The Best Ceats Podcast

The world of food and drink is filled with beautiful items desired by many. This is especially true in the world of wine and premium butchery - enter Wagyu & Wine . Founder and industry veteran Justin Wilson joins the show to talk about bringing the world of hyper-luxury to his clients and future customers. His approach to how he curates world-class wines, premier wagyu, and many more top-tier...

With 2024 underway, it's only natural that we collectively look ahead. In the restaurant and hospitality business, though, we mustn't forget to look back and celebrate those who have endured. To survive a year in this world is an achievement - to survive three decades? That, my friend, is heroic. In this episode, I am joined by Domenico Maurici of the thirty-one-year-old Il Farro restaurant in New...

A new year means new restaurants. This is always an exciting prospect as I believe a high tide raises all ships - however, I'd be lying if I didn't say that some openings are slightly more exciting than others. One that I have had my eye on for a while now is Trattoria Trullo , which is opening soon in Aliso Viejo (January 10th, to be exact). Chef/Owner Marco Criscuolo is bringing his wealth of wo...

Welcome to the 2nd Annual Deli Awards ! What better way to end the year than by reflecting on all the wonderful things it brought us? No item reflects the hospitality industry better than the humble deli container, hence why it was chosen as the icon of these awards during last year's inaugural awards. There are a host of new categories this year, too! I hope these picks for the best of 2023 bring...

The year is almost at an end, and as 2024 sits on the horizon, the time felt right to talk about it. This episode is all about you - or, more specifically, your questions, predictions, and more related to the year ahead. I gathered some of my favorite submissions from followers about what lay before us, from restaurant trends to mocktails. From chefs to influencers - nothing was off the table. So...

There are good restaurants, and there are great restaurants. Then there are restaurants that challenge the entire notion of what a dining experience can be - Matsu , in Oceanside, CA, is this type of restaurant. It is not just a fantastic place for Japanese cuisine - it is as close as one can get to the soul of Japanese culture outside of living there. It is a love letter - an adoring obsession ev...

The joy of having your own podcast is you get to interview friends you want to celebrate - talented people who work so hard in the industry. They grind and hustle, all the while keeping customers happy, perfecting their craft, and being great people. When they launch another avenue of their lives, like my guest and friend Jared Murphy - bartender at Hotel Laguna, and founder of the recently launch...

I said a few episodes back that the episodes to the end of 2023 would be wine-filled, and that trend continues. I recently headed up to the Santa Barbara Vintner's Festival, and on the way up, I decided - very last minute, I might add - to bring my equipment in case anyone wanted to sit down for an episode while I was up there. To be honest, with the festival going on, harvest still being well und...

We are talking all things mead with Alex Gonzales of Honey Pot Meadery ! This is a fun episode, because while they're a great many things I like to think I know about, mead is absolutely NOT one of them. I understand the concept, sure, but the intricacies, flavor development, and even the business side of it - finding market penetration, new customers, sourcing honey, and more - are all foreign to...

In this episode, I am joined by the awesome husband and wife team behind The Wine Militia and Militia Consulting , Lamar Engel and S onja Strand-Engel . They are some of my favorite people to work with regarding wine, and beyond. They are professionals through and through, but they also bring an unbridled passion to everything they do. We sit down to discuss the upcoming Santa Barbara Vintners Fes...

After a brief hiatus due to some unforeseen circumstances, it feels great to be back - and what a way to return as we head to Temecula, California, to talk all things wine! You would be forgiven if Temecula isn't the first wine region to come to mind - many in California often overlook this wonderful region. However, there are simply too many people doing really good things to ignore any longer. T...

Locally acquired - Globally inspired. That's how they do things at Trevor's at the Tracks . This is more than a restaurant - it is a symbol of San Juan Capistrano. It is a love letter to history, tradition, and the region. Yet, it isn't stuck in antiquity - rather, Trevor's is a restaurant that embraces change, along with the bounty of the surrounding region in its approach to the food, drinks, an...

