Getting Our Culinary Passport Stamped at Doner G

Doner G Turkish and Mediterranean Grill

3800 Barranca Parkway Suite N

Irvine, CA 92606

When we were invited to a media tasting at Doner G, I asked almost everyone I ran into before it if they had ever had Turkish food. Out of the twenty or so people I had asked, none of them had said yes. This is not surprising since only 9 restaurants in OC appear Turkish on Urbanspoon, and Yelp yields about the same results. Most people could not point out Turkey on a map unless they jokingly pointed to Washington, DC, which is full of turkeys.

Anyways, one man is trying to introduce Turkish food to the people of OC. That man is the very personable Yalcin Aslan, owner of Doner G. Yalcin has recently opened up his second location of Doner G (his first is in Anaheim). Yalcin's family has been in the restaurant business for over 25 years, and he has opened up Doner G to showcase Turkey's unique culture and delicious food. Turkey is a unique country because it separates Europe from Asia. With its proximity to the Middle East, Turkish food has a different flavor profile from any other food.

At first glance at the menu, most Americans will see exotic-sounding items that do not register with anything they have eaten before. But look a little harder; you will see many similarities to the more popular Greek cuisine. They have gyros-like sandwiches, which they call doner kebab sandwiches. There's also the popular Middle Eastern staple, the falafel. The menu is separated into plates, sandwiches, salads, and sides.

Doner G's location is in the busy Crossroads Shopping Center in Irvine, anchored by Target, Stonefire Grill, and Creamistry. This is an order at the counter place, and then the food is brought out to you. During our visit, there was a steady stream of customers, so people have found out about this place since it opened in September. The customers demographic was interesting. There was a good cross-section of all people, proving that the doner kebab is everywhere, as is stated on their wall, which names cities with a strong doner kebab presence. We sat and talked for a while, but then the food started leaving the open kitchen. Let's see how we liked our first foray into Turkish food.

Starting things off were the Dolmas ($2.99 for four pieces). These are grape leaves stuffed with rice, parsley, onions, and herbs sprinkled with olive oil and lemon juice. I had a bad experience as a kid with stuffed grape leaves at a Greek restaurant once, and this was my first time having them again here. This version was much better. The rice was very tender, and the flavors created an earthy vibe. It's not overpowering, but just enough flavor to not overwhelm the taste buds. Glad I could overcome my grape leaves phobia here at Doner G.

A little more in the comfort zone of most Americans is Hummus ($3.49). You can find hummus on grocery store shelves and in many Mediterranean restaurants nationwide. The hummus here is served with fresh pita bread, and drizzled with olive oil. Very smooth but still with enough texture. The natural flavor of the mashed-up chickpeas really came through here. A little more exotic but just as delicious was the Baba Ghanoush ($3.49). This had more denseness to it than the humus. Made up of roasted eggplant mixed with garlic, lemon juice, and tahini sauce, this is sprinkled with sumac and olive oil. I liked this better than the hummus. It had a big pop of flavor, and I definitely got more of a garlic feel with this. If you're feeling more adventurous than hummus, I recommend this baba ghanoush.

Salads are not to be overlooked at Doner G. We got to try the Fettush Salad ($5.49), which consists of romaine lettuce, red onions, cucumbers, and tomatoes and is dressed in an unusual combination of lemon juice, vinegar, and extra virgin olive oil. I am usually more of a creamy dressing kind of guy, but this had a nice lemony flavor, which really showcased the freshness of the produce that they use here. Katie ended up being very happy with this salad.

Now, I was waiting for this: to bring on the protein. The Doner G Grill ($16.99) covers all the meats on their menu. This fed four of us easily. The meats here are Chicken and Beef Kebab (tender meats seasoned with special herbs and spices cooked on a vertical broiler), Chicken and Beef Shish Kebab (boneless meats, marinated and then grilled), and lastly, Adana Kebab (ground lamb which is seasoned and grilled). All the meats were very tender and flavorful, but my favorite was the lamb. A great taste to it, without being too gamey like a lamb can sometimes be. It was more like a tender meatloaf with significant flavor. The meats went very well with the sauces at Doner G. I would liken their Doner G sauce to a Turkish Thousand Island. It's a combo of mayonnaise, ketchup, mystery herbs, and spices. It was less thick than expected but added a lot to the meats here. The Jajik sauce is a subtler sauce, made of cucumbers, yogurt, garlic and mint. It reminded me more of a Middle Eastern sauce. A little too mild for me, but this was Katie's favorite.

