IRVINE DISHES NOT TO MISS • RESTAURANTS WORTH THE WAIT • TOP VEGANFRIENDLY ESTABLISHMENTS OCTOBER 2, 219 • NO. 2 2 | OCTOBER 23, 2019 | IRVINEWEEKLY﹒COM IRVINEWEEKLY﹒COM| OCTOBER 23, 2019 • No. 26 CONTENTS Best of Irvine: FD We celebrate Irvine’s culinary 2019 23, OCTOBER 18 landscape With over 280,000 residents, Irvine is one of the most populated cities in California. It’s home to prestigious universities, a vaunted public school system, and thousands of businesses offering a wide array of quality jobs. Irvine is also a diverse city, and home to | people and families of all backgrounds and ethnicities. And lucky for us, this diversity is reflected in the established yet consistently 3 evolving food scene. Irvine is now a culinary destination, with its restaurants attracting hungry visitors from across Southern California. In this issue of the Irvine Weekly, we pay homage to the achievements of our local PHOTO COURTESY OF FALASOPHY chefs. Welcome to the Best of Irvine: Food and Drink issue. From bottomless mimosas and Fruity Pebbles French toast, to BEST DISHES...4 savory crepes and nitrogen ice cream, we’ve covered our bases Regardless of cuisine, Irvine’s eateries provide. when it comes to the cuisine of Irvine. We reveal our favorite BY MICHAEL COOPER tacos, burgers and brunches, among other categories, along with cocktails, vegan-friendly spots and desserts. Some restaurants appear across multiple genres because their offerings are too BEST BURGERS...9 expansive to box into just one list. From humble, no-frills hamburgers to the famous (infamous?) There’s no shortage of international flavors in Irvine: Mexican, Magical Burger. BY SCOTT FEINBLATT AND TARA FINLEY Italian, Korean, Mediterranean, Brazilian, French, Latin, Japanese, Chinese, Vietnamese, Cuban … the list goes on. (Irvine is even home to a Hello Kitty-themed speakeasy!) IRVINE WEEKLY PICKS...14 With sought-after cuisine often comes long lines, so we give you These restaurants deserve special recognition for being insight into which Irvine restaurants are “Worth the Wait.” It’s often masters of their craft. BY RYAN LEUTERITZ, RYAN NAJJAR, BRET KAVANAUGH easier to wait for your meal when you know it’ll deliver the goods. Most Irvine restaurants have origins and stories that go beyond the food they serve. To give you a taste of this unique character, BEST VEGAN SPOTS...19 we spotlight the history and mission of Andrei’s Conscious Cuisine, From Thai-Chinese fusion to a cafe inside Whole Foods. which operates as a nonprofit to support the Andrei Olenicoff BY EVAN SENN Memorial Foundation. We also shed light on the women’s Fantasy Football League of Houston’s, that brings a level of competition to BEST CRAFT the workplace only regulars, to this point, are aware of. It’s no easy task to choose the best of what Irvine has to offer, and COCKTAILS...22 we recognize the subjectivity of our efforts. But hey, taste in food These libations are a cut above their peers. is inherently subjective, so if you think we snubbed your favorite BY EVAN SENN AND ARIELLE ROUDE eatery, let us know! There’s plenty of room in future issues of Irvine Weekly for additional coverage of this city’s exciting and ever- changing culinary landscape. COVER: Crab Cakes • Photo courtesy of Davio’s Northern Italian Steakhouse For all inquires: [email protected] Irvineweekly.com BEST DSES BEST DSES Creamistry Creamistry, whose flagship store calls Irvine home, is an ice cream shop where everything, even the ice cream, is made to order by their “Creamolo- gists.” Banana lovers should order the “Elvis Presley,” made with fresh ba- nana ice cream, banana slices, Reese’s IRVINEWEEKLY﹒COM Peanut Butter sauce, real bacon and whipped cream. Not a fan of bananas? | Try their Fruity Pebbles ice cream sandwich, a custom dessert made with two Fruity Pebble marshmallow treats. 3972 Barranca Parkway, Suite D, Irvine. Le Diplomate Café Le Diplomate Café is an old staple, OCTOBER 23, 2019 2019 23, OCTOBER having been open since 1995. The dish we recommend trying here is | 4 the chicken broccoli mushroom sandwich. It comes with oven-baked chicken breast, steamed broccoli and mushroom, all in a French baguette roll with a garlic sauce and cheese, grilled panini-style. “The garlic sauce is SEAFOOD CALDO COURTESY CHA CHAS LATIN KITCHEN our signature sauce. We make [it] here, [in house],” says manager Lisa Park. The combination of the food mixed with this special garlic sauce definitely IRVINE’S DISES NOT TO ISS makes this dish one of Irvine’s best. University Center, Suite B161, Irvine. REGARDLESS OF CUISINE, IRINES EATERIES PROIDE. Agora Churrascaria At Brazilian steakhouse Agora Churrascaria, the meat is cooked on an open fire and carved tableside by BY MICHAEL COOPER traditionally dressed gauchos — ranch- ers from the South of Brazil. Don’t miss rvine is quickly becoming one of the shrimp, fennel soritto and arrabbiata. 