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Puesto

2/24/2017

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The price of Puesto

By Irvine City News staff
 
How much should a taco cost? An Irvine diner’s instant reaction to that question may go a long way to determine whether they’ll become a fan of Puesto, the cool new Mexico City-style restaurant and bar in the Los Olivos Marketplace shopping center.

At Puesto, the answer to the question is $5 a piece for tacos that come three to an order. Unless you order one of the five specialty tacos, that is. Those are more. Baja fish is a buck more per taco, filet mignon, grilled striped bass and tamarindo shrimp are all $2 more per taco, while the Maine lobster taco comes at a premium of $3.50.

The tacos that cost $5 are chicken al pastor, chicken verde, mushroom, zucchini and cactus, and the taco of the month. In February, the monthly special was a tasty chipotle pork tinga, featuring braised pork shoulder, chorizo, potato, chipotle, avocado, cilantro, queso fresco and chicharrón.

Most of our other favorites also come from the $5 list, which is convenient, including the chicken al pastor and the zucchini and cactus. We’ve found that we prefer the Puesto tacos that include a little signature touch: a circle of crunchy cheese from the grill that’s added between the tortilla and the filling.
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We first saw Puesto chefs add the bit of crispy cheese goodness to a taco last summer during the opening celebration of the Los Olivos center. Despite the restaurant still being months from opening, Puesto provided free tacos to a long line of attendees. We were impressed with the tacos, and that the Puesto team attended so far in advance.

That attention to detail and customer service is one of our favorite things about Puesto, so far. They’ve trained their staff well. Other Puesto pluses we’re willing to pay extra for are salsas made from scratch using local ingredients, they use sustainable meats and seafood, and the tortillas are made fresh in-house using organic, non-GMO, blue corn masa sourced from SoCal purveyors Kernel of Truth Organics.

Things we don’t love include the lack of a kid’s menu. They’ll do a cheese quesadilla, or order a plate each of the rice and black beans at $4 each, along with an order of plantains. It’s enough to feed a couple of younger kids, and a good choice if they’re picky. We’re also getting used to what’s a surprisingly limited menu. We’ve been three or four times, and have tried most of what’s on it.

Oh sure, there’s more than tacos. The menu includes three kinds of mariscos, a $25 carnitas plate and other plates to share, and four kinds of guacamole (we like the one with parmigiana reggiano, somewhat surprisingly), to name a few. But not a whole lot more.

Which is part of the point…we get it. This isn’t a traditional Mexican restaurant with menus that run page after page. And it’s not a fast-casual taco joint, either.

It seems like a majority of our reviews in Irvine City News have been of fast casual restaurants, because that’s the trend in Irvine, and elsewhere. But Puesto is a full-service restaurant with an excellent bar. The Margaritas consistently make “best” lists in San Diego, both from critics we admire and in reader’s choice selections. The bar offers 16 beers on tap, Mezcal flights and a nice selection of wine from Baja’s Guadalupe Valley. And Puesto’s El Rey Del Patio with cucumber, tomatillo, charred chiles and lime will taste mighty fine on a summer afternoon. In fact, we predict al fresco gatherings at Puesto will be one of the hottest tickets in town this summer, or once the rain finally stops.

But let’s get back to the initial question. Are the tacos at Puesto, priced from $5 to $8.50 a piece, worth it?

One of OC’s esteemed local food writers used to instantly mock any new restaurant that offered “street tacos” that cost more than a few bucks. Tacos, like pho, bahn mi sandwiches and other cuisine, should be inexpensive by nature, he used to write. Recently, though, he wrote that “perversely enough, the more expensive the taco nowadays, the more likely it’s worth the price.”

That’s definitely true of places such as Taco Mario, where a taco dish from James Beard-nominated chef Carlos Salgado can cost $17 or more, and is worth every penny.

We were also convinced by a recent story by SoCal chef Diep Tran we read online at npr.org. Her piece criticized “cheap eats” lists and other stories extolling inexpensive, often immigrant-produced restaurant fare.
“Immigrant food is often expected to be cheap, because, implicitly, the labor that produces it is expected to be cheap, because that labor has historically been cheap,” she says. She goes on to argue that our focus on cheap food is part of “a broader restaurant culture that devalues labor and ignores the consequences of that devaluation…. Restaurants where workers are paid fairly and the food respected? That’s the true treasure.”

