La Hoguera “the Bonfire” Best steakhouse in Ensenada!

By | April 3, 2023 | Food Review

bone in filet mignonbone in filet mignon
la hoguera menula hoguera menu
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t-bone steakt-bone steak
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I’ve been to La Hoguera about 3 years ago, before Covid, and had a great experience but my recent visit was so good I have to say that La Hoguera is the best steakhouse in Ensenada.  Of course this is my opinion and feel free to comment but if you haven’t been then please make sure you get here on your next visit to Ensenada.

They start you with fresh guacamole made at the table in a mocajete. They ask how hot or mild you like your salsa and then they start crushing the fresh tomatoes and chiles while you watch. The end result is a chunky, spicy concoction that goes well with the fresh chips at your table. We also ordered the fresh guacamole that came garnished with chicharrones, It’s been ages since I had chicharrones this good and this fresh. Throw some of that salsa on that guacamole and you have quite the treat!

For the main course I ordered a bone in filet mignon and my brother ordered the T-Bone steak. As a retired butcher when I saw that bone in filet mignon on the menu I got very excited. You rarely see that steak on the menu on the West Coast, it’s really an East Coast cut that you will find in the great steakhouses of Manhattan and across the East. If you ever see one, order it! My steak was very tender, it came with the creamiest mashed potatoes and some grilled veggies. To drink I ordered my go to drink in Baja, a refreshing Sangria.

The menu is a meat lovers dream, steaks, sausage and tripas!! If you have a big party you can order a platter of these items so you can share. Steaks are cooked over mesquite and that gives them that outdoorsy flavor of being out on a ranch. The decor is ranchcentric, saddles seem to be everywhere, there’s two patios, one in front and one in back. We sat inside, this looks like it was a residence at one time but now it’s serving up some great grub.

La Hoguera is located on Ave Blancarte 172 between Calle Primera and Calle Segunda, it’s right down from Restuarant El Rey Sol and about a block and a half from La Guerrerense Carreta the infamous mariscos tostada street cart.  They’re open seven days a week from 1 p.m. till 9p.m. Mon-Thurs and from 1 p.m. to 10 p.m. Fri and Sat and 1 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Sunday.

Yes, Ensenada has many good steakhouses but my overall experience at La Hoguera was fantastic!! Cheers!

chicharroneswith guacchicharroneswith guac

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Coffee Muse Pouring it Over in Downtown Santa Ana!

By | January 18, 2020 | Food Review

Aero bakeryAero bakery
avocado toastavocado toast
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muse signmuse sign
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Ricky Muse MartinezRicky Muse Martinez
sourdaough toast with jellysourdaough toast with jelly

Like most people I start my day with a cup of coffee, but my love affair with the coffee bean didn’t start until late in life. In 2011 I read a fascinating article in the New Yorker about a woman, Aida Batlle, that took over her family’s coffee plantation in El Salvador and became a world class producer of award winning coffee. Not only did the article detail Aida’s story but dropped all kinds of knowledge on how to brew these pricey beans at home. A 12 oz. bag goes for about $30 so you want to make sure you get the most out of them, I went out and bought a French Press and a burr grinder, later I would buy myself the whole pour over set up. Yes, I was hooked!!

In 2011 I was still working so I would only drink coffee on my days off, it gets me so amped there was no way I could safely do my job as a meatcutter, I enjoy the use of all my fingers! Now that I am retired I frequent the local coffee houses in my area, nothing against Starbucks but I like to spend my money with local owners, whether it’s coffee or food. One place where I really enjoy is Coffee Muse in Downtown Santa Ana, on Calle Cuatro, across from the Frida Cinema. Owner Ricky “Muse” Martinez opened Coffee Muse in June of 2018, everything is hand made, all coffee’s are pour overs, teas are made to order. I drink my coffee black, no sweetener or milk, I enjoy the notes that a good roaster can attain from certain beans. Ricky roasts his own beans and is very good at getting every nuance out of the fruit, he roasts frequently to keep the freshness at the optimum. I also homebrew craft beer and have used Coffee Muse’s beans in 2 of my beers. I used the Honduran beans in my KRACK Cream Ale, I was going to name the beer something different but when we first tasted it I knew it was going to be addicting! I also used the Mexican beans that are from Chiapas in my award winning Mexican Stout hecho en Aztlán. If you homebrew and are looking for a certain roast come over to Coffee Muse and talk to Ricky, he will dial it in for whatever flavor profile you are looking for.

