Old venues can rev up a lot of new excitement when someone with a strong restaurant background and reputation for being warm and respectful to his employees comes along as owner and offers up a singular kind of affordable wine country experience.
That’s the current situation at Vine in San Clemente.
The new ownership under Russ Bendel has the public and media packing the place again. You will want to be among those discovering why it’s buzzing.
We first knew Russ when he was with Fleming’s for many years. He was the operating partner at the Fashion Island location by the time he was 25 and is also highly regarded for his knowledge of wines. He’s been steeped in the restaurant industry from childhood and now brings all that experience and unrelenting energy to Vine.
Couple that with his success in getting Jared Cook, with background forays in French-influenced cuisine and American classic cooking, to return as executive chef. Jared had been at Vine for awhile under former owners but had moved on. Now we’ve got totally intriguing food so reminiscent of Napa- or Sonoma-style dining, great wines and tremendously affordable prices holding, hands with the perfect decor for the concept, plus such friendly hospitality.
Vine’s aura evokes the essence of a wine country gem.
It unfolds as a bit rustic, with a small open kitchen sharing attention with all of the diners in the front dining room, a few booths and tables with atmospheric wine barrels in the second dining room, and an inviting patio.
The chef takes the best of each season’s agricultural offerings and what Vine bills as humanely grown meats and fowl, plus pristine fish, and melds them into tasty and beautiful presentations.
We began a meal with the charcuterie board, whose flavor profiles brought great anticipation of what might follow. Chef Jared’s memorable pâté with pistachios was accompanied on the board by some artisanal cold cuts, among them a terrific red-wine-marinated dried beef and a variety of olives and crostini.
English pea ravioli with a drizzle of sage brown butter and pine nuts; lemon-honey duck wings; Zinfandel-braised lamb cheeks; Spanish octopus ceviche are also tantalizing starters. The hot, crusty bread that comes with meals is addictive on its own.
I like that there are many small plates from which to choose, but a bunch of delicious entrees are also keeping the crowds happy. The pan-roasted loup de mer—aka, Mediterranean sea bass or branzino—is one of the best fish dishes I’ve tasted.
Fish lovers can also tuck into salmon poached in lemon verbena essence and fresh cod tacos strewn with chile de arbol crème and feathery shreds of cabbage and pickled onions.
I’m very keen to repeat my order of pork schnitzel, a version true to German cuisine. The delicious crispy paillard of pork is accompanied by herbed spätzle, wild mushrooms and spring vegetables. The New York strip steak is also a serious piece of meat, grilled and surrounded with some asparagus, garlic-perfumed crushed potatoes and pea tendrils, and a sauce of classic béarnaise. Jidori chicken braised with white wine and accompanied by vegetables and the French perfection of tarragon infusion is yet another well-conceived entree. For more casual dining, consider the American Kobe burger or the pulled lamb sandwich. Yummy.
There is a good wine list, naturally. Many by-the-glass selections from $7 to $18. I’ve wandered through several, among them: NZ Enzed Marlborough 2012 Sauvignon Blanc, with grassy and gooseberry aromas and mid-level crispness; Martin Ray Russian River Valley Chardonnay, with hints of baked stone fruit, coconut and a bit of floral structure; Tantara, 2008 Bien Nacido Pinot Noir, Santa Maria Valley, a vivid wine with stunning finesse and lingering blackberry, wild cherry and sweet plum still in my memory; Ehlers Estate 2011, One Twenty Over Eighty Cabernet, Bordeaux-style with classic dark berries, chocolate and distinct terroir; and Fonseca 10-year-old Port—ripe fruit meets sleek mouth feel, a great way to finish off a meal.
Greg Turner is a great server you might want to ask for. He honed his skills at Morton’s and delights in making customers comfortable with the foods and wines. Appetizers and small plates are $5 to $14; entrees $13 to $27. Wines are $32 to $75, with a few more pricey labels. Dinner only.
Vine: 211 N. El Camino Real, San Clemente, (949) 361-2079.
Golden Opportunity
I’m wondering how many of my readers are taking advantage of some of the most creative, always delicious, global cuisine in this county, priced at only $22 or $24 for three courses on Wednesday evenings at Golden Truffle in Costa Mesa. This is the hands-down best bargain in gourmet dining this county has ever seen.
It’s no secret that I and some of my most serious foodie friends consider chef/owner Alan Greeley the sole chef in our midst who cooks the kind of genius-inspired food that people travel around the globe to enjoy in Michelin-starred restaurants. Alan is also the only chef to present the cuisines of dozens of countries by interspersing their signature dishes on his own California-creative menu.
