Oh, The Cheese Bread ~ Mangia Bene ~ Laguna Niguel

I would be satisfied with a plate of the cheese bread and a house salad. The bread is sliced thin, topped with garlic, butter, and cheese, and toasted to perfection. I order the Taglio salad with gorgonzola cheese. It is made of romaine lettuce, regiano cheese, roma tomatoes, red onions, and bell peppers. Add a glass of wine and you have a meal.

If I'm hungry or have the willpower to stick to only a few slices of bread, I often order the Penne Campagnola with pink sauce. On the menu, it has tomato sauce but the pink sauce includes a little bit of cream. This dish is a great combination of roasted chicken, penne pasta, red bell peppers, sun dried tomatoes, and oregano. The bell peppers do not overpower the dish; they complement the sweetness of the tomatoes. I've tried to duplicate this dish at home many times and have never quite gotten the right combination of ingredients.

A good friend's favorite is the Pollo Mostarda. It is a grilled chicken breast with lemon, white wine, mustard, capers, mushrooms, and garlic. The taste of the mustard is subtle and the saltiness of the capers perks your mouth up. It comes with a side of pasta and steamed vegetables (usually broccoli and carrots).

The service is good and the atmosphere is perfect for a family meal or a casual date. The meals are reasonably priced and the wine list varied - from Chateau Ste. Michelle and Beringer to Ferrari-Carano and Cakebread.

My First Date Location ~ Houston's ~ Irvine

Yes, I know, it's a chain. However Houston's holds a special place in my heart because it is the location of my first date with my husband and the place that we often go back to for special occasions.

We've tried a variety of foods at Houston's but our appetizer is always the spinach and artichoke dip. It comes with salsa and sour cream on the side. They never bring enough tortilla chips however it's no problem to get them to bring more. The dip is warm and cheesy and the sour cream and salsa act as a cool complement. Another thing that we always order is the house salad with blue cheese dressing. This might be the best house salad that any restaurant has offered. It comes with bacon, corn, croutons that are both crunchy and chewy, crisp iceberg lettuce, tomatoes, and cucumbers. The blue cheese dressing and bread sticks are the best part though. The dressing has large chunks of blue cheese and the breadsticks are soft and fluffy with a hint of garlic.

The most recent time we went to Houston's I couldn't fit much more in my stomache after the dip and salad so I ordered the tortilla soup. It was above average but not incredibly memorable. One of my favorite dishes is the Baramundi. It is a white fish cooked on a wood plank with just enough butter to keep it from sticking. The fish is always tender and flaky. I usually order a side of vegetables, whatever is in season.

Dan usually gets the Hickory Burger. It is a burger with BBQ sauce, shredded cheddar cheese, diced onions, and diced Canadian bacon. It comes with shoestring fries that are cooked to perfection. He has also ordered the filet minon in the past and we've both enjoyed it quite a bit.

Finally, the apple walnut cobbler is the perfect ending to a great meal. I'm not a fan of walnuts but they are easy to pick out and this dessert is worth it. It comes topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and you can see the specks from the vanilla bean. It's has just the right combination of sweet and tart.

Another great thing about Houston's is that there's no corkage fee. We went there on our one year anniversary and brought in a great bottle of wine that we had purchased in Napa. They also have a great wine list to choose from if you prefer.

The restaurant is dimly lit and good for a date but definitely not somewhere I would recommend for a family dinner. It's somewhere between inexpensive and pricey, depending on what you order and how much you eat and drink. The servers are always helpful and they work as a team; you can ask anyone who walks by for more water (although you probably won't need it because they are good about keeping your glass full) or more breadsticks with your salad (and they won't give you attitude).

Inexpensive, Great Italian ~ Roman Cucina ~ Sunset Beach

On a recommendation from a coworker, I found this restaurant's website and reviews. The variety on the menu was appealing and several of the reviewers wrote about the attractive young men who worked there. When we arrived, we found that both were true; the food was great and the staff was almost all good looking young men. In addition, dining al fresco on the outside patio reminded us why we love living in Southern California. We arrived early and left before dark however the pictures on the website show twinkly lights on the patio that add to the ambience. There is also a small bar that seats approximately 4-5 people on the patio. If there's a wait for a table, you can have a glass of wine to pass the time.

We shared the baked sausage mozzarella and were immediately impressed. The sausage tasted fresh and was cooked to perfection, completely cooked but not tough. The dish included fresh mozzarella and a scoop of ricotta cheese in the middle of the plate. Both cheeses were remarkable however the tomato sauce was the most memorable. It had the sweetness of fresh tomatoes but wasn't overpoweringly sweet and was just tart enough to wake up your mouth.

We both got a house salad and we shared the complimentary bread with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. These were both pretty average.

