Don Jose

Don Jose is tucked into a heavily-landscaped corner, making this restaurant very easy to miss. Because trees and bushes slightly obscure it from view while driving on Newport Boulevard, I honestly had no idea what kind of Mexican food to expect; whether Don Jose would serve authentic Mexican food on par with Taco Rosa or serve American-Mexican food in the styles of Acapulco, El Torito, and the like.


Arriving on a Saturday night, I was acutely aware of the nearly empty parking lot surrounding Don Jose, which made me worry that the restaurant was closed (even though it was only about 7 PM). The exterior style of the building made me imagine red and green decor, sombreros, and loud mariachi music playing. Upon entering, I was instead reminded of Coco's gone Mexican, with the large floral upholstered booths and crystal lamps hanging over each table.


Upon being seated, we were immediately served fresh, warm tortilla chips with a chunky salsa. I really love chips and salsa, as simple as they come, and I was delighted with the lightly salted and thin tortilla chips we were presented. The mild salsa was full of chopped vegetables and quite thick, just the way I like it!


This was my Rosie O'Rita Margarita made with tequila, sweet and sour, Triple Sec, and cranberry juice to give it that nice pink glow. This margarita on the rocks was served in a pint glass and was quite sweet.


My Seafood Enchiladas came with refried beans and Spanish rice. Large, tender chunks of grilled fish and shrimp were rolled in corn tortillas and smothered in a flavorful tomatillo sauce. The mild tomatillo sauce allowed the flavor of the fish and shrimp to be the stars of this dish. There were more fish than shrimp in the enchiladas and I was very pleased with this light dish of moist seafood. Some parts of the corn tortilla were stale and dried out, which was easily remedied by spreading on the tomatillo sauce. The rice and beans were pretty standard fare.


Devin requested his Chunky Chicken Chimichanga without red sauce or roasted green chilis on top. The crispy, deep-fried burrito contained chicken, refried beans, jack cheese, cheddar cheese, and a red chili sauce and came accompanied with sour cream.

While the exterior of the restaurant had me expecting one thing and then the interior gave me some doubts, I was pleasantly surprised by the flavorful and properly cooked dishes that we ordered.

Don Jose
14882 Holt Ave.
Tustin, CA 92780
714-832-3280

Spires

Out running errands on a Sunday morning, we realized it was quickly approaching lunchtime, but hadn't preplanned where to eat.


This is how we ended up at Spires. We frequently pass by Spires on our way to the grocery store or the bank, but I never really gave thought to trying it out until Devin reminded me of its existence. That's the kind of place it is; it's quite and unassuming, you're not expected to dress up to dine here, but one comes here to relax and enjoy a comforting meal at a reasonable price. I was eager to try a new place, but unfortunately didn't have a suitable camera with me, only the camera on my cell phone. So here's a restaurant review, kind of, just please excuse the quality of the pictures.


You can see that the house Thousand Island dressing was quite lumpy in addition to being very thick. The lumps in the dressing were chopped pickles and onions, providing much of the flavor in the otherwise plain, iceberg lettuce salad. I really enjoyed this tangy, house-made Thousand Island dressing.


It's at places like this that I most rely on my pescetarian diet, because there were little, if any (other than a plain salad) vegetarian options here. The Tuna Melt sandwich came with a choice of french fries, coleslaw, fried zucchini, or onion rings. I was excited to to see fried zucchini on the menu as an option to the standard sides, and so could not resist getting them. Swiss cheese came on the tuna melt and while Swiss is not my favorite kind of cheese, it worked very well to add a subtle nutty flavor to the tuna salad. The tuna salad was adequately seasoned with enough mayonnaise to provide a creamy texture while still retaining the crispiness of the grilled bread. I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this Tuna Melt, since I was initially hesitant about the Swiss cheese.


Fried zucchini are an occasional treat for me, usually reserved for county fairs. The fried zucchini at Spires did not at all resemble the huge mutant zucchini often found at county fairs to be soggy messes of grease. At Spires, the fried zucchini retained their original shape and were quartered lengthwise. Appropriately, ranch dressing accompanied the fried zucchini. Biting into the fried zucchini, the centers of the vegetable were able to retain their crunch, not because they were undercooked, but because they were cut to a manageable size and the deep-fry oil was at the correct temperature. Because the breadcrumb coating was thin, the flavor of the zucchini was able to shine through and surprisingly, here was only a light reminiscent of grease left on my fingers from picking up the fried zucchini sticks.