18420 Von Karman Ave #100, Irvine. out on their picanha, which is a top best, most diverse culinary destina- 532 Spectrum Center Drive, Irvine sirloin-cap, a prime cut that the restau- tions in Southern California. Here are SAJJ Mediterranean rant specially orders. While picanha some unique dishes that can only be Davio’s Northern Italian What makes SAJJ Mediterranean so is a traditional Brazilian dish that is Ifound within its borders! Steakhouse special? Everything is customizable. served at many Brazilian steakhous- Davio’s menu is inspired from Try their Build Your Own Bowl (pitas es, Agora Churrascaria’s stands out CUCINA Enoteca Northern Italian cuisine and includes or salads are also choices for your base) because of the quality of the meat. Italian restaurant CUCINA enote- handmade pasta, seafood and, of that can be filled with chicken or steak Another dish not to miss is something ca, part of the Urban Kitchen Group, course, steak. You can’t miss the Kobe shawarma, pomegranate chicken, that a lot of Brazilian restaurants in the opened its doors in 2011. Cesar Sarmien- meatballs. These are made with their signature falafel, or even shawafel U.S. don’t serve: chicken heart. While it to, chef de cuisine of CUCINA enoteca American Kobe beef, veal and pork. (falafel and shawarma). After that, un- may sound a bit exotic to an American in Newport Beach and Irvine, describes It actually takes three days to make limited toppings and sauces, including palette, we assure you that the dish is the eatery as “a modern kitchen, which these, and you can really tell. They’re hummus, cilantro mint chutney, tahini, delicious. is focused on creating dishes that so tender that they melt in your mouth; tzatziki and peri peri are available for 1830 Main Street, Irvine. bring together the seasonal bounty of whether you’re a meatball connoisseur further customization. What should you Southern California while serving up or you just really love meat, you have absolutely not skip? Their chocolate Cha Cha’s Latin Kitchen new interpretations of Italian fare.” He to try these meatballs. If meatballs hummus. Made with just six ingredi- Cha Cha’s Latin Kitchen started o continued, “at CUCINA Enoteca, we’re aren’t your thing, or you prefer seafood, ents — garbanzo beans, tahini, cocoa as tacos and tequila and has since inspired by the cultures around us, from the second dish we recommend is the powder, chocolate hazelnut spread, evolved into a Latin kitchen. Every- Middle Eastern to Asian and Spanish, crab cake. It’s one of Davio’s signature maple syrup and vanilla extract — it can thing is made in-house and from and we infuse a bit of those flavors into dishes, consisting of lump crab cake be ordered with house-made cinnamon scratch with fresh, seasonal ingredi- our Italian cuisine.” Try the squid ink that’s oven baked and topped o with sugar-dusted chips or on its own. ents. Everything is also made to order, linguini, consisting of muscles, clams, a whole grain mustard sauce. 6636 Irvine Center Drive, Irvine. and that goes for both the bar as well IRVINEWEEKLY﹒COM| OG Kush. A California Original Since 1996 OCTOBER 23, 2019 23, OCTOBER | 5 AVAILABLE AT www.joshd.com LICENSED CULTIVATOR: @therealogkushstory BOSIM 1628 MANAGEMENT COMPANY LLC CULTIVATE CARE • ENJOY RESPONSIBLY • 21+ ONLY LICENSE #: PML18-0001689 BEST DSES as the food. For seafood lovers we insist ble buttercream. Be sure to try one of Bacchus Bar and Bistro Broken Rice on the fresh seafood caldo, which is the character macarons; our favorite is Bacchus Bar and Bistro in the Quail Broken Rice is the newest addition to fresh fish, shrimp, clams, squid, saf- the corgi. Shaped like the famous dog, Hill Shopping Center, first opened in TRADE Food Hall. The Vietnamese eat- fron-tomato broth, herbs and toasted it’s almost too cute to eat — key word 2005. The first dish we’re recommend- ery first started as a popular Orange angel hair. One of their other top dishes “almost.” ing is the lamb lollipops, which come County and Los Angeles food truck. is pretty common at other Latin restau- 633 Spectrum Center Drive, Irvine. with mashed potatoes and Napa Serving classic Vietnamese staples, rants, but not in the way that Cha Cha’s cabernet reduction. The second dish Broken Rice uses the textures and taste Latin Kitchen does it: the carne asada. HiroNori Craft Ramen is the filet mignon, which comes with elements of its namesake, which are A grilled, marinated skirt steak with While there are many ramen plac- mashed potatoes, wild mushrooms, fragments of rice grains, and allows IRVINEWEEKLY﹒COM roasted potatoes, poblano peppers and es throughout Orange County, what carrots and Napa cabernet reduction. customers the opportunity to build fresh chimichurri, this is one menu item lands the ramen at HiroNori Craft Seared quickly with woody herbs then the meal by adding combinations of | not to be missed.