Dinner

Andrei’s Restaurant’s 10th Anniversary Featuring 10 Items for $10

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Coming into a restaurant that serves fabulously delicious cuisines, and gives all of its net profits to charitable organizations is one of the most awesome feats I’ve ever attended.

It’s been 10 years since Andrei’s Conscious Cuisine and Cocktails has opened, located in Irvine surrounded by business centers and situated near the 405 freeway and the John Wayne Airport. This venerable restaurant is and always will be dedicated to the Olenicoff family’s late member Andrei and his love for the culinary stage.

To bolster his legacy and the restaurant’s mission of serving customers local, organic, and delicious foods — as well as contributing to those with disabilities — the whole month of July will put in 20% of total sales from all of Andrei’s menu items to Miracles for Kids.

This includes the alluring libations, such as the powerful Mother of Dragons vodka mix, the mellow Bee’s Knees gin concoction, and the bubbly and rosy Bastille Day champagne.

Also participating with the organization is their amazing (and convincing to revisit asap) California Ceviche, which is presented during Happy Hour on Monday to Friday from 3pm to 6:30pm. If fancy and friendship-gathering are calling, the Charcuterie and Cheese platter will do the trick — and this is served for both lunch and dinner.

Additionally, between July 1st to July 13th there are 10 tasty and substantial items that cost $10 dedicating to a full, loyal decade of the restaurant. I became enthralled with the $10 Calamari skewers that I didn’t think they needed creamy sauce at all. Other sensational platters were the deceitfully simple-looking $10 Black Angus Spring Rolls and the Market Fish Tacos. When it comes to the dessert item, the best morsel from the Andrei’s Dessert Tasting was the warm and luscious Andrei’s beignets.

Definitely dine in to this worthy, benevolent OC restaurant. Andrei would certainly be utterly content to watch his guests enjoy their meals. Regardless of the July deal, or the fact that it’s a nonprofit and charitable ordeal, I would love to return especially for little or big celebrations.

Andrei’s Conscious Cuisine & Cocktails, 2607 Main St, Irvine, CA 92614

andreisrestaurant.com

#irvine #foodblogger #mediaevent #nonprofit

Newport Beach Restaurant Week 2018: Farmhouse at Roger’s Gardens

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This 2018 for Newport Beach Restaurant Week my boyfriend and I dined outdoors under cozy night skies and superbly tolerable heat lamps at the new Farmhouse inside/adjacent to Roger’s Gardens.

Their version of #NBRW hosts a $50 dinner for 4-courses. All but the main course (i.e. 3rd course) had just 1 option to bite into, and on that main course there were 2 options available whether the eater craves for turf or surf. Come to think of it — most of the platters we’ve dug onto would be considered vegetarian cuisine.

Our 1st course featured a double deal. Our Seasonal Soup Shooter from “The Soup of the Day” fascinated our tongues from the dominant, great flavor of split peas, while interestingly warming my belly with ease once semi-gulping it. The frankly dainty House Cured Salmon with crispy potato cake, creme fraiche, and chives stunningly made our appetite yearning for more. It was honestly difficult for me to try to take more than 2 bites because I reluctantly wanted to finish them so quickly.

2nd course veered from a warming to cooling sensation in about a 10-minute interval. We were served the Root Vegetable Ribbon Salad meticulously tossed with caramelized cauliflower, arugula, puréed satsumaimo sweet potato and cauliflower, raspberry vinaigrette, pomegranate seeds, and candied pecans. This salad was overall too mild for my palate, yet the boyfriend stated that it was a delicious, well-balanced, and approachable way of intaking those nutritional needs, and at the same time became a mellow “pit stop” before moving on to the main course. Notably, this salad has actually been a seasonally everyday plate during lunch hours — except with some hankering shrimp on top! That said, that may change my mind when I’ll revisit in the daytime.