To my mind, the classic pizzeria is a glorious restaurant industry staple. For many, it is a glorious thing that acts as either a gateway restaurant to the world of dining, or for the older ones of us, a time capsule to memories past. They are timeless - filled with food, fun, and a good time, whether solo dining, date night, a family outing, or meeting up with friends. All seems right when there...

Recently I've been asked to guest host on another podcast that films in Orange County called the Taco Tuesday Podcast - an awesome new show featuring all things in and around the most favorite weekly holiday of those who enjoy a good time: Taco Tuesday. You can learn more about them here . However after a recent recording, there was no way I couldn't share this guest's story… The guest for this co...

Great cities are measured in several ways - for The Best Ceats this usually involves taking stock of the restaurants, bars, hotels, and other forms of hospitality and entertainment available for people to enjoy. One major piece of that puzzle, is professional sports franchises and their relationship with their host city, or area. To learn more about this, I am joined by Paul Speaker , the CEO of t...

In this episode, I welcome back a friend of The Best Ceats and a dear friend of mine, Chef Paige Riordan . She is a talented chef, and owner of Scarlet Kitchen & Lounge in Rancho Mission Viejo. I wanted to have her back on the show for a few reasons - she has recently announced and launched a new Chef's Table series at the restaurant on select Monday nights. These multi-course tasting menus ar...

A new business is interesting - when that new business is a distillery, brewery, restaurant, bottle shop, and more? All in one location? In a city that desperately needs it? Count me in. That is why I am so happy to sit down with the team behind Webb's Grainworks , which is currently under construction in Aliso Viejo. The massive, sprawling location - set to open, ideally at the end of summer - is...

I always love to welcome guests back to the show - I think it's good to see the ups and downs of the industry. This world moves very fast, and a lot can change for guests of this show. This is why it was so important to get Kevin Hammons and Curtis Sheetz back to update the world on their wildly popular burger concept, Hammer Burger . Built better since 2020, these smashed-so-good-they-are-flat pa...

I have a special place in my heart for a local, family-run restaurant. The type of place that serves breakfast items all day, knows you and what you like to order, supports the local community, and more. Spots exactly like Chelas Mexican Kitchen , where Karla Vasquez has been bringing smiles to faces and stomachs for 13 years. She sits down to discuss how the restaurant essentially became a member...

The experience of a chef's table can be intimidating to the uninitiated. There can be a host of expectations that deter from an evening, but the team at Trust in Downtown Santa Ana is changing the notion of what people can expect from a night out. Chef Justin Werner is - to put it lightly - very talented. He has spent time in some of the best kitchens in the world. He and his team are now shifting...

It is time for one of the biggest weeks of the year for restaurants here in Orange County as OC Restaurant Week returns! Running from March 5th through the 11th, restaurants from all over the county will be offering various specialized menus for dinners to enjoy. With an unprecedented number of participating restaurants, I decided that it would behoove listeners if I helped to narrow down the choi...

Time really does seem to fly right by. It feels like only yesterday that Mayfield , in San Juan Capistrano, opened. It has been quite some time since then - and close to a hundred episodes since this very podcast gave the dining public the first glimpse inside the walls. Since then, the restaurant has garnered rave reviews and built a devoted and adoring customer base. How exactly did owner George...

Who doesn't love pizza? That may seem rhetorical, but there is a difference between liking pizza, and truly loving it. For chefs, delving into the world of making pizza can be daunting - there is a lot of history, tradition, innovation, and potential. For Chef Waldo Stout , this endeavor is something he succeeds at with gusto. As the lead dough wizard at Beachwood Pizza and Beer , he is leading th...

Wine - more than few other things in the world - is a deeply beautiful and romantic thing. Also, very, very delicious. When you think of most restaurants, though, the offerings of wines are very limited in the grand context of things. You could close your eyes and probably can imagine a handful of names you would see on most menus, and you'd be right. Brent Karlicek , Beverage Director of Postino...

As much as we like to look ahead when it comes to hospitality - what's next, what's trendy, or new openings - it is imperative we remember to look behind. Appreciating and celebrating those places that laid more than just the foundations of a great business, but community. They transcend a spot to eat or drink and transform into something woven into the very fabric of people's everyday life. I sit...