Food Lovers Weekend in Irvine
Posted on Jul 07, 2012 under Uncategorized | No Comment
Irvine, CA
Located in the heart of Orange County, Irvine offers world class shopping, great beaches, championship golf courses and nearby theme parks. They city also offers a variety of restaurants and culinary adventures for visiting foodies. Here are a few places to explore on your next trip to Irvine.
Hyatt Regency outside
Check into one of the 536 guestrooms at the Hyatt Regency, the area’s only AAA Four Diamond hotel. Located two miles from John Wayne Airport and South Coast Plaza, guests can enjoy the 24-hour fitness center, outdoor pool and tennis courts before retreating to guestrooms with modern furnishings and art, separate business spaces with desks and high speed Internet and flat panel television.
The Wine Artist
Wine enthusiasts can visit The Wine Artist, a 2,500 square foot Tuscan designed boutique winery and wine tasting bar specializing in corporate events, private parties, custom labeled wine and bottling experiences and cooking classes. Here you can design your own bottle label, pick a red or white blend, cork it, label it and take it home.
corking wine
Owner MJ Hong teaches a variety of cooking classes, including tastes of Thailand, France, Italy, and Spain.
Pad Thai from cooking class
Reservations for wine bottling and cooking classes can be made at 949/297-3656 located at 21064 Bake Parkway.
Qzina Institute of Chocolate
Chocoholics will love the Bean to Bar tour and tasting offered at Qzina Institute of Chocolate. Qzina is an international importer of specialty chocolates and its Irvine facility is a training center for pastry chefs, chocolatiers and cocoa loving laypeople. During the tour and tasting guests can view the 18,239 pound chocolate sculpture modeled after an ancient Mayan Temple.
world's biggest chocolate sculpture
Visitors on the bean to bar tour learn how chocolate is made and get to sample chocolates from all over the world.
deshelling cocoa beans
chocolate tasting
Located at 9461 Irvine Center Drive, 949/208-8462 for reservations.
Irvine is also home to a number of restaurants, including Chef David Myers Pizzeria Ortica at South Coast Plaza. Enjoy handmade Napoli-style artisan pizzas, antipasta dishes and homemade pastas.
appetizer plate
parma ham pizza
Pizzeria Ortica is located at 650 Anton Boulevard, reservations at 714/445-4900.
If you are in the mood for Japanese food, try the new SWSH Shabu Shabu, where you can cook your own meal. Choose from an array of petal thin sliced meat and vegetables, tofu and noodles to dunk in a pot of boiling water then dip in ponzu or sesame sauce and eat with rice. SWSH’s space is trendy and chic with half of the dining room dedicated to booth seating and the other half to a long traditional bar. The menu offers a few modern twists including a raw egg to cook with the meat and vegetables, Angus ribeye beef and Kurobuta pork. Located at 2710 Alton Parkway, 949/474-0888 for reservations.
Standout menu items include the guanciale, ricotta and cippollotto pizza, pear and pecorino torelli, and the tagliatelle bolognese.