Happy Mothers Day. Today I took my mom to Pita Jungle, a light and relaxed Mediterranean restaurant chain popping up all over Arizona and more recently there are 3 in Southern California. I can only compare it with Panini cafe which is also a chain of Mediterranean fusion in SoCal and Panini would win. Pita Jungle is more similar to a Cocos and in that case Pita Jungle would win. It looks like an upbeat Cocos. The service is welcoming, kind, and very knowledgable about their menu. Which is important based on its expansiveness. They offer foods from a humus trio to chicken tikka masala to Greek gyros. We had the tikka masala, the turkey pesto wrap, and the Mediterranean platter. The tikka masala was weird being coconut based and sweet, the turkey pesto was great with probably some of the best pesto spread out there(who would have thought)

Overall I would give them a 7 out of 10. For outstanding service but a few errors when it comes to food.

The Candy Baron of Laguna Beach is the perfect example of a greedy, extortionistic local store that stays in business not with good service or a fun, candy store atmosphere, but with outrageous prices they inflict on tourists and locals alike. Shopping there can leave you with a feeling of inferiority and (at least when you’re a kid) being treated like you are a shifty criminal. It is not an inviting feeling for a store that (I imagine) is trying to succeed locally. They clearly do not care about local business. The selection is alright but predictable. The location is amazing, across from the beach but right in the center of town. But wow, very unpleasant employees.

Over all I give them a 3 of 10 for being a good candy store but a bad business. If you want candy, either wait and shop someplace else like Laguna Chocolate Factory or save the money you would have lost there, or spend a fraction of it by driving out of town to Costco, Target, etc.

Like most communities in Orange County, my home town of Laguna Beach, has a Farmer’s Market. Ours is every Saturday morning. There’s sure to be one near your home, if you check the local paper or ask around. It’s a great short outing with the family, which often inspires us to make some great, fresh, healthy (and some decadent) meals. It’s also a great way to meet and greet your neighbors and stay connected to your community. This Saturday, we saw our local Girl Scouts also selling their yummy and familiar cookies.

A few things to look out for:

Unusual veggies from different cultures. We are big fans of Asian greens. Don’t be afraid to ask the seller how they suggest cooking the various items.

We’ve recently been seeing (and buying) a lot of fresh Maui onions. Obviously grown locally rather than shipped in from Maui, those available at the market now look like giant green onions. They are sweet and just i added to salads, omelets, soups, used as garnish, etc.

Fresh, not dried bulbs, of garlic. These also look a little like giant green onions. They are milder and sautéed at the top of a recipe, they are a yummy addition.

Blood oranges, which we also have growing at home, are delicious and in season now. Aside from the stunning color, these oranges are also delicious and have a very different flavor. I really like to add them to salads, and use the juice to make a citrus dressing. They make a great fruit salsa for grilled fish or chicken. Mix them with cilantro, a little of the Maui onion and fresh garlic, and avocado or roasted peppers. They are so brilliantly colored, you get a big impact from even one cut up and added to a dish. They are a bit difficult to get peeled and separated nicely, but they’re worth the effort.

Heirloom carrots. Yes. Carrots. We first got a dish of this new trend from our favorite downtown restaurant 370 Common. They roast them up with parsnips or in a colorful mix of different types, with a ‘secret’ ingredient: a dash of delicious vinegar. This weekend, we got (all organic and locally grown) orange and PURPLE carrots. This week’s purple variety is only purple on the outside, making the cut carrots a wild combination of bright orange with a purple skin. They are just beautiful. Crazy. I’ve also eaten some that are purple all the way through at Common. Delicious, sweet, so good for you, and you can boil them, steam them, grill them, mash them, shred them into salads, juice them, and eat them raw with or without a dip…. Talk about useful to have around.

There is no way to rate quality because of the vast variety of foods so I will give a 9 of 10 based on my experiences.

Urban Bar and Grill in San Diego CA is a contemporary American cuisine restaurant that  serves outstanding food. Things like bacon and black truffle mac & cheese and outrageous ahi tacos cleverly standing upright on a little piles of insanely delicious wasabi mashed potatoes. The first time I went there was when they were just starting off, a new restaurant in the very competitive Gaslamp Quarter of downtown.  Even now, when they are consistently packed and obviously very successful,  they are  still super friendly. To the point of making kids fresh sodas not on the menu and actually learning your names and addressing you by name. The food ranges from gourmet to a simple burger to an extensive and adjustable kids menu. They even have a full dessert tray they bring to your table with a selection of 9 fresh desserts!  The chef uses locally grown and sustainable produce.

The price range really depends on what you get because if you don’t eat a lot get the truffle mac & cheese which is only $5 and enough food for younger kids or if you get a steak it could be nearly $20. I highly recommend trying lots of different appetizers.

For parents: full bar and a pretty good, not over-priced by the glass wine list.

Overall I give them a solid 9 out of 10 for consistent good quality, flavorful and interesting food, and all the other makings of a great restaurant.   Considering the location, it’s fair to expect some items on the menu to be high priced.

Asada is a California fusion Mexican restaurant with great food, enormous portions, and super friendly staff.  Lots of interesting combinations using a basic menu of proteins: Chicken, short ribs, fish, steak, pork, crab, etc. They also have the average items at a Mexican restaurant plus a few original recipes like sorbet for dessert and an outragouse selection of salads.  We shared an order of fresh churos with carmel sauce, strawberries and cream for desert and that is just one of many desserts they have. You can have the same protein options made into the different Mexican style entrees like tacos, burritos, ‘wet’ burritos, or sandwiches made up on deliciously soft buns of potato bread.  The salads are huge and flavorful.  My mom had a chicken and mango salad that included a large mixed green salad with roasted peppers, mangos and strips of tortilla chips, with a half of a roast chicken on the side!  Guess what I got for lunch the next day?  Awesome leftovers.  What they do best is that all their menu is amazingly seasoned and cooked. Super tender.  Everyone gets baskets of fresh made tortilla chips and great, smokey salsa.  My favorite? The short rib sandwich is to die for. Tender, juice, cooked perfectly. So is the Gordo burger but the fact that it’s smeared in lard makes it one of the highest calories things out there.

For parents: a very full bar.

Overall I give it a 9.5 out of 10 for great food, ambiance, and a friendly staff.