Surf, Turf and Brews at Taps Fish House & Brewery in Brea

My wife and I discovered Taps Fish House & Brewery about 10 years ago and have been fans of the place ever since.  They serve delicious seafood and steaks, they brew their own beer, the dining room is upscale enough for a proper "date night" yet the bar and outside patio areas are casual enough to keep the place from being too stuffy and they offer one hell of a Sunday brunch.

We've been through most of their menu over the years.  Their drunken mahi mahi is one of my faves, but on our most recent dinner at Taps I decided to go with their seafood stuffed jumbo prawns.  The shrimp are butterflied and stuffed with a mix of crab, scallops and more shrimp then served with swiss chard topped with au gratin potatoes and surrounded by lobster Thermidor sauce.  This might be my new favorite dish at Taps.

My wife went with one of their dialy specials, a surf 'n turf combo of steak and pan seared jumbo Maine sea scallops.  The scallops and steak are on Taps' regular dinner menu as separate items, but that night they happened to offer them together.  The steak was fine, but not mind-blowing.  This dish was all about the scallops.  Meaty, tender and delicious, they were definitely winners.

Taps has three locations, the Brea restaurant we regularly visit, one in Corona and a third restaurant named The Catch near Angel Stadium in Anaheim.  Their beers are excellent and expect to pay $20-25 per entree.  Sunday brunch on holidays such as Mother's Day are usually crazy-packed, so make sure you place reservations far in advance for those days.  Weeknights and during lunchtime you can simply walk in and be seated, but I'd recommend reservations for Friday or Saturday dinners.

Cheers!
Druu

Ahi Burger & Strawberry Lemonade at Hollywood's Kitchen 24

Hollywood diner Kitchen 24 has a cool vibe, good food and a great location for getting some post Hollywood bar-hopping grub.  Find them at 1608 N. Cahuenga, just south of Hollywood Blvd.

Ahi tuna burger with a spiced up French potato salad. The burger's a little messy, but yummy.

The potato salad has a little kick.  $12.95

Strawberry lemonade - K24's home-made lemonade with

muddled strawberries and Absolut Citron vodka. Happy, fruity

and not too strong.  $12.00

BITE ME! the MAN Cooking Show - Seared Ahi Tuna with Mixed Greens and Wasabi Vinaigrette

Let's start things off with our latest episode of BITE ME! the MAN Cooking Show.  Josh demonstrates how to make seared ahi paired with mixed greens and a wasabi vinaigrette.  Here's the recipe.


Seared Ahi

2 slabs of ahi (or yellowfin) tuna, about 3" x 3" or so each
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons black sesame seeds
salt and pepper

Heat an oiled pan or griddle on high. Coat both sides of the ahi pieces first with oil, then with salt, pepper and black sesame seeds. Once the pan has heated up, place one of the ahi pieces on the pan. You should hear it sizzling. (If not, remove it from the pan and wait until the pan is hotter.) Cook for about 2 minutes, or until you see a thin stripe of white on the side you are cooking. Flip it over and repeat on the other side. Once both sides are cooked, stand the ahi up on it's side and cook the two ends. Remove from the heat and repeat for the second piece of ahi.

Slice each ahi piece into 1/3" strips. Make sure you slice in the direction that gives you strips that are cooked on the ouside but raw on the inside. Arrange the slices on a plate like a fan, leaving some room for your salad.



Mixed Greens Salad with Wasabi Vinaigrette

Mixed greens salad mix
1 tablespoon honey
1/8 cup rice wine vinegar
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup sesame oil
1 teaspoon of wasabi (or to taste)
1 tablespoon of cilantro leaves

Mix the honey, vinegar and oils in a small bowl or measuring cup. Add wasabi to your preferred heat level. You can find wasabi in paste or powdered form, and it may come in different strengths. We used wasabi paste packaged in a tube for the video. Chop up a few cilantro leaves (no stems) so that you have about a tablespoon of chopped cilantro, then mix it into the vinaigrette.

Arrange some of the mixed green salad on the plate next to the fan of seared ahi. Top the salad with the vinaigrette.