If you live in Orange County, you’re probably no stranger to the gourmet “taco truck” phenomenon. You can get Korean barbecue, tapas, Greek food, tacos, Argentinian food, sweet baked goods and even crepes.  But the most exciting part? A gourmet, Jewish deli on wheels, also known as Brooklyn Boys New York Style Deli.

Brooklyn Boys was founded by Marc Gabriel and Debbie Voltura.  Debbie has been a professional jazz singer for 40 years and Marc is a friendly guy with a passion for good food and 25 years of experience in the food industry.   They’re both natives of New York and they both remembered fondly and longed for the deli food they grew up with.   According to Marc, “When you put us together, “Knowledge and Hutzpah” will ensue!“  Marc has owned a few food businesses in Orange County, with great success and he even smoked meat for Whole Foods Market.  It’s safe to say that Marc really knows food.  So they set off together on a new adventure.  And all of Orange County is reaping the benefits.

Now let’s talk about the food.  Oh, the food!  First off, you have to start with at least a sample of their matzo ball soup.  This soup is amazing.  The matzo balls are light and fluffy, the chicken is tender and the broth is super flavorful.  Next, the sandwiches.  I tried the Pastrami the first day and Mom’s Sunday Brisket the next time.  I was absolutely in love with the Pastrami.  It is hands down the best Pastrami sandwich I’ve ever had in my life (for all you Hat lovers… the Hat’s Pastrami doesn’t even compare).  I couldn’t imagine that anything could be better than that Pastrami.  That was, until I tried Mom’s Sunday Brisket.  The brisket in this sandwich melts in your mouth and the Russian dressing is perfect.  And I didn’t even mention the bread yet!  Brooklyn Boys buys their bread at a very special bakery.  And yes, of course it’s rye bread.  It’s always soft and fresh with amazing flavor.  Each sandwich comes with a drink, cole slaw, potato salad and a pickle.  Most sandwiches are around $10 so this is quite a deal.  I’m not a big potato salad fan but it’s pretty amazing.  And their cole slaw isn’t the soggy, mushy mess you’ll find most places.  It’s crisp and crunchy with a sweet and tangy dressing.  I didn’t get a chance to try the other sandwiches or the hot dog but I did get a look at the hot dog (and a photo, below) and it looked amazing.

Their menu can be viewed here.  Their weekly schedule is posted on their website. They’re also on Twitter and Facebook, and it’s easy to follow them or become a fan, which gives you the most up-to-date information on their location.  They also offer a sandwich club card (pictured below).  Buy 9 sandwiches and the 10th is on them!

Please don’t take my word for it… Go find them and try it for yourself!

[View with PicLens]

Photographs by Jennifer Vincent

There are some restaurants where you simply must linger and savor the atmosphere, the finely-crafted food, and the leisurely pace of drinking and dining that so typifies European style. C’est La Vie in downtown Laguna Beach is just such a place. If you come here with an already-jaded palate dulled by slabs of cheap pizza or the latest over-promoted mishmash from Fast Food, Inc., you will be disappointed that you cannot immediately stuff your jowls, twitter your buds about the low-cost, and jet to your next unsatisfying destination. No. C’est La Vie is experience-dining for the connoisseur.

Does this mean — at Laguna’s bistro by the beach — that you need to be elite to eat? Mais non. It means you need to slow down to Euro time and pamper yourself with what must be described as “le classic,” whether its form is breakfast, brunch, lunch, or dinner.

