Tag: Anaheim

There are House of Blues in many major cities in the US. I recently went to one location in Anaheim, California not far from Disneyland.

As soon as I walked in I noticed this beautiful decorated column. It was covered in different beads and it blew me away.

     

Since I was there for an event they had a few food stations set up around the restaurant. The food choices were different dishes off their main menu.

They had this amazing jalapeno cheese cornbread. The cornbread itself was moist and the cheese added saltiness. The jalapenos (which were chopped up) added a slight amount of heat. The heat was subdued when I spread the creamy honey butter on top. The butter was so sweet that it almost made the cornbread a dessert.

They served some fantastic street tacos. They used fresh flour tortillas and loaded them up with chopped smoked chicken. Then they drizzled BBQ sauce across the top. They loaded up the taco with fresh pico de gallo, crispy shredded cabbage, and sour cream. The chicken was very tender and the BBQ sauce blended well with the sour cream. The tacos were very addicting.

The other fun part of the event was the mashed potato bar. They made really creamy mashed potatoes and served them in a martini glass. I had creamy queso poured over the potatoes. On top they added BBQ pulled pork. This added a sweet and smoky taste.

Then shredded cheese, fresh chopped tomatoes, and crispy bacon all covered the top of the pork. I loved that I was able to customize this to my liking. The cheese went really well with the BBQ which I normally do not see. The bacon added great crunch and the tomatoes added a hint of freshness.

Although I was there for an event, they really went all out on the food. The cornbread and the street tacos are on their regular menu so I would encourage everyone to try them. Check out their website at www.houseofblues.com

     

Also check and see when they have entertainment. It will make your visit even more fun.

Enjoy!

T

Sometimes when I am traveling I do not get a chance to leave the hotel that I am staying at. In most cases the hotels have wonderful restaurants that I can try. MIX was one of those restaurants found inside the Hilton Anaheim in Anaheim, California.

     

Since it was just me having dinner they were able to seat me right away. I had a wonderful waitress, who was very attentive. She actually hung around and had a conversation with me about different things to see and do in Anaheim.

To quench my thirst I ordered an Arnold Palmer. For people who are not familiar with this drink it is a blend of ice tea and lemonade and it is named after one of the most famous golfers. I had never seen one made like this. They were able to get it layered perfectly.

I started off with the French onion soup. It had been a really long time since I have had a bowl. When my waitress brought out the bowl with the melted blanket of gruyere cheese on top, I could not wait to dive in.

Underneath all that cheese were sautéed onions that were caramelized to perfection. They were tender and sweet, which complemented the saltiness of the broth. Mixed with the onions were croutons that soaked up additional flavor from the broth and the cheese. The soup base was a blend of veal and chicken broth and topped odd with an accent of sherry.

For my main dish I ordered the Halibut. It was the chef’s special for the evening and it sounded delicious. The Halibut was extremely flaky and the skin was crispy around the edges.  The fish sat on top of tender couscous. I could taste accents of saffron throughout.

Also on top of the couscous was fresh broccolini and carrots.  The carrots were tender and still a little crispy. The broccolini was salty and buttery that made the leafy flowers very tasty.

The meal was the perfect end to the day. The food was good and the perfect serving size. It was nice to not feel overly stuffed at the end. If you are in the area of the Hilton Anaheim you should check out MIX.

www.hiltonhotels.com/Anaheim

Enjoy!

T