Gabbi's Quick Stop #11

Gabbi's Mexican Kitchen 141 S Glassell St Orange, CA 92866-1421 (714) 633-3038 Listing on Yahoo! Local Listing at The Guide Official Site

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Still no sign

I've been working up in Torrance lately and have had very little chance to go to all the Orange County eateries I like so when I get a rare chance now there's about 200 places to pick from . . . or more, so I have to get very choosy. When one of your favorite places is always reinventing itself, adding new items, changing menu items with the seasons, and having specials that are available for one day only then they tend to keep pulling you back in. And it doesn't hurt that they are Zagat-rated and recently received the highest rating (28/30) of all the Mexican restaurants in Southern California.

Yes, I'm talking about Gabbi's Mexican Kitchen in Old Towne Orange. I arrived right as they opened at 11am on Saturday to try their Chichilo molé for the day, which was being featured as part of their Seven Moles of Oaxaca menu for the end of October and early November only to find out that the molé dishes are only being served at dinner (if you are going for one of the molé dishes and you can only go at lunch call ahead to check availability because they might be able to do some at lunch). But I was already there, hungry and ready to eat. Fortunately they had a couple things on the menu that I hadn't had there before.

Starting off with the Sopa Azteca I experienced a rich, smoky tomato soup with chunks of fresh avocado, chicken and tortilla strips, the type of dish that it's a crime to consume too quickly. In a perfect world Andy Warhol would paint this.

Then it was on to the tlacoyo de aguacate, sort of the little brother to the much larger tlayuda, one of which you could subsist upon for days. The plating for this appetizer is at once rustic and nouveau. Starting with a crisp masa base and topped with beans, avocado, apple slivers and lettuce and served with a chile arbol sauce this dish was savored in the same lingering fashion as the Sopa Azteca.

Finally I finished off with the new fall dessert, the Pumpkin bread pudding a "warm, spiced Challah bread pastry with a mezcal cajeta and a brown-butter date ice cream." Fluffy, not heavy, I was able to finish off my early lunch with a sweet treat that produced no subsequent regret. In fact, the whole meal reminded me all over again why Gabbi's Mexican Kitchen is high on my rotation list.

Mexican Cooking Class and Demo Coming Up

Just found out that two of the best Mexican chefs in the county, Deborah Schneider of Sol Cocina and Gabbi Patrick of Gabbi's Mexican Kitchen, will be doing cooking classes or demos this coming Saturday and Tuesday.

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SOL COCINA CHEF DEBORAH SCHNEIDER SHOWS NEWPORT BEACH "WHAT'S COOKING AT THE LIBRARY"

Newport Beach Public Library offers unique cooking experience with class on traditional Mexican cuisine – MARCH 15, 2011

NEWPORT BEACH, CA (MARCH 2011) – Chef Deborah Schneider of SOL Cocina in Newport Beach will share some of her secrets for creating authentic Mexican cuisine at "What's Cooking at the Library" on Tuesday, March 15th at 7 p.m. at the Newport Beach Central Library (1000 Avocado Avenue in Newport Beach). The cost of the class is $20 per person and guests may register online at www.newportbeachlibrary.org.

The menu for the evening includes SOL House Margaritas, Pico de Gallo, Naked Guacamole, Avocado Caesar Salad, Chicken & Cheese Enchiladas, Salsa Ahogada and Warm Chocolate-Banana Bread Pudding with Cinnamon Crème Anglaise. In addition to enjoying a talk and demonstration of the menu items, guests will have the opportunity to purchase complete recipes in her most recent cookbook, the SOL-inspried Amor y Tacos. Chef Deb will be able to sign the copies of Amor y Tacos, which puts an exciting spin on modern Mexican food and cocktails.

To register for the event, the public may pick up a "What's Cooking" Registration Form at any of the Newport Beach Public Library locations or register online at www.newportbeachlibrary.org or the City's Recreation Class sign-up under Library Programs at www.newportbeachca.gov.

ABOUT THE NB PUBLIC LIBRARY "WHAT'S COOKING AT THE LIBRARY" SERIES

The "What's Cooking at the Library" series offers food lovers the unique opportunity to participate in an up-close cooking experience with some of Orange County's most talented culinary masters at an affordable price. Many top chefs in the Newport Beach area have participated since the series began in 2010. For more information, call (949) 717-3800, extension 2 or visit the website at www.newportbeachlibrary.org.

