Jeff "Coach" C.'s Profile

We had the opportunity to eat in the private dining room which is downstairs in the cellar.  Ed and Gabbi did a fantastic job of decorating the space and it is perfect for a group of 10 to have a wonderful experience.  Gabbi prepared appetizers and a four course meal, roughly based on some of her standard menu items, but stepped up the plating a presentation to turn really good food into a fantastic experience.  The pace was relaxing, the matched wines and tequila were spot on, and the service was spectacular.  This was Gabbi's at its best.

Everyone should try to experience Gabbi's.

As you can tell by the number of check ins, I have become a fan of this place.  Great cheap, Mexican street food.  But one thing you must order is the Tacos Ahogadas. Three crispy pork and potato tacos drowned in a spicy sauce.  Enjoy with a Bohemia and you are in for a treat.

I complained to many people that the local farmer's markets in the OC are too small and at such odd times that it was not worth the time out of a work day to visit.  That all changed when an internet friend (from San Francisco) encouraged me to visit the Saturday Market in Irvine.

My produce buying world has changed for ever.  For over a year and a half, my wife and I religiously visit the market each Saturday.  On the weekends we cannot make it, we have found ways to have other family members or friends visit so during the week we have fresh vegetables and fruits.

Start at Tilden farms and talk to Jimmy.  Not only will you get great citrus and avocados, but a great education on when his products are good or great.  Then visit Gama Farms and grab some of the best eggs in the county.  They also sell root crops and I always get my onions and potatoes there.  In the mood for sweet potatoes.  Grab them here.  At Thanksgiving time, they fly off the shelf.  Need some lettuce?  Go see John at the far Southwest corner and say hi and pick up all sorts of varieties grown in all places Bell Gardens.  Also, just up the isle from Tilden Farms is the best berry stand.  Blueberries, strawberries, rasberries and blackberries all grown in Santa Maria.  Do this stand a favor and bring back your baskets and you get extra berries.

These are just a few of the highlights.  Do yourself a favor and visit one Saturday morning and not only will you enjoy the experience, but you will be eating healthier during the week.

The difference between the produce here and store bought produce (including Sprouts, Mother's and other stores) is the produce local (as opposed to grown in Mexico, Chile or Israel) and is fresh and will last longer, and the farmers are growing varieties that are bred for flavor and not for shipping or looking good in the large stacks of produce at your grocery store.  

Go to this market as often as you can, and enjoy enjoy enjoy.

Thanks @summertomato for the tip!

We just revisited last weekend and again had a wonderful time with a bottle of wine, a nice selection of cheese and a corner table that allows for great place to watch the people at the hotel.  What a great way to spend an afternoon.

Francoli's is a transplanted restaurant and gift shop from Fashion Island in Newport Beach.  We visited on a very busy  Friday night and waited for about 30 minutes.  It was clear while we waited that many of their Newport Beach following was driving north to experience the new Fancoli's location.  

While I found the food good, not top notch, the service and location are both outstanding.  Watching the manager balance the people waiting for a table in the small restaurant without writing anything down was amazing.  We got a small table on the patio, a perfect place to watch the people come and go.  I tried the penne with the bolognese sauce, while my wife had the steak.  While both dinners were good, I have had better for similar prices. The berry dessert was however, very tasty.

What made the evening was the wine, the service and the fun of people watching.  Next time it will be an appetizer and dessert meal with wine and just enjoy the ambiance.

Taking the recommendation from an old friend and the opportunity for celebrating a good friendship, we had dinner here on a Saturday evening.  We showed up early for our 8:30 reservation and we seated slightly before our slotted time.  We thoroughly enjoyed our booth on the outside patio on a great summer evening.

They offered a pre-fix menu which based on other reviews, all four of us were ready to order, but we asked our waiter to point out some of the highlights on the menu.  We quickly changed our minds so all of us could order different items and share tastes.  We started with a charcuterie sample and enjoyed every morsel.  I followed that with a warm salted octopus salad.  The salad was almost a meal by itself as I gobbled everything up.  My main course was a well prepared braised short rib elegantly served directly to my plate from a Staub cocotte.  Covered in a rich wine based gravy with mushrooms, carrots and cipollini onions.  The potion, like the octopus salad was large and delicious.

My dinner partners all ordered different salads and entrees.  The salads included an heirloom tomato (think caprese salad), a beet salad and a roasted tomato soup.  The soup was a great tomato soup, but they should drop the roasted label, as it lacked roasted flavor but it was still outstanding.  Entrees included branzino, lamb and a pork shank.  All were delicious, but even more to my liking, they were impressively plated and presented to the table.  Each plate seemed to be designed for the entree.  Oblong for the fish, large (I mean large) for the lamb, a bowl for my short ribs and different shaped Staub pot for the shank.  

So needless to say, we had a great evening.  Great food, wonderful atmosphere and service was timely, friendly and appropriate.  My only regret is that we were full and did not get the opportunity try the desserts.

