

taste: 8/10

702 Fifth Avenue San Diego, CA 92101. (619) 239 - 3400.

Trattoria La Strada is considered the number one restaurant in San Diego by San Diego Restaurants.com. It has always been in the monthly top 20 as far as I can remember. I placed a reservation for this place because Lynn had been wanting to come here for a while. Whenever I hear her talk about good restaurant places to eat, this had been one of her suggestions.

Lynn ordered the Mezzelune Aragosta E Zucchini. Its a homemade ravioli filled with lobster meat, shrimp, zucchini, and ricotta cheese in a white chopped lobster meat and vegetables sauce. By request, the waiter also added in some parmesan cheese and pepper for added flavor. I’ve tried some of her meal too and we both agreed that it was fantastic!

I cant recall the name of the entree that I ordered, but it was among the house specialities or chef’s recommendations or something. The ingredients are similiar to what Lynn ordered as it was a homemade ravioli with lobster and such. But the sauce thats around the ravioli was too strong. It was highly salty and rather difficult to eat. On the otherhand, the actual ravioli was good and interesting to taste. It had a soft and mushy texture and just melted in my mouth.

For dessert, we ordered the Vulcano. It is a Florentine style chocolate pastry filled with warm liquid hazelnut chocolate and served with vanilla gelato on the side. I’m not a chocolate person, so the chocolate pastry didn’t appeal to me. I liked eating the waffle stick and gelato instead. =)

Taste: 8/10
Presentation: 3/5
Atmosphere: 5/5
Total: 16/20

55 North Cienega Boulevard, Beverly Hills, CA 90211
http://www.thestinkingrose.com/

 
After finding out that we were going to go to a garlic restaurant, I got really excited because I’ve never had an all garlic meal before. We did a little research on it and found out that The Stinking Rose was rated 8th in Beverly Hills. As we arrived in the parking lot, we were greeted by their valet attendants. The valet was only $3.50, which is not bad considering that we didn’t have to find parking on Beverly Hills. Once we entered the restaurant you can see that there wasn’t a single empty wall space because it was all decorated with black and white pictures. While the hostess was guiding the way to our table, I noticed that they had a bar and I remembered that they make garlic martinis. Unfortunately I wasn’t daring enough to try it out, but maybe next time.

                                  
 
As soon as we were seated, our waitress brought us the house-baked focaccia bread. The bread was really soft and warm and boy were they good! We had a choice of either dipping the bread with their garlic infused olive oil or the mixture of garlic, cilantro and olive oil spread. I found the garlic spread to be a little too strong for me and a little does really go a long way. We decided that we would start off with their “Bagna Calda($4.95)” which is a whole bunch of garlic cloves roasted in extra virgin olive, butter, and anchovies; that you use to spread over the focaccia bread. This was my favorite accompaniment to the focaccia bread because it was like a burst of creamy garlic in your mouth without the bite. I really should learn control because I had way too many of the focaccia and bagna calda.

The first thing that came out was Cindy’s “Combo Mussels, Shrimp, and Crab Skillet ($34.95)” and that thing was quite a sight. The skillet came out screaming hot and the waiter doused some kind of sauce over it and you could see the steam rise from it while the sauce sizzled. there was a choice between the melted butter or a crab infused melted butter sauce for dipping(not exactly sure if it was crab infused, but it tasted like it). The dish is kind of pricey, but so worth it! It is something that should be shared and if you have a big party, it could be your appetizer.

I really commend Mike for being daring enough to order the “Roasted Rabbit” with olives and an extra virgin olive oil garlic sauce($19.95). It came with a side of garlic pesto mashed potatoes. You can definitely taste the basil and garlic in the mashed potatoes that goes really well with a hardy dish like roasted rabbit. It tasted like chicken and if no one told me it was rabbit, I would have probably guessed it to be chicken. The meat was kind of tough for me, so I didn’t really like it too much.

I just really love seafood and majority of the time I always end up ordering something that comes from the sea! I chose the “Halibut” with cherry tomatoes, roasted garlic, and olives($21.95). It came with a side of acini di pepe pasta, roasted tomatoes & snap peas in a lemon butter sauce. I really enjoyed this dish because I got to experiment with all the different flavors. I tried different combinations of the fish with the olives, cherry tomatoes, garlic, and pasta. The best combination for me was a little bit of fish and olives. The saltiness of the olives blended really well with the fish. The acini di pepe pasta was just amazing and the lemon butter sauce was melt in your mouth goodness. There wasn’t even a piece of pasta left on the dish after I was done with it!

At the end of the meal the waiter brought out their “Gilroy’s Famous Garlic Ice Cream” with caramel mole sauce and a candle on top because it was Cindy’s birthday. I don’t know if it was because of all the garlic we ate from our meal, but I could really taste the garlic in the ice cream. I didn’t like it too much; however everyone at the table really enjoyed it. They gave us mints with our check, but I don’t think 1 or 2 mints is going to help cover up the garlic smell. This is a definitely a restaurant everyone should try at least once.

I really wish I could comment of everything we ordered, but I didn’t get a chance to taste everything. Here are pictures of them, so that you may see what kind of dishes they have.
 
Silence of the Lamb Shank($18.95)               BBQ Garlic Chicken Pizzette($8.75)
What an awesome name!
 
Niman ranch Porterhouse                                Garlic Braise Boneless Short Rib($18.95)
Pork Chop($19.95)  

Taste: 8/10
Service: 4/5
Atmosphere: 4/5
Total: 16/20