Off the Menu Special: Golden Foodie Awards

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Catherine with Sgt. Pepperoni's Pizza co-owner (and drummer extraordinaire)  Stan Frazier, who presented two Golden Foodie awards.
Catherine with Sgt. Pepperoni’s Pizza co-owner (and drummer extraordinaire) Stan Frazier, who presented two Golden Foodie awards.

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

 

Catherine with Anaheim White House owner and chef Bruno Serato
Catherine with Anaheim White House owner and chef Bruno Serato

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

 

Pascal Olhats (Best French Restaurant) and Andrew Sutton (Chef of the Year)
Pascal Olhats (Best French Restaurant) and Andrew Sutton (Chef of the Year)

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

Chef Cathy Pavlos, winner for Best Mediterranean (LUCCA) and Best Vegetarian (Provenance)
Chef Cathy Pavlos, winner for Best Mediterranean (LUCCA) and Best Vegetarian (Provenance)

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.

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