I love this simple, cute appetizer idea. Do you need more instruction? I’d dress the Baby Greens and Tomatoes with Olive Oil and Salt and Pepper or Italian Dressing to thoroughly enjoy it all. And I might add a dollop of Caramel Sauce at the base of the Apple for dessert.
Official exploration and documentation of FOOD in Fullerton kicked off at Moodaepo’s.
We spent two days sampling food in Fullerton’s SOCO District (South of Commonwealth).
At Stadium Tavern (above), we had Salads on the patio — The top special was a Lump Crab Salad with Heirloom Tomatoes and Avocados with a Basil Oil and Balsamic Reduction. We relished both Salads on a sunny afternoon. Have you been to Roscoe’s Famous Deli (below)?
The Sandwiches are crazy tall — We needed an extra pair of Bread. The place is cool too.
We had the Harbor Sub (above) and the Silly Billy (below).
On top of all that jazz, its twinkling atmosphere glows ready for any kind of patron.
My Fullerton restaurant Tour Guide (below) doing who knows what at Roscoe’s. 
After all, we toasted to life with a customized Iced Tea from Tranquil Tea Lounge.
Refreshing and flavorful on this hot day — We’ll get it hot on a cold day, someday.
An informative and nice bunch run Tranquil Tea Lounge — And you may smell any of the labeled jars. It’s how we decided what to drink. They are well identified and pungent.
Its limited menu is inviting and it’s casual and artsy inside.
We’ll be scouting the streets to choose where to go next in Fullerton. Check back.
I’ve previously written about The Cellar too — It’s within walking distance from (or in the same building as) Stadium Tavern, where we’d gladly have another Salad. I’m learning that Fullerton has much to offer in the way of FOOD and people. I’m ready for more.
I love me some FRUIT in Panera Bread‘s Strawberry Poppyseed & Chicken Salad – Not only does it have Strawberries, but Blueberries, Pineapple, Mandarin Oranges and Pecans. Yum!
I felt ready to walk miles after this healthy, refreshing Salad and Creamy Tomato Soup.
And a Strawberries and Cream Scone for the road — Fueled for a 5+ mile hike after.
Panera Bread — A good start for many things, though wish I had opted for the Chips, instead of an Apple with the Soup & Salad Combo. You get a choice of Bread, Fruit or Chips with it, and the Chips would’ve gone well with the Soup, as there was plenty of Fruit in the Strawberry Salad. It’s not all about health you know… It’s about taste too and all was well.
For whatever it’s worth, May is National Asparagus, Barbecue, Egg, Hamburger, Salad, Salsa, Strawberry, Chocolate Custard, Mediterranean Diet, Gazpacho Aficionado and Artisan Gelato Month — Linked sources say. Why not observe by eating more (or less) of these things?!
Chilled Tomato and Cucumber Gazpacho with Shrimp.
A Fancy Smancy Steakhouse Burger – Our contribution to National Hamburger Month.
Party Salad from an earlier post.
Deviled Eggs, Salsa Baked Eggs and/or Huevos Rancheros will happen this month regardless.
Bacon Wrapped Asparagus on the grill – Enjoy May with or without these foods.
Turning to Gary Larson while feeding a cold and fixing code to the wrongly displayed ad at top.
A formal THANK YOU to Cost Plus World Market for the lovely prizes and party supplies.
All were pleased by the smart kitchen tools, house decorations and gourmet Chocolates.
Thanks also go to my friends who contributed the appetizing FOOD, even the Jack in the Box Tacos cut in half, disguised as an Appetizer — That’s funny Michelle. What do you call ‘em? Ironically several were happy to eat them, and it was fast, easy and cheap for her. So be it.
Always look forward to the Chocolate Dipped Oreos from Loretta — Wish I had some now.
Merci, Gracie, Danke Shoen, Mahalo, Arigato, Gracias y mas Cost Plus World Market.
A wave to you for making this 17th Annual Christmas Par-Tay a success.
I tour the world at CPWM.
Have you seen the California Pizza Kitchen Original BBQ Chicken Chopped Salad Kit?
It’s sold at Costco, unsure if exclusively — And my Mom loves it.
She and Chef Niece Bailee of Kids in the Kitchen mixed it all together.
My thoughts… It’s not bad, but I don’t love it. For its cost of $9-something, I’d rather go to California Pizza Kitchen to have the real thing, or make the Salad from scratch using my CPK Cookbook, as I did once before. The Salad Kit comes with everything the Original BBQ Chicken Chopped Salad does in the restaurant, except Romaine — You’ll need to purchase and add it separately, which ultimately adds to its cost.
What do you think about it?
