Two Great Events in One Great Night at Sol Cocina

Sol Cocina

251 E. Coast Highway

Newport Beach, CA 92660

It is probably no secret to any of our regular readers of this blog that we really like Sol Cocina. We have visited this restaurant numerous times. This was the venue for our first media event, it was also one of our highest rated restaurants in 2011, and Sol was also the restaurant where Katie and I celebrated Valentines Day this year. It is always a treat coming back to Sol Cocina, and we were really excited when we were recently invited to celebrate the return of Tequila Thursdays and to get a first look at their new Spring/Summer Culinary Offerings.

Let's start with the return of Tequila Thursdays. On Thursdays guests can enjoy a complimentary taste of the featured tequila of the night from 6-8 pm. After you have your taste, you can then take advantage of that featured tequila being offered at half price for the rest of the night. I have included the remaining dates and tequilas below.

April 11th: Patron
April 18th: Tres Sietes
April 25th: Partida
May 2nd: Cinco De Mayo
May 9th: Patron
May 16th: Tequila Ocho
May 23rd: Pura Vida
May 30th: TBD
June 6th: Partida
June 13th: Restaurant Buyout
June 20th: Dos Armadillos
June 27th: Casa Noble

We were lucky enough to be able to try Sol's latest addition to their 70 plus tequilas, the Sol Single Barrel Reposado. This extremely limited tequila is only offered at Sol Cocina in Newport and Scottsdale. As the name suggests, this tequila is made in a single barrel at the Casa Noble estate in Mexico. This means that there are only 360 bottles of this tequila available. Talk about being rare. A lot goes into making this tequila, starting with the wood used for the barrel. It is French white oak that is slightly charred for the optimal aging of the tequila. The tequila is then aged for 364 days, monitored during that time, then placed in hand-made bottles, which are numbered and signed by the makers. The result is a tequila that is able to be sipped, or is able to keep its presence felt in a cocktail. I am not too much of a sipping tequila kind of guy, but this Single Barrel Reposado was very smooth and I detected hints of caramel in it. Even in the Margarita you could tell that this was a very special tequila.

After all of this tequila I was definitely ready for some food, and lucky for me some of the newest seasonal offerings were headed out for us to try. Sol Cocina has had some of the best guacamole we have ever had. Now they are offering two new ones. The Guacamole Verano caught my attention right away. This guacamole had raspberries dusted with chili con limon, toasted almonds, spicy Serrano chiles, and cotixa cheese. Talk about having a little bit of everything in this guacamole. Every bite contained a new element. The sweetness from the raspberries, the earthiness from the almonds, and the spiciness from the chili were very evident here. The Corn Goddess Guacamole was a little more traditional. This one used their regular guacamole as a base, and then added grilled and crunchy corn, cotixa cheese, pico de gallo, minced Serrano chiles, red onions, cilantro, and a first for me, Inca Corn, which is like a version of corn nuts, very crunchy. I just had a small sampling of this one, but this guacamole also had layered flavors, that played nicely against each other.

My favorite food item of the night was the Taco Viper. I could not control myself with these, and probably ate close to five of them. This taco started with a corn tortilla, and then melted cheese and grilled chicken is added. Then the viper salsa is added to the taco. This viper salsa is made up of dried chipotle meco, caramelized onions, agave, a splash of tequila, and just for good measure, ghost chili, the hottest chile on the planet. This taco had a good heat, but was not as scary as it sounds. Katie even tried this one, but she did not have another one. The heat was good, but you could still taste the other elements of the taco. A very hard balance to find, but Chef Deb definitely did it here.

I was pretty full from the Taco Viper, so I limited myself to only one of these Taco Adobado D.F.. These are the taco that is most closely associated with Mexico City, which Mexicans call the the D.F. In this version of a taco, the pork is added to a marinade, diced onions, and pineapple, then that filling is put into a puffy fried flour tortilla. This was a different taste for me. It was a little on the sweeter side. I also wanted the pork to stand out more than it did. Not bad, but maybe for people that enjoy a more mellower taste.

