Waiiha, a Sushi and Japanese Dining restaurant, has completed their outdoor seating area and has gotten their furniture and lighting inside. The custom counter has been outfitted with sushi refrigeration units and the kitchen looks pretty complete. They have recently posted their proposed hours. They are open for lunch Monday thru Saturday from 11am to 1:30pm. Dinner, however, is only Tuesday thru Saturday from 5pm to 9pm. Waiiha is being opened by the same owners of Jizake Sushi down in Laguna Niguel.

The Iron Press, a restaurant focusing on local beer & waffles, still has a lot of construction going on. Crews have been working into the mid-evenings most nights trying to get the place ready. As of today, I caught of glimpse of a long stretch of beer taps and the glass rinsers are in at the bar. Other than that, the windows are pretty much still papered up and I couldn’t see much.

The Iron Press is the brainchild of Leonard “Lenny” Chan and Jeremy “Jerry” Saenz. I had a discussion recently with Lenny regarding The Iron Press. More about “Jerry” later in the article.

FID: What made you guys come up with the idea of bringing beer and waffles together?

LENNY: In all honesty, I was looking at doing waffles and beer here in Southern California over 5 years ago. Since then, I had the opportunity to open up California Shabu Shabu in Costa Mesa and figured that was a no brainer. I started seeing a trend up in Nor Cal, Portland, and Seattle brewing up, but couldn’t pass up on the shabu deal. Since California Shabu Shabu started doing better, I got the wheels going again on the beer and waffles joint, but soon after that Bruxie opened up which spun me into severe depression (ok, so I was just bummed out for a bit). After that, I figured I better hurry up and get things going ASAP!  In short – I love beer and I love waffles, so why not, yeah?

FID: I see you’re getting custom bar stools done for the bar, anything else going to be custom?

LENNY: A lot of things going in are custom! Jerry, Jaime (a good friend and our general contractor), and I have been bouncing around ideas back and forth for months now. Everything from chairs, to tables, to lamps, to counters. You name it, we have tried to put in our own spin on everything.

FID: For the customer experience, will the customers be able to see the waffles being made as they are ordered?

LENNY: Yessireebobadoo! We wanted to have the experience be as interactive as possible, so you’ll be seeing someone smashing out those waffles right in the front.

BTW, I want to steal the word “Yessireebobadoo” from Lenny! [smile]

As you read, this isn’t Lenny Chan’s first foray into the restaurant world. In 2009, Lenny opened California Shabu Shabu in Costa Mesa and their newest location in Santa Monica opened in November 2011. Based on the design cues of California Shabu Shabu, the interior of The Iron Press is sure to impress. So on the heels of the Santa Monica location moving towards their opening date, they started plans and construction for The Iron Press.

As for Jerry, the “food gene” doesn’t fall far from the tree. Jerry’s family runs and owns Lucky Habanero Salsa. Linda Saenz, “The Salsa Lady” and her family have been selling this award winning salsa since 2005. Made in small batches to ensure quality and freshness, you can find their salsa in specialty markets like Whole Foods, Promelli’s, Mothers Market, Hows, Hi-Time Wine Cellars, Irvine Ranch Market, The Meat House and BevMo. In 2011 and 2012 they have won several categories at the Annual Scovie Awards. This year, their Mango Firecracker Salsa took 1st place in the Fruit Salsa category!

So I have a surprise for you.

Lenny is also working on an Oyster Bar. I found out from a birdie that it will occupy the area formerly known as “The Rotating Kitchen” located in The OC Mart Mix. In that space, they used to have a rotating kitchen come in to prepare meals, sorta like a pop-up restaurant. (Note: I never saw any events in that space) and there is a large concrete topped counter. It is in this space, that Lenny plans to open an Oyster Bar with another partner. So we now have three new restaurants on-site at the South Coast Collection. An oyster bar certainly would do well. According to a Google search, there are only three restaurants listed with Oyster Bars. Note I said “with”. The three locations are Seafood restaurants with an Oyster Bar inside. I’m sure a more detailed search will yield others, but I think Lenny has something here. Can you stand the wait?

So that’s it for this update. More details to come in the coming weeks!

The Iron Press
3321  Hyland Avenue, Suite E
Costa Mesa, CA 92626

Waiiha
3321 Hyland Avenue, Suite D
Costa Mesa, CA 92626

Not-Yet-Named Oyster Bar
3313 Hyland Avenue (The OC Mart Mix)
Costa Mesa, CA 92626

Two new shops are getting ready to open soon: N’ice Cream and The Cheese Shop.

Coming down from Los Angeles will be N’ice Cream’s fifth location. Featuring freshly-made organic gelato and sorbet. Every morning, the iced confectioner prepares their gelato and sorbets for sale that day. Nothing they sell in their stores is ever more than 12 hours old at any point in time during the day.

You can have your “n’ice cream” plain or in a milkshake or smoothie. They also have a wide variety of home-made toppings.

Plans at this time is for a March opening date in The OC Mart Mix. In the meantime you can visit one of their other locations in Santa Monica or Venice. More info on N’ice Cream can be found on their website at: www.ilovenicecream.com or on Twitter at @NiceCreamUSA

N’ice Cream is founded by Laura Nielsen and Christian Toxboe, both from Denmark. They moved to Los Angeles in 2008 and opened their first location in the Abbot Kinney neighborhood of Venice.

Now, in November I reported that a new Cheese Shop was moving into The OC Mart Mix.

Well lots of new progress. A new partition wall is now complete and new refrigeration units as well as the main selling counter are now in place.

The Cheese Shop is scheduled to open their doors on Saturday, January 28.

They will be offering a unique selection of cheeses and charcuterie. In addition they will have grab-and-go sandwiches as well as home goods.

