Show 48, November 16, 2013: Host Jet Tila and Producer Andy Harris

Chef Jet and Producer Andy preview the show.

We’re celebrating everything from the 1st Anniversary of the Seoul Sausage Co. to incredible gourmet popsicles containing real fruit made in Old Towne Orange.

CBTL by the Coffee Bean and Tea LeafIt’s National Espresso Day on Saturday, November 23rd. To celebrate our friends at The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf will be featuring a Black Friday promotion.

The CBTL, the single serve beverage system from The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, will be part of a special promotion from November 29 through December 1, 2013. Enthusiasts can purchase one CBTL Single Serve Machine and get a second CBTL Single Serve Machine (of equal or lesser value) free!

Show 48, November 16, 2013: Chef Chris Oh and Ted Kim of Seoul Sausage Co. in West Los Angeles

Seoul SausageA little over a year ago those three wild & crazy, youthful Korean-Americans (Ted and Yong Kim and Chef Chris Oh) opened the Seoul Sausage Co. in Little Osaka, West Los Angeles. They are known for melding distinctive Korean flavors into American sausages. Their other signature item is the “flaming balls.” Korean Fried Chicken (KFC) with corn bread is another specialty.

Seoul Sausage Co. opened right after the three partners won Season 3 of Food Network’s Great Food Truck Race. First prize was a cool $50,000 and the new food truck they took across the country on the series. It’s affectionately known as “Big Mama.” The “Flaming Balls” was a dish (think giant Korean suppli with dipping sauces) created by necessity in an intense competition on “Great Food Truck Race.”

The (always entertaining) Seoul Sausage Co. guys are with us to talk about the sweet ride that has been the last year. The lines are still out the door.

There’s more…Young, Ted, and Chef Chris also have some exciting news to share with the listening audience. It’s a “SoCal Restaurant Show” exclusive…

November 16: Seoul Sausage, Taps Fish House, Linda Burum, The Lobster, Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, A Restaurant, Front Porch Pops

Podcasts

Segment One: Host Jet Tila and Producer Andy Harris
Segment Two: Chef Chris Oh and Ted Kim of Seoul Sausage Co. in West Los Angeles
Segment Three: Joe Manzella, proprietor of TAPS Fish House & Brewery in Brea and Corona, and The Catch in Anaheim
Segment Four: Linda Burum, food journalist & contributor to Los Angeles Magazine and L.A. Weekly
Segment Five: Collin Crannell, Executive Chef of The Lobster
Segment Six: Jay Isais, Senior Director of Coffee, The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf
Segment Seven: Jon Blackford, Executive Chef of A Restaurant, Newport Beach
Segment Eight: Erin Whitcomb, POPrietor of Front Porch Pops

Chef Jet and Producer Andy preview the show.

CBTL by the Coffee Bean and Tea LeafIt’s National Espresso Day on Saturday, November 23rd. To celebrate our friends at The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf will be featuring a Black Friday promotion.

The CBTL, the single serve beverage system from The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, will be part of a special promotion from November 29 through December 1, 2013. Enthusiasts can purchase one CBTL Single Serve Machine and get a second CBTL Single Serve Machine (of equal or lesser value) free!

Seoul SausageA little over a year ago those three wild & crazy, youthful Korean-Americans (Ted and Yong Kim and Chef Chris Oh) opened the Seoul Sausage Co. in Little Osaka, West Los Angeles. They are known for melding distinctive Korean flavors into American sausages. Their other signature item is the “flaming balls.” Korean Fried Chicken (KFC) with corn bread is another specialty.

Seoul Sausage Co. opened right after the three partners won Season 3 of Food Network’s “Great Food Truck Race. First prize was a cool $50,000 and the new food truck they took across the country on the series. It’s affectionately known as “Big Mama.” The “Flaming Balls” was a dish created by necessity in an intense competition on “Great Food Truck Race.”

The (always entertaining) Seoul Sausage Co. guys are with us to talk about the sweet ride that has been the last year. The lines are still out the door.

There’s more…Young, Ted, and Chef Chris also have some exciting news to share with the listening audience. It’s an exclusive…

Joe Manzella of Taps Fish House and Brewery and the CatchRestaurateur Joe Manzella is the proprietor of TAPS Fish House & Brewery in Brea and Corona, and The Catch in Anaheim on Katella near Angel Stadium.

