D and I are very strategic when deciding where to go for our date nights. We try to eat go to restaurants the kids would not necessarily enjoy and/or would be less enjoyable if they were with us. I would say The Boiling Crab meets both of these criteria. We went to the one in the South Coast/Santa Ana area which is new and spacious—no wait at 5 p.m. (I’ve heard there are really long waits at the Garden Grove locations).
We ordered 1 lb. of shrimp (whole shebang-style, medium) for $8.99. I thought that was a really good deal considering that shrimp is so expensive at the supermarket. The waitress plops a plastic bag on your butcher paper-covered table and you can go to town—no plates or cutlery here. Peel the shrimp, give it a squeeze of lime juice, dip it back in the bag to soak up more sauce—yum!
The messy aftermath.
We also ordered a basket of fried catfish and fries. It is a large portion—this picture was taken after we had already eaten two pieces. We ended up taking some leftovers home. I liked the light cornmeal batter. This was $9.99, in case anyone is interested.
We also ordered a cob of corn to add to our shrimp bag—we need our veggies, right? 
As you can see in the background, the atmosphere is Bubba-Gumpish. A nice big sink in the middle of the restaurant would be nice. The tiny wet naps they gave us at the end just didn’t cut it. Since we had leftovers, we didn’t want to extend our date night too much longer. We made a quick stop into Barnes & Noble to look for some sort of Olympics guide/magazine, but they weren’t in stock yet! Meanwhile, we’ve been preparing for our Olympics-watching festivities, but more on that later.
Captain America @ The Great Park
This past Saturday D and I had date night to watch Captain America at The Great Park. In preparation for watching The Avengers, we have watched Ironman, Thor, and now Captain America. I believe the park has hosted summer movies for the past couple of years, but this was our first time, so we did not know what to expect. The website said the movie started at “dusk” which I was not sure about. Turns out it was about 8:20 p.m. Since the movie was two hours, this put us way past our regular bedtime, but it was a lot of fun and I would do it again.
We brought takeout from Zon Baguettes. We haven’t been there in a while, but I think they changed owners (they are also expanding into the space next door). I thought the grilled chicken sandwiches were better than before (more veggies, less weird mayo). The spring rolls were also really good (with peanut sauce, since the kids weren’t with us) and the Vietnamese iced coffee was strong! We arrived at 5:30 p.m., and there were only a few people there. We set up our Tommy Bahama chairs in the back of the first section. 
The screen is inflatable. We watched them set it up.
There were signs that said that the middle front section is reserved for those on blankets and low-backed chairs.
I guess someone did not get the memo.
Flights and Sounds–Branford Marsalis Concert
After the kids went with my parents for a sleepover at their house, D and I went out for a date night. Our first stop was Barnes & Noble, one of our favorite places to go sans kids. Then we headed to the Great Park for a concert in the “Flights & Sounds” series held during the summer. The concerts are free, but parking is $10. We had never been to one of these concerts, so we had no idea what to expect. It is held outdoors, near the carousel and balloon. According to an article I read on the concert, there were about 3,000 in attendance. While it felt like a lot of people, it didn’t feel like that many! We arrived before 7:30, and there was still plenty of open seating. A lot of people opted to bring blankets/chairs and sat on the grass to the sides of the stage for a picnic dinner…we’ll have to do that next time. There was a limited cafe menu, but it is so nice you can bring your own food. No one searches your bag, either.
The concert was supposed to start at 8:00, but didn’t start until a quarter past. I was excited to see the Branford Marsalis Quartet. I couldn’t believe that we were able to see an artist of his caliber for free! (Well, technically $10). It really brought back memories of my jazz band days. I had forgotten how long jazz pieces can be. We left early, around 9:15, and the band had only played five songs. The piano player had a lot of solos, and later I read that the quartet has a “chamber orchestra” influence. I think I enjoy more uptempo, straight ahead stuff, but it was still great. Too bad we had our own peanut gallery seated directly one row behind us providing running commentary. (We also saw one of the pastors of our church a few rows ahead of us!)
(Pictures were not allowed, but I snuck one anyway…shh!)
