Another Year Older and Another Birthday Dinner

Meizhou Dongpo

15363 Culver Dr. 

Irvine, CA 92604

I've known my coworker/friend David for close to ten years now. We have a pretty good work relationship. He works way harder than me, while I try to get out of doing as much work as possible. He always comes to work happy, whereas I sometimes show up a little frustrated or moody. He speaks very little, while I'm pretty much talking nonstop. Okay, maybe we are complete opposites, but it's worked for nearly a decade now.

One thing we are not opposite about is food. He loves to eat, almost as much as I do. So when it's our birthday we take the other out to dinner. I usually ask him where he wants to go, and he'll usually defer to my choice. So when his birthday rolled around this year I knew I wanted to try Meizhou Dongpo, which has been on my list of places to go forever.  That's where we headed, along with Katie and David's mom on a recent Wednesday evening.

Meizhou Dongpo sprang to life in 1996 in China. Started by a husband and wife team, Wang Gang and Liang Di, they now have over one hundred locations in China and more spread throughout the world. Their website states that they specialize in authentic and fresh Chinese cuisine, with an emphasis on the Sichuan region. They have also been quoted as saying that they want to bring elevated Chinese food to the rest of the world, including their four Southern California locations; Arcadia, Century City, Universal City, and this Irvine branch.

Mission accomplished with this Irvine spot that is situated in the always busy Culver Plaza, which is also home to the 99 Ranch Market, Tasty Noodle House, and the always-packed Sam Woo Seafood and BBQ Restaurant. Walking into Meizhou Dongpo I was taken aback by the spaciousness of the restaurant. It doesn't look that big from the outside, but they can accommodate a bunch of customers at the same time, which is a good thing since they almost always have a wait. The dining space has high ceilings, lovely hanging lanterns, and eye-catching blue hues throughout the space.

The menu is equally as impressive. It's not even really a menu, more of a high fashion magazine, but instead of models gracing its pages, there's nicely plated food in the professionally done pictures, with a list of ingredients listed per item. Literally taking a page from the menu they have at Cheesecake Factory, with about a hundred items available for your perusal.

The menu starts off with their signature item, the Roast Duck, which you will see upcoming. There's also plenty to choose from with the rest of the menu as well. Appetizers, seafood, beef, poultry, pork, veggies, noodles, buns, and rice selections are aplenty. Prices hover around the $20 mark for most things, but there are some notable exceptions to that price point, including $68 for short ribs and a $45 sweet and sour fish dish. A little too rich for my tastes, but let's see what we did end up having this evening to celebrate David's birthday.

We might as well get this one out of the way first, as it was my least favorite of the evening. I'm usually a big fan of pork belly, but this Dongpo Pork Belly with Preserved Vegetables ($19.95) started us off on the wrong foot here. I guess I'm more into crisp pork belly, and this one I think was steamed, which left it more on the limp side. I'm also not sure what veggies they had under the layers of pork belly, maybe some kind of greens, but the two flavors did not mesh well with me. I stayed away from this plate for the rest of the night.

Listed under the appetizer section of the menu, our server suggested that we give the Meizhou Dongpo Sausage ($15.95) a try. He also suggested that we try both the spicy and non-spicy. I liked both versions. I did not find the spiciness to be overwhelming, but it was definitely present. The sausages themselves were dense with meaty flavor, and not at all greasy, which is rare when it comes to sausage. They did come out lukewarm, but I'm not sure if that's how they are normally served.

My mom's favorite thing to eat at P.F. Chang's is Dan Dan Noodles ($4.95), (even though they are not on the official menu anymore you can still ask and they will make them for you), but that version could not hold a candle to these at Meizhou Dongpo. This was more of a single serving but was enough for both Katie and me. The noodles were fresh and the pork mixture had some nice flavor to it, but the broth is what tied everything together for me. Katie thought it was on the spicy side, as it cleared out her sinuses, but I liked the heat level of this. It will be hard for me to go back to P.F. Chang's and have their bland version again.

Another of Katie's picks was this Wonton Soup ($4.95). I did not have any of this, but she liked the lightness of this, which she found soothing after the heat she got from dan dan noodles. One of the better versions she has had.