Devin had a cheeseburger ordered medium and his choice of side was french fries. He enjoyed his cheeseburger and fries on the same level as those found at Denny's, Coco's, and Norm's, but didn't find them to be anything outstandingly special.

Spires
13451 Newport Ave.
Tustin, CA 92780
714-544-0631

Zon Baguettes

I told you that I would go back to Zon Baguettes and try something new. This time, BOTH Devin and I tried new items, something that is rare to happen when we've already found winners. These are the kinds of sacrifices we make in the name of blogging.


We grabbed a quick lunch to eat as we made our way up to Santa Barbara for the weekend. I got the #16 Fried Tofu Vegetarian Sandwich which has the same ingredients as the #15 Viet Veggies, but with added tofu fried to a golden brown. As usual, I loved the crunch of the cucumbers and carrots paired with the crispy exterior and soft interior of the baguette. Unfortunately, I didn't enjoy the tofu part of the sandwich. The soft interior of the tofu gave the sandwich a strange soggy texture, like I was eating a baguette stuffed with a baguette. I don't think the soft unseasoned tofu pairs well with the hard crunch of the vegetables.


Devin chose a #23 Baked Ham and Cheese Contemporary Sandwich, choosing Swiss cheese on this trip to Zon Baguettes. This sandwich is very similar to his usual fare of the #24 Turkey and Cheese. The tomatoes on this visit look much more fresh than the last time we visited Zon Baguettes.

Zon Baguettes
14081 Newport Ave.
Tustin, CA 92780
714-731-1366

Zon Baguettes

Devin and I rode our bicycles to Zon Baguettes last Saturday and I was able to pick up a take home menu. When I previously reviewed Zon Baguettes, I mentioned that for some reason they didn't have any take home menus where they have always had a stack before. I discovered that the reason the take home menus were missing on our last visit was because they were completely redoing the old menus that were simply typed on yellow paper. The new menu looks very professional, with its glossy paper and attractive photos of select menu items.



What's missing from the menu is their list of drinks, including Vietnamese iced coffee and their slushies with the optional addition of boba.


Thinking about this blog, I made sure to try their Honeydew slushie with boba. Boba are large black tapioca balls (compared to the small opaque balls of tapioca mostly found in puddings) that are chewy in texture. The boba balls were slightly warm and had a nice chew, but were a little on the mushy side. They eventually hardened because of the cold temperature of the slushie. The honeydew slush was refreshing on this fluke, intensely hot, autumn day.


Unfortunately, trying the Honeydew boba on this visit was the extent of my consideration for this blog because I ordered the #14 Viet Veggies again instead of ordering the other vegetarian sandwich, the Fried Tofu Vegetarian Sandwich. I will be sure to order something different the next time we visit Zon Baguettes, but at least the jalapenos in my banh mi were very spicy on this visit. You can see in the above photo that the baguette crust cracks very easily because it is thin and delicately crisp.


Here is a photo of Devin's Turkey and Swiss sandwich.

Our previous review of these same sandwiches can be found here.

Zon Baguettes
14081 Newport Ave.
Tustin, CA 92780
714-731-1366

Rutabegorz

Historic Old Town Tustin is a nice place to take a stroll because there many trees to provide shade and interspersed throughout the district are interesting historic homes and buildings to see, often of the large Victorian style.


Another reason to take a trip into Old Town Tustin is to have a meal at Rutabegorz, either outside on the patio or inside where a section for private parties is separated from the main dining room.


Stepping into Rutabegorz is like visiting Grandma's house, where photos, mugs, vases, watering cans, and other kitschy knick-knacks line the walls and the straight-backed wood booths are narrow. The restaurant is a very homey place reminiscent of the surrounding area.


In researching Rutabegorz before our visit, I learned that every month they offer a new appetizer sample for $1. For the month of November, they are offering Roasted Red Pepper Tapenade served with Tortillla Chips, which is a great way to appease your hunger while you thumb through their newsletter of a menu. Seriously, their menu kept going on and on, ranging from soups, salads, bagels, wraps, crepes, and smoothies, to House Favorites, including lasagna, enchiladas, ratatouille, fondue (dinner only), Chicken Cacciattore, and a Mu Shu Burrito. I was a little overwhelmed by my options as I munched on the sweet tapenade.


