Buena Park is known for being the home of Knott’s Berry Farm, but it’s so much more than that! It’s actually full of restaurants and culture that make visiting and hanging around BP really fun for the whole family. If you want some guaranteed good food experiences, here’s your guide to where to eat in Buena Park. We’re all about being family friendly and unique, so that’s what we’ve included here.
True, we like to use Buena Park as a home base for exploring more of the OC, but if you want to stick close to your hotel and the attractions on your itinerary, might as well enjoy some great Buena Park dining too. We were surprised by some of the establishments we visited, and we know you will be too!
THE SOURCE OC: GO-TO SPOT FOR FUN AND FOOD
Who knew that we’d find a new favorite hangout in Buena Park? A little back story: we used to live an work in Buena Park long before the kids were born, so it’s always been a bit of a second home for us. The Source OC is a new and awesome spot that I wish was around when we lived there. It’s full of restaurants, sure, but it also has some really fun murals and shops. If you need something K-Pop they’ve got you covered. If you are too hot and need to escape with kids for an hour or two, there’s an amazing indoor play space: Play Pie.
Greater Los Angeles Gay Travel Resources
While it would surely raise eyebrows to deem dinner at Oakland’s Commis a bargain, it’s more than fair to call Chef James Shyabout’s elegant tasting menus a Michelin Stargain. Twinkling with two of the French tiremaker’s honorifics as of 2016, Oakland’s serene, cerebral seven-year-old culinary jewel box offers prix fixe adventures of eight ingenious small courses (plus a few more bonus bites sprinkled throughout the meal) for $125.
While that’s six times what you’ll spend for a satisfying steak dinner elsewhere in Oakland (more on that later), it’s a remarkable price compared to a constellation of other Michelin-winning prix fixes in the Bay Area: $398 at San Francisco’s Saison, $330 at Napa Valley’s Meadowood, $310 at the French Laundry in Yountville, and $235 at Manresa in Silicon Valley. (Prior to going out on his own, Shyabout cooked at the latter, as well as Spain’s legendary elBulli and England’s Fat Duck.)
Along with housing rates, the cost of opening and sustaining a business in the San Francisco environs have skyrocketed in recent years, to such an extent that, along with young, adventurous eaters, ambitious, eclectic chefs like Shyabout have rooted themselves in more affordable Oakland.
With a farming heritage reaching back centuries and harvest ranging from apples to zucchini, Long Island is among New York’s most fertile regions. Add its bountiful waters, world-class wines, artisan producers, specialty purveyors, and, most critically, the right talent to bring these ingredients to life, and Long Island is confidently asserting its own culinary identity. At the vanguard of this success was Guy Reuge. Following early training in his native France, the much decorated chef, enchanted by America, moved to New York City in 1973. Following a decade at hotspots including Maxwell’s Plum, La Tulipe, and Tavern on the Green, Reuge and wife Maria (editor of Gourmet) in 1975 opened their acclaimed Mirabelle restaurant in St. James on the North Fork of the island.
“We were pioneers in leaving Manhattan for Long Island,” says Reuge, likening the region to a culinary “Siberia” in 1983. “There was no decent bread, and we were the first to introduce mesclun salad to the menu.” An immediate hit, Mirabelle remained hot until 2008, when Reuge closed up to focus on his family. The break was short-lived. When venerable Long Island food-service company Lessing’s approached him about reviving the name at the landmark Three Village Inn in nearby Stony Brook, Reuge said yes.
“We opened in 2009 as a dual concept, pairing fine dining Restaurant Mirabelle (150 Main Street, Stony Brook, Tel: 631-751-0555. www.lessings.com) with the more casual bistro-style Mirabelle Tavern,” says Reuge, who also serves as corporate chef de cuisine for Lessing’s portfolio, including luxe newcomer Sandbar (55 Main Street, Tel: 631-498-6188. www.lessings.com) in Cold Spring Harbor. “I’ve seen and contributed to tremendous change,” adds Reuge. “Long Island no longer has to feel jealous of New York City at the table.”