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Showing posts with label burgers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label burgers. Show all posts

Thursday, January 25, 2018

Restaurant Preview: Splitsville Luxury Lanes Downtown Disney Anaheim


Sasaki Time was invited to a preview of the new Splitsville Luxury Lanes in the Downtown Disney District at the Disneyland Resort. This retro 1950s looking bowling, entertainment and dining venue sits on what was once the home of The House of Blues but the building is brand new from the ground up! I already love the large windows and the patio area!


Time to dive into the menu!


We started with the spicy edamame that is steamed and tossed with sesame oil and chili sauce. There is a great kick to it as to be expected and yet finishes with the subtle sweetness of the edamame. Wildly addicting!


We also got the cheeseburger sliders. Now these sliders are pretty big and pretty tasty! Each of these nearly full-sized cheeseburgers are topped with lettuce, caramelized onions, tomatoes, pickles, special sauce and cheese! I admit these are fairly close to an In-N-Out burger. One can easily get full off of all three of these!

Tuesday, July 12, 2016

Holsteins Shakes and Buns - Amazing Food, Fantastic Service and an Ever Changing Menu


My friend Carla and I went to go check out Holsteins Shakes and Buns in Costa Mesa. This is only their second location, with the first being in Las Vegas. They are known for their burgers, appetizers and what they call their Bam-Boozled, alcohol-infused shakes.

Take a look at that amazing Campfire Smores shake in the photo above. A delicious and refreshing smores made into a shake with Smirnoff marshmallow vodka added to it. This makes a perfect dessert shake.


I love the popcorn that's brought to your table. Good comfort food to munch on while you look through the menu.


The Buffalo Chicken dip is a must have appetizer. Think of shredded buffalo chicken and queso mixed together with house made tortilla chips. Spicy, cheesy and easily one of the best things I have ever eaten.


Let's take a closer look at that shake list. Find anything you like yet? Or should I say have you found several that you have to try?


Next we had the Azuki Coconut shake. Yes, azuki, that awesome Japanese sweet bean paste blends so perfectly with the subtle flavor of coconut that you will want another.


If Bam-Boozled shakes aren't your thing, never fear there are more than enough wines and beers to keep you happy. The wine and beer list is on this handy tablet.


The other reason to come is for the burgers. This is their simple Classic Burger and honestly one of the best cooked hamburger patties I have ever tasted.

Friday and Saturday nights they have live music. Happy Hour is 6 days a week. So come check out Holsteins for great food, drinks and service!

Learn more at their site:
holsteinsburgers.com

Sunday, October 6, 2013

Restaurant Review: ARC Restaurant Food & Libations Lunch Review!

I finally got to go back to ARC to have lunch there. I have been wanting to go back specifically for lunch to try their awesome looking burger! Would it meet my expectations? Well, let's find out!
One of my favorite things to see is the cords of wood stacked up around the restaurant. They cook everything over an open fire. It's a modern take on what caveman did!
The best place to sit is at the bar! You can watch all the action in the kitchen while you talk and drink!
Check out the lunch menu! The full dinner menu is also available to you!
They also make great handcrafted cocktails! I wasn't driving so I felt "obligated" to try one!
I ordered their cigarettes & coffee, one of their most popular drinks. It was an awesome mix of rye whiskey, smoky bitters and Portola Coffee Lab beans.A good stiff drink to enjoy in the afternoon or after a long day at work! I think I found my new favorite drink!
Check out this massive burger! The bun is dusted with cornmeal bun and smeared with garlic aioli and a huge pile of fresh vegetables including bright yellow heirloom tomatoes, Fresno chilies and red oak lettuce. The lettuce has been tossed in a roasted garlic vinaigrette. There was a choice between bleu cheese or aged cheddar cheese. I went with the aged cheddar! The patty is made up of rib-eye short rib that has been ground up with bacon lardons, herbs, caramelized onions and duck fat.
This gorgeous burger is almost too pretty to eat. I said almost! I did my best to pick it up with two hands and try to eat it like a regular burger but this was a bad idea from the start! I couldn't even get my mouth to take a bite out of it! So, I decided to treat the veggie part of the burger as a salad. This was a much better idea.

