I gotta say, ever since it was announced that I'd be the Orange County guy for KCRW-FM 89.9, the station has gone GANGSTA on OC, not just by allowing me to blabber every Monday with my "Orange County Line" commentary, but with an energized focus on the food front via Good Food with Evan Kleiman. Don't get me wrong: I've been doing a monthly commentary for years, and we have our semi-annual happy hours (next one is Feb. 7--see you there!), but there's now an added focus on food stories that happen to take place in OC, or guests with ties to the area.

Take this week. Not only do you have me talking about Al Tannour, the awesome Iraqi restaurant in Little Arabia, but you also have Garden Grove gal Lauryn Chun sharing recipes involving kimchi, per her great The Kimchi Cookbook. And you also have San Clemente native Andrea Nguyen giving a tour of Mitsuwa Marketplace. Orange County: the new black!
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Edwin Goei

Until last night, I had thought that anything that Strickland's Ice Cream churns out of those gleaming machines can do no wrong. But its maple bacon flavor is not what I would consider as Strickland's finest hour. More »

This is how it works in radio journalism--unless you do a segment live, it's recorded, and who knows when it might pop up. That's exactly what happened with Taco Maria and KCRW-FM 89.9's Good Food with Evan Kleiman. I recorded that segment months ago--so long ago that I can't even remember when it happened. It's so old that at the time, chef Carlos Salgado was still offering his legendary bone-marrow quesadilla, which I raved about in my segment--and which is not currently on the menu. Whoopsie-doodle!
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Edwin Goei

Above: Before reheating. Below: After reheating.

With so few Indonesian restaurants around, and so many that have come and gone without no one so much as noticing, I've decided it's good to, once in a while, check the pulse of the ones I actually frequent.

I'm happy to report that Indo Ranch--the Indonesian grocery and food-to-go shop in sleepy Lake Forest-- is still going. I won't say going strong, because during the two most recent visits I made on a week night, I was the only customer. It was the same when I first reviewed them a year ago, and it's the same now.

See also:

• Indo Ranch's Java to Go
• No. 57, Gudeg at Indo Ranch
• Warung Pojok in Garden Grove

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Edwin Goei

It's been three years since I reviewed Pizzeria Ortica; two years since Chef Steve Samson left to start Sotto in LA. In that time a little place called Mozza opened in Newport Beach; Ecco debuted not far off at The Camp; and the irrepressible Il Dolce quietly did its thing near Triangle Square. Though it could be argued that the breed of everything-old-country-is-new-again pizzeria that Ortica belonged started with Pizza e Vino in RSM when it opened in 2008, it was Pizzeria Ortica that I reviewed first. So it was time to reassess the place. More »

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!

Oh, Inception, how I loathed thee. I'm not much for the genre in general and DiCaprio is vastly overrated so, of course, I found it pedestrian. I know this means I'm cranky, old and undoubtedly wrong but that's the way I feel, so there (although that latter sentiment is more snot-nosed upstart than coot, no?). Of all its flaws, what bothered me most were the vast expanses of pure exposition--Ellen Page being a torturous dispenser of it to a slack-jawed Leo as we were being told instead of shown what was happening.

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Because nothing exists on the Internet before three days ago, I'm reprinting a 2009 article I did on the best tamales in Orange County for the holidays--and I'm also ripping off a 2007 article I did on the same subject. I will also note that Gabbi's Mexican Kitchen and Taco María make great high-falutin' tamales, as well. Anyhoo, the retread!

Almost three years ago, I wrote up this round-up of the county's best places to get tamales. Rivera's is unfortunately closed, and I still don't understand why Central and South Americans prepare tamales (with the exception of Nicaraguans and the Guatemalan pache), but the review still holds true. But other places have emerged over the years that belong on the list--let's first start, however, with the two stand-bys:
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Photo by Meranda Carter

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To the gentleman at Silver Trumpet who seated us on Thursday, Nov. 10:

I owe you an apology. You see, I lied to you. As you showed me to my seat, you asked me politely, "You have the same last name as the OC Weekly food writer. Are you him?"

Flustered and quite shocked that my cover was blown, I blurted out, "No, I'm not."


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Don't forget: This Thursday is our second Good Food Happy Hour alongside KCRW-FM 89.9's Evan Kleiman. Starts at 7 p.m. in Mesa in Costa Mesa! Another reminder tomorrow!

And there was also a reminder at the end of my conversation with Evan this past Saturday about El Borrego Sagrado in big, bad SanTana, home of wonderful Hidalgo-style barbacoa, mixiote and tlacoyos. Enjoy!

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Wish they were back in SanTana, but what are you going to do...

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Out of the many restaurants that we've lost in the near-decade I've been the food editor at this infernal rag, few pained me more than the departure of Nancy Puebla Restaurant, a SanTana dive that was one of the first regional Mexican restaurants in the county to cross over to the mainstream. Its take on moles were legendary, as was its unique specialty on the little guys: godornices (Cornish game hen) and quilotes (quails). And best of all were the aguas frescas, which many a Mexi non-profit used for their fundraisers.

Then, around late 2007, Nancy Puebla just up and left. The owner told me he was moving to Perris, to take advantage of the housing boom at the time, and was relocating his restaurant with him. Perris? That tiny town off I-15, whose only claim to fame is it's not Menifee? I wished him well, but feared the move wouldn't work--after all, how many poblanos could possibly live in the Inland Empire?

There was never any reason for me to check up on Nancy Puebla--until this past Saturday.
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