Overindulging at Fogo de Chao in Irvine

 Fogo De Chao

623 Spectrum Center Drive 

Irvine, CA 92618

The Irvine Spectrum Center has stepped up its restaurant game in recent years. Gone are the days when Red Robin, Ruby's, and Fox Sports Grill ruled the roost. Now this Irvine center at the interchange of the 5 and 405 freeways is drawing some big names to their roster of eateries. Din Tai Fung and Mastro's Ocean Club are confirmed to be coming soon, joining already operating big hitters like Cucina Enoteca, Habana, Paul Martin's, and Shake Shack. I visited recently to try another spot I had always wanted to try out, Fogo De Chao. 

I'm a little embarrassed that this Fogo De Chao location has been open for more than five years, and this was the first time I had eaten there. It seems like just a year or two ago, I was at this location attending the grand opening party of Kona Grill, a restaurant that only lasted two years. That party was nine years ago though. Man, time does fly by. 

Back in the present day, my good friend George had the great idea of visiting Fogo De Chao during their Best of Brazil event, where you get to try a slightly pared-down version of the whole Fogo experience. For the set price of $44, you get to partake in eleven of their fire-roasted meats carved tableside until you cry uncle, you also get unlimited trips to their Market Table, which consists of salads, seasonal recipes, smoked salmon, fogo feijoada, which is a black bean stew with sausage served over rice, and a load of other items. My competitive eating days are behind me, but I put on my stretchy pants and headed to meet George for this gargantuan meal. 

When we arrived at just past 6 p.m. on a Wednesday, we were seated near the bar, on the outskirts of the dining area. I was afraid the gauchos who sliced the meat would pass us by. If you're a lighter eater, they have a couple of seafood entrees and an option to choose just one of their cuts. They are served continuously, and the market table is included with this selection. Our server greeted us, and we took off for the market table. 

I was blown away by the market table, but I knew I was here for the meats, so I only tried a small amount of the Fogo Feijoada, the black bean stew in the picture above. It was excellent, but very filling, so I only had a small amount. The rest of the table items looked fresh and were refilled quickly. Maybe someday I will revisit Fogo just for the market table, but I doubt it. Bring on the meats!

Remember when I said the Taste of Brazil menu offered eleven options? We were only presented with five, and although they did come around quite often, I would have liked to have tried their pork offerings, which were missing entirely. I have heard that some meats are done at different times, so maybe we were too early for the pork ribs, pork chops, and parmesan-crusted pork. Also absent was the Fire-grilled Brazilian cheese served by the gauchos. 

The quintet of meats that we were served were all good. My favorite of the five was the Picanha, the prime part of the sirloin, and the signature cut served here at Fogo De Chao. Like all their meats, they are seasoned simply with a liberal amount of salt added. This allows the natural flavor of the beef to shine through. The Alcatra is also top sirloin, but is sliced much thinner to ensure tenderness. The Linguica was coiled around the skewers like a snake, and very photogenic and delicious. The Chicken was surprisingly tender, and the portion size was very generous. The Bacon Wrapped Steak was probably the weak spot. Some pieces were good, while others needed to be left over the fire a bit longer to help the bacon get a little crisper. 

Another way they try to curb meat intake is by bringing garlic-mashed potatoes, caramelized bananas, polenta fries, and pao de queijo, more commonly known as cheese rolls, to each table. When these things are brought to your table, you subliminally feel like you need to eat them—at least, that's how I always feel. I picked at them a little bit. I liked the mashed potatoes and the rolls, but left the polenta alone after my first bite. It was kind of boring. 

Fogo De Chao is one of the best Brazilian churrasco restaurants I've visited. Even though I did not get the whole experience here, since they had limited meats and I chose to take advantage of their Best of Brazil special, which is limited in the kinds of meats you can get, I still enjoyed my time here. I checked the Fogo De Chao website and they have just started up the special again, but this year it's going for $54, which is still a good deal for all you can eat meats. To save even more money, Costco usually has $100 Fogo gift cards for $80, a $20 savings that gets this closer to last year's price. As I had predicted when we sat down, the gauchos sometimes skipped us because of where we sat in the dining room's outskirts. However, our server took excellent care of us. Fogo is definitely a special occasion restaurant, and I want to try them again.  

