Habana in OC Celebrates 25th Anniversary with 1995 Prices

I have not been to Orange County in a while but Habana's 25th anniversary celebration next week might just get me down there! While many restaurants have closed because of the pandemic, I'm glad to see that some are still going strong. This destination for Cuban food in Orange County is celebrating their 25th with some great specials at both their Irvine and Costa Mesa locations from September 14-20. 

Photo courtesy of Habana

First off, during lunch (11:30 am to 3 pm) you can get menu items for the prices they were offered back in 1995! That means you can get their signature ropa vieja for $7.95, lechon asado for $8.95 and more. It's a great deal that we can all use right about now. 

Also, they'll have $5 mojitos and sangrias all day long in case you want to go for some after-work libations! 

Photo courtesy of Habana

Limited indoor dining is allowed again in Orange County. I personally am still a lot more comfortable with outdoor dining and both Habana locations have a great patio, but it's good to know in case of another heat wave.

Remember, the specials are good from September 14th-20th and I would suggest making a reservation. I'll see you there next week! 

Takeouts in LA: Providence En Voyage

Another restaurant in LA whose takeout I've been enjoying is Providence. They change their menu every week and calling it Providence En Voyage. Each week took us to a different region (although this week was a Black Truffle menu, not tied to a specific region).

The first one of their En Voyage menu I got was "Summer in Narragansett" - I had to order because lobster, of course. The dinner consisted of Parker house rolls, a Celebrity tomato soup (not pictured) with scallop dumplings, and then lobster stuffed with peekytoe crab and mushrooms, a side of potato and green beans amandine, and then finished off with peach and blackberry cobbler.

They use female lobsters and then make the sauce using the lobster roe. The lobster sauce was amazing, I wish they gave us more sauce so I can soak it all up with the bread!

Read more »

Takeouts in LA: Wagyu Bento from IMA and Yazawa (Beverly Hills)

I meant to be blogging more when the lockdown happened, but well, it was hard to find motivation! But now I'd like to highlight some of my favorite takeouts that I've had over the past few months. I hope you guys are all getting takeout and supporting local restaurants when you can!

I've been ordering a lot of bento boxes, and two of my favorites came from sister restaurants IMA and Yazawa in Beverly Hills (the restaurants are right next to each other and pickup for takeout is at the same spot). Both of them are wagyu specialists that import their meat straight from Japan. Yazawa focuses on yakiniku while IMA does sukiyaki and shabu shabu. IMA is the only U.S. branch of Imafuku, which has a Michelin star in Japan.

Read more »