Le Pain Quotidien - Newport Beach, CA

Wanting to eat healthy, I am always on the lookout for these types of restaurants/cafes to open. Luckily Le Pain Quotidien opened up in Fashion Island not too long ago. They source organic ingredients whenever they can and their breads are all organic. You can see them making bread sometimes in the kitchen too.

Mushroom, Kale, and Parmesan Frittata

A seasonal special, the Mushroom, Kale, and Parmesan Frittata was pretty good. It's made with organic eggs and includes organic mesclun salad with two pieces of bread. They also offer three types of jams to put on your bread. Get the jam, they're all good...and one of them isn't jam...it's more like a Nutella type spread. All so good.

Wild Mushroom and Gruyere Omelette

From the breakfast section, the Wild Mushroom and Gruyere Omelette also comes with a salad and two pieces of bread. This was gobbled  up pretty quickly...or someone was very hungry. =)

Prosciutto and Mozzarella di Bufala

For the meat eaters that like prosciutto, this was also very delicious (not from my experience of course). It's from their tartine section...which I guess is basically an open faced sandwich.

Baguette

Lastly, we had to get one of their baguettes to go. Usually it is a long roll as baguettes usually are, but maybe this was for the holidays? Very pretty...and I definitely like that you can yank your own bite sized piece this way. More crust is also gooood. Now this place can be a tad on the pricier side....pricier than a Corner Bakery, but if you can taste the difference (like we can) you will notice the food is definitely of a better quality.

Le Pain Quotidien

http://www.lepainquotidien.us/

#1103 Fashion Island

401 Newport Center Drive,

Newport Beach, CA 92660

(949)287-5592

Hours:

Mon-Sat: 8:00AM - 9:00PM

Sun: 8:00AM - 8:00PM

GOQUARED2 (inside Mitsuwa) - Irvine, CA : Taiyaki

The new Mitsuwa in Irvine is now open! It is pretty tiny compared to the other Mitsuwas, but it's closer to me than the Costa Mesa location. They also have Santouka so the meat eaters can enjoy their yummy ramen noodles. I stopped by and tried some taiyaki from GOSQUARED2.

Taiyaki

You can watch these little fishies being made right behind the counter. I didn't eat them right away, so it got a bit soft. I bet they're better when you eat them right off the griddle. The flavor was still pretty good though. They're $2 each.

Red bean and Custard Taiyaki

Between the red bean and custard, I definitely liked the red bean better. There's also a chocolate flavor. Smaller location with less goodies to try, but you can still get your basics without driving as far.

GOSQUARED2 inside Mitsuwa Marketplace

14230 Culver Drive

Irvine, CA 92604

Restaurant Hours: 11:00 AM - 8:30 PM

How Much Protein Am I Supposed to Consume Daily?

Most people worry that vegetarians aren't getting enough protein. So how much protein is the right amount to eat every day? There are two very similar ways to calculate this.

1) Divide your weight by 2 and eat that number of protein in grams per day.
Example: If you weigh 140lbs, you divide that by 2 and get 70. You should eat roughly 70 grams of protein per day.

2) Take your weight in kilograms and eat that number of protein in grams per day. (1 kg is approximately 2.2 pounds)
Example: If you weight 140 lbs, that is approximately 63.5 kilos. So you should eat roughly 63.5 grams of protein per day.

So if you weigh 140 lbs, you should eat roughly between 63-70 grams of protein per day throughout the day to maintain your weight.

If you are trying to gain or lose weight, then you would calculate using method 1 or 2 with your target weight. Pretty simple, right?

The Trails - Griffith Park/Los Feliz, Los Angeles, CA

If you ever go to Griffith Park, check out the Trails Cafe. It's right along the drive up to Griffith Observatory, so parking is along the street.

Trails Cafe from the side

There is only outdoor seating, so dress warmly in colder weather. There are plenty of picnic tables and benches for you to sit and relax. It's a really nice atmosphere, if you like the outdoors, as you are surrounded by trees.

Veggie Chili and Blue Corn Bread

Their chili and corn bread were pretty good. I particularly enjoyed the edges/crust of the corn bread as that has the most flavor (to me).

Ranger Pie

The Ranger Pie was also pretty good. The edges were nice and crunchy, not doughy.

Inside the Ranger Pie

Here is a close-up of the inside of the Ranger Pie. There's potatoes, corn, carrots, peas, etc. The only thing I didn't like was the hint of black pepper...as I do not like anything spicy...but I was able to handle it.

All in all, pretty good food. As some Yelp users mentioned, it can be a bit pricey for such a simple little stand, but everything was pretty darn good. Remember, cash only. The Meat-eater enjoyed it...and he also had a cup of coffee and liked that as well. And he usually doesn't care for the over-sugared Starbucks coffee. Whenever we come back to Griffith Observatory/Griffith Park we will be stopping by here to eat!