Dan got his standard chicken parmigiana. The chicken was nicely breaded and crispy. It was covered with mozzarella and more of the delicious tomato sauce from the appetizer and served with a side of pasta. I ordered one of the specials: crab ravioli in a white wine sauce with peas. The peas were cooked al dente - just a bit of toothsomeness to them, not overcooked at all. The sweetness and slight crunch complemented the soft ravioli and crab flavor very well. I could have taken 2-3 of the ravioli home but it tasted so good that I finished my plate. We couldn't fit anymore in our stomaches but we've heard that the tiramisu is delicious.

This restaurant is great for a variety of occasions. We saw several high school students who were dressed up for their Homecoming Dance. There was also a group of women who appeared to be starting a Girls' Night out, several other couples, and a few families sitting inside the restaurant. This is an economical choice for casual Italian food that tastes great!

This restaurant also has specials: on Martini Monday you can get any martini for $5 and half off bottles of wine and no corkage on Wednesday.

Fresh Pasta ~ Michael's on Naples Ristorante ~ Long Beach

The first thing that comes to mind when thinking about this restaurant is the service. We sat at the bar for a little bit before going to our table and the bartender was very helpful and professional. He offered us a tasting from a bottle they had just opened. The wine list was pretty extensive and included glasses and bottles from my favorite winery, Chateau St. Jean. We ordered their 2005 Cinq Cepage and it was 25% off wine night Wednesday. Definitely a treat!

Once at our table, we ordered two appetizers to share between four people - the Il Piatto di Salumi con Pane e Olive and the Pomodoro e Mozzarella. The first was a traditional Italian cold cut plate with toasted bread points, salty chunks of Parmesan cheese, and two types of olives. I wish I knew all of the meats but the ones I could pick out were prosciutto, a salami, and what we guessed was capocola. They were all good so we didn't bother asking. The second appetizer had fresh heirloom tomatoes (both of the men asked what they were because they'd never seen a yellow tomato before) and fresh Burrata cheese, which is a creamier version of fresh mozzarella. It brought me back to a hike that I took on the Amalfi coast of Italy that was capped off with a caprese salad.

The entrees were equally appealing. I ordered the Pappardelle con Coda di bue - hand cut fresh pasta with oxtail ragout, pine nuts, porcini mushrooms, and Tuscan Pecorino. I'm a sucker for fresh pasta and the pappardelle is a thick cut; like fettuccine but thicker. I was nervous about the oxtail but it was decadent. The pine nuts added a nice crunch and for me, nothing can go wrong with mushrooms.

I tried the other two dishes at the table as well (my husband and my friend, Doug, ordered the same thing). The guys got Michael's pasta. It also had fresh pasta (spaghetti) with Prosciutto di Parma that seemed to be cooked a bit so that it was pleasantly crunchy, pecorino, tomatoes, garlic, onions, and basil. This was also very pleasing. It tasted like it had sun dried tomatoes in it but maybe that was just the taste of tomatoes that were fresher than I'm used to.

The best dish at the table though was Jessica's. She ordered the Lasagna Verde alla Bolognese. It had spinach that didn't overwhelm the dish in any way, meat sauce, Parmesan and mozzarella cheeses, and a creamy tomato sauce. One bite had my mouth doing the happy dance.

My husband and I shared an apple tart and Jessica and Doug shared the cannoli. Both were good but not mind blowing.

This restaurant has great ambiance for a fancy night out and is priced moderately (with a good bottle of wine and all of the food mentioned above, we spent $50 per person). If you're looking for huge portions of mediocre food, don't go to Michael's. The portions are smaller than most American restaurants but definitely substantial and the food is wonderful. Check their website for specials. Their bar menu looks intriguing and their happy hour is half off selected beer, wine, and alcohol. There's a rooftop deck with classic guitar Wednesday through Friday however it had just finished raining when we went so it was shut down.

Our meal ended with a visit from a man dressed in a suit (the manager or the owner) who checked to make sure everything was good.

(I apologize if I misspelled any of the Italian words in this blog.)

A Good Standby ~ La Capilla ~ Huntington Beach

There's nothing better than great, inexpensive Mexican food that you can count on every time you go. The La Capilla margarita tastes delicious, is inexpensive, and is definitely not weak when it comes to the alcohol. A favorite starter is the Queso Fundido, although I prefer it with the free tortilla chips than the dippers that they bring with it. It's a huge bowl of scrumptious, cheesy goodness with tomatoes and just a hint of heat. Their free salsa is tasty but on the spicier side. My go-to dinner is the chicken burrito. The chicken meat is stewed with bell peppers and onions and is tender every time I order it. The tortilla is always soft and it has beans and cheese on the inside. It's covered with a yummy, mild red sauce and more cheese but the cheese doesn't overwhelm. My husband's favorite is the beef hard taco and cheese enchilada combo. It comes with beans and rice. Generally we spend $30-40 depending on how many margaritas we drink. The atmosphere is very casual, the servers are always friendly, and the service is generally quick (unless you ask for water). I highly recommend La Capilla for a casual date, a family dinner, or just an excuse to have a great margarita.