This Girl Eats...Zov's Bistro Tustin

My experience at Zov's Bistro which is based around Mediterranean cuisine was pure taste bud delight.  I was meeting up with a friend and arrived quite hungry so I started off with the sautéed calamari just to snack on while I waited.  Needless to say I honestly thought I would just have a bite, but that bite turned into eating 1/4 of the dish before my best fried arrived.  Not a thing I usually do as I normally wait until the entire party has arrived to begin eating.  In this case the calamari which was covered in a white wine cream sauce with a hint of lemon had to be one of the most recent dishes that my taste buds celebrated.  This was a dish I would return to Zov's Bistro to enjoy along with the $4 happy hour beers.  As for the rest of the dishes they were full of flavor yet didn't hold my attention enough to return a second time as the sautéed calamari and cheap brews achieved.  

 *Not Pictured (Sautéed Calamari) I devoured it.

$4 Happy Hour Beers

Parmesan Rice Fritters 

Grilled Chicken Kabobs 

Grilled Chicken Kabobs

Pita Nachos

Milk Chocolate Bomb 

This Girl Eats...Settebello Pizzeria Napoletana (Marina Del Rey Location)

I'm a hard critic when it comes to Pizza.  Most times I won't even eat it when I go out due to the countless times of disappointment.  Having lived in New York City and traveled to Italy I'm sure my palette is jaded.  Therefore instead of being a pizza snob I just tell people I don't eat pizza.  This is why I was even surprised that I suggested dining here before catching a movie with my cousin.  Well it could have been the cute guy eating outside.  Ok, Ok, Ok, it was the cute guy, so here's to you Mr. No name cutie. On to the food.  The bruschetta was full of flavor with the bacon really complimenting the pesto.  Arancini perfectly fried yet flavor lacking let's just say I would eat it again on someone's else's dime.  Now the Pizza, the Pizza was memorable.  The sauce and crust is what makes this pizza worth while.  The crust was crispy yet chewy and with wood fired pizza that's not easy to achieve. I was thrilled that the sauce tasted fresh and not over bearing.  Was it OMG I will drive back 45min just for it...No.  Yet I will delightfully return as well as suggest having Pizza at Settebello again, and for me that's saying A Lot.

 

Bruschetta 

Arancini (Fried Risotto) 

Margarita Pizza with Sausage

Tito's Vodka with SanPellegrino Aranciata Rossa

(My favorite brand of vodka and flavor of SanPellegrino

 so I decided to mix the two)  

This Girl Eats....Chapter One Modern Local

Chapter One Modern Local is delightfully located in the arts district of downtown Santa Ana, California.  I decided to meet a good friend for HH (Happy Hour) and try their food and craft cocktails.  I have to say that the artfully made creations that came from the kitchen were so pretty that by the time I sank my teeth into the dish I almost forgot it was lacking flavor from each plate.  The presentation was well delivered and my favorite was the take on the pear shaped mashed potatoes.  The ambiance reminded me of some great local kitchens in New York that I dearly miss, yet I'm sad to say the taste was just to close to bland to even compare.  On a higher note the barmaid was very kind and she made a few great drinks.  I had their Moscow Mule and the in-house made ginger beer was really good and full of flavor. The bar also offers a few in-house infused spirits that I would be willing to go back and try.  Now if only the Kitchen Chef and Mixologist could join teams this restaurant would be a great local go-to spot.   

Calamari

Duck Fat Fries

Smoked Salmon Jerked Nachos

Potato Pear