The place is in a good location, close to a couple of major streets, the only downside is that the parking lot can get a little crowded during busy times, but you’ll usually find a spot in a minute or two.

You can find this location at 13041 Newport Ave, Tustin, CA 92780. Bronx Sandwich Co. has a few other locations throughout Orange County as well.

My favorites here are The Bronx Club, King of Queens, The Mobster, and the B.B.Q. Brisket (pictured above).

I’ve had other sandwiches and they’re all good, but these are my favorites. I have tried the salads as well, and they’re fine. But their strong offerings are the sandwiches for sure.

The fries are also delicious, I always get them well-done and they come out super crunchy. Definitely, a place to come back regularly.

This is my latest review in Google Maps, follow me there if you'd like.

The post Bronx Sandwich Company in Tustin – 2022 Review appeared first on Digital Marketing Through Content & Influence.

I took the kids after school one day to see what was up with them since I hadn't been there in a year, maybe two.

This is what happened during this new #foodieadventure.

There's a reason I haven't been to Bruxie in a while. Or rather, several reasons, only one of those reasons has changed now.

A few years ago Bruxie started to change. I'm not sure if they went through some growing pains, but the quality of the food went down, prices went up and the part that made Bruxie awesome kinda lost its appeal.

I can't quite pinpoint what appeal I'm referring to, but it was gone.

This time around, the food was amazing. I ordered the B.A.M.F. and got the kids some chicken tenders with Bruxie's waffle fries. Check out how everything turned out in the video.

The thing that changed was the quality of the food. I only have tried the B.A.M.F. and what they were serving at Taste of Huntington Beach the other day.

But I can say that the taste and quality are back, that's undisputable. The price, still a problem. Maybe it's just part of growing up, but $30 for 1 "grown-up" meal and one "side order" seems steep.

The post The B.A.M.F. appeared first on Digital Marketing Through Content & Influence.

And yes, they gave me a free lunch to check them out, but I still feel like their food is awesome. Healthy, locally sourced, and an amazing value.

Cava Grill is a fast-casual Greek restaurant. You order your food like you do at Chipotle and then bam! You'll be sitting there enjoying your Cava Grill bowl or salad like a boss.

Checking out Cava Grill

Cava Grill - Yelp

Cava Grill - Google Reviews

Cava Grill

View on Instagram

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I should start with the bad first as I do with most of my reviews. The only negatives I found were really minor, we went in early for brunch and noticed a lot of the areas in the business weren't actually ready for business. You could see a mop left over on a corner, the bar was mixing their ingredients on big ugly buckets on plain view, and a few other little details like this.

We don't need to see any of that, it's like walking into the backstage area of a Las Vegas show. We know all that stuff goes on in the back scene, but we just don't want to see it. It kills the magic, ya know?

That's about it for the negative... not so bad right?

Now onto the good stuff. The whole experience was great. We arrived way earlier than our friends did because they initially went to one of the other locations I think. Valet parking ($6.00)  is a must or be prepared to park a mile away, risk a parking ticket and then walk to the place. Just valet it.

As we waited, our server was really great about keeping our drinks and appetizers on point. I started with a seasonal grapefruit margarita that was excellent; refreshing, cool and balanced. I ended up having two or three through our stay. I would suggest they make it a permanent cocktail in their menu.

My wife went for the spicy bloody mary; it made me a little jealous.

For appetizers we went for the choriqueso and guacamole combo. Now, this is where it gets a bit iffy for Mexicans that know Mexican food. I don't think Choriqueso should be in the menu of a traditionally inspired Mexican cuisine restaurant. Choriqueso is Tex-mex food which you should stay away from when you want to be known for traditional Mexican flavors, regardless of how modern or progressive you want to be with your recipes.

When I saw it on the menu, it made me question the whole operation.

I would have rather tried a more traditional queso fundido. Re-invent that! But nevertheless the choriqueso had amazing flavor and it was a winner paired with the totopos made fresh on site. The guacamole was good, but not unique or amazing. It's hard to make good guacamole and harder to do it consistently, but if this is  the quality and flavor they always put forward then it's an excellent guacamole.

If you're a bit more adventurous and like strong flavors then you'll find this guacamole very plain and in need of some more acidity, and maybe even some crumbled cheese to top it and add a bit of saltiness. To their defense, it was good enough that we ordered a second order of it and everybody else really liked it and it goes really well with the super crunchy and salty chips.

For the meal, I ordered the chilaquiles with added carnitas. My wife ordered the chile relleno, and we shared the 2 gringas. Everything was good. But, there's always a but. The chilaquiles were prepared perfectly, good flavor profile, the consistency was better than most places I've tried, but they lacked a punch.

[envira-gallery id="47681"]

I feel that it was a mistake to order the carnitas on the side. The carnitas felt overcooked and they had a strange syrupy taste that made them overly sweet. Some people like that, but I didn't. Traditional dishes should be re-imagined with presentation, or the use of the ingredients, but adding a totally new flavor is risky, If I had ordered a full carnitas dish I am inclined to think that I might have exchanged it for something else after trying it.