The birthday boy David selected this dish, the Sauteed Beef Fillet with Black Pepper ($22.95). This was composed of cubed pieces of beef, onions, three broccoli florets, and a little garlic. I liked this dish, but the pepper was not present and the beef was not as good as the one I had across the parking lot at Sam Woo for six dollars less. I'd skip this the next time I'm here. 

Another Katie pick, the Meizhou Pork Buns ($4.95). She was generous enough to allow me to have one of these, and just like her, I thought these were unremarkable. Very plain and the outer dumpling really overtook the pork inside. Nowhere near the best dumplings, we have consumed. 

Another David pick, the Spicy Chicken ($17.95) looked really intimidating when it hit the table. It's listed on the menu with three peppers next to it, indicating that it's one of their spiciest items available. I managed the heat fine, but with all of the dried peppers covering this it kind of pushed the chicken off to the side. I did like the addition of the french fries on this. It reminded me of a Chinese version of lomo saltado. 

When you first get to your table, and before you order, your server will ask if you would like to order their famous Meizhou Roasted Duck ($38.90 for the half) since it takes time to prepare. You will definitely want to answer in the affirmative. This was the best duck I have ever had. Sliced in the kitchen and brought out on a serving tray, it truly was incredible. This came with sauce, sliced cucumber and wraps, but I found myself just eating this tender bird by itself. I could not get enough. The skin was nice and crispy and our server suggested adding some sugar to it, which made it even better. This is the duck that will be used to judge all others for me now.

David's mom was pretty quiet when it came to selecting plates for us all to share, except when it came to these Wok-Fried String Beans ($13.95). These were done pretty straightforwardly. They had a nice crunch to them and the sliced garlic and peppers added to this dish. It's always good to have at least one vegetable dish on the table.

Our last dish was the Beef Fried Rice ($12.95). A nice side dish, but it could not really stand on its own. Again, it was not as greasy as most others, but the beef did not star and the rest of this was a tad salty. We probably would have been better off just getting plain steamed rice.

Not everything wowed us at Meizhou Dongpo, but the duck, dan dan noodles, and the sausage made up for the slight misses. With a menu as varied as this, we would definitely come back and try more items. Prices are about five dollars more per plate than you'd pay elsewhere, but I'd argue that the quality and ambiance is better than your typical Chinese restaurant. We experienced wonderful service this evening, as our server answered all of our questions, and guided us as to some of his favorites. It was probably our best dinner while celebrating David's birthday and we can't wait to do it again next year.

Out of five pandas, (because the Sichuan region, where this restaurant is from is home to a majority of these iconic black and white bears), five being best to zero being worst, Meizhou Dongpo gets 3.5 pandas.

Meizhou Dongo does not have a website, but you can check out their Yelp page here for more information: https://www.yelp.com/biz/meizhou-dongpo-irvine

Having an Ahba Moment

Ahba

31732 Pacific Coast Highway

Laguna Beach, CA 92651

The power of a picture is pretty incredible. Photos can bring down governments. They can make you fall in love. They can also entice you into checking out your favorite restaurant review site (Eating My Way Through OC) way more often. In my case, a well-tailored picture can pique my interest and get me to move a restaurant to the top of my restaurant wishlist.

That was the case when I saw a shot of a burger in a recent copy of Orange Coast Magazine. The delicious-looking burger came from a place I had never heard of before, Ahba, which is located in South Laguna. SoLag is an area I have not explored at all. I've seen it many times through my car window as I've driven past it on the way to one of  Downtown Laguna's higher-profile restaurants.

Ahba replaced Eva's Caribbean Cuisine, which had closed its doors over a year ago. A jolting reminder that I should not put off going to restaurants that I want to try, because you just never know when they will be serving their last meal. I was not going to make the same mistake again at the same address, so we woke up earlier than normal on a Sunday morning and headed over.

Ahba comes to us from the duo of Owner and Chef Nick Bennett and Chef de Cuisine Jayro Martinez. Ahba translates to father in Hebrew and is what all of Nick's friends called his dad while growing up, and the name stuck with him. Chef Jayro started in the culinary industry right out of high school and worked catering gigs and kitchens around LA soaking up as much as he could at each restaurant he worked at. He opened Mh Zh, which was named the best new restaurant of the year by Thrillist and garnered all sorts of attention while he was at the helm. It's also where he met Nick. Chef Jayro then moved to OC to be near his girlfriend and linked up with Social in Costa Mesa. Now he's reunited with Nick, working his magic at Ahba.

