Lunch Out 11-19-21

For anyone who lives in the north Orange County area, here is a new place for breakfast or lunch.  It is a converted house in Fullerton right on Euclid Street with a small parking lot in back.  There is indoor or outdoor seating.  Carol is so good at finding interesting places to try and this one is a delight.  Didn't take pictures of our food; chicken salad sandwich, tomato/basil soup, and the house special broccoli salad (which comes with all the sandwiches).  The decor is eclectic and delightful, even a painting of Half Dome on the trash can housing in the parking lot and lovely images on the wall in the outdoor seating area.  This was obviously someone's home for many years before it became a restaurant and there is an enormous avocado tree on the right , behind the bougenvilla.   We lived a mile or so from here before moving to Placentia, the next town to the east, in 1986.  Of course, everything has changed since then.  Fullerton is a restaurant town now with several places to eat on almost every block.  There is even an El Pollo Loco on the other side of the driveway from the Greenhouse Cafe.   

On a side note:  I have a donated card table quilting frame for hand quilting if any of you would like it - it is free.

#   #   #

 

Ladies who lunch 10-28-21

Lunch out with friends two days in a row!!  Living large.  Yesterday I met three quilting friends in south county and enjoyed some tasty seafood.  The salad had lots of lettuce, two shrimps, one scallop, a scoop of shredded crab, a few olives, half a dozen nice little plum tomatoes, an artichoke heart, some cucumber slices, and a tureen of thousand island dressing.  It was very tasty and was enough to let me skip dinner last night.  But the bill seemed a little high.  However, I find that everywhere eating out is more expensive than ever.  I know that food service places are having a hard time due to the pandemic, but they are about pricing me out of dining out!   

Seafood Salad at Cedar Creek restaurant in San Juan Capistrano.

But the company was great and I so enjoyed catching up with quilting friends.  Traffic wasn't bad for a change and it was a thoroughly enjoyable day. 

Today I had lunch with two Placentia friends at one of our favorite places Fitness Grill on Imperial and Yorba Linda Blvd.   They have a patio and the food is always excellent.  I had the salmon burger which I didn't take a picture of because it just looks like a hamburger!  A nice fluffy assortment of lettuces are served with it and we all had their refreshing ice tea which is not sweetened, but has a lovely fruit flavor. They were not at all busy and we sat with our tea and talked for at least an hour after we finished our lunch.  It did get a little warm as the high today was 94F, but we were engrossed and enjoying our visit.  

The pandemic isn't over and I continue to take precautions and wear a mask when I am out and about.  Everyone I was with has been vaccinated and most have even had the booster.  I will get mine next week.  I put it off because some people are saying they felt lousy just as they did after their second shot.  Since I had all those after effects I wanted to not have anything on my schedule for a few days after I have the booster.  

#   #   #

Friday Food 12-06-19

Today the small (only 4 of us) art quilt group I belong to met at The Farmhouse at Roger's Gardens in Newport Beach, CA, for our Christmas lunch.   This is the third year we have met here on the first Friday of December to laugh, talk, eat, exchange gifts, stroll among the wonders for sale, and just have a good time.  

The food is delicious, the service excellent, the surroundings beautiful, and the place was packed with ladies.  Only two male guests that I could see.  

We started out with the Cauliflower steak shared between the four of us. I was so anxious to get my share I didn't take a picture - next year!   We have had this every time we eat there, it is amazing.  

One of us ordered:

Grilled Asian Beef Short Ribs

butter lettuce, green papaya salad, sweet & spicy dipping sauce
(Notice the yoyo garland necklace purchased at SQG November Fest.  Meant to go on a tree it looked great around her neck.  I made it.) 

I ordered:

RG Burger

pancetta, cheddar cheese, butter lettuce, red onion, tomato, brioche bun, house made pickles, house made fries 

(And I brought half of the burger and half of the fries home for dinner)

The other two ladies ordered the special of the day:  

And I didn't write down what was included, thinking I could get it off the menu online, but the specials are not listed there.  I think the fish on the top might be Icelandic cod, but I will have to ask one of the ladies about that.  It is served on a bed of veggies and......

