SiseFromm

I never said Crab Cooker was amazing, but it is a classic joint that's been in the heart of Newport Beach forever. The pricing is fair and the food is decent. Yes it's simple and straightforward (potatoes baked off on sheet pans with cheese and simply-grilled fish with lemon and cayenne). It's nothing groundbreaking, but what it offers is quintessential Newport Beach dining smack dab across from the Newport Pier. Ruby's? Seriously?

I've seen Andy Dick at Lucques on three separate occasions so he must be a straight up fan of Suzanne's cooking.

Stonehill and Studio are both amazing, but I would never categorize them as "casual". I guess "casual" can be a subjective term, but these two are more on the high-end of things and Stonehill in particular, in my opinion after dining there more than six times, is the nicest restaurant in all of Orange County. Plus, neither are actually in Newport Beach, but rather 25 minutes south in general PCH traffic conditions in the city of Dana Point/Monarch Beach. If you want super casual and you want to actually stay in Newport Beach, Crab Cooker is a classic Newport Beach institution on the Peninsula at 23rd Street. It's very old and very old school. Expect draft beers to be served in paper cups and your king crab legs to come on paper plates. You'll also find The Cannery on the Peninsula just a couple of blocks from the Crab Cooker location. Off the Peninsula but still in Newport Beach is Bayside. Paul Gstrein has been cooking in Orange County seemingly forever and he's maintained great quality at Bayside and Bistango in Irvine. Try the Spaetzle. Adjacent Newport Beach is Costa Mesa where there are a lot of smaller restaurants you might choose from. Zipangu is interesting Japanese small plates and sushi.

Looks great! Awesome photos. I can't wait to go again. We're stopping at Redd first thing when we pull into Yountville. No stopping to check in at Villagio . . . it's time to rock pork belly the moment we stop!

Burgundies often age great. Champagne as well. Those French do amazing things with Pinot Noir and Chardonnay grapes. White Burgundies can be just awesome when given some time to express themselves. All that grilled toast and lemon. It's like drinking a complex dessert. Often it seems to me the more expensive wines are those that shouldn't really be consumed young. These are wines with good intensity and high levels of acidity for cellaring. Paying $100+ for a very young Bordeaux then drinking it right away can sometimes be a real bummer since that wine might not really start showing itself for 10, 15, or 20+ years. Then again I'm happy to grab a 2005 Sauvignon Blanc from California and down it immediately upon release with reckless abandon. Usually the cheap stuff is meant for buying, taking home, then popping right away or within a few months. You really don't need to worry too much about proper temperature and humidty levels because they're going to get downed quickly.

I'll have to check that one out. I love a nice Cornas but my experience with about ten or so bottles of various Cornas this year, is that they need a few years. If you can get it, 5+ years. They seem a little wicked and thorny in their youth but a nicely aged bottle can be a stunner. The 1999 Paul Jaboulet Cornas is a monster right now.

General's Daughter is amazing! You're right about the value and plate sizes as well. We had a ton of courses and I don't remember paying very much at all but I do remember being overwhelmed by the sheer amount of food coming! These were huge plates for sure and absolutely delicious. Our favorite was the Snake River Farms Beef Tartare which if I remember correctly, was served with a quail egg. We're heading back up to the area again in December and I'm going to try to get back in.

Oh. Whoops. David Franz is from Australia. My bad.

David Franz is excellent! Some of the 2000 vintage was sold through Chateau Potelle in the United States but it's limited production so I'm not sure how readily available it is. You can probably call the folks at Chateau Potelle in Napa Valley though to see if they have any left. I remember it being a great value for the quality.

How long is it going to stay Ad Hoc before switching over to the "Burgers & Bottles" concept? Is there an estimated time of opening yet? I wonder if I read that already and just spaced it?

Do you think Los Angeles does want to go there? I'm not sure they do. The culinary landscape for the last year seems to be dominated by the ubiquitous steakhouse. They came as though lined-up, one after another, each trying to put a posh spin on a classic but maybe muddying the waters all the while? We could definitely use a shake-up, but I don't know if diners in the City of Angels want pina colada foie and what not. Time will tell.

You'd be surprised how simple it is. Sure, the bordelaise requires veal stock but I always have some on hand in the freezer since I tend to make it in 2.5 gallon batches. The onions for the confit pretty much cook themselves once they're sliced down and added to butter in a large cooking vessel. They cook at a simmer for around 5 hours and all you have to do is stir every once in awhile. The mayo is just egg yolks and lemon juice emulsified with canola oil and then fresh herbs are added. Once the core ingredients are done we're only talking four components. Burger, sauce, onions, mayo. The buns I buy from a local bakery here in Orange County. It tastes like a million bucks but the techniques are timeless and completely straightforward. I thik the burger deserves to be elevated. It's the perfect sandwich!

