O’s American Kitchen, new name but your favorites are still on the menu

It started out as Oscar’s. Then, Oscar changed the name to Pat & Oscar’s to include his wife in the name after celebrating a monumental anniversary. In 2012, the name has changed again to O’s American Kitchen. Let’s take a look at some of their signature dishes.

Greek Salad features mild and green peppers, red onion, tomatoes, beets, cucumber, feta cheese, kalamata olives freshly tossed in their Chef's house dressing. This is my favorite salad on the menu. I can live without the canned beets, but everything else works really well together. The tomatoes were sweet, the cucumbers were crisp, and the red onions were pungent. The peppers were a little spicy, but added a vinegary tang. The Greek olives added saltiness along with the feta. The dressing is a classic Greek dressing with olive oil, vinegar, and herbs. It really brought all of the ingredients together. Thumbs up, way up!

To read more and see slideshow, please visit: http://www.examiner.com/review/o-s-american-kitchen-new-name-but-your-favorites-are-still-on-the-menu

Mahalo,

OC Food Diva

The Flame Broiler serves quick and healthy Korean-style fast food in Orange County, CA

After graduating from UCLA, Young Lee like most graduates joined the workforce. During his work day, he found himself gravitating to fast food for lunch – something quick and easy so he could continue on with his work day. In his entrepreneurial mind, he started to think about creating a healthier alternative. In 1995, his idea became a reality when the first Flame Broiler opened in Fullerton, CA, serving simple, delicious, healthy, Korean-style fast food.

Word about The Flame Broiler started to spread like wildfire. In 1999, Young decided to franchise to keep up with the demand and provide his growing customer base with convenient locations. Through franchising, he can maintain the high level of service and food quality he expects to deliver.

The Rib Plate is Korean-style marinated short ribs atop your choice of white or brown rice, and served with salad and fruit garnish. The short ribs were pretty good for fast food. The ribs were definitely marinated for quite a while as the flavor penetrated the meat really well, tasting almost like teriyaki. You feel your carnivorous side come out as you gnaw on the bone to get each piece of meat off. I prefer the brown rice as it has more flavor than just white rice. A little bit a shoyu (soy sauce) and/or “Happy Sauce” and you’re good to go. The salad was fresh and house sesame supreme dressing was very good. Thumbs up!

To read more, please visit: http://www.examiner.com/review/the-flame-broiler-serves-quick-and-healthy-korean-style-fast-food-oc-ca

Mahalo,

OC Food Diva

Pho 88 has the best pho in Orange County, CA

Nestled in a large shopping center on the corner of North Lemon Street and East Orangethorpe Avenue, Pho 88 should be your first choice of noshing possibilities. The exterior is non-descript but when you walk in you know you are in a Pho shop. Tables line the small dining room with numbered napkin holders (signifying your table number). Come on in and someone will escort you to the first available table. Don’t be discouraged by the enormous menu. It’s mostly just choices of different toppings and meat offerings. The scent of their broth will help make up your mind. Keep in mind the size – small and large. I know it’s just soup, but the large is a hearty portion. I would recommend you try the small first and then next time, you can gauge how hungry you are.

If you like Vietnamese Coffee, Pho 88 makes a good one. It’s strong, but has a smooth flavor. If you like espresso or café au lait, this is the drink for you! You can have it hot or cold. It’s mixed with sweetened condensed milk which gives it a sweet, yet creamy, almost buttery finish. It’s a winner! I get it every time I dine there. Thumbs up, way up! 

To read more and see slideshow, please visit: http://www.examiner.com/review/pho-88-has-the-best-pho-orange-county-ca

Mahalo,

OC Food Diva

Lemonade modernizes the cafeteria experience in Newport Beach, CA

On August 19, 2013, Lemonade opened its first Orange County location at Fashion Island in Newport Beach, CA. This is the twelfth location for Chef and Founder, Alan Jackson, and Partner and Chief Operating Officer, Ian Olsen. Lemonade is a Southern California culinary adventure that uses the freshest seasonal ingredients. Alan likes to describe the Lemonade concept as a “choose-your-own adventure for lunch or dinner” with “a delicious and healthy change of pace” marrying “quality and convenience”. The philosophy matches perfectly with Fashion Island where you have people who are looking for lunch on the go, relaxed dinner before a movie, or just an intermission from shopping. The concept is very simple – grab a tray, choose from a selection of marketplace cold salads, hot and cold meats, sandwiches, pot roasts, braised pots, soups, stews, market tossed salads, desserts, and an array of lemonades. The Fashion Islandlocation 

is the only one with a wood burning oven for roasting vegetables and flatbreads and a rotisserie for preparing whole roast rib-eye, leg of lamb, and chicken. It can be a bit overwhelming at first, but if you take it easy, it gives you an excuse to come back again another day.

