ALESSA LAGUNA BEACH

PICTURED (top to bottom): Restaurant, Salsicce Pizza, Pollo Marsala, Cappellini al Pomodoro, Mama Marghertita'a Meatball Side, Lasagna Napoletana.

Alessa Laguna Beach

234 Forest Avenue

Laguna Beach, CA 92651

(949) 497-8222

www.cucinaalessa.com

We have for a long time thoroughly enjoyed Cucina Alessa in Newport Beach. So we could hardly wait to try their new restaurant, Alessa, in Laguna Beach. The new restaurant is quite lovely, and has a great feel and ambiance, with nice indoor and patio seating. And, we are happy to report, the food is just as amazingly delicious as in the Newport Beach location.

We started off with the Salsicce Pizza as an appetizer. It has Italian sausage, sauteed mushrooms, mozzarella, and tomato sauce. A thin, crisp, light pizza with a great flavor. Really hit the spot. Sweetie Pie ordered the Chicken Marsala. Tender chicken breasts in a classic Marsala sauce, that makes it Chicken Marsala as it was meant to be- absolutely the best in town. Her mother had the angel hair pasta with garlic, basil and pomodoro sauce and a meatball side. If you like meatballs, you'll love Alessa's (try the Mamma Mia appetizer). I had the Lasagna Napoletana, with ricotta cheese, mini-meatballs, ragu, fresh mozzarella and basil. My favorite lasagna dish of all-time!

Today's Alessa lunch gets three thumbs up from the 3 Tubby Tummys!

THE HABIT BURGER GRILL

PICTURED (top to bottom): Restaurant, Bacon Cheeseburgers, Onion Rings. French Fries, Sweet Potato Fries, Pastrami Sandwich.

The Habit Burger Grill

2777 N. Main Street

Santa Ana, CA 92705

(714) 550-1201

www.habitburger.com

We started out on our way to Slater's 50/50 to try their great burgers again. But when Sweetie Pie called ahead to find there was about an hour wait ( the NCAA basketball playoffs were in progress), we decided to change our route and head over to the new Habit Burger Grill in Santa Ana. We had heard they had good burgers and wanted to check it out for ourselves. The restaurant was clean and inviting, and the staff friendly and helpful. They have a nice menu with burgers, sandwiches, salads, shakes and ice cream.  Everything is reasonably priced.

Sweetie Pie and her mother each ordered the double bacon cheeseburger. I had the bacon cheeseburger and a pastrami sandwich. We all shared orders of onion rings, french fries and sweet potato fries. The burgers were big, freshly cooked to order and very delicious. They come with lettuce, tomato, caramelized onions, mayo and pickles on a soft toasted bun. Really a great burger! The fries and onion rings were also very good ( and they will give you extra dipping sauces at no charge- we had Ranch and Blue Cheese). 

We had heard they had good burgers, but what surprised me was how good the pastrami sandwich was. Grilled lean pastrami with melted Swiss cheese, tomato, caramelized onions, mayo and mustard. The bread was freshly toasted, but still soft enough to make it easy to eat.

Today's Habit Burger Grill lunch gets three thumbs up from the 3 Tubby Tummys!

BLAKE'S PLACE- REVISITED

PICTURED (top to bottom): Restaurant, Garlic Bread, Baby Back Ribs, Apricot Chili Glazed Chicken Wings, Onion Rings, Blake's Big Rib Plate, Blake's One Pound Bomber Sandwich.

Blake's Place

2905 E. Miraloma, #3

Anaheim, CA 92806

(714) 630-8574

www.blakesplacebbq.com

This was our third visit to Blake's Place, and the first time we were not completely satisfied with the experience. We should have been a little suspicious when the Baby Back Ribs arrived at our table very quickly, even before we got our Garlic Bread and our Onion Rings.

Sweetie Pie ordered the Apricot Chili Glazed Chicken Wings, which were just as beautiful and delicious as ever. As were the Onion Rings and Garlic Bread. Her mother ordered a full rack of Baby Back Ribs. As I mentioned, they arrived a little too quickly, but were not glistening and fresh (as they have been previously). They also seemed tougher and bonier (i.e. less meaty) than before. This was very disconcerting, as the Baby Back Ribs are what we enjoy most about the Blake's Place experience.

I ordered the  Blake's Big Rib Plate, which is Baby Back Ribs, Pork Spare Ribs, Beef Rib, BBQ Beans, Cole Slaw, French Fries and Garlic Bread. Well, everything on my plate was freshly prepared and delicious, and we could really tell a big difference between my Baby Back Ribs and Sweetie's mother's plate. I also ordered the Blake's One Pound Bomber Sandwich (with beef brisket, pork, turkey, Swiss cheese, pickles, red onion and BBQ sauce on a French roll). Wow! What a sandwich. Not only big, but also very good and easy to eat. ( If you want an even bigger sandwich, try "The Beast"- weighing in at over two and a half pounds).

Tonight's Blake's Place dinner gets one and a half thumbs up from the 3 Tubby Tummys.

ENRIQUE'S MEXICAN RESTAURANT- REVISITED

PICTURED (top to bottom): Restaurant, Chips and Salsa, Guacamole, Queso Fundido con Chorizo, Tamale, Pacific Taco, Pork Shank.

Enrique's Mexican Restaurant

6210-12 E. Pacific Coast Highway

Long Beach, CA 90803

(562) 498-3622

We arrived at Enrique's early for dinner because they don't take reservations, and there is always a wait for a table later in the evening. We were seated in a nice booth after about a 15 minute wait. The service is usually very good here, and tonight was no exception. Our server was excellent. Two of our favorite dishes at Enrique's, the Pacific Taco and the Pork Shank, are "off the menu" but usually available, and we were able to order both tonight. 

The chips and salsa are very good here. The chips were fresh and the salsa thick, chunky and spicy but not too hot. We decided to add a bowl of Guacamole, because we love Enrique's Guacamole. We also decided to try the Queso Fundido con Chorizo. Well, it was a bust. The cheese was thick, hard and stringy (supposed to be like a fondue) and there were 3 or 4 large chunks of chorizo (good chorizo, but would have been better crumbled throughout the dish).

The ladies both ordered the Pacific Taco- with chicken breast, avocado, cheese, lettuce and tomato. Big and delicious, as usual. They also each ordered a Tamale. The masa was great, and they were loaded with meat, but could have used more sauce. I ordered my favorite dish at Enrique's- the Pork Shank. It's a very large dish with tender pork and a great sauce served over rice.

Tonight's Enrique's dinner gets two and a half thumbs up from the 3 Tubby Tummys.