It’s been proven that certain colors can increase appetite. Red, for example, can raise blood pressure and heart rate, as well as make you hungry. Beige, at least for me, reminds me to drive the speed limit and put both hands on the steering wheel, especially in Irvine. It’s an age-old cliché, but over the […]
Drink of the Week
Eat This and Drink This Now! Herding Cocktails at Vaca
Think there are enough ways to tickle your brain cells and taste buds with jitters-inducing, delicious coffee? Think again. Aside from award-winning local roasters, there are craft beer-coffee hybrids such as Noble Ale Works’ decadent Naughty Sauce, Beachwood’s Pablo Escobeer and Chapman Crafted’s Slow Riser. But caffeinated-beer-inspired cocktails that contain no beer? What kind of […]
Eat This and Drink This Now: TRADE Food Hall’s Bites and Booze
For whatever reason, I often get called “boss” when dining. There are certain places where I expect to hear it, such as a recent family gathering at a Chili’s in the Inland Empire, but not in Irvine. So hearing, “Hey, boss” as I walked into TRADE Food Hall’s Center Hub made me take note. “Hey, […]
Blinking Owl Where the Heck is Scandinavia? Our Drink of the Week!
When contemplating Fall cocktail names, Blinking Owl’s beverage director Megan Barton asks, “how does WuTang Jam Ain’t Nothin to Fig Wit sound?” while attaching a WuTang lapel pin to the glass. The drink, which is still being developed for Fall, has their Old Tom Gin, fig jam, lemon, pineapple, and Angostura bitters. But it’s still summer, and there’s […]
Eat This and Drink This Now! Tear Into Ancient Grains and Booze at Tana
Not all eating experiences need to be educational. However, sometimes a dish is so foreign that it needs to be broken down and equated into something familiar. More than a decade ago, I had Ethiopian food for the first time in San Francisco’s Haight district, and it made quite the impact. Once I got over […]
Eat and Drink This Now! 320 Main’s Tiki Throwdown
We’re probably years away from robotic bartenders, but if any place could pull it off, it would probably be a tiki bar. Imagine thatched roofs, tiki mugs and a team of Westworld-like Don the Beachcomber robots blending tropical juices and rums, stopping periodically to oil up the joints of a Trader Sam’s Kelly Merrell animatronic […]
Eat This and Drink This Now! The Ranch’s Tomato Splendor
I often refer to my daughter as my little Pygmalion—sometimes for the classic George Bernard Shaw play reference, but as her escargot shot from her tongs and hit my cocktail during dinner, the term took on a totally new meaning. You see, the movie Pretty Woman with Julia Roberts and Richard Gere is a modernized […]
Eat and Drink This Now: Water Grill’s Raw Bar and a Pimm’s Cup Riff
When a restaurant has multiple bars to choose from, it can be a game of being that awkward teenager trying to find the cool table to sit at. At Water Grill, across from South Coast Plaza, my choice of bar neighbors consists of various cellphone-blabbing businessmen, a current-age stunt-double cast of Sex and the City, […]
Eat This and Drink This Now: Juliette Kitchen + Bar
I have a theory: If a restaurant serves a quality steak tartare, odds are its burger will be life-changing in some way. To test this theory, I’m at one of Newport Beach’s hidden gems, Juliette Kitchen + Bar, admiring the cozy wine-barrel-staved bar with my angsty 11-year-old daughter, hoping there is something that catches her […]
Eat This and Drink This Now! Farmhouse at Roger’s Gardens’ New Summer Menu
I have a crazy theory regarding seasons in SoCal: Various fruits and vegetables ripen according to ladies’ fashion. Wait, hear me out! When women wear boots and sweaters, you’re likely to find chard, beets and hardy herbs at the local farmers’ market. As boots are shed in the warmer months, berries, currants and passionfruits […]
Tequila Day at Puesto, Our Drink of the Week!
