Mountain Views News          Saturday, September 14, 2013

A9

FOOD & DRINK

Mountain Views-News Saturday, September 14, 2013 


Wine comes in at the mouth And love comes in at the eye; That’s all we shall know 
for truth Before we grow old and die.

William Butler Yeats 

Some write letters upon our soul, some laugh at a 
thousands troubles, some hearts pin so dear they 
live only as long as they are allowed to love. 

My longtime colleague and friend, Dan O’Heron 
has left us. Dan was a food professor, maestro 
of language and restaurant counselor to the 
Pasadena Weekly for the last 25 years. His articles 
illuminated the San Gabriel Restaurant scene in 
the revelations of food and the investigations of 
people. His career began in the great era before the 
use of microwaves and his experience grew out of 
an age of butter filled recipes, heavy shortening 
and deep fried foods. Dan first established himself 
as a copy editor and by the late 1970’s he was 
working his magic for The Downtown News. He 
developed a habit that was shared by another great writer, C.S. Forester, the author of African Queen 
and Horatio Hornblower, as both fancied a good walk to coalesce the budding ideas of their writing. 
For Dan, the journey was about the story. Sometimes the story was a family run business and a chef 
that cared and troubled over guacamole with such passion, he insisted the avocados be shipped from 
Mexico, as Dan conveyed in one of his Cinco De Mayo stories. At other moments the story seated 
us with a newly minted Chinese immigrant family that could barely speak our native tongue, which 
Dan effortlessly moved us past, pushing his readers toward the truth of experience and the palpable 
ornaments of a language which the immigrants had mastered in the pronunciation of flavors and the 
powerful composition of dishes. For the last thirty years Dan could be spotted walking his beat along 
the streets where each step he extended moved him over the cultural empire of Pasadena. 

Dan once said to me, that if it 
wasn’t for a life of restaurants, he 
could have easily been content 
as a sports writer. Equal to his 
personality and the magnetism 
of the man, Dan’s Diner was a 
popular hub for food junkies 
throughout the 1990’s. In the 
many articles of Dan’s I sifted as 
an archeologist digs for treasures, 
I came to love Dan’s insights 
and the Ernest Hemmingway 
eloquence of his dispatch. I am 
certain if I had never met Dan 
I would have known him all the 
same by his writings, for I could 
penetrate the spirit of Dan by 
his desire to communicate. The 
bright tones he conjured, the 
glimpses of hidden pearls he gleaned and handed along to us from waiters, chefs, and owners, and 
the fascinating compilation of inquisitive exploration he shared for food. Dan rarely wrote a negative 
thought in his article, in truth he probably didn’t have to censure himself like most, he didn’t think in 
such terms, instead he hoped to inspire people with a bounty of culinary examples. Over the collected 
years I knew Dan and the times he helped me to judge a multitude of events; including the occasional 
Pizza contest and the yearly Chili Cook-Offs that would arise from the world as sunflowers when 
the summer calendared surfaced each year, I came to know his notoriety with the public. He was a 
celebrity in the most personal sense, never allowing the experience of a conversation with a stranger 
to pass.

I must admit I was jealous the year I saw him holding court at the Annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade. He 
looked so genuine, so matchlessly fitting for the spirit of St. Patty’s Day. Of course the bars, restaurants 
and diners he visited came to love Dan as I, and I was not at all surprised when Crown City Brewery 
effectionalily named a beer after our beloved Irishman. He never once mentioned or bragged of the 
endowment to his name, but I am certain the thought of a beer being named after that great breed of 
Irishman calling to O’Heron circled as laurel of gold around his mind. 

Somewhere in a lonely back table that only Dan could know, a chair sits empty by the traces of a 
candles light.

But up beyond the sea of blue and further than the foamy clouds of white, sits a man beside his God 
tonight.

OPPA GREEKFEST AT THE SANTA ANITA RACE TRACK

Southern California’s preeminent Greek Festival, the 55th Annual Pasadena Greek Fest, sponsored 
by Santa Anita Park, Pasadena Star News, and Metaxa, invites the public to join the festivities in “all 
things Greek” at an endless summer fun event as the Los Angeles Greek community comes on Friday-
Sunday, September 20, 21 and 22, 2013 at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California, located at 285 W. 
Huntington Drive in Arcadia, CA 91107.

Greek Fest hours are from 5 p.m. to 1:00 a.m. on Friday, September 20, 2013; noon to 1:00 a.m. on 
Saturday, September 21, 2013; and on Sunday, September 22, 2013 from noon to 10 p.m.

The event is priced at $5 for adults and children under 12 years are free. Parking is $4 per car at the 
main entrance of Holly and Huntington Drive at Santa Anita Park.

 “Pasadena Greek Fest offers one last chance to celebrate the end of summer. Take a trip with us as 
we transport you to Greece for a weekend. Enjoy food, wine, spirits, music and dancing! Visit our 
Hellenic Theater featuring culinary and cultural presentations. There is so much to see, hear, taste, 
smell and feel, all your senses will be pleased” says Greek Fest Chairman Louis Kades. 


Highlights of the weekend festivities will include a free live concert Saturday night with the well 
known Greek vocalist Diamantis Dionysiou. Throughout the weekend, there will be performances 
by The Olympians and other live performers. Planned are many exciting exhibits, including cooking 
demonstrations, wine tasting, lectures about Greek history and culture, as well as the very popular 
Olympic Taverna Sports Bar & Cigar Lounge, authentic homemade Greek cuisine and pastries, Greek 
folk dancing by several award winning youth groups and an expanded Kids’ Fun Zone with rock 
climbing, carnival games, rides and prizes.

The Pasadena Greek Fest is an annual event, hosted by Saint Anthony Greek Orthodox Church in 
Pasadena, CA. The event brings together thousands of visitors from the Greater Los Angeles area 
to a weekend pageantry celebrating all things Greek. Proceeds benefit cultural, educational, and 
community outreach programs run by Saint Anthony Greek Orthodox Church. 

For ticket information or to obtain additional information regarding the event, call 626-600-1672 or 
visit the official website of the festival at www.pasadenagreekfest.org. 


ITALIAN STEAK 
& BREAD SALAD

INGREDIENTS

 

 •12 ounce(s) (3/4-in.-thick) sirloin steak 

 •1/2 a 1-lb loaf French bread, split

 • Garlic-flavor cooking spray 

 •1/2 teaspoon(s) salt 

 •1/2 teaspoon(s) pepper 

 •2 cup(s) ripe tomato chunks 

 •2 bag(s) (6 oz each) baby spinach trio (baby spinach, arugula and carrots), 

 or 2 bags (6 oz each) baby spinach

 •1/2 cup(s) sliced onion 

 •1/2 cup(s) crumbled blue cheese 

 •1/2 cup(s) olive oil & vinegar dressing 

DIRECTIONS

 1.Heat outdoor grill or stovetop ridged grill pan. Coat steak and cut surfaces of bread 

 with garlic spray; sprinkle with salt and pepper.

 2.Grill steak, turning once, 6 minutes, or until an instant-read thermometer inserted from 
side to middle registers 155°F. Remove to a cutting board, cover loosely with foil 
and let rest. (Temperature of steak will continue to rise to 160°F for medium doneness.)

 3.Meanwhile, grill bread, cut sides down, 2 minutes, or until lightly toasted.

 4.Cut bread in chunks; thinly slice steak. Combine in a bowl with remaining ingredients; 

 toss to mix.

TABLE FOR TWO by Peter Dills

thechefknows@yahoo.com

dan at mirror news_.jpg