Pat and Oscar's

Pat and Oscar's first opened up in San Diego in 1991. Now, they have restaurants all over Southern California including Palm Desert, Irvine, Los Angeles and many others. Their menu is mainly California casual/American cuisine. They are best known for their breadsticks, which are soft and chewy, especially when warm, but also good cold. A tip though, about those: If you are watching your sodium and fat intake, ask for "dry" breadsticks which aren't coated in salty butter. Breadsticks with cinnamon and sugar, are also available on the dessert menu and very tasty. And, they are always glad to give you a breadstick sample.

Other items on the menu that are really good are the Lemon Chicken, the BBQ ribs, pasta, and pizza. The prices for all of these, and the combos, are very reasonable. My personal preference is the Lemon Chicken over the BBQ chicken. Combos can be ordered for one, two, or four people. The larger combos are served family style where each person takes what they want from a single bowl or plate. All the meals have quite a bit of food with lots of breadsticks, too. The pizzas are made with a basic thin crust. The "pizza for one" is more like a California style crust while the larger pizzas have a more traditional crust. Pizzas can be topped with all kinds of different toppings from traditional pepperoni to avocado. A "gourmet pizza" is also available with a set combination of toppings. I have seen dessert pizzas on the menu in the past, but didn't see them on the menu when I was last there.

Combos come with salads and soups of which all taste good, in my opinion, but had nothing noteworthy about them. There are two types of salads to chose from, Greek or Caesar. For dressings, a choice of oil and vinegar or house dressings are available on the side. Sandwiches can also be purchased and I've found that the ones I have tried are pretty good, especially the bread.

There are several vegetarian choices available on the menu, but I didn't see anything that would be classified as vegan. And, there are even a few "hearty healthy" choices, too. However, most of the dishes I've seen there have a lot of sodium.

Orders can be called ahead and taken to go.

They are available for fundraising events where 20% of all sales are given to the non-profit organization.

Catering is available, call 1-877-PNO-CATERS.

Atmosphere: Casual

Price: Low, to Low-Medium (Highest priced item is $31.99 on the current menu for a very large 4 person combo)

Cuisine: California Casual/American Casual

Visit the website for information on locations and catering.

Pat and Oscar's