Shibucho Omakase

From downtown Los Angeles to Little Toyko and now Costa Mesa, here are some samplings from Orange County's own father-son duo reminiscent of "Jiro Dreams of Sushi" (sans the 30,000 yen per person price tag).

Sushi Shibucho in Costa Mesa has an old school feel not appealing to all. Perhaps a quick search on sushi dining etiquette would be helpful.  

Medium toro and toro (fatty tuna)

Aoyagi (clam)

Sawara (Spanish mackerel) We died it was so good...

Sawagani (snow crab)

Anago (salt water eel) two ways - eel sauce (left) and with salt & pepper

Kampachi (Type of yellowtail)

Uni (sea urchin) Tasted like fresh ocean...

Dried fish egg with thinly sliced fresh radish, eaten together....AMAZING!

Albacore with grated radish and onion in soy sauce. 

Ebi (shrimp)

Pickled squid, seaweed and herring roe. Fresh, crunchy and melted in your mouth...

Clam

A fat piece of tamago (egg omelet) The best we've ever had!

We ate all this, and some, for about $50 per person for dinner. 

*Editor's Note: Update: 5/23/11 Went to lunch today and found out the head chef retired yesterday. So sad! Still, the sushi was just as delicious and bomb-ass as ever. Updates to come...

Sushi Shibucho

590 W. 19th St. 

Costa Mesa, CA 92627

Jiro Dreams Of Sushi - Official Trailer [HD]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hbV6knbeUFE

Link: MOVIE TIMES

Playing at:

Edwards University Town Center 6
4245 Campus Drive, Irvine, CA

Regency Rancho Niguel 8
25471 Rancho Niguel Road, Laguna Niguel, CA

Why food trucks are here to stay

Why food trucks are here to stay...

Inspired, ingredient-driven, passionate chefs cooking the food they want, how they want...isn't that what we all ultimately...want?

Chef Carlos Delgado of Taco Maria is probably one of the most humble and self-effacing chefs we've ever met.













Taste his food and you would never guess.



His mole taco, inspired by his grandmother, is reconstructed, modern and both flavorful and homey.

Seriously, it's so much more than a trendy fusion taco. It's a modernized taco, the way...it should be? In short, his food is amazing.

Chef Joe Youkhan of Tasting Spoon at first glance is a bad-ass, fearless, maybe rough around the edges.

Youkhan is classically trained, fancy even and passionate about the food he creates for us ordinary people.










He's business-minded and food-savvy.


Youkhan is ride or die, literally. 

Forget the trend, here's to inspiration and real chefs taking food trucks seriously. 

Cheers. 

Wine, cheese and lip stains.

It was a Sunday afternoon and it had been a while since the 555 girls had gotten together for a hang. 

One of the ladies had done some marketing for the Montage in Laguna Beach and recommended its weekly "Artistry of Wine" series. 

Here's what we found. 

Four tastings of pinot noir ranging from the old school to the new school, France and Oregon, Calif., respectively. 

Our newest obsession: kale. When we saw chips on the menu, it was a no-brainer. 

Fries three-ways with house-made sauces. It didn't go with the wine at all but who cares, we had left the boyfriends and hubbies at home. 

If you loved wine and cheese before, Artistry of Wine will make you obsessed. We think you're referred to as the maitre fromager affineur? Either way, we'll just call you the amazing cheese guy who knows his stuff, literally down to the enzymes. Thanks for showing us that wine art definitely involves the perfect cheese pairing. 

OK so maybe this has nothing to do with food or drink, but it made for a serious 15-minute table discussion. 

The view. 

The Artistry of Wine is part of The Loft Bistro's education wine series at the Montage in Laguna Beach. 

Available most Sundays from 2 to 4 p.m. except some holidays for $35 per person. 

Playground is anything but safe

$5 draft beers at the Playground. 

They call it new American small plates, ingredient and technique driven, and they’re doing it at the Playground - the newest addition to Santa Ana Art District’s increasingly hip food scene.  