“We are excited to be in the oc mart MiX with its collection of eco-conscience vendors and exclusive design stores.” – Dawn Mednick

The Cheese Shop will be operated by Dawn Mednick and Sherrie Jordan. The shop is a sister store to The Cellar (wine and cheese shop)  in San Clemente which opened in 2008.

The Cheese Shop
3313 Hyland Avenue, Suite C
Costa Mesa, CA 92626
949-284-0558
www.cellarcheeseshop.com
@OCCheeseShop

According to Rainer Fruit, the Junami apple is harvested in the Fall like other apples, but made available in January for flavor and marketability. The Junami has the ability to build flavor while in storage.

The Junami is best described as having a special crisp, fruity character and is a real thirst quencher with its invigorating flavor. It is especially popular with young adults, or those who love delicious, juicy apples. The flavor is slightly perfumed, with a nice balance of a fresh, tangy taste and crispy bite. It’s beautifully round with eye-catching red color.

The Junami, while not new to the world, is fairly new to the U.S. The fruit originates in Switzerland. General grown in Northwestern Europe under the most strictest guidelines. Eastern Washington has similar conditions and that’s how Rainer Fruit came to be the exclusive grower and shipper of the Junami apple here in the U.S.

So how do you get one of these apples? Well, here in the California it seems to only be available in Northern California – in most Safeway stores. Unfortunately, it hasn’t made its way down to Safeway’s sister stores, Vons.

Perhaps in the next few weeks we will see the Junami here in the Southland.

Rainier Fruit Company
Selah, Washington
Facebook: facebook.com/RainierFruit
www.rainierfruit.com

Tours are offered on Friday and Saturday mornings and you must purchase thickets ahead of time. Tours are a maximum of 12 people, so book early.

So find that hidden food gem in Laguna. You can add a wine and beer tasting to your tour as well! Dress casual and wear comfortable shoes

Adults $55.00
Kids 7-12 $20.00

Flavors of Laguna
949-464-8830
@flavorsoflaguna
www.flavorsoflaguna.com 

It was cold tonight. I headed over to the South Coast Collection for the weekly Food Truck meet that is hosted by the SoCo Farmers Market. Each week they bring three to four trucks for you to enjoy.

This week we had The Viking Truck, Taco Maria, SexyBurger and PogiBoy. Earlier in the day I looked up the menus for the SexyBurger truck and Viking as I have not eaten at their trucks yet. After looking at The Viking, I was intrigued by the notion of “brats”. They had something on their menu called The Berserker – a combination of a bratwurst, swiss cheese, black forest ham and dijon all wrapped up in a bun.

I got tot he truck and was greeted by Luis Flores the owner and founder of the truck. They are fairly new to the OC food truck scene and have been hitting the streets now for about 2 months. I asked him about how he came up with the “Viking” theme and he said it was a combination of his high school mascot “the vikings” and some heritage that may or may not have some Viking blood! :) I ordered the Berserker and Luis also said I needed to try their special bread pudding with maple syrup, walnuts and candied bacon. Candied bacon? Oh yeah!

My order was up in less than 5 minutes and I was asked by the chef if I wanted to two forks or just one. “For the pudding…” he says. I said I only needed one and he kinda gave me a verbal high five for tackling the dessert and berserker on my own!

The Berserker is a nicely cooked bratwrust sausage with a nice snap to the skin as you bite into it. There are pieces of black forest ham on top with a nice drizzle of dijon on top. The bread is soft, but it was not toasted or warm, which I was hoping for. But the lack of warmth on the bun is inconsequential to the taste of the Berserker. I really enjoyed it. What I was craving was just some fries. They do offer something called the Dragon Eggs, which are tater tots in chili that are drizzled in Viking ketchup. I just wanted fries! :) This is a fairly large bratwurst and is a meal in itself.

Next up the Bread Pudding, however, I will need a “pause”…

The bread pudding didn’t look like much in the container – but again, don’t let that distract you from what you will inevitably be putting a smile on your face. The bread pudding was topped with bacon and syrup and the bread pudding part was more “pudding” than bread. My first bite had a piece of bacon on it and was awesome! It was very sweet, I will say that. But you catch a piece of bacon and that small hint of saltiness just melds so nicely with the sweet. I have to say that I actually finished it. It was a bit heavy after I finished it, and I really wanted a glass of milk to complete my meal. I had to settle for a Diet Coke.

Here is a list of their semi-permament menu and they have “specials” along the way.

Thunder Dog
bratwurst, black stout chili, cheddar cheese, sour cream,viking ketchup.B

Berserker
Bratwurst, black forest ham, swiss.

Odin
Smoked polish sausage, bacon, cheddar cheese, sauerkraut, red cabbage

Loki
Spicy kolbasa sausage, red pepper and jalapeños, bacon, cheddar cheese, spicy brown mustard, viking ketchup, sriracha

Nemesis
Bratwurst hand dipped in sweet corn batter

Viking Dog
1/4 pound all beef hotdog hand dipped in sweet corn batter

Dragon Eggs
Crisp tater tots, black stout chili, cheddar cheese, viking ketchup

Check out their Twitter feed for daily stops and try them out! @thevikingtruck

The permanent signage isn’t up, but you will find them with two banners out in front of the restaurant. There is plenty of seating and even outdoor seating with cover from the sun or rain.

The restaurant is still fairly new. According to the OC Weekly there was a previous Mexican restaurant that was in this space and it was purchased by some former Versailles employees (rumor). While it doesn’t say it on the website, it does say the owner has 25 years of experience honing his skills at a well known Cuban restaurant in LA.

