VILLA CORONA - NAPA, CALIFORNIA

VILLA CORONA

NAPA, CALIFORNIA

VILLA CORONA

3614 BEL AIRE PLAZA

NAPA, CA  94558

707-257-8685

www.villacoronamex.com

We loved our visit to Villa Corona several years back and I was happy to be able to return again this year.  That is happy until I tasted the food.  Something has drastically changed here and it is the food.  What I remember as being great Mexican food is now crap.  The food was bad and I was very disappointed and embarrassed that I had raved about the place to my friends and then took them here.  I ordered a Chicken Enchilada and Shredded Beef Taco Combination for around $13.  What I got was a Ground Beef Enchilada and Ground Beef Taco.  Heck, I didn't even know the place served ground beef tacos and don't recall any authentic Mexican restaurants that offer Ground Beef.  The Enchilada and Taco had no Mexican flavor.  Pretty tasteless and covered with tons of cheese.  Total plate of crap. The chips are bagged in advance and are not warm and the salsa is bland with no heat.  I will never return here and now need to find a real Mexican restaurant in Napa.

VILLA CORONA

VILLA CORONA IN NAPA, CALIFORNIA

STAND IN LINE AND THEN ORDER AT THE WINDOW

WALLS AT VILLA CORONA ARE FILLED WITH ARTWORK SELLING FOR $35-$50 INCLUDING FRAME

TWO SMALL DINING AREAS

VILLA CORONA MENU IS WRITTEN ON BLACK BOARD ABOVE COUNTER

BAG OF CHIPS WITH SOME PRETTY MILD SALSA AND A COLD BOHEMIA BEER

ASKED FOR CHICKEN ENCHILADA AND SHREDDED BEEF TACO.  WHAT I GOT WAS A GROUND
BEEF ENCHILADA AND GROUND BEEF TACO

THE TACO TURNED OUT TO BE GROUND BEEF - NOT SHREDDED

ROMANO'S MACARONI GRILL

ROMANO'S MACARONI GRILL

HONOLULU, HAWAII

ROMANO'S MACARONI GRILL

ALA MOANA SHOPPING CENTER

1450 ALA MOANA BLVD

HONOLULU, HI  96814

808-356-8300

HOURS:  Daily 11:00 AM - 10:00 PM

www.macaronigrill.com

I am done with Romano's Macaroni Grill.  Hope to never go back here again.  Next time when we are at Ala Moana Center and want pasta, I'm going to Assagio's downstairs.  First off there is always a wait here.  20-40 minutes usually and the restaurant is empty.  We waited over 20 minutes for our table and when we were taken to a nice booth at the back of the restaurant we saw that the main dining area was completely empty and the tables were not being filled.  The only thing I could think of was that they did not have enough wait staff so they limited the number of tables being filled.  Good for service because we had an attentive waitress and the food came out quickly.  We started with Tapas for Two ($14).  Your choice of two of seven Tapas selections on the menu.  We ordered the Spicy Ricotta Meatballs and Cannellini Beans with Shrimp and Avocado.  The Meatballs were fantastic.  Super moist and full of flavor.  Not spicy at all however.  We all loved them.  The Cannelllini Beans were served on a oil drenched Crostini.  Really could not taste the avocado or shrimp. Mostly butter, oil and beans.  As I reviewed the pasta selections I noticed that most of the pastas are served with a cream sauce.  I don't like cream sauces so I asked the waitress about the create your own pasta and she brought  me a form where you can check off what you want in your pasta dish ($17.50).  I went for spaghetti with pomodoro sauce with chicken, snap peas, roasted peppers and broccolini.  Dish looked great but the pasta was overcooked and mushy.  The sauce was bland, the chicken was tasteless and the sauce was watery.  $17.50 for this upset me.  My Daughter went for the Grilled Chicken with Broccoli ($7) served with pasta.  She had the waitress cover everything on the plate with Parmesan Cheese.  She said they overcooked her chicken.  It was the same chicken in my pasta and it also had no taste.  This is a great meal for kids for $7 though.  The Chicken Scaloppine ($18) was "too greasy" according to my wife.  

