Podcasts
Segment One: Show Preview with Executive Producer & Co-Host Andy Harris
Segment Two: Executive Chef Andrew Monterrosa, TAPS Fish House & Brewery, Irvine
Segment Three: Chef Johnny Church, MTO Cafes, Las Vegas
Segment Four: Amy Riolo, The Ultimate Mediterranean Diet Cookbook
Segment Five: Chef Ben Ford, Ford’s Filling Station at L.A. Live
Segment Six: Chef Andrew Gruel, Slapfish Restaurant Group
Segment Seven: Doug Minnick, Co-Founder & Co-Producer – Garagiste Festival Part One
Segment Eight: Doug Minnick, Co-Founder & Co-Producer – Garagiste Festival Part Two
Happy 4th to all and thanks for sharing your Holiday Weekend with us.
We’re here for you…
Now, a mouthwatering preview of Saturday’s red-hot show. Our fireworks are always safe & sane. Bring on the apple pie…With any luck we will always leave you hungry and thirsty. In our case, that’s a good thing…
TAPS Fish House & Brewery (Brea and Corona) has an impressive new location in Irvine at The Market Place. All the TAPS locations differ in design so you never have the feeling you’re dining in an impersonal, corporate restaurant. The environment offers fine dining and a more casual bar-lounge area. There is a comfortable patio, too. They are famous for their Sunday brunch and serve lunch, dinner and happy hour. Chef Andrew Monterrosa joins us with all the 411 on TAPS Irvine.
Downtown Las Vegas is not an easy market for independent restaurants.
You’re competing with all the dining options available in the large Hotels and must appeal to visitors, conventioneers, and the discriminating locals. Not an easy task. Shift Hospitality has overcome the obstacles with their highly successful MTO Café serving breakfast and lunch. They have recently opened a second branch in the Las Vegas suburb of Summerlin. It’s also open for dinner. Chef-Partner Johnny Church is our guest.
Think you’re heard everything you could possibly need to know about the benefits of the Mediterranean Diet ? Think again…We’re diving into The Ultimate Mediterranean Diet Cookbook – Harness the Power of the World’s Healthiest Diet to Live Better, Longer written by international cooking expert Amy Riolo.
When we last chatted with Chef Ben Ford he was just about to open the relocated Ford’s Filling Station at L.A. Live in the JW Marriott Los Angeles. It’s breakfast, lunch and dinner restaurant with Sunday Brunch, too. We’ll get caught up with Chef Ben and hear about his newly initiated Whole Hog Dinner. It’s a feast for 6 to 8 people! Chef Ben suggests that you “fill up on all the good things in life.”
Our own resident Guest Host, Chef Andrew Gruel, is at it again doing the seemingly impossible. He just opened a new Slapfish at LAX on a super compressed timetable that required a lot of ingenuity (and long hours) to pull-off. Chef Andrew is in Palm Springs on a menu development retreat. We’ll catch-up with him.
Garagiste Festival: Urban Exposure produced by Garagiste Events, returns to Los Angeles on July 11th, with 50+ artisan ‘garagiste’ winemakers pouring over 200 wines in a new, and appropriately rock and roll, venue : the stunning art deco landmark, The Wiltern in Koreatown. A new element of the Festival is a first-time alliance with Artisnal LA that will see a mini pop-up of a sampling of their best artisan food producers offering tastes of their healthy, local, sustainable and delicious edibles.
All of this and lots more absolutely incredible deliciousness on Saturday’s show!
TAPS Fish House & Brewery (Brea and Corona) has an impressive new location in Irvine at The Market Place. All the TAPS locations differ in design so you never have the feeling you’re dining in an impersonal, corporate restaurant.
The stylish environment offers fine dining and a more casual bar-lounge area. There is a comfortable patio, too. They are famous for their Sunday brunch and serve lunch, dinner and happy hour.
The private dining room at the news TAPS Irvine accommodates 125 guests and features a handsome stone fireplace and large barn doors that slide open across an arched entry. A 1,800-square-foot, cigar-friendly patio with a full-service menu and cocktails seats 100.
