Podcasts
Segment One: Show Preview with Co-Host Andy Harris
Segment Two: Chef George Geary, Author of L.A.’s Legendary Restaurants
Segment Three: Executive Chef / Restaurateur Dino Ferraro, Capone’s Cucina, Huntington Beach
Segment Four: Laurel Tavern, Hermosa Beach
Segment Five: Executive Chef Bruce Kalman, Union & Cochon 555 L.A. Competitor
Segment Six: Greg Nagel, Founder, FirkFest Caskaway
Segment Seven: Katy Smith, Executive Creative Chef, Puesto, Irvine’s Los Olivos Marketplace
Segment Eight: Executive Chef Andrew Gruel, Slapfish Restaurant Group
We have been enthusiastically following the incredible “Road to Lyon” for Team USA in the prestigious Bocuse d’Or International Culinary Competition since Chef Mathew Peters (formerly with Thomas Keller’s per se) and his Commis, Harrison Turone, reigned supreme in a fierce cooking competition at The Venetian Resort in Las Vegas in December 2015 to win the honor of representing Team USA in 2017 sat the Bocuse d’Or . For the first time in the 30- year history of the biannual Bocuse d’Or, Team USA took the coveted First Place Gold Statue in late January in Lyon.
You can join in an exclusive, well-deserved salute to our proud Team USA at a reception of specialty cocktails and canapes at Chef Walter Manzke’s (member of the ment’or BKB Culinay Council) Republique in Los Angeles on Monday evening, March 13th from 7 to 9:30 p.m. Both Chefs Mathew and Harrison will be there as well as the prized Gold Statue. Tickets are available right here. See you there!
Now an appetizing preview of this 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 actually a pretty good thing…
L.A.’s Legendary Restaurants – Celebrating the Famous Places Where Hollywood Ate, Drank, and Played is an illustrated history (with coveted recipes) of dozens of landmark eateries from throughout the City of Angels. From such classics as Musso & Frank and The Brown Derby in the 1920s to the see-and-be-seen crowds at Chasen’s, Romanoffs, and Ciro’s in the mid-20th century to the dawn of California cuisine at Ma Maison and Spago Sunset in the 1970s and ‘80s, L.A.’s Legendary Restaurants celebrates the famous locations where Hollywood ate, drank, and played. Author, chef, culinary instructor and Certified Culinary Professional George Geary is our guest.
Chef Dino Ferraro is affectionately known as the “Godfather of Italian Cuisine” in Huntington Beach with three popular Italian/Mediterranean Restaurants located in this prominent beach community know as Surf City USA. Chef Dino’s flagship is Capone’s Cucina and his other establishments are Black Trumpet Bistro and Mona Lisa Cucina.
Laurel Tavern, an American Gastropub, is new in Hermosa Beach. The menu maker is Chef Roger Hayot who is known to local foodies for his pioneering work as Owner/Chef at Los Angeles’ (now departed) Authentic Café. GM Lee Farrell is the architect of the civilized libation program there including an ambitious selection of rotating craft beers. We’ll meet them.
Cochon555 is a national culinary competition for a cause in support of safe, honest foodways and family farms producing heritage breed pigs. The Los Angeles edition of the event takes place on March 12, at Viceroy Santa Monica. Among the five competing chefs is Bruce Kalman of Pasadena’s Union (Farmhouse Italian Fare.) Chef Bruce is our guest along with Cochon 555’s Communications Director Robert McKeown.
The 4th Annual FirkFest is back at the Anaheim Packing District on Saturday, March 11th and this year it’s a Tiki theme. It’s unlimited tastes from 50 casks. Talk about wild & unrestrained. Founder Greg Nagel taps the keg for us on this year’s event to benefit the Orange County Brewer’s Guild.
San Diego’s thriving taco hotspot, Puesto, has expanded to Orange County with a new restaurant in Irvine’s Los Olivos Marketplace. The concept is a fresh, contemporary take on authentic Mexican fare in a relaxed environment. Executive Creative Chef Katy Smith is our guest.
Our Co-Host, Chef Andrew Gruel, is a recognized expert on seafood. Poke outlets are seemingly popping up on every corner and fresh sushi is now available at your neighborhood convenience store. How do you know your poke and sushi is really fresh ? Raw fish needs to be handled, and stored, with care. Chef Andrew to the rescue with what you should know to be better informed!
L.A.’s Legendary Restaurants – Celebrating the Famous Places Where Hollywood Ate, Drank, and Played is an illustrated history (with coveted recipes) of dozens of landmark eateries from throughout the City of Angels. From such classics as Musso & Frank and The Brown Derby in the 1920s to the see-and-be-seen crowds at Chasen’s, Romanoffs, and Ciro’s in the mid-20th century to the dawn of California cuisine at Ma Maison and Spago Sunset in the 1970s and ‘80s, L.A.’s Legendary Restaurants celebrates the famous locations where Hollywood ate, drank, and played.
