Category Archives: Good Eats

The Filling Station Cafe

Last time I visited Old Towne Orange it was right after Bruxie had opened their first location, which meant it was high time for a return visit. The Englishman and I decided to head over to Old Towne for a birthday lunch and exploring. After looking at antiques, visiting a Huell Howser Spot and picking up craft beer at Provisions Market, we decided to have lunch at The Filling Station Cafe.

The Filling Station Cafe is a cute restaurant located just outside the Orange Circle. Since it was so nice out, the Englishman and I opted to sit on their patio and enjoy the sunshine. First thing we did as soon as we were seated is order obligatory birthday beers.

The menu at The Filling Station Cafe is pretty basic – breakfast served until 2pm, sandwiches, soups salads and burgers. This is definitely a no-frills place; just your basic cafe food with a nostalgic twist to it. I am all for trying new and innovative cuisine, but I really liked the homey feel of this place. Sometimes you just want a simple sandwich and fries you know?

For lunch I decided to order the Turkey and Cranberry Sandwich with a side salad and sweet potato fries (of course).

The sandwich was piled high with turkey, lettuce, tomato and Gouda cheese (I got the cranberry on the side) and was nice and flavorful. I ended up leaving the bread and eating the sandwich salad-style, and loved it! And then there were the sweet potato fries.

You all know about my love for good sweet potato fries and these were light and crisp, and perfectly salted. I seriously could not get enough. I’ve been to restaurants where the sweet potato fries come out a bit mushy, but these were crispy and on point.

The Englishman ordered the Biltmore Chicken Sandwich which came with grilled chicken, Pepperjack cheese, avocado, onion, tomato and lettuce in a cibatta roll. With a side of regular fries of course.

I tried a couple of bites of the chicken and it was juicy and perfectly cooked. The fries were also delicious but I thought the sweet potato ones were slightly better.

The Filling Station Cafe is a great spot in Orange if you want just classic American fare. There’s nothing fancy or pretentious about this place and I love that. I spent a lot of time eyeing the breakfast menu so I think a return trip is definitely in the cards.

SideDoor Sunday Sessions

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A couple of years ago I first discovered SideDoor in Corona del Mar and loved it. I loved it so much in fact, that the Englishman and I had our engagement photos taken there (thank you Dana Grant Photography!). The restaurant recently started a Sunday brunch featuring live music and artist exhibits called SideDoor Sunday Sessions. I was invited to come experience one of the Sunday Sessions and couldn’t wait to visit one of my favorite spots once again.

The SideDoor Sunday Sessions run from 11am-3pm every Sunday with the artists changing weekly. Photographer Juan Luis Garcia was at the session I attended, and he was showing a bunch of images from his Face Value: Mirror Portraits gallery, which features photos of people looking at themselves through a two-way mirror. The images were definitely interesting and you can even sign up to participate.

In addition to the artists changing weekly, the menu changes weekly as well. I love the fact that the menu is constantly evolving – it means there’s always something new to try when you visit SideDoor! Since this was my first Sunday Session I wanted to try as many of the dishes as possible. Luckily, I had the Englishman and my parents along to help as well.

No brunch is complete without some beverages, so we started with some mimosas and a Pimms Cup, aka my current drink obsession.SideDoor’s take on a Pimm’s Cup includes Pimms, Champagne and fresh fruit. It is dangerously good and highly recommended.

We decided to start the meal with some Avocado Mash and some pita chips.

As an avocado lover, this was delicious! I even used some of the mash on the Biscuits with a side of Gravy that we ordered.

I deliberately got the gravy on the side so I could dip the biscuit in the gravy or top it with the avocado mash. The biscuits were light and buttery and pretty much carb heaven.

Ever since watching It’s Complicated (for the millionth time) a few weeks ago I’ve had Croque Madames on the brain, so when I saw that SideDoor had one for brunch, I knew it was meant to be.

The open-faced Croque Madame came on lightly toasted brioche bread with ham, cheese and a poached egg. It was pretty much perfection. If SideDoor kept this on their menu every week I would be a very happy camper.

We also ordered the Green Eggs and Ham Benedict which was a playful spin on your traditional Eggs Benedict Dish.

The eggs were cooked perfectly, the sauce was flavorful and I loved the crispy hash browns on the side.

