Restaurant Review: Nitrolado's Latest Location Adds Awesome Food to the Menu!

Sasaki Time was invited to a media preview of the new Nitrolado in Westminster. Already known for their amazing nitro ice cream, signature churro bowls and crafted beverages, this latest location adds a large selection of small bites! With the addition of great indoor and outdoor seating areas, you have a perfect place for a meal and dessert!

Their are comfortable seating areas to make it feel like your new home away from home!

Not only could I not wait to have their nitro ice cream again, I was most interested in trying their new small bites menu! We started with the Honey Butter Sweet Potato Chips! The browned butter, California honey, sea salt and cracked pepper added to the crisp sweet potato chips and the perfect way to start!

We then got the Pho King Fries, be careful how you say that! But you get brisket, gravy, cheese, fresh herbs and house sauce over fresh fresh fries that combine to taste like a bowl of pho! Absolutely amazing and a new favorite!

Restaurant Review: Eight Korean BBQ and their signature Eight Flavors of Pork Belly

My friend Kara and I were invited to Eight Korean BBQ in Buena Park. We both love Korean BBQ and we were here to try their set meal offering their signature eight different flavors of pork belly. This set meal is the "Combo A", easily the most popular item on the menu. The flavors include wine, original, black sesame, garlic, herb, curry, miso paste and red pepper paste. At the time of this writing the price for "Combo A" is $59.99, which can easily feed 3 people.

Besides the amazing eight thick cut slices of pork belly, you get a large salad, refillable side dishes, a huge seafood tofu stew and then mozzarella kimchi fried rice at the end of the meal.

As you can see I cannot get enough of the eight different flavors of pork belly! It is made for taking photos of!

Take a look at the large boiling pot of seafood tofu stew! Spicy and delicious that is perfect on any day!

One of the best parts of eating at Eight Korean BBQ is that it is full-service, meaning that you do not have to do any of the cooking. Let that sink in for a minute. You do not have to do any of the cooking! Our server cooked all of the pork belly as well as made the seafood stew and the kimchi fried rice.

Made in the same bowl that the seafood tofu stew was, our server then made the kimchi fried rice. She asked if we wanted cheese and we said yes. I know what you are thinking. Cheese on top of kimchi fried rice? The cheese melted into a gooey pile of amazing! I cannot ever remember any other Korean BBQ place making this and I would happily get this with the mozzarella each and every time!

An amazing meal that I cannot wait to go back to and eat again and again.

To learn more, check out their site:
Eight Korean BBQ

Restaurant Preview: Ballast Point in Downtown Disney Anaheim

I was able to attend a taste and adjust of the brand new Ballast Point Brewery & Kitchen at Downtown Disney Anaheim. This large 4,000 square-foot glass-enclosed bar and restaurant space has seating for 220. There is also a 3,000 square-foot outdoor beer garden with cabana-style seating.

With the official opening set for January 16th, let's take a look at what we were able to eat and drink!

The restaurant is located on the second level and you pass all of these tap handles on the way up the stairs.

This location will not only offer more than 50 styles of Ballast Point's beers across 100 tap lines but also its own exclusive brews. While my friend decided on the Wahoo White, I went with one of their R&D selections that may or may not make it past the R&D phase.

This amazing bowl of "Wahoo" Beer Steamed Mussels was our Plate to Share. This massive order of mussels sits in garlic, ginger, shallots, serrano chili, shishito peppers, Spanish chorizo and a baguette. The mussels were briny and the broth is perfect. We loved using the bread to soak up the broth. They even brought us extra bread!

My friend went with The Ballast Point Burger. The chuck and brisket blend patty is moist and flavorful. The BBQ sauce also really adds to the flavor and takes it to another level. I also loved their fries being nice and crisp!

I went with the California "Kolsch" Steak Burrito. This massive burrito is stuffed with tender Santa Maria style steak, guacamole, fries, pico de gallo, cheddar cheese and wrapped in a flour tortilla. On the side is a smoky housemade salsa that elevated the already great taste burrito!

The meal was amazing and we were both totally full that we didn't make it to dessert! But we did try some more of the beer offerings. We learned that you can ask to have beer combined to add to even more unique flavor combinations! Above we combined the Pumpkin Spice Scottish Ale and the Victory At Sea to create a Smashing Pumpkin and we also combined the Peanut Butter Victory At Sea with the Blackberry Ale to make a version of PB&J! So take a look at their entire beer list and see what flavor combination you can come up with!

