You’ll be sad to hear that Alan Greeley, a chef held in the highest regard by his peers, is selling his Golden Truffle restaurant in Costa Mesa after 37 years. Alan has cooked for celebrities, business leaders and us with equal enthusiasm throughout his career, often being flown in private jets to Paris, the Caribbean and other exotic locations to cook for some of his customers.
His menus have always been fun and eclectic. A lunch or dinner at Golden Truffle can always be described as enticing and unique. He created Wednesday Night Soul Food meals years ago and continues to take us to other cultures and other countries with these $25 authentic multicourse dinners each week. I wonder who will pick up Alan’s ability to search out the world’s most interesting boutique wines for us. He is as widely known for his wine finds from obscure but amazing small wineries as he is for his approach to food.
I know you’re curious about where he’s going. To Florida, where he will undoubtedly continue relishing his time in the kitchen at home or otherwise. You still have a few weeks to enjoy the magical world of Alan’s food and wines. Golden Truffle: 1767 Newport Blvd., Costa Mesa, (949) 645-9858
Paddle to New Waters
In another changeover of ownership, Irvine’s Mediterranean-Italian Lucca Cafe was recently sold by owners/founders Cathy and Elliott Pavlos to the Roman-born owners of Caffe Pinguini in Playa del Rey. Caffe Pinguini has endured for two decades, and Lucca now shares the name.
Its forte is Italian food, all made fresh daily from classic recipes. We’ve spent time at the original Caffe Pinguini and found it unpretentious, with friendly service and very good food. Lunch and dinner are served, and breakfast/brunch are offered on Saturday and Sunday. 6507 Quail Hill Parkway, Irvine, (949) 725-1773
Polished Farmhouse
Farmhouse at Roger’s Gardens has been packed with customers at lunch and dinner since it opened last fall. It’s a superb open-air, gardenesque setting adding more panache to the chic nursey. Downsides have been that it can take several days for a reservation to be available and the opening menu had some items that were much more fascinating than others.
Chef/owner Rich Mead has worked out the wrinkles in the food with a brand-new menu that speaks quite differently to finely tuned flavors and presentations. And it has gotten easier to nab a table.
I would alert diners to the possibility of the bar and lounge area, where high-top tables set a more casual tone for your meal. There’s an energetic camaraderie in that area, while the dining pavilion is truly a beautiful and more chic garden space.
We’ve worked our way through several of the new items on this springtime list. Rich has kept one of my favorites from the previous menu, House Cured Salmon that is displayed with tomato, capers, pickled red onion, Persian cucumbers and radish, whole-grain mustard and pumpernickel triangles. The Market Salad is seriously colorful with its mix of strawberries, sugar snap peas, red onion, radish, sun gold tomatoes, mixed Coleman Farms greens, goat cheese and pistachios.
Roast Panko Crusted Icelandic Cod sits atop creamy farro, sprinkled with English peas, fava beans, asparagus, and roasted tomato olive tapenade. With that, we had sides of Roasted Cauliflower Steak, a trendy dish everywhere now, with chimichurri sauce, Roasted Asparagus beneath a mound of sauce gribiche and crispy parmesan chips, and the absolute winner: Roast Satsumaimo Potatoes brushed with apple cider molasses glaze.
Hoisin Glazed Pork Tenderloin and Saimin Noodles scored high. Tender slices of pork line one side of a bowl with a bundle of noodles in broth in the middle and bright veggies, hard-cooked eggs, pickled watermelon radish and Asian greens strewn around the rest of the dish.
There’s seldom a time when I turn down a cheese plate. Rich offers a nice one on the current menu. And this season cries out for strawberry desserts. Of course we said yes to the Shortcake that also included a scoop of intensive strawberry ice cream.
The wine list has plenty of interesting sips, too. Rosé wines have become the warm-weather darlings. It took a long time for them to develop a following stateside, but we are now beginning to appreciate what especially the French have long known about the pink wines. We had the Mont Gravet 2015 Rosé from the Languedoc and segued to the 2015 Department C Pinot Noir from the Anderson Valley. If you feel compelled to go for the chic labels of the world, there’s also plenty of them.
