Taste of Orange Blossom {The Final Farewell}

Well, it's done! The doors are closed...for now anyway! Look for more to come from Orange Blossom (think Orange Blossom Antiques). Can't live without a taste of OBJ? Then you'll be happy to know that you can look forward to the Cat House taking on new life as a ice cream shop. Want more? I'll be sure to announce when OBJ Food Products is born, and you can buy their salad dressings and sauces, to use at home! There will be more to come from this great place in the coming months, and you KNOW I'll keep you up to date. Well the place was packed to the gills last night, and the music was FABULOUS! I had high hopes of being there a big part of the day and taking many, many pictures, but a sick child can quickly derail the best laid plans. ;)
I saw both Doug, and Chef George get up and play guitar with the band. It was definitely a celebration. What did I choose for my last meal??
Almond Prawns with Tequila Lime Butter! Thankfully, they weren't sold out of them! Over the years these have been my all time favorite from the regular menu. I wish you could taste them through the screen!

Thank you for the years of making my taste buds dance, and for giving me the best gig in town! I'm looking forward to the next chapter! Love to you all!

Taste of Orange Blossom {Our LAST OBJ date night!}

I kind of can't believe it, but last night was our very LAST date night at Orange Blossom. Oh, we'll be there Sunday with the family for closing day, but yesterday was the end of an era for us. You see, almost every Friday night, for years, we've gone to Orange Blossom. It's where we go to feed our tummies and our foodie brains. Check out last night's Asparagus Salad! The pictures came out perfectly, and it tasted even better than it looked! Once that sorbet melts down and mixes all over everything...look out! This is...no joke...one of the very best salads I've ever had.
We also had the soup last night, it was Clam Chowder. Guess what? I don't eat clam chowder.... BUT I gobbled this up! It was explained to me that this is traditional clam chowder and what most people serve is New England style, the white kind. This was wonderful!
So, I know I've blogged the Smoked Pork Chop with Spicy Apple Butter before, but it is literally my favorite special. I can't even describe how juicy and tender this is. They smoke these giant suckers and then slice them and finish them on the grill.
Swirling each bite around in the pool of spicy apple butter that it's sitting on is just the icing on the cake!
Believe it or not, for once I didn't get dessert! I know I'll make up for THAT on Sunday! I'm just going to pretend calories don't count this weekend. It's like storing nuts for winter, except in this case, spring will never come...so I'm gonna eat up now while I can!

I'm ready to take some serious pictures Sunday of their all-day celebration. It's sure to be fun and tasty! Last night we had a long discussion with the chef, and heard all about how he came to know cooking. As a young guy, his love of skiing led him to work at ski resorts, first busing tables, then dish washing, then got thrown into cooking one day when someone didn't show up for work. Through many more series of events, and time spent in Paris, he discovered his talent for creating food that equals art. There are a lot of people whose taste buds are glad he did!

For now, I'm looking forward to enjoying tomorrow night, and my final post will have more info on what's to come from good old Orange Blossom Junction.

Taste of Orange Blossom {White Roughy}

Last night was one of our last meals at Orange Blossom Junction. It's kind of settling in now, that we won't be seeing our favorite crew regularly anymore. The good news is...they're going out with a bang! I can't wait for April 1st! There will be a steady stream of musicians throughout the day and of course the food will be fabulous! You know where I'll be! Check out the front page of their website to see the list of musicians and call to reserve your table today!Back to last night! How about an Asparagus Salad to start off? This was Brandon's and he barely let my fork sneak a few bites because it was so good! It was totally PACKED with flavor from the asparagus, to the Red Pepper dressing, to the cheese, on top of all of the regular salad goodies too!
They were SO busy that they sold out of FIVE whole Prime Ribs before we even ordered! Yes, you heard me! Word is out, and EVERYONE is heading out to get their fill of their favorites before they close. Lucky for us, the other special was White Roughy with two Prawns with Artichoke Cream! We both love this fish! The sauce was amazing, and just LOOK at that pile of onion straws. My favorite!
It was served with this mountain of delicious veggies, and garlic bread! I LOVE their green beans (think Dillon Chicken and Shrimp!)
I HAD to get the Cat's Meow with Grilled Chicken crossed off my OBJ Bucket List! Before I started blogging the specials, I used to order this ALL the time! Orange Caesar dressing all the way! I will never have a salad this fabulous and fresh again!
The special came with dessert, and since the special dessert was sold out (we ate super late), we shared our all time favorite, Chocolate Trauma. Their homemade chocolate ice cream is by far the BEST chocolate ice cream I'll ever eat.

