2011 Year In Review: My Top Italian Restaurants!

Here are my picks for my favorite Italian Restaurant discoveries this year:

3. Pieology goes down as my favorite new pizza place of 2011! Quick and cheap and delicious! Plus I get to make it the way that I want! You can't beat that!
http://www.sasakitime.com/2011/04/review-of-pieology.html

2. Itriya Cafe goes down as my second favorite Italian place of 2011! With a huge variety of pasta dishes, you are going to find something yo love! Plus, throw in some Asian Fusion and you have a unique place to eat! Great service and a fun ambiance makes this place a winner!
http://www.sasakitime.com/2011/12/review-of-itriya-cafe.html

1. My number one Italian restaurant of 2011 goes to Il Garage! From its amazing service, to it's feel of escapism as Beach Blvd. is literally a hop skip and a jump away, to its fresh pasta to fresh from the garden produce, Il Garage is not only my top Italian Restaurant of 2011 but don't be surpised to see it high on my list of my top restaurants of 2011!
http://www.sasakitime.com/2011/07/review-of-il-garage.html

Review of itriya cafe

Hello Sasaki Time fans! This is my first restaurant review in a long time and it feels like coming home! I went to itriya cafe in Irvine for lunch today and it was a great experience!

Part of the gorgeous interior of the cafe!

 This is the brainchild of Howard Gordon of Cheesecake Factory fame. He wanted to bring a casual dining experience with food that would be attractive to everyone. He succeeded! Plus, Howard is there at his restaurant and was kind enough to stop by and talk with us. The hands on approach is greatly appreciated and he guided us through the menu with ease!

Itriya is believed to be the earliest word meaning pasta. They serve spaghetti in its usual forms (meatballs, beef bolognese, etc.) but also serve it as Korean black bean, Memphis chicken bbq or even white clam chowder. Their other big item is a small item but it's called ssam which is a Korean word meaning "wrapped". Think of it as a taco but lettuce instead of a tortilla and filled with rice, Korean vegetables and spices, and your choice of korean style meats, fried tofu or shrimp. They also have soups and salads.

To start, the water is infused with lemon which was a nice refreshing change.

They even brought us out some garlic bread to start.

I ordered a triple berry lemonade which said it was their signature handmade non-alcoholic cocktail! I can see why it's their signature drink! The sourness of the lemonade matched perfectly with the sweetness of the triple berry blend! I would order this again and again!

My friend ordered the watermelon cilantro and it was just like a watermelon cucumber infused drink. Nice and refreshing! The cilantro surprised me by having that cucumber taste.

We started with two orders of ssam. The first was the sizzling tofu which was fantastic. Even though the tofu was fried, it was still soft. The amount of rice and vegetables was just right. Perfect sized appetizer course.

The second ssam was the bbq rib eye. Even better than the sizzling tofu! The rib eye was nice and tender and tasted like short ribs at any Korean bbq place! Just delicious!

I had the white clam chowder pasta. It was amazing! It was like a variation on white clam sauce but with all the bacon and chunks of potato like a great white clam chowder should have!

My friend had the korean black bean which reminded me of a chow mein! It was really tasty and I wanted to eat more but restrained myself!

My friend's husband had the Memphis chicken bbq pasta! Just like Memphis BBQ sauce it was sweet and smoky! Another winner!

So if you are looking for comfort food or a unique twist on comfort food, try itriya cafe in Irvine! Thank you for a great meal and I'll be back!

 

Address:

Diamond Jamboree Center
2740 Alton Pkwy
Irvine, CA 92606

(949) 955-2080

www.itriyacafe.com/

Hours:

Mon-Thu, Sun 11 am - 10 pm

Fri-Sat 11 am - 11 pm

Itriya Cafe - look for a full review soon!

Restaurant Reviews are back! I just came back from a great new concept restaurant called itriya cafe in Irvine, CA. I will bring you the photos and review tonight or tomorrow! And yes I had the spaghetti and the ssam! Amazing! Full details soon!