Out of five umbrellas (because Brazil is home to the largest rain forest in the world, the Amazon is roughly the size of the 48 contiguous United States, so you better have an umbrella when visiting it), five being best to zero being worst, Fogo De Chao gets 3.5 umbrellas. 

For more information about Fogo De Chao, head to their website by clicking here: https://fogodechao.com/

Birthday Lunch at Nep Cafe

 Nep Cafe

14346 Culver Drive 

Irvine, CA 92604

I feel like I'm in a game of Whac-A-Mole. Whenever I feel like I have a handle on the restaurants that Kei Concepts has going on, they open up another restaurant or concept. After looking at their website, they list ten restaurants, one of which has closed (GEM Dining) and one coming soon, QUA, which is seafood-focused. It's like that old arcade game where you must hit a mole with a hammer, but they just keep coming. 

It was my birthday. My good friend David and I have the tradition of treating each other on birthdays. Since I'm the restaurant guy, he usually lets me pick the restaurant. I was surprised he chose Nep Cafe in Irvine for me this time. Yes, it's another Kei Concepts place and one that I had never been to until now. 

Unlike other Kei Concept restaurants, Nep Cafe is not really a fusion restaurant. According to its website, it serves modern Vietnamese cuisine, blending traditional flavors with contemporary culinary techniques. This must resonate with many people because this is the restaurant's second location, the other being in Fountain Valley. In just 18 months, it has a very impressive 4.5-star rating on Yelp, with over 1,300 reviews and counting. I was intrigued, even though I have really enjoyed all of their restaurants. 

I met David at Nep Cafe on a Wednesday at 3pm. For those unaware of where this is, it's in the Heritage Plaza shopping plaza, which is always jammed with cars, no matter what time you visit. No wonder since it butts right up to the 5 Freeway and has numerous dining options, like Baekjeong Korean Barbecue, Buffalo Wild Wings, Boiling Point, Spicay City, Habit Burger, and Sup Noodle Bar, which is a sister restaurant to Nep Cafe. 

There are two menus at Nep Cafe. The brunch menu is offered seven days a week from opening to 5pm, and then it's the dinner menu only after that. There's some overlap between the two,  but the dinner entrees jump anywhere from $29 to $65 for the ribeye. Brunch is more modestly priced, with the ribeye only going for $39, and everything else is right around the $20 price point. The brunch menu includes bowls, rice and noodle dishes, and appetizers. There's also a wide selection of coffees, cocktails, beer, wine, and matcha drinks. Let's see if Nep Cafe is another hit for Kei Concepts. 

I looked at the online menu and could not find this Fried Chicken ($10). I believe this has been replaced by chicken wings. Anyway, I really enjoyed this version of fried chicken, which used thigh meat seasoned with five-spice seasonings and a very pleasant spicy mayo for dipping. The chicken lacked the greasiness that almost always goes hand in hand with fried chicken. I'm hoping this comes back on the menu in the future. 

The early leader for the most photogenic plate I've had this year is this Filet Mignon Banh Mi Chao ($25), which is almost impossible to snap a bad picture of. I learned that the name of this translates to "bread with combo pan."  This is a very apt description of what this is. In the pan is some cubed filet in a black pepper sauce, two eggs, tomatoes, pork roll, onions, and some pate served with a rather large loaf of bread. With so many ingredients, I thought they might cancel each other out, but that was not the case. Each had its moment. The steak was tender, and the black pepper sauce was a nice compliment. I also felt I would miss a base like rice, but the sunny-side-up eggs kind of worked as a substitute for a base. I was unsure if I would need so much bread, but I used it by sopping up the remnants of the skillet at the end of my meal. 

David got Chicken Fried Rice ($17), which is not on the Nep Cafe menu. They do offer fried rice, but only with beef tongue or shrimp. This came with a fried egg on top and soy and aji sauce on the side. The portion size seemed a little on the meager side to me, but David did not seem to mind. I also did not mind when David did not utilize his aji sauce, which I used with the remaining chicken. 

