Celebrity chef Michael Mina created his signature Tartare of Ahi Tuna almost twenty years ago when he opened his first restaurant, Aqua in San Francisco. Now he has three restaurants in that city, plus numerous eateries from coast to coast, including Stonehill Tavern at the St. Regis Monarch Beach in Dana Point. Instead of the standard beef-centric tartare ingredients, he…
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Deborah Schneider, executive chef-partner of SOL Cocina in Newport Beach, says that a trusty slow cooker can replicate the kind of authentic dishes that are patiently cooked in earthenware pots in Mexico. Her new book, her fifth, “The Mexican Slow Cooker” (Ten Speed Press, $19.99) showcases irresistible dishes that traditionally cook for hours and hours at the back of the…
A pasta-free, feels-like-pasta dish using raw zucchini. Jenny Ross is the chef-owner of 118 Degrees in Costa Mesa, a raw foods restaurant that showcases a cuisine that is entirely plant-based. She utilizes fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds and sprouted grains, that when heated are taken to no more than 118 degrees. The goal is to preserve valuable nutrients. Watch this short…
The ranch for THE RANCH (lovingly dubbed “The Farm”). A parcel filled with well-tended fruits and vegetables that supplies about 70 percent of the summertime produce used in Chef Michael Rossi’s exquisite cuisine at THE RANCH Restaurant & Saloon, Anaheim. Let’s start with the quail. I have to. Then we’ll go to the crops, and then the table. THE RANCH’S…
Imagine a restaurateur’s delight to be featured in Jay Leno’s monologue your first week in business. Bruxie’s “bold fold” waffle concept intrigued the entertainer, as it did the lines of customers queuing up at the Old Towne Orange eatery. Dean Simon, Bruxie’s managing partner, found out fast that the idea for gourmet waffle sandwiches could capture a loyal audience. Now…
85C: (bottom to top – Milk Pudding Bun ($2.40), Lemon Taro Swirl ($1.60), Berry Multi-grain Loaf ($4.90) and Brioche ($3.25) Diamond Jamboree, a vibrant, bustling retail center in Irvine (Jamboree at Anton), features a wide array of dining destinations. It’s unique in the variety of Asian cuisines that are represented in its eateries. Here’s a small sample: My favorites at…
I’m not a jealous person. But when I saw Chef Zov Karamardian’s home vegetable garden, I was overcome with envy. Just steps from her kitchen, cucumbers, tomatoes and herbs flourished, alongside a spectrum of lettuces and greens. Espalier fruit trees snuggled walls. Fully-bloomed artichokes showed off their stunning buds. (Photo above shows Zov sitting in her home vegetable garden.) Zov…
It’s a great time to bake up some blueberry treats; California bountiful blueberry season starts now and continues through June. Here’s one of the blueberry bushes in my front yard. So, how will I use them? Sweets need to be more than just sweet to interest my palate. There needs to be an interesting contrast in flavors, such as the…