This of course is only a small portion of the new seasonal offerings at Sol Cocina. When I got home I perused the new seasonal menu and found a  few other things that caught my eye, including the Puerto Nuevo Lobster Tacos, the Spicy Chicken Milanesa Torta, and the Hangover Changa, which is basically a breakfast burrito deep fried. Wow, that sounds amazing, but that one is only available at brunch. I guess we will have to make another trip to Sol Cocina to try their brunch soon.

I would like to thank everyone at Sol Cocina for this great event that they put together. Starting with the driving force behind Sol Cocina, cookbook author, James Beard nominee, and too many more accolades to list here, Chef Deborah Schneider. The three times that we have met her, she always takes the time to talk with us and she is so passionate about her restaurant and her food, which shows in the end result. We would also like to thank Sol Cocina Partners, Rich Howland and Matt Baumayr for sharing with us the process about how the Sol Single Barrel Reposado came to be, and was brought to the restaurant. Another big shout out to one of the best PR people in the business, the wonderful Mona Shah-Anderson at Moxxe PR. We always enjoy your events Mona, especially when they are at Sol Cocina. Lastly, we would like to thank all of our fellow food bloggers, and media that we get a chance to catch up with at these events. We are all such a close knit group and it is great to swap stories, get tips from one another, and just catch up with all of you. We look forward to seeing you all again real soon.

For more information about Sol Cocina, and everything that they have going on there, check out their web site here: http://www.solcocina.com/

 

Does Blue Agave Reign Supreme in Yorba Linda?

Blue Agave

18601 Yorba Linda Blvd.

Yorba Linda, CA 92886

There is a mini-war being waged in my hometown of Yorba Linda. It involves two restaurants that do not even serve the same kind of food, but the battle lines have been drawn. In the "Land of Gracious Living", you are either a Blue Agave person or you enjoy Esther's Taco House. I can remember watching the KTLA Morning News when Yorba Linda resident and weatherman, Henry DiCarlo asked former Yorba Linda dweller, Audrina Patridge, "Esther's Taco House or Blue Agave?" Her answer was Blue Agave, but Henry said that he was more of an Esther's fan, so the debate rages on.

My family has always been on the side of Audrina. We have always gone to Blue Agave and basically ignored Esther's. This might be due to the location of Blue Agave, and its close proximity to our house. My parents have claimed to have eaten at Esther's only one time, years back. They say that they were not fans. I was having lunch with my Mom and Brother-in-law after getting my teeth cleaned, and it took very little convincing to get them to meet me at Blue Agave.

I have not been back to Blue Agave for nearly four years, and have never visited for the blog. Blue Agave has been in business for nearly twenty years now. Since they have opened they have anchored this shopping center that features a fabric store, a Papa John's and the hair place that I used to get my hair cut, back when I had hair to cut. The inside is just the same as I remember it. Bright colors, a bar off of the hostess stand, and two spacious dining rooms. We arrived just after they opened, and were seated right away. During our stay, the lunch rush swelled, so that almost all of the thirty or so tables were filled. We checked out the Southwest-inspired menu, ordered, and this is what came out for us.

Of course, before we ordered, the Chips and Salsa hit our table. Much like the walls at Blue Agave, the tortilla chips here are bright as well. These chips had a good crunch to them and were a great vessel for the chunky salsa. I really enjoyed the salsa here. Not too watery, with good chunks of onion included in it. I could have handled more spice, but I definitely ate my fair share of this salsa.

If I had not been so preoccupied with the chips and salsa, I would have been quicker on the draw and snapped some pictures of our server making this guacamole tableside. This Fresh Guacamole Dip ($7.95) was made with two large avocados, cilantro, red onion, spices, and lime. Even with all of these items in this dip, the guacamole was very smooth. We got ours with a little heat, but the coolness of the avocado balanced everything out. This was more than enough for the three of us.

