Veggie Grill at the Irvine Spectrum

Got to try out the new Veggie Grill at the Irvine Spectrum (on the back side near the Barnes & Noble) yesterday before its grand opening to the public tomorrow, November 21st. This is their third location after the one in El Segundo and the one on the UCI campus. In my review of their UCI location I said, "I guess The Veggie Grill has as an unstated goal the mission to show carnivorous humans that you can make pretty good meals without meat and without a 'health food' stigma" but last night I found out from both their founders that this is their explicit, stated goal. In the words of one of them, "We want to take the punishment out of eating healthy," and I believe they have wildly succeeded.

I don't know that I'll ever convert to full-fledged vegetarianism but the carne asada sandwich I had last night ("Grilled veggie-steak, marinated in Mexican spices, with southwestern spiced vegan mayo, red onion, lettuce, tomato on a wheat roll.") was so good and authentic tasting that I felt like a straight-up carnivore, but without having to deal with fat and grease.

I was met there by Judy the Foodie, who thoroughly enjoyed her Chop-Chop Chef Salad, "Chopped romaine, tempeh, veggie-steak, chillin' chickin, green onion, roasted corn salsa with a chipotle ranch dressing:"

It's healthy, it tastes good, and is reasonably priced with the most expensive item on their menu being only $9.50. I'll be back, especially since I was told they were planning on adding more Mexican items to the menu.

• Official Site
• Judy's Review at The Astute Recorder
• Dan's Review at Eat in OC
• Review at Griffin Eats OC

Dave & Buster's

Dave & Buster's 71 Fortune Dr Irvine, CA 92618 (949) 727-0555 Listing on Yahoo! Local Listing on Ask.com's Citysearch Official Site

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No, Dave & Buster's isn't a Mexican restaurant, it's more like an adult version of Chuck E. Cheese, but they do have a few Mexican items on their menu. Here's two of them:

Chicken Tortilla Soup

"Spicy seasoned chicken, tomatoes, corn and potatoes, topped with crispy tortilla strips and cheese."

Pro: Spicier than I thought it was going to be.

Con: no tortilla strips. I got crackers instead. Still good, but think I will ask them to include tortilla strips the next time, but maybe they should just make it a regular thing.

Grilled Chicken Quesadillas

"Grilled chicken, poblano & jalapeño peppers with cilantro, and a blend of melted Mexican and cheddar cheeses, folded & grilled in a cheddar jalapeno flour tortilla. Served with sour cream and salsa."

Pro: The quesadilla wedges aren't soaking in grease.

Con: No guacamole.

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Javier's Cantina and Grill at the Irvine Spectrum - Cinco de Mayo Review

This review is only about one Javier's location. Click here to read our complete Javier's coverage.

Javier's Cantina & Grill
45 Fortune Dr
Irvine, CA 92618

This review is all about giving readers and web denizens everywhere what they want. My little site traffic analyzer tool shows me that people are always searching on Yahoo!, Google, Dogpile, and other search engines for "Javier's at the Irvine Spectrum." It is within walking distance of my work but I hadn't even been there since starting this blog. So I arranged to meet there with six other co-workers on Cinco de Mayo.

Javier's is always packed so you can imagine how crazy it was on Cinco de Mayo. I made reservations the day before and when I arrived to claim my reservation the person in front of me was asking how long of a wait it would be for two people and she was told 45 minutes to an hour. Having made reservations ahead of time, however, we were led to a table set for seven in their outdoor seating area. I noticed that they have a little section outdoors that is walled off on three sides and has a curtain that can be drawn shut on the other side, apparently for private parties, or for those who don't like the wind blowing their food all over the place.

Plenty of people who can't wait to celebrate Mexico's independence

Say Cheese

Enchiladas Verde

Chicken Burrito - David ordered this and said it was okay

Spinach Enchiladas: Also available on St. Patrick's Day - Michael and Rachael both ordered this dish and Rachael raved about it; never heard Michael's opinion

Chicken Enchilada

Going to try something new by closing out this review with a comparison between the Javier's in Laguna Beach and the one at the Irvine Spectrum. This table may get updated upon future visits:

Javier's Comparison

	Laguna	Irvine
Frustrating Parking?	Yes	Yes
Good Mole?	Maybe	Yes
Good Spinach Enchiladas?	Maybe	Yes
Nice Outdoor Seating?	Sort Of	Yes
Good Flan?	Yes	Yes
Across from the Beach?	Yes	No
Across from The Cheesecake Factory?	No	Yes
Fancy Restrooms?	Don't Know	Yes
Tiki Torches Outside?	No	Yes

On the way back to the grind I discussed the experience with the three other co-workers in my car. Everyone said their food was okay but not spectacular and the same for the service but we also all recognized that going on Cinco de Mayo is probably not the best time to judge a Mexican restaurant. Our server did the best job he could whenever he was able to make it to our table and waiting tables has always seemed like a high-stress job to me so I'm not pointing fingers here. We agreed to give Javier's in Irvine a tentative three and a half Speedy Gonzales rating:



Other Javier's Reviews:

• Javier's of Laguna Beach Review #1

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What are these links doing way down here? By analyzing my site traffic I have found that people often come to this entry and instantly click on the link to the official Javier's website without even skimming the review given here. Oddly enough, there are more pictures here of their food and information about their location in Irvine than even their official site has. We still certainly want people to be able to go to the official site so the link is still provided.

Official Site

Listing on Yahoo! Local

Listing on Google Maps