Newport Beach Wine and Food Festival Preview (plus a chance to save on admission)

Newport Beach Wine and Food Festival Preview Event

100 Civic Center Dr.

Newport Beach, CA 92660

Sometimes my life doesn't seem real. Never when I started this blog nearly six years ago did I ever dream of being invited anywhere, let alone one of the most exclusive media preview parties around. I never even thought anyone would ever read this blog, but recently I found myself in the backyard of a lovely home, overlooking Newport Harbor, and having 13 of OC's biggest chefs serving up some of their restaurants specialty items.

Just like Christmas when you are five years old, every food and wine fan in Orange County should be giddy with excitement and clear their calendars for the weekend of October 3rd this year. That's when the wildly successful Newport Beach Wine and Food Festival is taking place on the grounds of the Newport Beach Civic Center.  If this kickoff event was any indication, we are going to be in for a treat on that first weekend of October.

Not only will the wine be flowing and festival goers stomachs be full of delicious food, but there's even more to this wonderful event. Celebrity chef demos, "Top Chef" home cook challenge with four of Bravo's Top Chefs serving as audience coaches and judges, wine seminars hosted by Master Sommeliers from the movie "Somm", live jazz will be wafting over the activity, mixology courses will be offered, and craft beer and handcrafted cocktails will also be sampled.

There's going to be a lot going on, and it's for a good cause as well. Net proceeds from the festival will benefit Project Hope Alliance, a group that is determined to help break the cycle of homelessness by stabilizing homeless children's living situations and allowing them to focus on their education. A very worthwhile venture, and one that we hope will help the 32,000 homeless children living on Orange County.

For those of you that know me, you know my focus is mainly on the food at these events, but the Newport Beach Wine and Food Festival will be a wine lover's paradise. There will be over 200 kinds of wines being poured at this event, and not your ordinary, run of the mill kinds of wines either. These world renowned wineries will be pouring their best varietals at this event, and will be happy to answer all of your questions about their wares. I was more amped for the wonderful cocktails that were served up at this kickoff event. Aqua Lounge Mixologists, Justin Young and Michael Kaczorowski used Absolut Elyx to make these refreshing and tasty cocktails. They had two offered on this evening, the Sun of a Peach, and my favorite of the two, the XYLE, which featured Fireball Cinnamon Whiskey, grapefruit juice, agave, and cherry juice. Really a tasty cocktail, and the Fireball was very pronounced, but not too overpowering.

Who says you can't start with dessert first? When I saw that Mastro's was giving out Mini Butter Cakes, I must have worn out a path to this table. Unlimited butter cake is one of my dreams come true, and I really had to pace myself here. If you've never had it, do yourself a favor, and try it soon.

Speaking of desserts, Tommy Bahama was not serving their iconic coconut cake, but I was not disappointed with this Chili Brown Sugar Crusted Cod, which was served on top of an apple risotto with yucca chips. This island themed restaurant definitely knows how to prepare seafood perfectly.

We have not made it to The Winery in Newport Beach yet, but after having this Yellow Tuna, Mango, and Cucumber Salad, we can't wait to make reservations for this restaurant with one of the best views in all of Newport.

Last year at the Newport Beach Wine and Food Festival, Del Frisco's Grille was sampling their Ahi Tuna Tacos, which are great, but these Shaved Steak Sandwiches might be better. Great, sturdy bread was joined with tender beef and a creamy horseradish sauce to create a fantastic sandwich. I missed the tuna tacos, but this was a great substitute.

Another standout for me from last years festival was Tamarind of London's butter chicken, and this year they brought tandoori meatballs with a very well done saffron rice and kofta curry. Even if you are not into Indian food, you will like this dish. Such depth of flavor in the food from here, and I look forward to seeing what they have at the festival this year.

If you have never had the opportunity to meet Chef Andrew Gruel of Slapfish, he's one of the most enjoyable chefs we have met in person, and his food's not too shabby either. On this night he had concocted a Lobster BLTA for us to try. Plump pieces of lobster were joined with avocado, tomato, and bacon on a lettuce leaf. Very good, and how can anything with lobster ever be bad? Can't wait to see what Chef Gruel will be doing at the festival this year.

