Happy Hour Week is this week. Get ready to enjoy a week of fabulous drinks and delicious appetizers at VERY HAPPY prices. Restaurants, Bars, Pubs and Breweries through-out Orange County can razzle and dazzle locals with Happy Hour All Day…All Week. There will be special PRIX-FIXE Happy Hour menus…yes you read it correctly..prix fixe happy hour. You can find all the cool places to visit during this extra happy time in OC only at HappyHourWeek.com.
Not a drinker? No worries we have you covered. Mocktails will be served, after all Happy Hour offers a fun vibe everyone over 21 can enjoy whether your drinking Diet Coke or a cocktail. Get out and have fun April 12th - 18th.
We know Happy Hour comes in many shapes and sizes..Fear not there will be plenty of Happy Hours to go around. From fabulous food and drink pairings to nachos and beer. We have enough happiness for all during Happy Hour Week.
Many Restaurants are offering Dining Room Specials and food and drink pairings…This means You can have even more Happiness for lunch and dinner!
See the list of participating restaurants and bars
Monday, April 13, 2009
Happy Hour and Dinner Deals in OC
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Fashion Plates at SCP - March 20-29
South Coast Plaza food deals
Four course dinner menus for $40. Three course lunch menus for $20.
See participating restaurants
Another Deal
Introducing Happy Hour in the Lounge
Location: Charlie Palmer at Bloomingdale's South Coast Plaza
Every day from 4-7pm and again from 10pm to midnight. Enjoy all wines by the glass, cocktails and beer, half price. Kobe Beef Sliders and Fries for $9.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
More fine dining food deals in LA
- Their happy hour is daily from 5-7pm. Cocotails, sake, wine, tapas, and sushi is 50% off. Food ranges between $2 to $9.50.
- 5-course tasting menu (amuse bouche, appetizer, intermezzo, entree, and dessert) is $67 per person.
Citrus at Social
- Michel Richard's Citrus, is offering a French-California, 4-course, tasting menu for $45. Now, who wouldn't want to eat food made by a James Beard Chef Award Winner?
- Social hour is Thrusday through Saturday 6-9PM. Join us for drink specials and complimentary bar snacks. Try the trio of "minitinis" ($12): Citrus Cosmo (w/Belvedere citrus, cointreau, and white cranberry juice), Pomegrantini (w/Ketel One Citroen and pomegranate), and Cucu-tini (w/Muddled cucumbers and Hendricks gin).
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Fine dining for less
Love to eat out? This is the year to do it. Check out this list of good eats for less.
Ruth's Chris - Various locations
For a limited time, enjoy a complete three-course meal featuring a starter, entrée, side dish and dessert ($39.95). A very good deal since this price is normally just a steak. View Ruth's Classics Menu
Kimera Restaurant and Lounge - Irvine, CA
Winter Wonderland Mondays means that food is 50% off. Check out the deal.
Savannah Supper Club - Huntington Beach, Costa Mesa, or Laguna Niguel, CA
They're celebrating their 10 Year Anniversary with amazing $10 specials for the month of February. Last day is the 28th. Get your $10 meals now.
Roy's Restaurant - Various locations
Enjoy a 3-course meal: appetizer, entree, and dessert for $35.
See the Winter Prix Fix Menu
OC Restaurant Week - Feb. 22 to 28
Dine at your favorite restaurants or try new restaurants. 3-course or 3-item menus for either $20, $30 or $40 for dinner. Lunch is $10 or $20.
http://www.orangecountyrestaurantweek.com
- Also check out Fast Food Maven's cheap chic list.
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Classic American Fare at Houston's - Irvine
Center-Cut Filet ($31)
After a long day of cleaning our place, we decided to rewarded ourselves with a nice dinner. Yup! No cooking tonight. My friends always spoke highly of Houstons for their classic American food.
At the Irvine location on Michelson Drive
This location is always packed. The exterior is very sleek and modern, yet when I stepped into it looks like a fancy cigar lounge. Dark polished wood, leather booths, stone walls, and dim lighting created a fancy mood.
Grilled Artichokes ($10)
The artichoke was simply seasoned with salt and pepper, then grilled. Finely chopped parsley adds a finishing touch. Mayo, chives, and garlic made up the aioli dipping sauce. It was cooked just right, charred outside and soft inside. One of my favorite ways to start a meal.
