Jewel Court, with its beautiful dome, is the home of prominent designers Cartier, Prada, Gucci, Fendi, Saint Laurent, Chanel and others. The use of natural light and a calming indoor water feature gave me the impression that I could easily spend more than a day exploring here. The owners, Maurizio and Barbara Cocchi, are from Italy and proudly make everything from scratch.Walking into South Coast Plaza feels different from entering any other shopping destination I have visited. They have an amazing selection of vegan and vegetarian options, numerous types of Avocado toasts and acai bowls. We went to Vitaly Café for a quick, healthy breakfast. Adding a glass of crisp white wine made for the perfect light lunch. I opted for the seared Ahi salad, which was accompanied by arugula, avocado and other fresh vegetables that was light and refreshing. This restaurant specializes in light, small plates, using fresh locally sourced ingredients. Since we we had Access Lounge access, we received a VIP package that included a free glass of wine with lunch. We had lunch at Terrace by MixMix, an indoor/outdoor patio restaurant that was a great way to relax in between shopping. What trip to Costa Mesa is complete without a visit to South Coast Plaza. After one of these, you may swear off meat forever.īecause I am all about balance, we headed to Jan’s Health Bar for a healthy green smoothie and acai bowl to balance out our doughnuts! I had the beet burger (one of their signature dishes). They make everything in-house and their unique menu items made it hard to choose! You can come here several times a week and always find something new to try. Their menu changes often and is based on seasonal offerings. Seabirds Kitchen started out as a local vegan food truck and grew so popular, they opened up a restaurant a few years later. The hotel rooms have clean, modern lines with touches of mid-century modern. I loved that we were so close to everything but were able to return to our quiet hotel.Īnd, of course, being in the center of the Art district, this hotel encompasses the vital art scene with beautiful and modern art throughout the premises. However, jump in your car and it’s a 2-3 minute drive to South Coast Plaza and a thriving restaurant and bar scene. Our room overlooked a park with no streets in sight, making for a quiet, relaxing oasis. Nestled in the heart of the Costa Mesa Art District, this hotel feels miles away from the congested Southern California environment. If you want a unique hotel experience in Southern California, be sure to check out the Avenue of the Arts Hotel – A 4-star Tribute Portfolio hotel from Marriott. Keep reading below to see the highlights of my quick stay in Costa Mesa!Īvenue of the Arts Costa Mesa, a Tribute Portfolio Hotel Additionally, there are a number of packages available including booking a 1-night stay at a number of Costa Mesa area hotels will get you two 1-day tickets to TASTE – a $200 value! To get your tickets to TASTE, follow this link. Wahoo’s Fish Taco, Wing Lam (founder) will do a Chef Demo.Taco Maria, Carlos Salgado will do a Chef Demo.These are just a few of the participating restaurants at TASTE: To celebrate Costa Mesa’s culinary scene, Travel Costa Mesa is partnering with the Los Angeles Times for their second annual TASTE Food Festival on October 18th & 19th, 2019! At TASTE, attendees can enjoy unlimited tasting’s from the region’s best restaurants, chef demos, live entertainment, and more. Chef Brian Huskey opened his second location of Tackle Box in Costa Mesa.Chef Richard Blais opened The Crack Shack in Costa Mesa.Chef Amar Santana owns and operates Vaca and opening The Hall Global Eatery in 2019.Bravo’s “Top Chef” Alum own and operate unique restaurants in Costa Mesa:.Food and Wine Magazine included The Crack Shack in its list of Best Fried Chicken the U.S.Taco Maria’s Carlos Salgado is a four-time James Beard Award nominee.Taco Maria was named one of the 31 Best Mexican Restaurants in America by Thrillist.Rand McNally named Costa Mesa in Best of the Road competition for Best in Food.11 of the Top 75 Restaurants in Orange County in 2019 are in Costa Mesa according to the OC Register.One fact I did not realize is that Costa Mesa truly is a foodie destination. When Travel Costa Mesa reached out to invite me to check out their destination, I jumped at the chance to discover it from a new lens now as an adult (and foodie). To me, South Coast Plaza was (and still is!) the mecca of shopping in Southern California, and as a child I of course appreciated the close proximity to Disneyland as well. Growing up in San Diego, trips throughout Southern California were my favorite ways to spend a weekend and one of my favorite destinations was Costa Mesa.
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