Greer's OC

When it comes to Taco Tuesday, just try outdoing Raya’s Taco Tuesday at the Ritz-Carlton, Laguna Niguel. Each Tuesday, the restaurant’s acclaimed Chef Richard Sandoval and Chef Marissa Gerlach collaborate on a taco menu unlike anything you’ve tasted before. 

The taco menu changes weekly, tacos cost $4 each, and you can order as many as you want. The tacos can include lobster with black bean purée, chile de arbol salsa, avocado, and cilantro on a flour  tortilla; Korean fried chicken with dragon sauce, kimchee and a lettuce cup; and smoked swordfish. 

Raya was named “Restaurant of the Year” by Riviera Orange County, and it’s well deserved. The delicious Pan-Latin coastal cuisine is sourced from small local sustainable seafood farms, organic produce growers, and natural and organic meats.

Since being named Raya’s executive chef earlier this fall, Chef Gerlach, a Dana Point local and Orange Coast College culinary grad, has been passionate about including Chef Sandoval’s use of unique ingredients such as togarashi, an Asian seven spice; huitlacoche, a sweet fungus found on corn, and pilonillo, a smoky unrefined Mexican cane sugar with seasonal items to create new dishes.

We highly recommend the chimichurri jidori chicken breast with cinderella pumpkin, caramelized apple, wild rice, cavalo negro kale, pipian sauce and lime-pomegranate-pine nut salsa; or the succulent 24 Hour braised wagyu shortribs with oaxaca cheese mashed, gochujang leeks, huitlacoche and dragon sauce; and the vintage natural New York sirloin with dungeness crab potato purée, grilled pickled onions, chipotle hollandaise and truffle chimichurri.

Raya serves breakfast daily from 7 to 11:30 a.m.; lunch served daily from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.; dinner served daily from 6 to 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday; 6 to 9:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday; and Sunday Brunch served from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Raya is at Ritz-Carlton at One Ritz-Carlton Drive in Dana Point. 949.240.2000.

Hell & Back Again

Attend UC Irvine Extension’s sneak preview screening of “Hell and Back Again” tonight from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. at Edwards University Center in Irvine. The film is the recipient of the World Cinema Jury Prize Documentary and the World Cinema Cinematography Award at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, and Best Documentary Film at the Moscow International Film Festival and the Camden International Film Festival.

The film reveals the devastating impact a Taliban machine-gun bullet has on the life of a 25-year-old sergeant. ABC News Producer Scott Shulman and journalist Doug Vogt will be at the screening and giving a short presentation and a Q&A about the film and photojournalism overseas during wartime.

The film is part of UC Irvine Extension Sneak Previews with Michael Berlin that offers an unforgettable movie experience that continues each Monday evening through Dec. 12. After each screening, a guest from the movie industry gives their special insight to the workings of Hollywood and filmmaking. For more information about the series click here.

Individual tickets cost $30.

Edwards University Center is at 4245 Campus Drive in Irvine.