Upscale Mexican (Finally) Done Right at SOL Cocina

Edwin Goei • OC Weekly • August 6, 2009

Guacamole With SOLImagine your (non-permanent) surprise when you dig into the fresh, refined and delicious offerings from Deborah SchneiderNs cocina I had my doubts when I heard that a cookbook author named Deborah Schneider was opening a Mexican...

The full article can be read on the OC Weekly website.

Review: This new Mexican restaurant has an old soul

Brad A. Johnson • Orange County Register • March 18, 2021

A restaurant opened in Dana Point a few years ago called Bistro Provincia. It looked more or less like a Mexican restaurant, but the chef, Manny Diaz, served Eurocentric fusion fare. It was a loosely defined menu of French, Italian and pan-Asian...

Review: Bello in Newport Beach pushes a new narrative on Italian food

Brad A. Johnson • Orange County Register • March 12, 2020

“I’ll have the poached chicken.” Hearing myself say this out loud makes me feel old. Poached chicken. That’s what my grandmothers ate. It’s what hospitals serve. I’m not ready for that. “I’ll have the poached fish.” What’s happening to me? It’s...

Hollywood Director McG Follows Up His Hit A Restaurant With CdM in Corona del Mar

Edwin Goei • OC Weekly • April 11, 2019

Pierce me. Photo by Edwin Goei If director McG hired Central Casting to fill the dining room of CdM, his new restaurant, with extras who resembled stereotypical Newport Beach-types, the result would be exactly what I saw the night of my visit. At...

Rick Bayless: Red O No You Didn't

Edwin Goei • OC Weekly • January 16, 2014

It was high noon on a sunny but brisk Newport Beach day. The Bentleys gleamed in the valet lot. I was first to arrive. Then Dave Lieberman in a sport coat. Then Gustavo Arellano. We'd agreed to eat at Red O together, the second outpost of Rick...

The 75 best restaurants in Orange County in 2019 (15-1)

Brad A. Johnson • Orange County Register • May 3, 2019

This is the fifth edition of this guide — a roadmap to Orange County’s wildly diverse dining scene. Narrowing this list to 75 recommendations gets harder each year. Yes, this list is highly personal and subjective but also painstakingly...