The Crow Bar- Corona del Mar, CA

Overall Rating:4.3

He said: 4.25. This place was buzzing when we showed up - no room at the bar and people were patiently waiting outside in the cold for their table to become available. As we made our way through the upper-level to the downstairs dining room I saw all sorts of food that indicated a wise decision on our part. Aggressive price structure but suppose it was warranted.

She said: 4.5. I'd definitely go back. The ambiance was fun and young, and the food was AWESOME. The menu offers a wide variety for all types of eaters. I have zero complaints. Prices are what you'll find at your average gastropub.

Price: $$-$$$

Ambiance: Upstairs- loud, bar-like, young 20's-30's crowd. Downstairs- quieter, smaller, nice.

Good for: Younger crowd, groups, dates, dinner with mom and dad, after-work drink.

Would we go again?: Heck yes

Date visited: 3/5/2011 (Friday night)

Special notes: Make a reservation, as it gets pretty packed. Downstairs is quieter and a little more romantic, upstairs is loud and bar-like, so choose your table based on who you're going with/who you're trying to go home with.

Restaurant website: http://www.crowbarcdm.com/index2.html

Draanks:

Being that it's a Gastropub, CB has a wide variety of beers. Knowing little to nothing about beer, I flailed my fingers around the extensive beer menu and chose the Russian River IPA and a Delirium Tremens. Mine weren't what I normally look for in a beer (I'm a Blue Moon/Stella/Coors kinda gal), but boy were they strong, so I have no complaints {she choose primarily based on alcohol content - no joke}. K chose a bottle of Whistler Imperial Pilsner followed by a Victory Golden Monkey ale.This would be a good place to ask for recommendations as to which beers went with which meals.

Food

- Appetizer: Grilled dates with chorizo and laura chenel goat cheese filling topped with a port syrup (5/5).  We've ordered stuffed dates at many places, and we will definitely be ordering them from here again. They were perfect. The only problem was that we didn't order more of them.{/they should have given us twice as many for the price but whatevs}

- Chariese's order: Flatbread of the day- Burrata, arugula, pesto and tomatoes (4/5). I ordered this as soon as the waitress said that there was burrata cheese involved, as I am burrata's #1 fan (go fight win). I loved this; it was light and tasty, and exactly what I was looking for. Kevin's burger was definitely better, but being that I don't soberly normally order a whole burger for myself (that's what boyfriend's are for, picking off of their plate), I was happy with my order. You HAVE to order the duck fat fries though. OMGZ.

- Kevin's order: The Crow 'Black Label' Burger with duck fat fries and truffle aoili. This shit was fuckin' delicious. I've eaten my fair share of burgers but this was definitely in the top 1% of my experience. I like my meats rare and this burger was prepared PERFECTLY - conservatively juicy (not messy) light dressings on a Potato bun toasted to the point of optimum juice absorption. The burger was allowed to "speak" for itself with a minimum in ketchup/mustard/mayo/etc - carmelized onions were the only discernible condiments. The duck fat fries rocked my world and I don't even know what an aoili is. THE END.

Will sell bodies for duck fat fries.

I'd like to take a moment of silence for my lost diamond hoop earring, last seen in the picture above. RIP.

Haven Gastropub - Orange, CA

Overall rating: 3.2

He said: (generous) 3- The definition of a conflict of interest; on the one hand my black truffle-infused mac & cheese  was delicious (rich cheesiness married to hearty macaroni in oven-baked perfection) and selection of imported brews was awesome. Reese's brussel sprouts were outstanding (although I would have never thought to order them myself) and I happily cleaned up her leftovers. There was no problem with the food BUT...

A less-than educated remark from our ignorant waiter ("you been drinkin' tonight fella?" [no]) and another requisite that Reese's 14 year-old sister (Ally) wake-up from her napping on her older sister's shoulder ("it's not good for appearances") put a sour taste in my mouth that ruined the experience. I will not recommend a return visit to this otherwise yummy destination.

She Said: 3.5- As Kevin said, the service was awful the last time that we went, but giving them the benefit of the doubt, the other times that I've been there, it has been fine. I actually really like Haven (despite this experience), and will most likely go back. Their food has always been bomb, and their beer selection, even better (although drinks can get pricey). I've had their brussels sprouts (see review below), their mac n cheese (a must-have), truffle fries (bomb), flatbread (meh), and a few different wines and beers (the strawberry one is so delish). I'll most likely be back, especially since it's in my favorite place, Old Town Orange.

Price: $$

Ambiance: College crowd (located down the street from Chapman University), bar crowd at night, on the outskirts of the Orange Circle.

Good for: Wide beer selection

Date visited: January 2011 (Saturday night)

Notes: It gets super packed here, so you may be waiting a while- get a drink at the bar while you wait. Kitchen is open pretty late.

Would we go again?: If our meal was getting paid for by someone we don't especially appreciate - maybe

Restaurant Website: http://www.havengastropub.com/

Chariese's order: Brussels sprouts with prosciutto and lemon juice. I am a huge sprouts fan, and this one was no exception. It was delicious. I'll admit that the mac n cheese is better, but I don't even want to know it's caloric content...so I'll continue making suggesting that people that I go with to the Haven order the mac n cheese so that I can pick off of their plate and not feel guilty indulging in one of my own.

Kevin's order: Mac n' Cheese- black truffles, gruyere, fontina, parmesa. Don't know if I would have included these ingredients in my own home-made concoctions but this shit was fuckin' delicious (excuse my French but it's quite necessary considering there was ZERO meat in this meal).

Don't let these smiles fool you, we were straight mean-muggin' that rude waiter.

We forgot to take pics this last night that we went, but all photos are courtesy of Yelp. 'cept for that dashing glamour shot of us. That's from fordmodels.com (jk).