i came here with a large group of friends not realizing it was vegan but that didn’t change my excitement about trying this macrobiotic, natural, organic, japanese restaurant (on the top floor of the galleria mall). the interior is casual, but classy and the staff are professional and pleasant. the menu is quite varied and extensive, offering a slew of noodles, seitan, and tempeh dishes. its colorful, picture-heavy menu also helps make choosing a dish a bit easier. the dishes are artfully presented, and of hefty serving size surprisingly. not being a big fan of seitan or tempeh, i opted for a bowl of noodles instead. overall, many of the dishes we ordered were light and tasty and i couldn’t help but feel incredibly healthy after my meal, but i don’t know if i’d ever come back…unless i was eating with a vegan friend (i give it 4 stars because i left feeling like they do vegan well, even though i probably won’t eat here again).

granted i’ve only eaten here once, it wasn’t altogether half bad and i’d probably give it another try. most of the reviews i’d read about it were fairly positive, so i ordered takeout. they told me to pick up in 15 minutes, but i arrived about 45 minutes later — and well… they hadn’t packed the food (maybe not even prepared it?) so i waited another 15 minutes while i paid and waited for that. didn’t enjoy that part, but i guess my food was piping hot when i left.

the interior is fairly casual, very much a mom ’n pop type shop with booths along the side and tables in the middle.

if you’re looking for a casual morning breakfast, felix is a nice place to consider. it’s right in the heart of old town orange (IN the orange circle). they have a sprawling open sidewalk patio where you can enjoy the orange county weather and cuban flare dishes for a very modest price.

i’ve walked down san vicente many times on my way to the Farmers Market, but never took note of this unassuming restaurant.

it’s a small, charming restaurant offering a cozy casual elegant dining experience. you’ll find chic italian food momentos everywhere you look, from the italian pasta boxes lining the shelves to the large vino bottles adorning the counters, and the modest bakery-style window display enticing you with sweet italian desserts. pizzicotto feels about as homey italian as you can get, almost akin to a trattoria but a touch upscale. the dim lighting also helps.

the relaxed ambiance combined with the authentic, myriad dish options and friendly, professional service make pizzicotto a definite italian gem.

i’ve been to sor tino down the street, and i prefer pizzicotto. the dishes are tastier, the service is friendlier, and the ambiance is more warming.

dish prices run the gamut, average being about $15.

will definitely be returning again.

i’ve been to houston’s in multiple cities now (by random circumstances than choice really), and haven’t been too impressed or too disappointed so far.

houston’s is a chain i always lumped into the ‘steakhouse’ category, but based on my last visit, i’m rethinking that as the menu doesn’t focus on steaks per say, but offers a wide variety of dishes (i.e. burgers, salads, fish…and SUSHI), but maybe just pertains to this location. several tables around us had the burgers, which looked big & juicy…i couldn’t justify a $16 burger though.

came here on a friday night for dinner, and it was booming. luckily i had called the day before and made reservations. still ended up waiting 20 minutes, but better than the 30-45 min wait people without reservations seemed to be offered. service was friendly, and ambiance is somewhere between casual and upscale, you could certainly get by with casual attire.

food was good, but nothing spectacular. albeit, i didn’t enjoy my seared tuna (too much searing) as much i hoped i would, i’ve had some excellent fish and ribs at other houston locations so…maybe just a fluke.

dropped a pretty penny here, but was at the generosity of some friends… i’d probably only come back if i were so lucky again.

we’d heard good things about giovanni’s from a number of our friends, so we put it on our “to visit” list when we went to oahu last year.

along a stretch of the north shore, there are shrimp trucks scattered along the road and giovanni’s happens to be one of them.

you get a plate of seasoned shrimp with 2 scoops of rice (check out our pictures!), and albeit it’s a bit pricey for what you get, i still found it enjoyable and tasty. i wouldn’t drive out of my way just to visit giovanni’s, but it’s a delicious stop along the north shore while looking for big surf.

i’ve tried my fair share of dim sum restaurants over the years, and NBC is by far one of the best. somehow, consistently fresh, tasty, and offering a wide variety of dishes. you get the true dim sum experience with the carts. its best to go in large groups so that you can try a whole lot of everything.

the place is remodeling now, expanding its already huge multi-room location so parking can be a bit of a pain. despite its expansive size, there always manages to be a long wait on the weekends.

it seems that whenever i try a dim sum place, i inevitably compare it to NBC and nothing ever manages to come close.

i’ve eaten at ocean…i thought NBC was better.

i suppose the night just didn’t start off well seeing as how we dropped $70 at the bar for 4 drinks, then ended up waiting 20 minutes for a table even though we had made reservations several days in advance.

as for the food, it was actually pretty good but at a price which didn’t feel worth it. about 1/3 of the menu is $13-$20 gourmet pizza, another 1/3 $30-40 entrees, and the last 1/3 your appetizers/salads/etc.

we stuck with the pizzas which were “gourmet,” in the sense that the toppings tend to be high-end, not-your-typical pizza ingredients (as well as sparser) such as prosciutto or eggplant mixed with the likes of rosemary or arugula. i thoroughly enjoyed my pizza, but i’d say (as uncouth as it sounds) that i’d probably enjoy my CPK wild mushroom pizza equally if not more.

our server, granted she was trying, seemed to be new to the business and not up to the level of professionalism that we thought to be at par given the prices/ambiance.

ambiance is loud, trendy, and an odd contrast of chic, but not. the open kitchen cooks look like they could work at in ‘n out, and the servers dress like they’re in a diner.

overall, the food is good so i wouldn’t mind coming back ( just as long as i wasn’t paying.)

we arrived on a late night flight into honolulu and not being too familiar with the area, asked around what would be open near our hotel. we were starving and wailana coffee house was just a 5 min walk away.

when i first stepped inside, i felt like i was 10 years old again…visiting hawaii for the first time back in the late 1980s, what with all the wood panelling and gold trim, the once cushy now worn down booths, and the colorful faded flower print carpeting everywhere. it was actually a little nostalgic. like any other diner though, the saturation of grease in the air was at maximum potential and we were eager to scarf down some good hawaiian diner chow.

the menu is what you might expect from a diner kind of place (extensive variety) with affordable prices and the service to match (less than friendly let’s say). the food is mediocre at best, and i’d almost say you might enjoy a meal at IHOP’s or Denny’s more, but where else can you order a side of Spam or Hawaiian fast food staple like the loco moco at 3am in the morning?

i’ve only been here once (for dinner), but the experience was so unforgettable i had to write about it.

i came here for a friend’s birthday party on a friday night, and i could not get over how unbelievably crowded it was. the place was packed to the brim with tons of 20s-30s something young professionals, all very much dressed to impress, and many with their BYOB action in full gear. there was loud music blasting in the background, and i almost felt like i was in a club at some points. large groups appeared to be the trend here and the restaurant seemed more than willing to squish multiple large groups into its rather modest, oblong shaped locale.

as for the food, i had read mostly positive reviews about its great, decently-priced sushi, but i wasn’t all too impressed and felt it catered more to the americanized palate with all its heavy creams and sauces. but i’m just a first time visitor so i’m still open to trying butterfly sushi again…just won’t be rushing out the door anytime soon.