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May 17, 2010
Feb 28, 2010
Fleming's Steakhouse
8970 University Center Ln
San Diego, CA 92122
CHRIS: I must say, one of the most tender steaks I've had in a long while.
Environment: the interior of Flemings is very similar to all "expensive steakhouse" restaurants, its got the dim lights, the racks of wine, wood decor. Just the norm. Nothing really out of the ordinary that may strike you with a wow. I honestly think the lights were a bit too dim though, had a hard time taking any good photos without flash. overall for interior 5/10.
I decided to try the dinner set, which came with a choice of salad or lobster bisque (i got the bisque), filet mignon with lobster tail, green beans with mushrooms, Flemings potato, and an apple pie(?) dessert. I also got an order of mashed potatoes, because I love mashed potatoes, especially with a steak.
Lobster Bisque:
The lobster bisque was something very unlike what I've ever had before. It was EXTREMELY creamy, almost like the texture of whipped cream. The types I usually eat are more soupy. This was more like a light paste -- maybe like
applesauce. Taste wise, it was just like every other lobster bisque I've had. I do admit, however, that I was liking this texture. I don't know why but it was really addicting despite it's lackluster characteristics. The lobster pieces were small and didn't require a lot of chewing, which was a plus. The thing that I disliked most about the lobster bisque was the large amounts of pepper, though I can't imagine what it would be like without the extra kick. Sherry, who can't handle spicy very well, also liked the bisque a lot but admitted to it kicking a little too hard for her. Lobster bisque always irritates my throat, and this one was no different. Overall for the Lobster Bisque 6/10.
Filet Mignon with Lobster Tail and Vanilla Butter:
The main course meal -- and I wasn't disappointed. Well, maybe a little disappointed about the size at first. When the waiter brought the food over to the table, I realized that the 6 ounces, was about the size of my fist. The lobster tail was roughly the same size even if the picture made it look larger by a lot. Of course, the fist size is about all you need for a proper serving of protein. But as an Asian kid, I was expecting something... bigger. However, after my first bite of the filet mignon? Wow, that small thing sure packed full flavor and hit my taste buds in all the right places. The mix of pepper and salt that crusted over the "skin" of the beef was mouth watering; it was the right amount of salty, while still retaining a beefy flavor, and the center of the filet was very tender. Part of me wanted to savor the piece as long as I could, and the other part wanted me to just shove another piece in my mouth. The lobster was alright, it was soft, and the vanilla butter (although I couldn't really taste the vanilla in mine) wasn't overwhelming the lobster taste. This is a plus, because I love the natural taste of lobster. But the main delight of the entree would definitely have to be the filet mignon. Overall for the main entree 8/10.
String Beans with Mushrooms:
Honestly, try to stay away from it. I didn't like it one bit. The string beans were pretty flavorless. Other than the glazed coating, which just tasted like a slightly salty butter glaze, the string beans were a bit burnt here and there and also flavorless. Mushrooms were good. Overall for string beans 3/10.
Fleming's Potatoes:
This would be good ... at another restaurant. It really didn't fit in with the steak and lobster feel. What it is, is cooked sliced potato with...a layer of cheese on it. It wasn't too bad, but it was overwhelming the steak by quite a bit. After eating a bit, I would have to rinse it down with some water, or else I couldn't taste the filet mignon. And it was a bit oily as well. Not much to say about this one. Overally for Flemings potatoes 6/10.
Mashed Potatoes:
Loved it. Although it tastes just like any other mashed potatoes out there, I myself just love it. and it always goes great with steak. But it was nothing special. Overall for mashed potatoes: 6/10
Dessert:
EH... My dessert was actually undercooked, and came out... raw? It was an apple..tart? But my crust was not crusty, and was hard to dig into with just a spoon. It came with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and some blueberries with two mint leaves. I told the waitress that it wasn't fully cooked and she threw it in the microwave... =_= which didn't make anything better.. just hotter. So I didn't particularly like it. The apples were hard instead of the soft with a slight crunch regular pies or tarts would have; my blueberries were hot because the waitress microwaved it. And the crust was just chewy instead of flaky and crunchy as I was expecting it to be. Overall for the dessert 3.5/10
Overall:
This place isn't too bad, I would highly recommend it for a place to go on a date. Just don't get the set dinner unless you're willing to eat those sides. But if you're going with friends for just a place to eat some steak, I would recommend going elsewhere. This place is pretty expensive; I had to pay about $65 for my meal. While I admit the steak is amazing, I could make a good steak at home for about $10. And I'm not all into fancy dinners as I think they're too steep a price for my poor college student wallet. Would I go back? Maybe if I were making good money, but not as a college student. So not anytime soon. Overall experience 7/10.
ANGELA: It was a good dinner, although a bit too expensive. All in all, I've had better.
