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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:
$$