I had no idea that Sabroso was featured on Food Networks Diners Drive-Ins and Drives until finishing the meal and seeing this signed picture on the wall -
The show was premiered on July 11th, 2014 with the host Guy Fieri cruising down southern California. Well, I was already happy with the service and decent food even without the celebrity halo. The TV show only further proved that Sabroso was indeed a nice neighborhood joint whenever you feel like some Mexican grill dishes.
A typical exterior for a simple SoCal restaurant sitting inside the plaza -
Clean and bright settings -
Happy hours available Monday through Friday from 3 to 6 p.m. -
Other alcoholic beverages -
Sabroso opens at 9 on Saturdays and Sundays, so if you are a huevos rancheros or breakfast burrito lover, here's a pretty decent place to start out the weekend -
Click on the image for an enlarged view -
Couldn't quite guessed some of the Spanish words, but our waitress was very friendly and answered all my questions with a bright smile on her face.
Mexican beer Modelo Especial $3.95 -
Light and slightly tangy, a good choice to accompany the day time meal.
Compliment salsa and chips -
The green colored salsa is the mild one. The red salsa on the other hand, is the devil kind carrying some heat. In fact, it has an aftertaste similar to Chinese spicy hot pot, pretty interesting.
Menudo soup, served with either fried taquitos or handmade tortillas $8.95 -
Think beef stock with a touch of Mexican flare. The flavors are not as strong and spicy as expected, not a bad thing though.
The freshly chopped onion brightens up the flavor -
Sabroso also uses hominy in their menudo soup (basically dried maize kernels) -
Picked fried taquitos for the soup, but personally I love to eat it with salsa instead -
House specialty comes with salad, handmade tortillas, rice, and beans (black or Peruano). You can choose one of the following dressings for the salad: ranch, Caesar, balsamic, thousand island, Italian. Decided to go with Italian -
House specialty: pork chile Colorado $10.95 -
You can choose between smoky red sauce or the much milder and slightly tangy verde option.
Tender pork with all the seasonings absorbed within the meat. I'm usually not a big fan of black beans because sometimes it gets a floury and mushy texture, but not for Sabroso. I think 1/3 of the beans went down to my tummy, might sound little but that's a milestone for me.
Antojitos with enchiladas, tinga (shredded chicken), no beans but doubled the rice, both red and verde sauce $8.95 -
See, never a big fan of beans so I got double rice instead, also asked for extra salsa to pour all over the rice.
The food here is decent. You won't find the hardcore local stuff at Sabroso, but similar flavors are definitely there. The nice staff and clean environment are pluses for this place. I would love to revisit over and over again if Sabroso is close to home or work - a good neighborhood Mexican grill restaurant.
Cindy's Rating: 6 (leaning towards 7 because of its wonderful staff)
Sabroso! Mexican Grill
13129 Harbor Blvd,
Garden Grove, CA 92843
(714) 537-7080
http://sabrosomexgrill.com/
Business Hours:
Mon to Thurs 10 a.m. - 9 p.m.
Friday 10 a.m. - 10 p.m.
Saturday 9 a.m. - 10 p.m.
Sunday 9 a.m. - 9 a.m.
Stumbled upon this Mexican restaurant close to the roundabout area in old town Orange.
Never really ventured into Orange during dinner hours, it's actually quite happening here at night, with some live music playing in the background and pretty lighting throughout the area.
Please spare the grainy pictures since they were taken during evening hours with my iPhone.
It's not the typical Mexican joint where you can find tacos and burritos served by one of the family members. In fact, it's kind of a romantic place with professional servers and a fully equipped bar in the back.
Not mentioning its trendy wall decor resembling the art work by Dale Chihuly on the ceiling of Bellagio Las Vegas -
There are also some large paintings on the wall -
We were situated in the corner right next to the bar. Small table but at a cozy area in the middle of the restaurant, a good place for people watching -
Very cool bar, makes me want to order a drink no matter what -
Colorful chips and salsa -
Menu (click for enlarged view) -
Valentine's Day special menu -
Entrée -
Drinks menu -
Wine menu -
House margarita $8 -
White peach mojito $11 -
They also have other fun flavors such as guava and pomegranate.
From my memory that they don't serve regular water, otherwise I rarely order bottled water. Here's glass bottled Sole water for $6. I know. -
Ceviche Yucatan -
"Shrimp, mahi mahi, cara cara oranges, jalapeño, Persian cucumber, avocado, and chicharron."
Nice combination of seafood and cara cara oranges. The dressing is not too spicy with slight hint of fruity acidity.
