A passion for comic books inspired Santiago Canyon College professor’s unique art

• December 20, 2023

Santiago Canyon College graphic design professor Fernando Del Rosario is a creative at heart.

Whether he is developing marketing solutions for his clients through his agency, Concept Zombie, producing original artwork for local gallery showings or inspiring the next generation of graphic design students, Del Rosario is always creating.

Earlier this fall, Del Rosario shared some of his personal artwork with the SCC community when a portion of his Real Heroes collection was on display at the SCC Art Gallery in September.

The genesis of the Real Heroes collection is rooted in Del Rosario’s childhood love for comic books. Born in the Philippines, he and his family moved to Detroit when he was 11 years old in search of a better life.

During those first years in the U.S., Del Rosario began reading and collecting comic books. To him, they were a portal into the fantastic world of superheroes, with inspiring stories of how the characters helped those around them who were less fortunate.

“When we came to America, a lot of people helped us out, from helping us find an apartment or a house to rent, to clothes that I wore in middle school and high school,” Del Rosario said. “So when I read these books, the stories really resonated with me.”

Born with the creative gene, Del Rosario graduated from Detroit’s College for Creative Studies with a graphic design degree. He later moved to Southern California to pursue marketing and advertising work with the agency that handled Taco Bell. But he never had the heart to part with the comic books he spent hours reading as a child.

So, as creatives do, Del Rosario came up with a unique solution for his beloved collection – he reimagined the comic books into large-scale pieces of art, a way to share the love and joy these stories and characters gave him as a young boy with a new audience through a different medium.

These mixed-media pieces were created by taking pages from the vintage comic books and assembling giant patterned collages, some as large as four feet by seven feet. To incorporate messages within his art, Del Rosario added quotes from those he considers to be real-life superheroes, words from the likes of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Maya Angelou and Malala, to name a few.

Over the past 10 years, Del Rosario has completed more than 200 pieces in his collection, a labor of love that has allowed him to experience a new level of creative freedom.

“As a creative director in design and marketing, every piece of work that I create, whether it be a logo or an ad or a billboard, I’m servicing a client, a brand, a company or an organization,” Del Rosario said. “This art that I create is really for me. That level of freedom of creating something, regardless of whether people will accept it or not, is quite freeing as an artist.”

As it turns out, Del Rosario’s Real Heroes work has been well-received, as the 20-plus pieces he had on display this fall at the SCC Art Gallery marked the 59th gallery showing for his collection.

Although Del Rosario has been teaching at various colleges and universities for the last 21 years, this is his first semester at SCC, and it was always his desire to have the chance to share his work with the campus community, an opportunity that has allowed him a new way to engage with his students.

“To be able to share that in a college-level venue is equally as freeing and amazing because I’m able to share that story with the next generation of creatives, the next generation of artists,” Del Rosario said. “And to be able to say to them, ‘I totally understand the value of creating something for a career,’ but in addition to that, they should equally and unapologetically pursue creating something for themselves.”

Even today, Del Rosario is still creating and adding to his Real Heroes collection. Previous gallery showings in Orange County have included Las Laguna Art Gallery, Chuck Jones Center for Creativity and John Wayne Airport. Current showings include the Mission Viejo Library and the Kaleidoscope Center in Mission Viejo.

With a focus on introducing students to the “wonderful, amazing and creative world of graphic design,” Del Rosario takes seriously his role at SCC and hopes that being able to share his personal art within the campus walls inspires a sense of bravery in his students as they pursue their own creative paths.

“I want to be able to speak to the next generation … to have the courage to put themselves out there,” Del Rosario said. “It’s difficult to be vulnerable, but I think it’s part of the creative process, to conjure up that courage to not just create it, but to share it.”

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​ Orange County Register 

Football Early Signing Day 2023: List of Orange County players who will be signing with colleges

• December 20, 2023

OCVarsity has compiled a list of the Orange County high school football players who will be signing a National Letter of Intent on Wednesday, Dec. 20.