Along with all the yummy latte’s and mocha’s are delicious pastries that Ricky hand selects from the Mill Bakery on Main Street, on the weekends you will also find vegan treats from Victoria’s Bakery located on Bristol and Civic Center. Recently Ricky has brought in freshly baked sourdough bread from local baker Aero Bakery 

The bread is Bomb Dot Com! You can get it as avocado toast, with butter and jam or recently they now do a cream cheese with fresh fruit, drizzled with honey that is next level delicious! Aero Bakery bread can also be found at Chapter One: the modern local, one of the finest restaurants in Downtown SanTana!

Coffee Muse is also about community, every first Saturday of the month is Artwalk in Downtown Santa Ana and Coffee Muse hosts an open mic night where you can enjoy music or poetry along with your Iced Mexican Mocha. Featured on the walls of Coffee Muse are works of local artists, a different artist every month. Coffee Muse opens at 7 am Monday thru Saturday and at 8 am on Sunday. Go to mycoffeemuse.com for more info.

“Coffee should be black as hell, strong as death, and sweet as love” -Turkish proverb

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Roast and Toast at Brot Coffee in Orange!

By | April 19, 2019 | Food Review

Adrian Contreras Owner Brot Coffee in Orange credit Brot websiteAdrian Contreras Owner Brot Coffee in Orange credit Brot website
Brot Avocado Toast with EggBrot Avocado Toast with Egg
Brot Pour OverBrot Pour Over
Brot Toast Whole Grain with Orange MarmaladeBrot Toast Whole Grain with Orange Marmalade
Pour Over at Brot Coffee in OrangePour Over at Brot Coffee in Orange
Toast at Brot CoffeeToast at Brot Coffee

Finding a good cup of coffee isn’t too difficult in Orange County, latte’s and macchiato’s are flowing on every other corner in town, but Brot Coffee in Orange combines  2 of my favorites, coffee and toast! I’m a self professed #coffeesnob and I ❤ toast! So going to Brot for me is an act of self-care, owner Adrian Contreras offers a wide variety of coffee, teas, iced beverages, Kuhl along with loaves of bread for toast, a huge list of toppings for the toast, bagels, cookies, kouign amann and demi-baguettes.

I drink my coffee black, no sugar or cream, and I really love that Brot gives you the choice of 6 different kinds of coffee beans when you request a pour over or French press, they do change occasionally. The beans are roasted in house, you can see the roaster in an adjacent room where Adrian does his magic, he has me hooked on the perfection he puts on roasting the various coffees. Most of the beans are mild in taste and Adrian brings out every nuance, fruitiness, caramels, nuttiness that are hidden within every bean. Led by Manager, Stephen Schreiber, the crew at Brot Coffee are ready to complete your order with the special care you deserve, thick slices of bread, toasted as you like, toppings include jam, banana, plum butter, Irish butter, vegan butter, almond butter, Nutella, cream cheese, avocado, hard boiled egg, salsa, organic peanut butter and seasoned olive oil.  Bread choices are Bagnat, Brioche, Campagne, Cinnamon swirl, Gluten free, Italian country, Multi grain, pumpernickel, roasted garlic and rosemary, sourdough, squaw and my current favorite, Walnut cranberry batard. Bakery items are sourced locally from Artisan Bakery, BREAD in Santa Ana and are subject to availability.

Brot Coffee is located in Orange next to a recently closed Staples store, it’s close to St. Joseph Hospital and Hollingshead Deli. Adrian recently added some long communal tables to utilize the space and add seating to the popular coffee house. I hope you enjoy your visit as much as I do, take your time to take in all that Brot Coffee has to offer, Roast and Toast is the new Netflix and Chill! Ha! #BobbyKnowsCoffee!