Tandoori Chicken, Jalapeno, Green Mango, Coconut, and Tamarind Marketplace salad was very different. It merged aromatic and spicy flavors of India with tropical flavors of mango and coconut. It was refreshing and wonderful for summer. The flavors held up well for a cold salad. Thumbs up, way up!

To read more and see slideshow, please visit: http://www.examiner.com/review/lemonade-modernizes-the-cafeteria-experience-newport-beach-ca

Mahalo,

OC Food Diva

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Bruxie Gourmet Waffle Sandwiches now open Irvine, CA

On August 6, 2013, Heritage Plaza Center welcomed Bruxie to its community of shops and restaurants. This bustling center is an excellent location for Bruxie due to its close proximity to the 5 Freeway to conveniently serve both residents and daily commuters. With yellow and red interior brand colors, you won’t even have to look at the name; you’ll know you’re at Bruxie! 

Chocolate Soda Float Special is homemade chocolate soda with a float of soft serve frozen custard. It reminded me of diet chocolate soda from the early 1980s. It was definitely something out of the ordinary, but anything mixed with their soft serve frozen custard makes everything better! I give them kudos for the creativity.

Fresh Strawberry Shake is fresh strawberries blended with soft serve frozen custard. The frozen custard made a lovely base for this shake, not too sweet and very creamy. I just love their shakes! Thumbs up, way up!

Nutella & Bananas with Sweet Cream is scrumptious! You’ll often find this combination with crepes but it works really well on waffles too! Nutella, with its chocolate hazelnut flavor, worked really well with the bananas (imagine a chocolate covered banana). The waffle was a convenient vehicle to get these to flavors to your taste buds. Thumbs up, way up!

Buttermilk Fried Chicken & Waffle topped with chili honey and cider slaw. I had this for the first time at the Bruxie location in Chino Hills and absolutely loved it. But, this time, it wasn’t as good. The chicken was not as crispy as it should have been and was soggy from the honey and cider. I’ll let it slide assuming that it was probably just opening jitters.

Green Eggs & Ham is grilled ham, Tillamook cheddar, jumbo egg, mayo, and arugula pesto. I absolutely loved this sandwich! The arugula pesto added a slightly bitter, yet pleasing flavor combination with the slightly salty ham, sharp Tillamook cheddar, and creamy yolky egg. It’s good any time of day, not just breakfast. Thumbs up, way up!

Hot Pastrami Bruxie is Boar’s Head Pastrami with gruyere, cider slaw, spicy brown mustard and half sour pickles. Boar’s Head meats are sliced fresh daily on-site. I also had this for the first time in Chino Hills but wasn’t impressed. I don’t know what they did differently here, but this time, it was fantastic! The pastrami was tender and not too overpowering. You could taste the creamy gruyere and pickles. I’m not a big pickle fan, but actually liked it this time. Thumbs up!

The Elvis is, you guessed it, peanut butter, bacon, and banana. I think I have “A Big Hunk O’ Love” for this sandwich. “Funny How Time Slips Away” while eating this and is now my favorite sandwich at Bruxie. I can see why Elvis loved this freaky combination – creamy, natural peanut butter, salty bacon, and a sweet ripe banana. It’s “Heartbreak Hotel” for me until my next visit. Thumbs up, way up!

S’Mores is Belgian chocolate, graham cracker & toasted marshmallow. The flavor has improved since my visit to Chino Hills. Still needs more graham cracker flavor, but marshmallow and chocolate is another one of my favorite combinations. It was gooey, sweet, and decadent! Thumbs up!

Smoked Salmon Lox & Dill Cream Cheese is Michele Cordon Bleu Cold Smoked Salmon with herb cream cheese, cucumbers, and chives. A classic dish conveniently served on a waffle. The smoked salmon was fabulous – smoked just right, not too salty, yet retaining its buttery texture like sashimi. The cucumbers added a crisp, refreshing flavor. Simple yet brilliantly executed! Thumbs up, way up!

Make plans today to stop at Bruxie Irvine for lunch or dinner tomorrow! Come in and experience “The Bold Fold” yourself!

Atmosphere: 5 out of 5 stars

Décor: 5 out of 5 stars