restaurant review: fish tail and vino 100
I heard about Fish Tail at 28104 Newhall Ranch Road, between Vino 100 and Chipotle, from editor and owner of SceneInSCV, Marlene Bernstein. She mentioned that if you buy a bottle of wine from Vino 100, you could enjoy the wine at Fish Tail with no corkage fee and a free appetizer. I had to go!!! Read Marlene’s article this week for a full review on Vino 100 on Wednesday CLICK HERE ON WED.
Like Marlene, I had never been to Vino 100 before. The franchise is owned and operated by Lil Lepore and Shari Frazier and most of their 140 or so labels are between $10 and $25. From the moment I walked in, I felt at home, comfortable and welcomed. Nothing pretentious there! As much as I am a foodie, I am not knowledgeable about wine. The prices intimidate me and I don’t always understand the bouquet, the tongue, what is ripe, why you lay a bottle down and anything else “wine”. I save my questions for my favorite wine writer Eve Bushman of Eve’s Wine 101 and now with Lil and Shari. Thursday night they were offering a class on Tuscan wines, complete with a sampling of Tuscan foods! Their back tasting room was filled with anxious wine novices and beyond waiting to sample the appetizers and wine selection. We picked up a bottle of wine on the recommendation of Lil, Gruner Veltliner 2007, a clean white wine that tasted brilliant next to my Chilean Seabass. If you have not been there before, you have to visit. Be sure to read Marlene’s review of Vino 100 tomorrow (Wednesday) for the FULL scoop!
After our lovely visit with Lil, the four of us wandered over to Fish Tail, complete with our Huber wine our stomachs empty. This tiny venue with its five tables and seven bar stools was full with a short line waiting for a clean table. Most of the menu was chalked on a board on the wall with a completely exposed kitchen and chefs chatting with the folks at the bar. Choices from the menu included soups, starters, specialty, fresh seafood, sides, kids menu, desserts and beverages. They do serve beer, a few selections of wine, sake and non-alcoholic beverages. Most tables had kids at them which is a good sign that children are welcome.
We started our meal with sweet potato fries served with ketchup and the house-made white sauce. Our oldest was served first with her Ahi Tuna Poke Bowl. The tuna was ice-y cold and sweet yet spicy. The chunks of tuna were high quality showing little if any marbling. My meal came next. I ordered a Chilean Sea bass bowl with brown rice, wakame salad, daikon, daikon sprouts, cucumber, ginger, sesame seeds, shredded nori and white sauce. The sea bass was delicious! My husband’s Korean short rib plate arrived next with rice, heart of romaine salad, grilled corn, zucchini, yellow squash and red bell pepper. And finally our daughter was served her salmon teriyaki bowl. I was very impressed with the kids meal. Macey got a nice piece of grilled salmon on top of white rice with some grilled veggies and sauce on the side. She enjoyed her meal completely and it was nice to have a healthy choice for her to choose.
Towards the middle of the meal, we got our appetizer which was tempura battered fish. I think that the fried fish was our favorite. The light tempura batter cradled the tender fish which tasted so yummy! We also enjoyed the Poke bowl and my sea bass. Dan was not fond of his ribs, not because they were bad but because he didn’t like to fiddle with the short rib bones – his own preference but certainly not the fault of the restaurant.
The service was slow but they were short handed. The owner’s aunt explained about some personal issues with the owners which was temporary. She said they usually have enough server staff to work a busy night like Thursday.
The owner of Screaming Coupons, Benson Kane walked in as we were starting our dinner and commented that he had been to Fish Tail prior and really enjoyed the food. Marlene from SceneInScv.com had a great dinner at Fish Tail as well. We liked our meal and look forward to trying more fish and shellfish as well as the kimchi, calamari appetizer and the clam miso soup. It is too bad that the site is so small. It seemed like they could use a few more tables!
Our bill came to $55 for the four of us. The prices are reasonable for the quality of fish. Appetizers range from $1.95 for warm edamame to a large order of tempura calamari for $7.95. Sandwiches start at $7.95 to $9.95 and fish platters range from $12.95 to $15.95. Kids choices were fish and chips, teriyaki salmon or teriyaki chicken bowls all for $4.95 each. The restaurant also sells fish at their fish counter, although the selection that night was small.
Please continue to support these local owned and operated businesses! When you to go Vino 100 or Fish Tail, mention that Chef Dawn sent you!
This week at Dawn’s Dinners I’m making Bistro Chicken with Roasted Veggies, Tamale Pie and Southwest Turkey Chili. In the freezer I have broiled tofu with rosemary and mushrooms, lamb tagine, Italian beef and macaroni casserole, braised pork shoulder with orange and fennel over brown rice, greek-style turkey and eggplant over bulger wheat or brown rice, butternut squash lasagna, garlic chicken paillard with brown rice pasta, apple turkey meatloaf with roasted carrots and potatoes, hoisin pork tenderloin, split pea soup, black bean sweet potato soup and pumpkin ginger soup. Many meals are low fat, gluten free, dairy free, low glycemic index or vegetarian. Each meal costs $25 and feed four and are kid tested. Monthly meal plans are all the craze costing as low as $100 per month for four full meals! Go to my website to sign up for my weekly menu newsletter and see whats cooking at Dawn’s Dinners.
I loved their tuna poke bowl!