Ink – Los Angeles, CA. Ink is Michael Voltaggio’s restaurant. Michael has been Food & Wines Magazine best new Chefs and was the winner of Top Chef Season 6 beating out his brother Bryan Voltaggio who was runner up. Bryan went on to compete in Top Chef Masters. Michael has worked under acclaimed chefs including the legendary Jose Andres. The Voltaggio family definitely has some good cooking genes. Ink also has a sister restaurant in LA called Ink Sack. Ink Sack serves high end creative sandwiches. Ink is his first signature restaurant which is described as serving “modern Los Angeles cuisine.” Ink has a lot of interesting and somewhat whimsical dishes. The standout dish offered is the egg yolk gnocchi. I ordered this dish on multiple recommendations and I expected a really good gnocchi made with egg yolk. I didn’t expect it to recreate a soft boiled egg with the inside oozing out with egg yolk after taking a bite. That was definitely a special moment when a chef can create something unexpected like that. Cheers Mr. Voltaggio, those moments are a foodies treasure. Love, peace and egg yolk gnocchi grease!
Shinobu Shabu – Westminster, CA. Shabu Shabu is a Japanese dish consisting of thinly sliced meats and vegetables cooked in boiling water. The term Shabu Shabu refers to the sound emitted when stirring ingredients in the cooking pot. Shabu Shabu has been all the rage lately because it is a overall healthy meal with vegetables and proteins not cooked in oil as well as a fun way to eat your food. Shinobu Shabu continues on this trend offering a wide variety of different proteins including Wagyu Ribeye, Prime Ribeye, Angus Beef Short Rib, Pork Loin, Salmon and Shrimp. Each meal come with an assortment of vegetables and two types of noodles including the option to have your own customized noodle soup made by your server near the end of the meal. Shinobu offers two different dipping sauces and a wide variety of sakes and beer choices. They offer a unique desserts including Mochi ice cream and homemade black sesame ice cream but the dessert that is off the charts is their own creation of an Asian style funnel cake which is a must try. This recipe was stumbled upon by deep frying different items and frying an udon noodle. Sounds strange but worth trying for an interesting treat topped with ice cream. Shinobu Shabu also offers unique seating options instead of your normal bar seating as in
most Shabu Shabu restaurants they have table seating which can accommodate large parties. For great service and quality ingredients try out Shinobu Shabu. Love, Peace and Shabu Shabu Grease.
Two dipping sauces
Fresh Vegetables and Noodles
Prime Choice Ribeye
Angus Short Rib and Salmon
Noodle Soup
Asian Funnel Cake
Rance’s Pizza – Costa Mesa, CA. Have you ever been craving Chicago Deep Dish Pizza in Orange County and didn’t want to hop on a flight to the Windy City? Well your prayers have been answered. Rance’s has brought his own recipe of Chicago deep dish to Costa Mesa. This isn’t some sort of imitation, this is the real deal using fresh and high quality ingredients. They have three different types of pizza including deep dish pan, thin crust and their own customization of stuffed deep dish pizza. Rance’s has improved his recipe relentlessly and has made everything from scratch including the sauces. The flavors of the pizza are very robust. A must try when wanting authentic tasting Chicago Deep dish in Cali. Love, Peace and Chicago Deep Dish Pizza Grease!
The best food and restaurants to eat at in Orange County – #1 Orange County Food List