ABOUT CHEF DEBORAH SCHNEIDER

Executive Chef/Partner of SOL Cocina in Newport Beach, Deborah Schneider has introduced a fresh and different approach to Mexican cuisine, gathering inspiration from taco bars and roadside stalls in Baja and street-side trucks in Tijuana. In Orange County, she has revamped traditional Mexican flavors, delivering fresh, new ways to "do" Mexican in an upscale/fine-dining setting.

Dubbed by Bon Appetit Magazine, "The reigning queen of San Diego chefs," Chef Schneider is a published author of four cookbooks, including SOL-inspired Amor y Tacos (Stewart, Tabori & Chang), award-winning Baja! Cooking on the Edge (Rodale) and Cooking with the Seasons at Rancho La Puerta (STC), which was nominated for a 2009 James Beard Award. Chef Deborah Schneider began her culinary career in the early 1980s, while living in Athens, Greece, where she worked as a chef on a succession of luxury charter yachts and later, as a yacht chef in Florida and the Caribbean. In 1983, Schneider settled in San Diego, where she made a culinary name for herself as the creative force behind the area's best-known restaurants and hotels, including the acclaimed Jsix/Jbar, Hilton Torrey Pines, Dobson's, Grant Grill and La Gran Tapa. Schneider received her Certified Executive Chef ranking in 2001 from the American Culinary Federation. In mid-2009, Schneider, with two Partners, opened her own restaurant, SOL Cocina, where she currently serves as Executive Chef.

About the books…

Chef Deborah Schneider's first cookbook, ¡Baja! Cooking on the Edge, was published in Spring of 2006 and chosen one of "The Best of the Best" of 2006 by Food & Wine Magazine. Through her restaurant work and writings, Deborah Schneider was an early advocate of the local farm-to-table movement and in supporting sustainable fisheries in California and Baja.

Her second book, Cooking with the Seasons at Rancho La Puerta: Recipes from the World Famous Spa, published in September 2008, was nominated for a James Beard Foundation Award. This gorgeous cookbook celebrates the organic gardens and cooking school of Rancho La Puerta, one of the world's most famous fitness resorts, where Schneider is a frequent guest teacher.

Chef Schneider's third book, which she co-authored, is Williams-Sonoma's Essentials of Latin Cooking, published in 2010.

Her SOL-inspired fourth book, Amor y Tacos, debuted in early 2010 as a fresh and different approach to Mexican cuisine, gathering inspiration from taco bars and roadside stalls in Baja and street-side trucks in Tijuana. The book shakes up and revamps traditional Mexican flavors, delivering fresh, new ways to "do" Mexican. The recipes are quick and easy-to-make and, in addition to tacos, include antojitos (the "little bites" that are Mexico's variation on tapas), salsas, tequila and mescal-based cocktails, and the amazingly thirst-quenching fruit drinks called aguas frescas.

ABOUT SOL COCINA

SOL Cocina is a unique restaurant and bar celebrating traditional Baja cuisine with a fresh, modern interpretation. Designed to echo the expansive sea, sky, and desert of the Baja peninsula, SOL features old world charm juxtaposed with an urban comfort, including an open exhibition kitchen with counter seating for guests who like to see the bustling kitchen that mimics the Baja taco bar. SOL offers a decadent menu of the freshest seasonal ingredients and authentic Mexican flavors, along with a vibrant bar that honors the flavors of the Baja region with artisan tequilas and mezcals.

Located at 251 E. Pacific Coast Highway at Bayside Drive, on the Balboa Marina, SOL is open daily for Lunch (11:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.; TOUR de SOL tasting menu offered Mon-Fri 11:30 a.m. – 3 p.m.), Dinner (Sun-Wed 4:30 p.m. – 10 p.m.; Thurs-Sat 4:30 p.m. – 11 p.m.), Happy Hour (4 p.m. – 7 p.m. daily in the bar and patio), Late-Night Dining (11 p.m. – 1 a.m. Thurs-Sat), and Weekend Brunch (10 a.m. – 3 p.m. Saturday & Sunday). In addition, guests may take advantage of Taco & Tequila Tuesday specials every week (Tues 4 p.m. – 10 p.m.), and Industry Hours with 50% off cocktails, beer and wine to those with proper ID working in the hospitality industry (Sun-Weds 9 p.m.-midnight; Thurs-Sat 11 p.m.-close). Private Room available.

