Author: Madrid Leila

Western Ranch Salad

Our Western Ranch Salad is the latest I have created and added to our lunch menu at both Taverns. Like all potential new menu items, I run them as a special first to see how they sell and solicit guest comments on it. The popularity of this salad took off right away so it was quickly added to our menus. It’s kind of a Western version of the classic Cobb Salad. It’s made with chopped romaine, grilled chicken, pecan wood smoked bacon, roasted corn and heirloom tomatoes, all tossed with our garlic-honey ranch dressing and them striped with Chipotle-Bourbon BBQ sauce and then sprinkled with crushed corn chips. Again, it has been on our menus for only a short while but it is quickly moving up the ladder for best-selling entrée salads. Give it a try next time you’re in!

February Specials

Hey Bloggers, I’m pleased to announce our new Tavern at the Mission February Specials. Back by popular demand are our skillet roasted Angus Meatballs in a spicy, sweet & smokey sauce, Crispy Roast Duck with Brandied Michigan Cherry Sauce, and two new sexy cocktails! Executive Chef Alberto and I invite you to join us this month for these savory treats!

Seasonal Signature Drinks

We love us some tasty cocktails and our bartenders, especially Chelse in San Juan, have developed a list of great seasonal signature drinks. I’ve selected a few to feature today. If you haven’t had the pleasure of tasting any of these house specialties, we recommend you do so on your next visit to either of our Taverns. They all are distinctively different in style to try one that suits your drink preferences. Your Tavern Mixologist Team

Steak Diane… a Classic from the Past Revisited

Steak Diane is a classic dish that was on almost every ‘Continental Cuisine’ menu. The after has been replaced now by ‘Fine Dining’. Most of the standard dishes from the 50’s and 60’s no longer show up on today’s menus but Steak Diane is one that has past the test of time. Back then when many dishes were prepared table side like Caesar Salad and Steak Tartare by the server or his Captain. Steak Diane was one of the showier table side dishes. The filet medallions grilled in the kitchen and brought to the dining room along with the pre-made Diane sauce. Shallots and garlic and then flambeed with Brandy with flames often rising 3-4 feet high. This pyrotechnic version is no longer allowed due to Fire Codes so we prepare it all in the kitchen. Rather than thin medallions which can easily be over cooked, we serve a whole filet. We first sauté a variety of mushrooms along with minced shallots and garlic and then flame it with Brandy then the uniquely flavored sauce is added and warmed briefly. It is then napped over the filet. The beef stock made sauce includes, Dijon mustard, tomato paste, and Worcestershire sauce giving it a bold flavor which I believe is the reason for its continued popularity. It is one of my personal favorite ways of preparing filet mignon, which have little flavor due to the fact that they have very little marbling, which is why most Chefs serve it with a sauce of some kind. We have served it as a special recently and will be bringing it back in March due by popular demand. I hope you get chance to enjoy it soon! Keep on eating!

Cowboy Night at Tavern at the Mission

The San Juan Capistrano Valley has a rich history of horses and cowboys and I am happy to celebrate it whenever I can. In fact, I had the Tumbleweed Bar designed as an homage to this culture. The design features four actual tumbleweed chandeliers, a wall of sepia toned photos from local horse events that took place, and a cowboy hat wall. Last year I wanted to have some fun and encourage guests to come in wearing the cowboy hats and, in return, they can drink for half price all night long starting at 4:00 PM. We also have a Country Western playlist programmed to play all night long. So put on your favorite cowboy shirt, boots and, of course, your cowboy hat and join us every Thursday Night. Remember we also have Happy Hour from 4:00-5:30 as well. See you then partners! David