Ahba is open six days a week, closed on Mondays. They serve breakfast and lunch from 8 to 2, open again at 3 for a two-hour happy hour, and then start dinner service at 5pm. The short and sweet menus are Mediterranian skewed, but you're not going to see middle east stalwarts like shwarma or falafel here. I'd classify this food as American, with slight touches from the Mediterranian region. Nothing on the breakfast/lunch menu crosses the $15 threshold, while dinners range anywhere between $10 to $29 for a ribeye, which is a pretty good deal for a steak near the beach.

Definitely going to come here for dinner in the future but on this visit, we were here for breakfast and were met with a full restaurant at just before 11 on a beautifully sunny, but chilly Sunday morning. They hastily made a spot for us on the side of the restaurant, at an odd little table with a window looking inside the drink station. We quickly persued the 15 item daytime menu and made our selections once our server brought back the iced teas we had ordered. Let's check out the spread at Ahba.

Katie starts us out with her Egg Sammie with Avocado added ($14.50). This sturdy egg sandwich came with bacon, arugula, white cheese, aioli, and of course a fried egg. She loved the insides of this sandwich. The way that everything played off of each other to form a very comforting, yet lighter than your average breakfast sandwich made this a winner. She did comment that the bread used here was a little tough to get through, especially around the crust. This came with a simple salad, with a light dressing that was fine, but nothing earth-shattering.

Katie rounded out her meal with these Rosemary Hash Browns ($6). I don't know what it is, but I really enjoyed the presentation with this. The dollops of the red ketchup and the beautifully browned hash browns were eye-catching and got a lot of love on my Instagram post. Not just a pretty picture, these hash browns had a nice undercurrent of rosemary running through them while being crunchy and not too greasy. A nice improvement from the usual humdrum hash browns you get from your usual breakfast joint.

Apple Pie French Toast ($12) caught my attention when I saw it on the menu, as I think it would do with most anyone perusing the offerings at Ahba. I had to give it a try. Three slices of french toast were topped with spiced cubed apples and a smear of homemade whipped cream. This missed the mark for me. It was not sweet at all, and really needed some syrup on the apples, or maybe a side of maple syrup to tie everything together. The whipped cream was fine, but since it was homemade, it lacked the punch of sweetness that I was hoping for. 

It was the burger that brought me here, but for some unexplainable reason, I was not in the mood for a burger. I'm always in the mood for burgers. What is happening to me? Who am I? Anyways, I went with this Harissa Toast ($11.50) instead of the burger. I stand by my choice. A thick slice of bread was topped with two strips of crisp bacon, a sunny side up egg, caramelized onions, tahini, and harissa, a North African chili paste. This was delicious and satisfying. I loved the different textures, and flavors coming through in different bites. I did not get enough heat from the under applied harissa, but the rest of this made up for it, especially the runny egg yolk. Like Katie, I thought the crust of this bread was a little tough to get through, but I managed with a little help from my knife and fork.

Maybe subconsciously I knew that I did not need to order the burger on this visit because I knew we'd like this restaurant enough to make a return trip very soon. With the exception of the french toast, we both really enjoyed this unique and unpretentious brunch spot. With this restaurant being located a great distance away from the busy downtown area, it makes a trip here feel more like a hidden gem, even with all of the people here during our visit. I'd also be remiss if I did not mention how nice everyone was during our stay. I thought that since our table was outside, and tucked into a little corner, we would have been forgotten, but the opposite was true. We had great service from both our server and the food runner on this late Sunday morning. It really seemed like everyone we encountered really wanted us to be here and have a great experience. The picture of a cheeseburger brought us here, but the great service and unique food will bring us back.

Out of five skimboards, (because skimboarding was started in the 1920s by Laguna Beach lifeguards), five being best to zero being worst, Ahba gets 3.5 skimboards.

For more information about Ahba, head to their website here: https://eatahba.com/

Island Hoping in La Palma

Isla Cuban Latin Kitchen and Rum Bar

30 Centerpointe Drive #12

La Palma, CA 90623

I might have a problem. It's a problem I'm more than happy to have, but a problem nonetheless. I am addicted to Cuban food. The main problem is that there are not too many Cuban places to eat in OC. My unofficial count is at about 7 restaurants that I'd consider strictly Cuban. Yes, there are some spots that kind of verge on Cuban cuisine, but they also have other food that they specialize in.