Grilled Loup De Mer ($29)
Loup de Mer (a.k.a. Rock Turbot or Sea Catfish) is a type of sea bass that feeds almost exclusively on shellfish. This one is hardwood grilled with Marcona almonds, served with steamed broccoli.
Baked Idaho Potato ($4)
We also shared a large baked potato topped with the works: bacon, chives, and cheese. It was good. No one can mess up baking a potato.
Overall, the experience was good. Our server was really good. She was down to earth friendly. The food was good.
Houston's Restaurant
2991 Michelson Dr
Irvine, CA 92612
Phone: (949) 833-0977
Saturday, June 7, 2008
Catina Menu a.k.a Hora Feliz at El Torito Grill
The taco station by the bar, and on the right, 2 carne asada and 2 carnitas tacos ($1 each)
Don't let the food-price crisis get you down. There are still some good deals out there like the hora feliz (happy hour) at El Torito Grill. Stop in at El Torito on Tuesdays for $1 tacos.
Your server will ask you how many tacos you'd like and will hand you a ticket(s), good for use at the taco bar. Your custom taco begins when the server hand presses the dough with a tortilla press, then toast your tortilla on the grill. While it's toasting, you'll get to pick your meat: pollo asado (chicken), carne asada (beef), or carnitas (pork). Complete your taco with a variety of toppings: 3 types of salsa, chopped lettuce, diced onions, and cilantro.
Chicken Quesadilla ($4.25)
Grilled pieces of chicken breast and jack cheese are folded in a crispy flour tortilla. A dollop of plain guacamole and sour cream is served with the quesadilla. It's a simple and delicious meal. The regular price, non-happy hour price, is $8.49. 
Guacamole ($6.99)
The guacamole at El Torito is a cult favorite, and mine as well. Here's why — it's made table-side. Fresh avocados are pitted and scooped into a stone mortar. Next, spicy serrano chiles, chopped tomatoes, diced onions, lime juice and a special blend of herbs and spices are added. Two forks, held by the maker, then mashes and mixes everything into a chunky mixture. Crispy tortilla chips and parmesan cheese finish the guacamole. Their unique blend of spices makes and fresh ingredients make it tasty dish.
Happy hour prices, range from $1 (taco Tuesdays) to $8.99 (which is the taco sampler). When you're feeling hungry and don't feel like cooking, stop by at El Torito Grill for satisfying and budget-friendly meals.
El Torito Grill
Multiple locations, check out their website.
Happy hour: M-F 4-8PM
Monday, May 12, 2008
Japanes cuisine with a South American flair (Nobu - Malibu, CA)
Forget about the celeb clientèle and $100K+ cars parked outside. The "real star" here is — the food — especially Omakase.
Nobu is known for Omakase, which means "I trust you, the chef, to serve me with whatever you feel like making." There are three levels of Omakase: $90, $120, and $150 course. The more complex the meal, the more it'll cost. We're foodies. Thus, we got the $150 omakase tasting menu, and in addition, ordered two dishes.
We arrived Friday we were seated in the enclosed outdoor patio. The staff is quite friendly and laid back. Not snobby as I thought it they would be due to all the celebrity buzz. Let the tasting begin.
Fiji artisan water ($6), Edamame ($6), Peach Passion Fruit Martini ($11),
Nobu beer ($7.50)
We begin our meal with an appetizer and drinks. The Peach Passion Fruit Martinit is a mix of: Grey Goose vodka, peach liqueur and finished with a yummy fruit —yamamomo berry. This is a super tasty drink with a formidable kick (ahem... vodka). No weak drinks here. The balance of sweet and liqueur was perfect.
My boyfriend had Nobu beer ($7.50), a beer made exclusively for Nobuyuki Matsuhisa and only Japanese beer actually made in Japan. One sip and you'll notice that the beer is crisp and clean. It's a cross between a Corona and Sapporo.
Tiradito ($22)
This cold dish is a Nobu specialty. Thin slices of fluke soaking in a citrus sauce, set off with a drop of spicy Peruvian hot sauce, and garnished with fresh cilantro. One of the most unique dishes I'd ever had. The fish was mild, clean, and not fishy at all. It's very cool and refreshing.
Black Cod with Miso ($22)
The black cod, another Nobu specialty, was absolutely fresh and tasty. Flaky pieces of meat encased in sweet crispy shell garnished with thinly slices carrots. Size-wise you get a good portion for dinner. Not pictured is my side of rice. C'mon fish and rice go together.
