Kat's 9 Lives

Prime Rib has finally come to BJ's Brewhouse! Who doesn't love a nice juicy thick slice of Prime Rib.  They recently introduced it to their weekend menu and at a great price! Not only do you get a 14 oz Prime Rib, you get a choice of soup or salad and a pizookie! Everything you want in a meal and more for the sweet price of $26.95

Urban Plates offers a healthy selection at a reasonable price.  Their meals all range around $10, depending on what you order and if you add anything else on.
Everything is already prepared and under heat lamps waiting to be served.  Kind of reminiscent of the Chipotle approach.  They are constantly cooking fresh meats and fish so that the food you get hasn't been sitting there too long.
First choose what kind of meal you would like.  Ranging from salads, sandwiches, pizzas or just a combo.  Typically I choose the meat/fish plus two sides combo.
You can also order everything online so it will be ready to be picked up when you come.  However... the quality varies when it is packed and ready to take home versus picking out the goods yourself.
For meat, I always choose the grilled steak.  They offer chicken, oven baked salmon, and more.  I do not like my meats over cooked.  The first time my friend bought me the meal and the steak was charred, but still flavorful.
When I went to the store myself, I made sure to get some rare cuts.  There is always a pro and con to things as I liked the meat was more tender and rare, but the flavor was not as rich.
All the combos come with a toasted focaccia bread.  They offer cold and hot sides.  The cold sides tend to be very healthy and all vegetarian.  Sorry, but not for me.  O=)  I got the mac & cheese and mashed potatoes.  They were just okay.
The grilled chicken was surprisingly tender and I liked that the skin was still on.  I know a lot of people do not like to eat the skin because it's 'unhealthy'.  For the sides, the brocolini and Brussels sprout with turkey bacon were very fresh and nicely cooked.  I like the Brussels sprout because it is the most flavorful with a hint of lemon.
My friend let me try her dessert one time and I really enjoyed the cheesecake.  The crust is nicely flavored and adds a nice crunch with the cheesecake.  It's light and refreshing, but for the price... you could almost buy another meal.
They offer an assortment of freshly made fruit drinks to choose from.  Feel free to ask them for a taste before purchasing.
Everything is serve yourself and self seating.  So just pick up your try and find a seat.
All in all the food is solid and if you don't want to spend too much money but still be full, I would recommend this place.
Urban Plates
3972 Barranca Parkway
Irvine, CA 92606
(949) 387-2600 

As I rarely ever go down to San Diego to eat and play, I always make the most of it if I am down there.  We decided to go to Horton Plaza to kill some time between meals.  I decided to see what there was to offer nearby as a snack and found Spike Africa's Fresh Fish Grill & Bar.  It's walking distance from the mall.
Being that it was around late afternoon, the place was not packed and we were seated right away.  The interior was very clean and had a nice bar area.
Even though we were still pretty full from earlier in the day, I was tempted to order more because I may not come back.  I have always had a soft spot for delicious poke so I had to try their Tombo Tuna Poke.  It comes with seaweed salad, mango, soy ginger ponzu, and wonton to enjoy.  I liked that they had the sweet seaweed salad but the flavor was just so so to me.  The overall taste was sweet but not quite savory enough.
At that time they had a Yelp check in where you can get an order of their house made BBQ chips.  They were fresh and good but little did we know that it came with our meal so there was way too many chips to eat lol.  Right now the Yelp check in is a free butterscotch pudding.
I was craving lobster and decided to get their Pt. Loma Lobster Roll with roasted jalapeno tartar and avocado.  There was a decent amount of lobster inside.  The flavor was light and the brioche was good.  It wasn't anything that blew my mind away.
All in all the vibe was good but not anything that I would ever crave or drive far for.  There's plenty of food in the Gaslamp district to check out before I'd probably come back.

