Foodventure #55: Izakaya Zero (Huntington Beach) - following S. Irene's footsteps

I don't always agree with Ms. Virbila, but when I read the glowing review of Izakaya Zero in Huntington Beach, I decided to take her up on her word and check it out myself. And it's a good excuse to go the O.C. (and swing by Chuao Chocolatier at the Spectrum Center for a few truffles.)

Overall, it's pretty good (and an enormous improvement over Red Pearl Kitchen, which occupied that space before, that's just plain bleh.)

My full review is filed with Orange County Food Blogs, but I'll tease you with a few pictures and my summary ;)

Not white Sangria, but a Zen-gria.

This little piggy got soaked in sweet soy-mirin broth

Baked eggplant, upgraded with miso aioli

The Bill:
Zengria - $9
Eggplant w Shrimp - $6.95
Buta Kakumi - $5.95
Salmon Skin Salad - $4.95
Pre-tax/tip total - $26.95

The Rating:
Ambience: 4.5/5 (Comfortable and casual-hip with nice Asian-y accents)
Value: 3.5/5 (Like most other small-plate-oriented places, it's easy to run up the bill on not a whole lot of food; but portions here are deserving of the prices paid and I got quite a satisfying meal on about $20 of food)
Service: 7.5/10 (Nice and friendly without being obtrusive; given its location, the beachy surfer casual attitude is kind of there; service was only iffy from the timing of the dishes and no notice about veggie swaps)
Food: 17/20 (Pretty darn good all around, everything I tried had a tasty je ne sais quoi that made it a little bit unique; flavors could have been a little bolder, but I was pleased overall)
Bonus/Demerit: -.5 (crazy Huntington Beach parking)
TOTAL: 32/40

Izakaya Zero
412 Walnut Ave.
Huntington Beach
714.960.1278
http://www.izakayazero.com/