The Best of Orange County

Why they're No. 1: Co founder Sam King calls King's Fish House a "neighborhood seafood restaurant" wanting to share a wide variety of seafood imported from all over the world to local seafood lovers. Wild and farmed varieties are offered. The oyster bar is a center of attention for those who want a little livelier experience; racks of pepper sauces await experimentation.

Claim to fame: From the roomy and relaxing dining room to the often raucous lounge, King's can serve the needs of a lot of people a lot of the time. Although the basic menu serves catfish, tilapia, and trout, the menu also includes the season's catch such as the wild salmon from the Yukon River in Alaska either served in a hazelnut crust, a sushi roll, or in cakes seasoned with light orange soy vinegar. The soft shell crab from Maryland is also in season served in either a Piccata style, a lightly battered tempura style, or a southern deep fried style.

Fan favorite: "Spectacular menu! Grilled to perfection! Lovely decor with an old feel. Outside dining is pleasant to be sure. A selection of fish and shell fish along with beef, chicken Fitflop Flare and more! Full bar and lovely wine selection." Frances Pullin, Anaheim Hills.

Fun fact: King's expects to serve 1 million oysters in 2011.

Claim to fame: Founders Morgan Smith and Jack Demers first opened doors in the east in 2007 and came to Orange County in 2008. The idea was to offer primarily healthy grilled fish and chicken, mostly for less than $10. Main courses are seasoned as the customer chooses and topped with pineapple salsa, cucumber dill sauce, black bean and corn salsa or piri piri mushrooms. co owner Morgan Smith said, "We separate ourselves from other restaurants by forging great relationships with churches, schools, companies and the community that we serve, and we don't hesitate to give back for the community." The most popular entr is salmon, but piri piri tacos are second.

Fan favorite: "Consistently great healthy food, good service and fair prices. But the most outstanding quality of this restaurant is it's socially conscious and community outward reaching owners; hats off to a great organization that gives back more than it takes," Danielle Goulette, Santa Ana.

Fun fact: Virtually all of the Fitflop Sparkle entrees, toppings and sides are gluten free.

Reported by Vladimir Aguilar

17260 E. The unusual signs and bright d has made that location a landmark, and the ocean fresh fish served paper plate casually has made it a gastronomic notable as well. The same personality, without the tourists, is available in the Enderle Center location in Tustin. Steve Bolton, Roubian's nephew and general manager for 35 years, said, "Everyone is at their own pace. You can eat and run or some people tend to sit and eat." More than 600 gallons of Manhattan clam chowder is served in an average day in the Newport location. The Crab Cooker "smokes own fish, bakes its own bread and breadsticks, makes its soup from scratch," and the formulas are "top military secret," Boton said. Despite the flip flop dress code, fine wines are available. "Nobody knew us by our business name. Instead they referred to us as the place with the big crab cookers," Roubian has written.

Reported by Vladimir Aguilar

Critic's fitflop austrlia Choice: House of Big Fish and Ice Cold Beer

540 S.

As the name might suggest, this coastal restaurant features a bar that can get a little noisy. If you manage to get a seat during happy hour, though, deals abound from 25 cent shrimp and $1 oysters (limit three items) to appetizers discounted as low as $2.30 in the afternoon. Late night deals change every day of the week and include $1 tacos.

Even the regular dinner menu, though, is full of reasonable prices. The best deal in the house is the $6 Hobo Fish Plate. A mix of tender pieces of the day's catch, seasoned long grain rice and garlic butter easily stand up to more expensive fish dishes.

The ahi poke, a raw tuna salad served with wonton chips, shows the restaurant doesn't just do big fish, but big flavor. The sesame dressing offers heat along with sweet flavor. Macadamia crusted mahi mahi features a generous portion of fish, covered in the crunchy nuts. A tangy guava butter helps balance out the otherwise sweet dish.

Survey says the prairies of North Dakota have a higher quality of life than California

