Nuts and Edible Seeds

Knafeh Cafe's 99 Ways of Sweet

[Hole In the Wall] This Anaheim bakery sells the best Middle Eastern pastries in Orange County

Go to Nimroz for an Afghan Holiday

[Hole In the Wall] This Lake Forest restaurant is lonely, so go give it some love!

Koo's Catering Truck: Are You Hot for Hotteok?

[Hole In the Wall] This Garden Grove food truck makes awesome Korean pancakes—but they're not pancakes!

On the Line: Mike Dimmitt of Garlic Scapes, Part Three

Creating a garlic dish that not only paired well with white wine, looked appealing when plated, but also didn't require silverware was something Garlic Scapes' Mike Dimmitt spent time conceptualizing. The recipe he shares with us fulfills all three requirements.  Mike also explained a common mi ... More >>

On The Line: Carmina Casso Of Ciao! Deli & Pizzeria, Part Three

​Our time with Carmina comes to a close as she shares a family recipe. While the pasta choice is left up to you, we're thinking spaghetti, a la Lady and the Tramp. If you're not salivating by now, perhaps you need to read part two. All we're gonna say is: more cheese, please! (like in those potent ... More >>

The Seabirds Truck e-Cookbook A Recipe For OC Weekly Readers

​ Have you ever wanted to cook delicious vegan food like the crew of OC's own Seabirds Truck? Well, fire up your tablets, because over the Christmas weekend, the Birds released an e-cookbook of the all-vegan luxe lonchera's greatest hits.

On the Line: Diane Yoon of Merely Sweets, Part Three

Photo by Kevin Lara​Our favorite thing about interviewing a baker: guaranteed dessert recipes! Make a batch of Diane Yoon's signature walflours for someone special (or someone you need a favor from). To learn more about our sweet subject, catch up on our coffeehouse interview with Yoon in parts on ... More >>

A Sneak Peek at Le Pain Quotidien, Newport Beach

The daily bread...​Signage announcing the upcoming Belgian bakery and café has been up for months. Situated directly across from La Brea Bakery inside Bloomingdale's, one can't help but wonder what makes Le Pain Quotidien any different from La Brea -- or any comparable brand, for that matter. Acc ... More >>

Dessert, Deconstructed: Mel i Matò

Dave Lieberman​Sometimes I'm in the mood for pie, cake or a baked fruit dish, and sometimes I can't be bothered. Sometimes I need something fast, when it's too hot to bake, and I turn to mel i matò, a Catalan dessert that's almost as simple as figs on a plate.Mel i matò is deceptively simple: it ... More >>

St. Roy Chef's Pub Is the Cure for the Common Gastropub

You can get great food, excellent beers and top-flight wines at this San Clemente bar—just don't call it a gastropub

Food Profiling: Hopkins AG Almonds

​When I hear the term "nonpareil," visions of candy and Rolls-Royces normally come to mind. To Dustin Hopkins, this is a French term for unparalleled; It's also the variety of almonds his father farms in Bakersfield. What began in 2009 as an alternative means of income in a single market has bloss ... More >>

How It's Made: Hans' Homemade Ice Cream

Christopher Victorio/OC WeeklyA batch of Praline Pecan goodness. ​Sure, it's only January, but ice cream is ice cream, and when it's Hans' ice cream, it's [insert wistful sigh] ice cream.   An engineer of frozen goodness, Hans Biermann has been churning out the richest, creamiest and arguably ... More >>

At the Farmers' Market: Green Walnuts

Flickr user amayu​Walnuts, like almonds, start off life on the tree as a soft fruit; as the fruit matures, the nut inside hardens inside a shell. Just like almonds, green walnuts are edible, though their window of availability is even shorter than their gelatinous, amandine cousins. Due to the unb ... More >>

A Cake for Any Fruit

Willy BlackmoreAlmond cake with white peaches​When summer fruit season is at its peak, as it is now, and the temperatures outside or rising, as they were last week, baking can be a uncomfortable task to face. Why sweat while the oven preheats when the fruit is so good to eat out-of-hand? But bake ... More >>

True Food Kitchen in Fashion Island Sets Opening Date

foxrc.com​Remember True Food Kitchen at Fashion Island? I wrote about it back in January. Well, the projected Spring 2010 opening date has come and gone, but this week, there was a press release that the restaurant--which touts itself as "celebrating high quality, locally-sourced ingredients ... More >>

Snacking in Farsi: Melon Seeds from Mission Ranch Market

Willy BlackmoreRed Melon Seed​Work took me far outside of my usual Long Beach, north Orange County eating territory the other day, to Mission Viejo, giving me the opportunity to wander around the Persian grocer Mission Ranch Market. As is often the case in any ethnic market in Oran ... More >>