TAPS is as well known for its quality cuisine served in generous portions as it is for award-winning, handcrafted ales and lagers. There is a critically acclaimed wine list, which includes 150 California-centric selections by the bottle and 20 wines by the glass.
The Irvine location has an impressive 24 taps – 14 of them for TAPS seasonal and signature ales and lagers. There are an additional four guest beers on draft selected by Brewmaster David Huls.
This is the first TAPS to showcase select meats and fish cooked on a J & R “Little Red Smokehouse” smoker. This Rolls Royce of smokers from Mesquite, TX is fueled by apple wood and cherry wood. It’s inspired by the smoker at sister restaurant, Lillie’s Q in Brea. A smoked prime rib is offered nightly. Rotating smoked fish offerings include trout, albacore, salmon, mussels and oysters.
Chef Andrew Monterrosa joins us with all the 411 on TAPS Irvine.
Downtown Las Vegas is not an easy market for independent restaurants.
You’re competing with all the dining options available in the large Hotels and must appeal to visitors, conventioneers, and the discriminating locals. Not an easy task.
Shift Hospitality has overcome the obstacles with their highly successful MTO Café serving breakfast and lunch. They have recently opened a second branch in the Las Vegas suburb of Summerlin. It’s also open for dinner.
The MTO Cafes serve fresh comfort food in a highly personal, everyday atmosphere. The goal is to position the MTO Cafes as the locals’ neighborhood go-to.
Chef Johnny Church is the culinary talent behind MTO. Named 2014 Culinarian of the Year by the Nevada Restaurant Association, Chef Johnny is an up and coming star on the dynamic Vegas food scene.
His career path has taken him through Rick Moonen’s rm Seafood & Rx Boiler Room, Charlie Palmer’s Aureole at Mandalay Bay, Andre’s at the Monte Carlo, Alize at the Top of the Palms, Paris Las Vegas’ Eiffel Tower Restaurant and the former AJ’s Steakhouse at the Hard Rock Hotel. He was part of Bradley Ogden’s opening team at Root 246 in Solvang, CA. Earlier in his career he was chef for Gordon Ramsey’s “Kitchen Nightmares.”
MTO’s Chef-Partner Johnny Church is our guest.
Think you’re heard everything you could possibly need to know about the benefits of the Mediterranean Diet? Think again…
We’re diving into The Ultimate Mediterranean Diet Cookbook – Harness the Power of the World’s Healthiest Diet to Live Better, Longer written by international cooking expert Amy Riolo. It’s based on the science of the Mediterranean Diet Pyramid.
She gets right to the core of the Mediterranean lifestyle explaining what should be eaten, when it should be eaten, and why. Each recipe is complemented by “Mediterranean Tradition” – information on the history, culture, lore, and nutritional value of the dish and its ingredients.
Recent studies show that people who follow a Mediterranean diet were 47 percent less likely to develop heart disease – and the news gets even better. A Mediterranean diet works for all genders, all age groups, and regardless of overall condition.
Combined with the fact that the foods most common to the Mediterranean diet are easily available in the U.S. and Canada – and already number among our most popular dishes – make this diet plan perhaps one of the most effective, easiest to follow, and delicious. Rich in olive oil, nuts, beans, fish, fruits and vegetables, and even wine, The Ultimate Mediterranean Diet allows you to enjoy appealing food and good health.
When we last chatted with Chef Ben Ford he was just about to open the relocated Ford’s Filling Station at L.A. Live in the JW Marriott Los Angeles. It’s breakfast, lunch and dinner with Sunday Brunch, too. We’ll get caught up with Chef Ben and hear about his newly initiated Whole Hog Dinner. It’s a feast for 6 to 8 people!
Chef Ben suggests that you “fill up on all the good things in life.”
Situated in the lobby of the JW Marriott Los Angeles, the new Ford’s Filling Station L.A. LIVE is an evolution of chef and restaurateur Ben Ford’s original ‘gastropub’ concept, showcasing sustainable, regional cuisine. Drawing inspiration from the abundance of fresh produce and artisanal meats available through California farms, as well as his travels through the south and southwest, Chef Ford has created a menu that is a unique blend of west coast flavors and southwest influence.