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Finca Altozano Valle de Guadalupe

By | April 4, 2019 | Food Review

Chef Javier PlascenciaChef Javier Plascencia
Chef Javier Plascencia Finca AltozanoChef Javier Plascencia Finca Altozano
Churros!!Churros!!
Dry Aged Ribeye SteakDry Aged Ribeye Steak
Finca Altozano Menu Dog FriendlyFinca Altozano Menu Dog Friendly
Fried Brussels SproutsFried Brussels Sprouts
Grilled Spicy Sausage AppetizerGrilled Spicy Sausage Appetizer
Main Courses at Finca AltozanoMain Courses at Finca Altozano
Perfectly cooked steak at Finca AltozanoPerfectly cooked steak at Finca Altozano
Steak!!Steak!!
Vino with Dee!Vino with Dee!

Last year was my first experience visiting the Valle de Guadalupe, we did a day tour with friends and had such a blast my sister did some research and booked us a room and made reservations at Javier Plascencia’s restaurant Fina Altozano. The Ruta de Vino is flush with wineries, restaurants and a few breweries, there’s so many to choose from but we went with the man responsible for the resurgence in the food scene in Tijuana, Javier Plascencia born and raised in Tijuana is credited with creating the Baja Mediterranean style of cooking, he utilizes the fresh seafood and abundance of produce that are indigenous to the region. He grew up working in the family business, a pizzeria empire called Giuseppis, he studied culinary arts in San Diego starting at the age of 16, working in various restaurants in San Diego and around the world. He returned to Tijuana and in 2011 he opened his first Restaurant, Misión 19 , introducing his Baja Med dishes to the food universe. He now has restaurants in Tijuana, Miami, Valle de Guadalupe and the magical town of Todo Santos which is an hour north of Cabo San Lucas. From 2015 to 2017 he operated a place in San Diego, Bracero Cocina de Raiz, it was nominated for a James Beard award in 2016 but is no longer open.

Denise was able to book us a 3:00 pm reservation on the Saturday after the Ensenada Beer Fest, there weren’t any dinner times available but the afternoon sitting turned out to be a very good choice as it gets pretty cold in the valle once the sun starts to set, summer might be a little different weather wise. Finca Altozano is not only a restaurant but there is a separate coffee shop and lunch hut, farm animals are nearby fattening up for a future grilling, yes this is a meatcentric menu. They sat us promptly at 3:00 and our foodie adventure began. Fresh bread was brought to our table and we ordered 2 glasses of white wine, all the wines are from the Valle and Denise knows her grapes so she picked our vino. Not all wines are available by the glass but the ones she picked were excellent and went for about $5 a glass. BOOM. We ordered for our appetizers fried Brussels Sprouts and an order of grilled sausage, the menu didn’t indicate what type of sausage it was but it was mildly spicy, tasted like chorizo, came with some greens, the Brussels Sprouts were perfectly fried, crispy and tender. We both picked dry aged steak for our main course but there were many options, seafood, lamb, pork, quail, pasta dishes, chicken, but steak won out. The dinners came with beans, a small salad, more bread and freshly made tortillas, both corn and flour. The ambiance at Finca Altozano is ranchero casual, most of the other guests were local residents, we didn’t feel rushed, rather it seemed like they encouraged us to take our time. Our second glass of wine was a red, I’m a beer guy and don’t know much about wine, I trusted my sis to handle picking our vino, she did a great job, this wine was very good, I really enjoyed it.  It started off sweet and fruity but as it opened up it became mature in flavor, amazing how a good wine does that over time. So we just took our time with each course, with each sip of wine, this is why you take time off, to enjoy new places, discovering spots in Tijuana, Ensenada and now Valle de Guadalupe is kind of my thing right now. Craft beer is booming, new restaurants are everywhere, the tacos are the best and people are super nice and friendly. We shared a dessert of churros and  I was done, we got our bill and I was expecting close to $200 but the total was $105 for everything. Worth every penny/peso!!

There’s so much more to discover here in the Valle de Guadalupe, I encourage everyone to come down and first take a tour, it’s a huge area, if you have a truck bring it, ha! A lot of the hotels and restaurants are off the beaten path on dirt roads that are very uneven, I drove my mini van which survived but I recommend a car that sits a little higher. Provecho!ensenada,

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La Cocina de Doña Esthela in Valle de Guadalupe

By | April 3, 2019 | Food Review

Best Breakfast in Valle de GuadalupeBest Breakfast in Valle de Guadalupe
Combination plate Jose at Cocina de Dona EsthelaCombination plate Jose at Cocina de Dona Esthela
La Dona EsthelaLa Dona Esthela
Machaca plate at Cocina de Dona EsthelaMachaca plate at Cocina de Dona Esthela

“Worth the wait” “Best Breakfast Ever!” “Amazing!” are just a few of the comments I’ve heard over the years in regards to the food at la Cocina de Doña Esthela which is located off a dirt road in the Valle de Guadalupe. Now that I’ve been there I have to agree 110% on all these accolades. In 2015 the website FoodieHub named Doña Esthela’s restaurant “Best Breakfast in the World” .

