Anne Marie Panoringan is Culture OC’s well-informed food columnist. She reports industry news, current events and trends. Anne Marie also contributes regularly to Eater Los Angeles, LAist, TASTE and a host of other well-respected publications. Anne Marie joins us in-studio to discuss her writings as Food Columnist for Culture OC and discuss her current columns.
As we resume the conversation with Anne Marie she chats about experiencing Chef – Partner Riley Huddleston’s new menu at the Mayor’s Table at Lido House, an Autograph Collection resort, in Newport Beach.
Also Anne Marie highlights her current column on CultureOC.org previewing the variety of restaurants that will soon be coming to John Wayne Orange County Airport. Three Cheers for the pending arrival of Chaupain Bakery!
Additionally Anne Marie contributed to and coordinated a piece in the Summer Issue of Tableau where OC food writers talk up their favorite “Hidden Gem Eateries” dining spots.
Hey there, it's Jet Tila, the emeritus host of the SoCal Restaurant Show and judge on Food Network's Cutthroat Kitchen with Alton Brown. You're listening to the very best in Food 411 on AM830KLAA. And welcome back. It is the pre-fourth of July holiday version of the SoCal Restaurant Show, and we're here with you every Saturday morning from 10 AM until 12 noon, right here on AM830KLAA, the home of Angels Baseball 2024, and you can also catch us on the Angels Radio AM830KLAA app. I'm Andy Harris, the executive producer and co-host of the show. Welcome. One little program note, the halos are on the road next Saturday. They have an early game with the Chicago Cubs in Chicago, and we are going to be preempted. But no worries, we're always happy to step aside for Angels Baseball, but we will be back the following Saturday on July 13th. So when you tune in next Saturday and you hear Angels pre-game and wonder what's going on, we're just taking a little breather and we will be back the following week. And we're enthusiastically presented each and every week by Melissa's World Variety Produce and West Coast Prime Meats, picking up our conversation in studio with Anne-Marie Panerringen, who is culture OC's food writer. We just talked about her adventures in Chicago around the James Beard Foundation Awards. Now we're back in Orange County. Anne-Marie, we had a chance before you departed for Chicago to have a dining experience at the mayor's table in Newport Beach. Their chef Riley just has a new menu. He will be a guest on the show a few weeks down the road. But in the meantime, because I know you had been there before and I had not, just wanted to get some of your observations. First of all, let's talk a little bit about, if you will, the look of the room. Because boy, this certainly doesn't look like a typical hotel restaurant. It had these vibes that reminded me, let's say the first time I went to Elinia in Chicago and it was a series of like these glass doors that slid open very quietly. They had that type of door specifically just to enter the kitchen and their windows, you know, their aquarium, you know, style view windows to look into the kitchen. And then there are the windows and the walls of this restaurant where like you could see the color and style of their shoes. Anne-Marie, you just brought up a very important point. The whole length of the kitchen is glassed in. So from almost any seat in the restaurant, you actually look in and see the entire kitchen and Chef Riley has some pretty impressive kitchen gadgets that are part of what he has. There's a French cooking suite and I also noticed under one of their hoods, they have a big green egg that they actually use. You know, he's got quite a team because Riley is the executive chef of the entire property and he actually carries the title of Chef Partner. But under him, he has an executive chef, he has a chef de cuisine and they all collaborate and it's quite a fancy operation but I think you'd agree Anne-Marie, not pretentious at all. I don't think so, not at all. I mean, not to be all sassy, I filmed a YouTube video with a friend there in the past. So the very accommodating, great service would go back, definitely. Now, Anne-Marie, our listeners are probably wondering and we should mention that Mayor's Table is at Lido House, which is a very high-end luxury hotel. It's actually part of what's called the autograph collection for Marriott and what autograph collection properties are, are one-offs. There's no corporate feeling to any of these. They all differ in look and appearance. Can you share the story of why it's called the Mayor's Table in Newport Beach because it's kind of interesting? Actually, I don't remember at the moment why it's called that. I know that because it's part of the autograph collection, like you said, it has a special type of attributes because there's some sort of history behind it or the location. I always like to believe it had to do with government. It was an area formerly where city hall was. Marie, you're 100 percent right. That was Newport Beach City Hall that when they needed to move to expanded headquarters, that site became available and a pretty prominent developer in Orange County was able to scoop up that property and create Lido House and then, of course, Mayor's Table, but that is the homage to the fact that that was the Newport Beach City Hall at one point in time, so definitely kind of fun. I really did like not only the rooftop area with its certain food scene, but also right before you enter the restaurant, you first start off walking through a lounge area. There's even a very small enclosed meeting room and the bar. I love the whole nautical theme. It's not overdone, I feel like it's a little comforting, but just the right shade of blue and the right kind of artifacts surrounding you and it flows really well to be able to see straight into the kitchen, all of the kitchen, like the green egg and all. No, as