In Search of Comfort Food

Comfort foods, the stuff mom used to make--like baked mac and cheese, pot roast, meatloaf, and chicken and dumplings. 

The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines comfort foods as food prepared in a traditional style having a usually nostalgic or sentimental appeal.

So in honor of the holiday season and wintry weather of late, I set out to find some of Murrieta's best comfort food dishes.

Surprisingly, even in the sentiment of the holidays, it was hard to find too many choices for comfort foods. If a restaurant did have them on the menu, it was one or two items at best.

Yet here are a few that stood out from the rest.

Some, like Richie's Real American Diner, had about four: meatloaf, pot roast, chicken potpie and a Thanksgiving-like turkey dinner. Most of its dinners are affordable at $9.95. However, some items were available only on certain days. Word of advice, if in the mood for one of Richie's hearty specialties, check its online menu to be sure your favorite home-cooked meal is being served that day.

A local restaurant, Honeycutt Farms, located of Murrieta Hot Springs Road, excelled with its customer service. This family-owned restaurant offers a wide selection of comfort foods including fried chicken, pork chops and homemade meatloaf. The restaurant's specialty, Honey-Glazed Ham, is made onsite and can be purchased whole for home enjoyment. 

They offer a down-home atmosphere, and my waitress Cynthia was very attentive and accommodating. I was reminded of the television show "Cheers," as each customer entering was greeted warmly and promptly, as though the staff had know them for years. 

IHOP offers the biggest country-fried steak portions around, with its 8-ounce beef steak covered in gravy. Served with mashed potatoes and steamed broccoli, there is bound to be leftovers even for the heartiest eaters. It also serves a french onion pot roast. While an acquired taste; it's definitely worth a try.

Murrieta's own French Valley Café offers one of the best soups around with its Vegetable Beef Soup. Great on a cold and windy day, this soup offers a filling portion loaded with vegetables. It made it hard to fathom eating canned soup again!

However, the one restaurant that really hit the spot was Carrows Restaurant with its Hearty Pot Roast Dinner for $10.95. The menu describes the meal as, "A hearty portion of slow-roasted pot roast with a rich beef and mushroom gravy."

The pot roast was tender and upon taking the first bite, the feeling of warmth and home exuded from my taste buds. Each bite made me yearn for the next. The mushroom gravy added just the right amount of flavor without being too overpowering or salty. 

The accompanying mashed potatoes were a wonderful mix of fluffy and thick. With a hint of garlic and home-cooked flavor, I forgot I was eating at a restaurant.

The cornbread was moist and flavorful with a hint of sweetness that tasted as though it had been drizzled with honey.

Carrows excelled in price, flavor and customer service. 

Most impressive was the "left-over factor:" how well it tasted re-heated. Everything tasted exactly how it did at the restaurant, even after being in the fridge for a day. 

While comfort foods are hard to find in sunny Murrieta (I have yet to find baked mac and cheese), Carrows offers a good amount of choices and their pot roast leaves you wanting to try every single one of them.