Eat For A Cause!

We all love to eat, that's why we're foodies. So why not do something good while you eat? For those of you who love to dine out or enjoy fine wine, have I got an event for you.

The Trey Curry Foundation will host its sixth annual Vine to Wine benefit this Friday May 10, 2013 at the Regent in Riverview, Florida. More details below:

What: Vine to Wine Benefit Fundraiser
When: Friday May 10, 2013
Time: 7:00 PM to 10:00 PM
Where: The Regent 6437 Watson Road Riverview, FL 33578

Gourmet chef Dave West and his team will cater to the event, as fine wines will be provided by Premier Beverage.

All revenue earned from ticket sales and a silent auction will go to A Kid's Place in Brandon, FL, a shelter for children who have been victims of domestic violence and neglect.

For more information and to purchase tickets, visit http://patch.com/E-xq86

New Blogs Coming Your Way

Hey bloggers! Angeli here. There's going to be some new changes with the DishClips blog.

-First, we will be blogging almost every day about the latest news in the foodie scene.
-From time to time I'll write a feature blog on writing experiences, but I would love to share with you all the great events going on in different food communities.
-We are in the works to integrate this blog to our official site, www.dishclips.com

Watch out as I share with you future food events, food holidays, fun facts, interesting articles, How-to's and much more!

Happy Eating,
Angeli


Don't forget to download the newest version of the DishClips app, available now on the Apple app store or click this link to download now: http://dishclips.com/download 

Healthy Eating Means Good Fortune at Fortune Cookies

Tired of Chinese food to-go? Want some fast casual AND healthy Asian food? Well I've got just the place - Fortune Cookies Restaurant.

Restaurant Layout

Fortune Cookies is not your typical cultural setting. First, it's located in a not so appealing plaza but don't be fooled by its externalities. Ignore the sign outside of the building seeming as plain as Times New Roman font; just take a peek through the glass window and you'll be curious to go inside and try the place out for yourself. It's set in a modern atmosphere with cushioned booths, tables for larger parties, and a sushi bar that runs along the wall. The ambiance is casual and the seating is spacious.

What takes the cake for this restaurant are the healthy alternatives they have to offer. There are:

-Heart Healthy options for those watching their cholesterol, blood pressure, and/or blood sugar levels

-Gluten free options on over a dozen menu choices

-Rice substitutions in addition to white rice (brown rice for a healthier alternative, red rice for a nutty, earthy feeling, and black rice for your daily dose of fiber and antioxidants.)

-Healthy sashimi and salad dressing options in any combination you choose and the entrée would be less than 250 calories.

Brown Rice Option

The Eat Healthy, Stay Healthy program helps promote better eating for students and families. Kudos to that! This has also become a tagline, or motto, for their website and restaurant. It works as a loyalty program using rewards cards every time they dine. A percentage of their meal goes to a child's school or if it's a family rewards card, points are accumulated and deals are offered from time to time. (For more info on the program check out the Eat Healthy, Stay Healthy tab on the main website.

Personally I like my Asian cultural cuisine to be experienced separately if the restaurant I'm dining markets as one specific type - though there are a few exceptions. Most of the dishes were Chinese, but then you get to the end of the menu and suddenly there’s a full sushi bar. Weird, but I guess it works out as people have told me the sushi was good.

Appetizer

I dined with a friend one night and our wait time wasn’t long at all. After being seated, our waiter took our drink orders and came back with a complimentary appetizer. Another kudos for that! Feeling the mood for seafood, we ordered the Veggie Lo Mein, Kung Pao Shrimp, and Fish Filet with Garlic Sauce. This place gave generous proportions so it was easy to share. Some dishes proved to be more authentic than others, though that would be because of the healthier option that was available. The glazes and sauces were not that sweet/savory, but they did add flavor to the dishes. I guess that’s where the healthy part kicked in. They weren’t drenched in soy sauce or sweet and sour sauce, just lightly coated. We also ordered brown rice for a healthy alternative. The entrées satisfied. The service was super efficient, considering we came during the dinner rush.

Veggie Lo Mein and Fish Filet

Kung Pao Shrimp

Overall, Fortune Cookies is a better alternative to everyday chinese food meals we eat. While you won't have that traditional deep fried goodness, you'll still delight in the taste of savory goodness from other chinese dishes. Just like their motto, Eat Healthy Stay Healthy, this restaurant is a great place for healthy eating and  happy living.