It was a rainy Saturday night. My best friend Sherry had made reservations for three at the steakhouse in lieu of the special set menu created for "Friend's of Fleming's." I guess if you get on their mailing list, they email you a 'special' code to tell them when you make reservations. It was ~$50, but with gratuity came out to be $65/person. Very pricey, especially for the college student. I'm very grateful that I can afford these small luxuries once in awhile, if only to gain the ability to make comparisons of worth. I guess I'll review the place the way Chris did. It's not a bad structure.
Environment: Very dim; the mood lighting screamed 'suave' but it was a bit pretentious for me. The dark lighting did not go well with the loudness of the restaurant. On a scale of 1-10, the crowd in the restaurant combined to make a hefty 8 in terms of loudness. Of course, it was a Saturday night so a lot of people were out with families, friends, and lovers. Like Chris, I didn't like that I had to use flash to take pictures of the food. And using flash seemed pretty inappropriate at this restaurant so I was unable to document my Saturday night. Nothing too special. Overall: 4/10
Service: Because the place was pretty pricey and "upscale," I expected some pretty good service. Despite the fact that Sherry made reservations, we had to wait for a little over 10 minutes while staring at a couple of empty tables. Too many people and too little staff, I suppose. I was disappointed but I won't make a big deal out of it, considering how attentive (and obviously tip hungry) our waiter was. In terms of the waiter(s), they were a bit .. over-attentive. They seemed very eager to clear our appetizers and "refill" by switching soda that was only half done. Kind of wasteful, but I've always been sensitive to people throwing away food. If you want to see half a loaf of bread and some good cheese being tossed, then this is your place. Overall: 6/10
Sourdough Bread w/ 2 Cheese spreads: I love bread. I love cheese. The cheese spreads were really good. I believe one was a dill flavored cheese and the other one was sundried tomato cheese spread. Not sure what type. Possibly feta? We asked for this to-go but they didn't box the cheese. Pretty disappointed about that. I could get full off this if I didn't exert my self control. Overall: 8/10
Filet Mignon & Lobster Tail w/ Vanilla-Infused Butter: I'm not going to lie -- when we first got our food, I was pretty disappointed at the portions. Yes, it was sort of expected but again .. I'm not used to this type of eating. However, this was a good example of my eyes being bigger than my mouth. By the time I got to my last bite, I was almost stuffed. I ordered my Filet medium-cooked and it. was. perfect. I've never been to a place that cooked my steak exactly as I wanted (which is why home-cooked steak is always my preference). But this Fleming's place got it exactly the way I wanted. Crispy, salted, and glazed on the outside; no burnt parts. Moderately chewy, soft, and pink directly inside the top layer. It nearly melted. Every bite was savory. I was very happy, though I wished it was a bigger size. The lobster tail was .. a lobster tail. Nothing too special about this, except that our waiter removed the meat from the shell for us. The Vanilla-infused Butter was a bit funky for me, so I chose to eat the lobster au naturel. Is that how you say it? Anyway -- the entree was pretty good. In considering the flavor and portion size of the main course, the frugal me would still give it an... Overall: 8/10
String Beans + Satee Shitake Mushrooms: Well, I do love my vegetables. And mushrooms are my favorite vegetable. So, I liked this. It was just an appetizer, so I wasn't expecting much. Just the usual garlic butter type thing going. A bit on the greasy side, but the mushrooms were amazing. That may be due to its natural goodness, but either way I liked it. A bit lackluster for such a fancy restaurant, though. Overall: 6.5/10
Fleming's Potatoes: This side dish was basically baked scalloped potatoes topped with a thick layer of cheese. Very buttery, very cheesy. Unlike Chris, I particularly liked this dish. It was probably second to the Filet in my favorite's of the meal. It tasted just like it looked. Thick, savory, rich, and potato-y. I really like any potato dish though because I'm a starch monster (bad for my diet). True, this dish overwhelmed the flavors of the steak. By itself, though, it was very good. I would not serve this as a complementary dish to steak&lobster, though. Belongs on the Thanksgiving table, and if it were, I would eat it all. Overall: 7/10
(the Vanilla-infused Whipped Cream)
Mashed Potatoes: Normal, mashed potato side dish. Nothing special and not worth the price. I was expecting something a little more special. Maybe garlic? Maybe a little more fluffy than usual? Perhaps fried to make a crispy layer? Nope, none of those. I love potatoes, but considering how average this dish was in such a high-end restaurant, I won't be rating it too high. Just straight up mashed potatoes. Some may enjoy the simplicity of the dish, however. Overall: 3/10
Apple Crisp Tart w/ Vanilla Bean Icecream and Blueberries: I have a separate stomach for dessert. U
nlike Chris, I received a fully cooked delicious tart. I'm not very good at rating this stuff though, since anything sweet is basically an A+ for me. I really liked how it wasn't overwhelmingly sweet. The filo dough they used for the crispy crust was light and flaky. The apple pieces were well caramelized. The vanilla ice cream was .. vanilla icecream. The blueberries were a good slightly sour complement to all the sweetness. I think it was the ice cream and the blueberries that kept the dessert from being overwhelming on the sweet scale. With this dessert came a Vanilla-infused Whipped Cream. That's right. Whipped cream that tasted like Vanilla. Very light and fluffy, but I'm not really a whipped cream kind of girl. Occasionally, I'll put it on my strawberries. But they gave us a pretty large portion of it and I didn't know what to do with it. It was lightly sweetened and had a good vanilla flavor to it. Because I was impressed by the innovative vanilla whipped cream and I love dessert .. Overall: 7.5/10
So, the overall average (counting all side dishes as 1) came out to be a whopping 8.3. Yeap, this looks to be pretty correct. Lackluster, but the entree and starter were good. And also, it was fun going on a date with my best friend and boyfriend. I don't think I would recommend Fleming's though. I would recommend the Stinking Rose in Hollywood, however. But that's because I'm a sucker for prime rib and garlic butter. Till next time~!
