I’d like to preface this review by saying two things: 1. I’m not awriter. Or a reviewer. 2. After living in Hollywood for most of mytwenties, moving to Santa Clarita was a hard adjustment for me. I mean,I love Elephant Bar just as much as the next person, but I reallymissed the culture and ambiance that I had come to love in LA bars andrestaurants. Then I had a whole slew of kids, got older and came toabsolutely love my little slice of suburban paradise, even sansculture.

Recently, a friend of mine told me about this newplace, Mixers, in Santa Clarita that had fantastic drinks and was very“un-SCV”…..and in my jaded mind I thought, “Yeah, right!” Still, Ihad to see for myself. So last Friday night, my husband and I met somefriends there for dinner.

When you first enter, it’s a littleoff-setting because it really does not look like an SCVrestaurant….it’s very Hollywood in fact. Well, as Hollywood as theSCV gets 😉 They definitely did a fantastic job with the decor in themain dining room. We walked out onto the patio to consider sitting outthere, and although there were heat lamps, it wasn’t has cozy as theinside. It was a tad to bright out there for my taste; I’d maybeconsider mostly candles if they could pull that off. I loved the lowerseating area with comfy looking couches, but it wasn’t really fordinner ~ mostly for cocktails and there were people smoking, so weopted to sit inside. So funny how I used to be that person smoking.Seems like a million years ago.

Let me say first, that theservice was outstanding. I waited tables for years, as did my husband,so we notice when we’re getting great service. We were both veryimpressed by our server and everyone else for that matter. We hadsomeone else delivering our {many} drinks, the busboy was super, andthe owner even came by to say hi. Very cool.

My “standard” drinkis the lemondrop ~ gotta love sugar-rimmed glasses, right? Being aLouisiana native, I know my alcohol, people. And one thing I know isthat vodka is pretty much the best thing ever. To quote my refrigeratormagnet “Hooray for Vodka!” I was in the mood to try somethingdifferent, though, in the spirit of adventure, so I decided to try theLemopolitan. It’s a mix between a lemondrop and a cosmo (okay, not thatdifferent) and it was…. pretty good. My husband thought the KentuckyApple sounded good: “A gentle blend of Jack Daniel’s, fresh pressedapple juice, lime & a float of cranberry juice in an ice cold glassdressed with a light rim of cinnamon & sugar.” Sounds amazing,right?!! I don’t even like whisky and I loved it. He was nice enough toshare some with us.
Our friend tried the Mojito Grigio and that wasfabulous too. Very sweet. VERY sweet.

But I like sweet. In the end, Icaved and went back to my standard drink, though. I’m a creature ofhabit I guess. But what. Is. This?!! When the server brought my drink,the sugar looked awfully large. And yellow. But, what the heck, I’mgame. With one sip I knew – this was no ordinary sugar. No! As the backof my jaw and my ears began to sizzle, I proclaimed, “Oh my God, thereare POPROCKS on my lemondrop.” Seriously. Who is this genius who cameup with that?!!! Someone please give that person a raise. Needless tosay, everyone else at the table promptly ordered one. We’re a prettyeasy crowd I guess….and are all children of the 80’s so that wholepoprock thing – not lost on us at all.

Since we loved thedrinks so very much, the food didn’t get our “full” attention. Sohere’s my very concise review of what we had: Starter: Crispy CheeseBoulettes: “Creamy risotto folded with ricotta, mozzarella, &Parmesan cheese, crisped to golden brown with a balsamic reduction.”FAB!!! What’s better than rice and cheese that are fried?!

Fondue, that’s what: Brie& Basil “A mild yet rich blend of creamy brie & sweet basilwith garlic & parmesan”. Believe it or not, I had never in my 40years had fondue. Never. I’m now hooked!
Entree: ProsciuttoWrapped Shrimp “Tiger shrimp wrapped in crispy prosciutto on a bed oforzo pasta with Bermuda onion, roasted peppers & fresh herbs,dressed in a red wine vinaigrette”. My husband and I shared thisbecause we has soooo much fondue. It was good. It was a tad on the dryside for me, but it’s pretty hard to follow that fondue. Really.

No,we didn’t have dessert. All those lemondrops was quite enough sugar andpoprocks, thank you very much. My friend had the Frozen Soufflé PushUps “Cool refreshing blend of orange, guava & passion fruit” andshared them with us. Loved those!! But next time I’m having thechocolate fondue. Yeah, I may be a little obsessed.