Author George Geary leads you into the glamorous restaurants inhabited by the stars through a lively narrative filled with colorful anecdotes and illustrated with vintage photographs, historic menus, and timeless ephemera. Over 100 iconic recipes for entrees, appetizers, desserts, and vintage drinks are included, and all are updated for today’s cook and kitchen.
While many people have heard the story of Elizabeth Taylor requesting that Chasen’s famous chili be flown to her on the set of Cleopatra in Rome, L.A.’s Legendary Restaurants offers facts and trivia that aren’t as well known to the general public, such as Bob Hope’s favorite place to enjoy a hot fudge sundae after the Academy Awards, the restaurant where part of a table was sawed off to accommodate a pregnant Lana Turner, and the pharmacy where composer Harold Arlen wrote “Over the Rainbow” for The Wizard of Oz.
The glamour of the golden age of drive-ins, drugstores, nightclubs, and hotels are also honored. What book on L.A. restaurants would be complete without tales of ice cream sundaes at C.C. Brown’s, cafeteria-style meals at Clifton’s, a late-night breakfast at Ben Frank’s, or a mai tai at Don the Beachcomber?
Author, chef and Certified Culinary Professional George Geary is our guest.
Chef Dino Ferraro is affectionately known as the “Godfather of Italian Cuisine” in Huntington Beach with three popular Italian/Mediterranean Restaurants located in this prominent beach community. Chef Dino’s flagship is Capone’s Cucina and his other establishments are Black Trumpet Bistro and Mona Lisa Cucina.
Capone’s Pasta and Pizza opened in Westminster in 1997. It was at this location that Dino expanded his repertoire and added specials to the standard menu. Customers were hooked on Dino’s ability to transform everyday ingredients into culinary works of art and became regulars.
He sold Capone’s Pasta and Pizza in 2000 and moved to Huntington Beach where he opened Capone’s Cucina with a goal of creating a more gourmet dining experience. In 2002, Dino hired friend and fellow chef, Francois Lieutaud to create a unique paring of French and Italian cuisine. The combination made for an old world European feel and customers loved the larger selection of dishes. Capone’s remodeled and expanded into the space next door late last year.
Dino and Francois rejoined again and started Mona Lisa Cucina with a large variety of gourmet pasta’s and pizza’s to serve the Huntington Beach community. From their early experiments with simple, basic foods grew an appreciation for the sensuality of texture, presentation and fragrance.
The newest addition to Chef Dino’s family of restaurants is The Black Trumpet. This establishment specializes in Mediterranean tapas, small plates that bring the guest the flavors of Italy, France, Greece and Morocco.
Laurel Tavern, an American Gastropub, is new in Hermosa Beach. The menu maker is Chef Roger Hayot who is known to local foodies for his pioneering work as Owner/Chef at Los Angeles’ (now departed) Authentic Café. GM Lee Farrell is the architect of the civilized libation program there including an ambitious selection of craft beers.
It’s a youthful vibe with moderate prices. You order at The Bar and a friendly server brings you your libations and food.
Weekend Brunch includes specialties like Lemon Ricotta Stuffed French Toast and Mohawk Smoked Bacon.
Dinner specialties are the Sausage Board with bratwurst, apple & smoked gouda sausage, andouille sausage and accompaniments, and Smoked Chicken Salad with mahon cheese, marcona almonds, piquillio peppers, mushrooms, chickpeas and pickled red onion.
The ample bar program includes an international “Build Your Own Mule” option.
We’ll meet both Chef Roger and GM Lee.
Cochon555 is a national culinary competition for a cause in support of safe, honest foodways and family farms producing heritage breed pigs. The Los Angeles edition of the event takes place on March 12, at Viceroy Santa Monica. Among the five competing local chefs is Bruce Kalman of Pasadena’s Union (Farmhouse Italian Fare.)
At the center of Cochon555 is a cook-off featuring five chefs cooking five whole, heritage breed pigs with innovative techniques and bold flavor profiles. One week before the event, the five competing chefs receive a 200-pound heritage breed pig from a local farmer. They are each tasked to create and present a “Judge’s Plate” of 6 dishes scored on categories such as utilization; cooking techniques; and overall flavor. The winner from each city is crowned the “Prince of Porc,” and given a place at Cochon’s national championship, Grand Cochon, to be held in Chicago during October 2017. This year, Chef Larry Monaco of Viceroy Santa Monica’s CAST Restaurant will lead the judging.
