Johnny Rebs- Orange, CA

 I read an article online on the 5 top BBQ restaurants in Southern California and Johnny Rebs  made the list.  I went on their website to check out their menu and decided that we would have dinner there. So after a day at the beach we decided to visit their restaurant in Orange, CA.

For starters, we ordered the Southern Sampler plate ($10.25) and the fried pickles ($3.90 for the half order). The Southern sampler came with Cajun and hotlink sausages, hush puppies, and onion rings. The sausages were ok. They were a little spicy and on the dry side. Hush puppies are basically deep fried cornbread. This was my first time trying a hush puppy. I really love cornbread so I couldn’t wait to try this. I took a bite and it didn’t really taste like cornbread. It was bland sucked the moisture out of your mouth because it was so dry. I was not happy because I did order a side of cornbread with my entrée. The best thing on this platter were the onion rings. Although they were cut way to thick, I thought the batter was good and they were fried nicely. The fried pickles didn’t do it for me either. Although they were fried nicely and the outside was crisp, the texture of the breading was too mealy. It didn’t seem like it was dipped in a smooth batter. It seemed as though it was just dipped in a cornmeal then fried. It was too grainy.

The kids ordered the St. Louis ribs with a side of Mac ‘n cheese (not pictured) and the grilled cheese with a side of Mac ‘n cheese. I didn’t get to try any of this but by the looks of their plate, they were disappointed. They liked the Mac n’ cheese but the ribs was a disaster. They were overcooked and it didn’t seem like it was basted with bbq sauce while it was cooking. It was as though it was just slapped on after it was placed on the plate. The grilled cheese was half eaten so maybe that was good.

Ed and I shared the “Pork Out” dinner ($22.95). It came with our choice of three meats, a biscuit, cornbread or hush puppies and 2 sides. We chose the baby back ribs, tri-tip and fried chicken. For our sides, we got the sweet potato fries, fried okra, the biscuit and also ordered the cornbread. I wasn’t going to eat any cornbread but thought maybe it was just dry because it was fried. So I tried it. I tried it by itself and drenched with butter and honey, then butter and jam.. nothing worked. It was not good at all. Both the sweet potato fries and okra were cooked well. There was nothing wrong with our sides. So the first meat I tried was the baby back pork ribs. I was expecting falling off the bone soft. I took my fork and cut a piece off. Nothing fell off the bone; noting was soft. DRY, DRY,DRY! I was sensing a pattern. After a bite of that, I was done and went on to the fried chicken. Just when I thought it couldn’t get worse, it did. It was so overcooked. It was so fried that when I tried taking a piece of skin off it would just shatter into smithereens. I couldn’t even separate the skin from the meat! Well, on the top part anyway. The bottom of the chicken I was able to salvage some skin. The meat was hard and inedible. The tri-tip was the best thing on the platter, not that that is by any means a compliment. At least this was edible. It was soft and wasn’t cut to thick.

I was really contemplating whether or not to get dessert. Ed said “if they can’t make a decent cornbread, what makes you think they’ll be able to make dessert?” Of course I didn’t listen. I asked the waiter for his opinion on what to order. He said the fried apple pie is a favorite and said it comes with ice cream and big enough for all of us to share. So I ordered the fried apple pie ($7.95) and also ordered the banana pudding ($4.99). The portions were huge. The fried apple pie looked like an over sized empanada. It tasted as though it was fried in old oil, or oil where the French fries were fried. The crust had a good texture and crisp, but it just wasn’t tasty. The apple filling also had way too much cinnamon. Even eating it with the ice cream it tasted pretty bad. The banana pudding, was even worse. Their attempt to make homemade pudding was a failure. The pudding had a grainy texture and tasted watery. The flavor tasted more artificial than boxed pudding. I should’ve listened and passed on their desserts.

Needless to say our experience at Johnny Rebs wasn’t up to par. It was actually quite disappointing. I would definitely not return. It was a waste of $95.

Max Brenner- Las Vegas

 We have been to the Forum Shops at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas so many times. I don’t know why I’ve never heard or seen this place. On one of my social networks, I did ask if anyone has been here and a few people responded that I must try it and compared it to Serendipity. If you read a previous blog post, you’d know that I am a big fan of Serendipity so I had to try Max Brenner.

Even on a hot summer night in Las Vegas, I had to order their hot white chocolate. It’s description reads “A clean, milky flavor with a light fragrance of roses.” So of course when it was served the first thing I had to do was smell it. It was served in a cute little “hug mug” and not your typical hot chocolate/tea cup. I couldn’t smell roses. However, I did smell the prominent scent of white chocolate. At first I was a little disappointed that it wasn’t topped with whipped cream. But as soon as I took a sip, I really was very impressed with how much white chocolate you can taste. It was like drinking  melted white chocolate, except in a thinner form. I could’ve drank the whole thing. I would’ve actually, if my son hadn’t tasted it and wanted it for himself.

For starters, we ordered the Really Cheesy-Really Crunchy Mac n Cheese. It had fresh tomatoes and bacon and served with a shot of marinara sauce. The really crunchy part of the description was on point. The mac n cheese was topped with a bread crumb mixture and then broiled so it gave the dish a nice crispy texture on top. The really cheesy part, on the other hand wasn’t exactly true. The acidity of the tomatoes cut into the cheesiness of the dish and it’s juices watered down the sauce. This dish wasn’t bad, but it just is not my idea of what a mac n cheese should taste like.

For my entrée, I ordered the Black Sesame salmon. This was accompanied by a vegetable stir fry with garlic spinach and wasabi aioli. It also came with a little potion glass of soy sauce. The stir fry had really good flavor. The salmon was coated with the black sesames and was cooked well but it definitely needed the soy sauce. The black sesames gave it a little smoky taste but it did need a little salt and some acid.

