Subject: Foods

• New Zealand Natural Ice Cream Opens in Orange

  A new ice cream shop from New Zealand opened its first U.S. store at the Stadium Promenade in Orange. Appropriately, it's called New Zealand Natural Ice Cream. And though the ice cream may be made from "fresh dairy cream from cows that feed on the green unpolluted pastures of New Zealand", its press release couldn't have sounded more artificial. It reads like a celebutant-nudging, hype-craving, Hollywood-name-dropping act of desperation. Judge for yourself: "New Zealand Natural ice cream h

  September 15, 2008

• Monday Night Football at The Pelican Grill? Whaaa?

  The Pelican Grill at the Pelican Hill Resort is the last place I would think of when it comes to Monday Night Football. After all, this is a valet-parking, ocean-views, uniformed-waiter, white-table-cloth kind of establishment, where the customers are the country-club types, not the average Joe Six-Pack (to borrow a recently heard term). But that's not stopping Donald Bren and company. They've got two 9'x6' HDTVs that will be tuned to the game and a "Burger and Brews" menu to feed any deep-po

  October 13, 2008

• Skwinkles Salsagheti

  Name: Skwinkles Salsagheti Origin: Mexico Found at: Bodega "R" Ranch, Tustin Cost: $2.99 for 12 count box Ingredients: Straws: Corn Syrup, Wheat Flour, Sugar, Dextrose, Sorbitol, Citric Acid, Partially Hidrogenated [sic] Vegetable Oil, Chili Powder, Glycerin, Iodized Salt, Wheat Fiber, Sodium Lactate, Lactic Acid, Sodium Citrate, Malic Acid, Artifical Flavor, Mono and Diglicerides, Lecitin Soy [sic], Sodium Benzoate and Potassium Sorbate (To Maintain Freshness), Colors FD&C (Red 40, Yel

  November 3, 2008

• Curly Tops

  Name: Curly Tops Origin: Philippines Found at: Pinoy Mart, Tustin Cost: $1.59 Ingredients: Refined Cane Sugar, Milk Powder, Hydrogenated Palm And Palm Kernel Oil, Whey, Cocoa Powder, Soy Lecithin, Vanillin and Cinnamon Powder, Iodized Salt. Why I Bought It: Apart from the name, which is, of course, cuter than a button, this is as straight forward a packaging as you'll ever see. On the box, there are pictures of the product, which uses primary colors and looks like it was illustrated

  November 19, 2008

• Let's Talk No Turkey -- at Native Foods

  Believe it or not, the Native Foods vegan restaurant in Costa Mesa bustles during the Thanksgiving season, offering a birdless (and delicious) alternative to the traditional turkey dinner. Many OC vegans and vegetarians – and the families that enable their madnesses – order gussied up Tofurky dinners. For fancy-pantsier palates, Native Foods sells the all-organic "Native Wellington": a puff-pastry stuffed with Native Seitan, kale, portobello mushrooms, orange glazed yams, stuffing, carameli

  November 21, 2008

• New Ice Cream Flavors: I Like Where This is Going

  On the Chowhound boards a few years ago, I remember someone asking for tips on where to find green tea ice cream.  We pointed him to the frozen dessert section of 99 Ranch or Mitsuwa. This weekend, I found it green tea ice cream at Vons.  Let me repeat:  AT VONS!!! What's even more amazing was that it wasn't Magnolia, Mashti Malone, or even Fubuki (which is the only brand that I knew of that made green tea ice cream) -- this was Safeway Select, the store brand! Surely there's no better indi

  December 22, 2008

• Begorra! SusieCakes and Sprinkles Mark St Paddy's Day With Themed Cupcakes

  It's never too early to start celebrating St Patrick's Day--especially when the revelry comes in the form of cupcakes. SusieCakes and Sprinkles, the OC's most famous cupcakeries, are marking March 17th with themed varieties. SusieCakes, which has a range of specials and offers during the whole of March, will be making its whoopee pies with green vanilla buttercream, and decorating its red velvet, vanilla, chocolate and chocolate mint cakes with green jimmies and shamrocks, while Sprinkles is bak

  March 3, 2009

• The $1.50 Costco Hot Dog: Hebrew National Out...Kirkland Brand In

  I don't usually read the Costco Connection -- the corporate propaganda Coscto puts out every month and sends to every member in the mail -- but this month is different. The cover story was all about the food court, its past and future. And I've gotta say: it was quite an interesting read -- especially if you've enjoyed the $1.50 hot dog and drink combo like I have, which we dubbed as the Best Hot Dog on our 2007 Best Of Issue.  To read the whole article, CLICK HERE. But here are some of

