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nomnomnoms's Profile

Restaurant Hunting in East Bay!!!

I'm visiting from SoCal to celebrate Mother's Day early. Trying to take my parents out for a fancy dinner tonight, but the problem is that I haven't been in the Bay for a while and now I don't know what's good, what's hot. I tried reading through the Eater logs but SF Eater is waaaaaay bigger than the LA one and now I'm too confused.
Being in Fremont, my parents' idea of a fancy restaurant is Papillon on Spin A Yarn (RIP), so I am looking for something in the similar price range. I'm looking for something California or at least Cal-Med in the East Bay... Any suggestions?

fun and cheap lunch in Costa Mesa

Old Vine Cafe closes at 10 (or 9?), and the food comes out at a slower pace than some other restaurants (they have prix fixes too). It's more of a chilling out kind of place, and the clientele tend to linger for a loooong time.

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Old Vine Cafe
2937 Bristol St, Costa Mesa, CA 92626

Chapter One:, Santa Ana gastropub

it's still in "soft opening" phase - not all of the menu items are available.

food is "New American" or "classics with a twist" - signature items include a french toast sandwich with coconut peanut butter called "Elvis", coffee & chocolate crusted beef culottes, scotch eggs with mango mustard...
dessert is very post-modern and utilizes a lot foams and gels.

impressive beer/wine list and an in-house mixologist. some signature cocktails.

the crowd is definitely different from the rest of the Artist's Village - much older and chill, although late nights can be a little crazy.

Costa Mesa or Newport Beach Help

define "cool"... because we have hipster, scene, or just plain good food.

really good food but not very "scene"
- Kappo Sui for old school Izakaya
- Marche Moderne for French
- Pizzeria Ortica for neopolitan style pizza (the super thin kind)
- Old Vine Cafe for New American
- Manpuku or Anjin for Japanese DIY BBQ.

"scene" "hipster" "cougar den" with good to okay food
- Habana for "Carribean" food
- Valhalla Table for craft beer and bratwurst/sausage sandwiches
- ECCO for a thicker crusted pizza

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Marche Moderne
3333 Bristol St 3001, Costa Mesa, CA 92626

Kappo Sui Restaurant
20070 Santa Ana Ave, Costa Mesa, CA 92626

Habana
2930 Bristol St Ste A110, Costa Mesa, CA 92626

Anjin
3033 Bristol St, Costa Mesa, CA 92626

Pizzeria Ortica
650 Anton Boulevard, Costa Mesa, CA 92626

Old Vine Cafe
2937 Bristol St, Costa Mesa, CA 92626

Ecco Italian Restaurant Costa Mesa- Good but Unremarkable

Wow, Ecco finally opened? With Old Vine, Valhalla Table, and Native Foods, PLUS Mesa's food (supposedly) getting better, parking is just going to be hell at the CAMP...

Thanks for the news, will definitely try some time soon!

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Old Vine Cafe
2937 Bristol St, Costa Mesa, CA 92626

Seeking top OC cheese plates

the lido deck restaurant had really really awesome aged gouda.

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The Lido Deck
3420 Via Oporto Suite 101, Newport Beach, CA 92663

Does anyone know where I can find yucca root?

i second ranch 99. that's where i get mine!

Where can I buy uni cream sauce???

you can find the retault package at most high-end Japanese markets (i.e., Nijiya and Mitsuwa). Just go to the pasta section and snoop around the packaged.

You would have a hard time finding _________in Los Angeles...

!!!

thanks exilekiss c:

Japanese River Crabs?

i LURVE me them crunchy deep fried river crabs. they used to be available LIVE at Chinese seafood markets, but that was when i was still in grade school (10-something years ago).

You would have a hard time finding _________in Los Angeles...

sazae, or conch. i want to eat them off the grill with a little bit of soy sauce.

Best kaiseki in Los Angeles

i second kappo hana, altho it's way in south OC. pretty close to what you get at an onsen ryokan in Japan.

Cocktail Bar/Lounge in Newport Beach/Costa Mesa

Lola Gaspar is in hipster central and is so far from Newport/Costa Mesa area.
If you want good, solid cocktails, you'll have to venture out to downtown Fullerton.

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Lola Gaspar Restaurant & Bar
211 W 2nd St, Santa Ana, CA 92701

Best Ramen?