Chris, Me, Sherry
(Isn't it weird how we look so alike?)
8970 University Center Ln
San Diego, CA 92122
CHRIS: I must say, one of the most tender steaks I've had in a long while.
Environment: the interior of Flemings is very similar to all "expensive steakhouse" restaurants, its got the dim lights, the racks of wine, wood decor. Just the norm. Nothing really out of the ordinary that may strike you with a wow. I honestly think the lights were a bit too dim though, had a hard time taking any good photos without flash. overall for interior 5/10.
I decided to try the dinner set, which came with a choice of salad or lobster bisque (i got the bisque), filet mignon with lobster tail, green beans with mushrooms, Flemings potato, and an apple pie(?) dessert. I also got an order of mashed potatoes, because I love mashed potatoes, especially with a steak.
Lobster Bisque:
The lobster bisque was something very unlike what I've ever had before. It was EXTREMELY creamy, almost like the texture of whipped cream. The types I usually eat are more soupy. This was more like a light paste -- maybe like
applesauce. Taste wise, it was just like every other lobster bisque I've had. I do admit, however, that I was liking this texture. I don't know why but it was really addicting despite it's lackluster characteristics. The lobster pieces were small and didn't require a lot of chewing, which was a plus. The thing that I disliked most about the lobster bisque was the large amounts of pepper, though I can't imagine what it would be like without the extra kick. Sherry, who can't handle spicy very well, also liked the bisque a lot but admitted to it kicking a little too hard for her. Lobster bisque always irritates my throat, and this one was no different. Overall for the Lobster Bisque 6/10.Filet Mignon with Lobster Tail and Vanilla Butter:
The main course meal -- and I wasn't disappointed. Well, maybe a little disappointed about the size at first. When the waiter brought the food over to the table, I realized that the 6 ounces, was about the size of my fist. The lobster tail was roughly the same size even if the picture made it look larger by a lot. Of course, the fist size is about all you need for a proper serving of protein. But as an Asian kid, I was expecting something... bigger. However, after my first bite of the filet mignon? Wow, that small thing sure packed full flavor and hit my taste buds in all the right places. The mix of pepper and salt that crusted over the "skin" of the beef was mouth watering; it was the right amount of salty, while still retaining a beefy flavor, and the center of the filet was very tender. Part of me wanted to savor the piece as long as I could, and the other part wanted me to just shove another piece in my mouth. The lobster was alright, it was soft, and the vanilla butter (although I couldn't really taste the vanilla in mine) wasn't overwhelming the lobster taste. This is a plus, because I love the natural taste of lobster. But the main delight of the entree would definitely have to be the filet mignon. Overall for the main entree 8/10.
String Beans with Mushrooms:
Honestly, try to stay away from it. I didn't like it one bit. The string beans were pretty flavorless. Other than the glazed coating, which just tasted like a slightly salty butter glaze, the string beans were a bit burnt here and there and also flavorless. Mushrooms were good. Overall for string beans 3/10.
Fleming's Potatoes:
This would be good ... at another restaurant. It really didn't fit in with the steak and lobster feel. What it is, is cooked sliced potato with...a layer of cheese on it. It wasn't too bad, but it was overwhelming the steak by quite a bit. After eating a bit, I would have to rinse it down with some water, or else I couldn't taste the filet mignon. And it was a bit oily as well. Not much to say about this one. Overally for Flemings potatoes 6/10.