My Mom is not much of a lunch eater, so it was no big shock that she only ordered Tortilla Soup ($5.95) for her meal. This is one of her favorite tortilla soups around. It included vegetables, tortilla strips, and chicken in a clear broth. I tried some of this, and the chicken was tender, but it could have been spiced a little more for my taste. A very mellow soup. Make sure you do not make the same mistake my Mom did when eating here for lunch. One of their lunch specials is this same bowl of soup above, along with their signature Blue Moon Salad for only 55 cents more. I know what my mom is thinking about reading this, "I can't eat that much", but I would have definitely helped her with the salad.

One thing I have always remembered about the plates at Blue Agave is that they were always very colorful. This is still the case. Jarrod selected another one of Blue Agave's lunch specials. West Texas ($6.95) included a chili Verde enchilada and taquitos, along with rice and beans. He really liked this plate, and would definitely get it again. It came to the table hot and he enjoyed the combination of flavors on the plate. It had a little bit of everything, from the slightly tangy Verde salsa to the savory beans, and the sweet corn cake. Jarrod left here very happy.

Well since everyone else was doing it, I got a lunch special as well. The Carnitas ($8.95) is only a dollar cheaper than at dinner time, but a buck is a buck. This carnitas came wrapped in a banana leaf and came with pico de gallo, guacamole, cilantro, your choice of tortillas, and beans and rice. These were not as greasy as some of the other carnitas I have had. They were pretty tender and could stand on their own. I did miss the little crunchy bits that are on some fried carnitas though. With the amount of pork on this plate, I was able to make three tacos out of it. The rice and beans were okay here. I like a heavier bean than what was served at Blue Agave. The rice was pretty flavorful and light. The corn cake was a great sweet contrast to the pork.

Blue Agave was good, but it is not going to blow your mind. This is a Southwestern grill, not a Mexican restaurant, so I give them some leeway about lacking the spice that I like so much when having Mexican food. They definitely put a lot of effort into the presentation of their plates. I did think that the prices were really good at lunch for a sit-down restaurant. It is pretty rare that you can find a two-item combination meal at a restaurant for under seven dollars. The service on this afternoon was pretty solid. Our waitress took good care of us and made things run smoothly. I have made it my mission to try Esther's Taco House next week, to see if I can declare a winner in this great Yorba Linda taco debate. We can also finally find out if Audrina really does know what she is talking about when it comes to restaurants.

Out of five tequila bottles, (because of course tequila is made from the blue agave plant), five being best to zero being worst, Blue Agave gets 3 tequila bottles.

For more information about Blue Agave, click here: https://www.blueagaveswgrill.com/

Morning Meet Up at Haute Cakes Caffe

Haute Cakes Caffe

1807 Westcliff Dr.

Newport Beach, CA 92660

It has gotten hard to get together with my friend Chris and his wife Adrienne. Back in the old days, we used to just hang out in whatever bar they happened to be working at, but those days are long gone now. We all got older, they have a kid, and another one on the way. So we have to make a special effort to get together. For some reason with this pregnancy, Adrienne has not had morning sickness, but she gets sick at night. It was my suggestion that we meet up for breakfast. I picked a place that was close to their house and a place that gets good reviews on-line. We headed to Haute Cakes Caffe.

Haute Cakes Caffe is located right past where 17th street turns into the more fashionable part of town, Westcliff Drive. I remember eating in this sleepy strip mall one other time before, at Pizza Bakery probably about fifteen years ago. Haute Cakes Caffe has been in business since 1990, and they are definitely the big draw around here. We got here at 9:15 on a recent Sunday. The line was nearly out the door, but it moved along at a decent pace. After ordering at the register, you are given a number, then the food is brought out to you. There is limited seating inside, but even more, seating out in front of the restaurant. That's where we grabbed a seat and waited for our food.

