Birthday Dinner in Laguna Beach...How could I forget??

I just turned 21, and for my birthday, I decided to go to a restaurant I've been scouting for some time now: Tabu Grill in Laguna Beach. It caught my eye on Zagat over a year ago with it's score of 29 for food...there is no restaurant in San Francisco, New York, Paris, or Rome with a score of 29. AKA: Tabu Grill is AMAZING. And Lord, was Zagat right. I went with two girlfriends, one a foodie, and the other, a self proclaimed foodie after this meal. Her words from dinner: "I just realized what good food really is." I can't even begin to describe everything. We had potato ravioli, I had an asian pear salad with almonds, I got short ribs, we all split bomb.com macaroni and cheese, guava creme brulee (sounds weird...was actually really good), and the thing that three girls would obviously order: flourless chocolate cake. I literally died and went to heaven on my 21st birthday. To top it all off, they've got a great wine bar and this wine-o-in-training got a wonderfulArgentinian white. Seriously...it's a little pricey (especially for college students...thanks for the birthday treat, Mom and Dad) but for a special occasion, absolutely worth every penny.

Tabu Grill

2892 South Coast Highway

Laguna Beach, CA 92651

New York...Updated

Just got back from a short little stint in New York packed with interviews, shows, and, of course, food. Two great new places for meals, both down in the East Village are Veselka and Atlas Cafe. Also hit up a great place for unexpected desserts: Momofuku.

Veselka was featured in Nick and Nora's Infinite Playlist. It's open 24 hours a day, which means you can get your fix of amazing Ukrainian dumplings, salad, soup, burgers, or rice crispy treats the size of your face. Seriously, I kept skirting the recommendations of this place cause I though, "Meh...I'm not really a Ukrainian food person," but when a few friends of mine nudged me to go with them I was excited they had gotten me to go. I got honey and port braised short rib pirogues (Ukrainian dumplings) and sweet potato fries. So, so good. My friends got the potato pirogues (with a little bit of cheese to add flavor) and sauerkraut and mushroom pirogues. Much to my surprise as one who's not too keen on sauerkraut or mushrooms, the latter weren't too bad. While we were leaving, we all got a cocoa puff treat (a rice crispy treat with cocoa puffs, chocolate chips, and marshmallow chunks) to split. It was all so good and definitely a place I'll be hitting up when I'm down there late at night and get the munchies.

Veselka

144 2nd Ave.

New York, NY 10003

My last afternoon there, I got lunch with a friend at NYU at Atlas Cafe (also down in the East Village). I'm usually not one to get overwhelmed by restaurants, but the size of this menu is incredible. The walls on both sides of this hole in the wall cafe are covered in omnivore, vegetarian, and vegan options for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, as well as coffee, smoothies, and shakes. I got an omelette with chicken, sun dried tomatoes, pepper jack, a bagel, and salad. It was an awesome way to leave the city. The one thing I was unimpressed by was my chai tea latte. It was really watery. Stick to the food. Also, while I didn't get any dessert, the friends I went to Veselka with said Atlas has great desserts too!

Atlas Cafe

73 2nd Ave.

New York, NY 10003

Lastly, I had some great, out of this world dessert at Momofuku Milk Bar (also in the East Village...I was under the impression I hadn't spent much time down there this trip...guess I was wrong. Haha). It's a little place attached to a much larger restaurant. The Milk Bar has a very avant guard take on dessert flavors. I got a cookie with chocolate chips, cornflakes, and marshmallows. I also tried the cereal milk soft serve, which is probably one of the most bizarre things I've ever tried (up there with guacamole flavored tortilla chips). It's a texture thing...I just wasn't about it. But lots of fun in concept, and the cookie was awesome. To try next time (if I'm feeling gutsy): the compost cookie--pretzels, potato chips, coffee, oats, butterscotch, and chocolate chips. I mean...it's on their menu and teh cookie is trademarked...it's gotta be good, right?

Momofuku Milk Bar

207 2nd. Ave.

New York, NY 10003

Costa Mesa is a gold mine...

I found my new favorite coffee shop in Orange County (still love Portfolio up in Long Beach, which is technically LA County, though): Kean Coffee. It is on Westcliff (the eastern end of E. 17th Street) in Costa Mesa...well...technically Newport...and cute, comfy, delicious, and artsy. The baristas all make fun designs on your foam (my friend Brittany and I went and both got pretty leaves) and their baked goods are amazing. We both got their honey vanilla latte, Brit got a biscotti, and I got a cookie. While I've only been once so far, I'm sure it'll become a regular study spot for me next quarter when I actually have reading and homework to do. It's right near my work too (shameless plug: Pure Barre Newport Beach, www.purebarre.com, come in for a great workout to lift, burn, and tone your body to look like a ballerina) so I'm sure I'll be stopping in every so often.