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Above is a photo book I gave Doug and Luci, Chef George, and Nikki as a little "thank you" for feeding us so well over the years. Their food will live on in my mind, even if it's not in my tummy. My taste buds will never be the same, but I'm nothing but thankful for the years of good food, music, and friendship we've been blessed to experience.

Taste of Orange Blossom {Double the Specials!}

Last week we had a fabulous date night at Orange Blossom. I caught a really bad bug (respiratory, not food related!) the next day and completely forgot to blog! Oops! It's been a crazy week of trying to get by, but I finally feel on the upswing and remembered!

The special salad was a Bay Shrimp salad with Habanero Peach Sorbet. I can't tell you how much I'm going to MISS eating the freshest salads around! There is so much going on here, the flavor combination is AWESOME!
I had one of my "OBJ bucket list" items!! The Smoked Pork Chop with Spicy Apple Butter leaves nothing left to the imagination. Honestly, you've never had pork until you've had this! I'm gonna miss me some spicy apple butter!!
By the way...I get WAY too excited when I see a Parmesan crisp!!
Brandon had the other special, Sesame Crusted White Roughy and Crab Cake with Orange Ginger Butter. Wow! He went on and on about this fish! Seriously, he kept bringing it up in the conversation all night. Ha ha.
We tried both special desserts... Chocolate Ganache Tart with Strawberry Basil Ice Cream, was my choice! I'd forgotten about this one, it's been awhile since it was on special when we were there. I LOVE this ice cream!!
The special Brandon chose was the Strawberry Shortcake with Bourbon Vanilla Ice Cream. This is his absolute favorite dessert here! I must admit, I was eating off of BOTH plates!
If you haven't gotten your booty over to OBJ, you'd better hop to it! You only have through April 1st! It was kind of comical because the line was crazy last Friday after the announcement for closure went out. So, word is out, you might want to call ahead and they'll gladly reserve you a table, just in case! Check them out here!

Taste of Orange Blossom {New York Steak and Prawns}

Last night, we went to our usual haunt, OBJ. We had a DIVINE dinner, and THEN we heard the news... OBJ is closing April 1st. As I type this I am still in shock. My first words to Brandon and the servers (which have all become our friends over the years!), "What the HECK are we gonna eat?" Honestly, I don't know. Literally every restaurant in Visalia, I could take it or leave it. We go to OBJ for everything. I'm turning 30 next month and am planning on spending the entire day with my family, driving around doing 30 acts of kindness. My PLAN was to end the day at OBJ with dinner with the family, and my last act of kindness was going to be a big old wooden sign I was going to make into a "Welcome to the Junction" sign that Luci would have loved. Again, WHAT ARE WE GONNA EAT?! Oh my goodness. Ok, I'll try to get a hold of myself and tell you about last night's fabulous dinner.
We started off with a Bay Shrimp Salad with Red Pepper Dressing. It was SO fabulous! They topped it with a scoop of Habanero Peach Sorbet! Brandon and I had the same exact dinner, and he gets super excited when he hears the word "habanero".
Here is the big daddy! A perfectly cooked New York steak PACKED with flavor! It was topped with three jumbo prawns in a delicious sauce, and served with red potatoes, sauteed greens, veggies, and garlic bread! Seriously, we were in heaven!
The special dessert was a raspberry tart topped with bourbon vanilla ice cream! Oh... this was the bomb! The tartness of the berries with the creaminess of the bourbon vanilla. Mmmm, mmm.

If you STILL haven't tried OBJ, you NEED to go before they close! You have until April 1st to enjoy the best food the valley has ever seen! I want to thank Doug, Luci, George and everyone at OBJ that has been so kind and welcoming to us! I never imagined when I sent that first email to Doug (before I ever met him, I just got the email off the website) asking if I could feature his restaurant on the blog, that it would turn into a weekly feature. I've been SO well fed in compensation. I still remember his response to that first email: "YES! Now we just need 100 more customers like you!" I am so glad I stepped out of my comfort zone and asked... we've become so close with Doug and Luci through all of this time. They never once told me what to write, or how to write it. I'm thankful for Chef George's encouraging comments on my writing style. He told me "it's like you're sitting down talking to someone". My writing style is a bit different, and so are the folks at OBJ. ;)

Don't miss your chance, head on out to OBJ, and tell them the blogger sent you! You'll miss out if you don't! I know we'll be eating all we can before they close!

