The SLY Foodie

There has been some hype surrounding the Pieology chain, and my only regret is not jumping on that bandwagon sooner. I've always been somewhat picky when it comes to pizza, especially when it concerns the crust. Deep dish pizza has always been near and dear to my heart, so much so that I actually scoff at thin crust pizzas. Well, a little.

So you can imagine my reluctance when we went to Pieology a few months ago (yes, I said months). However, having control over what goes on my pizza with the endless possibilities of topping combinations won me over. This is what I came up with for my first time, and  please allow me to toot my own horn, because it was GOOD. (toot, toot!)

A sudden hunger attack prompted a Vietnamese food craving tonight, so Boogs came to my rescue. He went to California Noodle and Grill, located in the Chino Spectrum shopping plaza. 

Bonjour! A breakfast treat at our local Mimi's Cafe.

I love me some chilaquiles. Sandra's always satisfies my chilaquiles craving.

A little late (ok, one month late), but my birthday breakfast, courtesy of our local Corner Bakery.

On a recent date with my little boy, we went to our usual spot, also known as California Pizza Kitchen, conveniently located at the Shoppes in Chino Hills. We get to spend some one-on-one time together, plus eat some pretty good food, so I always look forward to these dates.

That night, I found out that CPK now features a "Small Cravings" menu, which are smaller portions of appetizers that won't break the bank. Since I was feeling a little bold, I decided to try the Crispy Artichoke Hearts, something I've never had before. Don't get me wrong, I've had Spinach and Artichoke Dip before, I've just never had a dish where artichokes were the star. These were artichoke hearts breaded using Panko crumbs, fried, and served with a remoulade. Having never had this before, I thought they were pretty good, the breading was crunchy, and the artichokes were tender. I thought that the remoulade somewhat resembled a mustard, which was okay, but nothing spectacular. But what blew me away was the fact that the boy who doesn't eat veggies actually ate a few artichokes with me.

An East LA landmark has found its way into Chino Hills. El Tepeyac, also known as Manuel's to its loyal patrons, opened a new location in Chino Hills very recently. Okay, maybe it isn't exactly a new branch, but it is very similar to the original Manuel's. It turns out that the Chino Hills location is owned by Manuel's godson, but that is the only relationship between the two restaurants.

Upon arrival to El Tepeyac, we were immediately seated and given chips and salsa. The chips seemed to be stale, and the salsa is definitely not for the weak of heart. It was flavorful, but it seemed that its spiciness completely overpowered the flavors.

I ordered the Hollenbeck special, which is a gianormous chile verde burrito with rice, beans, and guacamole. It is topped with more chile verde, and then sprinkled with lots of cheddar cheese, and put under the heat for the cheese to melt. Again, not something for the weak of heart. I love spicy food, so much so that the husband thinks I've burned off all my tastebuds, but I am finding that I'm becoming less tolerant of heat in my old age. Although the chunks of meat were tender and flavorful, the spiciness overpowered all the great flavors of the burrito. One other thing, make sure you're very hungry when you order this, and any of their burrito specials.

Dolcissimo, which means "the sweetest" in Italian, recently opened in The Shoppes at Chino Hills as part of the recent cupcake craze. I hadn't planned on stopping by, but the storefront was very inviting; it had a cute and fun vibe to it. Okay, maybe the cupcakes beckoned me to enter as well. So, with anticipation I walked into the store and proceeded to get the Dolcissimo experience.

Modeled after cupcake giant Sprinkles, it offers many different daily cupcake variations such as Strawberry Shortcake, Red Velvet, Apple Pie, etc. However, unlike Sprinkles, Dolcissimo also offers other sweet treats such as baby cheesecakes, cannolis, and individual-portioned pies. Being an unofficial Red Velvet afficionado, I had to have a red velvet cupcake. I also ordered the Cloud 9 (a Madagascar Bourbon vanilla cupcake with blue buttercream frosting), a Snowball (chocolate cupcake with white frosting and shredded coconut) and the Cookies n' Cream cupcake.

