By Mary-Justine Lanyon
Editor
Diners who may not have eaten at BIN189 at the Lake Arrowhead Resort and Spa for a while are in for a delightful surprise when they do return.
Executive Chef Ruben Bugarin, who joined the staff last September, has just launched his new menu which is chock full of a variety of tastes sure to please every palate.
As a child of just 2 or 3, Chef Ruben followed his mother around their kitchen, watching everything she did as she cooked. Then, when he was 11 or 12, he went to work with his uncle, who was a chef. “I learned how to cook eggs, how to cut meats and vegetables,” Chef Ruben said. “I started liking it more and more.”
That led to his decision to attend the California School of Culinary Arts, where he received his Culinary Arts diploma. From there, his career took off. Chef Ruben has worked as a sous chef, an executive chef and a chef de cuisine at Pelican Hill Resort and Spa, Knotts Berry Farm, Soboba Casino Resort and, most recently, at Yaamava Casino Resort. Over the 30-plus years he has been a chef, Chef Ruben has also worked in Colorado and Las Vegas.
He was born in San Diego but grew up in Rosemead. His first job, at 16, was at the eatery in a K-Mart. A woman there took him under her wing – sensing his passion for cooking – and taught him how to make soups.
At Yaamava he was the chef de cuisine for the five venues that make up the 909 sports bar, creating the menus for the barbecue, American, Asian, Italian and higher end restaurants.
“I love what I do,” Chef Ruben said. “I do everything with my heart.”
He reads a lot about new styles of cooking, new techniques that are developed. But in creating this new menu, the chef said he did not want to make it too complicated or pricey. “We want to attract the Resort’s guests and the locals,” he said.
Toward the end of February, he plans to roll out weekday specials: Margarita Monday, Taco Tuesday, Wing Wednesday. And Thursday will be buy one entrée, get one half price.
When he started at the Resort, Chef Ruben stayed with the existing menu as he acclimated to the kitchen, the staff and the likes and dislikes of the diners. And then the holidays hit – certainly no time to introduce a new menu.
When Chef Ruben came to the Lake Arrowhead Resort and Spa the first time, he felt very much at home. He said he had missed the atmosphere and setting of Pelican Hill. He also looked forward to the opportunity to create a new menu.
“I was ready for a change,” he said, after being at Yaamava for three years. “And I missed the resort setting. I wanted to get back into it.
Executive Chef Ruben Bugarin in the BIN189 kitchen, where he says “the magic happens.”
“I love the view here and I love the people I work with,” he said.
Chef Ruben has been joined by Sous Chef Matthew Pope, who had worked at The Grill at the Antler’s. The kitchen also employs about eight cooks and an equal number of stewards, who operate the dishwasher, prep some food and keep the kitchen clean.
Chef Ruben’s goal is for his guests to leave happy. “And we want them to come back,” he said. “We’re here for you – we will do whatever you need.”
Having worked at one point at a hospital, Chef Ruben is familiar with dealing with dietary restrictions and allergies. “We can tailor dishes to a guest’s needs,” he said.
One fun assignment he has had has been cooking for the Dodgers during spring training. “I created a menu for them – they are really good people,” he said, adding he loves baseball (but admitted he’s an Angels fan).
As Chef Ruben decided which dishes to prepare for a tasting as we talked, he noted that he orders and cooks fresh fish – never frozen.
Because I had said I love salmon, he prepared his angel hair dish, which has garlic, tomato, parsley, basil and goat cheese drizzled with olive oil, and added some grilled salmon. It is truly delicious.
We also sampled the burrata salad, crispy calamari, Bin mussels with toast, fish & chips and crispy Brussel sprouts (amazing!).
The lunch and dinner menu includes Snacks & Shareables – a charcuterie board, the calamari and Brussel sprouts, chips and queso and jalapeño poppers. In addition to the burrata salad, there is a house Caesar, grilled octopus salad and a cobb salad.
The entrees range from an almost mile-high chicken sandwich to a 16-ounce Angus ribeye. There’s a burger, fish tacos, pork chops and Airline Chicken.
A diner named Caroline, sitting nearby, called out that the Airline Chicken was “amazing” and said she loved the fingerling potatoes that accompanied it.
BIN189 is also open for breakfast, featuring omelets, Benedicts, a chile relleno breakfast, a pork chile verde omelet, avocado toast and, of course, bacon or sausage and eggs.
Be sure to try a cappuccino or espresso – the chef was proud to show off their new and shiny espresso machine.
Chef Ruben was open to a couple of ideas we tossed around – a cooking class and perhaps an occasional ethnic cuisine night (Indian, Thai, Italian?).
“Everything we serve is nice and fresh,” Chef Ruben said as we toured the kitchen where, he said, “the magic happens.”
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