By Christopher Trela & Catherine Del Casale | NB Indy
And the winner is…
The Golden Foodie Awards were held last night, Sept. 27, at the Fairmont Newport Beach hotel. Nearly 300 people packed inside a ballroom to applaud the winners in 24 categories, from Best Burger to Best Cocktails.
Celebrity master of ceremonies was Simon Majumdar from the Food Network. Guests walked the red carpet, enjoyed Roca Patron and Ketel One cocktails, and dined on gourmet food tastings and desserts from a variety of restaurants (including many of the nominees).
Two Newport Beach restaurants/chefs picked up Golden Foodie Awards, as did two Laguna Beach restaurants. The rest were spread throughout OC.
Here is a list of nominees and winners (winners are in bold). We’ll have a full report on the Golden Foodie Awards in our column this Friday.
Best Cocktails
The Blind Rabbit
Arc Food and Libations
SOL Cocina
Presenters: Brett Goering and Darren Blair, Ketel One Vodka
Bartender of the Year 2015
Alex Filkins, Wild Goose Tavern
Mike West, SOCIAL Costa Mesa
Benjamin Gonzales, Hopscotch Tavern
Presenter: Timothy Sample, Southern Wine & Spirits
Best Food Talk Radio
Food News with Melinda Lee
The Fork Report with Neil Saavedra
The SoCal Restaurant Show with Andy Harris
Presenters: Vince Ferragamo, Former Quarterback for the LA Rams and Ed Lee, Co-Founder of Wahoo’s
Best Food Writer
Cathy Thomas
Brad Johnson
Anita Lau
Presenters: Ed Lee, Co-Founder of Wahoo’s and Vince Ferragamo, Former Quarterback for the LA Rams
Best Sushi
Bluefin Fine Japanese
Hamamori Restaurant & Sushi Bar
Riptide Rockin’ Sushi
Presenters: Marcel Vigneron, Chef/Owner of Beefsteak and Wolf and Rachel Klemek, Founder of Blackmarket Bakery
Best Dessert
Maro Wood Grill
Ralph Brennan’s Jazz Kitchen
The Ranch Restaurant
Presenters: Rachel Klemek, Founder of Blackmarket Bakery and Marcel Vigneron, Chef/Owner of Beefsteak and Wolf
Best Service Award
Anaheim White House
Villa Roma
The Hobbit
Presenters: Kimberly Daskas, Vestar and The District at Tustin Legacy and Greer Wylder, Greer’s OC
Best Indian Cuisine
Royal Khyber
Adya
Clay Oven
Presenters: Martin and Karen Diedrich, Owners of Kean Coffee
Best Mexican Cuisine
Tortilla Republic
Taco Maria
Matador Cantina
Presenters: Neil Saavedra and Oscar Ramirez of The Fork Report with Neil Saavedra on KFI AM 640
Best Italian Cuisine
Brunos Italian Kitchen
Brick Pizzeria
Antonello Ristorante
Presenters: Oscar Ramirez and Neil Saavedra of The Fork Report with Neil Saavedra on KFI AM 640
Best French Cuisine
Pascal’s San Juan Capistrano
Bistro Bleu
Cafe Beau Soleil
Presenters: Chef Ludo Lefevbre, star of The Taste and co-owner of Trois Mec and Wing Lam, co-founder of Wahoo’s
Best Asian Cuisine
AnQi
Sushi Noguchi
Sushi Roku
Presenters: Wing Lam, co-founder of Wahoo’s and Chef Ludo Lefevbre, star of The Taste and co-owner of Trois Mec.
Best Mediterranean Cuisine
LUCCA
D’Vine ~ A Mediterranean Experience
GG’s Bistro
Presenters: Stan Frazier, drummer of Sugar Ray and Stacy Zeller, Melissa’s Produce
B
est Vegetarian Cuisine
Provenance
118 Degrees
Au Lac Restaurant
Presenters: Stacy Zeller, Melissa’s Produce and Stan Frazier, former drummer of Sugar Ray and restaurateur.
Best Beer List
BRU Market and Grill
Haven Gastropub
Hopscotch Tavern
Presenters: Charlie Plummer, host of the Golden Chef Series and Michael Jordan, Master Sommelier
Best Wine List
The Winery Restaurant & Wine Bar
Selanne Steak Tavern
Cucina enoteca
Presenters: Michael Jordan, Master Sommelier and Charlie Plummer, host of the Golden Chef Series
Best Pizza
Pizzeria Ortica
Pizzeria Sapori
Brick Pizzeria
Presenters: Ashley Richardson and Anna Grieco, Aloha SDCR
Best Steak
The Ranch Restaurant
Arc Food and Libations
Selanne Steak Tavern
Presenters: Chef Andrew Gruel, star of FYI’s Say It To My Face and Founder of SLAPFISH and Amy Jo Pedone, Valenza Chocolatier
Best Burger
Mick’s Karma Bar
Dory Deli
25 Degrees
Presenters: Karl Kruger, General Manager of the Fairmont Newport Beach and Cathy Thomas, of CathyThomasCooks.com
Best Californian Cuisine
SOCIAL Costa Mesa
SeaLegs
Andrei’s Conscious Cuisine & Cocktails
Presenters: Michael Cho and Alan Greeley, Golden Foodie Awards 2013 Chef of the Year and owner/chef Golden Truffle
Best Seafood
Scott’s Restaurant and Bar
SLAPFISH
Bluewater Grill
Presenters: Alan Greeley, Golden Foodie Awards 2013 Chef of the Year and owner/chef Golden Truffle and Michael Cho
Best New Restaurant
Waterman’s Harbor
Moulin Bistro
SOCIAL Costa Mesa
Presenters: Fifi Chao, OC Business Journal and Bruno Serato, CNN’s Top 10 Hero of the Year and owner of the Anaheim White House
Pastry Chef of the Year
Chef Lee Smith, Montage
Chef Ashley Guzman, The North Left
Chef Dave Rossi, The Ranch Restaurant
Presenters: Andrew Harris of SoCal Restaurant Show and Linda Kissam, President of IFWTWA
Chef of the Year
Chef Andrew Sutton, Napa Rose
Chef Ryan Adams, 370 Common
Chef Craig Strong, Studio
Presenters: Pamela Waitt, President of the OC Restaurant Association/Creator of the Golden Foodie Awards and Judy Walker, Share Our Strength
More info: goldenfoodieawards.com.