Famous Chicken Dish…a Gift from Florence

On my first trip to Italy, I had flown to Rome for several days of site seeing there, then taken the train up to Florence so soak up all that we could in their cultural capital, and then rented an Alfa Romeo and cruised down to our rented villa in the heart of Tuscany. Using the villa as our base of operations, I visited a different magical hill city every day during our stay. Rounding out our trip, we then drove to Assisi where we stayed at the beautiful, rustic hotel ‘Nun Assisi’ which is a converted Nunnery. Beneath the hotel they have the most amazing spa I have ever been to. It is carved out from what once was an ancient Roman limestone amphitheater discovered during the renovation. The entire place is filled with steam and soft, dim and dramatic lighting. One of the real reasons we came to Assisi was for their amazing annual spring ‘Calendimaggio’ which is the biggest medieval festival in Assisi. The inhabitants of Assisi spend a year preparing for this festival. Residents from the upper ‘sopra’ and lower ‘sotto’ side of the city are dressed in authentic medieval costumes and of all ages and put on elaborate plays and skits. The two sides are judged, and one is awarded the winner each year and the competition is fun but fierce. The costuming and props are incredibly elaborate and bleacher seating is erected in the town square where all the events play out. People from all over Italy come to view this amazing spectacle. In any case, when planning the trip I was told by a friend who had many summers in Italy that, when staying in Florence, I had to go to a restaurant called ‘Trattoria Sostanza’ and order what he said was the best chicken dish he had ever had, said it was talked about among world travelers, and said if I didn’t agree he would pay for our dinner. Well, I did go to Sostanza, which just also happens to be one of the oldest restaurants in the city, and I’ll be damned if he wasn’t right. We had the chicken and the other signature dish which was a loosely bound omelet filled with fresh artichoke bottoms, both of which were absolutely amazing. I mean, I’ve been cooking professionally for 45 years, and these two dishes were absolutely off the charts delicious. Trattoria Sostanza is a totally unassuming little restaurant with community style seating and a small kitchen with a tiny woodburning grill known internationally for 3 dishes…Steak Florentine, Artichoke Pie, and Pollo al Burro or ‘Butter Chicken’ as it’s become known as by Americans who have enjoyed it. The amazing thing is that it is made using only four ingredients… butter, flour, lemon and chicken breasts. But it is the quality of the small chicken breasts and the high fat butter content of European butter that make this simple dish so damned good. They prepare and serve the dish in a small cast iron skillet and that’s the way I serve it at home. The hot skillet keeps the chicken warm and bathed in its simple, rustic, yet divine sauce! During our dinner I kept seeing one of their other signature dishes float through the dining room…their Tortino di Carciofi, referred to locally as ‘artichoke pie, which is really an omelet but was like no omelet I had ever seen. It was round in shape with the scalloped edges folded up around the center of artichokes and slightly under cooked eggs like a collar. I was so curious about this dish and the reaction that diners around us had to it that we ordered it as our dessert and, damned if it wasn’t almost as good as the Pollo al Burro! After a few attempts, I was able to duplicate the butter chicken and so I am happy to share this with you all now. If you don’t have small iron skillets I would suggest using a large cast iron skillet and then serve the chicken in a small, low casserole style dish for each person with the butter-lemon sauce poured on top of each.

Rolling out Wilhelm’s Unique Biscuits in January for Sunday Brunch

David came up with a unique twist on Buttermilk Biscuits some time ago where, as opposed to the traditional method of barely mixing the dough, his version is made more like puff pastry where the dough is rolled and folded over each other a dozen times which creates rich layers of flour, butter and buttermilk. His biscuits will be offered with butter and honey, sausage gravy or his signature dish ‘The Bubba’ where it is filled with his famous Fried Chicken, roasted green chile, aged Cheddar cheese, Pecan wood Smoked Bacon, sunnyside egg and napped with sausage gravy…..indulgent, decadent and the ultimate Brunch dish!

