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Saddle Ranch Chop House
Universal City Walk
1000 Universal Studios Boulevard
Universal City, CA 91608
(818) 760-9680
www.srrestaurants.com

Ordered:

Saddle Ranch Monster Platter (”Chicken Fingers, Onion Rings, Fried Mushrooms, Mini Cheeseburgers, Ranch Style Potato Skins, Chicken Drums, Crispy Celery and Carrot Sticks”);

BBQ Chicken Breast Sandwich (”Grilled Marinated Chicken Breast basted with our own BBQ Sauce on a Sourdough Roll. Topped with Sweet Grilled Onions”);

Ranch House Club (”Honey and Maple Glazed Turkey, Black Forest Ham, Honey Cured Bacon and Cheddar Cheese stacked high on Sourdough Shepherd’s Loaf”);

Veggie Burger (”Chargrilled Garden Burger served with Grilled Onions and Avocado on a Toasted Sesame Seed Bun”);

Pork Ribs - Petite (”A tender Rack of Pork Ribs basted in Saddle Ranch’s BBQ sauce. Served with Cole Slaw”);

Deep Dish Cookie (”A Half Backed Deep Dish Chocolate Chip or Peanut Butter Cookie served warm with a scoop of Vanilla Ice Cream on top”);

Sex on the Beach; Fuzzy Navel; Vodka Cranberry

Review:

If you want a great place to go to for a cheap, casual night out, I would suggest Saddle Ranch. If you want a great place to see and be seen, I would also suggest Saddle Ranch. Not because it is great quality or because it is particularly hot, but because of how it manages to reign supreme as LA nightlife’s Jack of All Trades.

Recently, I rounded up (haha) a small group of women and took them all here to celebrate my friend, Heather’s, Bachelorette party. Now, I had done my research and knew that this place would cater to my specific group. And it totally did.

We arrived at about 9:15 on a Friday night, and amazingly got past the toll booth and into a decent parking spot with no trouble or delay. When we got into the restaurant, the hostess told us that there was an hour and a half wait (although there were soooo many empty tables all over!). She said that if we waited, she would get us a free round of drinks. So wait it was. But no sooner had we approached the bar, when my buzzer started to sound. In less than 10 minutes, we were seated at a great booth with a round of free booze. Even though I was the only drinker in the group (and I was DD!), everyone was impressed with our great luck!

I rationalized that this was most likely due to at least one of two reasons:

#1- Heather was wearing a veil, lei, and garter
#2- They were just bluffing because things were starting to get busy and they wanted to weed out the half-hearted

Our awesome waitress (Simone?) brought out a basket of warm biscuits, cornbread, honey, and butter. Very yummy!

Corn Bread, Biscuits, Honey, Butter:

We started off by sharing a Saddle Ranch Monster Platter. Since the bride and her future sister-in-law didn’t like mushrooms, our waitress substituted deep-fried mozzarella sticks in their place.

Saddle Ranch Monster Platter:

I wasn’t crazy about any of the food, but it was satisfying in the way that only bad American food could be. None of us had really eaten much that day, so we were more than happy to dig in to all the greasy, cheesy, starchy decadence.

Heather had the Chicken Breast Sandwich, which she said was good. The garlic mashed potatoes didn’t look so great to me though. Someone had beaten them too long and the starches had really developed.

Chicken Breast Sandwich:

I ordered the Ranch House Club with French Fries. The sandwich was as big as my head! I was forced to eat it with a knife and fork.

Ranch House Club Sandwich:

It was dry, but some mayo would have fixed that problem. Plus, I thought it was a great value for the price.

My friend Cathy tagged along for the night, and ordered a Veggie Burger with French Fries. It looked okay to me, but Cathy only ate about half of it and saved the other half for later.

Veggie Burger:

Emily, Heather’s future SIL, ordered the Petite Rack of Pork Ribs with Garlic Mashed Potatoes. I think hers was the most disappointing choice of the night. The ribs were not charred at all; in fact, they looked boiled. Plus, there were only three of them. Lame.

Petite Pork Ribs:

Our wonderful waitress even comped us a dessert of choice or round of shots. Of course, Heather picked dessert, and of course she picked the Deep Dish Cookie.