Since everyone loves bacon, we ordered a side of that as well. Bacon = winning in life.

We also tried the Three Cheese Panino which came with mozzarella, cheddar, parmigiano and arugula.

The panino was good but nothing mind-blowing compared to the other fantastic items we enjoyed. Not sure if I would order this again since there are so many other amazing dishes (see croque madame), but it was still tasty.

Since SideDoor is connected to Five Crowns, which is known for their famous prime rib, it was pretty much a given to order the prime rib sandwich.

I’m not always the biggest fan of prime rib, but the meat was so succulent and juicy. It literally melted in your mouth. And what’s a prime rib sandwich without a side of fries?

With all the savory and salty flavors going on, it only seemed appropriate that we ordered something sweet to round out the meal. A lemon crepe with berries and hazelnuts to be exact.

This crepe was sweet but not overly sweet which I loved. The lemon cream on the inside was a delight.

I loved everything about this brunch – the ambiance, the food, and of course the company. I’m already plotting my next return – who’s in?

Pie-Not

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Good stuff has been happening in ol’ East Costa Mesa. First, Pitfire Pizza debuted on the scene with their Artisan pizzas, then Sidecar Doughnuts made a splash (and the aroma in there is amazing), and the latest place to open is Pie-Not, an Aussie-style bakery that specializes in sweet and savory pies. A sophisticated take on the pot-pie if you will.

Since the Englishman is quite the connoisseur of savory meat pies (he was born in New Zealand after all), he was eager to check Pie-Not out to see if they were as authentic as the pies he had growing up.

When we arrived at Pie-Not they had already sold most of their pies for the day, so we had a limited selection to choose from. After much deliberation, the Englishman decided on the Dog’s Eye, which was a meat pie made with ground beef and onions in a short crust pastry shell with a puff pastry top.

I’m not the most well-versed in the world of meat pies, but this one was quite good. The puff pastry was light and flaky, and the meat was juicy and tender on the inside. If I had one small complaint, it would be that the pie was a little bland side, and the Englishman agreed, although he was quick to point out that the pie did taste very close to the traditional Aussie pies he had growing up.

I feel like I need to try more of Pie-Not’s pies before I can make a full assessment. The shop has lots of delicious looking pies on the menu such as the Sprung a Leek with chicken in a cream sauce and the Vege Patch which is an assortment of vegetables in a gluten-free pie. Pie-Not also has other items such as the traditional Sausage Roll, which is pork and beef rolled in a pastry dough and some breakfast pies that also looked delicious.

***UPDATED 5/19/13***

The Englishman and I made a return to Pie-Not and this time got the Sausage Roll and the “That’ll Do Pig Pie” which came with beef, onion, cheese and back bacon. The aroma from the sausage roll was intoxicating, so I dove right in for a bite.

This roll was delicious! I’m not the biggest sausage fan, but this was outstanding. A simple beef and pork sausage rolled in puff pastry. The Englishman loved this too, declaring it his favorite.

The That’ll Do Pig Pie had a lot to live up to after the delicious sausage roll.

This pie was good as well. Lots of flavor and seasoned perfectly. Pie-Not definitely knows how to make a great pie.

I also discovered that Pie-Not has ALMOND MILK for their coffee and tea, and they make Lamingtons! I’ll need to pop back in there on a day they have lamingtons in the shop.

So excited to have this place in the 17th street rotation.

Umami Burger

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I first tried Umami Burger back in 2009. Back then, Umami was just a small restaurant located on La Brea Ave. in Los Angeles with minimal seating inside and a few tables outside. I went for lunch with a bunch of my coworkers at the time and we pushed all the tiny tables on the sidewalk together so we could all sit as a group. I ordered the Port and Stilton Burger and it was amazing. And then I moved to Orange County and Umami Burger became a distant memory.

Since then Umami Burger has expanded to a bunch of different locations up and down California with three locations in Orange County. After a 4 year hiatus, I knew it was time that I got some Umami back in my life, and decided to check out the location at The Camp in Costa Mesa.