Panuchos de yucatan $12 -
"Puffed tortillas, black beans, achiote pork, avocado, onion escabeche, and habanero salsa."
Refreshing flavors with crunches from the veggies and the tortillas. Fairly large portion for an appetizer. The habanero salsa on the side is deadly but addicting.
Esencia de citricos $24 -
"Farmed striped bass, roasted asparagus, zucchini, cherry tomatoes, smoky chile arbol, and grilled Meyer lemon."
Nicely cooked fish. The natural sweetness from the vegetables shined through even more after grilling.
Puerco poc-chuc $19 -
"Kurobuta pork loin, adobo achiote marinade, grilled onions, habanero salsa, platanos, and frijoles negros."
Always love eating cooked plantain with rice. Its sweetness works well with pork and black beans.
This dish also comes with tortillas.
Dessert, rosas y xocolatl $10 -
"Layered chocolate-raspberry cake, rose water custard, champagne sabayon, and sugar dusted flowers."
The description sounds way better than the actual taste. All the ingredients mentioned above didn't quite shine through, it is basically a chocolate cake with a few fancy touches.
Gabbi's is definitely a nice place to go if you're looking for a romantic meal, or simply searching for a chill place to have a drink or two. Food-wise, it has some hits and misses. It can't compare with authentic Mexican food packed with strong seasonings. Flavors are slightly toned down especially on the spicy ingredients used. However, Chef Gabbi Patrick (thus the restaurant name "Gabbi's Mexican Kitchen") put a few twists and created somewhat different kind of Mexican food.
It all depends on what you are looking for from a meal, Gabbi's can be a charming place to start the night. I would love to come back again, sitting by the colonial style bar with a few munchies on the side.
Cindy's Rating: 6
Gabbi's Mexican Kitchen
141 South Glassell Street
Orange, CA 92866
(714) 633-3038
http://www.gabbipatrick.com/
The 4.5 stars raving reviews on Yelp got my attention on Antojitos Don Juan initially. Eagerly to try some authentic Mexican food, I went there few days after for dinner during the week.
It was not quite as I had imagined when first stepping into the restaurant. There were only a couple tables of customers and perhaps five total throughout our meal, definitely not as busy as expected.
Antojitos Don Juan is a father and son restaurant. As soon as we arrived, both of them greeted us and started chatting for a while. From the conversation, it seems like the restaurant also offers a selection of "fusion" dishes on top of typical Mexican dishes such as burritos, enchiladas, and tacos. My friend and I felt adventurous and decided to give those creations a try.
But before that, chips and salsa to start off the meal -
Unfortunately a few of the chips were slightly chewy or so stale.
Menu -
Many dishes are only listed in Spanish so it might be hard to comprehend, even though the owners are always more than happy to chat with customers about their menu items. They are both very friendly and would love to share their stories and food ideas as long as you're willing to listen.
Kids menu -
Main dishes average around $12 to $14 -
Hibiscus flavored tea -
Escargot -
I had no idea we were getting escargot that night at a supposedly Mexican restaurant. It's one of Mr. Don Juan's creations with a little Italian flare.
The escargot was cooked in olive oil and lots of chopped garlic. It seems like the escargot was cooked in the sauce for some time so the texture is on the soft side with just a little bit of chewiness. The garlicky sauce goes really well with toasted bread -
Chorizo stew in the front, even more chorizo with prawns in the back -
Both dishes were cooked with a little Spanish flare this time. Tomato and garlic based sauce with just a tiny bit of spiciness.
It reminds me of the mouth-splitting monster from Resident Evil -
The dishes were decent but we both felt like something was missing, perhaps some more distinct seasonings. The tomato based stew pretty mild and slightly sweet.
To fill in our cravings, we asked the restaurant for some suggestions and went for one more dish, bacon wrapped shrimps -
Quite tasty but the flavors were still similar to the earlier dishes we had. The restaurant only had this type of base stew that night.
Overall the meal was just above average and I do applause for owner's willingness to try new things. Service was superb, making customers feel warmed and welcomed. I'll still come back again in the future, but this time I'm going to order the real Mexican dishes instead of their fusion creations.
Cindy's Rating: 6 (keep in mind that I didn't try any of the common Mexican dishes)
Antojitos Don Juan
1130 West Warner Avenue
Santa Ana, CA 92707
(714) 662-2035
Operating Hours:
Monday - Friday 9 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Saturday - Sunday 8 a.m. to 10 p.m.
*Accepts credit cards
*Several outdoor tables. Restroom is also located outside at the end of the patio
