Morton’s - Woodland Hills - Get's a Second Chance

A little over a week ago, I posted about the recent experience that Ashley and I had at Morton's The Steakhouse in Woodland Hills, CA. Just for a refresher, we had a good eating experience at Morton's in Woodland Hills, but the pre-sitting atmosphere and lack of attention by the staff almost made us walk out.

Not only did I write a post about it, but I also copied my post into the comments section of the Morton's website. Just a few days later I was contacted by a regional manager.

The regional manager for Morton's apologized for the experience that we had and also let me know why things were a little out of the ordinary on that particular evening. Apparently on the evening of our Anniversary, Arnie Morton's -- The Steakhouse in Woodland Hills was having a caviar and vodka event for 40 of their top customers. Those top customers were requiring a lot attention from the staff on this particular evening.

However, the regional manager was quick to mention that regardless of the event, there should have been either plenty of staff or the staff should not let their focus shift from the guests that were eating at the restaurant that evening. He apologized for that experienced and shared how he was making sure that did not happen again. He was glad that our experience once we were seated in the restaurant was excellent.

In the end, he mentioned he was grateful for our comments as few people truly do comment -- the simply do not return. And, had he not reached out to us, the likelihood of us returning was zero to none. He also offered if we would consider returning to send us a gift certificate so we could try it on them.

Of course I could not pass that up, so we will return in a few weeks and see how different the experience is.

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Morton’s The Steakhouse - Woodland Hills - Mediocre at Best

A couple of weeks ago Ashley and I visited Arnie Morton’s Steakhouse in Woodland Hills, California for our wedding anniversary. This particular Morton’s location is relatively new and we welcomed a location that was much closer to us than the Beverly Hills location. I made our reservations a few weeks in advance and was excited to try it out – expecting great things.


Arriving at the Warner Center / Woodland Hills location both parking and valet are available. However, the entrance is through a little tunnel that is tough to spot if you have not been to this Morton’s Steakhouse location before. We wandered in a few minutes early and was greeted by the hostess at the front desk.

After a quaint greeting is when things went downhill quickly. We proceeded to wait the next 20 minutes or watched a few things transpire that should never happen at a restaurant, let alone any high-end steakhouse like Morton’s.

First, the hostess decided to go talk to a patron at the bar for about fifteen minutes leaving the front desk completely unattended. Numerous couples and parties came in only to crowd around without being greeted or checking into the restaurant. For some reason this hostess was either oblivious or did not care about the customers that were coming into the restaurant.

Even worse, several managers, what appeared to be the general manager and other staff came to the front to either check the computer, grab menus or answer the phone but did not help any of the customers. As you can imagine, the conversations we had with out frustrated patrons. It even got to the point where we were giving directions to a couple of customers looking for the patio or other areas – we also considered walking out.

But we did not. Finally, after about 15 minutes, the hostess returned to the front desk at Morton’s and we were seated a couple minutes later. From there, with the customized menu for our event, the night really picked up – but remained tarnished from the front desk and bar experience we just had.

The atmosphere is very similar to other Morton Steakhouses, albeit a little more modern in décor and a little brighter lighting wise. Our server was excellent and we really enjoy the visual menu presentation accompanied by the live lobster – ours was quite active. We made our selections, enjoying a variety of filet mignon, rib eye, green beans, and garlic mashed potatoes. We even selected the raspberry soufflé, which takes 30 minutes to prepare – and is always excellent.

Overall, the food was excellent, our steaks were prepared as expected, and our table service was good. Still, I have to give this Arnie Morton’s location mediocre rating in my book. When you go to a nice steakhouse like Morton’s, you expect that the service end-to-end is of high quality – and when you experience what we did in the first 20 minutes, it really takes away from that experience.

Our advice? If you are looking for a high-end steakhouse to enjoy a great evening out, we would recommend several others far above Morton’s in the Woodland Hills Warner Center area. For instance, our favorite by far is Mastro’s in Thousand Oaks, followed by Ruth’s Chris in Woodland Hills. With Flemmings now being located in that same area, we will be sure to try that before even considering a return to Morton’s.

