Firehouse: San Diego (Pacific Beach), California

Firehouse is a trendy restaurant in Pacific Beach. I recently went there with a group of people for dinner and was impressed by the atmosphere. There was house music playing in the background which I thought was a nice touch. The mix of bright colors and the unique layout of the tables, lounge, free wi-fi, bar and rooftop patio make this a fun place to hang out even if you aren't eating.

This is a picture of the interior of the restaurant that was taken at the beginning of the evening. Twice during the night the lights were dimmed which made everything a little more romantic. Also, our female friends were particularly infatuated with the male waiters. This may or may not have been related to the fact that the lights were dimmed.

This is a picture of a "cup" of clam chowder. I was excited to see that the portion was so large because I was hungry. My excitement continued when I tasted the chowder. There were thick chunks of potato and  a good amount of clam meat swimming in this creamy and flavorful bowl. If you like chowder you will be satisfied with this choice.

Pictured here is the Firehouse Burger with bacon. The burger was pretty good, nothing too exciting. If I had to complain about something it would be that the bun was soggy on the bottom. That may have been my fault for choosing to eat the chowder first and the burger second. The fries were crispy and tasty. Kudos to the waiter that asked if we wanted any dipping sauce for the fries, that should be protocol at all restaurants. 

Overall I would recommend the Firehouse. It's a good place to go for a nice dinner, especially if you want to be close to the nightlife in PB.

Extra notes about this restaurant. Parking in Pacific Beach is horrendous but Firehouse has complimentary valet. There is an automatic 18% gratuity on parties of 6 or more and there is also a $3 charge to split the check. 

Stepping Stone Cafe: Portland, Oregon

Our family first visited Stepping Stone Cafe last year. My cousin saw it on an episode of Man vs. Food and suggested that we visit because it is relatively close to my parents' house. I was intrigued by the "B.A. Omelette" and ordered it on my first visit. It was really good, as was the rest of the family's food. Whenever I visit home I always request that we go back to Stepping Stone.

This particular visit we went on a Friday morning. The restaurant was full but we were fortunate to come in right as another group was getting up to leave. There are all sorts of little eclectic items in the restaurant. A Charlie Sheen poster, tiny figurines above the door, etc. It all makes for an interesting environment.

Pictures above is the chicken fried steak breakfast platter. It comes with eggs (cooked to your liking), toast (wheat, white, sourdough) and potatoes. The chicken fried steak is really good. This is the same chicken fried steak that is contained within the "B.A. Omelette." If I had to come up with a complaint about this meal it would be that there is almost too much food. I was feeling like I had eaten enough when I cleaned my plate and hadn't even begun eating the Mancakes yet.

These are what Stepping Stone Cafe calls "Mancakes." I would assume this is short for Manly Pancakes because these things are huge. The small sliver cut out of the stack of three is what mom decided she wanted. My brother, father and I finished the rest of them. The pancakes taste great. They're cooked to perfection, no goo in the middle, no burn on the outside. Personally I like to drown my pancakes in maple syrup. If you want to feel full after breakfast just eat one of these. If you want to be rolled out of the restaurant after your meal, eat all three.

I'm ashamed to admit that the three men in our family couldn't finish what was left of the stack after mom took her sliver. About half of a pancake was left and brought home to our dogs. They also enjoyed them thoroughly.

Stepping Stone Cafe

2390 NW Quimby

Portland, OR 97210

The Coachmen: Battle Ground, Washington

Battle Ground Village is a new development just outside downtown of Battle Ground, Washington. The area seems to be Battle Ground's attempt to modernize the area and make it more attractive to younger residents. The Coachmen is a relatively new restaurant in Battle Ground Village. My mother suggested that we dine there for lunch and I agreed that it would be good to try something new (new things don't come around often in Clark County).

The restaurant is relatively small. There may be seating for about 20 guests inside and there is additional seating outside if the weather is decent. There were only three other guests in the restaurant when we arrived around noon, pretty bleak for a lunch hour.

Although Battle Ground Village is a relatively new area there is high turnover. The rent in the new buildings is probably too high for the low amount of traffic in the area. This makes it hard for restaurants to stay afloat. I hope that The Coachmen is an exception to this phenomenon because the food was really good.

The menu was relatively simple. They had appetizers, soups and salads, chicken burgers and hamburgers. I appreciated this approach because they took the time to make their few items well instead of serving up a variety of mediocrity.

The empty tray you see was filled with pita bread, sliced cucumbers, those tiny tomatoes and had hummus in the cup in the middle. This was a well presented appetizer. I was impressed with the freshness of the vegetables and the quality of the hummus. Definitely would recommend this if you're in the market for an appetizer.

Next came the meat and potatoes (quite literally) of the meal. I had a Jalapeno Burger which was delicious. They use 100% Angus beef patties. The menu said they were half pound patties but the burger seemed larger than many others that claim to be a half pound. The bun was fluffy, the onion rings were cooked just right and they used fresh cut jalapenos! FRESH CUT JALAPENOS! I hadn't ever had those on a burger before, I've only had the lesser-quality pickled jalapenos that appear on most restaurant burgers. The tomato slice was juicy and the lettuce was crisp. All the freshness and quality justified the $9.50 price tag on this burger meal.

The other thing pictured is a potato. I'd assume they used an apple peeler and put a potato on it, then stuck a stick through the middle of it. Then they dip the stick in a light batter and deep fry it. What you end up with is something similar to a huge curly fry. The texture of this creation was amazing, the potato was soft inside but the outside was crispy. It was the best of both worlds when it comes to fries. They also gave us a side of their custom cucumber-ranch dressing to dip them. The cucumber-ranch, like everything else served, was very well done. It had a great flavor and texture.

Overall, if you want a great burger and you're in Clark County you need to go to The Coachmen. This place is way better than Red Robin's "gourmet burgers" and any other place I've been to in the area. If you know of a better place I'd love to know because this is the best place around here.

The Coachmen

1417 SE Rasmussen Boulevard, #130

Battle Ground, WA 98604

Smokin Mo's Barbecue: Chico, CA

Oh barbecue, how I had missed you. We were last together during winter break. I dreamed of the day when we would finally reunite. After our last encounter I knew you needed your space, needed some time to recharge the batteries. I dreamed of you, thinking of you made my mouth water.

Who knew that we would be brought together in Chico, California? Only someone with divine power could have predicted such a thing. Ultimately though, it happened.

Smokin Mo's in downtown Chico is a quaint little restaurant in downtown Chico. Luckily this was the recommendation of choice on Sunday afternoon. After spending 9.5 hours in a car we all needed to refuel. What better way than with rib-sampler-protein-overload?

The rib sampler consisted of three different sets of ribs, each with a different sauce. I believe the total was about one full rack but I could be mistaken. There were also four sides included in the meal; cornbread, coleslaw, potato salad and baked beans (which were more like a thick chili).

The quality of the ribs was pretty good. They definitely were cooked by people that are well versed in barbecue. There was no meat falling off of these bones, instead it was cooked for high flavor and chewiness. That may not sound appealing to some of you, but this is how ribs are supposed to be when cooked correctly.

The sauces were the most disappointing part of the experience. The regular sauce was very plain with no excitement. The sweet sauce was also fairly bland. The shining star of the three was their mustard based sauce. This sauce took the experience from mediocre to good for me.

Overall, I had a good experience at Smokin Mo's. If you happen to be rolling through downtown Chico and have a hankering for barbecue this is a good place to stop.

Smokin Mo's Barbecue

131 Broadway Street

Chico, CA 95928-5317