I ordered The "Italian" Vegetarian Sandwich which consisted of sourdough garlic bread slices stuffed with cucumbers, tomatoes, red onion, and swiss cheese, served with a side of Mediterranean dressing, pasta salad, a pickle slice, and a slice each of pineapple and carrot.

Now, I don't cook very often these days, but I can cook (kind of), so when I eat out, I like to get something that I can't/won't cook myself. I also know that I can only expect vegetables on a vegetarian sandwich. That being said, I was not impressed with this sandwich because it was just cold, sliced vegetables between dry bread slices. The thin spread of garlic butter that made up the garlic bread slices didn't provide much flavor or moisture, so I ended up dipping each bite into the Mediterranean dressing, which helped flavor the sandwich tremendously. I like my vegetables crunchy, but when they're sliced too large, like the cucumbers were in this sandwich, it just makes for a hard sandwich that falls apart because there was nothing to hold the vegetables together. A mayonnaise-based spread or bruschetta (continuing with the "Italian" theme) would have helped to hold the vegetables together and also provide flavor and moisture.

Similarly, I thought the side of cold pasta salad that comes with each sandwich was pretty plain. Tossed with cuts of green peppers, red onions, tomatoes, parmesan cheese, and herbs, the vegetables gave the pasta salad all of its flavor. Unfortunately, there was much more pasta than there were vegetables.

The pineapple slice was really great though. It was a thick slice of fresh, juicy pineapple that was perfectly balanced between sweet and sour.


Devin got Joe's BBQ Chicken Sandwich which was found on the specials page inserted in the menu. This sandwich had BBQ chicken, red onions, tomatoes, lettuce, avocado slices, and jack cheese on squaw bread. Like my sandwich, Devin's was accompanied with pasta salad, a pickle slice, and a slice of carrot and pineapple. Even though Devin was apprehensive about the squaw bread, he really enjoyed his sandwich with its creamy avocado and the tangy BBQ sauce on the chicken.

My sandwich was a miss, but I'm eager to give Rutabegorz another chance, probably sticking with their cooked dishes listed under their House Favorites or even their crepes. The Mu Shu Burrito sounds particularly intriguing and I've also heard their salads are both great and gigantic.

If you do give Rutabegorz in Tustin a try, behind the restaurant is a parking garage with free parking.

Rutabegorz
158 W. Main St.
Tustin, CA 92780
714-731-9807

Zon Baguettes

I remember when there was just an empty lot where Zon Baguettes now stands. Strata Tustin Center, where Zon Baguettes is located, is so close to our apartment, that Devin and I chose to ride our bicycles. It was a green and healthy way to grab our equally healthy meal.


Zon Baguettes opened in July 2006 and it's a a convenient place for us to pick up a couple of sandwiches (banh mi) for under $10.


There are tables both indoors and outdoors and while we waited for our sandwiches, I noticed some customers picking up orders that they had phoned in. In addition to the banh mi, Zon Baguettes sells pho, fried rice, egg rolls, summer rolls (goi cuon), boba, pastries, salads, popsicles, and a stand filled with bags of chips, Yan Yan, and tins of pate.


While they had goi cuon already made and packaged, I ordered mine without pork, so I had to wait a little longer for them to make it especially for me. I was willing to wait because I'm glad they were able to accommodate my pescetarian needs so I could enjoy one of the foods that I love. One order of goi cuon came with two medium-sized summer rolls and a small tub of Hoisin and peanut sauce.


As you can see in this slice of the goi cuon, at Zon Baguettes, it is filled with shrimp, rice vermicelli, iceberg lettuce, and cilantro. Without the mint that I am used to tasting in goi cuon, this ended up being pretty bland goi cuon, and the shrimp didn't help. Although I counted four shrimp through the opaque wrapper, there only ended up being two full-sized shrimp that were cut in half to make four pieces. The shrimp were tough and flavorless, so I was pretty much eating wrapped up vermicelli noodles.

But, as you can see in the above photo, my #14 Viet Veggies banh mi was packed with an array of vegetables.


The #14 Viet Veggies banh mi contains jalepenos, cucumbers, carrots, vermicelli, cilantro, and a sweet and tangy mayonnaise that really brought the flavors together. The vegetables were crunchy and fresh and they certainly didn't skimp on the portions. My only very minor complaint is that the jalepenos didn't pack very much heat.

And the bread. You don't come to Zon Baguettes expecting Lee's Sandwiches. The bread at Zon Baguettes is always fresh, with a crispy exterior and a soft and fluffy interior that doesn't leave the inside of your mouth raw.


