Two of My Favorite Things from School, Lunch and Recess

The Recess Room 

18380 Brookhurst St. 

Fountain Valley, CA 92708

Time is flying by. It seems like Christmas was just a month ago, but it's already here again next month. When I was growing up it felt like it took forever for the holidays to get here, and now that I'm way older than I'd like to discuss, it seems like every three months we are putting up Christmas lights and running around like maniacs for gifts for our loved ones.

I bring this up because it seems like just a short while ago that we were invited to try out a new restaurant that took over a shuttered Coco's on Brookhurst. The restaurant was started by five friends who met while they were playing basketball in elementary school, each went their separate ways, but all came back together again to bring something different to their hometown of Fountain Valley. That restaurant was the Recess Room, and believe it or not, that was three years ago. Man time flies when you are serving up some great food.

Flash forward to now, and the boys from the Recess Room are expanding their operating hours by serving lunch for the first time in their history. The food served here would best be described as Asian fusion, but even that description is not quite right because the eats at the Recess Room have elements from not just Asia, but from pockets all over the world. Whatever they label it, I was pretty excited to see what they had cooked up for their legions of fans that had clamored for them to open for lunch for a long while now.

Lunch will be served Tuesday through Friday from 11 to 2pm to start, and then they will see how it's received and maybe tweak the hours after that. Lunch will be a little different setup from the usual dinner service at the Recess Room. At lunch, you will order near the front door, where a large chalkboard will be hanging with the midday offerings. You will then be given a number, grab your utensils, and then wait for your food to be brought out to your table.

There's not much crossover between the lunch and dinner menus, which is a little upsetting for fans of their famous Blue Crab Beignets, which you all need to try for dinner as soon as possible. The lunch menu features three sandwiches, a quartet of bowls, two salads, a sizzling platter, and a smattering of sides. Nothing on their lunch menu is over $16, with most items averaging about $12, which is what most of us end up spending at our local fast food spot for lunch. Very reasonable. Enough buildup, let's see what the Recess Room came up with for lunch.

This Sizzling Platter ($16) must be a very popular item, as we were told that it was not available when we got here, but then they told us that they had one left. Lucky us. This is a meat lover's dream. This hat trick of meats was filet mignon in a cognac pepper sauce, albondigas meatballs, linguisa sausage, and is finished off with a fried egg and slices of a french baguette. The best meat out of the bunch was the linguisa, which had a nice little kick to it at the end of each bite. The albondigas meatball was loosely packed but still full of flavor. The steak was a little overcooked, due to the fact that it's served on a sizzling platter, so it's still cooking while it sits there. The sauce helped it out a bit, and we utilized the bread by sopping up the rest of the sauce. The egg was overcooked as well because it was the last thing we ate, as I was focused way more on the meat. Definitely, a must-try for people who want a hearty meal in the middle of the day.

My first time at the Recess Room three years ago they had a bone marrow burger on their dinner menu. It has since been replaced by the Bacon Bourbon Burger, which sounds just as awesome. The new lunch menu has brought back a new version of their Bone Marrow Burger ($14). Just like that first burger I had here, I was surprised that this burger was as subtle as it was. The bone marrow butter came through in waves but did not overwhelm. The high-quality grind of the grass-fed patties was evident and played nicely with the bone marrow butter and bacon jam. The cheese and red onion rounded this out perfectly. I also wanted to make mention the bun here, it was stellar. Nice and soft, but still structurally sound. Kudos to the LA bakery where they get their bread from. A very flavorful burger that will not make you sleepy for the rest of your workday.

Not anything like you can get in the City of Brotherly Love, this Fili Cheesesteak ($15) was just as delicious as any Philly I've had recently. Made with some fantastic filet mignon, grilled onions, provolone cheese, and tied together nicely with ponzu butter, I ate this way too quickly. At first, I thought it needed a bit more in the way of condiments, but once I got into the sandwich it really surprised me with all of the flavors melding together nicely. Again, the bread on this was awesome. My lone complaint would be the underdressed salad that came with this. Very bland, but it could be made better by ordering some extra dressing. 

The only item that appears on both the lunch and dinner menu at the Recess Room are these Brussel Sprouts ($5) and for good reason. They are one of my favorites. These crispy sprouts come with shaved parmesan, chopped hazelnuts, brown butter, a touch of lemon, and lap Cheong, which is a Chinese sausage that's dried and resembles bacon, but with a subtle sweetness to it. A lot going on in this bowl. I love all the textures and flavor profiles and I'm thankful that they don't ruin it by adding balsamic or maple, which can overwhelm the palate. I do wish the Brussell sprouts were in bigger pieces instead of shredded, but still, a must-get side dish.