By the way, I mentioned the chips earlier but it should really be said that these were amazing. I couldn't get enough of them. The 2 gringas were amazing and in retrospect I would have liked to order just that, but more of it. The plate comes with two of these tacos and they are as tasty as they are beautiful. More please!

The best part came with dessert as three dessert dishes arrived, compliments of the chef. For this, I am absolutely thankful and grateful! I would love to tell you that my influence as a blogger made them do this, but most likely it was because one of our friends at the table is one of the up an coming Mexican chefs in Southern California. On a side note, I can't reveal his name because he wants to keep a low profile, but I hope that I'll be able to review a pop-up restaurant he's working on to launch this summer.

We tried the churro ice-cream, tres leches cake and the flan. Turns out the chef at Mercado used to be the chef at Taleo, one of my favorite Mexican restaurants of all time (sadly it clsoed years ago). So I expected his influence to be strong in the desserts.

The tres leches cake was amazing, as it was at Taleo's. The flan also was perfect, the consistency, the flavor, the presentation, a total winner. If you want to try what a flan should taste like, then the trip to Mercado is worth just for this reason. In a previous review of a local bakery, I kinda blasted their tres leches cake, the owner of that bakery owes it to themselves to visit Mercado and learn what a tres leches cake should be.

Overall, I rated this place a 4/5 on Google. I would definitely go again, I would bring my friends there and I'd love to try some of their other cocktails and dinner plates. I hear they have over 70 kinds of tequila, that can be exciting.

The post Mercado review. Mexican Brunch in Los Angeles appeared first on Digital Marketing Through Content & Influence.

We had a chance to visit Taste of Huntington Beach 2016. We had a blast and it is the subject of today's vlog, we are now at vlog #12, so don't forget to subscribe for updates!

This is the second time for me, first time for Helen. I highly recommend you go to it next time if you can. Links and more information below.

Also, before you get into the video I wanted to give a shout-out to my friend Marcie for sponsoring this vlog. Marcie runs Surf City family, and if you're in Huntington Beach or want to learn more about this great city then you need to be following her blog for all things local.

Taste of Huntington Beach

The annual Taste of Huntington Beach showcases the best of HB’s culinary talents and the region’s top wineries and breweries. For one all-inclusive price, attendees enjoy unlimited samples and sips from some of the area’s finest establishments. All proceeds go to the Children’s Department of the HB Public Library.

The Taste features 50 restaurants, caterers and food exhibitors as well as a total of 50 wineries and breweries.
Water and nonalcoholic beverages are available at the Taste. We also have a variety of vendors promoting their products, a fantastic raffle and silent auction – plus live music for your listening and dancing pleasure.

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She offered to buy me lunch so I thought, why not? I help a friend and I get a free lunch.

This is not why I help people, but it is a nice perk, especially when people want to pick my brain but don't want to or can't hire me.

I thought about where to go and finally decided on a place that had been on my list for some time. It is called Taco Maria and if you had not guessed by now, it is Mexican food.

But this is not your typical Mexican food. Some people say it's the best food in Orange County, Mexican or otherwise.

This is high-end Mexican cuisine. I can only think of one other place that I've tried that would be in the same class, Red O in Newport Beach.

The flavors were authentic but new at the same time, it's hard to explain but the use of seasoning reminded me of my grandma and the amazing food I had growing up in Mexico.

At the same time, everything was new and exciting.

The Agua Chile, their version of ceviche had the tangy limey flavor and salty crunch that ceviche should have but also introduced unique ingredients like squid ink to give it an unforgettable twist. It was just spicy enough to make you say oooooh, that's nice!

When we finished it, I asked the server to leave the remaining sauce and I enjoyed it by the spoonful throughout the rest of the meal. It was that good.

To drink, I had the agua de jamaica, which is a traditional agua fresca, made with the hibiscus flower. That was too little, but I enjoyed it up to the last sip.

We went on a Tuesday so naturally, the menu was based on Tacos. The old #TacoTuesday thing was made new again.

We ended up trying the steak tacos with tocino (bacon), chile con mole, fish, and vegetarian. Every single bite was as flavorful and satisfying as the first one and I was left wanting more.

Keep in mind, these are not your mama's tacos.

Many people will scoff at the idea of paying $18 for a pair of tacos, but once you try these you will likely forget that this might be ounce per ounce one of the most expensive Mexican meals you can find in Orange County.

The only downsides to Taco Maria are the location and the limited seating. I personally loathe the OC Mix, it reeks of smugness and pretentiousness, with some places offering undeservingly expensive items like a $5.00 cookie, a $24,000 sofa, or a $6.00 8 ounce cup of coffee that takes 20 minutes to make.

But just for Taco Maria, I'll go back there, I'll put up with the crowded parking and even wait 30 to 45 minutes for a taco.

If you decide to visit I recommend you make reservations (dinner & brunch only), or go for lunch before 11:40 or after 1:30 if you don't want to wait.

Leave the little ones and the big crowds at home too, this place is best enjoyed when you can fully take in the experience and share it with a small group of 3 to 4 people, but make sure everyone is there or else you will not be seated.

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