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The Kebab Shop

2/1/2019

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​A Middle Eastern Must

The Kebab Shop’s two Irvine locations are not enough
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BEBE CAPRESE SALAD, GRILLED CHICKEN KABOB, AND KALE & QUINOA SALAD AT THE KEBAB SHOP
By ICN Dining Critic
Irvine is a large city, third largest by population in Orange County and the largest by area—66.4 square miles. Locals know that just because a restaurant opens in Irvine doesn’t mean it’s convenient for all of us to try, and especially frequent. In the past few years we’ve seen a few savvy restaurateurs realize this by opening more than one location of a concept new to the city, and in quick succession. San Diego-based Puesto debuted in the Los Olivos Marketplace center on New Year’s Eve 2016, quickly becoming one of the best dining experiences in Irvine. The second Puesto opened in January 2018, just seven miles up the 405 in Park Place. 
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Perhaps the Los Olivos center is Irvine’s incubator to see how San Diego concepts fare in Orange County, as The Kebab Shop has followed a similar formula to Puesto’s, only faster. The first Irvine location of the growing chain serving fast casual Middle Eastern cuisine opened in Spring 2018 in the original part of the retail center across the 405 from the Spectrum. The second debuted just a few months later and only 7.5 miles away in the Harvard Place center, at Main and Harvard.  

No doubt there is expert advice and data-driven approaches to opening new locations, looking at consumer demographics, commercial mix, and other factors. But all a restaurateur needs to do is drive the 405 from Jamboree to Irvine Center Drive at dinner time to see that the seven-mile difference may as well be 20: if the food and service are good, they’ll have a captive and hungry audience for each. 

Luckily for the owners of The Kebab Shop, they’ve nailed it on all counts. The clean and well-designed restaurants specializing in European-style döner kebabs, a Turkish dish made of roasted meat cooked on a vertical spit (think shawarma and gyros, though Turks often claim originating credit). The dish gained popularity in Germany in the 1980s, especially as wraps. The Kebab Shop offers them as wraps, as plates or wrapped in flatbread. There are also made-to-order grilled kebabs, the pieces of meat served on the stick many of us think of when we hear kebab.  

The Kebab Shop’s fast-casual experience is often described as a Middle Eastern Chipotle, in that one chooses a protein (chicken, beef, lamb, falafel), a delivery method (wrap, plate, etc.), sides and sauces and the dish is created for you. 

But there is a key difference from the fast-casual Mexican chain born in Denver and now based in Newport Beach: service. The best way to elevate the fast-casual experience is to have staff that actually seems to care about the customer, especially after they pick up their food or its delivered tableside. The better Mexican restaurant example is Wahoo’s Fish Tacos. At the Orange County-based chain you of course order at the counter, and your food is dropped off. But have you ever noticed they don’t pick up your number right away? That’s because the servers are trained to come by a second or even third time to “touch the table” and check to see if you need anything. 

My experiences at The Kebab Shop have all included high levels of customer satisfaction. The staff has been unfailingly friendly, with excellent service throughout the meal. Of the two locations, I prefer the one at Harvard and Main, mainly because it has more windows. Both have fun interiors will cool graphics, including an entire wall quoting the many accolades the restaurant has received, including one of “Best Cheap Eats in San Diego” by San Diego Magazine, “The 12 Most Important Restaurants in San Diego,” by Thrilllist, and “Top 20 Regional Chains We Wish Would Go National,” by Zagat.  

Orange County Register critic Brad A. Johnson has also given the chain his seal of approval, naming the chicken Doner wrap the “best thing he ate” last November. Johnson likes it when the wrap is slightly charred, similar to the crust of a good Neapolitan pizza: “When it burns, that’s when this bread truly comes alive… just enough to char it around the edges, just enough to make dime-sized air pockets swell inside the bread, then burst open and catch fire. The Kebab Shop’s bread is incredible. The way it tastes, the way it feels in your hand, the way it smells, it’ll remind you of the street vendors in Istanbul. The fillings become almost inconsequential — but not irrelevant. In particular, the chicken döner is superb.” 

My experience with the wraps hasn’t been quite that poetic. It’s the combination of the chicken skewers and salads that sold me. I’ve had most of the salads on the menu. Favorites are the kale salad with quinoa, walnuts and cranberries, and the Bebe Caprese, with fresh tomatoes, mozzarella and basil. Both were better than many salads from full-service restaurants. 

Note that while kids meals are not listed on the in-store menu, there is the option of a smaller serving of meat with two sides. And those meals are free on weekends with the purchase of an adult meal and drink. Yes, free! 
Middle Eastern food is having its moment, both locally and nationally—though several up-and-coming chains prefer the “Mediterranean” moniker. Big money is pouring into chains like Cava, Naf Naf and The Hummus & Pita Co. It seems certain that one of them will emerge as a major Middle Eastern chain. 

We’d be happy if the winner of that particular competition is The Kebab Shop, so they add several more locations in Irvine, and throughout SoCal.  
 
thekebabshop.com
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Davio's Northern Italian Steakhouse in Irvine

12/31/2018

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​Power Plate

Davio’s takes its place among the top three in the IBC
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PRIME FLAT IRON STEAK WITH PARMIGIANO FRIES, AND A SALAD OF HEIRLOOM TOMATOES AND BLUE CHEESE CROQUETTES ON WATERCRESS.
By ICN Dining Critic
Irvine doesn’t have a private club dining option, other than Shady Canyon Country Club, though the Pacific Club, Center Club and Club 33 are relatively close. Davio’s Northern Italian Steakhouse in the Irvine Business Complex is the next best thing for CEOs, publishers, and company presidents who want to feel like they’re a member of an exclusive club. 

I’ve already noticed regulars seated at their preferred table, and without needing to ask. And though we’ve been only a few times, somehow they remember our preferences. It’s the type of experience one expects at luxury resorts and when a regular at certain South Coast Plaza boutiques, but it’s all too rare in other forms of hospitality.  