Just a couple of short blocks from The Greeter’s Café (which we’ll review shortly) along Pacific Coast Highway, C’est La Vie entices you into to its deceptively shadowy interior with a storefront display of freshly-baked pastries and breads that should already be making your mouth water. The hostess waltzes you past the showcase with its wafting aromas and sights that murmur “Dessert is a must” (even if you have to take it home for later). If you’re lucky and you’ve timed your appearance wisely to avoid crowds, you can ask to be seated upstairs out on the patio. Unlike many bistros al fresco dining, C’est La Vie’s does not thrust you on the sidewalk. Instead it gives you a breath-taking view of scraggly rocks, cliffs, palm trees, pale sandy-shore, and the sussurating waves of the blue Pacific Ocean. Beneath the table umbrella, sipping your cocktail — and they have all the best varieties, including champagne cocktails — and musing over what delectables the menu offers, your eyes will stray to the horizon and you can easily imagine you are sitting in Nice, or (lacking the throng of cruise ships) Cap d’Antibes, in France.

When it comes to Euro cocktail taste, the object is not to get rapidly hammered into oblivion with the potent, but to sip the soothing. We ordered a La Nina (which is basically the same as a French Martini – vodka, Chambord, pineapple juice, and lemon twist) and a similar concoction of vodka, Chambord, Frangelico, and cream (delicious!).  The back-flavor and aroma of Frangelico is hazelnut and mixed with the cream was one of the more memorable cocktails I’ve tasted.

The menu is exclusively California French with various croques (sandwiches), quiches, pasta dishes, salads, entrees, etc. — and yes, for the Philistine who is no gourmet, even a French ‘burger and fries! We opted for matching monte cristos, which is a variation on the vintage ‘30s croque-monsieur — a cheese and ham sandwich which is batter-dipped and deep fried served with jam or preserves (we had strawberry). The first bite proclaimed “Now, this is how a monte cristo should taste!” The sandwiches are served with a healthy portion of penne rigate. The large, ridged tubular pasta is tossed with a subtle blend of finely-diced carrots, zucchini, parsley, and red onion, and lightly coated with olive oil and seasonings.

After a slow and sensual meal, comes the piece de resistance: dessert! At C’est La Vie, the desserts are displayed on the traditional large tray where a dozen or fifteen temptations vie for the remaining space in your tummy. Fruit glazed cakes and tarts, custard filled pastries, chocolate adorned delights, and a browned — very scentful –brick of warm bread pudding reclining on a pool of crème fraise: what to choose, what to choose!

We decided on the bread pudding and, believe me, this is not your mother’s pudding (unless of course she’s a Cordon Bleu graduate). It’s accompanied by a perfectly-sized scoop of rich vanilla ice cream and C’est La Vie’s signature shortbread cookie in the shape of the Eiffel Tower. “Yum!” hardly does it justice.

In conclusion, the next time you’re strolling the galleries in Laguna or boutique shopping there, hike yourself over to C’est La Vie for a memorable, slow, leisurely-paced California-Euro dining experience that will leave you sumptuously sated.

www.cestlavierestaurant.com
373 S. Pacific Coast Highway, Laguna Beach, CA

What if you found the perfect place to eat, but it was only open until three or 3:30 P.M.?  Exactly, you’d make it there for breakfast, brunch, lunch, or mid-afternoon dining, right? Combining the “Euro boulevard bistro” feel of al fresco dining with the most authentic nostalgia of small town America — on a sunny, slightly breezy spring afternoon, it doesn’t get much better than sitting down to breakfast or lunch at Old Towne Orange’s premier local café, The Filling Station.

Nestled on the corner of Maple and Glassell, just a block north of the Orange Circle, stands the real deal – none of your mocked up old-timey places with fake Formica and faux chrome settings here. The building housing The Filling Station Café was built in 1913 as a working gas station and continued in its original use until 1969 under various names and owners. The first owner appears to have been F. W. Parsons who sold the business to Pierre H. Baker (as reported in the Orange Daily News of the day). Born in Ohio in 1877, Baker had come to California, been foreman on a farm in Kern county, and then operated a garage up in Tehachapi before settling in Orange. The Bakers, including Pierre’s son Lloyd, continued on at the same location for decades earning a reputation for friendly efficient service with a smile and making customer satisfaction its prime goal.

