Last night, the bar at Charlie Palmer, South Coast Plaza, launched its small plates menu--available from 4pm until close--with a media shindig.

I have to confess that I only tried one dish, but I do have a legitimate excuse: I'd just chowed down on the five-course tasting extravaganza at Marché Moderne and could only face something small and sweet by this point.

So my eyes were drawn to the bottom of the menu--churros with smoked chocolate sauce. I've always loved churros, ever since I was a kid, when I used to engage in the yearly ritual of eating them at dawn after a hard night at the feria in Almería.
 
They had to be mine.

Sadly, it was not to be.

A woman who, just seconds earlier, had asked me to take a photo of herself and her friend (I'd obliged), got to the counter first and grabbed the last two plates of churros. Two! One for herself, and one for her friend.

She gleefully whisked them off, as I fumed and seethed to myself--blood pressure going through the roof--and shot her a "die now" look.

So I had to settle for the sweet sherry ice cream, spicy almonds and saffron syrup. A massive sugar rush ensued, which no doubt would've happened with the churros con chocolate too, but that's not the point.
 
In any case, the new bar menu looks damn good, featuring blue cheese-stuffed dates wrapped in bacon, grilled skirt steak with chimichurri and roasted peppers, and a daring roast bone marrow with raisin marmalade and grilled bread.
 
And that's just the meat section: there's also salt cod-stuff piquillo with parsley and fried shallots, slow-braised octopus with olive oil, potato and paprika vinaigrette, and fried three-cheese risotto cakes with chorizo aioli.

And those churros.
 
When I go back, I'm getting them, and I'm going to order two portions to myself.
My body--with the possible exception of my thighs--will thank me for it.

For the full small plates menu, CLICK HERE.

Last month, I wrote about the surprisingly good flautas offered by La Casa Garcia in Anaheim. It's not the county's best Mexican-American joint (though does belongs among the top 10), but owner Frank Garcia is a true Mexi-mensch; his annual We Give Thanks Thanksgiving dinners is the stuff of legend, and guarantees him a spot in heaven. You can read about Garcia's story in a new book, We Give Thanks: A Book About Frank Garcia and His Legacy: Restauranteur and Philanthropist. More than mere vanity publication, Garcia weaves his story with dozens of recipes, from menudo to soups to taco salad. Buy this book not just for a good beginner's guide to Mexican-American food, but to support one of the few secular saints left in la naranja.

We Give Thanks: A Book About Frank Garcia and His Legacy: Restauranteur and Philanthropist, by Frank Garcia. Soft-cover, 155 pages. Order your book at www.lacasagarcia.com.

As I mentioned recently, Marché Moderne is celebrating two years at South Coast Plaza with a two-night special tasting menu and market for diners. Last night was the first night; I attended--and also Twittered about the experience.

The food was superb, the dishes showcasing top-tier produce from the restaurant's suppliers, who also came to sell their wares at the market.

A corner of the restaurant's rooftop patio was taken over by seven vendors, selling everything from flowers--including real lavender!--from Bonne Fleur to baskets of farm-fresh mushrooms and beets (West Central Produce) to iced crustacea (Santa Monica Seafood).

The proprietors were keen to engage the enthusiastic buyers and browsers in conversation about their produce, and food in general.


As for the tasting menu, it's not cheap--$75, plus $35 for the optional French wine pairing--but it's good. The vegetable course--nothing more than a minimalist line of baby vegetables, Meyer lemon chutney and sauce mousseline--proved that simple needn't mean boring. Also memorable was the yakitori of lobster and sweetbread, a combination that works surprisingly well, and the finale, Amelia Marneau's raspberry-mascarpone soufflé tart. The meat course included a ribeye that was so rare it almost walked off the plate, but I realize that that's the optimum way of maintaining the quality.

The whole evening was a foodie's dream come true... It's just a shame it comes around only once a year.

