SoCal Restaurant Show

Happy 4th of July Weekend. Have fun but be safe, too… Now a sparkling preview of this Saturday’s celebratory show. It’s not, with profuse apologies, for dieters. If we’re successful we will always leave you incredibly hungry and thirsty. In our case, upon reflection, that’s probably a pretty good thing… The ownership and culinary team behind Newport Beach’s Juliette Kitchen + Bar present a philosophy based on the exploration of diverse flavors and the commitment to employing only the best ingredients. This all adds up to a continually evolving experience. Weekend brunch has just been added. Proprietor Juliette Chung and Executive Chef Daniel Hyatt are our guests. The team of Executive Chef Daniel Mattern and Pastry Chef & Baker Roxana Jullapat are fondly remembered as the culinary heart of Cook’s County (now closed.) Happily they have now opened a 4,000 square foot, fast casual breakfast and lunch (for now) place of their own, Friends & Family. It’s a great addition to Los Angeles’ rediscovered Thai Town. Chefs Roxana and Daniel join us. Vegan: The Cookbook is newly published by the well-traveled, Chef Jean-Christian Jury, a leader in the international vegan community. In the weighty volume the reader will discover a wide range of accessible and appealing plant-based dishes (designed for the home kitchen) that will excite and satisfy vegans, vegetarians, and omnivores alike. We’ll meet Chef Jean-Christian. The crowd-pleasing, proudly family-owned Porto’s Bakery & Café (think potato balls) opened its biggest, long-anticipated branch in Buena Park (25,000 sq.ft.) up the street from Knott’s Berry Farm in early March. It’s been a resounding success. It even offers complimentary valet parking to negate potential parking hassles. 2nd generation Family member, Betty Porto, joins us with all the delectable details of this incredible and inspiring success story. Chef Andrew Gruel is on the road but we have him for a few moments by phone. No doubt he’ll have some helpful 4th of July cooking tips for us along the way as well as an insider’s report from the Slapfish booth at last Weekend’s inaugural Arroyo Seco Weekend festival in Pasadena adjacent to, and in, The Rose Bowl. Some 25,000 hungry attendees each day. There was some great food and beverages available out there! All of this and heaping helpings of extra deliciousness on this week’s show! Don’t forget the potato salad…

The ownership and culinary team behind Newport Beach’s Juliette Kitchen + Bar present a philosophy based on the exploration of diverse flavors and the commitment to employing only the best ingredients. This all adds up to a continually evolving experience. “Juliette Kitchen & Bar is where seasonal and local ingredients come together in vibrant, modern and balanced dishes. Always, rustic, warm and inviting, Juliette Owners Juliette Chung and John Hughes, along with Executive Chef Daniel Hyatt, welcome the community to indulge in good conversation and great food.” Juliette Kitchen & Bar is now serving Weekend Brunch every Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Executive Daniel Hyatt’s menu draws inspiration from locally sourced ingredients, so guests can look forward to enjoying seasonal brunch dishes with a modern American twist. Lending her own touch to the menu, restaurant co-owner Juliette Chung has added her own house-made granola and fresh biscuits to the menu, which also features housemade juices and brunchtime cocktails, such as the Mimosa Lisa and Top of the Morning Irish Coffee. Proprietor Juliette Chung and Executive Chef Daniel Hyatt are our guests.

The team of Executive Chef Daniel Mattern and Pastry Chef & Baker Roxana Jullapat are fondly remembered as the culinary heart of Cook’s County (now closed.) Happily they have now opened a 4,000 square foot, fast casual breakfast and lunch place of their own, Friends & Family. Dinner is coming soon…All breads & pastries are prepared and baked in-house. It’s a great addition to Los Angeles’ rediscovered Thai Town. It’s a vibrant bakery, coffee bar and café where you can enjoy every menu item there or have it packaged to go. The ice cream counter features eye-catching rotating seasonal flavors presented in housemade waffle cones. They also prepare appealing gift baskets, picnics and have a monthly bread club (Friends & Family Sourdough Club.) Pies for the 4th of July can be ordered through July 2nd. On the menu are Key Lime Pie, Banana Cream Pie and Blackberry & Nectarine Pie. Remember Senor Bill Esparza (The Street Gourmet Los Angeles) will be there on Saturday July 8th from Noon to 3:00 p.m. signing copies of his new book, L.A. Mexicano – Recipes, People & Places. Books will be available there for purchase. Also, Bill’s Abuela’s recipe for Huevos Rancheros will be on the menu that day. Chefs Roxana and Daniel join us.

