The Divine Dish

Dinner at BlueFire Grill, La Costa Resort

Posted on Aug 09, 2012 under Archives | No Comment

A few weeks ago I ventured to Carlsbad to enjoy a few nights of relaxation at La Costa resort.  This 600-acre Spanish Mission-style oasis  houses a water park, spa, restaurants, condo villas, 17 tennis courts, eight swimming pools, 610 guestrooms and two PGA Championship golf courses.  They also recently added “Edge,” a nice adults only infinity pool complete with cabanas and a large jacuzzi.  On my first night I had a lovely chef’s tasting dinner at BlueFire Grill.   BlueFire is the centerpiece of the resort’s open air plaza, a large  promenade that runs from the lobby, past several shops and fountains, past the Chopra Center, and down to the resort’s  multimillion dollar spa facility.

The restaurant seats 324, with tables on the patio and in two dining areas inside next to the lounge.  The main dining room is romantic and intimate with dark wood floors,  cozy leather booths and a large fireplace, while next door the adjacent exhibition kitchen is perfect for foodies who want a watch the chefs in action.  Outside, diners can enjoy live entertainment and warming fire pits. Here is what Chef Greg Frey Jr. prepared for me at BlueFire.

I started out with the Baja Ceviche, local halibut, bay scallops, crab mixed with Persian cucumber and avocado with a splash of lemon.  Very refreshing.

Next came the Skuna Bay Salmon Salad, with hickory smoked Salmon (smoked in house!), artichoke, arugula, radish and a meyer lemon aioli.  Chef Frey brought out the fresh salmon used for this salad.  One of the best appetizers I have tasted.

Next came a lovely mahi mahi with grilled tomatoes and a corn succotash.

Next was my fave of the night.  Chef Frey and I share a mutual obsession with spaghetti carbonara, so he included his version.  It was everything that carbonara should be and a definite must if you are eating at BlueFire.

Chef Frey’s version is made with mesquite smoked chicken, pancetta, spaghetti and parmigiano reggiano.

The last main course was also a stunner – Durham Ranch coffee braised short ribs with marinated carrots and mushrooms served over arborio risotto.  I loved this dish.

For dessert I sampled the chocolate salted caramel, a lovely molten cake with creme fraiche, salted caramel sauce and a hazelnut florentine.

It’s worth it to venture to La Costa just to dine at BlueFire Grill, but while your there you can also enjoy the many pools, peaceful surroundings, a trip to the famous spa and a meditation session at the Chopra center.  Located at 2100 Costa Del Mar, reservations for BlueFire Grill at 760/929-6306.

RIP, Ernest Borgnine Dies at 95

Posted on Jul 08, 2012 under Uncategorized | No Comment

Today Oscar winning actor Ernest Borgnine passed away.  I interviewed Ernest at his Hollywood Hills home five years ago when he was 90.   He reminded me of a big teddy bear.  He shared with me tales of old Hollywood and his “history” library full of antique and collectibles from past presidents.  Here is the link to my interview with the actor, http://www.latimes.com/extras/events/custom_publishing/arcPdf_storage/livingWell/LivingWell_12-07.pdf.

Food Lovers Weekend in Irvine

Posted on Jul 07, 2012 under Uncategorized | No Comment

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.

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.

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.

Owner MJ Hong teaches a variety of cooking classes, including tastes of Thailand, France, Italy, and Spain.

Reservations for wine bottling and cooking classes can be made at 949/297-3656 located at 21064 Bake Parkway.

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.

Visitors on the bean to bar tour learn how chocolate is made and get to sample chocolates from all over the world.

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.

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.

Dinner at Gordon Ramsay Steak, Paris Las Vegas

Posted on Jul 02, 2012 under Archives, Las Vegas | No Comment

Celeb chef Gordon Ramsay pays tribute to his home country of England both in menu items and atmosphere at his new steakhouse located in Paris.  Diners enter through a “chunnel” emulating the passageway from England to France and the two-story dining room’s main focus is a dangling neon art sculpture representing the chef’s movements while creating his signature Beef Wellington.

The restaurant accommodates 200 guests who can choose to dine at the bar, lounge, chef’s table or main room.  Drinks can be perused via an iPad digital menu provided for each table.

I visited a few weeks ago for an article for The Daily Meal and invited my good friend Joni to tag along.  I chose my standard dirty martini which came with a nice surprise of bacon at the end of my olive, Joni chose a strawberry cosmo.

Joni chose the traditional Caesar salad which came with a nice surprise – a Scottish egg, and I selected the market green salad with butter lettuce, crispy pancetta, blue cheese, tomato raisins and green goddess dressing.

For the main course, an array of raw beef in various cuts is presented tableside.  Each is dry aged for at least 28 days in a Himalayan salt room and hand selected by Pat LaFrieda.

We both chose the ribeye which was perfectly cooked.

Other menu offerings include seafood and Ramsay’s infamous Beef Wellington.  We chose fire roasted corn  with chile and lime and a huge baked potato for our sides, others menu sides include a mushroom tart, sautéed spinach, mac and cheese and other steakhouse standards.

Before our dessert course came out we were presented with three chocolate and liquor dipped spoons which paired well with our coffee.

The standout dessert is Ramsay’s Sticky Toffee Pudding, which Joni ordered, and consisted of a sweet pudding cake, brown sugar toffee and brown butter ice cream, delicious.

A dedicated chocoholic, I ordered the chocolate layers, a rich chocolate cake with passion fruit ganache  layers and coffee ice cream.

The next time you find yourself in Sin City hankering for a traditional steak, head over to Chef Ramsay’s new digs.   Located at 3655 South Las Vegas Boulevard, reservations at 702/946-7000.