Click links below to view other posts on Romano's Macaroni Grill:

http://greateatshawaii.blogspot.com/2012/04/ramanos-macaroni-grill-ala-moana-center.html

http://greateatshawaii.blogspot.com/2008/04/ramanos-macaroni-grill.html

ROMANO'S MACARONI GRILL

ROMANO'S MACARONI GRILL AT ALA MOANA SHOPPING CENTER

ROMANO'S RECEPTION DESK IS ALWAYS BUSY

LARGE RESTAURANT WITH OPEN KITCHEN IN THE BACK

DINING ROOM IS EMPTY AND THERE IS A 40 MINUTE WAIT?

ROMANO'S TAPAS, PANTRY AND PIZZA MENU

ROMANO'S CLASSICS MENU IS FILLED WITH CREAM SAUCES

ROMANO'S PRINCIPALE MENU

CREATE YOUR OWN PASTA DISH FORM

BUTTERY ROSEMARY BREAD WITH OLIVE OIL IS DELICIOUS

SPICY RICOTTA MEAT BALLS

THE SPICY RICOTTA MEATBALLS ARE MOIST AND DELICIOUS BUT NOT SPICY

SHRIMP, CANNELLINI BEANS AND AVOCADO CROSTINI

THIS DISH TASTED GOOD BUT WAS A MESS

CREATE YOUR OWN PASTA WITH POMODORO SAUCE, SNAP PEAS, ROASTED PEPPERS,
BROCCOLINI AND CHICKEN

KIDS MEAL PASTA WITH GRILLED CHICKEN AND BROCCOLINI.  MY DAUGHTER
WENT NUTS WITH THE PARMESAN CHEESE

CHICKEN SCALOPPINE

CALIFORNIA PIZZA KITCHEN

CALIFORNIA PIZZA KITCHEN

KAHALA MALL, HONOLULU, HAWAII

CALIFORNIA PIZZA KITCHEN

KAHALA MALL

4211 WAIALAE AVENUE

HONOLULU, HI  96816

808-737-9446

HOURS: Monday thru Thursday/Sunday 10:30 AM - 10:00 PM

                Friday and Saturday 10:30 AM - 11:00 PM

www.cpk.com

There is probably not a more "go to" restaurant near our home than California Pizza Kitchen (CPK).  CPK has developed from a Pizza Restaurant into a place where you can go for really good salads, pasta, appetizers, tacos and more.  Food quality and service are always consistent at CPK.  We started our meal with the Spinach Artichoke Dip ($10.49).  This stuff is addicting and I don't like Artichokes.  Something about the cheese that makes me keep eating it.  It is delicious!  The Lettuce Wraps w/Chicken ($10.49) are also delicious.  Love the chilled lettuce leaves.  I have been trying different dishes during recent trips to CPK but this time I went back for one of my favorites.  The Original BBQ Chicken Pizza ($14.69).  I love this pizza and all of the elements on the dough.  The red onions, bbq sauce and cilantro make this one of my favorite pizzas of all time.  The Mushroom and Spinach Flat Bread ($6.69) is light and tasty with the flavors of the Mushroom shining through.  You cannot go wrong at CPK.  Have really never had a bad meal here and love most things on the menu.  In my mind a perfect town would have a CPK, In N' Out Burger and great Taco Shop.  Hawaii lacks the last two but we do have a CPK just down the road.

