Browse Category: yum

Dining in the O.C.

What I miss most about living in West LA and SF is the variety of restaurants and eating experiences. In the O.C., we are bombarded by franchises and family-oriented eateries that get old after a while. Well, in hopes of finding some “hidden treasures”, Jes and I tried a couple of restaurants that seemed promising.
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Our first stop was Opah in Tustin. The restaurant was really pretty with a very zen look. The restaurant featured seafood with a Pan-Asian flare. First we tried the Spiced Ahi Tuna Tartar that was fresh and paired nicely with the crab underneath it. We also tried the Sugarcane Tenderloin that had a subtle sweetness from the sugarcane and tartness from the cucumber/papaya relish. For our entrees, I ordered the Pan Seared Dayboat Scallops and Jes had the Hazelnut Crusted Halibut. Both were very good but somewhat overwhelming due to the very large portion size. When I usually dine at a fine restaurant, I expect a small piece of meat nicely plated with some veggies or potatoes. Instead, I got 6 large scallops with three servings of risotto underneath and Jes got 2 huge pieces of fish over another three servings of potatoes. I can’t really complain but there’s something not as appetizing when it’s served to you in Hungryman portions. For dessert, we tried their half-baked souffle, which was burnt and not very good. I think we should have ordered the crossaint bread pudding per the recommendation of our server. Oh well. Overall, it was a fun dining experience with acceptable food and a cool bar that is perfect for the afterwork happy hour crowd. I would go to this place again but it wouldn’t be my first choice.
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A few days later, we went to Chat Noir in Costa Mesa. The decor was fun and very French. They had an interesting champagne and martini menu and since the appetizers looked so good, Jes and I decided to order 4 starters and share an entree. We had the shrimp cocktail (fresh and good cocktail sauce), seared foie gras (melty with a nice blackberry sauce), frisee salad (satisfyingly warm and crisp at the same time), and lobster bisque (not as creamy as I’m used to but very tasty). They were all very good and made well. For the main course, we had Cog a Vin, a very traditional French chicken dish, which was very flavorful and the chicken was very tender. Dessert was a souffle made just the way it’s supposed to…a good follow-up to the disappointing souffle at Opah. I would definitely dine at Chat Noir again. With a live jazz band at the bar, it looks like a fun place for happy hour or a group dinner too.
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So there you go…that was my first attempt at exploring the world that is behind the “Orange Curtain”. …to be continued…

More birthday meals!

I went out to Lawry’s with the family last night to celebrate our birthdays. It’s become a tradition to go out to Lawry’s with the family at least once a year for the annual prime rib/creamed corn dinner. The food was great, as usual, and since it was Monday, we got double Lawry’s points. Unfortunately it was also Kid’s Night and there were a lot of kids there trying to score a free meal.
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Today I had lunch with Sandy. She’s been so busy lately that we haven’t been able to hang out much. So, it was nice to sit down for a 2-hour meal catching up and enjoying some Thai Chicken Pizza at CPK.
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It seems like I eat sooooo much more around birthdays and holidays. It’s time to go for a run!

I had hidden beef.

Jes and I had a very unique dining experience last night with Kevin, Karrie, and Kevin’s nephew Eric. We went to an ultra-exclusive whole-in-the-wall Japanese “restaurant” where you have to be invited and on a special list in order to be seated and served. The chef is a decendent of a family of Imperial Chefs from Japan and the place has no name, no signage, keeps the front door locked, and probably doesn’t take credit card payments. Luckily, Karrie was invited by the “inner circle” and we got to come along for the ride. When you enter, it’s a modest-looking place with only 3 table settings. The chef needs to know exactly how many people are coming so that he can buy and prepare the meals to the number. It felt like going to someone’s house for dinner. There was no menu and the wife brought out each dish and told us which sauce(s) to use or no sauce at all.
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Together, we had a platter of miniature appetizers (one per person), some fresh veggies with miso dip, and EIGHT courses of beef! The beef was the best I had ever tasted. First of all, I don’t think this cow that we had eaten was raised in the U.S. We joked about how this cow probably never saw the USDA, never saw the inside of a freezer, and most likely came straight from Japan for a pretty penny. The first two beef dishes were raw: (1) raw marinated slices or beef and (2) raw throat (yes – cow’s throat – pictured above). The wife then brought a mini-hibachi to the table. The next 5 courses were as follows: (3) tongue – disturbingly tasty, (4) filet mignon – the most tender I’ve ever had, (5) spare ribs without the bones, (6) outside of a rib eye, (7) inside of a rib eye, and (8) skirt steak. By the end of the meal, we were ready to roll over and die. The evening ended with 5 different types of ice cream/sorbet. MMM…best meal ever. Sorry for the blurry images…it was rather dark inside.

