Lido Bottle Works is a craft beer, wine, bottle shop and public house owned by Newport Beach natives located at Newport Beach’s Lido Marina Village. Enjoy a wide array of carefully collected and selected small batch beers, wines by the bottle and glass, and a tapas style menu of small bites, tasty offerings and delicious California coastal cuisine from Chef Amy Lebrun.

Lido Bottle Works is focused on offering locally sourced and sustainable ingredients in a stylish yet casual environment for locals and visitors alike. On the menu are winemaker and brewer events, an art gallery, live music, and more.

Lido also serves a Saturday and Sunday Brunch. A house specialty is Chorizo Hash with fingerling potato, a poached egg and Poblano Hollandaise. Indoor and covered patio seating with a bay view available.

“Join us for a revelatory culinary experience of cooking, eating, and adventure. At Lido Bottle Works we believe people, food, and drink should be ‘Genuinely Good Together.’ Our unique dishes are prepared for our friends and family using local and sustainable ingredients perfectly paired with specialty craft beer, wine, and cocktails.”

Brett Karas, Operating Partner/General Manager is our guest.

The Landsby is perhaps the newest and most comfortable hotel in the Santa Ynez Valley. This stunning 50-room boutique hotel in Solvang with a lushly appointed interior courtyard with fire pits offers warm hospitality and refined, stylish accommodations. The Landsby features a clean contemporary design, with a hint of traditional Scandinavian aesthetic.

The completely remodeled, bright and open guestrooms are finished with blonde woods, brushed brass accents, and elegant but comfortable hand-crafted furnishings. The airy accommodations are complete with updated bathrooms, 47-inch flat-screen HDTVs, minibars, and stunning artwork commissioned from regional artists.

The Landsby’s signature restaurant is Mad & Vin showcasing wine-country inspired cuisine. The executive chef is Beto Huizar. Each dish is prepared with fresh, seasonal ingredients from California’s Central Coast. Seating for breakfast, lunch or dinner is in the welcoming dining room or dine alfresco on the outdoor patio overlooking the striking interior courtyard.

Happy Hour at the popular Lobby Bar (soon to expand) is, unusually, seven days a week. It’s a favorite with the locals for quick, chef-driven bites and quality libations.

Special Note: On Saturday afternoon, November 17th at the special time of 4 to 6:00 p.m. (following Notre Dame football) the “SoCal Restaurant Show” will be broadcasting live from The Landsby previewing the annual December Solvang Julefest (Yule-Fest).

General Manager Barry Prescott, a hospitality and food & beverage veteran, shows us around.

 

Chef Andrew Gruel, the founder of The Slapfish Restaurant Group, joins us with another installment of “Ask the Chef.”

There is still a lot of unfortunate confusion out there regarding the desirability and safety of farm-raised seafood. The myth persists that wild-caught is always best.

As Chef Andrew explains most of the seafood we enjoy domestically is actually farm-raised. Think shrimp…

It’s all a matter of best practices for the farm-raised seafood and uniform standards. That’s the wrinkle. It’s not a question of one over the other. Both wild caught and farm raised are part of the seafood we enjoy on the table.

Chef Andrew provides more needed insight.

 

Now a salivating preview of this Saturday’s extra rich show. It’s not, with profuse apologies, for dieters. If we’re successful we will always leave you incredibly hungry and thirsty. In our case, upon careful reflection, that’s probably a pretty good thing… Keep in mind we’re here with you live every Saturday with an action-packed show typically overflowing with tasty treats.

When it comes to award-winning burgers for the true enthusiast the place to go in Las Vegas is FukuBurger. They have their original rolling grill food truck on the road as well as a bricks-and-mortar location in Chinatown. There were recently in L.A. at the Sunday Smorgasburg LA as the invited guest of noted burger authority, George Motz. We’re flipping a Tamago Burger with Co-Founder Colin Fukunaga.

We chatted with Chef Ricardo Zarate recently about his new restaurant in Las Vegas, Once, located at The Palazzo Resort. His new flagship in West Hollywood (launched last June) is the high-energy Rosaline. Here Chef Ricardo takes his guests back to his roots with a menu of classic Peruvian dishes alongside “street-food” fare updated with a California sensibility.

