bacon

The Coffee Cup Cafe – Good Morning Long Beach

by Franklin on November 19, 2015

I wouldn’t call myself a morning person, but man do I love breakfast. Something about meetings friends and family and having a nice big breakfast/brunch is just perfect. Maybe its the first sip of coffee or the amounts of egg and cheese, but mornings are swell. The Coffee Cup Cafe in Long Beach is just my type of spot. Good portions, bottomless coffee, and classic breakfast is all I need to be satisfied.

I went a bit asian with the brown rice, but this still worked very well. The chicken chili verde omelette was flavorful and hearty. With brown rice, the dish almost reminded me of what I would eat at home when I was broke. Rice and eggs is the name of the game, and the chili verde acted as like gravy. Loco Moco without the patty? Maybe. The dish was comforting and delicious. Oh, and the chili verde was quite delicious.

The breakfast enchiladas were great as well. The red sauce with the tortillas and egg and cheese filling was a great mix. With potatoes and your choice of hot sauce, you are good to go.

My breakfast was classic. Some call it boring, but I say nothing beats it. Bacon, eggs, and french toast is simple and delicious. Their bacon was nice and thick, had a great chew, and not salty at all. The French toast was quite nice. The bread was cooked nicely with a gooey center and crisp outside.

With my hot cup of coffee and my classic breakfast, I was happy. Thanks Long Beach. I will be back.

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Newcomb’s Ranch – Canyon Ride and Pancakes

by Franklin on March 22, 2015

The roads are clear, and the roads up Angeles Forest are asking for some action. One morning, some buddies and I decided to take our cars up the mountain caravan style. With some spirited driving, we made it to Newcomb’s Ranch, a biker and car enthusiasts stop up the mountain. Most stop by to have breakfast, chit chat about their bikes and go along their way. It was great to see this community and enjoy breakfast while at it. The food wasn’t really great, but the pancake was memorable.

The sloppy mess was just that, a sloppy mess. The chili and beans on top of the eggs was a mess, and some rice would have been perfect. The hash browns were not something I enjoyed. It was basically just cooked shaved potatoes.

My eggs were cooked nicely, and the bacon was a good match. Bacon and eggs is always a sure thing — only of the hash browns were good. No crisp, no buttered bits of goodness — they were just kind of there on the plate. Masked in ketchup and hot sauce, I made the most of it.

The pancakes really saved this breakfast. After enjoying my eggs and bacon, I always like to treat myself to pancakes. Theirs was surprisingly fluffy and had the perfect attributes of a good pancake. It was light, tasty, and absorbed the syrup just right. It was great with their coffee.

I know the breakfast was a bit boring, but the pancakes were quite memorable. We really don’t drive up the mountain for some of the best breakfast around, but the experience was great. Getting away from the city and enjoying the drive up the beautiful mountain was a treat in it of itself.

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Eggslut – Quick Lunch, Long Line

by Franklin on February 10, 2015

Call someone a slut, and you are asking for trouble. Take someone to Eggslut, and you are just the best friend ever. I remember having Jury Duty (the worst) and we were on our lunch break — I headed straight to the Grand Central Market. It is great to see Downtown flourish and the revival of the Grand Central Market a couple years back is a true testament to that. I knew I had to give Eggslut a try. I think the name itself is just intriguing enough. This is a long overdue post so don’t hate me if the details are a bit foggy.

I ordered the Fairfax with bacon. The soft scrambled eggs were so delicate and smooth and the addition of the chives made it extra special. The cheddar cheese melted nicely and mixed in with the caramelized onions and sriracha mayo. I am glad I added the bacon as it gave the sandwich extra saltiness and flavor. The warm Portuguese bun was the perfect bread to hold everything together.

The Slut is a dish of coddled egg on top of a smooth potato purée. It is then poached in a glass jar and served with toasty crostini. Now they serve it with a baguette. The coddled egg mixed in with the potato puree was so buttery and delicious. Was I supposed to eat it on top of the bread? I didn’t see a use for it. The egg and potatoes in the glass jar were all that I needed — I just didn’t see a need for the bread. If the mixture was a bit more savory or salty, I would like to eat it with the bread. Just think of very buttery mashed potatoes with a nicely poached egg on top, topped with salt and chives. It is so simple and delicious.

Eggslut has some lines when it is lunch time. My wait was only about 10 minutes. Sitting there at the bar, enjoying my sandwich and poached egg was memorable. The ingredients were so pure and simple — the preparation was the star. Alvin Cailan, creator of Eggslut now has a ramen shop called Ramen Champ in Chinatown. I can’t wait to try that in the near future.

