by guest blogger Bryan Tsunoda
When I first learned of Carolina’s Italian Restaurant, I
discovered that they have over 400 beers available, arguably the largest beer list in the area. That being said, I set the
bar low for food and I wasn’t expecting much.
Carolina’s Italian Restaurant originally opened over 35 years
ago and has been a strong foothold in Orange County. They recently opened up
another restaurant in Anaheim, just down the street from Disneyland. My wife
and I recently dined there for dinner.
My wife ordered the Alley Cat Amber beer from Left Coast Brewery. This beer had a nice color and was medium bodied. My house sangria was cold, fruity and refreshing. This established a nice tone for our evening.
Instead of being served with something like cold sourdough bread, diners are presented with Carolina’s Cheesy Bread. Pizza dough is rolled and topped with a generous amount of fresh mozzarella cheese, pasta sauce and a mix of Italian herbs. This is baked in their pizza oven and delivered to the table while it’s still hot.
I was impressed
that they use fresh herbs in their dishes and later discovered that many of the
vegetable and herbs are grown in their garden in the rear of the property. In
fact, our server helps to take care of the garden.
Polly-O-Caprese is named after the Polly-O brand of mozzarella cheese.
This is made with a thick slice of mozzarella cheese and
placed over fresh tomatoes, basil, capers, red onions and served with olive oil
and balsamic vinegar. The addition of capers worked very well with the basil
and the red onions.
Their Bruschetta consists of crisp crostini topped with fresh roma tomatoes, basil and romano cheese.
Other appetizers on the menu include calamari, fried mozzarella sticks,
fried zucchini sticks and buffalo wings.
Frutti di Mare is a popular seafood dish comprised of shrimp, mussels, scallops and fresh clams.
It is served over fettuccine with tomatoes, onions and basil mixed with
a small amount of marinara sauce. Because they don’t drown it in sauce, I was
able to taste the flavors of each shellfish.
The “Tour of Italy” consists of smaller portions of three of their Spaghetti and Meatballs, Shrimp Alfredo and Penne Pesto
Both my wife and I thought that their Penne
Pesto was the best of the three offerings. It was filled with a generous amount
of chunks of grilled chicken. Unlike many pesto dishes, this was creamy and not
oily.
For dessert, we tried their tiramisu and their chocolate cake.
Both items were moist, full of
chocolate and delicious. They also have strawberry or Oreo cheesecake, spumoni,
mousse cake and ice cream available.
While we were
there, we noticed a nice mix of people dining: young adults, families and
senior citizens. Comfort seems to be one of the intents of the owners with quite a number of leather booths available.
Even if you
aren’t in the mood for pasta, they have a number of other offerings such as
soups, salads, sandwiches and pizza. The next time we visit Disneyland, we will
definitely consider eating at Carolina’s Italian Restaurant.
Carolina’s
Italian Restaurant
945 S. Harbor
Blvd.
Anaheim, CA 92805