Spike Africa's Fresh Fish Grill & Bar
411 Broadway
San Diego, CA 92101
(619) 795-3800

As I never trek down to San Diego, I had to make my one day trip count! So what does SD really have to offer?  I did various searches on good eats but I decided to look up a tasty BBQ place.  Apparently they have a highly rated place called Phil's BBQ that is growing in locations in SD area.  Unfortunately none up in Orange County yet.  Supposedly Phil's BBQ is rated as one of the top ten restaurants in the US by Yelp.  I actually only found that out when I arrived and was waiting in the semi-long line.
Smile, you are on camera and on the internet while you wait.  I read all the reviews that discuss about the long wait.  Luckily this was the last stop of the night for us and I wanted to just order take out.  As I have never been here before, I didn't know if there were two lines so we split up and had one person check out if there is a separate line for take out while the other one waited in line.
You can always call in the order or move to the front of the line as there are two lines, one for take out and for dining in.  Once you get to the front of the line, the cashiers will hold up cute animal paddles to let you know they are available.
I didn't read too much about the reviews and am normally a bigger fan of baby back ribs so I decided to get a rack of baby back ribs.  They were a bit on the drier side for my taste.  The sauce was very flavorful but I wished that the ribs were smothered in it or if I had an extra side of sauce.  As for the meat, the ribs were not too meaty and I think I have been spoiled by the ones at Costco or Bludso where the ribs are plump and full of meat.  The BBQ sauce used here is more tangy and reminiscent to the styles you would find in Memphis.
Normally I do not get the beef ribs as they are very big and fatty.  Fortunately I am greedy and wanted a bit of everything.  Here you can buy by the single rib so I decided to try one.  Unfortunately, I only got one! I wish I ordered a full rack or more and forgo the baby back ribs.  The beef ribs were very flavorful and tender.  It melted in my mouth and was loaded with flavor.  This was definitely the winner of the night.
Many people recommended the Broham sandwich.  At first I was hesitant because I was full from the day and I am normally not a sandwich person.  I am all about the meat! ^_- This sandwich is jam packed full of pulled pork, some coleslaw, and slathered with BBQ sauce.  The meat was flavorful and the buns were crisp to the bite.  I could see why many people enjoy this sandwich.
All in all the food was tasty and definitely counts as a good BBQ place.  I am still on the fence for it to be named one of the top ten restaurants in the US... I have never thought of San Diego to be the birth place of BBQ.  I would need to head back to Memphis or take a trip to Texas for comparison.  For Southern California, it is not bad.  The beef ribs are pretty darn good and I would definitely swing by if I was ever down in San Diego and order myself a rack or two!
Phil's BBQ 
3750 Sports Arena Blvd
San Diego, CA 92110
(619) 226-6333

My coworker kept raving about Dog Haus and I finally drove by one while I was in San Gabriel Valley.  I decided that Ms. Lin Guide and I needed to stop for a bite just so I can see what it is all about.
You have to enjoy the irony that they are located next to LA Fitness.  Either work hard and burn off all the extra calories you get after eating there or think about the unhealthy snack while exercising since you walk by this place on the way to the gym.
Everyone there was very friendly and had a very laid back vibe.  The sun was strong that day and beating down on us.  I would recommend sitting somewhere shaded as the light can be blinding.  Since it was our first time, we debated on what to get and this place was a snack interim so we needed to save room.  The people there recommended "The Fonz".  It's a spicy Italian link, hot pastrami, and melted mozzarella in a grilled King's Hawaiian roll.
Was this anything special?  I thought it was decent but nothing I would drive so far for.  Maybe I just ordered the wrong sausage.  They put a generous layer of pastrami but there wasn't any oomph or pow in the flavor.  There is a sauce bar where you can try all the different dipping sauces and add a real kick to the flavor.  They also have a lot of accompaniments for you to layer the 'dog'.
For our side, I wanted to get Tater Tots.  Who doesn't love fried tater tots?  It was nicely fried and crisp but nothing too special.
The best thing I have to say was my Root Beer Float! It's a little pricey IMHO when I first ordered it but the root beer they used was great.  They used Sprecher root beer and this was my first time trying it but it was very well made.  I would definitely recommend getting their root beer and maybe a tub of ice cream to enjoy at home! We guzzled that drink down and they actually give you a pretty hearty portion so in the end it was sort of worth the price.  They use local ice cream nearby.
All in all it was not bad but I don't know if it was anything that special that I would crave for.  I would be willing to come back for snack the next time I have some downtime and maybe find another sausage to satisfy the craving.
Dog Haus
410 E Main St 
Alhambra, CA 91801
(626) 282-4287