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Grub – Crack Bacon on Everything

by Franklin on January 30, 2013

Grub in Hollywood is a quaint little house on the corner of Seward and Barton. The once a house turned restaurant is small and has a lot of charm. Even the floor boards creek when you walk on the wooden floors. Mostly popular as a breakfast destination, Grub has ventured in serving dinner for about 3 years now. I had the pleasure of having their DineLA menu for dinner, but my feelings for the food was torn. The theme of my 3 course meal was, “Crack Bacon.” I ordered everything that had this bacon in it, and to be honest, it wasn’t as tasty as I thought.

Things started off with carrot sticks, cucumbers, and pretzels. It was a nice start and the ranch dip was good. It was my first time having pretzels and ranch, but it was tasty. I suppose it was a little different than bread and butter.

We started things off with an appetizer — the crack bacon quesadilla. It was smaller than I thought and didn’t have the traditional taste a quesadilla has. The cheddar cheese was lacking as a good quesadilla should have copious amounts of cheese. The roasted onions was a good flavor between the spinach tortilla, and the sour cream was much needed. The crack bacon inside was plenty, but the flavor was different. It was more sweet and had an interesting flavor of tumeric in it. The flavors together were interesting, but not for me. I would have liked a regular, cheesy quesadilla with regular bacon. That would have been killer.

Denise’s famous mac and cheese had crack bacon inside, unfortunately. The spiral noodles, not one of my favorite when it comes to mac and cheese, was flabby and overcooked. The cheese sauce was watery and had little flavor. Crack bacon to me, is too sweet. I don’t know if you can imagine eating a sweet mac and cheese, but it is unpleasant. The cayanne inside was nearly missed as a little kick would have been beneficial. The fresh mixed greens salad was delicious though. The hommade champagne lemon viniagarette was fragrant and lively. Each bite was exciting and the viniagarette was citric and flavorful.

Cyndi’s Luscious Chocolate Bacon Sandwich was exactly as the title states. It was just plain white bread with chocolate and crack bacon inside. This time around, the savory, yet sweet bacon was fitting. The sandwiches were toasted nicely and the chocolate and bacon inside was sweet and tasty. The cholcate sauce over the sandwiches as well as the whipped cream made this a knife and fork job. The alomnds also was a nice touch that gave it a crunch. It wasn’t an elegant dessert, but it was filled with this sweet crack bacon.

Grub to me is more of a breakfast place. The fact that it is a nice little house with so much charm, dinner seemed unfitting. All of the items seemed a bit awkward and out of place. The dishes and bowls were colorful and seemed more breakfasty than anything else. I would love to come to this place for breakfast. Entering a quiant little house for morning breakfast? Pancakes, bacon and eggs? Bring it on! Dinner on the other hand, was not welcoming.

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Gburger – The Kitchen Sink Almost Makes the Cut

by Franklin on May 18, 2012

There comes a time when you turn from a boy to a man. For me, that time was when I ordered an actual meal from McDonald’s instead of a happy meal. As a kid, the happy meal was the obvious choice. You got your burger and fries with a drink, and a toy to play with right after. After growing up a bit, you looked at all of the grown ups eating Big Macs, and wished you had one too. Deep inside, you wanted to satisfy your hunger for once and opt for the larger meal, but the happy meal toy was just too sweet to pass up. That day you ditched the cheap toy for a Big Mac was the day you turned into a man, so you thought. 20 odd years later, you discover a new right of passage. The G Burger at G Burger makes the Big Mac turn into a kids meal. The burger has 2 of everything virtually, and honestly, it is the largest burger I ever purchased.

The list of ingredients go on forever — 1001 sauce (secret sauce), tomato, red onion, teryiaki glazed onions, portobello mushrooms, homemade slaw, grilled pineapple, fried egg, deli pastrami, avocado, angus chili, bacon, jalapenos. They even add an extra patty for free, if you want it. In my head, why freakin not add the extra patty? So yes, I would like the extra patty. Definately too big to fit in my mouth, it was a task. Dripping with juices, fats, and oils, I didn’t want to find out the amount of calories or the nutrition facts. Their high rise buns just soak up the grease — thankfully, their organic vegetables helped a little. The strategy for attack? I just closed my eyes, and ate. The flavor of everything was overwhelming. A little sweet from the pineapples, savory from the meats, and spicy from the jalapenos. It was just a flavor parade to say the least.

