Gnocchi Gnocchi

Soft potato dumplings tossed in a rich tomato sauce, topped with fresh basil and shaved Parmesan cheese.

Pizzeria Ortica

Pizzeria Ortica

650 Anton Boulevard Costa Mesa, CA 92626, 92626-1908, United States

Meat • Pizza • Italian • Seafood


"The first thing we noticed is that the online menu is much different than their actual in-restaurant menu, very much reduced. When we pointed this out to the waitress, she said the online menu was being worked on...fair enough... Also, the online site said it was one of the few restaurants that did not have a corkage charge...so we brought a bottle of wine. The waitress told us that there is a corkage charge of $25 per bottle...so we didn't open our bottle and ordered a martini and a glass of wine. When I asked about Happy Hour, I was told that it was from 8pm-10pm...then was told that they normally close up about 830pm on weeknights...sheesh... The martini was served in the smallest martini glass I've ever seen and they appeared to forget about the glass of wine, we received that about 20 minutes later, well into our appetizers. The sauce on my pizza was not as tasty as the one I recalled from a previous visit several months prior...but could that have been the result of our increasing disappointment in the place? Maybe... I had mentioned that we were celebrating a birthday in our reservation but no mention was made of it by the concierge or the wait staff...it just wasn't important to them I guess. We also noticed that there were only about 6 people in our half of the restaurant. When we asked why so few, we were told it was still early and it was only Thursday....we're thinking there are other reasons, some mentioned above, that may account for the lack of patrons. We wish the biz well because we don't want any to suffer but sometimes a restaurant is responsible for it's own condition and popularity. I'm afraid we'll choose a different pre-show restaurant next time."

La Provence

La Provence

110 Diamond Creek PlaceCA 95747, Roseville, United States

Steak • French • Coffee • Burgers


"I live a few minutes walk from La Provence and eat quite often there. With the recent opening of the park next to La Provence we use the dog leash parks and cycle paths during weekends and stop for their “graffeo” (not sure the spelling) coffee, espresso and fresh French cookies. Last time I was in them, they gave some local producers cheese and olive oil to their deli. It is a beautiful place that reminds me of the French café in Provence. I am a “food”, I enjoy good, fresh, regional ingredients prepared with passion. I recommend that you follow the Mike Dunne articles in the Sacramento Bee and enjoy his reviews and blogs. I can see why he consistently gave La Provence a top 10 review in Sacramento. The peasants are actually originals and in their right season! The dishes I enjoy most are the gnocci, lamb, and the foie when they have it. I also enjoy hawks and taste, but La Provence has this extra note. As long as I remember Ruth Chris, Il Foranio and Piatti, all chains and buy their food like a chain go into a meal, they are not bad. I visited a few wine dinners in La Provence, Cakebread, Jordan and Silver Oak to be specific and had a magical time. The food was to die and the pairings were amazing. The wine card has a wide selection of French and mountaineering wines. It wasn't always perfect, but when we asked for a manager, they welcomed us warmly and quickly solved every problem we had. If I had a criticism, it is that they can be too busy and too loud at peak times, but their recent addition of oil paintings on the walls seemed to help. I have dined in La Provence when they lit outdoor fire pits with real wood and we were able to go and take our desserts and coffee out and interact with other guests who do the same. I have actually seen that they have small garden weddings at sunset in spring and autumn. It's really a romantic place my wife and I enjoy."