I couldn't wait until dessert to try these cupcakes, after all, they were $3.25 each! So first the Cloud 9. I was slightly disappointed because the frosting was too sweet for my taste and the cupcake itself had a flour-like aftertaste, as if the flour was not cooked out. Plus, it was a little on the dry side. But I pressed on, trying the Red Velvet next. I was much happier because the cream cheese frosting, although generous, was not overpowering, and the cake was moist. In other words, it was yummy. Exactly what a red velvet cupcake should be. Although honestly, it still doesn't compare to Auntie Em's Red Velvet.

Unfortunately, I was way too full from dinner (I blame Jack in the Box) to try the other two flavors. If I had to form my conclusions now, I would say that Dolcissimo is definitely worth a second (or third) visit. I would suggest going on different days though, just to give the other cupcake flavors a chance. Just don't get the Cloud 9.
























Dolcissimo Bakeshop
13855 City Center Drive, #3010
Chino Hills, California 91709
(909) 591-3646
http://www.dolcissimobakeshop.com/

After an afternoon at the beach, it seemed that the most logical thing to have for dinner was seafood. Then I thought of Pacific Fish Grill, a new restaurant that opened at The Shoppes in Chino Hills. It seemed like we could go, enjoy a cocktail and have a nice sit-down dinner. Boy, was I wrong. It turned out to be a semi-fastfood restaurant. You would not have been able to tell from the outside of the restaurant. Since we were already there, we decided to go ahead and try it out.

As soon as you walk in, you see the register and a huge menu board above it. The decor seemed to be a little too nice for a fastfood establishment. Price points were comparable to other places that serve this type of food. They serve seafood, both grilled and fried. Grilled fish items come with rice pilaf, salad and pita bread. Once you place your order, it's up to you to find seating, get your drink and condiments at the bar located against the back wall. Restaurant staff will bring your food to you.

We ordered the Fried Scallops meal, which are bay scallops that are battered and deep fried, served with fries and coleslaw. It was actually pretty good. The scallops seemed pretty fresh, didn't have too much batter, it was seasoned perfectly and had just the right crunch. The fries were so-so, they sprinkled some parsley on it, which made no difference whatsoever. If you know me, you'd know that I think parsley is the most overrated herb out there. I didn't try the coleslaw, since I generally don't like it, and this one particularly didn't seem appetizing to me at all.




We also ordered the crunchy combination plate, which consisted of 3-4 pieces of fried shrimp, 2 pieces of fried fish and calamari. I was slightly disappointed to find that they were calamari strips and not the rings. To me, calamari rings are fresher and taste better. But the strips weren't bad. The fish wasn't really fresh, but it was to be expected from previously frozen fish. The shrimp was the best thing on that plate.

Overall, this place was only so-so, not a bad place to go to if you're craving seafood. But I wouldn't give it stellar reviews.

Yard House, a popular restaurant chain, recently opened in our neck of the woods. Naturally, we decided to go and check it out, especially since we haven’t been to one in quite a while, a couple of years, actually. I was looking forward to finally trying out a Chilean Sea Bass dish they once offered but, to my dismay, it was no longer on the menu. So after a quick glance at the menu, I decided on a burger.

It was the Béarnaise Burger – a half pound natural Angus beef burger with béarnaise sauce and fried onions served on a potato bun with extra sauce, fries and a pickle. I must admit that it was one of the better burgers I’ve enjoyed in quite some time. The combination of the juicy beef (cooked medium, so it was pink throughout), the tangy béarnaise and the crunchy sweet onions made for an oh-so-satisfying burger experience. The fries were thin cut, almost like shoestring potatoes, and were crunchy good. I can’t tell you much about the pickle, other than it was there (I don’t like pickles). The picture below is the burger; please excuse me for forgetting to take the picture before I took several bites. I just couldn't wait.



I also tried the Brazilian Lemonade, a concoction of Ketel One Citroen, Cointreau, mojito mix, lemonade and fresh mint leaves. It tasted good, not too strong. My only complaint was the fact that there were no mint leaves in my drink. I’m not sure if it’s served with mint leaves in the actual glass, or if the leaves were in the shaker while the drink was prepared. I think the distinct mint flavor would be more prominent if the drink was served with it. Nevertheless, it was a tasty alcoholic treat.