Dishes - Korean

Vivian and I were hungry for "real" food, and Vivian suggested a food court that has 5 Korean places in a row. We looked at all of the menus before settling on Dishes. We both ordered the dumpling soup, which came with kimchi, vegetables, and some other things with which I was not familiar. Vivian also ordered a side dish of something... it was like sushi but it was beef inside instead of fish. I didn't try it. While I thought the prices were a little high when we ordered, it turned out that they gave us TONS of food, so I guess it was probably worth it. That is, if you liked it. I found the broth to be REALLY starchy, and the dumplings kept falling apart. It was still okay, but I wouldn't get it again. However, I had never had this Korean dish before, so it's possible that it was just as good as any other dumpling soup.

Paris Baguette

Vivian and I were spending the afternoon together, and we decided to try out a food court near where I live to start. She had heard good things about a French bakery called Paris Baguette, so we went there.

You can walk around a large island that's full of clear bakery boxes. You pick out what you want and put it on your tray, then pay at the end. There's also loaves of bread and some more pastries along the wall, so there's really a lot to pick from! We each chose a variety of things and then ordered drinks at the counter when we paid. I chose an iced mocha, while Vivian picked a green tea. She thought that the tea was average, and I felt the same about my mocha. Unfortunately, I waited a LONG time for my mocha. After five minutes, I went up and asked about it, and it was clear that they had forgotten to make it - so they gave us two small pound cakes as an apology. The pastries were fairly priced and pretty good, though they were definitely better that day than the next few (I bought like $8 worth of goodies, so I took home 5 or 6 things after enjoying 3 there). The cheese puff and strawberry-and-cream croissant were the best.

Honeyberry: Gelato

When Jonathan's parents were here, they took me for ice cream one afternoon. We were coming out of Walgreens when they suggested it, so we popped right into Honeyberry, since it's in the same plaza. Now, this is a different Honeyberry than Jonathan and I went to a couple years ago, and I had completely forgotten that's where I recognized the name.

The place was pretty full, which was surprising because it was 2 or 3pm on a Thursday. After looking over the options for a minute or two, I went with a scoop of the tiramisu gelato, and his dad picked peach gelato. The pricing was pretty cheap for gelato, at around $2/scoop (you pay by weight, and I added some kiwi and an oreo to mine). However, we weren't extremely taken by it. At first bite, something tasted "off" about mine (I should also mention that I normally sample at a dessert place, but because of the crowd I didn't bother... mistake). I later determined that it tasted as if there was cardamom in the gelato... which is weird. Jonathan's mom tried the peach as well, and didn't care for it, agreeing that they must add some type of spice to it. We sat and took our time in the place, and it never really slowed down... it was almost full the entire time we were there! Many people seemed to be getting either the roti buns or the green tea ice. I wouldn't go back for gelato (and I didn't care for the four flavors of fro-yo they had), but maybe I'd give the roti bun a try. Of course, I'm not often in the mood for a random pastry, so maybe not.

Mexicali Grill

I think I've mentioned before that we've had a difficult time finding great Mexican food out here. A lot of people from back in Florida don't believe us, since you always hear about Hispanics in California. Well, our area is mostly Asian, with few Hispanics or Latinos, so we're inundated with Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean, and Thai places, but the Mexican joints are few and far between. ...plus, the ones we've tried haven't been impressive.

So, we're trying to find someplace good. Kathy suggested we try Mexicali Grill, since she had been there before and considered it to be "okay." The three of us went for dinner on a weeknight, which meant prompt service as they were pretty empty.

Chips and salsa were brought out immediately, and we were asked if we'd like some guacamole as well. We said yes, figuring it would be a couple extra dollars, but a good Mexican place has to have guacamole so we needed to try it. It turned out to be pretty bland, and for a whopping $7.25, something none of us would ever order again.

I ordered the chicken chimichanga, which turned out to be about average. Nothing was strikingly memorable about it, and I forgot to ask for extra-rice-no-beans (see! told you it had been too long since we've had Mexican!), so we took the beans home and Jonathan ate them later that week. I should also point out that it was a tad pricey for the serving size... I almost never finish a chimichanga in one meal, and I finished this one without a problem.

Kathy went with a couple of vegetarian enchiladas and asked for a glass of hot water to drink (she was still a bit ill). The food was okay, but she didn't eat it quickly nor bring home the bit of leftover. The water was also extremely hot, so she wasn't able to drink it for quite some time after it arrived (which took considerably longer than necessary as well).

Jonathan went with the Chili Verde, which was sauteed pork in a special sauce. He asked for double-beans-no-rice, and enjoyed the meal, but wouldn't get it again. He had quite a bit leftover, so it served as a nice dinner a couple of nights later as well.

Overall, the place was pretty cool and we agreed that we'd have to try it for Happy Hour sometime, but I don't know that we'd be back for dinner.

Trying Salvadorian Food

So I learned that I don't like Salvadorian food. I add it to the list of cuisines I avoid... which now only includes Salvadorian and Indian, LoL. I didn't really know what to expect, but we have a Salvadorian place just around the corner, so Jim, JB, and I walked over one night to get some dinner to-go.

Sabor Salvadoreno features pupusas among other foods. A pupusa is a thick corn tortilla (thick like a pita) with cheese, pork ground into a paste, and refried beans. None of us ordered one, but all of our meals were served with two tortillas, which I found to be absolutely horrid. They were fresh, but I just didn't care for the flavor. Jim got carne asadas, which were okay. Jonathan went with a chile relleno, which didn't turn out too well. I went with "pan con pollo" which literally translated to "bread with chicken" but was actually a sub sandwich of sorts. It had tomatoes, cucumber, mayonnaise, and radishes. I know, it was weird. It was also served with juice to pour over it, which was very tasty, but thin, so I didn't want to actually pour it on. I dipped some of the chicken in it, since the chicken (which was pulled from the bone) was ridiculously dry. The bread was good... I eventually just ate the bread and the tomatoes and cucumbers, pulling off everything else that I could. The guys want to try the place again, specifically for the pupusas, but I'll personally pass.

Food at California's Great America

We were at California's Great America for Jonathan's company's Family Day. 9,000 employees and families were there, so they staggered lunches in two different locations. We were fortunate that we arrived to eat right when a couple of our friends were leaving, since we were able to eat at their table. This was great, since it was rather crowded. It was typical picnic food - hot dogs, bbq chicken, ziti, potato salad, salad, rolls. Coke fountains provided refreshing beverages, and there were ice cream sandwiches and push pops for dessert. The chicken was actually quite delicious (the sauce was good and thick). 

Later in the day, we met up with a group of friends for a few rides, then headed over to the "New Orleans" section of the park. No idea how that fits in with anything else (the other areas are Nickelodeon, Action Zone, All American Corners, County Fair, Kidzville, and Celebration Plaza), but they had funnel cake over there, and three were purchased. JB and I only had a couple bites, mostly because I was curious as to how whipped cream, strawberries, and apples tasted, as my previous experiences are only powdered sugar. Well, they tasted like a fancy french toast dish at IHOP, but the funnel cake itself was the greasiest I'd ever had.