From Bourdain to Bayless famous chef’s have raved about her cooking, I have to give credit to my newest favorite show on PBS, Pati’s Mexican Table, especially Season 7 which was dedicated exclusively to Baja California. Chef Pati Jinich took her show from Tijuana to Cabo and with each episode she highlighted a different city and chef. In Episode 4, Season 7 she visits Doña Esthela for an inside look at the now legendary chef. Season 7 is available on Amazon Prime if you have that service.

My adventure included my sister, Denise and brother, Jeffrey, Denise actually made all the plans to get to the Cocina, if you’ve never been to the Valle de Guadalupe it’s right before you get to Ensenada, you take Highway 3 and you will find vineyard after vineyard, wineries and some great chef driven restaurants( my next review!). There’s a main highway but most of the places to eat and drink are offroad. Next time I’m driving my Tundra down there to better handle these roads, it was a little treacherous with my van but we made it as does everyone, and it’s worth it!

We had to wait about 50 minutes for our table, of course we expected this, once we were seated the service was quick, very quick. The servers are so busy they are practically running to make sure all the orders are taken care of in a timely manner. The big thing here is obviously breakfast but the slow roasted lamb comes in a very close second, next time I will go for that part of the menu but today was all about breakfast! We all order café de olla and decided on our choices, they bring out a plate of queso fresco, chips and salsa for you to munch on and it was all delicious. Jeff and I always order fresh orange juice because it’s FRESH! and about half the price that you would pay in the States.

Our plates came quick, Denise ordered Huevos Rancheros, Jeff ordered the machaca and I ordered a combination plate of 2 eggs, chilaquiles verde, machaca and beans, Denise also ordered a stack of the sweet elote pancakes. We were given a stack of fresh tortillas and away we went! At first our table was silent as we started our meals, after a few minutes the oohs and ahhs started. The food was absolutely amazing! Yes, this was simple Mexican food but everything was just the best Mexican food. EVER. The beans were perfect! The machaca was to die for! Denise said her huevos rancheros were the Best she ever had. Then we each had a pancake. Ay. Dios . Mio. They come with syrup but it wasn’t really necessary, they were sweet and corny, very dessert like and to be honest I don’t really like pancakes, but these were spectacular! Midway through our meal Doña Esthela popped out of the kitchen and came to our table to say hi and she noticed we needed more tortillas. We all sat there with our mouths open, frozen, I was able to take her picture and mumbled a muchas gracias. She turned around a went to get us more tortillas, it was a nice surprise to see La Doña, she came back with the tortillas, smiled, and went around greeting the other customers while we sat there still frozen. We eventually finished our plates, the check came and our bill was around $32 for everything. Thirty Two dollars. Total. For the Best Breakfast in the World! It’s worth the wait! Amazing! Best breakfast Ever!!!

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The Undisputed Champion Collaborator Coffee&Beer Roaster: Mostra Coffee

By | December 15, 2018 | Food Review

Chocolate Crossiant with CoffeeChocolate Crossiant with Coffee
Coffee beans to go at Mostra CoffeeCoffee beans to go at Mostra Coffee
Coffee menu at MostraCoffee menu at Mostra
credit; SDCoffeeNetwork.comcredit; SDCoffeeNetwork.com
Espresso menu at MostraEspresso menu at Mostra
Intereior of Mostra CoffeeIntereior of Mostra Coffee
Pastries at MostraPastries at Mostra

Coffee and beer go together like chicken and waffles, separately they are delicious but combined they become a unique duo that gives your taste buds a soothing jolt of happiness. Ahhhhh….coffee…ohhhhh……beer……

