Fireside Tavern Needs No Reservations

As with most restaurants that are also hookah lounges, I knew we’d be sitting outside at Luxor Cafe & Restaurant in Garden Grove. And Luxor is practically all outdoor patio because Rozana Café—the restaurant and hookah lounge it replaced—was also...

There is a moment on season three, episode three of Julia Child’s Baking with Julia where a young Nancy Silverton is visibly gripped with terror. After eating a forkful of Silverton’s brioche tart with hot wine syrup, Child starts to weep....

I recently realized it's been at least a decade since I ventured to Laguna Beach—a city now forever ingrained in America's collective consciousness as “The Real Orange County.” (Thanks, MTV!). My previous forays were limited by money, as in the...

I arrived at the Country Club with a chip on my shoulder. It was because of two things. First, there was the compulsory valet, which, I thought at the time, is ridiculous in this part of Costa Mesa. If a restaurant called “Pancakes R Us” directly...

After you decide to eat at Abyssinia in Anaheim, be sure to call ahead. Not to make a reservation, but to make sure the staff know you’re coming. Otherwise, the restaurant might just close early. This was exactly what happened the first time we...