For more information, call 949-675-9800 or visit http://www.solcocina.com/.

*****

For more information, contact: Mona Shah, Moxxe PR at +1 818 749 1931 or mona@moxxepr.com

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Click flyer image to view larger. Read Gabbi's blog entry here.

Gabbi's Quick Stop #10

Still no sign at Gabbi's

It's been a while since I've been to Gabbi's so I stopped by yesterday for lunch and not much has changed but I did find out a couple things. For one, their salsa is spicier now. That will be good news to many people.

Two: they have a good duck confit quesadilla with a mole negro sauce on special right now.

Three: they now make all their ice creams and sorbets on-site. I tried the fried plantain ice cream seen above.

And, four: you can now purchase bottles of Gabbi's hot sauce. You can also order some online here or at Dean & DeLuca.

Taco Rosa April 2009 Specials& Gabbi's Quick Stop #9

Okay, so I'm doing a bit of a mashup here but I've been to Taco Rosa and Gabbi's recently (what else is new?) so thought I'd mention some of their items that may only be available for a limited time.

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Taco Rosa began a monthly specials program in September 2007 and I tried and chronicled pretty much everything they offered, with the vast majority of these items being brand new, while a few may have been briefly offered as daily specials before. When September 2008 came most of the monthly special items had been seen before and I still liked them all but didn't have much reason to mention them again here. Now that April 2009 has come along this is the first month in a while where all their special items are brand new.

Soup

First up is a Mayan white bean soup with spinach, carrot, plantains and potato chunks.

Entrees

For entrees there is an excellent pork chop dish with a cilantro/pepita pesto sauce and roasted cactus strips and a caramelized apple taco (above) and duck enchiladas:

Dessert

For dessert they are offering a spin on churros I'd never seen before. These churros are served with white chocolate mousse, dark chocolate chips and mint leaf shavings. I didn't know what to think about mint on churros but actually quite enjoyed a subtle hint of it.

I should mention that coupons for Taco Rosa have been appearing pretty regularly in The Orange County Register.

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Still no sign at Gabbi's

Earlier tonight I met up with Jenn and Evan Vincent of the OC Arts and Culture website for dinner at Gabbi's. I wanted to talk with Gabbi and Ed (husband and wife co-owners of Gabbi's Mexican Kitchen) and introduce them to Evan and Jenn but found out they are on another one of their trips to Mexico conducting further culinary research. Looking forward to seeing what recipes they bring back.

I did get to try their special Kobe beef dish with amazingly tender meat, served with a side of guacamole, corn, nopales, and onions, along with Gabbi's excellent handmade tortillas:

Jenn and Evan shared the chocolate chili creme brulee which they thoroughly enjoyed:

While I got the capirotada (bread pudding) but had it presented in a way I had never seen before:

The encroaching darkness of the evening reduced the quality of my photos but here's a slideshow of other Gabbi's dishes in better light:

Gabbi's New Desserts #4

Gabbi's Mexican Kitchen 141 S Glassell St Orange, CA 92866-1421 (714) 633-3038 Listing on Yahoo! Local Listing at The Guide Official Site

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Stopped by Gabbi's in Old Town Orange today for lunch. They have a couple new desserts including the Flan de Naranja in a tamarind sauce:

And the Chocolate-Chile Creme Bruleé with vanilla bean gelato and sea salt:

Both came with caramelized kumquats and red currants as garnish. If you think chocolate and chile pepper spice sound weird together it's actually pretty good and almost like a reverse mole sauce with lots of chocolate and a little bit of spice rather than mole sauces that have a hint of cocoa to them.



