This is Summer... at Orange County

It was the Valentine's Day weekend; It was the Chinese New Year weekend. It was the beginning-of-my-intense-business-trip weekend.
And the weather? 70- 80 deg F, with the lows at 60s. Wow, and you call that winter? Well, it was unusually warm, hot almost. Southern California just had their rain storm, and to continue the drought, more sunny hot days. It was just in time for me: going from the 20-30 deg F in Minnesota to the 60-80 deg F in Southern California. Nice!


Solana Beach: the waves, the sun, the sand, the perfection.

A small town, a small beach town. I really doubt people who live there can be productive in any sort. How can they live in a town like that, with waves like that, and with weather like that, and still be able to think anything else? Sometimes I'm glad I'm not living in Southern California.... maybe I get more of a brain work-out this way ?

Laguna Beach: The Hills, Laguna Beach, The O.C., and all the other TV shows that feature the beach. It is beautiful.

La Brisas: right off the cliff on the Laguna Beach. Comtemporary Mexican restaurant. It has a fancy location, but a very reasonable price. Definitely a fantastic date spot, if you don't mind the other population dining around you. Comtemporary Mexican Seafood, so please, don't order thr burriots here. Oh wait, do they even have that on the menu?

Mariscos en Banderilla
Prawns, lobster, swordfish and vegetables grilled on a skewer over wild rice with caper-butter sauce

Pasta de Mariscos
Prawns, large sea scallops, crab, green mussels and salmon sautéed and tossed with spicy tomato sauce, angel hair pasta and vegetables.

Playa del Sole
Filet of sole, layered, topped with king crab meat, spinach and avocado slices. Served with a roasted capers-lemon butter sauce, vegetables and Mexican-style rice
I don't know about you, but avocado and sole fish? That has to be the best combo! Mexican rice is done to perfection. Tender and flavorful rice. Very elegantly done sauce, creamy but not fatty.

Berry Tostada

Fresh berries in an almond Florentine shell with vanilla ice cream and fruit liqueur.
Oh my god, may I just say, This is outstanding!!! A roated almond sweet and cruchy shell filled with ice cream and fresh berries. This is really impeccable.

Crème Brûlée

Topped with caramelized sugar and served with mixed berries.

And how can you miss this classic dessert? A little bit on the sweet side though.

And how can you go to the OC without Asian food? Don't forget, I totally blogged about it already.

Tom Yum Gon Noodle Soup: Yum. Period. And yea, take it with shrimps, no chicken please.

 



I can start now!