Randy Schoch, one of the restaurateurs I highly admire, is on the move again.
Randy had the vision to bring Roy’s from Hawaii to Scottsdale and Newport Beach in the late 1990s. He owns and operates three popular Ruth’s Chris Steak Houses in the Hawaiian Islands.
In November, he will open Hawaii’s first Macaroni Grill at the busy Ala Moana Shopping Center in Honolulu, just in time for the holidays.
Randy also is the creator of Thaifoon at the Irvine Spectrum and Fashion Island, with two more locations in Scottsdale and Salt Lake City.
Last month Phoenix Magazine awarded Thaifoon “Best in Phoenix” and the Scottsdale Tribune named it “Best Asian Eats.” The Orange County Register just published its “Best of OC” and named Thaifoon “Best Thai Restaurant” among its readers.
I named Randy my “Restaurateur of the Year in 2003” (I was convinced he brought a very happy and new dimension of terrific dining to Orange County). Thaifoon also won the prestigious “Hot Concepts” category given annually by Nation’s Restaurant News, the most highly respected industry publication.
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Thaifoon at Fashion Island: changes coming to Irvine Spectrum location |
But never one to rest on his laurels, Randy is making some interesting changes next month at Thaifoon at the Irvine Spectrum.
We recently dined together and he said that the Irvine location will become the prototype for Ling & Louie’s Asian Bar & Grill, an “East meets West, boy meets girl Asian love story, told one dish at a time.”
Ling, Randy says, represents fabulous Asian cooking, with its multifaceted flavors. Louie brings American quality and contemporary flair to the marriage, according to Randy.
I asked Randy why fix something that’s not broken, especially with healthy sales. Based on licensing requests in Colorado, Oregon and Seattle and the opportunity to grow the concept, he realized that Thaifoon had outgrown its name.
Originally the menu had focused on Thai dishes, with the renowned restaurateur and cookbook author Mai Pham shaping much of the initial menu. However, Randy’s spent 20 years in Hawaii and consulting chef Garrett Cho was born there,he’s Hawaiian of Chinese-Korean ethnicity. Between them different flavors of Asia kept creeping in: Japanese edamame and spicy tuna tempura roll, Vietnamese spring rolls, Chinese lettuce wraps, dan dan noodles, honey walnut shrimp and whole crispy catfish among the ethnic diversities.
Thaifoon has a loyal following, but a perception still lingers that it’s only Thai food, when in fact its cuisine is much more varied.
I’ve been assured that all the Thaifoon favorites will stay on the menu, as well as the “chop chop” $7.99 lunch and the wildly popular $1-$2-$3 Easy Hours everyday from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. The new dishes are set to include Chinese accented pot stickers, crab wonton and peanut chicken with long beans and more.
You certainly can give your lunch some new punch right now with those “chop chop” lunches. Some of the selections are a teriyaki beef sandwich (made with filet mignon), Thai tuna bowl, pad thai (rice noodles with shrimp and chicken), filet mignon with asparagus stir-fry, mango chicken and a dandy Chinese chicken salad.
The $1-$2-$3 Easy Hours offers up edamame, firecracker wings and miso soup for $1; chicken satay, Thaifoon lettuce wraps and beggar’s purses for $2; and spicy tuna roll, Mongolian pork ribs and Siamese spring rolls for only $3.
I think the “One dish at a time” Asian love story idea for the Ling and Louie’s concept is most appealing. Sounds like a smart move on Randy’s part and a place I want to try.
As many of you know, being married to Patrick for more than four decades has allowed me to morph one of the world’s grand cuisines into my French (via Kansas) culinary heritage.
Next month we once again are taking a small group of friends to China and are anticipating tasting some incredible cookery throughout the journey.
The entire September issue of Food & Wine focused on Asian cuisine with some fascinating facts:
Retail sales of Asian food in America totaled $3.3 billion in 2004, up 27% since 2000.
Sales of supermarket sushi shot up about 56% from 2000 to 2004.
U.S. imports of green tea have increased 650% during the past eight years.
