Brad A. Johnson
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Brad A. Johnson

Food & Travel

Brad A Johnson
  • Blog
  • About
  • Photography
    • Food Photography
    • Travel Photography
    • Restaurant Photography
    • Hotel & Resort Photography
  • Writing
  • Contact

Photo of the Week: Rye Goods, Newport Beach

  • February 12, 2021
  • Brad A. Johnson
“Somebody has been studying their Vermeer,” wrote a respected colleague when I shared this photo on my Instagram feed.
Let’s be clear: I’m no Vermeer. But he’s right. That Dutch Baroque still life is precisely the mood I was striving for with this image, inspired by a still-warm loaf of freshly baked sourdough from a beautiful new bakery called Rye Goods in Newport Beach.

The bakery, and this loaf itself, are a throw-back to simpler times. Slow food is the new luxury.  

This little corner of Newport Beach has become such an interesting travel destination in recent years. It wasn’t long ago that this nook of the Balboa Peninsula was more or less the armpit of coastal Orange County. The beach was overrun with low-grade tourists, and the village around the harbor was dirty and literally falling down. But everything changed when the entire Lido Village was gutted redeveloped — restaurants, coffee shops, independent designer boutiques, a spa — and then came the arrival of the charming Lido House Hotel across the street. Rye Goods is the village’s latest upgrade.

It’s like an entirely new neighborhood now. I could easily and happily spend a long, luxurious weekend in Newport Beach’s Lido Village without ever feeling the desire to venture beyond this little peninsula.  

Country style sourdough from Rye Goods at Lido Marina Village in Newport Beach (Photo by Brad A. Johnson)

Rye Goods, 3418 Via Lido, Newport Beach, 949-432-5550, ryegoods.com

For more travel inspiration and photos, I invite you to follow me and join the conversation on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

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Brad A. Johnson

Brad A. Johnson is a writer and photographer specializing in food and travel. His work has been honored by the Lowell Thomas Travel Journalism Awards, James Beard Awards, World Food Media Awards, Food Photographer of the Year Awards, Society of Features Journalism Awards and others. Based in Southern California, Brad currently serves as Editorial Director of the new luxury consumer travel magazine of the Global Travel Collection (launching Spring 2023).

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Brad A. Johnson
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Writer. Photographer. Traveler. Restaurant Critic.

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