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TRADE Food Hall in Irvine

7/31/2017

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Food hall fun

TRADE is the place for instagram-friendly foodies, craft cocktail tasters and see-and-be-seen millennials
By Irvine City News staff
There are no bars in Irvine. Did you ever notice that? Sure, there are restaurants that have lounges and cool cocktail menus. You can get a drink at the bar at Whole Foods, Wahoo’s, and UCI. And our hotels have hot spots like YNK at the Irvine Marriott and the Red Bar & Lounge at Hotel Irvine. But show me the stand-alone bar in town that’s not also a bona fide eating-place, as defined by the ABC.  

We’re not sure why Irvine doesn’t have any old bars. We assume like most things in the city it’s connected to whims over the years of the former Irvine Ranch and the Irvine Co. It’s too bad; we love a dive bar that’s found renewed favor with subsequent generations because of its authentic “cool” factor. Where is our Beach Ball, The Fling, Sandpiper, Stag Bar, The Swinging Door or Swallow’s Inn? 

So what does this have to do with TRADE Food Hall, the new hot spot in the IBC that features several different food stalls in a moderately sized indoor/outdoor space? It’s because the best thing about TRADE is the aptly named Center Hub bar that forms the core of the TRADE experience. Without it, the place would just be a glorified food court. With it, TRADE is one of the most important centers of the next generation of contemporary, cool Irvine. 

As an old friend used to say: Nightlife is culture, too. When one travels abroad and returns home, we rave about the restaurants and museums, of course. But think of how often you’ve regaled friends and family about the little pub or bistro you discovered hidden down a side street in a distant city, or the palapa on the sand serving ice-cold cerveza that became the highlight of your trip. That’s because bars so often serve as community centers in cultural cities, those “third places” that are neither work nor home.  

The great thing about a place like TRADE is that at its core it is a social place. It’s easy to gather with friends and linger there. While solo diners are welcome, even they are part of the social experience of sharing space in a public place. 

Because everyone goes off to order separately, there are no issues with splitting bills, no worrying about picky eaters or differing personal policies about tipping. 

At a table service or fast casual restaurant, you’re on the clock. There’s a social contract with the server that you’ll enjoy your meal and then move on so another party can be seated. 

So while much attention is focused on the food at Orange County’s new collection of food halls that includes Anaheim’s Packing House, 4th Street Market in Santa Ana, Union Market in Tustin, and TRADE in Irvine, it’s the beer, wine and cocktail culture there and at Center Hub that makes the experience exceptional.  

And there is food, of course. Current vendors include Pig Pen Delicacy, Dos Chinos, Sweet Combforts, Gyro King, Butterleaf, Two Birds, Portside and Megadon. The best are probably Butterleaf for vegan and vegetarian options, Two Birds for amazing pieces of artisan chicken, served separately or as sandwiches, grilled or fried. We also enjoy Gyro King, the one holdover from the previous food court at the same location. 

The entire strip center is evolving into one of Irvine’s dining destinations with HiroNori Craft Ramen, Krisp Fresh Living and sublime sushi at Ootoro. 
​

The center at Michelson and Bixby includes an IBC rarity: free parking. There is a premium on finding a spot during the lunch rush, but we wouldn’t know as we generally walk over, as should you. 
 
tradefoodhall.com
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Two Left Forks, Quail Hill in Irvine

7/1/2017

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Cool enough for Quail Hill?

​Two Left Forks is old-school dining done well
By Irvine City News staff
A rule of criticism I read years ago seems simple, but in practice can be hard to follow: evaluate a book, film, restaurant or work of art on what it is, and not what you hoped it would be. If you can’t, at least make your biases clear, so that someone who likes what you don’t like can evaluate if your “thumbs down” makes it a likely “thumbs up” for them.
​
In the case of Two Left Forks in Quail Hill, I will come clean: we were hoping that empty space where Jade Kitchen used to be would be taken by a cool, foodie-forward gastropub with a happening bar. There would be a creative list of somewhat affordable small plates along with interesting entrees that would reveal the chef’s forward-thinking flare and understanding of cool culinary trends. Maybe it would be the first brick and mortar location of a popular food truck, or the first OC location of a popular San Diego or L.A. concept.

The interior would be chic, industrial and modern. The crowd would include hipsters, cool kids from Blizzard, chic couples from Shady Canyon and “worth-the-drive” foodies making the trek to the quiet corner of Irvine from around the county because the buzz about the food was so strong.

Two Left Forks is few of those things, and that’s perfectly fine. No doubt many Irvine diners will revel in the fact that this new restaurant does a contemporary take on old-school dining so well.

The first old-school clue is the art on the wall: a lovely painting of a young woman waiting at the bar with a glass of wine, that sort of thing. They’re a bit reminiscent of the art that used to hang at The Ritz Restaurant, the original one in Newport Center.

The second is the food, which includes many old-school favorites that one could have found on many 1990s-era menus: Artichoke dip. Caesar Salad. Rack of Lamb. Crab Stack. Chilean Sea Bass. There are a few notes of multicultural fusion mixed in: tataki, chimichurri, and such. It’s not cheap, but not outrageous for full service done well. Shared plate appetizers range from $10-$15, with entrees $15 to $30.

This isn’t challenging fare; no culinary ground is being broken. We don’t expect it to be an Instagram darling among the millennials.

Again, revealing our bias: we like to be challenged. We wish Irvine had a great gastropub, and that the Quail Hill Shopping Center had one. But those with tastes like ours have Diamond Jamboree, and the several new, cool spots that have debuted in recent months and years at Los Olivos, Heritage Plaza, the Spectrum and University Center. We should be, if not satisfied, then thankful at the evolving Irvine culinary scene.

The food is fresh, nicely presented, business lunch or date-night fare. It’s fine dining comfort food, without the side of irony so often served at those gastropubs mentioned above. And it’s all presented with friendly professionalism by a clean-cut crew of young adults, without a hipster beard or ostentatious tattoo among them (that we noticed, at least).

Two Left Forks is good news for those who take to message boards like NextDoor to complain as traditional “American” restaurants have closed in recent years, replaced by hot spots like Meizhou Dongpo, EMC Seafood and Kang Ho-Dong Baekjeong. Don’t get us wrong, Two Left Forks is certainly not a Marie Callender’s or Denny’s, as far as prices and menu choices go, thankfully. Think of it as more like the Elephant Bar, but for a new era.
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