Of the seven Cuban restaurants in OC, I have been to five of them so far, and my favorites have been Bella Cuba, Moros, and Habana, in that order. Porto's, of course, is a classic, and you couldn't get me to go back to Felix in Orange again because the two times I have visited, their food has been bone dry. If you are looking for the best I have had in Southern Californa it's definitely El Cochinito in Silver Lake. I was definitely intrigued as to where newcomer Isla Cuban Latin Kitchen and Rum Bar was going to end up on my list of OC Cuban spots.

I had read a review about Isla in the now-defunct, but not forgotten OC Weekly, and a glowing review in the OC Register, where the only complaint Brad Johnson could muster was about the noise level inside the restaurant, (he was not wrong about that). Isla is a family-owned restaurant, with items from not only Cuba, but also the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, and Mexico. The matriarch of the family, Senora Deysi, is the inspiration for the food that they serve at Isla.

I had made 5pm reservations on a recent Saturday to meet up with my parents here. Reservations are definitely the way to go, as the restaurant and enclosed front patio filled up rather quickly during our visit. There are maybe twenty or so tables inside, another ten on the patio, and a ten-seat bar off to the right-hand side of the restaurant. The dining room is lit with hanging chandeliers and the obligatory pictures of Cuba adorning the walls. A pleasing kind of art deco vibe fills the space.

The menu reads like a greatest hits of Cuban cuisine. It starts with seven traditional appetizers, there's a quartet of soups and salads, beef, chicken, pork, and seafood entrees, a Mofongo, and sandwiches, which are unfortunately only available from 11 to 5pm. Since we were seated at exactly 5:03 it prevented my mom from having the only thing that she had her heart set on this evening, a Cuban sandwich. Even a request from our server to the kitchen yielded an emphatic no that they would not be making a sandwich three minutes past their 5pm cutoff time. Apparently, they lock up their sandwich ingredients in a time activated safe, which will only be opened at 11am on the next day. At this point, my mom checked out, and would not be eating anything at Isla on this evening. Not a great start to our meal. Let's see if the night could be salvaged with what the other three of us ordered.

It's a Cuban restaurant, so no chips and salsa insight, but instead you get Plantain and Yucca Chips with Garlic Sauce to start out with. I enjoyed the plantains, more than the yucca chips. The real star here was the garlic sauce, which actually made even the blander yucca chips taste good. 

Out of the seven tapas options, we settled on the Empanadas ($10) which are offered with either beef or chicken. We went with chicken. Even though I'm more partial to beef, I really enjoyed the empanada that I consumed way too quickly. It was filled with plenty of chicken and the two sauces served with this were pretty stellar. The green was my favorite by just a bit.

My dad is pretty unpredictable with what he usually gets in restaurants. I never know what he's leaning towards until he orders. On this evening he could not resist the Salmon A La Parrilla ($22). I have a love-hate relationship with salmon. It's either really good or it's not to my liking at all. This was definitely the former. It was cooked perfectly, the garlic sauce was delicious, and I was a little whistful that I did not get the salmon. My dad's only complaint was the black beans and rice, which he did not really care for, although he did not give me a reason why.

Katie is a lot more predictable when it comes to guessing what she's going to order. I knew she would be having a chicken entree, and I was proved correct when she went with the Pollo Asado Isla ($19). This chicken was slow roasted and utilized the same excellent garlic mojo sauce that topped the salmon. She loved the tender chicken, but it was the garlic sauce that made her swoon with delight. She called this classic comfort food. The black beans rounded this out nicely.

I came here expecting to get the Bistec Encebollado, but our server really talked up this Lechon Asado ($19) and being a big fan of pork, that's the way I went. This was the best version I have had in OC. The menu description claims that this pork is marinated for two days, and after my first bite, I knew it was true. The pork is roasted wonderfully and topped with more of that garlic mojo sauce that I could not get enough of. I actually liked the black beans and rice. I mixed them together to form a kind of congri. The black beans were full of flavor and really livened up the white rice. The plantains were sweet but subtly, just the way I like them. A very good meal.

Dessert would be our last hurrah at Isla, and I decided on the Tres Leches Cake ($7). This very traditional Cuban dessert failed to impress. I did not mind the moistness of this, as that's what you expect when getting this dessert. I did mind the blandness that each bite brought to my taste buds. A way too mild taste and the frosting did not help out here either. Looking online, we should have maybe gone with the flan instead.