To learn more, check out their site at: Ballast Point Anaheim

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!

Eat, Pour, Love - The Wall Restaurant Review Written by: Kristen Nichols

Eat, Pour, Love - The Wall Restaurant Review

Written by: Kristen Nichols

Sasaki Time was recently invited to taste the delicious food and drinks at The Wall restaurant located in Old Towne Orange, CA.  We were lucky enough to sample a wide variety of their food and drink offerings and had the pleasure of speaking with some of the staff about the restaurant’s style and philosophy.  The Wall’s menu offers the flavors of traditional street food combined with the shareable design of tapas.  Their Elote Fries have a great aesthetic presentation while maintaining the flavor of traditional street-cart elote.  The Wall is also known for it’s Frito Pie, the only restaurant in Orange County that offers it, and it’s own delicious housemade Choco Taco.  There is also a specialty gourmet burger that changes with each month.  The burger for June is the spicy Green Chili Crunch burger complete with a bacon and ghost pepper aioli.   

The Elote fries with carnitas are flavorful and shareable...although you may want to keep them all for yourself!

The Green Chili Crunch Burger, burger of the month for June, complete with a Bacon and ghost pepper aioli.  Delicious and spicy!

Frito Pie with an egg on top.  The Wall is the only restaurant in Orange County that offers it!

Freshly made Peruvian Ceviche!  So delicious I made sure to take the leftovers!

Housemade Choco Taco - served with Thrifty brand ice cream, a stout chocolate sauce, and a chocolate stout waffle cone shell!  Amazing!

Generally, I’m not a fan of donuts but these Boozy Crullers with candied bacon and a maple bourbon glaze were probably my favorite thing we tried all night!  Light and crispy perfection!

The Wall boasts 55 beers on tap, the most beers on tap in Orange County.  Currently the servers are doing the pouring but a self-serve format is currently in the works.  The Wall will soon be implementing an electronic wrist-band system that allows patrons to select, order, and have their drink automatically dispensed from the tap.  They offer beers and ciders in 5oz taster, 13oz, or 16oz pours.   Patrons can also assemble their own custom flights comprised of four 5oz tasters.

From left to right: Red Nectar - Humboldt, Raspberry Wheat - Alaskan, Shower Beer - Solarc, Shellmaker - Gunwhale, Chocolate Sombrero - Clown Shoes.  My favorite was the Shower Beer from Solarc Brewing!

The Wall is a casual and friendly place to catch-up with loved ones or just hang out and watch the game.  Grab your friends and family and visit The Wall located at 80 Plaza Square in Orange, CA.  You can also check them out on Instagram at @thewall_restaurant or on Twitter at @thewall_orange.  Thank you so much to The Wall for hosting us and giving us an exclusive look at their delicious offerings!  See you there!

Ruby's Diner Introduces Fall Menu Items!

Just in time for Fall, Ruby's Diner, one of the iconic Southern California favorites for burgers, shakes and fries is introducing new menu items for a limited time. Ruby's Diner invited Sasaki Time to check out their new Fall Menu offerings that start this Wednesday October 5th!

One of my seasonal favorites, the Pumpkin Hot Cakes are back! The pancakes are light and fluffy and full of that delicious pumpkin and cinnamon flavor! They almost do not need maple syrup!

New this year is the Pumpkin Waffle! The outside of the waffle is crisp while the inside literally melts in your mouth! This would be my choice for breakfast!

Asian Fusion Tacos and More from Pango in Fountain Valley!

Time to check out Pango, a brand new Asian taqueria in Fountain Valley.

This green tea horchata is my favorite new drink! The creamy horchata and the flavor of the green tea match perfectly!

I got the elote which is was delicious and just the right size for $1.25!

I also got the Korean BBQ taco which is flavorful with the kim chee and the tender bulgolgi! And it is a decent sized taco as well!

Friendly service and delicious food make this a place to check out! I look forward to going back to try more of their tacos!

Address:

Pango
16161 Brookhurst Street
Fountain Valley, CA 92708

Dole Whip with Li Hing Mui from Hula Girls Shave Ice

After hacking the dole whip at Disneyland with tajin, it was time to try another addition to the dole whip. This time I went to Hula Girls Shave Ice where they not only have dole whip but they have several options of seasonings to add on top of your dole whip. It was time to add the li hing mui powder to the dole whip.

