Greer's OC

Dining

Posh and Delicious Indian Cuisine

08.20.14

The award-winning Tamarind of London at Crystal Cove Promenade isn’t just the most visually stunning contemporary Indian restaurant in OC, it’s also the sister restaurant to the Michelin ranked flagship location in London.

And thanks to their wildly talented Executive Chef Imran Ali, a leader in the Modern Indian Cuisine movement who visits India every year to meditate and charge his culinary creativity, the menu offerings are delectable, some are vegetarian, vegan, gluten and dairy free. Even Los Angeles Times’ restaurant critic, Jonathan Gold named it the “Best Indian Food” of 2013 in Southern California.

Chef Imran’s journeys inspire his elevated, diverse menu creations and sophisticated offerings for every occasion, mood, appetite and palate. He even takes special orders for locals who are craving hard to find dishes.

Tamarind of London’s dishes are visually artistic and colorful, with complex spices and flavors such as the aloo tikki and masala aloo, a grilled potato cake with cumin and ginger; spiced masala-potato croquette with smoked tomato chutney; sweet potato crisps; and lassen jhinga, tandoori grilled prawns with kalonji, garlic, marinade, tulsi salad; and baingan ka salan, a baby eggplant curry with Indian baby eggplant, moilee curry sauce and Indian risotto; tandoori chicken served with a cranberry chutney and cucumber salad; and chicken tikka masala, a chicken breast tikka in makhni sauce with sauteed onions and dried fenugreek leaves.

Other favorites that you must try include the dumpukht biryani, its signature rice biryani, sealed with a pastry lid, with a choice of vegetables, shrimp, chicken or lamb; the goat cheese naan; Safrani Machhi, a Charbroiled Chilean Sea Bass marinated in safron, ginger and green chillies; apricot curry sauce; Indian risotto; and the grilled quinoa with punjabi pyaz; and lastly the mulaim rattan curry, lemon chili scallops simmered in a lemongrass scented coconut curry served with garlic naan

Tamarind of London offers an upscale Indian dining experience, signature cocktails, a generous Happy Hour and it’s open for lunch and dinner daily.

Open for lunch 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday; and for dinner from 5 to 10 p.m. Monday through Saturday; open for lunch 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Sunday; and open for dinner 5 to 9 p.m.

Tamarind of London is at Crystal Cove Shopping Center, 7862 East Coast Hwy. in Newport Beach. 949.715.8338.

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Dining

Elevated Mexican Cuisine in OC

08.20.14

Taco Maria, the one time famed taco food truck that easily served the best tacos in Orange County and beyond (we’ll never forget the roasted pumpkin tacos), has been on a metamorphosis ever since it opened its first brick and mortar restaurant at SoCo in Costa Mesa last August.

With a Chef/Owner like Carlos Salgado, whose culinary career included working at Coi in San Francisco, and opening Michelin starred restaurant Commis in Oakland, he was destined to expand his culinary genius beyond tacos. It’s been a year of Chef Selgado preparing his self-proclaimed “Chicano cuisine” influenced by Mexican and American cultures and always brilliant.

We’re talking dishes such as shrimp tacos in a squid ink tortilla; a sopa de chicharrón with asparagus, spring garlic, pork skin, meyer lemon and cream, and the likes of guinea hen, stuffing and mole.

The latest update at Taco Maria is that they’ve extended hours and are offering more than the four-course chef’s menu, there’s an a la carte dinner menu on Tuesday and Wednesday from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. and a brunch service on Sundays from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.

The a la carte dinner menu includes tacos and small plates, and the original four-course prix fixe menu will continue to be offered Thursday – Saturday.

On the new a la carte dinner menu, you can can expect dishes like Torreados: charred padron peppers, almond, chile, lemon, and pork powder; Gazpacho with spot prawn, early girl tomato, Persian cucumber, and Baja olive oil; Aguachile: Pacific albacore, watermelon, avocado, serrano, and citrus; and more. The taco selection, all served on housemade tortillas, will include Jardineros with shiitake mushroom chorizo, crispy potato, and queso fundido; Mole de Pollo: Jidori chicken, ancho-almond mole, queso fresco, and onion pickle; and Carnitas with Berkshire pork belly, onion pickle, and salda de aguacate; and more.

The new brunch menu offerings includes Mollettes with grilled sourdough, black beans, queso fresco, roasted tomato, huitlacoche butter; or Melones Con Chile with summer melons, yogurt, honey, chile, lime, salt; and Chacales with Anson Mills heirloom grits, roasted figs, vanilla butter; or Ricotta Pancakes with Andy’s Orchard peaches, ricotta, lemon thyme maple.

There are also Chilaquiles with crispy tortilla, chile cascabel, queso fresco, fried egg (with chicken confit or mushroom chorizo) or Huevos Rancheros and hanger steak, early girl tomato, cattle beans, poached egg. Three courses cost $32.

Side dishes include grilled bacon with piloncillo; or crispy potatoes, roasted onions, chile, queso.

Open 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Tuesday; open 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. Wednesday to Saturday. Open 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday.

3313 Hyland Ave. in Costa Mesa. 714.538.8444.

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