Farmhouse is a fascinating restaurant. Everyone is talking about it and making reservations. 2301 San Joaquin Hills Road, Corona del Mar, (949) 640-1415
Decade on the Vine
Old Vine Café is celebrating 10 years nestled with the trees in its courtyard-like setting. Chef/owner Mark McDonald has built this little enclave into a go-to place for prix fixe dinners with various themes. The meals can be further enhanced by the matching wines chosen for each course. We learn a lot about both food and wine and enjoy Mark’s passionate attention to the food.
Old Vine actually feeds us all day long. Breakfast and lunch are interesting meals, with as much attention paid to them as the cosmopolitan dinners. The food is seasonal, supplies coming from local farmers as much as possible. The rest is sourced from the best purveyors.
At breakfast you will find creative takes on crepes and French toast, with several omelet choices and traditional egg combos. Five kinds of biscuit entrees call to the Southern part of my spirit.
There’s a three-course lunch for $26 and a la carte selections. Lunch sandwiches call on influences from France, Italy, Mexico, Cuba and America.
At dinner, Indonesian Shrimp Curry is perfumed with lemon grass and garnished with flash-fried transparent noodles. Perfect. Those of us who enjoy beef tongue tuck into Mark’s version with hen of the woods mushrooms and peppercorn demi-glace. There are lamb chops and steaks. Some Italian specialties are also offered, since the chef took part of his training in southern Italy.
You will find me with a plate of Rabbit Mole—braised rabbit with a cashew and pasilla pepper mole. I was raised on wild game, and farm-raised animals are tamped down a bit in gaminess, but this presentation is very tasty as is. The prix fixe dinners march through regionalities from various countries.
And the wine list fascinates me and my wine connoisseur friends. Over 200 labels from some of the most interesting wineries in many countries.
Mark conducts culinary and wine trips to northern and southern Italy each year. If that piques your curiosity, inquire about details. Make plans to visit Old Vine Café soon. 2937 Bristol (at The Camp), Costa Mesa, (714) 545-1411
Dynamic Duo
Centro Collective recently opened in Lake Forest and turned the traditional idea of space and menu on its head. Forget a bunch of items to fill pages of a menu. Decide instead on two popular foods and watch diners start to rave about it and other chefs start to hang out.
That’s what partners and chefs Brent Omeste and Chad Urata did. They decided to take two small side-by-side spots in a semi-industrial center and cut an archway into the connecting wall. On one side of the archway is the taco realm, and on the other side is the pizza platform, the two foods that make up their basic menu.
Let me first introduce you to these chef owners. Brent is an Orange County kid who first cooked with his grandmothers. He enrolled in the culinary program at Orange Coast College and there met his business partner, Chad. Brent ultimately cooked at several restaurants, including Charlie Palmer, Alessa and Cucina Enoteca, where he was chef de cuisine.
Chad began his career in the Golden Truffle kitchen with Alan Greeley. He added stints in the kitchens of the Peninsula Hotel and the SLS Hotel in Beverly Hills and Cucina Enoteca in Irvine, where he became chef de cuisine.
The chefs had become close friends, and both married and started families. They also began to talk about doing a restaurant together. Both are quite modest, and it was never about the ego of having a fancy restaurant. That would take too much time away from their families. That’s how Centro Collective was born.
On the Centro Taqueria side of the restaurant, there are two versions of chips with dips to snack on and a couple of boxed salads as side orders. Then, it’s a choice of six tacos. Go directly for the Pork Belly Taco with pineapple, the Braised Short Rib Taco, the Tamarind Shrimp and the Beer Battered White Fish Taco.
On the Centro Pizzeria side, pizza can be purchased by the half slice, whole slice or full pan. You have eight choices. Appetizer items are two soups of the day and a couple of salads. Pizzas are displayed in a glassed-in area. Choose the one with ingredients that suit your palate. Your own selection will be introduced to the extremely hot oven, and in minutes you’re noshing on deliciousness. I won’t even make suggestions but will say these are impressive pies.
Whenever chefs from other restaurants chime in about the tastiness of someone’s food, it’s possibly the best recommendation. We took some friends there, and our little circle has now recommended it to many others.
When you want truly casual but very tasty food, think of Centro Collective.
24531 Trabuco Road (at Bake Parkway), Lake Forest, (949) 305-5224
