Food is my passion. At breakfast, I'm thinking about lunch. At lunch, I'm thinking about dinner. I love the shopping, the preparing, and the eating: I love the joy of a great meal. (Okay, I don't love the cleaning up.)
Isabel Cruz serves up food for the body-and soul. The signature menus in her restaurants cater to the hip, hungry, and healthy crowd of West Coast locals that are always "on the go."
Isabel comes from a Latino family where large and frequent gatherings were always centered around food. Self-taught - the early influences of her food were inspired by friends and family from Puerto Rico, Cuba, and Mexico. By growing up in Los Angeles, California, Isabel was also influenced by the Japanese, Korean, and Thai cooking styles. The Latin and Asian influences in cooking gradually began fusing themselves. The result is food that is exotic, fresh, dynamic - and beneficial! Taking the fusion craze to the next level, she manages to allow for, and encourage, healthful yet delicious substitutions or modifications in all her menus.
Isabel's believes in clean, simple eating are transforming menus and people's perception of "health food" dishes with her entrées fit for any palate. In addition to her commitment to a wholesome dining experience, she combines appetizing flavors to create a style and presentation that's truly her own. Even though her responsibilities to a healthier way of eating are always present, they never overshadow the delicious recipes in her menus and in this book on healthful cooking.
When Isabel Cruz opened her first small restaurant in San Diego, she cooked what she loved to eat: simple Latin comfort food spiced with the Pacific Rim flavors she knew from her old Los Angeles neighborhood. Her trademark blend of Puerto Rican, Cuban, Mexican, Japanese, and Thai cooking allowed her to cut some of the calories and fat so often found in Latin food without ever sacrificing taste. Soon, the nutritious, flavorful, easy-to-prepare meals Isabel had cooked every night for her family took California by storm.
In the recently released Isabel's Cantina, she shares the deceptively simple recipes that make her five West Coast restaurants so popular, as well as many of her own personal favorites. By relying on the boldly flavored ingredients common to both Latin and Asian cuisines - like mangoes, limes, chiles, mint, ginger, coconut, and cilantro - Isabel's healthful dishes are never bland. Blending fresh flavors with an eye for health, Isabel's signature Latin food with Asian accents is not only good for you - more important - it's delicious.
Isabel and her ever-loving husband, William, have three restaurants in San Diego, California, one more in Oregon and a fifth restaurant – Isabel – will opening up in the fall in Portland’s upscale Pearl District. Isabel, William, and her two sons, Robert and Ryan, all live in sunny San Diego, California.