A hearty lunch at The Counter

Sorry for the excruciatingly long break I've been taking from blogging! Between taking a short vacation, work, and play, most of my free time has actually been spent... sleeping and recuperating. With my busy summer break, however, I have been eating many delectable meals, and I can't wait to share all these places with you guys :) In particular, I recently ate at The Counter in Pasadena with my family.

As a celebratory meal for my mom's birthday, my mom wanted to try something a little more creative and different. The Counter fit the match with its "build your own burgers" (more on that later). The setting was also very comforting. Although very casual, the restaurant gave a very beach-y vibe, with it's outdoor seating, large windows, and aluminum chairs.

We started off with two intriguing appetizers: fried dill pickles and Parmesan french fries.

Fried dill pickles from The Counter.

Parmesan fries from The Counter.

My sister, a fan of fried pickles, told us that we had to try them, and so being the loving family members we are (haha), we ordered a plate of them. I... still don't know how I feel about them. The flavor wasn't very distinctly pickle-like, but rather, it was very ambiguous tasting, like it was trying to be sour, savory, and sweet at the same time. Very confusing.

On the contrary, I am in love with the Parmesan fries! I would order these over regular fries any day. I love the contrast between the smooth melting cheese with the crunchy crisp fries.

In addition to the appetizers, we ordered off the build your own burgers menu. We each got a small clipboard with a sheet of paper that gave options of meats, toppings, sauces, and buns that you could check off with a pencil. We all ordered the smallest patty, and even that itself was very huge. You could select up to a patty that was as heavy as a whole pound. Who does that?!? Pretty crazy :)

Customized burger from The Counter

I ordered a burger with blue cheese, tomatoes, lettuce, onions, and ranch dressing; just a pretty basic burger. I added blue cheese, because I remembered how good it tasted in a burger at Red Robin's, but unfortunately, when I ate it in my burger here, it was incredibly overpowering and was basically all I could taste from my burger. Also, I thought that the dressing I added would come already drizzled in the burger, but it came as a side, which I guess would be good for adjusting how much you might want to add, but I just found it a little inconvenient. Overall though, the patty was grilled to perfection, and the vegetables were fresh and crisp.

Here are the burgers that my brother and mom ordered:

My brother and his way of decorating his burger at The Counter.

My mom's burger topped with caramelized onions at The Counter. Yum!

I would definitely come back; I think it makes a very good lunch place. (But I'll probably skip out on the blue cheese next time!) The portions are pretty large though, so if you're not starving, you might end up taking home half a burger...

The Counter
140 S Shoppers Ln
Pasadena, CA 91101
(626) 440-1008

A Trip Down to Irvine to Old Vine Cafe

On a random weekend, I went with my sister and her friends to Irvine for a shopping spree. While we were there, we also had lunch at the Old Vine Cafe. It was pretty packed when we got there, and had to wait about half an hour to get seated. But upon entering, I was almost immediately captivated by the atmosphere. As pictured above, their menus are stapled onto canvas paintings. How interesting! In fact, looking around, I noticed that each canvas menu had a different painting.

I took a little longer than usual deciding what to order, because there were just so many options. I wasn't sure if I wanted to go the delectably sweet route, or something more heavy and savory. But finally, I reached a decision and ordered the Southern Brunch-- it offered both savory and sweet on the same plate!

Southern Brunch at the Old Vine Cafe.

The dish I ordered consisted of two eggs, a fried green tomato (bottom right), house made scrapple (top right), and a biscuit with apple butter. Yum! When the plate first arrived, I had forgotten what I had ordered, and I thought that the portion pictured on the top left in the image above was actually mashed potatoes... But no, it was just a very satisfying biscuit. Although I thought that the dish wasn't going to be very filling by the looks of it, I was already stuffed by the time I ate through half of it. The scrapple was very interesting to me, as I've never had it before, but I liked it's flavorful mushy yet crunchy consistency. The fried green tomato also caught my attention. Although it tasted fresh and juicy on the inside, it was fried and crunchy on the outside.

I also tried some of my sister's dish, which was the Omelet España, recommended by our server.

Omelet España at the Old Vine Cafe.

The omelet consisted of Prosciutto, artichoke, bell peppers, Shiitake mushrooms, and cheese. Similar to their fried tomato, I loved that they came up with original combinations of ingredients for their dishes. The outcome was delicious too.

I'm surprised I haven't discovered this gem of a restaurant throughout my two years in school in Irvine, but I'm glad that I finally did. I can't wait to take my friends here and try out their other options from their menu. Some things I will keep in mind however, is to not come when I'm completely starving (because it might take a long time to get seated), and to always bring extra cash because it's located within The Camp-- a plaza that also houses many other cool boutique stores.

Old Vine Cafe

2937 Bristol St, Ste A102
Costa Mesa, CA 92626
(714) 545-1411

Lunch Eats at Eat Chow

After figuring out housing woes for the next school term, I organized a lunch time get-together with two of my future roommates Lindsey and Esme. This was the first time I got to meet Esme, and knowing that she's actually an international student from China, I thought that it would be nice to eat lunch at an American-style restaurant. Upon Yelp-ing a bit (a new favorite past-time of mine), I saw great reviews for Eat Chow in Costa Mesa and knew that we had to come here for lunch.

The restaurant design is also noteworthy. The interior looks super chic, with a few tables complemented by fancy (extremely heavy) chairs and a bar table with stools against the windows. Moreover, Eat Chow is connected to the clothing store, The Closet, next door. Rather than plastered walls, there is a window as well as a doorway leading into the restaurant. I thought that that was very unique. In addition, I noticed on the door of Eat Chow's that dining in there gave a discount for shopping at The Closet. Very neat.

