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My Husband & I hadn’t been to McCormick and Schmick’s in years. We were looking forward to dining on fresh fish . After some miserable appetizers we thought it would be best to cut our loses and head to another restaurant for dinner.

The coconut shrimp was sickeningly sweet. Their mango salsa was nothing more than cut up fruit and the dip was another syrupy mess. Next we ordered the crabcakes , nothing but breadcrumb It was heavy and I keep asking myself where was the crab. Overall it felt like very bad hotel food. How do they stay in business

Whenever we come to Pomodoro in Laguna Beach, whether it is on a hot summer day or a winter evening. This neighborhood Italian eatery makes us feel like it’s a special occasion for a number of reasons

The Location: Forest Ave, being on one of the major walking arteries in downtown Laguna, brings some fabulous people watching.

The Staff: We seem to always end up chit chatting with their friendly staff. Last visit the Hostess and our server were sharing some gossip about Ben Affleck & Jennifer Garner visit to their restaurant the week prior. (Jennifer was sweet and Ben, well…I can’t repeat what they said)

The Tables: The tables are so close, again we end up sharing a laugh with the people next to us. (This has happen on several occasions) Last time we were there, the table next to us gave us their uneaten dessert. Score!!

The Food: Oh did I forget to mention the food. Let just say the bread & olive oil dipping mixture is worth the trip alone. I am the queen of discipline when it comes to saying no to the bread and waiting to eat the real food. DON’T SAY NO. Eat up, the other food you can take home. The dipping olive oil mix (parsley, basil, and garlic lemon, I don’t know what else is in there, I try to analyze it’s goodness) is so divine I dare you to take just one bite.

From the outside, SASHIMI is what you would expect from any sushi house located in the strip mall. A forgettable name, a cheesy logo, and the square footage of a nail salon but on the inside, SASHIMI may be the happiest place on earth (ok ok… the 2nd happiest on earth …better?)

When you walk in, even the patrons greet you. I assume they are regulars that “get" the tongue-n-cheek approach of the overly enthusiastic greeting given by the hostess and sushi chefs. Why even the ceiling look like Space Mountain with the black paint and sparking glitter. Then there are the Polaroids, hundreds of smiling faces of past guests decorating the wall. When you start reading the captions of how many birthdays and anniversaries that are celebrated here, you have to believe this tiny place by Vons is special.

I had been here a handful of times and SASHIMI was up on my list for the freshest fish in town. I often wonder if they had a special purveyor that other sushi restaurants weren’t aware of. My favorite roll is on their Chef Specialty Menu, the Tuna Takaki. Their topping of cilantro & onion along with a side of ponzu sauce makes this roll delicately scrumptious.

When SASHIMI first opened a couple of years back, the spicy tuna rolls were more interactive as the spicy mayo concoction was left outside the roll and you had to dip each cut to your liking. Today, the common rooster sauce was mixed in with the tuna instead. Boring. I am not a fan of the Philly rolls at other sushi joints only because most of the times I detect a smoky aftertaste, but here, again I give them kudos for the clean fresh taste of their salmon.

If you come even for a to-go order they will serve you water and warm endaname. Good times …Good Times

I don’t mind vegetarians eateries, but I do get a little nervous with VEGAN places.

“WHAT I can’t put a little feta on top of my salad?”

“Huh, no butter on my bread?”

But there were three reasons I came to The Veggie Grill; 1) A Veggie Grill employee stands outside with a tray of sweet potato fries with their chipotle ranch dipping sauce (remember, no buttermilk allowed!) and their fries are quite addicting. 2) There have been several positive writes up and 3) Being “epicurious”, I had to give it a whirl.

The décor is eco-minimal with open ceilings and a utilitarian flow of operations.
There really wasn’t a spot in the restaurant where I could look confused at the menu in private. I keep rereading the menu items and descriptions like Carne Asada and Santé Fe Crispy Chickin’ and kept reminding myself there would be no ‘’carne” here

I tag teamed with my daughter as I thought I would order items where I wouldn’t miss the meat, like the soup of the day Tomato basil and the Baja Fiesta Salad and I “suggested” that she order Bayou Chickin’ Sandwich, a more experimental choice.

The staff was extra friendly. You place your order, get your own drinks, and take a seat- like The Corner Bakery or Daphne’s Greek Café. The unsweetened teas are wonderful as was the lemonade. I felt really good that they weren’t made with refined sugar. The tables are a little too small, as the plates they bring out are full size dinner plates. When we finally got to the food, the soup was good (wouldn’t have been great if it had cream … sorry, I’m not used to Vegan lifestyle.) I really loved the sesame crisps that were included with the soup. I did enjoy the salad as they served it with quinoa, a grain I rarely see in omnivore restaurants. My daughter’s Bayou Chickin’ Sandwich was actually better than both my soup and salad. Was it better than a real chicken sandwich? Maybe. It was just as tasty but lighter; I wanted more than just a couple of bites. My daughter said she felt really good after she ate it, not overly stuffed. The carrot cake was one of the best carrot cakes that I ever tasted, and I make a mean carrot cake, but again this was lighter and very moist.

I am excited to have a good vegan choice near us, as I would like to incorporate this into my restaurant rotation.

Down in Newport your choice of restaurants that you can walk in with your bikini and sandy toes are pretty wide. But the eateries are small and not very clean with one exception and that’s El Tarasco. A spacious joint , great food , icy beer , clean bathrooms and prices that don’t say , we are paying a newport beach lease.

One of my favorite restaurants is Benihana’s and I have nothing against restaurants who try to mimic their flavors. Overall Hibachi Steak House seems less formal then Benihana ( and no I do not think that Benihana’s is formal) but you can tell that this is a favorite among the locals. The Hibachi choices were a bit more diverse than Benihana’s offering salmon and calamari . The soup & salad were just as good as the original but the rice was less favorable and the hibachi was a little more greasy. I would go their again if there wasn’t a Benihanas nearby but with one just a few miles away , why go for an imitator

Cheap & fresh don’t normally go together but at Fuji Grill that’s what they are known for. Fuji Grill has become our mid week sushi fix with generous sushi bowls that are reasonably priced and very fresh.

A real neighborhood place. Cozy yet chic . There is a buzz of patron’s delight that permeates the air. The food never disappoints and the cannoli stopped me dead in my tracks ..I will stalk this cannoli sometime in the near future

Am I really giving this restaurant a good review cause I really didn’t want to. I had a very bad experience when it first opened . Two years ago when Javier’s was new at the Spectrum we were having drinks and appetizers outside and they kicked us out because we weren’t ordering enough ( seriously) We left in a huff and 20 minutes later when we walked by the outside table which we had been seated at ..it was still empty. I wrote a letter and never got a response.

Javiers ( at least at the spectrum ) is known for long waits, service that is rude and everything seems to be overpriced BUT My husband had picked the restaurant for his birthday and so I had to go.

On this trip I finally found the perfect margarita The Marcos" straight lime juice , white tequila and a splash of contreau …lovely & refreshing & worth it at $12.00 . And the Cabo Azul had three dishes all excellent . Lobster Enchilada which was creamy & moist and full of delicate flavor The Crab Chile Relleno was crispy and the best relleno I have ever had and shrimp taco had such a unique flavor. I will go back again ..darn it !!

Jimmy’s has been a Mother’s Day tradition for years and every year the interior looks older and food gets more sloppy. Looks like they refuse to put the necessary investment to keep this restaurant looking fresh and alive and happening. We are going to be starting a new Mother’s Day tradition