Kogi Date Night
I’m not sure of this, but I think our last date night was in March. That’s pretty sad. I’ve been wanting to try the Kogi truck for a long time, but it was never at a time/place that was convenient. However, Friday night it was in Irvine, so we dropped the kids off at the grandparents’ house and checked it out. It was supposed to arrive at 6:30 and we were there before 6. Since we didn’t see anyone in a line, we went into the K-1 indoor race track and looked around. Then we went back to our car to wait, but D soon noticed that there was a small group of people waiting in a corner of the parking lot. We got in line (we were instantly recognizable as noobies because we accidentally went to the front of the line, instead of the back). Soon there was a long line behind us as more people showed up. The truck came on time, but when it arrived, it parked pretty far away from the line! Everyone was kind of looking at each other, and I told D to get prepared to run, under my breath. But, some people behind us told the people in the front of the line that we should all just move together, and we all civilly moved closer to the truck. I had read in other places there is just a mad dash, but this is Orange County, I guess.
Anyway, D left the ordering up to me since I had done my research. We ordered 1 short rib taco, 1 spicy pork taco, 1 order of Kogi sliders (short rib meat, 2 per order) and 1 spicy pork burrito. Oh, and a piece of tres leches cake for dessert.
Once the truck set up, we got our food pretty quickly since we were only about 5 people back from the front of the line. 
We ate in our car, which was kind of messy, but fun. The tacos definitely have more flavor, but the burrito is what will fill you up. My favorite was the sliders. Actually, that and the tres leches:
Definitely not your traditional tres leches, it had chocolate cake, with a crunch peanut brittle top, condensed milk on the bottom and tapioca in the middle! There was also a hint of cinnamon in there too. Very interesting. Our dinner came out to just under $20 (we brought sodas/drinks from home :)). I like this food truck craze.
Date Night
D had a three day weekend because his company had Friday off for Veteran’s Day. D went to Goodwill to drop off some donations, we all went to Costco and then we went to Seal Beach. At night we dropped off k at my parents’ house and went to eat at Kaju Tofu in Garden Grove. We ordered one combo (seafood and beef soon tofu and spicy chicken) plus one extra bowl of rice. People seem to like this place better than BCD, but I think they’re comparable. They need more staff…there were only two waitresses, and they were literally running around the restaurant. 
Can you see why we didn’t want to bring k along? On the way out there is a free slushie machine, but you only get a dixie-size cup. It was a nice palate cleanser, though.
Since it was only 5:45 by the time we finished, we went crazy and went to the Block afterwards. It was nice to relive our pre-k years and go to Borders to read magazines. Plus, they had free samples of a gingerbread latte with the cutest mini gingerbread man.
Good thing I took a picture, because when I returned to the table with my magazine selections, the gingerbread man was gone! He had sunk into the latte and dissolved. :()
We also did a little shopping. D was happy with his purchase at Steve & Barry’s. They’re having a liquidation sale, but there was a sign that they are not closing that location. There were so many teenagers out and about! Also, it was warm and windy, which reminded me of the nights on the Big Island when we visited last October.
A Celebration @ Morton’s
As D alluded to in our last post, we went out on Saturday night to celebrate our 4th wedding anniversary and D’s 2nd work anniversary. We left k with my parents and went to Morton’s by South Coast Plaza to indulge in their Steak & Seafood special for 2 for $99. I had been a few times to the one in downtown LA for work, but D had never been before. The Special comes with salads (we ordered 1 Caesar and 1 Morton’s), seafood appetizers (we ordered Shrimp Alexander and Crabcake), baked potato and vegetable (we had the grilled asparagus with balsamic vinegrette) and filet mignon. The waiter said we could substitute the cut of steak for an additional price, so D ordered the ribeye for $1 more. Oh, and it also comes with desserts (we ordered 1 chocolate souffle, and took a piece of key lime pie to go). Yes, it was a splurge, but it was a meal to remember. The service was really good (I liked our waiter–not snooty, not overly-friendly) and the food was delicious. Probably our best overall dining experience as a couple to date.
Kind of an awkward position to take a photo.
I love Morton’s onion bread–and they give you a whole loaf!
Morton’s Ribeye with Crabcake
There’s always room for dessert!