Bobby Flay

On The Line: Walter Cotta Of Alegria And L'Opera, Part One

We've heard of chefs operating multiple restaurants, but who frequents more than one daily? When your two concepts are on the same stretch of Pine Avenue in Long Beach, the answer is Walter Cotta. Depending on the time of day, Cotta will bounce between the Latin flair of Alegria and Italian hospital ... More >>

On the Line: Raquel Jubran of the Attic, Part One

We make no assumptions when meeting a chef -- although we were surprised to learn that the chef who worked at Lasher's (the establishment before the Attic) was the same person we'd be interviewing. Per Raquel, "I get to run with the menu, so I have a lot more creativity." Throw in the fact she's hal ... More >>

Mariscos El Pescador: A Snail's Grace

[Hole In the Wall] This Santa Ana lonchera is the only place in OC that sells the spectacular sea snail

On the Line: Luis Flores of The Viking Truck, Part One

​A year ago this month, El Jefe requested I write On the Line on a regular basis. Not too long after, they began appearing in our print dead-tree edition. With the series taking up real estate, Gustavo Arellano thought it'd make sense to start conducting in-person interviews (in addition to the qu ... More >>

South County's Foodie Emergence, Steamed Hams and More!

What the Stick a Fork In It bloggers learned about food in Orange County in 2011

On the Line: Pedro Resendiz of Tamarindo Truck, Part One

Photo by Meranda Carter​We meet up with luxe lonchera owners Pedro and Sarah Resendiz of Tamarindo Truck after their SoCo lunch stop one afternoon. Our humble chef was excited to share his thoughts on epazote, chiles and things that crack him up. Get to know our friends who can't sit still [Editor ... More >>

On the Line: Judy Fleenor of Cafe Chiarini, Part One

​There is a dynamic duo adjacent to Santa Ana's courthouse. (It's a trio if you count pastry chef Vicki Schrimmer.) Superfriends Judy Fleenor and Iliana Chiarini win patrons over with charm and a cure for everyday lunches. Part one with the soup Nazi Judy clues us in on their greatness, as well as ... More >>

Bobby Flay To Sign Books At South Coast Plaza

​As it seems with every Food Network chef that has a book out, Bobby Flay will stop by Orange County on his book tour--a tour that has him signing copies of a new cooking tome entitled Bobby Flay's Bar Americain Cookbook. And as with every past book signing by Food Network celebrities have gone, ... More >>

On the Line: Jon Blackford of A Restaurant, Part One

Photo by Meranda Carter​It's been said we're our own toughest critics. We were reminded of this when we spent time with both chef Jon Blackford and Tony Motakef, director of operations, of A Restaurant for this week's On the Line. Originally from Pittsburgh, Blackford's current stomping ground is ... More >>

On the Line: Renzo Macchiavello of Renzo's A Taste of Peru, Part One

Photo by Kevin Lara​Trying to sit down with Renzo is a sight to see. Shaking our hand, quipping with a customer, working with a vendor and responding to a text is a post-lunch breather for this social businessman. He runs both a catering company and Peruvian establishment, the latter hidden in the ... More >>

On the Line: Dave Dennis of Matador Cantina, Part One

Photo by Amy Kaplan​A man who loves his turf as much as surf, Dave Dennis banged out our questionnaire in one day (Thanks, Dave!). Is he hungry to discuss his views or just starving all the time? Only one way to find out what the chef at Matador Cantina is thinking . . . and rocking out to.What ar ... More >>

On the Line: Brent Palmer of Mesa, Part One

Photo by Amy Kaplan​When Mesa first opened, it was like the Skull and Bones Society: a secret society with no calling card, website or markings on the building. Now, the vibe is LA hipster without the commute and better food. Chef Brent Palmer helms the back of this house, and he has allowed us ac ... More >>

On the Line: Manuel Gonzalez of TAPS Fish House & Brewery, Part One

Kevin Lara​We head north this week to visit with Brea mainstay TAPS, which locals frequent for Sunday brunch. This is the domain of Manuel Gonzalez. His heart belongs to pho, and his weirdest customer request is NSFW. This certainly makes for an interesting start to On the Line. (Stay tuned for pa ... More >>

