Review
View their profile page here. So a new restaurant opened up a few weeks ago by my home and caught my attention. Pub Thirty-Two, a restaurant that prides themselves with an organic menu focused on sustainability and local farms. I quickly reached out to the restaurant and arranged an interview with head chef Glen Tinsley, who was happy to meet with me and spread the word about this establishment.
As I walked in for the first time, I was greeted quickly by the kind ladies behind the bar and did not have to wait long for the chef to come and join me. As I glanced around, the restaurant exhibited a very clean, simple, and rustic feel, with wooden tables, chalkboard menus, and interesting light fixtures. On each table was adorned a cream, floating candle or a succulent in a metal plant pot which gave the perfect finishing touches to this professional, yet relaxed, location.
Chef Glen Tinsley, born and raised here in Mission Viejo, California has worked all over the world cooking up dishes in places such as San Francisco, Napa Valley, Hawaii, and Italy. He takes great responsibility in his food. His personal preferences are dinner and appetizer items he gets to make from scratch and are healthier for the customer. “Desserts are good, but there’s only so much sugar I can handle working with.” When asked what he is most proud of in his kitchen, Chef Glen responds with, “how much time we put into our food”. Pub Thirty-Two butchers, smokes, and cures most of their own meats on location. “We don’t cut corners here” he says pleased.
Pub Thirty-Two does its best to be a “farm to fork” restaurant. Most restaurants that are this style are actually located on the farm they get their meat and such from. However, since Pub Thirty-Two is located in the heart of highly populated Orange County, CA they don’t have the luxury of sitting on a farm; so they have searched out farms as close as they can while still focusing on the organic and sustainable qualities of their foods. Pub Thirty-Two uses Cook Pigs from Julian, CA for their pig products, Gone Straw Farms from Ontario, CA for chicken and poultry, and Primal Pastures from Temecula, CA for lamb and meat products. It is safe to say the meat on your plate was pasture-raised and grass-fed.
Chef Glen strives to have as much of a green kitchen as possible. He recycles the fryer oil to a company that turns it into biodiesel. His kitchen cures, smokes, and butchers their own meat for optimum freshness; and, although local farms are important, Chef Glen will always choose a smaller more sustainable farm to a larger more local farm.
The menu changes throughout the seasons to stay fresh, new, and sustainable. Popular dishes include bacon dates, lamb meatballs (which are ground in the restaurant), octopus, and top sirloin steak; or try Chef Glen’s own sour cream fudge cake (made from scratch). So much is made from scratch; even the ketchup is made in the restaurant.
“Be open-minded,” says Chef Glen. You may find a foot attached to the chicken on your plate. Natural is the way to go. Even my plate of butter squash risotto came with zucchini flowers. He asks, “don’t be quick to criticize,” and “try it before you douse your meal in salt and pepper.” The menu at Pub Thirty-Two is probably more natural than most are used to, but come in with an open mind and a sense for adventure!