The list includes athletes who received commitment letters from Ivy League schools and military service academies, but does not include players offered preferred walk-on status.

To be included in our list, send your school’s or athlete’s information (name, high school, college signed with) to [email protected].

ORANGE COUNTY SIGNING LIST

CAPISTRANO VALLEY

Jackson Sievers, UC Davis

CORONA DEL MAR

Kaleb Annett, Boise State

EDISON

Mason York, Weber State

EL DORADO

Mitchell Jones, Air Force

EL TORO

Nick Brown, Eastern Washington

HUNTINGTON BEACH

Sean Marella, Air Force

Justin Tauanuu, USC

LAGUNA BEACH

Ryner Swanson, BYU

LAGUNA HILLS

Nate Hoss, Air Force

LOS ALAMITOS

Hayden Eligon II, Northwestern

Davon Mitchell, Oklahoma

Isaiah Rubin, USC

Foster Slaughter, Utah Tech

MATER DEI

Brandon Baker, Texas

Aydin Breland, Oregon

Elijah Brown, Stanford

Zabien Brown, Alabama

DeAndre Carter, Auburn

Jeilani Davis, Utah

Kainoa Davis, North Carolina at Charlotte

Nathaniel Frazier, Georgia

Jack Ressler, Oregon

Rylan Vagana, Texas Tech

Tanner Williams, Utah State

MISSION VIEJO

Travis Anderson, Boise State

Jack Matranga, Air Force

Michael Salgado, Arizona

Mike Schroller, UCLA

Treyvon Tolmaire, Boise State

SAN CLEMENTE

Connor Bachhuber Stanford

Dylan Mills Villanova

TUSTIN

Khristian Dunbar-Hawkins, UCLA

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​ Orange County Register 

Chef Erik De Marchi’s Laguna restaurant is a hit. Now he’s bringing pizza to Irvine

• December 20, 2023

Five years after opening Oliver’s Osteria in Laguna Beach — which secured critical acclaim and a loyal following for such dishes as rigatoni cacio e pepe and squid ink cappellacci, to name a few — chef Erik De Marchi has opened a spinoff in Irvine called Oliver’s Trattoria.

Like he does at Osteria, De Marchi will stick to his making Emilia-Romagna food without kowtowing to any Americanization of his fare. “My menu focuses on that region and is truly authentic, nothing American-Italian about it,” he said.

While he respects Orange County’s abundance of Italian-American spots — classic red sauce joints, if you will — that wasn’t his goal with Osteria or the new Trattoria, which are both dedicated to the Italian northern region. “If people want that type of cuisine, it’s out there — just not at Oliver’s.”

SEE ALSO: Best thing I ate: Different chef, same great cappellacci at Oliver’s Osteria

Oliver’s Trattoria recently opened at the Quail Hill Shopping Center in Irvine, CA. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG)

In addition to a new locale, Oliver’s Trattoria — which opened Dec. 10 — differs from De Marchi’s Laguna Beach restaurant with a focus on wood-fired pizzas with crisp bottoms and blistered crusts. Nine pies appear on the inaugural menu, raging from the classic margarita (with cow’s milk mozzarella, tomato sauce, basil, parmigiano and extra virgin olive oil; buffalo’s milk mozzarella can be added for an additional charge) and a prosciutto (24-month-aged prosciutto parma, mozzarella, yellow cherry tomatoes, basil, parmigiano) to a speck e funghi (smoked prosciutto, gorgonzola and mixed mushrooms) and pizza of the week based on whatever culinary vibe De Marchi feels.

Also of note on the new menu is the panino con mortadella, a sandwich featuring house-baked bread, mortadella (the cold cut is having a star moment this year due, in part, to its millennial-pink hue and ascent of the charcuterie board), pistachios, burrata and arugula.

