Cathy Pavlos, co-owner and chef of Lucca in Irvine and Provenance in Newport Beach, has earned her place as one of Orange County’s most admired chefs. She is our 2016 Restaurateur of the Year.
Cathy has become one of our rock-star chefs, no small feat, considering she is a self-taught cook who stepped into the culinary profession after admirable accomplishments in totally different disciplines.
She is an architect by training and profession, with bachelor’s degrees in architecture and art history, a master’s degree in social ecology, and a doctorate in environmental design and analysis. She has lived in Rome, worked in the Veneto region of Italy, and travelled extensively throughout Europe and the American East Coast. For 30 years, Cathy has visited Italy every year, indulging in the food and researching recipes.
Despite all of her training and a career that had nothing to do with restaurants—she spent more than 20 years in architectural practice and as a college professor—it was those remembrances of tastes from childhood that eventually came forward to influence her current status as chef and restaurateur. Cathy extrapolated her food memories into an extraordinary curiosity about the plethora of fine products now available and the elevation of food and restaurants to royal status. Thus, she has taken us to high appreciation of her cooking prowess.
She grew up in a close-knit Italian family, and her memories of being in the kitchen with her grandmother were always paramount. Fresh vegetables from the garden and animals that were free of any hormonal or antibiotic intrusion were the norm. Dishes like Sunday Sauce, the Italian tradition of making a long-simmered tomato sauce to go on the family’s Sunday dinner pasta, were part of family life. You can indulge in that Sunday Sauce from among the glories of Lucca’s menu.
Her first restaurant reminds us of a convivial European-influenced bistro. It’s sweet and pretty with an aura of food intensity on many levels. There’s the Italian-influenced menu, the cheese and charcuterie case that makes us think of either taking home some of the goodies or having a charcuterie platter as one of our courses, and the well-curated list of wines put together by Cathy’s husband.
All of the pastas at Lucca are made either in-house or sourced locally to Cathy’s specifications. The ingredients at both restaurants are of prime quality from the best purveyors. At lunch, I’m quite content with the All Natural Chicken and Fennel Sausage Carbonara or one of the creative sandwiches, such as the Portobello Grilled Cheese.
From Lucca’s dinner menu, begin with one of the engaging small plates, among them Mediterranean Olive Mix, Bresaola Carpaccio (air-dried beef), Smoked Salmon Rolls, and Pork Belly with Polenta. For dinner entrees, the Short Ribs with Pappardelle Noodles, house-made Raviolis, Loch Duart Salmon, and Lamb Shanks in Cabernet Braise are among the fine tastes.
Lucca is a bit of European heaven. Warmth, friendliness and comforting food await.
Then there’s Provenance, which Cathy opened in 2014. It’s Orange County’s perfect version of Napa Valley and Sonoma County-style dining: farmhouse fresh and organic. Cathy’s architectural background figures into both the décor and the presentation of the food, which comes to the table as works of art on the plate.
The integrated space features a lovely dining room that opens onto a vast patio garden, where many of the fresh vegetables and herbs used in the dishes are grown. There’s a state-of-the-art gardening system that hangs from the patio’s outer walls, adding another layer of architectural interest and leaving us surmising what dishes will be created from the lively plants.
A wall of wine storage in the dining room is more than a subliminal reminder that this is a complete wine country experience and that wine-matching possibilities are given serious consideration.
It’s logical to start any meal with a salad made from those fresh greens and vegetables growing in the patio garden. At lunch, I’m enthralled with Fish & Puppies, seared wild Pacific sand dabs and herbed hushpuppies. The sandwiches are indeed interesting. Among them is the Short Rib and Cheese; a Wild Shrimp Po’ Boy; Shelton Turkey Meatloaf; Tuscan Chicken with fresh burrata cheese; and Provenance Burger made with a hand-cut proprietary blend of four premium beefs, caramelized onions and tomato jam. You might want to add a side order of Kung Pao Roasted Cauliflower, Stuffed Squash Blossoms, or Ginger and Curry Roasted Carrots.
Cathy’s dinner menu at Provenance features one of the best chops I’ve tasted: Grilled All Natural Pork Chop from Salmon Creek Farms. It comes with a side of her signature Mac ‘n’ Cheese, black beans and fresh corn, plus pan-seared greens. The Roasted Chicken is succulent, and New Zealand Sole is a delight with its lightly crusted exterior and enhancements of crispy prosciutto, Squashed Potatoes and heirloom spinach.
Just to prove that all facets of the Provenance menu are given equal time, there are seven desserts made on the premises. Or in lieu of the sweet endings, order the Cheese and Charcuterie.
Both restaurants serve lunch and dinner. Lucca also serves brunch on Saturday and Sunday; Provenance serves Sunday brunch.
Cathy Pavlos is cooking with style and finesse, and we are lucky to have her vision of food in these two restaurants. She is most deserving as our Restaurateur of the Year.
Lucca
6507 Quail Hill Parkway
Irvine
(949) 725-1773
Provenance
2531 Eastbluff Drive
Newport Beach
(949) 718-0477