ASA and Shisen Ramen in Torrance are my faves.
also, out of the Santoukas, Costa Mesa is definitely the best.
Kohryu in Costa Mesa has perfect eggs, and is best when you're drunk.

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Shisen Ramen
1730 W Sepulveda Blvd, Torrance, CA

Santouka
3760 S Centinela Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90066

Kohryu
891 Baker St, Costa Mesa, CA 92626

Non-espresso coffee in OC/LA

I second Kean.

so. frickin. good.

LA hound to Edgewater... Help!

i'm definitely open to street joints, since *i* personally think that it shows local flavor more.

definitely will try dickie dee's... but more recs would be highly appreciated :)

LA hound to Edgewater... Help!

Hi Guys,

I'm going on a business trip to Edgewater this weekend (Fri~Sunday) and need suggestions for dinner.
To my understanding, there isn't much there? I'm willing to drive 20~ 30 minutes for a meal. My budget is around 30 bucks a meal, and I'm looking to eat something that I can't experience in Los Angeles/ Orange County (so please, don't refer me to the Mitsuwa food court).

Thank you so much for your help!!

Dinner, Newport Beach, Romantic, Dressy, $100.00 Max

i went to a media dinner at The Lido Deck off of via oporto last month (hosted by the restaurant), and that place was nice and delicious.
very french-y bistro, with lots of wine-oriented foods. we're planning to go back for the rabbit rillette sometime soon.

Marche Moderne: Best French in OC? Oui? :-)

marche moderne and old vine cafe are the two restaurants we put on rotation for 'fancy' food. that said, we are in love. is there better french food behind the orange curtain? i don't know, but i'm not ready to find out.
i've never had really bad service there, although it can be slow at times.

Where to buy Fresh Quail - West Los Angeles

you can always buy live ones at the Magnolia Bird Farm in Anaheim... but that takes some balls.

MEALS: breakfast, lunch, dinner and in-between. Share the good, the bad, and the ugly.

today, i had some pork-kimchi stir fry with a poached egg for breakfast.
then for lunch, i had half an avocado and toast slathered with ancho chili jam.
dinner, still mulling over dduk bok ki (calories are insane) or fennel salad with poached chicken (healthy but kinda bland).

Vegetarian in a pretty setting?

a bit of a drive, but 118 Degrees in Costa Mesa is a vegan restaurant in the hip-tastic SoBeCa district.

dinner for 13 in Las Vegas

Thanks for the suggestion! We ended up eating at Circo (Bellagio) instead. The food was steady, and they treated us very well.

dinner for 13 in Las Vegas

HELP!
My company is going to Vegas this Sunday and it just occured to us that we have not decided on where to eat.
Any advice would be of great value.

I'm looking for:
- A place that can seat 13 people without using a private room
- Somewhere not too loud (Lupo would be too loud)/
- Somewhere mid-range in price.

Any advice? Last time we went to David Burke and was a bit meh about it. Then we went to L'Atelier de JR and enjoyed the meal very much, but had the tab kick our butts.

Help - Casual sushi on the West Side

i second that.

Favorite hangover foods (or restaurants)?

i second the pho. any pho. the herbs will jerk you back into place.

if i'm feeling especially gross, a light bowl of bun suong works too.

Eating Adventures in Ojai and Beyond

I went to Azu two years ago, and found the decor weird, the crowd a bit too loud, the food pretty good. However, the gelato was frickin' awesome. I still dream about the Thai coconut.

Where for best cold noodle dishes?

Kairaku-tei in Tustin serves Hiyashi Chuuka (cold ramen noodles with eggs, hams, cucumbers, and sesame sauce) during the summer.
And Fukada in Irvine has a whole array of hand made soba and udon noodles, both hot and cold.

Favorite Chunky Ice Cream Recipe?

hi guys,

i've been playing with my ice cream maker all summer... and after all the vanilla, green tea, and wine ice creams i've made, i've got a real honkering for some chunky (mix-in) ice creams. so far i've tried 1 cup of oreo bits to 4 cups of liquid (strawberry ice cream!) but it was awfully chunk-tastic. And i'm not sure where to even start with nutty ice creams either.

what's your favorite recipe/ratio?

Diamond Jamboree Asian Mall-Irvine

isn't Ajisen a Chinese-owned Ramen chain? it's a bit confusing, given the Japanese-ish name.

if I want crummy ramen, i can drive to Kairaku-tei in Tustin. It's less than stellar, but at least it hits the spot, in that junky way.