Fortune Cookies is located at:

18774 Brookhurst Street Fountain Valley, CA 92708

www.fortunecookiesrestaurant.com

They also have a second location is in Los Alamitos!

Pieology: The Art of Pizza

What do Subway, Chipotle and Pieology have in common? It's the freedom to make your food the way you want it. Subway with sub sandwiches, Chipotle with burritos, and Pieology with pizza... Yes, you read it right - PIZZA.

Pieology sign - seen on N State College Blvd in Fullerton, Ca

When you step into Pieology you get the same feeling at a Subway or Chipotle. The friendly workers, Employees, or Pieologists (as they like to call them), are behind the glass waiting for you to instruct them on how to decorate your 8" thin crust pizza. For my fellow crust lovers, sorry but they only do thin crust. Except the real deal about this place are the toppings of choice.

Prepared fresh everyday, choose from a varitety of meats, vegetables, fruits, and spices to top your pie. You control what to put on your pizza, the amount and placement. They also have seven Pieology creations that you can choose and even add on to if you can't decide where to start. Granted, pizza may not be the healthiest snack, though they have a gluten-free crust option, which I've tried once and is pretty darn good, and their ingredients are fresh. The fact that you're controlling your proportions should be considered a better alternative. Pieologists bake your pizza in a fire stone oven right in front of your eyes; the natural oils from your toppings are what you'll get out of it. Your pizza will be ready in less than 10 minutes - thought you'll probably consume it in less time than that!

Since Pieology is across the street from the Cal State Fullerton Campus (Go titans!) and I live in the area, I've spent quite a few times in this pizzeria. In the past, these were some creations I've made/ordered:

This was a Create Your Own concoction of mine. I was going for the meaty/hot theme with sausages and pepperoni then a nice drizzle of jalapeño and peppers. Then I added some red sauce, cheese and other veggies to balance out all the meat. 

I asked the worker one time if many people get 'the works' as Subway would call it. And they said yes, but the pizza gets pretty heavy/tall. Well that pretty much convinced me one time to get pretty much everything. And that's the result of this pizza. Well, every topping but I only asked for Pepperoni as my meat.

This has got to be my favorite thing to order at Pieology- #3 BBQ Chicken pizza. I've tried others but nothing compares to this. The BBQ drizzle is the right amount to balance out the sweetness of the sauce with the savory taste of the cheese and chicken. The thin crust adds just the right amount to 'fill you up', making this pizza perfection. That's exactly what this is - perfect.

The place is very casual with low couches, booths and regular wooden tables. It feels like a garage, being the main window in the front opens like a garage. It may be a bit messy at times because the place is constantly crowded, but you're meant to just stay there for probably 30 minutes to enjoy a pizza and a quick conversation with classmates/friends. I'm sure your friend's garage wasn't the cleanest, but it was still presentable. And that's what the inside of this place feels like.

What really caught my attention was the quote wall. It has nothing to do with the pizza, just something a quote freak like me would appreciate. Maybe what the owner was trying to say is to read these inspirational words, take control of your pizza choices, and take control of your life. Huh... It's possible that he WAS on to something when he added the quotes to the wall! Or you know, just to make the place look more hip and cool for the younger crowd. Either way, this place is a great hidden gem.

Pieology is definitely a place for happy eating. It's a great alternative because you get to control what you add to your pizza (not to mention fresh ingredients), and you leave the place with a smile on your face all the time. So it's definitely happy living too. And their philosophy works well with mine: "MAKING THE WORLD A BETTER PLACE ONE PIZZA AT A TIME." Watch out world because Pieology is the next big thing!

Pieology is located in Fullerton, Ca
516 N State College Blvd Fullerton, Ca 92831

*Pieology recently opened their second restaurant in Irvine, Ca. Check them out!