The Trails Cafe
http://www.thetrailslosfeliz.com/
2333 Fern Dell Drive,
Los Angeles, CA 90068
323-871-2102
Tues to Sun - 8:00am to 5:00pm
Closed Mondays (except some holidays)

The Counter - Veggie Burger

The Counter is a burger joint where you can custom build your own burger or choose one from their menu. The pluses are that many of their ingredients are locally sourced and their beef are humanely raised and handled without hormones or antibiotics.

Veggie Burger sans bun

You get a clipboard with their menu and check off which items you want. I chose a custom built veggie burger in a bowl on organic mixed greens with herb goat cheese spread, tomatoes, sprouts, carrot strings, and hard boiled eggs with sun dried tomato vinaigrette as the sauce. You couldn't see the egg until I mixed up the salad. It was underneath everything.

Veggie Burger on greens

I ran into a bit of bad luck (or bad waiter input of my request into the computer) because my burger came out with sauteed onions and bacon on top. ??!?!?! Yes, bacon on my veggie burger. I was like ?!??!?.... this isn't True Blood. They came back out a second time without my bacon but everything else was still wrong. I asked the lady to please check my paper with my order. Apparently something happened with the entering of my order into the computer because after she checked my slip....my order came out correctly. Voila! However, it was strange that NOBODY apologized. Nobody came to offer a discount or take something off our check. Nothing. Maybe I'm used to extra good customer service, because other places I go to will do such things. I mean, I'm sitting there with no food while everyone else in my party was eating. In-N-Out has better service than this...In-N-Out has excellent service! I would expect poor customer services if my meal was not that expensive, but even places like Corner Bakery will apologize and be nice about fixing your order...and it's less expensive to eat at Corner Bakery. The burgers here are $8.95 for a 1/3lb...no matter if it's a meat or veggie patty. And since I got it in a bowl on greens, that's an additional $1 making my burger approximately $10. Does that sound right to you? A veggie burger is $9 and an angus beef burger is also $9. I've seen this at restaurants (where you can substitute any of their burgers for a veggie patty and it's the same price) but usually the burgers are less than $9, or it comes with sides or some other items. The veggie burger wasn't bad tasting, but it wasn't great either. It's different from the ones I've had, but not stellar or anything. I don't believe it's worth $9 in my opinion. You can eat healthier and get better service for less money somewhere else. My bad experience and so-so food means I give this place a thumbs down! =P

The Counter
http://www.thecounterburger.com/

Location this was eaten at:

Woodbury Town Center

6416 Irvine Boulevard

Irvine, CA 92620

Rutabegorz - Tustin, CA : Soup and Salad

Did some Yelp research for veggie food and found that this place received four stars after 200+ reviews. So I wanted to try it out. This place offers all kinds of foods and is vegetarian friendly. The decor is very homey and cozy. We sat in a booth, but let me tell you...it's not very comfortable because it's hard, straight, and small. Felt like the bench was pointed downward and gravity kept pulling me. (At least gravity works.)

Soup and Salad

After perusing the menu of many veggie items, I decided to just go with the soup and salad. I know, you can eat this anywhere...but it's just what I felt like that day. They have a veggie soup of the day...which I already forgot what it was...some type of minestrone. The salad is lettuce, cucumber, tomato, carrots, celery, and sunflower seeds. It was all very light and healthy. Not overly salty or oily. Plain and simple...and I like plain and simple.

This place, however, is self seating. Which meant that the waitress didn't get to us right away, while they got to others who sat after us first. So if you're unlucky, like we were, you will get skipped over. Not liking that system so much. I guess if you want good service, you should go when it's not busy. But that's kind of a pain, isn't it? So just because of the uncertain service, I don't think I'll be going back there anytime soon again. (And I normally don't mention service...but when it's not so good...I do.)

Rutabegorz
http://www.rutabegorz.com/site/index.php
158 West Main St.
Tustin, CA 92780

Persimmons 柿子 : Where to Buy (Prices) and How to Eat Them

Persimmons are in season now and they are one of my many favorite fruits to eat. They are usually ripe in November and December and many of the Asian markets have them on sale. I wanted to write about these because I saw some at Whole Foods for $1.99. I didn't look to see if it was $1.99 each or $1.99 per pound. Either way those prices are way more expensive than what you can get at an Asian market.

 Fuyu Persimmons

The persimmons pictured above were purchased at Zion Market in Irvine on sale at 2 pounds for 99 cents. That's about 50 cents per pound! I've heard sometimes they're 3 pounds for 99 cents. That's 33 cents per pound! At the 99 Ranch Market they are 59 cents per pound this week (although quality may be different). So if you're daring and don't mind picking your fruit among the many older Asian ladies wanting a good deal, you should try to pick these up at Asian markets. You get a much better deal! I usually get most of my fruits on sale because that means they're in season. Being in season means they're also sweeter. Have you ever purchased fruit out of season? They're more expensive and they're not as delicious. I'm a fruit monger...I love fruit...and from my experience of buying/eating fruit...in season fruits are definitely better.