They have much in common, both are brewed, they both have different levels of satisfaction, roasted coffee beans, roasted oats, so it was just a matter of time before someone combined the two. The first commercially brewed coffee beers were brewed in the mid 1990’s when three breweries, Seattle’s Red Hook Brewing, Delaware’s Dogfish Head Craft Brewery and Wisconsin’s New Glarus Brewing all brewed a coffee stout. These days it’s not just coffee stouts that are being brewed but coffee IPA’s, Saisons, sours, red ales, it’s all about the coffee! Earlier this year at the World Beer Cup, Tustin Brewing won a Gold medal for their Portola Breakfast Stout using beans from local roaster Portola Coffee Labs. Orange County breweries have been collaborating with local coffee roasters to brew up some great tasting coffee beers, along with Portola there is Bodhi Leaf, Hidden House and Bangarang to name a few. But there is one roaster, not local, but none the less prolific in the coffee and craft beer game, Mostra Coffee from San Diego.

In 2013 five friends, Mike Arquines, RJ Ocubillo, Beverly and Sam Magtanong and Jelynn Malone were looking to start a business, they all come from different backgrounds in business and the arts, they wanted to also give back to the community here and in the Philippines. After dabbling in a few different ventures they found that specialty coffee roasting would be their niche, they would use beans from the Philippines and from all over the world. While they were concentrating on roasting and brewing specialty beans, they started to collab with breweries in San Diego one of the most craft beer centric cities in the United States. Karl Strauss came knocking on the door, then Stone-ever had a Xocoveza?-one after another they came for the beans but also for the customer service.

Mike Arquines is the Head Roaster at Mostra and he will sit all day with the brewer to make sure they get exactly what flavor profile the brewery is looking for. On my visit to Mostra I was fortunate to meet Mike, I went to pick up some beans I had ordered, take some pictures, drink a cup of coffee, I didn’t have an appointment- he was so cordial and we talked for a few minutes but I could tell that he really enjoyed his craft and was a very friendly guy. I had read that they had collaborated on anywhere from 200 to 400 different craft beers so I had to ask him for the most recent number. Now, at 200 collabs they were already considered the world’s most collaborated coffee roaster with craft beer, so when he told me the number was now over 500! WOWEE! You can go to their website for the list of breweries, here in Orange County there are 4 breweries that have worked with Mostra Coffee, The Bruery, Bottle Logic, TAPS and Good Beer Company. I’m sure there will be more.

On January 19, 2019, Mostra is celebrating their 5 year anniversary, they will have a festival with unlimited coffee, craft beer and food. Tickets went for $75 and $165 for VIP, I tried to get a pair but they sold out in 1 minute! Of course there was a limited amount available, but it’s a testament to their craftmanship, quality and that customer service for Mostra Coffee to be so in demand. Follow Mostra on Instagram @mostracoffee for all the latest news and offers,  or just get down there for a cup of Mostra!

BobbyKnowsCoffee!

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Dia de Los Puercos “Firme Comida Xicana”

By | October 12, 2018 | Food Review

Bar at Dia de Los PuercosBar at Dia de Los Puercos
Chicharones at Dia de Los PuercosChicharones at Dia de Los Puercos
DJ at Dia de Los PuercosDJ at Dia de Los Puercos
Mexicorn at Dia de Los PuercosMexicorn at Dia de Los Puercos
Tacos at Dia de Los PuercosTacos at Dia de Los Puercos
Taquitos de Weenie at Dia de Los PuercosTaquitos de Weenie at Dia de Los Puercos

From creating T-shirts for chefs to a food truck to a brick and mortor in West Covina and just recently opening new digs in Pomona and at the Riverside Food Lab, Rick “El Chefe” Garcia is channeling both his inner Homie and his Grandma “B” Beatrice. “El Chefe” has built his menu around his Grandma “B”‘s recipes, home cooking with a Chicano twist, a visit to Dia de Los Puercos is like visiting your Primo’s pad in East Los, complete with lowriders parked out front to a pair of Cortez hanging inside. The Pomona location is bigger than the West Covina site, the first room you enter is a bar area, you then walk into the main dining room which is like a big hall, tons of room and seating. I was actually in Pomona to visit Homage Brewing and was told that Dia de Los Puercos was nearby, ORALE! I have been hearing nothing but good things about DDLP so I grabbed my hyna and hustled on over to get our feast on.