After perusing the menu I was pleased to see the old favorites from 2009 such as the Umami Burger and the Port and Stilton Burger, and excited to see new (to me) choices such as the Manly Burger and Truffle Burger. My heart broke a little when the waitress informed us they did NOT have the Port and Stilton Burger so I decided to try something different and ordered The Greenbird, which is a turkey burger with sprouts, avocado, and green cheese (does anyone know what green cheese is?).

I am pleased to say this burger did not disappoint. The turkey was juicy and full of flavor, and I loved the crushed avocado with every bite. Turkey burgers are normally kind of bland but this one was not. Half of the group ordered the Manly Burger which I sampled as well.

The Manly Burger was also delicious. The beer-cheddar cheese complemented the smoked salt onion strings and bacon lardons on top of the burger quite nicely. The Manly Burger may sound well decadent, but this burger was cooked perfectly and didn’t taste greasy at all.

In addition to the burgers, Umami is also known for their delicious sides and secret dipping sauces. We ordered sweet potato fries, thin fries and onion rings to share amongst the table as well as a full round of the dipping sauces which included the Umami Ketchup, Dijon Mustard, House Spread, Roasted Garlic Aioli, Jalapeno Ranch and Diablo Sauce.

Out of all the sauces, I liked the aioli the best, which was the perfect dipping sauce for the thin fries.

The thin fries were nice and crispy and had the perfect amount of seasoning. I actually found them to be a million times better than the over-hyped duck fat fries from Crow Bar. But my favorite fries of the evening were definitely the sweet potato fries.

The fries were covered in a salty-cinnamon sugar topping and they were divine. One could argue that there was a bit too much cinnamon, but I loved them. The onion rings also had a nice crunch and flavor to them as well, but the sweet potato fries by far stole the show.

This meal at Umami Burger reminded me why I fell in love with them in the first place. I can guarantee it will not be another 4 years before I return again.

Chobani Giveaway!

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*The Chobani Giveaway is officially closed – please scroll to the bottom of the page to see the winner!*

So if you read my last post, you know that I love to eat homemade granola with Chobani Greek Yogurt.

I also like to use Chobani yogurt in some of my bread recipes, as a sub for mayo in egg salad, and even a replacement for sour cream in Mexican dishes. I have also been known to enjoy some “Fro Cho” with chocolate chips from time to time.

And since the folks at Chobani are so generous and awesome, in addition to sending me some yogurt, they want to give some away to one lucky reader as well! Free Chobani? It doesn’t get much better than that.

Here’s how to Enter the Chobani Giveaway:

1. Leave a comment on this post on your favorite way to enjoy Chobani.

For additional entries, leave one comment for each action you take below:

1. Like Sweet Potato Bites on Facebook

2. Follow Sweet Potato Bites on Pinterest

3. Follow Sweet Potato Bites on Instagram

4. Follow Sweet Potato Bites on Twitter

The Chobani Giveaway ends on Friday, April 12th at 12pm PT. Giveaway open to U.S. Residents only.

Good Luck!

And the Chobani Winner is…

Congratulations to Rachel!

Rachel has been notified that she is the winner! Thanks to everyone who entered!

Hot Cross Buns

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Hot Cross Buns are one of those quintessential items that you always see pop up around Easter. Traditionally the buns are eaten on Good Friday before Easter Sunday, always with a cross made with icing on top. My family decided to host Easter brunch again this year and the Englishman and I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to bring some delicious hot cross buns to share with everyone.

Since we were going to have lots of other treats and sweets at the Easter brunch, we decided to make the hot cross buns with just a simple glaze on top and made the crosses out of wheat dough. The buns were still plenty sweet and a hit amongst the crowd! If you wanted to add icing to your hot cross buns, I recommend this recipe.

These hot cross buns were so good that I’m thinking I need to make these more than just once a year.

Ingredients:

1 cup rye flour

3 cups all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons sunflower oil

1 cup raisins

1 tablespoon cinnamon

2 tablespoons grated nutmeg

2 tablespoons brown sugar

2 teaspoons salt

3 cups warm water mixed with 1 packet of bakers yeast

2 tablespoons maple syrup

1/2 cup wheat flour

1/2 cup water

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350F.

Mix the 1 cup rye and 3 cups all-purpose flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and raisins in a large bowl. In a separate bowl mix your sunflower oil, brown sugar, and water and yeast mixture.

