Fruits and Vegetables

How Disgusting is McDonald's Jalapeño Cheddar McChicken Sandwich?

​Before you dismiss me as a corporate-hating elitist...well, maybe I'm the former, for sure. But I do not reflexively hate McDonald's. I still maintain their ham Egg McMuffin is one of the great fast-food creations, one that spurs me to eat four in a sitting, while their small apple pies, gooey an ... More >>

On The Line: Dave Dennis of Matador Cantina, Part Three

Photo by Amy Kaplan​Our final installment of On The Line this week has chef Dave Dennis filling us in on his chili relleno recipe. Deep fried and stuffed with cheese, this is almost as glorious as what an El Torito Grill might serve up.To catch up on previous days, you can click here and here.

New Mexico Finally Getting Around to Defending Its Chiles from Imposters

Green chile on fries at Blake's Lotaburger...​That legendary chronicler of the American Southwest, Charles Fletcher Lummis, liked to refer to New Mexico as the Land of Poco Tiempo, and while the term is really a bunch of fantasy-heritage hooey, there's a certain point behind it. Time in the Land o ... More >>

Bhut Jolokia, a.k.a the Ghost Pepper: The Most Overrated Chili Pepper on Earth

Yesterday, I went to Taco Asylum, the current It place of OC dining. You'll have to wait for my review of it when I have the time to write it (probably tomorrow; editing Edwin's review for next week right now), but I did want to devote a separate post to one of the ingredients it's making a shitload ... More >>

Forget Five Guys Burgers: Why Can't We Get a Blake's Lotaburger?

In retrospect, I should've taken a better picture...​Finally got around to trying the much-hyped Five Guys Burgers and Fries, and the verdict is...eh. Not meh: they make a good burger, better than the chains for the most part, but not as good as In-N-Out by any sense of the imagination. And defini ... More >>

Five Great Cooling Soups for Summer

Flickr user niecieden​Driving through the 104°F (40°C) Central Valley today was a stinging reminder that summer is in full swing. Here in Orange County, the worst of the heat is yet to come, but when it does hit in August and September, appetites will be blunted and we naranjeros will be looking ... More >>

At the Farmers' Market: Plums and Pluots and Apriums, Oh My!

Dave LiebermanApriums (yellow) and pluots (red-purple)​Fruit season is heavily upon us, with all the stone fruit flooding the market. You'll see the end of the season's apricots and a whole host of plums, pluots, plumcots and apriums, all of which are tasty witness to the fact that all stone fruit ... More >>

Dee Nguyen of Break of Dawn, Part 3

Photo by Kimberly Valenzuela​Stick a Fork In It asked Chef Dee Nguyen of Laguna Hills' Break of Dawn if he would be willing to share a recipe; he responded with this amazing-sounding recipe for an egg casserole: tomato- and Thai basil-braised eggs with spring vegetables and mozzarella cheese and g ... More >>

Five Real Mexican Foods That Should Be More Common

pbe @ flickr.com CC BY-SA 2.0Pambazo: the illegitimate child of French toast and panini.​One of the foodie complaints about so-called "Mexican" restaurants in the United States is that the food on offer is not usually remotely like the food served in México. Mexicans at home don't eat burritos; t ... More >>

Persian, Part 2

Welcome back to Ethnic Eating 101! As promised, today is about soup, stew and bread.First, though, let's dispense with the question of what you're supposed to do with the plastic sack of freshly-cut bread, butter, onion halves, lemon halves and ground sumac packets you get at Wholesome Choice, and w ... More >>

Green Papayas

markuz @ flickr.com CC BY-NC-ND 2.0​Is there anything that doesn't grow in California (besides sour cherries)? Even the fruits associated more with tropical Mexico or Hawai'i are able to grow here. Papaya trees are suddenly everywhere, looking like palm trees with jagged leaves and clusters of hug ... More >>

Recipe of the Week: Chiles Rellenos de Picadillo

El Pato sauce... is there anything it can't do? It turns plain old ground turkey into delicious picadillo, which gets stuffed; add it to your favorite taco filling; use it as a base for queso dip.This week's recipe, which features this wunder-sauce, is not a classic chile relleno (it isn't battered ... More >>

