Dessert First: Honey Brick Toast at Tokyo Table , Irvine CA

Not wanting to go home after dinner, my friends and I decided to hang out at Tokyo Table for drinks and dessert and I’m so glad we did.  We ended up ordering Honey brick toast and as you can see, the name speaks for itself.  Literally the size of bricks, these slices are slathered with butter and toasted, and then the middle is cut out into bite size cubes.  They then drizzle honey and put two ginormous sized scoops of vanilla ice cream.  Normally $7 and big enough to share between 4-6 girls, you can add on a second sauce for another dollar.  Of course the most obvious choice is chocolate, but you can also get caramel, cinnamon or strawberry.  It’s such a simple concept, but believe me, there’s nothing more this dessert needs.  Don’t worry, I’m done talking so you can now wipe the drool off your shirt.

http://www.tokyotable.com/

Some Changes

Hello interweb friends.  In an attempt to better organize my posts, I will start to categorize select entries under the following: "Dining In" featuring meals I happen to cook at home that I really like, "Happy Hour" which is pretty self explanatory, and "Dessert First" where the main meal may be average but the dessert is worthy enough to pay special attention to.  Thanks for reading!  Will post more adventures soon.

~ C

Bruxie, Orange CA–Savory edition

 

*Updated 3/3/10*

Nestled in Orange and outside Chapman University, this place offers up gourmet waffle sandwiches that will have you saying, “Why can’t I be that smart and think of something like that?”  Their soda is even made in house using their own recipe and sugar, which actually tastes pretty great.  Though it’s literally a shack off the corner of the street, don’t let looks deceive you, this place won’t give you diarrhea.  The waffles themselves do not have much flavor but they are crispy on the outside, fluffy within, and surprisingly light.  By making the waffles this way, it adds a great texture that can’t be achieved with toasted bread, and allows the quality and flavor of the ingredients to shine through.  Bruxie waffle sandwiches are simple, yet sophisticated, but still has that home-body mom and pop shop feel.  Even better is that they keep things interesting by having changing specials and can fit particular events or holidays, such as Superbowl or Valentine’s.  And other than sandwiches that makes this place top-notch, is the fact that their associates have excellent customer service .  You can tell that they were trained well.  Oh and one more thing, try not to do too much moaning while eating, apparently people look at you funny. 

Be on the look out for Bruxie Sweet edition and entry updates. There are more sandwiches I have to try and will probably want to write about.  I think I’ll make it my goal to try the entire menu.  Keep in mind, when I first discovered this place, I was here three times in one week.

Goat Cheese, Sundried tomato and Arugula:  Served with a drizzle of balsamic reduction, the tanginess of the goat cheese is a nice compliment to the slight pepperiness of the arugula, which in turn compliments the ssweetness of the sundried tomato and balsamic sauce.  A great sandwich for the vegetarians.

Prosciutto and Gruyere:  Served with whole grain mustard and chives, I love this because you don’t see many places serving up proscuitto, let alone a fast food place. It’s simple and flavorful and you can never go wrong with salty cured meats and cheese.

Bruxie Burger: The burger is an Angus beef patty that has been cut in half in order to fit in the waffle and is served with lettuce tomato and mayo.  The meat is surprisingly moist, not dried out at all, and even though it’s a simple burger sandwich, not having it on a bun made this modern day staple into something unique.  If you want a tip for extra flavor and heat, add Siracha hot sauce they offer on the side.

Smoked salmon: Served with dill cream cheese, chives and cucumber, the salmon has great quality and with the cucumber and dill cream cheese, its actually light, refreshing and the flavors are very clean. 

Buttermilk Fried Chicken:  This is great if you’re craving chicken and waffles and but don’t feel like making the trip out to LA.  A chicken fillet breaded in an herbed batter and served with coleslaw and chili honey, this sandwich is great for that salty-sweet combo.  Once again, the meat is done well, the moisture and flavor stay in and the breading has that perfect golden brown color, and crunch.

Braised Beef: One of the changing specials so get it when you can!  The sandwich is cooked with onions and contains blue cheese and horseradish and served with a side of gravy.  The beef is so tender and the horseradish is does not overpower the compliment of everything.  Also, do yourself a favor and don’t overlook the gravy; its what makes this sandwich from great, to awesome.

Rating: 5/5 Fingers

Budget: $ – $$, nothing is more than $8 but if you’re like me, you’ll keep going back.

Tips:  There are no bathrooms, so unload and wash your hands before you get there.