The food is good. It’s different. It’s inspired. 

The burger and large plates are impressive but what really shined for us were the craft beers and vegetable small plates. 

According to the restaurant’s staff the menu changes weekly and evolves daily but here is a glimpse of what we found during the last couple of weeks at the Playground. 

Little Pork Belly Salad

Small bits of juicy, grilled pork belly in a salad of fresh arugula tossed in
a light jalapeno crema and traces of sliced red fresno pepper. 

If it’s possible for a dish to taste light and hearty at the same time, this is it. 

The salad is dressed perfectly with a little heat and well balanced. The pork belly was...well...pork belly. It was freakin’ delicious. 

Easter Egg Radish

According to Executive Chef Jason Quinn, this dish is
prepared using a simple French technique and comprised
of only fresh radish, toasted bread, and homemade butter. 

The radish was part of a fresh shipment the restaurant had just received from County Line Harvest, a local certified organic farm in California. 

We smeared some of that homemade salty butter on the radish and ate it with a bite of perfectly toasted buttery bread and we thought we’d died and gone to radish heaven. 

Radish??? We know... but it truly was heaven in a bite. 

Brussels Sprouts - One way

Brussels sprouts during a lunch service. 

Grilled brussels sprouts with mustard and honey? flavors. Not sure but it was savory with a touch of sweetness and cooked until it had the perfect texture not easy to obtain when usually cooking the bitter vegetable at home. 

The Amazing Crouton

A bite of a thinly sliced, perfectly toasted, crunchy, sweet
cornbread crouton atop a simple Caesar salad. 

The salad was fresh, the dressing was spot-on with a hint of citrus, but what really blew us away - to the point it inspired a 20 minute dinner discussion - were the buttery, sweet cornbread croutons served on top of this seemingly simply Caesar salad. 

The Beer

Owner and Executive Chef Jason Quinn and most of his staff have an overwhelming knowledge of craft beers. 

If you’re not a beer guy/gal, don’t fret, neither were we - but trust us, when you go you might have a change of heart. 

Some of the ladies said they liked the TAPS Cream Ale, because it went well with the food and was easy to drink for their girly taste buds.

Look for our upcoming story on beer and craft breweries from the Playground by our newest contributor and resident beer guy, PLUS ONE, who introduced us to Firestone Parabola and the Knuckle Sandwich by Bootlegger’s Brewery - both of which were at Playground and amazing. 

It’s not always easy to find food in Orange County that’s based purely on passion and simple fresh ingredients, but the team at Playground seems to be trying to do just that.

And they’re doing it pretty damn well. 




The Playground is located at 220 E. 4th St. 

An amazing tip on how to peel a head of garlic!

A friend recently posted this video on Facebook. It's a fast and easy way to peel a head of garlic demonstrated by Saveur Magazine's Executive Food Editor Todd Coleman.

Video from YouTube: "How to peel a head of garlic in less than 10 seconds." Saveur.com

Thanksgiving leftovers? Here are some ideas.

We found some great recipes for leftovers in "A Radical Rethinking of Thanksgiving Leftovers," in NY Times Magazine, by Mark Bittman, Nov. 2011.

Check out some of the recipes from the article which include:

• Indian-spiced turkey-lentil soup. 
• Eggs baked in stuffing. 
• Mashed potato gratin with jalapenos. 
• Cranberry yogurt parfaits. 
• Cranberry and gruyere grilled cheese sandwich. 

Here's a recipe for a cranberry-infused cocktail also from the article:

Cranberry Negronis
"Mix equal parts gin, Campari, vermouth and cranberry sauce in a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake and strain. Garnish with an orange or lemon peel."


Happy Thanksgiving~! Hopefully dinner at your house wasn't anything like this....

Video from YouTube posted by Dblaness.