There are two main kinds in the markets: Hachiya and Fuyu. While I don't know the technical differences between them, here's what I know. Hachiya are the bigger looking ones that are kind of acorn shaped. I don't like these because while they are larger, have seeds in them. The Fuyu kind of look like a flat bottom mini-smooth pumpkin (pictured above). I prefer these because they are usually seedless. Sometimes you do get a seed in it...but you can tell when you bite into one because it's brown and large. Usually it's completely orange inside. I think I have only bitten into a handful of seeds in my time of eating Fuyu.

Also another thing I noticed about persimmons at Whole Foods was their description on how to eat them. They said to eat them hard like an apple. While you can eat it that way, you can also eat them soft. Not mushy soft, but soft like a tomato. For me, the softer it is, the sweeter and juicier it is. While it's also sweet when it's hard and crunchy, I feel like it's not as sweet and juicy as a softer, more ripe persimmon. This obviously depends on your eating preferences. Mangoes and pears are a good example of this. I like softer mangoes and softer pears, while others may like to eat hard mangoes and pears. If you like to eat crunchy things, then you'll probably prefer to eat it hard. In any case, all I'm saying is you can try it both ways and see which way you prefer.

The skin is also a subject of debate. Some people eat the skin while others peel it. I am one who always peels the skin. So it's up to you, but both ways are fine. So cut into one and try it out since they're in season and pretty sweet. (I think the deeper orange colored ones are sweeter than the more yellow colored ones.)

Pick Up Stix - Various Locations : Orange Peel Tofu

Let's face it. Chinese food isn't exactly healthy. Most everything is either stir-fried or fried. I mean sure you can make stir-fried healthy when you cook at home and control the amount of oil you use, but most restaurants and fast food places use a lot of oil to make their food taste greasily yummy. In any case, when I want to eat "bad" and "fast" Chinese food, I sometimes go to Pick Up Stix. I say sometimes because quality varies depending on location and the intangibles.

Orange Tofu with Fried Rice

Pick Up Stix is a good place to go for vegetarians because you can substitute any of their entrees with tofu. I have only gotten Orange Tofu because it's my favorite sauce and I don't know any other place that makes this tangy good sauce with tofu. Lazy Dog Cafe used to have decent tofu stir-fries...but they stopped putting the flour coating on the tofu before frying it and now it's just not as good. The Pick Up Stix Orange Tofu also has a lot more flavor compared to the one at Lazy Dog. This dish is not hot even though there are chili peppers in the dish. The peppers are whole and not cut, so the sauce is not blazing hot and spicy. There are also a ton of orange pieces in the sauce too (good orange flavor)...so be careful when eating. I usually pick the peppers and oranges out...then it's just tofu and water chestnuts. The picture above already has the oranges and chili peppers removed. You have either a choice of brown or white rice too, but I upgraded to their fried rice. Sometimes their fried rice is good and other times it's just okay. Recently their food has been greasily good. So if you are a vegetarian and have limited options, you can always go to Pick Up Stix and substitute tofu in any of their entrees.

Pick Up Stix
http://www.pickupstix.com/

Champagne French Bakery Cafe - Irvine, CA : Mediterranean Vegetable Omelet

Since I am a lacto-ovo vegetarian, I can (and like to) eat eggs for protein. It's one of the easiest forms of complete protein I can get pretty much anywhere. I particularly like getting omelettes and at Champagne, they have a Mediterranean Vegetable Omelet.

Mediterranean Vegetable Omelet

This dish comes with seasoned red potatoes and a baguette. I've already forgotten what's inside the omelette, but there were definitely artichokes. I'm not sure whether it's from a jar or can, but one time, it tasted like it was going "bad" as it was waaay more sour than normal. Other times it did not seem to be really sour. So be warned...it's not the same each time I've had it. The potatoes are good, but sometimes there's no salt in it, and other times it's just right. So...it depends who's cooking that day I guess. Overall I do like this omelet though as I've gotten it several times already. =)

Exterior of Champagne at Northpark Location

When it's nice outside, there are plenty of outdoor seats with umbrellas. There are also some seats along the side of the building as well that is shaded. So if the weather is nice, which it usually is in Southern California, you can sit outside for your meal...and bring your dog too! We usually bring our dog and eat outdoors here as well!

Champagne French Bakery Cafe

http://www.champagnebakery.com/home/

Location food was eaten:

3901 Irvine Blvd.

Irvine, CA 92602

714-573-4667

Thai Bamboo Bistro - Tustin, CA : Vegetable Pad Thai

There's this little Thai food place right next to JT Schmid's at The District that I've always wanted to try. It's got pretty nice decor and the place isn't huge at all. I'm kind of scared of hole in the wall places because it's either a hit or a complete miss. This place isn't a hole in the wall. It's at The District so its food probably caters to a wider audience. Lo and behold yes there were Asians and non-Asians alike in the restaurant. (Usually an indicator of how "Americanized" a place is is how many Asians vs. non-Asians are eating.)

