Las Vegas 2008
After we celebrated Thanksgiving with our families, we headed out to Las Vegas to relax and spend some time with friends. Although I’m not going to go in depth about the food we ate, I’m going to do a quick review.
Don’t go to the Cafe/Coffee Shop at Bally’s service was terrible and the food was buttery greasy.
Rating: 
BLT Burger inside The Mirage was really good, the shakes are awesome and the burgers are good, sweet potato fries could use some sauce.
Rating: 
The Carnegie Deli inside The Mirage was good too. I had the “Woody Allen” which is 6 inches of corned beef and pastrami on bread and I was only able to eat about 1/3 of it. Their mustard is just heaven.
Rating:
The Mad Greek in Baker on the way home was a nice early lunch. The cheeseburger was really good, although their zucchini was soggy.
Rating:
Had a fun trip and it took our minds off some things that we are working on (another post will talk about this).
Mimi’s Cafe Reopening Celebration - Irvine
Press release for Mimi’s Cafe remodel launch that is starting in Orange County. They are going to be installing full service bars and updating the decor.
MIMI’S CAFE BRINGS NEW LOOK TO IRVINE
Upscale Casual Restaurant Plans Reopening Celebration on 4030 Barranca Parkway
TUSTIN, Calif. (November 17, 2008) – Mimi’s Cafe, a collection of upscale casual dining restaurants, will celebrate the grand reopening of its Irvine restaurant with a series of community events. City officials and community members will attend the ribbon cutting on Thursday, November 20, while more than $3,000 worth of free gift cards and coupons will be offered to guests. Prior to the ribbon cutting, Wednesday, November 19 will be a day of delicious fundraising with a percentage of the day’s proceeds benefiting Children’s Hospital of Orange County (CHOC). During these events, guests can experience the redesigned restaurant and sample Mimi’s Cafe’s new “Just Enough” – favorite menu items now available in smaller portions – and “Comfort Classics” prepared fresh daily from scratch.
“Mimi’s Cafe has been part of the Irvine community for many years. We are thrilled to share the enhanced Mimi’s Cafe dining experience with our loyal guests and new visitors.” said Tim Pulido, president of Mimi’s Cafe.
The Irvine location follows recent reopenings in San Bernardino and Laguna Niguel as the newly updated décor will eventually roll out to the 139 locations nationwide. The new design also includes a full service bar with specialty drinks including the Mimitini and Fresh Squeezed Margaritas.
As part of the Irvine reopening, Mimi’s Cafe will be raising funds for CHOC. “We are thankful for all of the years of support from Mimi’s Cafe. It’s a great way to get the community involved in a fun way,” said Zachariah Moonitz, manager of special events. Funds raised will benefit the Childlife’s program, which has aided hundreds of thousands of Orange County families.
To mark its official reopening, Mimi’s Cafe has the following community events taking place:
Wednesday, November 19
Food, Friends & Fun Day – Irvine guests can help give back to the community. With the support of the Small Guild, Mimi’s Cafe is donating 15 percent of the day’s proceeds to CHOC for everyone that presents the special flyer. To receive the flyer, please contact Jeanne Turner at jeannet@mimiscafe.com.
Thursday, November 20
Meet Me at Mimi’s – The first 75, 18-year-old plus guests at Mimi’s Cafe will receive free gift cards valued up to $100 beginning at 11 a.m. Other valuable offers will be awarded totaling more than $3,000 in giveaways throughout the day. Mimi’s Cafe West Coast director of operations, Steve Standlea; city officials, Nour Al-Hashimi and Amy Choo; and CHOC will participate in the official ribbon cutting at 10:30 a.m.
The Irvine Mimi’s Cafe is located at 4030 Barranca Parkway and restaurant hours are from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. For more information on Mimi’s Cafe, please visit www.mimiscafe.com.
