Orange County Food Blog

Grace Le

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Grace Le

​Oh, Avalon Bar... home, sweet hole-in-the wall. Those of you familiar with this local dive already know at least two major details:

1. Contrary to what the kitschy, light bulb-lined arrow pointing down at the bar's entrance may lead you to believe, this is place is no disco.
2. This establishment doesn't serve hard liquor, so you can leave any hope of a vodka and Red Bull at the door.

Now, detail number two might be a bit of a drag for those looking to get trashed by 10 p.m., but it doesn't mean that a beer and wine bar can't serve up a decent mixed drink. Places like Avalon generally refrain from offering hard alcohol because the type of liquor license they hold prevents them from selling beverages over a certain percentage of alcohol by volume, but soju is a convenient way to circumvent this.

The only downer is that the Blue Bayou is a dine-in restaurant only, so you'll have to queue up like everybody else to have at this drink (something you'll probably have gotten used to). Be ready to put your name on a wait list, or even better, try to duck in during non-peak hours for the quickest service. But don't let this turn you off. Tasty and generously proportioned, Disneyland's Mint Julep is an attraction definitely worth waiting for.

​With its polygonal, wrap-around counter and neon-lit shelves lined with glowing bottles of liquor, the main bar of Long Beach's Shore Ultra Lounge looks like something transplanted from a scene straight out of Blade Runner.  At its center, Multiple bartenders give 360-degree service while simultaneously chatting up the patrons that crowd the counter's edges on a Saturday night.

The great thing about this set up is that you don't have to stand there long before someone notices. I managed to snag bar manager, Janice Paik, to ask about a club specialty. As it turns out, there isn't one, but she didn't leave me hanging. After about a minute of fancy bartender handiwork, I was handed a frosty martini glass filled to the brim with a pale pink cocktail. Now, I'm not generally a fan of sugary drinks. Honestly, the thought of a Cosmo makes my stomach turn, but this drink blew me away.What I had before me was a Pink Lemonade (of the non-virgin variety).

​With liberal proportions of Citron Vodka and X-Rated fusion liquor, the Pink Lemonade is not for sissies, but splashes of sweet and sour mix and 7UP make it almost deceptively delicious. A great deal of the fruit flavor comes from the X-Rated, which is a blend of premium French vodka, blood orange, mango, and passion fruit. Hand-squeezed lemon adds fresh juice and pulp to the mix and gives the drink a refreshing effect and clean aftertaste. Finely crushed bits of ice, a maraschino cherry, and a slice of lemon garnish the Pink Lemonade, making it look as good as it tastes.
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An original mix fashioned on the fly, the Pink Lemonade runs about $8.50, but for all the quality ingredients and tender loving care, it's well worth a try. Just remember to ask for Janice because this drink is her personal specialty!

​On the bar at Habana, the Costa Mesa Lab's best Cuban restaurant (ok, The Lab's only Cuban restaurant), there's a row of tall, thin glasses. In each one: some mint leaves, some limes and some liquid -- I presume sugar water -- at the bottom. The place is a mojito factory.

But if you venture beyond the mojitos, Habana has a pretty sturdy drink menu. While Cuban food can trend heavy, the cocktails seem designed only to refresh. At least, that's the case with Habana's white sangria. The joint has two big jugs of sangria -- white and red -- which they ladle for you into a glass goblet. The acrid taste you sometimes get with the red stuff isn't present in the blanca. Instead, it's smooth sipping, sweet but not subdued, tinged with peach and apple.

Habana makes theirs with white wine, passion fruit rum, apple liquor and fresh fruit marinated over night -- all floated with champaign. I hadn't had anything quite like it, so I asked whether white sangria was a Habana invention. Yeah, said the bartender. They started serving it a little over a year ago. A Google search reveals, though, that Sangria Blanca isn't quite a Habana original... but still! The place certainly does it well.
 

​The drink: The Algerian Boulevard at Andrei's Conscious Cuisine and Cocktails. $7 normally, $5 at happy hour (3 to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday)

Edwin's already pretty thoroughly examined the "cuisine" part of newly opened Andrei's Conscious Cuisine and Cocktails in Irvine, but methinks the "cocktails" needs some talking about. I asked bar manager/lead bartender Kurt Van Dyke for a taste of the joint's signature drink. He delivered a pink concoction on the rocks, floating lemons and flecked with red pulp.