Nep Cafe was good, and it reminded me of what I had at their sister restaurant, Vox Kitchen, a while back. I enjoyed what I had here, but with such a limited menu, I'd be afraid I'd tire of having the same things repeatedly on frequent return visits. My burnout would also be inevitable because all of their items are similar, but at least the execution is there, as everything here is made to a high standard. Nep Cafe is a great introductory restaurant to Vietnamese flavors and more tame dishes. A restaurant where I could feel confident bringing my less adventurous parents to, which I think is part of the goal for the founders of Nep Cafe. Mission accomplished, guys.  

Out of five mules (because this restaurant is located on Culver Drive, which is named after Frederick Culver, a farmer in the early days of what would become Irvine and who was a very adept mule handler), five being best to zero being worst, Nep Cafe gets 3 mules. 

For more information about Nep Cafe, head to their website by clicking here: https://www.nepcafe.com/

Something to Crow About, Rooster and Rice Comes to OC

 

Rooster and Rice 

15354 Alton Parkway

Irvine, CA 92618

The email arrived, and I almost deleted it. I saw the name Rooster and Rice and thought I could not write about another chicken sandwich. Then I paused because it said rooster instead of chicken, and I thought that was strange. Who's cooking up roosters in 2024? Just when I thought this chicken phenomenon couldn't get any more crazy. Luckily, I read a few lines down the page and realized it was just a restaurant named Rooster and Rice, and they were expanding to Southern California and wanted me to see what they were all about. 

After more research, I discovered they are a famous Bay Area chain specializing in Thai-style poached chicken. Of course, I needed to dive deeper because I still needed to figure out what Thai-style poached chicken was. I learned it's a street food sold throughout Thailand known as Khao Mun Gai or Hainanese chicken rice. It's poached, served with seasoned rice, and has a chili sauce over the pale white chicken. 

This signature dish must have resonated with the people of Northern California, as Rooster and Rice now have ten locations, and this Irvine location is their first foray into Southern California. Not bad for a restaurant concept that has only been around for 9 years. It was started by two guys who wanted to showcase Asian cuisine simply, healthily, and cleanly. The business began to take off, and in 2019, the guys partnered with Aroi Hospitality Group, which is pushing for nationwide expansion. 

Back in November, we were invited to try Rooster and Rice out. They opened just across the freeway from the always jam-packed Irvine Spectrum, at the corner of Alton and Tecnology Drive, in a small shopping center that also houses a 7-Eleven, Bruegger's Bagels, and a Friar Tux. They are open Monday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 7:45 p.m. We were here for their grand opening event, packed with people getting their first taste of this unique chicken spot.  

The menu here is not going to bowl you over with its diversity. Rooster and Rice offers four versions of the poached chicken dish that made them successful, the original with breast and thigh meat and jasmine rice, the macro has only breast meat and brown rice, the vegetarian substitutes tofu for the chicken, and a version called the riceless, which, you guessed it, forgoes the rice in favor of vegetables. These all include khao mun gai sauce, chili, ginger, and garlic-based sauce and served with a side of chicken broth. There's also a cutlet, a few specials, Thai fried chicken legs, popcorn chicken, and fried chicken skins. We were given their top 3 selling items to try. They might have seen the overwhelmed look on our faces and decided to throw us a lifeline. 

We were given the Original Poached Chicken Plate ($14.95), the Cutlet ($14.95), and the Larb Popcorn Chicken ($13.95). There's no seating in the restaurant, but there are some tables in front of Rooster and Rice and a large patio with plenty of tables in front of Bruegger's Bagels. We found a table, unwrapped our well-packaged food, and prepared to feast. Let's take a closer look at each plate.  

Up first was the Original ($14.95), which is thigh and breast meat. When we opened this one, seeing the pale chicken in the tray was a little shocking. I tried a piece of the chicken before adding the house sauce, and it was fine on its own but made even better after I added the sauce. The sauce's chili, ginger, and garlic woke this dish up. The chicken was tender and juicy enough, but the sauce was the star of this plate for me. I'll definitely ask for an extra sauce the next time I have this. I did not love the rice, as I thought it lacked flavor. I added some sauce to it, which made it much better. This also came with chicken broth, which I found odd as I was unsure what to do with it. I took a few spoonfuls of it but decided it served no purpose and forgot about it as I ate the rest of my meal. 