Communal feasting is an integral part of the Cochon555 culinary fabric. Beyond the 30 chef-competitor dishes – all told, some 1,500-plus pounds of heritage pork from family farms – guests can sample beef tartare with the wines of Antica Napa Valley; farmhouse cheeses; a pop-up bakery featuring La Brea; a Reserve Salami Snack Bar from Creminelli and Divina paired with wines from Nielson; a ramen noodle soup bar paired with the racy wines from Wines of Germany; organic pâté offerings from Les Trois Petit Cochons; a Luxury Butter Bar featuring Sabatino truffle butter, foie gras, and more; wines from Twomey and Silver Oak Cellars paired with bites prepared by Chef Dominic Orsini and an innovative take on classic pastry presented by Perfect Puree of Napa Valley.
Tickets for general admission start at $125; VIP tickets (early admission + exclusive sommelier and cocktail competition tastings) are $200; and BESPOKE tickets $400 (includes a multi-course charity dinner prepared by 3 celebrity chefs on Saturday night; super early admission + exclusive private tasting and tour of Somm-Selected wines and the Barkeep competition by a Cochon555 director on Sunday; and a donation to Piggy Bank charity). You can purchase tickets right here.
Chef Bruce Kalman is our guest along with Cochon 555’s Communications Director, Robert McKeown.
The 4th Annual FirkFest is back at the Anaheim Packing District on Saturday, March 11th and this year it’s a Tiki theme. It’s unlimited tastes from 50 casks. Talk about wild & unrestrained. It’s beers, food and all-Tiki-themed décor.
“Looking at the previous three Firkfest events, I saw a common denominator: tropical-style beers seemed to stand out. As a huge cocktail nerd that loves Tiki culture, it’s time for the area’s craft brewers to come together, throw on some grass skirts, and make something truly unique,” says founder, organizer, and local beer writer Greg Nagel, @OCBeerBlog.
Food vendors include Tiki-style slider restaurant Hatch and the Iron Press bringing pulled-pork fries and sliders, Adya: Fresh Indian Flavors is bringing tropical Kebab and nacho-like pineapple chaat, and Salt & Ash from P-town is coming up with a pork Musubi-like dish (tbd).
Founder Greg Nagel taps the keg for us on this year’s event to benefit the Orange County Brewer’s Guild.
San Diego’s thriving taco hotspot, Puesto, has expanded to Orange County with a new restaurant in Irvine’s Los Olivos Marketplace. The concept is a fresh, contemporary take on authentic Mexican fare in a relaxed environment.
Puesto’s menu encourages guests to mix and match from an offering of specialty tacos such as the Filet Mignon Taco with crispy melted cheese, avocado & spicy pistachio serrano salsa, Chicken Al Pastor Taco with crispy melted cheese, hibiscus & chipotle tinga, avocado & piña habanero pico, vegetarian options such as the Zucchini & Cactus Taco with crispy melted cheese, zucchini, corn, tomato, cactus, avocado & cilantro-tomatillo, and sustainable seafood options like the Tamarindo Shrimp Tacos with crispy tamarindo-chile shrimp nestled in guacamole & cilantro. All of Puesto’s salsas are made from scratch using local ingredients, with tortillas made in-house using organic, non-GMO, blue corn masa sourced from local purveyor, Kernel of Truth.
Puesto’s extensive beverage program offers nearly 50 kinds of tequila and mezcal, 12 local and Mexican beers on draft, six wines on tap and specialty cocktails made with freshly squeezed juices and house-made liqueurs and sodas. Popular libations include the Puesto Perfect Margarita with blue agave reposado tequila, lime & agave nectar, El Mezcalito with Vida mezcal, Guanabana, tamarindo, lime & charred orange and La Rosita with house-made strawberry-cilantro infused vodka, lemon & cane sugar.
Puesto’s Executive Creative Chef Katy Smith is our guest.
Our Co-Host, Chef Andrew Gruel, is a recognized expert on seafood. Poke outlets are seemingly popping up on every corner and fresh sushi is now available at your neighborhood convenience store.
How do you know if your poke and sushi are really fresh? Raw fish needs to be handled, and stored, with care. Chef Andrew to the rescue with what you should know to be better informed!
Podcasts
Segment One: Show Preview with Co-Host Andy Harris
Segment Two: Chef George Geary, Author of L.A.’s Legendary Restaurants
Segment Three: Executive Chef / Restaurateur Dino Ferraro, Capone’s Cucina, Huntington Beach
Segment Four: Laurel Tavern, Hermosa Beach
Segment Five: Executive Chef Bruce Kalman, Union & Cochon 555 L.A. Competitor
Segment Six: Greg Nagel, Founder, FirkFest Caskaway
Segment Seven: Katy Smith, Executive Creative Chef, Puesto, Irvine’s Los Olivos Marketplace
Segment Eight: Executive Chef Andrew Gruel, Slapfish Restaurant Group