Skip ahead through several decades and surely the spirits of the Bakers must hover over the old site and channel through the good cooks and wait staff at The Filling Station. Inside, you’ll find tables and booths comfortably situated amid a mini-museum of genuine antique automobile and gas station historical memorabilia, including a chauffeur’s cap, gas cans, advertisements, and photographs depicting the Bakers and the station. Outside, the spacious dining patio sports a real 1920s gas pump, bistro-style umbrella tables, sturdy wrought-iron chairs, and a tidy garden of trees, shrubs, and plants.

The menu fare at The Filling Station is more than just standard diner/café rehashes, though, of course, you can always get the usuals like pancakes, burgers and fries, and omelets. Like at most cafes in Orange County, you’ll also find huevos rancheros, breakfast burritos, and chorizo with eggs. You’ll also find Eggs Benedict and Florentine. The real local breakfast favorites at The Filling Station, however, are the Cinnamon or Cranberry Orange French Toast and the Strawberry or Banana Walnut Belgian Waffles.

The lunch and brunch crowd (and there’s usually a line up at the hostess station) may settle in for typical OC standards ranging from BBQ to BLTs, from chicken burritos to quesadillas, but knowledgeable chowhounds tend to opt for specialties such as The Tuscan Sandwich (Boar’s Head ham, turkey, roasted red pepper, cheddar cheese, pepperjack cheese and Swiss cheese on a thin French roll with garlic butter), The Marlowe Burger (two 1/2 pound patties with double cheese. Bacon, avocado, mustard, mayo, tomato, lettuce, and onion), or the indescribably delicious Cobb Salad. For Vegetarians who don’t want to get their meat on, there’s the zesty Vegetarian Sandwich (Grilled eggplant, grilled zucchini, roasted red pepper, tomato, red onion, lettuce, mozzarella cheese with sundried tomato aioli on ciabatta bread).

Beverages at The Filling Station run the tasty gamut from Cappuccino and Mayan Mocha to Margaritas, Bloody Marys and Woodbridge Chardonnay or Merlot, from three kinds of Mimosa to domestic and imported beers as well as some of the tangiest lemonade you’ll find anywhere (served in large old-fashioned Coca-Cola glasses).

The Filling Station
201 N. Glassell St.
Old Towne Orange, CA
Hours: Mon-Fri. 7:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. Sat-Sun. 7:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.
www.fillingstationcafe.com

It’s okay really, you know.  You’re among friends.  You can admit — entre nous — when you go out to dine, you want culture, too.  Not fast food culture of plastic and fast fake smiles.  You want the real stuff.  Linen napkins, suave and genuinely friendly folk, maybe some light jazz or soft blues in the background, upscale, sophisticated conversation, and the solidity of old brick walls, crystal glass, a good wine list, and quality enticing food and desserts.  If the weather’s fine, you want to sit out outside and watch the world pass by in its never-ending panorama.  Bienvenue to bistro culture, cheri.

Pierre Des Jardins of Bistro 400, on 4th Street, across from the Santa Ana’s Ronald Reagan Federal Building and US Courthouse, knows his culture as intimately as he does his regular customers.  Pierre’s from Quebec – that quaint and yet modern cultural spot that is, if possible, more French than Paris.  Birthplace of Cirque du Soleil, Quebec’s old world charm mixes and blends with its always cutting-edge Art.  It’s also home to some of the best cuisine on the planet with plenty of bistros and sidewalk patios for people watching.  I know all this because I lived in Montreal for two years and never tired of its European flavors and vibrant art and culture sophistication.

At Bistro 400, Pierre and business partner, Robert Fontes, treat you as if you’re a returning friend who is ready for some pampering in high style.  And what tender mercies they dispense:  mouth-watering Black Mussels (very big this year in culinary circles), Peppered Lamb Chops, Petite Osso Buco, and Pork Chop Dijonnaise (one of my favs!).  Or if you’re in the mood for lighter fare, sip cocktails and dip into their new Artichoke and Bacon Melt served with bread rounds (delish!).