The menu at Dia de Los Puercos is so inviting, so very familiar. We right away gravitated towards the appetizers, we ordered the Mexicorn-corn off the cob, mayo, cotija cheese, lime,  powdered chili , topped with bacon bits. Taquitos de Weenie- 4 taquitos with beef weenie, ketchup, may, mustard, onions and cotija cheese, Chicha and Chile-huge plate of chicharrones with salsa roja, lime, and chili salt, El Tri- 3 tacos with your choice of meat, so we picked uno de lengua and dos de mochomos(crispy pieces of pork). This was plenty for 2 of us but doesn’t begin to scratch the surface of the complete menu that is full of your favorites, tortas, burritos, sopes, more tacos, quesadillas, there’s also dessert and plenty of drinks. And don’t you worry Mr. and Mrs. Vegan there are options!!

Put Pomona on your list of places to visit. Besides Homage Brewing there’s also Sanctum Brewing nearby, both are excellent breweries and with Dia de Los Puercos it’s GANGSTA AF! C/S BobbyKnowsTacos  BobbyKnowsBeer

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Hot Tip of the Week: Breakfast Bolillos at El Molino de Oro in Orange

By | October 9, 2018 | Food Review

Breakfast Bolillo at El Molino de OroBreakfast Bolillo at El Molino de Oro
El Molino de Oro carnitas tacoEl Molino de Oro carnitas taco
El Molino de Oro tres tacos de carnitasEl Molino de Oro tres tacos de carnitas

El Molino de Oro recently opened their third restaurant in Orange County, in the city of Orange, and it’s a combination of panaderia, tortilleria and restaurant, so it took a few visits to determine. Yay or Nay. Well it is a definite Yay! First of all the pastries, breads and tortillas are super fresh and they are good, second everything is very affordable, and everything has been very tasty.

I first tried a torta de asada a few weeks ago for lunch, pretty good, like I said the roll was super soft and fresh, meat was tender and flavorful. Then I came by for some tacos. I ordered 2 carnitas and 1 al pastor. Tortillas were also super fresh and very flavorful, you could taste the corn, the al pastor was also tasty, a little fatty but it tasted fine, the carnitas  though, plenty of meat, my tacos were full, no fat just meat, I was stuffed and very happy.

On both these visits I had my eye on the pan dulce and the breakfast bolillos, so I told my compadre if he wanted to meet up and try the breakfast menu and he agreed whole heartily. Breakfast bolillos, you don’t see those on too many menus so I was intrigued, they’re priced from $1.50 to $3.75 and there’s 15 different ones. I ordered the #10 chorizo, potato, egg , compadre ordered #12 egg, sausage, bacon, beans, cheese. Just so you know my compadre is very picky, finnicky, he’s kind of weird. Always complaining and he can sometimes be embarrassing, that’s why I invited him. He ate his bolillo and told me not to review this place, he liked it so much he wants it to be a secret, don’t tell anyone! they’re going to raise the prices! He loved his #12 breakfast bolillo which he washed down with coffee and a pan dulce-that he said-not everyone makes these! My #10 bolillo was also perfect, ask for the red hot sauce, it’s just right, bolillo was soft and fresh, I liked them because it was not huge, I enjoyed every bite, I didn’t feel too full, I had room for a pan dulce-I bought a beso- not everyone makes them!

Thank me later! BobbyKnowsBreakfastBolillos!

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Kelly’s Korner Tavern in Placentia

By | October 9, 2018 | Food Review

Alpine NelsonAlpine Nelson
Kellys Korner Chicken SandwichKellys Korner Chicken Sandwich
Modern Times Critical BandModern Times Critical Band

Every town has it’s local watering hole but not every town has a Kelly’s Korner Tavern which is located in the beautiful city of Placentia, y’all are lucky AF. Walking into Kelly’s is literally like walking into Cheer’s, they will remember your name. I’ve been there two handful of times and as soon as I walk in it’s, hi Bobby! They are so nice, from the owner, Jim Rafferty to the bartenders and servers, it’s always a good time at Kelly’s Korner Tavern.

Sit down and you are surrounded by Big Screen TV’s, there’s pool tables, a Lotto machine, dart boards, plenty of alcoholic beverages and some great grub. There’s daily lunch specials, Taco Tuesday specials, Happy Hour all day on Monday, Tues-Friday 3-6pm, Burger Wednesdays 20% off all burgers, Trivia Thursdays, Prime Rib Fridays $20 Prime Rib, baked potato, garlic bread and side salad, Steak dinner Saturdays(sometimes it’s Salmon Saturday) usually around $15.99. Everything is meticulously prepared by Chef Christian Virrueta and it shows, sandwiches are stacked sky high, Big salads, Huge nachos, you won’t be disappointed. You will be back!