  March 6, 2009

• Bueno Beignets at Bourbon Street, But Don't Order the Muffuletta

  Ducked into Bourbon Street in downtown Fullerton during the John and Ken Tax Revolt this weekend, and the guy who said this was a great restaurant had it partially right. I went in before the masses invaded the parking lot outside, yet the service was slooooow (the waitress was apologetic, however). Wanted to try a po'boy, but $14 for a sandwich when Lee's Sandwiches is just down Harbor? PASS. $10 for a sandwich is also a bit much, but where else can you try a muffuletta sandwich except a bad ve

  March 9, 2009

• Cupcakes, I Can't Quit You Baby

  Yes, I know I have a serious and perhaps life-threatening addiction to cupcakes--I've actually noted Sprinkles' upcoming Brown Sugar Praline flavor in my diary--but I'm clearly not the only one. Just as there's an unstoppable number of cupcakes stores opening all over the country, there are also dozens of dedicated blogs. Among my favorites is St Louis-based food writer Stefani Pollack, who has turned baking cupcakes into an obsession, charting the results on her website, the Cupcake Project. Th

  March 13, 2009

• You Won't Be Able to Stay Neutral About the Stellar French/Swiss Fare at Basilic

  March 19, 2009

• Villa Roma's Carne Knowledge

  February 19, 2009

• OC Is Bursting With Sound-Alikes of the Famous Alberto's. We Search for the Best Incarnation

  January 29, 2009

• The Newest Veggie Grill in Irvine Is Good Enough to Fool (Almost) Everyone

  December 4, 2008

• Back Bay Bistro's Beef and Bananas Foster Are Worth the Wait (and Weight)

  November 20, 2008

• Café Piccolo in Long Beach Stuffs Thai and Indian Cuisine Into Its Italian

  November 13, 2008

• The Pastrami Sandwiches at Tommy's Are Massive, Glorious Gut Bombs

  October 23, 2008

• A Comfort-Food Extravaganza at Fullerton's Hungry Bear Restaurant

  September 18, 2008

• [This Hole-In-the-Wall Life] A Delicious Relic at Cowgirl's Cafe

  September 18, 2008

• [This Hole-In-the-Wall Life] Where the Clucker Is Queen: Pho Dakao

  September 11, 2008

• OC's Rock-Star Chef Takashi Abe Does San Clemente at Sea Smoke

  September 11, 2008

• The Lost City of the Incas Discovered in Fountain Valley at Casa Inka

  September 4, 2008

• Addicted to Banana Cream Pies, Among Other Things, at Jongewaard's Bake 'n' Broil in Long Beach

  August 21, 2008

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

  June 4, 2009

• Memphis at the Santora's New Night Menu--Try the Meatloaf Sandwich (Seriously!)

  Pardon this unasimmilated Mexican, but what is the great gabacho aversion to meatloaf? I've enjoyed it the dozen or so times I've tasted the meat--not my favorite carnal creation, but also no headcheese (another much-maligned butcher offering). I thought about this on Saturday as I chomped down on a meatloaf sandwich at Memphis at the Santora in SanTana.After years of consistently serving stellar Southern fare under the watchful eye of head chef/owner Diego Velasco, this Orange County institutio

  April 8, 2009

• Plums Café: It's Not Just for Breakfast, Anymore

  May 7, 2009

• New Gelato Shop To Open At Diamond Jamboree

  Edwin GoeiWhat's this? A new frozen dessert shop at Diamond Jamboree? And it's not another Pinkberry or Yogurtland clone? Finally, we discover that there is an entrepreneur out there who realized that the market is oversaturated with froyo and undersupplied with gelato.And if there's any frozen desserts were are more in need of, it's gelato. For reasons unknown to me, the milk-based Italian ice cream seems to be an endangered species around these parts. It's as rare as a platypus. When thi

  May 20, 2009

• Boqueria's Tasty Tapas Hatches at Rooster Cafe

  May 28, 2009

• Easy, Breezy Recipe: Amar Santana's Gazpacho

  Here's a signature from Amar Santana, Executive Chef at Charlie Palmer, South Coast Plaza. Light, healthy and a cinch to make, it's perfect for summer (once the weather perks up, that is). On the other hand, if you're feeling fancy, you can jazz it up by garnishing it with marinated baby shrimp and avocado, as Santana does.We couldn't get a photo of the dish itself, but, let's face it: we all know what gazpacho looks like. But not everyone knows what Santana looks like--so here's a cheery pic of

  June 12, 2009

• [Hole In the Wall] Wolfies Deli Is Almost Famous

  June 11, 2009

• Pinkberry News, Including Friday Freebie!