Now our 3rd course became vastly distinct between our dishes. The boyfriend got the Red Wine Braised Lamb Shank with roasted butternut squash, kale, and cipollini onions –smothered in Tehachapi Grain Project red life and Sonora, red lamb jus, gremolata plus topping off with crispy sunchoke chips. These huge mouthful mix of ingredients unfortunately led to little adoration, as the fall-off-the-bone characteristic received the only highly graded mark. The boyfriend did indeed finish up this rather decent entree while I was blissfully delighted with…

The Seared Sea Scallop dish with practically an equal mouthful of crispy sage, brown butter, sitting atop and around puréed roast maple bourbon butternut squash, roasted spaghetti squash, cipollini onions (also), and an incredibly soft and wonderfully juicy grilled Meyer lemon shyly placed next to the veggies. The presentation could have been much more graceful, while the portion of the proteins lacked brawn compared to the lamb shack. Regardless, my taste buds ignored the size of these perfectly delectable mollusks.

The last course, the Satsumaimo Sweet Potato and Banana Bread Pudding, ended with a deliciously fruity and rich touch alongside the ginger honey ice cream and the complimentary, unexpected Prosecco to bubbly pair. The bread pudding, though, deemed too dense of a texture that I failed to finish all of my dessert. Come to think of my last words — I partly blame my incessant hunger on our “pre-appetizer” featured in Farmhouse’s “regular, non-NBRW” dinner menu…

The regally delicious and excitable Prince Edward Island Mussels faithfully cooked in white wine, garlic, and herb butter to soak with toasty garlic bread.

Throughout the NBRW dinner we pleasantly ate and intermittently became cordial with our curious waitress, Taylor, who I realized was equally enthused with photography by asking me about my camera, which I’ll mention on another post. For now I recommend dining at this garden-encompassed, welcoming outdoor restaurant, for any occasion, or for the upcoming OC Restaurant Week in early March (with different 4-course dinner items). Hopefully Farmhouse will continue lighting its NBRW torch next year!

Farmhouse at Roger’s Gardens

2301 San Joaquin Hills Rd

Newport Beach, CA 92660

farmhouserg.com

(949) 640-1415

#farmhouserg #newportbeach #newportbeachrestaurantweek #NBRW

Jimboy’s Tacos: Crunch Time near The Happiest Place on Earth

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Craving for a crunchy, beefy meal that has nothing to do with the bell icon — let alone be exponentially flavorful without the gimmicky slogans?

Down-to-earth Jimboy’s Tacos is more of your calling. This Sacramento-based, quality-emphasized chain trekked into Orange County — Anaheim and Aliso Viejo — hoping their “Original American Taco” would win hearts to the Southern Californian denizens.

One heart has won from myself. I ventured into the Anaheim location, which is minutes walking distance to and from The Disneyland Resort. I took recommendations from the manager in spite of being slightly absentminded after finding parking while simultaneously being famished.

One appreciable recommendation was Jimboy’s Tacoburger: yup, a hybrid of American savory eats folded into one. Smothering the crunchy shell was Parmesan cheese, which made that 1st bite a magical moment (can’t help it because it’s that close to Disneyland). This taco gave that kickin’ seasoning expected from typical ground beef served in this fashion — only in this case was undeniably tasty — with just the right balance of a burger personality without being overdone. I was impressed that this crisp pickle matched perfectly with the Tacoburger.

Jimboy’s also makes their salsa scratch-made, and from sampling 4 different varieties and 1 taco sauce packet, I liked pouring the salsa verde and the taco sauce onto my crunchy delectable.

Other foodstuffs I’ve eaten from Jimboy’s were their Taco Salad and Tahoe [Bean, Rice & Cheese] Burrito, both just as scrumptious and filling (with a splash of the salsa roja) as the Tacoburger. From this nightly feat sparked a epiphany about myself; if you sat with me in a restaurant and the food turned out to be amazingly yummy, whether it’s healthy or unhealthy, I don’t hesitate to finish the entire plate until I’m at risk of getting heartburn.

So to the Sacramento citizens who have about 30 Jimboy’s restaurants throughout their area, I want to state my mild jealousy for being close to these Parmesan-dusted tacos. At the same time I’m blessed that, as a Disneyland Passholder, I can amble towards Jimboy’s Tacos whenever I have this particular craving. The ones I have yet to taste would be the simple Original Ground Beef Taco, the Enchiladas, and the Breakfast Burrito Grande as the main fuel for walking around the theme park.

P.S. My boyfriend and I loved their Horchata and the fact I can get free refills.

#mediatasting #tacos #Anaheim

Jimboy’s Tacos

1650 S Harbor Blvd Suite C

Anaheim, CA 92802

http://www.jimboystacos.com