Course 1 — Cold Dishes — Toro Tartare with Caviar, Monk fish Pate, Oyster
It's Omakase ($150) time a.k.a Chef's tasting menu. First course that came out was a trio of small dishes toro tartare with oscetra caviar ($32 if ordered a la carte), ankimo topped with ikura ($22 if ordered a la carte), and a raw oyster with a yuzu mignonette sauce (off menu).
Course 2 — Hot Dish — Seared uni
A bright cherry tomato sits atop a bright yellow colored piece of uni. I haven't had uni (sea urchin) before, but from what I read Grade A uni, the highest grade, has a bright yellow/gold color with a firm texture and is somewhat sweet. This uni dish definitely meets these criteria.
Course 3 — Hot Dish — Garlic conch (off menu)
From afar, I see our server walking towards us with plate on fire. Burnt food? Nope, it was just course 3: flaming garlic conch. Conch is like calamari, but chewier and a bit tougher. It was simple tasting and had a light flavor — tasty, but not my favorite.
Course 4 — Main Dish — Sweet and sour lobster (off menu)
After plates and plates of appetizers, we finally reached the main course, sweet and sour lobster. The lobster is boiled to perfection. Tender pieces of lobster tail bathes in a sweet and sour sauce (which is a mixture of rice vinegar, brown sugar, ketchup, soy sauce, water, etc.) topped with fried leeks and sprinkles of green onion finishes the dish. This was a perfect combo, it has lots of flavors and contrasts, as Rachel Ray would say, "Yum-O!"
Course 5 — Main Dish — Australian Kobe Beef ($18 an oz.)
The star of Nobu and most expensive dish is the Australian Kobe beef. Raising this kind of beef is expensive in Japan because costs are high. So, they contract out to other producers to custom raise their cattle for them. Hence, "Australian" Kobe beef. It's $18 dollars an once. If you had an 8 oz. steak, that would cost $144 — super expensive piece of meat.
Our dish had a couple slices of kobe beef. The beef was perfectly pan seared. Each slice had a pink center that revealed a fatty well-marbled texture. Crispy onions, mosh, and green sprouts complement the prime grade steak. One bite, and we were in heaven. The flavor is very delicate. It's like — beef foie gras — very smooth and velvety.
Course 6 — Soup — Shrimp and mushroom soup
Course 7 — Sushi — 5 different pieces
Not quite sure what's in this shrimp and mixed mushroom soup, but it was tasty and light. This soup stock probably simmering for 30 minutes in water with kombu (dried kelp), shiitake mushroom, and when almost done large pieces of shrimp were dropped into the soup for extra flavor. A good palette cleanser for the next dish sushi.
Five fresh pieces of sushi, from top to bottom: Sweet shrimp, tuna with onions, Japanese snapper topped with kelp, fluke, premium tuna, Tamago (egg). All were delicious. My favorite was the premium tuna. It tasted sweet and mild.
Course 8 — Dessert —Coconut granita and Cappuccino cup
Once we finished our sushi, our server told us that dessert is next. Yeay! My favorite part of the meal. Looking around, I noticed that bigger groups order the dessert sampler. I was jealous. I wanted to try more than one dessert. A few minutes later, to our surprise, we were given two dishes. Sigh... I love variety.
On the left, a tiny cappuccino cup is topped with cappuccino powder, foam, chilled cappuccino, and at the bottom, a dessert liquor. On the right, a plate of finely shaved coconut granita with bits of mango and berries. Finally, the cherry on top is a scoop of passion fruit sorbet. Both are phenomenal works of food art. The mesh of many flavors blend so well together.
Overall, we tasted over 21 different items. What a spectacular feast and a good treat to end our day in Malibu. See you next time, Nobu.
Nobu Malibu
3835 Cross Creek Rd Ste 18A
Malibu, CA 90265-4978
Phone: (310) 317-9140
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Sunday, April 20, 2008
Brodard Restaurant - Garden Grove, CA
Brodard is a great place for good, cheap, and authentic Vietnamese food. If you've never been here, you might miss it. It's on Westminster Ave and Brookhurst St. — tucked behind the Mall of Fortune — more specifically around the corner of the 99 cent store.
Today I stopped by to grab some dinner. This place is famous for their Nem Nuong Cuon ($6), which is grilled pork wrapped in a thin rice paper filled with lettuce, cucumber, carrots, daikon, hanh la (Viet word a leafy onion. It's a different variety of green onion. It's flat and not cylindrical, and a bit more mild.) and crispy egg roll shells. Complementing the rolls is a mild-garlicky-spicy sauce — a.k.a. secret house special sauce.