Vegetable Pad Thai

There are some vegetarian options. Woo hoo! Usually I just get the Pad Thai noodles because it's not too greasy and it's kind of a signature dish, right? This dish was not too shabby. It's a little sour and sweet...maybe a tad more on the sour side. There's tofu, sprouts, broccoli, carrots, baby corn, snap peas, peanuts, and egg. They did ask if egg was okay, so maybe without the egg, it could be vegan? But I don't know if there's egg in the noodles. In any case...I liked my noodles. I wouldn't say they were the most AWESOME Pad Thai noodles I've ever had, but it wasn't bad. So I would say they're slightly above average in my opinion. But I'm no Pad Thai expert...it's just my opinion. ;-)

Thai Bamboo Bistro
http://www.thaibamboobistro.com/ (lots of links don't work, but you can see the menu)
The District at Tustin Legacy
2417 Park Ave
Tustin, CA 92782
(714) 259-0688

Mitsuwa Umaimono Gourmet Fair - Costa Mesa, CA : Anchindo Makidora

Mitsuwa is having one of their food fairs right now! We went there before 11:00am today so that we could easily find parking and a seat at the food court to eat. Last time we went about 11:30-12:00 and it was already ridiculous. This time we got there at about 10:30am and easily found parking. We walked around the store with all the cute things in it (J-Style) and the Sanseido Bookstore. The stands outside the market already had food available. You just had to wait for the ones in the food court to open at 11:00am. The Meat-eater was waiting for their ramen shops to open. =)

Andhin-do Maki Dora Stand

Outside the food court, right when you walk in the front door, the stands were already cooking away. We were drawn by this stand making makidora or roll dorayaki. As you can see the chef is making the little pancakes in front. I like to call them little pancakes because that's what it reminds me of.

Making Makidora

Behind the chef making the little pancakes is another chef putting the stuffing into the cakes and rolling them up. As you can see, the trays are empty...they are churning them out pretty fast.

3 Flavors of Maki Dora

We chose 3 flavors. I chose the Azuki (also spelled adzuki or aduki) or red bean and Green Tea. The Meat-eater chose Custard Cream. I like the simple wrapping of the product.

Azuki Makidora

First up was the azuki flavor. This was the first one I opened up to try. Being Asian...I do like red bean treats. =) The outer pancake/cake like batter was soft, airy, and fluffy. So good...not doughy at all...but there's plenty of dough there as you can see in the picture. The red beans were also good...but a tad sweet for my taste. Strange huh? I usually like red bean but it indeed was a teeny bit too sweet for me. But overall really good!

Green Tea Makidora

We ate this one when we got home. Can you see that the edges of the pancake/cake has flattened more with time? I think most things are better when eaten as fresh as possible. But the taste was still good. The edges were just a bit smooshed, but the pancake/cake itself was still light and fluffy. This was a good combination, not too sweet in my opinion...good green tea flavor...just the right amount.

Custard Cream Makidora

Last but not least is the custard cream flavor.  As you can see the cake is still fluffy along the edges...so this was actually the second one that was eaten. I put the flavors in the order of least to most liked. Don't get me wrong, they were all good! But yes, even though I didn't choose custard cream, it ended up being my most favored flavor of the three. You see, I am not a big fan of custard creamy things. There are certain things where they have been good, like in a fresh Beard Papa's cream puff in Japan...not the frozen kind...and egg tarts. But this was good...not too sweet...but still pretty sweet...fluffy cake with creamy but not heavy custard. This was done right. Mmm....we bought a few of just the custard ones and took them home. They're all gone now. =) Hey, might as well eat them while they're still fresh.

There were two other flavors we didn't try...the sesame and green bean. So if you're in the area and want to try it out, tomorrow will be their last day there 10/30.

Mitsuwa Marketplace
http://www.mitsuwa.com/english/index.html
Costa Mesa Store
665 Paularino Ave
Costa Mesa, CA 92626
(714) 557-6699

Hiro Sushi - Scottsdale, AZ : The Usual Veggie Items

Although this post is about a place in Scottsdale, AZ, I am not there right now. One of my many posts that will be from pics taken eons ago. When I was out in the Phoenix area, I would frequent Hiro Sushi as my go to sushi place. No offense, but there really isn't a whole lot of good sushi out in AZ...according to The Meat-eater. Maybe because it's not next to the ocean and is a freakin' desert. I just eat the same things, egg, inari, veggie roll....so long as the rice is good and ingredients fresh, I am ok! Some sushi places we visited didn't have Japanese chefs. We like the authentic Japanese chefs here. =) Their sashimi is pretty good according to The Meat-eater...which is what he looks for in a good sushi place. There was only one time we went where the rice was dried out. That was kind of a freak of nature. We went back a while later and all was good again. Wonder what happened that night?

Tamago (Egg) in front

At sushi places, I get my usual vegetarian items. Up front is the egg or tamago. Quite good.