When you are seated, you are offered Garlic Bread and was asked if I wanted a beverage. Today I started with an order of Beef and Spinach Empanadas followed by an order of Lechon Asado (tender pork in a mojo sauce with grilled onions, rice, black beans and fried plantains.

My empanadas showed up pretty quickly at the table. With it comes a dipping sauce. The outside of the empanada was crispy and flaky. Light thickness in the dough and simple ingredients. The first bite is flaky and flavorful. The filling is tasty but unremarkable. I guess I was expecting something a bit more with bigger chunks of meat. It was a simple ground beef filling. The second empanada had a spinach filling. I’m not fluent in Cuban cuisine at all. The dipping sauce was some kind of olive oil mixture and tasted like Italian dressing to me.

Minutes later my order of Lechon Asado showed up. Again, not well versed in Cuban food, the word Lechon caught my eyes as it is the same word for a Filipino pork dish. The menu lists Lecohn Asado as tender pork simmered in a mojo sauce with grilled onions. Also on the plate is rice and fried plantains. The plate had a tons of onions on the plate. I was a bit surprised as I was expecting grilled onions on top, but those were more raw and seemed a bit off putting to me. The pork however was very tender. Your first reaction is that it is greasy and oily. The mojo sauce it is simmered in is quite flavorful and seasoned well. It wasn’t oily at all. The accompanying rice has just a bit of stickiness to it and the black beans were made with mini-sized means, almost the size of capers. For a moment I thought they were whole peppercorns in the lechon! The fried plantains were a bit oily on the outside, but I ate all three of them!

There was a selection of beers on tap as well as bottled along with a selection of wines.

Bella has only been open for a few weeks, so let’s see if they can pull the foodies in. The menu isn’t complicated and concise. If anything, their only drawback is the building they are in. The restaurant is “below” street level at this point and signage not on the street side could affect things. That space has had several tenants in the last few years.

I will have to do try some Cuban food so I can appreciate the flavors more. Someone said to try the Garlic Chicken and the Ropa Vieja! :)

Bella Cuba
3930 S.Bristol Avene, # 114
Santa Ana, CA 92704
714-545-5711
www.bellacubarestaurant.com

SoCo?? The South Coast Collection, located at Hyland between the 405 and Sunflower Avenue. They are home to home decorating boutiques, furniture stores, designers and home to The OC Mart Mix housing the Portola Coffee Lab, We Olive and Wine Bar, and the Savory Spice Stop.

[Updated] I went to take some picture of the space and turns out there are TWO restaurants opening here at SoCo.

I’ve been looking at some of the empty spaces here at the South Coast Collection and notice a Beverage License application on one of the suites facing the intersection of Hyland and Sunflower. The name on the application is The Iron Press.

Earlier this week, the South Coast Collection website said this space was slated for a Sushi place (yes, that too, read below). It turns out, however, that this will be a Beer and Waffle place serving both savory and sweet waffles along with sandwiches and a nice selection of locally crafted beers. In fact, their website declares them a Beer place first, then a waffle destination!

The name of the new place is The Iron Press. They are slated for a Mid-December opening. Signage has gone up on the outside of their suite, but haven’t been able to take a peek inside as the windows are covered with butcher paper.

Upon looking at the space tonight, I notice that there is indeed a Sushi place going in, but next door to The Iron Press. The new Sushi and Japanese Dining place is called Waiiha. I don’t have anything more on them, but was able to shoot a nice pic of the inside in the moonlight. Inside we see the beginnings of the sushi bar and there is some equipment in the kitchen, but nothing more at this point.

More news on these two new additions to the South Coast Collection as they become available!

The Iron Press
3321  Hyland Avenue, Suite E
Costa Mesa, CA 92626

Waiiha
3321 Hyland Avenue, Suite D
Costa Mesa, CA 92626

So I made my Italian Sausage stuffing for the Rolled Turkey Breast for Thanksgiving. I ended up having about cup worth of leftovers and wanted something for breakfast the next morning. So I took the stuffing and with a fork broke it down into smaller pieces. I preheated my oven to 425. I then scrambled about 3 eggs along with a dash of half and half that was left over from Thanksgiving Day as well. Season with salt and pepper and place the stuffing into the egg mixture and then about 2 tablespoons of your favorite shredded cheese.

Over medium high heat (not high), place your egg mixture into the pan, pull the pan off the heat and lower the heat to medium. You should see the outer edges start to firm up. return to heat for about another minute or two. You’re looking for more firmness around the edges. The middle of the pan will definitely be runny still.

Turn the heat off and transfer your skillet to the oven for about 5-8 minutes. The eggs will continue to cook. After about 5-8 minutes pull the skillet out of the oven. Let rest for less than a minute and it will deflate. Place on a plate and serve!

I’ve been food blog friends with Riço Ocir for almost two years. Somehow we seem to miss each other and haven’t had a chance to meet until last night. I was driving up to Portola Coffee Lab in the OC Mart Mix in Costa Mesa when I see three food trucks lined up for the regular Friday night food truck gathering. Soho Gourmet Tacos, Sexy Burgers and Taco Maria were there. I have been trying to get to the Soho truck for quite sometime now and here was my chance.

I walked up to the truck and looking at the menu when I hear rumblings from one of the Soho truck employees. I look up and see that it is Riço! I was so surprised, I said hello and gave him a hug. It was really nice to finally meet him, but equally important that I got to try the taco’s from Soho.

Soho Gourmet Taco is headed up by Chef Gabe Zambrano who I had the pleasure of meeting last night. Soho Gourmet started and is still a Gourmet Taco Catering company. They have travelled all over LA/OC/IE bringing their fresh ingredients and homemade tortillas to events, private weddings, corporate parties and more. Their customized tables feature the ability to be setup without the need for an external power source making their ability to be in many types of venues. They only recently launched their Food Truck in the last 60 days or so and it’s been a huge success for them.

