KUDOS March 2020
Our Food and Wine issue features a plethora of good food and drink and the people responsible for creating it. #Russ Bendel and his partners have opened three very successful Orange County restaurants:#VineRestaurant&Bar in San Clemente, #Ironwood in Laguna Hills and #Olea in Newport Beach. We are also featuring two people who are at the top of their game in the wine and spirit worlds. #Ali Coyle at #Fable & Spirit in Newport Beach, and #MichaelRooney of the newly opened #TheHallGlobalEatery and also linked to the beverage programs at #Broadway by #AmarSantana and #Vaca. In addition, we talk about #Eddie V’s Prime #Seafood restaurant. Best place to enjoy oysters in #NewportBeach. If you would like an exciting and varied food experience, try Vancouver, which Condé Nast Traveler rates #12 in its World’s Best Food Cities in the world.
Our Food and Wine issue features a plethora of good food and drink and the people responsible for creating it. #Russ Bendel and his partners have opened three very successful Orange County restaurants:#VineRestaurant&Bar in San Clemente, #Ironwood in Laguna Hills and #Olea in Newport Beach. We are also featuring two people who are at the top of their game in the wine and spirit worlds. #Ali Coyle at #Fable & Spirit in Newport Beach, and #MichaelRooney of the newly opened #TheHallGlobalEatery and also linked to the beverage programs at #Broadway by #AmarSantana and #Vaca. In addition, we talk about #Eddie V’s Prime #Seafood restaurant. Best place to enjoy oysters in #NewportBeach.
If you would like an exciting and varied food experience, try Vancouver, which Condé Nast Traveler rates #12 in its World’s Best Food Cities in the world.
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One of the many white sand beaches Beach at PSV<br />
Ironwood's interior, Laguna Hills<br />
Ironwood's House Made Giant Meatball<br />
In 2016, Russ and partners opened a second restaurant in Laguna<br />
Hills called Ironwood, built in 120 days, Russ says a business class at<br />
Cal Poly taught him to create a business concept from start to finish.<br />
“It was ironic that the restaurant I created was called Vineyards,<br />
which had a lot of similarities to Vine, since the partners and I wanted<br />
to offer wine country-inspired cuisine.”<br />
Opening in May, 2016, the 120-seat Ironwood, in keeping with<br />
Vine, featured rustic wine country design elements but with more<br />
natural light and a slightly larger kitchen (now open) and a patio with a<br />
view of Saddleback Mountain. Executive Chef Cook took staple items<br />
from Vine and added what everyone thought the Laguna Hills<br />
neighborhood would want. New menu items included the House<br />
Made Giant Meatball, Fried Green Tomatoes with Fresh Burrata, Pan<br />
Roasted Mediterranean Branzino, and Warm Fromage Blanc Brownie.<br />
Olea's Sustainably Harvested Chilean Sea Bass<br />
Olea exterior, Newport Beach<br />
Each restaurant has a logo of a vine or tree -<br />
Vine for grapevine, Ironwood for the ironwood tree,<br />
the densest tree in the world, which is used to craft<br />
tools like cutting boards and knife handles for chefs,<br />
and Olea is an olive tree.<br />
By November, 2017, Russ and his partners had opened another wine<br />
country-inspired restaurant called Olea in Newport Beach. Seating 140,<br />
it was built from scratch on the bottom floor of a three-story medical<br />
building. With a rustic decor showcasing Portland sourced pine trees<br />
suspended from the ceiling, a large open bar in the middle of the<br />
restaurant and signature open kitchen, it was an immediate success.<br />
“People continue to tell us that this community has needed this type<br />
of restaurant for a long time,” Russ shares.<br />
Cook’s new menu offerings included a Double R Ranch 24 oz. bone-in<br />
Ribeye Steak, Terrine of Duck Liver, Bacon and Bourbon, Duck Confit &<br />
Morel Mushroom Cavatelli Pasta, and Grapevine Smoked Salmon<br />
Deviled Eggs.<br />
26 <strong>KUDOS</strong> Newport Beach | <strong>March</strong> <strong>2020</strong>
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