Thanks for the comments! I love this burger and it's a pride and joy kind of dish. Along with braised shortribs, who's techniques and ingredients are surprisingly similar, it's an all-time winner.

I've been working on the richest, most decadent burger possible and I've finally settled on one that has become a staple. We get a lot of requests for our "Burger & Wine Parties" which seem to happen about once a month now. The burger is pure without many "frills" or unecessary ingredients, but my version of the ultimate burger depends on ultimate ingredients. I use 17% - 20% ground sirloin mixed with ground pancetta at a 4 to 1 ratio (beef to pancetta). I used to lard my burgers with foie, but that's an expensive step and I think the pork fat actually works better in this case anyway. The patties are formed delicately then seasoned agressively with salt 24 hours prior to cooking (thanks to Judy Rogers' writings and techniques). Meanwhile I make a classic onion confit (basically the onion recipe from Bouchon's French Onion Soup) and a velvety bordelaise of veal stock, thyme, shallots, peppercorns, and red wine. I reduce the bordelaise heavily and strain it several times. It's a pure luxury sauce. The only other condiment is a herbed mayonnaise (tarragon, chive, parsley, and chervil all finely minced and added to a delicate house-made mayo). Brioche buns are buttered and toasted in the oven before receiving a nice slather, only on the bottom, of the herbed mayo. The burgers are cooked in cast-iron at a searingly high heat until they are medium rare. The burgers rest, are placed on the bottom bun which has the mayo, they're topped then with a healthy spoon of the melted onions confit, and finally a generous drizzle of the bordelaise. The brioche top is laid carefully on and never pressed or smashed down, and I usually have perfect little batonnet potatoes roasted to golden brown and seasoned with flaky sea salt and pepper. With a big glass of meaty Syrah or an old Bordeaux, what's better?

Okay, so we went to Stonehill Tavern again . . . because why not? We were having the tavern burger and wanted a big meaty red wine to stand up to the earthy-fatty-meatiness of the truffled burger bomb I love so much. The wine guy recommended a Syrah from Pax winery at the base of Spring Mountain on the Sonoma side. What a treat. It was definitely showing it's youth (2004) but it had all that big meaty, tar, black fruit, dust thing happening and it stood up punch for punch against the burger. After I signed up to be added to their mailing list I was contacted back by one of the managing partners. We proceeded to have a 30 minute conversation on Syrah, but that's another conversation all together. I highly recommend stopping by. We're headed over for sure. Their bottles range from $45 - 65, give or take.

Aren't you staying in Yountville? While there, on the South-end of town just across the street from Elyse, is Havens. Check out Havens for great buys on Merlot and Syrah from their Hillside vineyards. I think you can pick up "library" bottles of the Merlot in 375ml format for around $14 - $16. They're great to have around for a quick pour.

Oh yeah, and Pina (the Spanish spelling for pineapple with the accent over the "n") is a must try winery. Call for an appointment. They don't have a tasting room but man do they make good cabs. It's on the Silverado Trail near Miner. They have three new blocks up on Howell and the 2005 is their first vintage from those vines. I doubt they'll be pouring it, but I hear they're real stunners.

We enjoyed the tasting menu at Stonehill on Thursday, August 31st. It was absolutely flawless. Stonehill is far and away the best restaurant in Orange County and that meal in particular was as good as any dinner I can recall . . . ever. The rib-eye cap sous vide with maui onion puree was the ultimate foil for a bottle of 1988 Rauzan Segla we brought with us. The somellier was super cool and completely approachable. The dishes were surprising and full of intrigue and the service never missed a beat once. I can't wait to go back again and again. Side note, we had a bottle of Krug in our room before heading to dinner. The stemware in the room was awful so we thought we'd call the dining room and ask for a favor. Tim, the GM, hooked us up with nothing less than proper Krug stemware for our bottle. He rules, and so does the restaurant.

