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<\/a>The friendly exterior. Photo by Karen Salkin, as is the one of the menu, at the top of this page.<\/p><\/div>\n
Now, before you start scratching your head about why I<\/em> would love a fish<\/em> place when I don\u2019t eat that entity, they also have chicken and shrimp, two of my favorite meal staples. And Laura had never been there before; I knew she would love their delish fare, so I wanted to introduce her to it.<\/p>\n Everything<\/em> is great here, but I have to tell you, the only two words I heard out of Laura for the next few hours was, \u201cBrussels sprouts!\u201d When I asked for her opinions for this review, she declared, \u201cBrussels sprouts for the win!\u201d I was so proud because I\u2019m the one who raved about them to her to begin with!<\/p>\n I had never even noticed that they have \u201cstarters\u201d there before, but now I did, so we began with the breaded shrimp, which we agreed was \u201cdelicious.\u201d It was a fun discovery for me.<\/p>\n Then we moved on to the Shrimp and Avocado Caesar Salad, which I had never had before, either. What a day of firsts for me, right? I had never seen a Caesar like this anywhere before, and let me tell you\u2014it really works! It was exactly what it says it is: a big Caesar salad topped with a few slices of avocado and plenty of generous grilled shrimp. Laura loved that the shrimp was \u201cseasoned perfectly\u201d and grilled, (as opposed to the limp, cold shrimp you find on the salads at other places,) making it \u201cextra flavorful.\u201d I appreciated that the dressing was already on it, and very light. The big, crunchy croutons were a bonus.<\/p>\n We ordered this for the two of us, but three people could have easily shared it all. And we also loved the plates! Photo by Karen Salkin.<\/p><\/div>\n After sharing those two dishes, I was already full, but Laura was more than happy to get to her entree.<\/p>\n She went with the Salmon and Swai Combo, which is a special one because they are deemed to be CFG\u2019s two customer favorites. Swai, which is a white fish, was new to Laura, so she said she \u201cjust had to get it here,\u201d telling me, \u201cI love the name\u2014it sounds like a cool fish.\u201d She really enjoyed it.<\/p>\n I actually have a secret about the swai–I have<\/em> eaten CFG\u2019s swai before! I can\u2019t stand any fish except for swordfish and wahoo, (which are both extremely hard to find these days,) because they don\u2019t taste fishy. But when I picked-up food from a CFG location closer to me last year, they had erroneously given me swai instead of shrimp. (After all, they both begin with \u201cS.\u201d) Mr. X tried it and said I might be okay with it, so I took the tiniest bite I could. And he was correct. I would still never order it voluntarily, but at least it\u2019s a third fish to, very<\/em> occasionally, put in my rotation.<\/p>\n Mr. X had recommended the very popular Atlantic salmon to Laura, who agreed that it was \u201cdelicious and perfectly cooked.\u201d We did an \u201cadd-on\u201d of a shrimp skewer to her entree, for me. (I guess my theme that day was \u201cShrimp!\u201d) That\u2019s a great way to get to try more dishes there.<\/p>\n Close-up of our starters–breaded shrimp and Brussels sprouts. Photo by Karen Salkin.<\/p><\/div>\n Each entree comes with two basic sides, or for a few dollars more, you can choose the premium sides, which we were more attracted to. We both enjoyed their Fire Roasted Street Corn. The Grilled Asparagus, which only I<\/em> tried, had a lime vinaigrette on it, and I hate lime, so they didn\u2019t work for me, taste-wise. But I was impressed with the size<\/em> of them\u2014there was a trio of giant stalks to the order. Laura went with the basic Kale Slaw, and said, \u201cIt\u2019s so good.\u201d She told me that was curious about it because she never had coleslaw with kale<\/em> before. And she declared it to be \u201ca winner.\u201d<\/p>\n But the star of the show was\u2026 the Brussels Sprouts, of course\u2014Laura and I both agreed that these are \u201cthe best Brussels Sprouts ever<\/em>!\u201d I don\u2019t actually know what CFG does to them, outside of the delish balsamic glaze, but they appear to be grilled and perhaps sprinkled with garlic. I may not know their recipe<\/em>, but I do<\/em> know that they\u2019re perfect.<\/p>\n All the entrees come with a choice of a plethora of sauces. Mr. X always likes their garlic butter, and Laura went nuts over my<\/em> perennial favorite, the cajun, saying it \u201chas so much flavor.\u201d One interesting thing is that at my other regular locations, I always get red salsa, but they didn\u2019t have that choice in Thousand Oaks; cocktail sauce is here instead. (I really wanted to get to the bottom of it, but they were so busy that I didn\u2019t want to bother anyone.)<\/p>\n The sodas. Photo by Karen Salkin.<\/p><\/div>\n I usually wouldn\u2019t even mention the soda, but CFG\u2019s fountain drinks are so interesting that I must; I had never even heard of the three we sampled! Laura, who is always my beverage expert, tried the most unusual one\u2014Black Cherry\u2026with tarragon! How unusual. And she loved it! She also had a few sips of the Pineapple Cream Soda, and liked it, offering that it\u2019s \u201cvery pineapple-y.\u201d (Duh.) I went with the Vanilla Cream Soda, which of course I have<\/em> heard of, but this one is made with agave<\/em> instead of regular sugar, but it tasted the same, which is good.<\/p>\n In addition to the food<\/em> being perfect, the personnel<\/em>, led by manager Luis, could not have been nicer or more accommodating. No matter what I asked for, it was in my hand in a nano-second! And I noticed them all quietly bussing the tables constantly. No one had to wait even a second for them to do that.<\/p>\n Some of CFG’s lovely personnel. Photo by Karen Salkin.<\/p><\/div>\n Now Laura can\u2019t wait to have this experience again. I\u2019ve had the food at a quartet of CFG locations\u2014Thousand Oaks, Culver City, Burbank, and North Hollywood\u2014and the best news is that the great flavors are consistent throughout! As an owner of a\u00a0different multiple-location eatery once told me, the dishes taste different at all the places because of the different chefs<\/em>. But that adage is not so at CFG. Everything Mr. X and I have tried from the various locations tastes exactly the same, in a great way!<\/p>\n And there\u2019s more good news\u2014all the CTGs are in big outdoor shopping centers, so parking could not be easier. And free!<\/p>\n California Fish Grill<\/strong> CALIFORNIA FISH GRILL When my friend Laura and I were on our way to see a show in Thousand Oaks last week, we decided to grab an early dinner. So I asked another pal, Jodi, who knows restaurants in that area, and she recommended California Fish Grill (CFG.) She thought she was telling me something<\/p>\n<\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a>
\n 401 N. Moorpark, Thousand Oaks<\/strong>
\n 805-510-7877 www.cafishgrill.com<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"