The Bruery

It's a common conundrum for California craft beer drinkers: Too many growlers, not enough shelf space. The assumption has been that current law only permits breweries to refill the 64-ounce to-go jugs if they're from their own shop. But in February, the head of the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control made a surprising "clarification" saying that breweries could fill any sealable vessel under certain guidelines.

More »

Asian Garden Mall

It can be argued the summer festival game in OC is all but cornered by the OC Fair, but here's another reason to go out there on a warm weekend night that doesn't involve getting your lips greasy from whatever they pull out of the fryers at Chicken Charlie's: The Little Saigon Night Market at the Asian Garden Mall parking lot is going to start up again tomorrow.

More »

Photo by Todd Barnes

Yes. You heard right. Britta's Cafe--a Weekly favorite, and the subject of a recent Eat Here Now post by Gustavo--will close for good by the end of this month. As Gustavo noted, Britta Pulliam, its owner and chef, "was doing farm-to-table cooking when most of the county's hipsters chefs were still in their swaddling clothes."

More »

With the original McGriddle and Taco Bell's "waffle taco" and the monstrosity that is Dunkin' Donuts' glazed donut breakfast sandwich, fast food chains are realizing that what Americans want first thing in the morning is more sugar.

More »

Edwin Goei

Pho Thanh Lich, the winner of our Final Pho Tournament of a few years back, has changed locations. The lease on the old location reportedly ran out, so they upped and moved.

This is not the first old-school Little Saigon restaurant to pull up stakes and migrate lately. Pagolac, the venerated 7 courses of beef restaurant also moved to a new, if less visible location. But Pho Thanh Lich's new home at 13135 Brookhurst St. in Garden Grove is not just less visible, it's hidden. The place seems wedged underneath the armpit of one of those crowded, two-story mini-mall edifices.

More »

Sarah Bennett

Use side entrance

Long Beach might be home to the largest stateside population of Cambodians, but it's still not as easy as one might think to find a home-style hole in the wall that kills it with Khmer classics. Most of the Cambodian restaurants along the culture's main central-city corridor are designed as catering venues, replete with sparkling stage decor and oversized dining rooms perfect for serving up more-approachable standards at that next special occasion.

Crystal Thai Cambodian has none of that. Separated from the Cambodia Town drag by only a few blocks, the barely marked space attached to the city's oldest Khmer market, Bayon, is as close as it gets to having a yiey (grandma) of your own.

More »

Photo by Johnny Baldaray

Every second and fourth Wednesday night of the month, legendary bartender/chef/restaurant insider Dave Mau hosts Dinner with Dave at Memphis at the Santora, where he treats drinkers to a free meal and live music as the evening progresses. To remind ustedes of this great night, Dave treats us every Wednesday morning that he's on to a random OC food or drink musing of his choice. Enjoy!!

I like to think of summer as an opera with its various acts/actors plying its sun-soaked stage and it's not over til the fat lady sings that last note of her final aria on the Tuesday after Labor Day. Even then, we in OC usually get a four-week encore, as our hottest months are often those that are considered something called "autumn" in other parts of the country. Grilling poolside at Casa de Mau is most definitely part of the seasonal program and that, like gravity itself, is a fact of life.

Recently three random events combined to make for an appealing addition to my grilling lexicon, so follow me here.

More »

Photo by LP Hastings

"The food's been the same way for 40 years. Our regulars are 80 years old, and have been coming here for 40 years. So now we're really trying to aim for the next demographic, 30 to 60, and bring that next generation of regulars back here."

Greg Moro's first job around food was at Claro's Italian Market in Tustin, slicing sandwich meats at the age of 16. He started getting regulars that would come in and want him to make up something for them. That's where he really started to play with food, using a sweet salami with a spicy capicola and creamy cheese-- trying to find that perfect balance in something as simple as an Italian sub.

Read our interview with Gregory Moro of Nieuport 17, Part One.
And now, on to Part Two . . .

What would you be doing if you weren't in this business?
I have never worked outside of the food industry, so it is hard for me to say. Hopefully, I would be in a field that I am passionate about as much as I am to cooking.

More »

Chipotle

The next time you stop at Chipotle for a burrito the size of your calf, you'll find a new protein option on the board.

Tofu.

More »

Edwin Goei

**CORRECTION** The special ramen vendor will only be at the Torrance location. Apologies for the error!

**ORIGINAL POST**

Ah, Mitsuwa. Where would we be without your occasional food fairs. This week sees one of the bigger ones of the year. It's plainly called "Japanese Gourmet Fair" but for all intents and purposes, it's just an excuse to pull out the takoyaki booth they have in storage. I saw them already getting it ready this past weekend.

More »