Le Diplomate Cafe

I discovered this little sandwich shop in Irvine by accident once and vowed to go back and eat there again. My friend Kevin ate with me last time and suggested we go there for lunch and then catch a movie together. I did not protest.

Now! what really matters to me... the food!
Kevin got the "smooth sailing" smoothie. It had strawberry, coconut, banana, pineapple, and yogurt. I took a little sip and it was delicious! As for his sandwich he got the chicken broccoli sandwich. It came with baked chicken breast, steamed mushrooms and broccoli, ranch(or garlic) sauce, and swiss cheese. Delish.

As for moi, I had the Caribbean cruise smoothie. It had mango, strawberry, peaches, and yogurt. OH MY GOD!!!! It was heaven. I think I'll make it sometime soon with my magic bullet. Which reminds me that either I'm going to steal it from my mom when I move to Portland or I'll have her buy me one as a house warming gift. Leaning towards option two. Anyways, for my sandwich I got the French Connection. This is an amazing sandwich I want to also make at home and when I do I'll put the recipe on here so y'all can enjoy it too. It comes either hot or cold, and I went with hot. Comes with roast beef, lettuce, tomato( i took it out ), mustard, mayo, and brie cheese. The brie is what made me fall in love. This is the first time I ever enjoyed brie with anything. Also they had little ramekins of sriracha sauce. I love sriracha so I added it to mine, grabbed a stack of napkins and dug in. If you're adventurous like me, grab two and dig in. Enjoy!

Kevin

Le Diplomate Cafe

4237 Campus Dr.
Ste B161
Irvine, CA 92612

(949) 854-5161

Autentica Comida Mexicana

This is my favorite restaurant. Of all time!!!!!

My really good friend Rene took me here once and my life has been changed ever since. His family owns this restaurant in Westminster and another one in Stanton called El Rancho Taqueria. I come here usually for the pastor burrito but the day I went (which was a long long time ago! I'm getting behind with this blog.) I wanted to try out my habanero hot sauce I made so I ordered tacos and a carne asada burrito. I ordered two pastor tacos, two chorizo tacos, and the burrito. The hot sauce went well with the tacos. I literally had a religious experience with it as it brought me back to the memories of being in Torreon, Mexico on the street corner at El Chef . Sadly the place closed down due to gang violence I hear (El Chef not El Aguila) but the salsa crema con habanero lives on! Anyhoo... This place sells tacos, tortas, burritos, combination plates, taquitos, nachos, basically everything, including menudo on Sundays. I highly recommend these taquerias. They give Mexico a run for it's money. Try the pastor with anything. The recipe is a family secret only Jose Cuevas knows. I dream of a day he tells me it but that will never happen.

















I took the business cards of both restaurants and here are the addresses. If you're lucky at El Rancho you will run into my best friend Rene. Tell him Palmer sent you.

El Aguila Taqueria
8441 Westminster Ave.
Westminster, CA 92683
(714) 903-1114



El Rancho Taqueria
8040 Orangewood St.
Stanton, CA 90680

Habanero Sauce

So finally I decided to try the recipe that Mayra gave me from El Chef in Torreon Mexico. It's a recipe for a habanero and sour cream sauce. In fact last night I had a dream that I went back to visit to try the amazing tacos and her amazing habanero crema sauce. The place has been closed down due to drug cartel violence in the area but in the dream it was alive and thriving. I miss her and hope someday I can see her again and we can cook together.

Grilling the habaneros and onion

I decided to grill the onion and habaneros because the grill was calling my name but i feel it decreased the spice so next time i will just use the fresh habaneros like Mayra does.

I put it all in a magic bullet.

This is after i blended it with ketchup

Added the mayo and there is the sour cream on top

End product. This is the reason I have a habanero tattoo

The recipe:

1 1/2 cups of sour cream
6 habaneros
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup ketchup
pinch of salt
pinch of black pepper
1/4 of a whole onion
3 garlic cloves



Now it's all very simple because basically you just blend it all but i blend it in certain steps so it's easier to mix.

Step 1: Blend the habanero, onion, garlic, salt, and black pepper. I used a Magic bullet for this entire process and it made this all incredibly easy.

Step 2: Add ketchup to that and blend

Step 3: Add the mayo... basically you see where this is going

Step 4: Add the sour cream and blend until it's completely mixed. I used an adapter on my magic bullet the size of a full sized blender because there is a lot of this stuff.

Voila!
You have around 24 oz. of this habanero sauce i put on tacos or burgers. My room mate said it was a little bland but as you can tell from the ingredients something secret wont pop out of this. I just love to add a little heat to everything. Next time i want to try about 12 habaneros to see if I can bump the heat up a bit.

In-N-Out

I am so hungry today!!!!!!

The other day I went to In-N-Out like i usually do at least once a week and got what I always get. I always get a double double animal style without the tomatoes. I used to get it without the lettuce but i think the lechuga really brings it all together otherwise its an intense artery clogging mess. This thing comes with grilled onions, pickles, extra spread, lettuce, tomatoes, and the buns are fried with mustard (a technique i can't seem to master at home). This place is my go to place when I want something good and cant seem to decide upon anywhere. I can walk to the one by my house off Springdale and Westminster Blvd.


Now I need to go out and find something to eat! All this food talk is killing me.

I decided on the tiny size small drink today

I always ask for a packet or two of spread to add on top of this masterpiece

This one was off PCH and 2nd street in Long Beach. The one by my house has no indoor seating.

The Bruery 2 Year Anniversary

Having heard of The Bruery lately I've been dying to go and give them a try in. They had a two year anniversary party at their brewery in Placentia so I snagged myself a $40 ticket, and went on a 3 hour binge drink of some of the best beer I have ever had in my life. It included 10 beer tasting tickets and a food ticket to get BBQ and deep fried specialties from the Beachwood BBQ in Seal Beach. I about died and went to heaven at this party and will definitely go back soon with some friends.