Just the other day I was with a group chatting about how much we miss The Ritz Restaurant, the old-school favorite owned by Hans Prager and his wife Charlene. Its Newport Center location closed in 2014, and though a restaurant by the same name opened on the water, it was never the same. Few places offer that sort of experience, developed over decades: everyone there knows you, and you know everyone, including the servers, the bartenders, and the other regulars.  

While we certainly won’t say that Davio’s has the potential to equal The Ritz, which was likely a product of its era, it certainly has the potential to offer similar levels of service. The bottom-line is the staff at Davio’s are adults, not kids working an after school job who would rather be on Instagram or texting friends. The servers we’ve encountered are well-spoken, well-dressed (love the white jackets) professionals who understand their job is about service, and they are trained and/or have the personality that makes them skilled at providing the highest levels of it. 

We’ll give the credit to owner Steve DiFillippo for instilling the service ethos to the staff, and for hiring managers and servers who understand it. The Irvine restaurant is the first Davio’s on the West coast.  

The food needs to measure up to the service, of course, or nearly. And we can say that this Davio’s also succeeds, mostly. It’s an extensive and expensive menu, and it takes a few trips to find your favorites.  

I’d definitely return just for the buttery popovers paired with the Kobe Beef Meatballs, as appetizers or a full meal at the bar. The secret to the delicious flavor of the giant meatballs served in a cast iron skillet? They’re made with Kobe beef, plus veal and pork.  

For something lighter, the tuna tartare, though nearly a cliché these days, is a good choice. A bit more offbeat are the spring rolls, which are so popular they’re offered packaged in retail stores back East. Big deal, spring rolls, right? Yes, when the options are Chicken Parm, Reuben, Buffalo Chicken and Philly Cheese Steak versions. Go for the sampler to try them all. 

Among the pastas, the top choices include potato gnocchi with mushrooms and the veal agnolotti with truffle jus and Parmigiano.  

So far I prefer the seafood to the steak. The seared scallops, the raw bar offering platter (lobster, crab, shrimp, oysters, clams, tuna and scallop crudo), and the East Coast-style crab cakes are all fresh and delicious. Crab cakes are something we rarely order from California menus as the choice almost always disappoints with the bread to crabmeat ratios. Davio’s is nearly all crab. While not quite the softball-sized ones I love from Faidley Seafood in Baltimore’s Lexington Market, the ones from Davio’s are easily the best in Irvine. 

The kid’s menu is more extensive (and expensive: $8-$15) than most in town, offering four choices of pasta (penne, spaghetti, gnocchi or macaroni) served four ways (butter, tomato sauce, Bolognese or with a Kobe meatball). Other children’s choices include macaroni and cheese, pizza, burgers, chicken fingers, Philly cheese or Chicken Parm spring rolls, salmon and short ribs.  

I’m a fan of the clean and lovely design of the new restaurant. It is much lighter and brighter than Prego was, and has a contemporary feel with high ceilings, white walls, white table cloths and a dash of color with Spanish art on the walls.  Around the holidays, it was hard to get a table. A sure sign of success: firms and families celebrating the season took the private rooms and many large tables, leaving the bar area or chef’s counter as our only options.  

So how does Davio’s fit into Irvine’s business dining hierarchy? The top three has long been Prego, Bistango and Il Fornaio. 

While Bistango and Il Fornaio remain power players in the area, Prego Ristorante closed in early 2017 after 30 years when owners Tony and Ruth Bedi moved it to the District in Tustin. 
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Though it’s still early in the Irvine experience for Davio’s, which opened last October, I am confident in saying Davio’s has assumed the place of Prego as one of the three most important power dining spots in the IBC, and may even be No. 1.  
 
davios.com/irv ​
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Robata Wasa

12/10/2018

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On the Grill

Robata Wasa makes the spectrum even more special
By ICN Dining Critic
When friends come in from out of town and ask me to recommend a restaurant, I often suggest they go to an area with a concentration of strong choices to choose from. That way, they can walk around, check out some menus and find something, including possibly sampling from a few different spots. Depending on their tastes, palate, mood and whether they have kids or not, (among other factors), I might recommend OC dining destinations that include South Coast Plaza, downtown Santa Ana, SoCo, Lido Village, Laguna Beach, Little Saigon, The Lab and The Camp, and The Packing House in Anaheim.  

In Irvine, I most often direct them to Park Place on Michelson (North Italia, Puesto, Ruth’s Chris, The Counter etc.) or Diamond Jamboree.  

Irvine Spectrum hasn’t made the cut, even though it has spots I frequent. But now, with the recent remodel and the addition of several new sit-down and fast-casual restaurants recently, including Habana, 85ºC Bakery Café, Falosophy, Hello Kitty, Blk.Dot, Afters Ice Cream and BLKDot, the Spectrum is on the list, especially for families. It also helps the grade of the entire center that Kona Grill is now closed! It was bringing the curve way down.  

One of the nicest of the new additions is Robata Wasa. The Japanese gastropub is from the same owners and has a similar menu as Izakaya Wasa, which was hidden in plain sight on the other side of the center. You can’t miss the new, prettier, and more ambitious version restaurant. Located on a prime corner with a view of the new Apple store, Robata Wasa debuted this summer as part of the $200 million remodel and expansion of the Spectrum.  

Think of the restaurant as offering a greatest hits of Japanese cuisine, with a few flavors from other areas of Asia. There is a selection of ramen, udon and soba noodles, as well as perfectly lovely bento box choices. The menu includes several choices of cold tapas (including hamachi Serrano and uni toast) and hot tapas (fried chicken karaage and tempura brie cheese). 

