R+D Kitchen - Newport Beach

555 Newport Ctr Dr,

Newport Beach, CA 92660

Hours 11:00 AM to 9:00-10:30 PM

Located in Fashion Island, R+D Kitchen is a great spot for dinner. It's a nice restaurant that's on the casual side so it's perfect for a date. I'm usually not too big on going out for American food, but I had to try it once I heard about how good their burgers are and how packed it gets. 

Cheeseburger (4/5): The patty was cooked perfectly and the burger was tasty. A little difficult to eat but they have toothpicks so that kind of helped. It's on the sweeter side, so people who prefer salty burgers may not like it as much. It would've been nice if fries were included with the burger. $14

Fries (2/5): They came out extremely salty so I had to ask them to remake it. Average skinny fries. $4

Overall I would give R+D Kitchen a 3.5/5. I really enjoyed the ambience of the restaurant, but the menu is very limited and on the pricey side. Also, when we first entered the restaurant there were three hostesses available but none of them bothered to help us even though they noticed us waiting. Customer service could use an improvement. 

Afters Ice Cream - Fountain Valley

18030 Brookhurst St

Fountain Valley, CA 92708 

Hours 12:00 PM to 9:00 PM 

After hearing all the hype about their Milky Bun, which is ice cream in a donut, I had to go and try it out for myself. Depending on what time you go, there can be up to an hour wait so you might want to go at an off time. I've been here three times so far and have only experienced a long wait at noon. 

Milky Bun (2.5/5): It was good for the first two bites, but then I found it to be very greasy and heavy. If you really love donuts I would say try it, if not, just stick with their ice cream. 

Jasmine Milk Tea (3/5): Nice creamy ice cream with a hint of jasmine tea flavor. 

Cookie Monster (3/5): Basically cookies and cream ice cream with blue food coloring. 

Milk & Cereal (5/5): I was pretty disappointed with Afters, but this flavor really made up for my first two experiences. Milky flavor with crushed corn flakes throughout and topped with more corn flakes (pictured above). It was absolutely delicious and my new favorite ice cream flavor! 

The price for a scoop of ice cream is $3.50 and $5.00 for the milky bun. I would give Afters a 4/5 just because they have Milk & Cereal. I also like that they have a lot of interesting and new flavors like Churro and Triple C. It might be difficult to find the first time because they only have a small sign that says ICE CREAM above their store, but it's right next to the Pick Up Stix in the plaza. 

Komodo - Venice

235 Main St

Venice, CA 90291

Hours 11:00 AM to 9:00 PM Daily

I love Asian Fusion food and have been wanting to try Komodo for awhile. They have three different combos for only $10, which is a pretty good deal. I decided to go with the Killer Combo, with comes with 4 tacos of your choice and a drink. You can upgrade to one of their specialty drinks for $1 which I highly recommend. I also added an order of their truffle fries. 

Komodo 2.0 (4/5): Pictured above, it is one of their most popular tacos that has all the corn on top. This was really tasty and the sauce they put on it is delicious. 

MP3: (4.5/5): If you like tater tots or texture in your taco definitely get this one. It comes with a crunchy tater tot and a quail egg on top. 

Signature (2/5): This is just your basic taco you can get anywhere. I would not recommend it since the other tacos are more unique. If you do get it, then eat this one first or you'll be disappointed. 

Lychee Lemonade (5/5); Delicious and refreshing, a must try! 

Truffle Fries (4/5): Good but nothing amazing, just your average truffle fries. 

Overall I would give Komodo a 4.5/5 due to their tasty flavor combinations and budget friendly prices. Go to the Venice location because it is much larger and less crowded. I went on a saturday for lunch and there was no wait.