Nibbles of Tidbits, a Food Blog

Islands Fine Burgers & Drinks — It’s the Nalu Nalu Burger and it’s new on Island’s Menu.

It’s made with Roasted Garlic Aioli, Provolone Cheese, Sautéed Onions, Mixed Peppers, Hot Chili Pepper Rings and Lettuce.  Our Nalu Nalu Burger (above) was over-cooked and just okay.  We still prefer Mavericks, Kilauea, the Pipeline and the Hula to this Hawaiian wave.

A BBQ Burger at Islands Restaurant used to be called a Sunset Burger, but it’s now called a Mavericks Burger (pictured).  It also differs in that it now comes with Onions Strings (Island Reds) and Mayonnaise instead of Mustard.  We still haven’t had a bad Burger at Islands and would surely order this one again, especially since the Sunset is history.

We still haven’t had a bad Burger at Islands Restaurant and we’re working our way through all of them.  This time we tried their Rincon Burger that includes Guacamole, Lettuce, Tomato, Swiss, Onion, Bacon & Mayo.  We subtracted the Onion, added a side of BBQ Sauce and Ranch Dressing for the French Fries and loved every bite of it all.  Our consensus is that Islands Restaurant consistently does Burgers right and we’re also happy about the refillable Fries.  Writing this makes me want a refillable Burger too. 🙂

It appears we’re working our way through all of Island’s Burgers at Bella Terra and other locations.  This time it was the ‘Sunset‘ with BBQ Sauce, Cheese and fix-ins minus the raw Onion.  A BBQ Burger isn’t usually a top pick of mine, but the Sunset was excellent, like all Island’s Burgers I’ve had thus far.  Now we’re heading to Kilauea.

Update 01/28/10:  The Sunset Burger appears to have a new name — It’s now called a “Mavericks” Burger.

I’ve written other lenghthy and short restaurant reviews in addition to those on Nibbles of Tidbits.  All are located in Costa Mesa, Newport Beach and Irvine, California — Reviews of the Greek Town Grill, Saagar Indian Cuisine, Catalina Fish Kitchen, The Wild Rabbit, El Matador, El Toro Bravo Tortilleria, Taco Rosa, El Chinaco, Islands and Houstons can be read below.  Or use this blog’s Search Box to find what you’re looking for, and don’t forget to check out the ‘Restaurant Reviews’ Category.

OC MEX Food Blog:

http://ocmexfood.blogspot.com/search?q=Shelly+Borrell
http://ocmexfood.blogspot.com/search?q=el+matador

Restaurantica:

http://www.restaurantica.com/blog/Shelly-Borrell–A-Food-Writer-in-the-Making/124/

Yelp:

http://www.yelp.com/user_details?userid=HkCrGBVeDWIEpogaR_ZSeA

Chow Hound:

http://www.chow.com/profile/185997

Hungry City Guides:  I’ve written several other reviews for the OC Hungry City Guide.  The book is due to be published late this year or early next year.  It appears to be a little up in the air.  I’m sure I’ll let you know when it’s out. 🙂

http://www.hungrycity.com/

Related Links:

http://www.ineedtext.com/FoodBlog/?p=839
http://www.ineedtext.com/FoodBlog/?p=92
http://www.ineedtext.com/FoodBlog/?p=837
http://www.ineedtext.com/FoodBlog/?p=90
http://www.ineedtext.com/FoodBlog/?p=270
http://www.ineedtext.com/FoodBlog/?p=730

Thank you for the birthday gift Islands — And what a great gift it was.  I truly LOVE your burgers.  I most often get the Hawaiian Burger, which is what you see here.

These pictures are taken on the patio at the Irvine, California location off Bison.

The Kona Pie is very good too.  I’ve enjoyed it a few times in the past, but this day I was on the run without refrigeration.  The waiter brought it by for a quick photo, but then I gave it to a large party timed for dessert.  That was fun to do — They were excited about it too.  I REALLY wanted to take a bite, but you can’t give it away after that, and I knew I couldn’t finish it all — So I’m glad it went to a bigger cause.