Journeyman’s Food & Drink (right off the 91 Freeway in Fullerton) is the most recent passion project of executive chef Zachary Geerson. It’s a real discovery and a true dining experience. The cuisine which can only be explained as Post-modern and globally-inspired, draws from chef Zach and his team’s diverse cultural background and training. Chef Zach, being of Sicilian descent, uses that and his love for Italian cuisine, as a jumping off point for some dishes and inspiration from his wife, Olivia, who is Thai and Laotian. We’ll meet the enthusiastic & passionate Chef Zach.

Lido Bottle Works is a craft beer, wine, bottle shop and public house owned by Newport Beach natives located at Newport Beach’s Lido Marina Village. Enjoy a wide array of carefully collected and selected small batch beers, wines by the bottle and glass, and a tapas style menu of small bites, tasty offerings and delicious California coastal cuisine from Chef Amy Lebrun. Lido Bottle Works is focused on offering locally sourced and sustainable ingredients in a stylish yet casual environment for locals and visitors alike. On the menu are winemaker and brewer events, an art gallery, live music, and more. Brett Karas, Operating Partner/General Manager is our guest.

The Landsby is perhaps the newest and most comfortable hotel in the Santa Ynez Valley. This stunning 50-room boutique hotel in Solvang offers warm hospitality and refined,

When it comes to award-winning burgers for the true enthusiast the place to go in Las Vegas is FukuBurger. They have their original rolling grill food truck on the road (now mainly used for special events & catering) as well as a bricks-and-mortar location in Chinatown. They were recently in L.A. at the Sunday Smorgasburg LA as the invited guest of noted burger authority, George Motz (Hamburger America – A State-By-State Guide to 200 Great Burger Joints.)

Our emeritus Co-Host, Chef Jet Tila, is a big fan of Fukuburger’s Tamago. Chef Jet even profiled it on Food Network’s “Guilty Pleasures.” It’s an all-beef Fukupatty topped with a fried runny egg, furikake, crispy onion strings, and finished with house-prepared teriyaki sauce and wasabi mayo.

A 2nd brick-and-mortar FukuBurger will soon launch is Vegas.

We’re flipping a Tamago Burger with Co-Founder Colin Fukunaga.

We chatted with Chef Ricardo Zarate recently about his new restaurant in Las Vegas, Once, located at The Palazzo Resort. His new flagship in West Hollywood on Melrose Ave. (launched last June) is Rosaline. It’s dinner and Sunday Brunch.

Here Chef Ricardo takes his guests back to his roots with a menu of classic Peruvian dishes alongside “street-food” fare updated with a California sensibility. Also a ceviche bar.

The restaurant is named after Chef Ricardo’s mother, Rosaline. It’s what he calls the “next phase of Peruvian dining.”

All the menus include vegan, vegetarian and gluten-free-options.

Chef Ricardo Zarate joins us.

 

Journeyman’s Food & Drink (right off the 91 Freeway in Fullerton) is the most recent passion project of executive chef Zachary Geerson. It’s a real gem of a discovery and a true dining experience.

The cuisine which can only be explained as Post-modern and globally-inspired, draws from Chef Zach and his team’s diverse cultural background and training. Chef Zach, being of Sicilian descent, uses that and his love for Italian cuisine, as a jumping off point for some dishes and inspiration from his wife, Olivia, who is Thai and Laotian.

“Welcome to Journeyman’s my friend. What you are about to experience, or have experienced, is a culmination of my team and I’s

hard work. We’ve been open for a few months now and we are really proud of what we have accomplished thus far.”

“If you don’t already know, we offer our dining menu in a 4-course, prix-fixe format with four options in each course. This hopefully makes you feel more at ease and makes it feel a little like an a la care menu. These are the best dishes we have to offer you. Please, kick back and relax and let our wonderful team guide you through this experience. I am glad you have given us the opportunity to take care of you and your friends, family, or both.”

From Zach Geerson.

A fun way to preview the Journeyman’s experience is to enjoy a craft libation and some Bar Snacks at Journeyman’s welcoming Bar. No reservations needed so you arrive at your leisure. Think elevated Avocado Toast with smoked salmon roe, mozzarella di bufala, thyme, and burnt onion.