Even with the sandwich snafu at the start of our visit, I left Isla pretty impressed with the food that I experienced on this evening. All three of our entrees and empanadas were great and made me definitely want to come back again soon to try their sandwiches, (before 5 of course), and also try one of their beef dishes. Our server Raymundo handled a difficult situation at the start of our visit as well as could have been expected. No complaints about his service on this evening. Where does Isla rank as far as Cuban food in OC? I'd put them right near the top, if not the best. I'd have to go back to Bella Cuba again to see if it's just as good as it was back when we visited over eight years ago. Yes, it's difficult for us to make it back to a restaurant once we visit, with my ever-growing lists of restaurants I want to experience. I am very grateful for another OC Cuban option that will help satisfy my Cuban food addiction.

Out of five cows, (because the city of La Palma was once named Dairyland, and they have a cow on their city seal to commemorate this), five being best to zero being worst, Isla Cuban Latin Kitchen and Rum Bar gets 3.5 cows.

For more information about Isla Cuban Latin Kitchen and Rum Bar, check out their website here: https://www.islacubankitchen.com/

Cuckoo for Cuca's?

Cuca's Mexican Food

26676 Portola Parkway

Foothill Ranch, CA 92610

It's pretty easy to come up with a reason that most of the restaurant blogs that I used to read religiously are not producing any more new content. One word, Instagram. It's just easier to take a picture, write a short comment about it, and then let the likes roll in. A lot easier than the six hours or so that it takes me to write a single restaurant review. Yes, I'm a slow writer and get distracted rather easily.

Out of all the social media platforms that I use, I agree that Instagram, or The Gram, as the kids call it, is the best. It's the most visual of all media, which helps when you are photographing food. Also, unlike Facebook and Twitter, there's a lot less opinion being floated about, and little to no politics mentioned. A big plus especially in this election year. I've also noticed that people are a lot more polite on IG, and I have even gotten some great tips from many of my followers.

That's the reason we found our way to Cuca's in Foothill Ranch. It was probably a few years back now when one of my followers mentioned that I needed to give this place a try. It just so happened that we were walking around Lake Mission Viejo with our good friends Mazi and Marita, and were looking for somewhere to eat after our 3-mile jaunt. It hit me that we were in the vicinity of Cuca's, so that's where we headed to replenish after our grueling workout.

Cuca's is situated just off Portola Parkway, in the same shopping plaza as Denny's, Outback Steakhouse, and right next door to Planet Fitness. I was surprised to learn that this is part of a seven-unit chain that started in 1989 in the Inland Empire. It's truly a family-run business, as Cuca and her three daughters have opened new restaurants as the years have passed by, including one inside Buffalo Bills in Primm, Nevada.

This Foothill Ranch spot is the only one in OC and is run by her daughter Emerald and her husband Amir, who reside in nearby Rancho Santa Margarita. They opened it seven years ago, and have amassed quite a loyal following. The menu is highlighted by combination plates, burritos, tamales, burgers?, ala carte options, and daily specials, which includes a taco Tuesday special where you can get crispy tacos for $1.75 and soft tacos for just over $2. Unfortunately, we were here on a Thursday, so no taco Tuesday for us. Let's check out what did end up having though.

Long time readers of this blog know that Katie always orders Guacamole ($5.95) when we are in a Mexican restaurant, and that streak continued here at Cuca's. This was a decent version of her favorite dip. The consistency was spot on, but I'd like it to be seasoned a bit more. The chips here are very good. A little thicker than most, with a nice crunch to them. Kind of like the ones at Jalapenos, but without the lard after taste.

Marita was feeling the taco vibe at Cuca's with this trifecta of tacos. She selected two of the Carne Asada ($3.19 each) and a Carnitas Taco ($3.19). The carne asada was dressed with chopped cilantro and cabbage, while the carnitas came topped with pico de gallo and red onion. Both Marita and Mazi, who got the same tacos praised these. They loved the flavors, felt there was enough meat on them, and would get these again, but next time maybe get these as a combo plate so they could have some rice and beans.