Yes they're known for their prime rib, but Five Crowns showed that they could do salmon really well on this night as well. Chef Steve Kling provided us with this Absinthe Cured Salmon Crostini. It was rounded out by goat cheese and heirloom tomatoes, which made this bite a winner. I scarfed my fair share of these down.

True Food Kitchen at Fashion Island is not really my favorite, but I was pretty impressed with their two offerings, one of which was this Kale Avocado Dip on a flax seed chip. I knew this was healthy for me, and I still thought it was delicious. Baby steps towards me liking kale? There might be a chance after having this.

Oak Grill will be hosting the Launch Party & Charity Event for the weekend's festivities in October, and after eating this Foie Gras Tartine, party goers are going to be amazed by the food at that event. This foie was finished with the interesting combination of pickled kumquats, strawberry, and a bourbon maple syrup. Unusual, but tasty.

The food was all great on this beautiful evening, so it was a natural that the most sought after picture of the night was when all these talented chefs came together to take a few pictures. So much creativity in these chefs, all sharing their craft for a great cause. These are a few of the men and woman behind the wonderful culinary scene in OC. These people have elevated what people think of when they think of great food in Orange County. They will all be at the Newport Beach Wine and Food Festival sharing their best with all of you.

Do not let the sun go down on your chance of attending the Newport Beach Wine and Food Festival this year. This event will sell out, and you do not want to miss all of the great food and wines that will be featured here. To see what we experienced last year, click here: http://eatingmywaythroughoc.blogspot.com/2014/10/a-picture-perfect-day-at-newport-beach.html

To find out everything about the Newport Beach Food and Wine Festival, check out their very well put together website here: http://www.newportwineandfood.com/.  Also, while you are there, you can get $25 off your Daytime Festival admission ticket when you use the promo code NBWFF25 at checkout. Hope to see you all there for what has become one of our favorite food events of the year.

Blue Ribbon for Brea's Best Burgers?

Brea's Best Burgers

707 South Brea Boulevard

Brea, CA 92821

This review is long overdue. I am reminded to try the food at Brea's Best Burgers almost every month. It's one of my most ardent readers of this blog that has been trying to get me to go to this restaurant for a few years. This anonymous blog reader heavily touts the double avocado bacon cheeseburger and the onion rings from this little restaurant off Brea Blvd. Yes, we have been staying closer to home recently, but with my dad having his hip replaced at St. Jude down the street from here, it seemed like a perfect time to try this place.

I'd been here before, but that was long before I started this blog and needed help remembering it. Brea's Best has been family-owned since 1980. The menu here reminds me of one of those places you see in almost every city. For Los Alamitos it's Volcano Burger, in Laguna Niguel it's Ted's Burgers, the Yorba Linda version would be Duke's, and in Orange they have Troy's Drive In. These places all claim to have the best breakfast burritos, many burgers and sandwiches, and many other menu items. So, with Brea's Best being in business for 35 years, I had high hopes for this restaurant, but then we were met with this sign on the door when we arrived.

Major letdown. We were informed by the sign that they could not make any burgers, other than turkey burgers, veggie burgers, or patty melts, due to exhaust fan problems. We contemplated leaving, but we had come all this way, and not sure when we would be back up this way, I begrudgingly went inside. It also struck me as odd that they could make a patty melt but not any other burgers, but I've never worked in a restaurant and have no idea how these things are done.

Ordering is done at the counter, and then you take a seat in what appears to be an added-on dining room. This detached dining space was relatively comfortable, even though it had only ten tables. We ate near 7 p.m. and had no problem finding a seat, but I've heard that this place gets packed around lunchtime, so be on alert. Our number was called, and this is what hit our table.

I knew Katie would not be inconvenienced by the "no burger" sign on the door. I assumed correctly when she got this Turkey Club Sandwich ($6.20) for dinner. Joining the sliced turkey on this pretty good-sized sandwich was tomato, plenty of lettuce, avocado, sliced cheese, and crispy bacon. She and I were impressed at how fresh their produce and turkey were. We weren't expecting that. She really enjoyed this sandwich a lot more than she thought she would when walking in here.

Since I could not get a burger at Brea's Best Burgers, I had to settle for the closest thing that night, a Patty Melt ($4.15). I was disappointed with this bland patty melt. First, the patty was so thin and under-seasoned. It tasted like nothing, and the cheese did not add anything here. The rye bread was too toasted, so it took a lot of work to bite through the bread. The best part of this sandwich was the grilled onions, which added something here.