Recipe of The Week: Not Quite David Chang's Brussels Sprouts

So about those fucking Brussels sprouts. David Chang's advice that you "can't fuck them up. Cook the shit out of them; just don't turn them to charcoal," is the most basic and probably best of recipes for the vegetable. Just add salt. But for self-avowed 'sprout haters, such a purist approach can be ... More >>

Dueling Dishes: Battle Empanada

Dave Lieberman​Empanada isn't a very specific word in Spanish. It just means something enveloped in dough, something "em-breaded". It doesn't prescribe the filling, the shape or even the method of cookery. Beef Wellington would technically be an empanada, as would a deep-fried pig in a blanket.Usu ... More >>

Five Great Salads for the New Year

cdresz @ flickr.com CC BY-NC 2.0But I weighed 170 lbs. before Thanksgiving!​As I was at Northgate Market buying supplies for New Year's Eve, I overheard this conversation near the limones: "Buy a lettuce, OK? After the holiday we're only eating salad for a week."Ah, the holiday de-tox period: a ru ... More >>

Dessert of the Week: Hawaiian Shaved Ice at Ono Ono

Jessica Ford Hawaiian Shaved Ice​Ono Ono in Tustin may not be the finest dining experience--you order at the front counter and the food is brought to your table--but the place has the Hawaiian atmosphere down. With a Hawaiian-inspired mural and palm tree in the entry, Ono Ono recreates a ... More >>

Life on the Veg: Dolsot Bibimbap at Kaju Tofu in Garden Grove

Grace LeIt's HOT.​ What better way to deal with this freakishly cold SoCal weather than by counter-attacking with some tongue-singeing Korean food? Dolsot (aka or stone pot) bibimbap is a wonderful way to keep your belly warm during T-shit unfriendly weather and Kaju Tofu in Garden Grove does it r ... More >>

At the Farmer's Market: Peaches (Maybe)

Dave Lieberman'Tis the last peach of summer left rip'ning alone...​That's right, peaches--maybe.Yes, it's mid-November. Yes, it's already snowing all over the purple mountains' majesty and the fruited plains east of here. People in New York are settling in for a long winter of imported Israeli pro ... More >>

Life on the Veg: Veggie Stack at Memphis Soul Cafe

Grace Le​ The biggest grievance vegetarians have while dining out is most likely going to be lack of selection. Most restaurants think they've got all their bases covered by keeping a few boxes of frozen garden patties in stock and a few salads on the menu. Upon first glance, Memphis Soul Cafe's m ... More >>

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 fo ... More >>

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 tha ... 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 >>

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 fr ... More >>

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 "cock ... More >>

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 ... More >>

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 nort ... More >>

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 ... More >>

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, Sodi ... More >>

Grub Guide

Soil to Soul

Orange County’s freshest farmers, farmers markets, food purveyors—and the chefs who love them

Out of the Ashes

The delectable saga of Thai Nakorn enters its third act

Did You Take Your Pill?

Arnolds Buffet Restaurant: Still hot at 55!

Super Fantastisch

Loving just about everything at Biggs

This Hole-in-the-Wall Life

The Glory of It Thali

This Week in Squash

Thai Bistro Cuisine

This Week in More Randomness

Healthy Inc.

Sidneys Cafe rides the resurgent health-food wave

Diamonds in the Bulk

Eat Like a Gourmand at 99 Cents Only Stores

Caravana Chicken

This Week in The Old Guard

Meat Me in Hell

A guide to great food

Best Dining

Checklist, Please!

Food at the Orange County Fairpart yum!

Nice Dish!

100 things you should put in your mouth

Learn Italian Fast

In the midst of Soviet-style shopping, Sapori Trattoria

After-Dinner Tort?

Fine dining for the civic-center crowd at Shellys Courthouse Bistro

Power Plants

Vien Huong gets the most out of vegetables

Reinheitsgebot!

God bless you, and pass the garlic fries

A Bit of A-Roy!

Little Thai Wave is a monsoon of flavor