Katie started her culinary journey at Cuca's with Taquitos ($5.29). These come three to an order, sprinkled with grated cheese, and a dollop of guacamole on the side. You have a choice of either beef or chicken, and she went with the chicken version. These were fried well but lacked the greasy tinge that I was expecting, which is a good thing. I'd definitely get these but would opt for beef. 

Katie also got one of the Daily Specials ($6.25) which comes with your choice of two items and a small drink. No beans and rice with this one. She selected a Soft Chicken Taco and a Hard Shelled Chicken Taco as her two items. She's pretty much a chicken-aholic if you could not tell from all of the poultry she ordered at Cuca's. Both of these were very solid in her opinion, with the chicken being pretty moist and flavored well. She liked the crunch of the hard taco best. Both could have had a little more chicken included in them, but she was overly happy with her meal. 

Combination plates are my jam, so I can try many different things on one plate. Combo plates give me a better representation of the food that a restaurant serves. At Cuca's, I got this 3 Item Combination Plate ($10.29) which featured a cheese enchilada, two beef taquitos, and a carne asada taco. I really liked everything on this overflowing plate, but if pressed, I'd say the cheese enchilada was the best here. A very good enchilada sauce surrounded the cheesy enchilada nicely. I concur with Mazi and Marita that the carne asada taco was delicious, but I would have liked it even better with some cheese added to it. The taquitos were fried nicely and had a good amount of shredded beef inside them. The refried beans were better than the rice, but I usually feel this is the case at most Mexican restaurants. Overall, a very comforting plate and one that I would totally get again.

All four of us left Cuca's pretty impressed with everything that we had on this evening and eager to come back and try more. One of the better fast-casual Mexican restaurants we have encountered in South OC. The food tasted fresh, not too greasy, and they had a decent variety available. Prices seemed more than fair for the amount of food that you get. Cuca's will definitely help quell your Mexican food cravings if you are in the area. We did note that they were closing up earlier than their posted 9pm time, as we witnessed two customers turned away just after 8, so definitely be aware of that. Seriously glad to get this tip about this place on Instagram, and if you follow me on IG and want us to try a spot, just reach out and we will get around to going there eventually.

Out of five ghost-monsters, (because in Spanish speaking countries a cuca is a female version of the mythical boogeyman), five being best to zero being worst, Cuca's Mexican Food gets 3 solid ghost-monsters.

For more information about Cuca's Mexican Food, head to their website here: https://www.cucas.com/

Burntzilla Is on the Loose - CLOSED

Burntzilla

14413 Culver Drive

Irvine, CA 92606

The new year is full of promise and hope for a remarkable 365 days ahead. As is our custom, Katie and I spend the first day of the year together. We go out for a walk, thinking in the back of our minds that we will make this a habit and walk a few miles every day, which usually only lasts until January 3rd. We also hit a spot on my restaurant wishlist to start the new year.

Our first pick ended up being closed, and our second selection was shuttered on the first day of the year. Did no one want to take our money? The third restaurant we ultimately found was the charm, as we finally got to experience a place I'd wanted to try for a long while, Burntzilla in Irvine.

Burntzilla is a collaboration between two of what some might argue are the most successful OC-based food trucks. I'd go with Slapfish as the most noteworthy truck, but the Burnt Truck and Dogzilla are also right up there. This partnership combines the Burnt Truck's modern take on classics in slider form while adding Dogzilla's Asian twist on its mini hot dogs. After our walk and our misses with closed restaurants on this New Year's Day, I was excited to finally have my first meal of the year.

The Burntzilla menu features 8 sliders, four mini hot dogs, one salad option, and a quintet of sides. There are also two combo options, which allow the indecisive to pick two or three sliders or dogs, depending on how hungry you are, along with an order of fries and a drink. I was initially intimidated by all the choices but quickly zeroed in on what I would be having. We ordered from the cheerful counter girl and found a seat in front of their restaurant, soaking up the sun while we waited nearly five minutes for our food to arrive.

