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Caf? Tu Tu Tango offers its own tax-relief package



CAF & #201; TU TU TANGO


Address:

20 City Boulevard West (in The Block at Orange), Orange


Phone:

(714) 769-2222


Reason:

To get a $10.40 deduction on lunch on April 16


VERTICAL RESTAURANT AND WINE BAR


Address:

234 Forest Ave., Laguna Beach


Phone:

(949) 494-0990


Reason:

To weave a meal of various small plates of food and tastes of unique wines


Vertical Restaurant Stacked With Fine Food and Wines

The cleverest take on tax relief may be the one Caf & #233; Tu Tu Tango at the Block at Orange is offering on Monday, April 16 at lunch in honor of the deadline day for mailing your tax returns. From 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., the restaurant will give a $10.40 deduction off guest checks totaling $20 or more. Once again, it’s Tango to the rescue.

This is one of my favorite casual restaurants in OC. I love the clever d & #233;cor that leaves nothing to the imagination of how a struggling artist in Europe might live in his loft and display his works in the village square. The art of very good local artists is shown throughout and the performing arts are showcased via spontaneous live entertainment. For anyone who has traveled the unique corners of cities afar, or wanted to do so, there is more European Bohemian culture packed into this building than you might ever find on your own regardless of how much you spend on a trip.

The food has always been well conceived and is a multi-ethnic affair. We’ve introduced many people to Tu Tu Tango who have made it a regular stop on their dining itineraries. While the evening fare is served in small-plate portions meant for sharing, the lunch entr & #233;es are individually plated and are generously portioned. Choices include a variety of salads, hot and cold sandwiches and pastas, pizzas and combination platters that include delightful tastes from many countries.

Get your number crunching done and reward yourself with terrific food at this unique restaurant and have the last “1040” laugh with your discount. I am planning to take advantage of the offer myself.


Getting Vertica

l

Vertical Restaurant and Wine Bar in Laguna Beach is a clever, rather new place where we can hang out for lunch and dinner any time. Or, we might be stopping in to indulge in one of their “flight” wine tastes. The name is apropos because wine here is a very serious affair, but they had the decency as well to get passionate with the food, as in innovative American food done in tasting portions. I like that idea a lot because it affords us more tastes and textures woven into a meal,and an opportunity to do as much food and wine-matching as the moment dictates. Instead of being limited to a salad when I want to eat light, I can instead have a duo or trio of these small plates and experience something infinitely more interesting.

The owner is Jonathan Pflueger, who also is the chef. He already was dedicated to cooking and eating only great food himself before launching this dream of his. I appreciate his philosophy about food. He says his style is a bit sophisticated, yet approachable, rounded into “a cuisine that is casual, bold, exciting, playful, visionary and which has a healthy regard for good ingredients.”

He has a reputation for refusing to cook any product that does not meet his exacting standards. He blurts out, “If you strive like crazy for perfection, at the very least you will hit a high level of excellence.” No wonder I’m enjoying eating his food. Given my profession of writing about this realm, I also admire his way with words, an eloquence partly honed during his years at Vassar College majoring in Third World history.

There’s a bundle of charm in this space. The convivial bar is a gathering place for locals and the patio provides a parade of passersby as you assess your glass of wine and your food. If only those homey old brick walls would reveal all that has transpired here over the past decades. We are free to imagine.

Jonathan changes the menu daily; however, signature dishes always remain. Must not fool around with those excellent crispy veal sweetbreads, the terrine of foie gras with caramelized mango, or the braised lobster. How can you not want to run over there and eat the salad of shaved fennel, red onion, watercress and avocado topped with white anchovies? Does a sandwich of spicy pulled pork on sweet potato biscuits catch your fancy for a lunch item?

Desserts here are also serious, courtesy of acclaimed pastry chef David Henninger, whom I have told you about in articles past.

There’s entertainment,live music every Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday evenings,and the wine list is a study, ranging from delicate to bold, all of them chosen for their finesse and intricate nature. If ever there was a place where you could just point your finger at the whole page and order the label it landed on without a qualm whatsoever, this is the place where that would work. As for wines by the glass, there’s a vast collection; try their flight of four Cabernets or the three German Rieslings. They did not name the restaurant Vertical without reason.


If You’re Toddling to Chicago

Chicago, over the past five years, has turned into arguably the hottest restaurant city in America. Even in the first half of the ’90s, restaurants were opening at a fast clip. However, last year alone, six new steak houses opened, six multi-faceted gems offered new styles of dining to the public and four new ultra-American restaurants proved that they, too, can compete in this hotbed of activity. If any of you are going to Chicago, feel free to send me an email (chaothyme@aol.com) and I will gladly share the information I have on all of these, plus several other classic restaurants. After all, I must make sure your trip is an all-encompassing success and good times at the table can enhance each day immeasurably.

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