CPK, Way More Than Just Pizza

California Pizza Kitchen

2800 N. Main Street #872

Santa Ana, CA 92701

Of course when you think of California Pizza Kitchen, you think of their iconic BBQ Chicken Pizza, but CPK is rolling out a new menu and a new look. CPK restaurants across Orange County have been going through the conversion of expanding their menu to include lots of new dishes that are featuring seasonal and locally sourced foods. They not only have retooled their menu, but their cocktail program and decor as well. In other words, if you haven't been to CPK for a while, you have been missing out. We were recently invited by CPK to experience all that is new here.

Not only have we not been to CPK for a long time, but we hadn't been to Main Place for a few years. There's quite a lot happening here. This shopping mall is going through a pretty radical makeover, with lots of new shops and enhancements to the mall taking place. Of course I'm pretty intrigued by the restaurant side of things, and there's plenty new here, or at least on the way. Wokcano and Lucille's will be joining the newly opened Panini Cafe, Blaze Pizza, and Dog Haus very soon. Even CPK is expanding their patio, which is still under construction, but will be great for dining outdoors.

Not only is a makeover going on outside the restaurant, but a new look for CPK has happened inside as well. They say they are going for a rustic, modern look, utilizing sustainable materials, and I'd say they nailed it. The restaurant features a wide open feel, thanks to the large glass window near the front of the restaurant, the spacing of the tables, and the open kitchen, where you can catch the chefs doing their best to feed their hungry patrons. All this was pleasing to the eye, but I was ready for my stomach to be pleased, so let's take a look at some of the new menu items at CPK.

As quickly as we sat down, we were given two of their latest cocktails to try, the California Ginger Crush and the Blueberry Ginger Smash, (both $8.79). We had a disagreement at our table as to which one of these we preferred, but both vanished rather quickly, so it's safe to say our party of three liked them both. These labor intensive cocktails utilize fresh juices and herbs in them. My favorite was the Crush, which included Absolut Mandarin and Citron, muddled mint, and fresh lemon and orange. I loved the combination of the citrus with the mint in this one. Katie and George were more partial to the Blueberry Ginger Smash, mostly because this reminded them of their younger days consuming whiskey. Joining the Jack Daniel's in the glass was an organic agave nectar, ginger, fresh blueberries, lime, and cranberry juice to finish it off with. George told our waiter that these kinds of drinks would entice him to bring a date to CPK. Better update that EHarmony profile George.

What do you do when you can't decide on just one kind of soup? Well if you're at CPK you get their Two In A Bowl ($7.99). I don't think I've seen this on any other menu, but you can choose two of their signature soups served side by side, in the same bowl. Perfect for people who are indecisive. I really enjoyed both of these, the Baked Potato Soup and the Farmers Market Soup. The baked potato soup used a thick potato base, and utilized bacon and scallions in it. The farmers market soup used squash as a base, then they threw in some veggies, added some cream, and then drizzled some olive oil over it. The result was another nice, thicker soup, which satisfied me more than a normal vegetable soup would. This will be very good when it finally cools down around here.

Next up they brought us out two flatbreads for us to try. The Smoked Ham and Swiss Flatbread ($8.29) is off their new menu at CPK. The very sturdy flatbread was layered with Emmentaler and goat cheeses, smashed garlic croutons, caramelized onions, and plenty of ham. I thought this was going to be a little too overwhelming, but the flavors played nicely with each other. I was definitely more partial to the seasonally inspired flatbread that they brought out for us, the Maine Lobster Flatbread ($11.29). They do not use the bad parts of the lobster here. No, they use the very good tasting claw meat, which they generously used to top the flatbread, along with light mayo, herbs, shaved red onion, and arugula. Exactly like a lobster roll, but in flatbread form. Now you don't have to go all the way to Boston for your lobster fix.

It had been about ten minutes, so it was definitely time for another cocktail, and our wonderful host obliged with this California Roots ($8.79) beverage. Appropriately, this was a drink that featured fresh avocado, along with mint, Svedka Vodka, agave sour, and a unique fennel salt rim. This drink came across as fresh and clean, and I really liked the creaminess that the avocado brought to the table.