I looked online for their most popular side items before we arrived, and many people loved their Fried Zucchini ($3.75). First, the positives about these. I liked that they were the exact size of french fries and that they gave you your money's worth. There was no way that Katie and I could come close to finishing these. Unfortunately, they were served lukewarm and definitely needed to be salted to add flavor to them. The breading was crispy, but other than that, it was bland. Should have tried the onion rings instead.

We didn't need it, but I also wanted to try the Chili Cheese Fries ($4.25) while we were here. I love chili cheese fries, which is the best thing I ate here during this trip. The chili could have had a little more kick to it, as it was very mild, but these fries were topped with lots of cheese and some really strong onions on top. I haven't had pungent onions like that for quite a long time. The fries stayed semi-crunchy under the weight of it all. An exemplary version of chili cheese fries, but I'd ask for easy onions next time I was here.

So, after my first visit here, I felt I had to give them at least one more shot to try the famous Double Avocado Bacon Cheeseburger ($6.35). I can definitely see why people enjoy this burger. The bacon was nice and crisp and really prominent. There was plenty of fresh avocado on this, and the double patty added a meatiness to the burger that I didn't get with the patty melt I had on my first visit. Maybe a little too much lettuce, but it's still a good burger. It reminded me of the burgers at Farmer Boys.

I'm glad I returned to Brea's Best again to try one of their burgers. That burger helped me understand why people are so passionate about this restaurant. It's not the best burger you'll have, not even in my top 10, but it's a good, solid burger and better than anything you can get at one of the big fast-food restaurants. In fact, this place appealed to me because the prices were more than fair for the amount of food you get. Two people could easily split one of their side items and still not even finish it. Is this destination dining? No, but if you're in the area and don't want fast food but still want a burger, this is the place for you. Glad we finally got around to trying our favorite commenters' favorite burger joint.

Out of five dwarfs (because the very first woman to portray Snow White at Disneyland, back in 1955, once lived in Brea), five being best to zero being worst, Brea's Best Burgers gets 3 dwarfs.

For more information about Brea's Best Burgers, head to their website by clicking here: https://breasbestburgers.com/

North OC Lands Another BBQ Spot - CLOSED

Lillie's Q BBQ

240 South Brea Blvd.

Brea, CA 92821

OC has all of a sudden become a barbecue mecca. I guess I should say that North OC has become a barbecue mecca. There's not a decent barbecue restaurant south of Irvine, and no matter how many times people tell me that they like Bad to the Bone, we've been three times, and it hasn't been good any of those times. Sorry for the little rant, but I'm tired of having to drive past the 55 Freeway for good barbecue, but that's what we were doing on a recent Sunday evening when we were meeting my parents at Lillie's Q in Brea.

We have been to Lillie's Q one other time, during a media event right after they had opened. On that afternoon we tried samples of a lot of their stuff, but that only had me wanting more. They've been in business here since the very end of last year, but their other locations, (two in Chicago and one in Florida), are very well received, and from what we hear, are busy all the time.

Lillie's Q is in the old 240 South spot, just a few doors down from Taps Fish House, close to the corner of Imperial and Brea Boulevard. This restaurant landed in Downtown Brea due to a partnership between Joe Manzella of Taps and Lillie's Q head guy, Charlie McKenna. Yes, there is an actual Lillie, and she's the 88-year-old grandmother of Charlie, who inspired his passion for southern style cooking at an early age. That passion has been appreciated and rewarded by a lot of people, and the accolades for Lillie's just keep pouring in. They were named the best new barbecue restaurant by Food and Wine Magazine in 2011, and have a list of accolades a mile long from Chicago food media outlets. With all this praise I was beyond excited to try them out.

We arrived at Lillie's Q at 5pm on a recent rainy afternoon. The restaurant is very comfortable, with high ceilings, and a comfortable dining area. Not overly crowded at this early dinner hour, there was a steady stream of people that entered during our stay. The first sign that this was going in the right direction was that there were plenty of barbecue sauces on the tables. We had six different sauces to choose from, and I always enjoy when a barbecue spot trusts its customers to add their own sauce to their meats. The sauces were varied, which is also a nice touch. They had a mustard-based sauce, hot and mild barbecue sauces, vinegar-based sauces, and an interesting Ivory sauce, which they also use as the base for their coleslaw. I was so hungry that before our food arrived, my appetizer plate looked like a painter's palette from trying all of the sauces. Let's see how the food turned out for us.

