Foodie – Page 3 – CURLSXOXO

I know you can sympathize with me when I tell you how disappointed I was to miss the employee appreciation breakfast my bosses had put together at the office. Not only did I miss an opportunity for free food but apparently I missed a chance to try what was described to me as ‘the most mouth-watering and delicious pancakes’. My coworker could not stop raving about them. Armed with the need to not feel left out, I was determined to try these pancakes for myself! So one random day my coworker and I were craving breakfast for lunch and decided to hunt down the restaurant where our bosses had ordered breakfast from.

Stacks Pancake House

27680 Marguerite Parkway, Suite C
Mission Viejo, CA 92692

Stacks Pancake House has successfully brought Hawaiian influence to the OC. The Mission Viejo location is in a very unassuming location in the middle of a shopping center, but don’t let the outer appearance deter you. The restaurant layout is a casual counter style where you order and pay first then they bring out your food. I was happily surprised to see the Hawaiian influence carried throughout the menu with items such as loco moco, coconut pineapple pancakes, teriyaki, spam, and coconut syrup. They are well-known for their macadamia nut banana pancakes and captain crunch macadamia nut French toast. The only thing that is missing from the menu is Kona Coffee, which I am very surprised that they don’t offer.

The breakfast that we had that day was fantastic. Since I didn’t have a huge appetite, I opted for what I thought would be a small plate, but, as you can see from the photos, clearly was not. I ordered the eggs florentine and my coworker ordered the eggcellent breakfast, both which came with pancakes. As I’m writing this I’m still savoring their pancakes (light, fluffy, and slightly crispy) and utterly regretting that I didn’t opt to try the macadamia nut banana pancakes. Oh well, at least I have a reason to go back.

Eggcellent Combo – scrambled eggs and bacon.

Blueberry and Coconut Syrup. Delicious!

Short Stack

Florentine Scramble – bacon, spinach, onions, and swiss cheese.

Over the past couple of years, downtown Las Vegas has undergone major revitalization to make it a place of:

“…Inspiration, Entrepreneurial Energy, Creativity, Innovation, Upward Mobility, and Discovery…” – downtown project

The old Las Vegas is becoming new again and lucky for us the restaurants it’s attracting are fun, vibrant, and delicious. This past winter, my friends and I decided to check out the new old Las Vegas. On the hunt for coin machines and lunch we stumbled upon Carson Kitchen, a real hidden foodie gem in the downtown area, just a little shy of Freemont Street. When I say this is a hidden gem, it’s no joke, this place is really hard to find! The address has the restaurant listed on 6th Street, but the entrance is actually found in between 6th and Las Vegas off of E Carson Ave.

Carson Kitchen

124 S 6th St, Las Vegas, NV 89101

http://www.carsonkitchen.com

The place itself gives off a very eclectic hipster vibe. There’s a communal table by the bar, rustic tables, exposed beams, semi-open kitchen, industrial lighting, and a rooftop patio. The plates are on the smaller side, meant to be more tapas style – sharable. Being that I visited the restaurant with a group of guys, it was safe to say that no one was interested in sharing. We did order one appetizer, the Wellington Empanadas, which were flaky and juicy, and then each person ordered their own entrée. The decision among the group was unanimous, everyone absolutely loved their food. The burgers were flavorful and juicy, the pizza crispy and balanced, and the mac and cheese was the perfect comfort food. The only thing missing were the coin slots, but it was nice to catch a little break from all the typical Vegas noise.