Restaurant Review: Mustard Cafe

Here's the second installment of Restaurant Reviews.

Mustard Cafe - 5/21/2007

This was my second visit to Mustard Cafe in Foothill Ranch. Clearly, that's a good sign. This restaurant qualifies as somewhere slightly above the "high end fast food" category, being a chic, tasty, and relatively expensive experience. The kind of place where Sales & Marketing folks, Stockbrokers, and well-to-do Soccer Moms go for a quick lunch (a la the deli at Bristol Farms).

It turns out that Mustard Cafe is a franchise operation, with four locations in Orange County. The ambiance is welcoming. The decor includes, of course, a pleasant mustard-yellow shade of paint with complimenting black wood furniture, and wood floors. It has a definite French deli feel to it. Bottles of wine grace one wall, and the front counter includes an impossible-to-miss dessert case with delicious-looking treats within. And they proudly serve Illy coffee--perhaps the best brand-name coffee in the world.

Just like any other deli, you stand in line and place your order at the counter. The associates are dressed smartly in white dress shirts and are eager to take your order. Seating is limited, and both days I visited the place was packed, with a line out the door. Fortunately, there is ample seating to be found outside in the nearby patio if all the tables inside are taken.

When your order is ready, someone will come around, calling your name. This is a bit tricky, however, because if you don't hear her, or if you're sitting outside, she will miss you. It takes a good 10-15 minutes for them to prepare your food, so you'd better hit Del Taco if you're in a rush.

The cuisine is also typical of a French cafe, featuring numerous creative sandwiches with Boarshead deli meats, delicious salads, soups, beer and wine--and there's even a kids' menu. They also have an appealing breakfast menu.

As already indicated, prices are a bit steep for casual lunch fare. On my first visit, I ordered the half sandwich/salad combo and no drink for $8.03 (incl. tax). My salad was a Caesar with nice green romaine, a spicy-mustard Caesar dressing, and topped with croutons and lots of sliced fresh Parmesan cheese. My sandwich was a custom-ordered black forest ham on ciabatta bread. Both were quite good. On my second visit, I ordered the half sandwich/soup combo and a small Illy coffee for $9.81. The soup was cilantro-rice and the sandwich was peppercorn turkey on a baguette. The soup was mediocre; it could have been improved with the addition of chicken and other vegetables. The sandwich was good, and although the coffee was good (as expected) it was not hot enough nor dark enough (typical of the American way of making coffee--pfft!).

I will go back to try Mustard Cafe again, although it will probably be some time because the price is just beyond the amount I'm willing to spend on a work-day lunch. Following is my rating (on a scale of 1-5, 5 being best):

Atmosphere (decor, comfort, and cleanliness): 4.5
Service (promptness, attitude): 4.0
Price: 3.0
Food (presentation and taste): 4.5
Overall (average of the above categories): 4.0

Recommendation? Check it out. (But not if you're in a rush or on a budget.)

Presidential Administrations Matter

Here's some confirmation from the dark side of society. It's an excerpt from an interview today with Jenna Jameson, who is considered, according to the article, "the world's most famous porn star."

PR.com: "Do you find that the climate of the adult industry changes when there is a Republican administration versus Democratic?"

Jenna Jameson: "Absolutely. The Clinton administration was the best years for the adult industry and I wish that Clinton would run again. I would love to have him back in office. I would love to have Al Gore in office. When Republicans are in office, the problem is, a lot of times they try to put their crosshairs on the adult industry, to make a point. It's sad, when there are so many different things that are going on in the world: war, and people are dying of genocide...I look forward to another Democrat being in office. It just makes the climate so much better for us, and I know that once all our troops come home, things are going to be better and I think that getting Bush out of office is the most important thing right now."

Oh and, by the way, Ms. Jameson supports Hillary Clinton for President in 2008.

(source: justhillary.com)