Tacos find asylum in Camp

Editor’s note: This clarifies that Greg Daniels worked under Pascal Olhats.

COSTA MESA — The Camp, which is known for offbeat, food-conscious restaurants like Native Foods and 118 Degrees, will add another eatery: taco asylum.

Set to open in winter, taco asylum won’t be your average taco stand.

Partner, Greg Daniels, is also the owner of Haven Gastropub, the gourmet beer joint in Orange. Classically trained at Le Cordon Bleu in Pasadena and worked under Pascal Olhats (of Tradition by Pascal), he is known at his pub for marinating mussels in dark ales and braising ribs in India pale ale.

Daniels will apply his love for unconventional cuisine in his new endeavor, according to a news release.

Just like its neighbors, taco asylum, which is purposely spelled with lower-case letters, will offer up traditional recipes with a modern twist, incorporating international ingredients and interesting proteins in their tacos such as octopus, escolar, pork belly and shortrib.

Located between Native Foods and SEED People’s Market, the 40-seat restaurant will be open for lunch and dinner in late 2010. Daniels, along with his partners Wil Dee and Ace Patel, will curate taco asylum’s menu.

If foodies would like to take a peek, they can check out https://www.tacoasylum.com.

Joanna Clay