Bakersfield.com Dining

THE DISH: Texas barbecue joint rolls into Bakersfield

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 14:46:15 PDT

There's nothing slow and low about the competition for Bakersfield's best barbecue, which is about to get hot. Make that smokin' hot. Dallas-based Dickey's Barbecue is breaking out the brisket, fried okra and sweet tea Thursday for the grand opening of the first Bakersfield franchise, owned by local businessman Rich Aronson.

"I've lived here all my life," said Aronson, 35, whose background is in marketing. "So many people here really love barbecue, but the selection, while it's a very good selection, it's a bit limited. All of these different factors rolled up into a go-ahead for us."

PETE TITTL: Fine restaurant not so fine this time

Sun, 16 Jun 2013 15:16:52 PDT

If there's one high-end restaurant we thought we could count on for consistency, it was The Bistro, which for years has turned out exquisite meals from its inventive kitchen on California Avenue.

For that reason, I thought it would be the perfect place to take the most interesting couple in Bakersfield (and, no, their pictures are not plastered on billboards hawking beer).

The Dish: Restaurants have specials for Dad

Sun, 16 Jun 2013 15:14:36 PDT

Today being Father's Day, many restaurants will be running specials to help you honor dear old dad.

BJ's Restaurant & Brewhouse not only will be giving a limited-edition Father's Day pint glass to every dad all weekend, but you can enter to win a trip for four to the 2013 PGA championship tournament. The Outback Steakhouse opens at 11 a.m. for Father's Day, and has a weekend-long promotion in which dads can win free Outback food for a year (two $25 vouchers a month). Dads could also win $25 vouchers and coupons worth $5 off for their next visit. Denny's is offering a $6 Classic Burger and free root beer floats via a Facebook e-card promotion. A&W restaurants are offering 90-cent Papa Burgers. The Hooters chain is giving a $5 gift card to everyone who buys a $25 gift card for dad and also will run its Wednesday Buy 10 Wings, Get 10 Free special all day on Father's Day. It offered the same special on Mother's Day, according to Nation's Restaurant News, and saw a significant bump in its business.

Chili and classic cars: You're welcome, dad

Wed, 12 Jun 2013 17:00:51 PDT

Although there are plenty of activities vying for your attention this Father's Day weekend, Tehachapi makes its case with red-hot chili, cool weather and even cooler cars at the sixth annual Tehachapi Chili Cookoff & Car Show.

If last year is any indication, the event should draw a good crowd.

Chefs to make magic out of nuts

Thu, 13 Jun 2013 09:54:25 PDT

If the weather forecast can be believed, providence is already smiling on the first-ever Kern County Nut Festival this Saturday at the Kern County Museum. Temperatures are expected to be in the high 80s and low 90s, good news for the team of respected chefs who will demonstrate what can be done with almonds, pistachios and walnuts beyond popping them raw into your mouth.

The cooking demonstrations will take place at a pair of different areas, called the "Almond Shell" and "Pistachio Shell."

In a nutshell: Your guide to festival food

Sat, 08 Jun 2013 12:00:00 PDT

There will be so many things to do at the Kern County Nut Festival (games! shopping! family fun!) that it might be easy to forget the main theme of the day: food.

And that's where The Californian's handy-dandy guide to the edible -- and drinkable -- nutty delights being offered by dozens of local restaurants and nonprofits comes in handy. So sit back, plan your culinary quest and remember: Don't you dare ask them to hold the nuts.

PETE TITTL: Bill Lee's still our mein squeeze after 75 years

Sat, 08 Jun 2013 12:00:00 PDT

I recently ran across a fantastic book, "Steal the Menu: A Memoir of Forty Years in Food" by Raymond Sokolov, who became restaurant critic for the New York Times in 1973. The title was drawn from the advice his predecessor gave him on how to do the job.

What struck me most about this fascinating exploration of the revolutionary changes in restaurants over the years are his theories on how and why we're living in a golden age of restaurants in the United States. Don't forget it wasn't that long ago that sushi was a rarity, many thought Italian cuisine came from a Chef Boyardee can, and Chinese food was mostly chop suey. He traced the trend of new and different food choices to many reasons, but points in particular to an immigration bill passed in the 1960s that allowed a lot more Asians into the United States; with that influx came entrepreneurs bent on providing Americans with the true art of one of the world's greatest cuisines.

THE DISH: Summer dining offers some cool options

Fri, 31 May 2013 14:00:38 PDT

The heat is coming soon and as all Kern County residents must do, we find clever ways to cope. This can be a challenge when you're packing cool beverages and want to keep them refreshing, but we found some amazing products that are very beer and wine friendly from a company called Bella Vita.

You know you can trust them since they're based in Phoenix, a city also known for its warm summers. The best products are Chill It bottle wraps, plastic creations with freezable cells that wrap around a wine bottle and keep it chilled. They have an assortment of sizes and colors, even Chill Its for six packs of beer. Prices vary from $3.49 to $7.49 each, depending on how many you buy. You can check it all out at www.bellavitabags.com.

