SoCal Restaurant Show September 27, 2025 Hour 2

“October is Melissa’s Freaky Fruit® month, highlighting the most exotic and intriguing of Mother Nature’s sweet bounty. A bit creepy to look at, but surprisingly delectable to eat, Freaky Fruit® is a must for the entire month leading up to a frightening finale on Halloween.
Eaten out-of-hand, or added to desserts, baked goods, and other recipes, pomegranates, passion fruit, cherimoya, blood oranges, Buddha’s hand, dragon fruit, finger limes, cactus pears, kiwano melon, and rambutan have the wow-factor to make any dish truly spooktacular.” The Prince of Freaky Fruits, our resident produce guru, Robert Schueller, joins us to peel all the deliciousness of Freaky Fruit® for Halloween entertaining.“Tito’s Handmade Vodka and Tito’s Tacos are celebrating the eighth annual Tito’s Fiesta Mexicana on Saturday, October 4, from 3:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. in Culver City. A local tradition in the community, this event will raise critical funds for the Culver City Arts Foundation to support a wide range of art, culture, and local artists. At Tito’s Fiesta Mexicana, guests 21+ can sip on Tito’s Handmade Vodka cocktails while savoring Tito’s Tacos’ award-winning tacos, burritos, and flan. Alongside the mouthwatering cocktails and food, the celebration will feature five hours of live entertainment – headlined by world-class mariachi group, Mariachi Sol De Mexico de Jose Hernandez – folklórico dancers, and a traditional piñata station.” 2nd Generation Proprietor of Tito’s Tacos, Lynne Davidson, is our guest to preview all that is Tito’s Fiesta Mexicana.Our own Chef Andrew Gruel, the menu-maker behind the full-service Calico Fish House (located in the Sunset Beach area of Huntington Beach) provides another timely and informative “Ask the Chef” segment where he responds to listeners’ thoughtful inquiries. Chef Andrew is just back from the vibrant and fast-growing Tulsa, OK where he was the Keynote Speaker for Women for Tulsa on “Food is Medicine.” We’ll hear about it.