The Social Video Guide to Restaurant Dishes
I do need to
mention that there is a theme to this
place; call it a kind of ‘new age’ or anything you like. So if this is a
problem for you, then you probably will not like it. But I’ll tell you
right now, the workers are not pushy about it at all and don’t judge if all you
simply want is to eat and go. It’s not just that new age feeling, it’s much
more that they care that you are taking care of your body by choosing healthy
meals. Café Gratitude may look new age/ hipster and may throw you off, but not
once did they make me feel uncomfortable. Not that I’m not heavily into this theme
but it is something I do appreciate to an extent. Don’t hate on people who
do find enlightenment with things like this. Respect it because we all have
your own way of self-satisfaction. And remember, you’re here for the food,
which is amazing. After your meal, you feel good about yourself, and not like
you just joined a cult or something because you didn’t. You just experienced
great food and service.
What I love most
about restaurants is their creativity. A lot of that comes from the food, but
also the way they name their dishes. At Café Gratitude, dishes are named simply
by how you’d feel after eating it. Kind of like the "you are what you eat" saying, except you won't be ashamed of what you eat here. Everything starts with “I am” and that
supports what I mentioned that they care about what you think about yourself
and your health. Ok, this may seem a little cheesy to some people, but I
thought it was pretty cool. And when they serve your dish, the servers say,
“You are” instead of “I am”, which was nice and still personal. 
Even after your
meal [the plate] puts you in a happier mood. “What Are You Grateful for?” It’s
really those little quirky things that Café Gratitude adds to your dining
experience. It’s not new age; ignore the theme others label it as. That’s what
I love about the new places I’ve been trying. The word associations to
‘vegetarian’, ‘vegan’, ‘hipster/new age’ and other ones I can’t think of mean
less to me. In fact, labels never really appealed to me. They’re just words
that everyone has an opinion of and that’s how it should stay. Sure there might
still be that small feeling of insecurity when I try a new place, but as
healthy and organic is fast becoming a popular trend in recent years, we all
have to break out of our shells and just enjoy food as it is.
Even though I’ve lived in the Orange County area
for quite some time now, I only really exposed myself to the eateries in about
a 5-mile radius from my house and CSUF. Since I work in Santa Ana/Costa Mesa, I
asked colleagues where the good eats were. One of them told me to try Chicken
Maison. Do you know a person whom you trust their judgment before trying
something out? Like a food maven? Well
I’ve got a friend just like that. I told her about Chicken Maison and she checked
it out for lunch one day. First thing she said was that the place was dubbed
“Healthy Mediterranean” but we’ll be the judges of that. She could tell it was
healthy because she said that she didn’t have that “super full” feeling after
lunch but she was more than satisfied with her meal. That’s really all it took
for me to crave it so the next day I had lunch with a colleague at Chicken
Maison.  |
| Menu at Chicken Maison |
We both ordered the ¼ chicken with 2 sides and pita
bread for $7 (about $1 more for lemon or spicy-lemon flavored). We decided to
get 4 different sides to try a variety. The sides were Greek coleslaw, potato
salad a la Maison, hummus, and Maison whole rice. It was respectable to say the
least. I asked the owner, who just happened to be my server, how he makes his
food so tasty and healthy. His secret: he doesn’t use mayonnaise (which takes
away about 1000 calories per 100g of food) but rather uses a tart and very
light vinaigrette and his sides are always fresh. The chicken was very moist
and flavorful even without the sauce (complimentary on the side), which made it
better. It’s pretty cheap for the price of the food but the service was nothing
short of friendly and quick. 