What is li hing mui you may ask? Well li hing mui is a sweet and sour powder that transforms pretty much anything into an exotic, candied treat. You take pickled plum skins in licorice, salt and sugar and grind them into a very fine powder. A few dashes go a very long way.

How does the dole whip with li hing mui taste? The li hing mui actually neutralizes the acidity of the pineapple in the dole whip and you are left with a sweet and slightly sour dole whip that tastes even more amazing than just the dole whip itself!

Try this amazing combination yourself at Hula Girls Shave Ice:

16556 Bolsa Chica Street
Huntington Beach, CA 92649

or check out their site:

hulagirlsshaveice.com/

Cajun Garlic Fries with Bulgolgi from Nguyen's Kitchen in Orange

Located near the Children's Hospital of Orange County is Nguyen's Kitchen. They offer Vietnamese favorites and some modern twists such as sandwiches, pastas, garlic noodles and rice bowls. But the reason I stopped in was to try their Cajun garlic fries and you can add bulgolgi on top of that to create the above masterpiece. The bulgolgi is tender and flavorful, the fries are crisp and tasty with Cajun spices and garlic. This can be a meal all by itself.

I washed this all down with a refreshing peach and lychee green tea. It's not overpoweringly sweet and the flavors of the peach and lychee blend in perfectly with the green tea.

Check out Nguyen's Kitchen at:

445 S. Main Street, Ste B
Orange, CA 92868

or visit their site:

nguyenskitchen.com/

Killer Shrimp brings killa seafood to Hermosa Beach

Sasaki Time was recently invited to try out Killer Shrimp in Hermosa Beach. My friend Matt and I met up with Danielle (Director of Communication for Killer Shrimp) for dinner. The Hermosa Beach location is literally a hop, skip and a jump from the ocean and believe it or not, the food outshines the view.

We started with the signature Killer Shrimp dish that they prepare six different ways. We went with the shelled version. The enormous and delicious shrimp bathe in a spicy broth made from a secret blend of ingredients. You also get this massive portion of french bread to soak up the broth.

Look at the size of the shrimp! Juicy and full of flavor will make you order this dish time and time again!

We also got an order of the Crab Fries. Think of a generous portion of In 'N Out's Animal Style Fries topped with crab and you have one of the most amazing dishes ever!

Who Song and Larry's Awesome Sunday Brunch in Orange

My buddy Drew and I are making Sunday Brunch a monthly habit that we should just call ourselves the Brunch Guys! So this time we are at Who Song and Larry's in Orange. Let's see if this brunch should be a must-do on your list.

Starting with the photo above, the elote is a great sign we are in for an amazing brunch! The elote has several seasoning options but I went with the dunk in the bucket of butter, cheese and tajin!

There is a taco bar and there are three tasty options to choose from. You can get carnitas, smoked chicken or steak and bacon tacos. All three are amazing! My favorite is the steak and bacon as the steak is tender and blends well with the saltiness of the bacon.

There is also bottomless mimosas. The staff does an amazing job making sure your glass stays topped off.

There is a waffle bar and a carving station. The carving station has melt in your mouth tri-tip and two kinds of sausages.

There is also a wafflette bar where they make omelettes in a waffle maker. These wafflettes are large and can easily feed two people.

There is also a central station with all sorts of amazing dishes including garlic butter pasta, mahi mahi, sausages and more.

There is a seafood station with peel and eat shrimp, ceviche and oysters.

For an extra $9 you can get a glass of Grey Goose and head to the build-your-own bloody mary bar. So many options to make your perfect bloody mary.

Here is my creation. I think I went a little too heavy on the spices though.

It was time to make our way to dessert. The chocolate fountain has your usual marshmallows, rice krispie treats and strawberries, but they also add bacon. That's right you can make your own chocolate covered bacon.

The other dessert options include flan, fudge and pie. such a great way to wind down from all of the other food options.

And I didn't even get to the burrito bar, the menudo, the pozole and the chicharones.

Sunday Brunch is an amazing experience! Dare I say too many food options and amazing service make this a must for Sunday Brunch. Plus, they start at 9am if you want to get an early start with no crowds and take your time eating and drinking.

Brunch is $29.99 for adults and $12.50 for kids 12 and under.

To learn more check out their site:

whosongandlarrys.com