"It's the number one drink, man," he said. "Every chick loves it."

​Gustavo probably wouldn't have many kind things to say about the food at Ricardo's Place in San Juan Capistrano. It's one of those brightly-colored, family-friendly joints with big plates of just-ok-if-you-don't-know-any-better Mexican-American standards. For the record, I don't know any better, so it tastes pretty good to me. But forget about the food for a second, because the place has something better than bland burritos: cheap drinks.

On each table, there's a card proclaiming, in classic Microsoft Word wordart, "ALL DAY HAPPY HOUR SPECIAL." This is special indeed. The choices: margarita on the rocks, cuba libre, vodka tonic and brandy sangria. Each are $3, which provides a lovely contrast to most south-county Mexican restaurants $7 margaritas and well drinks.

I tried the cuba libre -- which is just a rum and coke with lime -- and the brandy sangria. Both were surprisingly strong. Which is great, because now I've got a plan: grab some friends, hit Ricardo's for dinner, order all four drinks from the permanent happy hour menu, and then stumble down Camino Capistrano to the world-famous Swallow's Inn. No matter your state of sobriety, the Swallow's cowboy crowds provide a good time, but a cheap pre-game at Ricardo's should make it a tad easier to line dance from the get-go.

​For patrons of downtown Fullerton's The Twisted Vine, wine and appetizers are the standard fare. But if you haven't taken the time to try any of this classy establishments' beer selection, might I recommend trying either the Sea Dog's Blueberry Ale from Portland, Maine or the Maui Brewing Company's Coconut Porter from Hawaii, straight away? Both of these beers are infused with fruit during the brewing process to give them a tasty sweet (but not too sweet) zest unlike any other fruit infused ale I've had the pleasure of tasting. These are special in that they don't overwhelm the taste-buds. They're refreshing. They're posh, and above all, they're reasonably priced (each under $8). So what are you waiting for? Liven up your taste buds with some of these frosty brews from this beautiful wine bar. And if you're thirsty for more after the tasting, both flavors are available for purchase by the bottle, or the can in the Coconut Porter's case. But, not to worry, it's a big can.

The Twisted Vine, 127 W. Commonwealth Ave., Fullerton, CA 92832; 714-871-1200

Tired of the same old gin and tonics? Looking to liven up your libations? That's what I was doing when I waltzed into local Long Beach gem, Coco Reno's earlier this week (they serve a hell of a burrito there, in case you're interested). I muscled up the bar, took a seat and asked the bartender to hit me with her best shot. She did. The Raspberry Kamikaze.

Holy fucking shit. I could drink an entire bottle of these things--and that night, I almost did.
 
Four shots later I decided to call it quits--it was 5 p.m. on a Tuesday, after all. But the taste stuck with me and the next night I was ordering the hair-of-the-dog-that-bit-me with my dinner! They're dangerous, these kamikaze missions, but they're worth it.

Composed of three simple ingredients--vodka, sweet & sour mix and raspberry liqueur--this shot will knock your socks off in the best way possible. I highly recommend arranging for a sober driver if you plan on flying high on some of these babies yourself. It may have been popular for kamikaze pilots to try and take others out during WWII, but it's best to leave the pain you're sure to experience from these little gems to the self-inflicted variety. 

Coco Reno's, 3400 E. Broadway St., Long Beach, CA 90803; 562-438-9381

It's tough to find a nice outdoor patio complete with a quiet ambiance (and a variety of booze) in this neighborhood. But wouldn't you know it, we found one right near our office at Habana in Costa Mesa! Nestled behind the oh-so-fabulous Buffalo Exchange at posh anti-mall, The Lab, Habana is home to classic Cuban cuisine and one heck of a sangria (the recipe of which was not made available to me but surely includes wine, fruit and other tasty goodies).

While a pitcher of either the white or red will run you at about $20, on a hot sunny day like the ones we've been experiencing lately, it's more than worth it. The restaurant's lovely umbrellas will shade you from the blazing sun while you enjoy this delightful thirst-quenching beverage surrounded by tall breezy grasses and cute little birdies. Plus, the assorted berries floating inside the mixture make for a light and delicious snack. It's practically a combo meal with out the fries! Enjoy one today, you wont regret taking this little siesta.