Thank you Islands.  Your birthday gift was generous and pleasing.

http://www.islandsrestaurants.com/

In May we reported about the Hof’s Hut Restaurant & Bakery Burger Contest, linked here.  In addition to posting about it, I entered 5 Burgers in the contest.  The challenge was to create a Burger worthy to become Hof’s 60th Anniversary Burger to be featured during the month of September — Having forgotten about the entries, last week I received a call from a Hof’s Hut VP who informed me that I’d won the Grand Prize in the Burger Contest… It’s my Burger, the Fancy Smancy Steakhouse Burger that’ll be featured at Hof’s in September.  I’m attending its photo shoot tomorrow.  It’s unbelievable and exciting.  Can’t wait to try it — Thanks HH!

Note:  The pictured Burger isn’t it.  More to be reported about the actual soon.

Did you know that Island’s Burgers and Sandwiches now come with French Fries?  Yes, they finally do.  It used to cost another $5 for a Basket of Fries, which isn’t that bad if you’re with a group, but if alone it was too many Fries for too much extra money. 

It’s rare that a restaurant start giving more for less, but by popular demand Island’s changed the rules and did it.  Here we had the Pipeline Burger at the Bella Terra location.  Island’s Pipeline is equivalent to a Chili Cheese Burger.  All was very good, and our waiter even asked if we wanted more Fries.

Thanks for the French Fries Islands — It’s a much better deal, which we all need.  Ciao.

Related Links:

http://www.islandsrestaurants.com/

http://www.ineedtext.com/FoodBlog/?p=270

Dare I say one of the best meals I’ve ever had?  I dare.  And the service was friendly (not stuffy) and attentive.  I fell in love with ALL aspects of the place.  Each dish was a stunning treat, plus we got to tour the kitchen and the wine tasting area downstairs.  It was more fun than Disneyland.

Thank you for the amazing food and the opportunity to look around.  As of this date, Charlie Palmer at Bloomingdale’s has been open one week.  My experience tells me that it deserves to have many years of success here.

If locating the restaurant through Bloomingdale’s, you’ll be struck by the eye window looking into the kitchen.  I was amazed.  It’s one of the coolest things I’ve seen.  The pictures below are taken of the restaurant entrance on the west side of Bloomingdale’s.  The bar entrance is on the east side — Now it’s starting to sound like Manhattan Charlie.

       < Outside at night.

I really wanted to take pictures of our meal, but didn’t ask permission.  I especially wish I had a photo of the Foie Gras, since it looked like a piece of art.  It tasted incredible too.  I was sliding down my comfortable chair it was so good. 

Here’s what we had, as described on the menu:

* Seared Hudson Valley Foie Gras, Apricot Tarte Tatin, Carmelized Apricot

* Aged NY Sirloin, Chipotle Butter, Shallot Confit

* Prime Flatiron Steak, Sake-Glazed Turnip, Ginger Jus

* Potato Gratin, Aged Cheddar

* Root Vegetables, Marjoram Essence 

* Farro Risotto, Morels

All dishes were truly superb.  And since my friend blabbed about my birthday, they served a fun, unique Cookie and Jelly assortment.  After that, I was glad that she did. 

I should also mention that the Root Vegetables were also complimentary, plus they served a Sea Urchin Mousse with Caviar and Crabmeat.  We greatly appreciated the restaurant’s generosity and excellent hospitality.  Everything was top notch.

I couldn’t think of a better way to spend my birthday and I’d love to eat there again.  Thanks for coming to California Charlie.

PLUS:  They sell good bottles of wine TO GO at comparable retail prices.  And their Wine List is a computer, you’ll see.  I had a fabulous Australian Syrah recommended by the nice Sommelier.

Related Links:

http://www.charliepalmer.com/bloomingdale/home.html

http://www.restaurantica.com/blog/Shelly-Borrell–A-Food-Writer-in-the-Making/124/