Devin had a Turkey and Swiss Cheese sandwich from Zon Baguettes, and while I thought it looked pretty mediocre (I obviously didn't try it), he really enjoyed it.


Even though Devin's Turkey and Swiss Cheese sandwich wasn't as packed as my Viet Veggies banh mi, I would say the ratio of bread to filling is still pretty good for a sandwich. He agrees that the bread at Zon Baguettes is great, so having a sandwich from here that is half bread, half filling is a win-win situation.



Our sandwiches took a little longer than usual to make because there were several orders ahead of ours and because of my special order of goi cuon. Our view while we waited was of the stand of chips, Yan Yan, Snow Pea Crisps, and tins of pate, so I couldn't resist picking up two bags of chips after oogling them as I hungrily awaited our order. These were a nice addition to round out our meal.

Whenever I have visited Zon Baguettes, there has always been a stack of menus to take home. It figures that the one time I actually have a use for the take-home menu, they don't have any. I will snag and post a menu the next chance I get.

Zon Baguettes
14081 Newport Ave.
Tustin, CA 92780
714-731-1366

Taco Rosa

Taco Rosa is a favorite of fellow food blogger ChristianZ of Orange County Mexican Restaurants which has led him to do many reviews of both the Newport Beach and Tustin Marketplace locations.


Taco Rosa is located in the Irvine side of the Marketplace in the parking lot adjacent to the food court housing Pat & Oscar's, Corner Bakery, Pasta Bravo, and Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf. This location opened in March 2007, so it is fairly new.


The dining room is very elegantly furnished, so it is a nice place to take a date. The lamps are ornately decorated, each table has a fresh rose, and the very high-backed booths keep the noise level contained.

In the above photo, you can see their chocolate fountain on the left, which we will return to at the end of the post.


Everyday there are two different flavors of aguas frescas to choose from. Today's choices were horchata and mango. The mango aguas frescas I chose was very refreshing and delicately sweetened by the natural fruit sugars.


While you may go to a Mexican restaurant and expect complimentary chips and salsa, at Taco Rosa you receive an amuse bouche of two different items whenever you visit. Today's amuse bouche was a bean tostada and a chicken flauta, both topped with cotija cheese. Served alongside the amuse bouche was escabeche, a mixture of pickled carrots, onions, and jalepenos.

The bean tostada was quite refreshing with its heaping mound of lettuce and tomatoes, peppery pinto beans, and crisp corn tortilla.


On the two occasions that we have visited Taco Rosa, Devin has ordered the Morenita Quesadilla. The whole wheat tortilla is filled with cheese, chicken, avocado, onions, and tomatoes, served with rice, beans, sour cream, guacamole, and escabeche.


Taco Rosa has an wide variety of tacos to choose from, all for $3.50 each. Although their website says that the Lobster Tacos are market price, my Lobster Tacos on this visit cost $3.50. The tacos came with more escabeche, tortilla chips, and salsa and I also had the option of accompanying the tacos with rice and beans, but I thought the three tacos would suffice.

In the above photo, clockwise from the top are the Portobello Mushroom, Salmon Taco, and Lobster Tacos. You will notice that although I only ordered one Lobster Taco, a serving comes with two Lobster Tacos because they are actually smaller in size than the other tacos.

The Lobster Tacos are topped with mango habanero cream sauce and mango relish. These were my favorite of the three tacos. The lobster was plump and juicy and served in a fried flour tortilla, making for a deliciously light and crisp taco.

In addition to the charbroiled portobello mushroom, the Portobello Taco has red peppers, onions, and cheese. Because mushrooms absorb liquids very easily, the contents of this taco were very slippery. It was not a pretty sight to see as I took a bite and the taco filling fell out the back end and oil dripped down my hands. Alas, I cannot deny a mushroom and really enjoyed the robust flavor of the portobello paired with the sweet red peppers and onions.

I was surprised by the size of the grilled salmon filet in the Salmon Taco. Topped with papaya butter sauce and papaya relish, I could barely fold the corn tortilla due to the size of the salmon. The subtle flavor of papaya complimented the strong flavor of the grilled salmon very well.


I was quite satisfied after the amuse bouche and the four tacos, but I made a sacrifice in the name of food blogging and ordered dessert.

