MESQUITE BEACH
Address:
745 S. Main Street, # 170, Orange
Phone:
(714) 835-3236
Prandium Inc., Irvine, is a restaurant holding company that owns the Koo Koo Roo chain and a new prototype, Mesquite Beach, in Orange. And while the parent firm may not be healthy,its shares have fallen to penny-stock status and it defaulted on some debt in June,the restaurants’ fare continues to tap into that modern consumer demand for fast, healthy meals. I have, over the past few months, been sampling and comparing fast food and I’m back to my original thoughts on these two: they do it as well as anyone of the genre, if not better.
Mesquite Beach opened in October in the Town and Country Plaza across from the Main Place Mall. The idea here is that the fast-casual Mexican-influenced food gets a taste boost from the mesquite grilling that literally touches every dish. If you’ve been to the beaches of Baja, you’ve seen the scenario that’s replicated here: colorful, friendly, energetic and invitingly casual.
They seem to be doing a brisk take-out business, so somebody is catching on to the interesting twist of this food.
There are classic Mexican entr & #233;es such as burritos and tacos (generously filled with various mesquite-grilled meats), and there are ones where a touch of frivolity has crept in, if only in name in some instances. Kabobs may be Mediterranean or Middle Eastern fare to most of us, but have their Beach Kabobs given a Mexican tilt and you will find a new reason to order the tender chunks of meat. You really should try the Fire Roasted Tomato Soup. Since even the peppers and tomatoes used in recipes benefit from the smoky flavor of the mesquite grill, this enhancement makes for a tomato soup of elegant stature. Fajitas are the same combo of vegetables and meat or chicken almost everywhere; but again, these have an extra kick of flavor. They are amusingly referred to as Mesqui-tah Fajitas.
They also do full-service catering and home delivery is available for a nominal fee.
Koo Koo Roo is in everybody’s neighborhood. We hadn’t been in one for a very long time before I started researching and I must say, I am still going back and ordering certain things like their buffalo chicken wings. When one customer said they were “insanely good” I had to agree.
This chain was the forerunner of healthy fast food, and what they have done with it is worth a taste test right now. They use only fresh, all-natural chicken and turkey with no added chemicals or hormones. No MSG is allowed. The chicken is marinated in pure vegetable juices and spices for up to72 hours, then flame-broiled until it’s tender and juicy. They never deep-fry or microwave anything. Salads are hand-tossed. They serve premium seasonal fruit such as Bing cherries, cantaloupe, peaches and seasonal vegetables such as fresh asparagus and artichokes when they’re at their peak.
Cracked wheat is added to one rice dish while saffron highlights another. Whole-kernel corn, hand-mashed potatoes and lentil salad all have their charms and healthfulness. So does the slightly tangy salad of chopped fresh tomatoes. Baby carrots sit side-by-side with delicious creamed spinach, black beans, hot-out-of-the-oven macaroni and cheese just like Mom made, roasted garlic potatoes, al dente fresh hand-snapped green beans (yet another much appreciated find for me), and sliced cucumber salad. I order their yams, which are baked in their skins, and the elbow macaroni tossed in a cold salad manner with homemade pesto. If you like poultry with stuffing, this version of bread stuffing is far above what you’d expect to find in a fast-food place. Another real winner for me is the creamed butternut squash, nicely seasoned and a comfort food of high caliber. There are mixed vegetable dishes (again cooked, as they should be with a little crunch left in) and other pasta salads too.
And, we haven’t even cracked the entr & #233;es. There are many possibilities from one or two pieces or half a chicken broiled over an open flame with side dishes ($4.99 to $8.79) to whole birds from the rotisserie. Turkey is served as a quarter-pound, sliced, as an open-face sandwich with those good mashed potatoes, stuffing, gravy and cranberry sauce ($6.99) or a full hand-carved turkey dinner with all the trimmings ($7.99).
From those addictive chicken wings through the fairly vast menu for a fast-food operation, I can get my taste buds back down to earth with this food. It’s easy and it’s good.