One of the best burgers I have ever had! And I pride myself on trying to find the best burger in Southern California! The veggies are all fantastic! The heirloom tomatoes are juicy and sweet! The Fresno chilies have a great amount of kick! The lettuce tossed in the garlic vinaigrette makes the salad of veggies complete! The massive burger is more like a meatloaf! The flavors are unparalleled! The beef, bacon and duck fat combine perfectly for a taste unlike any other! 
Using Lil Oishi as a size comparison! This burger is almost twice his height!

Another great time at ARC and so worth the wait to come back to try to the burger! Now I want another burger right now!

Arc Restaurant Food & Libations
3321 Hyland Ave
Ste F

Costa Mesa, CA 92626
(949) 500-5561

Sunday, January 22, 2012

Review of 25 Degrees in Huntington Beach

Sasaki Time Fans it's time for another food review! This time it is 25 Degrees in Huntington Beach! Apparently 25 degrees is the difference between medium and medium rare! Who knew? Anyways, I love burgers and while it seems like everyone is doing customized burgers these days, it was about the spike sodas and the spiked milkshakes that really caught my eye! But more about that in a bit!
 
The menu is simple enough but there are so many great choices that it's tough to narrow it down.
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Then to make it even tougher, they have a great selection of cocktails, wine, beer and spiked sodas and spiked milkshakes! While I tried to figure out what to put on my burger, I ordered a spike cream soda! Bulleit bourbon, vanilla liqueur and ginger ale blended together perfectly to create a very strong cream soda! It was delicious and I could have had another but I wanted to make sure I had room for my burger and my spiked milkshake!
We ordered a half order of onion rings and fries! The onion rings were enormous and delicious! Amazing batter that was salty but not overwhelming! The onions were not strong at all and really moist! Just perfect! I actually liked the onion rings more than the fries which were still good and flavorful but not as great as the onion rings!
We were there for Happy hour and they had some of their appetizers for $5 so we got an order of the chili-honey chicken wings! I could have eaten the entire plate! The sweetness of the honey combined with the kick of the chili peppers made for a really tangy chicken wing!
I finally decided on getting the number one! It was a ground sirloin burger with caramelized onions, prelibato gorgonzola, crescenza, bacon, arugula, and thousand island! when the burgers came out all I could think of was that this was one of the largest burgers I have ever seen! The patty alone was at least an inch thick! One of the best burgers ever! The burger was so juicy and all the ingredients blended together perfectly!
My friend Jessica made her own burger and what I really loved on hers was the combination of bacon and proscuitto. The prosciutto was sliced thicker than what I am use to and it was wrapped around the bacon, just a bit of heaven! I'm going to order that the next time!
My friend Adnrew ordered just a burger with bacon and cheese. He must have loved it cause it was gone way before the rest of us were done!
Jessica ordered a spiked milkshake! She ordered the salty caramel! It combines bulleit bourbon, butterscotch, vanilla bean ice cream, and Hawaiian red sea salt! It was really good! you couldn't even tell that it was spiked!
I went with the night owl. It blended Godiva dark chocolate liqueur, Kahlua, tia maria, and chocolate ice cream! So good and there is so much extra in the malt cup for another whole shake!
So, if you are looking for a great place for burgers and great drinks, this is the place!

25 Degrees

412 Walnut Ave
Huntington Beach, CA 92648
(714) 960-2525




Hours:
Mon-Thu 11:30 am - 12 am
Fri 11:30 am - 1 am
Sat 11 am - 1 am
Sun 11 am - 11 pm

Sunday, August 7, 2011

Burger King Whoppers for 88-Cents on Monday August 8th!