But Franklin, was it the best burger ever? No. It had too much going on. It was just meat and cheese piled on with more meat and more ingredients. It was good, but not the best. I will definately have to try one of their more tamed burgers. I also wouldn’t mind trying their sides (fries and onion rings) next time I go. The restaurant definately knows what they are doing. With an open kitchen, and knowledgeable staff, the establishment is more of a sit down than a hole in the wall burger joint. There is something special here, and it is the G Burger’s size. Does finishing it turn you into a man? Of course. But those who are already men can split it in half with their girlfriends. Just saying.

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Doughboys Cafe – After School Special And Potatoes For Breakfast

by Franklin on January 9, 2012

Breakfast might be my favorite meal of the day, albeit, I don’t eat breakfast as often as I should. I speak of breakfast as in a quiet meal in the morning — A quiet meal where I am not rushed or anything (Translation. Saturday or Sunday). I absolutely love breakfast on the weekend. Eggs, bacon, toast, orange juice, coffee, even cereal – it is all that and a bag of breakfast potatoes. No breakfast can be enjoyed on your way to work with one had on your steering wheel. How awesome is it to have a nice breakfast in the morning and have nothing else work related on that day? Pretty awesome! What is better than breakfast on a weekend? Nothing really. A nice meal to start off your day off — there is nothing better. I think I made my point. Thank you.

Finding Doughboys Cafe, I knew it was something to look forward to. The place was packed, and it looked busy. There was a bit of a wait, but I didn’t mind. The place only sat a few inside and the outside seating was stretched to the sidewalk. Even though I sat inside, I am a sucker for sidewalk cafes. The staff was awesome — our waiter specifically was so friendly and down to earth. His job seemed so natural and fitting, it didn’t even feel like he was “at work”. That kind of friendliness is hard to come by, and I am glad I had that here.

I ordered the After School Special which was a grilled cheese and tomato soup. It’s not really breakfast, but I ate it in the morning, so I guess it is breakfast. The butter toasted french pan de mie bread was filled with gooey emmanthal, white cheddar, and fontina cheese. They cut off the crust which I thought was a nice touch. The tomato soup was creamy and delicious. A bit on the sweet side, but very fulfilling. It was a huge bowl, almost too much. Of course, I dipped my grilled cheese in the soup. After school special? I kind of wish I had this waiting for me at home after school. That would be a treat.

They are also known for their taters. It is basically potatoes with stuff on top. I had the white trash tater. It had onions, chopped beef, bacon and steamy Velveeta on top. I classed it up and substituted the Velveeta for cheddar. This was hearty and delicious. Surprisingly, the beef were cubes of brisket or something — It was tender and moist. The bacon wasn’t just crumbs either. They were actual chunks, thick chunks. I added a little hot sauce for spice, and it was a nice affordable plate of potatoes and goodies. Solid.

Doughboys Cafe was a pleasant surprise. They serve classic American items, but it isn’t boring. They jazz it up enough so that it is a unique experience, but you still are comfortable eating it. The staff is near perfect and very friendly. You have all the comforts of home away from home. I felt relaxed and enjoyed my breakfast. And the price was lower than what I thought. I was too full for the red velvet cake, but I hear it is one of the best. You can just relax with a nice cup of coffee and velvet cake (which I will have to try next time). Something to look forward to next time around, I guess.

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The Bengal Barbecue – Disneyland

by Franklin on March 27, 2011

I can honestly say that it is impossible to have a good meal at Disneyland. I don’t blame the them — thousands and thousands go there every day. The truth is, “The Happiest Place on Earth” doesn’t have a decent place to eat. Well that sucks, if people can’t have a good meal, how can they be happy? Don’t get me wrong. I love Disneyland; Disneyland is fun. They just don’t have a decent place to have lunch or dinner — breakfast even. What they do have, are good snacks. They have some of the best caramel corn, corn dogs (the famous cart), and coveted churros — but the snack I am talking about comes on a stick, and is from The Bengal Barbecue.

This place is located right across the Indiana Jones ride entrance. It is a little stand that sells various meats on a stick. They have chicken and beef skewers along with drinks and Mikey Mouse shaped pretzels. What I came here for was the bacon wrapped asparagus. Who knew you can get this at Disneyland? The asparagus was juicy and had an almost meaty texture. The bacon was grilled and was the salty element of the snack. I may be a sucker for bacon, and that”s why these things are so great

Forget looking for a decent meal at Disneyland. Just grab a soda, get some caramel corn, get like 10 of these, and call it a meal — You can thank me later. And I guess I owe you an apology for lying to you in the beginning. It looks like you can have a tasty meal at the happiest place on Earth.