Yeah, this doesn't look like your grandmothers California Pizza Kitchen. When this Fire Grilled Ribeye ($25.99) hit the table, there was an audible gasp of excitement. This twelve ounce choice ribeye was prepared with a Pinot Noir sea salt and a blue cheese butter. It was cooked to a perfect medium rare, with eye pleasing grill marks on both sides. Very tender, with lots of flavor coming from the meat. This had us quiet for a good long while as we were busy getting our fair share. This was accompanied by roasted fingerling potatoes and a lemon and garlic arugula salad. I was way more partial to the potatoes, as I've never really been a fan of arugula. I found this lemon-garlic dressing to be more lemon than garlic, and that made it too sour for my tastes, but the potatoes were fork tender and made up for the arugula salad.

Probably my favorite entree of the three that we tried on this evening was this Roasted Garlic Chicken with Roasted Vegetables ($18.99). The chicken breast came in a lemon and garlic sauce, with crispy skin on it. I liked the moistness of the chicken, and they got the garlic and lemon sauce right on this one. The poultry was placed on top of some very good veggies, which included tender carrots, cauliflower, potatoes, and Mediterranean herbs. Even though this looked like a hefty, more Fall feeling meal, this was surprisingly light. Very well done.

Probably my least favorite of the three entrees, but George and Katie's favorite was this Hearth Roasted Halibut ($23.79). Guess I did not have the same tastes as Katie and George on this night. They really loved the halibut, but I felt it needed a sauce or something. It was however placed on top of some very good butternut squash faro and baby kale, which was delicious. I was also a fan of the grilled asparagus, which was done nicely.

Thankfully our last drink of the night made it's way over, since we all had to drive home after this. I'd call this Coconut Blossom ($8.79) CPK's updated version of a pina colada. They use a mandarin blossom vodka, white tequila, agave sour, coconut puree, and fresh pineapple. Not overly sweet like a pina colada, you could taste all the elements of this drink as it passed through your lips, and down the hatch. Tasty, and it brought to mind the drinks we have had in the tropics, but made better.

By this time of the night we were all pretty full, but this S'mores dessert really intrigued me. It had a budino feel to it. This layered dessert came with kettle cooked chocolate pudding, chocolate chunks, crushed graham crackers, and toasted marshmallows on top. I really liked the insides of this dessert, but felt that there needed to be more pudding in here. The graham cracker crumbs and the marshmallow got in the way of my beloved chocolate. I'm trying their Salted Caramel Pudding next time for sure.

I left CPK with a new respect for them. As I've been writing this blog for six years now, I've found myself having changing tastes. I used to like eating in chain restaurants, but those days are becoming fewer and farther between. For the most part now when I eat in those kinds of restaurants everything kind of feels prepackaged, and not very fresh or good. I'm not being snobby, but that's how I perceive chain restaurants to be. I did not have that feeling as we were leaving California Pizza Kitchen. I loved the freshness of the food, I like that they are branching out of their comfort zone of pizzas, and that they have stepped up their bar program. Yes, I still saw lots of pizzas being ordered, but there were plenty of people trying these new items. It's pretty impressive for a restaurant that's been around for 30 plus years to want to keep things fresh, and give their customers greater options. We will definitely be back, and so will George, once his EHarmony mojo starts to work.

We would like to thank everyone at CPK for the invite to come in and experience their new menu items. We could sense that everyone we encountered is really proud of their food, and excited to share it with all of their guests.

If you want to experience the new CPK for yourself, head to their website for the location nearest you, by clicking here: http://www.cpk.com/

Raising My Social Status In Costa Mesa

SOCIAL

512 West 19th Street 

Costa Mesa, CA 92627

I'm going to lead with my opinion of this restaurant. I loved this place. Now, I will have to preface this statement by letting you know that SOCIAL is not a restaurant for everyone. I could not see my parents eating here, but foodies will definitely be pretty impressed with this restaurant.

Some might find this place a little too hipster. Others might find their no substitutions policy to be a little arrogant. Some even might not like the neighborhood, or the feel of the menu. Whatever your preconceived feelings are before walking in, clear your head, and go in with a clean slate. Let the experience and the food guide you as to whether you will enjoy this restaurant or not.