Who says you can't have cookies at breakfast? This is actually me striking back at my parents for not letting me have Cookie Crisp cereal when I was a kid. At least that is my defense. Don't judge. While we were waiting in line, we just happened to be next to the bakery case, so of course, I had to try their Chocolate Chip Cookie ($2). This was one of the best cookies I have had in a while. It had plenty of chocolate chips, a good crunch to it, and was not overly sweet. This cookie disappeared quickly. Chris and Adrienne must have been seduced by the bakery display case as well because they got a slice of Banana Chocolate Chip Bread ($1.50). At first glance, this bread looked to be on the dry side, but that was deceiving. It was moist, and like the cookie, it had plenty of chocolate chips. The banana flavor was very mellow in this bread. Not a bad start to our meal.

Both Chris and Katie got the same thing for breakfast, which really helps me by cutting down on the length of this review. It is really a win for all of us because then you do not have to read my awful writing any longer than necessary. They both ordered the Italian Scramble ($9.95). This scramble came with scrambled eggs, Parmesan cheese, Roma tomatoes, red and yellow peppers, onions and Italian sausage. With all of these great items involved in this scramble, I would have expected them to like this more than they did. The ingredients used here were very fresh, but both of them thought that nothing really stood out on this plate. Katie would get something different on her next visit here.

I will give the plates at Haute Cakes Caffe some major credit for creating very colorful breakfasts. Just looking at this All American Scramble ($9.95) it is definitely bright enough to wipe the sleep out of your eyes for sure. This scramble came with cheddar cheese, two eggs, tomatoes, avocado, and bacon. To be honest, even with all of this color this dish was nothing but average. Not awful, but the bacon was not prevalent enough here, and this really needed a pop of flavor. A little more cheese would not have hurt either. This came with roasted red potatoes, toast, and fruit. The fruit was definitely fresh, and the sourdough toast was pretty solid. The potatoes were okay, but some of the bigger hunks needed to be cooked a little more, and all the potatoes needed more seasoning.

When these Blueberry Cornmeal Haute Cakes ($6) were brought out, I thought there had been a mistake. There did not appear to be any blueberries, but I flipped them over and found them. These cornmeal cakes came very highly suggested by people on-line. I was not too much of a fan. To be fair, I am not one that gets excited by cornbread and this kind of tasted like cornbread in pancake form. They were a little on the dry side, with very little flavor. I would have probably liked these with a little more syrup, but I did not want to brave the crowd that was blocking the doorway of the restaurant.

Adrienne is not a very adventurous eater, and at Haute Cakes Caffe she held true to form. She went with the Haute Combination ($9.75). This combination was made up of two scrambled eggs, three strips of bacon, two buttermilk Haute cakes, and fresh fruit. She gave her eggs over to Chris right away in trade for some of his potatoes. She's not much of an egg person. She liked the lightness of the pancakes but thought that they lacked substance. The bacon was cooked well, and she felt the fruit was fresh. Hard to please Adrienne was not very impressed with her breakfast.

I guess you can say that none of us were really all that impressed with Haute Cakes Caffe. Nothing was really awful, but nothing really struck us as all that great. The highlight of the meal for me was the baked goods that we had before our breakfasts arrived. Breakfast is the one meal that I think is the most difficult for restaurants to make themselves stand out. Most breakfast menus are very traditional, and it is hard for them to stray from the favorites that everyone likes. I kind of liked the vibe here at Haute Cakes. It was kind of hipster/Newport, without being overly annoying. The service was also pretty solid here. The food came out in a timely manner, and the staff was pretty diligent about clearing plates from tables. It was good to see Chris and Adrienne, but if we come back to Haute Cakes, we will just stick with their baked goods.

Out of five-seat cushions, (because four out of the top 12 employers in the city of Newport Beach are resorts, and the second most popular items stolen in hotel rooms are seat cushions. Crazy, right?), five being best to zero being worst, Haute Cakes Caffe gets 2.5 seat cushions.

For more information about Haute Cakes Caffe, click here: https://www.hautecakes.cafe/

A Night of Surprises at the Batasiolo Wine Dinner at Canaletto - CLOSED

Canaletto

545 Newport Center Dr.

Newport Beach, CA 92660

Almost everyone who knows me knows I am not much of a wine drinker. I profess to know next to nothing about wines. I know that red wines go with meat and whites go with fish and poultry, but that is about the extent of my knowledge. After attending the Batasiolo Wine Dinner at Canaletto, my wine appreciation has grown immensely just in this one night.

