Burgers, Beach, and French Jazz

Last Sunday Todd and I drove up to Laguna Beach and Aliso Viejo in Orange County to enjoy the sights and to attend the Paris Combo concert at the Soka Performing Art Center.  Todd has been a fan of Paris Combo for several years now, after discovering them on XM Radio.  They are a jazz group from France and they rarely ever tour the US.  So when Todd heard they were coming to The OC, he got tickets immediately.

We drove up early to have lunch at Umami Burger.  We had never been and always wanted to!  It was located in a shopping center at Laguna Beach.

We ordered Diet Cokes and Todd was pretty dismayed to find out that these $2.00 Cokes were only 8 ozs and no refills.  That’s not a good deal!

We ordered some tempura onion rings and thin fries.

They come with four different dipping sauces:  House Ketchup, Diablo Sauce, Jalapeno Ranch, and Garlic Aioli.

Todd got the Manly Burger without cheese.

I got the Truffle Burger.

For the price, these burgers were actually smaller than you would expect.  That’s ok though, it’s not like we need to eat that much.  They were really delicious and juicy!  By default, they cook them medium-rare at Umami Burger, so if you want different you have to tell them.  I got mine medium.

After lunch, we walked around on the oceanfront walkway in Laguna Beach.  It was an overcast day but still beautiful at the coast.

Time for a selfie!

Nice Sunday for a beach outing.

Some people climbed the rocks to get to that piece of rock further out.  When the waves recess, you can walk across that lower part that connects the rocks.

The walkways and stairs onto the beach at Laguna Beach are so awesome.  They are lined with pretty plants too.  I bet the city spends quite a bit to maintain it.  So pretty.

Check out the view of the ocean behind us.  Amazing!

After walking for about 20 minutes and getting down to the beach, we crossed the street to a gas station, where Todd was able to right the wrong of the small Coke at lunch by getting a big Pepsi.

Then it was time to drive over to Aliso Viejo to Soka University for the concert.  The performing arts center was inside Founders Hall.  The surrounding fountains were beautiful!

The concert was really awesome.  They played straight for 90 minutes without intermission.
 

I was not as familiar with the music as Todd, and neither of us could understand the French singing.  They did speak some English announcing each song and what it was about.  They also had a sense of humor and that came across quite well. 

Todd was so excited that he finally got to see Paris Combo!  And we had a great time spending a few hours in The OC, eating burgers, strolling along the ocean, and listening to great music.