The Nem Nuong here is yummy. The pork is tasty and not fatty, crisp veggies, and you've a bit of crunch. They don't skimp on the filling here. It's a great snack or light meal.
Another favorite of mine is Goi Du Du ($4) a.k.a Green Papaya Salad. It's a simple food. The salad is a mix of julienned strips of papaya, bò khô (Vietnamese beef jerky), liver, toasted peanuts, and mint leaves. The dressing is a chili-soy sauce, the ingredients: soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, garlic, sugar, and sriracha (Vietnamese hot sauce).
I love everything, except for the liver. Liver is dense and the texture is weird to me. This dish is better than your average tossed salad. It's low in fat and high in flavor.
When you're in the neighborhood and are looking for a light and healthy food stop by at Brodard for a nice and tasty treat. They also make food to go.
Brodard Restaurant
9892 Westminster Avenue
Garden Grove, CA 92844
Phone: (714) 530-1744
Monday, April 14, 2008
Gabbi's Mexican Kitchen - Orange, CA
Old Town Orange is a great spot to find hole-in-the-walls to hip places to eat. One of the hip places is Gabbi's Mexican Kitchen. The restaurant has no prominent signs, just a black awning providing shade for the front patio.
The menu features Mexican, Spanish, Indian and greater-European influences. We had dinner here before and today decided to stop by for lunch. I had the Chile Relleno ($14). My dish had fresh chile pasilla stuffed with chicken, queso Oaxaca, salsa chipotle and crema. This dish is light, great for lunch.
My boyfriend's dish is the Grilled chicken achiote quesadilla ($9). The hand-made tortilla was thin and cripsy, very light. While the inside was stuffed with grilled chicken and gooey cheese. It was quite tasty.
If you're going here for dinner, make reservations they're busy on the weekends. Though the food is a bit pricy, the ambiance here is different than most Mexican restaurants. Gabbi's is actually in an old 1904 building, but it looks like it's nestled between buildings. You have to see it for yourself.
Gabbi's Mexican Kitchen
141 South Glassell
Orange, CA 92866
(714) 633-3038
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Habana - Costa Mesa, CA
A wall of greenery encloses a romantic heated patio, candles line the walls, hanging lights twinkle above and a lively atmosphere makes it feel like you've stepped into a cafe in Havana. This is one of our favorite restaurants in OC.
For over 10 years, Habana's ambiance, great food, and service keeps us (since 2001) and in-the-know OC'ers coming back for more. Nueva Latina dishes ranging from artisan cheeses to tamales, paella to chicken are served in a Cuban setting. It's a great place to take a date or have dinner with friends. The outdoor patio or the small cozy bar is the place to be. The crowd tends to be young professionals, hipsters, and fashionistas.
We kicked off the evening with a homemade mojito ($8), one of their signature drinks. It's really homemade — no simple syrup here nor pre-made mojito mixer. The bartender starts by putting sugar, mint leaves, and limes in a tall glass. Then the mixture is pressed and crushed with a muddler, a wooden spatula, which releases the flavor of the mint and lime. The drink is finished with a two shots of light rum, and the rest is club soda. It's delicious and Habana serves one of the best mojitos.
Next, we tried some of their artisan cheeses ($4 each, 3 order minimum), a new addition to the menu. Our three choices were: sage derby, brie-rogue et noir, and cabra al vino. Crackers and prosciutto were served with the cheeses.
We had a range of cheese from strong to mild. Going clockwise, first, the cabra al vino, a firm goat cheese doused in red wine, has a sharp and strong flavor. It's my least fav since I don't like goat cheese. Second, the sage derby, a green-veined cow cheese with sage, has a smooth and refreshing flavor — really unique and quite tasty. And third, the brie-rogue et noir, a creamy rich soft cows cheese, has a rich and mild flavor, also my fav.
Our entree, the skirt steak ($24) is first smoked and then grilled — topped with chimichurri and grilled red onion. Spanish rice and grilled lime corn on the cob with cotija cheese are served with the steak. The steak was tender and flavorful (chimichurri wasn't needed, but it's a great addition for adding depth) and cooked as asked — medium. The rice was nice and chewy.
The food here is reasonably priced, and is definitely shareable between two people. Order an appetizer and/or dessert, and you've got the perfect meal.
Habana
2930 Bristol St # A110
Costa Mesa, CA 92626
(714) 556-0176