Thanksgiving and kimchi, it's tradition

Turkey and kimchi, a great flavor combination ;)

Do you have an atypical tradition celebrated by your family during the holidays? 

"Korean food isn't shy."

Video from YouTube uploaded by KimchiChronicles. 

The "Kimchi Chronicles" is described as "part travelogue, part food fantasy and part documentary of self-discovery." 

Each episode discovers and highlights a part of Korean cuisine that is both colorful and hunger-inducing in a way that we've never seen before, especially in a made-for-American broadcast on Korean food. 

The show stars Marja Vongerichten, who was born near Seoul to a Korean mother and an American soldier and was ultimately adopted by a family in Virginia at the age of three. 

Years later, she eventually reunited with her birth mother in Brooklyn who cooked her a traditional Korean meal and the meal, she said, flooded back memories and taste of her childhood in Korea. 

Her husband is critically acclaimed chef Jean-George Vongerichten who received the top honor of three stars from the Michelin Guide. 

Check out our review of The Patio, a Korean barbeque restaurant in Tustin that's famous for its grilled kimchi. 

For more information on the "Kimchi Chronicles," visit kimchichronicles.tv.

Shrimp tempura for dummies

This video from YouTube is a meticulous, step-by-step 

and fool-proof way to make fried ebi*. 

Editor's note: Watch for the great tips on how to 

remove shrimp poo and prevent curling. 

Video from YouTube uploaded by CookingWithDog

*Prawns.

Chiritorinabe please

Feel like eating Japanese tonight? Maybe you haven't tried this.

It's called Chiritorinabe and it's a spicy stew-like soup with vegetables and meat that's savory and delicious.

At Oki Doki in Tustin, a mini-stove is brought to the table holding a square pan filled with vegetable broth and stacked with pork, beef intestine and vegetables.

After cooking down the tall pyramid of vegetables and meat and after eating all the soup, diners add rice to make a Japanese-inspired risotto that should satisfy any comfort food enthusiast.

Cabbage, spicy kimchi, bean sprouts, pork and beef intestine waiting to be cooked down. 

Here are some basic guidelines to help you get started: 

Step 1: Mix and cook down the ingredients. Wait until done, which means the beef intestine should taste buttery and tender until it falls apart in your mouth. This takes a while so don't rush. 

We never thought we would say it, but beef intestine is really good!

Step 2: After eating plenty of the hearty stew, add rice or noodles and cook down.

This still needs about five more minutes and should resemble the consistency of risotto. 

There are a wide variety of additional toppings available to add, ranging from pork cheek, leek or enoki, but we like to keep it simple.

1. Plain soup. (We don't add anything, it's good the way it is.)
2. "Japanese risotto" rice at the end.

Favorite part of the meal: The beef intestine is so buttery, tender and flavorful and the epitome of fatty goodness.

Editor's tip: Have the waitstaff help you. Yuki, a waiter at the restaurant made us the BEST chiritorinabe. If he's around, ask for him. Tip #2: Save some intestine at the end to mix with the rice. Yummm!

Here are a few other items we also love to eat at Oki-Doki:

Kakuni: Pork belly stewed until tender topped with bok choy. 

Halibut carpaccio with sea salt, lemon juice and yuzu citrus pepper. Simple but amazing, especially the yuzu citrus pepper. We wish they would bottle it up and sell it. 

Oki Doki's homemade sesame tofu served cold or hot (pictured) agedashi style. Instead of soy beans, this dish is sesame-based and has a unique texture and nutty flavor.  

Oki Doki is located at 13681 Newport Ave. #9 in Tustin near the 5 freeway. Closed from 2:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. on weekdays.

Mama's recipe lives on

One of the girls just got back from a family trip to Maui and raved about Sansei's "Granny Smith" Apple Tart. 

The combination of the flaky crust, thinly sliced apples on top, homemade warm caramel sauce and vanilla ice cream was amazing! It's also sprinkled with cinnamon. Yummy!