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Holdren's Steak & Seafood in Newbury Park / Thousand Oaks

Ashley and I had the opportunity grab dinner at one of Newbury Park's newest eateries, Holdren's Steak & Seafood -- a steakhouse, that started in Santa Barbara and is now open in Newbury Park (Thousand Oaks). The main reason for this post is that on a few Google searches I could not find either the address or more importantly the phone number to make reservations.

So, first and foremost -- here are the details:

Holdren's Steak and Seafood
Phone Number: (805) 498-1314
Address: 1714-A Newbury Road, Newbury Park / Thousand Oaks (next to the new Marriott Courtyard)

This was a second attempt to try the Holdren's steakhouse. Our first attempt, the previous Friday was rebuffed since we did not have reservations when we showed up around 7:00pm.

The next Friday, we made sure to have reservations for 6:30pm. It is a warm, lively atmosphere although inside it is relatively small, with seating for approximately 70 people in addition to the bar. A good wine and beer selection including some of my favorites (Stella Artois & Amstel Light on tap).

The food and price was a pretty good value. For ~$28 you get a filet steak, dinner salad, and choice of potato. Similar steakhouses you might be lucky to get just your steak for that. Preparation for most steaks is a standard char-grilled and we also split a side of macaroni and cheese just to try, and it was pretty good. We had quite an enjoyable meal and also had the creme brulee for dessert.

While we will definitely visit again, you should just be aware of what to expect. If you expecting a high-end gourmet steakhouse like Morton's, Ruth Chris' or Mastros then you will be disappointed. If you looking for something with a good char-grilled steak, excellent value that is better than your local Stuart Andersons or Hungry Hunter, then you will have a great time at Holdren's Steak & Seafood -- we did!

Other names: Holden, holden, holdren

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Senor Frogs in Cancun, Worth the Wait

Today is our last day in Cancun, with our flight leaving for Los Angeles out at around 6:00pm in the evening. We planned to spend the day relaxing, packing, and finally heading down to Senor Frogs for lunch. Luckily, while the Hilton Cancun does not have hospitality rooms, they were very generous in giving us a late checkout time of 2:30pm, the time we needed to head to the airport.

So, around 11:00am we caught a bus down to Senor Frogs. Once arriving, we noted that Senor Frogs did not open until noon which left us in a little bit of a predicament. Should we wait the 45 minutes to visit Senor Frogs or should we find another place to eat?



Given the popularity and visibility to Senor Frogs in Cancun, we decided to wait it out. After killing some more time at the Plaza de Fiesta Mexican outlet – and consequently buying a few more things – we headed back to Senor Frogs.

Just opening, we headed in and grabbed a seat. We ended up with a nice corner table on the lagoon, but my back was to the main part of Senor Frogs. Although I knew that they would attempt to surprise and scare you, I was caught off-guard when our waiter grabbed me from behind and blew his whistle. I just about jumped out of my seat. Just part of the fun at Senor Frogs. As somewhat of a comedy, both of the cokes we ordered were served in the Dos Equis Yard glasses used for beer – a nice touch.

In terms of the meal, it was much better than I might have expected. We ordered some guacamole to start with and they did not skimp. A traditional mortar bowl used for grinding corn meal was completely filled with a generous amount guacamole. Way more than could fit on the chips, so they kept them coming. (On a side note, Senor Frogs had the best chips we ate all week. Not sure if it was the time of day and they were just freshly made, but several other places did not have the same quality we are used to back in Southern California.)

For our meal, we both ordered a Beef Taco Salad which was impressive and tasty. With an oversized flour shell in the shape of a taco, it was filled with lettuce, steak, cheese, cucumbers, tomato, carrots, and a nice spicy ranch dressing. The meal was very tasty and highly recommended.

While Senor Frogs is generally known to be a party place where “Anything Can Happen”, it is great to know they have great food as well. There is also one opening soon (2 months) in Honolulu, Hawaii. We will make sure to visit it on our next visit there, which seems to be annually these days.

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Checking Out Pat O'Briens in Cancun

After we finished our purchases, we headed to Pat O’Briens via a nice stroll of about a mile down roadside. Once we got there, we were very happy in our choice for the evening. While it was not very crowded, we still had a great time – and it started to really pick up towards the end of our evening.