Let’s get to the tacos. Riço recommended the vegetarian. Now, I know Riço is no vegetarian by any means, so for him to say I have to try it says a lot! In addition, I wanted to sample the Camerones Especial (Shrimp) and the Carnitas (Pork).

My order was placed “on the floor” by Pierre who took my order on an iPad. My order was not only paid for on the iPad, but the order was transmitted to the “truck” and came out on a printer for the line. This is awesome! (I’ll follow up on this with a separate story for iFoodie, the tech side of my food blog.)

My order was ready in a matter of minutes. Three tacos nested in a container. I helped myself to the fresh salsa (Chef Gabe says if there is one thing you can do, is that you should always make your own salsa, don’t buy store bought ones) and a verde sauce they call “Green Crack”. I placed a nice squirt of the bright green concoction on my tacos and off I went to enjoy.

Look at the tortillas. Hand-slapped on the truck to the perfect thickness cooked on a hot “comal/griddle”. It’s cooked thru fast and given the “ever so slightest” crunch on the outside. Each taco had a healthy portion of fillings. Using up all the real estate in the tortilla is not a problem for these guys. My first bite was into the Camerones Especial. Tender pieces of non-breaded shrimp cooked perfectly in garlic butter with tender shreds of cabbage topped with a special sauce made of chipotle and sour cream along with some Jack cheese. When you bite into your taco, the tortilla doesn’t fight with you. The shrimp is not rubbery and seasoned well. It’s hard not to eat thru it in three or four bites, you want to savor each bite.

The carnitas taco is slow cooked pork that filled the tortilla. I add chopped cilantro, some of their salsa and the Green Crack. Juicy, through and through. No dry shreds of pork. I want more. For readers of my blog, you all know I LOVE pork. The heat from the Green Crack is just right. A good amount of heat to wake up your senses, but not hot that you’re sweating. Now I know why they call it Green Crack. They should bottle that up and sell it on its own.

I left the vegetarian taco for last as in my mind I was savoring shrimp and pork really bad. I don’t add anything to the taco except for a small amount of “crack”. I’m about to take a bite when my nose catches the aroma of grilled vegetables. I go for the bite and find my eyes opening in amazement. I’ll be the first to tell you that ordering a vegetarian taco wouldn’t have been on my list tonight, but I tell you, this is the taco to order! A mixture of bell peppers, onions, Portobellos, baby spinach with Jack Cheese and some of that signature Chipotle sour cream. Your mouth tries to interpret what you’re eating and you find a chunk of grilled mushroom and you want more. The vegetables still have a bit of a crunch to them and they are not over grilled.

Trust me on this all you carnivores, if you come across the Soho taco truck, honk your horn, make them pull over and have them make you a “Vegetariano” taco. Don’t tell them I told you to do that, honk at your own risk!

Now I understand why Riço has allied himself with Soho. Clean, simple, flavorful tacos. Nothing more, nothing less. They don’t make burritos, enchiladas or flautas, just what they do best: tacos.

Check out their Twitter feed @sohotaco for updates on their truck schedule. You can also find them on the web at www.sohotaco.com

Photo credits: Food shots by Foodie In Disguise, pics of Chef Gabe and the Soho Taco Truck courtesy of Soho Taco.

This is exciting! I don’t have any details on opening dates or even the name of this new shop, but hopefully they will be open before the holidays!

The “Cheese Shop” joins other culinarians in the OC Mart Mix like Portola Coffee Lab, We Olive and Wine Bar and the Savory Spice Stop.

In addition, don’t forget the OC Mart Mix’s weekly Saturday Farmers’ Market and various Food Truck gatherings.

When more details come, I’m sure to get it out to you! Stay tunes!

The “Cheese Shop” in the OC Mart Mix
3313 Hyland Avenue Suite C
Costa Mesa, CA 92626

Playground will officially open to the public at 6:00pm on Friday, November 18th.

But if you happen to be walking by Playground for the last two nights, you would know that Chef Jason and his staff have been doing a few “rehearsals”. Tonight was the last rehearsal before opening night – so I came to taste the food – more on that later…

I was in Downtown Santa Ana hoping to take some pictures of the place and as I was walking up I noticed that the front door was open. I popped my head in and asked if I could snap a few pictures. I was greeted by Jarred Dooley who is the Director of Libations for Playground. Jarred shows me around the place and Jason Quinn pops over and I introduce myself to him. He looks like a father in the waiting room waiting for a new baby to arrive! He introduces me to his father, Bob Quinn, who is co-owner of Playground. He is so proud of the accomplishments of his son Jason and the opening of their first restaurant.

The place a nice vibe to it. Dark colors with a wall of red to break things up. Most of the tables are communal/family style and there is also seating along the windows. The other walls are in chalkboard black and you can see today’s menu as well as a list of beers, twitter information as well as a large drawing of Melissa’s who provides some of the fresh vegetables along with some local purveyors. As you look towards the bar, you see a row of chrome taps. Here is where some locally crafted beers will be served. There is quite an extensive list of bottled beers and beers on tap. As you walk up to the restaurant from the outside you can see prep work being done in a window to the left. This afternoon, we see the bread being prepared as well as pasta and some aioli. Later in the evening, this will also be a prep area for the assembling of the desserts which are made by none other than Rachel Klemek from the Blackmarket Bakery.

After clicking a few pictures in Playground, I leave and return at 6pm where the doors are now open and the music is playing. The staff is in black while Jason is in his chef whites and red/orange pants sporting a bright cyan watchband. He is both in the kitchen and on the floor tonight. He has a big smile on his face and is happy to see the customers in his place.