We're heading back up in December for our fourth trip in around 20 months. These are on our radar for the next trip: El Molino Viader Hunnicutt Pride Atalon Paraduxx Igneous Lewelling Vineyards Trespass Vineyard Vineyard 29 Lail Vineyards Constant Seavey Caldwell Marcassin Winery Peter Michael Hourglass Reynold's Family Winery

So is there anybody on the show that might actually be a good chef? We're down to six contestants now and not a single one of them by my count would be capable of running a large-format Vegas kitchen. Anybody remaining would be in trouble immediately after taking that role. The final result of all of this? The "winner" will hold an honorary "Chef" title at the new joint which will actually be overseen diligently by the actual Chef. Fox, Gordon Ramsey, the Hotel, and the Restaurant will get their photo-ops and media pieces then the winner will slip quietly away never to be seen or heard from again.

You are correct sir. I don't know when those changes were instituted but there was a point some time ago when anybody could jump on eBay and sell bottles from their personal collection. Those days are over and recently, some auctions I've been tracking were pulled early because the sellers did not meet eBay’s rigorous new selling criteria for wines. I've purchased 15 or so bottles in the last couple of months and all, I believe, came from one of just 3 sellers. These sellers seem to note specifically their cellaring procedures. I feel comfortable in my recent purchases, but it’s something that’s been on my mind recently.

I pretty much anti-"O" myself but we do keep a set of them in our studio for guests. It's a production environment so we don't want anything with the propensity for getting knocked over near sensitive equipment. That said, isn't the shape of the bowl essentially the same between the "Vinum" and "O" Bordeaux glasses . . . other than the flat bottom? I haven't done a side by side comparison, but that would definitely be interesting.

I agree with your statements. I've been buying and selling vintage toys on eBay for almost 10 years now (my registration shows 1997). That in itself is crazy actually now that I write it out. I have well over 500 positive feedbacks with a 100% member rating. Frauds have been something we've been dealing with in the toy world for the last couple of years, but it seems manageable and smart buyers rarely get taken. The problem with eBay wine is that it is a category I'm largely unfamiliar with. I don't know the sellers, I don't know other members of the auction wine buying community, and I don't know what the tell-tale red flags are as I do, with expert-level knowledge, with my usual order of collectibles business. There are purchase protection options when paying through PayPal, but they are offered at a fee . . . and most importantly, am I really going to remember sometime in the next couple of years when I open that 1986 Pavillion Rouge from whom I made the purchase? Will PayPal really protect me that far down the road? How will I be able to tell if the 1997 Duckhorn Merlot is really 1997 Duckhorn Merlot? Finally, what about reports from traditional retailers of fraud on internet wine purchases? Certainly they must have some insight? Any insiders on the board? EDIT: It looks like I've been on for 8.5 years actually. My registration shows as: Member since: Dec-10-97

I searched the site for a topic touching on this subject but didn't see anything specific. I have heard from some traditional wine merchants that counterfeit wines have begun surfacing on eBay. I presume that means cheap wines with false labels sold as the real deal. I don't have any direct personal experience with anybody that has suffered a bogus wine purchase through eBay, but I have been shopping there recently and I have picked up a couple of great wines recently that I wouldn't have been able to purchase anywhere else near me. I'm sure with especially older vintages it's easy to see if a new, digitally printed label has been used. I would be nervous if I bought a wine from the 1960's or 1970's and it looked like it was fresh off the assembly line, but what about wines from California from the early nineties? Wouldn't it be easy to pass off fake product as the real thing? Is this something wine buyers should be actively aware of when browsing eBay listings?

Sorry to resurrect this thread, but I just discovered it and want to throw my hat in the ring for somebody that is completely addicted to stemware. It started with a nice set of Riedel Vinum Bordeaux glasses we received as a gift. They were beautiful, and still are. I still love and cherish them any time I break out a nice Bordeaux, Merlot, or California Cabernet. Even though the glasses were great for drinking those plus other reds, I always felt a little odd with whites. The bowl was just too big. We decided to splurge on a set of Chardonnay glasses, a purchase I had to convince my wife was a good one. Then we went to a Burgundy tasting and all of the wines were poured into proper Burgundy glass. We were told by the wine merchant about the nature of diffusion of smell vs. the concentration of smell and the difference in the bowls of a Burgundy vs. a Bordeaux glass. Of course . . . that led to a set of Burgundy glasses. Then we discovered Ports. What other glass can you serve Port out of than a Port Glass? After 3 sets of beautiful stemware, our crappy Champagne glasses were just out of place. Our New Year's Eve celebration seemed like a good enough time as any to buy a set of those too add to the fleet. Ugh, now we even have Riedel martini glasses, but finally I think we have everything we need. Like our wine collection in general, it's an obsessive habit that I just love! The addiction continues.