SOCIAL can best be described as contemporary American food with an emphasis on southern cuisine, which is made with California ingredients. Got all that? The menu is not overly huge, with 22 options available on the night we were here, many of which encourage sharing. There were maybe 7 offerings that I'd classify as entree style meals. The southern flair of this menu can be attributed to Executive Chef Jeffrey Boullt, who worked in New Orleans for many years, before working at Jason Quinn's Playground in Santa Ana.

Located across the street from Triangle Square, SOCIAL is in a small strip plaza that houses a pool hall and a dollar store. Parking is valet, as I guess other tenants of this shopping center do not want you taking up the spaces in front of their establishments. We got here at about 6pm, and the restaurant was hopping already. Luckily, we had made reservations, and were seated immediately.

The dining room is dominated by dark woods and a lit up SOCIAL sign on the far wall. Seating is a little on the cramped side, and not entirely comfortable. There are high top tables, communal tables, and picnic tables, which are kind of too close together. It must have felt that way to other people as well, because the table to our left sat empty for the rest of our stay, even though the hostess tried to seat two other parties there, who decided they would rather wait for another spot. I'm glad I did not have to wait as I was getting hungry, and could not wait to try out a number of things.

Katie's not much of a drinker, and Ryan was still about 15 minutes away from getting here, so I was going to be drinking alone for a bit. I have heard great things about their cocktails at SOCIAL, and this Dementa #2 ($12.50) did not disappoint. I loved the presentation of this, with the curled cucumber, and the beautiful emerald green color of this beverage. This refreshing cocktail utilized Ford's Gin, lemon, ginger, honey, cucumber soda, the minty liqueur fernet menta, and chareau, which is an aloe liqueur. I did not even know there was such a thing as aloe liqueur, but I looked it up when I got home. With each drink of this, it started off sweet, and then you got a very slow spice that came over the top. It was like two drinks in one. The cucumber was very prevalent in this one. This cocktail got me excited to try others on their menu the next time I'm here.

Since we were waiting for our good friend Ryan for so long, we decided to start things off with a quartet of shareable plates from SOCIAL's menu. The first one was the Blue Crab Toast ($16). I know from the pictures that you would not be able to guess that this was crab toast, and I definitely had to take some of the watercress off of this, but it ended up being one of my favorite bites of the evening. The base of this was a very sturdy fried crab cake, and it had to be because this had lots of layers to it. Of course it had some very good blue crab, and then ginger, avocado, jalapeno, watermelon radish, and a large amount of watercress was hoisted on top of this. There was also a grapefruit slice and some cilantro leaves left on the side of the toast. Very good, but the fried crab kind of took away from the natural flavor I was expecting from the crab. Even with all of these items on here, I loved how the flavors interacted with each other. Really good start to our meal.

This Ahi Tuna Crudo ($16) was probably one of our four appetizers that I was least looking forward to, but it turned out to be pretty solid, and a lot more unusual than other ahi dishes we have had. Here they use yellow watermelon to pair with the tuna, then add yuzu, extra virgin olive oil, and benne seeds, which were popular during colonial times, and add a richer flavor profile than that of sesame seeds. Not sure if it was because of the seeds or not, but this turned out to be alright. I really liked the pairing of the fruit with the ahi, and the olive oil kind of cut the sweetness. A light and refreshing take on the usual ahi presentation.

Anytime we see Fried Cauliflower ($13) on a menu, we need to order it. We had this Middle Eastern dish for the first time at a Lebanese restaurant in Orange, and have been hooked ever since. This was a great version at SOCIAL. The cauliflower was fried perfectly, with little grease remaining, just a nice crunch. It came with a black eyed pea humus, which was smooth, and flavorful. The cauliflower was topped with feta and pepper to round out this dish. Katie described this as craveable, and she's correct, as usual.

Kind of like everything we had here at SOCIAL, this Queso Fundido ($15) was not like any other we have had. With this version cheese was not the focus, it was mushrooms, and lots of them. Joining the very mild cheese, which was used mainly as a binding agent, was wood fired mushrooms, corn, jalapenos, and their handmade tortillas. With the emphasis not on the cheese, this took on a lighter, less greasy version, which allowed the mushrooms to be the star of the show. A tasty, albeit milder version of a fundido.