New Year’s Musings & News

At the dawn of each New Year, it naturally occurs to me to do two things. The first is to take stock of the year that has just passed. What did I accomplish, what did I not get around to, what friends or loves did I make or lose, what regrets do I have, did I check off anything on my bucket list, what am I most grateful for, and most importantly, what did I learn from everything that transpired in my life this past year? Once I have been able to put all these thoughts into a nice little bundle, (yeah right) I move on to the next thing. What are my plans and goals for the New Year? What new or different approach will I take in my activities and relationships? Are there any new items to add to my bucket list? What things in my life will I make more time for? Inevitably it’s difficult to separate your personal life from your business, however, one area where I feel strongly that your personal life should mirror your business life is in the concept of ‘hospitality’. We like to tell our staffs at both Tavern Houses we’re not in the restaurant business…we’re in the hospitality business. My mantra has always been that if we always treat our restaurant Guests as though they were Guests in our own home, it’s easy for us to strive to go that extra mile to ensure their happiness and satisfaction. It’s the same thing in any business…treat your employees, customers and vendors the same way you would if you were entertaining them in your own home. Now that doesn’t mean it’s always easy to do. Most likely your home Guest wouldn’t try and rip you a new one if you over cooked his steak, but I think you get the idea here. So, as we launch into 2026 you are likely reading this because you are a Tavern House diner, and hopefully a fan, you may be wondering what new things you can look forward to this year? Secondly, many of our Tavern House diners are incredible regulars, and while most of us are creatures of habit when it comes to what we like to eat, we want to make sure that we are always offering something new and different. So, our next news item for 2026 is that we will be rolling out a new monthly specials program that will allow us to feature craveable new appetizers, burgers, salads, and comfort food dishes that we hope will become new favs of yours. Cheers and Best Wishes for a very Happy 2026!

Food as a Celebration of Life, Family & Friends

Maybe it’s because of the onset of the holiday season that I have recently started to think about the importance and impact that food has in bringing people together. I spent many years during the holiday season in both the Midwest and the East Coast in my early years and the one clear takeaway was how the cold weather brought people together. When it’s zero degrees and snowing outside you’re obviously not hanging out at the beach or the park….you’re more likely spending time at home or in a restaurant…with others who are doing the same thing. This kind of ‘forced’ togetherness inevitably ends up with food playing a role in the experience and I love that it does because cooking and enjoying great food has always been my passion. I recently read an article written about what drives chefs in the pursuit of their trade that stated “people who think about food when they’re not hungry aren’t normal, aren’t balanced.” Clearly, I guess that would make me and many of my Tavern colleagues whack jobs. Fortunately, we couldn’t disagree more with that opinion! If you look at the cultural history of many European countries you quickly discover how much was driven by, and celebrated around, the gathering of family and friends over food not only in the home but also local restaurants, cafes, trattorias, pubs and taverns. It wasn’t that way for many of us born and raised in the country that created fast food. Unlike many other countries, our early versions of fast food resembled nothing like the honestly prepared, healthy dishes served from the street stalls and carts in other parts of the world. But we’ve made great strides over the past several decades not only in our approach to fast food but also how we view food in general and its importance to our melting pot cultures. It has given rise to the entire ‘artisanal’ movement being made more popular every year by the many young growers, farmers, ranchers, bakers and chefs who have become proud practitioners of their crafts. This has become possible because, as Americans, we all have become aware of the importance of high quality, naturally raised foods and have created a growing need allowing these craft-people to become successful in their businesses. This movement is also what was inspirational in the creation of our Tavern brand. It represents a ‘coming of age’ and a critical mass awareness that this country has finally started to deliver on the incredible culinary potential it has had based upon its diverse regional cuisines and the incredibly rich abundance of raw products available to us from both land and sea. OK I’m stepping down off my soapbox now. My intent here was to encourage you all to take this time during the blessed holiday season to enjoy your friends and family and to celebrate the abundant and unique cornucopia of foods that we have available to us in this great land. For all America’s shortcomings and challenges, we have much to be thankful for. Thanks for listening… David

Christmas Meatballs

The history of Christmas meatballs is tied to the Swedish dish Köttbullar, which some sources trace back to King Charles XII bringing the recipe from the Ottoman Empire in the 18th century. While meatballs have ancient roots, the specific tradition of serving them on the Swedish Christmas julbord is a relatively modern development, gaining prominence around the 1970s. They are great and festive for Christmas parties and hold well for a period of time in a chafing dish. They also can be made ahead of time and frozen….I can tell you I always have them in my freezer! My version is made with both ground beef and pecan wood smoked bacon, spices, Parmesan cheese and a dab or two of my famous and smokey Chipotle Ketchup. They are then cast-iron skillet roasted with a sweet, tangy and spicy sauce made with cranberries, chipotle chiles, red wine vinegar and beef broth. They are addictive and always one of the first dishes to disappear on my buffet table!