The Rooster Cafe

I've heard a lot about this Rooster Cafe place--totally hipster, great for breakfast, wonderful service, nice atmosphere and now...they're serving small plates for dinner. Say no more, I had to try it.

Sangria, tasted more like grape juice than anything, but I'm not complaining. It was sweet and refreshing with a small kick of alcohol at the end (but when I say small, I mean tiny)
We were guinea pigs for their fresh, homemade pesto--made with basil, extra virgin olive oil, feta, and pine nuts. It was so nutty and fresh tasting. It has inspired me to always make fresh pesto. The only downside to the pesto was that there wasn't enough of it.
Ceviche served northern Mexico style. It was like salsa with gargantuan shrimp cut in half length-wise served with saltines. Not too shabby. It definitely was not the--swimming-in-lime-juice--ceviche I was expecting, but it was definitely good.
Zucchini fritters--crisp on the outside and filled with shredded zucchini and creamy, warm feta on the inside. The small salad dressed with balsamic and olive oil was definitely a great complement to the richness of the fritters. This is a definite must try--but what can I say? I'm a sucker for fried cheese.
Prosciutto wrapped asparagus--definitely something that I could not turn down. Although the Prosciutto was a bit salty for me, you really can't go wrong with something as classic as this.
Grilled Shrimp--when we walked in the the Cafe, the whole place was perfumed with the aromas of grilled shrimp. It was the first night that they were trying this out. How could we say no? The flavor was amazing--perfectly salted and grilled--not to mention, I'm a huge fan of shrimp heads! The only downside, and it's a pretty big one, the shrimp were not too fresh because the flesh of the shrimp stuck to the shells. But if they ever had this on the menu again, I would definitely give it a second chance because the flavor was spot on.
Last but not least, the avocado cups. In a word: Amazing. It was such a brilliant idea to put shredded chicken, seasoned enchilada style, blacken it and fill that and salsa into the pit bed of the avocado. Delicious. The creaminess and coolness of the avocado complemented the texture of the blacked chicken--I didn't miss the tortilla at all!

If you're ever in Irvine, I highly recommend you swing by The Rooster Cafe, it's everything the Yelpers say, and more.