PRIX FIXE GOURMET VEGAN DINNER BY SEABIRDS TRUCK & CHEF JOE YOUKHAN'S TASTING SPOON

Last night the geniuses from the kitchens of the Seabirds Truck and Chef Joe Youkhan's Tasting Spoon teamed-up to celebrate the season with 'A Taste of Spring' all-vegan, all-amazing, four-course prix fixe dinner at Nekter Juice Bar in Costa Mesa. Using the freshest seasonal ingredients - from fava beans to artichokes to strawberries and everything in between - the menu played with every part of your palette and was a fantastic, healthy & delicious way to kick-off the long Memorial Day Weekend!

I attended the dinner with my husband, English author Tim Watson, who is the kinda' guy who can be found standing in front of his barbeque 12 months of the year grilling large slabs of every kind of meat imaginable. The two of us are big meat-eaters. So, in my mind, this was going to be an adventure - breaking out of our shells to try something new. A vegan dinner for Tim & me. Were we going to need to stop by the In 'n' Out drive-thru on the way home? Hmm....  WELL, I'm happy to report that after just the first course our excitement grew. We devoured all four courses of this amazing food, to the point where if licking your plate would have been acceptable etiquette, we would have. And at the end, we were stuffed. No drive-thrus required!  Dang, these chefs are good.

The dinner was hosted at Nekter Juice Bar in Costa Mesa & the lovely folks from Nekter offered a juice tasting as part of the experience.  Ever had cashew milk before? Neither had I! And man, oh man, it is GOOD. I was also a huge fan of their juice called 'The Sublime' - accurately-named if you ask me - this tangy mix of Lime, Orange, Parsley, Kale, Spinach and Cucumber was a refreshing & invigorating addition to the menu.

Right: 'The Sublime' - Lime, Orange, Parsley, Kale, Spinach and Cucumber.

Chef Joe handled courses 1 & 2, while the Seabirds were in charge of courses 3 & 4. Below, feast your eyes on the entirely-plant-based culinary magic that unfolded last night out of these two kitchens-on-wheels. And, be sure to follow both Seabirds Truck & Chef Joe Youkhan's Tasting Spoon on Facebook & Twitter for their regular schedule updates so you can catch them on the road around Orange County!

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in the kitchen of Chef Joe Youkhan's Tasting Spoon

Chef Joe prepares course 1: Corn 2 Ways: Grilled Mexican 'Street Corn' with cumin scented crema & raw almond 'cotija' and Fresh Corn Polenta scented with white truffle & topped with a fava bean succotash

Corn 2 Ways: (left) Grilled Mexican 'Street Corn' with cumin scented crema & raw almond 'cotija' and (right) Fresh Corn Polenta scented with white truffle & topped with a fava bean succotash

Chef Joe prepares course 2: Coriander Roasted Baby Carrots & Artichokes with a Rice Crepe, Spinach, Pine Nut Currant Gastrique & Lotus Root

Left: The Carrots & Artichokes are placed | Right: Fried Lotus Root

Finishing touches by Chef Joe before the plates are served to guests

Coriander Roasted Baby Carrots & Artichokes with a Rice Crepe, Spinach, Pine Nut Currant Gastrique & Lotus Root

The ladies of Seabirds prepare course 3: (Above) Heirloom Tomato Salad with fresh Thyme

Course 3: Dijon Portobello Steak with romanesco mash, heirloom tomato salad, Nekter cashew milk beurre blanc & fresh herbs

Inside the Seabirds Truck as the Seabirds Prepare Course 3: Dijon Portobello Steak with romanesco mash, heirloom tomato salad, Nekter cashew milk beurre blanc & fresh herbs

The Seabirds Prepare Course 4, Dessert: Strawberry Tart made with Tanaks Farm Strawberries, coconut lemongrass custard, pistachio ginger crust & strawberry-kaffir lime reduction

Left: The Seabirds Truck & Chef Joe Youkhan's Tasting Spoon Dream Team! | Right: Chef Joe & Chef Stephanie

PORTOLA COFFEE LAB TEAMS-UP WITH CAKE MONKEY BAKERY | A MATCH MADE IN PASTRY HEAVEN

Change is a good thing. I've always believed this. Change keeps life interesting & keeps things moving forward. And, a perfect example of change bein' a good thing is Portola Coffee Lab's recent decision to switch things up with their pastry provider & partner with the amazing L.A.-based Cake Monkey Bakery for all of their baked goods. Can you say "YUM?!"

If you haven't visited Portola Coffee Lab at The OC Mart MIX in Costa Mesa's SoCo Collection recently, then you are in for a treat. Now not only do they have the best coffee in town, but some of the most delicious pastries too. The thing I love about their new selection is that it's not all over-the-top sugar-crazy stuff. Sometimes ya' have a sweet tooth, and sometimes ya' don't - and Portola & Cake Monkey know this. Hence the range of baked goods from uber-sweet sugar-encrusted grown-up Pop Tarts called 'Brown Sugar Cinnamon Pop Pies' all the way to the savory amazingness of their Bacon & Cheddar Scones. There's a little something for everyone.

So, below you can feast your eyes on just a small sampling-through-photos of what's on offer these days in Portola's pastry case... And if ya' feel tempted (which I think you might!), head on over to The OC Mart MIX to pay them a visit. Trust me, you won't be sorry you did. (Portola Coffee Lab is located in the SoCo Collection at 3313 Hyland Avenue, Costa Mesa, CA 92626 - www.portolacoffeelab.com - www.cakemonkey.com)

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Brown Sugar Cinnamon Pop Pie

Left: Brown Sugar Cinnamon Pop Pie  |  Right: Lemon Pistachio Tea Cake

Lemon Pistachio Tea Cake

Almond Croissant

Salted Caramel 'Monkey Bread'

Gruyere-Thyme Croissant

Left: Gruyere-Thyme Croissant  |  Right: A Bacon-Cheddar Scone goes perfectly with a Portola Latte

"A Roll in the Hay"

Portola Barista, Alan Gomez, Pours a Perfect Latte

"A Roll in the Hay" with Cake Monkey Bakery