New or long-standing, all restaurants have high hopes. It’s sad when one has to close, and more job loss isn’t good either. I just walked by Marie Callender’s Restaurant & Bakery in Costa Mesa, an old faithful to many and learned it’s no mas — No more Soup for me there. At least with this restaurant there are other locations to obtain whatever you’re going to miss.
After the Irvine Spectrum, the Cadillac Culinary Challenge Test Drive Event drives on.
As reported, I was one of five Food Blogger Judges at Cadillac’s Irvine stop.
As one lucky Judge, I got to taste the dishes prepared by Mary Sue Milliken and Yvon Goetz.
The event’s sponsors also include Share Our Strength, Bon Appétit and Epicurious.
Samples were delivered to the first two rows of the audience — Get to the next event early.
Halfway through Mary Sue’s sample the Judges were informed they’re to receive larger samples than the audience. Wow, okay. I quickly finished the small sample of Ceviche to prepare for the larger sample. Happiness, because it was perfectly tangy and spicy.
And then tried Chef Yvon Goetz dish, Chili Lime Rubbed Hawaiian Mahi Mahi (above).
Both dishes were impressive and the Mad Hungry Woman wrote more about ’em here.
Voting — Three of five Judges voted for Chef Yvon Goetz dish and two voted for Mary Sue’s.
Beautiful, fresh ingredients were used by both.
And the winner of this challenge was Chef Yvon Goetz.
I voted for Mary Sue’s Ceviche — It received the popular (audience) vote. No losers here.
I like taking photos of other bloggers taking photos of FOOD.
Before, during and after the competition, some test drove Cadillacs — Love the Escalade.
What a terrific, well run event — Check the schedule to see if it’s heading towards you.
Can I just travel the country judging food competitions? Thanks for the taste.
The Cadillac Culinary Challenge Test Drive Event made a stop at the Irvine Spectrum.
Chef Mary Sue Milliken went head-to-head with local Chef Yvon Goetz of The Winery Restaurant & Wine Bar. Both prepared Fish and I luckily got to judge one of the competitions.
Guess who won? One won the Judge’s vote and the other won the popular/audience vote.
All was nicely done as shown in this Guess Who Report — Back to Cadillac after we mack.
It’s Panama Joe’s in face only, but truly a Shark behind the awning, Baja Sharkeez that is.
It’s really not Panama Joe’s anymore, the local bar I liked most when living in Belmont Shore a lifetime ago. We loved dancing to their live bands — Let’s go crash that party down in Normaltown tonight and we’ll go skinny dippin’ in the moonlight, the Deadbeat Club in PJ days.
PJ’s was a kick-back, fun neighborhood bar and restaurant where we had some times, and it’s now marketed as a party-down place with distracting TV overload. BS is trying to be cool when PJ’s already was. Everyone at BS seemed nice but… RIP the real Panama Joe’s.
Oh Belmont Shore I have a special place for thee — Hadn’t been back for some time. Memory lane happened today with a stop at Shannon’s Bayshore for a Shoot the Root and game of pool. A lot has changed and much remains the same on Second Street. A good change for Bayshore is its longer bar that now stretches most the length of its narrow space.
Shoot the Root — A Shot of Root Beer Schnapps dropped into a glass of Beer.
I like the idea of the $2, $4, $6, $8 Menu at Denny’s and had to try something for $2.
Thumbs up on the $2 Biscuits and Gravy with Eggs — It beat other choices for lunch this day.
Also tried the Build Your Own Chicken Wrap for $4 — A fair amount of food, but no thanks.
And didn’t find anything irresistibly valuable under the $6 or $8 — Enlarge Menu to view.
This weekend the Cadillac Culinary Test Drive Challenge will be happening at the Irvine Spectrum Center. Mary Sue Milliken of Border Grill Restaurant & Truck (among other accolades) will be competing against local famous Chef Yvon Goetz of The Winery Restaurant & Wine Bar. I hope to be there on Saturday (or Sunday) to help JUDGE one of the six presentations / challenges and possibly test drive an Escalade. Good luck to both Chefs — See you there.
Check it out — La Espiga De Oro Panaderia. Remember what we said about it? And the verdict is… It’s as great as it looks and relatively inexpensive for the quality and splendor.
All that’s pictured totaled $8.55 — Why not take a box of this to the office instead of Donuts?
There’s a lot more to choose from than what you see here.
This fine Panateria is off 19th and Placentia in Costa Mesa. Have a nice day!