Pasta, of course, is the other star of the show, like it is at Oliver’s Osteria. Guests at the Irvine eatery can look forward to tagliolini with clams, calamari and cherry tomatoes; linguine in a lemon cream sauce adorned with basil and parmigiano reggiano; pappardelle with oxtail and taleggio; and cacio e pepe, arguably the supreme of the four Roman pastas, which uses both pecorino romano and parmigiano reggiano in the tricky emulsification process.

Julio Iglesias makes a Limoncello spritz at Oliver’s Trattoria, which recently opened at the Quail Hill Shopping Center in Irvine, CA. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG)

De Marchi credits his grandmother as his biggest culinary influence. There’s even an ode to her inside Trattoria’s kitchen.

“She has been a huge influence in my culinary career and, in fact, our pasta-making room in the restaurant has a tile that is very similar to the tile she had in her kitchen,” he explained. “That’s why I selected it; now she is with me at Oliver’s Trattoria.”

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Diners can also look forward to a large space at Oliver’s Trattoria, with two outdoor patios, a full bar and a private dining room. There’s also a window that gives diners a peek inside the pasta-making action inside the kitchen.

Oliver’s Trattoria opened inside the former Two Left Forks space in Irvine.

Find it: 6511 Quail Hill St., Irvine

​ Orange County Register 

What to know about vermicomposting for a healthy garden

• December 20, 2023

In a world increasingly driven by eco-consciousness and sustainability, innovative solutions are emerging to address our environmental challenges. One such solution is vermicomposting, which transforms organic kitchen waste into nutrient-rich soil through earthworms. Often referred to as the “black gold” of composting, vermicomposting is an excellent solution for households with limited composting space seeking to reduce household waste and improve their soil.

At the heart of vermicomposting lies a simple yet astonishing principle: Earthworms can break down organic matter and convert it into a substance known as vermicompost. The compost is a potent blend of minerals, beneficial microorganisms and nutrients that greatly enrich soil fertility. Unlike traditional composting methods that may take months or even years to yield results, vermicomposting accelerates the process to a matter of weeks.

Households can easily set up a vermicompost system within their homes, according to Dick Miner, aka the “worm man of Alcatraz.” A retired microbiologist and active vermicomposter, Miner maintains the composting solutions on Alcatraz Island. His compost has won many awards at the Marin County Fair.

“Vermicompost systems are quite easy to set up and maintain,” he says. “There are many homemade systems plans available online.”

Commercial bins can be purchased online, or plastic storage bins can be fitted to house a worm colony. Your bin size will dictate the size of your colony and, therefore, the amount of kitchen scraps you can feed and compost you produce. A larger population can be housed in bins around 18 inches wide by 24 inches long and 18 inches deep.

Starting a vermicomposting bin is easy. According to Miner, the best first step is to “find an appropriate room (mild temperatures year-round). Prepare worm bedding (shredded newspaper, egg cartons, cardboard, coconut coir). Order worms from providers (red wigglers work best).”

Once you have a system set up, your vermicompost is fed with almost any organic plant-based kitchen scraps. Vegetable scraps, cores, peelings, rinds, leaves, stems and roots are great food sources. Coffee grounds, unbleached filters, tea bags, bread and corn cobs can also be added. Avoid adding onion, garlic, peppers or citrus fruit or peels. Never add meats, fats, dairy or citrus. Start slowly. An overly enthusiastic composter could end up with a smelly bin. It takes 2,000 red wigglers to consume a pound of food a day. Gauge your worm quantity needs by the volume of your household scraps.

Once your compost bin is up and running, it requires little maintenance. After three to six months, you’ll start to have useable vermicompost. When little or no original bedding is visible, and the contents of the bin are reduced in bulk and mainly consist of worm compost, which is brown and “earthy” looking, it’s time to harvest. Castings can be harvested anywhere from two and a half months to every six months, depending on how many worms you have and how much food you’re giving them.

To harvest your compost, move everything to one side of the bin. Pick out partially decomposed materials and push them to the other side. Place some food on top of the partially decomposed materials. Replace the lid and leave it alone for a couple of weeks. During that time, the worms should migrate over to the new food. Once they’ve gone to the other side, harvest the castings.