The sushi at Robata Wasa is much better than Kona Grill ever was, but it’s not in the league of the best sushi in Irvine, which is sort of what I was hoping for. One night when I stopped in for a quick bite, I asked our server to bring me something unusual and fresh, perhaps something the chef had on the omokase menu. I was served bluefin tuna and Spanish mackerel. It was fresh and tasty, but there was nothing particularly memorable about the choice.  

There’s also a list of sushi rolls, or maki. It’s the typical mass-market fare of dragon, rainbow, crunch and California rolls. There’s also one called Salmon Mango Tango-that’s fun to say! It includes salmon, mango, and cream cheese topped with avocado. As a rule, I don’t care for cream cheese with my raw fish. I’ve never ordered a Philadelphia roll, and doubt I ever shall. 

The best things our table sampled from the rolls were the Japanese spring roll (tuna, spicy crab, jalapeno shrimp and such) and the special temaki hand roll (blue lump crab and negitoro sushi topped with uni). 
The most interesting items on the menu are the entrees, and the selections from the robata list. The latter includes five categories: sea, meat, poultry, vegetable and “special.” Robata is roughly translated as “fireside cooking” in Japanese, and, put simply, that’s what Robata is: Japanese-style grilling. The best choices are those that have a nice amount of fat that’s rendered down over the charcoal. The pork belly, beef tongue and anything with bacon all work well, as does salmon belli and miso marinated black cod. The best though, is the Wagyu ribeye. The meat tastes of smoke and mineral, while the intense heat gives it a crunchy crust that can be addictive.  

From the entrees, the two winners are the Robata grilled lobster (it’s also the most expensive at $48) and the squid ink uni pasta. Now, first you must like uni and squid ink pasta. Not everyone does. My favorite description of the dish is from Edwin Goei, the restaurant critic from the OC Weekly, who described the dish: “Since it’s full of seafood umami, it’s like a mac and cheese made for Aquaman,” Goei wrote. We tried to use that evocative image to get a kid at our table to try the dish, but to no avail. 

Be sure to pair your meal with sake, a craft cocktail or a glass from what is surely the most extensive selection of ultra trendy Japanese whisky in town. We wish the beer list were a bit more ambitious, however.
 
The service at Wasa Robata has been uniformly excellent, and the ambiance and interior design is also a draw. The outdoor seating is lovely, and the lighting over the bar (it’s made from empty sake bottles) is fun.
 
 
Robata Wasa offers comfortable dishes for the less adventurous, while providing just enough variety to satisfy the foodie. Making it a worthy addition to the “recommend” list for friends and family.  
 
robatawasa.com ​
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TAPS Brewery & Barrel Room

10/22/2018

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A taste of TAPs

The menu is memorable at the Tustin brewery and barrel room
By ICN Dining Critic
As I was trying the burger at the new TAPS Brewery & Barrel Room for the first time, I had a strong sense of déjà vu. It wasn’t a Proustian memory, exactly. I was not seized with an “all-powerful joy,” as Marcel reported after tasting a tea-soaked Madeleine cake in the novel Swann’s Way. 

But the experience was decidedly pleasurable, and evoking a memory at first just out of reach. The patty was smashed with a nice sear, the bun like a cozy potato pillow. The combined coalition of condiments—mayo, ketchup, mustard, and a chopped up mix of griddled onion, pickle and cheese—included most of my favorites.I added some spicy sauce to augment the heat only hinted at by the sriracha pickle, which is included in the tasty beef-delivery package. 

Then it hit me: the experience was reminiscent of my first In-N-Out burger, an experience enjoyed years ago, and long before gourmet burgers knocked the Double-Double off of my personal list of favorite hamburgers. 
But another memory was lingering just out of reach… ah yes, there it is. The burger is called the Royale with Cheese! Surely, someone has already thought to “tap” into the hilarious-for-its-era scene from Pulp Fiction by naming a burger in honor of it. But it was the first I’ve seen on a menu: 
 
VINCENT: You know what they call a Quarter Pounder with Cheese in Paris? 

JULES: They don’t call it a Quarter Pounder with Cheese? 

VINCENT: No, man, they got the metric system there, they wouldn’t know what a Quarter Pounder is. 

​JULES: What’d they call it?
 

VINCENT: They call it Royale with Cheese. 

I’m not saying every moment at Joe Manzella’s huge new brewery and tasting room will bring to mind classic literature and film experiences. But it’s definitely the most impressive brewery in the Irvine area.
 
See what I did there? The Irvine “area.” That’s because the street address of the 19,000-square-foot facility is technically in Tustin. And I generally restrict myself to writing about restaurants within the Irvine city limits. 
But every rule should have exceptions. The TAPS brewery is on Red Hill, about a mile from the Irvine border. It’s within the historic sphere of influence of the Irvine Business Complex. It’s across from Orange County Rescue Mission and Irvine Valley College’s new Advanced Technology and Education Park (ATEP) campus.  

The TAPS Brewery & Barrel Room is a short drive from the magnificent TAPs Fish House & Brewery, one of Irvine’s best restaurant experiences that opened in the Marketplace in 2015.  

The new location is the beer production facility for the three TAPs restaurants (the others are in Brea and Corona). Manzella and his brewmasters plan to brew 5,000 barrels this year, with a goal of 25,000 in the future. 

TAPS beers are critically acclaimed, having scored some 97 competition medals since 2001, including six or so prestigious Great American Beer Festival awards in recent years. 

Beers on tap rotate, but often include favorites like Irish Red, Flex IPA, Amend This!, Keller Pils, The Velvet Hog, West Coast Pilsner, Hefeweizen, Ponderosa Pale, Hopsteppa, and barrel-aged Silent Warrior. The beer is available to take out as well as drink in. Twelve-ounce bottles are available in six-packs and by the case, as are 32-oz “crowlers” and 64-oz stainless steel, refillable insulated growlers.  

I don’t love that bartenders tend to ignore you if you’re standing at the bar hoping to order, making the point that they’d rather have you wait in a designated line at one side of the bar. It’s even marked with a sign, which I believe is my right as an American to ignore. If I’m standing at the bar, it means “please bring me a drink,” and I’ll gladly pay for it and tip you in return.  

