dinner - tuesday or thursday?

first taster's choice of 2011!

since we'll be doing a food truck meet this time, we'll be voting on DAY, not a restaurant.

thursday, january 20th, 7pm

chuck wagon stop - various

amf carter lanes - 1501 s lemon st, fullerton 92832

tuesday, january 25th, 7pm
dindin-a-gogo (menu should be updated within a few days)- various
11081 winners circle, los alamitos 90720
(across from the race track and costco)

bring cash, dress warm, and please comment wit your name and day you voted for, so i know to bring you a chair. no correct comment, no chair!!

neveria la flor de mexico

The small storefront, small selection of seating, and direct western exposure did little to detract from the delicious treasures held within this store. I especially appreciated being able to watch as the owner (I think it was the owner) concocted his magical creations behind the corner in plain view of customers and tasters alike. He was also available to offer up a multitude of suggestions based on the desires of my taste buds.

I ended up with one scoop of their rocky road, which was really delicious with its large chocolate chips and rich chocolate. The others in my party decided on the mangonida (a truly unique taste experience mixing sour, spicy, and sweet on a stick, dipping sauce included), dulce de leche (a light, refreshing flavor), and guanavana (a delightful fruity experience). Spurred on by the multitude of unique fruit paletas (popsicles in spanish) available, I also ended up getting a prickly pear paleta which has a beautiful, light popsicle with pear undertones. However, I wanted to try them all, there were seriously dozens of different kinds of fresh, homemade popsicles just waiting for me to eat them.

Overall, a very fun and worthwhile trip that is easy on the pockets (one scoop was just over $2 as were paletas) with plenty of parking and very friendly service from the owner. Your taste buds and tummy will thank you.

(review courtesy of ting s)

afternoon delight - saturday, sept 4th, 3pm

little bit different this time, since frostbites and neveria are totally close enough that we can do both if we have the time! but please vote on your favorite anyway. :)

frostbites crepes and frozen delights - frozen custard, italian ice, crepes

9111 valley view st, ste 103, cypress 90630

suggested: vanilla custard, sorbet cream

neveria la flor de mexico - ice cream, fro-yo, mexican desserts

7151 katella ave, stanton 90680

suggested: angel's kiss, paleta, dulce de leche

joe's italian ice - ice cream, italian ice

12302 harbor blvd, garden grove 92840

suggested: bada bing cherry italian ice, joe latti

vino & cucina

The skinny: If you have aren’t that hungry, have a lot of time on your hands, and would like to enjoy a long peaceful meal in a small family restaurant atmosphere, give it a try. Pizzas are likely to be a better bet than the pastas, not to say the pastas were bad, just the pizzas were better.

Review:

Off the bat, I’m just going to say that it took them nearly an hour to cook the food. The first basket of bread they give you is free, but take note that you’ll be charged for all baskets thereafter.

The Menu:

A first glance at the menu and you’ll immediately realize that the food is very heavy on carbs---definitely not your Macaroni Grill or Olive Garden with selections of meat or fish dishes (odd note: there were no meatballs of any kind on the menu either.) Most of the menu consists of pasta, pasta, and more pasta. There’s a whole page devoted to just pastas and then anther devoted to seafood pastas, so you get my point. And if you’re big on wine your Italian food, there’s a whole page dedicated to that too (but not being a wine taster myself I can’t comment on the selection.)

The Pasta:

Gnocci was good, but not very noteworthy. Farfelle Sara was merely okay too. It says on the menu that the Spaghetti Francesca is “to die for.” I’d say that that’d be a most meaningless death. The sauce was good, not diehard by any means. But the spaghetti was woefully undercooked, very doughy and pretty hard. The only lasagna you’ll find on the menu is in the appetizer section, and it was the shortest stack of lasagna I’d ever seen---tasted fairly good though. The portions are all pretty good sized and fair enough for the prices.

The Pizza:

Wednesday is pizza night (and there’s an entire menu for just pizzas which comes from their mini pizza parlor run by the same family next door) so we ordered two pizzas. All their pizzas are 14inches, thin crust, and cut into 8 slices. First pizza on the menu “Vino & Cucina” was a smash hit. Everyone loved it---perfect blend of meats, cheeses, and a light tomato sauce. We also ordered a vegetarian pizza # 21 “ Villa Borghese,” which was relatively good though not spectacular. The zucchini was good but the artichokes were strangely bland (as far as artichokes go.)

The Service:

I’m a little torn on what to say about the service. When the owner or waiters are there to serve you, they’re all very nice and helpful, but don’t expect too much initiative and they might not notice you immediately when you raise your hand. On the bright side they didn’t charge us the mandatory large-party tip either.

Bottom Line: So there you have it. The food was mediocre to good. The prices were fair. The portions were standard. The cooking was slow. The service left a bit to be desired. And it skates by with three stars.

(review courtesy of greta l)

dinner - wednesday, august 4th, 6:30pm

i actually really just want to go to nused bookstore, but i'm throwing dinner in as well since we haven't had one of these in a while. :)

vino & cuchina - italian
4501 e carson st, ste 105, long beach 90808
suggested: spaghetti della nonna

tiny thai - thai
4152 norse way, long beach 90808
suggested: sticky rice

btw, please vote for your dinner choice as well as if you want to go to the bookstore with me beforehand.

pizza and chicken love letter

This place has a really cute and cozy Asian country interior/theme going on. We got there around 6:30...it wasn't that crowded on a Wednesday night, so we were seated promptly. Didn't quite know what to get, but the waitress was super helpful in suggesting what to try. There were four of us and we ended up getting a family combo w/ bulgogi pizza, and the spicy garlic chicken. Also added a royal sweet potato pizza to everything since we were afraid that wouldn't be enough food. Turns out, it was plenty.

The pizzas were a decent size, crust was chewy and crunchy at the right places for me...they aren't stingy with their toppings, which was really good as well. Was disappointed by the bulgogi pizza though - it was good, just couldn't really taste the bulgogi at all. Ended up tasting just like a regular supreme pizza. The royal sweet potato pizza on the other hand was pure love for me. If you're a fan of sweet potatoes/yams, this is the pizza for you. Salty, slightly sweet, completely filling. We got the version where the crust was stuffed with sweet potatoes as well, which was awesome since I normally need sauce or something else to finish the crust part of a pizza.

The spicy garlic chicken was also really good. Battered and fried, mildly spicy with a bit of a kick, garlic-ky, and sweet. Crispy but juicy on the inside. I could've done with a little less batter, but it was still pretty damn good. Came with small side of cubed and pickled white radish - supposedly to counter the spicy-ness, but I just ate them straight up cuz they were sour and crunchy. For drinks, since we ordered the family combo, we got an entire liter of soda. Got our bang for the buck for sure. The total ended up being around $15? a person - not too bad considering how full we were by the end.

All in all, not the heathiest or most unique meal in the world, but when you want some tasty pizza along with something sweet and crunchy (chicken) along with a cozy atmosphere, this is a great place to go. Just don't expect too much out of the bulgogi pizza.

4/5 stars

(review courtesy of louise s)

dinner - wednesday, march 17th, 6.30pm

pizza and chicken love letter - korean (fusion)
12238 artesia blvd, artesia 90701
suggested: bulgogi pizza, sweet potato gold pizza

po folk restaurant - southern
7701 beach blvd, buena park 90621
suggested: kunty (chicken) fried steak, hush puppies