Three Celebrity Chefs Converge Upon South Coast Plaza This Week

Photo courtesy of Macy's​This week is turning out to become a sort of food-celebrity invasion at South Coast Plaza. Three noted chefs and cookbook authors are slated to make appearances and demos at various stores there--all this after recent appearances by Rick Bayless and Bobby Flay.First, Micha ... More >>

On The Line: Timothy Kast of Seasons 52, Part One

Photo by Todd Barnes​Timothy Kast is the executive chef partner of the new Seasons 52 at South Coast Plaza, a restaurant that doesn't use butter, has no deep fryers, and keeps everything it serves under 475 calories or less. Here's Part One of out On The Line interview with Chef Kast. Stay tuned ... More >>

This Week in Food

Flickr user gwydasme​ Find out the Weekly's top pick for this year's favorite dish and what the Chilean miners ate after the jump!

Five Reasons to Like Bobby Flay

​Celebrity chef Bobby Flay is coming to South Coast Plaza this week (see end of blog post for event info!) to promote his latest book, and again: I won't be able to attend a food celebrity's gracing of our backwater 'burbs because the day job beckons. I don't have any pressing questions for the ma ... More >>

Gabbi Patrick of Gabbi's Mexican Kitchen, Part Two

Photo by Todd Barnes​We continue our Q & A with Chef Gabbi, and we ask why there's no signage for their incognito restaurant. Click here if you missed part one. Check back tomorrow for a recipe!

Ronnie Arnold of K'ya Street Fare, Part One

Photo credit: Meg Strouse​Drive up Harbor Boulevard in the Anaheim Resort and you might think the only things to eat are pre-made burgers, dreadful pancakes and fancy-yet-still-corporate steak. You'd be missing something, though, because at the very top of the district, in the Hotel Ménage, lies ... More >>

Matching Food Network Stars with their TBN Alter Egos!

​​I see Food Network shows occasionally, about as much as I watch the Trinity Broadcasting Network. Maybe I'm just a fool (actually, I am!), maybe I've seen too much of each channel, but some of their star personalities start melding into each other until the TBN and the FN personalities are ind ... More >>

James Foxall of OC Foodie Fest (and Taco Dawg), Part Two

Photo: Meg StrouseJames Foxall and Virginia Strickland, organizers of the OC Foodie Fest​The success of last weekend's Long Beach Street Food Fest bodes well for OC Foodie Fest, a gathering of fifty food trucks (the final list of which was just published on their website) at the Honda Center on Sa ... More >>

David Kesler of the Cellar, Part One

Courtesy of the Cellar​Hidden in the bottom floor of a beautiful old building on the edge of Downtown Fullerton, with little in the way of signage to guide one, the Cellar rewards the intrepid diner with well-cooked Cal-French cuisine. Executive Chef David Kesler, who makes the best snails I've ha ... More >>

This Week in Food

Esty Seller SouZouCreationsComplete with veggies and seafood--and a floating pair of chopsticks, of course. $12.50.​Another week of eating, recipes, crime and general food-related goodness has come and gone at Stick a Fork in it, and with Grace off on a vacation, I'm standing in for a roundup of t ... More >>

New Food Competition Series With Bobby Flay Announced

Photo Courtesy of FoodNetwork.com​Do we really need another food competition show? I'm inclined to think not. The two Top Chef shows are more than enough for me. Heck, we could've stopped at the original Iron Chef. Every show since has proven that the genre suffers from the law of diminishing ... More >>

Dee Nguyen of Break of Dawn, Part 1

Photo by Kimberly Valenzuela​Food critics don't always agree on things, but ask any of your Stick a Fork In It bloggers where the best breakfast in OC is, and you'll get the same answer from all of us: Break of Dawn, a stunning hidden gem in a freeway-adjacent plaza next to the Laguna Hills Mall.C ... More >>