Edwin Goei

Like I said yesterday, things are moving fast at Diamond Jamboree in Irvine.  And pretty soon, the city will get a new sushi bar. And not just a sushi bar, but a rotating sushi bar called Kula. Unless I am mistaken, Kula will make a total of four revolving sushi bars in OC. The other three being Kura Sushi in Costa Mesa, Kaisen in Santa Ana, and Sushi 5 in Tustin.

Subway has been flogging its five-dollar foot-longs for ages--I'm sorry, they should be paying us five dollars to eat that slop--but now TGI Friday's is joining the gang, meaning we we eat out for around the same price (or thereabouts, if we're frugal).

I'm not a big fan of the chain, I admit. Call me fussy, but it might have something to do with the fact that, on my last visit, the server let her long, twisted fingernails hang into my food as she brought the plate to me. Anyway, that was about 12 years ago. I'm prepared to give them another shot at some point, but, until I can bring myself to do so, I think it's best left to college kids with awful taste in heavy metal (check out the horrific website if you don't believe me).

But TGI devotees might well be interested in the fact that, from now until the end of May, all of Fridays' sandwiches and salads--including nine new items--cost just five bucks. That's more than half off some items. They're full sizes and you get fries or salad thrown in too. Quite a bargain.

Among the offerings debuting are a BBQ Chicken Chopped Salad, a Meatball Sandwich and a Jack Daniel's Chicken Sandwich (are they really still trying to flog that JD-smothered rubbish? When will they learn that booze and food go well at the same time, but not together?)

Meanwhile, Cinco de Mayo--next Tuesday--is being celebrated with two five-cent deals: select appetizers at the bar (from 4:00pm to 7:00pm, with the purchase of a drink) and blackberry margaritas, the chain's new drink. Plus, if you're a TGI Friday's loyalty card holder--there are 900,000 of you out there, apparently (who knew?) - you get extra Stripes and free chips and salsa.

Yes, that's right--we're caving in to peer pressure delighted to be bringing our readers even more food news and commentary by joining the likes of Obama, Ashton and that bloke from the Mac ads.

Our new account will be regularly updated by Gustavo, Edwin and myself.

You can follow us at www.twitter.com/ocweeklyfood. (There's also an OC Weekly account, at www.twitter.com/ocweekly).

I'm kicking things off tonight with a live blog from Marché Moderne's market night. There'll be food, there'll be drink, there'll be a severe case of BlackBerry thumb, but it should be worth it.

Edwin Goei

Things happen at a hare's pace at Diamond Jamboree, or maybe I'm the tortoise and too slow to notice. 

The 16th Annual Wild & Crazy Taco Night will be held this Thursday.

1550 Superior Avenue, Costa Mesa
5:30 PM - 7:30 PM
VIP Party 4:15 PM - 5:15 PM

$60 - advance registration only
VIP Party $150 - advance registration only

There's limited availability, No tickets sold at the door

For those who haven't been, this is the charity event to benefit Share Our Strengh, which pits some of OC's best chefs against each other in creating the...well, the wildest and craziest tacos (no, Kogi won't be there).

The list of participating chefs include:

Franco Barone, Antonello Ristorante

David Bentley, Stella's Serious Italian Restaurant & Lounge

Bill Bracken, The Island Hotel

Dennis Brask, Five Crowns

Paul Buchanan, Primal Alchemy

Mark Cleveland and Tanya Fuqua, Avanti Cafe

Jeff Dobkin and Jason Coulston, The Hidden Kitchen

Alan Greeley, The Golden Truffle

Tom Hope, TAPS Fish House & Brewery

Carlito Jocson, Yard House

Louie Jocson, Family Tree Produce & Pacific Prime

Michael Kang, 5'

Jason Kordas, Jason's Downtown Restaurant

Chad Krahling, Hilton, Costa Mesa/Orange County

Rich Mead, Sage Restaurant & Sage on the Coast

Lalo Morales, Rusty Pelican

Pascal Olhats, Tradition by Pascal

Scott Robbe, Salt Creek Grille

Michael Rossi, Ambrosia at OC Pavilion

Adrien Sbrana, Sam & Harry's

Don Schoenburg, Leatherby's Cafe Rouge

Paul Squicciarini, Orange County Food & Wine Center

 

CLICK HERE FOR MORE DETAILS.

