This week, it seems I’m on the subject of great Laguna Beach chefs finding new restaurant space to the south of us.
Last week, Chef Rainer Schwarz opened his latest addition, Hendrix, in Ocean Ranch next to the Cineapolis theater.
This week, Chef Ryan Adams of 370 Common + Kitchen announced his new restaurant expansion to Dana Point in “The Row,” which sits on Pacific Coast Highway with neighboring small restaurants Chronic Tacos and Stacks Pancake House.
With the two near each other, I’m hoping that we’ll be seeing more of Chef Ryan now that he’s not required to be as physically present in the Santa Ana restaurant he turned into foodie favorite, North Left.
Apparently, It’s a Pizza Renaissance Out There
Great Laguna chefs’ mind also think alike as Chef Ryan is opening a craft pizzeria, a single-concept restaurant similar to what Laguna Restaurateur Cary Redfearn will be opening in July at his downtown Laguna restaurant, Slice.
Chef Ryan, however, will be focusing on New Haven-style pizza. The place will be called Parallel Pizza, representing the idea of parallel coasts – East Coast flavor and West Coast lifestyle. As far as I’m concerned, though, the greater parallel for this foodie pizza establishment lies in the combination of the marvelous chef minds of both Ryan Adams and fellow-chef buddy and Parallel Pizza partner James Nunn.
Chef Ryan Adams: Enviable Resumé That’s Just Getting Started
Most of us are familiar with Chef Ryan’s stellar cuisine resumé here in Laguna Beach, and he’s a successful acting consultant to other chefs in the area.
Two years ago, Ryan told me that he was looking for a smaller space for a new concept and, at the time, was considering a space by 7 degrees in Laguna Canyon. But, with Dana Point’s changing economy and incentives for chefs, he found an even sweeter deal just blocks from the Dana Point Harbor.
It’s no surprise that he and Chef James Nunn gravitated toward each other – they’re both phenomenal, rising stars with a shared love of inventive food, wry humor, energetic music and tattoos.
Chef James Nunn: Always in the Spotlight No Matter What the Stage
Chef James spent his, ehrm, “formative years” on tour as a successful punk rock musician before trading his boots and studded bracelets for slip-resistant chefs’ shoes and a chef’s coat with that little pocket for tasting spoons.
Nunn blazed an immediate trail, beginning in L.A. and Hollywood and eventually moving south to first work for David Wilhelm at French 75. Eventually, he opened Wilhelm’s Jimmy’s Famous American Tavern in Dana Point, and hasn’t found a way to truly leave South County since.