[Aliso Viejo] [American] Original Pancake House

Original Pancake House
26951 Moulton Pkwy
Aliso Viejo, CA 92653
(949) 643-8591
http://www.originalpancakehouse.com

We haven't been to Original Pancake House for a while, and I really miss their yummy American breakfast.



We got there around 9-ish on this Saturday morning. Only had to wait for about 10 minutes for a table.

[Aliso Viejo] [Burger] Habit Burger

Habit Burger
26921 Aliso Creek Road
Aliso Viejo, CA 92656
(949) 831-3116
http://www.habitburger.com

Ever since Habit Burger opened near our house, Dr. P doesn't go to In-N- Out anymore.


Santa Barbara style Charburger Meal ($8.70)

Dr. P ordered a secret menu item: Santa Barbara style Charburger. The double patties burger was made with grilled sourdough bread, Swiss cheeses, grilled onion and guacamole. It tasted so good, but probably has 4,000 calories or something like that.

[Laguna Niguel] [Burger] Deemer’s American Grill

Deemer’s American Grill
27221 La Paz Rd #E
Laguna Niguel, CA 92677
(949) 425-8770
http://www.deemersgrill.com

Food tour stop #4! Sister wants burger. The choices were Habit Burger or Deemer's. Sister picked Deemer's.


Napa Burger w/ Garlic Fries ($8.95)
Fresh goat cheese, tomato, red onion, baby spinach, basil pesto aioli.

I recommended her to try my favorite burger, Napa burger. We added $1.20 to order a side of Garlic Fries. The fries smelt really good, but it was way way way too oily.

[Aliso Viejo] [Pizza] Z Pizza

Z Pizza
26921 Aliso Creek Rd #D
Aliso Viejo, CA 92656
(949) 425-0102
http://www.zpizza.com

Next stop was Chick-Fil-A. My sister tried their spicy chicken sandwich, and thought it was just alright. But it was my favorite! After that, we stopped by at Z Pizza because sister was craving for cheese.


Greek Pizza
feta, mozzarella, red onions, Greek olives, fresh rounds of tomatoes, oregano

She ordered a slice of Greek Pizza from the heated display case, and concluded it was a waste of money. The pizza probably had been sitting there for quite a while. It was a bit dry, and didn't taste fresh. Oh well.

[Aliso Viejo] [Vegetarian] Native Foods

Native Foods
26705 Aliso Creek Rd # E
Aliso Viejo,CA 92656-4803
(949) 831-1926
http://www.nativefoods.com

Sister came to visit on Memorial Day. We decided to have a food tour day around my house. We ate so much in one day that by the end of the day, we looked like two preggies. But it sure was fun! haha.... Our first stop was Native Foods.


Very Voluptuous Veggie Pizza ($7.95)
Creamy pesto, grilled veggies and kale, roasted pumpkin seeds with a balsamic drizzle. Back by popular demand!

Very Voluptous Veggie Pizza was topped with delicious sauteed kale. I love the balsamic on the pizza. Their pesto was really delicious. Pizza bread was airy and soft.

[Aliso Viejo] [Burger] Habit Burger

Habit Burger
26921 Aliso Creek Road
Aliso Viejo, CA 92656
(949) 831-3116
http://www.habitburger.com

A new burger joint opened in Aliso Viejo near our house. We went for lunch on a Sunday. This place was super busy. After tasting the food, we could see why they have such good business.



There are both indoor and outdoor seats.

[Aliso Viejo] [Japanese] Makiyaki Japanese Restuarant

Makiyaki Japanese Restuarant
22912 Pacific Park Dr
Aliso Viejo, CA 92656
(949) 215-7160

Decided to try this small Japanese restaurant near our house. Well.... probably won't be back again.



The restaurant was empty all night long.

[Aliso Viejo] [Pizza] Porky's Pizza

Porky's Pizza
22912 Pacific Park Dr #C
Aliso Viejo, CA 92656
(949) 916-5000
http://www.porkysonline.com

We've been wanting to try Porky's Pizza ever since we moved to Aliso Viejo.



We ordered "The Feast" for take-out. For $29.99, we got extra large pizza with two toppings, large salad, 10-pc wings, garlic knots, and 2-litter bottle of soda.

[Aliso Viejo] [American] Chili’s Grill & Bar

Chili’s Grill & Bar
26631 Aliso Creek Rd
Aliso Viejo,CA 92656
(949) 448-9022
http://www.chilis.com

We went to lunch at Chili's on a weekend. Even though on the menu, it stated that lunch special is only offered during weekday, our waitress told us it is still valid on the weekend.



After studying the menu and price, we decided to stick with the $20 for 2 deal. It was a better value since price would be about the same, but $20 for 2 deal offered bigger portion.

