Bringing Breakfast Burritos to All of OC - CLOSED

 Vatos Burritos

Orange County, CA

Despite all that's been thrown at us over the last ten months, I'm still in awe of how some people have been so resilient. People have had to overcome losing their jobs, suffering mental anguish, and forgoing things that they really enjoyed doing, like concerts, sporting events, and traveling, to name a few. There have been some inspiring stories in these dark times, though. People who have pivoted and started something of their own, like Christian Meza. 

Christian lost his job in March and decided to turn to his side hustle of Vatos Burritos, making it his full-time gig. He is a one-man operation, making the burritos, taking orders, and delivering them throughout OC. This is pretty impressive and just what we need right now to get us through these tough times: delicious breakfast burritos. 

All of this is done through the Vatos Burrito Instagram page (the link will be below). You order the night before, settle on a time slot, and Christian delivers your burrito at the agreed-upon time. There are four burrito choices of varying options and two bowl selections for your consideration. Burritos come with scrambled eggs and potatoes as a base, and then you can choose seven types of meat and three sides (cheddar cheese, spinach, and avocado). There's also a special where if you buy 4 burritos, you get the fifth one free. 

I decided to treat a couple of my coworkers to breakfast to brighten up our dreary workday. Ordering was quite simple. I contacted Christian through Instagram messenger, and he got back to me within minutes. We agreed upon a time that he would deliver the three burritos to my work, and he showed up right on time the next day. He accepted Venmo or cash, and then we hoped to be on our way to breakfast burrito bliss. Let's see if that was the case. 

Before we get to the burritos, we should first let you know that they come with two types of sauce: a Picante red sauce and their more popular green salsita, which they now sell in bottles. I actually liked alternating both sauces while eating the burrito. I would not consider either spicy but more of a flavor enhancement to the burrito. 

As you can see from the above picture, the burritos from Vatos are pretty plump. We all got the Loco Burrito ($11), which comes with your choice of two kinds of meat and all sides. To make things easier, we all got the same two types of meat, bacon and sausage, which there was plenty of. The scrambled eggs were light, while the cheddar cheese and avocado added a nice creaminess. I'd probably skip the spinach next time, as it detracted from the otherwise excellent burrito. I'd also try the spicy chorizo next time instead of the sausage, as I've heard some really positive things said about the chorizo that Christian uses. 

Not only was the whole process of ordering and delivery seamless, but the burritos we devoured on our lunch break were also an awesome change of pace from our usual midday meal rotation of nearby restaurants. These burritos improved our day, but that's not usually the case on most days. Getting a chance to meet Christian before he had to dash off to deliver more burritos to the rest of OC was also a real pleasure. Even in those brief few minutes, it's easy to detect how proud he is of the product he is supplying to the hungry breakfast burrito consumers of Orange County, and after trying them, you will find out he has every right to be. 

Out of five gas pumps (because I'm pretty sure that with all of his deliveries all over OC, Christian spends quite a lot of time at gas pumps filling up), five being best to zero being worst, Vatos Burritos gets 3.5 gas pumps. 

For more information about Vatos Burritos or to order some for yourself, follow this link to their Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/vatos__burritos__/?hl=en

One Last Meal in Ventura Before Heading Home

Cafe Nouveau

1497 East Thompson Blvd. 

Ventura, CA 93001

Weekend getaways always seem to go by way too fast. We were at the end of our little three-day mini-vacay in Ventura, but we first needed to have one last meal before we attempted the 120-mile drive back to OC. We hurriedly packed up, checked out of our hotel room, and made a beeline for the much-acclaimed Cafe Nouveau. 

Cafe Nouveau is pretty much an institution in these parts. They are the third most reviewed restaurant on Yelp and have a very impressive 4 and a half stars with over 1,700 reviews and counting. They are also perenially on many best-of lists by the media of  Ventura County. All of this from a restaurant that is removed from the downtown zone plucked right in a residential area. 

I had a feeling we were in for a great Ventura sendoff because there was nearly a half an hour wait for a table at 9am on a Sunday morning. Cafe Nouveau is housed in a Spanish style converted home. The space kind of reminded me of Ramos House Cafe, which is back home in OC. Much like that spot, Cafe Nouveau has been around for going on almost two decades. As our quoted wait time was almost up, we were ushered inside the gate to a table nestled alongside the fence and the building, so I did not get the total lay of the land when it came to experiencing the space. I had a feeling the food was going to make up for that. 