Another excuse for Mexican — Why not celebrate Tostada Thursday? Is Taco Tuesday played? Is there room for both in one week? The pictured Tostada is from Café Rose Express.
I love a well prepared Caesar Salad, but when it comes to making one at home, I don’t want to work with Anchovies or raw Eggs, if I don’t have to. In search of simplicity and flavor, I found a Caesar Salad Dressing I’ll keep forever. It satisfies all criteria perfectly.
No-Egg Caesar Dressing (Rachael Ray’s) – Just mix all ingredients in a blender & enjoy!
1 Garlic Clove, finely chopped
1 Lemon, juice of
1 teaspoon of Tabasco
1 teaspoon of Worcestershire Sauce
1 teaspoon of Dijon Mustard
1/3 cup of Olive Oil
1/2 cup of Parmesan Cheese, shredded or shaved
Salt and freshly ground Black Pepper
This Salad Dressing doesn’t lack for anything and can be tossed with any greens.
Once the Salad Dressing is prepared, only two more ingredients make this Caesar amazing.
Toasted Parmesan Cheese sprinkled as Croutons put this homemade Caesar over the top.
To prepare the Cheese-Tons, just add grated or shredded Parmesan to a dry skillet on medium. Heat until each Cheese consortium crackles and pops together, then remove from skillet to cool on a paper towel. Crumble over fresh Romaine tossed with this delicious mock Caesar Salad Dressing. It’s made in minutes and tastes like it’s from a restaurant.
We recently wandered into Zinc Cafe & Market in Corona Del Mar a half hour before closing time and happily learned that their Market Salads are 1/2 price during that time, the last half hour before closing. It was great timing for us, thus we went crazy and got eight of them, five are pictured here and all are always good. They offer a shady outdoor patio too, but we enjoyed our Salads on the beach (away from the seagulls) and for lunch the next day. What a deal – It’s the best time to go there.
We didn’t capture the official name of each Salad, since we ate them so fast — Many are seasonal anyway, so you’ll just have to see what’s available and check out their website to see what’s possible. They offer a lot and will tell you more than we can.
The beach is walking distance from Zinc Cafe & Market in Corona Del Mar. If I could own a home anywhere around here, it would be in Corona Del Mar, near many restaurants and the amazing beauty pictured below.
The photo certainly doesn’t do this easy Roasted Corn Salad combination any justice (sorry about that). The recipe is simply a mixture of Roasted Corn (cut off the cob), Sun Dried Tomatoes, Avocado, Green Onions and Sea Salt — That’s it. No Oil and no Vinegar, but it works. I was sceptical at first, but this is a tasty Salad that doesn’t seem to lack moisture.
Everyone I know loves California Pizza Kitchen’s BBQ Chicken Chopped Salad, including myself, especially the Garden Herb Ranch Dressing. I’ve had CPK’s Cookbooks for a few years now and have made several dishes from them (pre-blog), but hadn’t yet made one of their best Salads, mostly due to the number of ingredients – But since I happened to have Buttermilk on-hand (a rarity and ingredient in the Dressing), I took another look at the recipe and determined it was finally a good time to make it. I’ve now had this Salad three days in a row. The recipe makes a lot of Dressing and since all ingredients are finally in the house, I might as well keep enjoying them. If I close my eyes when I eat it, I’d guess I’m at CPK. It tastes just like it. To simplify a little, I use chunks of a Rotisserie Chicken lightly tossed in BBQ Sauce, rather than make the Chicken in their recipe. It doesn’t seem necessary to capture the full flavor of the Salad.
Have you noticed that some restaurants inside Nordstrom are called Cafe Nordstrom and others are named Nordstrom Cafe Bistro? And on Yelp it’s referred to as Nordstrom Marketplace Cafe. Not all have the same name or exact menu either — Most items are the same, but some are different. Whichever way, it’s one of our favorite places for lunch.
This lunch is from Cafe Nordstrom at the Brea Mall — It’s the Lime & Cilantro Steak Salad and Roma Tomato Basil Soup. We’ve almost worked our way through the menu, thus only post newly tried dishes. The Chili-rubbed Flat Iron Steak served on the Lime & Cilantro Steak Salad is cold, but we prefer it heated/hot on top. It has a big flavor and tastes better warm. The Roma Tomato Basil Soup is very good too. More Nordstrom meals are linked above and here.
Still hooked on Grilled Romaine Salad and busy working on a lot of exciting projects — Stay tuned and full. Click here and above for the how to’s and more.
We like having lunch at Cafe Nordstrom and have previously reported about many of them. Here we report about a two new (to us) Salads at Cafe Nordstrom at the Brea Mall. Above is the Nicoise Salad With Salmon – At first we didn’t recognize it, since it truly is covered in herbs, as described “herbed roasted” Salmon, literally. It looked a little weird at first, but was a good Salad overall.
