Danielle:
I love Santa Ana. I love the Artist Village area. I love Chapter One. I’ll
always choose this area for good eats and drinks. I never leave disappointed.
We got to Chapter One around 6ish. We were only one of maybe 10 patrons
in the restaurant and two of 6 at the bar so needless to say the evening
started without much delay. I was able to order immediately as I had reinforced
myself at work all day with the Moscow mule…as I teach my kiddos with the exception
of the last part – “First work, then Moscow mule.” It was as cool and refreshing
as I had been dreaming of all day. My eyes got a treat with the hunky bartender as well.
We ordered the etouffee fries (nothing too special) and mac-n-cheese. I
do love their mac-n-cheese. The menu holds so so so many fabulous choices that whichever
one you choose will most definitely make a party in your mouth. Okay,
sidetracked. Onward to dinner. After hearing the special, the American burger,
I was intrigued. Candice mentioned to the bartender that I’m a burger critic so
it seemed that the gauntlet was thrown down at that moment. I don’t remember much
about what’s on the burger as my mind stopped on the fact that the burger is
comprised of short rib and two ground meats and topped with pork belly. Hello, I LOVE short rib…short rib
anywhere in whatever form. I will say,
the burger was incredible. It was in my top 5. I’m not sure if it still was
when I received the check and saw that it was $17.00. Seriously?!? What burger
cost $17?!?! Obviously, that one does. That price left a bad taste in my mouth. If the burger was not that delicious, I would be upset. I just was not expecting the price.
As the night went on, the happy hour crowd left and the dinner crowd
rolled in which was comprised of small groups and couples. Another bartender
came on board as well. As the bar area became more crowded, our service began
to wane. The bartender made eye contact from time to time but didn’t check in
as often as we’d hoped. My energy for hitting the Copper Door downstairs
dwindled while waiting around for service and the check.
All in all, my love affair with Chapter One will continue. Everyone
should try this place.
I haven’t been yet, but I hear Sunday brunch is killer with $5 mimosas
(all you can drink) with your meal. That’s next on my agenda for this area, but
hold the burger, I could drink two more Moscow mules for that price. =)
Food: ★★★★☆
Service: ★★★☆☆
Price: ★★★☆☆
Ambiance: ★★★★☆
SFactor: ★★★☆☆
Overall: ★★★★☆
Candice:
I have been to the Santa Ana Artist Village area only twice
before and I still feel the same about it…it is great! It seems to always have
a pretty good vibe and although I do not consider myself all that artsy and
trendy, I certainly love admiring all the hipsters that come to hang out. We arrived at Chapter One at a decent time
and although it was a bit quiet, Danielle and I knew we were taking our chances
given that it was the start of a holiday weekend and likely a hit or miss on
the crowd. As I sat down and was greeted
by the bartender…stop. Helloooo good looking. (I even got a bit shy and
speechless for a moment and thought this is going to be an entertaining evening
regardless of what crowd rolls in.) I couldn’t seem to select a drink off of
their very overwhelming list of beverages so instead, opted for the bartender’s
choice (fantastic concoction Drew, thanks!).
Apparently the first drink that was made was named “Drew’s cucumber” or
so the receipt indicated. LOL, enough
said. However, it was an absolutely perfectly
crafted drink in that it was delicate and well-balanced in flavor.
Danielle and I started with a little
mac-n-cheese and etouffee fries (kind of a fancy version of chili fries) as our
tapas and neither really disappointed.
Although Danielle swears by their mac-n-cheese, it was indeed tasty but
ranks in my just average range. I moved on to the “Potato Pear” as my meal (had
to save room for dessert!) which was truly exceptional. I was a supporter of all the ingredients
individually and when it was combined together so elegantly, mmmm, divine! I probably could have licked the plate
clean. Talk about a plump portion of
flavorful mashed potato that is panko crusted and shaped like a mini pear… then
placed neatly upon a bed of savory marsala cream sauce with chunks of wild
mushroom mixed within the sauce.
To satiate my palate I ended on the “Chocolate
Pate” which, being a huge fan of Belgium chocolate I was slightly disappointed
by the overall combination of flavors. The
chocolate was rich but nothing all that distinctive in flavor as Belgian
chocolate can and should be. The butter
biscuits were my favorite on the plate but they seemed to be just a more
delicate version of the tasty shortbread cookies made by Walker. However overall, the menu selection is truly fantastic
and I was pleased in general with what I ordered.
The small hip crowd earlier in the evening dwindled away
quickly and the later crowd that materialized seemed more representative of the
Santa Ana inhabitants and of a more dominant ethnic population. As extremely attentive and appealing as our
bartender was earlier in the evening, his demeanor also morphed and
disappointingly, our needs quickly became neglected. Don’t get me wrong, I recognize that
attention needs to be divided among all patrons as well as the fact that as the
restaurant picks up and bar orders are in high demand, there is obviously less
time to devote to individual patrons.
However, has anyone ever seen Danielle (I mean us girls) drink?!? We are
thirsty (and okay fine I admit, one of us, hungry) girls. As attractive and
bewitching as I found the bartender, I still would appreciate just enough consideration
so that I could at least place my dessert order (I had to draw the attention of
the other bartender) and/or be offered another beverage perhaps? Oh well.
Although the ending was a bit of a let down, I am grateful that I can
amuse myself with the simple reminiscing of the earlier part of the evening of
hanging with a hipster crowd and bantering
with a striking bartender. I’ll take it
as a good kick-start to my three-day weekend.
Food: ★★★★☆
Service: ★★★☆☆ (had to average in the
end of the evening)
Price: ★★★★☆
Ambiance: ★★★☆☆
SFactor: ★★★☆☆
Overall: ★★★★☆
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