“I just wanted to have fun with it, but also ‘keep it simple, stupid,’” said Weber. A duck confit spliff from the hors d’oeuvres section of the menu, for example, is a dish Weber calls “tongue in cheek” and serves with cucumber, cilantro and nuoc cham, lending bold Vietnamese flavors. Weber also adds his touch to the food, riffing on classic French cuisine while incorporating distinct West Coast flavors. “Nick is putting all of his touches on it,” said Pangilinan. “The Beastie Boys poster, I bought that in 1995 when it came out.” “A lot of the stuff is just stuff that hung in my house, stuff I collected through the years,” said Weber. The restaurant boasts cool blues and purples with an elegant floral wallpaper mural juxtaposed with art and posters featuring the Beastie Boys and the Ramones. Pangilinan is taking on a business partner role while Weber will be Populaire’s main chef. The modern Cal-French bistro takes over the space formerly occupied by Lawry’s Carvery, with an indoor and outdoor patio on Level 2 in the Saks Fifth Avenue Wing and features fine French food with a California twist in an approachable setting. Today the duo opens their latest concept, Populaire, at South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa. “It was a good time.”īoth found success in the industry, Pangilinan as owner and operator of his global food concepts, Terrace by Mix Mix at South Coast Plaza, Mix Mix Kitchen & Bar in Santa Ana and ReMix Kitchen Bar in Long Beach, and Weber as executive chef at 24 Carrots Catering Events and at Downtown Disney’s Catal Restaurant and the Cannery in Newport Beach. “We always worked well together, like a dance,” said Weber. “We would always work the same station because we had the most dishes and all the specials off our station,” said Pangilinan. The friends and business partners met while working at the Patina Restaurant Group under renowned restaurateur Joachim Splichal. For Orange County chefs Ross Pangilinan and Nicholas Weber, opening a restaurant together seemed inevitable.
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