Be aware, parking  can be a challenge so try to carpool if you can, and learn how to parallel without pissing people off.

Eat there and don’t take it to go.  The waffles will get a little soggy packaged up in a car ride home.  And though I’ve heard they’re still good, it’s not the same.

Not that I’m saying it’s a bad thing, but if you go here on a completely empty stomach, you will keep going back to the window until someone has to force you to stop ordering food.  And then you’ll be pissed at your friend for making you stop and it just makes for an uncomfortable car ride home.

Dining In: 40 Clove Garlic Chicken

Whole Chicken cut into 8 pieces (you can buy pre-cut and packaged)
Seasoned salt
Pepper
1 & 1/2 Tablespoons dried thyme
2-3 bulbs of peeled garlic cloves (depending on how big and how tired you get) Feel free to actually count out 40 cloves if you want to get anal about it.
Olive oil

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.  Season chicken generously with seasoned salt and pepper.  Sear chicken on both sides on high heat on the stove top in an oven safe skillet with olive oil until golden brown.

Take skillet off heat.  Add an additional 1/3 cup olive oil, garlic cloves to skillet and sprinkle thyme over the chicken.  Cover the chicken with foil and slit a hole for it to vent. Then allow to bake in the oven until chicken reaches an internal temp of 165-170, about an hour. 
The olive oil combined with the drippings makes a great au jus. 

Goes great with garlic sautéed spinach, garlic mashed potatoes and dinner rolls for a special stinky night.

Tips:
Just so you know, for the most part, when it comes to meat and an oven, I don’t really rely on timers anymore.  Get a meat thermometer, it’ll be your best friend if you don’t have one already. Timers can’t really tell you when meat is done or over cooked. Thermometers can




Lightly smash garlic cloves with the flat end of a knife, it makes peeling easier.

Take some of the roasted garlic and au jus and blend it into your mashed potatoes.

Remember to come up for air while eating.

At Last Café–Long Beach, CA

I knew about this place from my friend Nicole who saw this on Food Network’s Diners Drive-ins and Dives.  The best way to describe this place is gourmet comfort food; food that is definitely familiar, but it feels like you’re eating at a fancy restaurant despite being a jeans and t-shirt kind of place.  The best part is that not only is the food fantastic, but everything is reasonably priced at about $10 per entrée and portions big enough to make two meals.  However, that most likely won’t happen because you’ll want to eat everything off your plate.  Lastly, you should know that three of the four dishes featured come with a gravy made from chicken bones, stock and tomatoes which sounds weird but trust me, it’s a part of what makes them famous.  It reminds me of a brown gravy but slightly thinner in consistency and goes with everything.  Everything I tried was so good, that it’ll make even  your burps taste good.

Stuffed Pork Chop: The chop is the most moist I’ve ever tasted, which is such an accomplishment considering pork can be dried up easily.  The stuffing is a cranberry apple stuffing that reminds me of Thanksgiving even though it’s pork and not turkey.  If Thanksgiving were revamped to serve this pork chop with this stuffing, it will change the course of Thanksgiving.

Meatloaf:  The meat has herbs and onions and stays clear away from the ketchup taste that traditional meat loaf made of.  Now I’m not sure if this actually has ketchup, it’s refreshing to bite into meat loaf that doesn’t have any hint of that ketchup flavor.  I think it has to due with the gravy.  As an added bonus, the loaf is put together and cooked so well that when you break off a piece, the meat doesn’t crumble.

Brick Chicken: Consists of a roasted half chicken, that’s right, half of a whole chicken.  Again, the meat is perfectly seasoned and moist with the skin having the perfect amount of crispness to it.  Plus look at the size of this thing, its bigger than a brick.  I honestly don’t know how this place makes any money.  There’s that gravy again.

Macaroni and cheese:  This mac and cheese is for adults, consisting of cheddar, Monterey Jack, Gouda and parmesan cheese, topped with ham and bread crumbs.  A mac and cheese that has been kicked up so much, you’ll never go back to blue boxes again, only for your kids.  I love how the cheeses compliment each other but it’s also nice that the gouda shines through.  More and more, gouda is becoming one of my favorite cheeses.  You would think that with the cheese and ham the dish becomes overly salty, but that is not the case at all. 

Rating: 5/5 Knives

Pricing: $ – It is about $10 per entree , give or take, but considering the generous portions, I’m going to rate it lower.

Make reservations!  The restaurant is cute and cozy but that doesn’t mean it isn’t packed.

Great find Nicole and Kevin, or is it Kevin and Nicole

http://www.jmchefcatering.com/