Taco Rosa makes my heart sing

Being a Southern California native, I just happen to LOVE Mexican food.  Guacamole and rice and beans oh my!  However, when I found out I was allergic to corn of all things, I started to see many of my Mexican food-filled dreams fly out the window.  No more salty tortilla chips with guac.  No more fresh tamales.  No more mini taquitos and tostadas.  The horror!  Since Mexican food is a very heavily corn-based, I was afraid I wouldn't be able to eat at many Mexican restaurants anymore.  But then I remembered, there's Taco Rosa.

Taco Rosa is a lovely Mexican Cantina that was created from Taco Mesa founders Ivan and Marco Calderon.  While Taco Mesa serves fast and fresh Mexican dishes, Taco Rosa can be viewed as Taco Mesa's more refined big sister.  I have mad mad love for both establishments, but right now this post is dedicated to Taco Rosa (which doesn't mean that Taco Mesa won't make an appearance in the near future).

Taco Rosa's cuisine is something you could imagine yourself eating if you were actually in Mexico City.  The restaurant offers many classic Mexican dishes, with a slight French or Spanish influence.  If you are looking for more "Americanized" Mexican food, let me tell you, Taco Rosa is NOT that.  If you are in the mood for classic, Mexican flavors with a bit of a twist, this is your place.  Plus, they have happy hour weekdays from 3-6 so you can enjoy all of their delicious beverages for half the price.  But more on the beverages later.

The menu has all of the standards - Quesadillas, Fajitas, Enchiladas, Tostadas, etc.  They are also more than willing to accomodate any dietary needs.  Everytime I go in there I ask for flour tortillas instead of corn for all of my dishes and they are more than happy to oblige.  Oh, and they make the tortillas on site so you KNOW they are good.

When you first sit down, you are presented with some carrots, onions and vinegar (aka escabeche), a couple flautas, and some guacamole.  It's the perfect way to tease your palate of the yummy goodness that is to come.  Now Taco Rosa is well known for their homemade margaritas with agave nectar and sea salt, but I also have a love for their house sangria with fresh fruit.  The drinks are big and strong so you definitely get your money's worth.

Decadant Sangria and a Blended Margarita

On the food front, their Chicken Quesadilla, Carne Asada Burrito, and Calamari Tostada are all fantastic choices.  But of course, I have got to call out their Chicken and Shrimp Fajitas that are always just SIZZLING with flavor when presented.

Just look at that sizzle!

One of Taco Rosa's most popular dishes is the Enchiladas Mexico City which is made with pulled chicken in a tomatillo sauce and smothered in cheese.  Corn tortillas are traditionally used for this dish, and sometimes it's best not to mess with tradition, so my review is strictly based on word of mouth.

If you want something yum and meaty, try the Carnitas Pibil which is made in a wrapped banana leaf, or the Alambre Tacos with bacon and peppers.

Just make sure you leave room for dessert.  Oh, the dessert.  Sopapillas happen to be one of my favorite Mexican desserts, and many restaurants do not serve them.  For those who do not know, a sopapilla is a Mexican quick bread that is made with flour, shortening, oil, and baking powder, to creat a small pillow-like shape.  The sopapillas are then dipped in a fryer and usually served warm with ice cream.  Taco Rosa however, takes sopapillas to the next level.  Once the sopapillas are fried, they are served piping hot over vanilla bean ice cream with fresh strawberries, and honey and chocolate sauce for dipping.  Words cannot describe.

Perfection

Now that you are officially full of Mexican food goodness, you can roll yourself out of the restaurant and take a nice long siesta while your belly digests all that delicious food.  Taco Rosa only uses the finest and freshest ingredients, so you don't leave with that greasy Mexican food feeling. 

There are two Taco Rosa locations in Orange County - one in Newport Beach and one in Tustin.  Both are fine establishments, but if you are looking for something a little quieter and more intimate, the Newport location is definitely for you.  Regardless of which Taco Rosa establishment you dine at, you MUST order the sopapillas.  Just trust me on this one.

Taco Rosa

Tustin Marketplace
Bridgepark Plaza
13792 Jamboree Rd., 92670
(714) 505-6080
fax (714) 505-6133

Newport Beach
2632 San Miguel Rd., 92660
(949) 720-0980
fax (949) 720-0982

R+D Kitchen = Bliss

I've been a big fan of Hillstone Group restaurants - Houstons, Bandera, Gulfstream have all ranked fairly high in my book.  So when my friend suggested that we go to R+D Kitchen in Fashion Island for dinner, I was definitely intrigued.

Having just relocated back to Orange County this past spring, I've been pleasantly surprised to see the new crop of restaurants popping up all over the place.  Instead of the generic chain restaurants (which some are actually quite delicious mind you), I've been seeing more "concept" type restaurants, something that I couldn't get enough of living in Los Angeles.  The concept behind R+D is to "offer crisp and flavorful cuisine in an indoor-outdoor space."  Was the cuisine crisp and flavorful?  You betcha.  And the indoor-outdoor concept in a place like Fashion Island is perfect.

