senor big ed

Senor Ed is a happy combination of both Puerto Rican and Mexican food. Looks like most patrons come here for to-go entrees, but there's a spacious dining room to the left of the entrance.

Our server was friendly and gracious about making recommendations. We tried bistec encebollado (stir-fried flank steak and onions), pollo en fricase (chicken fricasee-stewed), carne gulsada (stewed beef Puerto Rican-style), and canoa de platano maduro (open yellow plantain filled with ground beef, topped with melted cheese).

Most of the dishes came with heaps of rice and deep fried plantains, both yellow and green. The yellow ones were sweet, the green ones had the texture of dry hash browns and required some ketchup. ;)

Even though we expected the pollo en fricase to be the star of the show, parts of it ended up being dry. The bistec was decent steak, especially with onions. The stewed beef was tasty and the sauce made the rice easier to down. My favorite dish was the plantain with beef and cheese, although it leaves you feeling heavy with no room for the rice.

I thought their horchata was especially yummy, or maybe I was just really thirsty. They even have fun sodas like sparkling apple juice. An overall good experience if you're into meat and rice dishes. A pretty solid restaurant for a fairly competitive area for Mexican food!

3.5/5 stars

(review courtesy of annie)

dinner - wednesday, october 21st, 6.30pm

eating on the cheap, and in your own backyard!

senor big ed - puerto rican
5490 lincoln ave, cypress 90630
suggested: mofongo, pollo en fricase

steam city grill - american fast food
16480 norwalk blvd, cerritos 90703
suggested: steamies" (steamed hot dogs) for 69 cents each, gyros

yves' bistro

Tucked in amongst other randomite stores on the far east side of Anaheim, you will find Yve's Bistro. The seating is cute, and at dusk, they open up their patio doors so that the crisp air rolls in. It's a nice touch.

The bread brought to the table was really bad, I felt like I could have found a more appetizing loaf at Ralph's, and luckily it wasn't indicative of the food they serve there. For appetizers, the Stuffed Mushrooms and Tuscan Palm Sandwiches were tasty enough, though the smaller-than-palm size left a person wanting. The mushrooms themselves could have used more seasoning, but the stuffing was delicious. The Endive salad was also delicious, however this time quantity was an issue as the entire salad only included four pieces of endive.

On to entrees. The Linguini Puttanesca was not too bad, tho bordered on being too sour. Perhaps more toppings could have balanced that issue out. The Spicy Chicken Pasta was decent, but came off a little too oily, besides the fact that the bacon, which was included on the menu, was curiously lacking in the actual dish. The Mushroom Ravioli was very tasty, itself, but the sauce was very oily for a Mushroom Ravioli, and it seemed as though the missing bacon from the Spicy Chicken Pasta somehow found itself in the Ravioli. All entrees were in decent sized portions except for the ravioli which is usually smaller, no matter where you go.

Grand finale--the souffle. The souffle was beautiful and good. We ordered the Chocolate Raspberry Souffle and were satisfied with the tastiness of the entire thing. The sauce was quite tasty, but the entire thing could have used more ice cream. I have to say, I have had much better souffles.

Overall, it was a decent meal, but nothing that would really call me back another day to drive out that far for a meal. It should also be noted that we waited a long time for our food, our waiter almost forgot to bring grated cheese, and the service wasn't spectacular.

3 1/2 (of five) stars

(review courtesy of ting)

dinner - monday, july 13th, 7pm

oaxaca mio - mexican

1169 e 10th st, long beach 90813
"best oaxacan food i've had outside of oaxaca" (yelp reviewer)

suggested: mole (four types!)

yves' bistro - french / italian
5753-a east santa ana canyon rd, anaheim 92807

"the best part about this restaurant ~ Dessert~ Not just any kind of dessert, but 6 different kinds of Souffles!!" (yelp reviewer)

suggested: endive salad, stuffed mushrooms, souffles (seven types!)

at last cafe

the only bad thing about at last cafe is the parking. it's really bad there. ..no joke. it's mainly residential parking, but it's all taken up, for blocks around!

everything about the restaurant, tho, is great. it's very small (an absolute max of 20 diners), has style, super good food, and is cheap! portions were fair, not very much, so if you have a large appetite you will need to order an appetizer or dessert as well. the mac and cheese had really good flavor and the chef added bread crumbs for texture (mixed reviews on that). their "famed" brick chicken smelled amazing and was very tasty. the pot roast, meat loaf, and steak all perfectly cooked, excellent! the crème brûlée, on the other hand, was not good, way too burnt.

suggestions: call in for reservations and get there early to find parking. can definitely be a casual date restaurant, I think most ladies would find it charming. :)

dinner - tuesday, june 16th, 6.30pm

at last cafe - american
204 orange ave, long beach 90802
"comfort food with a gourmet twist -- at pleasant prices" (yelp reviewer)
suggested: brick chicken, mac n' cheese
note: byob, no corkage fee
(possible menu)

nick's deli - deli
223 main st, seal beach 90740
"do you still qualify as a 'deli' if all you're known for are [sic] your stellar breakfast burrito?" (yelp reviewer)
suggested: chorizo breakfast burrito, mild sauce
note: cash only, probably no seating

shenandoah at the arbor

first run was a success! poll worked well (5 to 1) and six of seven invited showed up. now onto weightier matters...

shenandoah is cutesy. sit inside if you're over 55 and boring as hell, or outside if you want a rather lovely view. the patio has lots of foliage, a little stream thing, and pretty lights.

the food wasn't bad. they start you off with apple fitters, which reminded us of donut holes. they would've been better if there were more apple bits inside, but they were warm and sweet. our group got steak, duck, beef brisket, and meat loaf. steak and duck were average. you could tell the duck was done a bit earlier than the rest so it had been sitting there. beef brisket wasn't as juicy as i'm used to, but had good flavor. and the meat loaf was quite good.

i got a iced tea with mint syrup that you can add yourself. i liked it. others said the syrup reminded them of toothpaste. for dessert we got the butterfinger creme brulee. while not bad, you should probably stick to the regular version. it's too sweet, and the butterfinger is only on the bottom.

it was a bit pricier than i was expecting (i got the suggestion out of the orange coast cheap eats issue), but reasonable.

possible return. but probably only on a date. ...with a girl.