chow or eat

Eat Chow is a small, slow, but very good American place. It opened recently in Costa Mesa. Their menu is online; I recommend the fried green tomatoes and truffle parmesan fries. My mom's cuban sandwich was excellent, along with my dad's Reuben (if there's one on the menu anywhere, he has to have it...). I had the fish tacos. They were very spicy but good; I couldn't finish the black beans that came with them. However, there were some fish pieces that were not cooked enough for my taste. Their desserts are made fresh daily and are different each day. They also have T-shirts and hoodie if you want a souvenir; and they have gift cards. You can add some things to your salad. They have soups of the day and a turkey chilli soup. My parents each enjoyed a nice beer (Peroni, Chimay). We went for a really early dinner, but even at that time they had slow service (my dad says everything came out nice and hot though). They have a different big menu for breakfast. The space is small, and connected to a clothing shop on a street corner, with more parking behind the building.

Good for Groups: No
Parking: Street, Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
Good for: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Good for Kids, Outdoor Seating, No Reservations
Delivery: No, Take-out: Yes, Waiter Service: Yes
Kid friendly☺*4
Quality ψ*4

places to go

My mom showed me an article in a newspaper that lists the 50 best foods and where to eat them. I have not been to most of those restaurants, of course, but I do know three places mentioned in this article: Chez Panisse, which this article calls the best restaurant in the world; the stands at the Ferry Plaza Farmer's Market in San Francisco; and Konnopke's, which is one of the oldest Currywurst places in Berlin.

I think they should have mentioned Din Tai Fung as well, which is the best Taiwanese dumpling restaurant in the world (we ate there in Taipei, Shanghai, and LA; and I blogged it here already). And for roast chicken, I think they should have mentioned Henne, in former East Berlin, which only offers milk-roasted chicken with salad and beer.

Of the 50 places mentioned in the newspaper, my dad is going to take me to Katz's deli in New York, and my mom wants me to try another place in New York, The Little Owl, during fall break! That way, I can soon say I have seen ten percent.

A PLANTATION OF SOUP?

Souplantation is very kid friendly for one. The first thing I should mention is that it is self serve. What's weird is that you pay before you get a meal. It has a standard price, per child, $5.00 and adult $9.00. They have homemade hot muffins and other fresh baked items like molten chocolate cake. They are good. The soup varies per day, but they usually have chili and chicken noodle. They have a stand for each thing except for the appetizers. The ice cream cones are tiny. To make up for that the big bowls are huge. Don't get any of the appetizers except for the salads. They are cold and not good. However the warm soups and bread are "delish."There are some pastas on the appetizer station, but those are cold and tasteless. The pastas on the pasta stand are much better. There is a patio. They are very bad at seating people though.

Kid friendly☺*5

quality ψ*2

Chez Panisse

This restaurant is probably my favorite one of all. When we went to berkeley we looked at the menu and we had to go. I didn't take notes but I'll tell you what I can.The atmosphere is great, waiters are friendly. Down stairs is the dining room with only the picked meal for the day. We tried to get a reservation at 5:00 but it was full already.Up stairs is the cafe with the weeks food on a menu. Here is some of our favorite fixed menus. Monday August 31 Grilled squid salad with cherry tomatos and piccolo fino basil. Spit roasted james ranch lamb shoulder stuffed with tapenade and almonds with potato tomato gratin and roasted broccoli de ciccio. King pluot tart with raspberry ice cream. Saturday September 5 local halibut tartare with cucumber relish and yellow tomatos. Egg pasta handkerchiefs with chanterelle mushrooms with basil. Grilled Paine farm squab and crepinette with shell beans, green beans and romano beans. Black mission fig puff pastry tartlet with caramel ice cream. It is expensive, but worth it. Is your mouth watering yet? Mine was!

Kid friendly☺*3
Quality ψ*5

vietnamese - Tan Hong Mai

Sorry I'm behind schedule. Tan Hong Mai has a very different menu than most places. Its sweet potatoes cooked with shrimp was amazing. It sounds odd like most things there, but it's good. If you want fast service and good food come here.Its has a very strange location. The shopping center that its in is very odd. Its size is good but has no huge tables and its atmosphere is okay. I highly recommend the rice wrappers with beef and spicy leaves since you can make your own. It's called Bo Cuon La Lot. It has very good appetizers too. Unfortunately they have no kids menus. Our favorite dishes were: Bo Cuon La Lat, Cha gio tom Cua (a crab and shrimp roll), Gio Ga Xe phai - a cabbage salad; Bahh Tom Co ngu, the sweet potato shrimp tempura, and Bo bia: summer rolls with egg sausage.it is very cheap. Nearby -- just north on the 405 at 9856 Bolsa Avenue Westminster, CA 92683 (714) 839-3788

Kid friendly☺☺☺

quality ψψψψ

crispy shrimp,beef sandwiches what else?

Chef Chen is a good Chinese restaurant  located in Irvine in a mini mall on Jeffrey and Walnut. (5408 Walnut, near the 99 Ranch). Their top dishes are the 5 spice crispy shrimp and the chinese style beef sandwiches. The braised tofu I expected to be good like the other tofu dishes I had but unfortunately it  was too bland. The restaurant in its self has a moderatly warm atmosphere although there are not many children. The bitter melon is a little bit too bitter, but the green beans and meat were delicious. The soup was that we had was a little bit bland and the wontons were nothing special. The hand made potstickers were crunchy and had pork inside. They were delicious. My parents were not satisfied but I still think its the best chinese restaurant in Irvine. Chef Chen is moderately priced!

Kid friendly☺☺☺

quality ψψψψψ

Pasadena Mexican

Dona Rosa Bakery and Taqueria in Pasadena is a good Mexican restaurant right next to car washing place and a gas station. It is on the corner of South Arroyo Parkway and East California Boulevard. The covered terrace has many pretty designs, including the tiles, picures and mosaics. The small bakery offers a ton of Mexican desserts, such as Empanadas and cuernitos. Amazingly it also has some flan! The juices are a little bit pricey but they're worth it! The beans and carnitas in my burrito are the perfect combination. My dad ordered from the special menu which had three or four things on it. His choice was called Puerco Pibil, basically slow-roasted spiced pork butt that was wrapped in banana leaves. The tacos were juicy too. My mom thought that her carnitas taco was better than her fish taco. The chips were fresh and amazingly tasty, still warm; you can help yourself to a variety of salsas.

kid friendly☺☺☺

quality ψψψψ