From their facebook page:

As you may have heard, on August 31 a fire occurred in our kitchen & unfortunately caused severe damage. We therefore will be closed during the month of September and most of October. We will Post our exact opening date as we come closer. We thank you for your support and we look forward to seeing you when we reopen. The beer tasting will still be held on Thursday, September 8 at 6:30 and we invite you to join us for that event for reservations feel free to call us at (714)971 5551 and leave a message and we will return your call. We invite you to try our sister location Al’s Big Burger & Mexican Grill located next door you may contact them directly at (714) 971 3131 for deliveries or special accommodations. Thank you for your patronage and we look forward to seeing you return.

 

Check their FB page for updates, or here. Hopefully everyone was okay.

Why the hell would a beer blog care about an Italian Restaurant? Well for one, it has a ten page beer menu. Aw, how cute, nice to see your liver perk up!

Tucked away near Disneyland and the Anaheim Convention center lies Carolina’s Italian Restaurant. A cozy little Italian “gastropub” tucked away in a strip mall with some interesting neighbors. Want to get your disability check cashed? The liquor store a few doors down can help you out. Need an Up-do? Get it right next door! Care for a Vampiro drink? You’ve come to the right place my friend!

After being seated I was handed huge plate of fresh cheese bread and a beer menu larger than a Googolplex. Carolinas easily qualifies as a must-go-to beer place in OC. Why? The large selection is served in proper glassware and can be paired on request. I asked my waiter what would pair well with an eggplant parmesan, “oh, Green Flash Double Stout, sir”. Hmmm, what would pair well with Linguini with clam sauce? “Arrogant Bastard, sir”. What about spaghetti and meatballs? “Hmmmm, Saison Du Pont”. Well what about a Chicken Marsala cooked in a wine sauce? “I’d suggest something barrel aged, perhaps a Firestone Walker Abacus”. They will also reverse-pair beer with food. What goes with Budweiser? “Steaming pile of dog shit, sir.” Nicely done, touché my good man.

I’m not sure if these dudes are Cicerone certified or anything, but my girthy waiter was happy to talk beer and knew everything about their extensive offerings.

I like to judge a place on basics first, then go back if I like the food. For Mexican food, I generally get a Bean, Rice, Cheese and Salsa burrito as a first choice. If it’s good, I go back. For Italian, I do Spaghetti and Meatballs. It has enough raw components to decide if the place is good. Pasta? Toothy. Sauce? Tangy. Spice? Nice. Meatballs? Perfect. Beer menu? Fuck yes. As I’m not a food blog I can safely give general statements like the food was spectacular, good, not worth taking home leftovers, or I spent the night in the emergency room on IV meds from eating there. I’d put Carolina’s food in the “good” category.

• Protip#1: If you just want a couple beers, you are served some bomb ass cheese bread when you are seated. Order a soup and a beer. Full meal for $10!
•  Protip#2: They have beer/food pairing nights at a set price. Check their FB for info.

Google Map Street View with the crew out front sorting out a catering order no doubt.

Another Google Map Street View of the back. Not sure if this dude is peeing or what. Laffo

I’ll do an update when they’re open again.