Mashed Potatoes:
Loved it. Although it tastes just like any other mashed potatoes out there, I myself just love it. and it always goes great with steak. But it was nothing special. Overall for mashed potatoes: 6/10
Dessert:
EH... My dessert was actually undercooked, and came out... raw? It was an apple..tart? But my crust was not crusty, and was hard to dig into with just a spoon. It came with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and some blueberries with two mint leaves. I told the waitress that it wasn't fully cooked and she threw it in the microwave... =_= which didn't make anything better.. just hotter. So I didn't particularly like it. The apples were hard instead of the soft with a slight crunch regular pies or tarts would have; my blueberries were hot because the waitress microwaved it. And the crust was just chewy instead of flaky and crunchy as I was expecting it to be. Overall for the dessert 3.5/10
Overall:
This place isn't too bad, I would highly recommend it for a place to go on a date. Just don't get the set dinner unless you're willing to eat those sides. But if you're going with friends for just a place to eat some steak, I would recommend going elsewhere. This place is pretty expensive; I had to pay about $65 for my meal. While I admit the steak is amazing, I could make a good steak at home for about $10. And I'm not all into fancy dinners as I think they're too steep a price for my poor college student wallet. Would I go back? Maybe if I were making good money, but not as a college student. So not anytime soon. Overall experience 7/10.
ANGELA: It was a good dinner, although a bit too expensive. All in all, I've had better.
It was a rainy Saturday night. My best friend Sherry had made reservations for three at the steakhouse in lieu of the special set menu created for "Friend's of Fleming's." I guess if you get on their mailing list, they email you a 'special' code to tell them when you make reservations. It was ~$50, but with gratuity came out to be $65/person. Very pricey, especially for the college student. I'm very grateful that I can afford these small luxuries once in awhile, if only to gain the ability to make comparisons of worth. I guess I'll review the place the way Chris did. It's not a bad structure.
Environment: Very dim; the mood lighting screamed 'suave' but it was a bit pretentious for me. The dark lighting did not go well with the loudness of the restaurant. On a scale of 1-10, the crowd in the restaurant combined to make a hefty 8 in terms of loudness. Of course, it was a Saturday night so a lot of people were out with families, friends, and lovers. Like Chris, I didn't like that I had to use flash to take pictures of the food. And using flash seemed pretty inappropriate at this restaurant so I was unable to document my Saturday night. Nothing too special. Overall: 4/10
Service: Because the place was pretty pricey and "upscale," I expected some pretty good service. Despite the fact that Sherry made reservations, we had to wait for a little over 10 minutes while staring at a couple of empty tables. Too many people and too little staff, I suppose. I was disappointed but I won't make a big deal out of it, considering how attentive (and obviously tip hungry) our waiter was. In terms of the waiter(s), they were a bit .. over-attentive. They seemed very eager to clear our appetizers and "refill" by switching soda that was only half done. Kind of wasteful, but I've always been sensitive to people throwing away food. If you want to see half a loaf of bread and some good cheese being tossed, then this is your place. Overall: 6/10
Sourdough Bread w/ 2 Cheese spreads: I love bread. I love cheese. The cheese spreads were really good. I believe one was a dill flavored cheese and the other one was sundried tomato cheese spread. Not sure what type. Possibly feta? We asked for this to-go but they didn't box the cheese. Pretty disappointed about that. I could get full off this if I didn't exert my self control. Overall: 8/10
Filet Mignon & Lobster Tail w/ Vanilla-Infused Butter: I'm not going to lie -- when we first got our food, I was pretty disappointed at the portions. Yes, it was sort of expected but again .. I'm not used to this type of eating. However, this was a good example of my eyes being bigger than my mouth. By the time I got to my last bite, I was almost stuffed. I ordered my Filet medium-cooked and it. was. perfect. I've never been to a place that cooked my steak exactly as I wanted (which is why home-cooked steak is always my preference). But this Fleming's place got it exactly the way I wanted. Crispy, salted, and glazed on the outside; no burnt parts. Moderately chewy, soft, and pink directly inside the top layer. It nearly melted. Every bite was savory. I was very happy, though I wished it was a bigger size. The lobster tail was .. a lobster tail. Nothing too special about this, except that our waiter removed the meat from the shell for us. The Vanilla-infused Butter was a bit funky for me, so I chose to eat the lobster au naturel. Is that how you say it? Anyway -- the entree was pretty good. In considering the flavor and portion size of the main course, the frugal me would still give it an... Overall: 8/10
String Beans + Satee Shitake Mushrooms: Well, I do love my vegetables. And mushrooms are my favorite vegetable. So, I liked this. It was just an appetizer, so I wasn't expecting much. Just the usual garlic butter type thing going. A bit on the greasy side, but the mushrooms were amazing. That may be due to its natural goodness, but either way I liked it. A bit lackluster for such a fancy restaurant, though. Overall: 6.5/10