This is primarily a breakfast and lunch spot, but they do offer dinner service Wednesday through Saturday. The four-page breakfast menu offers a full array of selections to choose from. The first page features specials and is followed by egg dishes, scrambles, pancakes, waffles, french toast, traditional breakfast plates, and omelets to round things out. It was difficult to narrow down my choices, but here's what we came up with before we tackled the freeways on the way home. 

All during our weekend, we asked our servers what we should get when visiting Cafe Nouveau, and it was unanimous that we should get the Maple Bacon Beignets ($6.99). Once again, restaurant workers did not lead us astray. These were delicious. I've had good, bad, and average beignets, and these were some of the best I've had. These puffy balls were placed in a shallow pool of maple syrup, and topped with real pieces of smoky bacon, and dusted with plenty of powdered sugar. They lacked any grease, so they were light and airy, while the sugar and syrup supplied a burst of sweetness which was tempered perfectly by the savory bacon. If you don't try these when you come here, we are not friends anymore. 

Next up is Katie's selection for her first meal of the day, the Bacon, Gorgonzola, and Caramelized Onion Frittata ($14.99). This is listed under their special section of the menu, so I'm not exactly sure how often that they have this, but Katie found this to be wonderful. The frittata was very creamy and the big flavors of the bacon, onions, and gorgonzola enhanced the well-crafted egg portion of the dish. This came with a bread item, and since Katie is doing the keto thing, I got to choose this Blueberry Corn Muffin. This was baked nicely, and because it had corn incorporated in it, it was a little less sweet than your typical blueberry muffin. They also served this with plenty of creamy butter, which always makes everything even better. 

Okay, I know it seems that we did not make it past the specials page of the menu, but I also picked from the specials. My pick was the Eggs Creole ($16.99). This twist on regular eggs benedict still used an English muffin as its base but was then layered with a shrimp, crab, and seafood cake, spicy tomato sauce, poached egg, and then finished off with hollandaise sauce. This had a lot going on, but each ingredient stayed in its lane. The seafood cake was delicious, with some pretty good-sized pieces of crab that I could detect. I was not sure how the tomato sauce would work here, but it was kind of like a cocktail sauce with more volume and a great deal of spice. The hollandaise and the poached egg rounded things out nicely. I found myself savoring each bite more and more as I ate this. I went with the scalloped potatoes for my potato choice, and they were nicely seasoned and tender. Way better than the boxed version that scarred me growing up. 

I was expecting good things from Cafe Nouveau, but the breakfast here even exceeded my expectations. Everything that we ordered was delicious and included big-time flavors. When we make it back to Ventura I look forward to coming back here for sure and exploring more of their menu. The Peanut Butter, Bacon, and Banana French Toast Sandwich, Oreo Cookie Pancakes, and scrambles will definitely entice my return. The service was warm and friendly, and I really enjoyed the homey vibe that was prevalent during our stay. A great way to close out our weekend getaway. 

Out of five poinsettias, (because this holiday flower is the official flower of the city of Ventura, and also appears on its city seal), five being best to zero being worst, Cafe Nouveau gets 4 poinsettias. 

For more information about Cafe Nouveau, head to their website here: http://www.cafenouveau.net/#

A Quiet Night After Venturing Around Ventura

Finney's Crafthouse and Kitchen

494 East Main Street

Ventura, CA 93001

It's amazing how a little getaway can really take a lot out of you. After a few hours of exploring downtown Ventura, touring the mission, walking the boardwalk at the beach, and finding the time to get a few hours of napping in, the last thing Katie and I wanted to do was get all dressed up, drive a half-hour to dinner, and be out past nine. Yes, I guess I sound like an old man. 

We instead decided to forgo where I had planned to eat for dinner, and instead take the short stroll from our hotel to downtown Ventura. We looked around for a place and found Finney's Crafthouse at the corner of Main and California streets, in a building that used to be home to the First National Bank. Back when we visited in October, they offered outdoor seating and Finney's was one of the busiest spots downtown, so that's where we settled on, plus we did not have to do any more walking. 

