Eatery - True Food Kitchen (CA)

451 Newport Beach Dr., Newport Beach, CA 92660
Pricing - $/$$ | Dining - Casual | Cuisine - American
http://www.foxrc.com/restaurants/true-food-kitchen/

After running late from morning meetings, I finally met up fellow blogger Suki here one day to give True Food Kitchen a shot; neither of us had ever been. The restaurant is located in Fashion Island but on the outskirts of the parking lot next to Fleming's Steakhouse and across the way from the Barnes and Noble. It's quite an expansive building with a large patio and high-ceilinged open space for an interior. I actually really liked the fresh decor which highlighted yellows, greens, and browns to give a feel of partaking in a healthy (albeit slightly more expensive than I'm used to for this type of cuisine) lifestyle.


Once inside, we had a very peppy and friendly waiter come by and get us acquainted with the menu. We start off with drinks first which they offer housemade - I opted for The Natural (fresh ginger and agave soda) and she for the Cucumber Refresher (cucumber and honey lemonade). Both were quite lovely. If you are a big ginger fan, The Natural is for you because it's a kick in the mouth of spicy goodness. We shared an appetizer of the Caramelized Onion Tart (smoked garlic, black fig, and Gorgonzola), a surprise to us when it came out because it definitely looked more like a flatbread than a tart. Maybe I just need to freshen up on my definition of a tart? The tart was excellently crunchy on the bottom with enough doughiness to yield to my teeth and the abundance of other flavors. The caramelized onion played alongside the juicy black figs in a duet of sweet flavors with the occasional complementary hint of the Gorgonzola. Lovely.


My entree was the Spaghetti Squash Casserole (with fresh Mozzarella, organic tomato, and zucchini) and hers the Greek Frittata (organic egg, tomato, onion, kalamata olives, Feta, Parmesan, and oregano). She seemed to enjoy her dish a bit but when compared to another Greek frittata dish she had favored, it didn't live up to such a competitor. As for me, the spaghetti squash casserole was quite delicious but so small! I know I should be keeping aware of my portion sizes the more I go out and eat but when you make such a delicious dish, I can't help but want more. I've always loved the texture of spaghetti squash since it's stringy but still crunchy in its strands; this one was a play on spaghetti in general. There was a fresh tomato sauce incorporated with bright tastes of the basil on top. A cheesy dish, this casserole did not make me feel guilty for wolfing it down at all.


At least, we finished with dessert, their Apple Crisp with pecan maple ice cream. Once again I was slightly deceived by the name but then I realized that it really did make sense. Cinnamon-y baked apples sat beneath layers of brown sugar-tossed and toasted oats while a pecan maple ice cream mound threatened to melt all over the warm goodness. We dispensed of it fairly quickly, just before the last bit of ice cream had fully melted. A la mode is always a nice touch on a dessert, especially in such a complementary flavor. I would have to say that perhaps they overdid it a tad with the cinnamon and brown sugar on this dessert but the textures were great together and the apples soft yet still firm. Overall, a great meal was had but I feel like there must be a less expensive way to make all of this come together - after tax and tip, it was about $30 per person for lunch. Wowee eh?