Visiting my son in college, we booked a reservation here based on reviews and a quick look at their menu which claims to support local sustainable farmers and ranchers.  Based on our selections from the menu, I am pretty sure they are telling the truth as most everything was seasonal and full of flavor and lacked any of the taste of frozen or preserved food.

My son and I enjoyed an English pea and mint soup while my wife had a luscious strawberry and arugula salad.  For our main courses, my wife had their wood fired steelhead trout, while I had their bacon wrapped pork tenderloin and my son had their Saturday Night special, prime rib.  the tenderloin, which can lack flavor, was full of pork flavor from the wrapped bacon and the wood oven.  My son's prime rib was outstanding.  A big thick cut, properly cooked to a medium rare.  The steelhead, which reminds me more of a salmon, was light, but tasty.  All the dishes were accompanied by seasonal veggies.

A nice touch were their mini desserts. You can buy one, or get three for a deal.  I enjoyed a mini chocolate cream tart, and my wife got some cookies.  It was nice to end a full flavorful meal with a sweet taste that was small enough not to put you over the top on the fullness scale.

All in all a nice place for a fresh and well prepared dinner.  Service was excellent and we enjoyed walking the busy neighborhood after the satisfying meal.  Its hard to compete with restaurants in the city, but if you are wandering the streets of Walnut Creek, give Lark Creek a try.

After a positive review in the OC register, we made Friday night reservations on a whim.  As usual, we brought our own wine and their $15 corkage was reasonable.  Their wine list was extensive, and well displayed on their 'wine wall' and they also had a nice selection by the glass and half carafe.

Even though it was no longer restaurant week, they continued their prefix menu offering a three course menu for either $30 or $40.  Three in our party went for the prefix, while another went off the main menu. For the first course, the mixed green salad and roasted beet salad (this was a large salad) were wonderful and tasty, but the bruschetta was bland.  For the main course the flat iron steak, fettuccine with vodka sauce and chicken pot pie were divine, while the beef stronganoff was well made, but again bland.  I enjoyed the chicken pot pie.  Firm vegetables with roasted chicken in a bowl lightly coated with a nice sauce covered in a puff pastry.  This wasn't an american pie version with the veggies and chicken swimming in a bechamel sauce.  It was really tasty.  My only complaint would be the puff pastry was slightly gooey. Finally for dessert, the cheesecake was a nice way to end the meal, but the key lime pie, while nice, lacked the acidity and tartness you expect in a key lime pie.

Service was nice, attentive and allowed us to take our time to enjoy our evening.  The decor was a pleasant surprise. A modern take on art deco.  They spent some money on the inside as we found it soothing with just enough noise to keep the place exciting.

I guess the only disappointment was my friend was the one who, by chance, ordered the three bland dishes.  The rest of us in our party really enjoyed our meals.  Even my friend is willing to return because the rest of us enjoyed our experience.  This may get a higher rating on a return visit.  I think the next time I will try some of the more simple dishes.

After seeing the write up in the OC Register, my wife and friends decided to spend a pre Valentine's Day meal at the relatively new restaurant.  Billed as a lower cost steak house and wine bar or "low cost luxury", the place has a nice casual feel and offers a minimal choice menu, but I'll bet that most anyone in your party can find something they like.  Our party stuck with the classics; prime rib or steaks while I had the roasted chicken.  Our waiter warned me that the chicken is individually roasted and it would take 20 minutes.  He did not lie, but we didn't care either.  The entrees were nice and tasty, no wow factor, but nothing to disappoint.  The fondue appetizer was a fun way to start the evening and the jelly doughnuts were a unique dessert.

The wine list offers tastes, glasses, and full bottles.  They also offer various flights for a reasonable price.  We ended up buying a bottle off the list from a winery we are extremely familiar.  Corkage is $15 which is reasonable.

Not somewhere that will draw me back regularly, but its a nice alternative to the other restaurants in the complex.  Now before or after a movie, we now have a quality alternative so we can match our taste buds to the style of food served.

On a weekend visit up north, my wife and I met my niece and her boyfriend here for some family bonding after a busy volunteer day.  Looking for some Spanish style food, this was the recommended spot even though none of us had been here.  Tapas style with bar seating and one large communal table.  Very cozy and fun.  Even though it was small, we didn't feel rushed.  Although I am not sure how authentic the food was, it was still tasty.  The ones I enjoyed include the quail with Moorish spices, Catalan sausage, sardines and the brussel sprouts.  I would have liked a little more olive action, but maybe next time.

What was surprising was the limited but very reasonably priced wine list.  Good Spanish red and whites, which go well with Spanish food,  for only a few dollars more than retail.

I think the coziness and atmosphere make the place a fun place to nibble, drink and chat.  There are so many good restaurants in the city that it makes it hard to choose one when you are coming from out of town.  If you are in the mood for some decent food and great conversation, try this place out with your friends.