Although not a big fan of flan, I was intrigued by the Flan De Queso served at Taco Rosa. The Flan De Queso is a baked cream cheese flan served with a pool of framboise vanilla sauce, drizzled with chocolate from their chocolate fountain, and dotted with fresh raspberries. The flan not only has the dense consistency of cheesecake, but the first flavor that hits your tongue is cheesecake and finishes smoothly with the custard flavor of flan. Paired with the creamy framboise vanilla sauce and specks of chocolate, this made for an amazing end to our meal.

Taco Rosa
13792 Jamboree Road
Irvine, CA 92602
714-505-6080

Waikiki Hawaiian Grill

I first went to Waikiki Hawaiian Grill based on Elmomonster's post and have now been back several times.


Waikiki Hawaiian Grill is located in an unassuming shopping center called Tustin Plaza. I visit this shopping center for the Office Depot, Souplantation, and Wahoo's Fish Taco, but I never even noticed Waikiki Hawaiian Grill until I read Elmomonster's post.



The interior of Waikiki Hawaiian Grill is small, with only about six tables inside, but it is spotlessly clean. Really, the interior shines, probably due to the highly lacquered tables. As you can see in the above photo, pictures accompany many of the menu items, so if it's your first time trying Hawaiian food like it was for me the first time I visited Waikiki, then you'll be comforted by seeing exactly what you're ordering before it's brought out to you.

I was reprimanded for taking pictures after the above photo, so the next pictures may be blurry, as I took them in the most stealth manner that I could.


All the Plate Lunches and Mini Meals come with a scoop of white rice and a scoop of macaroni salad. The macaroni salad here is amazingly creamy, with a few shreds of carrot, and tuna! I was surprised to find little bits of tuna in the macaroni salad and it really makes for a delicious macaroni salad.

On this visit, I ordered the Crispy Shrimp Mini Meal. Although it's called a "Mini Meal", this portion of four crisp and golden shrimp was the perfect size. With the addition of the Crab Rangoon that I also ordered, I had to save half of my meal for dinner that night!

I'm definitely a "Dipper", using ketchup with my french fries, ranch or honey mustard dressing with my pizza, and olive oil and balsamic vinegar with bread, and whenever I visit Waikiki, it's no different. Because pairing fried shrimp and white rice is a little dry for my palate, I dipped my Crispy Shrimp into the Katsu sauce that came with Devin's order of Chicken Katsu .


Crab Rangoon are wonton shells filled with a mixture of cream cheese, green onions, and crab and then deep fried to a gooey consistency on the inside while staying crispy on the outside. On a previous occasion, the Crab Rangoon that I ordered from Waikiki were room temperature and the wonton skins were chewy with staleness. The Crab Rangoon on this visit were piping hot and deliciously creamy.


Devin always orders the Chicken Katsu from Waikiki and has begun to order two scoops of macaroni salad in place of the white rice, because the macaroni salad really is that amazing! Although I can't tell you my personal experience with the Chicken Katsu, Devin describes it as perfectly fried to a crisp without being greasy. He really enjoys the accompanying katsu sauce, so we usually ask for two containers of the sauce. The Chicken Katsu is only available as a Plate Lunch, so the portion lasts him at least two meals. There are just layers upon layers of Chicken Katsu in this Plate Lunch.


Since we dined in for this review, I chose a Hawaiian Sun Green Tea with Lychee and Ginseng. I really love lychee-flavored anything (remember those little jello's with the piece of lychee floating in the middle?), but I think this drink was a little too sweet for my taste. The sweetness of the lychee was the only thing I could really taste.

Dining-in, we received our meal in styrofoam containers with plastic utensils. So while Waikiki does have a clean dining room with music piped in through speakers, it's really the kind of place to order your food and go.


When I'm feeling especially hungry, I order the Mahi-Mahi, which is available only as a Plate Lunch portion. The Mahi-Mahi comes with tartar sauce, but I usually end up stealing a container of Devin's katsu sauce to dip the fish into. The four squares of mahi mahi that come in the Plate Lunch are large and, just like the Chicken Katsu and Crispy Shrimp, fried to a golden perfection without being greasy. It's really an amazing cooking process because you're not left feeling the heavy, greasy guilt after eating a plate of fried food. The Crispy Shrimp, Chicken Katsu, and Mahi-Mahi are all breaded in panko crumbs, which may account for the light, greaseless frying process.



Waikiki Hawaiian Grill
13771 Newport Ave.
Suite 10
Tustin, CA 92780
714-731-7371