March 29: Vine Restaurant & Bar, Spaghettini, Carla Hall, Truck U Barbecue, DOMA, Angels Baseball ballpark cuisine

Podcasts

Segment One: Host Jet Tila and Producer Andy Harris
Segment Two: Managing Partner Russ Bendel, Vine Restaurant & Bar, San Clemente
Segment Three: Cary Hardwick, Co-Owner & Co-Managing Partner, Spaghettini Fine Dining & Entertainment, Seal Beach
Segment Four: Celebrity Chef Carla Hall, co-host of ABC’s daytimer, “The Chew.”
Segment Five: Executive Chef Mike Minor, Truck U Barbeque Truck, Las Vegas
Segment Six: Pastry Chef Marissa Sharon, DOMA Beverly Hills
Segment Seven: Executive Chef Gretchen Beaumarchais, Angel Stadium, Anaheim, and Jaisun Ihm, Director of Premium Services, Legends
Segment Eight: Chef Jet Tila and Producer Andy Harris, “SoCal Restaurant Show”

Chef Jet and Producer Andy preview the show.

The effervescent Chef Carla Hall, the co-host of ABC’s “The Chew” has a new book out, Carla’s Comfort Foods – Favorite Dishes from Around the World.

Angel Stadium has a real executive chef in the kitchen and she is with us to discuss all the enhancements at The Big A for baseball season! San Clemente is becoming a popular dining destination. We’ll chat with the proprietor of one of the pioneering restaurants there featuring farm-to-table food.

You don’t expect a long-serving executive chef at a high profile restaurant located on The Strip in Las Vegas in a fancy luxury hotel to give it all up to run a food truck. We’ll talk to the credentialed chef who is doing just that.

Doma, in Beverly Hills, is still generating a lot of buzz a year after opening. Part of the credit goes to their talented pastry chef who is our guest. We’re continuing with our preview of EAT LBC, Long Beach’s first ever restaurant week set for March 30th through April 5th. The co-owner of Spaghettini in Seal Beach joins us.

Jet will be talking about his trip to Cornell University and creating a giant edible sushi roll for Cornell Dining while Producer Andy shares a dining gem of a casual neighborhood spot in Venice.

All of this and lots more incredible deliciousness on Saturday’s show!

Russ BendelThere is an exciting restaurant resurgence going on in San Clemente right now. Some wags are even calling it the new Laguna Beach. One of the pioneering, chef-driven restaurants there, Vine Restaurant & Bar, has a new proprietor. A former chef (Jared Cook) has returned (as a partner) to oversee the farm-to-table menu. Second generation restaurateur Russ Bendel is our guest.

EAT LBC – Long Beach Restaurant Week is March 30th to April 5th. It’s your chance to enjoy a three-course meal at 52 of the best, and most diverse, restaurants in Long Beach priced at a real value. The restaurants are all aiming to wow all of their new guests during EAT LBC. All the restaurants involved and their menus are listed on their website. Make your reservations now…

Cary Hardwick of SpaghettiniOne of the participating restaurants is Spaghettini in Seal Beach, a local classic for their food and music program since 1988. Cary Hardwick, co-owner and co-managing partner, joins us to talk about his menu for EAT LBC – Long Beach Restaurant Week and their new project in Beverly Hills.

Food fans know Chef Carla Hall as the “Hootie Hoo” lady and fan favorite from multiple seasons of Bravo’s “Top Chef.” She is now the co-host of ABC’s daytime lifestyle series, “The Chew.” Recently “The Chew” celebrated their 500th episode and the show continues to gain in popularity. Carla also is the author of Cooking with Love: Comfort Food That Hugs You, newly available in paperback.

Carla HallCarla’s newest cookbook is Carla’s Comfort Foods – Favorite Dishes from Around the World (on-sale April 1, 2014.) It’s a brand new collection of 130 recipes that embody the universal appeal of all kinds of comfort food.

