Food Bites; Bruce’s Battles

While the region’s food scene has never been more vibrant, it’s been a tough year for lovers of great food writing in the Southland. Last month’s death of the L.A. Times’ legendary Jonathon Gold follows the passing in November of our own Fifi Chao—both from cancer. The two had plenty of overlapping local faves. Chao praised Newport Beach’s Marché Moderne as “the epitome of French cuisine,” while Gold wrote, as only he could, that Chef Florent Marneau’s “dark, musky coq au vin existed as a personal favor to you.” Costa Mesa’s Taco Maria was a perennial entry on our Fifi’s Best annual listings in the past few years, and Chef Carlos Salgado’s SoCo hotspot deservingly got the nod from Gold this year as the L.A. region’s best restaurant … Recent reminders that restaurants are big (and risky) business here; our Peter Brennan notes that one out of every dozen jobs in OC is restaurant-related (see his page 1 story). And a holding company for OC’s 10th-biggest restaurant chain, Real Mex Restaurants of Cypress, filed for bankruptcy last week, listing liabilities in excess of $100 million and plans for a sale. El Torito, Acapulco and Chevy’s Fresh Mex restaurants are impacted, though it’s unclear what the filing means for the operations of Laguna Beach’s famed Las Brisas, another RealMex asset … Local chefs looking to catch some buzz should seek out our Christopher Trela, who’ll be in the audience for the Aug. 19 PR bootcamp for restaurants at the LA Convention Center, part of the Western Foodservice & Hospitality Expo. The panel’s named in tribute to Fifi, who’s Executive Dining column was handed to Christopher last year. The panel includes Eater LA’s Farley Elliott, OC Weekly contributor Anne Marie Panoringan and Orange Coast’s Gretchen Kurz … Meanwhile, the thriving real estate market hasn’t kept SunCal’s Bruce Elieff from getting a bad case of heartburn. He’s no stranger to recession-related litigation and is in the courts again. A firm 100% owned by the head of the Irvine-based master developer, WCR Development Co., was registered with the state on July 20, the same day it filed for Chapter 11 protection. Estimated assets: $10 million to $50 million. Liabilities: about $224 million, documents show. Newport Beach-based Gulfstream Finance is listed as a big creditor, and so is former business partner Todd Kurtin, who sued Elieff several years ago over broken promises regarding some area properties, and was awarded a $20.4 million judgement last year. The bankruptcy filing appears partly an effort to stave off the loss of one of Elieff’s homes that’s subject to a lien; Irvine-based Auction.com shows the 5,000-square-foot CdM property near Cameo Shores Beach is slated for a Sept. 7 sale.