I usually shy away from vegetables, but these Falafel ($3.49 for four pieces) were fried, so since they were fried vegetables, I made an exception. They were made of a mix of green vegetables and chick peas, then served with the jajik sauce. They were not too greasy, but I liked mine with the Doner G sauce instead of the jajik.

I had no idea, but the Turkish have their own version of Baklava ($2.99 for two pieces). This version is much less sweet than the Greek version and is dusted generously with bits of pistachio. I liked that this was not as rich either because that allowed me to have two pieces.

After having our first Turkish food experience at Doner G, I think Yalcin will achieve his goal of bringing Turkish food to many of OC's people. Everything we had was good, with flavor profiles that were new to us, but it provided a great dining experience. The food differs slightly from Greek food, so if you are a fan of Greek food, you will like what Doner G offers. We for sure will be back often. Thanks to Yalcin for the invitation to try his restaurant. We enjoyed meeting you, enjoying your food, and seeing your passion for Turkey.

For more information about Doner G, go to their website here: http://www.donerg.com/

Last Meal of the Year at ECCO - CLOSED

ECCO Pizzeria and Bar

2937 Bristol St. #A103

Costa Mesa, CA 92626

There's a lot of pressure when picking a restaurant on New Year's Eve, even for a semi-informed food blogger. You never want a meal to be awful, but you especially do not want your last meal of the year to be mediocre or terrible. Luckily, I have a list of restaurants that are five pages long, and I am trying to get through. Not that these are guaranteed hits, but they have been recommendations from readers of the blog and food writers that I read regularly, so I had good reason to be optimistic.

I went to my list and picked ECCO as the restaurant for our last meal in 2013. I went to Open Table to see if they had any openings for 8PM on New Year's Eve. Yes, that's a little late for dinner, but Katie wanted to get her nails done, and for some reason, this takes about two hours. I will never understand why it takes this long, but it would keep us up later and give us more chances to be fully awake at midnight when the ball drops. We have not been awake for a while when the calendar changes to the new year (yes, we are getting old).

We were in luck. ECCO had openings for the time we wanted, so after Katie was done with her nail appointment, we made the trek up to The Camp in Costa Mesa. If you have been to this shopping center, you probably know the horrible parking situation here, but we were lucky and found quite a few spots available. We may be ending 2013 on a high note.

ECCO has been around for nearly three years and has won much praise from the OC food community. They were named one of the top 10 restaurants by Orange Coast Magazine. ECCO got its name when the owners of this restaurant were touring Italy and frequently heard the chef say the word ecco when they presented the food to the table. Ecco means, "Here it is, " and shows the chef's confidence.

We sat on the patio in the back of the restaurant, but luckily, thanks to the strategically placed heaters, the cold night air would not be an issue for us. Being on the patio also allowed us to talk with each other, as the inside of ECCO was pretty loud, with lots of activity going on. Lending to the hip, but not so over the top vibe here, was the young staff manning the restaurant. They had a special New Year's Eve menu offering, but they also had their regular menu to choose from, which is how we went. The menu is dominated by many pizzas, with a few starters, pasta dishes, entrees, and sides. After some perusing of the menu, we came up with this.

Wanting something warm to start us off, we selected the Homemade Meatballs ($6). These came three to an order and were served with marinara and grana padano, the cheese perched atop each meatball. Both Katie and I really enjoyed these. The meatball was fork tender without being too mushy, a tough balance to achieve. The marinara was very solid here as well. It was not too tangy and allowed the meatball to shine while adding a mild flavor.

Katie is crazy about Caprese Salad ($10), so it was no surprise that she got it. She also probably knows I'm not a fan, so she can have this all to herself. This is a traditional version of this salad. Big slices of tomato, fresh mozzarella, basil, olive oil, and sea salt. This was a generous size for just one person. According to Katie, the tomatoes had a beefy flavor, the salt and pepper helped cut some of the acidity, and the ingredients here were pretty fresh.

