We continue our Q N A with Chef Gabbi, and we ask why there's no signage for their incognito restaurant. Click here if you missed part one. Check back tomorrow for a recipe!
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Who's your favorite celebrity chef?
Thomas Keller
Who's a celebrity chef you're tired of?
Bobby Flay
What's your proudest moment as a chef?
Cooking for my kids and getting the thumbs up from them, they are my toughest critics!
Favorite music to cook by:
Disco..haha
Best food city in America:
New York
Favorite restaurant in America:
Dawat Indian Cuisine in Manhattan.
What would you like to see more of in Orange County from a culinary standpoint?
Diners going out of their comfort zone and becoming more adventurous eaters.
What would you like to see less of in Orange County from a culinary standpoint?
Stereotyping Mexican cuisine, there is a lot more to our food then just tacos and burritos.
What's your favorite cookbook?
Bouchon by Thomas Keller.
What's the weirdest thing you've ever eaten?
Grasshoppers
You're at the market. What do you buy two of?
Bottles of wine.
What's your weirdest customer request?
Asking for Ceviche without the seafood.
What's your favorite OC restaurant(s) other than your own?
Marche Moderne in Costa Mesa.
What's the hardest lesson you've learned?
To be patient and to not dive into things without thinking it through.
Who's your hero, culinary or otherwise?
My parents
What cuisine that you are unfamiliar with would you want to learn more about and why?
Indian food, there's so much flavor and they cook with a lot of spice.
If you could invite any chef into your kitchen as a chef de cuisine for a day, whom would it be?
Patricia Quintana, Chef/Owner of Izote in Mexico City.
What was the original reason that you didn't put signage in front of the building?
Before Gabbi's Mexican Kitchen opened, the city of Orange had some issues with the specs of our sign. So instead of waiting for the city's approval and losing potential revenue, we just decided to open for business without a sign.
What's your reason now?
No need for a sign now, although there is a subtle “g” above our hostess stand.
What's next for you?
My cookbook and maybe one day, more sleep.
What do you hope for your business in five years?
Continued success at Gabbi's Mexican Kitchen and for my product line. Hopefully we will also be able to open a new location within five years.
What about in ten years?
Maybe my own cooking show…
Gabbi's Mexican Kitchen, 141 South Glassell, Orange (714) 633-3038; www.gabbipatrick.com.
Open 7 days a week 11am – 11pm.
A contributing writer for OC Weekly, Anne Marie freelances for multiple online and print publications, and guest judges for culinary competitions. A Bay Area transplant, she graduated with a degree in Hospitality Management from Cal Poly Pomona. Find her on Instagram as brekkiefan.
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