It’s time to pull together all my dining memories and top stories of the past year. I hope you’ll find some new insights into places to dine in Orange County.
Quickest Closing of a New Restaurant
Martin Yan’s SensAsian and Yan Can eateries dazzled us with their fusion food in nicely appointed spaces. Then they surprised us with their sudden closing.
Martin is PBS-TV’s most widely watched chef; his program “Yan Can Cook” is translated into several languages and shown around the world. Martin closed all but two of his restaurants in Northern California after his financial backer passed away.
Best Chef Acquisition of the Year
The honor goes to David Wilhelm’s Culinary Adventures that includes French 75 in Laguna, Chat Noir in Costa Mesa and Rouge in Newport Beach, among others.
Culinary Adventures ended up with the extremely talented young Alsatian-born chef, Yvon Goetz, after his nine-year stint ended at Ritz-Carlton Laguna Niguel. The hotel decided to close its gourmet restaurant, The Dining Room, and turn it into an all-day restaurant as part of a renovation.
Incidentally, there’s still gourmet dining of the first order at the Ritz-Carlton, it’s just been switched to Club Grill and Bar. It has an elegant country manor theme with live, romantic music for dancing.
Most Surprising Phone Call
The one that informed me of the permanent closing of The Dining Room at the Ritz-Carlton. It was a corporate decision, but came as quite a jolt to the local dining establishment.
My first inclination when getting the news, which was released only about six weeks before it actually happened, was to make a reservation to have chef Yvon’s food at least once again while he still was cooking there.
I did that, but I made a reservation for 40 and began calling my foodie friends to join husband Patrick and I. Everyone concurred that it was one of the best food- and wine-matching meals of a lifetime.
Of course, we’ll now enjoy Yvon’s collaborations at all those Culinary Adventure restaurants.
Best Product Discovery of the Year
The world’s finest quality papayas shipped directly to our doorstep from Hawaii. You order by Tuesday, they are flown over on Wednesday and delivered on Friday.
The owner of Papaya Power is Grif Frost, one of the world’s small coterie of sake masters. Until two years ago, he owned one of the famous sake companies. After a very fulfilling career in the making, marketing and mystery of sake, Grif turned to another love, papayas.
Hawaii has the perfect climate for papayas, most of which go directly to Japan where they pay a much higher price to have the best. What Grif ships directly to us is the top grade and the only way to get what Japan is getting at a much lower price. You can check out the papaya service at www.papayapower.net to discover how easy and affordable it is to have this exotic treat whenever you want.
Best Overall Tableside Service
It’s still the Riviera at the Fireside in Westminster.
This restaurant has been featured on the Food Network as one of America’s premier places for flaming dessert. Steak Diane and a whole passel of other entrees also are flamb & #233;ed with panache. And there’s a fabulous caf & #233; Diablo with flames streaming down an orange peel as the coffee takes on a royal taste and visual impact.
It’s been marvelous to watch the crowds gather at Riviera,customers from Newport Beach and other points south who knew the restaurant so well for decades at its old South Coast Plaza location. Surely you remember that it used to be where Clubhouse now stands. It remains one of my favorite restaurants.
Most Encompassing Food Change in a Restaurant
The enchanting menu of the St. Regis Monarch Beach Resort and Spa’s Motif restaurant in Dana Point. They took a trend and ran with it, but they ran with understated & #233;lan and a clever and affordable menu that takes us on a wonderful international culinary tour.
For years, there’s been a trend of making meals of appetizers. Some of us are perfectly happy to see less food on our plates, just make it sufficient and delicious and we’re content. The delightful global dinner menu of Motif now features all small plates, each cooked or presented in its own unique container or on its own service ware.
We can dine inexpensively, making a meal of several appetizers or doubling the portion on some of the international classics. You won’t believe the wonderful small dishes from the Mediterranean, Italy, France, America, Portugal, Japan, China and more. It’s the best.
Best Country French Experience
It continues to be La Vie en Rose in Brea. The Normandy-style restaurant still is authentic.
Walk into a casually lush French country home atmosphere and savor the food the French are enjoying in their native land.