Inari Sushi

In the middle of the plate is Inari Sushi...basically sushi rice in a seasoned tofu pocket.

Vegetable Roll

And last but not least is the veggie roll. This is usually available at all sushi places now. I know they have cucumber rolls and avocado rolls, but I like the vegetable roll because I can eat all kinds of veggies instead of just the one kind. Besides carrots, lettuce, cucumbers, and avocado...there's oshinko. Oshinko is pickled daikon, which is the yellow part in the roll.

Green Tea Ice-Cream

For dessert, I love green tea ice-cream! They also have red bean. Your choice. All very good to me. Yum yum.

Hiro Sushi
http://www.hirosushiaz.com/
9393 N 90th St.. Ranch Center #116
Scottsdale, AZ 85258
(480) 314-4215

Corner Bakery : Baked French Toast

French toast can be very tasty, but kind of a mess to make...so I wanted to try the one at Corner Bakery (so I didn't have to cook...heh heh).

Baked French Toast with Scrambled Eggs

This meal comes with french toast, eggs, and bacon. I obviously didn't eat the bacon, but asked for it on the side so that The Meat-eater could have it. =) Win win!

So when I think of french toast, I think of sliced bread in a custard wash that has been cooked. This looked more like a cake to me, but I was willing to give it a try. Well...this particular type was not to my liking...it was rather doughy...and I do not like doughy. Hence why I like thin crust pizza. The eggs were fine...I don't think you can really mess up plain scrambled eggs...can you? That's all I have to say about this...doughy and not to my liking. So maybe if you like thick crust pizza and like the dough in things...you'll like this type of french toast?

Corner Bakery
http://www.cornerbakerycafe.com/home.aspx

Ikea Soft Serve : Not too bad and only for $1

I love ice-cream, and whenever I stop by Ikea, I grab a $1 soft serve cone. Yup, just $1...no tax no nothing extra. It's been that way for years now...and most recently (like last week) I stopped by Ikea and sure enough it's still $1 and it still tastes the same.

Ikea Soft Serve

Vanilla. Ok, so there are no choices in flavor and there is but only vanilla. Still...it's quite tasty. And where else can you get decent tasting soft serve for $1 these days? Not since the ice-cream trucks that drove around when I was a kid. I'd only picked up an ice-cream bar from one of those trucks about 5 years ago...and they were incredibly expensive! So the Ikea soft serve ice-cream...ever dependable....and not too shabby either. =)

Native Foods Cafe - OC Raw Chopper

Whenever I feel sluggish from eating too much...not so healthy food...I like to grab an OC Raw Chopper from Native Foods. It is my usual go-to super healthy meal when eating out.

OC Raw Chopper

The OC Raw Chopper consists of chopped mixed veggies such as broccoli, carrots, squash, cucumber, and tomatoes (from what I can tell from the picture), seasonal mixed greens, chopped tomato/onion...kind of tastes like pico de gallo (so sometimes there's a bite of spiciness), avocado, almonds, angel hair beets, and sprouts. It is served with lemon garlic oil dressing on the side. So if you don't like sour foods, then you won't like the dressing at all. You can add red or black beans for $1 more. There is plenty of food here so I have not added beans and don't know what that tastes like. This salad is very refreshing. I guess some may say bland, but I like that it's light and healthy. I always feel good after I eat this salad! It's like a good cleanser for your body...and it makes your body happy! =)

Native Foods Cafe

http://nativefoods.com/

Homemade Blueberry Spelt Muffins

So I wasn't sure if I should post these because these are not exactly delicious unless you're used to eating healthy. They're not bad but not great either. Anyway, I thought why not...everything is a learning experience and even though some people on Whole Foods love it (it got 4 stars after 23 ratings)...there are some that don't really love it...like myself.

Blueberry Spelt Muffins

I pretty much followed the recipe except I used the canola oil suggestion instead of butter, agave instead of sugar (I don't have white sugar at home...it is banned!!), and left out the orange zest. Apparently there's also whole wheat spelt flour and regular spelt flour...I used regular but this recipe is supposed to use whole wheat spelt. In any case...the flavor is fine...not too sweet...but the consistency is not light and fluffy like regular muffins. These indeed are a healthier version. They're kind of...drier...stiffer...opposite of light and fluffy. Although I am trying to eat healthier and have changed my taste buds into liking healthier food...this is not one of the things I like a whole lot. The picture makes it look pretty good though!

Blueberry Spelt Muffins from Whole Foods Recipes
http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/recipes/1464
Makes 1 dozen

Ingredients

4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) softened butter or canola oil, plus more for greasing the pan 
2/3 cup sugar 
1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce 
2 eggs 
1/2 cup orange juice 
2 teaspoons vanilla extract 
2 cups spelt flour 
2 teaspoons baking powder 
1 teaspoon grated orange zest 
1/4 teaspoon salt 
2 cups fresh blueberries

Method

Preheat oven to 375°F. Butter a 12-cup muffin tin or line with paper muffin liners. In a large bowl, cream together butter or oil and sugar. Stir in applesauce, eggs, orange juice and vanilla. 

