Custom Poki Bowls in Orange County - Pokinometry, Anahiem

If you love poke/poki, you're going to love this restaurant concept. My friend Jen took me to Pokinometry in Downtown Anaheim for the first time the other day. Poki originates from Hawaii and means to "section" or "to slice or cut", hence the cut cubes and slices of seafood. Poki is made from a variety of fish such as Tuna, Salmon, Shrimp, and Octopus; Pokinometry allows you to customize your very own bowl of poki. With an assembly line, the customer selects the size and type of bowl/base (white or brown rice, salad, chips, or wrap), the first layer (crab meat, avocado, cucumber or onion), type of fish, sauce (many levels of spicyness), and the last layer of garnish (masago, green onion, ginger, wasabi, sesame seeds, seaweed).
The server was generous with the masago on my bowl (one scoop was enough for me), but Jen wanted a bit more, or a larger scoop, and they got a little uptight for it; it's just an extra charge, but they made it seem like she couldn't get more masago. Regardless, our bowls tasted delicious. I had albacore tuna over white rice because I wanted to get full, Jen got a salad bowl which tends to not fill you up as fast. I definitely want to try a poki over chips next time!

Anaheim Location
184 South Harbor Blvd
Anaheim, CA 92805
(657) 208-3488

Hours:
Monday-Friday 11:30 am - 9:00 pm
Saturday-Sunday 11:30 am - 8:30 pm

Parking: Street, Structure Garage, City Lots; it's a bit tough depending on the day/time you go. We went on a Sunday around 6:30pm and we barely got a street spot a couple blocks away. There are also structure garages in the area, but you most likely need to pay by the hour or ever 15 minutes. Check out the Downtown Anaheim website for more info on parking.

Slapfish Now OPEN in Irvine, CA

When I thought it couldn't get any better with the Slapfish Laguna Beach location, they opened a spot in Irvine at the town center across from my alma mater, UC Irvine. I attended a media tasting before their grand opening and tasted menu staples as well as items specific to the location. This location has the 'Anteater Burger', an Angus beef patty, fried sweet shrimp, and a chunky lobster sauce; as well as the 'Hot Pop Fish Bites', fried fish nuggets with a sweet and sour kind of sauce. Check it out for yourself:

Slapfish
4249 Campus Drive Irvine, CA 92612
Phone: 949.737.2090
Hours: Monday - Sunday 11:00 am - 11:00 pm

Brunch at Magpie Cafe in Sacramento, CA

I'm off to brunch in Long Beach this fine Sunday, but wanted to share this amazing food spot that Scott and I ate at while visiting Sacramento last weekend. I had a friend that saw on social media that I was in Sactown for the weekend and sent me a slew of restaurant suggestions, one being Magpie Cafe in Midtown.

Naturally, the restaurant was incredibly busy on a Sunday morning with everyone getting their brunch on (we were looking at a 40 minute wait), but that gave Scott and I an opportunity to take a stroll around the area, which is surprisingly quaint and colorful. We came back to Magpie and grabbed a spot at the bar and enjoyed mimosas while waiting for our table.

We were seated outside and it couldn't have been a better day to be dining on the patio. The restaurant has industrial, modern, and natural design elements which makes the dining experience intriguing. Our server was exceptionally friendly and gave us recommendations on food dishes as well as beverages after we found out the drinks we ordered were sold out.

While looking over the menu, I was drawn to the classic and comfort breakfast dishes that had a more adventurous culinary twist to it. It was really difficult to choose, but Scott chose the Magpie Breakfast Plate which has a little bit of everything, and I had the Summer Benedict. These dishes can usually be extremely heavy and overwhelming, but we had seen a preview of some of the dishes while hanging out at the bar earlier and were taken away by the impeccable presentation of all the dishes being served. We ate our breakfast with refreshing Sacramento Summers (Magpie made honey lemonade, pilsner with mint).

Scott raved about the house-made sausage, which was the best he ever had. The chef was clever to add in smashed potato on the Benedict between the toasted biscuits and poached eggs, as it provided another texture and taste (that didn't get lost in the sauce). There was also a side of heirloom and cherry tomatoes drizzled in pesto, balsamic, and oil which was the perfect flavor departure from the creaminess of the Benedict. When in Sacramento, you'll have to stop by Magpie for Brunch, Lunch, or Dinner!

Magpie Cafe

Magpie does not take reservations
1601 16th Street
Sacramento CA 95814
916-452-7594
hello@magpiecafe.com

Hours
Monday - Wednesday: 11am - 9pm
Thursday - Friday: 11am - Close
Saturday: 8am - Close
Sunday: 8am - 2pm

Potted Plant Milk Tea at Macchiato, Monterey Park

After an event in LA, Andrew took me to Macchiato, a cafe in Monterey Park. Known for their potted plant macchiatos and milk teas, latte art, and desserts; Andrew and I definitely had to get potted plant drinks and share a dessert. I got a Potted Plant Almond Milk Tea and shared waffles with strawberries & mangoes, and green tea ice cream.

The potted plant milk tea was delicious and fun to drink, the cookie crumbles sat on top of whipped cream with a little leaf sprig garnishing the top. The waffle dessert was a delightful presentation, but unfortunately underwhelming in taste. The waffles were dense and hard to chew without ice cream or cream but there was only one scoop of ice cream (I felt like I needed three more scoops) to go around. I'll have to come back to try a latte or a macaron ice cream sandwich.

Macchiato
141 N Atlantic Blvd
Ste 110
Monterey Park, CA 91754
(626) 872-1351