Valentine's Day Part I

In case you don't cruise down 17th Street in Costa Mesa/Newport area your missing out. They have great restaurants up and down the street but a little bakery is what holds a special place in my heart.

SusieCakes!
They have locations in LA and one here off of Westcliff and Irvine Avenue in Newport Beach. Just a hop skip and a jump from my house.

I thought that they would be crowed with lots of people getting their sweethearts some treats but when I first walked in, they weren't that busy but when I walked out they had a long line. But the staff was still very helpful and sweet! The young lady that helped me out even offered to tie up my boxes with cute SusieCakes ribbon. Nice touch! And I am a sucker for good packaging so I loved that.

I got two HUGE chocolate covered strawberries and two cupcakes for $14. Yes, that sounds pricey, but that's the going rate around the OC for a gourmet cupcake, $3. The strawberries had a thick layer of chocolate and the actual strawberries were juicy and sweet. The cake on the cupcake was moist and just sweet enough to pair with the cream cheese.

Not cheap! But worth the splurge! I was still craving that cream cheese frosting on the red velvet for two days! And the frosting even comes on the inside of the cupcakes. I can't vouch for the chocolate that was HungryPoppa's treats.

On my next treat there I wanna try their sour cream cheesecake. YUM!

Then on to Memphis in Costa Mesa for our dinner...

Bangkok Taste - Santa Ana

The first time I heard about Bangkok Taste was in the OC Weekly's 2008 Food Issue. Hungrypoppa and I were tired of the same old same old and took a chance!

We also read ElmoMonster's blog about it too. We were intrigued!

In the past three weeks HungryPoppa and I have eaten here 3 times. That may NOT sound like a lot, but we try to rotate our eating out experiences. So 1 restaurant 3 times in 3 weeks is a lot for us!

We even went to eat here with Gustavo Arellano when he offered free dessert, we took it as an opportunity to pick his brain about food, Orange County etc..

But onto the food. I know my fave thing at Bangkok Taste is the Tom Kha Gai soup. The lemony, chicken and spicy soup makes me and Poppa swoon. We fight for the last bit of soup that is left every time. We ask for it extra spicy cause it taste that much better with a kick. We have random cravings for it, it's THAT good! I know Poppa would have it every day if he could.

I have a confession, I am a noodle junkie! If its a noodle, I will eat it. I don't disciminate, fat noodles, skinny noodles BRING IT!

The Drunken Noodles, fat noodles, are so delicious, perfectly pan fried, with just the right hint of basil. The glass noodles, with veggies, the name escapes me, is delicious. The veggies in it are perfect!

The masnum curry, which deserves a side of rice to soak up all the delicousness, has huge chunks of potatoes soaking in some amazing spicyness!

For me and poppa its usually under 20 bucks, this day we splurged and spent $30. And I was stuffed! Man, I can't WAIT to get back there and have some soup.

Hidden Kitchen being Revised

HungryPoppa and I have eaten at Hidden Kitchen and both of use were not THAT impressed by it. Maybe we just came on an off night.

Nevertheless, we were so excited to hear that Rooster Cafe (where Hidden Kitchen was running out of) is adding a new restaurant into its rotation! I read this on the OC Register. HungryMomma is WAY excited! I love me some good sangria and tapas!

As for Rooster Café, Flynn's already found another restaurant concept to take the place of The Hidden Kitchen.

Maria Christenson, who opened Kitsch Bar with Flynn seven years ago and bartends there, will enter the restaurant world with Boqueria.

"La Boqueria in Spain is the market where people go daily and get their freshest produce. It's a whole market with freshly grown produce, meats and fish," she said. "You can sit down and eat tapas, which are what we'll be making – traditional Spanish dishes that are great for sharing."

With the cooking talents of Marvin Boden, who most recently worked as chef de cuisine at Splashes in the Surf and Sand Hotel in Laguna Beach, Christenson wants Boqueria to be a place where "friends and family get together to have a little sangria and tapas."

She said Boqueria, which opens on March 5, will serve from 5:30 to 11 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, but could expand those hours if the restaurant becomes popular.

Beer Challenge Day 4

A little background on the Beer Challenge!

So HungryPoppa and I are self-proclaimed foodies. Yes, we love to eat. But so we don't over do it we decided to start eating better last year.

Both of us lost 30 lbs last year! And we have maintained it within a few pounds. I am working hard to loose the last 30 or so pounds before my BFFs wedding this fall. :) And I will have to wear a bridesmaid dress.

So here's where the beer challenge comes in. Even light beer has about 90 calories or so. And on Weight Watchers it's about 2 points. Those precious points are what keep me from getting fat!

So basically, I am giving up beer. Not sure for how long yet. Depends. If I see results on the scale then yeah no more beer, light or regular.

Today is Day 4 and will probably be the hardest coming up cause it's the weekend! And it's a celebration bitches. Not really, but every Friday night it's a celebration with HungryMomma and HungryPoppa.

I also wanna note, that I am NOT giving up all alcohol. Please! Let's not be silly. I am just going to be all about vodka + club soda for a long while. Or wine. or Champagne!

(the photo is courtesy of flickr bw8932a, and probably as much beer as I have drank in my lifetime)

Flame Broiler

Today HungryPoppa (aka Mr. Frugal Foodie) and I got "rainitis". You know, when you get all lazy cause it is raining outside.

Well we had it! big time.

So we decided to pick up some of my favorite chicken out there, Flame Broiler. They claim to be healthy. And I fall for it every time!

We have had a long love affair, it started when I was in college. I love that "magic" or special sauce they have. I am sure it's loaded with lots of calories. But it is my favorite thing about Flamer Broiler.

In the spirit of trying to "healthy" we shared a plate. So we went big. We ordered The Works, with an extra side of chicken and a Diet Coke! It came with a couple veggies, a small salad and beef and more chicken. Oh and you can't forget those green onions. Delicious!

Our total $12 and change.

Not so frugal.. yet major foodies

So our first post on here isn't really frugal and isn't really in Orange County.. but its the most recent time that I actually remembered to take a couple pictures of what we ate.

The last couple years we try to make it out to Vegas for the holidays and my birthday. This trip was a culinary expedition.

Bouchon for breakfast on our first morning there. Donuts! Nutella! Oh.my.god!

As if that wasn't enough of a fat fest we decided to go to Sushi Samba for some fab dinner and yummy dessert! Mr. Frugal Foodie LOVED it! Sad to say no pics! But here's my bday cake! Oh and they had some cool graffiti on the wall. We felt at home. :)




the following night was the pinnacle of gluttony! Craftsteak! OMG! The waiter asked us if we had time commitments before we starting our tasting menu. We ate for over 2 hours. The team of servers are great. Great service. We walked for prob over a mile so we would not die of over indulgence after our meal!


We also went to Lotus of Siam off the strip which is supposed to be the best Thai food this side of Thailand. I liked it but didn't love it. Next time. I still go for Bangkok Taste over it.