If it weren't for the exhausting commutes and the seemingly eternal freeway gridlock, California would share the title with Disneyland of being the happiest place on earth. But it's the traffic, residents say, that makes life in California close to unbearable at times and likely accounts for the tarnish on the Golden State in a recent poll on the quality of life in America. "We're 18? Eighteen!" limousine chauffeur Ty Bradford said in disbelief at learning California's ranking in the recently released Gallup Healthways Well Being Index. "Well, it's gotta be because of the traffic. Otherwise, who wouldn't want to live here?" You could possibly understand Hawaii being ranked No. 1. But according to that survey, frozen tundras like North Dakota, Minnesota and Alaska were more favorable spots than California. "North Dakota! You've got to be kidding?" said surfer Leroy Edelman of Malibu, his tan glowing as he wore long swim shorts and flip flops while he took care of business at a DMV office in Canoga Park. "There's something incongruous about 'North Dakota' and 'quality of life' in the same sentence, doncha think?" Responses to the survey from people on the street in the San Fernando Valley were similar, ranging from skepticism and incredulity to outright provincial denial. But in the snowy reaches of North Dakota, residents were understandably proud of their quality of life. But she concedes there are downsides. Fargo the biggest city in the Peace Garden State, with 95,000 residents is more than an hour away. And then there's the weather. "Right now, it's in the 20s and snowy," she said. "It's been snowing since October, I think, and we can't wait for summer." For Carly Barnard, a waitress and aspiring actress who was doing laundry in a North Hollywood laundromat, the weather more than compensates for some of California's less desirable elements. "It's, like, 80 degrees in early March here right now," she said. "Sometimes it takes me an hour just to drive into Hollywood for auditions, and then I can't find a parking spot on the street. "And half the time, I think, it's because of tourists who would rather be here than any place else on their vacations." And Barnard is from Colorado, which ranked No. 5 in the survey, based on questions about life and work, emotional and physical health, and basic access to things like clean water, health care, food and shelter. A state's level of well being was graded on a scale of 0 to 100, with 100 representing the ideal, according to Gallup. Hawaii earned first place, with a score of 71.0. Other states in the top10 included Wyoming, South Dakota, Utah, Connecticut, Nebraska and Massachusetts. West Virginia ranked lowest, with a score of 61.7, with Kentucky, Mississippi, Arkansas, Alabama, Ohio, Delaware, Nevada and Louisiana scoring only slightly better. The rankings were based on data collected for the Gallup Healthways Well Being Index, which conducted telephone interviews with Fitflop Electra more than 350,000 people in 2010, including 35,543 in California. California's score may have been negatively impacted by part of the survey that found that one in five residents struggled to afford enough food for themselves and their families last year. But there were places in California that earned almost equally high marks, according to a breakdown of the results based on congressional districts. For instance, California's 30th Congressional District which includes Agoura Hills, Woodland Hills and Malibu and the 24th District Simi Valley and Ventura cheap fitflop each recorded scores of 69. That would have been good enough for third place in the survey. The 27th Congressional District, covering a large portion of the San Fernando Valley Fitflop Hyker and Burbank, each had a score 68, which would have tied them for fifth. "You can say California's not what it once was, but what is?" said Meghan Torres, a computer programmer and transplant from Arizona. "But I don't trust people who talk about the so called golden years. Didn't the California of the 1960s have terrible smog? "Sure, we have some issues, some serious. But California, top of the country's film and culture leader, is also the home to Apple, the Silicon Valley, San Francisco, Carmel. "When I moved here, for me it was like that line from (the film "Field of Dreams") and I found myself asking, 'Is this heaven?"'

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Battle of the Bandeja Paisas

Photo by Ily GoyanesThe bandeja paisa served at Rincon Antioque0.We love Colombian food. Like, really, really love it. fitflop That is why it annoys us when a Colombian restaurant decides to put on airs. Colombian cuisine is made of simple and unpretentious stuff eggs, corn, beans, and so forth; there is no need to fancy it up. It is perfect.

Rincon Antioqueo, a little dive on SW Eighth Street, understands this. The paint on the sign outside is so faded that you can barely identify the red, blue, and yellow. And the interior seems to double as a flea market. There are T shirts, Fitflop Trakk tote bags, flags, and toys for sale.

Con Sabor a Cafe in Kendall on the other hand is sterile, clean, immaculate and uncluttered. The pristine environment does not hint as to any ethnicity; you could be anywhere.

Both of these restaurants serve Colombian food, but they do it very differently:

At Rincon, the service is slow. Reeeeal slow. You will wait on your drinks, on your appetizers, on your food, on your dessert, and on your bill. While the servers are friendly, it is obvious that you are not their top priority.

The service at Sabor is magnificent. The owner served us (without knowing we were writing a review). You can tell she takes pride in her country's food she gives detailed descriptions of each dish and even gives samples of Columbian drinks not commonly served in Miami.

Sabor is definitely pricier than Rincon, astounding us when we received a bill for $85. It does, however, offer a handful of well priced daily specials and two daily soups free of charge as long as you order an entre. Although, the free soup seems like a consolation prize when you see the dismal portions of food and the exorbitant amount of your bill.

Rincon hurt us significantly less, coming out to less than fifty bucks for a party of four, and we ordered plenty of antojitos (literally translates to 'small cravings') like empanadas and pan de bonos (cheese bread). We had plenty to eat and take home, plus dessert. Also, Rincon makes pan de bonos that dwarf others of its kind.

Overall, you really get your peso's worth at Rincon Antioqueo. At Sabor con Cafe, not so much.

Photo by Ily GoyanesOversized pan de bonos from the Rincon.Food

The disparity between these two restaurants is never more glaring than when your mouth is full of food. There are certain items that are equal, such as white rice and fried plantains (which are excellent and perfectly cooked at both restaurants). But as far as the appetizers, meats, and beans go, the food could be from two different countries Yuck and Yum. There may be slight variations depending on the restaurant, but the plate usually contains a fried egg on top of white rice, red beans, steak or ground beef, chicharrn (a strip of fried pork belly), an arepa (a type of bread made from white corn) and fried plantains. The bandeja at both Sabor and Rincon included these items, but Rincon adds a link of Colombian sausage and allows you to switch the flavorless arepa for a patacon, a fried green plantain.