Deep Dish Cookie with Chocolate, Strawberry, and Vanilla Ice Cream:

We even received a free bull ride for Heather!

Mechanical Bull, sans bride:

I have been to the Saddle Ranch on Sunset, and in fact was going to take the party there because of my familiarity with it. I am glad I made the last minute decision to change locations, though. The one on Sunset is more of a bar… almost a really happening dive in some ways because of how dark and small it is. Also, it is right on the Strip. If you show up early enough (read: by 8:30PM), you’ve still got a chance of nabbing one of the valet spots on the restaurant’s private parking lot; this will run you about $6.25 before tip. Usually, however, you have to resign to parking in any of the other lots nearby, which charge $20 before tip. Compare this with the $10 self parking in Universal Citywalk’s well-lit and ample parking structure, and already the choice is clear.

This is a great place to take someone who really isn’t very comfortable with night life. It is a tourist trap, family location, and shopping/casual dining district all in one. Plus, they have: 3 bars, two mechanical bulls, a tented dance floor, a spacious floor plan, two pool tables (one outside in the - dare I say - romantic veranda), and (it seems) a less aggressive crowd. If you don’t have any personal hang-ups and can look past the slight “Frat Boy” mentality of this place, you will discover that the people are really nice and that the place is really fun.

Extra Tip: Both locations are known to have great deals on Brunch, and serve breakfast foods all day. I think they have some type of Happy Hour for Mimosas and Bloody Marys in the mornings and early afternoons, so drink up!

Rating:
7 out of 10 Spoonfuls

Value:
$$

Wilhelm’s Chophouse
13290 Jamboree Rd.
Irvine, CA 92602
(714) 573-7600
www.culinaryadventures.com

Ordered:

Spinach Salad (Tomatoes, Bacon, Red Onions, Cheddar, Cornbread Croutons, BBQ Spiced Salmon)

Flatiron Steak (Buttery Mashed Potatoes, Bearnaise Sauce)

BBQ Spiced Yam Fries (Bleu Cheese Dipping Sauce)

Review:

After a long Friday night and Saturday afternoon, I decided to take Dan out to dinner to thank him for all his help with Heather’s bridal shower. We were both tired, and wanted a nice sit down place to relax and reflect on all the happenings of our busy day. We drove around aimlessly for awhile (because we are terribly indecisive diners), and finally ended up at Tustin Marketplace. Dan’s curiosity had been piqued a couple days before when he noticed that Culinary Adventures had shut down French 75 at this location and had turned it into Wilhelm’s Chophouse. The prices seemed a bit steep for what you got, but not beyond reason. Plus, we were getting grumpy.

With very few and insignificant alterations, the restaurant’s interior is exactly the same it’s former namesake. Culinary Adventures is smart to capitalize on unsophisticated, upper middle class O.C. diners. Take the same space, extremely similar (if not the same) menu, slap on a different name, and switch them around from time to time… all under a half-hearted guise of luxe and glamor. What with so few nice, sit-down options in Orange County, it is not hard to build a small conglomerate based on this formula.

We started off with bread:

The bread here is a little salty but good… like a cheaper, white version of the former. The black olive and mayonnaise spread is, um, not good. We asked for a pat of unsalted butter instead, and seemed to irritate our waiter a bit in the process. Plus, he wouldn’t bring us another loaf when we requested one.

Below, you will see my Spinach Salad with BBQ Spiced Salmon:

It was on the down side of “okay,” but you can see that yourself from the photo. Talk about sloppy. The salmon was cooked to dry flakiness, which I figured was how many patrons here probably liked it? Maybe it was also some type of food safety procedure. I don’t know.

Dan’s Flatiron Steak with Buttery Mashed Potatoes and Onion Rings:

The Flatiron was “okay,” though not as good as the Filet we had the last time we were here (when it was French 75). The onion rings were greasy and not needed. They could have saved themselves the trouble and just substituted another crisply steamed fresh vegetable instead.

The BBQ Spiced Yam Fries were pretty good, except for the funky, slightly watery sauce. I asked for ketchup instead, and the waiter just looked at me blankly and said: “We only serve this with the Bleu Cheese Sauce.” Really???

Anyhoo, he ended up getting the ketchup but didn’t seem very happy to do so.