Photo by Jeanie Nguyen

The dessert is baked to order and the recipe of chef/owner DK Kodama's mother,  Sandy, who passed away about two and a half years ago. 

"All the desserts come from her," said Chef Kaipo, the executive chef of Sansei at the Kapalua Resort. "Everyone called her Mom Kodama." 

The caramel sauce was one of Mom Kodama's special recipes and tasted incredible. 

Take a look at Sansei's other menu offerings here. 

Spring roll nom nom

555 Girl loves, loves, loves springs rolls and Brodard's famous grilled pork sausage spring rolls are the best, hands down. 

"Nem nuong"is served with a spicy, sweet peanut sauce. 

The grilled sausage is warm and contrasts with the fresh
cucumber, cilantro and lettuce wrapped inside the thin rice paper. 

The best part: Crispy eggroll skins gives the soft spring rolls a crunch with each bite. 

Brodard's is located at 9892 Westminster Ave. in Garden Grove. 

Editor's note: Avoid the long wait and ask to sit outside in the patio. 

Chef recommended Honda-Ya

One of our favorite restaurant groups in Southern California, Izakaya Honda-Ya has locations in Old Town Tustin, Lil' Tokyo and Fountain Valley.

In Tustin, there's always a long wait and most locals gravitate to the specialty of the house - grilled yakitori.

Without fail, we always order the beef tongue, pork belly and asparagus bacon. Crazy good.

On this day, however, 555 Girl decided to forego our regular order and only request chef-recommended menu items.


Here is what we found.

Gindara Miso: soft, tender and delicately marinated sweet miso black cod. OMG....

The dish is small, but each bite is absolute perfection. 

Cume-shiso tempura: Red snapper wrapped in shiso leaves with plum sauce inside.  This was served with a wedge of lemon and green tea salt. Green tea salt?? We were giddy.

Yam-somen: Thinly sliced fresh yam with cold fish broth. We really tried to love this dish, not just because it was so pretty to look at but because we love the chefs at Honda-Ya. For us, the dish was too slimy and had the flavors of raw and sour radish. 

Buta-kaku: "Soft pork with a small side of boil spinach." If you love and appreciate fat, this is probably one of the best ways to get it. The pork belly is so tender and the fat is perfectly marinated and full of flavor.

Ch. 1 Pt. Deux

555 Girl revisits Chapter One: the modern local in Santa Ana's Arts District this weekend. 

We first visited Chapter One in June, shortly after they officially opened and it seems like they have definitely settled in. Here are some highlights of the evening. 

The specials: non-menu items. 

Chile relleno - We almost didn't order this dish and it ended up being our favorite. It had a nice crisp on the outside and was spicy and creamy on the inside. 

Flaming Cheese - It was definitely cheesy but we were surprised to find it thick and almost chewy. Some of the girls loved it and others thought "eh." 

Menu selections:

Even though this dish wasn't a crowd favorite, one of our editors loved the Moroccan chicken sandwich. The best part she said was that it was one of the lighter options on the menu. The flavors tasted subtle and simple even though they really weren't. The sandwich is layered with Indian spices, yogurt, cranberry aioli, chipotle cumin flatbread and served with a lentil salad. 

The flavors of the beef culotte are interesting and perfect for someone in the mood to try something new. Here's how Chapter One describes the dish - "bacon-wrapped, coffee & chocolate crusted, dijon smashed potatoes chocolate soil, soy caramel, fried wontons, sesame powder." A little too much? It doesn't taste as complicated as it sounds.

Editor's note - We also ordered our favorite Portabella burger (not pictured.) See photos from our first visit to Chapter One - here. 

We were disappointed with the scallops. The lemon parsley puree and truffle oil were masked by a heavy layer of salt that made us wince with each bite. 


One of our 555 girls couldn't get enough of Chapter One and went again the next morning for its Sunday Brunch. She raved about the $5 champagne flights and the Grand Marnier french toast. We'll have an update soon.