Surfas Culinary District

Glad you could stop by for post #97! I'm slowly working my way up to #100, which I can assure you, will knock your fucking socks off! For now, let's talk about a place I almost passed up.

Last blog post, I told you about the Portola Coffee Lab, a small coffee shop located in a hipster shopping center in Costa Mesa, CA. Upon finishing my coffee, I walked around the shopping center for a bit, just as a way to kill a little time. When I was ready to go, I got to the parking lot and noticed a few stores located on the other side. One store had a bunch of food related words like "Tasty" or "Savory" or "Crunchy" written on a banner. I figured there might be another small restaurant there, so I should probably give it a quick look before I head home. I am so glad I decided to stop by!

As I got closer, I saw the logo had a little chef hat and whisk. That seemed like a good sign to me. When I walked through the doors, my heart skipped a beat. This wasn't some little cafe, it was a restaurant supply store!

I can't speak for all the chefs out there, but, for me and most of my food biz cohorts, being in a restaurant supply store is like a kid in a candy store. You see all the tool and toys of a kitchen and think "I could use this in my house!" or "I could fit this somewhere in my kitchen.".

Then you start to ask yourself questions like:

How much do I have in my checking account right now?
Do I really need to pay bills this month?
When is the last time I treated myself to anything?
Why haven't I checked my bank account yet?!?!

Honestly, this place is a foodies dream. They have a specialty cheese section. They have a huge selection of specialty herbs and oils that you won't find at a regular grocery store. They sell frozen purees and chocolates that I have only seen on the professional side of cooking. Oh yeah, they also have every cooking tool you need to stock a kitchen. It was almost breathtaking! I think I was at full mast the entire time I was there!

When some of the blood returned to my brain, I noticed that they also had a small cafe connected to the store. I told myself I would stop by there after purchasing a few things for work and home.

In the end, I spent around $30 bucks or so. It took quite a bit of restraint to keep it that low.

When I got to the food area, this is what I was looking at:

To be honest, I didn't look that deeply into the menu. I saw a grilled cheese sandwich on there, and that was enough for me.

I made my order of a grilled cheese sandwich and an Arnold Palmer. I must say that the service at the cafe and the store were great. All the employees I came across were very friendly and ready for any question I had. They get a big thumbs up in that regard.

My drink came up first:

This was one of the better AP's I've had. Very refreshing, and, you could tell that the iced tea and lemonade would be good on their own.

When my food was up, this is what I saw:

And now for a slightly closer look:

The cheeses in the sandwich were on the lighter, creamier side of things. I know brie was in there. I'm not sure on the rest. I know, I really should take better notes! In fact, I should start taking notes!

While the cheese blend was good, the star of the show was the bread. It was whole wheat and had almond, pistachio and dried cranberries. The taste was familiar in some ways, but the sweetness from the cranberries was unexpected and brought a complexity to the whole sandwich. I wasn't sure that I liked that sweetness at first, but in the end, I felt it made sense.

The salad was about as fresh as it gets. It had a raspberry vinaigrette that worked very well against the creaminess of the cheese. As in many aspects of life, it's all about balance.

In the end, it was a great lunch. Not too heavy and full of flavor. You can't really ask for too much more. I guess a lap dance at the end would have really sealed the deal, but then again, I'm not sure I'm crazy enough to eat food from a strip club.

That's it for this one. Come back soon for more of my adventures in food and insanity. :)

Surfas Culinary District

3309 Hyland Ave
Costa Mesa, CA 92626

(714) 453-2665

I'm Out!