I chose to sit at the bar and sat towards the right end of the bar. The setup is a bit different. You order your food and drinks at the bar and then your order is brought to your table. A line was now forming as happy patrons placed their orders and then sat down. I was listening to every order that was coming in and people were trying all sorts of items from the menu this evening. The person behind the bar even offered small samples to the customers trying to make a decision from the list of beers on the wall. A popular beer tonight was the Saison CismonTap a locally co-crafted brew by Cismontane in Rancho Santa Margarita and Taps Fish House and Brewery in Brea.

So tonight I decided to try  the Our Bread, Your Butter; Kurobuta Pork Belly Slider; Handmade Gnocchi; Chicken & Egg; Playground Burger and the Handmade Pasta. I finish it off with a sampling of the Farmers Daughter Pudding.

Our Bread/Your Butter

The bread is made fresh everyday and so is the butter. The butter is served to you in a mini-mason jar and has a slight hint of truffle. The bread is soft and pillowy with a nice outer crust with a small sprinkling of sea salt on top. Don’t forget to shake/churn the mason jar before you open it!

Kurobota Pork Belly Slider served in an Individual Steamed Bun with Pickle and Salsa Tigre

This to me was a perfect starter. Truth be known, I probably could have eaten a few more of these! Tender pork belly served in an Asian Steamed Bun. I think that was sirracha and hoisin sauce on the plate, smear your slider into both!

Handmade Gnocchi made with Lemon Ricotta, Sage and Candied Pistachios

The slightest hint of lemon in this Gnocchi dish. In my opinion could have been a bit more pillowy and light. I really wanted to slide the gnocchi thru some sauce. The candied pistachios were a nice touch.

Chicken & Egg with Okinawa Sweet Hash and 62 Degree Poached Egg

Hands down my favorite dish of the night. Jason was so excited about this dish he brought it out himself to me at the bar. A bowl with perfectly sous vide chicken in a broth with scallions topped with a 62 degree poached egg. Underneath it all is an Okinawa Hash. An Okinawa potato is light in color on the outside, but once you slice into it, its a nice rich purple. You break the egg and the yolk just oozes over the chicken and into the broth. I ate everything in the bowl. Get this dish, you won’t be disappointed. The only that could have brought this dish over the top would have been a nicely rendered piece of crispy chicken skin to give you a surprise crunch!

Handmade Pasta with San Marzano Tomatoes and Parmesan

I watched Jason and one of his chefs roll out handmade pasta this afternoon. Jason took long flat pieces of pasta from the pasta machine, cut them and roll them into something between handmade bucatini and maccheroni inferrati. Regardless of the shape, the pasta was cooked al dente (as always) and served with freshest sauce of San Marzano tomatoes seasoned perfectly with a slight hint of heat. Freshly grated Parmesan tops this dish.

Playground Burger

Jason knows how to make a burger. This burger was juicy, tender and flavorful. Jason’s dad was explaining to me how they make the burgers. A combination of properly manipulating the fresh ground meat as it comes out of the grinder, wrapping it in log form, chilling it then slicing “against” the grain of the meat. The meat is ground from three different cuts of beef daily. Ingenious actually. The burger is always cooked medium rare to medium (as it should be) and paired with a great bun baked by the OC Baking Company. Pair it with Maple Bourbon caramelized onions, rocket (arugula) and a semi-firm cow’s milk called Tomme de Savoie from the French Alps.

Farmers Daughter Pudding

Last but not least was  the Farmers Daughter Pudding served with a smear of caramel on the inner wall of the bowl with pudding, whip cream and caramel popcorn. In addition came two chocolate cookies. I couldn’t quite put my finger on the taste of the actual pudding, as the caramel made for a butterscotch taste in my mouth. The caramel corn was a nice contrast to the pudding and whip cream. Here’s the best part tho. Remember those cookies? I bit into them thinking those were chunks of white chocolate (the expectation) but what I got instead was a corn nut! Brilliant, absolutely brilliant! A nice hit of salt in a sweet dish. All the desserts are made by Rachel Klemek over at the BlackMarket Bakery in Irvine.

For a pre-opening night rehearsal I say Jason and this crew did a great job. I think they are still sorting out issues with how to handle orders, but the food is good, the music is good and they have an endless list of beer to choose from. The prices might seem a bit high for some of the items, but I personally felt it was worth it. There are plenty of other choices on the menu to enjoy and as I was by myself, what I ordered was way over my daily limit – but it was sooo good! The menu will be changing daily according to Jason as it will be driven by what he finds at the market that day. The kitchen seems to have a good handle on things. I’m sure Jason doesn’t let anything go thru the kitchen doors without it matching his standards. However it is safe to say that his chefs feel the same pride in the food they prepare as Jason does and would take it to heart if a dish was sub-par. The front of the house needs some fine tuning but I think they know that and will figure that out over the next little while.

Jason has a good thing going here. They are in a part of Santa Ana that is experiencing new growth and with the patronage of folks from the nearby Yost Theatre and the bars in the nearby Artists’ Village, he won’t have a problem with filling the place up. Don’t get discouraged with the parking, there is plenty of parking in nearby lots and surrounding side streets.

Congratulations Jason on the opening of Playground – I will be back to try more of your great food over the next few weeks!

For more pictures, visit:          More Pics from Chef Jason’s Playground        

Playground
220 E. Fourth Street (4th and Spurgeon)
Santa Ana, CA 92701
714-560-4444
Open Tuesday through Sunday, 11:30am to close
www.playgrounddtsa.com
twitter: @playgrounddtsa
Facebook: www.facebook.com/pages/The-Playground/154783351261279

There is a small collection of food trucks here tonight and one of them is the Pogi Boy Food Truck. An OC based Filipino food truck serving Filipino food with a slight twist. Tonight there is a bit of moisture in the air and I had a Kenya Coffee brewing in a Siphon at Portola so I ordered a “Poot Long Lumpia”. Their own version of the traditional Pork Shanghai Lumpia, but a foot long and thicker! (Get your heads out of the gutter).