Only two of us saved room for dessert, there are always exciting offerings.  I ordered:

Lemon Mascarpone Cheesecake 
graham cracker crust, berry coulis

The other lady ordered:

Flourless Chocolate Cake 
fresh berries, sweet cream, red wine berry sauce

A lovely day, despite the rain and the terrible traffic - it took me almost twice as long to get home at 2;30 -3:30 then it did to drive down there in the morning. 

#   #   #

Friday Food 11-29-19

With Thanksgiving it has been a food week, hasn't it?  But before the big eating day my friend Liz went with KoKo and me to Tehachapi, just a day trip to deliver some things to a friend.  We enjoyed our day with beautiful clear weather, a stop at Five Stars Quilt Shop, and lunch at the Kohnen's Country Bakery, which is almost across Tehachapi Street from the quilt shop.   The location was once a restaurant with apple in the name and we had enjoyed a lunch there previously. 

We looked at the menu and thought the Poor Boy for two sounded interesting so we ordered it.  However we just read "Sheepherder's" and miss the word "loaf".  I stood in line and placed the order and then returned to our table waiting for my name to be called.  When they announced my name Liz went in to pick up the sandwich.  She came back with a large plate with another plate upturned over the contents. 

It was, indeed, a Sheepherder's LOAF.  For size, compare the sandwich to the individual size bag of potato chips.  We found it so funny we laughed a lot before tackling the thing.

Which was stuffed with everything they promised.

Impossible to get our mouths around it so we each divided one quarter of the loaf into two stacks of bread on the bottom and whatever we could pile on time to take a bite.  And, of course we each took a quarter of the sandwich home.  I finished mine up today and it tasted wonderful.  

I must admit we also split a lemon bar, which was unlike any I have eaten before.  It has a thick shortbread bottom, a layer of lemon curd and a crumb topping.  Different, but tasty. 

I think I will save pictures of my two Thanksgiving plates for latter when we aren't all satiated with turkey and trimmings. 

Hope you all had the Thanksgiving Day you wished for. 

#   #   #

Drive to Oceanside, CA today 07-02-19

On the inland side of I-5 near Camp Pendleton.

There it is again, the Pacific Ocean with some fog out in the distance.  

And between I-5 and the ocean are lots of wild plants looking much better than they have in years due to the copious rain we had this past year.  

It was an easy drive down to Oceanside to have lunch with a friend who drove up from San Diego.  But a long slog back in heavy traffic.  Oh, well.  The visit and the lunch were worth the drive and the traffic. 

#   #   #

Hilbert Museum of California Art in Orange 05-11-18

Blogger wouldn't post this last evening, so I am trying again.  Del

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Today I met two friends in Orange and had a lovely brunch and a visit to a museum I had never heard of .  And it is very near where my doctor's office is, so I should have been aware.  My two friends and I met at The Filling Station a restaurant that is just off the circle of old town Orange.  It was at one time a real filling station, but has been a restaurant for quite a few years.  The extensive patio is where the pumps used to be and there is also dining inside the old building.  They have delicious Mexican food and serve both breakfast and lunch.  It is very popular, but we didn't have to wait very long for a table.  The Huevos Rancheros were scrumptious and went well with hot lattes. 

Then we found our way to the museum which is just a few blocks away and across the street from the Orange Train Station (which also houses a Ruby's restaurant).  The Hilbert Museum of California Art is part of Chapman College and, although not large, is spacious and well lit.  The Hilberts are a couple who support Chapman and have collected California paintings (oil, watercolor, pencil, ink, pastel, etc.) for quite a few years.  They donated at least part of their collection along with the building to Chapman a couple years ago.

Currently there are about six small exhibits: Westways (Automobile Club of SCalifornia) Cover art from the 20's and 30's, Magical Visions from Eyvind Earle who worked for Disney for many years and continued his own art at the same time,  pen/pencil drawings of the original Star Wars trilogy by Robert Bailey, selections from the permanent collection, and paintings donated by collectors Jim and Lynne Doti depicting California scenes.  It is a lovely variety of works and there is, I think, something that anyone could enjoy.    

I didn't record the artist on this one, but it is a charming depiction in oil of Angel's Flight in downtown LA.  

These fantastical horses are part of the "Magical Visions" of Eyvind Earle.

