It’s comforting that most kids today like the same dishes their parents did growing up – spaghetti, grilled cheese and Tater Tots. As kids mature, so do their tastes, of course. They become more discerning and more adventurous. The good news: As grown-ups, they can find elevated fare at Irvine Spectrum Center that still resonates with the simple pleasures of youth.
Here are six places to get kid classics for big-kid tastes.
Mastro’s Ocean Club
Macaroni and cheese had been a European favorite for centuries when Thomas Jefferson brought recipes back to the U.S. in the late 1700s. But it was James L. Kraft’s 1937 boxed macaroni that took it from luxury dish to American staple. Today, it’s both, thanks to the Lobster Mac & Cheese at new Mastro’s Ocean Club. The dish features a whole 1.25-pound Maine lobster and five cheeses, primarily extra-sharp naturally aged Vermont white cheddar, bruléed and served in a hot skillet.
The Melt
Twenty years before boxed macaroni, Kraft had patented a method for pasteurizing cheese, making it easier to store and to melt. In 1927, Otto Frederick Rohwedder invented the automatic bread slicing machine. Grilled cheese sandwiches – using American cheese with ingredient-enhanced shelf life and orange-yellow hue – became a family favorite. Today, the gooey-delicious and way-melty Three Cheese Classic at The Melt presents all-natural aged cheddar, Muenster and fontina cheeses on golden-brown, perfectly crisped artisan bread.
Cucina Enoteca
Kids love spaghetti for its soft texture and fun shape. Later, they might value al dente texture and even more engaging pasta shapes. Bucatini is a slightly thicker version of spaghetti; both are long and cylindrical, but bucatini has a tiny hole in the center that makes for a chewier experience. The new bucatini at Cucina Enoteca, known for its California-Italian cuisine, includes kale pesto, peas, Parmesan cheese and chili-lemon breadcrumbs. Parents take advantage of the in-house wine shop.
Kalbi Social Club
Were scrambled eggs your childhood go-to? Expand your horizons with the Mentaiko Egg Souffle at elegant Korean barbecue destination Kalbi Social Club. Most Kalbi patrons go for its multicourse feasts. The pre-feast souffle is imbued with a whisper of cod roe and topped with green onions. It arrives piping hot in a cast-iron pot on a wooden pedestal, a half dozen sides to go with it. A savory pancake – thin-sliced Crispy Cheese Potato Pancake with delicate Parmesan shreds – is shareable, too.
Dive Oyster Bar
Ore-Ida’s founders invented Tater Tots in 1953 as a way to use leftover potato slivers. Amazingly, the tots flopped until prices were raised, and an American staple was born. No one then could have imagined the exuberant Chowder Frots at Dive Oyster Bar. The dish is a cornucopia with a kick in a cast-iron pan: Cajun tots and fries, New England-style chowder, bacon mozzarella, red and green onions. You’ll find it under Small Bites. Enjoy it on its own or as a shared prelude to the vaunted steam-kettle mains.
Bacio di Latte
Favorite kids’ ice cream flavors? Chocolate, vanilla and strawberry, plus Neapolitan, inspired by 19th-century Italian gelato traditions. Favorite adults’ frozen confection? For many, gelato: notably the “gelato puro” at Bacio di Latte, produced in-store daily according to ancient Italian recipes. Gelato is more intensely flavored and lower in fat. Vanilla fan? Consider vanilla and rose. Strawberry? Fragola super latte. Chocolate aficionado? A dozen possibilities include three-chocolate and top-selling chocolate-hazelnut.
