Pencil in New Bayside and Several Old Standbys
Recent national surveys show that Americans are eating more and more meals in restaurants or buying prepared food and cooking less at home. This surely means that you and I and all our neighbors will be rubbing elbows more often in local dining rooms. Here are some places where I’d love to see you.
Proving that great minds think alike, Patrick and I, a little worn from holiday shopping and partying, decided that dinner at Vessia in Irvine would be just the right pick-me-up. We’d no more than entered when Barbara Eidson, public relations guru par excellence from Sutton Place Hotel, and her gregarious husband Kyle, came through the front door. Since neither of us was expecting other guests, we decided to share a table, turning a nice evening into a small party of sorts.
We corralled owner Franco Vessia to discuss the evening’s specials. We laughed over the community leaders and cool friends who showed up when Barbara recently played “Bartender for the Evening,” an ongoing treat with various local celebs behind the bar that takes place on some Mondays at Vessia (check with the restaurant for the next scheduled date or to volunteer your services). Of course, the imperative reason we’d all converged here at the same time on this evening was because the family-style Italian dishes, that are nevertheless presented with ample sophistication, are the dream of any foodie. Pop in for lunch or dinner for the mere pleasure of tasting the best eggplant parmigiana, veal rolls, pork chops with balsamic glaze, sausages with polenta and homespun pastas as envisioned by chef Gino Buonanoce. Franco and his namesake restaurant Vessia can be found at 3966 Barranca Parkway (at Culver), Irvine, phone (949) 654-1155.
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The talents of OC chefs and restaurateurs continue to be tapped for special meals and consulting projects around the world. Bruno Serato, dapper owner of the cutting-edge Italian restaurant, the Anaheim White House, journeyed in the past months to Moscow as a consultant for an upscale Italian restaurant. In November, Bruno and his chef David Libby trekked off to Tahiti for a few days to create a meal for 100 of the island’s most distinguished residents. The alto cucina dinner came as a result of a Tahitian politico dining in Bruno’s restaurant and thereafter extending the invitation to prepare the meal at the acclaimed hotel Relais de la Maroto. It went so well that Bruno and David became the darlings of the media throughout all of French Polynesia.
Also, Louis Laulhere, owner of Brea’s La Vie en Rose, was recently featured in a multi-page story in France. He has connections to many acclaimed chefs and restaurateurs over there and is our historian-in-residence on regional French cuisine. The French chefs it seems are always as anxious to learn about his style of French country cooking in OC as he is to uncover new trends and recipes to bring home and share with us in his restaurant reminiscent of a Normandy farmhouse.
What a reminder that we here at home need to appreciate how good our dining scene has become. Anaheim White House is located at 887 S. Anaheim Blvd., phone (714) 772-1381. La Vie en Rose is located at 240 S. State College Blvd. (57 Freeway at Imperial Highway), Brea, phone (714) 529-8333.
I like the timber of the phone reviews I am getting about the new Bayside restaurant in Newport Beach. When the restaurant opened in mid-November, the noise level was higher than expected, especially on the more casual lounge-bistro side, but the food of chef Paul Gstrein was irresistible. Now, with fabrics, screens, wall hangings and other noise-blockers in place, the atmosphere is more serene. Several people have called with enthusiastic recollections; two have admitted to already becoming very steady customers. That means this serious new restaurant should be on your agenda as well. 900 Bayside Drive. Phone (949) 721-1222.
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For terrific, inexpensive dining, a “must try” is Asia Noodle Caf & #233; in Woodbridge Village Center, between Lake and Creek on Barranca in Irvine, phone (949) 654-1801. The two-year-old restaurant is already very popular for its generously portioned rice and noodle dishes in the $4.95 to $5.95 range. Influences from Japanese, Chinese, Thai and Vietnamese cultures are found in the recipes. Now, with two dozen additional appetizers and entrees (all $3.95 to $8.75) there’s more reason than ever to discover how good taste, big servings and bargain prices go hand-in-hand.
Minced chicken in crispy lettuce leaves or the snappy hot and sour soup make for a good start. Fish now comes with a crispy coating in a hot and sour sauce, in garlic sauce, or with spicy salt. Shrimp variations: tossed in the very popular sweet mayonnaise glaze, sauteed with garlic, or braised in a spicy tomato sauce (my favorite of the moment). Chicken entrees: with a light lemon glaze, in spicy orange peel sauce, and in a Thai-inspired peanut sauce. Beef flavored with lemongrass is a savory dish. Beef also comes stir-fried with green beans. Calamari is served with your choice of curry or oyster-flavored sauce. There are also some new vegetarian dishes.
This neatly designed restaurant proves that there is a vast life beyond a sandwich, which is what we tend to think of eating when considering this price range. Asia Noodle Caf & #233; definitely has its priorities in order and our palates in mind.
If the calories from the big party season are still weighing heavily on the mind and hips, here’s a seminar that’s good psychologically and physically. On Sunday, January 16, from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m., Whole Foods Market at Triangle Square (1870 Harbor Blvd., Costa Mesa) will be featuring Leanne Backer, executive chef at the Chopra Center for Well Being. She will be giving an in-depth look at the basics of Ayurveda, a 5,000-year-old food tradition using organically grown whole foods that are prepared and eaten with a respect for what they mean to a healthful body.
Time Magazine has singled out Dr. Deepak Chopra as one of the top 100 heroes and icons of the century. The editors credit him as “the poet-prophet of alternative medicine.”
Learn the principals of cooking Ayurveda-based meals by attending the free demonstration. Because space is strictly limited, reservations are required. Call (949) 574-3800 and ask for a Front End Supervisor who will have the reservation sheet at hand.
Chao publishes Chao’s Dinesty, a food, wine and travel newsletter, in Irvine.