Fleming's Potatoes: This side dish was basically baked scalloped potatoes topped with a thick layer of cheese. Very buttery, very cheesy. Unlike Chris, I particularly liked this dish. It was probably second to the Filet in my favorite's of the meal. It tasted just like it looked. Thick, savory, rich, and potato-y. I really like any potato dish though because I'm a starch monster (bad for my diet). True, this dish overwhelmed the flavors of the steak. By itself, though, it was very good. I would not serve this as a complementary dish to steak&lobster, though. Belongs on the Thanksgiving table, and if it were, I would eat it all. Overall: 7/10
(the Vanilla-infused Whipped Cream)Mashed Potatoes: Normal, mashed potato side dish. Nothing special and not worth the price. I was expecting something a little more special. Maybe garlic? Maybe a little more fluffy than usual? Perhaps fried to make a crispy layer? Nope, none of those. I love potatoes, but considering how average this dish was in such a high-end restaurant, I won't be rating it too high. Just straight up mashed potatoes. Some may enjoy the simplicity of the dish, however. Overall: 3/10
Apple Crisp Tart w/ Vanilla Bean Icecream and Blueberries: I have a separate stomach for dessert. U
nlike Chris, I received a fully cooked delicious tart. I'm not very good at rating this stuff though, since anything sweet is basically an A+ for me. I really liked how it wasn't overwhelmingly sweet. The filo dough they used for the crispy crust was light and flaky. The apple pieces were well caramelized. The vanilla ice cream was .. vanilla icecream. The blueberries were a good slightly sour complement to all the sweetness. I think it was the ice cream and the blueberries that kept the dessert from being overwhelming on the sweet scale. With this dessert came a Vanilla-infused Whipped Cream. That's right. Whipped cream that tasted like Vanilla. Very light and fluffy, but I'm not really a whipped cream kind of girl. Occasionally, I'll put it on my strawberries. But they gave us a pretty large portion of it and I didn't know what to do with it. It was lightly sweetened and had a good vanilla flavor to it. Because I was impressed by the innovative vanilla whipped cream and I love dessert .. Overall: 7.5/10So, the overall average (counting all side dishes as 1) came out to be a whopping 8.3. Yeap, this looks to be pretty correct. Lackluster, but the entree and starter were good. And also, it was fun going on a date with my best friend and boyfriend. I don't think I would recommend Fleming's though. I would recommend the Stinking Rose in Hollywood, however. But that's because I'm a sucker for prime rib and garlic butter. Till next time~!
Chris, Me, Sherry(Isn't it weird how we look so alike?)
Jan 21, 2010
Chef John's Fish & Chips
8047 Broadway
Lemon Grove, CA 91945
(619) 465-7060
Angela: Right after I completed my finals last quarter, I decided to stay in San Diego for a few days to relax and relish in my independence. I slept in, I stayed out, and my boyfriend came to visit. For some reason, we had the biggest craving for fish and chips. We had gone to the all-American "The Studio Diner," located next to an actual filming studio, but found that its beer batter fish&chips was way too heavy and greasy. So we were largely unsatisfied and continued our search for the best fish&chips in So.Cal (because SanFran was too far for immediate satisfaction). We found our way through Yelp recommendations and ended up at Chef John's Fish & Chips.
The Korean-family owned restaurant was .. well not spectacular in its image. Being Asian, however, I've never found the look of a place to be very important to the quality of the food. As you can see from the pictures, the portions are fairly large. The price is OK -- not too expensive, but definitely not cheap (its seafood!). As pictured, the condiments they offer are tartar, ketchup, and cocktail sauce. These are kept refrigerated and served with the food. Not pictured, but located on the table, were salt&pepper and malt vinegar. I particularly enjoyed using the malt vinegar and cocktail sauce. The tartar sauce was a bit strong and grainy and gets to be a little too much and over powering. Which leads me to the actual food itself.
This was a pretty untraditional fish&chips. It's not beer battered, but its still deep fried. I think, however, they use a very light batter or coating because it resembles a thick tempura texture. From the menu, I ordered the combo of fish, oysters, and chips (fries). The white fish was fresh and did not taste frozen at all, which I particularly liked because frozen seafood is NOT tasty at all. Although the portion was not as large the The Studio Diner's, it was definitely better in quality and satisfaction. The oysters were GOOD. I usually prefer oysters on the half-shell (which is raw), but the fried oysters were surprisingly .. tasty! It reminded me very much of a Jalapeno Popper: soft and melty on the inside, light and flaky on the outside. The oysters were definitely savory. Yum~! Like I said, I would not recommend the tartar sauce with these because the thickness and creaminess overpowers the light and flaky fish&chips that they serve here. Go with cocktail sauce, or salt/malt vinegar. Without sauce, the fish&chips already carried its own flavor. It was not fishy, but it was definitely seafood. It was not greasy, and it didn't leave my mouth with that filmy feeling I usually get with battered fried foods. I left full and satisfied (warm fuzzy feeling)which was nice on (what I remember to be) a rainy day.
