Restaurant Review

Secret S spot

By LISAJOYCE VERGARA

Daily Titan Staff

Those looking to try Asian fusion, should head to Westminster’s fi ne-dining Vietnamese restaurant, S. Don’t be fooled by the empty parking lot; the restaurant is open for lunch and dinner and should not be passed up. Inside, the amazing architecture and Vietnamesethemed artwork leave patrons with the sense that they’ve landed in Vietnam. S also features an intimate open air patio. The servers are attentive and, while the place may be empty, servers and owner Stephanie Dinh enjoy striking up conversation with their customers.

Light eaters can enjoy the Pho Bo ($7), a soup made with fresh rice noodles in a beef broth with roasted ginger, shallots, chopped onions and cilantro served with beef brisket in a large bowl. Diners shouldn’t miss the signature martinis and cocktails ($5-$7), like the refreshing LycheeTini. Dinh also owns a Little Saigon bakery, so the desserts, like the Chuoi Chien, a fried banana topped with rum caramel and ice cream and served in a martini glass, are tantalizing ($6-7) .

S offers lunch and dinner entrees ($7-20), along with an array of soups and salads. One of the lunchtime favorites is Ca Ri Ga, tender chicken and potatoes simmered in a spicy curry sauce, served with slices of baguette ($11). Seafood lovers should try the Cua Lot Chien Don, fried soft shell crab sautéed in gar

GABRIEL FENOY/Daily Titan The serene atmosphere of S provides for a relaxing lunch of dinner.

lic and scallion chili sauce, served with steamed rice and vegetables. S offers a vegetarian menu and caters to any dietary need. S is located at 545 Westminster Mall Drive and is closed on Tuesdays. For more information call (714) 898-5092.

Flashback Favorite Everyone needs ‘Punky Power’

By ASHLEY MAJESKI

Daily Titan Staff

Everybody can learn from the TV show “Punky Brewster:” A little “Punky Power” goes a long way, that everyone needs someone to love them and lastly, never hide in an abandoned freezer while playing hide-and-go-seek (thanks, Cherie).

“Punky Brewster,” which ran from 1984 to 1988, told the story of a girl who was abandoned in a mall by her mother and moved into an empty apartment with her dog Brandon. The apartment manager, grumpy old Henry Warnimont, a photographer who lives alone, is bitter at the world after losing his wife years before. Then, as the theme song says, he meets “the girl that turns his world around.” Both were alone in the world until they found each other, even though they were an unlikely pair.

While the story lines were clever, the show worked because of the cast. There could not have been a better Punky Brewster than the charming Soleil Moon Frye, who could arguably be one of the best child actors to date. Then there was Punky’s faithful sidekick Cherie, who liked to eat and always wore hip rainbow colored headbands. Margeaux, a rich girl who was obsessed with her own beauty, also brought in a lot of laughs with her catchphrase, “Peasants!”

The show was meant for

children, but adults could enjoy it too, particularly the jabs exchanged between Henry and Cherie’s grandmother Betty, which went over the heads of younger viewers.

Like other shows of the 1980s, many episodes contained a moral message. In one episode, Cherie and Punky are invited to join cool girl-gang the Chicklets, only if they agree to do drugs. Wise beyond their years, Punky and Cherie “just say no,” inspiring kids everywhere to do the same.

And who could forget the freezer episode? During a game of hide-and-go-seek, Cherie – not the smartest of the bunch – gets trapped after hiding in the old freezer. It begins to snow and she passes out from the cold. When she’s found, she’s not breathing, but luckily Punky and Margauex, who learned CPR in school, save Cherie’s life. To this day, that episode still makes my heart race.

Punky showed kids that just because they are young does not mean they can’t make a difference. She believed in herself regardless of what life threw at her, and in the end she always came out OK.

The show also didn’t have the classic “Leave it to Beaver” style family. Even without the traditional family unit, Punky didn’t let anything stop her, and exuded high self-confi dence and a whole lot of Punky Power!