As much as Katie is into Caprese salads, I am likely more into Caesars ($9). This version at ECCO was good but could have been better. The salad was a classic Caesar, but they used an olive tapenade spread on top of a crostini. I would have liked the tapenade to have been mixed into the salad to make the saltiness a little more even. The dressing was good here, but I needed more of it. Just like the Caprese, this Caesar was good-sized.

Katie took what I was going to order, but it was New Year's Eve, so I did not put up too much of a fuss about it. She snagged the Orecchiette Salsiccia ($15) from me. This dish used orecchiette pasta, sausage, Swiss chard, crimini mushrooms, basil, and olive oil. This had some positives: the basil was fresh but did not overpower, the sausage had a nice, subtle spiciness to it, and the pasta was cooked to a lovely tenderness. What Katie did not like was that this was dry. It needed a sauce, more than what the olive oil could have supplied. It's okay, but this needed to be tweaked a little more.

It was my last meal of the year, so I went with steak. This Skirt Steak ($25) was cooked to a beautiful medium rare. The beef was tender, so it was no problem that I did not receive a steak knife with my meal. The sauce used on the basil pesto potatoes was heavenly. Luckily, there was enough of it here that I could use the excess to compliment the steak. Besides the basil pesto sauce, the sides were just okay. The asparagus was unreliable, being too bitter in some spots, and the potatoes needed to be cooked a little longer, as it was tough trying to cut them with my fork. Great steak and sauce, though.

We also took a chance on the Mac' n cheese ($7). Thanks to the cast iron skillet, it came out hot and stayed that way. The mac and cheese was light, with some nice pancetta hiding among the noodles. I am not too keen on shell pasta, which lends to an uneven coating, but this warmed us up on this chilly night.

A special dessert on their New Year's Eve menu was this Chocolate Budino ($7). Whenever we order budino, there is never enough for the both of us. This one had a nice smoothness to it, which was a little more sturdy than a traditional pudding. The whipped cream and chocolate flakes were a nice added touch.

We both really liked our time at ECCO. We look forward to returning soon and trying more of their menu, including their Neapolitan pizzas, with ingredients sourced directly from Italy. Their menu constantly changes with the seasons, so we look forward to what Executive Chef Carlos Abarca has in store for us on future visits. The service was spotty for us on this busy night. Our waiter took a while to check on us, but the food was ready promptly. ECCO was a great place to have our last meal of the year.

Out of five dolphins (because there's a video from the 90s about a time-traveling dolphin who battled aliens in the oceans, and the dolphin's name was Ecco), five being best and zero being worst, ECCO Pizzeria and Bar gets 3.5 dolphins.

For more information about ECCO Pizzeria and Bar, check out their website here: http://www.eccopizza.com/

Good Things to Come at Solita's Preview Night

Solita Tacos and Margaritas

7631 Edinger Ave. Suite 1508

Huntington Beach, CA 92647

I have a feeling that 2014 is going to be a kick ass year for restaurants. Sorry for the vulgar language, but I'm really excited about what is happening culinary wise in our fantastic county. There are a number of what I anticipate to be some great places coming down the pipeline this year. Provenance will be opening their doors this year, at the space that used to house Sage in Newport Beach. The award winning restaurant, The Winery is taking over the picturesque Villa Nova spot. Also, you can almost always count on Bruxie opening up a new location somewhere during the year. Probably one of the openings I was most looking forward to actually happened with six days remaining in 2013, and that was Solita at the Bella Terra Center.

Solita comes to us from the creative team behind one of our favorite restaurants, Sol Cocina in Newport Beach. We have been there numerous times, celebrating birthdays, holidays, and restaurant week events. This is kind of the reason that Solita came into existence. Sol Cocina, for some people, is more of a special event kind of restaurant. A restaurant where you celebrate things at. They wanted Solita to become more of a regular, every Friday night kind of place, but they wanted it to evolve.