Rating: 7/10
Chris:Right off the bat. I think that this is one of the best fish and chips I have had THUS FAR. seeing as I've only eaten at about three different places total (one being that Diner place Angela mentioned. which IMO tasted horrible). But lets start off with the experience. As you may have heard, Angela and I had this HUGE craving for fish and chips. We tried the diner, but seeing as how it wasn't any good, our cravings weren't fulfilled. We searched on yelp and had found Chef John's Fish and Chips, and we decided that this was the best option, since it had said Fish and Chips right on their name so they must specialize in it.
We traveled a good twenty minutes I believe, to get into Lemon Grove which, in my honest opinion, looked like an inexpensive version of Rodeo Drive/Old Town Pasadena. No offense to the locals, just a feeling I got from driving to Chef John's for the first time. Once we got to Chef John's it had looked pretty empty, and I thought to myself, "this place must not be that good," but seeing as how we got this far, might as well give it a shot.
Inside, it looked just like a McDonald's or any fast food joint, with its white walls, colorful plastic chairs, random pictures of random things, soda fountain, and a menu that hangs above the cashier. I glanced over at the menu, and was kind of suprised as to the variety of choices they had. I was only expecting, fish and chips, and maybe like fish burgers, or any other alternatives with fish in it. But these guys were fully loaded! They had clams, oysters, shrimps, scallops and a few other menu items i didnt even know what they were. and their appetizers weren't just fries or cole slaw either (trying hard to remember what they had, but this was a long while back.. so, sorry xp). I decided, why not try a little bit of whatever I can grab without going broke. So I got the Seafood Combination, consisting of Fish, Scallops, Oysters and Fries. They brought it out in little red baskets with paper on top. My guess is they don't want to clean too much and seeing as how it's a small business, I can understand BUT it clumped everything together and was kind of hard to just eat one thing without having to move things around. We also received 3 squirt bottles with tartar sauce, cocktail sauce, and ketchup. Friendly service as well, even if the cashier's english wasn't so good. But hey, as long as they know what I wanted and was nice about it, that's all that matters. ONWARD TO THE FOOD
By the way, my scale works as a scale from 1-10, 1 being WTF DID I JUST PUT IN MY MOUTH DX, 5 being Decent, not too good, not too bad and 10 being OMFG I WOULD HAVE IT AGAIN RIGHT NOW.
The fish was decent, I mean I wasn't expecting it to be full of flavor and spices, but it wasn't as good as McDonald's Filet o Fish. Tartar Sauce does taste best with it in comparison to the other sauces. Biting into the fried fish was like biting into a tempura. It had a soft flaky but crunchy texture to it with a slight hint of fish flavor. While the fish was kind of bland, it was a lot better than the Diner that's for sure. Oerall for the fish. 6/10
The shrimp was pretty good. Kind of like something you'd find at a Red Lobster, except bigger and with an asian feel to it. I was given three. Biting into it was kind like biting into the fish, except tasting like shrimp. Its not as hard and crunchy like the fried shrimp from Red Lobster and it wasnt as thin crusted as a shrimp tempura. I think it was just right. tasted best with the cocktail sauce, although ketchup worked as well. overall for the shrimp. 7/10 (what can i say.. its shrimp)
Seeing as they only gave me two scallops, and I gave one to Angela, I can't remember too well as to how it tasted. My best guess as of now.. like fried scallop. Overall for the scallops 4/10 just for the amount.
I have saved the best for last, OYSTERS! Now yes I am biased towards oysters, because it is one of my most favorite seafood, but the oysters here were pretty darn good. from the looks of it, it looked like a fried piece of oyster, with a thin crust of batter. but biting into it was a whole different story. It was like someone pulled the pin to a water balloon bomb and shoved it into your mouth. My eyes actually watered, not because it was THAT good (but it was pretty darn good), but because all the juices flowing out of the oyster was pretty hot and unexpected, so warning there. Flavor wise, if you dont like the flavor of oysters, this isn't for you. But if you love it, like me, this was absolutely delicious. it tasted fresh and just like how an oyster should taste, not like they marinated it in salt water. How they kept the moisture inside, is beyond me. But it was so good! I had to refrain from just eating it all right there before finishing the rest of my food. best without any sauce. Overall for the oysters 8.5/10
Overall, Chef John's fish and chips was pretty good. I would go back, if I didn't live in Pasadena and had to drive about two hours just to eat it. But if i was around the area, and craving decently priced fried seafood (which i crave seafood a LOT) I would definitely stop by again.
