Mick’s Karma Bar


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Mick’s Karma Bar

2010 Main St.
Ste. 165
Irvine, CA 92614

http://www.mickskarmabar.com

First off, Mick’s Karma Bar is not really a sit-down restaurant or a place you’d go out of your way to get food. It’s located within the business plazas near John Wayne Airport and is a great place to go for lunch during work if you work around the area. They have very limited seating inside so most likely you’ll have to sit outside. Their burgers are very good and uses 100% premium Angus Sirloin Steaks.

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Salt and Pepper Chicken (소금 & 고추 치킨)


 So this is just my take on a chinese dish. (Yes, the dish itself is not very chinese at all) The idea came from a chinese dish where it’s a salt and pepper seasoned fried chicken. It’s spicy, simple, and damn good.  And I just liked the idea of the minimal number of ingredients. Especially when compared to other dishes where there are too many herbs and spices to count to create a complexity that’s never fully understood. I was bored one night and wanted to delay studying for my Architectural exams.. so I decided to open up the fridge.

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Portuguese Sausage Stir Fry


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So one night, my friend Joyce calls me and saying

“Let’s cook! I’ll grab some things from my house and bring it”.

I didn’t realize she meant she’ll bring whatever she can grab on her way out; so in her brown bag, she hands me the following:

– Orange Bell Pepper
– Zucchini
– Onion

I just stared at her as she asked me to make something from that. Luckily, I remembered I had Portuguese Sausage that my friend Jacklord brought over for me one time, and I had an idea. I started puling out random condiments from the pantry and started cooking. The result? A Portuguese Sausage Stir Fry.

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Malbec – New Argentinian Cuisine


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Malbec

1001 E Green St.
Pasadena, CA 91106
626. 683.0580

http://www.malbeccuisine.com/

This is a solid restaurant with good Argentinian food. Unfortunately, I have only had a chance to have one of their dishes to give a thorough review. But I will go again in the near future and try other dishes to give my two cents.

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Il Chianti ~ A Japanese Italian treat


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So here is my first review! I recently celebrated my birthday at this restaurant. So I thought this would be a great first post considering we ordered various thing and all shared. I’ve been to Il Chianti several times, and I have to say it’s my favorite Japanese-Italian restaurant.

IL CHIANTI

24503 Narbonne Ave.
Lomita, CA 90717
310.325.5000
(Located off of Lomita Blvd. & Narbonne Ave, on the Northwest side)

Japanese Italian Food
Okay.. I know what you’re thinking.. “Japanese… Italian? What do they put like seaweed on the pasta?” Actually yes, but it’s a little more than that. Japanese have a fondness for Italian food, and not the loads-of-sauce American style Italian, but the light and delicate Italian food you can get in Italy. Japanese-Italian is more closer to Italian than American-Italian in some ways, but in some other ways.. it goes beyond conventional Italian food. You have pastas with a cream sauce that has Mentaiko (明太子)or Uni (うに) blended into the sauce to add in a level of richness and flavor, and other sorts of menus only found in such restaurants.

Now that I’ve explained a little bit about Japanese Italian, here’s a little comparison. If you have been to Spoonhouse in Gardena, CA (I will have to check that place out), I’ve been told this place is a more elegant and fancier version of Spoonhouse. Hopefully that gives some of you an idea.

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