I didn't know it when we were there, but Finney's Crafthuouse currently has three other locations, Westlake Village, Santa Barbara, San Lis Obispo, and their newest venture, which is making its debut in early spring of this year in Burbank, taking over the spot that was occupied by Market City Caffe. Finney's is a family run business started in 2016, with Greg Finefrock as the founder.  

Finney's offers 30 taps, most of which are used to pour craft beers. Along with that awesome beer selection, their food menu features plenty to pick from as well. They have 18 starters to choose from, salads, flatbreads, tacos, burgers, sandwiches, and a trio of desserts round out the rest of the menu offerings. Prices were pretty modest, as most items hover around the $12 to $14 price point, with only the Thai Steak Salad and an Impossible Burger listed as the most expensive items on their menu, at $16. Now that you have a good lay of the land, let's check out what we ate this October evening. 

It was a little cool outside, so Katie wanted a starter that would heat us up a bit. She selected the Buffalo Cauliflower ($11). I'm a big fan of fried cauliflower, and this one did not fail to impress. The cauliflower was fried well with a nice crunchy exterior while having some blue cheese crumbles sprinkled about, and a garlic aioli lining the bottom of the rectangular plate. The menu states that this comes with a yuzu sauce, but what we got I'd call more of a buffalo sauce for dipping. Whatever it was it didn't matter because we both really enjoyed this starter. 

If you were not aware, Katie has been doing the keto thing for six months now, and the good folks at Finney's obliged her request to forgo the bun on her Jalapeno Egg Burger ($12). This burger was something that I had wanted to try, but I stepped aside so she could get it. The burger patties at Finney's are a blend of chuck, brisket, and hanger steak, and this one came with fried jalapenos, bacon, white cheddar cheese, chipotle aioli, and of course a fried egg topping it. She enjoyed the big flavors of the burger. She's a little sensitive to heat but found the fried jalapenos to have a manageable heat level. She was a fan of the burger patty, which she called juicy. The side salad was good sized and included plenty of ranch dressing on the fresh greens. She claimed that she'd get this one again.   

Since Katie selected my first choice, I went with this good looking New York Pastrami Reuben ($14). The hand-cut pastrami came sandwiched on toasted rye, with dijon, swiss, and Russian dressing on the side. The menu called for slaw as well, but they must have forgotten it. I liked this sandwich but felt that the pastrami was chopped too much, which made it stand out less than it should have. I liked the contrast of the dijon and the Russian dressing, but some more cheese on this would have been appreciated. I could have upgraded my side, but I stuck with the potato chips, which were nice and crisp. 

I really enjoyed the vibe at Finney's, even though we were sitting out in front of the restaurant. If we lived in the area, I could envision us coming here quite often for dinner, or to watch Sunday football. After eating here, I get the sense that they take great care in crafting a menu and elevating the usual bar food that has become far too commonplace. This is not frozen stuff that they get out of a bag and heat up. This looks and tastes like real food, at a very reasonable price point. Service was very cheerful and friendly, and our food came to us in a very timely manner. This was just what we needed after a busy day exploring Ventura.  

Out of five bags of money, (because this building used to be home to a bank), five being best to zero being worst, Finney's Crafthouse gets 3 bags of money. 

For more information about Finney's Crafthouse and Kitchen, head to their website by clicking here: https://www.finneyscrafthouse.com/

Veering From Our List in Ventura

Immigrant Son Caffe

543 East Main St. 

Ventura, CA 93001

A good rule of thumb when traveling is to be flexible. In other words, go with the flow. Don't be locked into what you decided at home. For me, that means forgetting about the research I did on the restaurants I wanted to check out. The locals always seem to know the best places to eat, and I was hoping our server from last night was not going to lead us astray with her suggestion that we had to give Immigrant Son Caffe a try. 

This downtown Ventura spot comes to us from Alessandro Tromba, and the name of his restaurant is a homage to his nickname growing up, as his dad came to the US from Italy in the late '60s. He has restaurants in his blood, as his dad and he have been in the restaurant industry for as long as they can remember. 

