cindy's world

Mr. W and I took advantage of Orange County Restaurant Week this year. The first day of this promotional week on Sunday, we hit up one of our favorite healthy eating spots, True Food Kitchen and ordered off their prix fixe menu for half the cost. Heavenly, indulgent flavors for no guilt. Tuesday, the day after my eggs retrieval, we took the day off so I could rest, but did skip off for a lunch treat to Andrei’s Conscious Cuisine. I’d never been there but did hear about it from Ann, who’d gone there soon after it had opened last year. The place was SO chic. We also ordered off their 3-course prix fixe menu and Mr W had a spicy blood orange vodka martini (this place makes their own vodka) since he’s now able to drink after his swimmers were extracted.

The food is WONDERFUL. Like True Food Kitchen, Andrei’s takes its ingredients from wholesome, locally-grown sources, organic when possible, but it’s a notch or two fancier than True Food. Mr. W read some reviews online before we left so he ordered a popular, often-raved-about item: boneless beef spare ribs. I had trout, which was also excellent and certainly better than other trout I’ve had, but I was jealous about his savory, melt-apart beef.

I felt bloated and swollen after that meal and was uncomfortable walking, like I had gas trapped in my stomach cavity all the way up to my diaphragm. (Turned out that it’s not uncommon for gas bubbles to get trapped in your body post-surgery and your body works the bubbles out, or absorbs and diffuses it, which is what happened as the week wore on.)
Wednesday after work, Mr. W arbitrarily drove us to The Counter, a customize-it-yourself burger joint with quality ingredients, again organic is available, and their meat is humanely treated, hormone- and antibiotic-free. I also learned about this place from Ann. Hubby got the Wednesday slider special where they pre-selected the toppings for four distinct flavors of burgers, and it came with a beer pairing. I think his flavors were something like Greek (with feta, olives, cucumbers, tzatziki sauce), Asian (carrot strings, scallions, ginger soy glaze), Italian fresco (fresh mozzarella, cilantro, basil, basil pesto sauce), and Buffalo (blue cheese, fried shoestring onions, some spicy peppers, celery, hot wing sauce). He said all the flavor blends were incredible and delicious.

I just custom-picked a burger on whole-grain bun, with Gruyere cheese, grilled onions, black olives, organic mixed greens, sprouts, and basil pesto sauce. OMG, it was SO GOOD. If I were to ever give a burger a standing ovation, it would be at this place. (We went back today with Daughter for lunch, actually.)
Thursday at lunchtime, Mr. W and I looked for a restaurant commutable for lunch that was participating in OC Restaurant Week with a lunch menu. (Some restaurants only participate for dinner.) We went with Cedar Creek Inn, which is near an old residence of mine and I’d driven past it before but never stopped in. I’d always been curious. It’s not a “healthy” restaurant like the first two, but it seemed to have good quality food so I was sure we could find something healthy. The place looked SO cool inside, like a classy lodge with river rocks, high wood ceilings, giant fireplaces. “This is exactly what I’d expect from a place called ‘Cedar Creek Inn,’ ” Mr. W remarked. We had a little snafu going in; we were seated immediately despite not having reservations (the place was crowded with dressed-up business people on their lunchbreaks as well as some older geriatric-age patrons), but as the menus were placed in front of us, we realized we were not given the OC Restaurant Week Prix Fixe menu. Mr. W watched the same older hostess seat another couple and said that they got some long cards that appeared to be the prix fixe menus. He got up and inquired at the hostess table, and returned with the cards. Apparently she rather snappishly told Mr. W he should’ve asked for those special menus when we checked in at the hostess table. What?! Since when did we have to BEG for featured menus? But everything was great after that. The wait staff was attentive and efficient and food came very quickly, each course following the last as quickly as we were done. They obviously were used to people having limited lunchtimes. Mr. W had cedar plank salmon in a misoyake sauce that was VERY good; I had the beef shortribs. HA! Also amazing, melt-apart. We were unfortunately still a little late back to work. I’d totally forgotten I had a meeting and walked in 5 mins late. I was embarrassed, but others walked in later than I did, so I felt better.
Friday, we wanted something special knowing I’d be on bedrest after Saturday late morning for the next 2 days. He also wanted this to be a place to celebrate our last step in the in vitro process. We chose Splashes Restaurant in the Surf & Sand Resort in Laguna Beach. Grace was supposed to be married at that resort, and her reception was to be catered by the restaurant on-site, so I’m pretty sure it’s Splashes Restaurant. I remember it being shockingly expensive when Grace told me about some of her wedding planning details back in ’03. I had no idea that, just because the reservation had the word “wedding” in it, a restaurant would charge PER PIECE of stuffed mushroom appetizer. She did say the food was amazing, though. “Wait till you try it!” she’d said excitedly about their wedding selections. Of course, I never did eat there for her wedding; a year later when she passed, we (her family and closest friends, us bridesmaids) stopped by the resort and scattered some of her ashes off-shore around a little secluded rocky cliff area. Her wishes. So it means something to eat there now. We got there before the normal dinner crowd (the restaurant was booked solid on reservations already between 5:45p and 8:15p, so I reserved for 5:45) and we selected patio seating under two cozy heat lamps. We were right up against the glass overlooking the beach, and were alone on that patio section our entire dinner. Other diners all chose to eat inside or on the lower level patios.

It was so romantic, watching the sun slowly deepen from golden to rose as it set into its liquid bed.

For almost a full hour as we enjoyed our fancy dinner, a family of dolphins played, jumped, torpedoed right in front of us. I think there must’ve been 7 or 8 of them. In our private enjoyment and conversations, Mr. W called this the perfect date, and kept talking appreciatively about how great his life is, has been. About time he realized it! haha
I told him it feels to me like this perfect evening before my embryo transplant the next day had a little tag underneath it that reads, “Love, Riley.” Just a little gift, a greeting while he can still pull strings as energy from the Other Side. And the dolphin show? Could be Grace saying hello, thanks for thinking of her, and she’s with me. I feel like she kinda knows Riley. That’d be cool.