Kelly’s has 37 taps of craft beer that they rotate on a daily basis, once the keg kicks they hook up another new beer. All styles are represented, Stouts, IPA’s, Lagers, Sours, One Offs, there’s also Bud Light, Modelo, Dos Equis on draft. I follow them on Instagram to find out the latest craft beer, this week they brought in from Alpine Brewing, Nelson IPA 7%(ABV) a limited release, using generous amounts of Nelson Sauvin hops from New Zealand while brewing and then it’s dry hopped with more Nelson Sauvin hops, European rye malt is added for balance. This is a whole lot of beer, tons of flavor, tons, the Nelson Sauvin hops are actually a subtle hop that will give off hints of grape, somewhat tart and sweet, but Alpine is on steroids, which is a good thing, West Coast is the best coast! Alpine is one of the best IPA’s ever brewed, if you like hops you will ❤this IPA. Por Vida. Get some while it lasts! I also drank a Modern Times Critical Band IPA 6.7%(ABV) using Simcoe, Centennial and Citra hops, Denali Oil, this is a juicy IPA, very juicy, with tropical fruit notes up front, hoppy, very enjoyable, Modern Times is really doing some great stuff right now, they’re pushing the craft beer envelope! Winner!

Kelly’s Korner Tavern is located in Placentia but I wish there was one in every city, especially mine! One can only hope. Cheers! Bobbyknowsbeer!

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Bodhi Leaf Coffee Traders; Colombia-Women of Pijao

By | October 6, 2018 | Food Review

Bomb Dot Com Bodhi Leaf CoffeeBomb Dot Com Bodhi Leaf Coffee
Bodhi LeafBodhi Leaf

I’ve been drinking coffee for a few years, I started after reading an article in the New Yorker on Aida Batlle, she owns a plantation in El Salvador and has won numerous awards for her coffee beans. I don’t mind paying $30 for a 12 oz bag of joy, it works out to about $1 a cup and beats any cup of Starbucks. At home I use a French Press or I will do a pour over, I also own a Keurig but rarely use it. I drink my coffee black with a piece of pan dulce or pastry, so yes I am a #coffeesnob.

Now that I’m retired I do drink coffee daily but when I was working I only drank it on my days off, I would never drink it at work, it gets me too amped and I usually will come down off the caffeine high and take a nap. It works out well. I discovered Bodhi Leaf Coffee Traders thanks to a friend, Thien Le, he’s a home brewer who has roasted coffee beans with his friend who owns a roasting house in Arkansas. Bodhi Leaf has 5 locations in Orange County and was founded by Steve Sims in 2009, the location in Orange on Katella is their main warehouse where you can purchase bags of the raw or roasted beans along with a wide variety of coffee drinks: lattes, espresso, cappuccinos, iced drinks, smoothies, etc. I go for the straight pour, they offer 3 single origin beans that alternate weekly and your choice of full immersion, pour over V60 or French Press, the fresh drip is a house Colombian, I have tried them all and they are all so GOOD! Fresh pastries and empanadas are available with some vegan selections. The café in Orange is pretty large but it can get full during peak hours, they are constantly roasting beans and it can be loud if you’re looking for a quiet place to study.

I’ve been wanting to buy a bag of beans for home and they just came out with a light – medium roast from Colombia, Women of Pijao, Las Mujeres Association, a group of women farmers from the town of Pijao, Quindío. The notes are cherry, cocoa and vanilla, I grind just enough beans for my one cup and use a French Press, it smells so wonderfully delicious. Try it black so you can taste the richness, it’s soooooooo rich, it’s has deep chocolate notes with a dark cherry backbone, you get the vanilla on the back end. Since I purchased these beans I have not ventured out to my other coffee houses, the coffee is so enjoyable. I’m hooked!! A one pound bag of Women of Pijao coffee beans retails at $19.99 and is worth every penny. So which came first? the coffee or the donut?  BobbyKnowsCoffee!

For all location go to www.bodhileafcoffee.com

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