Gabriel Caliendo of The Lazy Dog Cafe, Part Three

Kimberly Valenzuela​In the final installment of this week's On The Line, Executive Chef Gabriel Caliendo of The Lazy Dog Cafe shares with us a recipe for Cast Iron Idaho Trout with roasted summer vegetables, sea salt roasted marble potatoes and citrus-walnut brown butter.In case you missed it, you ... 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 >>

Life on the Veg: Taco Verde at Raw

Anyone that has been grocery shopping will know that one of the worst moves to make is to tour the isles on an empty stomach. Unless you've brought your mother along to help you "just say no," chances are you'll end up with a cart full of crap you didn't come for.I almost suffered this same fate the ... More >>

Whole Foods Recalling Hazelnuts Because of Salmonella

​Whole Foods is recalling organic and non-organic raw hazelnuts (known also as filberts) sold in bulk at stores in California, Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah and Washington. So far, according to the company, no illnesses have been reported. You can call 512-542-0656, for more info ... More >>

Dessert of the Week: Crazy Bananas at Cafe Tu Tu Tango

  After looking over the dessert menu at Cafe Tu Tu Tango, the choice seemed pretty clear for the Dessert of the Week: Crazy Bananas. With a description that included sliced bananas, vanilla bean ice cream, walnuts, sopapillas (think tortilla chip meets churro), whipped cream, and a ... More >>

Christmas Has Come Early: Posh Choc and Champers Tasting at Morton's

​And when we say champers, we mean the good stuff, and to go with it, Vosges Haut-Chocolat, no less. Yes, them of the bacon and chocolate combos, although, sadly, I can't find any of those on the following menu:Featured Wine and Champagne:Piper Sonoma BrutPiper-Heidsieck BrutPiper-Heidsieck Rose S ... More >>

Update: The ampm on Bristol and Red Hill Still Selling Expired Kit-Kats

​But now it appears that they're trying to hide them with cashews.The harrowing original tale here.IMPORTANT NOTE: The king-sized Kit-Kats, clearly visible in the picture, do not appear to be expired; at least, it's not visually obvious either way due to the lack of Batmans (I will check for sure ... More >>

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 d ... More >>

New Mother's Market Not Worth It--Yet

The latest Mother's Market had a soft opening this past weekend, and thank God for that: The proposed mother ship of O.C.'s O.G. hippy-dippy eco-food industry has a lot of work to do. I visited late Sunday, jonesing for some munchies. The deli portion of the place won't be finished until its grand ... More >>

Every Burger

Name: Every Burger Origin: Japan Found at: Freshia Market, Tustin Cost: $1.99 Ingredients: Wheat Flour, Sugar, Cacao Mass, Milk Powder, Palm Oil, Shortening, Margarine, Lactose, Cocoa Butter, Sesame Seed, Butter, Condensed Milk Powder, Egg, Corn Starch, Poppy Seed, Maltose, Wheat Meal, Gluco ... More >>

Foods to Show Country of Origin

According to various news reports and this one from ABC News, beginning this week, the USDA is requiring that all food retailers label some foods with their country of origin. The law, called COOL (Country of Origin Labeling) will mandate that the consumer is informed where all "raw beef, veal, lam ... More >>

[This Hole-In-the-Wall Life] Pozole Paradise

Breaking the rules at Las Brisas de Apatzingan

Santa Ana Savoring

Quick—Discover Jason’s, before everyone else does

Hits!

Stacks the Vinyl Authority

Not Just for the Sake of Crazy

Have your tea and eat it too at Chuao Chocolatier in Irvine

Persian Paradise

Enjoying Darband with the Farsi fanatic

No Man Is an Elvis

Stuffed on stuffed French toast at Two Umbrellas

Salamat Market and Deli

Healthy Inc.

Sidneys Cafe rides the resurgent health-food wave

Hopelessly New Age-Y But Its Great!

Screw Native Foods milieu and enjoy their vegan bounty

Mint Juleps, Cornholinand Memphis

Our suet-y Southerner squeals like a pig for Memphis crab cakes

Pine Nut Paradise

Breakfast, lunch and dinner with the Hawaris at Kareems

The OC Weekly Book Of Food Lists!

Palo Fields

The majestic meals of Caspian Restaurant

Chewing the Chatpatas

From Bollywood to La Palma with Haldirams Indian Munchies

Wandering the Dessert

Sarkis Pastry finds prosperity, peace in Anaheim

Piling On

Secrets of a sandwich star

Peanut Butter Wolf's Jukebox 45s

Hot Shank, Cool Jazz

Delicious Mediterranean fare at Byblos Cafe

Laguna Niguel

Cul-de-sacs and soccer fields

Planet of the AIDS

Thyme and Space

Anastasia is many places in one

Double Happiness

Finding inspiration at Ten Ten