Kean Coffe

2042 Westcliff Drive

Newport Beach, CA 92660

The Omelette Parlor

The Omelette Parlor in Costa Mesa was recommended to me by the stage manager I'm currently working with. One of the girls in the cast I'm ASMing for and I went to go get brunch there this past Sunday. It was amazing. We went during that awkward, not quite lunch time, but had both already had breakfast. The eggs sounded amazing but so did the burgers. Idea: 1 omelette and 1 burger to share. Brilliant! We got our breakfast and lunch all in one. Now, I've just recently started eating eggs, so omelettes are about as far as I go thus far. It was awesome. I got the South Coast with bacon, avocado, and cheddar with whole wheat English muffin, potatoes (really friggin' good potatoes) and fruit. Mmm... My friend got the Bravo Avocado Burger which came with a salad we hardly touched cause there was so much food.

Food babies post-brunch for sure.

The Omelette Parlor (the sign out front says Chester Drawers...it's tricky and hidden)

179 E. 17th St.

Costa Mesa, CA 92627

Hubert Keller's Fleur de Lys

So you know Hubert Keller, the Frenchman from Top Chef Masters? Yeah...this is his restaurant. It has been deemed one of the most romantic restaurants in all of San Francisco. So, while I didn't go there on a date, I did go with my foodie family for an awesome night of French food.

The restaurant is fairly close to Union Square (within walking distance) and is very quaint under and indoor canopy. We opted for the 5 course meal (parents got paired wines) including dessert and a cheese course. It was all TO DIE FOR. From the pistacio fig bread, to the ginger buffalo, to the Grand Marnier souffle. I even ventured out and tried my dad's lobster and salmon (I don't care much for seafood) and while they weren't to my liking texturally, I could tell they were delicious for a palate on which they were.

Fleur De Lys

77 Sutter Street

San Francisco, CA 94109

Brunch: Plums, Newport Beach

New bunch local in Newport Beach, courtesy of my roommate:

Plums Cafe and Catering

369 E. 17th Street

Newport Beach, CA 92627

I was having an indecisive morning, and also a greedy morning, craving eggs, meat, and the raspberry pancakes that looked, oh, so good on the menu. Lo and behold, our waiter let me mix-and-match whatever I wanted so I could have a little bit of everything. Amazing. My other roommates also got what they wanted. I don't think there was a bite left on the table when we finished. It was incredible.

Even though the cafe is in a strip mall, they have their own little patio under a skylight which provides a great atmosphere.

To try next time, when I am not starving and all I want is sugar: the Dutch Baby (it takes 30 minutes to cook...it's like a deep dish pancake, the coconut french toast, or the lemon meringue waffle...mmm...

On another note: went to Maya in San Francisco this weekend (where my family went in NYC a few months ago) and it is just as good. Too bad I couldn't bring my leftover mole pablano home on the airplane. Boo. I guess that just makes it that much more better next time.

New York Again

It's been a while, but since my last post, I've spent a week and a half in New York City. While there my best friend and I did lots of wandering of the city, allowing us to explore and discover new restaurants in territory we had yet to delve into.

A good cheap eatery we found is on the Upper West Side: Soom Soom. They have amazing falafel. You order either a salad or a pita with falafel in it, then get to pick and choose from their open salad bar of pre-made Israeli salads. I cannot tell you the names of any of them, but they're AWESOME. I actually went twice while in town. I prefer the salad to the pita because the salad makes you feel so good. All veggies and chickpeas.

Soom Soom

166 W. 72nd St.

New York, NY

Another place my family and I discovered when they joined up with me for Labor Day weekend is Maya. It is a really, really nice Mexican restaurant on the Upper East Side with, hands down, the best Mexican I've ever had. Their chicken with mole is to die for. Guacamole is made fresh for you on the floor. I had their chicken enchiladas which were pretty tasty. We also got corn pudding and plantains on the side. Deelish. We were stuffed and going to get gelato after a show later that night, so we took a look at the dessert menu but didn't order anything. Were we to order, we would have gotten the chocolate tarte with cinnamon ice cream. Then our waiter surprised us with one, not knowing that that is what we were eyeing. Needless to say, he got a big tip. Haha. To our surprise, we also found out that there is a Maya in San Francisco (Yippee!) so we can go when we're at home to. Chevy's no more. We're converts.

Maya

1191 First Ave.

New York, NY

or for the West Coasters:

Maya

303 2nd. Street

San Francisco, CA

Lastly, my best friend and I were treated to some gelato by some family friends of hers that we were crashing with for part of my stay. It's called Screme and it is definitely not wallet friendly but SO worth it. With a small starting at $5, it may steer many away, but believe me, if you walk through the doors and start tasting (employees are required to give as many free samples as you want) you'll want to order a large (which, if you're wondering, will set you back $9...but it's practically a pint when they pile it all on, and it's totally worth it). The two Manhattan stores have 5,000 flavors that they cycle through from pear sorbet to Captain Crunch or Fig Tequila gelato. The flavor intensities are awesome (though the sorbets slightly less so). There is one location on the Upper West Side, and the other is in the lobby of Madame Tussauds in Times Square.

Screme Gelato

2030 Broadway

New York, NY

Screme Gelato

234 W. 42nd St.

New York, NY