Entree time, and even though we were getting pretty full by this time of the night, I could not resist trying their version of Chicken and Waffles ($16). The menu said that they use Mary's chicken oysters, which is really just a nice way of saying organic chicken nuggets. The chicken was clean tasting, with a hint of hot sauce to it. The waffles were sturdy, and could have used a lot more of the bourbon sugar cane syrup on them. With the amount of syrup used, these kind of came out a little dry. Not the best chicken and waffles ever, but if you're in the mood for this dish, give it a try.

Both Katie and Ryan got the Drive Thru Burger ($18), but served two different ways. Ryan added a bacon marmalade, while Katie selected an egg to top her burger. They use akaushi beef here, which is a Japanese breed of wagyu cattle. The beef was very juicy, even though Katie requested her burger well done. These burgers came with two patties, cheese, pickles, and and red onion. The bun held things together admirably, and this was one of the better burgers we have had in awhile. Lighter than most, and I think that could be attributed to the very good ingredients used at SOCIAL.

As I said in the first paragraph of this review, I really enjoyed our time at SOCIAL. All the food that we had kind of had a little twist to it, and was made the right way. There's definitely more that I would like to try here, like their Pork Belly, Wagyu Tri Tip, and my latest obsession, Shrimp and Grits, which I hear is amazing. Yes, there were a few things that could have been a little better, but I liked the uniqueness of the food here. I did not find SOCIAL to be over the top hipster, like I have read in a few other places. We had some pretty good service on this night, and our waitress was very helpful answering our questions. Can't wait to come back again real soon.

Out of five Hamburglar toys, (because former Costa Mesa resident, and front man for the punk group Social Distortion, Mike Ness is rumored to collect toys featuring everyone's favorite hamburger thief from McDonald's), five being best to zero being worst, SOCIAL gets 3.5 Hamburglar toys.  

For more information about SOCIAL, go to their website here: http://www.socialcostamesa.com/

Newport Beach Wine and Food Festival Preview (plus a chance to save on admission)

Newport Beach Wine and Food Festival Preview Event

100 Civic Center Dr.

Newport Beach, CA 92660

Sometimes my life doesn't seem real. Never when I started this blog nearly six years ago did I ever dream of being invited anywhere, let alone one of the most exclusive media preview parties around. I never even thought anyone would ever read this blog, but recently I found myself in the backyard of a lovely home, overlooking Newport Harbor, and having 13 of OC's biggest chefs serving up some of their restaurants specialty items.

Just like Christmas when you are five years old, every food and wine fan in Orange County should be giddy with excitement and clear their calendars for the weekend of October 3rd this year. That's when the wildly successful Newport Beach Wine and Food Festival is taking place on the grounds of the Newport Beach Civic Center.  If this kickoff event was any indication, we are going to be in for a treat on that first weekend of October.

Not only will the wine be flowing and festival goers stomachs be full of delicious food, but there's even more to this wonderful event. Celebrity chef demos, "Top Chef" home cook challenge with four of Bravo's Top Chefs serving as audience coaches and judges, wine seminars hosted by Master Sommeliers from the movie "Somm", live jazz will be wafting over the activity, mixology courses will be offered, and craft beer and handcrafted cocktails will also be sampled.

There's going to be a lot going on, and it's for a good cause as well. Net proceeds from the festival will benefit Project Hope Alliance, a group that is determined to help break the cycle of homelessness by stabilizing homeless children's living situations and allowing them to focus on their education. A very worthwhile venture, and one that we hope will help the 32,000 homeless children living on Orange County.

For those of you that know me, you know my focus is mainly on the food at these events, but the Newport Beach Wine and Food Festival will be a wine lover's paradise. There will be over 200 kinds of wines being poured at this event, and not your ordinary, run of the mill kinds of wines either. These world renowned wineries will be pouring their best varietals at this event, and will be happy to answer all of your questions about their wares. I was more amped for the wonderful cocktails that were served up at this kickoff event. Aqua Lounge Mixologists, Justin Young and Michael Kaczorowski used Absolut Elyx to make these refreshing and tasty cocktails. They had two offered on this evening, the Sun of a Peach, and my favorite of the two, the XYLE, which featured Fireball Cinnamon Whiskey, grapefruit juice, agave, and cherry juice. Really a tasty cocktail, and the Fireball was very pronounced, but not too overpowering.