It might be controversial to say this, but I'm way more partial to tater tots than fries. There, I said it. I stand by my statement. That means we had to give the Recess Room's Ooey Gooey Tots ($6) a try. These classic tots were sprinkled with grated parmesan and a very good cheese sauce. I'm not sure what kind of cheese this was made with, but it was delicious, but not too heavy. Puts those poor skinny fries to shame.

With a lunch menu executed this well, it makes me wish that I worked closer so I could try more of their midday offerings. I was pretty impressed with everything that we had for this media sneak preview of the lunch menu at the Recess Room. I liked the more casual setup for lunch, and the price point is just a couple bucks more than what you'd end up spending at the Wendy's down the street. Even though time is speeding by like crazy, I foresee a return trip to the Recess Room in the near future. At least now we have the option of not only enjoying dinner here but lunch as well.

I would like to thank everyone at The Recess Room for their warm hospitality and generosity during this special sneak preview of their new lunch selections. Judging by the reaction from the other people here, they are going to be very busy starting on November 5th, when their lunch service starts up. I'd also like to extend my appreciation to my new boss and plus one this afternoon, Melissa. Maybe after this fantastic meal, she will give me some extra time off. C'mon superstar, you can do it. Lastly, I'd like to thank one of the best PR people in the business for the invite to this great event. Nerissa Silao, you are always such a pleasure to catch up with, and I thank you for the invite. It was much appreciated.

For more information about The Recess Room, head to their website here: http://therecessroom.com/

The Best Part of the Day is Still Recess (Room)

The Recess Room

18380 Brookhurst St.

Fountain Valley, CA 92708

When you are a kid, it seems like the world is so small. Most of your life revolves around a two or three-mile radius. You go to school, or maybe the local store, but other than that, you stay pretty close to home. At least that's how it was for me, growing up in the late 70s and early 80s. You probably had a group of friends, and you thought that you would know these people forever, not just on Facebook. For most of us, this was not the case, but for the five owners of the Recess Room in Fountain Valley, they have remained friends since childhood, and have now even opened a restaurant together.

Recess Room is the culmination of five lifelong friends, who wanted to bring a different kind of restaurant to their hometown. Fountain Valley has a lot of noteworthy Asian restaurants, a very good Turkish place, (Istanbul Grill), and a smattering of Mexican restaurants, but they were lacking a place for modern American cuisine, until now. These five friends brought this restaurant to the city they grew up in, not only because there was nothing like it around, but because they also wanted to give their fellow citizens a place where they could take a break from their lives, and experience a little recess, which is something we all daydream about.

Opened a few weeks ago, I was afraid that this restaurant was going to be kind of over the top with the elementary school theme, but thanks to restaurant designer, Kenneth Ussenko's tutelage, the restaurant has an understated nod towards a schoolyard, without being too in your face. The ceiling over the bar area is a replica of a redwood basketball court from the 60s, there are chain curtains, which are a slight nod to playground swings, and the tables are made from one-hundred-year-old wood. I also liked that the center bar area was separated from the dining area by a wall, but at the same time, you felt included in the bar action, due to the big windows that allowed for easy access to view one of their two TVs over the bar. With all these renovations, it's almost inconceivable that this used to be Coco's just over a year ago.

The menu at Recess Room is also light years away from Coco's. A good many of the items here are intended for sharing, but there's also a varied selection of entrees for people who are not too keen on sharing their food, like me. Manning, the kitchen is the very talented Chef Sergioivan Ortega, who has spent time at heavy hitters, ARC, Cucina Enoteca, and Social. As I mentioned before, this menu is probably best described as modern American, but most items offer a twist from the norm. I was definitely intrigued, and we hurriedly made our selections and waited for our food to hit the table.

A lot of my friends swear that I do not get enough veggies in my life, and that's not true. I sometimes get a stray piece of lettuce on a burger, and fries are made from potatoes, which are also a vegetable if I remember that from studying the food groups in second grade. Anyways, we started things out here with these Sprouts ($10). It seems like everyone is doing a Brussels sprout dish these days, and this one was pretty stellar. The sprouts are jazzed up with the inclusion of some brown butter, Meyer lemon, hazelnut, Parmesan, and Chinese sausage, lap Cheong. Their choice to use the milder Chinese sausage, instead of the more in-your-face bacon, really made the sprouts the star of the show here. This was a cleaner version of this dish, than most other restaurants showcase. Each tasting note, whether from the lemon, the hazelnut, or the brown butter, came through in short bursts. A great start to our night at Recess Room.