I’m gettin’ some asap, Mexican Sweet Bread (and Cookies) from La Espiga De Oro Bakery Panaderia and do believe I’m about to get hooked — I should’ve bought a few pieces when stumbling upon them the other day, but all seemed too busy to acknowledge the gringa.
Hhmmm, it’s okay — I studied the baked goods (in amazement) for a fair amount of time and can now be purposeful and confident when gettin’ my Panaderia on. It all looked so faultless.
Unfortunately no pictures were taken inside La Espiga De Oro and the photos outside do it no justice. The pictured Mexican Sweet Breads are borrowed from Texas Cooking. Our soon to be obtained and photographed Panaderia will convey what I say one fine day.
We liked the Crow Burger Kitchen, whew. Pre Nibbles of Tidbits we ate and drank at The Crow Bar and Kitchen in Corona Del Mar and haven’t been back. Didn’t have the best experience at the time — Food was not as described and we didn’t like their touted Bloody Mary. We like unique, but tasty too. We had high hopes for their distinctive menu and may need to give it another try. We’ll definitely go back to Crow Burger Kitchen for the Green Bean Fries.
It’s a limited menu at Crow Burger Kitchen — Mostly Burgers, matchless Fries and Beer.
We had the Cheeseburger Cheeseburger Cheeseburger, which includes Black Pepper Cheese, Cream Cheese and Goat Cheese. It’s rich but good and comes on a Wheat English Muffin, but we opted for a Buttermilk Bun. And a friend previously had the Green Label Burger, which was described as “excellent” — It’s 3 ounces larger than their other Burgers.
All Burger meat is fresh and ground in-house and we love the Fry Sauce selection.
And must also mention that the service at Crow Burger Kitchen was outstanding this day. We will be sure to try The Crow Bar in CDM again, as they must be doing something right — We’ll just have to find and eat [it] next time. Caw, caw.
Why must it take so long at the Staples Center to obtain food and drinks from a poor selection to later feel unsatisfied and ripped off. Parking was time consuming and expensive enough.
The food was mediocre at above average prices and served with no sense of urgency. Huh?
Thanks for the Keith Urban concert — Hardly know his songs, but he put on a good show, though he didn’t sing the one song I do know, love and was hoping to hear. But For The Grace Of God go I. Oh Lord I’d be lost but for it. And a positive aspect about the venue…
We like the Dessert Cart at the Staples Center, though it may only be available to the Suites.
Sunset on the Oceanside Pier — These photos almost look like paintings.
We valued the beauty and freedom of our drive from Newport to Oceanside and back.
And hark another Ruby’s Diner at the end of a Pier — Not a bad corner, reliable and agreeable.
I’m fascinated by old photographs and objects from days gone by and have often declared the following… I wish I could pick up an old or ancient object, close my eyes and step back in time to see it being used or displayed. Perhaps the Whisk, Potato Ricer or Masher above? It would be mind-blowing to instantly be transported to a place that once was, to silently observe the past life of an object you’re holding or seeing today. I’d want to take it all in, though I might be leery to learn more about a few of the pictured items, yikes, hahaha, hhmmm. 😉
Aetna wants you to join their Healthy Food Fight — FOOD Competitions are taking place at County Fairs and Festivals across the states. Aetna is actively in search of the most nutritious and best tasting recipe. All officially got cooking at the Los Angeles County Fair last week.
Semi-finalists (48) in LA, Dallas, Atlanta and Philadelphia prepared/will prepare their recipe LIVE to hopefully be chosen “the one” to represent their city at the final competition that’ll take place in New York in December. Anyway, look it up, I don’t need to know all that. I’m interested because my childhood friend, Denise Davidson Coulombe was a Semi-finalist.
Denise is the one prominently featured throughout and she made Turkey Vegetable Soup.
She chose an apron, was assigned a stove top, collected her ingredients and got cooking.
Judges and LA County Fair goers stopped by to watch and ask questions.
Presentation to the Judges…
More Semi-finalists presenting dishes to the Judges and Bloggers — All did a great job.
Check out the Aetna Healthy Food Fight website to view Semi-finalists’ recipes.
Denise did famously, but another was picked to represent LA — The Aetna crew will resurface at the Texas State Fair October 15 – 16, 2011. After our healthy competition was over, we shared Pink’s Chili Cheese Fries and a Chuckwagon Beef Brisket Sandwich, and did some wine tasting to celebrate healthiness and D’s win. Her family is proud. Cheers and congrats!
Don’t toss the SEEDS, bake ’em — Pumpkin Seeds are too easy to make, especially in October.
Hopefully this Shark didn’t eat any people — If so, we’re gonna eat more Shark.