Between owner Louis Laulhere and the former beloved owners of Lafayette, Joyce and Edmond Sarfati, and the seductive experience, La Vie is a most special place where the French themselves hang out with those of us who merely relish fine food.
Best Mediterranean Representation
Hands down, it’s Black Sheep Bistro in Old Town Tustin.
Black Sheep is casually intimate but properly attired in table linens and settings. Owners Rick and Diane Boufford always are interacting with their clientele. Diane, in fact, is probably the first one you’ll encounter. She runs the front of the house.
Though Rick is the chef and busy whipping up all those dishes from Mediterranean countries, he’ll stroll through the dining room several times each evening to chat about the food you’ve ordered or are wondering about.
The menu has five lamb dishes and three duck entrees, a mixed Spanish grill and paella, as well and seafood and pasta dishes. The wine list is a marvel to match Rick’s food. It’s an enlightening dining experience that everyone should have.
Best New Little Restaurant
I don’t know how you can top the tiny,seats about 32,Tabu Grill in Laguna Beach. It’s adorable and the food is terrifically interesting.
Nancy Wilhelm opened the restaurant a few months ago, along with chef Jeff Platt. They really have their act together with a very romantic island atmosphere and food that fits like a glove.
Bamboo, warm woods and relaxing island colors make you feel like you’ve found the perfect little hideaway restaurant on the beach. It’s so small that only a shiny stainless steel kitchen can be accommodated.
Dishes with fresh seafood, steaks, pork, quail and duck rise to a new level, not to mention a carefully constructed wine list that will add another layer of smiles. I feel it’s a must for every serious diner to experience.
Best Wow! Factor
It’s still Montage Resort & Spa in Laguna Beach. If you haven’t seen the way they constructed this beautiful Craftsman-style property into the cliff that falls down to roaming lawns and the ocean, you are certainly missing out.
It features swell outdoor dining on a more casual scale at Mosaic, marvelous food and presentations at The Loft inside the main building (with unfettered views of the ocean) and signature elegance in food and design at Studio.
Wine lovers should be aware that the Montage cellar is stocked with 35,000 bottles of wine. The list is very eclectic, so there’s absolutely some wine to suit everyone. Every wine-producing region of the world is represented.
I love just sitting in the luxe lobby and having a drink and visiting with friends, so there are various reasons I have been to this resort so many times. Catch up on good living here.
Best Wine Program
How can I not single out Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar in Fashion Island?
While many places have a lot of wines by the glass now, it was Fleming’s corporate decision to introduce a 100-wines-by-the-glass program, plus another offering of tastings of any three or more wines.
It’s so easy to get confused when several wines are poured at one time to compare; at Flemings, though, glasses of wine are placed side-by-side in a wooden rack with each wine noted on a card in front.
Fleming’s also gets high marks for its classic steakhouse fare. It’s such a welcoming and easy restaurant with just the right amount of panache and class. Any connoisseurs of rib eye steak out there? Great version here.
Managing partner Jaye Sechrest and his staff always take good care of their customers.
Sexiest Restaurant
While David Wilhelm’s Rouge Bistro & Bar in Fashion Island is his newest French restaurant, and a beauty too, and his French 75 in Laguna is flat out charming, it’s Chat Noir in Costa Mesa that wins this nod.
I don’t think anyone in OC expected to see such a refined combination of architectural detail, French artwork, velvet, elegant bar and oozing French beauty as Chat Noir offers.
It is drop dead gorgeous,at least a 10 on the romantically sensual scale. The food is what we’d expect in an upscale Parisian bistro, along with a few American favorites. Cushy, luxe and sophisticated to the max.
Best Menu Redo
The Clubhouse at South Coast Plaza, under the guidance of partner Jim Hall, gets the big pat on the back. The menu still covers enough territory to cater to everyone’s tastes,fresh seafood, steaks and chops, regional dishes, pastas and sandwiches and salads that have truly gone first class. I love that you can order sandwiches at dinner, too, just in case you’re not up for a big entree.
Of course The Clubhouse also offers a big dose of beauty and friendliness. Rich jewel tones prevail in the upholstery and drapes (tons of sleek velvet), the grand staircase is quite impressive, the bar has a gold-leaf ceiling that rises two stories.