Make sure you don’t remove any worms in the process. Then, give the worms new bedding mixed in with some residual compost.

Harvested compost should have a good, clean, earthy aroma. The vermicompost can now be mixed directly with your potting soil and/or used to make compost tea. Compost tea is a liquid plant food loaded with microorganisms that help feed your plants with readily available nutrients. To make vermicompost tea, mix water and the compost together at about a 1:5 ratio of compost to water. Let this mixture sit for three to five days. During this time, beneficial microorganisms will leach into the water, creating a nutrient-rich tea. Strain out any large pieces and feed your plants.

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Vermicomposting can be a great way to manage household waste in a small-scale setting.

“Most vermiculture systems are easy to maintain. One just needs to have a room temperature control and a watchful eye on bedding moisture,” Miner says.

Vermicomposting is good for the soil and environment and can be an enjoyable family activity.

Sponsored by UC Cooperative Extension, the University of California Marin Master Gardeners provides science- and research-based information for Marin home gardeners. 

​ Orange County Register 

Football’s Early Signing Day: OCVarsity will have all of the Orange County news

• December 20, 2023

The early signing period for high school football players begins today, Dec. 20, and OCVarsity will have coverage of the news and events happening in Orange County.

The three-day signing period is the first opportunity for players in the Class of 2024 to sign a National Letter of Intent with a college program. The next opportunity will be the regular signing period that starts Feb. 7.

Many of the top players in Orange County are expected to sign Wednesday, and some schools will be hosting Signing Day events.

OCVarsity will have updates throughout the day.

SEND OCVARSITY YOUR INFO

Schools can email their list of signees to OCVarsity at preps@ocregister.

Athletes and their parents can also email their signing day news to [email protected]. Please include the athlete’s name, high school, college signed with and include the words “Signing Day” in the email header.

​ Orange County Register 

U.S. Soccer and MLS at odds over U.S. Open Cup

• December 20, 2023

The latest soap opera in U.S. Soccer was created Friday when Major League Soccer announced it would remove their first teams from the U.S. Open Cup.

The plan, which was voted on by the owners, would be to send the MLS Next Pro teams – essentially the reserve teams – into the tournament. The U.S. Open Cup is governed by U.S. Soccer.

Wednesday, the U.S. Soccer Federation denied MLS’ plan.

“Major League Soccer has requested to allow MLS Next PRO teams to represent MLS in the 2024 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. After thoughtful consideration, we have informed MLS that the U.S. Soccer staff recommendation, which was adopted by the Pro League Taskforce, is that the request be denied,” the U.S. Soccer Federation said in a statement.

“As we move forward, we will continue our review of the Open Cup to ensure it aligns with the U.S. Soccer strategic pillars. We remain committed to addressing the needs and concerns of all of our members, including MLS, and other stakeholders to enhance and improve the U.S. Open Cup.”

Major League Soccer responded moments later:

“Major League Soccer recently proposed to U.S. Soccer a plan for MLS NEXT Pro teams to represent the League in the 2024 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. MLS took that step because it believes that there are several essential goals and concerns that must be addressed in connection with the tournament, including developing young professional players and providing them with greater opportunity to play before fans in meaningful competition in a tournament setting, prioritizing player health and safety, reducing schedule congestion for MLS clubs, and enhanced investment from U.S. Soccer.

“U.S. Soccer has subsequently notified MLS that the Federation is not prepared to grant the necessary waiver for MLS NEXT Pro clubs owned by MLS owners to participate in the Open Cup.

“MLS is committed to finding a viable solution for the 2024 tournament and is working to find a pathway that addresses its goals and concerns. Moving forward, MLS will remain focused on increasing opportunities for up-and-coming players, a key component of the League’s player development strategy that ultimately benefits the U.S. national team program.”