Inspired by Carla’s love of family suppers and international flavors, this cookbook offers a mouthwatering variety of foods from around the world together with heartfelt stories of connecting with people through food. Each section of the book offers a brief description of a foundation recipe followed by some international variations.

Hall is a true believer that, “If you’re not in a good mood, the only thing you should make is a restaurant reservation.”

Carla is in Los Angeles on book tour on Sunday, April 13th. She is at Sur La Table @ The Original Farmers Market @ Noon and then @ USC for the LA Times Festival of Books @ 3:30 p.m.

Mike Minor of Truck U Barbecue in Las VegasExecutive Chef Mike Minor, a resident of Las Vegas since the age of 5, was the face of Border Grill Las Vegas at Mandalay Bay for almost 10 years.

Late last year he departed to work on a very personal project. That’s the just-about-to launch (April 5th.) Truck U Barbecue. ‘Cue, with some accents from Mexico, is his thing.

Marissa SharonPastry Chef Marissa Sharon opened Doma in Beverly Hills in 2012 with Executive Chef Dustin Trani. She previously was in the pastry department at Chef Scott Conant’s highly regarded Scarpetta at Montage Beverly Hills.

Her cannolis are truly outstanding and she also makes most of the pasta used at the restaurant.

DOMA is considered one of the finest new restaurants in L.A. – in the grand European tradition but with a sleek and modern twist.

DOMA is hosting a special “Dinner Party Series” evening to benefit C-CAP on Monday evening, April 7th @ 6:30 p.m.

Gretchen BeaumarchaisThe Angels Home opener is Monday evening, March 31st.

Executive Chef Gretchen Beaumarchais of Angel Stadium joins us to talk about all the enhancements for 2014. The food and beverage is now under the direction of Legends.

Jaisun (Jason) Ihm (Director of Premium Services) joins Chef Getchen.

There is now an in-house pastry chef (from the St. Regis, Monarch Beach) for 2014. All baked goods & sweets are now baked in-house. Bread is from OC Baking Co.

New grilled cheese sandwiches & smoked meats.

New emphasis on local craft beers.

The Diamond Club has been remodeled and the menu revamped.

Halo at Angel Stadium (above The Diamond Club) is the new premium seating sports entertainment experience with globally inspired dining.

Jet has been visiting at Cornell University’s Cornell Dining Services (a giant sushi roll) and Producer Andy has been dining in Venice. We’ll talk about it…

Podcasts

Segment One: Host Jet Tila and Producer Andy Harris
Segment Two: Managing Partner Russ Bendel, Vine Restaurant & Bar, San Clemente
Segment Three: Cary Hardwick, Co-Owner & Co-Managing Partner, Spaghettini Fine Dining & Entertainment, Seal Beach
Segment Four: Celebrity Chef Carla Hall, co-host of ABC’s daytimer, “The Chew.”
Segment Five: Executive Chef Mike Minor, Truck U Barbeque Truck, Las Vegas
Segment Six: Pastry Chef Marissa Sharon, DOMA Beverly Hills
Segment Seven: Executive Chef Gretchen Beaumarchais, Angel Stadium, Anaheim, and Jaisun Ihm, Director of Premium Services, Legends
Segment Eight: Chef Jet Tila and Producer Andy Harris, “SoCal Restaurant Show”

Show 62, February 22, 2013: Executive Chef Dustin J. Trani, DOMA Beverly Hills

Dustin TraniDoma Beverly Hills opened rather quietly at 362 N. Camden Dr. in Beverly Hills in 2012. The address is well-known as the long-standing former home of Prego.

What’s creating a lot of excitement there with foodies is the young executive chef, Dustin Trani. He’s all of 29 years-old. He has worked at a Michelin starred restaurant in Italy, cooked at the Oriental Hotel in Bangkok, and was chosen by the Governor to represent California in a prestigious national seafood competition in New Orleans.

He’s a 4th generation Los Angeles area Italian chef who started working at age 11 in his family’s restaurant, J. Trani’s, in San Pedro which opened in 1925. He’s also a C-CAP alum (Careers through Culinary Arts Program in High School.) His food is contemporary Mediterranean/Italian with an emphasis on seafood.