Vegan: The Cookbook is newly published by the well-traveled, Chef Jean-Christian Jury, a leader in the international vegan community. In the weighty volume the reader will discover a wide range of accessible and appealing plant-based dishes (designed for the home kitchen) that will excite and satisfy vegans, vegetarians, and omnivores alike. It features an impressive 450 recipes from more than 150 countries around the world. The book presents dishes from countries ranging from Albania to Zambia. It showcases the culinary diversity of vegan cuisine, highlighting regional fruits and vegetables, traditional cooking techniques, and universally delectable flavors. Home cooks will discover sweet and savory starters, soups, salads, mains, and desserts for all to enjoy, accompanied by straightforward instructions and gorgeous color photography. Chef Jury’s recipes have been meticulously tested for accuracy and ease of use. Jean-Christian Jury is a vegan and raw-food chef from Toulouse, France. In 2008, he opened La Mano Verde in Berlin, Germany, his first vegan restaurant, and received praise from Saveur and Rodale’s Organic Life, and many international publications A Deal…Chef Jean-Christian has extended our listeners a special 30 per cent discount on this book. Go here to order the book and enter offer code to get the discount is VEGAN30. We’ll meet Chef Jean-Christian.

The crowd-pleasing, proudly family-owned Porto’s Bakery & Café (think potato balls & cheese rolls) opened its biggest, long-anticipated branch in Buena Park (25,000 sq.ft.) up the street from Knott’s Berry Farm in early March. They own the large parcel of land. Actor Andy Garcia officiated at the ribbon-cutting. It’s been a resounding success. It even offers complimentary valet parking to negate potential parking hassles. Don’t let the lines scare you. It all moves fast. The three service areas under one roof include the bakery section, the food station which also offers the pastries and an express premium coffee counter with select, best-selling pastries. There is also a convenient station to pick-up pre-orders. Smart idea for securing celebratory cakes with ease. On the new Summer Specials menu are a Guava BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwich, Rustic Tomato Soup with San Marzano Tomatoes and outrageous Lemon Bars. More stores are on the horizon… 2nd generation Co-proprietor Betty Porto joins us with all the delectable details of this incredible and inspiring success story which started with the Family’s escape from Cuba in 1960.  

The crowd-pleasing, proudly family-owned Porto’s Bakery & Café (think potato balls & cheese rolls) opened its biggest, long-anticipated branch in Buena Park (25,000 sq.ft.) up the street from Knott’s Berry Farm in early March. The Porto’s own the property. Actor Andy Garcia officiated at the ribbon-cutting. It’s been a resounding success. It even offers complimentary valet parking to negate potential parking hassles. Porto’s traces its origins to the year 1960, when the Porto family made the tough decision to leave their home in Manzanillo, Cuba. After living through the drastic changes that were taking place around them, they requested permission to leave the country. Immediately Raul Sr. was terminated from his job and sent away to manual labor for the duration of the wait period. Wife, Rosa Porto was also let go. Knowing that it may take years to be able to leave the country, Rosa found herself alone and having to find a means to support her three children Betty, Raul Jr., and Margarita. Rosa, always a talented cake maker, with a passion for baking, entrenched herself in perfecting her recipes and began selling her delicious cakes to friends and neighbors not realizing that she was also building herself a loyal customer base. When the family finally emigrated from Cuba to California, they had not much more than the clothes on their backs, Raul Sr.’s strong work ethic, Rosa’s exceptional baking skills, and a dream for a better life. Soon after the plane landed, Rosa realized that her reputation had preceded her, and met her first customer just as she got off the plane. Raul Sr. took a job as a mechanic and after work delivered Rosa’s cakes. These were hard times, but the family was now in a country filled with limitless opportunities and their dream for a better future became more real as the years passed Rosa continued on with her cake business and when their home could no longer accommodate the increased demand, opened a little 300-square foot bakery on Sunset Blvd, in the Echo Park area of Los Angeles. From day one, the place was busy, serving close to 50 customers a day. After tirelessly working two jobs, Raul Sr. left his latter job at Van De Kamp’s and joined Rosa full time. Meanwhile, their children Betty, Raul Jr., and Margarita managed to maintain their studies and learn the different parts of the business; baking, decorating, food preparation, customer service, and finances. Rosa’s Cuban cakes were soon joined by French mousses, Italian sweets, and international savories. As customers flocked to the bakery demanding countless quantities of Cheese Rolls™, Refugiados™-guava and cheese strudels, and the infamous Potato Ball™, space became critical. A move was made to a 2,000-square foot facility in Glendale and six years later to one double in size. The bakery continued to grow and more employees where hired to handle the demand for its increasingly broad line of cakes, desserts, and savories. Porto’s Bakery & Café now serves thousands of customers and employs hundreds of team members in Southern California, with stores in Glendale, Burbank, Downey and now, Buena Park. In 2018 West Covina is on the horizon. Rumors are out there supporting a future Northridge store thereafter.