Since we decided to eat dinner so early, we were able to take advantage of the happy hour specials, which are even offered in the dining room, and not just the bar area. I was a little disappointed in the serving size of the Fried Pickles ($3) until I saw that they were only three dollars. These came five to an order and were so good, that we splurged and spent another three dollars on another order. Way better than anything you can get at Lucille's or any other place you can think of that serves fried pickles. These sliced pickles were breaded in a beer batter and served with some ranch. My parents declared these some of the best they have ever had, and I'd have to agree. Even better than ones my brother in law makes. Sorry, Jarrod. We also tried an order of the Deviled Eggs ($3), which came with a more reasonable six to an order. Deviled eggs are not really my scene, but Katie and my parents really enjoyed these. They were a classic deviled egg, with some hot sauce and a jalapeno ring on top. I tried a bite and thought they were okay, but I'm not too good of a judge of deviled eggs. I did like the coleslaw they had laid out as garnish for the eggs. It had good moisture to it, and the dressing was on point. Happy hour prices here are a pretty good value.

Thanks for the great hand modeling dad. Anyways, my dad's streak of getting burgers in barbecue restaurants has now reached four straight times, when he ordered this Q Burger ($15). This burger must be a new item because it does not appear on any of their online menus, but my dad was pretty excited they have it on their menu now. This burger was delicious and juicy. It came with cheese, red onion, tomato, and some very good collard greens. One of the better burgers we have had in a while, but the bun had a hard time keeping everything together. It gave a valiant effort, but in the end, the juiciness of the burger, combined with the moisture from the cheese and greens proved to be too much, and we had to use a fork to finish it off. With his burger, my dad selected Potato Salad as his side. Another item that is not on their online menu. This potato salad was creamy but still had chunk to it. Good flavor and the portion size was very generous.

If my dad has become predictable about his order at a barbecue restaurant, then you could set your watch to what my mom always gets, and again she failed to deviate from her standard order of a Pulled Pork Sandwich ($8) on this night. She ordered this sandwich ala carte and was very pleased with it. There was plenty of pork piled on here, and she was a big fan of the Hot Smoky barbecue sauce. The pork was very tender, with a hint of smoke, which allowed the natural flavor of the swine to come through. She managed to eat half of this, and I had the other half for lunch the next day, and it was still good.

Another usual order for Katie is getting tacos in a barbecue restaurant. She's done this before, with varying success. On this night at Lillie"s Q, she couldn't have been happier with these Memphis Tacos ($15). These were three street taco sized tacos and came with smoked pork, salsa verde, coleslaw, and the hot smoky barbecue sauce, all on a house-made corn tortilla. She loved the way that the flavors melded together here. The salsa went well with the smoky pork, and the coleslaw added a nice texture element. The only blight on this plate was her side item choice, the Cornbread. One of the worst we have had. It came out way overcooked, was not moist at all, and burnt badly on the edges. It was served with honey butter, but even that could not save this side item.

Not to give too much away, but I still dream about this plate of food, even a few weeks after being at Lillie's Q. As is my custom when eating in a barbecue restaurant for the first time, I always gravitate towards a combo meal, and at Lillie's Q, that means I had to get the Taste of LQ ($27). My first choice of meat, the brisket was not available, even at this early dinner hour. Bummer. I instead went with baby back ribs, tri-tip, and their hotlink. These meats were all really good. Just the right amount of smoke for my taste. I like the smokiness to accentuate the meat, not overpower it. This was accomplished here at Lillie's Q. The ribs were tender, with plenty of meat on them. The tri-tip had a great smoke ring embossed on it and was moist. You could tell that the sausage was made here, and it might not be for all of you, but I liked the almost grittiness of the meaty sausage. Almost overshadowing the meats, was my choice for a side item, the Stone Ground Grits, which were topped with bacon. If there are better grits available in OC, we have not had them yet. Buttery and velvety smooth texture will have me getting these on every return visit here. A very satisfying meal.