Tanya Petrovna of Native Foods, Part I

​Tanya Petrovna is the chef and owner of Native Foods. Her ever expanding vegan eatery started out in Palms Springs in 1994, but we in OC know her best from her restaurant at The Camp, which is housed inside a yurt. She has two other restaurants in OC, not all of them in yurts, but serving the ... More >>

On the Line: Mark McDonald of Old Vine Cafe

​The McDonald brothers, Mark and Brandon, run Old Vine Cafe in Costa Mesa in a Manichean fashion: be nice, they treat you like gods. Be mean, they'll let the mick in them take over. I like them--otherwise, we wouldn't have named them the best restaurant in OC for 2009. And I'm glad to say they're ... More >>

Maria Sanchez of Los Chilangos

Dave LiebermanElena and Maria Sanchez​ You think you know Mexican food? Go into Los Chilangos on Anaheim's Lincoln Avenue, the sister to Santa Ana's venerable El Rincón Chilango, and read the menu. Tlacoyos? Pambazos? Huitlacoche? This ain't El Torito, amigo. This is real Mexican food from the ca ... More >>

Ehrline Karnaga of Valhalla Table

​Ehrline Karnaga and her sister Liz have built a successful bakery at Irvine's Layer Cake. Now they've ventured into making homemade sausages and serving them with beer at Valhalla Table. Here are her answers to our silly survey. 1. Dish you cook that most represents you. Balinese wild boar s ... More >>

On the Line: Bobby Bognar of History Channel's "Food Tech"

Courtesy of Bobby Bognar​It's ironic that the latest food show to hit the airwaves isn't on the Food Network (they're much too busy showing pointless, boring challenge shows) but on the History Channel.Though the format is a lot like "Unwrapped" and "Follow That Food", the last time Marc Summers i ... More >>

The Worst Show on Food Network

Food Network​Food Network, Food Network, Food Network, you have really lost your way.You used to teach people how to cook; there were interesting shows like the Two Fat Ladies. Even Good Eats, the best show ever on the network, has lowered its standards and got the preachy diet message going.You'v ... More >>

On the Line: Shewaye Zeleke of Tana Ethiopian

Dave Lieberman​That Tana Ethiopian Restaurant is on a fairly short list of places I visit frequently is due to a serendipitous trip to Portillo's in Buena Park a few years ago. I saw a sign and pulled a quick U-turn in the road, earning me the ire of a bus driver and the first of many happy dining ... More >>

On The Line: Craig Strong of Studio at The Montage

​Top Chef fans may already know that recent winner Michael Voltaggio now cooks at The Langham in Pasadena.  Well, Voltaggio's getting Craig Strong's sloppy seconds.  Strong was the Chef de Cuisine there -- earning both himself and the restaurant accolades from Michelin, Gourmet Magazine, ... More >>

On The Line: Hiro Ohiwa of Cafe Hiro

Photo by Edwin Goei​ Cafe Hiro is a favorite of mine. It's no accident that since I've been here at The Weekly, it's received with two accolades on two Best Of Issues (Best Japanese Restaurant 2009 and Best Fusion Restaurant of 2007). Psst, I didn't want to push for three wins, or else someo ... More >>

On the Line: Ray White of the Veggie Grill

Courtesy of Veggie Grill​The first time I heard tell of a group of people who eschewed not only meat but all animal products, I was stunned. I put down the fork and steak knife and said, "Exactly what do these people eat anyway?"As I started dating a woman whose father and sister are strict vegeta ... More >>

On the Line: Wanida Sreewarom of Thai Nakorn

​When Thai Nakorn burned down in January 2007, lovers of Thai food the county over were cast adrift. The family opened a branch in Stanton to feed the demand for their amazing food, and finally, after months of delays and haggling with the city, Thai Nakorn returned to Garden Grove this August. If ... More >>

On The Line: Daniel Stevens of Z'Tejas Southwestern Grill

Courtesy of Z'Tejas Southwestern Grill​When not in the kitchen, Daniel Stevens, executive chef of Z'Tejas Southwestern Grill at South Coast Plaza, can be found surfing the waves in Huntington Beach. This Connecticut native graduated from culinary school in 1996 and has been leading the Costa Mesa ... More >>

