FOOD TRENDS New restaurants that identify with a single type of alcohol

FOOD TRENDS

KINDRED SPIRITS

New restaurants that identify with a single type of alcohol by Benjamin Epstein

RUM SOCIAL and its upstairs Treehouse Bar are themed to author-iconoclast Ernest Hemingway, right down to the window display of highend luggage and clothing for sale. Jered Adams (formerly of Eno Steakhouse) created the tropically inspired menu and cocktails. Start with the R.S. Cocktail—proprietary reserve rum, orgeat, banana, orange bitters, and coconut— or a flight of flavored rums from San Diego’s Malahat Spirits. Several dishes use rum, notably plantanos with ginger-rum glaze and an Alaskan salmon entree with farro, macadamia, plantains, and dark rum butter sauce.

448 S. COAST HIGHWAY, LAGUNA BEACH, 949-549-4014 Formerly Social HB, SOCIAL COCINA Y TEQUILA suggests a sun-kissed sojourn with macramé, rattan, and Tuluminspired playlists. Dishes reflect the ones that chef Jackie Salazar learned from her grandmother in Mexico: The Fruit Stand (a fruit salad of sorts); duck chalupas; cochinita pibil; and grilled U10 shrimp with chorizo and sweet corn puree. Grayson Diercksmeier’s cocktails include See … Oaxaca Was—with fennel-infused tequila, kiwi, lime cordial, and muddled shiso—and Lil Beach with coconut-infused mezcal and cardamom bitters, presented in a sandbox with a tiny beach chair and seashells. 21214

BEACH BLVD., HUNTINGTON BEACH, 714-374-7715 “Whiskey me away!” says a neon sign at BOSSCAT KITCHEN & LIBATIONS. Whiskey is Bosscat’s heart and soul; partner-designer Leslie Nguyen describes the Whiskey Room, with its bottles in bird cages, as her heart and soul. Two hundred bottlings represent eight states and six countries— check out that Taiwanese Scotch! A whiskey flight or Kentucky Orange Blossom cocktail segues seamlessly to the Pig Candy starter with rye-whiskey caramel, sesame, and kimchi, or the Carolina barbecue salmon with seasonal succotash. The Newport Beach location is moving

to Irvine. 118 W. CHAPMAN AVE., ORANGE, 714-716-1599

ISLA CUBAN-LATIN KITCHEN AND RUM BAR

offers a convivial slice of old Havana with many chandeliers and dark-wood ceilings. The “Latin” in the name translates to dishes of the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, and Mexico. Complimentary plantains and an intense garlic cream sauce begin the meal; half a dozen versions of the green-plantain dish mofongo include one starring oxtail; the crispy yucca side satisfies, too. Rum highlights include the Don Pancho eight-year mojito, a cigar-smoked rumand-bourbon Dominican Old-Fashioned, and an aromatic flight of aged

Brugals. 30 CENTERPOINTE DRIVE, LA PALMA, 714-735-8597

Premieres July 5 10pm

Premieres July 6 8pm