Who says you can't start with dessert first? When I saw that Mastro's was giving out Mini Butter Cakes, I must have worn out a path to this table. Unlimited butter cake is one of my dreams come true, and I really had to pace myself here. If you've never had it, do yourself a favor, and try it soon.

Speaking of desserts, Tommy Bahama was not serving their iconic coconut cake, but I was not disappointed with this Chili Brown Sugar Crusted Cod, which was served on top of an apple risotto with yucca chips. This island themed restaurant definitely knows how to prepare seafood perfectly.

We have not made it to The Winery in Newport Beach yet, but after having this Yellow Tuna, Mango, and Cucumber Salad, we can't wait to make reservations for this restaurant with one of the best views in all of Newport.

Last year at the Newport Beach Wine and Food Festival, Del Frisco's Grille was sampling their Ahi Tuna Tacos, which are great, but these Shaved Steak Sandwiches might be better. Great, sturdy bread was joined with tender beef and a creamy horseradish sauce to create a fantastic sandwich. I missed the tuna tacos, but this was a great substitute.

Another standout for me from last years festival was Tamarind of London's butter chicken, and this year they brought tandoori meatballs with a very well done saffron rice and kofta curry. Even if you are not into Indian food, you will like this dish. Such depth of flavor in the food from here, and I look forward to seeing what they have at the festival this year.

If you have never had the opportunity to meet Chef Andrew Gruel of Slapfish, he's one of the most enjoyable chefs we have met in person, and his food's not too shabby either. On this night he had concocted a Lobster BLTA for us to try. Plump pieces of lobster were joined with avocado, tomato, and bacon on a lettuce leaf. Very good, and how can anything with lobster ever be bad? Can't wait to see what Chef Gruel will be doing at the festival this year.

Yes they're known for their prime rib, but Five Crowns showed that they could do salmon really well on this night as well. Chef Steve Kling provided us with this Absinthe Cured Salmon Crostini. It was rounded out by goat cheese and heirloom tomatoes, which made this bite a winner. I scarfed my fair share of these down.

True Food Kitchen at Fashion Island is not really my favorite, but I was pretty impressed with their two offerings, one of which was this Kale Avocado Dip on a flax seed chip. I knew this was healthy for me, and I still thought it was delicious. Baby steps towards me liking kale? There might be a chance after having this.

Oak Grill will be hosting the Launch Party & Charity Event for the weekend's festivities in October, and after eating this Foie Gras Tartine, party goers are going to be amazed by the food at that event. This foie was finished with the interesting combination of pickled kumquats, strawberry, and a bourbon maple syrup. Unusual, but tasty.

The food was all great on this beautiful evening, so it was a natural that the most sought after picture of the night was when all these talented chefs came together to take a few pictures. So much creativity in these chefs, all sharing their craft for a great cause. These are a few of the men and woman behind the wonderful culinary scene in OC. These people have elevated what people think of when they think of great food in Orange County. They will all be at the Newport Beach Wine and Food Festival sharing their best with all of you.

Do not let the sun go down on your chance of attending the Newport Beach Wine and Food Festival this year. This event will sell out, and you do not want to miss all of the great food and wines that will be featured here. To see what we experienced last year, click here: http://eatingmywaythroughoc.blogspot.com/2014/10/a-picture-perfect-day-at-newport-beach.html

To find out everything about the Newport Beach Food and Wine Festival, check out their very well put together website here: http://www.newportwineandfood.com/.  Also, while you are there, you can get $25 off your Daytime Festival admission ticket when you use the promo code NBWFF25 at checkout. Hope to see you all there for what has become one of our favorite food events of the year.

Blue Ribbon for Brea's Best Burgers?

Brea's Best Burgers

707 South Brea Boulevard

Brea, CA 92821

This review is long overdue. I am reminded to try the food at Brea's Best Burgers almost every month. It's one of my most ardent readers of this blog that has been trying to get me to go to this restaurant for a few years. This anonymous blog reader heavily touts the double avocado bacon cheeseburger and the onion rings from this little restaurant off Brea Blvd. Yes, we have been staying closer to home recently, but with my dad having his hip replaced at St. Jude down the street from here, it seemed like a perfect time to try this place.