About Mimi’s Cafe
Mimi’s Cafe is a collection of upscale casual dining restaurants with 139 locations in 22 states. Mimi’s Cafe is a unit wholly owned by Bob Evans Farms, Inc. a publicly traded company (NASDAQ ticker symbol BOBE) is known and loved for its full breakfast, lunch and dinner menus with high-quality, eclectic cuisine, unparalleled service and tastefully appointed décor.
About CHOC
Children’s Hospital of Orange County’s (CHOC) mission is to nurture, advance and protect the health and well-being of children.
Veggie Grill Pre-Grand Opening - Irvine
We had the pleasure of being invited to the pre-grand opening of the newest Veggie Grill location in Irvine. It was a reservation only meal provided to us free of charge! Although both Veggie Grill and Native Foods have been on our list to review, we just had never got around to dining there. I’m glad we finally made it, because the food was delicious and would have fooled most meat eaters. Their grand opening will be on Friday, November 21st, In celebration of the grand opening, the Veggie Grill will be donating 20 percent of restaurant sales to the Irvine Public Schools Foundation from Nov. 21 through Nov. 23.
We were able to sample a starter and two entrées, along with drinks, and some dessert. I’m going to do a little different then normal since this isn’t an official review due to the restaurant not being officially open yet.
Veggie Grill - Chill Out Wings ($6.25)
Veggie Grill - Santa Fe Crispy Chickin’ ($8.95)
Veggie Grill - Chipotle BBQ ($8.50)
Chill Out Wings ($6.25)
Bite sized chillin’ chickin’ with our tangy BBQ sauce. These were great, they had near chicken consistency, just a little softer then real chicken. The white sauce is the chipotle ranch.
Santa Fe Crispy Chickin’ ($8.95)
Crispy fried chillin’ chickin’, lettuce, tomato, red onion, avocado, southwestern spiced vegan mayo. Mrs. DanGarion commented that she probably would order it without the mayo next time, but she liked it. It had a lot of spiciness to it. The chickin’ had a little firmer consistency then the wings.
Chipotle BBQ ($8.50)
Shredded veggie-steak, marinated in our tangy BBQ sauce, with chipotle ranch, caramelized onion, lettuce, tomato. I liked this a lot the veggie-steak actually held together and fought me when I tried to bite it, like real steak would. My one problem with this sandwich is that it had a sort of cigarette smokiness to it that some people could be put off by.
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- Veggie Grill - Chill Out Wings ($6.25)
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- Veggie Grill - Santa Fe Crispy Chickin’ ($8.95)
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- Veggie Grill - Chipotle BBQ ($8.50)
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- Veggie Grill Enterance
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- Veggie Grill Counter
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- Veggie Grill Drink Station
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- Veggie Grill Sign
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- Veggie Grill Store Front
We didn’t get a picture of our dessert, which was carrot cake, but it was really good, the frosting had the perfect sweetness to it.
Rating:
the Veggie Grill
The Irvine Spectrum
71 Fortune Drive
Irvine, CA 92618
Phone (949)727-9900
Santa Ana Farmer Boys Reopens!
Image via Wikipedia
I don’t have a press release for this, but I’d like to officially announce that the Farmers Boy on 17th St. in Santa Ana has reopened. The fast casual restaurant located at 2205 E 17th St. was open this morning as I made my way back home. I even turned around and drove by again to get a picture.
Santa Ana Farmer Boys Reopened!
This is a big deal to me, since Mrs. DanGarion is a big fan of their breakfast and their burgers. Nancy over at Fast Food Maven had annouced that Farmer Boys closed back in Sept. I’ve always been a fan of Farmer Boys because of their local business status and I know we will once again patronize them. Let’s hope they have fixed whatever caused them to close originally.