Much more in my wheelhouse, the Cutlet ($14.95) was delicious. The chicken thigh is coated in panko and gently fried. Some pieces of the breading pulled away from the chicken too easily, but this was a delicious plate and reminded me of a delightful katsu I had a few years ago. It was not overly greasy and paired nicely with the Thai sriracha and an exciting creamy lime sauce, which resembled ranch in looks but had a different flavor profile. I alternated between the two sauces, which made this even more enjoyable. This came with another container of chicken broth and some pickled veggies. I picked at the vegetables but ignored the chicken broth again. 

I've always considered popcorn chicken more of a snack than a meal, but when I had the Larb Popcorn Chicken ($13.95) at Rooster and Rice, I might have to reassess my position on that matter. The thigh meat was coated in a crunchy breading, which was way better than what you can get at your local KFC. It lacked the greasiness I expected, and the thigh meat was tender and juicy. I primarily used the creamy lime sauce for this, and next time, I'll get an extra sauce, as there was more chicken than sauce, but I'm also known to use more sauce than the average person. 

I'm glad I tried Rooster and Rice, even though I've already reached my chicken threshold for the year, and we're only in April. This was not just another hot chicken sandwich place or wing spot. It's different and worth exploring. I'll give the poached chicken another try or try it somewhere else to have something to compare this one to. I'd be surprised if I have a better cutlet for the rest of this year, and the popcorn chicken could become addictive. Thanks to everyone at Rooster and Rice for the opportunity to try this Northern California favorite. Welcome to OC. 

For more information about Rooster and Rice, head to their website by clicking here: https://www.roosterandrice.com/

** We were provided this meal for free in exchange for an honest review of their service/food. No other compensation was received.

Hoping Baekjeong Can Break Our Korean BBQ Curse

 Baekjeong Korean Barbecue

14160 Culver Dr. 

Irvine, CA 92604

I long for simpler times when my nieces were younger. I used to take them to Toys R Us for their birthdays and let them spend $50 as they wished. They were pumped and felt they could have almost anything they wanted in the store. It also gave us time to bond. As they grew older, they put together a wishlist on Amazon, and Katie buys them what they want and sends it to them. This year, we let them pick any restaurant they would like, and we treated them. Gracie chose Baekjeong Korean Barbecue in Irvine when it was her birthday. 

I have only had Korean barbecue a handful of times and have never been excited about it. I'm not that fond of restaurants where you have to cook your own food or they cook in front of you. The portion sizes at these kinds of restaurants, whether it's a fondue, teppanyaki, hot pot, or Korean BBQ, are very skimpy, and you are mainly paying for the experience, and the food often takes a back seat. 

The last time we had KBBQ was for Gracie's previous birthday. We tried Gen in Chino Hills, which is the most popular of all the Korean barbecue spots, mainly because they have the most locations, and almost everyone has been there. My experience at Gen was anything but glowing. I found the meat to be subpar, the service was severely lacking, and even though the price for the AYCE was very reasonable at just less than $30 per person, I left feeling let down by yet another KBBQ restaurant. 

So when Gracie suggested Baekjeong as her birthday dinner selection, I was less than thrilled. Still, my love for my niece prevailed, and we showed up at the restaurant on Sunday afternoon just before 4 p.m., hoping to avoid the dinner rush. Our plan worked, as we only had about a twenty-minute wait, which is far shorter than the wait times I've heard of during weekends when waiting times of an hour and more are not uncommon. 

Baekjeong is part of a chain of KBBQ restaurants. It opened in Los Angeles in 2012, and 12 years later, it has eight locations on the West Coast and more in other parts of the US. OC is also home to one other location in Buena Park. This Irvine location has been operating since 2017 and has amassed an impressive four-and-a-half star rating on Yelp, with well over 4,000 reviews. According to Yelp, this is one of OC's highest-rated restaurants.  