Monterey – Day 1

We went to Monterey for Memorial Day Weekend this year. Day One, Saturday, started out bright and early. Got on the road by 4:30 in the morning and luckily didn’t get pulled over. There were so many cops on patrol this weekend! We arrived in Monterey around 10, had breakfast, and met up with Bang and Vyl at the bike rental at noon. Our original plan was to rent bikes and ride them to a winery. It turned out that it was way too far and dangerous to ride there.
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So, Plan Two was renting a 4-person surrey. If you don’t know what a surrey is, imagine two side-by-side tandem bicycles welded together like a horsecart with a nice plastic cover to shade you from the elements. Nevermind the dangerous chain that can lop off a toe or the rickety seats that can throw you off at any time. Fortunately, the surrey was so much fun…in fact, it was quite hilarious. We had to try out best to pedal together, avoid running over small children, avoid the cars, and try not to fall out. We rode to the end of the bike path, which was only 2 miles away, and ate lunch there. We had a picnic at Lovers’ Beach where we illegally drank a really good bottle of Chardonnay that Vyl had been saving up and enjoyed the view. Good choice, Vyl!
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Later in the evening we drove to Chateau Julien where we tasted some so-so wine and some facial gymnastics performed by Vyl, the wine snob. We also had some meager pours but got a second helping of the Gewurtztraminer. Dinner was at Passionfish in Pacific Grove. My escolar was yummy and so was Jes’ duck. We also tried some more wine there, which was just the beginning of our own little “Sideways” experience this weekend. To be continued…

Back to School

Today was the first day of the AOTA Conference and it’s in Long Beach this year. It’s an annual gathering of OTs around the country for some classes, shopping, and networking. For me, it’s a time to catch up with old friends and colleagues and just happens to be in my neck of the woods this year. I sat through 6 hours of lecture today and it was kinda painful. I didn’t have any of my buddies with me so I had to actually sit there and pay attention…go figure. Whenever I attend these things, I get all inspired to be a better therapist…then it fades by the time I get home. Tomorrow is when the real fun begins. Friends are flying in from Boston, Virginia, and Oregon tonight and tomorrow. Yippee! The best part of all this is that I don’t have to go to work for the rest of the week…sweeeet.
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By the way, tonight’s dinner at The Hat was great. They have yummy pastrami sandwiches and a mountain of chili cheese fries that could be shared by a family of 6. Jes and I had it for the first time in Monterey Park but we recently discovered that there was one just around the corner from us! Haha. It’s a good thing we made that beef resolution.

Water sucks.

The weather was great this weekend so we went to the dog park on Saturday. Koa didn’t really enjoy the water. In fact, he hates water. While the labs are jumping into the waves and having a great time, Koa stands along around and runs away from the tide. At one point, he got so mad at us for throwing him in that he threatened to run back up the cliff and into the street. Crazy pup. Later that night, Patty and Johnny brought Mochi over on their way back down to San Diego. The dogs had a gay ol’ time while we ate dinner.
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Today, we went to Carlsbad to have lunch with Huy. We ate at Pizza Port where we had really good pizza and spicy wings. Afterwards we took a walk around their Village Fair. It was basically like a swap meet full of people hocking their wares for a few bucks. There were way too many people and way too much junk for one afternoon.