#73: Urban 3b at Urban Seoul

The 3b (short for bibimbap) at Urban Seoul doesn't hide what it is. Atop a bed of rice (purple in this example) you have your ingredients laid out nice and orderly. You then add the vinaigrette to your liking, mix it up, and dig in. For today's meal, I opted for the spicy pork, and enjoyed the nice kick it + the vinaigrette delivered. However, I was very underwhelmed by the poached egg. In OCWeekly's review, they rave about the egg:

We're talking about another fine example of perfectly poached egg.

Our broken yolk sauced the contents of our bowl nicely, as we contemplated dessert options. 

However, my egg was sadly cooked through and mostly cold. This seemed to be the most popular dish in the restaurant, so perhaps they poach the eggs and then chill them to stop them from cooking and just add them to the salad chilled? Either way, mine didn't stop cooking or was just overcooked. I often say that adding an egg to anything makes it better, but when you're expecting a "perfectly poached egg" and receive one cooked through, well, that's disappointing.

Besides that though, the 3b itself was quite delicious. I wish I did have the egg yolk running through it, but either way, the textures and flavors all worked together perfectly and I devoured the whole bowl quite quickly.

However, the main issue I had with Urban Seoul was their beer delivery. Beer delivery you say? Yeah, while I would wager 80% of the taps (I'm guessing 8 out of 10) had a tap handle that corresponded to the beer inside, some were just blank, and I ordered a beer off the menu that didn't have a handle. What I wanted was a Great Lei from Belching Beaver - described on the chalkboard as a Pineapple Colada IPA. What I instead received can be seen above - just by look alone, you can tell it's not an IPA, but probably a pilsner.

What also confused me was I ordered the beer, and he hands me a sample of it before pouring the full glass. Not quite sure why, but sure, I'll sample it, but if I order a pint, why not just bring me a pint? Why waste the time and effort of giving me a sample? But I digress, I try the sample and say I get absolutely no "colada" or coconut. Also I say, "it tastes more like a pilsner than an IPA." So my server goes to try it himself, but only after pouring my full pint and says "I get some pineapple at the end."

So while I am positive it's a pilsner, I'm really not in the mood to argue and tell him he's wrong and also have him pour the pint down the drain, so I just drink it. And it went well with my 3b. It's a fine example of a pilsner from Noble Ale Works - their PILSNEAR. But if you don't have a tap handle available for the beer you're putting on tap, you better label the blank handle. Otherwise, you'll be serving pilsners and calling them IPAs. Which, quite frankly, is unforgivable.

Umami: Costa Mesa

And now...for something different. The local variant for Umami Laguna Beach popped up on the 100 Favorite Dishes by OC Weekly a few weeks ago, but it's almost a half hour from work, so I can't do that during the work week. However, there are two that are only about 10 or so minutes away, so...I've decided to do a quick review of all the different variants on the Umami Burger.

If you didn't know, each location has a special variation that you can't get anywhere else. This will document those variations.

First up: Umami - Costa Mesa - Samurai

Two juicy, seasoned pork patties, house teriyaki with pickled ginger, romaine, scallions, curry sauce & toasted sesame seeds.

The patties were a bit smaller than I expected as the last time I was at Umami, I got the B.U.B. burger - two patties, bacon, beer-cheddar, minced onions, pickles, mustard, Umami house ketchup, served tall with a middle bun - a Big Mac of sorts, but with actual flavor. However, what the patties lack in size, the burger more than makes up for in flavor.

The pickled ginger really gives you a nice kick in the pants when you get to the middle of the burger and the romaine, covered in curry sauce and topped with toasted sesame seeds really adds a nice crunch though with the firmness of the pork patties, it wasn't as necessary as a more meaty beef burger would call for.

The teriyaki oozes out at first bite along with the curry sauce and the pork patties were a bit less juicy than the description said, but either way, it all comes together quite nicely. It was a welcome change from the huge beef patties they use on their regular burgers and incorporated many disparate flavors together nicely.

On a side note, only one of the burgers on the Umami menu has an egg. You cannot add an egg to any of the other burgers. This is shameful.

#74 - Doughnuts from Sidecar

As we get to the end of 2014, OC Weekly has started putting together their 100 favorite dishes from this year, so I've got another whole 100 dishes to seek out and try at one point or another. To start the 2014 list out, we go with the doughnut (or, as I like to spell it, the donut - shut up Chrome dictionary, that is a correct spelling).

Long story short, most of the office was out on vacation or had the day off for various other reasons, so we splurged and instead of the usual run-of-the-mill donut shop Friday donuts, we had Sidecar. There were too many amazing options to choose from, but I went with the Tart Cherry Cheesecake.

Simply, it's quite an amazing donut. Less really about the donut dough itself and more about the fillings. Though cooked well and glazed nicely, all you really focus on is the cheescake filling, the nice graham cracker crumble, and the tart cherry atop (which wasn't really even that tart).

For the price, not quite sure these are worth the hype (I didn't pick them up, but they usually have a line and will often sell out in the morning). It was a serviceable donut taken to the next level, but give me my maple bar each Friday and I'll be happy.

#7 - Ají Verde at Inka Mama's

Again, it's been a while between posts and I have a few to get to in the queue. First up, #7 on the list. An amazingly addictive sauce with a full range of great entrees to back it up. The Ají Verde at Inka Mama's comes out before your meal with some fresh, soft, warm french bread. The bread is the perfect way to soak up the Ají Verde - a wonderfully complex sauce with heat, creaminess, and just the perfect blend of spices.