Rating: 7.5/10
Lemon Grove, CA 91945
(619) 465-7060
Angela: Right after I completed my finals last quarter, I decided to stay in San Diego for a few days to relax and relish in my independence. I slept in, I stayed out, and my boyfriend came to visit. For some reason, we had the biggest craving for fish and chips. We had gone to the all-American "The Studio Diner," located next to an actual filming studio, but found that its beer batter fish&chips was way too heavy and greasy. So we were largely unsatisfied and continued our search for the best fish&chips in So.Cal (because SanFran was too far for immediate satisfaction). We found our way through Yelp recommendations and ended up at Chef John's Fish & Chips.The Korean-family owned restaurant was .. well not spectacular in its image. Being Asian, however, I've never found the look of a place to be very important to the quality of the food. As you can see from the pictures, the portions are fairly large. The price is OK -- not too expensive, but definitely not cheap (its seafood!). As pictured, the condiments they offer are tartar, ketchup, and cocktail sauce. These are kept refrigerated and served with the food. Not pictured, but located on the table, were salt&pepper and malt vinegar. I particularly enjoyed using the malt vinegar and cocktail sauce. The tartar sauce was a bit strong and grainy and gets to be a little too much and over powering. Which leads me to the actual food itself.
This was a pretty untraditional fish&chips. It's not beer battered, but its still deep fried. I think, however, they use a very light batter or coating because it resembles a thick tempura texture. From the menu, I ordered the combo of fish, oysters, and chips (fries). The white fish was fresh and did not taste frozen at all, which I particularly liked because frozen seafood is NOT tasty at all. Although the portion was not as large the The Studio Diner's, it was definitely better in quality and satisfaction. The oysters were GOOD. I usually prefer oysters on the half-shell (which is raw), but the fried oysters were surprisingly .. tasty! It reminded me very much of a Jalapeno Popper: soft and melty on the inside, light and flaky on the outside. The oysters were definitely savory. Yum~! Like I said, I would not recommend the tartar sauce with these because the thickness and creaminess overpowers the light and flaky fish&chips that they serve here. Go with cocktail sauce, or salt/malt vinegar. Without sauce, the fish&chips already carried its own flavor. It was not fishy, but it was definitely seafood. It was not greasy, and it didn't leave my mouth with that filmy feeling I usually get with battered fried foods. I left full and satisfied (warm fuzzy feeling)which was nice on (what I remember to be) a rainy day.
Rating: 7/10
Chris:Right off the bat. I think that this is one of the best fish and chips I have had THUS FAR. seeing as I've only eaten at about three different places total (one being that Diner place Angela mentioned. which IMO tasted horrible). But lets start off with the experience. As you may have heard, Angela and I had this HUGE craving for fish and chips. We tried the diner, but seeing as how it wasn't any good, our cravings weren't fulfilled. We searched on yelp and had found Chef John's Fish and Chips, and we decided that this was the best option, since it had said Fish and Chips right on their name so they must specialize in it.We traveled a good twenty minutes I believe, to get into Lemon Grove which, in my honest opinion, looked like an inexpensive version of Rodeo Drive/Old Town Pasadena. No offense to the locals, just a feeling I got from driving to Chef John's for the first time. Once we got to Chef John's it had looked pretty empty, and I thought to myself, "this place must not be that good," but seeing as how we got this far, might as well give it a shot.
Inside, it looked just like a McDonald's or any fast food joint, with its white walls, colorful plastic chairs, random pictures of random things, soda fountain, and a menu that hangs above the cashier. I glanced over at the menu, and was kind of suprised as to the variety of choices they had. I was only expecting, fish and chips, and maybe like fish burgers, or any other alternatives with fish in it. But these guys were fully loaded! They had clams, oysters, shrimps, scallops and a few other menu items i didnt even know what they were. and their appetizers weren't just fries or cole slaw either (trying hard to remember what they had, but this was a long while back.. so, sorry xp). I decided, why not try a little bit of whatever I can grab without going broke. So I got the Seafood Combination, consisting of Fish, Scallops, Oysters and Fries. They brought it out in little red baskets with paper on top. My guess is they don't want to clean too much and seeing as how it's a small business, I can understand BUT it clumped everything together and was kind of hard to just eat one thing without having to move things around. We also received 3 squirt bottles with tartar sauce, cocktail sauce, and ketchup. Friendly service as well, even if the cashier's english wasn't so good. But hey, as long as they know what I wanted and was nice about it, that's all that matters. ONWARD TO THE FOOD
By the way, my scale works as a scale from 1-10, 1 being WTF DID I JUST PUT IN MY MOUTH DX, 5 being Decent, not too good, not too bad and 10 being OMFG I WOULD HAVE IT AGAIN RIGHT NOW.
The fish was decent, I mean I wasn't expecting it to be full of flavor and spices, but it wasn't as good as McDonald's Filet o Fish. Tartar Sauce does taste best with it in comparison to the other sauces. Biting into the fried fish was like biting into a tempura. It had a soft flaky but crunchy texture to it with a slight hint of fish flavor. While the fish was kind of bland, it was a lot better than the Diner that's for sure. Oerall for the fish. 6/10
The shrimp was pretty good. Kind of like something you'd find at a Red Lobster, except bigger and with an asian feel to it. I was given three. Biting into it was kind like biting into the fish, except tasting like shrimp. Its not as hard and crunchy like the fried shrimp from Red Lobster and it wasnt as thin crusted as a shrimp tempura. I think it was just right. tasted best with the cocktail sauce, although ketchup worked as well. overall for the shrimp. 7/10 (what can i say.. its shrimp)
Seeing as they only gave me two scallops, and I gave one to Angela, I can't remember too well as to how it tasted. My best guess as of now.. like fried scallop. Overall for the scallops 4/10 just for the amount.
