Boudin SF

for those unfamiliar, this is bread at San Francisco's finest. Lovely rounds of sourdough and many other varieties are baked fresh daily. At the window, you can watch bread kneaded and shaped by hand.



The girl and I needed refreshment and stopped in. The line is set a little differently from the older South Coast Metro Pointe location. You walk in and order at a counter off of a printed menu. Then you get a number, find a seat and fill your drinks and wait for your food to be delivered to your table. They offer inside seating, outside seating and some tables are in the mall area. There is a bin of kids menus and packages of crayons for the kids.

The girl scoffs at kids menus and ordered clam chowder in a bread bowl. Her soup was good, she said the clams were nice and chewy, her favorite part...(I am not fond of seafood in general, let alone CHEWY seafood bodies). But she was very content. I had the baguette burger. The meat patty was shaped and frozen, but it's Niman's beef so it is very tender and juicy. The bread was chewy (in a GOOD way) and the salad was light and fresh. There was a garlicky, herb on the bread instead of the usual mayonnaise or mustard and it was just excellent. The dressing on the salad was pleasant and not overpowering. After lunch we chatted and she had a peanut butter cookie and I have a heavenly lemon bar.

The best part is even with drinks and dessert, our lunch was about 22. Normally, I don't tip at counter service, but the service was very attentive without being annoying, and twice our table was visited by staff, so I wanted to leave a tip. Boudin, keep up the good work, and we will be back!


South Coast Plaza Boudin SF
3333 Bristol St.,Space 1000
Costa Mesa, CA 92626
714-689-2253

Open Sesame

Freakin fantastic. Could it be the beautiful service? The fun location in Belmont Shores? The most amazing food I've ever tasted? All of these make Open Sesame the best Lebanese food in Southern California. Try the fattoush, fried potatoes, hummus, falafel, lamb, meat skewers, and baklava. Everything is the ambrosia of the Gods. Folks, it just does not get better than this, I promise.

The boy urges you to skip the Laban though...a chilled salty yogurt drink with dried mint. Sorry, but I read the description and knew instantly it has to be an acquired taste. He had to learn the hard way...

Belmont Shore
5215 E. 2nd Street
Long Beach CA 90803
Phone: (562) 621-1698
Fax: (562) 621-9018

The Secret Spot

I haven't made my way in to this little restaurant until this week. Mostly because the name made me think of over 18 shops and I didn't think the kids would be welcomed in. The place is little more than a couple picnic tables and a counter. We had the 99 cent taco special, chips and salsa, and vegetable soup. If you are vegan, vegetarian, or like to eat homemade food and don't want to cook, this is the best kept secret in Huntington Beach. The people working there are icons of the surf culture, I expected them to be barefoot. It's just very casual and relaxed.

All of the food is home made and really good. The only downside is the chips are straight from a bag and taste healthy, but if you want a deep fryer, you'll have to head across the street to Jack in the Box. The soup was filled with so many vegetables, I couldn't really identify any specifically but think I tasted squash. The tacos were corn tortillas topped with chicken and big slices of avocado and fresh romaine. Be patient - everything is made when you order it, so don't expect to order and have your food ready. Sit down, slow down, enjoy the music and the breeze. I'm excited to go back for their pancakes! I noticed most of the customers who came in after us were known by name from the counter girl. Very cool!

3801 Warner Ave
Huntington Beach, CA 92649
(562) 592-4494

Open Hours Monday-Saturday 9 a.m.-9 p.m., Sunday 9 a.m.-6 p.m.

Z'Tejas Grill

When I was a young teen in Arizona, Fashion Square hit the money and became an icon for desert opulence when Z'Tejas and several other big name restaurants moved in. I loved Z...the big open patio, the casual service and they had the best Cesar salad with ruby trout. it was dressed beautifully with Parmesan crisps. It was the best damn salad in existence.

The girl and I were in SCP and we decided to hit Z'Tejas. Our waiter was slow, brought the wrong drinks, and disappeared. A food runner brought our appetizer over. Surprisingly the chips looked like someone sat on them. We were starving and just tried the find chips big enough for dipping in the cheese sauce (tasted like spicy Velveeta) Much later, our salad arrived even though we asked to have it served with the appetizer. The girl took a bite of the fish and said it was dry. Yes at 5 she knows dry over cooked fish. She took a mouth full of the salad and spit it in her napkin. She said it tasted weird.

So I looked it over. No more fresh lettuce - this came directly from a bag of pre-cut lettuce at the grocery store. I took a bite of the fish and agreed that it was over cooked - but edible. I took a bite of the salad. Instantly, my mouth was coated with what felt and tasted like Crisco. This was some bad salad.

Our waiter never came back. Unfamiliar waiter came over and we explained that the salad was greasy. He came back with another quickly and served the dressing on the side. That is where the salad went to inedible. It had the flavor of liquid shortening.

Our waiter never addressed the situation, the manager never addressed the situation.

Ah Z...what happened? You used to be a good restaurant. Everything was plated well, looked appetizing and was made with fresh ingredients. Now I'm better off grabbing a salad off the shelf at Albertson's. At least the cashier asks "Did you find everything you need?".

South Coast Plaza
3333 Bristol St. Suite 1876
Costa Mesa, CA 92626
Phone: (714) 979-7469Fax: (714) 979-7486