When at Pat O’Briens, you must have a Hurricane drink that they are famous for. So, I had mine and we ordered a little baby one for Ashley, just so she could try it out. For an appetizer we ordered the Caprese salad with Andouille Sausage. While we generally love the tomato, basil, and mozzarella salads – the added twist of the sausage was a nice addition.

Then for dinner, I ordered the Chicken Cordon Bleu which may have been one of the better meals I have had. I really like Chicken Cordon Bleu to start with and Pat O’Briens had a great twist on it. The main twist was the it was fried and included a marinara and an alfredo/mozzarella sauce to top it all off. Basically, it combined two of my favorite dishes, the Chicken Cordon Bleu and the Chicken Parmigianna – very highly recommended. Ashley had the Blackened Chicken Caesar Salad and it was just what she was looking for as well.



As we were finishing up our desert or Apple Tartan, the real fun began. Throughout the night, the theme at the Pat O’Briens is for the waiters to bring the drinks that are ordered out to you on top of their heads. We even saw a couple of double-deckers. That is when it got a little crazy.

The bartender Fernando did a great triple-decker delivery within the bar that was impressive in itself. Then, however a real show started. Throughout the night, there was a video playing on one of the many screens that was the “World Bartending Championships”. We were not paying much attention to it, but once things were starting up we noticed the person performing on the screen was the same bartender from the video.



As you might imagine, we spent the next 20 minutes mesmerized by all of the juggling, drink making, and tricks that Fernando was performing. If those were not enough, at one point several bottles of liquor were lit as wicks and then juggled as well. All of it was topped off with a finale of Fernando making and pouring six drinks simultaneously. It was a great way to end the evening.

If you’re in Cancun, check out Pat O’Briens. Have you been there before?

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Jimmy Buffet’s Margaritaville in Cancun, Mexico

There are of course, several of these establishments in the United States, including the Las Vegas one where I attended a company event a few months ago. Regardless of that, Jimmy Buffet’s Margaritaville is where we ended up eating dinner this evening. Not necessarily because of any strong desire to spend the evening there, rather because it was the only establishment this evening that had any activity at it.

After taking the R-1 bus down to the Cancun Central area around 8pm tonight, everywhere was pretty much still dead – say maybe a few folks at either Outback Steakhouse or TGI Friday’s restaurant down here. Both a combination of a relatively early hour and the slow season left many a restaurant dead and empty. Senior Frogs, Bubba Gump’s Shrimp, Pat O’Brien’s, and a few others we went by had very few people in them and thus less excitement.

Next to Pat O’Brien’s of course is Jimmy Buffet’s Margaritaville. And while they still had their upper floor closed, the lower floor was full of activity and people. So, after a little contemplation – we ate there. It was a pretty good time at Jimmy Buffet’s. Our food which included some hot wings, a cheeseburger in paradise (but not Cheeseburgers in Paradise), and fajitas made for a good meal plus our waiter was a stand-up guy providing a lot of fun, jokes, and interaction.

Then there is the whole frequent show and performances from the Tiki Performers to a Mexican singer covering Jimmy Buffet songs. It’s fun, loud, and when the rest of Cancun appears to be empty or sleeping – Jimmy Buffet’s Margaritaville still has a lot of activity going on.

Have you been to Jimmy Buffet’s in Cancun, did you have the same good experience?

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Relaxing & Shopping in Cancun, Mexico

Today, rather than taking a day trip to Cozumel, we elected to stay around the Hilton Cancun Beach & Golf Resort. What we have noticed as the week goes on is that earlier and earlier in the morning people are setting out towels around the shaded areas near the pool. Interestingly, the hotel has been less full – but perhaps there are more tourists. What increasingly has been happening is that setting out towels is not enough; rather you must leave some of your personal items on top of them.

It really is not a big deal, other than a few of the folks are setting out towels and other items only not to show up after noon. Meaning that we have seen some families come out to the pool and end up frustrated by this. There should be a reasonable policy about this, but I would imagine this problem is age-long as we had seen it a number of times at the Hilton Hawaiian Village.

Later in the afternoon, we headed into Cancun Center to do a little bit of shopping. We ended up taking the bus, which was very easy and a fraction of the cost of a taxi. For example, a taxi down to Cancun Center may cost you as much as 150 pesos ($14) which a bus ride for two people to the same area is only 13 pesos ($1.10). Our bus was a little crowded by the end, but not unbearable.