Slowly add the wet mixture to your large bowl and continue to mix well until your dough is nice and sticky.

Roll the dough into balls and place on a greased baking sheet. Let the dough balls rest on the baking sheet for 30 minutes.

Take your maple syrup and lightly glaze the rolls – they should be slightly sticky. Take your 1/2 cup whole wheat flour and 1/3 cup water and mix together to form a paste. Put the mixture in a piping bag or a ziplock bag and cut a small hole in the corner (thank you Alton Brown). Use the bag to draw a cross on the top of each roll.

Place buns in the oven and bake for 30-35 minutes. Pull from the oven and enjoy warm.

The hot cross buns taste best on the day they were made, but will last 2-3 days after.

Banana Spelt Muffins

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I have a thing with bananas. I only like to eat them by themselves if they are just starting to get ripe. If they start to get overripe or mushy I immediately freeze them or put them in some sort of baked good. My go-to is this banana bread, but this time I decided to change things up and make banana spelt muffins instead.

I love cooking with spelt because of its great nutritional profile. Spelt is an ancient grain has that fiber, B-vitamins and iron. It is also known to be better tolerated than wheat for those with a wheat sensitivity (spelt does still have gluten, so not good for celiac). You can get spelt from the bulk bins from many specialty markets such as Whole Foods, but other brands such as Bob’s Red Mill carry it as well!

These banana spelt muffins definitely came together on a whim. To be honest, I wasn’t even sure how they would turn out. Luckily, they turned out quite delicious and a new recipe was born!

I didn’t add any sugar to this recipe because the bananas were already quite sweet, but if you are looking for a little added sweetness try adding some brown sugar or honey. If you are looking for a delicious treat to bring to Easter brunch this year, I highly recommend these banana spelt muffins.

Banana Spelt Muffins (makes 12 muffins)

Ingredients:

3 ripe bananas

1 cup spelt flour

1 cup almond flour

1 egg

½ cup water

1 tsp baking soda

½ tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp cinnamon

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 350F.

Mash your ripe bananas in a small bowl. Add the egg and water and blend well.

In a larger bowl, mix the spelt, almond flour, baking soda, salt, vanilla and cinnamon until well blended. Pour your wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and continue to mix until there are no lumps.

Pour mixture into paper-lined muffin tins and place in the oven for 25-30 minutes.

Let cool for 5 minutes, then enjoy!

Shunka in Costa Mesa

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I have been hearing lots of good things about Shunka in Costa Mesa for a long time now. I am an avid sushi fan, however I am very particular about where I get my sushi (see: Kitayama). But after reading countless reviews and hearing how I “needed to try Shunka in Costa Mesa” I finally decided to go for it. And boy am I glad I did.

Shunka is located in a small strip mall off 17th street near Plums Cafe. The actual restaurant itself isn’t that big with a sushi bar, a few booths and some small tables. Since this was my first Shunka experience, the Englishman and I decided to sit a booth and just order off the menu instead of Omakase style.

I started the meal with a cucumber salad which was cucumbers in vinegar and topped with sesame seeds. Very simple, but quite refreshing.

We decided to order a few rolls and some sushi and share amongst the two of us. First up was the mackarel, squid and shrimp sushi.

I personally did not taste the squid (I prefer it in calamari form) but the shrimp was nice and fresh and the mackrel had a nice oily taste to it. The Englishman loved the squid and happily ate both pieces. We also ordered a spicy yellowtail roll that had just the right amount of heat.

I loved this roll because it wasn’t coated in mayonnaise and other sauces so the yellowtail flavor could shine through. The added spice was a nice component as well. We also ordered a soft-shell crab roll sans the imitation crab mixture (I couldn’t have it due to my food allergies).

I actually preferred the soft shell crab without the imitation crab mixture. Just like the yellowtail roll, the flavor of the crab shined through instead of being smothered in sauce.

Last but not least we got a veggie roll. Just because I like them.

I was very impressed with Shunka – I’ll definitely be making a return trip and will be more adventurous in my ordering as well. If you are looking for quality, decently priced sushi in the Orange County area, then this is your spot.

Cecco Ristorante in Solvang

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This past weekend the Englishman and I took a little road trip up to the Santa Ynez Valley in hopes of finding a venue for our wedding next year (spoiler alert: we did!). We ended up spending the night in Solvang, and had a lovely dinner at Cecco Ristorante.