There were artist's names I recognized and a number of paintings that I have seen in print, along with a few actual magazine showing how the works appeared in print.  

It was a very pleasant day and I felt I had learned something from the signage and labels in the museum.  I know I will go back again and probably take a friend.. or two. 

#   #   #

Ladies lunching out 08-23-17

My friend Carol has been talking about this restaurant since she went with friends a month or so ago.  So we matched up dates with our friend Teresa and gave it a try yesterday.  It is Farmhouse at Roger's Gardens in Corona del Mar.  I used to shop for plants at Roger's Gardens, an upscale nursery with fabulous plants and imaginative hanging baskets and multi-plant pots.  They also have patio furniture, a top rated gift shop, and just about anything a gardener would be seeking.  It isn't for penny-pinchers as it is located in the very elite area of Corona del Mar, almost adjacent to the VERY upscale Fashion Island.  Years ago, when I lived in Huntington Beach I did a lot of gardening and would frequent Rogers for unusual plants and unique planting ideas.  I will post some pictures later that I took yesterday of the flowers on display.

 

I thought I had taken pictures of our lunch plates but all I took was dessert.  Of course!  I had wonderful Icelandic cod with baby broccoli and farro and a lovely mild sauce.  Carol had the Grilled Hanger Steak with Heirloom Tomato Salad, and Teresa had a Gorgonzola & Granny Smith Apple & Chicken  Salad (w/candied pecans, dried cranberries, mixed lettuce and raspberry vinaigrette). Everything was delicious and beautifully presented.  Of course, we couldn't resist dessert. 

 

Flourless Chocolate Cake w/fruit, red wine sauce and whipped cream.

Peach Crisp w/brown sugar and oat topping, vanilla bean ice cream and caramel sauce.

Carol Bednar

Teresa Malinowski

On the right, Teresa and Carol choose our table for next time. 

 

It was a lovely day. 

#   #   # 

 

Lunch at Ramos House 08-20-13

Lunch out - again!  And at one of my favorite spots - Ramos House in San Juan Capistrano, across the tracks from the Amtrak station.   It currently is a "Road Warriors" job to drive from the I-5 into SJCapistrano, due to the complete reconstruction of the overpass and all the ramps.  Leaving to come home it took me almost 20 minutes to get through one signal.  I think I'll try the back way when I go again, although I have only taken that route once.  "lost forever......"


My lunch partner had the Pan Perdu with peaches, which is her frequent choice.  I have eaten it here and it is very, very good.
 

After watching Liz devour a serving a few weeks ago, I couldn't pass up a chance to try the hash with fried poached eggs.  Today the hash was vegetable hash with tasty and interesting veggies.  I did not eat all of it and brought it home in a box along with the biscuit and applesauce.  But this is a dish I will order again.  And I won't mind if I can't eat it all, I'll ask for a box.  Tonight for dinner I warmed the hash in a frying pan, stirred in a beaten egg, put it on a plate and topped it with half an avocado chopped.   Delish!
 

The two fried poached eggs are amazing.  Liz and I learned last time that the eggs are poached, crumbed and finished in the deep fat cooker.  The yolks were perfect - how come they weren't hard after all that cooking? 

Out to Lunch! 08-03-10

Out to Lunch. Ladies who Lunch. Let's have Lunch. It has become a meal that I enjoy eating out. Usually, if I know I am going to eat lunch out, I skip breakfast and plan a light supper. I have gotten into the habit of lunching out if I have an early 'doctoring' appointment - best to go fasting, just in case a visit to the vampire is required. But even if it is a dental appointment or a session with the physical therapist, I generally plan to eat brunch, or lunch, out.

This is the Kimmie's cafe on Glassell St. near the Circle of Orange (called a roundabout or traffic circle in some parts of the country/world) in the Historic Downtown area of the City of Orange. It is just down the street from "Paris in a Cup" where both the Book Group and the Victorian Tea Society ladies enjoyed tea recently. The original Kimmie's Cafe is near the Fullerton Airport and the second location, the one I have frequently most in the past few years, is on Brea Blvd in Brea. Since this location in Orange opened several months (maybe a year?) ago, Kimmie (a real person) has opened another, larger place in Anaheim/Yorba Linda near the Kaiser Permanente facility. Maybe she is building an empire! At any rate, I have always been pleased with the simple food and the attentive service, so I go back and also tell my friends about it. One day this past week I visited the vampire and then enjoyed blueberry pancakes w/scrambled eggs and bacon. It was delicious and I enjoyed people watching from my table in the front window. If I ever knew just when I would be done doctoring I would invite someone to meet me and we could get caught up with each other's news over brunch.