*Make sure your local Burger King is PARTICIPATING first*

That's right! Tomorrow and tomorrow only - Monday, Aug. 8th - PARTICIPATING Burger King restaurants will be selling its Whopper for 88 cents from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. The 88-cent Whopper will be available at PARTICIPATING restaurants in Orange, Los Angeles, Riverside, San Bernardino and Ventura counties while supplies last!


Blue Frog Cafe

The owners of the Blue Frog Bakery in the Orange Circle have opened a cafe, but don't look for it next to their bakery! It's actually located on the opposite side of the circle on North Glassell! It's near Zito's Pizza!


They have a great variety of burgers and also make sandwiches. If an Angus beef patty isn't too your liking, then you can also select from chicken breast, turkey patty or a veggie patty! They even have frogs legs on the menu!



I finally decided on the Hawaiian Frog. Yes, their burgers are named after frogs! It is made up of a 100% Angus beef patty, pineapple, teriyaki glaze, black forest ham, swiss cheese, frizzled onions, lettuce, tomatoes and mayo. You can choose one side which can be fries, potato/mac salad or fresh fruit. I chose the fries.


My friend went with the American Toad burger which was a 100% Angus beef patty, lettuce, tomatoes, frizzled onions, cheddar cheese and mayo. He went with the potato/mac salad as his side.


My burger was simply amazing. The burger is juicy with very little fat content. The ham is soft and tender and perfectly compliments the patty. The buns are homemade daily. They are soft and flavorful and really make the burger stand out. The fries were cooked fresh and piping hot! And as a great little surprise, each order comes with a fresh baked cookie. I had a chocolate chip cookie and my friend had a sugar cookie. His burger was just as great as mine and the potato/mac salad was impressive.

They also carry some of the wonderful baked items they make at their bakery right down the street.



So, once again another great find!

Blue Frog Cafe
152 B N Glassell
Old Towne Orange, CA

Hours
Mon - Sun:11:00 am-9:00 pm







Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Review of Burger Parlor

The latest pop-up restaurant is a winner and dare I say the best burger in the O.C.?  Located in the Rialto Cafe in Fullerton, the Burger Parlor is only open Wed-Sat starting at 6pm. I went Wednesday night with a friend of mine.

Check out the menu:





They offer a great selection of burgers that are made from 100% certified black Angus beef, the buns are baked fresh daily, and everything is 100% hormone free products. They also have salads, shakes, a good selection of sodas and a great selection of craft beers. I went for a St. Bernardus (an Abbey beer).





It went great with the burger that I ordered, the Mahon, named for the Chef Joseph Mahon and it's a winner!
It is an Angus beef patty, pastrami, caramelized onions, mustard sauce, and swiss cheese. The Mahon was juicy, perfectly cooked, and soft fatty bites of pastrami complimented and did not overwhelm the burger.

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I also ordered the Belgian Fries to go along with it. The fries are thick and hearty and piping hot! A touch of sea salt makes it perfect! The ketchup tastes like it was blended with some rosemary so you know it's not your ordinary ketchup.



My friend ordered the Smoky which is one the most popular burgers on the menu. It is an Angus beef patty, bacon, fried onions, cheddar cheese, bibb lettuce, oven dried tomato and secret sauce. I was fortunate enough that my friend gave me a bite of her burger.  It was just as good as my Mahon. The bacon chunks were perfect with the burger. Another winner!



We also ordered the beer batter onion rings. Now, I am no fan of onion rings but I would order these again in a heartbeat! First, they are nice and hot like the fries. Second, they are not overwhelming in their onion flavor. The onions are nice and light and crisp. I just couldn't stop eating them.



To round off my dinner, I got a strawberry shake. Great way to end my meal with a nice and thick but not overly sugary shake.



My friend and I are totally sold on this place and will be back to try another round of burgers! My compliments to the chef!

If you are interested in saving some money on their menu, text burger Parlor to 902-10 and they will send you special offers!