I actually visited Solvang about 3 years ago with the Englishman and I remember thinking it wasn’t all it was cracked up to be. But I have to admit after this past trip Solvang has definitely grown on me. I now appreciate the quirkiness of this Danish-inspired town and all that it has to offer.

But back to Cecco Ristorante. The Englishman and I were looking for a nicer restaurant to have dinner and this place seemed to fit the bill. It was Italian-inspired, and had a nice wine list which is always a bonus.

We opted to sit inside for dinner because it was a bit chilly, but Cecco does have a lovely outdoor patio that would be perfect on a nice warm evening. I started the meal with a glass of prosecco and the Englishman got a beer.

While we perused the menu, we enjoyed some fresh baked bread and olive oil which is always a nice way to start a meal.

Since neither of us were starving, we decided to split a salad and an entrée. We started with the Insalata Cecco which came with mesclun, tomato, ricotta salata, artichoke and lemon viniagrette.

The salad was good but it was definitely lacking in the ricotta salata department. In fact, I’m not sure there was ricotta on it at all. The salad also came with chickpeas and potatoes, neither of which were on the menu. It was almost as if the restaurant ran out of ingredients for the salad and just threw some ingredients together on the fly.

For our entrée we ordered the half roasted chicken with potatoes and vegetables.

The chicken was cooked to perfection and the flavor of the au jus was incredible. We basically demolished the chicken because it was that good. The sides however were a bit lacking. Only two tiny potatoes and 4 baby carrots. All delicious mind you, but a few more vegetables would’ve been nice.

Even though the restaurant clearly has a few kinks to work out (like serving the salads on their menu), it’s still a nice dining option if you are in Solvang. They do have a wide variety of pizzas and pastas as well which is perfect if you aren’t in the mood for schnitzel.

Juliette Kitchen and Bar and Food Allergies

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I’m always on the hunt for new places to pop in for a quick drink and small plates. Orange County has tons of delicious little restaurants and bars, but you just have to know where to look for them. Juliette Kitchen and Bar is one of these gems that is located in a small strip mall off Bristol street.

The Englishman and I literally stumbled upon Juliette Kitchen and Bar one evening and decided to get a glass of wine and maybe a few appetizers to share. The inside was cute and cozy, and the place was packed. I liked the vibe immediately when I walked in.

We sat down at a table and ordered a glass of prosecco and rose. There was a slight mix up with our drinks and we ended up with a glass of prosecco and a glass of pinot grigio instead.

The waitress was quick to notice the error and immediately went and got the glass of rose, and let us have the pinot grigio on the house which was incredibly nice. I decided to order a couple of small bites to enjoy while we sipped our drinks.

First up was the Grilled Pear Salad with burrata cheese, hazelnuts, arugula and red wine.

I happen to love burrata cheese, so I knew this would be delicious and it was. I loved the creaminess of the cheese mixed with the salty hazelnuts and the sweet pear. It was absolutely delicious.

We also ordered some French Fries that came with harissa aioli and house made ketchup.

After having a couple of fries, the Englishman reminded me that I committed a big no-no when it comes to my food allergies: I didn’t ask what oil the fries were cooked in.

We flagged the waitress down and sure enough the fries were cooked in soybean oil. My heart sank since soy is one of the things I am allergic to. We explained the situation to her and she was nice enough to take the fries off our bill all together.

Since I had only had a couple of bites I didn’t have an allergic reaction, but it was just another reminder how important it is to ask how food is prepared. 99.9% of the time I always ask if a dish has corn, soy or walnuts in it and this was one of those rare circumstances where I didn’t ask. Since my allergies are not life-threatening, I have a slip up every now and then, but this was a strong reminder that I need to make sure I do my due diligence. The last time I encountered fries cooked in soybean oil was at Eat Chow a few months ago (but I asked beforehand in that situation).

That being said, I definitely want to go back to Juliette Kitchen and Bar and have one of their entrees (after checking the ingredients of course). Everything looked and smelled so good in there, and the staff was so friendly and nice. We will definitely be back.

Lesson of the day – always ask what’s in your food regardless of if you think it is a “safe” place or not.