The USSF professional league standards says that “U.S.-based teams must participate in all representative U.S. Soccer and CONCACAF competitions for which they are eligible.”

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MLS teams enter the U.S. Open Cup at different stages of the tournament. The question has always been: How seriously do teams take the tournament?

In June, Bob Foose, the MLS Players Association executive director, said in an interview with The Athletic that the players aren’t eager to participate in the tournament.

‘I know the league has worked a lot with the federation and tried to be respectful of what they’re trying to do, but I can tell you that the U.S. Open Cup is certainly not something that our players look forward to,” Foose said.

​ Orange County Register 

How James Spooner and Chris L. Terry created the ‘Black Punk Now’ book

• December 20, 2023

At the beginning of the new anthology “Black Punk Now,” co-editor James Spooner recounts one of the first searches he did on a computer he bought in 2001. He googled the term “Black punk.”

“There were exactly zero links,” he writes. “In all of the World Wide Web, I was alone.”

Chris L. Terry, the anthology’s other co-editor, had similar experiences growing up in Boston and Richmond, Virginia. He was a fan of Bad Brains, the Black punk pioneers, and had met some fellow Black punk fans, but says, “I was having a hard time reconciling my Blackness with my punkness. I wished there was more out there. It still felt like you could be Bad Brains, or you could be White.” 

See more: Spooner and Terry talk about the books that have inspired them.

Spooner would go on to film the documentary “Afro-Punk,” which became a community, and later — to his dismay — a corporate brand. The transition did have an upside, though: It spawned a wave of Black punks. 

“That new generation of active Black punks went on to start their own festivals, collectives, and conversations,” writes Spooner, who also created the graphic novel, “The High Desert” about growing up punk in Apple Valley. “That is where this book ‘Black Punk Now’ centers itself.”

Terry, meanwhile, turned to his beloved punk rock as the inspiration for his first novel for adults, 2019’s “Black Card,” about a mixed-race punk musician in Richmond who is determined to prove that he’s “Black enough” after he doesn’t push back at a White person for using a racist slur. NPR named it one of the best books of the year, with critic Jason Heller calling it “an enormously fun read about a decidedly less than fun topic.”

See more: Sign up for our free Book Pages newsletter about bestsellers, authors and more

“Black Punk Now,” Spooner and Terry’s collaboration, is a mixture of fiction, nonfiction, and comics, featuring a roundtable of femme punk festival organizers, and pieces by contributors including Hanif Abdurraqib, Joanna Davis-McElligatt, and Mariah Stovall. 

Spooner and Terry discussed “Black Punk Now” via Zoom from Los Angeles, where they both live. This conversation has been condensed and edited for length and clarity.

Q: What was the inspiration for this project?

TERRY: When I was promoting my most recent novel, “Black Card,” I was meeting a lot of the new generation of younger, more diverse punks. There are a lot more Black punk rockers now than there were when I was coming up 20, 25 years ago. I got the feeling that there was just so much cool stuff out there, and I wanted a way to engage with and support that. I started thinking, “What if I could? I want to read all these stories, and I bet other people do, too.” 

I was a punk in the ‘90s, and I got into punk at the time when I was trying to understand my own racial identity as a mixed-race Black person. There were times where being punk felt simpler than being Black for me, but also being punk and being Black felt mutually exclusive. I could be one or the other. So I wanted to make something that would’ve been really helpful for myself 30 years ago, that I could have handed to myself and said, “No, you can be both, and you can thrive in that way. There are ways to feel supported and seen.” James and I had been talking about how punk is cooler now than it was when we were coming up, so I thought it would be really awesome to work on a book with him, especially because I feel like he is the Black punk guy. With him involved, we could probably get an even wider variety of contributions for the book, and I think it would add even more credibility to the project. So I was really glad that he was free and willing.

Q: How did you both go about setting the lineup for this book?