Just our second item, but this was the star of the night for me. These Blue Crab Beignets ($15) are definitely a must-order when dining at the Recess Room. These little balls are filled with Maryland blue crab, and a little mascarpone, and then served with a very good guajillo aioli for dipping. No filler inside of these, you just get the delicious crab through and through, and I was surprised that the outer shell was grease free and lighter than expected. The aioli had a little kick to it, but was very manageable, even for a spice lightweight, like Katie. Don't miss your chance to try these when you are here.

Probably my least favorite thing that we tried on this evening was these Deboned Wings ($12). I think I was just expecting more of a boneless chicken wing kind of feel, and what I got was like no boneless wing I have ever had. They had a great spicy gochujang sauce covering them, which was both spicy and sweet at the same time, but there was very little meat on them. I did like the crispy skin on the outside, but I'd probably forgo these in favor of trying another one of their appetizers, like their avocado toast or bone marrow mac and cheese, on my next visit.

Entree time was next for us at the Recess Room, and both Katie and I contemplated what to order for a while. She finally decided on this Hue Dip ($14), which she enjoyed very much. This sandwich was inspired by the "other" Vietnamese soup, bun bo hue. This sandwich was filled with thinly sliced brisket, spicy lemongrass, a jalapeno slaw, and seasoned with some coriander, all included on a very solid ciabatta, which held up to the au jus admirably. This was like two sandwiches in one. Without dipping the sandwich, you could really get a good feel for the contents of the sandwich, and Katie was impressed with its crunchy texture of this. Dipping the sandwich was like giving this a flavor boost, even though it did not need any help in that department. This sandwich came with plenty of their beer-battered fries, which we had a hard time finishing, even though they were so addicting.

I was torn between the skirt steak, short rib, and the burger, and I guess you can see that I ended up with the Bone Marrow Burger ($16) this evening. This was a stellar burger, made with some pretty high-quality beef. Even though this burger featured bone marrow and a bacon jam, it was still a subtle burger, which let the natural flavor of the beef shine through. Don't get me wrong, this was rich but not heavy, due to the lack of greasiness. Again, the bun here deserves some credit for keeping its integrity throughout the life of this burger. I enjoyed the generous serving of fries here, and the beer batter gave these fresh fries a great crunch.

The decisions at Recess Room are not easy, as I really wanted to try their cereal-inspired creme brulee, which is made with Frosted Flakes and Cinnamon Toast Crunch, but the call of this Fluffer Nutter ($9) was too great to overcome. Their take on this east coast favorite includes the predictable peanut butter and marshmallow fluff, and then they add bananas and vanilla ice cream on the side. The bread is battered and fried to a very crisp french toast-like feel to it. I liked this dessert, but feel the inclusion of a little chocolate sauce could have elevated this to even greater heights. Of course, I'm a big fan of peanut butter and chocolate, so I always feel these two items belong together. Good finish to our meal here.

Recess Room has been getting lots of love from the OC food community. I read lots of restaurant review blogs, and the consensus among everyone is that these five lifelong friends have a winner on their hands. The future looks promising as well since they are expected to get their craft cocktail program up and running, once they get their liquor license, which should be any day now. Liquor license or not, this restaurant was packed with people on this Saturday night, and they were just here for the food, so that's a promising sign that this area was starving for a restaurant like this. Everyone we encountered here, from two of the owners that we chatted with, to our waiter, Roy, and to all the food runners and bussers we interacted with, all shared pride in the food and were excited to hear our thoughts as well. I'm happy that these five friends have remained so close for so long, but I'm most happy for all of us, that they opened this restaurant.

We'd like to thank everyone at the Recess Room for their hospitality, and for the chance to experience their food this evening. We did not get a chance to meet Chef Ortega on this initial visit, due to the packed restaurant, but we were really impressed with everything we consumed here. Special thanks also go out to our waiter Roy, who shared his thoughts on the food and gave us some great suggestions. He knew this menu inside and out and was at our table frequently to fill their rather small water glasses. Thanks for that Roy, and we promise not to be so thirsty on our next visit. Lastly, we'd also like to thank the great PR powerhouse, Nerissa Silao for the invite to come and try the Recess Room. Thank you for thinking of us Nerissa, we had a great time.

For more information about Recess Room, head to their website here: http://therecessroom.com/