[Aliso Viejo] [American] Beach Pit BBQ

Beach Pit BBQ
26541 Aliso Creek Rd
Aliso Viejo, CA 92656
(949) 362-7427
http://beachpitbbq.com

I love BBQ ribs! Beach Pit BBQ is right by our house, but we never tried it. Their Yelp review wasn't that good. I always think online reviews are just "suggestions". I can't be sure unless I try it myself. After all, taste is subjective.


The Big Dog Daddy ($21.95)
Half Rack, Quarter Chicken & 1 Smoked Meat.

We opted for to-go order. The Big Dog Daddy was big enough for the two of us to share with tons of leftover. It comes with half rack of ribs, quarter chicken, 1 choice of smoked meat, cole slaw, and 1 choice of side. The ribs was delicious. It was fall off the bone tender. Love it!

[Aliso Viejo] [Asian Fusion] East Avenue Bistro

East Asian Bistro
26921 Aliso Creek Rd #E
Aliso Viejo, CA 92656
(949) 360-7666

This place used to be Jade Palace. We went there once for lunch, and didn't like it at all. I guess they went out business soon after. Now a new restaurant called East Avenue Bistro took over the space. From looking at their menu, this new restaurant seems to be a Vietnamese influenced Chinese restaurant.


Chicken Egg Roll (Cha Gio) ($6.50)
Chicken rolled in a golden crispy shell served with fresh herbs, lettuce and accompanied with the house special dipping sauce.

We ordered the Vietnamese Chicken Egg Roll for appetizer. The egg roll was done well, but it came with just one piece of lettuce? We asked our server, who seemed to be a Vietnamese lady. She said that since majority of their customers are non-Asian, and they don't eat the egg roll with herbs and lettuce, so if we want it we should tell her beforehand next time. Later she brought a plate of lettuce, but still no herb. Their fish sauce was not overly sweet and very good.

[Aliso Viejo] [American] Chili’s Grill & Bar

Chili’s Grill & Bar
26631 Aliso Creek Rd
Aliso Viejo,CA 92656
(949) 448-9022
http://www.chilis.com

We went out to grab a fast and cheap dinner at Chili's right by our house. The $20 for 2 deal is great, not to mention I bought a $5 for $10 Chili's gift card from SaveMore.com. Now that's a even better deal!


Texas Cheese Fries (Half Order) ($3.99)
With applewood smoked bacon, jalapeños and green onions. Served with ranch dressing.

Texas Cheese Fries is probably my favorite thing from Chili's. I just have to order this EVERY time. The thick cut French fries was still soft in the middle. Lots of melted Cheddar cheese on top. With Ranch dressing dip, it was so yummy.

[Aliso Viejo] [American] Chili’s Grill & Bar

Chili’s Grill & Bar
26631 Aliso Creek Rd
Aliso Viejo,CA 92656
(949) 448-9022
http://www.chilis.com

It was our one year anniversary, but I had a work a late shift and got off work at 9pm. Original plan was to go out for dinner on the weekend to celebrate the day. When I got home from work, I thought... "No, I want to go out and celebrate TODAY!" But where can we go at 9:30pm? We didn't want to go too far since it was late. There's a Chili's about 2 minutes away from our house, and I had a coupon to order happy hour anytime. Celebration destination decided!


Presidente Margarita ($7.49)
Hand-shaken Sauza Conmemorativo Tequila, Patrón Citrónge orange liqueur and Presidente Brandy.

Gotta have a margarita for a celebration! Dr. P couldn't drink because he just took some allergy medicine. He picked Presidente Margarita for me. Chili's margarita is good and strong. No wonder EVERYONE was ordering margarita there.

[Aliso Viejo] [Peruvian] Inka Mama’s

Inka Mama’s
26741 Aliso Creek Rd #E
Aliso Viejo,CA 92656
(949) 360-6263
http://www.inkamamas.com

My aunt and cousin came to visit from San Jose. They came down to South OC with my parents to visit us since they've never been to our house before. I decided to take them to Inka Mama's for lunch because none of them had Peruvian food before.


Salad

We ordered 5 lunch special entrees to share. Each entree came with soup or salad. We got 4 of their famous cilantro soup and 1 salad. I forgot to take picture of the soup, but you can see one from last time. Everyone thought the soup was really good. We were glad we only got one salad because it was pretty bad. The vegetable itself was alright. It was the salad dressing that made it bad. The salad dressing was way way way too sour. Seemed like they added too much red wine vinegar. It was so sour that we all took one bite, and nobody touched it again.