TERRY: James and I are both in our forties, and we were hoping to find people who were outside of our Rolodexes — if I may continue to age myself — outside of our contact lists. We did a public call for submissions because we didn’t want it to seem like we were gatekeeping the book that we were editing. So we were introduced to some people through submissions. Some people, it was friends of friends, otherwise it was connections. A lot of the time, it felt like a way to gather our friends and the people that we care about and put them all in one place and kind of throw a party for our friends and celebrate the stuff that they’re doing. 

Q: How much input did you have into the design of the book?

SPOONER: Chris and I had pretty much complete control over what it looked like. The two of us sat down and kind of just discussed whether we wanted it to be. We don’t want it to look too much like a fat zine; we were going back and forth with things that we liked. All those illustrations were kind of done in the 11th hour. We knew we were going to have chapter author markers for each person, but at some point, I was like, “Oh, let me just draw everybody.”

TERRY: We wanted to give people breathers between some of the pieces in there because it is a really varied collection, and it’s kind of dense, and we wanted to balance that out with some eye-catching illustrations, and also maybe find a way to take the zine aesthetics, the cut-and-paste punk art that we both love and came up on, and put that on a bigger stage, elevate that in some way.

Q: A lot of the contributors to this book are women or people in the LGBTQ+ community. Would it be fair to say that they’re kind of at the forefront, playing a leadership role in this new generation of punk music?

TERRY: Punk is definitely not just Blacker, it’s more diverse in every way, be it gender, sexuality, age, even social class. I’d say it’s more accessible to people who might not have an easy time affording to take a month off work to go on a fan tour, because there’s more ways to get your stuff out there. What do you think, James?

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SPOONER: When I first started talking to Chris about doing the roundtable with all the festival organizers, the thing that was notable, but not surprising, was that every festival except for one is organized by a Black woman or femme, so I wanted to definitely point that out. We have all these dudes on stage, but it’s often women who are the unsung heroes, and that goes all the way back to the origins. If you look at a lot of the photographers or zine makers, or you talk to bands and talk about who was putting on the shows, it was often women. So it was a great opportunity to have them speak for themselves.

TERRY: I think our book does really bring women and queer voices to the forefront, and that was something that we wanted to do, but we didn’t have to make a special effort to do that. It happened pretty naturally just from the people who we were able to get in the book.

​ Orange County Register 

The renovated Great Oak Steakhouse at Pechanga elevates the dining experience

• December 20, 2023

Part of the embrace of resort-style casinos in Southern California is its incorporation of fine dining, where guests can splurge their spoils after a lucky play. For the Great Oak Steakhouse at Pechanga Resort Casino in Temecula, that means sampling several ounces of Wagyu for dinner or taking a $350 shot of whiskey.

The upscale restaurant, which seats up to 235 guests, is now open after seven months of renovations. It includes a lounge bar with a new cocktail and wine menu and shares a door with the casino’s Italian kitchen, Paisano’s.

Andre Pinto, executive chef of Pechanga Resort Casino, said that guests have been happy to return after the restaurant’s reopening and that staff are also enjoying the new kitchen.

“The menu is more elevated and high-end, and the guys love the presentation of how we bring our food to guests,” Pinto said.

Set to roll out next month, the newly added Chef’s Table is part of the restaurant’s move to elevate its dining experience. The space is an enclosed room with glass walls and a table-side view into the kitchen with a long table that seats 10-12 and is surrounded by bottles of wines from around the world.

Guests at the chef’s table can expect a Michelin-star dining experience with an eight-course menu including appetizers, entrees and desserts that change every six weeks. Those taking part in the dinner can watch their food prepared in front of them and have chefs come out and explain the inspiration and concept behind each dish.

“I’ve worked in many different high-end restaurants, and having an open kitchen here has always been one of my goals. It’s a dream come true,” Pinto said. “Guests can see behind the scenes, which can be intimidating for some of the cooks, but they’re learning, and we like the interaction with the guests.”

The rollout of the first Chef’s Table menu will pay homage to Pechanga’s very own eateries, taking the most popular dishes of each restaurant and reconstructing them into upscale bites.

