House of Big Fish and Ice Cold Beer has managed to achieve the seemingly impossible: affordable seafood in Laguna Beach. And it does it with that tongue-planted-firmly-in-cheek name that's as fun to say as it probably took them to make up.
The chef and part owner behind the almost-anti-competitive seafood meals is our featured chef for this week, Chef Craig Connole.
Enjoy this, the first part of our Q&A with him. Stay tuned for part two tomorrow, then a recipe on the third day, where the man shares a recipe.
What are six words to describe your food?
Comfort, healthy, tasty, simple, value, quality.
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What are ten words to describe you?
Happy, casual, fun, loud, family, sports, music, food, work, friends.
Your best recent food find:
Lobster rolls.
Most undervalued ingredient:
Montreal steak seasoning.
Rules of conduct in your kitchens:
Follow the recipe, taste the food.
One food you detest:
Pea soup.
One food you can't live without:
Salad
What fast food is your least favorite?
Doughnuts.
Best culinary tip for the home cook.
Don't forget to season.
After-work hangout:
My house.
If you could cook for one person, dead or alive, who would it be and why?
Jimmy Page.
Favorite celebrity chef.
Paula Dean.
Celebrity chef who should shut up:
Rachel Ray.
What's next for you?
Hot dog cart.
Proudest moment as a chef/restaurant owner:
Having dinner with George Lynch and his wife at my restaurant, K'ya.
Favorite music to cook by:
Rock and roll.
Best food city in America:
San Francisco.
Favorite restaurant in America:
AOC in L.A.
House of Big Fish & Ice Cold Beer, 540 S. Coast Hwy., Ste. 200, Laguna Beach, (949) 715-4500; houseofbigfish.com. Open daily, 4:30-10:30 p.m. Entrées, $5-$24. Full bar.
Before becoming an award-winning restaurant critic for OC Weekly in 2007, Edwin Goei went by the alias “elmomonster” on his blog Monster Munching, in which he once wrote a whole review in haiku.