Saddle Ranch Chop House

Name: Saddle Ranch Chop House
Address: 4321 N. Scottsdale Rd, Scottsdale, AZ 85251
Phone: (480) 429-2263
Web site: SRRestaurants.com
Date & Time visited: Wednesday, December 31, 2008, 3:00 PM
Guests: Jennifer and me
What we had: Buffalo chicken wrap (me), Ranch House club sandwich (Jen). My wrap was stuffed full of tasty chicken with a spicy buffalo sauce, with shredded lettuce and blue cheese. Really good. I didn't try Jennifer's sandwich (bacon) but she assures me it was also quite good.

Service: Very good, though water refills lagged just a bit. Music was rather loud.

Would we go back: If we're in the area again, or if we're near one of their other locations, sure.

CeZar's at Hotel Scottsdale

Name: CeZar's at Hotel Scottsdale
Address: 5101 N. Scottsdale Rd, Scottsdale, AZ 85250
Phone: (480) 945-4392
Web site: CeZarsRestaurante.com
Date & Time visited: Tuesday, December 30, 2008, 9:30 PM
Guests: Jennifer and me
What we had: Seafood bisque (me), smoked salmon tostada (Jen), Dungeness and blue lump crab cake (me). I had also ordered a Valencia pizza, but see below. We shared all three dishes, which were on the Tapas menu but served as a light dinner for two. The bisque was creamy and flavorful with a bit of heat, the smoked salmon tostada had plenty of salmon and a crunchy tortilla, and the crab cake was perfectly made with just enough breading but not too much.

Service: Inconsistent. Seated immediately, took quite a while to place orders. Drinks came quickly, food took a long time. The Valencia pizza actually never made it out; the server came up apologizing left and right that it had been forgotten in the oven and burned, and they would start a new one for me. As it happened, we were both pretty full from the three other items so I told him to just forget it. That would have been the end of it except he kept apologizing, over and over and over. And over. Got pretty tiresome towards the end of the meal.

Would we go back: If we're staying at the Hotel Scottsdale again, which is fairly unlikely, yes. We did go back for breakfast the next two mornings.

Cafe Orleans

Name: Cafe Orleans
Address: New Orleans Square, Disneyland Resort, Anaheim, California
Phone: (714) 781-DINE
Web site: (on Disneyland Resort site)
Date & Time visited: Monday, December 29, 2009, 8:25 PM
Guests: Jennifer and me

What we had: French onion soup (Jen), pommes frite (me), Monte Cristo (Jen), ratatouille (me).

I couldn't try either of Jen's dishes (French onion soup has beef stock, the Monte Cristo has ham) but she assured me they were good, especially the soup on a rather chilly night. The pommes frites are essentially garlic fries, but they're well-executed. I'd never tried ratatouille but was feeling adventurous. What do you know--ratatouille is essentially just "chunky tomato sauce". It would go very well on a bowl of spaghetti. I enjoyed it quite a bit.

Service: Not great but not too bad. Bussers gave us more attention than the server did.

Would we go back: Yes, and next time remember to show my AP for a discount, which I completely forgot this time.

Mint Julep Bar (Disneyland)

Name: Mint Julep Bar (Disneyland)
Address: New Orleans Square, Disneyland Resort, Anaheim, CA
Phone: (714) 781-DINE
Web site: (on Disneyland Resort site)
Date & Time visited: Monday, December 29, 2008, 2:55 PM
Guests: Jennifer and me

What we had: Eggnog latte (Jen), double iced latte (me).

Normally I wouldn't review a coffee bar where we didn't actually get any food, but this was a special case. After a bit of a wait (solely due to the guest ahead of us in line) we made it to the counter and talked to Cast Member Clydean, who was just terrific. So friendly and cheerful, even at a place where friendly-and-cheerful is the rule rather than the exception. Our drinks were perfect and hit the spot.

Service: Fabulous.

Would we go back: Yes.

California Grill (Hyatt Regency Orange County)

Name: California Grill (Hyatt Regency Orange County)
Address: 11999 Harbor Blvd, Garden Grove, CA 92840
Phone: (714) 740-6047
Web site: OrangeCounty.Hyatt.com
Date & Time visited: Monday, December 29, 2008, 10:30 AM
Guests: Jennifer and me
What we had: Eggs Benedict (Jen), smoked salmon w/bagel & cream cheese (me).

This is the lobby restaurant of our favorite Anaheim-area hotel. Breakfast is a bit pricey but of generally good quality. Jen enjoyed her eggs Benedict. My bagel was toasted properly and the salmon was fresh; it was served with a small mixed green salad that provided a good counterpoint to the salmon and cream cheese.

Service: Good if not great. Drink refills (orange juice for Jen, cranberry juice and coffee for me) were a bit slow in coming.

Would we go back: Yes, when we stay at this hotel.

Claim Jumper

Name: Claim Jumper
Address: 2250 E. 17th St, Santa Ana, CA 92705
Phone: (714) 836-6658
Web site: ClaimJumper.com
Date & Time visited: Sunday, December 28, 2008, 7:00 pm
Guests: Kevin & Adrienne, Jennifer & me

What we had: (in no particular order because it was a month ago) Mai Kinda Tai, Ultimate Pepper Mary, Ultimate Mazatlan Martini, Tropic Storm (drinks), fried cheese appetizer, prosciutto flatbread appetizer, chicken citrus salad, honey chicken brie sandwich, frisco cheeseburger, small fish & chips (my entree), lemon amaretto brulee, cinnamon caramel flan, red velvet cupcake (my dessert).

I don't like cutting these reviews short but since I've procrastinated for so long, I can't remember too many details of the meal. With that, I do recall my fish & chips being good if not great--the batter was a bit greasy and thicker than usual. My dessert, the red velvet cupcake, was delicious. Everyone else enjoyed their drinks, entrees and desserts to the best of my memory.

Service: Not exactly prompt but the place was very busy. We eventually got everything we'd ordered. Drink refills were reasonably prompt. Servers were very friendly.

Would we go back: Unlikely to this particular location as it was a mid-point meetup, but likely to one or another of the chain's locations.