Honey & Butter has now opened its second OC shop at the Irvine Spectrum. It’s located in between Sketchers and Old Navy, where Gamestop used to be. The new store, like the original in Costa Mesa, sells macarons with little cartoon faces. Non-cartoon macarons exist in flavors such as Sea Salted Caramel, French Toast, and Nutella, selling for $2 each. “Creature macarons” retail for $2.50 or higher, depending on the complexity of the design.
670 Spectrum Center Dr. Ste 633, Irvine, CA 92618, (949) 536-5556
Mezzet Mediterranean Cuisine has opened in the old Nello Cucina space at South Coast Plaza’s Crystal Court. The owners of Mezzet also own Boubouffe in Belmont Shore. The restaurant specializes in small plates called mezze, salads and kebobs.
3333 Bear St., Costa Mesa, CA 92626, (714) 540-3365
A new Lao restaurant called Royal King Elephant has opened in Garden Grove. Some of the menu items include Lao beef soup called “tom zap”, beef jerky called “sin sauanh” and Lao sausage. Also offered are papaya salads in both Thai and Lao styles.
9924 Garden Grove Blvd., Garden Grove, CA 92844, (714) 638-1887
In Westminster, The Black Plate has opened in the space that used to be Project West, which was The Ally Restaurant before that. The Black Plate serves sliders, sandwiches, tapas, chicken waffles and a salmon en papillote.
7132 Garden Grove Blvd., Westminster, CA 92683, (714) 890-0111
The Taiwanese dessert specialist BlackBall has opened in Garden Grove. The chain already has an outpost in San Gabriel. As we wrote earlier, the name is derived from a combination of xain cao, a ‘black’ jelly, and the yam ‘balls’ featured in their desserts.
13908 Brookhurst St., Garden Grove, CA 92843, (714) 867-6129
Before becoming an award-winning restaurant critic for OC Weekly in 2007, Edwin Goei went by the alias “elmomonster” on his blog Monster Munching, in which he once wrote a whole review in haiku.
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