An onsite smoker fired with a blend of apple, pecan and cherry wood lends exceptional tenderness and flavor to meats; while fruits and vegetables culled from regional farms enhance a carefully curated menu.
The cocktail program from innovative mixologist Dushan Zarin of New York’s famed Employees Only bar, is food-friendly and filled with classic libations, craft beers and farm-fresh savory cocktails.
His impressive cookbook, Taming the Feast: Ben Ford’s Field Guide to Adventurous Cooking, focuses not only on bringing people together to eat good, sustainable organic food, but gathering lots, and lots, of people together to enjoy sumptuous feasts.
Our own resident Guest Host, Chef Andrew Gruel, is at it again doing the seemingly impossible. He just opened a new Slapfish at LAX on a super compressed timetable that required a lot of ingenuity (and long hours) to pull-off. The Irvine Slapfish debuts mid-month.
Chef Andrew is in Palm Springs on a menu development retreat. He’s testing recipes with a crew of colleagues. We’ll catch-up with him and, yes, find out what’s cooking…
Garagiste Festival: Urban Exposure produced by Garagiste Events, returns to Los Angeles on July 11th, from 2 to 6:00 p.m. with 50+ artisan ‘garagiste’ winemakers pouring over 200 wines in a new, and appropriately rock and roll, venue: the stunning art deco landmark, The Wiltern in Koreatown. Proceeds from the non-profit festival will benefit Cal Poly Wine and Viticulture program. Tickets are available here.
A new element of the Festival is a first-time alliance with Artisnal LA that will see a mini pop-up of a sampling of their best artisan food producers offering tastes of their healthy, local, sustainable and delicious edibles.
“We have always felt that finding undiscovered winemakers is like discovering a new band in a club before they have a hit record, so The Wiltern’s rock and roll history is a perfect fit for these renegade, under-the-radar wine makers. Plus, it is a stunning place,” said Doug Minnick Co-founder of The Garagiste Festivals. “And, as our fans know, a really cool venue is an integral part of the garagiste experience. As always, we will have one-on-one interaction with the winemakers, an unmatched tasting range of amazing hard-to-find wines, a no-snobs-allowed atmosphere, and just plain fun.”
The Garagiste Wine Festivals, which first exposed the American garagiste movement, are among the most unique and influential wine events in the world. They are the only wine events that exclusively showcase ultra-premium, cutting-edge, micro-production commercial wineries that produce fewer than 1,500 cases (and many under 800) a year.
“Garagistes” is a term originally used in the Bordeaux region of France to denigrate renegade small-lot wine makers, sometimes working in their “garages” (anything considered not a chateau), who refused to follow the “rules,” and is now a full-fledged movement responsible for making some of the best wine in the world. The Garagiste Festivals were the first to shine a light on the American garagiste winemaker in 2011.
Podcasts
Segment One: Show Preview with Executive Producer & Co-Host Andy Harris
Segment Two: Executive Chef Andrew Monterrosa, TAPS Fish House & Brewery, Irvine
Segment Three: Chef Johnny Church, MTO Cafes, Las Vegas
Segment Four: Amy Riolo, The Ultimate Mediterranean Diet Cookbook
Segment Five: Chef Ben Ford, Ford’s Filling Station at L.A. Live
Segment Six: Chef Andrew Gruel, Slapfish Restaurant Group
Segment Seven: Doug Minnick, Co-Founder & Co-Producer – Garagiste Festival Part One
Segment Eight: Doug Minnick, Co-Founder & Co-Producer – Garagiste Festival Part Two
Don’t miss Guest Host Chef Andrew Gruel’s (he’ll be joining us a bit later in the show) new restaurant makeover series, “Say It To My Face” on FYI. An original episode is aired every Thursday evening with an encore episode thereafter. Check your local listings. On-line food reviewers confront restaurateurs with the shortcomings of their establishments. It’s then up to Chef Andrew and his colleague, Chef Anthony Dispensa, to coach the chef and restaurateur to achieve a much higher level of guest satisfaction when the on-line reviews return for another look! Sometimes it’s tough-love…
Chef Ben Ford
CoffeeCon LA 2014 
Soliste
