On Getting a Food Dish Named After Gustavo

The first thing I saw when I walked up to Hendrix—the new Laguna Niguel restaurant by the group that also owns the Deck and Driftwood Kitchen—was the rotisserie. It resembled a vending machine, or at least the heavy-duty version of the “Set It and...

Oh, yes, the Anaheim White House is a fancy restaurant. The kind where, when you ask for water, the waiter will offer two options: “Sparkling or flat?” You answer “flat,” and he brings out one of those bottles imported from Europe, pouring its...

Tel Aviv Grill has been a big hit in the San Fernando Valley’s thriving Israeli community, though their comfort food doesn’t just appeal to immigrants from cities like Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. The owners now have three locations that specialize in...

When I ask, “How much is the live crab?” The response I hear is $90. So I say, “Great, I’ll order that for the table.” I’m on the phone booking a reservation at Chang’An, a new Chinese restaurant in Tustin. Several of the kitchen’s signature items...

Piero Selvaggio flits from table to table at Louie’s by the Bay, two bottles of wine clutched in his left hand, wine glasses dangling from the fingers of his right. He gestures with his arms when he talks, even as both are weighted down like this....