Once arriving in Cancun Center, the folks from the open air market or flea market as some people call it are immediately pleading with you to come into their store. Comically, a few of them mention, come see the “junk” in my store which was good for a laugh since it was mostly true. We wandered through a few, but the majority of the items were the same things you can find in Tijuana, Mexico or Rosarito, Mexico. Seriously, who wants Mexican blankets when it is 95 degrees outside and 90% humidity? We found a couple of items we were interested in, but wanted to do a little more research.

Here is a quick tip for those going to Cancun with the desire to shop the flea market. Right across the street is the “Plaza la Fiesta” store that has the majority of the items in the flea market. If you take the bus down to Cancun Center (Centro), then you will get a 10% off coupon with your bus ticket. Find what you want in Plaza la Fiesta, check the price, subtract 10%, and use that as a starting place for bargaining with those in the flea market. What you will find is that their starting price is usually 100%-150% higher than Plaza la Fiesta. Simply mention the price at Plaza la Fiesta and you will be positioned to bargain for a decent price.

Best of all, you will know the price was better than what you would have paid for it in a store – a true bargain. Worst case, if they do not bargain lower – you know you will not be paying more than you should have.

What is your best shopping in Mexico experience? Let me know with a comment below.

After our shopping expedition, it was nearing 9:00pm and we tried one of the “typical” Cancun restaurants, Carlos n Charlie’s restaurant. It is owned by the same folks who own Coco Bongo, right across the street as well as Senior Frogs a little way down the road. A the time we went in Cancun is still pretty dead – given that we are here during the slow season.



Carlos n Charlie’s is a fun place to eat with a mix of fun-loving waiters and entertainment from the occasional song and dance line breaking out to the waiters teasing a few of the patrons of the restaurants. The food is not half bad either.

In the fun part of the evening, we both happened to order tacos to eat. This means you get to wear the famous bibs that say “Esta comiendo. I’m eating tacos.” and an instruction guide that tells you how to eat them. The guide itself has six steps.



1. Hold the taco in four fingers leaving the pinky finger standing.
2. Stick out your butt and bend your torax slightly to the front.
3. With your left hand place a dish under the taco to avoid the dripping.
4. Bite it from an end
5. Bite it from the other end
6. Final bite.

All in all, a Carlos n Charlie’s provides a pretty fun dinner and place to spend a few hours relaxing.



Have you had the Carlos n Charlie’s experience? What did you think?

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Bangalore's Paparazzi - One of the World's 82 Best?

Good question. As we drove through Central Bangalore tonight on our way to the Royal Orchid Central hotel, we ran into an interesting signs, "One of the World's Best 82 restaurants." Seeing that sign and such acclaim, we were looking forward to meeting some family and co-workers at the Paparazzi restaurant located on the 10th floor with an expansive view of the night Bangalore skyline.

In fact, The Hindu had this to say about it:

`Paparazzi' among world's elite restaurants

CHENNAI : `Paparazzi', the global cuisine restaurant owned by the Royal Orchid group, has been selected amongst an elite group of restaurants worldwide by travel magazine Conde Naste Traveller, in recognition of its "great food, outstanding service and sophisticated style." Royal Orchid Hotels is the largest hotel chain in Bangalore. The group plans to add three hotels in Pune.

The sophisticated style of the Paparazzi restaurant is apparent when you walk in. A smallish dining area set with modern furnishing and tableware. However, on this night this is where the good impressions would end.

Our first bad experience was when it was time to order drinks. In terms of Gin, there were 5 different types on there starting with Bombay Sapphire. When someone in our party requested it, we were told they were out. Then the second item on the list, out. Then the third item on the list, out. Finally when it got down to Gordon's Dry Gin, that was available. They passed.

Then it came time for the beer list. I started with a request for Amstel Light, and another person requested Karlsberg. Both were unavailable. Given the experience with the Gin we asked what was available. Kingfisher. Corona. Heineken, but only two of them left. Not a good start for any restaurant, especially one that was supposedly one of the 82 best in the world.

The night went pretty much like the drink order. Fortunately we got by the appetizers without anythings that they were out of, but several things on the dinner menu were out or unavailable. At least we were all able to order.

The food itself was not