Anepalco's Cafe - Orange, CA :

After typing in "brunch" through Yelp and sorting by highest rated, I came across Anepalco's because of its large quantity of reviews....and it was listed fourth...and it wasn't too far from me. Mexican French cuisine? Let's give it a try!

Go Veggie Crepe w/side of fruit

Crepes seemed like a good French type food. I wondered how they would make this fusion style. I had to try the Go Veggie Crepe. Inside there were tomatoes, spinach, onions, mushrooms, mozzarella, and pesto sauce.

Go Veggie Crepe

The flavors were good. It indeed is yummy. But after several bites, I felt the heaviness of it. It basically was an enchilada with a crepe as the outside instead of a tortilla. I was hoping for some lightness similar to some other savory crepes I've had, but this was a Mexican dominant dish. I personally don't eat too much Mexican food because it's usually too heavy for me. I'm just not used to it. It is very delicious, but it just wasn't suited for my tastes. =( I do like the concept and I do like good hole in the walls. =)

Anepalco's Cafe

http://www.anepalcoscafe.com/

415 S. Main St.
Orange, CA 92868
714-771-2333
M-F 8:00am - 3:00pm
Sat-Sun 8:00am - 2:00pm

Freebirds - Huntington Beach, CA : Veggie Salad

There's another place similar to Chipotle. It's Freebirds World Burrito. You get what you want on it. Just fill out the form and check what you want...they'll make it right there.

Freedom Veggie Salad

This salad includes the spring mix, black beans, roasted garlic, tomatoes, pico de gallo, sour cream, and guacamole. It's pretty similar to Chipotle except this one has a spring mix selection instead of just romaine lettuce.

Freedom Veggie Salad

The salad is all mixed up here. Pretty good food. Not as prevalent in Southern California yet...but it's growing.

Freebirds

http://freebirds.com/ 

18541 Beach Blvd.

Huntington Beach, CA 92648

714-841-7639

SOL Mexican Cocina - Newport Beach, CA : Veggie Grilled Burrito

Flipping through the AAA magazine that we receive, we came across an article that suggested SOL Mexican Cocina as a good eats. They usually have suggestions every month, but this one was close to us...yay! So of course when we were in the area, we had to stop by.

Freebie Appetizers

Your meal starts with some fried tortillas and dip. Nope, we did not order these, they just give them to you. BTW, I enjoyed both dips mixed together. Yum.

Grilled Burrito

A vegetarian dish to be had is their grilled burrito vegetarian style. As you can see by the burn marks, the burrito was literally grilled. I actually liked this, it gave it a nice "grilled" flavor. Added a slightly different taste to your typical burrito. Me likes!

Vegetarian Style

Besides the typical beans, corn, and guacamole, there were also mushrooms in the burrito. The mushrooms were pretty darn tasty. But from the size of that thing...yeah...I could not finish it in one sitting. So full! But good!

View of the Bay

Also, there was a lovely view of the water from where we were sitting. Apparently, you can actually boat over to this place and eat. They have three docks...but it helps to call ahead and make sure they're empty to dock...or else no parking space means you do circles or go back. Either way, this place was indeed a good eats. (Apparently they just opened a place in Scottsdale, AZ. Not sure if it's the same quality though.)

SOL Mexican Cocina

http://www.solcocina.com/

251 E. Pacific Coast Highway

Newport Beach, CA 92660

Phone: (949) 675-9800

Sharky's Woodfired Mexican Grill - Tustin, CA : Naked Tofu Tostada Salad

Sharky's is a good place to eat if you want to be a little healthier. They have whole wheat tortillas, organic Poblano brown rice, organic veggies, and for vegetarians you can substitute (when possible) with organic tofu. Their website says they use "the freshest, most natural and organic ingredients available in the marketplace."

Naked Tofu Tostada Salad

The dish I selected is actually the Naked Chicken Tostada Salad. I just substituted the chicken with tofu. It comes with organic baby greens, steamed vegetables, organic Poblano brown rice, Organic black beans (made without lard), non-fat cheese, guacamole, non-fat sour cream, and Pico de Gallo on a stone fired low-fat whole wheat tortilla. (I got that info from their web.) Their tofu is rubbed with seasoning and grilled...so there's a mild flavor to it. You get everything in this salad. There is a lot of food, is very filling and quite tasty. You don't have to get the wheat tortilla or the brown rice...they have regular flour tortillas and white rice too. But if you want the option of a healthier version of Mexican food...I would recommend Sharky's. It's very vegetarian friendly.

Sharky's Woodfired Mexican Grill
http://www.sharkys.com/index.html
Location this was eaten at:
"The District" Shopping Center
2463 Park Ave.
Tustin, CA 92606
(714)258-2255

Fast Food Eats : Chipotle Mexican Grill - Vegetarian Salad

I like Chipotle! I get their veggie salad every time. I mean you can make a veggie burrito, burrito bowl, or tortilla...but I like the salad the best. Their menu is pretty simple with few ingredients, but they are all seemingly fresh. They try to source their food locally and they believe in food integrity. It does show in the food. Although simple, it tastes good. I haven't found many (if any that I can remember) wilted lettuce leaves like I have at other restaurants let alone other fast food places. Is this really considered fast food? If fast food can be like this, I'll eat fast food more often...no problems. =)

Vegetarian Salad

This salad consists of black beans (you don't want to get pinto beans if you're vegetarian), romaine lettuce, mild salsa (because I don't like spicy foods), sour cream, cheese, and guacamole. I don't usually opt for the rice or the peppers and onions. Depending on how you order your food you can make it healthy or not so healthy. I heart guacamole. =)

Chipotle

http://www.chipotle.com/en-US/fwi/fwi.aspx