I enjoy attending live events, and for our anniversary, my wife surprised me with tickets to a play at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa. She also included a gift certificate for Vaca, a Spanish restaurant steps from the theater, to enhance our evening. Amar Santana, a former Top Chef contestant, co-owns…
Spanish
La Cosecha – Tasty Libations and Latin Food
My wife and I recently traveled to Paso Robles to celebrate her birthday. We traveled there to go wine tasting. Drinking good wines automatically causes me to go from drinking mode to one of sipping and savoring instead. In that spirit, we dined al fresco at La Cosecha. Parklets now line the downtown plaza area…
Delectable Seafood Experience at Valentina
Like many of you, my wife and I canceled our vacation plans. I’ve been working from home and I needed to getaway. For my birthday, my wife and I drove to San Diego so that we could enjoy a good dinner that was not handed to us in to-go boxes. After checking out the possibilities,…
Gabi James, a Terrific Find in Redondo Beach
Have you ever driven by an interesting-looking restaurant on a regular basis and never frequented it? For me, I’m embarrassed to say that experience is Gabi James in the Riviera Village area of Redondo Beach. My wife and I recently dined there for dinner for the first time. Gabi James is named after the owners,…
Weekend Fun at The Taste Costa Mesa
The LA Times event, The Taste, took place last week at The Met in Costa Mesa. The event featured approximately 90 of LA and Orange County’s top food and beverage vendors over the two day period. If that wasn’t enough, the event also provided guests with live cooking demonstrations and live music. Since Orange County…
A Basq Kitchen Celebrates National Paella Day for 4 Days!
A Basq Kitchen will celebrate National Paella Day, March 27. It continues the celebration with a different paella each day until Saturday, March 30. Paella is a Spanish rice dish topped with peppers and loaded with everything from shrimp to chorizo to lobster. Variations on original Spanish Valencia exist, but the commonality seems to be…
Tapas Pop Up Featuring Hand Carved Jamón Ibérico
I met Pedro Liébana earlier this year at the Latin Food Festival in Santa Monica. He was hand carving a large leg of Jamón Ibérico, a classic delicacy in Spain. I hesitated at approaching him, but he was quick to smile and offered me a sample. The flavor was quite remarkable and it was obvious…
Paella Wine and Beer Festival Coming to DTLA
When I mention paella as one of my favorite things to eat, many people nod their head in agreement. Going a layer beneath, you find that most fans know that the key to a good paella is the rice and having a crispy, crunchy rice makes it authentic. If you don’t know what I’m talking…
Tapas Pop Up Coming Soon to Larchmont Village
I enjoy traveling because it is an opportunity for me to see how people in other areas live. I also believe you can find out a lot of about countries through their cuisine. Since I haven’t been to Spain, I haven’t had a true tapas experience. Fortunately, Jamón Ibérico de Bellota Catering has a Tapas…