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Berkeley Dog – Casual Gourmet Hot Dogs

by Franklin on February 21, 2011

The hot dog is snack food. Something about the hot dog is satisfying. In LA, it’s all about the bacon wrapped hot dogs. Its fast, its easy, and its somewhat filling. The hot dog is well known as “mystery meat” — it’s street food. In Orange County (Brea, CA), they do it a bit differently. Berkeley Dog in Downtown Brea, it’s a classier approach to the hot dog — it’s gourmet.

I know gourmet and hot dog is hard to use in the same sentence. I’m the type of guy who will eat a Costco hot dog and say “Wow, this is my favorite hot dog”. What can I say, I’m a simple man. With that said, Berkeley Dog’s approach to the gourmet hot dog is refreshing and delicious. They offer up many variations of the hot dog. They not only have different toppings, but also have different kinds of sausages. One look at the menu, and you realize that you won’t be eating an everyday hot dog here.

We tried the bacon hash dog and Philly cheese steak sandwich. The hot dog was good but I wish the the potato strips were seasoned more (I should have taken advantage of the condiments station.). The whole hot dog sandwich was kind of bland (I should have ordered one of their other sausages.). Also, instead of actual strips of bacon, it was tiny bacon bits (real bacon of course). It would have been nice to have a full strip of bacon, or even wrapped like they do in L.A. As for the Philly cheese steak, it was flavorful and the cheese was melted nicely. I’m a sucker for melted cheese. It was impressive that they were able to do a Philly cheese steak sandwich right considering its a hot dog joint. All in all, it was a great experience. Next time, I will have to order some of the regular Berkeley dogs.

The bread they use aren’t regular hot dog bun we are all familiar with — they place each sausage on artisan bread which gives it substance. I think this is what sets them apart from other hot dog establishments. Next time, I will try their sides and definitely get a different hot dog sausage. It was a mistake to get a regular hot dog at a place where they have various types of sausages. Until then, I guess I am stuck with Costco hot dogs.

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Slater’s 50/50 – A Pig and a Cow have a Baby

by Franklin on February 18, 2011

Imagine you have in front of you a perfect burger. What condiments are on it? Is the meat cooked rare or medium rare? You also got to have cheese right? Is there bacon? At Slater’s you can have any of that. This burger joint / bar lets you fill out a form (pencil and paper) and choose from different patty sizes, cheeses, sauces, and extra condiments. They even let you choose what kind of bread you can have that on. With all these combinations, you can have any burger you want, any way you want it. Their beer selection is pretty impressive as well. Having that perfect burger and the perfect brew to go with it is sometimes a difficult endeavor for some. At Slaters 50/50, it is all there.

What makes this place special is what they do with their patties. You may be wondering to yourself, what is that 50/50 for? The 50/50 is their specialty patty made with 50% ground beef, and 50% ground bacon. You add that with their never ending list of condiments, and you have yourself a hamburger you won’t forget. The meat has that familiar bacon taste; it’s almost like bacon flavored hamburger patty. I think the patty itself won’t be what it is without the condiments.

As for the best burger combination, wrap your taste buds around this one — Take a 2/3 lbs. 50/50 patty on white bread, goat cheese, garlic aioli, sprouts, baby greens, grilled onions, and an over easy egg. Perhaps even adding thick cut bacon on a 50/50 burger would be in the cards (Yes, bacon on top of a bacon infused burger patty.). Well, remember that perfect burger I was talking about before? This should come in pretty close to that for any burger lover.

For some odd and unexplainable reason, some might say this is a bit of over-kill. “Who would want ground bacon in my patty?”, they would ask. For purists, they have a 100% beef patty option. The pure beef is just as good, especially for those who like their patties rare — with that said, the 50/50 is a must for first timers. Where else can you get something like that?

A good burger can’t be enjoyed without some kind of sides — Slater’s got that covered. Fries (sweet potato and regular), fried artichokes, fried pickle chips, vampire dip (melted garlic cheese and fried pita bread), bacon mac and cheese, and the list goes on. Other than the fries and sweet potato fries, the other appetizers seem a bit greasy. You can’t go wrong with a burger and fries anyways right? The bacon mac and cheese was bacon(ful), but lacked that cheesiness that everyone loves about mac and cheese. Coming here, stick with what they are good at and known for — their burgers.

If you are in the Anaheim Hills area in California, stop by for lunch or dinner. They are always friendly and love serving new customers. This establishment keep growing in popularity by the minute — it is clear as to why this is. They give you a burger mixed in with arguable one of the best cures meats in the world, and let you have it any way you would like. Add with some great sides and a plethora of exotic beers and you got yourself a pretty perfect meal.