Joe is also a lifelong sandwich fan and a history buff. He’s traveled the country researching regional favorites. Working with his executive chef he’s launched the “Famous 50” sandwich program. Each week a different regional favorite is showcased at both TAPS in Brea and The Catch in Anaheim. Thus far the Famous 50 has included favorites including lobster roll, Mama Manzella’s meatball sub, muffuletta, Chicago Italian Beef, and the Cubano.

According to Manzella to reach true sandwich nirvana five critical points must be met. He shares them with us on the show. One clue…All his bread comes from star baker Dean Kim at the OC Baking Co. in Orange.

Linda BurumLinda Burum is a well-known food journalist who currently contributes to Los Angeles Magazine and LA Weekly.

Linda is just back from a trip to Taipei, Taiwan where she did a bit of restaurant research.

Linda reports on her dining adventures there and mentions where you can get some of these same signature dishes locally.

Executive Chef Colin Crannell of the Lobster in Santa MonicaThe guests still think of Executive Chef Collin Crannell of The Lobster in Santa Monica as the “new” chef even though he’s been there four years. He has serious fine dining background going back to Joachim Splichal’s Patina and luxury hotels.

Of course he’s a lobster specialist. There is even a lobster ravioli on the menu with Santa Monica farmer’s market vegetables. He also does some pretty wonderful thinks with steak.

Chef Crannell impresses with soup, too.

The Lobster is located at the top of the entrance to the historic Santa Monica Pier. It’s an incredible ocean view. The restaurant proudly defies the notion that if you offer a great view you can probably get away with serving mediocre food.

It’s National Espresso Day on Saturday, November 23rd.

Jay Isais of the Coffee Bean and Tea LeafJay Isais, Senior Director of Coffee for The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf joins us to chat about creating the perfect cup of espresso. There is a lot more to this than you may imagine.

To get you into the Holiday Spirit our friends at The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf will be featuring a Black Friday promotion.

The CBTL, the single serve beverage system from The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, will be part of a special promotion from November 29 through December 1, 2013. Enthusiasts can purchase one CBTL Single Serve Machine and get a second CBTL Single Serve Machine (of equal or lesser value) free!

Jon Blackford of A RestaurantWhat is now the popular A Restaurant on Pacific Coast Highway in Newport Beach is a classic dining spot dating back to 1926. A few years ago new, local ownership completely restored the place to its current ageless steakhouse atmosphere. It’s handsome with a very popular bar.

Jon Blackford is the executive chef. His charge is to continue to serve great steaks but also elevate the rest of the menu. Believe it or not he loves market fresh vegetables and amazes with beets.

He impresses with creative charcuterie and cheese plates and house-made grilled sausages.

Erin Whitcomb of Front Porch PopsErin Whitcomb’s Front Porch Pops were the hit of the Orange International Street Fair in Old Town Orange over Labor Day Weekend. They were being enjoyed everywhere on the Festival site. The pops are handmade in small batches.

Tangy Lemon Cream was the first frozen novelty sold back in 2010.

Erin’s Pop Philosophy:

  • We use real fruit and fresh dairy to make our pops.
  • Our pops are handcrafted by our staff using our own recipes.
  • You’ll never find artificial colors, flavors, or high–fructose corn syrup in our pops. Ever.
  • We use locally grown, organic produce whenever we can. We sell our pops at farmer’s markets and take great pride in saying, “The plums from that farmer over there are in this popsicle right here!”

New to the line (and just in time for the Holidays) are small batch pies. The crust is hand-rolled.

A colleague described him as “passionate, dedicated, creative, stubborn, tough, great vision, and healthy.”

Podcasts

Segment One: Host Jet Tila and Producer Andy Harris
Segment Two: Chef Chris Oh and Ted Kim of Seoul Sausage Co. in West Los Angeles
Segment Three: Joe Manzella, proprietor of TAPS Fish House & Brewery in Brea and Corona, and The Catch in Anaheim
Segment Four: Linda Burum, food journalist & contributor to Los Angeles Magazine and L.A. Weekly
Segment Five: Collin Crannell, Executive Chef of The Lobster
Segment Six: Jay Isais, Senior Director of Coffee, The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf
Segment Seven: Jon Blackford, Executive Chef of A Restaurant, Newport Beach
Segment Eight: Erin Whitcomb, POPrietor of Front Porch Pops

Lucky Rice Market 2013

We were out on July 27, 2013 at the 2nd annual LA edition of the LuckyRice Festival and Night Market featuring our own Jet Tila and host Sang Yoon of Lukshon, but also past guests like the team from Seoul Sausage Company and some of the best Asian inspired food and cocktails we’ve had all year! Some of the restaurants we tried include Spice Table, Night+Market, Starry Kitchen, BEP Vietnamese Kitchen, B Sweet Catering, Phorage, RockSugar Pan Asian Kitchen, Komodo, Zengo, Ayara Thai Kitchen and a lot more. Not to mention the Katsuya VIP Dragon Lounge. Missed it? Check out our photo gallery to see all the fun we had. Balloon Animals? Oh, yes. That was a blast.