The ambience in the large space is inviting, making excellent use of the industrial warehouse space. There are vintage pinball machines and video games, and sports on TV. On the outdoor patio, there are plenty of tables as well as the opportunity to play the oddly popular cornhole game. 

A few unique aspects of the place: the food is ordered from an electronic kiosk inside and prepared in a food truck parked outside, then brought to your table.  

The procedure was mildly confusing at first—you choose a tap handle with a number first and enter the number in while ordering the food—but it’s gotten simpler with experience.  

Beyond the burger, the menu includes an imaginative and diverse take on a variety of bar foods, including a bacon-wrapped bánh mi hot dog, the electric taco and bulgogi beef masa fries that are particularly popular. 
 
And the always-important kids menu is reasonable at $5.99 for the choice of a cheeseburger, hot dog or grilled cheese sandwich.  

So sure, TAPS Brewery and Barrel Room is technically in Tustin. But we’ll claim it as our own.  
 
www.tapsbrewery.com
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Hello Kitty Cafe purrs into Irvine Spectrum

10/1/2018

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​Too Cute!

Hello Kitty Grand Café has a sweet debut at the Irvine Spectrum
By ICN Dining Critic
Irvine’s reputation as being beige, long outdated anyway, may have finally been vanquished, thanks to the bright pink glow cast by the first-ever Hello Kitty Grand Café. The recent opening of the café at the Irvine Spectrum earned an extraordinary amount of media and social media attention locally, nationally and even globally. 

The tiny café —12 seats in the fast casual front area and 28 seats in The Bow Room—featuring Sanrio character-themed treats is instantly the most Instagrammable restaurant in Irvine. 

The front of the restaurant is pretty enough. It’s where one can order macarons decorated with the Hello Kitty character that kids and adults seemingly can’t get enough of, as well as hand-size pies, sugar cookies, mini donuts cooked hot to order, and tiny cakes modeled after Hello Kitty characters. Parents looking for a healthy snack will go wanting. This is a place for sweet treats. The beverage menu at the counter is also limited in its kid-friendliness.  

There are espresso drinks and several kinds of iced tea and lemonade. The Strawberry Dream smoothie seems like it would be a favorite, but the elementary school kids we saw order it took a sip and no more. The counter service was suspect as well, as the server stopped mid-mix on our smoothie to take a coffee order, while two other employees were busily texting. 

But perhaps that’s the secret to the café: despite the characters and the sweets, its audience isn’t really kids and families. 

The real draw to the Hello Kitty fans is the area hidden behind a simple white door with a small handle shaped like a bow. Those with reservations (required, and hard to get currently) for afternoon tea service or nightly cocktails knock on the door with the bow, and gain entrance to a pink and passionate fever dream of a place known as The Bow Room.  

It’s as pretty in pink of a place as one can imagine, with pink walls and pink booths and a pink bar in the middle. 

Afternoon tea runs $55 per person and is available Wednesdays through Sundays. A three-level serving stand is brought to the table bursting with small bites. There’s plenty of fresh fruit, and tea sandwiches, including egg salad, cucumber and smoked salmon varieties. Sweets including scones, mini cupcakes, macarons and chocolate cake. Many items look like Hello Kitty, down to the sugar cubes that come with the tea. That selection includes black, green, oolong, a special Birthday Tea blend, and caffeine-free tea. Those looking for the heightened sense of service, formality and specific etiquette of Japanese tea service will not find it here, but that’s OK. This is about fun more than authenticity. 

At night, The Bow Room is for the 21-and-over nightlife crowd. Open Wednesday–Sunday and again by reservation only, the cocktail list offers creative and colorful choices—the drinks and the names they’re given. These are serious examples of the art of cocktail creation, as interpreted through the muse of Hello Kitty by well-respected mixologist Emily Delicce.  

Choices include the Aloha Kitty (vodka, pineapple, yellow chartreuse and lime), Matcha Matcha (Japanese whiskey, yogurt, matcha, yuzu) and You Had Me At Hello (cachaca, aperol, lemon, sherry and pineapple). The best might be one of the simpler choices: called simply 1974, it’s a choice between an Old Fashioned or Negroni served with a signature Hello Kitty ice cube.  

It’s October so the new Hello Kitty Grand Café isn’t the only place to enjoy Sanrio characters in Irvine. The incredibly popular—and also Instagram-friendly—Tanaka Farms Pumpkin Patch is now open through Oct. 31. Hello Kitty, Keroppi, Chococat, My Melody and Pochacco characters (or wooden facsimiles of same) are available for photo ops throughout the farm. Attendees can purchase admissions for the pumpkin patch, wagon rides around the farm, petting zoo, and the Corn Maze or pick vegetables in the U-Pick veggie garden. 
As visitors and nearby residents may remember from last year, the event is incredibly popular and parking is at a premium (and restricted in local neighborhoods), so plan ahead accordingly. Parking passes are required in advance for weekend visits.  
 
sanrio.com/pages/hellokittycafe-grand 
 
www.tanakafarms.com/hello-kitty-sanrio-friends ​
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Pizza Press opens in Irvine!

9/4/2018

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Pizza, please! 

The Pizza Press debuts at Woodbridge Village ​
 By ICN Dining Critic ​
I’m one of those people who actually read T-shirts. I note with interest the brands, teams and travel destinations they depict, and the messages, slogans and sayings on them. You can tell a lot about folks by the words they’re willing to wear. A personal peeve: graphic language in public places.  

The other day I got a chuckle out of what a teenager’s T-shirt had to day: “You can’t make everybody happy—you’re not pizza!” Not trying to please everyone all the time is a decent life lesson. And it is true that almost everyone loves pizza, in some form or another.  

Which is why we have so many pizza places in Irvine.  