I'd been here before, but that was long before I started this blog and needed help remembering it. Brea's Best has been family-owned since 1980. The menu here reminds me of one of those places you see in almost every city. For Los Alamitos it's Volcano Burger, in Laguna Niguel it's Ted's Burgers, the Yorba Linda version would be Duke's, and in Orange they have Troy's Drive In. These places all claim to have the best breakfast burritos, many burgers and sandwiches, and many other menu items. So, with Brea's Best being in business for 35 years, I had high hopes for this restaurant, but then we were met with this sign on the door when we arrived.

Major letdown. We were informed by the sign that they could not make any burgers, other than turkey burgers, veggie burgers, or patty melts, due to exhaust fan problems. We contemplated leaving, but we had come all this way, and not sure when we would be back up this way, I begrudgingly went inside. It also struck me as odd that they could make a patty melt but not any other burgers, but I've never worked in a restaurant and have no idea how these things are done.

Ordering is done at the counter, and then you take a seat in what appears to be an added-on dining room. This detached dining space was relatively comfortable, even though it had only ten tables. We ate near 7 p.m. and had no problem finding a seat, but I've heard that this place gets packed around lunchtime, so be on alert. Our number was called, and this is what hit our table.

I knew Katie would not be inconvenienced by the "no burger" sign on the door. I assumed correctly when she got this Turkey Club Sandwich ($6.20) for dinner. Joining the sliced turkey on this pretty good-sized sandwich was tomato, plenty of lettuce, avocado, sliced cheese, and crispy bacon. She and I were impressed at how fresh their produce and turkey were. We weren't expecting that. She really enjoyed this sandwich a lot more than she thought she would when walking in here.

Since I could not get a burger at Brea's Best Burgers, I had to settle for the closest thing that night, a Patty Melt ($4.15). I was disappointed with this bland patty melt. First, the patty was so thin and under-seasoned. It tasted like nothing, and the cheese did not add anything here. The rye bread was too toasted, so it took a lot of work to bite through the bread. The best part of this sandwich was the grilled onions, which added something here.

I looked online for their most popular side items before we arrived, and many people loved their Fried Zucchini ($3.75). First, the positives about these. I liked that they were the exact size of french fries and that they gave you your money's worth. There was no way that Katie and I could come close to finishing these. Unfortunately, they were served lukewarm and definitely needed to be salted to add flavor to them. The breading was crispy, but other than that, it was bland. Should have tried the onion rings instead.

We didn't need it, but I also wanted to try the Chili Cheese Fries ($4.25) while we were here. I love chili cheese fries, which is the best thing I ate here during this trip. The chili could have had a little more kick to it, as it was very mild, but these fries were topped with lots of cheese and some really strong onions on top. I haven't had pungent onions like that for quite a long time. The fries stayed semi-crunchy under the weight of it all. An exemplary version of chili cheese fries, but I'd ask for easy onions next time I was here.

So, after my first visit here, I felt I had to give them at least one more shot to try the famous Double Avocado Bacon Cheeseburger ($6.35). I can definitely see why people enjoy this burger. The bacon was nice and crisp and really prominent. There was plenty of fresh avocado on this, and the double patty added a meatiness to the burger that I didn't get with the patty melt I had on my first visit. Maybe a little too much lettuce, but it's still a good burger. It reminded me of the burgers at Farmer Boys.

I'm glad I returned to Brea's Best again to try one of their burgers. That burger helped me understand why people are so passionate about this restaurant. It's not the best burger you'll have, not even in my top 10, but it's a good, solid burger and better than anything you can get at one of the big fast-food restaurants. In fact, this place appealed to me because the prices were more than fair for the amount of food you get. Two people could easily split one of their side items and still not even finish it. Is this destination dining? No, but if you're in the area and don't want fast food but still want a burger, this is the place for you. Glad we finally got around to trying our favorite commenters' favorite burger joint.

Out of five dwarfs (because the very first woman to portray Snow White at Disneyland, back in 1955, once lived in Brea), five being best to zero being worst, Brea's Best Burgers gets 3 dwarfs.

For more information about Brea's Best Burgers, head to their website by clicking here: https://breasbestburgers.com/