Habana, 2930 Bristol St., Costa Mesa, CA 92626; 714-556-0176

Sometimes nothing tastes better than a cold, smooth beer. And if you're going to pay over five bucks a pop, you might as well go with World Beer Championship's 1998 winner of "Best Beer in the World," Delirium Tremens (Latin for "trembling madness").

Don't let the name fool you, this Belgium brewed masterpiece is a delight to drink and, surprisingly, causes very little belching. Plus, it's available at Crow Bar and Kitchen in Corona Del Mar, the restaurant we named as "Best in OC" back '98.

Served in either a port glass or a regular 'ol 12 oz. beer glass, this golden ale with the hint of a sweet aftertaste, can be yours for a mere $7.50.

Might I recommend enjoying this fine pilsner with some of The Crow Bar's oh-so-fabulous duck fat french fries? It's the perfect relaxation ritual.

The Crow Bar and Kitchen, 2325 E Coast Hwy, Corona Del Mar, Ca 92625;  949-675-0070

Does someone you know have a birthday coming up? Do you kind of want to see this person vomit all over themselves? If you answered yes to one or both of these questions then it's time for you to head on over to the Orange Circle with this special someone and head into Paul's Cocktails for a shot . . . or nine.

In case you've never been there, Paul's is one of those "trashy" bars where people can get rowdy without any guff from the staff or the cops. Weird stuffed animal heads and plastic shit adorn the wood-paneled walls, and I'm-going-to-sob-into-my-empty-beer-pitcher country music frequents the juke box. Basically, it's a little slice of heaven on Earth that serves two different birthday shots sure to make anyone puke all over their shoes.

First is their aptly titled "Birthday Shot." This local gem consists of Bacardi 151, Jagermeister, Rumplemintz, and . . .  possibly one other ingredient that the bar staff wasn't able to divulge (something tells us it's all the juice from the bar mats that has collected over the night). Regardless, this drink is puke-a-riffic and perfect for any birthday boy or girl who deserves a special gift, like getting to see what they've eaten twice in one day!

Not necessarily in the mood to drink a barf-inducing mystery shot? Try "The Minefield" instead. It consists of a different kind of mystery, but this one is more like a party game. The bartender starts by taking nine shot glasses, filling five with water and four with a clear alcoholic beverage of their choice. Then mixes them up in no particular order and the drinker has to shoot them all back to back, without knowing which is booze and which is water. Surprise! You just drank a shot of Gin! What fun!

Head on over to Paul's and celebrate with either of these two drinks. You wont remember it in the morning, so what do you have to lose?

Paul's Cocktails, 207 W Chapman Ave Orange, CA; 714-639-2480.

Feeling under-appreciated after a long week of endlessly slaving away for a thankless boss? Then head on over to Costa Mesa's Clubhouse Restaurant in South Coast Plaza for one of their signature Flirtinis.

Comprised of Stoli Raspberry, Champagne, Triple Sec, pineapple juice, cranberry juice, fresh lime juice and two floating, fresh raspberries, this cocktail will at once make you feel fancy-free and tickled pink as those delicious champagne bubbles tickle their way into your tummy. Served chilled in a martini glass, these little delicacies are a whopping $12 a pop, but worth every penny. After all, you've earned the money, why not spend it on something to make you forget your hard day of menial labor.

The Clubhouse, located in the Southwest wing of South Coast Plaza, adjacent to Bloomingdales; (714) 708-2582

If you're like me, you inhale cookies by the fist full. No shame. Cookies are excellent. But it would be so much easier to get through dessert without uncomfortable stares from your date if there was some form of liquid cookie that could be drunk quickly and was without all those pesky crumbs. Well, Café Hidalgo in Fullerton has invented a delicious solution--Chris' Oatmeal Cookie. Named after the restaurant's manager and resident mixologist, Chris Erickson, the drink is served in a martini glass and consists of Baileys, Butterscotch Schnapps, Godiva Dark Chocolate Liqueur, and a dash of fresh cinnamon.

After downing one of these puppies, all you can think about is the delicious aftertaste left to taunt the tongue thanks to that glorious cinnamon, and there's feeling in your stomach that's reminiscent of Christmas--much nicer than that feeling of embarrassment you used to get after licking your plate with those other conventional oven-baked desserts. All this goodness costs only $5.50 and thanks to yours truly, Chris said he'd make you one on the house if it's your birthday. You're welcome.

Café Hidalgo, 305 N Harbor Blvd # 111, Fullerton, CA 92832