Tasting California
I recently got back from an extended weekend trip visiting Nick in Orange, CA. Unfortunately it wasn’t extended long enough. Seriously, the few days just flew by! We spent a lot of time hanging out, shopping, and eating around Orange.
On my first night there, we had dinner at the lovely Cafe Tu Tu Tango. This place was amazing! Not only do they offer delicious tapas, but a wealth of entertainment as well! Upon entering the front entrance, I’m greeted by a man painting skillfully away on his canvas. Once we sat down, I noticed more painters in various corners of the room. There was also an extremely talented balloon artist who was walking around making the most delightful creatures for all the youngsters eating with their families. A few minutes later, dancers came out and performed a little show for all the diners. And if that wasn’t enough to keep my eyes wandering, Nick spotted a small group of people clustering around a glowing fire making smores! I really enjoyed myself, and could have spent all night here. By the way, the food is just as good as the entertainment!
On Saturday Nick and I went to the Los Angeles Farmer's Market to check out the season’s fresh fruits and produce. In addition to selling food, there are also many places to eat at the market as well. For lunch we ordered a blackened pacific snapper served with some braised collard greens and cornbread from The Gumbo Pot. Honestly, I wasn’t too impressed. We should have gone with some crepes from The French Crepe Company. Nick was hungry however, and I think The Gumbo Pot was one of the first places that he spotted. After touring the market, we walked a block over to The Grove to experience LA’s popular new shopping and dining destination. We killed a couple hours walking around window shopping, and browsing through a few stores. The weather was really nice, and eventually the delicious fragrant of spices and marinades drifted into the air from all the nearby restaurants. For dinner we ate on the outdoor patio of La Piazza. The two of us decided to split a melted cheese roll appetizer and a pizza with goat cheese and pesto. It was all very filling. I believe the best part of the meal was the ambiance. The food itself wasn’t anything spectacular.
Nick and I spent Sunday relaxing and being lazy. We didn’t really venture out too much until dinner. As nightfall approached, our choices were narrowed down to a couple places in The Block (at Orange), and Habana in Costa Mesa. We decided to go to Habana. After doing a little googling, I discovered that Habana is a hip Latin restaurant, offering Cuban cuisine and a great nightlife in the lounge area. So off we went… or so we thought.
When we arrived at our destination, we were unpleasantly greeted by a dark and closed restaurant. According "Let's Eat OC", the dining room is supposed to be open until 10pm on Sunday evenings, and the bar until midnight. That was truly not the case. Later I made a call and found out that the restaurant was closed in honor of Easter. That sucks. Fortunately there were a few other restaurants nearby. One being a trendy looking Japanese-fusion restaurant called Zipangu. It looked the nicest for our last meal together, so we went there. This small and attractive establishment has been around for about a couple of years. The menu boasts a nice collection of Japanese-fusion tapas, as well as decent selection of sushi. Nick and I each order a few different dishes including the mixed seaweed salad, the spicy tuna wrap, the Kobocha Dumpling, and the seafood tempura. Both of us loved the Kobocha Dumbling the best. Each dumpling consisted of baby lobster along with pureed pumpkin, and served with a balsamic glaze. If you’re interested, Zipangu also offers a signature martinis and sake samplers.
See restaurant addresses and websites below! Be sure to check out the photos located in some of the other links!!
Café Tu Tu Tango
(In The Block at Orange)
20 City Boulevard
Orange, CA 92868
Tel: 714.769.222
http://www.cafetututango.com/
The Gumbo Pot
6333 West Third Street #312
Los Angeles, CA 90036
Tel: 323.933.0358
http://www.thegumbopotla.com/
La Piazza
(At The Grove)
189 The Grove Dr
Los Angeles, CA 90036
Tel: 323.933.5050
Cross Street: Third Street
Zipangu
2930 Bristol St. Bldg. C
Costa Mesa, CA 92626
Tel: 714.545.2800
http://zipanguoc.com/
Los Angeles Farmer’s Market
6333 West 3rd Street
Los Angeles, CA 30036
www.farmersmarketla.com
The Grove
189 The Grove Drive
Los Angeles, CA 90036
Tel: 323.900.8080
http://www.thegrovela.com/
The Block at Orange
20 City Boulevard West
Orange, CA 92868
http://www.theblockatorange.com/
Photos of the Grove
http://www.seeing-stars.com/Shop/Grove.shtml
Habana in Orange County
http://www.letseatoc.com/info/habana.htm
Photos of the Farmer’s Market at the Grove
http://gocalifornia.about.com/cs/photos1/a/calafarmers.htm
Photos of Zipangu and its Food
http://zipanguoc.com/photos.html
Orange County, CA, Los Angeles, CA, eating, shopping, restuarants, food, travel, dining, Tasting Journal
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