I have saved the best for last, OYSTERS! Now yes I am biased towards oysters, because it is one of my most favorite seafood, but the oysters here were pretty darn good. from the looks of it, it looked like a fried piece of oyster, with a thin crust of batter. but biting into it was a whole different story. It was like someone pulled the pin to a water balloon bomb and shoved it into your mouth. My eyes actually watered, not because it was THAT good (but it was pretty darn good), but because all the juices flowing out of the oyster was pretty hot and unexpected, so warning there. Flavor wise, if you dont like the flavor of oysters, this isn't for you. But if you love it, like me, this was absolutely delicious. it tasted fresh and just like how an oyster should taste, not like they marinated it in salt water. How they kept the moisture inside, is beyond me. But it was so good! I had to refrain from just eating it all right there before finishing the rest of my food. best without any sauce. Overall for the oysters 8.5/10
Overall, Chef John's fish and chips was pretty good. I would go back, if I didn't live in Pasadena and had to drive about two hours just to eat it. But if i was around the area, and craving decently priced fried seafood (which i crave seafood a LOT) I would definitely stop by again.
Rating: 7.5/10
Jan 20, 2010
Life, as I know it.
(Angela's Post)
As much as I would like to say I have lived life without regrets, it's not true. Actually, I probably have just about a hundred and some regrets that have occurred in my 20 (almost 21!) years of life. Sometimes .. actually, a lot of times, I dream about what might have been or what may be if only I had done such and such, or said such and so. Just now (when I should be studying for my 'clinical neuropsychology' class), I was zoning out into my kind of distant past. And I realized, I spend a lot of time thinking about the past and doing a lot of wishful thinking. Instead of trying to go back to change things, maybe I can start from here. Right now. Say sorry to the people that deserve it, say thank you to those I did not thank, and tell certain people the stuffs I had always wanted to say (but didn't dare to say it). Come tomorrow, however, I'll be so swamped with school and work that I'll have to live another day in regret. But wish me lucky anyway, dear reader.
Goodnight!
P.S. I'm going to try to stop hating San Diego and missing Los Angeles. I only have a 1.5 years left in this beautiful city and only now have I started to appreciate beachside living and a somewhat independence. What a shame.
my San Diego backyard. and my ugly feet.
As much as I would like to say I have lived life without regrets, it's not true. Actually, I probably have just about a hundred and some regrets that have occurred in my 20 (almost 21!) years of life. Sometimes .. actually, a lot of times, I dream about what might have been or what may be if only I had done such and such, or said such and so. Just now (when I should be studying for my 'clinical neuropsychology' class), I was zoning out into my kind of distant past. And I realized, I spend a lot of time thinking about the past and doing a lot of wishful thinking. Instead of trying to go back to change things, maybe I can start from here. Right now. Say sorry to the people that deserve it, say thank you to those I did not thank, and tell certain people the stuffs I had always wanted to say (but didn't dare to say it). Come tomorrow, however, I'll be so swamped with school and work that I'll have to live another day in regret. But wish me lucky anyway, dear reader.
Goodnight!
P.S. I'm going to try to stop hating San Diego and missing Los Angeles. I only have a 1.5 years left in this beautiful city and only now have I started to appreciate beachside living and a somewhat independence. What a shame.
my San Diego backyard. and my ugly feet.Jan 12, 2010
From this Moment~
Us: Together since December 17, 2006. Two Asian kids from Southern California. Brought together by love and bonded by our similar interests.Her: From this moment on, I will be sharing this blog with my other half: Christopher. Or as I'd like to call him (in honor of our fooding), "Tofu." Why am I doing this? A couple of reasons actually. Firstly, to restart the engines on this sad untouched blog. Secondly, to inspire our "long distance" relationship so that it feels like we're doing things together when actually, we're quite apart for most of the school year. And last, but definitely not least, I want him to improve his writing skills. In tradition of this blog, we will be reviewing the same old, same old. Life and love, and all the things that fall in between. Food, fun, and friends. Just any shared experience that we have had together.
His: This is the first time I have ever done a food blog, but I will try my best to describe everything to the best of my knowledge since we usually do not get to reviewing until a few days after tasting the foods. Hopefully by then I will still remember the distinct flavors of each dish. Hope you enjoy!
What will our first review be together?
TO CHRIS: CAPITALIZE YOUR I'S NEXT TIME. So much for improving your essay writing skills!
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