Even though we were all pretty stuffed from the great food here, we could not resist splitting this Banana Pudding ($5). This mason jar was filled with pudding, bananas, whipped cream, and Nilla wafers. This dessert was just like you remember. It could have used a little more Nilla Wafers, but it was a light end to our heavy meal. I really enjoyed the smooth pudding, and the light whipped cream in this.

I guess if you've read this much of this review, you know that we were all pretty impressed with Lillie's Q. You can safely add this restaurant to your list of some of the best barbecue in our great county. The meats were all pretty stellar here, and most of the sides were equally as great. A few people have squawked online that they thought their prices were a little on the high side, but I'd gladly pay a little extra for a barbecue of this high standard. I'm not ready to anoint this as the best barbecue in all the land, because there's more that I want to try, but it's definitely in the upper echelon. We experienced good, non-intrusive service on this night. Glad to add another barbecue gem to our list in OC, just wish we could add one that's closer to where we live, south of Irvine. Someday it'll happen.

Out of five snowmen, (not only does this restaurant have its roots in Chicago, a city that has its fair share of snow, but one of the largest glaciers in Antarctica is named Lillie, and that could provide enough snow for a few snowmen), five being best to zero being worst, Lillie's Q gets 4 snowmen.

For more information about Lillie's Q, go to their website here: http://www.lilliesq.com/restaurants/

Much Love for Amor Y Tacos

Amor Y Tacos

13333 South Street 

Cerritos, CA 90703

Now that the first half of the year is over, we have a little more time to venture out. The first half was all about wedding planning, enjoying our wedding and honeymoon, settling into married life, and going to other people's weddings. We have eight weddings to attend this year, but now there's a lull, and we can finally get back to our list of restaurants we need to hit up. That's what brought us to Amor Y Tacos in Cerritos.

This restaurant gets a lot of love from OC Weekly and other Orange County food blogs that I like to read. Even though it is technically in LA county, it is OC adjacent, so I think that's part of the reason a lot of people come here. The other part is that I hear the food is really good.

Amor Y Tacos comes to us from hometown chef, Thomas Ortega. He grew up here in Cerritos, graduated culinary school in Pasadena, and is also the Chef and Owner of the ever popular Ortega 120 in Redondo Beach. Much like that restaurant, this one is also featuring modern Mexican, with an emphasis made from scratch foods and a farm to table approach. Chef Ortega has realized that people in the suburbs have grown tired of the corporate, or chain restaurants, and they want something more. Judging by the crowd on this Friday night, I'd say he's right.

We had made reservations for this rather large restaurant, which is right next to Cerritos Lanes, so we did not have to worry about waiting like a good majority of the people did on this night. As you walk in the door, you will notice a lady making fresh tortillas. This got me excited. I was also excited about the vibe of this place. It kind of reminded me of Solita in Huntington Beach, with a little more twists to their food. The menu is devoid of combo plates, and instead there are plenty of starters, special entrees, and a variety of tacos, enchiladas, and burritos present. Not the most comfortable restaurant in the world, it was extremely warm inside on the night we were here, the tables are pretty close together, and there's nothing to really buffer the loudness of the restaurant. Even with these minor inconveniences, we were excited to catch up with our good friend Emily, and have what we hoped would be some great food.

Let's first take a look at the Chips and Salsa at Amor Y Tacos. The chips were remarkably fresh, crisp, and everything you'd want in a chip. The salsa was good, but not great. A little on the watery side, I'd like to have seen a little more chunk to it, and some extra pop of flavor.

Since it was a long drive up here from South OC, I decided that some Guacamole $6.75) was definitely in order. This was a good, simple version of guacamole. Avocados, a little white onion, tomato, lime, cilantro, and jalapenos combined to make this fresh tasting starter. I liked that they were not trying to do too much here. Smooth, but still a good chunk to it.

Probably one of their most buzzed about items at Amor Y Tacos is this starter, the Mole Tots ($8.50). The mole here utilizes 21 ingredients, and goes great with these tater tots, which are also topped with cilantro, red onion, sour cream, and queso fresco. The depth of flavor of the mole was definitely prevalent. The tots were fried perfectly, and did not lose their crunch, even though they were not around too long, as we gobbled them up in a hurry. My one complaint would be that there could have been a little more mole poured on top of this, but I still enjoyed this. I can see why so many people enjoy this appetizer.

