Casual-dining gastropub Culinary Dropout, the popular casual-dining spot from restaurateur Sam Fox, is opening its second California spot. Fox, an 11-time James Beard Award semifinalist for Restaurateur of the Year, and founder of Arizona’s Fox Restaurant Concepts, is bringing the first Orange County location to the heart of Old Towne Orange on Wednesday, Oct. 29.
What can you expect? Look forward to laidback vibes and a menu that leans heavily on comfort fare. The menu lineup includes soft pretzels and provolone fondue, barbecue pork belly nachos, pork ribs, a grown-up sloppy joe, white truffle deviled eggs, banana-bread french toast, chicken katsu, sushi and more. Culinary Dropout describes its grub as “damn good food for damn good people,” boasting a “scratch kitchen.”
The beverage list includes cocktails galore (with such libations as a Paloma Spritz, featuring blanco tequila, grapefruit, Combier Pamplemousse, sparkling wine and Himalayan pink salt, or the Campfire Vibes, with 100-proof Kentucky whiskey, apple cider, spanish vanilla and roasted five spice) and a mocktails section. Plus, there will be a selection of wines and both tap and canned beers.
The original Culinary Dropout first opened its doors in Arizona in 2012. The Orange location marks the company’s 16th spot overall and second in California (the first Golden State spot opened in Del Mar in April of this year).
If you’re wondering about the “Dropout” part, it’s a nod to founder Sam Fox himself: Fox opened his first restaurant, Gilligan’s Bar and Grill, in Tucson, Arizona, back in 1992 after he dropped out of college to start his new venture.
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Today, Culinary Dropout is just one part of the Fox Restaurant Concepts (FRC) brand, which includes such other restaurants as Blanco, the Henry, Dough Bird, Flower Child, Fly Bye, the Arrogant Butcher, the Green House, Zinburger, Wildflower, Olive and Ivy, Pushing Daisies and Society Swan.
FRC itself was acquired in a multimillion-dollar deal by the Cheesecake Factory, Inc. in 2019; however, it continues to operate as an independent subsidiary. FRC has grown into a team of upwards of 5,000 employees in more than 60 locations across the United States.
Culinary Dropout is open daily for lunch and dinner and on weekends for brunch, lunch and dinner.
Find it: 191 N. Orange St., Orange, 714-439-5566