Yeah, our new year never includes the pretense of diet food. Katie selected the Golden Combo ($11 with upgraded loaded fries) for her maiden meal in 2020. You can choose two sliders or zillas, fries, and a drink with this combo. Katie went with the BLT Slider and the Banh Mi Zilla. She enjoyed both of these. The BLT came with precisely what you'd expect from any BLT, but they also added a jalapeno aioli, which gave it a little kick. She added some avocado, which added a nice textural element. A good choice for lighter eaters. The Vietnamese-inspired Banh Mi came with a wonton-wrapped spicy chicken link, pickled carrots and radish, jalapeno cilantro, and garlic aioli. She liked all the layers of texture on this. The pickled veggies dominated a bit, but the chicken link was one of the best she has had. It did not even taste like chicken. The Irish Nachos were more to her liking than mine. The fries are topped with a sharp and pepper jack cheese sauce, squirts of sour cream, crumbled bacon, and chopped green onion. I'm not big on cheese sauce for my loaded fries, but instead, I opted for melted grated cheese. Katie liked these more than the tater tots, which you will see in a moment. I also found that these needed to be layered better, as the bottom portion of the container was just plain fries. 

I had the Big Combo ($13), with three sliders or zillas, tater tots, and a beverage. I also got an extra Slider ($3) on the side. The best of the bunch for me was the Nashville Style Hot Chicken, which cranked up the heat with a spicy, crunchy breading on the chicken, along with a house pickle slaw and spicy Thousand Island dressing. The Street Dog grabs the silver medal as it continues the heat trend with its bacon-wrapped spicy link, avocado, jalapeno cream, pico de gallo, and a little crunch from some tortilla strips placed on top. A lot going on with this textural-wise, and the flavors did not drown each other out like I thought they would. The BBQ Pulled Pork snags the bronze as the third best. The pork was dressed in a barbecue sauce, which overpowered the entire slider, so that was all you tasted. It's not awful, but I would have liked the pork to be the show's star instead of the BBQ sauce. The worst by a long shot was the Cheeseburger, which looks probably like the best based on the pictures above. The Angus beef patty, American cheese, grilled onions, and avocado spread could have made a more significant impression. Very dull. Tater Tots are always very comforting to me; these were no exception. They could have been crunchier, but they were still good.

Burntzilla was an excellent choice for our first meal of the year. I liked almost everything we had here and would come back and try more of their stuff. From what it looks like online, they rotate items on and off their menu rather frequently, which helps keep things fresh for their devoted customers. I do wish that they had bigger versions of their food. A few bites of their Nashville hot chicken sandwich was not enough. I also would have gotten a bigger version of their street dog if it were available, which, from the pictures I have seen of their menu on Yelp from a few years ago, appears bigger versions used to be available but are not presently available. Service was cordial and unobtrusive. I've heard parking in this shopping center can be a little challenging, but since the Trader Joe's was closed on New Year's, we had no problems with parking, but something to be mindful of.

Out of five rakes (because the city of Irvine has nearly 80,000 trees within its borders, and I imagine they need plenty of rakes to clean up around the city), five being best and zero being worst, Burntzilla gets three rakes. 

For more information about Burntzilla, head on over to their website here: http://www.burntzilla.com/

Ono Grinds at AI Pono Cafe in Costa Mesa

Ai Pono Cafe

283 East 17th Street

Costa Mesa, CA 92627

If I could pick one food trend that I hope would hit it big this decade, it would be plant-based proteins. Okay, I wanted to ensure you were actually reading this instead of just checking out the pictures. It would definitely be Hawaiian food. I've been to several Hawaiian restaurants, and even the worst (King's Hawaiian) had some redeeming value.

There are a few reasons I'm all in regarding food from our 50th state. First, I love all Hawaiian meats. Second, they also improved on bland potato and macaroni salad by combining the two. Third, even though the mai tai was invented in Oakland, the Hawaiians improved it to make it their own. It's impossible to go to the islands and not partake in one or a bunch of them.

I get a little pumped when I hear about a new Hawaiian restaurant opening in OC. I got even more excited after reading numerous reviews about its greatness. Full disclosure: I had Ai Pono Cafe's food once before when they rented space at The Hood Kitchen in an industrial park near John Wayne Airport. I loved what I had that initial visit, but the hours and days they were operating were too limited, so I decided to wait until they had their own spot and were open more hours.

I had no doubt that this would happen for Ai Pono Cafe, and nearly three months ago, it did. They now have a stand-alone restaurant on the restaurant-rich 17th Street in Costa Mesa. They are across the street from Sidecar Doughnuts and Mi Casa and in the same shopping plaza as Burger Lounge and Ross Dress For Less. They replace the now-departed Aloha Poke Company. In addition, their hours have greatly improved, as they are now open for lunch from 11 to 3, then open again for dinner service from 5 to 9 every day except for Sunday.