  To celebrate the launch of two new flavors, coconut and passion fruit, Pinkberry stores are giving away a free small-sized portion--one per customer--tomorrow, Friday June 26, between 5 p.m. and 9 p.m.Fresh news toppings are also on the menu for summer: lychees, bing cherries (from the Pacific northwest, don't you know) and, in August and September, Valencia oranges.Can't say I'll be going for the lychees, but they sure look pretty.

  June 25, 2009

• [Hole in the Wall] Don't Let the Milanesa Sandwich at Lina's Deli in Mission Viejo Become Extinct

  July 9, 2009

• Recipe: The Winery's Zinfandel Braised Bone-In Prime Beef Short Ribs, Carrot Pearl Couscous and Roasted Asparagus

  Here's a recipe that's more elaborate than others we've featured recently. It's from the Winery Restaurant & Wine Bar in Tustin (where Yvon Goetz is Executive Chef and Partner), so it should come as no surprise that a whole bottle of the drink of the gods is a key ingredient. And if you can get your version to look as good as his, you deserve a second one.Ingredients (serves four) For the short ribs:4 1lb short ribs, bone in1 bottle Zinfandel1 qt veal stock2 tsp vegetable oil1 cup flour

  July 15, 2009

• Traditions Offers Cheap, Hot, Delicious North Indian Cuisine

  July 23, 2009

• Top 5 Frozen Yogurt Flavors I'd Like To See

  Since new yogurt stores seem to keep popping up like an unstoppable, virulent disease (See my earlier post here on the phenomenon), there's really one thing left to do: request more flavors.  Not that there's a lack of creativity out there.  Some, like Yogurtland, seem to have a hard-working flavor alchemist on staff. I saw bananas fosters and tiramisu the other day. Both delicious.  But here are 5 flavors I haven't seen but would like to see coming out of those spouts. Surely, one of t

  July 27, 2009

• UPDATE: Ice Cream and Cakey Cake Ad: Love it or Hate it?

  Am I the only one who finds the Baskin-Robbins "Ice Cream and Cakey Cake" commercial strangely addictive? From the terminally bonkers song, a snippet of "Ice Cream and Cake" by the Buckwheat Boyz (I'm not making this up), to the ridiculous plastic dinosaurs, the whole thing is hilarious. And cheap. They must've had change left over from $100, considering the only "stars" are six ice cream cakes (from $9.99 each) and a bunch of plastic figures.And in a world where ads are getting longer and

  August 13, 2009

• UPDATE: Organic Food "No Better Than Conventional," Study Finds

  ​As reported in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition yesterday, the British-commissioned survey, which took its findings from 55 studies made in the past 50 years, claims that eating organic food "will make no important difference to a person's overall health".According to Alan Dangour, one of the report's authors, "A small number of differences in nutrient content were found to exist between organically and conventionally produced foodstuffs, but these are unlikely to be of any public h

  July 30, 2009

• Go Around the World In 50 States (or Cities, or Regions, or Styles, or Whatever)

  August 6, 2009

• SusieCakes' Apple Festival Starts Tomorrow, With Freebie for the Teachers' Pets

  ​Throughout September, as well as featuring goodies such as apple pie with a crumble topping and caramel apple cheesecake, the cupcakery (with a branch in Newport Beach) is offering a complimentary applesauce cupcake with cream cheese frosting for any students in pre-school through 6th grade who bring in an A-graded assignment. They can also enter a competition to win cupcakes for the whole class, which is bound to make them really popular, even with the snobs and bullies.Now if that's not an

  August 31, 2009

• The Which Wich-ing Hour Has Arrived in OC for Those Other Sandwich Chains

  September 3, 2009

• Two Upcoming Food/Wine/Art Events at the Shorebreak/Zimzala, Huntington Beach

  ​First, this Sunday (from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.) is the inaugural 2nd Sunday bash at the hotel, featuring "fine wine, tasty nibbles, live music and stimulating art." Specifically, the booze is from Coppola Diamond Collection, the grub is from the hotel's own Zimzala restaurant, and the paintings are from the imaginatively named The Gallery. Artists include Dean Torrence of Jan & Dean fame, who paints exclusively for the gallery, and former Warner Bros animator Tina Schmidt. The entry fee of $10

