By TONY CHEONG: This week, I take off my “Tony on the Town” hat and put on my “No Baloney Tony” one.
You remember No Baloney Tony, right?
For three years, I was the food critic for this newspaper.
So I’m turning back the clock.
By TONY CHEONG: This week, I take off my “Tony on the Town” hat and put on my “No Baloney Tony” one.
You remember No Baloney Tony, right?
For three years, I was the food critic for this newspaper.
So I’m turning back the clock.
And you can thank Opal, in the distribution department for Orange County Neighborhood Newspapers. She recommended I check out Daniel’s Burgers, on the border of Garden Grove and Anaheim. She’s never steered me wrong, so, after checking out a few YELP! reviews, I dropped in on a Saturday morning.
Daniel’s doesn’t look like much; a hole in the wall, as they say.
Forget that.
The food – Daniel’s specializes in burgers and Mexican fare — is fantastic.
We started with the menudo, which is served on weekends. A HUGE bowl arrived at our table with freshly-cut limes, diced onions and cilantro. To put it simply, it’s the best menudo I’ve ever eaten. A meal in itself. A meal for two, really. Zesty without being overwhelming, and the meat is tender and scrumptious. My only regret was that is was a warm day; menudo, of course, is a bowl best served on cold winter days.
Next we order the bacon double cheeseburger with avocado. The avocado was fresh, the bacon was crispy and tasty and the charbroiled burger was cooked EXACTLY how I like it: charred (but not burned) on the outside, which gives you that wonderful texture, and tender on the inside. The burger is served with fries and drink for just $7.99.
We were stuffed, so we saved our next item – the breakfast burrito, which patrons, who come from many miles away to get, rave about on YELP! – for the Super Bowl game.
Daniel’s breakfast burrito is different than a typical breakfast burrito in that the eggs are fried, accentuating the taste, and the eggs don’t dominate the burrito. Instead, there’s a balance: two eggs, two sausages, two bacons and hash browns, with a side of robust salsa.
This is maybe the most popular item on the menu. After taking my first bite, and making sure I had a forkful of all the tastes, I saw why. As I said, scrambled eggs dominate most breakfast burritos. Daniel’s does it differently.
Eating it is like reading a great book. First chapter: You get the pleasing taste of fried egg, warm tortilla, homemade salsa. The chapters (tastes) unfold, so that you’re getting four or five different tastes in one package.
It’s basically a traditional breakfast served as a sandwich, or burrito, but with all the zinging, comforting tastes creating a morning party in your mouth.
Did I mention that the prices are ridiculously affordable?
There are many, many other plates on the menu, but I’d recommend these. Daniel’s is worth going to even if order one item – menudo, a burger or a breakfast burrito.
But I’ll be honest: The prices are so reasonable that I recommend you order three or four items and take some home.
On top of great food, Daniel’s, which is family owned and family run by the Chominas, offers friendly service and – this is hugely important to me – very clean.
I highly recommend it.
Daniel’s Burgers
2054 Euclid St., Anaheim (on the border of Garden Grove)
714-590-2809
