na·tive [ney-tiv]

na·tive

  [ney-tiv]
of, pertaining to, or characteristic of the indigenous inhabitants of a place or country

I recently visited back to Native Foods for the second time in Costa Mesa. Native foods has over 12 locations in the United States and 9 specifically in California! Native Foods is a vegan restaurant that serves freshly homemade foods. They all sorts of dish including nachos, tacos, Greek Gyro, soups, bowls, salads with awesome vegetables such as kale, pies, and more! 

Here is their menu, if you want to know more about Native Foods, visit http://www.nativefoods.com/

and their Yelp! 

http://www.yelp.com/biz/native-foods-cafe-costa-mesa

     As far as the taste, it is not bland as I expected a healthy vegan restaurant would have! Their chicken tastes like real chicken, I could not believe it! The service is very friendly and they are very accommodating to your needs, well at least at the Costa Mesa location. As you walk into the restaurant you are greeted by the cashier. Native Foods is more of a fast food or less casual restaurant style to me because you order your food at the cashier, sit down, and then wait until they bring the food to you! One thing I CANNOT forget to mention are their drinks! All you have to do is ask for a drink which is $2.50 and they'll give you a cup to serve yourself.And as a tip, if you sign up for a point rewards card, you get a free drink! I LOVE the Native Iced Tea mixed with the Lavender Lemonade!I usually just mix all the drinks they have, with UNLIMITED refills! YAY!

I'm getting really thirsty as I edit this right now, and I added some lemon wedges and basil as garnishment.

      

Once again, sorry for the bad iPhone quality, haha! My aunt and I shared Baja Blackened Tacos and the Ensalada Azteca Salad. We both really liked the tacos with its creamy texture from the sauce and guacamole, as well as the variety of different vegetables in the tacos! Not everyday do you see tacos with that many vegetables. ( a PLUS for me, I looooove vegetables!) The salsa with the onions and tomatoes brought out a nice Mexican (or Aztec) flavor to the tacos and the chicken was flavored deliciously with a nice savory chipotle sauce. We couldn't tell that it wasn't chicken! As for the salad, we did not like so much as it was very bland in taste with no sort of savory flavor. It had jicama, avocados, cilantro, a mango for garnishment, tomatoes, quinoa, lettuce, and some sort of Tajin looking red powder.

It was such a nice day, filled with lots of people, quick shot my aunt took before the valet dude came with the car! 

 One last tip of the day! Parking at the Costa Mesa location is hard to find, so you make want to bring an extra $3 to pay for Valet parking or go during non-peak hours!

-Meledy