Taste of Orange Blossom {Sunday Brunch}

Today we went to Sunday Brunch at Orange Blossom! We've been dying to go back ever since our first time experiencing their brunch! I STILL can't believe how much food you get! As soon as you sit down, they bring you warm, flaky croissants with orange marmalade butter. They also bring out a fresh fruit plate with white chocolate! Ummm...hello, lover! I'm a bit sneaky and "may or may not" have been dipping my croissant in the chocolate too! ;)
You also get your choice of OJ, Mimosa, Champagne, or House Wine. Seriously! This is all included with your entree!
I ordered the 3 eggs, any style with 4 slices of brown sugar cured OBJ smoked bacon! Let me give you a little tip...if you're at Orange Blossom and the menu says "smoked" anything...try it! They know what they're doing and you'll be one happy camper. It came with a biscuit and potatoes! This is EASILY the best breakfast around!
I have to show you what my husband ordered. They offer steak and eggs (two different steaks, actually!) and he asked if there was any way they'd bread him one and make it chicken fried steak. They obliged, and he was in HEAVEN! You can see a cup of their Linguicia Gravy on the side, I snapped the picture before he smothered it. He said it was the BEST chicken fried steak he's EVER had. Hands down.
I seriously can't think of ONE reason why you haven't tried Sunday Brunch at the Junction! It's every Sunday from 10am-2pm and you can even read their full brunch menu here. Or you can head straight to their full website here. Your taste buds will thank you. ;)

Taste of Orange Blossom {TWO specials!}

Last night was QUITE the party in our mouths! You're going to get to see both specials this time, because my husband happened to order the other special. We both started off with the special salad, Asparagus Salad with Raspberry Dressing and a scoop of Habanero Peach Sorbet. I LOVE asparagus on salads!! This salad was SO satisfying. The raspberry dressing was the PERFECT match for this salad! I love when the seasons start to change, and the food follows suit. If you wanna keep your taste buds plain Jane, then by all means, only order ranch for the rest of your life, but you'll be missing out! My body keeps me from eating spicy, but my husband LOVES heat, so he told me the habanero peach sorbet was a flavorful addition, and that the peach (and coldness of it being sorbet) cooled the heat of the habanero. He actually ate a double portion of the sorbet on his salad, and practically licked his plate clean. :)
MY special was the Mahi Mahi with White Chocolate Lemon Butter Sauce! You DO know this is my FAVORITE sauce, right? Right? I know it sounds crazy, but it's the best thing since sliced bread, I'm tellin' you! A HUGE, moist, flaky piece of Mahi Mahi is served on a slice of grilled pineapple, and topped with onion strings! I can't tell you how good this was! I was honestly sitting there eating thinking, "how the heck am I going to be able to tell people how lucky I was to eat this?" Mahi Mahi is one of my favorite fish, hands down. It had ZERO fishy taste, ZERO!
These are the sides that came with each of our specials! Twice baked potato (the CREAMIEST one I've ever had by the way), sauteed greens, ratatouille, and garlic bread! We definitely needed take home boxes last night! EVERYTHING was SO good, we just couldn't stop oohing and ahhing.
Are you ready for this? THIS was Brandon's special...TWO Smoked Pork Chops and THREE Ribs with Spicy Apple Butter! We all know the smoked pork chop with spicy apple butter is one of my all-time favorites here, I always recommend it when people ask. The spicy apple butter is to die for! Brandon said the ribs were just amazingly tender. This could easily have been split by us, so my hubby shared a pork chop with me. ;) I got the best of both worlds, and of course, I shared my Mahi Mahi in return.
Yes, those are REAL apples in the apple butter, see them under the pork chops?
Specials always come with dessert! Brandon chose the OBJ Sink, which can be a Root Beer Float, or Orange Float. Have you ever had a Root Beer Float made with HOMEMADE Bourbon Vanilla Ice Cream?? You should!
I went straight for something I haven't had in awhile...Chocolate Trauma! Chocolate Ganache Tart, topped with Homemade Chocolate Ice Cream, Hot Fudge, White Chocolate, and Caramel! Ohhh yes!
We left with full tummies and full hearts! It's just a feel-good place. :) Check them out here!