Once you quickly devour the first serving of bread, they offer to bring more, but by the time more bread arrives, you'll probably just be eating the sauce on whatever you can find to put it on - even butter covered sauce. After the bread disappears again (they'll offer to bring more, but at some point you have to decline - right?), you get to the entree. In my case, a delectable shrimp dish which just went perfectly covered in even more Ají Verde.

I really need to get back to try more of their lunch specials. My co-worker wasn't too impressed with the entree I brought back for him, but he loved the Ají Verde, as anyone with properly working taste buds will.

#93 - White Board Specials at Taco Adobe

I know it's been quite a while since the last post, I've been busy at work, busy looking to buy a home, just busy.  Last week though, my brother wanted to get together for lunch, so I picked somewhere I knew had great food (been here many times in the past) and all I had to do to make sure I could cross another item off my list was find something good on the white board. Of course, that's almost too easy...

The dish I settled on was a pork enchilada with what they called a spicy sauce on top, served with the usual rice and beans. The sauce itself was a bit of a let down as I was expecting more heat, but the enchiladas more than made up for it. Now, that's not to say the sauce was bad. It just wasn't as advertised. Overall, the dish came together nicely, except for the beans which were a bit...off. I added some of Taco Adobe's special hot sauce to the fries, and it was a very nice meal.

If you're ever in the old town Orange area and Gabbi's is either a) full or b) too expensive or c) both, then just head right down the street to Taco Adobe. Try a whiteboard special, a torta, or anything else off their menu and you won't be let down.

#62 - Every Damn Thing at Mochi Cream

I ventured back over to Santouka Ramen earlier this week as I had been craving it for a few days and it once again delivered near perfection. But this time, after the meal, instead of a heavy, filled pastry of sorts that I found last time in the middle of an aisle being freshly cooked, I instead opted for Mochi Cream. According to OC Weekly's list, every damn thing there should be amazing, but holy hell are they pricey.

I briefly thought about opting for a 'mochido' - a mochi donut of sorts, but they were super tiny and priced at over $2 each. So instead I just went for a couple mochi ice cream desserts. I opted for the apple pie and chocolate banana flavors as they seemed like they would complement each other well.

There's really not too much to say about them. They were fine, still seemed a bit pricey at $1.80 - $2.00 a piece with no volume discount that I could see, but they just weren't anything special. I've had Mochilato a few times and, honestly, would prefer those mochi ice cream desserts to Mochi Cream. The ice cream at Mochi Cream just seemed like it was older, or had been sitting in the freezer at too low a temperature, while at Mochilato, they come straight from the case at the perfect temperature to eat right away and enjoy.

Next time I'll probably skip Mochi Cream, save my ice cream craving for Mochilato, and shop the Mitsuwa marketplace for some other dessert at a more reasonable price.

#9 - Pickled Egg at C4 Deli: Cure for the Common

Since errands took me over to downtown Santa Ana for lunch today, I checked my handy map and decided to visit C4 Deli: Cure for the Common. I thought I could knock out two items from my list, but looking back, I realized only the pickled eggs were on the top 100. The reason I thought there was another item was due to this recent review of the place by Register critic Brad A. Johnson. So, armed with that, I was ready to get some pickled eggs and a porchetta sandwich.

First off, this place's decor is downright awesome. I just love the whole feel of the place. There's a few tables up front which were occupied by businessmen and women on lunch and in the back is a long bar with two amply stocked tap stations. As for the beer, a great selection. A wide range of styles and many beers that I don't often see on tap at other restaurants around the area. I opted for a Boulevard Brewing Tank 7 Farmhouse Ale as I've had it from a bottle a few times but never on tap - the bartender assured me I'd like it more on tap than bottle (it tasted pretty much the same, but was still very good).

First up were the eggs. They have three types of pickled eggs - regular, smoked, and spicy. I just went with one smoked and one spicy as the smoked one was what the bartender recommended and I love spicy things. I started with the smoked and found it a bit harder than I would have expected it to be - very firm, but easy to cut through and eat. I've actually never had a pickled egg so I unfortunately don't have much to compare it to. It had a white exterior and looked like a normal hard boiled egg (I was half expecting it to be purple).

The smoked egg did have a slight hint of smoke and pickling to it, but nothing overpowering. It was tasty, but I was expecting just a bit more. The spicy egg also had about the same amount of pickling, but was devoid of any spiciness whatsoever. Work still needs to be done on that one. Next time I go, I'll get the regular egg, maybe the smoked, but probably not more than one. It's a nice little appetizer, but nothing to write home about.

Next up was the porchetta sandwich. With the rave reviews showered on it by Brad Johnson, I was expecting my mouth to be alive with flavor. While the bun for the sandwich was a good pick, it really didn't add anything to the sandwich. The porchetta was nicely cooked, still piping hot from the griddle (I'm guessing...maybe stove?), and the broccoli rabe was a nice addition. The aioli got lost a bit with the bitterness of the rabe, and the porchetta was also a bit muddled in the flavors.

While I'm definitely going back, I'll veer away from the porchetta to the reuben or the pork belly sandwich. Either way, they'll be accompanied by a good beer and a tasty chocolate chip cookie to finish the meal.