His talented pastry chef is Marissa Sharon previously at Scott Conant’s Scarpetta in Beverly Hills. Her mini-cannoli is a real standout.

February 22: UNLV, Coffee Bean, Five Crowns, West Coast Prime Meats, Grill ‘em All Burgers, DOMA Beverly Hills

Podcasts

Segment One: Host Jet Tila and Producer Andy Harris
Segment Two: Stowe Shoemaker, Dean, William F. Harrah College of Hotel Administration, University of Nevada, Las Vegas
Segment Three: Jay Isais, Senior Director, Coffee Roasting & Manufacturing, Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf
Segment Four: Jim Colombo, General Manager, Five Crowns and SideDoor, Corona del Mar
Segment Five: David Wicker, Managing Partner and Vice President of Sales & Marketing, West Coast Prime Meats
Segment Six: Ryan Harkins, Executive Chef & Co-owner, Grill ‘em All Burgers
Segment Seven: Executive Chef Dustin J. Trani, DOMA Beverly Hills
Segment Eight: Jet Tila with your questions and his answers

Chef Jet and Producer Andy preview the show.

Jet Tila and a heritage pig at Cochon 555 in 2013Remember the L.A. tour stop of Cochon USA is Sunday, February 23rd at The Fairmont Miramar Hotel in Santa Monica from 4 to 8:00 p.m. Ray Garcia of Fig Restaurant is the host chef. It’s a celebration of heritage pork raised on family farms. Our own Jet Tila will be there cooking an additional late-night heritage pig for the After-Party.

UNLV in Las Vegas has the most respected hospitality management program in the West. The Dean of the William F. Harrah College of Hotel Administration there joins us to profile the prestigious program. Unusual cuts of beef are finding their way onto fine dining restaurants menus. We’ll be speaking with a meat expert to better understand these cuts. A coffee authority is with us to talk about the current trends in roasting coffee. You’ll also hear about a relatively new contemporary Mediterranean/Italian restaurant in Beverly Hills with an energetic young chef in the kitchen and an exciting pastry chef with impressive credentials. Orange County Restaurant Week launches February 23rd. We’ll have a preview with the GM of one of the classic participating restaurants. Also on the menu is an award-winning and high profile food truck (with an edge) that graduated to opening an even more successful brick and mortar location in an unexpected location.

All of this and lots more incredible deliciousness on Saturday’s show!

Stowe Shoemaker is the Dean of the William F Harrah College of Hotel Administration at University of Nevada Las VegasThe most distinguished hospitality and restaurant management program in the West is the William F. Harrah College of Hotel Administration at UNLV in Las Vegas. Stowe Shoemaker (a Cornell University School of Hotel Administration alum) is the Dean. Before joining UNLV, Dean Shoemaker spent 19 years as an educator at Cornell. Food Network’s Guy Fieri is a graduate of UNLV’s program.

Las Vegas serves as one of the world’s largest hospitality and tourism laboratories. The school provides valuable internships and mentors. The hospitality-management bachelor’s-degree program provides a broad educational approach to a career in the hospitality industry.
Students can select a concentration in gaming management, meetings and conventions, professional golf management, or restaurant management.

The school is ranked #4 in the world by the Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Research.

Jay Isais of the Coffee Bean and Tea LeafWe had such a great response to the Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf’s Jay Isais ( eye-zay-us) from last year that we’ve invited him back to share another steaming cup of brew. This time the discussion is on the roasting of coffee beans and how that impacts flavor. Jay is the Senior Director, Coffee Roasting & Manufacturing for the Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf.

Jay also provides insight into the three major coffee growing areas of the world and what the flavor profile of the resulting coffee is.

Orange County Restaurant WeekThe OC’s most anticipated, and delicious, dining event, Orange County Restaurant Week, returns from February 23rd to March 1st. Diners will have the opportunity to enjoy the wide spectrum of dining options in the County at special prices for prix-fixe menus for both lunch and dinner.