There are old school favorites like Lamppost, Ray’s, First Class, Northwood and the newer Square One, elevated culinary options that include North Italia, Cucina Enoteca and Angelina’s Pizzeria Napoletana, big brands like California Pizza Kitchen, and the many assembly line-style spots that have popped up in recent years, including Pieology, Blaze Pizza and MOD Pizza. 

Now, we can add The Pizza Press to Irvine’s list of options, as the first location of the Anaheim-based brand opened recently at Woodbridge Village Center. 

And not a moment too soon, for those families that are often at the center for Focus Dance, Kumon, Yamaha Music or one of the many other after-school enrichment opportunities at the center.  

The Pizza Press is my favorite among the fast casual brands. Hey, I’m a sucker for storytelling. I like the nostalgic, newspaper-themed interiors, menu items and branding. Plus, several of the locations have a smarter sense of place than other chains. The first Pizza Press debuted in 2012 on Harbor Blvd. across from Disneyland, and was followed by restaurants in Old Town Orange and downtown Santa Ana. So the choice of Woodbridge Village for the first Pizza Press in Irvine over other more homogenous centers in the city seems apropos, as the center has a more defined sense of place, especially after the remodel. A touch of history, even. 

So how is the food? It delivers what it promises: offering up relatively quick, reasonably tasty pizza, how you like it, in a pleasant space. Now, a confession: I don’t love fast casual pizza. In the balance between convenience and cuisine, the category tilts too far toward convenience, in my opinion. Still, because of its location, The Pizza Press has worked its way into my rotation that includes First Class, Lamppost, CPK, Angelina’s and even Costco. 

The Pizza Press also wins extra points for good service—lots of smiles at the Woodbridge location—and an adventurous craft beer menu that sets it apart from the other chains. Though convenience and quick service is a main draw, the wait can be longer if a party is ordering several pizzas, and taking their time choosing toppings for each. 

Since many of the customers we’ve seen in the restaurant are families, let’s look at options. The main one is called the Jr. Editor, a 6-inch pizza with up to two toppings for $7.50, which includes a drink and a cookie. If your child is picky, go for the cheesy garlic bread. It’s a pizza crust and cheese, with not too much garlic nor spice, and no annoying green bits to upset the particular child. Plus, it’s only $5. 

That may be only the second-best deal at Pizza Press. The first is two cans of craft beer for $6. There are several choices in the cooler, though you may have to dig for one you like. There are better choices on draft, with the prices in the normal $6-$8 range.  

So what’s next at Woodbridge Village? There are still some vacancies, both existing and (alas) probably to come. What restaurant or kind of cuisine would you like to see at the center?  
 
thepizzapress.com/location/irvine-ca ​
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Left Coast Brewing debuts in Irvine

8/1/2018

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Left Coast Cool 

Irvine’s first brewery/barbecue/distillery debuts  ​
ICN Dining Critic ​
As Irvine’s culinary world has expanded exponentially in recent years, there’s been a bit of a backlash on social media and message boards like Nextdoor: “Where are the American restaurants,” they say, at times including a critique of the city’s major lessor. The restaurants folks mention missing are often venerable chains like Denny’s and Mimi’s Café that offer comfort food at a decent price, but certainly aren’t breaking any new culinary ground. In Irvine some of those old favorites have been replaced with critically acclaimed and cutting-edge restaurants, including Meizhou Dongpo and Kang Ho Dong Bakjeong.  

The city’s culinary scene is stronger for the change, we believe. But we also appreciate the yearning many have for familiar food. 

We find it helpful to remember that a dish that might seem unusual or even exotic to one person may be traditional comfort food to another, offering a favorite taste not easily found elsewhere in the area, or inspiring memories of friends and family gathered for a meal someplace far away. 

Like Kansas City, for example. While barbecue is easily found in Irvine—the Korean variety, especially—we haven’t had a restaurant focused on the style made famous at places like Joe’s Kansas City, B.B.’s Lawnside BBQ, and other favorites found in Missouri and Kansas. 

So when we read that Left Coast Brewing Company wasn’t just going to be a great place to enjoy the San Clemente brewery’s craft beer, but was also going to specialize in the style of barbecue that originated in KC, we were intrigued. Who doesn’t crave pulled pork, brisket and burnt ends—other than vegans, of course.
 
The restaurant’s executive chef Jason Tsiames is from Kansas City, though he’s lived in California for some time, heading up Oggi’s Pizza, the sister company of Left Coast.  

The Left Coast food menu is not extensive. There are ribs, of course, and brisket, chicken and pulled pork. The meat is served as platters or as the filling in two kinds of sandwiches. One is simply your choice of meat, sauce and pickles on a nice brioche bun. The other is called a Specialty KC Sandwich, and includes hot links, onion rings and “spicy” barbecue sauce on a brioche bun.  

The quotes around the word spicy are mine. Left Coast offers four sauces available at the self-serve containers on the back counter: original, tangy, spicy and white barbecue sauce. I was surprised that the white version is my favorite, with a nice vinegar and pepper bite. 

Perhaps it’s a personal bias based on an affinity for Texas barbecue, a prejudice I’ll readily admit, but the sauces at Left Coast aren’t spicy enough. Traditional Kansas City barbecue sauce does tend toward the sweet side, certainly. But an extra spicy option would be a welcome addition.  

Other menu items of note include three types of Mac-n-cheese, including a tasty “Mac Daddy” that includes caramelized onions and smoked pulled pork on top. 

There’s a tasty cornbread served in a cast iron skillet (it’s hot, so don’t let the kids grab the handle!), three varieties of salad, fried pickles, French fries (though they still call them “freedom fries” here), sliders and chili. Burnt ends can be sampled several ways, on their own either fried or in sauce, or added to select dishes.  
For those unfamiliar, burnt ends aren’t really burned. It’s fatty bits of brisket cut into small cubes and caramelized in sauce, drippings and usually some brown sugar.  