The great people at Canaletto invited us to their monthly wine dinner this past week. I was a little intimidated walking into this event. Not only is Canaletto one of the most excellent restaurants at Fashion Island, but I was also walking into a wine dinner with people I did not know and people who I assumed had way more wine intelligence than me. In other words, I half expected to make a fool out of myself.

Nothing could have been further from the truth. We arrived right on time for the 6:30pm wine dinner. For those of you who do not know Canaletto, they are located between Neiman Marcus and Whole Foods Market. When we walked in, the bar was predictably busy. Canaletto is well-known for having one of the best happy hours at Fashion Island. They offer pizzas, appetizers, artisan cocktails, and wine for $5 while serving up $3 draft beers. Great prices for a restaurant where you pass by Lamborghini's and Ferrari's at their front door.

The Batasiolo Wine Dinner was being held in the restaurant's private room. We were immediately welcomed by the staff and made to feel at home. I was relieved there was no stuffiness in the room. In fact, these people were enjoyable, not like I had anticipated at all. About thirty of us were at the two tables for this wine dinner. Our wine expert for the evening was the very nice Stefano Poggi. He told us about all the wines we were about to drink and gave a novice like me a bit of history about Italian wines. For this, I will be forever grateful. I was also thankful for the food coming out, so let's look at what we consumed on this wonderful evening.

The antipastini course would be first. These tray-passed appetizers included Assorted Crostini, Tomatoes Stuffed with Crab Meat Salad, Mini Assorted Pizzas, and Cerignola Green Olives. You will not see olive in these pictures because I am not a big fan of that fruit. The other appetizers were delicious, though, with the best tomato stuffed with crab. I am no fan of raw tomatoes, but I could not keep myself from having about five. The crab salad was very fresh and kept my texture issues with tomatoes to a minimum. The mini pizzas had a nice chewy crust, with just enough cheese and prosciutto to keep this pizza on the lighter side without sacrificing taste. It was a lovely start to the meal and excited us for what was to come.

Here is a quick shot of the bread placed on the table. Looking at these pictures, I can almost smell this bread again. It was very well made and came out warm, and again, I had a hard time sharing it with my table mates. This bread was made even better by adding olive oil and balsamic vinegar. It was very addicting.

Talk about starting with a bang. This was my favorite dish of the night, the Vitello Tonnato Con Capperi Fritti. This was roasted veal served cold with fresh herbs and a fantastic house-made tuna and caper sauce. The tuna was from Italy, which was great with this dish. I am not much for mixing seafood and beef, but this worked perfectly. The veal was fork tender, the celery on top added some nice crunch, and the smooth tuna sauce reminded me of my tuna sandwiches when I was younger. The entire plate came together very nicely. The Gavi Batasiolo 2011 paired with this course was very light and crisp. I was supposed to taste light citrus with this wine, but it did not come through for me. My wine palette is still evolving. I was sorry to see this course leave the table.

The pasta course was up next, and we were given two pasta dishes to try. The Ravioli Con Salsiccia E Verze Brasate was a mellow ravioli filled with sausage, savoy cabbage, caramelized onions, and ricotta cheese. The light butter sauce used here was excellent, and this was one of the lightest sausage ravioli I have ever had. The Risotto Alle Rape Rosse E Caprino Fresco looked like a raw hamburger but became a favorite of Katie. This red beet risotto came with Parmigiano and goat cheese crumbles. I am by no means a risotto connoisseur, but this was one of the best-made ones that I have had. It was cooked perfectly, the beet flavor just poked through enough to interest the taste buds, and the cheeses brought everything home. The serving size would be too much for me, but I had no problem polishing this off. The wine for this course was the Batasiolo Sorvana 2010. This wine comes from a single vineyard in Barolo, Italy. It was very smooth and paired nicely with the ravioli.