It literally is a footlong. In fact when they were getting ready to hand it to me, the lumpia broke in half! Yikes! No worries, it tasted just as good when broken! The lumpia is filled with well seasoned ground pork, carrots, onions and celery wrapped in the thicker wonton like egg roll skin rather than the traditional thin, crispy rice paper.

This lumpia had a lot of flavor and I didn’t really need the accompanying sweet chili sauce that it came with. I will have to come back when I have a bit more room in my stomach to try out their Beefsteak Taco, Crispy Pork (Pata) taco and the Chicken Adobo taco. They also feature a French toast burger and Fries topped with Chicken Adobo!

Pogi Boy Truck
https://www.facebook.com/Pogiboytruck
Travelling all over the OC. Check out their Twitter link @pogiboytruck 

Had this been a typical Southern California day, it would have been sunny and the beach full of surfers enjoying the hot rays of the sun. Unfortunately it was cold and rainy. A typically busy restaurant for lunch was a bit empty due to the weather – but don’t let that distract you from the fact that the food was good.

We started off our meal with an order of Cheese Bread. This wasn’t what I expected. When it arrived, there was a nice broiled layer of parmesan and mozzarella cheese on fresh bread. What I didn’t expect, was when I bit into the bread a soft, gooey layer of cheese met my mouth. There was a slight char to the top of the cheese, but the gooeyness of the cheese was the surprise. Most places you have cheesy bread it’s usually a very light layer of cheese.

Daron opted for the Tilamook Cheeseburger and I had the Sonoma Chicken.

My Sonoma Chicken was a Grilled Chicken Breast served over caramelized onions with Goat Cheese Polenta and Wilted Spinach. The chicken breast was very most. It was pre-sliced so it was a no-fuss meal. The onions were good, but what I wanted more of was that Goat Cheese Polenta under the onions and chicken. No grittiness, just soft pillows of polenta meeting my fork then up to my mouth. The wilted spinach could have used another 30 seconds on the heat and a slight pinch of salt in my opinion. I’m usually not fond of post-coooking sprinkle of salt on my food, so I went on. This is a dish I could easily reproduce at home and I intend to.

Daron’s burger arrived. He likes his meat well done where I would have asked for medium-rare. There was a nice slice of Tilamook Cheddar on top that was put under the salamander and got a nice crust. Fresh bread and crisp leaves of lettuce along with chopped red onions made for a great burger for him. His order of fries were crisp. I took one and snapped it in half and made for a nice cracking sound.

I have to come back to this place for dinner when the place is more full. The ambiance was way too silent on this rainy day. There were only about 5 patrons in the restaurant at the time we were there. We only a couple of dishes, but it’s enough to make me come back for another visit.

Have you been here before? What did you think? Do you have a favorite dish from their menu?

Spark Woodfire Grill has three locations. In addition to Hungtington Beach, they have restaurants in Beverly Hills and Studio City.

Spark Woodfire Grill
300 Pacific Coast Highway
Huntington Beach, CA 92648
714-960-0996
www.sparkwoodfiregrill.com

Years later, I met fellow foodie Ben Winnick thru his food blog. We would develop an online friendship and later meet. I come to find out via his Facebook page that he had a name that was oddly familiar to me. It was Zach! Zach and I re-connected and find out that he has started a “foodie” adventure of his own.

Zach is the co-owner and founder of SoNo Trading Company – a company specializing in mustard. Now known as the Official Mustard of Southern California, they have moved from the Hillcrest Farmers’ Market to the shelves of Whole Foods and other specialty stores in San Diego and Los Angeles.

But Zach wanted to grow. He found Kickstarter. There, we put out a video and asked folks like you and I to make an investment in SoNo and help them make it to the next step. He was asking for $4,000 in “seed” money to have the ability to purchase mustard seed and to start marketing to stores to sell his mustards. It was an awesome success. He asked for $4,000 and got over $15,000! A true Kickstarter success story. They used the money to concentrate on two flavors of mustards, Hong Kong Habanero and Champagne Garlic. As a pledger of the project we received one or two bottles of this magic mustard.

His dream has come true and his mustards have hit the store shelves.

SoNo’s Champagne Mustard brings a two great tastes together, champagne and garlic. Made with organic ingredients and no preservatives whatsoever – only the best. Their other popular mustard is the Hong Kong Habanero a perfect blend of “hot” and tanginess.

Zach also has the support of the local restaurant business in San Diego and has his mustards highlighted in several dishes.

Take the time to visit SoNo Trading and check it out. Order a bottle and tell them FoodieInDisguise sent you. I will have another post soon with a recipe of my own using their mustards – look out for it!

SoNo Trading Company
www.sonotrading.com

When you walk in you feel the excitement of the space. Everyone here is friendly and of course, there is a line to place an order. Each cup is made fresh. No pots, no storage carafes, each cup of latte, cappuccino and coffee is made cup by cup. They roast their own coffee here and use beans from all over the world to achieve the best flavors. Roasting the beans here they can control the darkness and the freshness of the beans.

I get in line and greeted by one of the friendliest smiles on a Sunday morning. I think his name was Nick, but he had one of those infectious smiles that makes you want to smile yourself. Still suffering from the tail end of my cold, I now have lost my voice and try to tell him that I need an Earl Grey Tea and a combo of a Strawberry/Fig Salad and a Turkey/Havarti panini.

