Food
JENN TANAKA
Michelin News:
Heritage Barbecue
Daniel and Brenda Castillo beat the odds and built the hottest barbecue spot in San Juan Capistrano. Michelin Guide recognized the eatery with its Michelin Plate and Bib Gourmand awards.
EATER Los Angeles
stories by Jenn Tanaka
Ototo
1360 Allison Ave., Los Angeles
Ototo is the ultimate L.A. destination for sake aficionados. This nondescript Echo Park restaurant serves sake on tap, including special seasonal releases from Japan. The ever-changing menu melds chef Charles Namba’s childhood memories of his mom’s yoshoku cooking. The food is decidedly Western, but the style has deep roots, originating from Japan’s Meiji period in 1889. Think: potato salad with fried capers and Kurobuta pork sausage, crispy panko-crusted Caledonian prawns with house-smoked roe, and rock shrimp okonomiyaki, a crispy egg-based pancake with cabbage, sprouts and bonito flakes. The menu changes often to echo California’s changing seasons and to best pair with what’s being poured.
Original printed in OC REGISTER
”7 Must-Try Southern California Restaurants for Dedicated Foodies”
California Dining and Chef Profiles
A plate by chef Tony Esnault at Knife Pleat celebrates the season.
Vegetarian and Vegan Cuisine
California produce inspires OC chefs
The “Yu Rebel” cocktail
Shaken and Stirred
Food news to intrigue and inspire.
A parting gift from the chef at Disneyland’s 21 Royal
Experience the Magic: 21 Royal at Disneyland
An exclusive Disney dinner
EATER L.A. — With international travel easing back during the pandemic, these Orange County markets are providing a vital culinary lifeline for thousands
Kato at Row DTLA
Chef Jon Yao’s Michelin star winning Taiwanese-American fine dining restaurant moves downtown.
Article appeared in Performances magazine, 2022. (Photos: Jen Afuso)
“When I was younger, I never thought to reach into the dim sum and the dumplings that I was eating at home.
It was very separate. My home life and my work life/my professional life.
It was my first “Top Chef” when I really started to discover the ability to merge them together. How beautiful those flavors could be.
I think it had a lot to do with me embracing myself and my culture and being proud of these flavors.”
Chef Aaron Sanchez
You’d think that the best part of Fire It Up!, Grand Wailea’s barbecue festival, was when Aaron Sanchez served his roasted pork tacos or when Hawaiian cultural ambassador, Kainoa Horcajo, unveiled a show-stopping Hawaiian imu. The whole farm-raised pig surrounded by sweet potatoes, taro, ulu, corn and sausage was an Instagramable spectacle. It took four men to hoist the feast from a burning pit. Impressive, yes! – but the highlight was savoring third-generation pitmaster Wayne Mueller’s succulent beef ribs. One bite made me appreciate the craftsmanship and skill required to smoke meat. Similar to how the Hawaiians revere their elders, pitmasters like Mueller honor tradition. Recipes equate legacy. You taste this sophistication when you bite into his smoked beef ribs. The only sad part is that I am forever ruined. Now I’m forced to compare every rib hereafter to this mind-blowing barbecue. Thanks, Grand Wailea …
Seasonal legumes from Knife Pleat at South Coast Plaza (photo: Knife Pleat)
Omakase by Gino
Chef Choi Jinho shares his shishito sumisu recipe.
Hello Kitty Cafe
Hot donuts, afternoon tea, and speakeasy cocktails at Hello Kitty Grand Cafe at Irvine Spectrum Center
Phenakite
Chef Minh Phan’s inventive and thought-provoking pop-up: Phenakite by Porridges + Puffs at Second Home Hollywood
Burger Guide
Coming soon …