afternoon delight - saturday, sept 4th, 3pm

little bit different this time, since frostbites and neveria are totally close enough that we can do both if we have the time! but please vote on your favorite anyway. :)

frostbites crepes and frozen delights - frozen custard, italian ice, crepes

9111 valley view st, ste 103, cypress 90630

suggested: vanilla custard, sorbet cream

neveria la flor de mexico - ice cream, fro-yo, mexican desserts

7151 katella ave, stanton 90680

suggested: angel's kiss, paleta, dulce de leche

joe's italian ice - ice cream, italian ice

12302 harbor blvd, garden grove 92840

suggested: bada bing cherry italian ice, joe latti

vino & cucina

The skinny: If you have aren’t that hungry, have a lot of time on your hands, and would like to enjoy a long peaceful meal in a small family restaurant atmosphere, give it a try. Pizzas are likely to be a better bet than the pastas, not to say the pastas were bad, just the pizzas were better.

Review:

Off the bat, I’m just going to say that it took them nearly an hour to cook the food. The first basket of bread they give you is free, but take note that you’ll be charged for all baskets thereafter.

The Menu:

A first glance at the menu and you’ll immediately realize that the food is very heavy on carbs---definitely not your Macaroni Grill or Olive Garden with selections of meat or fish dishes (odd note: there were no meatballs of any kind on the menu either.) Most of the menu consists of pasta, pasta, and more pasta. There’s a whole page devoted to just pastas and then anther devoted to seafood pastas, so you get my point. And if you’re big on wine your Italian food, there’s a whole page dedicated to that too (but not being a wine taster myself I can’t comment on the selection.)

The Pasta:

Gnocci was good, but not very noteworthy. Farfelle Sara was merely okay too. It says on the menu that the Spaghetti Francesca is “to die for.” I’d say that that’d be a most meaningless death. The sauce was good, not diehard by any means. But the spaghetti was woefully undercooked, very doughy and pretty hard. The only lasagna you’ll find on the menu is in the appetizer section, and it was the shortest stack of lasagna I’d ever seen---tasted fairly good though. The portions are all pretty good sized and fair enough for the prices.

The Pizza:

Wednesday is pizza night (and there’s an entire menu for just pizzas which comes from their mini pizza parlor run by the same family next door) so we ordered two pizzas. All their pizzas are 14inches, thin crust, and cut into 8 slices. First pizza on the menu “Vino & Cucina” was a smash hit. Everyone loved it---perfect blend of meats, cheeses, and a light tomato sauce. We also ordered a vegetarian pizza # 21 “ Villa Borghese,” which was relatively good though not spectacular. The zucchini was good but the artichokes were strangely bland (as far as artichokes go.)

The Service:

I’m a little torn on what to say about the service. When the owner or waiters are there to serve you, they’re all very nice and helpful, but don’t expect too much initiative and they might not notice you immediately when you raise your hand. On the bright side they didn’t charge us the mandatory large-party tip either.

Bottom Line: So there you have it. The food was mediocre to good. The prices were fair. The portions were standard. The cooking was slow. The service left a bit to be desired. And it skates by with three stars.

(review courtesy of greta l)

dinner - wednesday, august 4th, 6:30pm

i actually really just want to go to nused bookstore, but i'm throwing dinner in as well since we haven't had one of these in a while. :)

vino & cuchina - italian
4501 e carson st, ste 105, long beach 90808
suggested: spaghetti della nonna

tiny thai - thai
4152 norse way, long beach 90808
suggested: sticky rice

btw, please vote for your dinner choice as well as if you want to go to the bookstore with me beforehand.

yves' bistro

Tucked in amongst other randomite stores on the far east side of Anaheim, you will find Yve's Bistro. The seating is cute, and at dusk, they open up their patio doors so that the crisp air rolls in. It's a nice touch.

The bread brought to the table was really bad, I felt like I could have found a more appetizing loaf at Ralph's, and luckily it wasn't indicative of the food they serve there. For appetizers, the Stuffed Mushrooms and Tuscan Palm Sandwiches were tasty enough, though the smaller-than-palm size left a person wanting. The mushrooms themselves could have used more seasoning, but the stuffing was delicious. The Endive salad was also delicious, however this time quantity was an issue as the entire salad only included four pieces of endive.

On to entrees. The Linguini Puttanesca was not too bad, tho bordered on being too sour. Perhaps more toppings could have balanced that issue out. The Spicy Chicken Pasta was decent, but came off a little too oily, besides the fact that the bacon, which was included on the menu, was curiously lacking in the actual dish. The Mushroom Ravioli was very tasty, itself, but the sauce was very oily for a Mushroom Ravioli, and it seemed as though the missing bacon from the Spicy Chicken Pasta somehow found itself in the Ravioli. All entrees were in decent sized portions except for the ravioli which is usually smaller, no matter where you go.

Grand finale--the souffle. The souffle was beautiful and good. We ordered the Chocolate Raspberry Souffle and were satisfied with the tastiness of the entire thing. The sauce was quite tasty, but the entire thing could have used more ice cream. I have to say, I have had much better souffles.

Overall, it was a decent meal, but nothing that would really call me back another day to drive out that far for a meal. It should also be noted that we waited a long time for our food, our waiter almost forgot to bring grated cheese, and the service wasn't spectacular.

3 1/2 (of five) stars

(review courtesy of ting)

dinner - monday, july 13th, 7pm

oaxaca mio - mexican

1169 e 10th st, long beach 90813
"best oaxacan food i've had outside of oaxaca" (yelp reviewer)

suggested: mole (four types!)

yves' bistro - french / italian
5753-a east santa ana canyon rd, anaheim 92807

"the best part about this restaurant ~ Dessert~ Not just any kind of dessert, but 6 different kinds of Souffles!!" (yelp reviewer)

suggested: endive salad, stuffed mushrooms, souffles (seven types!)

dinner - thursday may 28th. around 7pm

(i can't get the links to work. hover over "link" for link)

lazy dog cafe - italian
16310 beach blvd, westminister 92683
"the massive menu at this big friendly cafe from the minds behind mimi's has plenty of tricks..."
suggested: trio of hummus, walnut-pesto, and sundried tomato. jerk seasoned bahama chicken breast w/ fruit, beans and rice.

shenandoah at the arbor - southern
10631 los alamitos blvd, los alamitos 90720
as cute and as homey as your grandma's kitchen. "southern charmer is just plain cozy"
suggested: apple fritters. granny's fried chicken. german butter cake.


both made orangecoast magazine cheap eats issue. quotes taken from there as well.