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“We’re going to take guests through a journey of the menu and the tastes of Pechanga,” Pinto said. “One of the dishes is going to be a loco moco, and it’s something that when you look at the plate, it does not look like one, but when you bite into it, you’ll know the flavors.”

The regular menu for the steakhouse will be seasonal and changed every three months. Currently, guests can expect favorites such as the American and Japanese Wagyu; lobster served with sweet onion soubise, lardons, pearl onions and roasted potatoes; and Scottish salmon served with seasonal vegetables and trout roe.

Part of the expansion of the steakhouse was the lounge bar, which seats about 40 people, including the 14 bar-side seats and 10 tables that can each seat up to four guests. The space has two TVs behind its bar for sporting events and opens daily at 3 p.m., two hours before the steakhouse and Paisano’s next door. Hungry guests can order food earlier off of the bar menu, which includes smashed sliders ($24), shrimp and scallop toast ($22) and wagyu and tuna belly ($35).

Pechanga added property mixologist Nicholas Dukes and sommelier Zachary Abeyta to its team along with the new space. They are both working to expand the wine and liquor options throughout the casino, including servings at the steakhouse.

The bar includes local and international selections from around the world, and the higher the shelf, the more rare and higher the price. The more expensive liquor bottles run up to $7,000, but guests can purchase single glass pours that are still pricy, but only commit them to a partial bottle with the high-end price tag. A column dedicated to the bar’s whiskey menu pays homage to the liquor by making a variety of old-fashioned cocktails using whiskey sourced from Mexico, Tokyo or North Ireland, each priced at around $18.

Dukes said his approach to mixing cocktails involves incorporating fresh pressed juices, dehydrated teas for in-house syrups and local ingredients that move away from the average club cocktails and into more signature territory.

The cocktail menu also has exclusive drinks to the lounge bar for $16 each, such as the Great Oak Martini made with Chopin Vodka, Hendrick’s Gin, Lillet Blanc, cucumber, basil and Meyer lemon; the Royal 75 made with Empress 1908 Gin, butterfly pea flower, local honey, Meyer lemon and champagne; and El Draque Noir made with Ron Zacapa No. 23 Rum, mint, blackberries, demerara and lime.

“Mixology is just a fun word for a bartender who’s really good at trivia,” Dukes said. “It’s facts, understanding origins and spirits, how they meld together, how they pair with food and how to present it to a guest based on their preference.”

Abeyta said that he’s building a wine list that just added over 150 new wines to the property with selections that highlight California’s wineries, but also spotlight some up-and-coming wine countries such as South Africa and Chile. The wine list at the steakhouse is extensive, including several sauvignon blancs, cabernet sauvignons, merlots, pinot noirs and more. Similarly to the liquor served at the bar, some of the wine selections from specialty brands such as Silver Oak, Caymus, and Duckhorn can be purchased by the glass.

“We’re trying to make it a little more modern but also keep it traditional,” Abeyta said. “It’s really good for maybe someone dining by themselves who wants to have a good glass of wine, but they want to avoid ordering the bottle or a couple who comes to enjoy a class with our food. It’s nice to have a really solid glass of wine that is of good quality and not worry about the rest of the bottle.”

With the combination of fine-dining dishes and rare selections of liquor and wine, the team at the Great Oak Steakhouse is hoping to deliver big for everyone visiting the property in the long term.

“The program that we’re trying to build here is creating something that people are not hesitant or intimidated by and where it’s welcoming and enjoyable,” Dukes said.

The Great Oak Steakhouse

Where: Pechanga Resort Casino, 745000 Pechanga Parkway, Temecula.

Hours: 5-10 p.m. Sunday-Thursday; 5-11 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Reservations recommended. Bar hours are 3-10 p.m. Sunday- Thursday, 3-10 p.m., and 3-11 p.m. Friday and Saturday.

For more information: 909-425-4889 or pechanga.com.

​ Orange County Register