I once saw a video online with the title, “Tequila Suicide,” where an older Swedish man-bunned gentleman is seated at a table with tequila, lime, and salt. He quickly lines the salt on his wrist, SNORTS IT, woofs the shot with an inverted belch, then rubs two limes in his eyeballs before banging his head […]
Eat This and Drink This Now: Bizen Beer Bar and Okayama Kobo Bakery & Cafe
“Sir, would you like a freshly baked pretzel?” Jolted from my reading, I asked, “Huh? Are these free?” “Yes, sir, we bake them next door and bring them over fresh for our beer bar.” Slightly confused, I pinched myself. “Sure, I’ll take one,” I said, ripping off the outer edge and shoving the hot, salty […]
Eat This and Drink This Now: Bourbon Steak’s Martini Cart
Most articles about the martini start off with some tired James Bond/Don Draper reference, but here in Orange County, the real star is no doubt Lucille Bluth from the-rescued-by-Netflix Arrested Development. If the narcissistic matriarch were to experience Bourbon Steak’s tableside martini cart, she would undoubtedly roll her eyes, making some snide joke that she […]
Eat and Drink This Now! Cucina Enoteca’s All New Cocktail Menu
A good bartender is like the most trusted hair stylists: They have similar aprons, and sometimes that boost of confidence you get with a great drink can be matched with getting a spiffy haircut. When you find the right bar/hair person, it’s sort of a match made for life. And if they leave their job, […]
Eat and Drink This Now: El Mercado’s New Summer Cocktails
“Is a Negroni without Campari really a Negroni?” I think to myself, sitting patiently at El Mercado’s bar on the east side of downtown Santa Ana. Head barman, Cesar Cerrudo, hand-saws a clear ice chunk like some sort of handyman, plops it in my glass, then swizzles Chartreuse, smoky mezcal, and Americano Aperitivo together, clipping […]
DTSA’s 1st Annual DAQ-OFF, Our Drink(s) of the Week!
It is often said that when a French chef is looking to hire cooks, they have them prepare a classic omelet during an interview. On paper this may sound like an easy task, but there are technical things at play to achieve perfection. When getting to know a new bar, I often apply the classic daiquiri approach to […]
Drink of the Week: Mai Tai at Wahoo’s
Known for its tasty fish tacos and salsa you can eat with a spoon, Wahoo’s continues to crank out fast-casual, Baja-inspired delights. Three OC Wahoo’s locations (Fashion Island, Irvine Spectrum and Huntington Beach) now also feature a full bar, and surprisingly, the best drink on the menu isn’t the margarita, but rather the mai […]
Drink of the Week: Sergio Smash at Pueblo
As days get warmer, we suggest you sit at Pueblo’s small bar—or even better, at one of the counters out front—as you enjoy a steady stream of classic tapas, including the charred goat cheese, queso fundido spread with black truffle and honey, and the crunchy bite-sized croquetas with creamed cod and potato topped with manchego. […]
Drink of the Week: Lobo Del Mar at Lola Gaspar
SanTana’s Lola Gaspar doesn’t mess around when it comes to fútbol. It’s one of the best bars in Orange County to catch matches year-round, regularly screening its beloved Barca for fans to enjoy. We recommend you start practicing your chant because you can expect this tiny spot to be extra rowdy for the World Cup, […]
Drink of the Week: El Guapo at Tempo Urban Kitchen
With a happy hour offered Monday through Friday, Tempo Urban Kitchen has one thing on its mind: puro pinche pari. Its chingon bartenders are crafting house cocktails that are robust, precisely made and easy to enjoy on a scale between refreshing and spirituous. Plus, they specialize in the agaves, so snag a seat at the […]
Drink of the Week: Mezcal Flight at Lola’s Mexican Cuisine
Although Lola’s Mexican Cuisine in Long Beach has a well-deserved reputation for its unique craft cocktails, the restaurant also serves both tequila and mezcal flights that pair perfectly with a selection of happy-hour shareables such as the succulent tinga tostaditas, handmade sopes and queso fundido. My favorite is the mezcal flight, which transported me back […]