Twice a month, legendary bartender/chef/restaurant insider Dave Mau pops by Stick A Fork In It to chime in about a random OC food or drink musing of his choice. Enjoy! It’s no secret that the last year has been a tough one for me. Tough by third world standards? Probably not. Tough by mine? Affirmative. It’s […]
RIP, Anthony Bourdain
Thankfully, I’m beyond the hero worship phase of my life—at least of nonfictional ones and for sure I generally don’t idolize people I don’t know personally. I dig it: Gandalf and Colonel Kilgore are rad, but outside a few other ethereal examples, I rarely put anyone on a pedestal. The literal handful I do […]
The C-Words(s): Too Many Chefs in the Kitchen
Twice a month, legendary bartender/chef/restaurant insider Dave Mau pops by Stick A Fork In It to chime in about a random OC food or drink musing of his choice. Enjoy!! “Esse Quam Videri” – To be rather than appear. A couple occurrences gave rise to this week’s post – a serendipitous confluence of events. The […]
Thoughts on the Bartending Craft for First-Timers
Twice a month, legendary bartender/chef/restaurant insider Dave Mau pops by Stick A Fork In It to chime in about a random OC food or drink musing of his choice. Enjoy!! It’s been the better part of three decades behind the bartending stick and I proudly wouldn’t take a moment of it back. Its chaotic sonnet […]
Go Love the Curious Charms of Fresno Before It’s Too Late
Life is providence, and providence is life. You can debate the specifics of how it works, but it’s as true as gravity or death that the Universe and the Good Lord dole out what they think you need. Pain and loss, gain and glorious fortune, the machinations of fate turn, grind and seem to dispense […]
It’s Time to Turn the Bar into a No-Politics Zone
Twice a month, legendary bartender/chef/restaurant insider Dave Mau pops by Stick A Fork In It to chime in about a random OC food or drink musing of his choice. Enjoy!! I’ve witnessed two barroom stabbings during my booze-soaked tenure on this planet. Well, at least two that I can remember. There could be more lost […]
Life and Loss With the Closing of Rancho De Mendoza in Downtown SanTana
Twice a month, legendary bartender/chef/restaurant insider Dave Mau pops by Stick A Fork In It to chime in about a random OC food or drink musing of his choice. Enjoy!! A long time ago, and in a flawed but near perfect world, there existed an epic restaurant: El Poche Cafe, on Mission Boulevard in San […]
Welcome to $19 Dollar Salads, Or: The Coming Restaurant Industry Implosion No One Talks About
Twice a month, legendary bartender/chef/restaurant insider Dave Mau pops by Stick A Fork In It to chime in about a random OC food or drink musing of his choice. Enjoy!! There’s a lot of talk going around about the upcoming apocalypse on the monetary side of the restaurant industry. “Apocalypse” might be a little alarmist—that […]
A Visit to Tulare's Tweaked-Out McDonald's Triggers Memories of when McD's Didn't Suck
Twice a month, legendary bartender/chef/restaurant insider Dave Mau pops by Stick A Fork In It to chime in about a random OC food or drink musing of his choice. Enjoy!! The Tulare McDonalds off the 99 North was nothing less than a scene from Beyond Thunderdome. A war zone like Fallujah or Aleppo, but instead […]
Peter Siebert, Longtime Musician of OC Dining Scene, Passes Away
This week marked the sad and unexpected passing of Peter Siebert, a friend to all and a true gent loved by many, especially in OC's dining scene, especially by the customer and staff at Memphis in Costa Mesa and the late, great SanTana location. His jazzy interpretations of classics and obscure songs alike entertained guests and workers […]
Fake Food Allergies are Pathetic and Ruining OC Dining
Twice a month, legendary bartender/chef/restaurant insider Dave Mau pops by Stick A Fork In It to chime in about a random OC food or drink musing of his choice. Enjoy!! There is a buddy of mine in The Biz who had a pretty successful shop in central OC for a stretch—really well-regarded, and the food […]
Missoula's Heart And Soul: The Oxford
Twice a month, legendary bartender/chef/restaurant insider Dave Mau pops by Stick A Fork In It to chime in about a random OC food or drink musing of his choice. Enjoy!! I am a Westerner. I'm not proud of all of it, nor am I awash in self-loathing because of it, but I am Western in […]
Let the High Sierra Call You Back Home
Two decades have passed since I first made my way up Kaiser Pass Road, and I’ve spent every summer since in the High Sierra as a back-country cook in a region that stretches from the north end of Sequoia National Park across the Range of Light and up toward Yosemite. Both the great park itself […]
Beloved Old Towne Orange Server Passes Away; Donate to his Family’s Fund
The Orange Circle lost a smiling face and staple of the restaurant community there this last weekend when a beloved personality tragically passed away at the age of 21. “On May 21st we shockingly lost Rodrigo Salinas,” wrote his family on a GoFundMe page set up to pay for funeral costs. “He leaves behind his […]
Watson’s Cafe in Old Towne Orange Reopens: A Review!
Twice a month, legendary bartender/chef/restaurant insider Dave Mau pops by Stick a Fork In It to chime in about a random OC food or drink musing of his choice. Enjoy!! It’s no secret I have a special affinity for the Orange Circle (or the Plaza, depending on your vernacular). I’ll make a detour just to […]
Seven OC Bartender Archetypes
Twice a month, legendary bartender/chef/restaurant insider Dave Mau pops by Stick A Fork In It to chime in about a random OC food or drink musing of his choice. Enjoy!! We live in the midst of archetypes, even in the world of drink-slinging. Plato’s Third Realm holds true: things simply exist—sometimes for no sensible reason—and […]
People Who Bring “Comfort Animals” to Restaurants Are Self-Centered Douchebags
Twice a month, legendary bartender/chef/restaurant insider Dave Mau pops by Stick A Fork In It to chime in about a random OC food or drink musing of his choice. Enjoy!! Two recent events prompted this week’s post: The first was a South Coast Plaza dog fight incident worthy of a Sam Peckinpah movie where I […]
The REAL Reason Why the Moscow Mule Was Invented and is Now Popular
Twice a month, legendary bartender/chef/restaurant insider Dave Mau pops by Stick A Fork In It to chime in about a random OC food or drink musing of his choice. Enjoy!! The historical perspective looking back at cocktail history has always fascinated me. It’s one thing to look at how, when and why a cocktail came […]
Exactly Why Is TK Burger So Damn Good?!?!?!?!
Twice a month, legendary bartender/chef/restaurant insider Dave Mau pops by Stick A Fork In It to chime in about a random OC food or drink musing of his choice. Enjoy!! Let's face it: downtown HB blows. I was literally right in the middle of things when the 1986 OP Pro riots started and, by the […]
The OC Food Scene, 20 Years Ago
Twice a month, legendary bartender/chef/restaurant insider Dave Mau pops by Stick A Fork In It to chime in about a random OC food or drink musing of his choice. Enjoy!! "Time just gets away from us" -Charles Portis, True Grit The OC food scene 20 years ago was a much different creature. It was both […]
6 Tips for Those That Dare Become a Chef
Twice a month, legendary bartender/chef/restaurant insider Dave Mau pops by Stick A Fork In It to chime in about a random OC food or drink musing of his choice. Enjoy! It's no secret I've been around the block and back again in The Biz. In fact, I've been back around a third time for one […]