Sessions West Coast Deli

Located in Woodbridge Village Center, Sessions West Coast Deli is a small restaurant, with other locations throughout Orange County,  that specializes in using a variety of veggies in their cooking.  Sessions’ menu offers customers with a wide variety of dishes that make use of their fresh products. These dishes include small bites and sides, breakfast, sandwiches, burgers and salads.

Two of their best options, as said by Sessions’ employees, are the Summer Zephyr, which is labeled as the “sandwich of the year” by the restaurant, and the Perfect Burger. 

The Summer Zephyr is a French roll sandwich that includes fresh mozzarella, marinated tomato, pickled onion, basil aioli, arugula and balsamic reduction. This sandwich is crunchy on the outside due to the French roll, but soft and sweet on the inside due to the vegetables and cheese. The tomatoes, onions and arugula not only give this sandwich a fresh taste, but also a sense of natural sweetness found within those vegetables. Furthermore, the mozzarella cheese adds on to that fresh side and also enhances the taste of these vegetables, creating an ideal flow of flavors between ingredients.

The Perfect Burger, another famous dish from Sessions West Coast Deli, is not a normal burger. The reason this burger is special is due to the fact that the Perfect Burger uses a Portuguese bun, which has seeds mostly in the middle of the bun. The Perfect Burger includes angus beef, American cheddar, arugula, garlic pickle, caramelized onion and Session’s extra special sauce.

“The title ‘The Perfect Burger’ is pretty accurate. Normally I wouldn’t even include most of the ingredients but they actually work really well together for this burger. This is an easy 10/10, [I] would have it again,” freshman Christian Perez said. “[The vegetables] mix really well… Normally, I don’t include lettuce and tomatoes, but I will definitely make an exception for this; This [burger] is really well done.”

As Perez mentioned, The Perfect Burger does not fall short on its name. The strong flavor of the angus beef combined with the sweet caramelized onions and the fresh taste and sensation of the arugula, all in between two Portuguese buns, makes a unique combination of flavors for a burger.

“The combination is really good. I would definitely get this again. I love the pickles. Everything in this burger mixes together really well. The beef is superb, it tastes very fresh and the onions are very caramelized and they are really good,” sophomore Matthew Loftis said.

If you are craving some delicious dishes that offer high nutritious levels to satisfy your appetite, Sessions West Coast Deli is there for you.  

Piadina

Located in Crossroads, Piadina brings customers with different dishes that are commonly found in Italy. As the name suggests, the main dish from this restaurant is Piadina. Piadina is a rustic flatbread sandwich which is typically filled with different types of fresh Italian products, such as meats (capicola, prosciutto, sopressata), cheeses (parmigiano, robiola) and vegetables (arugula, artichokes).

Piadina has a variety of flatbread sandwiches, including sandwiches constructed in both an Italian and American style… 

The Venezia and the California piadinas are the most popular sandwiches, according to Piadina’s workers.

The Venezia piadina particularly stands out from the rest not only because it uses ingredients directly imported from Italy, but also because it is the only sandwich on the menu that includes shrimp. This sandwich includes shrimp, mozzarella, Piadina’s creamy hot sauce, arugula, tomatoes, onion and avocado. The whole product is a unique experience of flavors, having a fresh side of vegetables and a tangy flavor due to the creamy hot sauce. The creamy hot sauce is not that spicy at all; it is a bearable kick. Nonetheless, all these ingredients blend perfectly, creating a good harmony of flavors, as well as enhancing the flavor of the main ingredient: the shrimp.

“It’s really good. I don’t know what sauce it is, but the blend of it with the shrimp really goes well, and with the [arugula] lettuce, tomato, it’s just overall a really good blend for a sandwich. I’d give it about 8/10,” junior Danial Armirghah said.

On the other hand, the California piadina is popular among customers since it’s a creation of an American sandwich using Italian products. The California includes: roasted chicken, mozzarella, arugula, tomatoes, avocado and basil pesto. 

Altogether, these ingredients combine to create a simple, yet refreshing sensation. Unlike the wild flavor of the Venezia, the California piadina has a sweet and mellow flavor, which makes this sandwich delicious due to its simplicity.

“The [chicken] is really good; [arugula] lettuce is really good. It’s a good crunch when I first bit into it. It’s a fresh feeling because of the veggies; avocado stands out too. Overall, I might have to give it a 8.5/10. It’s solid. It’s crunchy. It’s good,” junior Arnav Rege said. 

If you are a fan of sandwiches, lover of Italian cuisine or just wanting to try something new and delicious, Piadina is the answer for you.

Wagyu Meat and Grill

Also located in Crossroads, next to Piadina, the Wagyu Meat and Grill establishment opened not too long ago. The Crossroads location is the third establishment and Wagyu Meat and Grill serves customers with premium high quality meats. What sets apart Wagyu Meat and Grill from other meat places that serve similar dishes, is the use of Wagyu beef. 

As it is mentioned in wagyu.org, “WAGYU – a Japanese beef cattle breed – derives from native Asian cattle. Wagyu were originally draft animals used in agriculture and were selected for their physical endurance. This selection favored animals with more intra-muscular fat cells – ‘marbling’ – which provided a readily available energy source.” 

Wagyu beef is known for its intense marbling, premium taste and numerous health benefits, which is why Wagyu Meat and Grill is a step above the competition. Customers also have the option to buy their desired cut of wagyu beef to take home.

One of the best dishes at Wagyu Meat and Grill is the Combination Plate. This dish consists of wagyu beef with teriyaki sauce and roasted chicken sprinkled with sesame seeds and green onions on top of rice, with two sides between white rice, brown rice, kale salad, cabbage salad and mac salad.

“[It is] super good. The beef is crunchy. The chicken is good; It’s tender, but you can tell it is slow cooked. The rice is really good too…I think it is a really good combination overall. I think it’s sesame seeds on top, which makes it even better. I mean it’s quality food and you can already tell that this is good, good for the price ($15-$16), it’s really good quality and it’s very underrated already. 10/10,” Rege said.

The beef and chicken are sweet due to the sauce, and the flavor is enhanced thanks to the rice that sits below the meat. The beef, chicken and rice alone already make the Combination Plate a 10/10. However, the side of vegetables cleanse the plate and incorporate healthy fiber into the dish.

Armirghah expresses how, even the side dishes, are unique to this restaurant.

“[The mac salad is] very different; I’ve had mac salad a lot of times, in a lot of places, but them adding sweet pepper, it adds a different taste to it [comparing] to other mac salads; It’s still really good, but sweet peppers is not a thing that other restaurants would put in their mac salad.”

Wagyu Meat and Grill is a restaurant where people can come to have the magical experience of the Wagyu beef for a very affordable price and highly recommended for any meat lover.