Immigrant Son just opened at the first of this year, and they have tried to adapt, as all restaurants have, to the challenge that is 2020. They erected an elevated platform in the front of their restaurant when we were here in late October to provide additional seating for their guests. They must be doing something right, as they were just named best new restaurant by the Ventura County Reporter, and they had pretty much a full house when we arrived on that Saturday morning just after 10. 

It's funny when I think of Italian cuisine, breakfast never crosses my mind, but they must eat breakfast in Italy, right? Immigrant Son Caffe is open daily from 8 to 2pm. Their breakfast menu does have most of what you'd expect from your typical breakfast places, but there are some nods to Italian fare. The compact lunch menu includes both hot and cold sandwiches, salads, and a trio of desserts, We were here for breakfast though, and needed a good base for our day of exploring Venturra, our adopted home for the weekend.  Let's see how everything turned out for us on this visit. 

Starting things off for us is their most popular starter, the Bacon Flight ($8). This quartet of bacon came with a strip each of jalapeno, sesame honey, smoked applewood, parmesan garlic, and the spiraled one, pancetta. The bacon itself was pretty high quality and the dusting of the toppings added a nice change of pace to regular bacon. I was partial to the jalapeno, which provided a muted heat, nothing I could not handle, and the sesame honey, which provided a nice contrast between the saltiness of the bacon and the tinge of sweetness from the honey. Definitely, the way to start your meal at Immigrant Son.  

Katie zeroed in on the Roberto Omellete ($15) for her first meal of the day. This well-made egg dish was filled with chicken, some strips of poblanos, and mozzarella. She enjoyed this very much. It was filled with plenty of tasty chicken, the poblanos blended a slight amount of heat, and the mozzarella was a nice change of pace from the usual cheddar that most places utilize. Thanks to her keto diet, I was able to have her potatoes and sourdough toast. The toast came with homemade preserves, which were not as sweet as the usual jelly packets you see everywhere else. The potatoes were cubed and seasoned simply. I'd have liked them to have a little more crunch to them, but they were still pretty good. I'm not a fruit person, so we both left the fruit alone, but it did look pretty fresh.  

I was really torn between the breakfast carbonara and this Homemade Breakfast Lasagna ($16), and I guess you can see from above which one won out. A breakfast lasagna might seem a little crazy to some, but if you think of it as a distant cousin to the egg casserole you just made for the holidays, it's really kind of the same thing. This was delicious. It was layered with perfectly cooked pasta, spinach, prosciutto, bechamel sauce, folded egg, and crowned with a runny egg on top surrounded by a pool of light marinara and parmesan cheese. It was not as heavy as I was expecting. The yolk from the egg on top tied things together nicely, the bechamel was rich, and the pancetta added just a tinge of savoriness. I'd still like to try the carbonara, but this was a very satisfying and unique first meal of the day. 

This Strawberry, Nutella, and Banana Crepe ($15) was a special on the day we were here. I always like to have a sweet and savory item when I go out for breakfast, so this fit the bill perfectly. The crepe got a little overshadowed here because the toppings were so plentiful, but I did not mind that at all. The bananas and strawberries were fresh and sweet, and they did not skimp on the Nutella. 

Even though Immigrant Son Caffe was not on my radar before we left for our little weekend getaway, it was an excellent choice for breakfast. The service was warm and friendly, the food we encountered was wonderful, and they were very diligent in practicing all safety protocols. This made for a wonderful start to our day of exploring Ventura before finding time to take a three-hour nap later in the afternoon. Thanks again to our server Taylor from the night before at Lure Fish House for steering us this way. A great suggestion. 

Out of five seagulls, (because the Ventura Pier is one of the longest wooden piers in California, providing plenty of space for seagulls to hang out), five being best to zero being worst, Immigrant Son Caffe gets 3.5 seagulls. 

For more information about Immigrant Son Caffe, head to their website here: https://www.immigrant-son.com/

Hoping for a Tempting Meal at Lure Fish House

   

Lure Fish House

60 South California Street

Ventura, CA 93001

Ventura was going to be our home for the next two days. We were going a little stir crazy at home and needed a quick getaway. We did not really have much planned for ourselves. Maybe a walk along the boardwalk, or a quick jaunt to see the San Buenaventura Mission, or even a few naps with an open sliding door so we could faintly hear the waves over the roar of passing trains. Food was, of course, going to play a big role in our weekend as well, and we decided our first meal would be at Lure Fish House. 

