Heifination

Official day #1 back in Newport Beach started off a bit slow moving at home, but quickly picked up speed. I have to say, in great family tradition, we ate our way throughout the day with some of the best new foods I've tasted in a long time. My mom and brother took me to Wholesome Choice, a Middle Eastern influenced supermarket, most known for their freshly baked hot Sangok. A-M-A-Z-I-N-G! As soon as we walked into this supermarket, my mom sent me to stand in line for half an hour for this "bread." Well...little did I know that this 3 foot long flat bread would be the carb of my dreams! They make the bread in front of you and pull it out of the oven for you when you get there...as it cools it turns crispy, but crisp with an airy bready goodness. I couldn't wait to "break bread" immediately, but my mom wanted to show me what else this grocery store had to offer. I reluctantly followed her with the hot bread in the front of my mind, and suddenly she was right, there was this hidden treasure of hot prepared foods that you could order. It was like Whole Foods food bar Persian style...they had my absolute favorite soup, Ashereshte. It's this yummy lentil, chickpea and noodle soup, it was the perfect dipping accompaniment to our hot Sangok. I will definitely be making another trip here before I leave!

And of course, not to end the eating there...we ventured over to Lee's sandwiches, a Vietnamese sandwich place my bother frequents every time he is back in Orange County. I was skeptical because I found out it was a chain, and the restaurant is run like a large fast food chain, calling food order out of the loud speaker. Well, I was pleasantly surprised by my brother's order of the #6 pork sandwich with double the meat. I do have to say the bread, cilantro, jalapenos and daikon were amazing...so flavorful, but their downfall is the meat. There just isn't enough, even after ordering double the meat, and it's not that tasty. But, the rest of the stuffings made up for it in flavor! Great day of eating...and it was so much fun to be suprised by the food when I thought I knew about all the food in Orange County! Great way to start off the Christmas break with good family eats...xo, B

**Yes, all food was consumed in the car while hot, no passengers were hurt during this heifination, only overfed.