When we walked into Baekjeong, I noticed some significant differences from other Korean barbecue restaurants. They don't have an AYCE option, as everything here is a la carte. This restaurant is also much more open, with natural light pouring through the windows and plenty of lighting fixtures hanging from the ceiling. This contrasts with the other Korean spots I have been to that are trying to achieve a more nightclub kind of feel. The most significant difference here is that you have someone who cooks what you order for you at the table. This helps eliminate the guesswork of wondering if something is done or needs to stay on the grill longer. Let's see if Baekjeong will help lead me to liking Korean barbecue. 

One similar thing at Baekjeong is that they presented you with banchan before you even ordered your meal. Most people probably think of these little bowls of food as appetizers, but they are more like snacks eaten before and during your meal, mainly to break up the meat-heavy meal you will enjoy. I could be better versed in what a lot of these were here. I know the basics, like Kimchee, but I need help with the rest. I won't try to fake you out, thinking I know what I'm talking about.  Most were pickled or had a little spice to them. Be bold about asking for more of one you particularly like because they offer free refills.  

Now, the main reason most people visit Baekjeong is the meat. We let the birthday girl, Gracie, order what she wanted. We had two rounds of the Marinated Short Rib ($49), Thinly Sliced Brisket ($37), and Boneless Short Rib ($56). Our final bill would have been cheaper if we had gotten a combo meal instead of getting all of these separately. Live and learn, but at least Gracie was happy. 

Instantly, I could tell this was way higher-quality beef than we had at the other Korean barbecue restaurants we had visited. Maybe it was because our server cooked it for us, and she asked how we liked our beef and cued us to take it from the grill when it was to our desired doneness. The meat was flavorful, especially the marinated short rib, which we could not get enough of. Make sure to take a break from all that meat to sample the cheese-corn and egg that cooks alongside the outer ring of the grill. I ended up making a delicious omelet with it. 

Katie needed a break from all the meat because she ordered these Fried Dumplings ($14). I had one of these, but with all the meat I had, I only remember a little about what was inside. It was fried well and lacked any greasiness. It was an excellent plan to deviate from all the meat, but this may have been better at the start of our meal. 

This is not the most in-depth review I've ever done, but I was not even sure I would review Baekjeong because Korean BBQ places let me down so many times. This place restored my faith in Korean barbecue. The meat was higher quality than the AYCE places, and having someone cook for you was a game changer. Of course, the tradeoff is that eating here is more expensive, but our niece Gracie is worth it. I'm just hoping next year, she wants pizza or maybe my famous meatloaf. Fingers crossed.  

Out of five bone saws (because the name of this restaurant translates to butcher in English, and butchers use bone saws to prepare meat), five being best to zero being worst, Baekjeong Korean Barbecue gets 3.5 bone saws. 

For more information about Baekjeong Korean Barbecue, head to their website by clicking here: https://www.baekjeongkbbq.com/

Should This Little Sister Be in Time Out?

 Little Sister

896 Spectrum Center Dr. 

Irvine, CA 92618

The Irvine Spectrum's dining scene always seems to be evolving. The openings and restaurant announcements from just the last few months have been dizzying. Silverlake Ramen, Burnin' Mouth hot chicken, and GrammOO Pasta opened recently, while Shake Shack, Roll Em Up Taquitos, Sprinkles, and Le Shrimp Noodle Bar are all poised to make their debuts within this calendar year. So yes, those parking structures will be even more jam-packed now. 

With all the restaurant comings and goings at the Spectrum, it's easy to understand that I might have let one slip through the cracks. When I discovered that Little Sister had been open for two years, I felt ashamed that I had not been. My audiobook obsession has apparently taken precedence over more than I thought. 

Little Sister opened near Target, in the southeast corner of the Spectrum, near H&M, 85 Degrees Bakery, and the Apple Store. We were here Saturday evening at 6 for a long overdue dinner with my aunt and uncle. There were eight of us, but we had made reservations via the OpenTable website. This was fortunate because the restaurant was jam-packed, and judging from all the people milling about the front of the restaurant, the wait time for a table appeared to be quite lengthy. 

Much like my little sister, this restaurant is quite loud. Little Sister features a wraparound patio for outdoor dining when the weather calls for it and, in addition to, an outdoor lounge across from the entrance to the restaurant featuring a bar and tables shaded by trees in a parklike setting. The inside of the dining space is dominated by a large bar in the middle of the room, with tables of varying sizes surrounding it. The high ceilings, wood flooring, dimmed lighting, and the house music blaring from the speakers brought to mind more of a club atmosphere than a restaurant. 