There are two ways to order at Left Coast. If your party is small, it’s easiest to sit at the bar, where you can get food and beer at the same place. Otherwise, the food ordering line is just inside the front door, with dishes brought to your table fast-casual style. To order beer, you have to go to the bar. 

The two-station ordering is a bit of a hassle, especially when the place is packed, which has been often. Switching to full-service would seem to be the best solution.  

So how is the food? It’s mostly fine, if considered as bites to go with the beer rather than dishes that support the new restaurant as a dining destination. It’s not the definitive take on barbecue we were hoping would open in Irvine. 

There’s no smoke in the air as one enters the restaurant—considered the sign of serious barbecue.  

The fried side dishes and simple sandwiches, especially the pulled pork, work best. The KC ribs were more or less inedible, sadly. When we couldn’t pull the slab of ribs apart by hand we took that to be a bad sign.  

We couldn’t cut a single rib off with a steak knife, either. We tried gnawing around the edges of the bone instead, and got a few bites that way. Alas, it had the appearance, texture and taste of well-boiled-meat—and not in a good way. 

Overall, we wish there was more of a bite to the sauce, more bark on the meat.  

While the restaurant is quite busy now, based on several visits and multiple tastings, we don’t anticipate hours-long lines like at Franklin Barbecue in Austin or other spots with cult-like followings.  

And that’s ok with us, because we’ll mainly be here for the beer, and the fun-loving ambience of the place. This might be Irvine’s best bar, with an open design and inviting interior. The service has been welcoming and quick, while the clientele include craft beer lovers out to have a good time. 

Left Coast offers 24 beers on tap, including Trestles, Asylum and Hop Juice, a triple IPA with a strong 10% alcohol by volume. The Irvine location also offers seasonal and specialty beers brewed on site.  

While spirits are not available yet, Left Coast will be the first distillery in Irvine. The location’s license will allow not only limited tasting and bottle sales, like at many distilleries, but a full craft cocktail menu.  

The owners are SoCal locals, it’s not a big chain and the food and drink are decidedly American—all things many Irvine residents have asked for. Hopefully, the menu will evolve over time so as to measure up to the rest of the experience. 
 
leftcoastbrewing.com 
 ​
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W Café in Irvine

7/1/2018

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Healthy Hidden Gem 

The new W Café is a tasty choice for breakfast and lunch that includes--gasp!--plenty of free and easy parking ​
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BEAUTIFUL BREAKFAST AT W CAFE 
Irvine has many under-the-radar restaurants, cafés and other dining options tucked within its office towers, industrial parks and commercial centers. Some, like Mick’s Karma Bar, the acclaimed burger spot that until recently was located on the first floor of a tower on Main Street, are on the radar of critics and committed foodies. Most, though, are only known to those with reason to be in the buildings.  

If you work where the restaurants are based, you may stop in for breakfast, lunch and a snack at afternoon break. They are convenient, and the best of them have servers who greet you by name and remember your order. But they remain largely hidden from the rest of us, as they are often without convenient or free parking and without the culinary draw to inspire us to stop in. 

Some are worth searching out, or walking across an office complex or across the street to try. These include Dandelion Conscious Café, Bistro 24 and Fooda, all located in the towers on either side of Jamboree and Main Street. 

A new entry in the commercial center culinary scene is W Café, which opened recently in the Hoag Health Center/Urgent Care complex, located across Sand Canyon from Hoag Hospital Irvine and near Kaiser Permanente Irvine Medical Center.  

The new café is a welcome addition to the breakfast scene on this side of Irvine, which has been lacking. Parking is free and easy, a big plus when it comes to cafés in commercial buildings. And the space itself is clean and contemporary, with light flooding in from two sides and ample seating both inside and out. 

It’s the second location for W Café, with the first a popular spot in the Westcliff area of Newport Beach. This stretch of Sand Canyon is decidedly less ritzy than Westcliff, which means we’ll likely appreciate what W Café has to offer even more. 

The food is fresh, delicious and several dishes are even Instagram worthy, with attractive plating and colorful presentation. The menu advertises the use of wild caught fish and grass fed meat, with no added hormones or chemicals. 

The restaurant serves breakfast all day, which is a treat. The healthy at heart might opt for Chia Pudding, which includes chia seeds soaked in almond milk along with hemp granola and health assortment of fresh berries. There’s also a nice take on avocado toast on the menu. The paleo fitness practitioners who must have beef for breakfast will not go wrong with the Caveman’s Breakfast, which includes two eggs and a nice little rib eye steak drizzled with chimichurri sauce. It’s a breakfast bargain at $8.95. The breakfast burrito and Sunrise Sandwich are also excellent a.m. choices. 
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The more indulgent palates might prefer Bananas Foster French Toast, complete with caramelized bananas, or the decadent Donut French Toast, which is just that: French toast made from donuts, though also with a nice side of fresh berries.  

Top choices at lunch include lamb chop shish kebab or salmon tacos. There’s a wide selection of salads, including a classic Caesar, and an old school San Francisco Bay Shrimp. The lunch menu also includes flatbread pizzas, a dozen or more sandwiches to choose from, hot and cold, as well as tasty burgers made from Angus beef, lamb, veggies or turkey.  

The service during the uncrowded hours we’ve visited has been friendly and prompt. The general manager at the restaurant is from Germany, and Chef Wais Omar was formerly the food and beverage manager of the Balboa Bay Club. 

W Café is currently open Monday-Friday only, from 6:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., which is too bad. This place is already one of the best restaurants in the Oak Creek/Quail Hill adjacent neighborhoods. Hopefully, its coming success will dictate dinner and weekend hours.  
wcaferestaurant.com ​
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Irvine's Best Restaurants

5/24/2018

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Hot Plates! 

