Though Irvine, Calif., is well-known for its high-tech industries, it does boast several golf courses including Strawberry Farms Golf Club, with a big red barn as its centerpiece; Oak Creek Golf Course, with a view of the Saddleback Mountains, and Shady Canyon Golf Club, with a back nine that follows a creek into the adjacent nature preserve. When a round of play leaves you famished, head for one of the city's many Indian restaurants.
Chakra Cuisine
Chakra Cuisine impresses with its updates of traditional Indian dishes served in sophisticated, fashionable surroundings. For your first course, try the Jhinga Anar, a pomegranate shrimp with a spinach poriyal, curry leaf and sweet potato. Then, dine on either Chakra Murgh, a chicken cooked in puffed pastry and served with creamy spinach potatoes, or the vegetarian Baingan Bharta, which is mashed Tandoori eggplant sauteed with garlic and cumin. Chakra features a main dining room, two outdoor patios, a bar and private lounge. Happy Hour is from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. weekdays. Try the Sunday Champagne Brunch Buffet which includes both vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes.
Chakra Cuisine
4143 Campus Drive
Irvine, CA 92612
(949) 854-0009
ChakraCuisine.com
Clay Oven Indian Cuisine
For more traditional fare from all across India, try the Clay Oven, which Citysearch dubbed the "Best Indian Cuisine of Orange County." Try the Lamb Jalfrezi, which puts moist pieces of lamb in a clay oven and then stir-fries it with fresh vegetables and spices; the Chicken Tikka, which marinates chicken brochettes in yogurt and fresh herbs, before cooking in a clay oven, and Goa Seafood Curry which mixes shrimp, scallops, mussels and fish in a curry.
Clay Oven Indian Restaurant
15435 Jeffrey Road
Irvine, CA 92618
(949) 552-2851
ClayOvenIrvine.com
India Cook House
Though the decor is basic, the food is excellent at the inexpensive India Cook House. The weekday lunch buffet fits any budget or you can order takeout if you want to eat closer to the golf course. Choose the Shrimp Baryani, which cooks saffron-flavored rice with shrimps and spices; Chicken Malai, which roasts all-white meat in yogurt, coconut and cream sauce in a Tandoori clay oven, or Shahi Paneer, which is homemade cheese cooked in tomato sauce and ginger.
India Cook House
14130 Culver Drive
Irvine, CA 92604-0314.
(949) 857-4858.
IndiaCookHouseOC.com
About The Author
Aurelio Locsin has been writing professionally since 1982. He published his first book in 1996 and had his first play produced in 2005. He is now a playwright, director and actor in Southern California. Locsin holds a Bachelor of Arts in scientific and technical communications from the University of Washington.