[Aliso Viejo] [Italian] Romano’s Macaroni Grill

Romano’s Macaroni Grill
26641 Aliso Creek Road
Aliso Viejo,CA 92656
(949) 425-0180
http://www.macaronigrill.com

Eating out can be expensive, but we enjoy food too much to cut it completely out from our budget. So the best solution for us is to use coupons when we dine out. Dr. P was feeling like some Italian that night. We looked through my restaurant coupons collection, and found a Buy One Get One Free Entree coupon from Romano's Macaroni Grill. Perfect! That's where we'd go then. (P.S. If you want to get coupon offers from Macaroni Grill, remember to sign up to be on their mailing list.)


House Chanti ($5.49)

Dr. P always orders a glass of their House Chanti. This time, they served the Chanti in a regular water glass instead of wine glass. We asked the waitress about it. She just said the restaurant made that decision, and she doesn't know why. Hmmm.... It just feels funny drinking wine out of a water glass.

[Aliso Viejo] [Peruvian] Inka Mama's

Inka Mama's
26741 Aliso Creek Rd #E
Aliso Viejo, CA 92656
(949) 360-6263
http://www.inkamamas.com

We had takeout from Inka Mama's before. We thought the food was great, but the portion was small and price was a bit higher comparing to Mario's. My friend Wen came to visit on a Friday. We drove over to Aliso Viejo Town Center to find a lunch spot. Since Wen had never tried Peruvian food before, we picked Inka Mama's as our lunch spot.



They have lunch special from Monday through Friday between 11am to 3pm. Chicken dishes are $7.45, beef dishes are $8.45, and seafood dishes are $9.45. All lunch special comes with soup or salad.

[Aliso Viejo] [Vegetarian] Native Foods

Native Foods
26705 Aliso Creek Rd # E
Aliso Viejo,CA 92656-4803
(949) 831-1926
http://www.nativefoods.com

Whenever we crave for vegetable and healthy food, our first choice is always Native Foods.



We came for an early dinner on a Friday, and found out they have happy hour every Friday between 3pm to 6pm. All appetizers are half off. I think beer and wine are also half off. The weather was nice. We found a table on the patio.

[Aliso Viejo] [Sandwiches] Subway

Subway
26921 Aliso Creek Rd #C
Aliso Viejo, CA 92656
(949) 360-1125
http://www.subway.com

I stopped by at Subway to get a sandwich for lunch. The featured $5 foot long sandwich of the month is Chipotle Chicken & Cheese. Sounds good.


Chipotle Chicken & Cheese ($5.00)
With tender, juicy chicken, melty cheese, red onion and rich smoky Chipotle Southwest Sauce, it's a taste bud tango.

So after I ordered the Chipotle Chicken & Cheese, the guy asked me to choose my bread, veggies, and sauce. If I have choices on all those things, then I could make my Chipotle Chicken & Cheese Sub into something completely different. I could order Chipotle Chicken & Cheese but make it into Ranch Chicken & No Cheese. Anyway, my point is, if they want to name a sandwich like Chipotle Chicken & Cheese, with detailed description of what is in the sandwich, then just make the sandwich like how they describe it. Make it with that rich smoky Chipotle Southwest sauce without asking me what kind of sauce do I want. Yes, toast the sub to make the cheese melt without asking me, because that was in the description of the sandwich. I do like the option of customizing your own sandwich, but sometimes it feel like such a hassle when I was asked a million questions when I simply want a Chipotle Chicken & Cheese sub.

[Aliso Viejo] [Thai] Siamese Express

Siamese Express
26952 La Paz Rd #C
Aliso Viejo, CA 92656
(949) 831-0882

Ever since our first visit to Siamese Express, we've been back a few times for takeout food. Their food is authentic and seriously good. Dr. P did the ordering that night.


Tom Yum Chicken Soup ($8.25)

Tom Yum Chicken Soup was quite spicy. I think majority of their clientele are non-Asians, but they don't tone down the strong Thai flavor a bit. There were a lot of chicken and button mushroom in the soup.

[Aliso Viejo] [Fast Food] Arby's

Arby's
27002 La Paz Road
Aliso Viejo, CA 92656-3040
(949) 643-1913
http://www.arbys.com

I moved to US from Taiwan in 1989. In the 22 years that I've been here, I have never been to Arby's. I don't know why I've never tried it. I know they are famous for their roast beef, but I never get the urge to try it. I got a coupon from Arby's the other day. It was buy one drink and get their new pecan chicken sandwich for free. Sounds like a great deal to me. So off I went to Arby's for the very first time!


Small Drink ($1.79) / Grilled Chicken and Pecan Salad Sandwich ($5.29 FREE)

I got a drink for $2, and received the $5 sandwich for free! Woohoo~~~~