I usually don't write up the drinks that I have when I'm out, mostly because I don't really drink out that often, preferring to save the money on food instead. We were here for Emily's birthday, so a cocktail was in order for sure. She had the 54 Delux ($8), which is their version of a Cadillac Margarita. This one is made with Olmeca Altos tequila, agave, limeade, and bouchant, which I learned is an orange liqueur, then the glass is rimmed with chile sugar salt to finish it off. Emily must have really enjoyed this, as she had two of these during our stay. I really enjoyed my cocktail as well. I had the sweet and spicy Mango Con Chili ($9). This one used a different brand of tequila, Avion Blanco, limeade, a fruity agave chimoy, and the Mexican staple seasoning, Tajin. I loved the contrast of this beverage. It started sweet, and then you got the spice at the end. This also came with a spicy mango sucker, which was a wonderful surprise as well. Tasty, and I could not tear myself away from it. I'd definitely get this drink again, and getting the sucker is an added bonus.

Since it was Emily's birthday, we'll start off with her meal first, the Grilled Mexican White Shrimp ($15.95) served A La Diabla Style. With this order you get eight pretty good sized shrimp, served alongside a smoked jalapeno mojo, salsa de arbol, garlic aioli, papas bravas, and a salad of cilantro, charred pineapple, chiles, and fennel. Emily was gracious enough to share a shrimp with me, and it was great. Tender, and what made this dish for me was the sauce. It was flavorful, but did not overpower the shrimp. I did not get a chance to try the salad, but Emily seemed to enjoy it very much. A most satisfying birthday dinner for our girl that turned 22 on this night. Your welcome for the shaving of the years Emily.

Katie gravitated towards the taco section of the menu, and settled on the Tinga de Pollo Tacos ($10). She at first thought the tacos were mix and match, but you have to get all three tacos the same. They come served on freshly made corn tortillas, with salsa verde, crema, radish, cilantro and cotija cheese. She felt these tacos were a touch on the dry side, and could have been helped out with a little more salsa on them. Other than that, she loved the flavor of these, and she wishes that tinga would be on more menus across the OC. I would agree with that. This plate usually comes with beans and rice, but she opted to do without, and there are no substitutions offered here.

Man I had a hard time selecting what to have for dinner on this night. This menu had so many great choices, and I knew that it would be some time before we made it back here, and I didn't want to make the wrong  choice. My love of pork belly won out, and I finally decided on the Mexican Coca Cola Glazed Pork Belly ($13.95). The portion size of this was deceivingly large. The pieces of pork belly were cooked well, and there was lots of fatty pieces, which I liked. The pork was glazed in Coca Cola and ancho chili, but I did not really detect too much of a cola flavor. The pork was paired with a very nice sweet potato puree and a fennel salad. I did not get these side items at first, but as I went along eating, I got why they were there. I probably would not get this again, but it's just because there are so many other things I want to try here.

Remember the tortilla lady I was talking about at the door, it seemed that every table had a basket of tortillas on it. I followed the cool kids and had the Flour Tortillas ($1 per basket) too. These came three to an order, and I have to admit, I was not as big a fan as others. Emily loved these, but I felt they were a little too thick for my taste, and not as soft as I would have liked. I'll give them another try though, maybe with butter next time.

I have to say that I was pretty impressed with Amor Y Tacos, and wish that I lived closer so I could try more of their menu. I really like this trend of modern Mexican food places opening up. There's definitely a place for the Alberto's, Rigaberto's, and whatever other versions of these kinds of restaurants you have near you, but I have a growing fondness for the more upscale Mexican restaurants that have chefs that are willing to take chances, use fresh ingredients, and don't pile on the cheese and sauce on their plates, so you can actually taste the food. Some on Yelp and other food related sites have been pretty harsh on this restaurant for the price point of their dinners, but I honestly thought they were going to be a few dollars higher than they actually were. Service was pretty good, nice and steady. They did get the food out real fast, and tended to turn tables over rather quickly. I'm really happy our schedule slowed down a bit so we had some time to celebrate and catch up with our good friend Emily, and have some pretty good food in the process.

Out of five shopping bags, (because Cerritos residents are the second highest retail spenders in California, second only to the residents of Beverly Hills), five being best to zero being worst, Amor Y Tacos gets 3.5 shopping bags.

For more information about Amor Y Tacos, go to their website here: http://amorytacos.com/