As I wait for my order to arrive, I watch the flurry of white lab coats stained with coffee and tea as they brew the perfect cup for a line of waiting customers. The seating area is open and bright with large windows on one side bring great sunlight into the space. There are people shopping in the surrounding shops and you can even hear the ringing of a bicycle bell as a young child is testing her first bike at the bike shop next door. I look around and everyone is really enjoying themselves. There is ample seating inside their space as well as tables located in the public spaces of the Mix. There is also outdoor seating available in the warm sun.

I’m sitting at the bar that surrounds the roaster that the owner, Jeff Duggan, roasts the beans in each day. I was listening in on a conversation and it seems that Jeff has the awesome responsibility of roasting each day. There are bags of coffee beans strewn throughout the space and I just wish he would roast some right now. I bet the smell of roasted coffee has got to be awesome!

While the roaster is the star attraction, let’s not forget the brewers in the center island. Here is where the other half of the magic is made. Here they use one of three brewing methods. The V-60, Trifecta, or Siphon. Let’s take a small trip on what each brewing method is and why they don’t just have one method of brewing.

The V-60 is made by a company called Hario. It is a single cup drip method where the coffee is measured by weight not volume. Coffee is placed in a ceramic funnel that has ridges to promote water “traffic”. Here, the perfect amount of tempered hot water is placed in the cone and the grounds brew. Each cup can take up to 4-8 minutes to brew. No instant cups of coffee here, that’s for sure. Yes there is a wait, but it is worth it.

The next method is the BUNN Triefecta another single cup server method that uses air and water to brew the perfect cup. Here grounds are placed in a chamber and water is pushed thru. In addition to the water, air is forced into the chamber to promote agitation making sure that all the grounds get an equal opportunity spin in the water! The barista can make adjustments in water levels and grounds to produce a different cup each time. This machine is like the “Dyson”.

The third method is the Siphon method and my favorite method – if for anything, the technique and fascination of the process. This is a time honored method that goes back many, many years in history. As Jeff Duggan explains in his blog, it looks like something out of Jules Verne and a chemistry set. This method involves temperature and a vacuum to achieve the perfect cup of coffee.

1. Fill bottom vessel with pre-heated 210 degree later
2. Prepare coffee part with a special spring action flange, place weighed (not measured) coffee
3. Wait for water to come to 212 degree (boiling point)
4. Secure coffee vessel to water vessel which is sealed with a rubber stopper
5. As water boils, a vacuum is created that then pushes the water up into the coffee vessel
6. Once most of the water has moved to the top vessel, let sit for a determined amount of time
7. Turn off the heat
8. Place a cool rag around the bottom vessel. The cooler temperature aids in part 9.
9. As the water comes down from boiling point, the water is sucked back down to the lower vessel
10. Once the coffee has moved to the lower vessel it is ready to be served.

I REALLY like this place. It’s comfortable, just enough bustle for excitement, but not loud and obnoxious. The staff is very serious and dedicated to you and the coffee -yet friendly and very approachable.

I’m a bit distracted as I watch the center island and see one of the baristas pouring hot water into one of the V-60s. They don’t simply pour the water in, it takes a careful pour over a period of time. Flooding the funnel with water is not the method here. There is a deliberate pour taking place here. A slow stream of water at 200-210 degrees, just below boiling.

They also brew coffee using a cold method which “brews” coffee over many hours. This “brew” is used when making iced coffees. Similarly impressive in looks to the siphon, cold water drips into grounds and eventually to a holding tank. I didn’t have any clear photos of the brewer, but here is one from the web.

Here are some photos of the food and lattes I also enjoyed this afternoon. They have an excellent selection of both cold and hot teas. A curiosity that I really liked is that they offered simple syrup and Truvia packets in addition to the Whole, Fat Free and Half & Half milks! Stop by soon and enjoy a brew and don’t drink the coffee to fast – enjoy every last drop!

Portola Coffee Lab
3313 Hyland Avenue
Costa Mesa, CA 92626
949-284-0596
www.portolacoffeelab.com

While California Pistachios have gotten very popular from their recent TV campaign, it is Iranian pistachios that are very famous and well known. Tavazo imports it’s pistachio from Iran. I have never had Iranian pistachios and perhaps I need to try some to taste the difference.

While Tavazo is the last name of the owner, in Persian it means “Grand or Big”. This is actually their first store in the United States. They have a couple of locations in Canada with a factory in Ontario and headquarters in Iran. The Tavazo company has been around since 1950 in the nut and dried fruit industry.

Stop by the new Irvine location which is next to Smart & Final.

Tavazo Dried Nuts & Fruit
14417 B Culver Drive
Irvine, CA 92604
949-552-7780
www.tavazousa.com

It will be interesting to see if they tear down the original structure or only do cosmetic changes to the inside. I mean, this used to be a bank – what are they going to do with the vault. When I was in there signing up for my gym membership, the 1 foot steel door and vault was still there. Will they convert that to storage or the walk-in? The space is listed as 2,700 square feet and is located on a “pad” on the Southeast corner of the shopping center. As of this writing, that space is still listed as available on the management company website.

All kidding aside it will be interesting to see if they get the space. The shopping center has undergone a a facelift with the opening of LA Fitness. The building definitely looks like a bank today. Let’s see what happens and if the retail management company bites on this opportunity.

There is currently a Del Taco, Denny’s, Subway and Casa Franco a Mexican restaurant. I think the burger joint will bring more life to this shopping center. Hopefully they will increase the lighting in that corner and get rid of the “darkness” there. The property mgmt has been amiss about fixing some long-time burned out parking lot lights in that part of the center. There is a small strip mall “behind” the center that is along Charlinda Drive. There is a liquor store, a taco stand and a veterinary hospital. The area in front of the liquor store is quite dark.