So the bottom line is we’ll gladly pay $5 for our favorites on Puesto’s list of gourmet tacos, and we’ll splurge for the more expensive ones from time to time. We’ll also frequent its happy hour and taco Tuesday gatherings, where those same $5 tacos are $3.50 and $2.50, respectively. Hey, we’ve got to save a few bucks for more of those amazing Puesto Perfect Margaritas.
 
eatpuesto.com
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Great sandwiches in Irvine

2/1/2017

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Sandwiches with style

By Irvine City News staff
One thing the ongoing culinary revolution in comfort food has taught is that good chefs can improve on almost any dish, no matter how humble. A corollary to this rule is that if there’s a dish you think you hate, give it another try when seen on a top chef’s menu. Brussels sprouts, for a trendy example. Or sandwiches.

Everyone can make sandwiches, and most of us have been dining on some variation of the staple since we were very young (though we’re glad our memories of bologna and mayonnaise and Wonder bread have faded). Some of us even fancy ourselves as chefs de sandwich, wowing our friends and families with fresh takes on torta, Panini, Monte Cristo, bahn mi, grilled cheese, vada pav and even peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.
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Chefs have taken on the sandwich with gusto in recent years, and Irvine diners are lucky to have some new and newish spots to enjoy sandwich-makers at the top of their culinary game.

S’wich Bistro is a tiny and tasty hideout that serves as a de facto breakfast, lunch and break room for Blizzard’s gaming group. Open only for a month or two, the cool spot is only open weekdays from 8AM to 4PM, which is unfortunate for those of us who don’t live work within the immediate area. But if you do, or have the freedom to take some time for a fantastic take on the art of sandwich making, it’s a must visit.

The co-owners and co-chefs have big deal dining gigs in their pasts, including OC luxury resorts and high-end seafood spots on the Central Coast. They are friendly and accommodating, and just all around cool. Pretty much everything on the menu (which are pieces of butcher paper pinned to the walls) is under $10, except for one “loaded” hamburger, which goes for $10.95. The chips and fries are homemade, the breakfast burrito is up for best in the city, and the homemade soup is magnificent (don’t miss the clam chowder—it’s addictingly delicious).

But it’s the simple sandwiches at S’wich that we go back for. The chefs aren’t remaking the sandwich world with wild, new variations. They take basics like BLT, Tuna, Chicken Club, Roast Beef, Pastrami and Grilled Cheese and give them an artisan, farm-to-table, locally sourced, homemade upgrade. Slightly more exotic choices like Turkey Pesto and Korean BBQ are equally excellent. And anything with their signature glazed bacon is a must. Vegetarians will love their take on a veggie burger, too, as well as a nice selection of salads we’ve yet to try.

We look forward to the success of S’wich, which hopefully will lead quickly to evening and weekend hours. Or, if the location off of Laguna Cyn. Rd. and Alton is too challenging for that, then we’d love to see a quick second location open up. Also, a small selection of craft beer and wine would be welcome. But those are mere quibbles. We look forward to a long run for the young restaurateurs of S’wich.

Burnt Crumbs has those easy advantages over S’wich in the gourmet sandwich game: it’s open at Los Olivos every day from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., and it has beer. From the same folks that brought Irvine the cool Burntzilla slider and dogs stand, Burnt Crumbs has a select and changing list of gourmet sandwiches that are off-the-charts delicious. Select meaning limited, as they only offer seven or so sandwiches at a time, but that’s enough when it includes a crispy pork sandwich with green chile and pork cracklings, or some of the best pastrami we’ve had in South O.C. And if you haven’t had a spaghetti grilled cheese sandwich before (does it even exist elsewhere?) put it on your bucket list for this weekend.

The avocado toast is also a thing of beauty, as are the hand cut chips and fries. They go quite well with a craft beer, if you’re dining in—though if you have younger kids, the tall bar-like seating at all but one table is an issue.

The Mendocino Farms at University Town Center opened in 2015, and is a favorite with UCI staffers and students, as well as parents who can let their kids play a bit (there’s a designated area for that) while enjoying a mini date night. If that location isn’t convenient, there’s a new one inside the Whole Foods at the Irvine-adjacent The District center in Tustin.

While Mendocino Farms is a growing chain with 14 restaurants in LA and OC, it doesn’t really feel like it. The servers and cashiers are super friendly, offering free samples of deli salads and more.

The hipster-goes-to-the-farm interior design is somehow aesthetically inspired and approachable/comfortable at the same time. The sandwiches are decidedly artisan, with chef-driven, farm-to-table ingredients. The Kurobuta pork belly banh mi, Peruvian steak sandwich and Steak BLT are all standouts. We love that the menu-makers aren’t afraid of spice, including “A Sandwich Study in Heat,” one of our favorite menu items that can be made hotter by request. And currently the Chef’s Pick sandwich is Torta de Pollo Con Caldo, a Mexican-French Dip hybrid piece of deliciousness that should not be missed.
 
Irvinesandwiches.com
Burntcrumbs.com
Mendocinofarms.com
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