Sipz: A Vegetarian/Asian Fusion Experience

Happy New Year my fellow foodies! Hope you had a relaxing and food-filled holiday! I spent a good amount of my vacation in my hometown, San Diego. I love San Diego and everything about it- the people, the location, the lifestyle, and especially the food. It may not be the top metropolitan foodie city of California, but San Diego’s got its gems for sure. One of them is a mom and pop joint called Sipz - a vegetarian-Asian fusion experience. I come from an Asian culture and I know that the food can be hit or miss with being heavily vegetable influenced or meat influenced, especially with my specific culture. So I thought it was interesting going to a vegetarian/vegan Asian restaurant. Though I can vouch for others when they say Asian food is good but not always healthy (i.e. greasy, fatty, fried). I’ve heard great reviews about Sipz so before I went back to Orange County, some friends took me there for an early birthday dinner.

Let’s start with location. The one we went to was located on 30^th street in the North Park, a business district. That said, it’s street parking, but what can you expect at a downtown type of neighborhood? Sipz is on the same block as sports bars and other restaurants that are pleasing to the meat eater. But if you disregard the “Vegetarian” in the sign and actually go inside, you won’t regret it. The place was chic and had a very modern atmosphere. The service was of good quality. We got to experience it during rush and calm rimes since we dined right before and during the dinner rush. My friends were new to vegetarian restaurants and our waiter helped them decide what to eat. The waiter was genuine with his suggestions based on your personal food preferences and he didn’t push them to go for anything pricey; in fact, our waiter kept telling us the better ways to order some things (i.e. Get a FREE Mango Iced Tea with any entree paid for in cash, order a large option instead and share because it’s much cheaper). That sold me right there.

Japanese Fire Noodlez (Mild-Medium)

The menu was 100% vegetarian and I want to say about 40% was vegan (plus gluten-free options). It consisted of Vietnamese, Chinese, Japanese and Thai dishes. What I liked was how confident they were to write chicken or shrimp without quotations because obviously you’d know this was vegetarian and the taste would be almost the same. We ordered the Japanese Fire Noodlez and Tangy Orange Chicken to test out the meat. The chicken tasted pretty good and was pretty damn close to the real thing, but I guess the carnivore inside of me still knew it was imitation chicken. That would also probably be due to the fact that I’ve grown familiar to soy than tofu, that I recognized the difference in texture. Nevertheless, the food was delightful. Their ‘no meat’ dishes are packed full of veggies, like the Vietnamese Rice Noodle Soup we ordered, so I would so don’t fret about ordering something with no meat. Pricing is reasonable - less than $20 a dish and it’s a casual setting that happens to be located in a downtown-like neighborhood; so several factors are put into price. But you get what you pay for, which is good tasting vegetarian food for the healthy eater on a budget.

Vietnamese Rice Noodle Soup

Tangy Orange Chicken

Sipz was over all very good experience, even with figuring in my preconceived ideas about vegan or vegetarian ‘meat’. Like what another friend of mine who I was dining with said, the best vegetarian places are the ones where you can leave without feeling totally bloated or bloated at all and feeling good about yourself. Sipz did justice. I’d give it 4 out of 5 stars only for it’s downtown location (parking), but Sipz is definitely a place for healthy eating and happy dining :)

Sipz has 2 locations in San Diego (Neighborhoods: Clairemont and North Park)
www.sipz.com

I Got The Munchies (Pizza)!

The spirited story of Munchies Pizza thumps in the hearts of local residents of beautiful downtown Huntington Beach, and it goes something like this: "I used to work there when I was in High School, man;" "Back in the 80's we used to stick dough to the ceiling and see who's stuck the longest;" "Man, this one time . . ." And the stories are rich, fun, and never-ending. Tradition, hospitality, and the best thick crust pizza in Huntington Beach have long been staples of Munchies Pizza, but as their 35 year anniversary approaches, it's the sense of pride and ownership local HB residents take in Munchies that carries weight.

 Since 1978, Munchies Pizza has delivered the goods: Thick crust, gourmet pizza; monster wings drenched in hot sauce; novelties like garlic bread with cheese; and a homemade sauce procured from bold seasonings and the perfect amount of sweetness. But more impressively, the patrons of Munchies Pizza are the "salt of the earth" locals of Huntington Beach, rich in character and proud of the landmark that has supported them, their kids, and even their kids kids!

204 E. Adams Unit C, Huntington Beach, CA 92647

Munchies is like Huntington Beach's family heirloom, passed down from generation to generation. It is a first-time employer for many of HB teens, a popular hang-out for tourists, and a charming re-imagination of what a local diner should be.