So if you want the same spotty service, cheap shortcuts, and a similar price tag, just go to the French 75 that is still open. We think the food will at least be better. But, seriously, no promises.

Rating:
5 out of 10 Spoonfuls

Value:
$$

Wasabi Japanese Restaurant
Becomes Wasabi Ultra Lounge after 10pm
200 Pine Ave
Long Beach, CA 90802
(562) 983-5165
www.longbeachwasabi.com

Ordered Dishes:

Rainbow Roll
Philadelphia Roll
Crunchy Roll
Alaskan Salmon Roll
Sake2me Sake, Iced Tea, Coca-cola

Reviews:

Recently, when a group of us had intentions of sipping Sangria and dancing the night away at Cafe Sevilla, our plans were unexpectedly altered, landing us at Wasabi Restaurant instead. (I know what you are thinking. Us? Go to a Japanese restaurant called Wasabi?) Well, all I can say in our defense is that, hey, shit happens. Sometimes you just gotta go with the flow.

As it was, our group was running super late. I believe we had reservations for 8:30, and Dan and I were the first to meander in at around 8:55. Our friends didn’t arrive until maybe 9:30. By then, the owner was visibly concerned about our large party, which happened to be occupying a long table smack dab in the middle of his soon-to-be dance floor. After some hemming and hawing, we moved downstairs to a teppan table in a corner of their much publicized “basement bar.”

Soon after the first of our food arrived, the upstairs level of Wasabi was transformed into Wasabi Ultra Lounge. The “basement bar” stayed well-lit for awhile longer to facilitate us and another group of straggling diners.

Ultra Lounge graphic logo displayed behind the main bar upstairs:

My Iced Tea, complete with dirt-encrusted, unidentified object:

Needless to say, I was in Flavor Country.

There was a lot of confusion. We would ask for things, be acknowledged, and then completely ignored. Maybe the waitresses were in over their heads. By the time Dan and I received our rolls, most of our friends had completely finished their much more elaborately prepared meals.

Philadelphia Roll (left) and Rainbow Roll (right):

One word of advice about going here for sushi: don’t go here for sushi. You could get better and fresher in the deli section of your local Japanese grocery. They also liked to do unneeded variations of well-known staples (like substituting crisp julienne of cucumber for floppy asparagus stalks. Go figure.).

As we waited for the rest of our food, Dan and I joined in on a toast with our dear friends. Sake2me sake was highly recommended to us from the bartender. It was fine, but rather than drinking it from a small cup, I felt like I should have sucked it out through a bendy straw a la Sofia Pinot Blanc.

Sake2me:

Then the rest of our food came!

Crunchy Roll:

Alaskan Roll:

Unfortunately, in this case, the photos are pretty self-explanatory… so we will leave you with one last, delicious image for the day!

Dan’s napkin, which he unfolded to find a wad of chewed-up gum in:

The grossest part? I had drunk from my cup and Dan had wiped with his napkin several times before either of us noticed. And we didn’t even receive apologies from the staff.

PROS:
Two bars upstairs and one downstairs so you never wait long
Deejay spinning downstairs
Decent music
“Dirty” Teppan show (though not nearly as good as Daimon’s)

CONS:
Not sanitary
Bad communication between front and back of house
Sushi
Old and fugly crowd (I thought I saw my friend’s 80 year old (not fugly) grandmother grinding on the dance floor in a halter dress. But he assured me that she lived on a farm in Mexico.)

PROS/CONS/DECIDE FOR YOURSELF:
Waitresses aren’t great at waitressing, but they do wear plaid miniskirts and some go commando
Multiple go-go dancers, if they are your thing
The old Korean lady/co-owner who stands behind a curtain and counts dollar bills all night. I thought she was hilarious, but she wasn’t trying to be. I just tend to see the humor in stuff like that.

Our tip? If you want to check out the Ultra Lounge, show up at 9:45 and order a drink or appetizer. This way, you will be around to see the venue transformation but won’t have to stand in line or pay the hefty cover charge ($30?). This place is definitely not worth a $20-30 dollar cover. This is basically your Hooters of poorly-made, bastardized Japanese food. I say this in the nicest way possible (because I was left genuinely amused!).

Rating:
0 out of 10 Spoonfuls - Sorry, but the Iced Tea and napkin incidents were just unacceptable.

Value:
$$