Dining in The O.C.

Dining Detectives
By Carol & Joe Davis

We had the opportunity to be in Orange County just south of Los Angeles for a day and made the most of our dining and shopping opportunities. We shopped at the ultra-upscale South Coast Plaza and had some excellent Italian Cuisine at Quattro Q4 Caffe, which is located between Emporio Armani and Jimmy Choo. We enjoyed the upbeat atmosphere and the playful classic black and white photos of celebrities eating pasta.

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Quattro Q4 Caffe - celebrities eating pasta

The cuisine is Northern Italian with a Californian flair.

Quattro Q4 Caffe - Contadino Salad with Chicken

We loved the Spaghetti Bolognese and the Contadino Salad with Chicken which were both perfect and quite filling for lunch.

Our dinner that night was at Habana in the Lab Anti-Mall just down the street in Costa Mesa. They feature Cuban Cuisine and fabulous Mojitos!

Habana - Grilled Ahi

On this warm evening, we sat on the patio and enjoyed the Grilled Ahi and El Puerco Primo which were both excellent and definitely worth going back for.

Habana - El Puerco Primo

Before we left for John Wayne Airport the next day, we enjoyed shopping at Fashion Island in Newport Beach then took a quick ride to the Coast.

We had an excellent and reasonably priced fresh seafood lunch at The Rusty Pelican which overlooks the yachts in the beautiful harbor.

The Rusty Pelican - Swordfish

We enjoyed the baked Spinach Stuffed Salmon and the Swordfish which were plated topping mashed potatoes.

The Rusty Pelican - Yachts

They were both extremely fresh and perfectly prepared. We look forward to our next trip to SoCal for more exciting dining and shopping!!

Quattro Q4 Caffe http://quattrocaffe.com/

Habana http://thelab.com/shops/habana

The Rusty Pelican http://www.rustypelican.com/