Our own Chef Andrew Gruel is on the road again but in the holiday spirit we have him for a few moments by phone. No doubt he’ll have helpful some 4th of July cooking tips for us as well as an insider’s report from the Slapfish booth at last Weekend’s inaugural Arroyo Seco Weekend festival in Pasadena adjacent to the, and in, Rose Bowl. There was some great food and beverages available out there!

Now an enthusiastic preview of Saturday’s fully-loaded show. It’s not, with profuse apologies, for dieters. If we’re successful we will always leave you incredibly hungry and thirsty. In our case that’s probably a pretty good thing… In conjunction with its 6-year anniversary, Portola Coffee Roasters has redesigned its flagship location inside The OC Mix at South Coast Collection in Costa Mesa. The new design, intended to improve the customer experience, takes advantage of the latest in brewing technologies to achieve a higher level of service, product quality, and consistency not possible before. Joining us with all the artfully brewed details are proprietors Jeff & Christa Duggan. The Street Gourmet, Senor Bill Esparza, is back with us with his first cookbook. Richly photographed and authentically local, L.A. Mexicano showcases L.A.’s sophisticated and diverse Mexican-food culture, from Oaxacan tlayudas to Nayarit ceviches, Alta California gastronomy to Boyle Heights burritos. Part cookbook, part food journalism, and part love song to Los Angeles, it’s a definitive (and hugely practical) resource for home cooks, Mexican food lovers, and hungry Angelenos and visitors. What’s it like to experience a memorable $310 per guest meal at California’s celebrated The French Laundry in Yountville ? There is also a magnificent new $10 million kitchen where your repast is prepared. OC Weekly’s “On the Line” columnist, Anne Marie Panoringan, was just there and provides the salivating commentary. Three words — cellar, craft, cook — capture the essence of the year-old  Russ Bendel-conceived restaurant Ironwood in Laguna Hills, which uped the ante on the underserved south Orange County dining scene with worldwide wine selections, craft beers, creative cocktails and wine country cuisine made daily with the freshest and finest seasonal ingredients by Bendel’s partner, chef Jared Cook (Vine.) Russ joins us with the tasty specifics. Chef Steve Samson is well-known to lovers of regional Italian cuisine in Southern California. His newest project (with his wife, Dina) is the ambitious Rossoblu in the emerging City Market South development in the Fashion District of Downtown Los Angeles. The menu is influenced by Chef Steve’s summers in Bologna and Emilia- Romagna while he was growing up.

In conjunction with its 6-year anniversary, Portola Coffee Roasters has redesigned its flagship location inside The OC Mix at South Coast Collection in Costa Mesa. The new design, intended to improve the customer experience, takes advantage of the latest in brewing technologies to achieve a higher level of service, product quality, and consistency not possible before. “The original idea behind the oval shaped bar was to create a visual theater for our customers curious about the brewing science we employ – it is both interesting and educational to be able to see firsthand how things are done at Portola,” explained Jeff Duggan, who, with his wife Christa, opened the flagship Portola Coffee Roasters location in Costa Mesa in 2011 to bring a 100% single-cup craft brew coffeehouse to Orange County. “With the new design, this goal is better achieved. It will be much different than the ‘order here, pick up over there’ model. We will service customers in line so once they order, their drinks will be made while they watch, and they pay at the end when their drink has been served.” Joining us with all the artfully brewed details are proprietors Jeff & Christa Duggan.