Culinary superlatives from Irvine’s evolving restaurant scene ​
By Irvine City News staff
Irvine’s dining scene has improved significantly over recent years, with a much more diverse and authentic group of restaurants than in years past. Older chains and poorly performing restaurants have closed, to be replaced with new chef-driven concepts, food trucks remade as brick and mortar bistros, and local outposts of successful national and global restaurant groups.  

The changes reflect culinary trends, often fueled by social media and chef-driven television shows. Changing demographics, continued economic growth and more inspired leasing strategies by landlords are part of the story, too.  

Here are our selections for Irvine’s most superlative restaurants. While not intended to be encyclopedic, do let us know which favorites we’ve missed. 
 

Most Impressive New Spot  
The most ambitious new restaurant of recent years has to be Habana, the Cuban-themed hot spot in the Irvine Spectrum that debuted last December. There’s amazing coffee and pastries in the morning at the bakery, a Latin and lively bar scene with Mojitos, Sangrias, Rum Cocktails and other tasty treats, and delicious Cuban-inspired cuisine all in a gorgeous tropical environment. 
restauranthabana.com  
 

Top Spot to be a Regular 
It’s been two years since Angelina’s Pizzeria Napoletana debuted at Los Olivos Marketplace, and it’s quickly become a favorite for lovers of things Italian. Dine there regularly, and soon everybody will know your name, from Mickey at the bar and COO/sommelier Antonio to owners Filippo and Sho Fusco. Order Chef Jonah Amodt’s charred octopus, a bottle of Italian wine and a perfect Neapolitan-style pizza or two.  
angelinaspizzeria.com 
 

No. 1 New Casual Restaurant 
The owners of Sessions West Coast Deli came home to Woodbridge recently with the opening of their creative sandwich shop—they grew up in the Irvine village. The new anchor of the remodeled Woodbridge Village Center provides locals a taste of coastal casual cuisine with an artisanal edge that we’ve been missing.  
sessionswcd.com 
 

Family-Friendly Faves 
Sessions is also in the running for the best kids menu in town. Chicken strips are a staple of a family outing, and those at Sessions are top of the class. Plus, the prices are reasonable. Though TAPs Fish House and Brewery is more expensive, we love that the first course of the three-course meal comes out right away. But the best combo of a tasty and reasonably priced (considering the quality) kids menu is found at North Italia. Bonus points for it being a restaurant adults actually love. The grilled cheese ($6) and cheeseburger ($8) choices come with salad or potatoes, and spaghetti ($5) is like homemade. And all ages adore the zucca chips.  
northitaliarestaurant.com 
 

Leading Link in a Chain 
If you haven’t been to Houston’s in a while, it’s just as good as you remember, and just as hard to snag a table. The things that most chains get wrong, Houston’s has down to an art. Order a cocktail and a Hawaiian ribeye, and relax. You’ll be well taken care of.  
houstons.com/locations/irvine 
 

Irvine Legacy Award 
Irvine is one of the most inclusive cities in the country, but we don’t have as many female chefs as we should. The leader among them is Geeta Bansal, executive chef and co-owner of Clay Oven. For more than 30 years, the restaurant has featured gourmet Indian cuisine with cutting-edge offerings that include habanero pork vindaloo and the best swordfish in OC. Bansal is also a global culinary ambassador for Irvine, traveling the world and interviewing the greatest chefs in it for her influential blog, as well as magazines and websites.  
clayovenirvine.com 
 

Beautiful View—Outside 
It’s hard to argue with Hive & Honey, the rooftop lounge high atop the new Marriott Irvine Spectrum.  
marriott.com  
 

Beautiful View—Inside 
The interior design at North Italia is cool and contemporary, as is the attractive crowd dining there, like at the haute happy hour. 
northitaliarestaurant.com  
 

Best Billionaire’s Bistro 
Andrei’s is one of the select Irvine restaurants not paying rent to our largest landlord—or to anyone, for that matter. It helps to own the land, and the office towers on it. Opened by the Olenicoff family in the name of their son/brother, the profits go to charity. The stylish restaurant draws a corporate crowd on weekdays. But in-the-know locals realize that restaurants located away from retail centers are great choices, especially on weekends. Easy parking. Great cocktails. Upscale ambience.  
andreisrestaurant.com 
 

Tastiest Weekday Breakfast 
We can’t get enough of S’Wich, a culinary treasure of a cafe tucked into a center near Blizzard, Hoag and Kaiser. The chef/owners are the nicest, and the food—breakfast burrito, chilaquiles, vibrant fresh fruit plates, addictive house glazed bacon—is worth searching out on weekday mornings (closed on weekends, alas). Lunch is amazing as well. 
swichbistro.com  
 

Best Brunch 
There’s something a little bit decadent about a gigantic brunch buffet like the abundant one at TAPs Fish House and Brewery. Select from seafood on ice, omelets made to order, carnivorous carving stations, and delicious desserts, and much more. It’s the best splurge in town. 
tapsfishhouse.com  
 

Top Power Spot 
EATS Kitchen & Bar @ Hotel Irvine draws Irvine’s powerbrokers, civic and nonprofit leaders and tech industry leaders for breakfast and lunch confabs, while happy hour and later night action at Red Bar and Lounge draws a younger up-and-coming crowd. 
hotelirvine.com 
 

Irvine Image Award  
Irvine is diverse, safe, successful and educated, and at once global and local. The restaurant that best represents all these things is Meizhou Dongpo. Offering fine Sichuan cuisine in a gorgeous setting, the restaurant is also as accessible as any in the city. Its easy-to-understand menu is welcoming, as is the multi-lingual staff. That isn’t always the case with spots as authentic as this.  
 