In a second large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, zest and salt. Stir flour mixture into butter-egg mixture until just combined. Gently stir in blueberries. Spoon batter into muffin cups and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean, about 30 minutes.

Nutrition

Per serving (1 muffin/about 3oz/87g-wt.): 180 calories (50 from fat), 5g total fat, 2.5g saturated fat, 4g protein, 30g total carbohydrate (4g dietary fiber, 14g sugar), 45mg cholesterol, 140mg sodium

Cafe Beau Soleil and Creperie - Newport Beach, CA : French Split Crepe

After eating my omelette and salad in the previous post I had room for dessert. Yeah!

French Split

After perusing all the crepes (since we wanted something French!) we chose the French Split on the advice of our waiter who really liked it. Inside the crepe are bananas, Nutella, and some nuts (I forgot what kind), and it's topped with vanilla ice-cream. In case you don't know, Nutella is a hazelnut chocolate spread. Kind of like what's inside a Ferrero Rocher....it's actually the same company. This was so good too. I kept getting all the bananas though, and apparently more of the Nutella was on the other side of the crepe. Doh!  Even The Meat-eater who doesn't usually like chocolate things liked this. This was indeed a sweet dessert...but not TOO sweet. And I love ice-cream so this was a winner! We'll be going back to try the other goodies they have. =)

Cafe Beau Soleil
(At Fashioin Island)
http://www.cafebeausoleil.net
953Newport Center Drive,
Newport Beach, CA 92660
(949) 634-4402

Cafe Beau Soleil and Creperie - Newport Beach, CA : Spinach Omelette

Walking through Fashion Island there's the usual American type food places, but near Yard House and next to Daily Grill, there's this little cafe with blue checkered cloth covered tables. It looked quite adorable to me and very quaint. With a name like Cafe Beau Soleil...I figure ooh French food...why not?

Spinach Omelette with Organic Greens

All right, so as a vegetarian...I chose the omelette for its nutritional value....so not quite French. However, I must say that I did enjoy my food. The flavor was very light. I'm sure many will say it's bland, but for me...after trying to eat healthier...I don't like food that's too salty or sweet (Although I still think I've got a pretty sweet tooth.) So for me the flavor was good...very very light. The portions were also good, just enough for one person and room for dessert if you want it. In my opinion, I'd rather have smaller portions of better quality food rather than large portions of greasy, overly flavored food to trick your brain into thinking it's good. With this light seasoning, you can taste the egg, tomato, cheese, spinach...etc. However, if you're not used to eating this way, you will definitely NOT like this...so beware...everything has its target audience. After completely devouring this...I had room for dessert and didn't feel sick from any greasiness in my food. =) Two thumbs up!!

Cafe Beau Soleil
(At Fashioin Island)
http://www.cafebeausoleil.net
953Newport Center Drive,
Newport Beach, CA 92660
(949) 634-4402

Mitsuwa Hokkaido Fair 9/17/2011 - Obanyaki

Popped over to Mitsuwa this weekend to check out their Hokkaido Fair. They have different foods brought to you from Hokkaido, Japan. It's hard for a vegetarian to find anything, but desserts are always an option. This time I found something called obanyaki.

Obanyaki stand

This is the first stand when you walk in...so it's hard to miss. It is also called imagawayaki (that's how it's listed in Wikipedia) and reminiscent of taiyaki (a red bean filled cake in the shape of a fish). There are many names for this depending on the area. I couldn't find something exactly like this.

Putting in red bean filling.

So by the looks of this, I thought it was a cake batter outside with a red bean filling inside. Looks like a lot of those Asian stands where they make small cakes with fillings...except this was much bigger.

Left back is red bean, right front is caramel

These things were huge. I couldn't wait to try this. I've never had this before! I wonder if it's the same as the other Asian waffle like batters with the different fillings inside. That's what I think it is.

Cut open...dog wants some too

So I had to cut it in half to see what it looked like. You know, it doesn't have that cake/waffle like texture...I was wrong! (The dog smells the aroma and comes out to see what it is...and if she can try some. Dogs love all kinds of food!) Anyway, back to the food...it's not what I expected! It's not a cake/waffle batter...it's more of a mochi consistency...very chewy. Interesting...never had this before. Oh these things are huge...and very filling. I think one per person is enough. I like red bean, so that was my favorite flavor, but the caramel wasn't bad either. I'm not a big fan of mochi though...so I wouldn't want to get this again...but it was pretty good...and I like trying different Japanese desserts. They're not usually TOO sweet. =)

Mitsuwa Marketplace
Costa Mesa Store
665 Paularino Avenue
Costa Mesa, CA 92626
(714)557-6699

http://www.mitsuwa.com/english/index.html

Kitayama Restaurant - Newport Beach, CA : Vegetarian Eats

For a more "authentic" Japanese feel, Kityama has the decor and waitresses dressed in kimonos to make it happen. It is pricier than most places, but many years ago we felt the food was worth it. However, this review is based on last November (yes I have food I have not posted about from eons ago)...and our thoughts have changed.