far as anything that goes on in the kitchen and Marie, including prep, there's no hiding, I mean, everybody is on display and the kitchen is immaculately maintained. And again, the gadgets that Chef Riley has to say that's a well-appointed kitchen is probably understating the case. Now, Anne-Marie, you are known to enjoy a serious libation every now and again, and I know there is a very serious bar program that is also part of the Maris table. Would you mind giving us your initial thoughts on the beverage program there? You mentioned Topside, which is the roof deck that has a bar and actually a 180 degree view of Newport Beach, which is pretty spectacular, but as you say, as you enter the Maris table, you can't miss the bar and the back bar. So give us your feelings about the beverage program there, if you will. I mean, I'm neither here or there with the beverage program, because when I go there, I really just want to eat. They're situated in an area where you're not too far from a lot of places to go drinking, and I would rather have a snack than honestly drink there. I know that probably it's not what you only hear, but it has a little bit of everything for your new people, you'll probably find a espresso martini, and you'll probably find a spritz, and you'll find some local beers, but I don't normally explore the bar very much, not in that particular hotel, just because. And as we noticed that night, and you might expand on a little bit if you care to, they actually prepare some of their high-end cocktails table side with quite a show. What was it that was delivered to the table that night? Oh, I've been trying to find the name of it I'm looking for. I was looking for a smoke, and there was quite an apparatus that came to the table, and we're all able to share that, definitely a fully interactive experience. Yes, if there's something table side, just go for it. I would not hesitate to order it again, but it wasn't it pretty boozy. Yeah, oh yeah. I mean, we needed more food just to recover from that one. No, no. As we were saying, that's a serious bar program there, and for any of their cocktails, they're not skimping on the spirits. That's for definite sure. Before we move on, was there just one entree or small plate item that comes to mind that was particularly memorable for you? We saw a lot of food that evening. I mean, we have to admit that. Okay, don't laugh at me, Andy, but one of the most memorable items was the caviar and banana bleenies. I just had a hunch you would go in that direction. I love caviar, let's be honest, and I love bananas. But together, I was just scratching my head, like, am I really going to try this? Is it really going to be good? But a sense of balance, I love salt like the next person, and I think the banana really helped round things out and didn't make it super sweet, but it retained, it was a good blend. And as you're saying, the combinations may sound odd, but you just need to order it, and you'll figure it out. If, again, the idea is you need to love caviar and you need to love bananas, if neither of those appeal to you, there's a lot of other things you can enjoy on the menu. But if you do like those, then this is definitely something to try. When we're moving on, can you just give us a little bit of a highlight of what your current column is right now for Culture OC? So people can go there and read it. It's kind of an intriguing idea. My current column for Culture OC has to do with the incoming restaurants that are being worked on, both in departures and arrivals at John Wayne Airport. There's quite a few. I think we're in the double digits now of new places, and I was trying to write up a little bit on each of the ones that I've personally have tried before, because I don't think it's as fair to talk about something I haven't even eaten at. So it was great, I think, what did I write about? And a really great bakery called Chopin, which I really want to croissant now, thanks, Andy. Well, you have the ability to do that. And we direct our listeners to the article because it's lengthy. And what's good is you talk about some of the local Orange County restaurants that are going to have the opportunity to show themselves there in addition to all of the expected chains. And we don't consider Wahoo as a chain because they started right here in Orange County, and they're still relatively small, and the owners are still very actively involved. Now, as we're just about to run out of time, you have an article in Tableau. But our listeners know how they can find Tableau and just a little tease about what the article is because it's another fun one and good information about some Orange County restaurants. If you search for, if you Google Tableau and we're not talking about tables or anything like that, it's an online magazine that it's, I have a colleague named Carrie who oversees it. You can say she's like an editor of it. And in this current issue that just came out, I was so surprised. One, that she asked me to contribute, and two, she asked me to help shape the article. And three, that it came out within a few days after I submitted my part of it. And what Andy wants me to say is that it involved a series of journalists who all contributed some of our favorite hidden gems in Orange County. Oh, yes. So food journalists in Orange County. Anne Marie, is we need to say goodbye. There's never enough time. One more time about where they find you at Culture OC. Yes, Culture OC.org, look under food and drinks. And also on my Instagram, my profile will have links to a lot of the other projects I work on. And I'm at Brecky fan, B-R-E-K-K-I-E-F-A-N. You are listening to the SoCal restaurant show. Yes. As promised when we returned, we're going fishing with Chef Andrew Grull. You are listening to the SoCal restaurant show. We're proudly presented by Melissa's World Variety Proters and West Coast Prime Meats. Don't wander far.