On their website, Little Sister describes their food as blending the spices and flavors of Southeast Asia while utilizing the European techniques that dominate the region due to the colonization that was rampant for so many years. The result is a menu that might appear too exotic for some, but if you have visited any Vietnamese, Thai, or Laotian spots or are open to trying new things, you will definitely find something on this menu to order. 

The menu is divided into starters, a smattering of rice paper rolls, a few salad offerings, soups and noodle dishes, and entrees. Even though some items might sound intimidating, the menu does a great job of explaining in detail what each dish is made up of. Our server, for some reason, explained that most dishes are meant for sharing, but we did not find this to be the case. She seemed slightly exacerbated when we all ordered, and our orders were less diverse than she felt they should be. As you will see in the upcoming photos, the meals did not seem conducive to sharing, especially for someone like me with a more enormous appetite. So without further ado, let's check out the food from Little Sister. 

We started with two starters, the first of which was the Sesame Sourdough Baugette ($8). The bread is accompanied by a smear of sea-salted butter, pate, and a sour tomato jam. I liked the sturdy bread and the variety of the spreads, but it would have been better if they had sliced it to make it easier to serve once it hit the table. The pate was the best of the spreads, with a vibrant depth of flavor. 

A little more exotic of the two starters for us was the Nem Nuong (Pork Spring Rolls), $13. These came four to an order and, along with the grilled pork, included mint, carrot, cucumber, and red leaf lettuce wrapped tightly in rice paper. It comes with a delicious peanut-type sauce. Due to the overabundance of veggies wrapped in there, the pork got overshadowed. I was rather impressed that these held together so well as I ate them. 

If you check the Yelps reviews for Little Sister, you'll soon realize this plate is easily the most popular item ordered here. The Shaky Shaky Beef ($35) is marinated in a burnt butter soy glaze and served with garlic tomato rice and a watercress salad. Unfortunately, the steak was inconsistent. Some bites were divine, but others were a little tough. The rice was nicely done, but I was not a big fan of the salad dressing used on the watercress salad. It was on the sour side for my taste. 

Much like the steak dish from above, this Suong Nuong (Pork Chop) for $32 had some good bites and others that could have been better. The bites taken from the ends were nice and tender, with a very pleasing taste. However, the inside pieces were dry and overcooked. The chicken fat rice was good, with a sunny-side-up egg perched above the scoop of rice. When broken, the yolk added a nice creamy texture to the rice. I left most of the salad, as it was too bland. 

The House Triple Garlic Noodles ($18) really fell flat. Half the people in our party ordered this, and it was unanimous that these could have been better. They lacked any noticeable tinge of garlic and were way overpriced at $18 for such a small portion. They were made a little better when someone asked for some chili oil to bring up the flavor profile. Disappointing. 

Last is the House Spiced Crispy Chicken ($29). I am not a chicken person when eating out in restaurants. Most of the time, I find that places overcook chicken and often find it dry and bland. That is not the case at Little Sister. This half-bird featured a very crispy skin with tender meat underneath, and it was made even better with the provided chili-ginger sauce, equal parts sweet and savory. I only got the leg, but it was suitable from beginning to end. 

We all left Little Sister a little underwhelmed. Nothing was awful, but I'd describe this restaurant as inconsistent. Some bites were good, while others were not. Nothing we had on this evening would entice me to revisit, but if a friend wanted to meet me here, I'd reluctantly give it another try. Still, I would only hold out a little hope that it would be much better than what we already experienced. Much like Javier's, also at the Irvine Spectrum, most people eat at Little Sister because of this restaurant's hip vibe rather than the food that comes out of the kitchen. That may be harsh, but I'm already looking forward to what's coming next at the Spectrum. 

Out of five pacifiers (because one of the most iconic little sisters of all time is Maggie Simpson, who is never too far from her pacifier on The Simpsons), five being best to zero being worst, Little Sister gets 2.5 pacifiers. 

For more information about Little Sister, head to their website by clicking here: https://www.dinelittlesister.com/