Miso Soup

I don't have bad things to say about miso soup. It's generally the same to me...although some places are saltier or have a "powdery" taste to it...but this one was fine.

Tofu w/ Mushrooms and Veggie Roll in back

Many years ago I had their Japanese potatoes and some other little things that were vegetarian. This time I just found the tofu with mushrooms and the usual veggie roll. Both were also fine...but there was nothing extra special about the food. I came here many years ago because they had different types of food...even for me. Now this food is food you can get at any Japanese restaurant...and more reasonably priced at other places. It now seems like you're just paying for the atmosphere. And this is not just because I'm vegetarian...The Meat-eater feels his food was also good but not extra delicious like previous years. Don't get me wrong, it's not bad...it's still pretty darn good...but we're not into paying for atmosphere. We just want the good food! We can get this quality food at other places for less. I used to love this place...but things sure have changed....oh well. =( Maybe after a while...we'll see if yelp users have changed their opinions and give it a try then....but we'll be looking for other places to dine. I wish they had Roka Akor out here...that place is sooo goood. (It's in Scottsdale by the way for those of you out in AZ. More expensive...but really good in my opinion and The Meat-eater's too.)

Kitayama Restaurant

http://www.kitayamarestaurant.com/
101 Bayview Place
Newport Beach, CA 92660
(949) 725-0777
Lunch Mon - Fri: 11:30AM - 2:00PM
Dinner Mon - Fri: 6:00PM - 10:00PM
Sat: 5:30PM - 10:00PM
Sun: 5:30PM - 9:30PM

Dippin' Dots

If you love ice-cream like I do, then maybe you'll want to try some Dippin' Dots. It's basically ice-cream made into tiny little balls. It's flash frozen, kept at a colder temperature, and has less air than regular ice-cream. So even though it's tiny, it doesn't melt as fast and is really hard.

Mint Chip

I got my hands on my usual favorite flavor of Mint Chocolate Chip. (I seem to like the mint and chocolate combo.) I like that it's so cold and because it's so cold and hard I have to chew it a bit. Melting it in your mouth seems to take longer so I just chew. Towards the end, the rest of the balls will melt slightly and then it's kind of like regular ice-cream. It's a harder consistency than regular ice-cream but it's different and I like something a little different now and again.

http://www.dippindots.com/home.html

Le Napoleon Cafe - Irvine, CA : Macarons (Macaroons)

Upon this posting, I am not sure if this shop is still there. Someone said that they called the Irvine Spectrum and it was closed. Another one said it was closed for renovation...so maybe it'll open again later. This was visited months ago and am now just posting. They were no longer at their larger location, but relocated to a smaller shop by the movie theater. Anyhow, here are some of their macarons.

5 Flavors

Starting from the green going clockwise...the green is pistachio, chocolate chip (I think...or something chocolaty), almond, coffee, and raspberry. These are my first macarons and they're pretty good. The outer "cookie" is light and soft but not soft like cake or cookie...it's lighter than cookies...crunchy soft if that makes any sense. I like that it's different from the traditional cake or cookie.

Pistachio and Almond in front

The paste inside, however, was kind of sweet to me. It really depends on the flavor you get. Pistachio wasn't too sweet to me, but the rest kind of were. I'm not hooked on these but I hear that these (in France) are not really too sweet and that people that aren't fond of sweets actually really like these. So I will try them from other shops and see if I can find ones I really like. =)

Le Napoleon Cafe
http://www.lenapoleoncafe.com/index.html
The Irvine Spectrum
83 Fortune Drive, Suite 219
Irvine, CA
(949) 788-0904

Yogurtland - Tasting Another 4 Flavors

It is getting warm again....so more ice-cream...well frozen yogurt actually. This time I got 1 flavor that I liked before and tried 3 more that I haven't tried before.

Four Flavors here

The topmost is Peanut Butter Cookie (I got this one last time and liked it), then it's kind of indistinguishable. The one clockwise below Peanut Butter Cookie is New York Cheesecake (it's slightly yellower and just a little of it), the bottom-most (whiter and more of it) one is Pecans & Pralines, and the pink one is Dragon Passion Tart. You can taste the peanut butter in Peanut Butter Cookie...but I haven't tried just plain Peanut Butter so don't know the difference. The New York Cheesecake was not bad...similar to the cheesecake taste...I think the tart in yogurt helps bring out the tart in cheesecake flavor. The Pecans & Pralines might be one of my newer favorites...I can taste the nuttiness in this one...and not too sweet for me. I seem to like nuttier flavors. The Dragon Passion Tart consists of dragon fruit, passion fruit, and strawberry. I liked this one too! It's very fruity, kind of tropical type of feel to it....so if you want something fruity, this is quite good to me. All in all, I liked all these flavors I tried, nothing that stood out as too sweet or salty or whatnot. Yummy choices mmm...nom nom nom.