Click HERE or on the "gabbi's" label below to read our extensive coverage and to view plenty of photos of their food and their still signless exterior:

Gabbi's New Desserts #3

Stopped by Gabbi's yesterday and in addition to my tacos al pastor for lunch I tried out one of their new desserts, the flan with figs in rompope sauce:

While my dining partner loved the Dulce de Leche Cheesecake, "Caramelized bananas, guava coulis & tropical sorbet:"

Their two other new, seasonal desserts, which I hope to try soon and will post pictures of here when I can, are the Pumpkin Creme Bruleé served with vanilla bean gelato and the Rustic Pear & Apple Tart with Tamarindo glaze & toasted almond gelato. UPDATE: I have since tried these other two desserts:

Click HERE or on the "gabbi's" label below to read our extensive coverage and to view plenty of photos of their food and their still signless exterior, directions, a link to their official website and more:

Downstairs at Gabbi's

(IMPORTANT NOTE: If you're new to this blog and looking for information on Gabbi's Mexican Kitchen please don't think this one entry is all we have, but instead CLICK HERE for our complete coverage including many photos.)



Stopped by Gabbi's today and talked to Gabbi herself and found out that their basement room is finally open. The basement is something I found out about approximately two years ago and never saw it myself until about two months ago. I was asked not to mention it on the blog yet until now that they feel it's okay for the public to know about. The basement is a special dining room that can be booked in advance for parties up to ten people in size. Different menu choices are available including selections from the regular menu or even higher end items that will never be found on the regular menu. I said to Gabbi, "So, if you book the room for one of these meals you should plan on spending about two and a half to three hours for a good meal?" She replied with, "More like six." Sounds like a feast to remember. This is something you do when you have just the right group together and you all want a culinary experience that will go down in the history books.

Call (714) 633-3038 and ask for Ed to get pricing and other information.

Also, Gabbi's site (link above) has been updated to include a couple pictures of the basement as well as PDF articles from many of the magazines they have been featured in.

Even more pictures of the basement can be seen in my photo album. Just CLICK HERE.

If you're new to this blog and looking for information on Gabbi's Mexican Kitchen please don't think this one entry is all we have, but instead CLICK HERE for our complete coverage including many photos.

Gabbi's Mother's Day Brunch

(IMPORTANT NOTE: This entry was originally published on May 10 then updated on May 21 . . . and then a little bit more on May 29. Scroll down to "Part III" for the update.)

Part I

A lot of people have been searching lately for information on where to take their mom for a Mother's Day Brunch. I don't know of any Mexican restaurant in Orange County that has a specific Mother's Day Brunch deal but I'm taking my own mom to a Mother's Day Brunch one day early and we're going to Gabbi's. We're going there after she tried the food at another Mexican restaurant a while back (I won't say what place it was except to say that it's name does not start with the letter 'T') and after eating the food there she said, "I'm going to kiss the ground at Gabbi's when I go back next."

If I get some good photos I will post them here later on but when I was there a few days ago meeting up with an LA Times reporter Gabbi told us they were about to bring back some old menu items as well as introduce a couple new items based around the squash blossom which is now in season. Below is a picture of the ceviche from that visit:

Part II

Photos:

So here's the pictures taken at our one-day-early Mother's Day Brunch:

Still no sign (picture taken May 10, 2008)

I tried out the new squash blossom quesadillas:

Mom got the grilled shrimp salad which she said is "like heaven:"

And then we got the flan for dessert:

Also, by popular demand Gabbi has brought her tropical quesadilla back to the menu. It's one of my favorite items there.

Part III

It might seem like I've been talking about Gabbi's a lot lately but this should be the last update in a while. I had three somewhat related visits recently, concluding about a week ago when I met up with Andrea Adleman from the Los Angeles Times and Griffin Tamura from Griffin Eats OC. The visit was largely so Andrea could get pictures for her report which will appear in The Guide, the pullout entertainment section which appears every Thursday in the Times (yes, even the Orange County edition), on May 29. Griffin's report appears here. During that visit I was able to get some better photos and here they are:

Tropical Quesadilla

Squash Blossom Quesadilla

Coconut Tres Leches

Gabbi's Flan

Click HERE or on the 'gabbi's' label below to see our complete coverage of Gabbi's Mexican Kitchen, including dozens of photos . . . and an expla­nation of why they don't have a sign.

Part IV

The Orange County Register today (June 5, 2008) has a whole article about the desserts at Gabbi's, including a couple recipes. CLICK HERE to read it.

Part V

Since Google keeps sending people to the wrong page when they search for "Mexican restaurants in the Orange Circle" I have to explicitly state here that Gabbi's is the ONLY Mexican restaurant in the Orange Circle . . . although there is another one just outside the Orange Circle.