“We change the menu around from time to time.  Sometimes it comes from us, sometimes from something a customer suggests,” Robert confided at a recent visit while Pierre talks about their plans to work with the local artist community to co-host event nights.  On Friday and Saturday nights, the Bistro serves a Prix Fixe dinner (another new hot ticket in 2009) selected from the chef’s specialties and customer suggestions.  No matter what you choose for an entrée, I highly recommend a Chocolate Vesuvius for dessert (Molten Chocolate Cake with a Bittersweet Chocolate center).

Along with the new prix fixe dinners, on Friday and Saturday nights, you can also hear live jazz or blues at Bistro 400.   Upcoming performers include:

• March 21 The Huge Blues featuring, Tim Lewis, Vocals; Brett Caplinger. Harmonica; Paul Hughes, Guitar;  Lisa Duncanson, Bass.  Also introducing some special guest performers.
• March 27 Rebecca Hyrkas with the Three Strangers jazz trio.   Doug Carter on the Piano, Bill Been on bass, and Jon Hyrkas on drums.
• March 28 Maryanne Reall , a local favorite returns to the Bistro by popular demand and Linda A. Smith, just back from touring Japan with Rick Hils on the Grand and Jaco on stand up bass.

Bistro 400
400 West 4th Street
Santa Ana, CA 92701
(714) 543-9821 tel
bistro400.com

Thai Gulf is well-hidden in a small strip mall on Beach Boulevard in Huntington Beach. Upon first arrival in the parking lot, you may initially be disappointed. It doesn’t look like much, but fear not, friends; you’ve just stumbled upon the best Thai food in Orange County. Outside, the windows are plastered with pictures of Thai food and advertisements of the dishes within that just don’t do them justice. But once you step inside, the garish HB strip mall quality is lost. The tiny corner shop has only 6 or 7 tables. The decor is nice, inviting and bright but the small LCD T.V. in the corner, permanently tuned to a Thai home shopping network, is a bit annoying. The owner is an amusing little man named John who seems to live to please his customers and the kitchen generally boasts only one cook at any given time. Show up anytime near the conventional lunch or dinner hours and you’ll be in for quite a wait. I’ve found that the best time to go is right around 11am on a Saturday morning or 8-9pm on a Saturday night. If you’re a regular, you’ll often be greeted with a pitcher of Thai tea, served a complimentary appetizer of soup and salad, some frozen fruit with housemade ice cream for dessert. Even if you’re not a regular, you’ll usually still get a free cup of soup and some green tea or coconut ice cream for dessert. And more often than not, you’ll be sent home with an armload of goodies.

When you visit, make sure you try the Kang Ped. It’s a red curry dish with coconut milk, peas, carrots, bamboo shoots, eggplant, and your choice of meat (we chose beef) served over steamed white rice. The red curry has just the right amount of heat and spice, and it’s perfectly balanced with the earthy richness of the coconut milk. It worked very well as leftovers for lunch the next day, too. It feels like a crime not to mention the typical Thai favorites, such as Pad Thai, Pad See-Ew, Garlic Chicken and Golden Wings. I tried these, too, and each dish was immaculate. The rice noodles in the Pad Thai were perfectly limp, and the Tamarind sauce was amazingly fragrant. The Garlic chicken was tender, flavorful and wonderfully glazed with garlicky goodness. Our order of Golden Wings (often called Angel Wings in other Thai restaurants) were perfectly crisped, stuffed and served with a sweet, refreshing cucumber sauce.

Have I mentioned the pricepoint? This is very likely the most well-priced food in Orange County. Most dishes are around $7 and you can even get a lunch or dinner special including soup, salad and egg rolls for under $10. All in all, in my Thai adventures so far, Thai Gulf ranks at the top. They get high marks for service, presentation, preparation and traditionally prepared Thai food. I hated writing this piece for two reasons. One, I don’t want the place to get any more crowded. If you don’t know how to work the schedule, it can already be tough to get a seat without a wait. And two, it made me hungry.