We started our meal with a glass of wine - I had the Hill Family Merlot which was smooth and delicious (I've been on a Merlot kick lately, especially since it hasn't been super hot out lately).  For entrees, I was initially eyeing the Veggie Burger until the waitress kindly informed me that the burger contained soy sauce.  Of course, soy is one of the many things I am allergic to so I had to pass.  But I immediately gave R+D bonus points for knowing EXACTLY what was in each of their dishes when I brought up my allergy concerns.  That my friends, is a sign of a restaurant on top of their game.  This also confrmed to me that the restaurant was making all of their food fresh in house, and not loading it with artificial preservatives and ingredients.  Just by reading the menu I could tell that most of the dishes were made with just simple, NATURAL ingredients.

I settled on the Roast Chicken with mashed potatoes (substituting out the tabbouleh because of the corn in it) and my friend had the Pan Fried Fish with spinach and mashed potatoes.  Both dishes were light and flavorful, and the mashed potatoes were melt in your mouth creamy.  We both devoured our dinners so fast that I forgot to take pictures, which was unfortunate.

While the Chocolate Pot de Creme looked awfully tempting to order for dessert, we decided we were just a bit too full from our dinners to indulge.  Oh well, there's always next time.

One of the other things I love about R+D Kitchen besides their food allergy awareness and indoor-outdoor space is that they are constantly changing the menu to use seasonal ingredients.  I've always felt that eating fruits and vegetables in season was a million times better than eating stuff out of season, and I'm glad to see that R+D Kitchen plans on keeping their menu fresh.  Plus, it keeps you coming back to see what's next!

Some other dishes that looked enticing were the Cheeseburger on a homemade bun (with the fresh cut french fries I was eyeing), the Mediterranean Seared Tuna Salad with avocado and goat cheese, and the Chicken Meatballs with Spaghetti.  Looks like I'm going to have to make a trip back to R+D Kitchen soon!

But don't just take my word for it - try it yourself.  And be sure to order the Chocolate Pot de Creme for dessert.

R+D Kitchen
555 Newport Center Drive
Newport Beach, CA 92660

The 4-1-1

So you may have noticed that I have tossed around the phrase "food allergies" here and there on the good ol' blog.  As much as I'd love to call myself a true foodie (in some ways I think I am), I do have limitations when it comes to trying any dish that is placed in front of me.  Chances are I'm the girl in the restaurant that will modify her order to her own personal liking while trying to maintain the original essence of the dish.  But let's start at the beginning.

I didn't always have food allergies.  At least, I didn't think so.  I ate relatively healthy as a kid, but would also enjoy the small bag of cheetos in my sack lunch from time to time.  As I moved away from home and started college, I noticed my health was beginning to suffer as well. 

Naturally, I assumed it was the college lifestyle - lack of sleep, lots of booze, and cafeteria-style food loaded with who knows what kind of preservatives.  As I entered my senior year, I began eating "healthier" by making my own frozen lean cuisine meals at home and attempting to get a decent night's sleep.  But I began to notice that after most meals I was feeling ill - from sushi to pizza and even certain cereals.  A dozen doctor visits later and they still couldn't pinpoint what was going on. "It's just stress" they would say.

Enter post-college life.  Working a 9-5 (really 7) job that I didn't enjoy, and decidedly feeling worse and worse after pretty much every meal that I ate.  It wasn't until I spent a night in agony after eating a slice of cornbread from Whole Foods that I knew something was up.  My older brother has food allergies, so I figured I might as well get tested too.

Low and behold, I discovered that I was allergic to corn, soy, and walnuts.  While this may not sound like the end of the world (and it's not) it did force me to re-evaluate and examine my diet.  You see, being allergic to corn and soy doesn't just mean corn on the cob and soy sauce.  It encompasses all derivatives of corn and soy which includes such items as high fructose corn syrup, cornstarch, corn flour, soybean oil, soy protein, etc. etc.  I found myself reading the back of cereal boxes and was shocked to find that they were loaded with some of the offending ingredients listed above.  No wonder I felt so sick after my morning breakfast!

Needless to say, I wiped it all out of my diet and started with a clean slate.  I began to navigate my way through the supermarket, reading the backs of boxes and containers to make sure no offending ingredients were listed.  Gone were the days of frozen meals, it was up to me to cook my own stuff now (which wasn't a bad thing).

Cooking at home also meant gourmet sandwich day with wine!

Restaurants naturally became more of a minefield, and ordering a simple dinner usually resulted in a waiter running back to the kitchen to verify an ingredient with the chef.  Annoying?  Perhaps.  But at least I've only had a small handful of allergic reactions from dining in restaurants.

So that brings me to today.  And this blog.  In a way, I do consider having food allergies to be a good thing.  It forced me to not only eat healthier, but it has also increased my awareness of what really goes into our food.  I try to shop as organically and locally as possible, and love discovering restaurants who pride themselves on preparing food with fresh and natural ingredients, not ones loaded with uncessary preservatives. 

This is where the idea for the blog came in.  Why not seek out restaurants that make their food from scratch and serve only the freshest items out there so everyone can enjoy?  I give a restaurant top marks when I can sit down and order from their menu and NOT send the waiter back to ask what xyz ingredient is in a particular dish.  I'm determined not only to find great eats, but to find eats that will accomodate ANYONE with special dietary needs.  Just because you can't wolf down a processed frozen pizza doesn't mean you can't enjoy good eats like everyone else right?

Good eats include Sprinkles cupcakes! Nom Nom Nom....

Ok, so that was a bit of a long post, but now you know a bit where I'm coming from and a bit more about my OC restaurant quest.  And for all those allergy sufferers out there - you aren't alone!