Finally made it to Sari Sari couple of Sundays ago. We got the sisig friend rice, bbq ribs and a skewer of the chicken bbq. We loved the two entrees! Great flavors, not heavy or greasy. The bbq ribs were not traditional american bbq nor did it have a lot of traditional filipino spices, but they were cooked well and tasty. The only disappointment was the chicken skewer. Three tiny pieces for $3 and pedestrian. Entrees were $12/13
This past Sunday we were at the Cuba exhibit at Annanberg and the Porto’s pop up was there. We got the cappucino mouse, $5.50, couple of iced cuban coffees, $4.50 ea and the boxed assortment for $5.50. Everything except the coffee is packed to allow you to grab and go. But they also had the side cafe dressed up a bit like a bar. The bar has a virtual reality set up to let you wander the streets and it was done pretty well.
The exhibit is worth going, great photos along with an interesting documentary and it’s Portos for those of you who like it.
@Jase If memory serves me correctly, the chocolate kiss is a play on Nutella…chocolate hazelnut. I’ve not tried it since I’m not a chocolate fan…but I do love the dulce de leche and raspberry kiss cookies.
Old neighbors were in town the first weekend of the month. They wanted take out from New Delhi Palace on Colorado at Mentor (upstairs from Euro Pane).
The food was adequate but lacking:
Some veggies undercooked, including crunchy potatoes in the aloo gobi
Veggie samosas had okay filling but the pastry shells were chewy; no idea how they would have been fresh as to-go packaging was in a Styrofoam box which was then securely wrapped in plastic wrap so everything steamed - same issue for the veggie pakoras. Also, was surprised by use of Styrofoam as it’s now not permitted in Pasadena: Pasadena, say goodbye to polystyrene in restaurants and grocery stores starting next week – Pasadena Star News
Everything was packed and bagged when we got there; arrived home to find multiple things missing (naan, most of the rice, sag aloo, a dal, channa masala, and the kheer). Called the restaurant, was put on hold for some time - eventually spoke to someone, sent partner to go pick up the missing food, and he called me from the restaurant to say they wanted to charge for the missing items! Grrr.
Finally resolved, we ate and our company was excellent, and we ran to Fosselman’s for dessert (as partner came home without the kheer).
There is a omelette in the curry with cha om.
Just great stuff. Very friendly ladies here too. Small place, only like 5 tables. Never had their khao soi so cant compare to Pailin.
Holy shit this new iOS 11 ate up so much battery typing this out! Don’t update. But come to Spicy BBQ for this curry!!!
I was doing my best Mark Wiens impression when eating this
Had the worst dinner at Mastro’s in Costa Mesa Friday night.
Haven’t been in ages, but was taking a friend for her BD.
No pictures because it was too dark, but for starters the place is looking a little long in the tooth- not that it would matter if the food was good.
Bread basket was stale, except for the pretzel rolls. And those weren’t as good as the TJ version for 99 cents.
We both started with soups. She said the lobster bisque was OK, but my French onion had so much bread in it, there was maybe 6 spoonfuls of soup, tops.
Both got the bone-in filet, those were fine but the sides sucked. Their cream corn was flavorless. I’m a big fan of Tom Colicchio’s creamless cream corn where you actually taste the corn. Server rec’d the Brussels sprouts, which were roasted, but completely dried out…
They brought out complimentary chocolate cake for her BD- stale around the edges and I had a port.
Honestly, at this stage in my life I’m fortunate not to have to worry about money. But at $250 without a bottle of wine, there are plenty of other options.
It was jam-packed, so maybe it was just an off night but won’t be back.
My only Mastro’s experience, also at Costa Mesa, wasn’t too much different. I decided to splurge and get the Wagyu steak, and at $85, I can honestly say it was one of the worst restaurant steaks I’ve ever had tough and gristly. They did comp the steak, but I haven’t been able to bring myself to go back.
Sadly this is true now.
But for historical context, prior to the chains sale to investors, it was truly excellent. The drinks, the seafood tower, the steaks, the sides, etc were all stellar. That ended about 7 years ago.
@OCSteve, I was looking forward to the place with the patty melts .
We do steakhouses a lot for work, because it’s a safe bet and there’s always fish and chicken.
I believe they were bought by the owners of the Claim Jumper group and it shows.
I went to Mastro’s Seafood in Newport Coast when it first opened- my mom’s treat, and it was much better if you could ignore the crowd. I think my mom was the only woman in the place with original body parts.
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