Starting as a meal prep spot, the owners of Ai Pono and Hawaiian natives Gene and Dana feel that Hawaiian food has become a bit muddled. So, they want to share what authentic Hawaiian street food entails. Dana is in charge of the front-of-the-house operations, while Gene, who previously worked as Executive Chef and Partner at Roy's, manages the kitchen. He's created a menu with plenty of bowls, salads, plates, and chicken dishes.

Unlike their space by the airport, this spot is much roomier and features plenty of artwork along the walls, showcasing their passion for their home state. Ordering is done at the register; you grab a seat at one of their picnic tables, and they bring the food to you. I had no doubt that the food would be just as good as what I had at their other place, and I was pretty excited to share it with Katie, her brother, and his fiancee. So, let's dig into their real Hawaiian street food.

Starting things off will be beautiful. Rachel's selection for this evening is the Hawaii Famous Fried Chicken ($13.80). Before my trip here, I did not know that Hawaii was famous for fried chicken, but apparently, they are. These two big chicken thighs are dipped in their guava chili pepper sauce. Rachel is not overly talkative when it comes to gushing about food, but she really seemed to enjoy this. The chicken looked good from across the table, and I will probably get this the next time I visit. This was served with a scoop of mac salad, hapa rice, and a little green salad with a vinaigrette.

Ai Pono has combo meals, which they call Utu Bang Bang ($16). I don't know what that translates to, but this option allows the indecisive like Katie to create their perfect meal. Katie went with the Shoyu Poke and Kawai As Why Chicken Katsu as her picks. She was delighted with her meal. The chicken katsu was lightly breaded and tender, perfectly balanced with a bit of drizzle of a sweet soy reduction over the top. The poke was some of the freshest she had and not overdressed like you get at all those assembly-line poke spots that have invaded almost every shopping center in OC. The plate was rounded with fried noodles, mac salad, and a scoop of hapa rice. Even though she enjoyed this meal, she may try one of the seven other options next time. 

I approached my visit to Ai Pono Cafe as I do almost any restaurant: pick the item that allows you to try the most things on one plate. At Ai Pono, I got the Mento Bento ($18.50). These are the greatest hits from their kitchen. You get a taste of their Portuguese sausage, ahi katsu, Spam, muy Thai shrimp, and teriyaki chicken. My favorite was the sausage, which had a crispy casing and an excellent flavor. The chicken teriyaki was also superb and way more elevated than you could ever get at Flame Broiler or your favorite bowl restaurant. I was a little surprised by the ahi katsu, which came with a pleasing tinge of hot mustard that I was not expecting but still enjoyed. The shrimp was also great, but beware that they leave the shell on, so take it off before eating. This comes with rice, which was okay but was overshadowed by the fried noodles and the mac salad, one of the best I have had. This is the way to go if you are still deciding what to have on your initial visit to Ai Pono Cafe. 

I added a Spam Musubi ($3) to my meal. I must confess that this was my first time having one. I know I'm late to the party as usual. I thought it was okay. Unfortunately, the rice overwhelmed me here, and I ended up just taking some of the rice out, which was a lot more enjoyable. I'm not the world's biggest fan of Spam, and I suggest that if you're like me, don't turn your nose up to it like I did for all these years. It's not so bad.

At Ai Pono Cafe, you can taste and feel the authenticity of their food. It's not gimmicky, just good, honest Hawaiian cuisine that I could see being served anywhere in the Aloha State. During our visit, I observed many people I assumed to be Hawaiian enjoying their meals and thanking Chef Gene for a bit of a taste of their home nearly 2,500 miles away. Be alert for some specials they occasionally run, featured on their Instagram page. They have had a fusion taco and a burrito offered, both of which looked awesome. Service on this evening was low-key, but still a warm and inviting atmosphere. Definitely, the aloha spirit is alive and well here in Costa Mesa.

Out of five Humuhumu-Nukunuku-A-Pua'a's (which just happens to be Hawaii's state fish), five being best to zero being worst, Ai Pono Cafe gets 3.5  Humuhumu-Nukunuku-A-Pua'a's. 

Ai Pono Cafe does not have a restaurant website, but you can find info about them here: https://www.yelp.com/biz/ai-pono-cafe-costa-mesa