Think about your local go to spot for sit down Mexican food. For most of you, it is probably a place like Don Jose's or El Torito, where the menu has not changed very much in the last 30 or so years. You know what you are going to have when you walk in the door, you know how it's going to taste, and you know you will probably be back again the next week. Trust me, I like Don Jose just fine, they are very consistent in what they do, but I could never imagine eating there every week, like so many people do.

Solita wants to be your neighborhood Mexican restaurant, one you will eat at regularly, with a lower price point than Sol, but they want you to see that Solita is a new style Mexican restaurant. The dated decor of sit down Mexican restaurants is gone, and replaced with a more updated, sleek feel to it. The decor in this 38,000 foot restaurant is inspired by some of the great Mexican resorts. The chairs and furniture are from Mexico, they have roll up doors in the restaurant, that lead to an enclosed, large patio, lending to an openness, that is probably the envy of most Mexican restaurants.

Another thing that will separate Solita from other neighborhood restaurants is that their food is inspired from actual trips to inland Mexico. We learned that in the interior of Mexico, food is prepared over wood, and that is the case here at Solita. You can even smell a slight hint of the wood from their wood fired grill when you walk in the door. We were recently invited to come see what makes Solita different from other Mexican restaurants, and check out their vision. Let's see what they had cooked up for us.

I did not actually get a chance to try this Wood Grilled Wild Fish (Market price), but I liked the simple, clean presentation here. Solita is going to use a rotating seasonal, local fish as the centerpiece for this plate, which will be grilled simply, with lime and butter.

I am a huge fan of skirt steak, and this Skirt Steak Asada with Toreados ($19.50) was delicious. I learned that toreados are roasted chilies, which added a good pop of flavor to this tender skirt steak, that was a perfect medium rare. Kind of in the vein of an Argentine dish, this was also served with a well made chimichurri. A good dish for you steak lovers out there.

I have recently gotten into ceviches, and it was just my luck that they offered this Yellowtail Ceviche Tropicale ($10.50) at Solita. Diced up yellowtail is mixed with lime juice, Serrano chiles, cucumber, tropical fruits, salsa fresca, and avocado, to create this colorful and refreshing ceviche. I really liked how the sweetness of the fruit interacted with cubed yellowtail.

The Wood Grilled Canre Asada Fajitas ($16.75) kind of threw me for a loop, because they are not served on a sizzling platter, with lots of steam. In this version, the carne asada is combined with roasted poblano chiles, tossed with red peppers and red onions,  then served with guacamole and salsa fresca on the side. Predictably, the carne asada was flavored well, and was very tender. This is also paired with your choice of beans and Mexican rice.

Not something I was expecting at a Mexican restaurant, but they have Sweet Potato Fries ($7.50) at Solita. These are presented in a paper cone, with cotixa cheese and a chipotle dipping sauce. I'm not really a big fan of sweet potato fries, but others that are, really enjoyed these.

Without a doubt, this Grilled Corn Elote ($3.50 each) was the big hit of the night with all of the foodies in attendance. The whole corn is roasted and grilled with chipotle salsa, butter, California chiles, cotixa, and green onions. People were waiting right by the kitchen for this to come out, and snapping them up before they even hit the dining room. I'll predict that this will become one of Solita's signature items.

Another unique item that you will not see on many Mexican restaurant menus is this Tequila Shrimp and Avocado Sundae ($10.50). The shrimp is cooked with blanco tequila, salsa fresca, lime juice and chipotles, and then layered with a creamy avocado sauce. I liked this updated version of a shrimp cocktail. The brininess of the shrimp, with the smooth avocado went nicely with each other.

While everyone was waiting for more corn to come out of the kitchen, I was quite happy taking these Chicken Taquitos ($7.50) down. These were not as heavy as other taquitos I have had, and not greasy either. The chicken inside had a nice moistness to it, and these were perfect for dipping into Solita's awesome guacamole.

The kids aren't into Mexican food? Not to worry, Solita has you covered with their Cabo Loco Chicken ($8.50). The menu says these are breaded with a crispy coconut, but I did not get too much of the coconut here. What I did get was that these were fried nicely, the chicken was of good quality, and the lemony salsa these were served with was spot on. I definitely ate my fair share of these, my apologies to my table mates.

