A new patisserie and cake shop has opened at Park Place in Irvine. It's called Lady M Cake Boutique and is part of a global brand that includes stores in New York, Boston, Singapore, Hong Kong and LA. The shop specializes in mille crepes cakes, cakes constructed of multiple layers of crepe and pastry cream. Average cost for a slice of cake: $8.
2967 Michelson Dr., Irvine, CA 92612
Ike's Love & Sandwiches, a Northern California chain, has opened a new branch in what used to be another failed Capriotti's location, this time at The District in Tustin. Ike's boasts sandwiches on Dutch Crunch, SF Sourdough, and whole wheat bread.
2487 Park Ave., Tustin, CA 92782
Diced is the latest in the never-ending march of the poke shops. As of this writing, a regular with 3 scoops of fish retails for $9, and a large with 5 scoops, $11. Also on the menu: rice bowls with katsu, katsu curry, and beef stir fry, along with two kinds of fried rice.
23624 El Toro Rd., Lake Forest, CA 92630
A chic new coffee shop called Kit Coffee has opened in Newport Beach, adjacent to Cafe Gratitude. It describes itself as “A Place for Community, Coffee and Toast.”
1617 Westcliff Dr., Newport Beach, CA 92660
COMING SOON:
Chef Rob Hines' Two Left Forks, which took over the Tavern on the Coast spot in Dana Point this summer, is now coming to Irvine's Quail Hill Shopping Center. It will be located next to Lucca Cafe.
Before becoming an award-winning restaurant critic for OC Weekly in 2007, Edwin Goei went by the alias “elmomonster” on his blog Monster Munching, in which he once wrote a whole review in haiku.