This is from the article today—

One of my favorite O.C. wine bars is the Main Street Wine Cellar in Seal Beach. What makes it so good? In addition to the owners’ talents for sniffing out excellent wines and unusual varietals and labels for decent prices ($8 a glass for most vino), the place has a terrific food menu. Every time we go we’re impressed with what’s coming out of the kitchen.

artichoke bruschetta

smoked duck breast grilled cheese sandwich

Check out that menu on the Web site, which co-owner Chris Partlow warns is “a little out of date.” Here’s what’s new and popular: swordfish tacos ($12), a warm homemade crabcake ($15), white truffle butter popcorn ($5). “It’s a fairly large bowl, too,” Partlow told me. Something I will definitely order the next time I’m in: a warm crab po’boy sandwich ($15).

Main Street has been open since September of 2008, but Partlow says they’re making some adjustments because of the economic climate. “Our prices have come down and we have a lot more inexpensive things on the menu.” He mentioned homemade pickles ($5) and hummus ($8).

Partlow also let me in on the latest: a new Happy Hour will be launched next week from 4-6 p.m. Mondays through Fridays. “All of our $8-per-glass wine will come down to $5,” Partlow said.

Another thing I like about this place: If you buy a glass you can take a bottle of that wine home for $16. “It’s a unique way to drive our retail business,” Partlow said. “When you go to BevMo or Costco you’re picking something blind. But at our place, the cost of the glass of wine is deducted from the bottle price. You can get a glass and a bottle for $24.” You can also try that wine with decent food, which tells you how it will pair up.

http://fastfood.freedomblogging.com/2009/11/20/booze-on-a-budget-friday-roundup-2/43007/

www.mainstwine.com

What are some your favorites?  Any wineries you thought were particularly good to visit?  Any other tips, tricks, or suggestions?

Right now, we’re particularly enjoying Albarino whites (from the Rías Baixas region of Spain) and any bubbly (Cava, Prosecco, Champagne, etc.).  We recently took a side trip to Temecula, and tried out Wiens and Miramonte. 

Our last real wine adventure took us to Preston and Meeker, among others.  We rather enjoyed our experience at Alpha Omega.

For those who keep more than a few bottles at a time and like to keep track of them, I would recommend Cellar Tracker.

Each week, two featured wines will be chosen and offered as tastings to diners (you have to be 21 or over, of course).

http://www.cpk.com/menu/beverages/

http://fastfood.freedomblogging.com/2009/11/13/booze-on-a-budget-friday-roundup/41461/

They plan to open 20 restaurants by the end of 2010. Other new restaurants in Orange County could be in San Clemente, Huntington Beach and Yorba Linda. Location details have not yet been finalized. The company also is planning to open shop in Los Angeles, San Diego and might open out-of-state in Boston or Chicago.

http://www.ocregister.com/news/restaurant-219920-mcginty-petrovna.html

Mas’s Islamic Restaurant is a Chinese restaurant, so if you’re picturing a stereotype Middle Eastern food place, this isn’t it.  Islam has had a long history in China, the uncle of Muhammad himself went to Tang China around 650 AD as an emissary.  Since then, the Muslim traders settled in China over the centuries and eventually adopted Chinese names and customs.  Some took the name “Ma’ from “Muhammad”, which is what this restaurant is named after (“Ma Family Restaurant”).

The food served here is basically Halal Chinese food with some fusion dishes from Hui Muslim ethnic foods.  The most famous is the sesame bread with green onions, which you can get the “thin” or “thick” version.  They also make a desert variety with sweet red bean paste.  You can get similar foods at Jamiliah Garden on Walnut in Tustin, but IMO Ma’s Restaurant in Anaheim is better.  I happen to be a fan of lamb, so this is a great place for me.

I didn’t take any decent photos from my cell phone, so I’ll post one from yelp instead:

I just had the realization that Diamond Jamboree has 85 C from Taiwan and Kula Sushi from Japan.  Kula is a real sushi chain from Japan, very possibly related to the failed Kula Sushi Bistro in LA that closed.  Kaiten sushi started in 1958 in Osaka, after Mr. Shirashi saw beer bottles on a conveyor belt in Asahi beer brewery and thought, wow, he could serve sushi on that (!).  There’s a stereotype that Osaka people indulge in food and drink excessively (kuidaore?).  You can see a very extreme version of the indulgences in the movie “The Great Happiness Space: Tale of an Osaka Love Thief”.