Sharks should stick to consuming the above and/or other Fish. 😉
The pictured are part of an Exhibit at the LA Fair, which just swam town to I don’t know where.
If in the ocean or at a restaurant, keep an eye out or take a bite out.
A remarkable creature, and it’s tasty too — Sharka-meata-vegamin.
We see that you’ve been searching for Halloween ideas, thus we’ve gathered our previous posts and linked them here for easy access. How about some Fruit Punch with skeleton shaped Ice Cubes? The hands are easily made with rubber gloves filled with water and then frozen, but you’ll need to find a creative cast to make the face. Do you plan to decorate Halloween Cookies or Cupcakes? If so, several ideas can be found here, here, here, and here. Are you looking for the perfect Vodka for your Halloween Party? How about Dan Aykroyd’s Crystal Head? Or how about a Trick-Or-Eat Dinner at The Cellar in Fullerton? We went a couple years ago, though unsure if it’s happening again this year. We’ll report back about it and other Halloween ideas. Who’s gonna check me Boo? Happy Halloween.
Note: Thanks goes to our Guest Blogger Steven Woo in Washington, DC for the photo.
All wasn’t exactly pretty, but it sure was sweet.
Attended the Los Angeles Luxury CHOCOLATE SALON at the Pasadena Center Ballroom.
Chocolate combined with almost anything — One darling was the Chocolate Wine. Yes it did.
I was on the Salon Awards Tasting Panel and one favorite, Ciel tied for Best in Salon.
And David Bacco Chocolatier (above) with a Balsamic Reduction is Top Artisan Chocolatier.
We had fun trying the heat variations crafted by the Monterey Chocolate Company.
French Macarons, who isn’t loving them these days?! Cutting ’em up just didn’t seem right.
We needed more and larger samples in most cases — A true test you know.
As told I mainly anticipated the unique flavor combinations to be had and most were spot on.
And the above Ciel Gift Box would be a fantasy to receive. It also tied for Gold.
The Official Results are linked here — Gold, Silver and Bronze for all categories.
The Chocolates were sweet, but the space was too small and the lines were too long.
Jer’s Chocolates — I’m not a big Peanut Butter and Chocolate fan, but Jer’s is special. The people behind it are nice and Jerry happens to be my Dad’s and Bro-in-law’s name. Go Jer’sss!
Remember the Tequila? Well, the Chocolate Salon was interesting. Thank you TasteTV, etc.
It’s a coop in the translation of a “friendly society” of neighbors, friends of friends, long time patrons, regulars and the newly enlightened — It’s The Chicken Coop Restaurant at the point of Old Newport and Westminster Avenue. Dinner, lunch and/or drinks in the Bar is best.
The Prime Rib (top) was the special of this day. The Chicken Coop prices are comparably good and most entrees are served with a Salad, Baked Potato, Vegetables and Roll.
Broasted Chicken is a specialty — It’s crispy, juicy and pressure cooked to eliminate grease.
They have an Oyster Bar Menu too that offers Oysters Rockefeller, Steamed Clams, Baked Mussels, Mexican Shrimp Cocktails, Shrimp Scampi, Calamari Tacos and much more.
Enlarge MENUS for a better view.
Their Cadillac Margaritas and Bloody Mary’s are simply marvelous — Fly me to the Coop.
It’s happening NOW folks… OC Wine Week. It means several of the best restaurants in Orange County are offering prix fixe menus with course wine pairings — That’s FOOD and WINE for one fair price. It’s a great time to dine out. And for FOOD and BEER pairings OC Beer Week starts October 2nd, the day after OC Wine Week ends. Get out there and toast!
Old Newport Boulevard could tell some tales, from Sid’s on down to the Chicken Coop and extending both directions. Though Sid’s is no mas, we plan to enjoy the fair prices, neighborhood service, specials and specialties, complete meals, and good stiff drinks at the Chicken Coop, over and over again. More to come soon — Read what Yelpers are sayin’ now.
Tranquility Tuesday leaves room for a few words and perhaps a picnic on a Newport Bluff.
Interestingly the Tequila Alquimia may be our favorite part of the LA Luxury Chocolate Salon, just kidding, sorta. The Chocolates were good too when the lines went down, and the Tequila was needed to tolerate the lines. The Tequila was smoooooth and we enjoyed the nice family who made and generously poured it. As for the Chocolates, I just voted for the best.
As part of the Salon Awards Tasting Panel, I got to taste all and vote for my favorites. The official results will soon be posted, along with additional observations about the event.
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