Cool and Classic  
Sometimes we just want a taste of old school Irvine, with a menu that’s comfortable and classic, and a value, too. For those days we choose between Knowlwood and Lampost Pizza. For a few bucks more, you’ll find us reminiscing about the old days while eating at the bar at Gulliver’s.  
knowlwoodrestaurants.com 
lamppost-backstreet.com 
gulliversrestaurant.com 
 

Best Restaurant 2018  
Our standard for the top restaurant in town is that it can hold its own anywhere in the world, with cuisine and a dining experience that meets the high standards of connoisseurs, critics and fans. We believe that Ootoro Sushi is that restaurant. It would fare well against the best sushi restaurants in L.A. and Tokyo for quality of the fish and its perfect preparation and presentation. Yes, it's expensive. But best-in-its-class cuisine like this is worth it.  
ootorosushi.com 
 ​
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Sessions West Coast Deli

5/11/2018

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Summer is in sessions 

New gourmet sandwich shop is just what Woodbridge Village Center needed ​
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GOURMET SANDWICHES ARE ON THE MENU AT SESSIONS WEST COAST DELI, NOW OPEN IN WOODBRIDGE
Irvine has enjoyed a restaurant revolution (or at least evolution) in recent years, as successful culinary concepts from around the world have opened locally. In many cases the exciting new spots have replaced venerable chains that existed at the same spot: Denny’s, Marie Callender’s and others. Some nostalgic locals are sad to see the old favorites go. Others in Irvine and greater Orange County are excited to see more contemporary global choices and artisan eateries. 

Whether one is on the “old school Irvine is best” team, or among those yearning for something artisan and new, everyone should be excited about the opening of Sessions West Coast Deli at the Woodbridge Village Center. Sessions is a sandwich shop, but not a typical one.  

The vibe is coastal Orange County at its core. The first two Sessions are located at or near the beach in Newport and Huntington. So why Woodbridge for the third? Well, surfers have a saying: locals only. And Sessions is as local as an Irvine restaurant gets.

“I grew up in Irvine, Woodbridge to be exact, which is why we are opening here,” says Matt Meddock, who is owner/managing partner of the restaurant, along with Partner Beckham Thomas and Executive Chef/Partner Max Schlutz.  

“Opening in Woodbridge is a homecoming for me and my partner Beckham Thomas – we both grew up here and lived in Woodbridge until we were into our late teens, and my parents still live here today. We have such great memories of the center, and it’s great to see Sessions becoming part of the Woodbridge Community.” 

Sessions serves a wide variety of sandwiches and salads all day long. Everyone loves the chicken and donuts starter on the dinner menu. It includes some of the best chicken strips we’ve had recently, paired with delicious cinnamon donut holes. The veggie bahn mi is a knife and fork affair, with fantastic crispy and spicy Brussels sprouts a highlight. The kid’s menu is among the best in Irvine. We love Ruby’s—who doesn’t?--but Sessions will rocket to the top of our kid-friendly dining list.

The restaurant opens at 7 a.m. for breakfast. Morning choices include a selection of six breakfast burritos with names like The Warrior (filled with sharp cheddar, turmeric home fries, haute sauce and a choice of ham, bacon or sausage) and Epic Steak (carne asada, bacon, avocado, sharp cheddar, turmeric home fries, haute sauce and pico de gallo).  

The savory combos can be served in a bowl rather than a tortilla if you choose. For those who love the avocado toast trend, Sessions has three versions, along with three breakfast sandwiches on the menu. Wake & Bake is the standout favorite so far: a spicy combo of smoked bacon or spicy breakfast sausage with avocado, pepper jack cheese, jalapeno and an over easy fried egg, all on a poppy seed roll from OC Baking Co.  
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The yolk spreads out upon the first bite, so this isn’t your choice if taking it to go and eat in the car. The burritos work better for that. 

In fact, we’d suggest enjoying the choices on the breakfast, lunch or dinner menu at the restaurant rather than to go, at least at this point. We’ve seen folks get stressed at the sometimes long wait for to-go items during the restaurant’s first weeks, as the kitchen gets used to the demands at dinner and other busy times. 

And the sandwiches are huge, messy works of art, anyway.  

Plus, it’s just such a pleasant place. Part of the experience at Sessions involves enjoying both the ambience of the new restaurant and its cool aesthetic, as well as the remodeled center it sits in. The original opened in 1979, and over the years it evolved into a family-friendly part of the community. Now, after a redesign said to be in the $30 million range, the center is enjoying a renaissance. 

The biggest change is the removal of a central two-story building, which opens up views of the lake from a variety of new vantage points, including Sessions outdoor patio.  

Sessions West Coast Deli is one of the most anticipated of the few new restaurants and cafes opening at the center. Others still upcoming include The Lost Bean, an organic/gourmet coffee shop, and The Pizza Press. 

Sessions opened just in the nick of time for those adults who spend time at the center waiting for kids, friends and family members to complete any number of classes—dance, art, yoga, music, math and English, computers and more—offered in the center. Having a safe haven from the throngs of kids and rowdy teens who have made the center their after school hideout is most welcome. Added bonus that one can keep an eye on the playground while enjoying an adult beverage: Sessions offers full barista service, along with a well-curated (if limited) selection of beer and wine. 

One needn’t be a Woodbridge resident to love the local touches at the restaurant. The owners have hired Woodbridge High School students to join the staff, and the service has been attentive and friendly.
 
 
Design elements decorating the restaurant include a large black and white photo taken from beneath one of the Woodbridge bridges.  
Those who really know the history of the Woodbridge center might recognize another work of art on the wall.

Locals had purchased and their families painted tiles back in the 1990s, and they were long part of the playground at the center. A plaque nearby read: “Dedicated to the children of Irvine for helping to build a better Woodbridge.” It was dated September 1991,
 Beckham’s father happened to walk by during the remodel, and saw that the tiles were being removed. He arranged to retrieve theirs. The tile sits proudly near the entrance to Sessions. The handprints in paint have faded with which the siblings decorated the tile is faded but still visible. On the wall below the words ”Committed to our Roots” is written. 

That’s about as Woodbridge as it gets, folks.  ​
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