Show 15, February 2, 2013: Tony DiSalvo, Executive Chef of Whist and the Viceroy Santa Monica

Tony DiSalvo of Whist at the Viceroy Santa MonicaOn Sunday afternoon, February 10th The Viceroy is hosting the 1st Annual Noodle Bowl Festival in commemoration of Chinese New Year. East and West chefs are joining together for the afternoon. Unfortunately the 500 available tickets were gone by the end of January.

Chef David LeFevre of M.B. Post in Manhattan Beach is preparing brisket and oxtail pho. The Seoul Sausage Co. boys (winners of Season 3 of Food Network’s “Great Food Truck Race”) are cooking Korean budae jigae with braised pork belly and their signature sausage.

Show 2: October 13, 2012: Seoul Sausage Part Two

More of our exclusive interview with Yong & Ted Kim, and Chef Chris Oh of Seoul Sausage Co. in West L.A. The Seoul Sausage Co. truck, Big Mama, will be back on the Streets of L.A. in November!

Oct. 13: Susan Feniger, Seoul Sausage. Sommelier William Lewis, Pumpkin Festival

Podcasts

Segment One: Susan Feniger
Segment Two: Seoul Sausage Part One
Segment Three: Seoul Sausage Part Two
Segment Four: Sommelier William Lewis Part One
Segment Four: Sommelier William Lewis Part Two
Segment Six: Cal Poly Pomona Pumpkin Festival
It’s a grab bag of treats on the Oct. 13th show so don’t miss a moment.

Seoul SausageIf you follow Food Network’s “Great Food Truck Race” then you know they changed things up dramatically for Season 3 and the level of competition was even harder. This season the contestants had no experience operating a food truck. Each team was given the food truck of their dreams to start things off in Long Beach last Summer. Each week as a team was eliminated they needed to turn their keys over and go home. They were competing for their own custom, fully equipped food truck (representing the competitor’s chosen cuisine) and a cool $50,000 cash prize.

The dramatic finale was Los Angeles versus New Jersey. Our very own Yong Kim, Ted Kim, and Chef Chris Oh from K-Town prevailed with their Seoul Sausage Co. concept. They made friends all across the country on the way to the finale in Maine. It’s their signature fusion sausages and innovative flaming fried balls (which were developed during the show.) They didn’t have enough money in the beginning to buy a sausage machine so they had to adapt their menu.

Yong, Ted, and Chef Chris will all be with us to recount their incredible journey! They have just opened a Seoul Sausage Co. outlet in Little Osaka in West L.A. The truck will be back on the streets of L.A. in November.

Susan Feniger Street FoodNext is Chef Susan Feniger who is well-known in Los Angeles as half the founding team of Border Grill in Los Angeles, Santa Monica and Las Vegas. She was a Food Network star early in the history of Food Network. Instead of slowing down in recent years Susan has revved up. Street, Susan’s personal tribute to International Street Food, opened in 2010 to great acclaim. A Street Cookbook was recently released. Susan also more than held her own on a very tough season of Bravo’s “Top Chef Masters.”

How about a glass of wine with all the conversation? Sommelier William Lewis of The Winery Restaurant and Wine Bar in Tustin’s The District is next in the house. William was the recipient of the “Wine List of the Year” Award at the recent Golden Foodie Awards in Newport Beach. He’ll speak about what to expect from a Sommelier and how he arrives at his suggestions for truly inspired wine and food pairings.

Finally it’s Cal Poly Pomona’s 20th Anniversary Pumpkin Festival on Oct. 20th & 21st from 8 to 5:00 p.m. hosted by their Farm Store and the College of Agriculture. Admission to this family-friendly event is free and some 50,000 pumpkins will be in the patch! Pumpkin Festival Hotline is (909) 869-2215.

Podcasts

Segment One: Susan Feniger
Segment Two: Seoul Sausage Part One
Segment Three: Seoul Sausage Part Two
Segment Four: Sommelier William Lewis Part One
Segment Four: Sommelier William Lewis Part Two
Segment Six: Cal Poly Pomona Pumpkin Festival