As Chef Zach says, “It’s not the destination…It’s the Journey.”

Dinner nightly Tuesday through Saturday. Reservations strongly suggested for the Dining Room.

We’ll meet the energized Chef Zach.

Happy Father’s Day to all our Dads out there (including our Co-Host Chef Andrew Gruel who is expecting another Family member to arrive later in the year.)

Now an attention-grabbing preview of this Saturday’s abundant show. It’s not, with profuse apologies, for dieters. If we’re successful we will always leave you incredibly hungry and thirsty. In our case, upon careful reflection, that’s probably a pretty good thing…

The iconic Test Kitchen located at the historic Los Angeles Times building in Downtown Los Angeles is truly a wonder. It was built, state-of-the-art, in 2000 when that floor was extensively remodeled after the paper’s printing presses were moved to a new production facility on Olympic Blvd. It’s an expansive space steeped in local history. With the consolidation in the media over the years very few newspapers or magazines maintain Test Kitchens. They are costly to operate. Fortunately, the Times’ Test Kitchen endures. The Test Kitchen Director, Noelle Carter, is our enthusiastic guide.

Shrub cocktails (both with alcohol and virgin) are now on the menu at better bars everywhere. Enter Solvang’s CT and Jody Williams who have long been in the beverage industry, both working in the wine industry for the last 15 years and owning their own wine bar (Wandering Dog Wine Bar) for the last eleven of those. After enjoying some shrub cocktails at a local restaurant they started thinking about how fun it would be to start making their own for home consumption. It grew dramatically from there and Broken Clock Vinegar Works Founder CT Williams has all the quaffable 411 for us.

At NZ Wine Navigator (virtual store,) you’ll find the finest selection of artisanal New Zealand wines available in the US delivered right to your door.  Personally selected by Master Sommelier Cameron Douglas (the first MS in New Zealand and the official global ambassador of New Zealand wines), these wines prove that New Zealand is much more than Sauvignon Blanc. Westwood’s Napa Valley Grille is hosting a special NZ Wine Navigator Dinner there on Thursday evening, June 28th. Napa Valley Grille’s General Manager, Brian Cousins, and Executive Chef Kenny Spost pull the cork for us with the tempting specifics.

Nicolas-Jay is a pinot noir venture located in the heart of Oregon’s Willamette Valley. Celebrated Burgundian winemaker, Jean-Nicolas Meo of Domaine Meo-Camuzet, and music and media entrepreneur,

The iconic Test Kitchen located at the historic Los Angeles Times building in Downtown Los Angeles is truly a wonder. It was built, state-of-the-art, in 2000 when that floor was extensively remodeled after the paper’s printing presses were moved to a new production facility on Olympic Blvd. It’s a space steeped in local history.

With the consolidation in the media over the years very few newspapers or magazines maintain Test Kitchens. They are costly to operate. Fortunately the Times’ Test Kitchen endures.

Every recipe appearing on the Times’ Website or in print has been thoroughly tested to work in a home kitchen. The accompanying photos always show the finished result of that actual recipe. That’s their unqualified promise!

The Test Kitchen Director, Noelle Carter, is our enthusiastic guide.

The iconic Test Kitchen located at the historic Los Angeles Times building in Downtown Los Angeles is truly a wonder. It was built, state-of-the-art, in 2000 when that floor was extensively remodeled after the paper’s printing presses were moved to a new production facility on Olympic Blvd. It’s a space steeped in local history.

Every recipe appearing in The Los Angeles Times is thoroughly tested on home equipment in the Test Kitchen. Famous chefs ranging from Thomas Keller to Nancy Silverton have spent time in there. You’ve also seen the Test Kitchen on the KTLA 5 Morning News during the time Russ Parsons (the previous, long-serving Food Editor) did weekly segments from the facility.

All the details are not finalized yet but the current Test Kitchen is about to be phased out. The Times will soon be moving to new, modern quarters in El Segundo. We have it on good authority that a new Test Kitchen will soon be on the way that will be state-of-the-art for 2018! When Noelle has all the exciting specifics she will be back to share them with us!