Signature Kitchen at South Coast Plaza's Macy

Last month, I visited Macy at the South Coast Plaze in Costa Mesa, CA for Celebrity Chef Marcus Samuelsson's cooking demonstration. Because I got there early before the demonstration, I decided to try something at the store's restaurant, Signature Kitchen. I was very surprised that a department store had an in-store restaurant and this was the first time I saw one! It seemed that this restaurant served many signature dishes by various celebrity chefs like Chef Marcus Samuelsson, Cheft Cat Cora, and Nancy Silverton. From my understanding on yelp, this was a three in one type of restaurant.

The customer services overall was ok, just average. The staff was friendly, but I hadn't noticed them serve the food faster than other eating establishments. I didn't like how there were no areas for trash after you finish dining there and I didn't like leaving a messy table with an empty basket and used napkins on it, but I didn't have a choice. If there were trash areas here, it wasn't clear or obvious and I didn't see them.

I ordered the turkey burger with garlic fries and bottled water. The burger and fries also came with free condiments. I actually didn't care for the condiments. The burger was well-seasoned and I enjoyed every bite into the burger! While I did actually enjoy the garlic fries, I think I had better elswhere.

My overall dining experience here was ok, so I would probably come back to try some other items on the menu.

BJ's Restaurant and Brewhouse

After having lunch/dinner at Famous Dave's, my friends and I moved on to BJ's Restaurant and Brewhouse located a few hundred feet from Famous Dave's, although two of us from the group couldn't make it because they had a small child to care for. I could only comment on the customer service in the bar area and my dessert. The customer service was good overall. We thought that our server was ok with our weird sense of humor until she never came back from her lunch break and we were there for awhile. I never had a Red Velvent Pizookie before, and I enjoyed it.

Red Velvet Pizookie

Famous Dave's Bar-Be-Que

Famous Dave's is a barbeque restaurant in Rancho Cucamonga, CA. It's comparable to Chili's, TGI Fridays and Applebees. While I always enjoy the company of friends, especially friends that I don't see often, I think I like the atmosphere and environment better at Chili's. 

I had never heard of this place before until a friend suggested that we had our mini high school reunion get together here. We met up here recently for a late lunch/early dinner. At 3pm on a Saturday afternoon, the restaurant looked empty. I'm not sure if that's normal for a Saturday afternoon. But anyway, the customer service was pretty good. Our server put up with our weird sense of humor and seemed genuinely ok, laughing at our jokes.

While I do like BBQ food, I wasn't overly impressed with the food here. Probably because it's very similar to Chili's, TGI Fridays and Applebees in some ways. I wasn't able to photograph all the food that were ordered, and I can't remember the names to the plates that I did photograph.

Fundraiser At TGI Friday

I went to TGI Friday in Rowland Heights, CA for lunch yesterday. My friend's friend's son was diagnosed with Leukemia in May 2011 and he is six years old now. For every customer who showed a "Benefit" flyer to their server(s), 20% of the check was donated to the family and the child's treatment. I printed out the flyer from the family's website, but the family also spent many hours outside the restaurant for the diners that didn't know about the fundraiser. While the child has his moments with pain and feeling nauseous, he is doing good and making improvements overall.

I can't remember if I came to this particular TGI Friday before. It wasn't very memorable if I did and I also wasn't into food photography or general photography at the time anyway. At this recent visit, I came with another person. We didn't get greeted by a host right away so it took us awhile to get seated. We almost wanted to pick up the menus and seat ourselves. It wasn't busy at all either. The customer service was generally good and our server made sure our drinks were filled while making sure we were doing okay.

 Shrimp Cocktail

 Petite Sirloin

 Peppercorn Crusted Pork Chop
 Oreo Madness

Mt. Vesuvius Burger - Red Robin

I recently went to Red Robin in West Covina after receving a "promotional" email about the Mt. Vesuvius Burger. For every Mt. Vesuvius Burger sold at participating Red Robin, 50 cents would be donated to the National Center For Missing & Exploited Children Foundation between July 26 to September 11, 2011.

This burger consisted of beef, bacon, bleu cheese, Provalone chese, and tangy lava sauce. It was created by a kid who was the grand prize winner in the 2010 Kids Cook Off! Kids are so smart these days and this burger was good!

Harlem Place Cafe

After visiting the Downtown Los Angeles Artwalk, my friends and I went to Harlem Place Cafe as one of my friends already knew about this place and thought that we should try it out. The artwalk in Downtown L.A. is usually held every second Thursday of the month and there are also other food places to try out including several food trucks during Artwalk night.