Before we continue, we have to say that the patacones at Sabor are undoubtedly superior to any fried green plantain we've had except for home. They are perfectly thin and crispy and just starting to ripen and turn sweet, giving you a wonderful juxtaposition of flavors when you add salt.

Now that the good is out of the way, let's talk about the bad and the ugly. The beans at Sabor are canned, which according to the owner is a good thing. They are apparently a very popular brand of beans that Colombians find de rigeur. We do not. And unlike Rincon, which serves multiple pieces of delicious carne asada (thin Colombian steak) in its bandeja, Sabor shamelessly serves a scrawny, unseasoned, tough little steak that tastes more like a chancleta (flip flop). We also have to be eternally grateful to the owner of Sabor for introducing us to what has become an obsession our new favorite dessert postre de natas. Made from milk curds, postre de natas is a semi sweet, slightly creamy substance that tricks your brain into thinking that you're having an orgasm. This is from someone who has the complete opposite of a sweet tooth and orders dessert about once every three months. Mere words cannot do this postre justice. Even packaged, as it is usually served, this dessert is ridiculously good. We have Fitflop Lulu heard that there are versions which include cinnamon and raisins why would anyone mess with perfection?

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April 2007 2007 In Review Traverse City Record

TC Shrift picked for 2013 Fitflops Team Michigan

TRAVERSE CITY (April 1) Alison Shrift of Traverse City was one of 17 players chosen to represent the state on the Team Michigan hockey squad.

Shrift made the team after tryouts at the Summit Ice Arena in Lansing. The squad will be competing against teams from Wisconsin, Minnesota and South Dakota at the Chicago College Showcase Tournament.

Shrift was a captain for the Gaylord Enforcers state championship U 19 team that also won the Little Caesars League title at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit with a win over Kentwood, the same team the Enforcers defeated to win the team fourth straight state crown.

North Stars drop season finale, 4 2

MARQUETTE (April 2) Marquette scored two third period goals to beat the Traverse City North Stars 4 2 in a North American Hockey League game at Lakeview Arena.

It was the season finale for the North Stars, who finished 19 38 5.

DETROIT (April 3) Don count Jeff Chimner and his son Jonathan among the born again Detroit Tigers fans who rediscovered their love for baseball last summer.

The Chimners never lost faith, not even through the Tigers wretched stretch of 12 straight losing seasons from Fitflop Luna 1994 2005. That what made the team surprise run to the 2006 American League championship so much more enjoyable.

"We were on the fitflop bandwagon before the bandwagon had wheels," Jeff Chimner said prior to the Detroit Tigers 5 3 season opening loss to the Toronto Blue Jays at Comerica Park. "We always been fans, win or lose."

Jonathan Chimner, who plays second base and outfield for TC West, said he expects the Tigers to have another successful season, but he fell short of predicting a championship.

"I hope they do," he said. "I don know if they will, though."

TRAVERSE CITY (April 3) For Anne Perry, the day finally came.

The Michigan High School Athletic Association (MHSAA) announced that it will switch six sports seasons in the Lower Peninsula after the Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal in a long simmering legal case. The changes will take effect in the fall.

The Supreme Court let stand a lower court decision that the MHSAA scheduling discriminates against girls.

As a result, girls basketball will move from fall to winter and girls volleyball from winter to fall. In addition, girls and boys golf and tennis will flip flop seasons, which will put more girls sports in preferable seasons.

"This should have been done a long time ago," said Perry, the gender equity coordinator for Traverse City Area Public Schools. "It what right for girls. It what right for our society."

TRAVERSE CITY (April 4) The Traverse City Beach Bums filled their need for speed by signing former University of Cincinnati center fielder LaFringe Hayes.

Hayes, who runs the 60 yard dash in an impressive 6.5 seconds, batted .279 and had an on base percentage of over .360 during his senior season in 2006.

The 5 foot 8, 170 pound Hayes hit .343 as a junior.

The leadoff hitter swiped 22 bases in 27 attempts during his two year career with the Bearcats.

That a philosophy Jack Taylor been preaching for years.

Taylor, a former coach and administrator, believes strongly in character building and sportsmanship.

That why three years ago he helped organize Beyond the Scoreboard a group of area coaches, parents and volunteers whose mission is to foster those values that Taylor says are deteriorating in sports today.

"It become cut throat," Taylor said. "There a win at all cost mentality.

"We want to redefine winning. We believe deserving to win is a higher goal than winning itself that there more to it than just the scoreboard."

Beyond the Scoreboard has been making inroads in the Petoskey area. Now, the group is reaching out to coaches, parents and athletes in the Grand Traverse area.

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