It wasn't until I did a little research after we got back home that I realized that Lure Fish House has five locations, (Santa Barbara, Westlake Village, Camarillo, Scottsdale, and this one in downtown Ventura. This spot opened their doors in 2012, and in those eight years, they have amassed four and a half stars with over 2,100 reviews. Very impressive, especially when you consider how many cranky customers use that platform to complain. 

We were visiting Ventura in late October and at that time they had blocked off their downtown area to vehicle traffic, so the restaurants could provide plenty of outside dining to their customers. We walked a couple of blocks from our hotel to Lure Fish House and were met with about a fifteen-minute wait on a Friday night. We made good use of the time by strolling around the area and looking in the shop windows. Right before the 15-minute estimate, we were alerted by text that our table was ready. 

If you are not into seafood, you might want to keep on walking past Lure Fish House. They only have one thing on their dinner menu that does not include seafood, and that's their hamburger. I, however, love seafood and had a hard time narrowing down my choices. Their menu is pretty impressive, with lots of specialties, grilled options, pasta dishes, and fried fish plates available. Prices were pretty modest for a seafood restaurant, as most entrees were in the $20 range. Let's see if Lure Fish House will be a great opening meal for our weekend getaway in Ventura. 

Since Katie was abstaining from carbs, this Bread Basket that came before our meal was all mine. I managed to scarf down two of these three well made sourdough rolls in record time. They were light and doughy on the inside, with a nice amount of softened whipped butter on the side. I'm always partial to whipped butter instead of the butter packets that almost every other restaurant uses. 

Usually, it's me that gets a Caesar, but on this evening it was Katie. Changing things up a bit to keep you guessing. She started things off with this Half Caesar ($5.95). This was a pretty traditional version with chopped romaine, shaved parmesan cheese, sourdough croutons, and a housemade Caesar dressing. She loved the lightness of this salad, which did not sacrifice flavor. They used plenty of parmesan too, which helped out a bit. 

On this slightly chilly evening, a Cup of New England Clam Chowder ($3.95) felt like it would hit the spot. It definitely did. This was a very creamy version, which was a tad light on the number of clams included, but the flavor of this made up for that. I detected maybe some smokiness in some bites, maybe from some chopped bacon? This went very good with my one remaining sourdough roll, which I used to sop up the remaining chowder before our entrees made their way out to us. 

I don't remember what the other dish Katie was contemplating on getting this evening, but she was very pleased with her eventual selection, the Sesame Seared Ahi Tuna ($24). She liked the freshness of the ahi and the slight kick that the sesame added, but what really made this for her were the two sauces this came with. The contrast between the sesame ginger sauce and the Sriracha aioli kept her interested throughout her meal. For her two sides, she got Organic Brussels Sprouts and Pesto Cauliflower, both of which were a two-dollar upcharge over their usual sides. Both got raves from Katie, but she was partial to the big time flavor of the pesto and cauliflower.  

I've only had sand dabs at King's Fish House, which I have enjoyed, but I wanted to see how Lure's version compared. These Sally's Sand Dabs ($23) was prepared similarly, with capers and a light lemon sauce. They were breaded a bit less, which allowed the natural flavor of the sand dab to show off a bit more. I had the Sauteed Spinach and Parmesan Potato Cake for my sides. The standout was the potato, which had a nice crunch to the outside and was creamy inside. Parmesan was found in each bite. The spinach was good also. 

Even though I was not overly hungry when we visited Lure Fish House, due to a late lunch, I was pretty impressed with the food here. The seafood was pretty solid, and the sides were stellar. I thought for the price we paid, the portion sizes were generous. Service was excellent, as our server Taylor took great care of us, and even gave me some excellent recommendations for other restaurants in her hometown of Ventura. With our stomachs full, we walked the short distance back to our hotel and were perfectly content with our first meal on our mini vacay. 

Out of five lima beans, (because Ventra was the first place outside of Peru to produce lima beans), five being best to zero being worst, Lure Fish House gets 3 solid lima beans. 

For more information about Lure Fish House, head to their website here: https://www.lurefishhouse.com/