Restaurant Review: Native Foods

Native Foods is not a new place. I’ve been eating here since it opened at the Camp in Costa Mesa. It was the first vegan restaurant I had ever tried (thanks to Anni). I don’t frequent it as much as I’d like since Minh doesn’t really like it, but I have gone enough times to know what I like and what to avoid. Add this to menu items to avoid:

Cardamon Rose Cupcake from Native Foods

I recently went into the newest location at the District in Tustin on my way back to work from the dentist. I got free dessert because of the day’s special, so I opted to try something different. Usually, trying something different works out in my favor. Not so in this case. The cardamon rose cupcake looks great, with the perfect swirl of frosting and the decorative dried rose petals. However, it smells like flowery perfume and tastes about the same (that’s just speaking for the frosting). I ended up scooping off ALL the frosting and taking a few bites of the cake, which were also a disappointment. The cake was dense and lacked flavor.. or perhaps the overwhelming scent and flavor of the perfume frosting left my tastebuds numb to the cake. Note to self: DON’T get this cupcake next time.

GOOD THINGS to eat at Native Foods:
Sweet Potato Fries (with Chipotle Sauce)
Chili Cheese Fries
Rockin’ Moroccan Bowl
Greek Gyro Bowl
Veggie Pizza
Lavendar Lemonade
Watermelon Aguas Fresca

Things to AVOID at Native Foods:
Burgers
Cardamon Rose Cupcake

The menu changes, so things that were once available when I first ate here (BLT) are not longer available, but other good things have taken their place. Generally speaking, I prefer the bowls over the sandwiches and wraps because the “meat” is sliced thinner and is mixed in with more veggies and sauces, lending to an overall better meal. I LOVE the Chili Cheese Fries.. these are perhaps the BEST chili cheese fries I’ve ever had. The Native Wellington they have during the holidays isn’t bad either.

Native Foods
2937 Bristol St. (The CAMP)
Costa Mesa, CA 92626
(714) 751-2151
Monday-Sunday: 11AM – 10PM

2453 Park Ave. (The District)
Tustin, CA 92782
(714) 259-0400
Monday-Sunday: 11AM – 10PM

My bum is thanking me…

I don’t know about you other lady cyclists out there, but when I’m on my road bike, it gets painful down there in my soft lady parts. When I first started biking, it didn’t bother me so much. But now that I’m riding more and more in tune with how it’s supposed to feel, it’s been quite painful lately. To the point that I can’t even ride 10 miles without feeling extremely uncomfortable and having my performance drop to pitiful levels. Something needed to be done, and quick.

Minh showed me some reviews for the Specialized Women’s Ruby Saddle, which generally said that the saddle is amazing and that women who used to be able to ride only 5 miles before feeling discomfort could now complete centuries without feeling a thing. This.. I had to try.

Went for a ride today with the new saddle. Let me tell you, it was AWESOME. It was like night and day compared to my old saddle. Yes, there was less cush and I was resting more on my sit bones (which is what you’re supposed to do anyway), but the intense hot pain that I usually get in my soft women parts didn’t come during the whole ride. As a result, my performance didn’t drop but was better than I’ve been lately. Minh was actually drafting off me for parts of the ride.  A feat which, in the past, was only conceivable if he was sick or had an off day. I’m going to credit that to the new saddle for now.. but secretly I’m hoping that my cycling abilities are actually improving. Here are some stats on the ride:

Trail: Out and back, Santa Ana River Trail from Warner Avenue to Weir Canyon Road
Total Distance: 33.52 miles
Total Time: 2:09:29
Average Speed: 15.6 mph
Average Cadence: 70 rpm

Minh also installed a cadence/speed sensor on my road bike that will work with my Garmin. This is so that I can start paying more attention to my cadence and getting it up to 85-90 rpm. It’s a bit distracting having all these things I need to pay attention to: heart rate, cadence, speed, hunger, muscle tightness, etc, etc.. I suppose eventually it will either become second nature or, with time, I’ll get good enough to not have to worry about those things. We’ll see how long that takes.

Dinner tonight pretty good. We had dinner with Minh’s dad at Au Lac Restaurant, a vegan restaurant in Fountain Valley. We had take out from there before, but never ate at the restaurant. Probably something I’ll never do again. The food is really good. Minh ordered Bun #35, which is a noodle dish with vermicelli noodles, eggrolls, BBQ “beef”, mixed greens (mints, lettuce, cucumber, bean sprouts), peanuts, and “fish” sauce. I don’t know why it’s called “#35″, since none of the other items on the menu are numbered, but I supposed there must be some story behind it. I ordered Dau Hu Xa Ot, which, in English, is tofu stir-fried with chili and lemongrass. I had this with steamed brown rice and broccoli. And the service is very friendly, but incredibly s-l-o-w. And it’s not the kind of slow that forgivable because you should be sitting and relaxing and enjoying your food and company. This kind of slow was beyond that.. it was to the point where you’ve run out of things to say to each other aside from comments/questions about where the waiter is. Service is definitely a make-or-break thing with me. But the food is good, so definitely try the takeout.

PICTURES: