Best of Laguna Beach

It’s a packed Halloween week (and beyond) in Laguna Beach!  This week on my Best of Laguna Beach™ radio show, Ruben Flores joined me and we dove head first into SO MUCH STUFF. Equal parts festive and fiery, this episode swings from haunted houses to hopeful fixes for Laguna’s future – with Ruben’s signature real talk and my inside scoop. We talked Nosferatu set to live string quartet at the Rivian...

🍷 This one’s for every wine lover who believes a great bottle should always come with a great story. In this Monday’s Best of Laguna Beach episode on KXFM 104.7, I sat down with veteran Hollywood Producer and Talent Agency Owner John Ufland, whose career started with War Games, The Terminator, and Bachelor Party – and whose latest passion project, A Second Pour, brings his storytelling genius int...

Oh man, did I have a fantastic interview on Monday’s KXFM 104.7 with the Laguna “Godfather of Restaurants & Rock & Roll” - Ivan Spiers. It took me 10 months to haul in this big fish and it was worth every minute. A life larger than Laguna Ivan Spears has lived more lives than most cats – music exec, surfer, apparel mogul and restaurateur. In this candid interview, he shares the wild path t...

On this week’s Best of Laguna Beach radio show, I was the only one on the mic because I had a LOT to say as I sped through a jam-packed October lineup of what I consider The Best of Laguna Events for October. From local lobster season celebrated at Coyote Grill and the return of Laguna’s funniest theater troupe, to Dana Wharf’s extended whale watching adventures, Rotary car shows, haunted trails,...

This week on Best of Laguna Beach Radio,™ my dear friend joined me again - Ruben Flores (Laguna Nursery owner, in-demand Visionscape landscape designer, and community dynamo). The conversation soared from owl houses to Mozambique’s Ivan’z House Red Hot Chili Peppers tribute (wall to wall sold out), to Ruben’s recent Garden Walk, and my Secret Shopper restaurant insights. Together, we turned the sp...

On this week’s Best of Laguna Beach Radio Show & Podcast, I sat down with Sapphire Cellar. Craft .Cook Founding Partner Russ Bendel, and Partner/Executive Chef Jared Cook. Bendel and Cook are part of a small core team of restaurant pros, and I can safely say that this team knows what it takes to build restaurants that become community anchors. Before they took over former Chef Azmin’s Sapphire...

Get ready, Laguna Beach – 70 chefs, wineries, and culinary stars are uniting for Chef Masters at the Festival of Arts grounds on Sunday, Sept. 28th, 5 - 9 p.m. (proceeds benefit 2 animal rescue groups).This Monday at “Best of Laguna Radio” at KXFM 104.7, I sat down with powerhouse culinary event producer Kristin Martin of KM Productions to talk about the jaw-dropping scale of this event, why it se...

On this episode of Best of Laguna Beach Radio at KXFM 104.7, I sat down again with Bruce Russo – the country’s most prolific restaurant designer and developer – for a behind-the-scenes look at why opening a restaurant in Laguna Beach can be such a different ballgame. Bruce has built nearly 600 restaurants nationwide, but even with that experience, Laguna’s more lengthy and segmented approval proce...

In this week’s Best of Laguna Beach radio show, I sat down with Andrew Turula, the 18-year General Manager of The Cliff Restaurant & Live Music, who’s been keeping the iconic Cliff - our YES, only CLIFFside restaurant – running for nearly two decades. From raw scallops, fish tacos and the best steaks in the land … to ongoing events on their cliffside terrace over the ocean … and 6-day-a-week l...

In this week’s “Best of Laguna Beach Radio,” Laguna native and catering powerhouse Chef Evan Lewis dishes on her Sawdust Festival frenzy, the bittersweet close of her restaurant (Evan’s Gourmet), and why group dining + fully custom catering are her recipe for what’s next. From ahi sandwiches and lamb lollipops to Halloween party ribs shaped like skeletons, Chef Evan proves that food is never just...

In this Monday’s KXFM 104.7 radio show with my best buddy, Ruben Flores, we spilled the beans on the secret: August in Laguna isn’t “winding down” – it’s strutting down Coast Highway in full color. We’ve got blue whales crashing the party offshore, a 22-person pub crawl that tested every bartender’s patience (and pour skills), gardens spilling over with green goodness, and a fashion show made enti...

This week’s Best of Laguna Beach radio show guest was none other than my dear friend – and Hollywood’s visual maestro – Nelson Coates. He’s the award-winning production designer behind multiple movies, including Crazy Rich Asians, The Proposal, In the Heights, Flight and the Emmy-award winning series, The Morning Show… but come THIS Sunday, August 10th, from noon to 2 p.m., Nelson is right here in...

He was the kid in all the commercials (well … he wasn’t the Welch’s Grape Juice kid, but he did the kid’s voice over for that … so it still counts). Now Tom Horvath is the marketing mastermind behind one of California’s oldest theaters, our own Laguna Playhouse. In this fast-paced and fun episode, I sit down with Tom to spill the backstage tea – everything from how Ariana Grande got her start righ...

Move over dimly lit sushi dens. Laguna’s OTO Sushi is blazing its own trail with sunlight, sustainability and some surprise best-sellers. In this Monday’s radio show at KXFM Radio 104.7, restaurant owner Ash Cintas shares her journey from globe-trotting hospitality exec to local restaurateur with serious purpose. From new parklet to this weekend’s debut of a full bar’s inventive cocktails, we talk...

From Bank Job to Sandwich God: Mike DeSanti’s Laguna Dream It started with a napkin scribble, a secret family recipe, and a longtime dream to bring killer sandwiches to Laguna Beach. On this week’s Best of Laguna Beach radio show at KXFM 104.7, I sat down with Board & Brew Co-Owner Mike DeSanti to talk turkey – literally –and how Laguna finally landed its own bite of the Board & Brew empir...

What happens when two renegade chefs decide Orange County deserves more than safe bets and forgettable fare? You get Darkroom – a moody, vinyl-spinning, chef-driven restaurant shaking up the OC scene, along with its elegant alter ego, Chrysalis, tucked inside like a well-kept secret. In this week’s radio show, I sat down with co-owners Zach Sherer and Drew Adams – Co-Creators of the enormously ent...

After months of herculean effort, I finally got Laguna local favorite Chef Leo (Leandro) Bongarra to sit down and talk with me in this Monday’s “Best of Laguna Beach” radio show at KXFM 104.7. And oh … and what a surprising convo it was … I thought I knew this guy! The hour sailed by as we talked food and the food philosophy behind it … how he conjures those unexpected flavor pairings … his “Nonna...

OK, if this isn’t the most unique Father’s Day gift ever … come on! On yesterday’s " “Best of Laguna Beach” radio show, we talked about a veritable flotilla of fun arriving this weekend in Newport Beach. Here’s everything we discussed (and sang!) in our fast-moving show: 🛥️ Newport Beach Wooden Boat Festival’s theme this year: Stories of the Sea: Wooden Boats in Film & Fiction (Hollywood movie...

From sizzling sangrias to bluegrass under the stars, this first-ever Founders Circle “Best of Laguna Beach” radio replay is your front-row seat to what’s hot in Laguna this June. I’m serving up the latest on can’t-miss restaurant openings, local favorites you might’ve forgotten, and the best live music (even a global one in store) ➕ insider news on our art fests, and coastal gems happening all mo...

This Monday at KXFM 104.7’s “Best of Laguna Beach,” I welcomed Chef Nick Gstrein, Co-Partner of The Drake Laguna Beach and Co-Chef with his famed dad, Chef Paul. This show was a hoot - audio replay above ☝️, especially as Nick had plenty of amazing announcements and I introduced a new CONTEST I’m doing for live listeners … first run was bumpy on my side of the controls, but Chef Nick killed it! He...

In this week’s KXFM 104.7’s radio show, Ruben Flores and I are talking about this City’s tourism, arts and brand alignment. In the show’s replay (above), we dive into the heart of what makes Laguna Beach Laguna Beach – and why, with the renewal contract of the Laguna Beach Tourism Marketing District on the table – many residents are engaging more deeply in the conversation about how we move forwar...

It was a particularly meaningful radio show day on Monday at KXFM 104.7 when I greeted my guests and good friends, Archie and Gretchen McConnell, with local (and visitor) favorite, Starfish Asian. When Starfish Laguna first opened its doors, it had the name, the vibe and the ambition but what it didn’t have was much of a safety net. The odds were brutal, the bank accounts were near empty, and the...

This week’s Best of Laguna Beach radio show covered the gamut! So much to cover! The full audio replay is above ☝️ with a more detailed descriptive of these quick notes I’ve posted below. Tickets are moving fassst! Newport Beach Wooden Boat Festival - June 13-14 I mentioned this one first because tickets are moving really, really fast. It’s a very cool immersive for everyone in your family. Balboa...

Step Into Nautical Nostalgia (and a Bit of Old Hollywood Glitz) Yesterday, Monday, April 21st at the “Best of Laguna Beach” radio show, I had an especially fun discussion with Balboa Yacht Club’s Steve Paljieg, who’s Co-Chair for the club’s upcoming, always-amazing Newport Beach Wooden Boat Festival on June 13th & 14th. Balboa Yacht Club annually hosts this event and it is always open to the p...

On my Best of Laguna Beach radio show at KXFM 104.7, my renowned, very wry regular guest - Bruce Russo - joins me as we pull back the curtain on what it really takes to go from “cool retail space” or “that great 2nd-gen restaurant space that’s going to be so easy to move into” to “fully operational, legally permitted, health-inspected, liquor-serving dining experience.”Bruce Russo’s seen it all –...