We also had the Margherita Pizza, as some in the group must always have it, and an Artichoke & Chicken Salad with Goat Cheese, Kalamata Olives, Basil and more. Lunch is always good and peaceful at Cafe Nordstrom if you beat the crowd. On our way out there was a line of (10) or more, thus we always make a note to arrive early at certain locations.
* Photos are a little off focus and will be replaced following our next visit.
I never thought I’d do this in a million years — Broil Romaine Lettuce in the oven before chopping it for a Salad. Usually wanting the freshest, most chilled Lettuce for a Salad, broiling Romaine would seem out of the question. After having my first Grilled Romaine Salad from a restaurant, I was hooked on the smokey flavor imparted into the Lettuce with a quick grilling. It’s now one of my favorite Salads.
To copycat it, I made grilled Romaine on the BBQ, but this evening it was too cold and rainy. We only have an outdoor grill. Since Romaine was on hand and I really wanted this Salad, I desperately broiled the Lettuce in the oven for (1) minute. It worked (a little) — It’s a simple runner-up if you can’t grill it on a BBQ. The above Romaine was tossed in a bag with Italian Dressing before broiling it. It wasn’t bad at all and I’ve already made it again. It’s dubbed the Romaine Runner-Up.
I’ve only just begun to explore the goods offered by Pascal Epicerie and Wine Shop and I’m already hooked on the Salads. I’ve stopped in 3 of the last 4 days to choose from the Daily Pasta and Vegetable Salads offered by the pound.
So far we can’t get enough of the Bean Salad(s) and Roasted Vegetables – The Green Beans aren’t pictured, but they’re my favorite so far. Pictured with the aforementioned is the Ratatouille and Beet Salad. We look forward to trying ALL their Pasta and Vegetable Salads, to be posted here soon. Pascal Epicerie and Wine Shop is next door to Tradition by Pascal, one of the best restaurants in Newport Beach.
Cafe Nordstrom or Nordstrom’s Cafe should be sought out at many malls. Where there is a mall, there may be a Nordstrom, and where there is a Nordstrom, there MAY be a Cafe — Some have them and some don’t. These photos are from our lunch at The Brea Mall. Cafe Nordstrom is one of our favorite eating spots there. We like the comfortable environment and food. This visit we had the Artichoke & Chicken Salad (above), which includes Organic Baby Greens, Romaine, Chicken, Goat Cheese, Artichoke Hearts, Tomato, Red Onion, Basil, Kalamata Olives and a Red Wine Vinaigrette.
And we got the Margherita Pizza again – My Mom loves it. Below is the Cafe’s Side Salad, which comes consistently colorful. We always seem to get at least one of them.
This visit we had our ‘Kids in the Kitchen’ kids with us, thus opted for the Grilled Cheese Sandwich & Tomato Soup (swapped for the Soup Du Jour). All kids’ meals include Fresh Fruit and Milk, Soda or Juice. The Grilled Cheese combination is only $4.95, and my Sister says it’s the best Grilled Cheese Sandwich around.
You’ll order your food at the counter where the Desserts are displayed — Then choose a comfortable booth or table and all that you’ll need will be delivered to you. It’s a tasty escape from a busy mall.
The Irvine Spectrum Nordstrom Cafe Bistro:
http://www.ineedtext.com/FoodBlog/2008/10/03/nordstrom-cafe-bistro-at-the-irvine-spectrum/
Kids in the Kitchen INFO:
http://www.ineedtext.com/FoodBlog/category/kids-in-the-kitchen/
Have you heard of The Veggie Grill? It’s a small chain that I heard was good – So a couple of us tried it today for lunch and liked it. I’m not in love yet, but the food was fresh, the restaurant was clean and the service was extra friendly and helpful.
We visited The Veggie Grill at The Irvine Spectrum. It’s a semi fast food type of place, whereas you order and pay at the counter, then they deliver your food on real plates with silverware. This first visit we both tried the same, a Baja Fiesta Salad and Bean Me Up Chili for the Soup & Salad Combo. They also offer a few interesting Veggie Sandwiches and Burgers we’ll need to try next time.
The Veggie Grill: http://www.veggiegrill.com/
The “Special Menu” is the Cheesecake Factory’s New Small Plates & Snacks and Specialties Menu. Here we had the Beets With Goat Cheese Salad and a Margherita Pizzette. The plates are “small” as they note, but the prices are small too – Each was $4.95. It’s a better lunch than fast food for the same price, except for the tip. 
Related Links:
Orange County Food Examiner
Recent Comments