Katie and I strategically picked the opposite of the two choices during the main course. She went with the Pesce Bianco Avvolto Nel Prosciutto Con Salsa Di Tartufi. Yeah, my Italian is good when I type these words; saying them is tricky. This white sea bass was wrapped in prosciutto with black truffles. I should have chosen this main course because it was delicious. First off, the serving size of this was phenomenal. A massive piece of flaky and light bass, with the prosciutto's flavor hanging around. Very well cooked. This was served with some green beans and a delicious potato cake. The potato cake was like a gigantic scalloped potato. The wine pairing with this fish dish was predictably a white wine. The Batasiolo Gavi di Gavi Granee 2009 was much like our first wine of the evening, but this time, I did get the slight citrus taste. This was Katie's favorite wine of the night.

If you have noticed, I have talked about the food here first before mentioning the wine. It's not unusual since I am more partial to food than wine, but this Batasiolo Barolo Cerequio 2006 was very special. First of all, it is scarce. Stefano told us that there are only ten cases in the US. The grapes used to make this wine are only grown on one hill. This wine was very smooth, had a great fragrance, and is just coming into its prime right now. Stefano told us that this wine will continue to improve with time, as the peak drinking years for this wine are from now till 2028. I may have some for my 56th birthday. This wine came with Costicine Di Manzo Brasate Al Barolo E Pastinache. I should have taken Italian in high school. This boneless short rib was braised with Barolo wine and parsnips and served with the exact potato cake Katie got with her entree. As usual with beef short ribs, these were fork tender. You could almost see the meat falling apart when I lifted my fork to them. I liked that the sauce was subdued with this dish, so the short rib's meatiness could be the show's star. A very hearty meal.

Dessert was our final act, and man, we were full by this point. I still did finish this Torta Di Chocolato E Nocciole Con Gelato Alla Vaniglia. I must be learning some Italian because I did not have difficulty translating this one. This warm chocolate and hazelnut cake was joined by a vanilla gelato. The cake was moist enough but made an excellent combination when mixed with the gelato. This was like Nutella in cake form with the hazelnut and the chocolate. Excellent dessert. I might have found my favorite kind of wine, dessert wines. They are a little sweeter and go down really smooth. With this dessert, we had two different varieties of Moscato. The Batasiolo Moscato d'Asti 2011 and the Batasiolo Moscato Rose. Both of these were fruity and sweet without crossing the overly syrupy line.

To say that the Batasiolo Wine Dinner exceeded my expectations would be an understatement. Not only was it not pretentious and snobby, but it was a lot of fun. We met many great people, and the food and drink were well done. We will also be back for their monthly wine dinners and regular meals here. Looking at Canaletto's regular menu, I noticed that the Veal Scaloppine and the Chicken Cannelloni caught my eye. I am also intrigued by the passport dinners that Canaletto and their sister restaurant, Il Fornaio, offer. For two weeks every month, they feature items from a different region of Italy. Three-course meals for $29.99, plus you get a gift. If you get your passport stamped six times, you are then entered into a drawing for a trip for two to Italy to experience fine Italian cooking firsthand. Even if you do not win the trip to Italy, you can definitely experience great Italian cooking at Canaletto in Newport Beach. You do not even need the hassle of going through the security lines at the airport to eat here.

We would like to thank all of the servers, bussers, kitchen staff, and the management at Canaletto for making our experience so great. We must also thank everyone at our table for making this a fantastic event. You made this an enjoyable night that Katie and I will not soon forget. Thanks also to Stefano Poggi, Export Manager for Batasiolo, for explaining his great wines to novice wine drinkers like me. Lastly, we thank Lindsey Gaines, the Event Coordinator at Canaletto, for the invite and for putting on such a great night of food, wine, and new friends. Thanks for everything, Lindsey; we look forward to seeing you and everyone at Canaletto again soon.

To find out more information about Canaletto, click here: https://www.ilfornaio.com/canalettonewportbeach