Farmer Boys
2205 E 17th St.,
Santa Ana, CA 92705
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Karl Strauss Brewing Company - Costa Mesa
After having my iPhone replaced at the Apple store in South Coast Plaza we decided to head over to Karl Strauss Brewing Company in Costa Mesa for a bite to eat. This isn’t my first experience with Mr. Karl Strauss, I’ve drank his beer on occasion, and I’ve even had his fries at the ball game, but I’d never ate his meals. First thing you notice as you enter the restaurant is that it pretty much looks like most Brewery/Bar/Restaurant places, which isn’t a bad thing; it’s dark, filled with HDTVs playing sports, and has the required beer making area. Once again, this isn’t a bad thing; I like my Oggi’s and BJs so Karl just adds to the mix. Beer is a big focus at Karl Strauss, they even have a Cask Night on the first Thursday of every month at 5:00 PM that I’m planning to hit some time soon.
Since beer is the focus and I usually like beer, I got myself beer. Not just one beer, not just two, but SIX BEERS!
Karl Strauss Beer Tasters
Ok actually I just got the Taster 6 ($6.95) which is a 2oz. tasting of 6 of their beers, but it’s still six beers (and they even gave me two more because of the food I bought!).
Karl Strauss Beer Tasters
To go along with my beer I got the Big Beer Burger ($11.95) which I can only describe as their menu does
Karl Strauss - Big Beer Burger
“Basted with Karl Strauss Amber Lager, topped with Red Trolley Ale onions, I.P.A. mushrooms, Woodie Gold brined seasoned bacon, gruyere, tomato, lettuce, and fries. Served with I.P.A. steak sauce.” The burger was good, nothing really stood out, and the patty was huge (1/2 lb. I think), I think it would stand up better as a 1/3 lb.
Karl Strauss - Big Beer Burger
I couldn’t really taste the steak sauce which meant the burger was a little on the dry side, but all the toppings mostly made up for that. Sticking to tonight’s burger theme (oh you thought the theme was beer?) Mrs. DanGarion got the BBQ Cheeseburger ($10.50) that comes with, Red Trolley BBQ sauce, white cheddar, lettuce, tomato, crispy onions, and fries.
Karl Strauss - BBQ Cheeseburger
She liked it and was enjoying it till she got close to the center and realized that her medium well burger was actually medium rare, so she tossed out more then half the patty and ended up just eating the toppings and bun. We both enjoyed the fries, they were thin and crunchy, just the way I like them.
Service was good, the waitress explained what the numbers meant on the beer tasting sheet and explained that I should drink from light to dark (which I already knew), it’s nice to know they at least are acting like the know what they are serving. Overall it was a good meal, except for the fail on the one burger patty, unsure how it didn’t get as cooked as mine since they were ordered together, but I’ll give them a pass since this was our first visit.
Visit on 10/28/08 @7 PM
Karl Strauss - DanGarion drinking a taster
Pros : Beer, Beer Tasters, Burgers made with Beer
Cons : Undercooked Burgers, Not Enough Sauce
Rating: 
Karl Strauss Brewing Company
901A South Coast Drive
Costa Mesa, CA 92626
(714) 546-2739
Lazy Dog Cafe - Orange
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- Lazy Dog Kitchen
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- Lazy Dog Cobb Salad
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- Lazy Dog Tortilla Soup
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- Lazy Dog Fish Tacos
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- Lazy Dog Blue Burger
Lazy Dog has already been one of my favorite places to go, ever since the first time I ended up at their Westminster location. Once they opened up in Orange I was ecstatic that they were now so close, especially since they are in the same center that we go to watch movies in. The first thing you notice when you walk up to and enter Lazy Dog Cafe is how open and airy it is, it’s a comfortable place to relax and enjoy your meal at, be it inside in the lodge like decor, or outside in their large patio that you can even have your best friend with you (dog)!