Yogurtland
http://www.yogurt-land.com/

Fukada 2 Go - Irvine, CA : Vegetarian Plate

Nestled among the newer condos off of Jamboree and Scholarship (between Dupont and Campus) is Fukada 2 Go. This place is a smaller "faster" version of Fukada Restaurant. Haven't been to Fukada Restaurant yet, but I've heard good things and when I do go, I will definitely write about that too.

Tofu Burger Bento

When I go to Japanese places, I usually have the vegetable roll or salad...those type of things. I can never have a bento box because there isn't one for vegetarians...unless maybe if you only want fried tempura in it (which I don't). So here, I got the Tofu Burger Bento box. My very first one! They also have the option of organic brown rice...which I love and greatly appreciate. Thank you for making healthier options for some of us! The brown rice was excellent...soft and not too dry or too soggy. The tofu burger has bits of carrots and I think egg in it to keep it together. It's pretty soft but still tasty with the teriyaki sauce I chose. You can also choose ponzu sauce. The green beans with sesame sauce and hijiki (sea vegetable) were both cold but good. It's the first time I've had it so I'm not sure if it's normally a cold side dish or not...but it's good either way. The sauce used in both dishes was a sweet sauce...kind of like a sweet teriyaki...and made it taste good. I like the simplicity of the food, but it was all still good. (Have I used the word good enough yet?) We'll be back for more! There is tofu salad and vegetable rolls too of course. =)

And just in case you're wondering and you're not a vegetarian:

Udon Noodles

The Meat-eater had a combo of udon noodles (I don't remember what kind these were).

Spicy Tuna Don

And a Spicy Tuna Donburi bowl. Apparently for the price, these were also very yummy. 

Fukada 2 Go
http://fukada2go.com/home_eng.html
6200 Scholarship
Irvine, CA 92612
(949) 756-0810

Panera Bread

For a quick, easy, and pretty healthy lunch, I like to have a soup and salad sometimes. Panera, similar to Corner Bakery and Boudin type places, offers such combos.

Vegetarian CreamyTomato Soup and Classic Salad

I love a tomato soup, so ordered their Vegetarian Creamy Tomato soup. They also have a couple of other vegetarian friendly soups...the Garden Vegetable Soup with Pesto and Low-Fat Vegetarian Black Bean soup. I like that this tomato soup is creamier tasting rather than sour tasting as with many tomato soups. I like both types...so both are tasty to me. The Classic Salad has mixed greens, romaine lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, and red onions tosseded with their reduced fat balsamic vinaigrette. I like that this is simple, not overly processed, and therefore pretty good for you. It comes with white bread...which is the not so healthy part...but I give that to someone else to eat and now I've got a pretty healthy meal. =)

Panera Bread

http://www.panerabread.com

Anjin - Costa Mesa, CA : What This Vegetarian Eats At This Yakiniku Place

So one time (should be usually) the meat eaters around me wanted to eat at this Japanese grilled meat place and assured me there were some veggie things I could eat. Okay...let's go. A vegetarian eating yakiniku? Is that possible? The food, as with most places, is limited but yes it is possible.

Vegetable Soup

Anjin's vegetable soup is quite tasty. It is light, filled with different vegetables and flavors from them all blend well together. The above picture is after the soup has been distributed into smaller bowls. I prefer a thin soup like this instead of a thicker creamier soup (generally speaking)...so that's why I liked this.

Vegetable Soup

The second time I went I just drank the whole humongous bowl by myself. Grilled what? This is enough for me! =) I can't even tell what all the ingredients are in there, but it looks like scallions, bean sprouts (two different kinds), spinach, carrots, some kind of daikon, and some Asian vegetables...I can't tell since the greens were all chopped up...but it was good.

Vegetable Plate

They did have a vegetable plate for grilling. The corn and some mushrooms are already on the grill. There's different mushrooms, carrots, yam, onions, and peppers. Sometimes the plate is a little different.

Grilling Veggies on the side

I made sure to keep just the veggies on 1/3 of the grill. The meat eaters can eat the veggies that have touched the meat. =) If you go with 6 people, I think those tables have 2 grills, so then you can have one veggie grill and one meat grill. The meat cooks pretty quickly so they shouldn't mind doing that. =) Either way, grilled veggies are always yummy.

This place usually has a wait, so if you want to get in and eat at 5:00PM, you should get there before 5:00PM for their first round. Otherwise you can probably get in about an hour or so later for their second round...but still put your name in early. I don't know what happens later on...but people have waited two hours if you go later in the evening! So try to get there early! Unless you don't mind waiting.

Anjin
3033 Bristol Street, Ste N
Costa Mesa, CA 92626
(714) 979-6700
Mon-Sun 5:00PM - 1:00AM