What does that tell us about the popularity of Asian food? And one of the largest populations of Asians in the nation is right here in OC.
I’ll be looking forward to visiting Ling & Louie’s at the Irvine Spectrum after our trip. With Randy at the helm, I know everything will be first class.
Above Sea Level
We lamented and wondered what the restaurant would represent at Ritz-Carlton Laguna Niguel when The Dining Room (what most of the R-C hotels call their & #252;ber gourmet rooms) closed last fall and it was announced a new restaurant would take its place.
We learned, as major construction and renovation in the hotel was under way, that a more approachable restaurant would take its place. The new Restaurant 162′, named for its awe-inspiring location 162 feet above sea level, debuted last month, with a fine look and enticement factor for the hotel.
The hotel opened in 1984 and followed the chain’s pattern of having a fine dining room with its own chef at each location.
In ways, The Dining Room overlapped what their elegant supper club called the Club Grill and Bar, which remains open, represented.
Both were eloquently appointed rooms,The Dining Room was sedate and understated and featured the finest French/Mediterranean cuisine and Club Grill featured classic dishes that were made with superb ingredients, beautifully presented and served in an atmosphere reminiscent of a moneyed hunting lodge with soft live music for dancing and dining background during dinner. The latter still is there.
When it came to having breakfast and lunch though, we ate at The Terrace Caf & #233;, also a fine looking room with a well-dressed patio for most enjoyable outdoor dining. Some meals still are served there, but it was the unveiling of Restaurant 162′ that gave everyone a feeling that the hotel’s standards are again on impressive footing.
We knew this would not just be an all day restaurant that most hotel images conjure. It’s there to compete with beautiful design elements and a chef, Joel Harrington, who is a high level commodity already known to some of us for his delicious food.
Chef Harrington’s menu for this new restaurant features his modern California cuisine with a focus on fresh fish and seafood. He offers a good variety of sharing plates so guests can have a more extensive tasting experience at each meal.
Highlights of the small plate menu include dill-cured salmon, lobster salad with watermelon relish, oysters on the half shell, a ceviche platter, George Bank scallops with celeriac puree, ahi sashimi and shrimp paella, roasted corn crab cakes and chile-sauteed calamari.
Larger plate offerings include Atlantic salmon and gravlax roll, bouillabaisse, oven-roasted cod, sauteed sand dabs, grilled rib eye steak and honey-lacquered duck breast. The chef says that his food is “all about fresh ingredients and seasonal products, with a lot of creativity and a little bit of spice.”
As for the room in which the food now is served, Restaurant 162′ is a flowing palette of cream and ice blue with dark wood furnishing accents,the whole a fresh and classy marriage of modern lines and traditional detailing.
A complex and visually interesting inset patterned wood floor runs throughout the restaurant. Further enhancing the striking ambiance is contrasting movable furnishings that seem to float beneath the room’s spectacular ceiling, which is highlighted by three coffered metal and crystal drop sculptures.
The custom sculptures consist of multiple strands of abstracted California poppies and are dramatically illuminated from below. The walls incorporate special wood treatments and inset fabric wall panels in sophisticated ice blue. A custom carved limestone fireplace is incorporated into the new design and serves as a central focal point of the room.
The fireplace is flanked by moveable walls that open the restaurant onto The Lobby Lounge and provide guests with amazing ocean views, something totally overlooked in the past.
With seating for 16, there’s a private dining room, an elliptical gem box featuring blue ice shirred wall surfaces encased with millwork crown and base moldings that integrate mother-of-pearl Italian glass tile work.
Custom refrigerated wine cabinets mirror the room and there is a hand-made wool and silk area rug that speaks of luxury. Three contemporary Swarovski crystal chandeliers, in a tree branch design, command attention as the center of the elliptical silver-leaf dome ceiling.
This is a big commitment to style and good food, a restaurant that has the class we’ve come to expect from Ritz-Carlton properties.
Restaurant 162′: in the Ritz-Carlton Laguna Niguel hotel, One Ritz-Carlton Drive, Dana Point, (949) 240-2000.
