The Panini Café is next on my list of recommended places to visit in Aliso Viejo this weekend. The Panini Café, in Aliso Viejo’s Town Center, has a combination of amazing food, spectacular ambience and gracious service. Today I want to share with you a treasure found on the Panini Café’s menu: Happy Soup.
My family knows I am always looking for an excuse to order this soup. On date night I hear, “Sweetie, would you like to get some Happy Soup?” On Mother’s Day I hear, “Mama, do you want us to take you to that Happy Soup place? And to celebrate my birthday last weekend, “Let me guess, you want to go to the Panini Café for some Happy Soup?”
Of course I do!
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All right, Happy Soup is not the official name on the menu. My Happy Soup is listed as Mom’s Chicken Vegetable Soup—with Noodle on the menu. This soup is a perfect marriage of chicken noodle soup and minestrone. Every bite is filled with fresh and flavorful ingredients. The menu describes it as “chicken, potatoes, onions, carrots, tomatoes, celery, parsley and garlic in a chicken broth.” This soup is so tasty that I have been known to order extra bread just so I can soak up every last drop of goodness from the bowl.
Eating this soup makes me HAPPY!
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The original Panini Café opened in 1995 and is a family-owned and run business. Daniel Rafi, of Costa Mesa, manages the Aliso Viejo Panini Café. He gave me the scoop on my favorite soup. It turns out that his mother created the recipe by finding a way to mix all of his favorite soups into one. I love that!
Of course, there are plenty of other items on the Panini Café’s menu. We have enjoyed everything from paninis to kebabs. There is also a great kids' menu that satisfies my picky eaters. Take a peek at the photo of my daughter’s grilled cheese sandwich. Doesn’t that cheese look yummy? I may or may not be guilty of sneaking some of her grilled cheese sandwich off of her plate. You know, for quality-testing purposes, of course.
And last but not least, if you are a dessert fan (and who isn’t?) make sure to check out the banana bread pudding. I am usually not a fan of bread pudding, but this tastes like warm banana bread straight from the oven. Served with a scoop of vanilla gelato, this dessert is simply divine.
Check out the Panini Café’s menu to plan a special weekend meal.