I met Cathy and Elliott Pavlos, architects-turned-restaurateurs, and owners of Irvine's Lucca café and deli, during their Wine and Cheese Pairing 101 at Bloomingdales on Saturday. I had been envisaging a low-key gathering of shoppers and foodies (not that they're mutually exclusive, I hasten to add), but when I sidled up 15 minutes into the session I quickly realized that it was a more serious event, with seating, big flat-screen TVs with direct feeds and earnest-looking gourmets making notes. By the end I was expecting an exam.
 
For those of you who missed the event and never know what kind of cheese plate to assemble, some crib notes: 1) It's best to serve cheese in odd numbers eg three or five kinds for a small group, 2) Aim for 1 to 2 ounces per person, and 3) Mix it up: try serving a cow, a goat, a sheep and a blue--or a soft, a semi-soft and a hard.

Passing on the wine (I've never been able to drink in the day), I dived straight into some delightful cheeses and breads--a snapshot of the weekly changing selection served at Lucca, which includes some laudably obscure varieties.
 
They were all divine, but my tastebuds were really tickled by the award-winning Cocoa Cardona, an aged goat cheese made by Car Valley Cheese, a century-old, family-run creamery in Wisconsin. I knew the state was a huge producer of cheese (in fact, it's the country's biggest), but this particular variety had passed me by. Incredible, seeing as it combines two of my favorite things.

It may sound sickly, but it's not--although small doses are best. To make the Cocoa Cardona, a small amount of cocoa powder is rubbed onto the rind, creating a thin but discernable layer that contrasts brilliantly with the bite of the cheese.
 
And what better way to get rid of the awful dilemma at the end of a meal: cheese or dessert? Have both in one go!

But don't take my word for it--if you have a spare eight minutes, check out this clip of the guys at Gimme Something To Eat "reviewing" the Cocoa Cardona in what seems to be a cinéma vérité version of Beavis & Butthead.
 


So, where to buy this gift of the gods? Cathy and Elliott sell it, along with many other cheeses and charcuterie, at Lucca's deli.

They get their cheeses from the Aniata Cheese Company in Vista, San Diego County (which supplies her with the Cocoa Cardona) and Cheese Works West in Alameda, near San Francisco.
 
But, seeing as those two distributors only sell to retailers, Cathy suggests Trader Joe's, Whole Foods (if you have the budget) or--wait for it--Costco. I initially chuckled at this (as did she), but it turns out they do have some pretty good artisan selections. No Cocoa Cardona currently, but the very helpful staff at my local (Fountain Valley) store did tell me it occasionally shows up as part of their "Cheese Roadshow".

Yes, folks, Cheese Roadshow!!!

Everyone's trying to be a fancy pizza man nowadays gracias to the Mozza phenomenon. From Pizzeria Ortica's neo-Italian standards to Avanti Café's inventive pies, it's a welcome addition to the county's pizza scene. Add to the good ones some squash concoction at Mesa.

Mesa switches up its menu to match the seasons, so I'm not sure how long this particular version will last. But this is what you can expect: earthy yellow and green squashes, with eggplants thrown in for a bit of smokiness. A dab of tomato sauce and goat-cheese nuggets. I only ate a slice, since my table gobbled up the rest--and they weren't even drunk! If you're ever looking for a vegetarian respite from the heaven-on-a-bun that is TK Burgers across Bristol Street and don't like getting ripped off by Native Foods, you have a winner. Now, if only Old Vine Café could offer a try...they would rule the world!

Mesa, 725 Baker St., Costa Mesa, (714) 557-6700.