Ready for Valentine's Day? Check out the Vampyre at Chapter One: the modern local. This cocktail features Angel's Envy Port Finished Whiskey, Cockburns Tawny Port, Angostura Bitters, Blood Orange Juice, Lemon Juice. Vampyre is beautiful, light citrus drink that balances the palette between each of the ingredients present. Mention Great Taste and get the Vampyre for just $6! Read more »
Filed under: Food for Thought, Weekly Cocktail
This beautifully-photographed coffee table volume by Jeff Morgan, the Domaine Chandon Cookbook, has 224 pages of California wine country cuisine from the venerable Domaine Chandon, French-owned winery of champagne style sparkling wines. The book’s introduction tells the story behind the vineyard’s creation in 1975. Read more »
Filed under: Food for Thought
Citrus is the winter fruit that keeps on giving. These juicy wonders brighten seafood, salads, meats and desserts. Versatile, the juice enhances sauces, the sections perk up any salad and the zests add aroma to any dish. In addition to vitamin C, citrus delivers potassium, folate, calcium, fiber and other nutrients.
Lemons and limes also make beautiful garnishes with their color, texture, fragrance and tartness. Balboa Bay Club Executive Chef Josef Lageder and Banquet Chef Michael Doyle shared some lovely citrus garnishes. According to Chef Lageder, all are simple enough to use in banquets. Read more »
Filed under: Food for Thought, L'entrée, Linda's on the Line
This cocktail is made with Wolfgang Puck Crème Caramel. All of Wolfgang Puck’s cold brewed iced coffees are brewed slowly with the cold brewed method producing a better taste than the usual hot brewed method. Cold brewing coffee makes a delicious beverage that is smooth, bold and extremely flavorful with less ‘bite’ and acidity than that of traditional, hot brewed coffee. Read more »
Filed under: Food for Thought, Weekly Cocktail
Mi Casa Restaurant in Costa Mesa was opened in 1972 by the late Barrie Moore. The restaurant is currently owned and operated by Ryan Moore and looks and feels much the same as when it opened nearly 40 years ago, with a relaxed casual setting for locals to dine with relatives and friends.
X-O Martini
Patron XO and Tres Leches Liqueur with a splash of Frangelico for a sweet sipping tequila treat.
The best part – say Great Taste sent you and get $2 off!
Mi Casa Restaurant
949-645-7626
Filed under: Food for Thought, Weekly Cocktail
enjoy contemporary American classics and great cocktails.Filed under: Food for Thought, Weekly Cocktail
Currently ablaze with 3.6 million lights in a Christmas wonderland, the Historic Mission Inn’s history and architecture make a visit a must for anyone visiting California’s Inland Empire. There’s still time to go, the Festival of Lights runs until January 8, 2012!
The Historic Mission Inn Hotel & Spa, a National Historic Landmark, is about an hour’s drive east of Los Angeles in Riverside.
The annual Festival of Lights in its 19th year beckons thousands of families to enjoy the display of multi-colored bulbs. Disney-like animated elves, angels, nutcrackers and other figures complement costumed carolers, falling snow (weekends) and fireworks.
Please visit The Historical Mission Inn for more information.
Filed under: Food for Thought, Linda's on the Line
Starfish Red Dragon Holiday Cocktail 
Available the month of December
StarfishLaguna
Acclaimed restaurateur, Nancy Wilhelm and Chef Jarvis Yuan bring elevated Asian street food to the dining scene, with Lobster Pad Thai, Banana Leaf-Steamed Fish and the Emperor’s Chow Mein. The vibrant, horseshoe-shaped bar will further welcome you as you observe muddled libations, Asian mojitos, and martinis being prepared. Conveniently located across from The Montage Resort with ample parking. Join this sleek and sexy restaurant for lunch, dinner, and happy hour or call ahead for carry-out.
Mention Great-Taste Magazine and receive $3 off the Red Dragon Martini in December. Read more »
Filed under: Food for Thought, Weekly Cocktail
An over-nighter at Hotel Maya in Long Beach is the perfect quick getaway. Take the short trip for the fresh perspective and breath of air needed for a mini-vacation. The Latin accented vibe, sun-filled lobby and view of downtown Long Beach may be just what the doctor ordered. The warm chocolate chip cookies are a delicious welcome at check-in, a signature of DoubleTree by Hilton. Read more »
Filed under: Food for Thought, Profiles
The American Beverage Institute Urges Congress to Reject Funding for Invasive Alcohol Detectors in All Cars
Washington—In recognition of the December 5 anniversary of the ratification of the 21st Amendment to the Constitution repealing Prohibition, the American Beverage Institute (a restaurant trade association) urged Americans to push back against anti-alcohol groups seeking to marginalize responsible social drinking.
ABI’s website, TheNewProhibition.com, profiles anti-alcohol activist groups such as the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Alcohol Justice, Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), and the Center for Alcohol Marketing and Youth and the anti-alcohol policies they promote. Read more »
Filed under: Food for Thought
Bad Santa! Santa got drunk on bourbon and tossed an elf into the snow.