On the Line: Santiago Vallejo of Mariscos Puerto Esperanza

Courtesy of Mariscos Puerto Esperanza​Santiago Vallejo has an impressive résumé: formerly at the Ritz, he left to open his own restaurant, Mariscos Puerto Esperanza, in a tiny shopping center in Orange. It caused an immediate sensation on the food boards (Chowhound, Yelp, etc.) and Edwin himself ... More >>

On the Line: Mark Cleveland of Avanti Cafe

Cleveland: Ex-cellent!​I'm still mad at Avanti Cafe for stopping their International Tuesdays, so that just means I now try to visit once a week instead of every other day. I usually visit in the evening, when Mark Cleveland relieves his co-owner Tanya Fuqua in a transition as seamless as a Jamaic ... More >>

On The Line: John McLaughlin of At Last Café

Photo By Russ Roca​Every city should have a chef like John McLaughlin, who at his At Last Café cooks gourmet food but charges diner prices.  Long Beach, you're lucky to have him.  And we are lucky that he agreed to answer our silly survey.1. Dish that you cook that most represents you. ... More >>

On the Line: John Q Humphreys, Chef/Owner of Ramos House Café

​San Juan Cap's most famous eaterie has been home (literally) to Newport Beach native John Q Humphreys for the last 15 years. During that time it has built a reputation for low-key yet memorable grub, in particular a stellar brekkie/brunch. While succumbing to our inquisition, he gets fruity and v ... More >>

On the Line: David Slay, Chef at Park Ave

​Stanton may be an unlikely place to open a destination restaurant, but, with Park Ave, chef and managing partner David Slay has made it work. OK, you may find a burger on the menu, but it'll be sitting alongside the likes of scallops and filet mignon. And those 'fresh-clipped greens (which, as yo ... More >>

On the Line: Aron Habiger of The Crosby

John Gilhooley​Aron Habiger is the wunderkind chef behind the scenes at the so-hip-it-hurts hangout The Crosby in Santa Ana. Here are his answers to our survey. 1. Dish that you cook that most represents you. Jerk torta. 2. What was the last meal you had at home? Peanut butter and jelly ... More >>

On The Line: Rachel Klemek of Blackmarket Bakery

Tim MelideoRachel Klemek is the owner/chef/instructor of Blackmarket Bakery, her made-from-scratch bakery in Irvine.You'll also see Blackmarket weekly at farmers' markets around O.C., but most especially at the Saturday Irvine Farmers' Market across from UCI. Here are her answers to our survey. 1 ... More >>

This Week In Food

In the last five days in Stick a Fork In It:We worked out that, to the best of our knowledge, no OC restaurants closed in June. That's a first!Edwin chowed down on chicken bowls and rated Flame Broiler's above Yoshinoya's.Chef Steve Samson of Pizzeria Ortica worried us all with his "I would like to ... More >>

On the Line: Chef Florent Marneau of Marche Moderne

Courtesy of Marche ModerneHe is Florent Marneau, chef and proprietor of Marche Moderne, one of the best French restaurants in the county.  We are food bloggers with a few dumb questions that we've always wanted to know but were afraid to ask.  What do you get when you mix?  You get wh ... More >>

[Summer Guide] The Grills of Your Barbecue-Loving Dreams

Another Baja Fresh Turns Into a Mesa Grill & Barbeque

The Baja Fresh on Sunflower near Bristol is now a Mesa Grill and Barbeque. This makes (at least) the second Baja Fresh to be transformed. The first, on 17th St., made the switch earlier this year. At both locations, expect Southwest pizzas, baby backs, the whole BBQ gamut, but also coconut shrimp. ... More >>

Iron Chef to Open Restaurant in O.C.

Orange County's going to be home to a restaurant by an Iron Chef. No, not Batali. No, not Morimoto either. It's Cat Cora -- the lone female Iron Chef. But first, let me clarify that the planned restaurant -- called CCQ for Cat Cora's 'Que -- is actually going to be paired up with Nancy Silverton ... More >>

The Cutting Board Is Sacred

Everything I ever needed to know about the Japanese I learned watching Iron Chef