What began as the selfish pursuit for delicious coffee turned into a decade-long fanatic passion for home-roasting coffee for Jeff Duggan, who first opened Portola Handcrafted Coffee Roasters in Irvine in 2009. Using a very small batch roaster, Jeff worked feverishly to keep the pantries and hoppers full in many homes and food establishments throughout Orange County, but roasting meticulously sourced coffee beans and serving them ultra-fresh was not enough. He found that far too many great beans were destroyed at the hands of poor equipment, flawed technique, and coffee service dispensers. With a focus on quality ingredients, brewing science and freshness – all still relatively uncommon in the industry – Jeff and his wife, Christa, created Portola Coffee Roasters in 2011. The goal was to create a quality-centric coffeehouse that re-focused on the most important ingredient – coffee. Within a year of bringing a never-before-seen concept and style of coffee to Orange County, Portola Coffee Roasters began creating a distinct brand that revolves around producing an artisanal culinary product, Craft Coffee. Jeff and Christa Duggan now own and operate six locations within Orange County. Their focus remains on empowering the community with quality, traceable, fresh-roasted and fresh-brewed coffee, presented in an artful context – one cup at a time. Portola Coffee Roasters locations: * The OC Mix, SoCo Collection in Costa Mesa * Union Market, The District at Tustin Legacy * 4th Street Market, Downtown Santa Ana Artists Village * Provisions Market, Old Towne Orange * Lot 579 at Pacific City, Huntington Beach * Union Market, Kaleidoscope Center in Mission Viejo

Chef Elizabeth presented her recipes for Apple Cranberry Crumble Tart and Sour Cream Pumpkin Pie. From there Chef Elizabeth offered tips for preparing the perfect pie crust. Sommelier William then gave the 411 on Ice Wine, and its rising popularity. Great as a dessert wine…

Nathan Turner joined us from New York where he was on the “Today Show” earlier in the week. His base is in West Hollywood. Nathan’s new book is, Nathan Turner’s American Style : Classic Design & Effortless Entertaining from Abrams. Nathan shared his best tips for decorating the Holiday Table at various levels of complexity.

Cathy Thomas, the award-winning & beloved journalist at The Orange County Register has been expertly chronicling the dynamic food scene in Orange County for over 20 years. If Cathy doesn’t know about it it’s probably not worth your time. Cathy will be back with us on January 5th to talk about her 3rd book, Melissa’s 50 Best Plants On The Planet: The Most Nutrient-Dense Fruits and Vegetables, in 150 Delicious Recipes from Chronicle Books. The just-published hard-cover edition is available exclusively at Melissa's World Variety Produce website or at select Bristol Farms stores. Cathy Thomas has recently returned from a week on Kauai. In addition to cooking at home with the best in local ingredients she did some dining out in the Poipu area where she was staying. She highly recommends both (the fine-dining) Red Salt in the Koa Kea Hotel and pioneering Hawaii Regional Cuisine Chef Jean-Marie Josselin’s Josselin’s Tapas Bar & Grill (more casual) on two levels in the delightful Kukui’ula Village Shopping Center.

It all started with Roberta’s mother, Audrey, who had a blockbuster recipe for truly outstanding Chocolate Chip Cookies. Audrey’s son (and Roberta’s brother) happens to be acclaimed Jazz musician, saxophonist, best-selling recording artist, and radio personality Dave Koz. Before Dave became as well known as he is today (what a performer!) Audrey’s cookies opened many doors for the then rising musician. After Audrey passed away Roberta came up with the idea to honor the memory of Audrey by starting Cookies For A Koz, with ten percent of the sales price being donated to The Starlight Children’s Foundation where Dave serves as a goodwill ambassador. Over the years since the start in 2008 joyful seasonal cookies have been added to enhance the variety of offerings. For instance for July 4th Apple Pies Cookies are added to the menu. Cookies For A Koz is on a short Holiday Break but shipments will resume on January 2nd.

Canter’s Deli has been an institution in Los Angeles for 82 years. They relocated West to N. Fairfax Ave. from Boyle Heights in 1948. They are still one of the few respectable late night spots for a nosh in their area. (24 hours by the way…) Live music at night, too featuring up-and-coming groups. 3rd generation Canter Family member, Jacqueline, joined us to discuss the menu rehab at Canter’s. (2nd , 3rd, and 4th generation Canter Family members are active in the enterprise.) They listened to their guests and adapted accordingly. They now have a selection of gluten-free items including bagels. There are even a variety of appealing vegetarian offerings. New specialty cocktails, too. They are particularly proud of their new selection of grilled deli Panini sandwiches. In addition to the expected meat selections there are also tasty vegetarian options. Who knew…? Want Canter’s Deli in your driveway for your next party ? Canter’s Deli has a food truck that’s available for private parties!