Anyway, to start off the meal, I ordered their popular Truffle Parmesan fries. The moment I bit into one of the fries, I realized what all the hype was about. Fried in truffle oil, these fries tasted perfectly seasoned, and simply irresistible. Each fry itself was also finely cut into super thin sticks, which kept me from feeling guilty eating them.

Truffle Parmesan Fries from Eat Chow

For my main entree, I ordered the French Dip sandwich. I did not expect to be wow'd or anything, as it's a pretty basic dish, but actually... Eat Chow's French Dip is definitely something to boast about. The roast beef was very juicy and tender, and the sauce was freshly hot. The portion size was also very appropriate and nothing that made the dish feel too heavy. At first, I had my reservations about ordering it because I knew that it would not come with a necessary serving of vegetables, but it worked out because my sandwich was actually accompanied with a side of greens.

French Dip Sandwich from Eat Chow.

Lindsey ordered the Teri Burger, while Esme ordered the Salmon sandwich. While I did not try either of their dishes, they both nodded in agreement when I asked whether they liked what they ordered. Furthermore, by the end of our meal, all three of our plates were completely cleared! Esme also added that the Salmon sandwich she ordered was The Best Sandwich that she's ever ate (note the caps). After her dish arrived and her raving reviews of it, I half-regretted not ordering it because it was my second choice! But whatever, I had an amazing sandwich as well :)

Teri Burger from Eat Chow

Salmon Sandwich from Eat Chow

Overall, this lunch was solid. I love how their dishes seem like traditional American dishes with a little edge. I don't know what this place would be like during lunch and dinner times on weekends, since the restaurant is quite small and cozy, but when we went at around 2pm on a weekday, there weren't a lot of people and therefore service was pretty attentive. Take my word, I will come back and order that salmon sandwich! Now who wants to join me?


Eat Chow
1802 Newport Blvd
Costa Mesa, CA 92627
(949) 650-2469

Mid-week De-stress Dinner at True Food Kitchen

True Food Kitchen is just what I needed after surviving the first half of the week. The food and atmosphere was very enjoyable, and I am fueled with enough energy to kick butt for the rest of the week! I went there for an early dinner tonight with my friend Lindsey. When we arrived inside, we were stunned by how big, open, and stunning the interior was. We were both drawn to the outside patio area, which was almost as huge as the inside, and so we requested a table outside (despite the massive wind today!). I loved the setting, because it felt really relaxing.

We were greeted by our server shortly after, and she told us that the restaurant is actually partnered with a nutritionist, so their menu boasts an assortment of nutritionally balanced meals and drinks. And let me just say, their drinks are amazing... They have interesting combinations of ingredients for their drinks, and I was so excited that I wanted to try many of their drinks. At last, because I could not make a decision, I asked our server for her recommendation and ended up ordering the Cucumber Refresher, which is a mix of freshly juiced cucumbers (unpeeled for full flavor) and honey lemonade. I sipped up every last drop!

Lindsey ordered the Oogave Natural Sodas which consisted of Cola, Mandarin Key Lime, and Ginger Ale. When it arrived, it looked like Sprite, but upon further inspection, we saw that it had a pretty light green tint. And the taste was as equally attractive.

Left to right: Water, Oogave Natural Sodas, Cucumber Refresher from True Food Kitchen.

As a starter, I ordered the soup of the day, which the server described as a mushroom broth mixed with carrots, onions, chives, and mushrooms. She called it the Immunity soup I think? Anyway, it had really simple flavors, and tasted pretty basic. However, it had a really nice mushroom aroma that I enjoyed.

Immunity soup from True Food Kitchen.

Afterwards, came our main dishes. We were anxious to eat them, but unfortunately, it took longer than usual for the food to come out. We waited a good twenty minutes maybe. When the dishes came out though, boy were we excited. Lindsey ordered the Panang Curry with chicken, and I ordered the Wild Ahi Sliders with two sides of sweet potato mash and kale salad.

Lindsey's Panang Curry from True Food Kitchen.

Wild Ahi Sliders from True Food Kitchen.

I wasn't sure you'd realize how amazing my slider was, so I included a close-up.
Wild Ahi Slider from True Food Kitchen.

The sliders were PERFECT. The meat was cooked amazing, and I love the way it tasted combined with the avocado and sprouts. At first I was a little worried that two measly sliders would not fill me up, but it was the perfect amount of food (maybe even more than enough). Although I have my eyes on other dishes to order for future visits, I am already very tempted to order the sliders for my next ten visits to True Food Kitchen. They are that good. SERIOUSLY. The only part of the plate that was a little unsatisfactory were the two sides. The sweet potato mash was ok in taste, but way too filling. The kale salad was even worse. It was completely drenched in a vinaigrette that was way too vinegar-y for my liking.

Lastly, dessert! I was debating between the Flourless Chocolate Cake and the Almond Olive Oil Cake, so I asked the server, and chose the Chocolate Cake. It was a good decision. Although they ran out of vanilla ice cream, she offered to replace it with any choice of ice cream from their dessert menu, so I quickly decided on pistachio ice cream. Again, it took another good fifteen minutes for it to arrive, but I soon forgot about how long the wait was when I tasted it. The cake was just the right amount of fluffiness and crunchiness. Super yummy!

Flourless Chocolate Cake with Pistachio Ice Cream from True Food Kitchen.

As you may be able to guess, I will most definitely return to eat here again. Although a bit on the pricey side, I think it is well worth it considering the serene atmosphere and the quality of the food. The best part is that after finishing dinner, although full, I did not feel weighed down from the food. In other words, the portions are good in that I did not overeat and the content was not overly heavy. And now that I am not groggy from eating too many filling foods, I guess it's about time to start studying for my midterm...

True Food Kitchen

451 Newport Ctr Dr
Newport Beach, CA 92660
(949) 644-2400