Taste of Orange Blossom {Almond Prawns}

Saturday night we headed out to OBJ in hopes of some Smoked Prime Rib. We both ordered it, and then much to our heartbreak, we found out that so did everyone else in the place...right before us! Ha ha! So what do you do when you need to pick something else? Go to your favorite standbys! I started off with a dinner salad with good ol' Orange Caesar Dressing! This is always so wonderful...like a party in your mouth. Between the homemade dressing and the marinated red cabbage, I don't know which I love more.
My hubby ordered the RIBS! A pile (over 2 lbs!) of dry-rubbed spareribs, served with their own BBQ glaze on the side. He went with mashed potatoes, cole slaw, and of course it came with a giant piece of garlic bread!
My favorite standby? ALMOND PRAWNS with Tequila Lime Butter! Heck yes! It's been a LONG time since I've ordered these! This is actually a appetizer, but you can easily order it as a meal like I did. Huge crispy prawns on a pile of mashed potatoes and the most fantastic sauce you've ever had!
I took a close up picture of the thin sliced almonds that are tucked into the breading. Oh.my.goodness. I want more. Like, now.
The special dessert was a Warm Raspberry Tart with Bourbon Vanilla Ice Cream! This was a great combination of the tartness of the berries, the warmth of the tart, and the cool creaminess of the ice cream. SO good!
As always, check them out on the web, and even better...IN PERSON! You'll be glad you did!

Taste of Orange Blossom {2 Canadian Lobster Tails!}

Friday night was SUPER delicious! One of the specials was 2 -5 oz. Canadian Lobster Tails!
The special salad was a Spinach Salad with Warm Bacon Dressing! I'm so happy with how this picture turned out! Doesn't it make you crave the freshest salad around?? This dressing is one of a kind and pairs perfectly with spinach! NO ONE makes salads like OBJ!
Here are the sides that came with the lobster... Twice baked potato (hello, lover!), sauteed greens, garlic bread, and a ratatouille (under the bread). You get OODLES of food at OBJ. This twice baked potato was sooo creamy under that awesome layer of cheese!
Here are the beauties! When we're talkin' favorites, THIS is what does it for me. The most tender, sweet meat on the planet...lobster! My husband and I are FAR from food snobs, we just love good food, but let me tell you, we don't order lobster in most restaurants. Part of that is because in those chain steakhouses, they don't know how to make them. We've made that mistake before, and we've never done it again. At OBJ, the lobster comes out delicious AND you can afford it! That's the other problem with ordering lobster at a restaurant, if a place has a chef good enough to train his kitchen to do it right, you (or at least WE!) can't afford go to those kind of restaurants.
For everything you see on this blog post, the price was just under $40! For TWO tails and everything that comes with it, including dessert!! Yes, you heard me! Did you know there is a big controversy over Canadian vs. Maine lobster? Apparently they are the same lobster, but it depends on where the little bugger gets caught, what it gets named. Silly people, quit arguing and just EAT IT! Ha ha!
Brandon ordered the same meal, here is a picture of how the Baeza's roll... 2 people, 4 devoured tails.
I was SO excited when I walked in the door and read that the special dessert was a Warm Apricot Tart with Bourbon Vanilla Ice Cream! I REMEMBER how good this was the last time it was offered! The two of these things combined in the same bite is like a little taste of heaven.
Check out OBJ on the web, here. And don't forget Sunday Brunch! You'll be glad you did!! Thanks OBJ, and Happy Birthday Doug!

Taste of Orange Blossom {Sunday Brunch!}

I just looked back to find out when I started blogging for Orange Blossom. My very first post was September 3, 2010! Wow! In ALL that time we've never gone to Sunday Brunch. Can you believe it? Today we took our kids to the free Gem Show in Exeter so I thought it would be the perfect opportunity for us to try their brunch before we went. I had NO idea how awesome their brunch is!! You start off with a complimentary glass of house wine, champagne, or mimosa, and a glass of orange juice! Mimosa? Check! The next thing that comes to the table is a fresh fruit plate (it was watermelon, pineapple, and green apples) with white chocolate to dip it in, and warm croissants with marmalade butter! Seriously, I've never been to a brunch like this!The bottom left picture is the Denver Omelet with ham, peppers, onions, cheese, and topped with hollandaise sauce. It is served with O'Brien Potatoes and one biscuit. My husband was in heaven!

On a side note, these biscuits are the real deal! Take it from someone who is used to her Kentucky family's buttermilk biscuits made fresh every morning. I am SO picky about my biscuits!

The picture on the top right is the Ham Scramble. Big cubes of SMOKED ham, and the FLUFFIEST scrambled eggs I've ever had. I usually don't eat breakfast at all when I'm at home, mostly because I can't make eggs the way I like them. These were fabulous! The potatoes were BOMB!
Here is a look at the warm Croissants and marmalade butter! Who doesn't want to be welcomed to the table with a warm, flaky croissant?? You would think that with all of the food you get, that the prices would be high, but you'd be wrong! The price for my Ham Scramble, O'Brien potatoes, biscuit, mimosa, croissant, and fresh fruit was only $14! The kids were totally thrilled with their stack of fluffy pancakes too!

You've GOT to check out the full brunch menu HERE! I even linked it directly to the Sunday brunch menu for you! ;)