Alcatraz!!!

WooHoo! Another food review! Yay!!! Ugh...OK, this is like the 3rd straight review. It feels like it's been a while since I've made anything for the blog. Don't worry, your boy here will get his big ass back in the kitchen soon enough. For right now, enjoy this little tidbit from my latest excursion to the Alcatraz Brewing Co. located at The Outlets at Orange. F.Y.I.: The Block is now The Outlets. Doesn't have quite the same ring to it.

The reason I went to this restaurant in the first place was because I was looking for one meal in specific: Fish and Chips. As much as I love beer battered fish, I rarely order it and never make it. There can be a lot of pit falls when it comes to the English classic. If you don't fry it right, it will be a big grease ball. A lot of places just don't give you that much to begin with. If you make it at home, you got a big pot of oil you gotta deal with. And the worst scenario you might have to deal with is getting served bad fish, which has happened to me.

All the cons aside, when done right, fish and chips make a great meal. I had a taste for it, and knew this place had some decent seafood dishes on their menu. Plus, they make their own beer there. I'm always up for a good beer.  :-)

When I got there, I grabbed their menu and first checked out the beer section. They had a few limited-time-only brews and decided to go with one of those. The Strawberry Wheat Ale is the one I went with. I had never had fruity beer before, but this one was very good. I didn't know how strong the berry taste was gonna be, but you get just a hint as the opening taste. It finished really clean. Not too hoppy. Good, refreshing beer. If you know someone that isn't too crazy about beer, have them taste this one. It might change their mind.

Before I got down with the deep fried cod, I ordered a cup of clam chowder.

I liked it, but I thought the overall taste wasn't as rich as it could have been. I liked that there were big chunks of clam in there. But it seemed like it was missing that one little thing to really seal the deal. Not bad, though.

Now for the main course.

Not a bad lookin' plate. Two perfectly cooked pieces of fish. Well cooked french fries..excuse me, CHIPS. House made coleslaw and tartar sauce. Not too shabby. Except for one little thing. This plate cost me $15. I'm not a total cheap bastard and $15 bucks isn't going to break me. But most places will give you this same fare for around $10. For as much as I paid, I was expecting 2 monster pieces of fish. The fish tasted great, no problems there. But don't try and stuff me on fries when I'm really paying for FISH!!!

The slaw and tartar sauce were just average, nothing too crazy there.

Yeah, I won't be ordering that again at Alcatraz. I'll probably be back for happy hour though. Care to join me?


J. Miller