SPINACH ARTICHOKE DIP

THIS SPINACH AND ARTICHOKE STUFF IS DELICIOUS

CPK'S ORIGINAL BBQ CHICKEN PIZZA

LETTUCE WRAPS WITH CHICKEN

CRISP CHILLED LETTUCE LEAVES MAKE THESE LITTLE WRAPS DELICIOUS

MUSHROOM AND SPINACH FLAT BREAD

HIROSHI EURASION TAPAS

HIROSHI EURASION TAPAS

HONOLULU, HAWAII

HIROSHI EURASION TAPAS

500 ALA MOANA BLVD

HONOLULU, HI  96813

808-533-4476

HOURS:  Monday thru Sunday 5:30 PM - 9:30 PM

www.hiroshihawaii.com

When you are treated to dinner at Hiroshi Eurasion Tapas you don't complain.  Great service, good food and the best wine guy in the State of Hawaii.  I am talking about Chuck Furuya, Master Sommelier who always makes your dinner more enjoyable with his excellent wine selections.  Give Chuck a budget from $20 to hundreds or thousands and he will pick a wine to meet your taste request or pair with your meal.  In all my years dining at Hiroshi and their sister restaurant Vino, Chuck has never disappointed and he never sticks you with an expensive bottle that breaks the bank.  Plus he is a really nice guy who is laid back and relaxed.  No Tuxedo or suit with large medals for Chuck.  He is more a shorts and Aloha Shirt kind of guy like me.  That said the wines on this evening were perfect.  We started with a nice crisp White and ended with a full bodied Red.  We started our meal with a bowl of complimentary Puffed Rice served with a Spicy Mustard type sauce.  I would have preferred bread.  The Spicy Tuna ($8.95) was not too spicy and the flavor of the Tuna was lost in the sauce.  The Signature Tapas Sizzlin' Hawaiian Kampachi Carpaccio ($13.95) was probably the worst I have had.  Doraku, Morimoto and Nobu's do this dish much better.  The fresh fish here was just soaked in sauce so much that the taste of the fresh raw fish was lost.  The Portuguese Sausage Potstickers ($10.95) were delicious and I could have eaten the whole plate of them.  The Seared Sea Scallops ($12.95) were good and served with a delicious sauce.  I was a bit fished out after these appetizers so I ordered the Red Wine Steamed Veal Cheek ($27.95).  The Veal Cheek had good flavor and I liked the pasta but the base of the sauce was a bit soupy.  The Braised Beef Short Rib ($27.95) was good according to my wife.  Served with some Wild Rice and steamed Mushrooms, Zucchini and Green Beans.  My friends enjoyed the Island Snapper ($27.95).  Overall this was a good meal.  Service was terrific and we had a great evening at Hiroshi.  Don't know if I would call this a Tapas restaurant.  More of a Seafood Restaurant with nice variety of fresh Hawaiian fish.  This is a good thing because there are not too many restaurants in Hawaii specializing in serving a variety of fresh Hawaiian fish.

HIROSHI EURASIAN TAPAS

THE BAR WAS HAPPENING ON A SATURDAY NIGHT

DINING ROOM AT HIROSHI

HIROSHI TAPAS MENU

HIROSHI SIGNATURE TAPAS AND SALADS

HIROSHI'S IS ALL ABOUT SERVING LOCAL FRESH FISH

MEAT SELECTIONS AT HIROSHI

SPICY TUNA TAPAS

SIZZLIN' HAWAIIAN KAMPACHI CARPACCIO

PORTUGUESE SAUSAGE DUMPLINGS 

SEARED SEA SCALLOPS

RED WINE STEAMED VEAL CHEEK

BRAISED BEEF SHORT RIB

ISLAND STEAMED SNAPPER

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY

DINNER AT HOME

Always love staying home on Valentines Day. If you ask me, this is the worst day of the year to go out for dinner.  We like to stay home and enjoy our family and some good food.  My daughter requested a Pappardelle Pasta dish that we all love.  This dish is a far cry from one of the best pasta dishes I have ever eaten at Mario Batali's restaurant Babbo in New York, but it does deliver big flavor.   It is simply Mushrooms, Butter, Sage, Lemon Juice, Salt and Pepper.  We use meaty Hamakua Mushrooms from The Big Island of Hawaii.  I kicked up the dinner with an appetizer of Foie Gras served with toasted bread and sautéed Apples.  Served a small Roasted Beet Salad with Pistachios and Balsamic Dressing.  Ended the dinner with Chocolate Cupcakes from Cake Couture.  My little "X" broke on the ride home but the cupcakes were delicious.  So lucky to have two beautiful Valentines that I love with all of my heart.  

MY VALENTINE RECEIVED EDIBLE ARRANGEMENTS WITH BALLOON AND A BEAR

FOIE GRAS WITH GARLIC/BUTTER TOASTED BREAD AND SAUTEED APPLES

FOIE GRAS WAS DELICIOUS

ROASTED BEETS WITH PISTACHIOS AND BALSAMIC VINEGAR

PAPPARDELLE PASTA WITH HAMAKUA MUSHROOMS, BUTTER AND SAGE SAUCE

CAKE COUTURE CUPCAKES WERE RICH AND FULL OF CHOCOLATE FLAVOR