Over 100 restaurants are part of Orange County Restaurant Week.

The iconic Five Crowns, a Corona del Mar landmark, is one of the participating restaurants. General Manager Jim Colombo (also a chef by background and training) joins us to preview his special menu.

West Coast Prime MeatsWest Coast Prime Meats really knows the meat business as only an insider can. Most of their seasoned, senior executives have an extensive background in the restaurant business or are master butchers. If fact West Coast’s key master butcher has more than 30 years experience in the field.

Dave Wicker, WCPM’s Vice President of Sales & Marketing and Managing Partner, is with us to talk beef. What’s prime beef? An explanation of the process of aging of beef is on the menu. We’ll discuss previously uncommon cuts which are now attracting attention including the Teres Major and the Flat Iron Steak.

Ryan Hankins of Gril Em All BurgersOne of the very first “better burger” food trucks in Los Angeles County, Grill ‘em All Burgers, rolled onto the scene in 2009. As unusual as it sounds it was a heavy metal devotee’s take on the ample burger meal. The founders are Chef Ryan Harkins (a Cleveland native) and Matt Chernus, a former professional wrestler.

The stars were in alignment for them as they were inexplicably cast for the first season of Food Network’s cross-country “Great Food Truck Race.” This was the only season where the competitors were required to have actual food truck experience.

Although the Grill ‘em All guys were on the threshold of elimination on multiple episodes (and expected by the Producers to be out in the early going) they scrappily hung in there and came out on top at the conclusion of the high octane finale in New York! Once the season aired business was such that they needed to secure a second truck.

The gameplan was always to eventually move into the right (affordable) brick and mortar location. That happened last January (2013) when they opened in the Renaissance Theater Plaza in Alhambra in a former (failed) chain 50s diner location. Chef Ryan and Matt have made an odd location work. Grill ‘em All had lines down the block for their anniversary celebration last month. Nights and Weekends are their really busy times.

Future plans include a second location. Down the road Chef Ryan’s goal is to open a burger restaurant in his hometown of Cleveland where the dining scene is now really happening.

The remaining Grill ‘em All truck will soon be back in action for private events.

Dustin TraniDoma Beverly Hills opened rather quietly at 362 N. Camden Dr. in Beverly Hills in 2012. The address is well-known as the long-standing former home of Prego.

What’s creating a lot of excitement there with foodies is the young executive chef, Dustin Trani. He’s all of 29 years-old. He has worked at a Michelin starred restaurant in Italy, cooked at the Oriental Hotel in Bangkok, and was chosen by the Governor to represent California in a prestigious national seafood competition in New Orleans.

He’s a 4th generation Los Angeles area Italian chef who started working at age 11 in his family’s restaurant, J. Trani’s, in San Pedro which opened in 1925. He’s also a C-CAP alum. His food is contemporary Mediterranean/Italian with an emphasis on seafood.

His talented pastry chef is Marissa Sharon previously at Scott Conant’s Scarpetta in Beverly Hills. Her mini-cannoli are a real standout.

KnivesWe get questions…

Chef Jet responds to an assortment of inquiries from the overflowing e-mailbag. Jet talks about safety concerns with raw chicken, the selection process for proper knives in the home kitchen, and the quality of frozen fish.

Podcasts

Segment One: Host Jet Tila and Producer Andy Harris
Segment Two: Stowe Shoemaker, Dean, William F. Harrah College of Hotel Administration, University of Nevada, Las Vegas
Segment Three: Jay Isais, Senior Director, Coffee Roasting & Manufacturing, Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf
Segment Four: Jim Colombo, General Manager, Five Crowns and SideDoor, Corona del Mar
Segment Five: David Wicker, Managing Partner and Vice President of Sales & Marketing, West Coast Prime Meats
Segment Six: Ryan Harkins, Executive Chef & Co-owner, Grill ‘em All Burgers
Segment Seven: Executive Chef Dustin J. Trani, DOMA Beverly Hills
Segment Eight: Jet Tila with your questions and his answers