In an era dominated by haughty restaurant rating systems like Yelp, Munchies Pizza and their devoted patronage inspire me to look beyond the Yelp-happy martyrs and reveal inefficiencies in restaurant review methods.  What Yelp will never be able to accurately gauge is the efficacy a restaurant has on the people who really matter, not just the small fringe of social web users eager to pump their chests behind the veil of the Internet. And it is days like this that I am happy DishClips will help foodies discover and share pizza joints like Munchies, rather than use fear-mongering to dissuade me from discovering a gem of a diner.

Oh, and if you're ever in Munchies, try the Sarafina: Alfredo sauce, basil, pepperoncini's, garlic, and tomatoes. Bon Appetit!

Sarafina
MunchiesPizzaHB.com

California Chicken Cafe

Hey there foodies, it's been a minute since I last posted. Lately I've been eating at the same places and haven't really gotten around to trying something new. I visited a client and colleague in Santa Monica recently and I figured it would be the perfect time to explore a new gem. As I've said before, I'm familiar with the Los Angeles scene, but not much of Santa Monica other than eateries near the Santa Monica pier or the amazing food stands and hot dog trucks around. So I was very surprised to have discovered California Chicken Cafe!

I've had my fair share of visits to Peet's coffee on Woodward and that was the only shop I knew on the the street. I pulled in to Peet's then suddenly heard my stomach churn, demanding to put food in my belly. So I backed out and decided to drive down the street and randomly pick a place. It was rush hour so the first street parking I found, I parked. Cal it fate, but I parked in between CCC and Radio Shack. I took one look at the place and said "What the heck, let's try this place out."And I'm glad I did.

My first thought about the food and menu was "This place reminds me of Chicken Maison" (I wrote about Chicken Maison in a previous post). As much as I wanted to eat something light so I wouldn't feel sluggish during my meeting, I knew I had to eat something more than a simple piece of bread. So I ordered the 3-piece with 2 sides Rotisserie Combo with fresh fruit and chinese cabbage salad (red and green cabbage, green onions, almonds, sesame seeds, and sweet dressing).

While waiting for my meal, which took less than 10 minutes, I observed my surroundings. It seemed pretty crowded, but the dinner rush went by harmless. When my food arrived, I started with the fruit. Oh my word, it was sweet. I confirmed with one of the servers that the fruit was seasonal so every day it was different. The mix I had was ripe and flavorful. I took my time eating every piece of fruit because it was so juicy. Next came the salad. I've had chinese cabbage salad before and the best one I've ever tasted was homemade by an old friend who sadly moved to Florida. There was only one restaurant that had something similar to my friend's salad and that's a mom and pop in San Diego. So I kind of had expectations for this. You remember in the movie Ratatouille when Anton takes a bite of the food and suddenly nostalgia passes through his very soul, reliving a moment in his childhood? The thing about memories and when this phenomena happens is we quickly have a strong desire to go back to that moment and savor it as long as we can. That's what it felt like when I took a bite of that salad. It reminded me of my dearest friend in Florida and it certainly put me in an even better mood.

The chicken was far from dry (thank goodness), not it was appetizing. I asked the family sitting next to me if they would consider this place "healthy" because I've realized how light everything felt and even after finishing my combo and pita bread (they ask if you want white or wheat option!), I was just about full. The family next to me told me that this place was considered a healthier alternative to some of the eateries here and they like the menu and location for it as well. I couldn't agree more.

I was lucky to have found California Chicken Cafe on a last minute dinner rush and I'm glad I chose it over going to the nearest fast food drive thru. You really can't go wrong with any meal you order here. So, let's take my checklist out... Was the food delicious? Check. Was it healthy? Check. And did I enjoy my experience? DOUBLE CHECK. If you're ever out to eat in the West Los Angeles/Santa Monica Area and are looking for something fast, healthy and delicious, I recommend California Chicken Cafe. They are definitely a restaurant that promotes healthy eating and happy living :)

The California Chicken Cafe I ate at was located on 2005 Westwood Blvd, Los Angeles, Ca 90025. I also know there is one on 2401 Wilshire Blvd Santa Monica, Ca 90403.

www.californiachickencafe.com