  September 9, 2009

• [Hole In the Wall] Do the Jerky at Celestino's Meats

  September 24, 2009

• Recipe of the Week: Chicken Cacciatore

  ​Stick a Fork In It always runs its recipes on a Wednesday, and sometimes that coincides with a yummy national food day. Today, however, is an exception: October 14 is National Chocolate-Covered Insects Day. Yikes!But instead of sharing my favorite recipe for cucarachas con chocolate, I'm bringing you Rachael Ray's easy-peasy, soothe-your-chillblains Chicken Cacciatore a day early. Yes, folks, tomorrow is National Chicken Cacciatore Day. Hurrah for normal food, and, it goes without saying, evo

  October 14, 2009

• Drink of the Week: The Algerian Boulevard at Andrei's

  ​The drink: The Algerian Boulevard at Andrei's Conscious Cuisine and Cocktails. $7 normally, $5 at happy hour (3 to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday) Edwin's already pretty thoroughly examined the "cuisine" part of newly opened Andrei's Conscious Cuisine and Cocktails in Irvine, but methinks the "cocktails" needs some talking about. I asked bar manager/lead bartender Kurt Van Dyke for a taste of the joint's signature drink. He delivered a pink concoction on the rocks, floating lemons and flecked w

  September 4, 2009

• At the Farmer's Market: Grass-Fed Beef

  Hannes_2 @ wikimedia.org CC-BY-SA​One of my beefs (sorry) with the Irvine farmer's market is that while you can get amazing produce, baked goods, fish, even olive oil, there's not much in the way of meat available. So when I took a Friday off to go have breakfast at Break of Dawn and go to the Laguna Hills market, I was stunned to find a big sign saying "GRASS-FED BEEF AVAILABLE HERE TODAY," with a big guy in a Stetson sitting next to it.It turns out the guy in the Stetson is named Frank Fitzp

  October 22, 2009

• Dessert of the Week: Chocolate Croissant Bread Pudding at Opah Restaurant & Bar

  ​The chocolate croissant bread pudding at Opah Restaurant & Bar in Irvine earns the honor of being our first Dessert of the Week pick. This delicious creation is served with a bourbon creme anglaise sauce that will blow your mind. Top it off with a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream, fresh fruit and a dusting of powdered sugar. Every bite of this dessert fills your mouth with warm, melting milk chocolate. The temperature contrast with the ice cream adds dimension, and there's even a bit

  October 22, 2009

• 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 Jamaican 4x100 relay baton passing. They've made Avanti the place for innovative vegan cooking in Orange County since 2005, and the two concoct the best drinks this side of Memphis at the Santora. We nabbed

  October 27, 2009

• At the Farmer's Market: Apples and Stuff Made From Them

  Dave Lieberman​It's fall, which means it's apple season here in Southern California.Tilden Farms from Riverside has Sekai Ichi apples, which are thought to be a cross between Red Delicious and Golden Delicious. They're great for eating out of hand, with a lot of juice and none of the mealiness that tends to plague Red Delicious.Many vendors have Pink Lady apples this year, which are a cross between Golden Delicious and Lady Williams that originated in Australia. These are chameleon apples: You

  October 29, 2009

• Five Great Things To Do With That Jack O' Lantern On Nov. 1

  ingernet @ flickr.com CC BY-NC-ND 2.0Truly a woman after my own heart.​You bought the pumpkin, you carved it, the doorbell rang a hundred million times, and you gave out enough candy to fund an army of dentists for the next year.Now it's the day after Halloween and the jack o' lantern is headed for the trash--or is it?While it's true that most pumpkins of a size suitable for jack o' lanterns (jacks o' lantern?) are not bred for their flavor, all pumpkins are edible. Roasting the pumpkin usuall

  October 30, 2009

• At the Farmer's Market: The Sweetest Sweet Potatoes Ever

  The whole point of a farmer's market is to bring fresh, local food to people with as few intermediate steps as possible. While it's always fresh, sometimes the bounds of "local" get stretched. (Don't get me wrong--I am not about to give up my San Joaquin Delta asparagus--but calling that local to Irvine is stretching the bounds of reason.)And then there's Rui, the smiling, gracious woman behind the table of R Farms, near the center of the Irvine market, across from the giant hummus booth.Dave Li

  November 4, 2009