So with my new diet and life changes it will be very difficult not to want to stop by a couple times a week for a good burger. I can treat myself maybe once a month. Yep, once a month. I guess I could eat there more, just no bun and fries. Meat only. Five Guys does not have any freezers in their restaurants, everything is fresh and made that day. So at least I know there are no preservatives or nitrates in the beef. I could eat their fries I suppose, as well. They use peanut oil and everything is trans-fat free.

Look for more updates as this story develops!

So far this season on the Great Food Truck Race, The Lime Truck has been doing well and this week they are headed to Manhattan!! No, not in New York, but Manhattan, Kansas – population 52,281. Should be interesting.

I actually had my first meal at The Lime Truck last year in July 2010 in a truck roundup in Irvine across from Allergan. I had ordered the Lime Club Sandwich and an order of the Blue Crab Ceviche. The food was awesome. The ceviche was perfect for a warm summer day and the sandwich was on spot with fresh flavors that only says CAL-I-FORN-I-A!

These are some photos from that that Food Truck Gathering in July 2010:

Well Chef Jason Quinn of The Lime Truck is opening “The Playground” featuring his best ideas in burgers and craft beer. The Playground is East of the Santa Ana Artists’ District near the recently renovated Yost Theatre.. I was actually in Santa Ana last week and walked by the Yost, but not sure that I saw that it was open yet. The area around the Yost Theatre has been face lifted and looks great. It’s an odd combination of small sundries stores and Mexican Tortillerias, but I think that The Playground will be a great anchor restaurant in that area. It is a very short walk from the main Artists’ District area. The Yost Theatre is now hosting shows quite frequently so The Playground will have the support of music lovers, before and after the concerts.

According to a blog post from The OC Weekly it was scheduled to open in early August, although if I walked right by it, it must have been closed then. I will have to swing by there this weekend and check it out. Their website only has a landing page that says they are planning on opening, but not published date and their Facebook page hasn’t officially announced their opening yet. I sure hope they are open I can’t wait to try one of his burgers! Chef Jason taught a class at the Newport Beach Sur La Table highlighting his burgers. I wish I had known about that class I would have been there in an instant! <smile> To make a burger with Jason would be awesome! Can you tell I’m a big fan? :)

Well I’ll update this as I find more information out. If they are open, you are sure to get a review VERY SOON!

[UPDATE] According to Chef Jason, we’re about six weeks away from opening. Stay tuned! :)

The Playground
220 East 4th Street
Santa Ana, CA 92701
949-292-6282
www.playgroundburger.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/The-Playground/15478335126

Photo Credit: OC Register

These empanadas were baked and fried as they usually are. I will reproduce this recipe and do a post in the next week or so.

Well later that day I was leaving IKEA and needed to go to the bank. I’m with BofA and there was one at Harbor and Adams. On my way there, I saw a restaurant called Empanada’s Place. I immediately turned into the parking lot and had to have some. The place is small, but nice. There were two customers in the store having empanadas and watching a soccer game and a couple outside.

I ordered 4 empandas: spinach, beef, spicy beef and ham/cheese. They are made fresh and then deep fried to perfection. The crust was golden brown and not greasy whatsoever. They were hot, but couldn’t wait to get my teeth into them.

First I tried the Spicy Beef: crunchy shell, not too thick, nice amount of filling. Same with the beef empanada, but I could have done without the whole olive (I think that’s an Argentine thing). The spinach one had cheese and spinach with onions and then the ham and cheese. My favorite overall was the spicy beef. Just a slight kick in the flavor – perfect. In fact the dough was perfectly cooked and wasn’t doughy. When I made my empanadas, I bought pre-made empanada dough rounds in an Argentine market in Laguna Hills. The concept is like buying egg roll wrappers. These tasted way better than the ones I used and I’m sure they make their dough from scratch. They have two locations, the other being in Culver City off of Sawtelle. If you are ever up in the Westside or down in Costa Mesa, make it a point to visit.

Empanda’s Place
3011 Harbor Blvd
Costa Mesa, CA 92626
714-825-0100

Well after the bank and running a few more errands I headed home. After a short nap, I decided to watch my Saturday cooking shows that I had DVR’d. I picked America’s Test Kitchen on PBS and guess what the topic was: Empanadas!!! Can you believe it? Rick Bayless was a guest on the show and Bridget Lancaster showed how to make easy empanadas at home.

This was a sign for sure. In one day, I had come across Empanadas three times!! For sure I need to make some now. Stay tuned!

Inspired by a recent dinner at Ecco.

I literally just went out and bought the ingredients. I cooked it without a recipe. Below is an approximate recipe for what I made.

1/2 box of Orecchiette
1 pkg of Mild Italian Sausage
Handful of Basil, chiffonade or tear into small pieces
4 oz of Cremini Mushrooms, sliced
4 Tablespoons Olive Oil
1 Clove Garlic, minced
1/4 cup of reserved pasta water
1/2 Chicken stock
1 Tbl Unsalted Butter
Salt and Pepper
Shaved Parmesan or Pecorino

In a large stockpot, fill with cold water and bring to a boil. When at a rolling boil, add salt to water. Add Orecchiette and cook to al dente.

Meanwhile, in a skillet at 2 Tbl of Olive Oil and add Italian Sausage and brown at medium heat. Crumble sausage meat into small pieces. Season with salt and pepper. After meat is almost cooked, add sliced mushrooms, minced garlic and chicken stock. Cover and simmer for 5-8 minutes. Add basil and continue cooking uncovered.

When pasta is al dente, add to sausage mixture and add the pasta water to the skillet. Stir and continue to cook for several minutes. When liquid has mostly evaporated, add butter, then turn off heat.

Serve with shaved Parmesan or Pecorino.