Another slang for kaiten (conveyor belt) sushi is kuru kuru, which means going round and round (insert bad mahojin guru guru episode flashbacks).  Understand that the chef is probably not going to be as skilled as a proper sushi bar, but you’re there for the convenience and price.  Kula charges a mere $2 for almost everything (excluding drinks).  So the math is real easy here.  10 plates = $20.  Quality?  Very acceptable for the $2 price, it’s a good bargain actually.  Try to sit by the main sushi chef work area so you can stick your head up and order from them directly.  Look for the freshly made stuff being put on the belt, and order hand rolls, and chicken karaage.  Their freshly cooked chicken karaage is pretty good, except they don’t have spicy chili dipping sauce to go with it. :(

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Fogo de Chao

So I drove all the way to Beverly Hills for my friend’s b-day dinner at this place.  It’s right next to many famous restaurants in the area, like Lawrey’s, Stinking Rose, etc.

Expectations were high and the meat selection was decent.  The waiters came and refilled our side dishes and wonderful cheese bread.  However, the salad bar was…  for lack of better word, “cheap”.

Yes, I understand that I’m going to a Brazilian steak house and salad bar is not the primary dish here.  But c’mon, I paid ~$280 for 4 people.  You’d think that they can afford to lay something better on the cold cuts section.

The meats at this place looks good but if you eat too much at a time, it makes you feel “greasy”.  It’s better to eat moderate amounts with bread and salad in between.  I think they brush oil on the meat or something.  My aunt’s family is from Brazil and I don’t think I ever had this problem at their dining table.

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Sushi rice (Sushi meshi)

Sushi rice is made with short-grained Japanese rice with just the right level of “stickiness”.  Depending on the chef, it can be lightly seasoned with rice vinegar, sugar, salt, etc.  It’s formed by hand to achieve the correct consistency.

Sushi rice should NEVER:
- Fall apart too easily
- Be cold
- Be too dry
- Be mushy
- Be made with wrong type of rice
- Packed too tight (or too sticky) to fall apart in your mouth

If you dip the sushi into sauce, or order a sushi where sauce might soak, then it’s understandable that the rice might not hold together.

Kura Sushi, Costa Mesa—bad sushi rice.  If you disagree, compare with Kaisen Kaiten Sushi Bar in Santa Ana:
http://www.yelp.com/biz/kura-sushi-costa-mesa
http://www.yelp.com/biz/kaisen-kaiten-sushi-bar-santa-ana   <—better

Both places are rotating belt sushi, but Kaisen Kaiten’s sushi rice is better.  Not excellent, but better.  Kura’s sushi is below expectations for me, but their chicken karage was pretty nice with spicy dipping sauce.  If you have to dine there, order chicken karage with bowl of steamed rice and miso soup.  Skip the sushi.

Sushi Kappo Suzumaru, Tustin— this is an old family run place and I really hate to bash them, but their sushi rice falls apart too easily.  At some places, you can sort of delicately pick up the sushi and get away with it.  This place, no way.  You can’t even pick it up by hand without having it fall apart.

On the other hand, they have many specialty dishes on the white board that’s interesting to try.  Bring someone who can read Japanese or ask the Chef’s wife (?) to explain it to you.  Their home made tofu dish (note:  not fried or agedashi) was far superior to Ikko’s.  However, for sushi, I’d have to recommend Ikko in Costa Mesa over Kappo Suzumaru.

http://www.yelp.com/biz/sushi-kappo-suzumaru-tustin
http://www.yelp.com/biz/ikko-japanese-restaurant-costa-mesa <—better

Cedar Creek Inn
26860 Ortega Hwy
San Juan Capistrano, CA 92675
(949) 240-2229
http://www.yelp.com/biz/cedar-creek-inn-san-juan-capistrano

I used to eat at their Brea location.  The Monte Crisco seems smaller than I remembered, but still tastes great!  WARNING:  may clog arteries.

According to Spectrum Wine Auctions, the company overseeing the event, it’s an outstanding line-up: 5500 bottles in 686 lots, 3900 bottles from renowned collector Aubrey McClendon.  He’s the CEO of Chesapeake Energy, one of the nation’s largest energy companies. (McClendon reportedly made $112 million in 2008, meaning he was the highest paid CEO among all S&P 500 companies.)

Spectrum says wine auctions are doing very well this year despite the economy. Hong Kong, where the wine auction will be simulcast, is now possibly the second biggest wine auction market in the world, bigger than London.

Interested? The auctioneer’s gavel is slated to drop beginning 5 p.m. (That’s 9 a.m. Hong Kong time, in case you’re curious.)

http://fastfood.freedomblogging.com/2009/11/13/booze-on-a-budget-friday-roundup/41461/