This place is in a "hidden" location at the end of a short alley next to the Museum Of Neon Art. I like the fact that there are art work (graffiti art, paintings, and photography) on the wall. It's also a "hip" place for the young crowds. While they play "cool" music, the music was very loud, making it hard to have a conversation with your friends and/or when ordering your food. How do you enjoy your meal and conversations with your friends if you have to yell over the music just to be heard?

Since this was my first time here, I had only tried the pulled pork sliders. My friends ordered the same, so there wasn't much to try out or get opinions on other foods or get photos of other food. The pulled pork sliders were pretty good though and it was reasonably priced for the portion with a soda. Each plate came with two sliders and cole slaw. The customer service was generally good, but we thought it was strange that they didn't give out numbers so that they could remember who ordered what. We had to remind our server once or twice about our orders, but he somehow forgot about one of my friend's order and he returned with three sliders for forgetting my friend's order which was awesome. Each plate of sliders usually came with two, but my friend got one extra on the house for the inconvenience.

Free Birthday Meals & Treats - December 2010

My birthday was mid-December and I signed up for the birthday club on various websites from various favorite restaurants and eateries a few months ago. Want to "eat free for your birthday"? Sign up at http://www.freebirthdaytreats.com/ as well as typing "eat free for your birthday" in the google search to help you along.


Red Robin - http://www.redrobin.com/

Royal Red Robin Burger (FREE birthday meal/entree)


Mint Brownie Shake; this was not free, but thought I'd share a photo

Red Robin (second location) - http://www.redrobin.com/

Bleu Ribbon Burger (FREE birthday meal/entree)


Oreo Shake; NOT free, but thought I'd share a photo

Claim Jumper - http://www.claimjumper.com/

Meatloaf Sandwich (FREE birthday meal/entree)


Red Velvet Cupcake with Cream Cheese Frosting (FREE birthday dessert)

Benihana - http://www.benihana.com/

Chef doing tricks with cooking utensils; preparing meals for guests; beating heart and volcano



Complimentary items that all guests received with meals


Hibachi Steak with Sauteed Mushrooms (FREE birthday entree/meal)


Sundae (FREE birthday dessert)

I also had a free birthday meal and free birthday dessert from an Acapulco restaurant, however, I forgot to take photos...just simply forgot.

Red, White + Bluezz

If you enjoy Jazz music, Red, White + Bluezz in Pasadena, CA is a place to be at as you get to listen to live Jazz music. This place is expensive, but if you feel like splurging, you won't be disappointed.

 

 Western Kobe Short Ribs Dip
 Blueberry Pancakes with Bacon
 I forgot what this was called. They were some kind of breakfast sausage.

Sonic

If you are a resident in Los Angeles or Orange County, you would notice the commericals for Sonic - a burger joint - and wonder why it is being advertised on tv in Southern California because you don't know where any Sonic establishments are. It's not a big chain food establisment like McDonalds or Starbucks, but there is one in Arcadia and one in Anaheim.

Many customers can either pull up to the menu to order food and they do not have to get out of the car. There is also an option where people can order food through the walk-up menu and sit in the dining patio area. Wherever they choose to sit, there is someone who will deliver the food to you. Many employees will gladly deliver the food on rollerskates or rollerblades. Some employees are less brave and will walk with the food to deliver to the customers. There aren't that many fast food establishments who serve your food to you while on skate, so it is very nice to see that Sonic employees do!

For some reason, I wasn't really impressed with what was offered on the menu. Perhaps, I had similar items at other fast food joints and I didn't see any unusual items that I wanted to try. I ordered the footlong qauter pound coney because I do really love chili cheese hot dogs. It was certainly long and it certainly tasted good. I don't think Wienerschnitzel has footlong hotdogs and Wienerschnitzel is known for the hotdogs in the U.S.!

PK Burgers

PK Burgers is a mom and pop fast food restaurant with a small private parking lot located in Brea, CA. It accommodates take out orders as well as indoor and outdoor dining. It is a Korean owned venue that serves American food such as burgers, pastrami sandwiches, steak sandwiches, and fries. There are also Mexican food items being served. The burgers, pastrami sandwiches and breakfast burritos seem like the popular items at this location. Except for the unusual business hours, the customer service is wonderful. The owner is a sweet and genuine man who makes an effort to remember most customers’ faces and names and his wife, who works beside him, is funny and will put a smile on customers' faces. They certainly know how to make you feel welcomed. While the restaurant is small in size, it seems like a lively place with a constant flow of customers. Even the customers appear friendly and happy to be there. Once the food and beverages are paid, customers are allowed to get drinks and refills by going behind the counter to the fountain drinks station which may or may not be strange to new customers. Don't be shy, you can help yourself!

You may also notice photographs of local school sports teams on the interior walls, so it seems like many local schools support this location as well.

The steak sandwich looked interesting, so I ordered it with a side of fries and soda. It wasn't the greatest sandwich, but it wasn't bad either.