I had my first queso fundido at Cha Cha's in Brea awhile back, and became addicted to this heavy cheese dish. At Solita they have a version of this dish called Queso al Forno ($8.75). Not sure what the difference is between forno and fundido, but this version was right up there with the one at Cha Cha's. The cheese was bubbly, with green onions and Serrano chiles included in this. Nicely made corn and flour tortillas are used for the dipping here. Very filling, so make sure you share this, even though you will want to keep it all for yourself.

The tacos at Sol Cocina are great, so I knew that the menu at Solita would feature some great tacos as well. They have plenty to choose from, and if you are indecisive, or just want to try as many as possible, they offer taco tasters, which include a 4 taco platter. Pictured above is one of the two taco tasters, the El Primo ($14.50). With this platter, you get to choose from among these premium tacos; wood grilled carne asada, red chili beef borracho, chicken mole, wood grilled fish Mazatlan, spicy garlic shrimp, beer battered shrimp, or sauteed mushroom tacos. With all of these great choices, it would be hard for me to make this delicious decision.

They also have a more basic taco platter, which is anything but basic. This Just Tacos Platter ($11.50) also includes 4 of your choice of tacos. Varieties include, wood grilled ancho chile chicken, oak roasted chipotle chicken, carnitas, chorizo bacon and sweet potato, crispy fried fish, or chile garlic tofu. The carnitas taco I had here was legit, with a tender pork, wrapped in their great corn tortillas. I'm usually more of a flour tortilla kind of guy, but these corn tortillas are really good.

The menu at Solita features 13 different tacos, so you might have a tough time deciding on one. If you want my two cents, I would go with these Cadillac Tacos ($15.50). One of my favorite tacos at Sol Cocina is their El Jefe Taco, and this is kind of Solita's version of that taco. This surf and turf taco combines wood grilled carne asada and chipotle shrimp. These proteins go great together, and will leave you satisfied.

Solita is not just all about tacos either. They have other Mexican restaurant staples as well. Their Burritos ($11.00) come with your choice of meat, and are filled with cheese, beans, rice, and sour cream, lettuce, and salsa fresca on the side. You also have the option of having your burrito wet, wet with cheese, green sauce or red sauce, or all three, which they call El Flag style, because it resembles the Mexican flag I am sure. These pictures do not show how big this burrito actually was, it was a good size.

Enchiladas are also on the menu at Solita. These Lazy Enchiladas ($12.75) use corn tortillas folded over your choice of meat, then are topped with either red or green sauce, sour cream, cotixa cheese, lettuce, and salsa fresca. I think these are called lazy enchiladas because they are not rolled, but they were still delicious even without being rolled.

The last food item that I tried was the Quesadilla ($11.00). This is not your typical fast food variety quesadilla either. They use two flour tortillas, which are buttered crisped, then filled with Mexican cheeses, and the meat of your choice, with salsa fresca and guacamole on the side. This was a lighter than you would think quesadilla, without sacrificing flavor. The carnitas are the meat to get in this. So good.

The bar program at Solita is not to be overlooked by any means. I am not much of a margarita guy, but the Solita House Margarita ($8.00 got rave reviews from the assembled media on this night. They also have frozen drinks, which are much more my style. The bartenders were busy experimenting with their slushy machine, whipping up kiwi-strawberry, guava, and watermelon frozen margaritas. My favorite drink of the night was the Horchata Cocktail ($10.00). Solita uses their house made horchata, which is mixed with Agavales blanca tequila, 1921 Crema, and is topped with cinnamon. I usually get tired of horchata after a few sips, but I drank two of these on this night. Kind of like an adult milkshake, but lighter. These could get me into some trouble.

I think the brain trust at Solita nailed what they were trying to accomplish here. Chef Deb has created a great menu that will not only keep people coming back, but they will become regulars here. The menu has items that customers will recognize, but they have their own Solita twist to them. I am really looking forward to coming back. Wish I lived closer so I could become one of the regular customers that they are trying to grab, but Solita is definitely worth the drive up from South OC. With so many good restaurants coming to OC this year, you can definitely count Solita among them.

For more information on Solita Tacos and Margaritas, go to their website here: http://solitatacos.com/