Just one door away on the corner of Glassell and Almond is Orange Cycle, a business that has held its own for many years. I don't know when they built and decorated this building, but I vividly remember the first time I saw it. I wondered what bells with weird clappers had to do with bicycles! But, after some contemplation, it dawned on me that these were bicyclists depicted from above! I suppose if I ever watched bicycle races I would have understood immediately.

I think whoever designed it was very clever and I always enjoy looking at such a great graphic. I adore the red bike (attached to the pillar) with the whitewalls - waaay kewl. It would have made someone king of the hill in the 50s.

I probably should have said in yesterday's post that I am the one holding the two doggies. I sometimes forget that people are so accustomed to seeing me in a hat that they don't always recognize me without one. One day I took my hat off in a workshop because I was so overheated and a friend of some 20+ years looked at me and said, "My God, I wouldn't have know it was you - I have never seen you without a hat." So, if I want to be incognito I just need to not wear a hat, no need to put a brown bag over my head!

Waiting, waiting... and watching 09-28-09

I finally made an appointment to have the oil changed in the Lexus - the first one is done at no charge. I called last week and explained the Lexus just needed the first oil change since I have owned it and that the light on the dashboard was telling me so - bugging me. I told them I would need a loaner (because I know how their "one hour" quickly turns into two or three hours. Not a problem, I was told. So I tootled in this morning at 10am armed with a list of errands I could do while they were taking care of my car. They assign me a guy (service assistant?) who proceeds to explain that they don't give loaners to people having an oil change. I explained my point of view and he said that maybe they could get me a rental, as smoke started coming out of my ears. "But," sez he, "if you would like to wait I can expedite it so you won't have to wait long." I was there and I didn't really want to have to come back some other day at 7am in the hope that it wouldn't take hours and hours - so I said, grudgingly, all right. I had my current read with me so I found a chair away from the blaring TV and settled down. To that service department "expedite" means two and a half hours. It was nice that they also gave it a quick wash, but I didn't really have the time. I will start going to my regular local garage where I can go in at 7:39am and be out before 8:30am - as long as I have an appointment. I was really steamed and needed to calm down, so I drove a few blocks to the Corner Bakery, where I sometimes meet my friend Toni for lunch. I ordered a fabulous turkey sandwich and a tall glass of iced water and found a table out on the patio.

One thing I really like about that place, besides the fact that it is colorful, is the palm trees in the patio area. There is also a large fountain that makes a calming murmur and lots of really great people watching. The six ladies + one adult boy child in his Adidas shirt, sitting at the table directly in front of me were having a great time. They were so involved in their laughing and talking and gesticulating that I could just opening stare and they didn't even notice. I never quite figured out what the kid was doing there, but he didn't have anything to say and they pretty much ignored him.

I used to know what species these palms are, but it got lost in my mushy brain somewhere. The wind came up a bit and they were murmuring right along with the fountain. Despite the noise of so many people talking, laughing, answering their phones, scrapping their chairs, etc., it was very calming and just the right temperature. Sometimes it is good to go somewhere alone and just be quiet and look out at the world. The only problem is that I did not get all my errands done and now they will have to wait until Wednesday when I go to pick up Corky for four nights at Camp Del. I wouldn't mind staying at his house where it is so much cooler and, let's face it, more beautiful, but I'm not sure about carrying him up and down the stairs all the time. "Once burned, twice cautious", as one old saying goes. I'm not entirely over the fall I took in August, another would be the end of me, I'm sure.

I have almost finished the Surfside newsletter, but it looks like I will have to add a page to get everything in. I'll worry about that tomorrow, I guess.

Darn - I wrote this earlier in the day yesterday, but forgot to post it before I went to bed. Sorry about that. Del