Check out their web site with their menu at:
http://www.burgerparlor.com/

Thursday, June 9, 2011

Father's Day Weekend Deal at Alcatraz Brewing Company!

Father's Day Weekend: $10 for a Brew and Burger

:: $10 is all you need this Father's Day Weekend::
June 17-19, All Day and Night

Forget Father's Day, it’s Father’s Weekend at Alcatraz Brewing Company!  During Father's Day Weekend get an Alcatraz Burger and one of their homemade brews for just $10!  They'll also send Dad (or anyone in the family over 21)  home with a growler of their choice for only $10!  Hope to see you there.

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Review of Stacked

I have been waiting for this restaurant to open for months now and it did not disappoint! Located at the Del Almo Mall in Torrance, Stacked is another restaurant in a growing list of restaurant specializing in customization of your food. Like Freebirds and Pieology and countless other places, Stacked offers burgers, pizzas, sausages, shakes, salads and even cookies and ice cream to customize. For those that are less adventurous Stacked offers items that are already Stacked.

They utilize the use of iPads at your table to order your food and drinks. It's so much fun to order this way and send your order off to the kitchen. Within minutes your order arrives! What a neat way to order food and not have to wait until everyone is ready to order. While printed menus are still offered, you still need to use the iPad to place your order and send it off to the kitchen.

So let's take a look at the printed menu to show off all the options. Here are the burger options:





Here are the pizza options:




The salad options:




The sausage options:





The cookie sandwich options:


The shake options:




The beverage options:





But here is the all important iPad interface!



They suggest that you order your drinks first so we looked through the list of sodas and beers and wines and decided on shakes! I ordered an apple pie shake that was simply amazing! It was recommended by one of their VP's who helped create all of the shakes on the menu. The shake tasted just like an applie pie that was little on the crust and heavy on the apple!






My friend put together his own shake with chocolate syrup and chocolate chips!


We also ordered some sweet potato fries with a creamy BBQ dipping sauce. The fries were fresh and hot. The dipping sauce was smooth with just the right hint of BBQ sauce and perfectly complimented the fries.


We also ordered regular fries with regular ketchup. These fries were also fresh and hot.


I couldn't resist ordering the homemade chips with a garlic aioli dipping sauce. The chips were fresh and light and the garlic aioli was strong, just the way I like it.





The shakes and the sides came out almost as fast as we ordered them. Then we went to the task of putting out meal together. My friend put a salad together. Everything was light and fresh, just the way she wanted it.


I put together a burger. The photo below shows the way I stacked my burger. It's cool to see the different layers come together on your creation! I chose a brioche bun, a medium rare cooked angus beef patty, swiss cheese, green leaf lettuce, bacon, red onions, pickles, avocado, and stacked sauce.


Here is my burger. The patty was cooked to perfection. I would say the burger is right up there with DG, it's just that good! For some reason we forgot to take a pic of my other friends burger.


Then we moved on to dessert. One of my friends ordered the snickerdoodle cookies and I went for the snickerdoodle cookes with fresh strawberry ice cream. The cookies were nice and soft and the ice cream was just creamy. Just a perfect ice cream sandwich.


A great meal and I want to come back to try the pizzas and the sausages. Ordering off the iPad is a dream and there are plenty of employees to come by to offer assistance if you need it.In the future, when you sign up and join their club, you will be able to save your Stacked choices to post and share on Facebook and other social media. If other people order what you have put together, it will give you credit. If this means credit towards free food or what, I'm not quite sure. but it also means you can use the preorder button on the screen to place an order for items you have already Stacked in the past.

Also, the use of the iPad lowers their cost and they pass the savings to you. So, for two shakes, sweet potato fries, fries, homemade chips, two burgers, a salad, an order of cookies and a cookie sandwich, the cost came out to just under $47. What a great deal!

Stacked is opening two other locations this year in San Diego and later in Cerritos. I will be there at the Cerritos one but plan to visit the Torrance location again soon!