PETE TITTL: Best new restaurant since the Padre

Thu, 30 May 2013 14:39:07 PDT

Like a tone-deaf man who can't appreciate anything about Mozart, I confess to being mystified by the persistent lines outside our local Applebee's and Chili's restaurants. Sure, I could see stopping in if I was in a strange town and didn't know which locally owned eateries were worth patronizing, but a lot of the folks in line look like neighbors.

I bring this up only because during my first visit to the impressive new southwest restaurant Wiki's Wine Dive & Grill, it seemed to me that a lot of the upscale menu options are only slightly more expensive than what they serve at the nearby chains. Yet the quality at Wiki's is a huge leap forward. (I'm sure even mentioning Wiki's in the same breath as Chili's would come as an insult to Mike Earhart, Ricardo Cubias and Rick Peace, the new restaurant's owners. Can't blame them.) Executive chef Thomas Laczynski and sous chef Chris Kuwahar aren't dousing food with MSG and whipping up the same old things. They've got a menu that will tantalize discriminating appetites. The kind of appetites that appreciate a restaurant like Cafe Med, or a good craft beer.

Just stew it: Menudo looking for new fans

Wed, 29 May 2013 15:37:51 PDT

If chicken soup is known as "Jewish penicillin," then surely Menudo earns its billing as "Mexican medicine." But whatever you call it or use it for, there will be pots and pots of the spicy soup to sample at the 15th annual Latin Food Festival and Menudo Cookoff this weekend.

"Menudo is a significant part of our culture; it is a tradition in many families," wrote Jay Tamsi, CEO of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, which is hosting the event.

PETE TITTL: Like a fine wine, eatery has matured

Tue, 28 May 2013 12:47:43 PDT

New restaurants change as the years go by, ideally for the better. Steak & Grape is one of those restaurants.

I wasn't that impressed during my first visit after it opened two years ago, but I felt it had potential. It's improved in a lot of ways since then, with an impressive Sunday brunch, First Friday wine and beer tastings ($20, including appetizers), better service and now a new menu that has some tempting and satisfying choices, such as sea scallops chardonnay (available as an appetizer or dinner), four different types of soft-shell tacos, a fish sandwich made with tilapia and a Bolognese pasta ($13.95) made with sauteed beef and mushrooms.

Not all the beers -- just the best ones -- at festival

Wed, 22 May 2013 17:46:11 PDT

Although Budweiser bills itself as the "King of Beers," it's no match for a god. Coming down from the heavens (of Lengthwise Brewery), Zeus Imperial IPA will make its debut Saturday as part of the first-ever Bakersfield Craft Beer Festival. And by now, it may take divine intervention to land a ticket.

The VIP tables are gone and only a few dozen tickets remained as of Tuesday for the unique event, the brainchild of three local businesses known for their support of craft brewing: Imbibe Wine & Spirits Merchant, Eureka! Gourmet Burgers & Craft Beer and Moo Creamery.

Omelet cooked in a bag: Not as weird as it sounds

Wed, 22 May 2013 17:30:53 PDT

If the phrase "hobo breakfast" has you thinking of a Chaplin-esque tramp boiling a shoe or drinking a hearty libation, well, you're not completely off. The Italian Heritage Dante Association's Sunday fundraiser will involve boiling food and a cocktail, but it's much tastier than it sounds.

This hobo breakfast will offer a bloody Mary or mimosa as well as a full meal whose main element features a cooking method that's a campout favorite: boiling the eggs.

PETE TITTL: Getting to Coseree's Restaurant hard; staying there easy

Fri, 17 May 2013 12:23:46 PDT

Some new restaurants open with all sorts of hype: spotlights scanning the skies outside, long lines, full parking lots, media attention.

Coseree's Restaurant & Catering is not one of those places.

The Dish: Famous Dave's beefs up its menu; BJ's goes low-cal

Fri, 17 May 2013 12:28:37 PDT

Famous Dave's has a new menu and recently had a P.I.G. (Pretty Important Guest) Club tasting on a Tuesday evening to offer samples to their email group fans. Being a pig myself, I had to go. The new items include the return of the brisket burger, which we wrote about in the past when it was a temporary menu item. There are now five different brisket burgers with the ground beef blended with pieces of the restaurant's Texas beef brisket. Devil's Spit ($12.99) returns, made with pepper jack cheese and jalapeno bacon, but we sampled two other new versions: smoked cheddar ($11.99) and Jacked-N-Stacked ($12.99).

I've always been a sucker for smoked cheddar, with its oily, concentrated flavor and density, and this adds a lot to the smoky patty, but the Jacked-N-Stacked with crispy onion rings and jack cheese is a more satisfying choice. (A cheeseburger made with a regular patty also is available, as are two other new brisket burgers that weren't sampled.)