Ed ordered The Brenner Burger- Pure America Kobe beef patty with “Max’s secret barbeque sauce, lettuce, tomato, cheddar and a Vidalia onion ring on top.” It was served with waffle fries dusted with chili and cocoa powder. I took a bite out of his burger and it was good. The burger was cooked medium. It was a good size burger and was cooked perfectly.

The kids ordered the cheese pizza and the mac 'n cheese.  I didn’t try it. The crust was so thin and the cheese was a little scant. My daughter said she wished she had ordered something else. The mac 'n cheese tasted like the adult version but without the tomatoes. My son normally devours mac 'n cheese, but not this one.

There were so many desserts to choose from and so many that I wanted to try. We ended up ordering  the “Max-Wich” and the Milk Chocolate Apple Caramel Crisp. The “Max-wich” is described as “decadent dark chocolate truffle ice cream and pure chocolate chunks hugged between old fashioned very rich chocolate cookies and drizzled with a boost of pure chocolate served with pure dark chocolate ganache for dipping. The portion was big enough to share. The ice cream was good but there wasn’t enough of it. The cookie was good, but was hard. We only took a couple bites out of this and were done. The Apple Crisp I did enjoy very much. It was topped with oatmeal streusel, served with toffee ice cream and a shot of caramel. I thought this was one of the best apple crisps I’ve had. The surprise in this dish was the melted chocolate at the bottom of the cast iron ramiken. I doused the dish with all the caramel. When you get that perfect bite of streusel, apples, chocolate, caramel  paired with the ice cream, it was divine. Although the ice cream didn’t taste much like toffee, it was still good combined with the crisp. I was a little disappointed that it didn’t come with more ice cream because it was such a small amount that you don’t get to have it with every bite of the apple crisp. I also thought that in comparison to the “Max-Wich” the apple crisp was such a small portion.

Our total with tax and tip was $125. Overall, the savory dishes were just okay. Nothing too different or spectacular about them. It wasn’t Serendipity caliber but I would go back just for dessert.

Wazuzu- Las Vegas, NV

Wazuzu is a Pan-Asian restaurant featuring flavors of China, japan, India, Singapore and Thailand. It is located inside the Encore Hotel in Las Vegas, NV.

For starters we ordered the Red Dragon Roll- ($30) I was expecting more from this roll. It tasted like a typical roll you could find at any Japanese restaurant. There was nothing special about it. This was definitely not worth the money. We also ordered the shumai ($9) made with pork and shrimp. I tasted more shrimp than pork. It filling was very moist and the skin was supple. The texture and taste of the shumai were perfect.

My daughter ordered the Teriyaki Beef Bowl ($18). (Not pictured) I don’t know what cut of beef that was used but it was extremely juicy and tender. The teriyaki flavor did not overwhelm the beef. The beef was sliced thin enough where it wasn’t tough to chew or swallow. I can tell by the look on her face she was thoroughly enjoying it so I only had one strip of beef. Believe me, I wanted more.

Our first entrée was the Miso Marinated Black Cod ($25) with a side of white Jasmine rice ($5). All I could say is WOW!  The fish was marinated very well. You could taste the miso and it was cooked where you can taste the caramelization of the marinade. The cod was cooked to perfection. It was firm yet soft; flaky but it didn’t break into little pieces. You didn’t need to put too much pressure on your fork to cut it. When you put it in your mouth, it practically melted. At first I was disappointed that the skin wasn’t crispy. So I took it off and put it to the side. I guess I didn’t take all of it off because ate some of it with the fish. It too melted in your mouth. It wasn’t slimy nor was it tough to eat. To my surprise it was also very good. Typing about it is making my mouth water and can really remember the taste and texture of it. SO GOOD!

The drunken noodles with chicken ($18) was our second entrée. The waitress asked us how hot we wanted it on a scale of 1-5. We chose 2 because of the kids. “Fresh rice noodles with Thai Basil, sweet soy sauce, chilies and onions” is how it is described on their menu. Think chow fun to the 10^th power. The flavor was amazing. You could taste the sweet soy which was enhanced by the spice of the chilies. When I first looked at the bowl I was confused about cherry tomatoes mixed in with this dish. But, it worked. They gave it that pop and extra sweetness of flavor when you bit into a tomato with the noodles and chicken. You can choose shrimp, beef or chicken. Even with no protein, this dish would be great. I wish I would’ve gotten it a little more spicy though.

For dessert we ordered the chocolate cake ($10) and the ice cream trio ($9).  When I asked our waitress if it was any good she said it was absolutely decadent. The only decadent thing about it was the chocolate ganache that was poured over the cake. It wasn't chocolate cake. It was more like thick layers of chocolate mousse and in between were thin layers of chocolate cake. The ice cream trio came with a scoop of coconut, coffee, and chocolate hazelnut. My favorite of the three was the coconut. It wasn’t too sweet and you can really taste the coconut flavor. The coffee tasted like unsweetened frozen creamed coffee. A generic store brand coffee ice cream tastes better. Then the chocolate hazelnut, BLAH. That was probably my fault thinking it was going to taste like Nutella. I probably should’ve gone with my first instinct and got the Thai Crepe. These desserts were disappointing and definitely not worth the money.

The bill came out to $175 with tax and tip. Besides the debacles of their roll and desserts, all the other items were very good. I could see myself wanting to come back here. We went here on a Saturday at 9 and had to wait 45 minutes. Overall, I thought it was worth the wait.