In the last week and a half we went to Lazy Dog Cafe three times. On our first visit Mrs. DanGarion ordered the Classic Cobb Salad (Half Order $8.95) which she really enjoyed, so much so that she went on to ordered it the next two visits as well. She recommends ordering it tossed and with the dressing on the side, because if you don’t it tends to be a bit drenched with way too much dressing. The salad’s ingredients are very fresh and even the half salad is more then enough for most normal human beings. I ordered the Chicken Tortilla Soup ($2.95 with meal) and Ahi Fish Tacos ($9.95). The soup is to die for and one of the best I’ve had in Orange County, the flavors of tomato, cheese, spices, and tortilla all come together to perfection. The Ahi Fish Tacos aren’t your normal fish tacos, these aren’t your Rubio’s fried fish tacos, they are grilled Ahi covered with cabbage, island salsa, and horseradish tartar sauce. They aren’t for everyone and I was hesitant to get them, but I’m happy I did, the island salsa was a great addition to the flavor of Ahi Tuna. They are as far away from Rosarita style fish tacos as you can get, but great in their own special way. Along with the tacos I was served a side of steamed rice and some blacked beans which I mixed together and enjoyed. On our next visit I ordered the Bleu Burger ($9.75) with Cajun Fries with Chipotle Ranch ($.95). The burger was a huge 1/2 pounder. It was just a little on the well side even though I has asked it to be medium, but it was still good, loved the blue cheese flavor and one can never go wrong when there is bacon involved. The Cajun fries were great as well and I enjoyed the chipotle ranch so much I had to get more. On our last visit I ordered the Grilled Cheese ($8.25) which probably has more cheese then a person should eat in one day, cheddar, gouda, jack, and parmesan sourdough toast, just one short of the Mimi’s Cafe 5-way (oh did I mention the creator of Lazy Dog was the creator of Mimi’s Cafe?).
Service was excellent on our first two visits, our last visit left something to be desired due to our waiter being on break and when he got back didn’t realize that we had already ate and were waiting for our check. Overall our service has always been good to excellent. The restaurant is always clean and they have a nice sized bar for those nights you just want a drink and be able to watch the game.
Rating:
Lazy Dog Cafe
1623 W Katella Ave
Orange, CA 92867
(714) 769-7020
TK Burgers - Costa Mesa
So as I’ve mentioned before, my wife works every Saturday. Well due to that I have the opportunity to eat wherever I want for both breakfast and lunch while she’s at work. A couple months ago while looking for grubbage in the morning I stumbled upon this TK Burger that is located in Costa Mesa. Now TK Burger wasn’t new to me in the sense that I knew they existed; but I had never ate there until that glorious day I decided to try their combo breakfast burrito.
Now I don’t order the combo breakfast burrito straight up. The normal combo comes with bacon, ham, sausage, hashbrowns, cheese, and eggs; which is one packed burrito. But I’m not usually a big ham for ham, so I always get no ham on my tortilla packed goodness. Also because I’m trying to keep my aerodynamic shape of round, I usually order it without eggs. But here is the deal, eggs or not this is one of the best breakfast burritos I’ve come across in Orange County. The meats are cut up which allows them to intermesh themselves every other ingredient. This way you are able to get all the tastes and flavors in every bite of burrito heaven. In addition if you do order eggs I have noticed that they don’t tend to overcook them like most places. The eggs are light and fluffy like scrambled eggs should be, instead of dense and burnt tasting like many eggs end up when cooked on the short order cooks grill. I eat my burrito with a knife and fork because of its cooked to order hotness and size. I cut the burrito in the middle lengthwise spread it out a little bit and fill it with nearly two cups of the vinegary liquid gold hot sauce that they have. The hot sauce drowns my burrito into submission and nary is a piece of the burrito left when I’m done eating.
For the combo breakfast burrito alone I give TK Burgers 5 stars. I have only been there once for anything else, like their Orange County famous hamburgers. The hamburger was very good, it’s one of the better ones in OC and I would wait them a 4 if it was on the burger alone, but to me the real star is the breakfast burrito.
Service is fast in the morning at 8 am on Saturdays, I can’t really speak about any other times. And in case you are into the sort of thing, the two girls that work the front counter are both cute; hey I may be married but it doesn’t hurt to admit the truths!
No pictures included since burritos pretty much always look the same.
Visit 06/21/2008
Rating:
TK Burgers
615 W 19th Street
Costa Mesa, CA 92627
(949) 548-2858
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