The cakes are little snow piles of chocolate bourbon coconut cake, iced with vanilla buttercream and finished off with chopped coconut snow.
The elf feet are hand-sculpted of green and red chocolate, and are then attached to white and dark chocolate striped straw legs with melted white chocolate. After resting for a few minutes, the legs are then gently placed into the snow mounds.
Kimberly Bailey, owner, baker, artist, dishwasher www.thebutterend.com
Filed under: Food for Thought
My most recent overnight sensation took place at The Belamar Hotel in Manhattan Beach, a hidden gem tucked into a residential zone of Manhattan Beach. The hotel’s restaurant Second Story, as named, is located on the second floor. All of the team members that I met were some of the most hospitable folks that I've met in a long time. Read more »Filed under: Food for Thought, Profiles
STACKED: Food Well Built just opened its third location in Cerritos to guests ready to use 
iPads to stack their own custom made burger, pizza or salad.
CERRITOS, Ca. Nov. 17, 2011—A new fast casual dining option, STACKED, opened today to diners eager to try design-your-own meals. After being seated, servers demo the iPads on each table, then leave guests to play with the rolling menus of burgers, pizzas, salads and sausages; along with endless toppings, sauces and extras. Read more »
Filed under: Food for Thought, Linda's on the Line
Well-respected veteran of Orange County's food scene, chef and restaurant owner Zov Karamardian has published her second cookbook Simply Zov: Rustic Classics with a Mediterranean Twist. Karamardian makes sure that cooks of all levels are comfortable. Read more »
Filed under: Food for Thought
Experience a traditional crawfish boil without leaving the OC 
this fall at Memphis at the Santora. Crawfish look like miniature lobster, taste just as sweet but are freshwater delicacies now raised commercially in Louisiana where riends and family gather to feast on pounds of the creatures found in the mud of the bayous.
The Crawfish Boil at Memphis includes 1.5 lbs of fresh crawfish, smoked sausage, corn, potatoes, cornbread muffins, salad and one Dixie Lager per guest all served on New Orleans butcher paper for $30 a person. Read more »
Filed under: Food for Thought, Menu Specials, Special Promotions
For the January/February issue of Great Taste Magazine we are working on a duo feature about marketing through social media; Twitter, Facebook etc. Our experts, Jennifer Morris of AjendaPR, and Genae Girard, have practical suggestions for how and what to email, tweet and post. The word is out that social media is an effective and fast way to reach customers and potential customers. You’ll find practical new ideas to implement right away.
Filed under: Food for Thought
Chef Michael Chiarello’s Bottega Restaurant is one of Napa Valley’s most popular new locations. His book, aptly named Michael Chiarello’s Bottega, has received as much critical acclaim as the restaurant itself with award nominations by the IACP and the James Beard Foundation. Read more »
Filed under: Food for Thought
Filed under: Food for Thought
Newport Beach, CA – Top musicians will perform to raise funds for the “Jeff Golub Medical Fund” on Thursday, September 15 at 7:00 p.m. With all of the entities involved in the production donating their time, resources and talent, 100% of the proceeds will assist Golub with mounting medical expenses resulting from the recent unexpected loss of the talented guitarist’s sight.
Filed under: Food for Thought
It is arguable that coffee profiles just as wine does. Beans are carefully cultivated just like grapes in vast regions of the world. Coffee begins and caps off a great meal. Though coffee lovers enjoy the convenience of available coffee shops offering their favorite brews, many gallons are consumed within other outlet types in the foodservice industry. Consumers crave variety, freshness, and sustainability among a handful of other qualities die hard coffee aficionados look for. Many don’t realize the sophistication of care it takes to properly brew and maintain a great cup of java. Representatives at our coffee supplier, F. Gaviña & Sons, Inc., Read more »
Filed under: Food for Thought
Loving our new cookbook, Secrets of the Sommeliers! Learning all about wine making, tasting, and pairing. A very educational and fun read; Rajat Parr’s expertise shows in anecdotes from his experience as a Sommelier and his easily digestible instructions for pairing and tasting. More…
Filed under: Food for Thought
January/February 2011
By Kelly O’Quinn
We all know why gourmet food trucks are sky-rocketing in popularity among foodies – reasonably priced, delicious food that meets you there – but why are so many chefs switching over to the mobile eatery craze? Chef Joseph Youkhan, who recently made the switch from restaurant to food truck, took some time to answer our seemingly endless questions on the behind-the-scenes work that goes into starting a gourmet food truck.
Filed under: Food for Thought
The BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico has been predicted to spread as far as Europe and the arctic – and we are already starting to see the devastating effects of the accident. Along with the detrimental destruction to the environment, the spill will also affect much of the Gulf’s wildlife – which means seafood. So how is the oil spill going to affect the restaurant industry?
Filed under: Articles, Food for Thought