The frosting on the cake is that the ethnic foods are authentic in taste. Alan just presents them in an artistic tableau.
There are times when we simply cannot go another day without his dishes built on the best of anything and everything that purveyors bring to the kitchen. The menu says some items change daily, subject to the best products of the moment and the chef’s whim. Well that whim is not to be taken lightly; it’s actually an acute culinary intellect.
Let’s start with a mention of menu items that have been pretty steady on the lunch menu. How about dipping some warm tortilla chips into Maine Lobster guacamole? New Zealand blue abalone sashimi with wasabi ponzu sauce? Scallop gazpacho, anyone?
King crab and shrimp etouffee atop a baked potato rather than white rice. House-made Alsatian sauerkraut plated with sausages and Alan’s signature mustard speaks to my love of down-home, everyday European fare. Salads deliver what good greens and their complements should.
Golden Truffle has always been known for a great selection of unique boutique wines to enhance this whole experience, so especially at dinner, it’s a given I’m ordering one of its very reasonably priced bottles.
Alan was making his dinner duck tacos long before they became trendy. They were simply a way to present the best roasted duck in a more amusing manner. Who else makes Jidori chicken-liver beignets? Marinated fresh anchovies come with Mediterranean olive salsa. Hudson Valley duck is crisply roasted. A Moroccan lamb burger with cayenne fries is on the current dinner menu, as is Colorado lamb lasagne.
Veal sweetbreads are one of my addictions. Fish and chips combine fresh halibut and shrimp. A duet of Vail Ranch New York steak and filet of lamb is a meat eater’s dream. Short ribs braised in red wine are rich and tender.
Where the real global extravaganza comes in is in those Wednesday evening dinners themed to a different country each week. We’ve eaten specialties of the Caribbean islands, Spain, Morocco, South Africa, France, Germany, Brazil, Italy, Central America, Vietnam, and city-centric foods, such as the famous dishes of Shanghai and Hong Kong.
The two upcoming ethnic dinners are:
n This Wednesday’s Mexico Dining. Menu: Smashed Avocado Roasted Salsa and Salted Hot Tortilla Chips, Fresh Fish, TBD, with Veracruz Peruano Beans and Lemon Rice, and Banana Pan Dulce for dessert. $24 per person.
n May 21, Vietnam Dining. Menu: Crispy Imperial Egg Rolls with Lime Pepper Vinegar, Caramelized Lemongrass Red Chile Shrimp and Cardamom and Lychee-Marinated Sugar Shack Pineapple. $22 per person.
Note that there are no substitutions and no other menus on the special Wednesday evenings. Reservations can be made for anytime between 5:30 and 7:30 p.m.
Alan also offers brunch, but only on the last Saturday of the month. The a la carte menu is filled with unique takes on brunch items, the likes of which you will not find elsewhere. If you like to bring your own wines, corkage is free on Thursday nights.
Golden Truffle has a full bar for your cocktail pleasures. Complimentary hors d’oeuvres are served at the bar between 5 and 6:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday evenings.
Lunch: Tuesday through Friday, 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Dinner: Thursday, Friday and Saturday, from 5:30 to 10 p.m. Closed Sunday and Monday.
Golden Truffle: 1767 Newport Blvd., Costa Mesa, (949) 645-9858.
Tasty on the Cheap
Think about having a meal at Urban Plates in Irvine when you don’t feel like doing the big-tab, sophisticated scene.
It’s hard not to like what it’s doing. It’s a good-looking rustic place with lots of rough-hewn wood tables and indoor/outdoor seating. Complete meals are $10 and less, and it’s good stuff, too. Everything is made fresh daily. Soups are $4; entree salads $10; free-range chicken, Diestel turkey, wild ono, hangar steak, baked salmon, and some braised stews, etc., are also $10 and come with two hot or cold side dishes; hand-carved sandwiches with one hot or cold side dish are $10. Complete kid’s meals are $6, and hand-stretched pizzettes are $5. All side dishes—a nice selection—are $3.50 when ordered a la carte.
I highly recommend the chicken salad sandwich served on ciabatta bread. There’s free-range chicken, red grapes, apples, roasted walnuts, sage and celery in the delicious mix.
The curried vegetable braise, slow-simmered pork stew, and Diestel turkey meal are also on my reorder list. When it comes to desserts, few places offer a true Hummingbird Cake, a tall, multilayered affair that’s a fine marriage of bananas and nuts with plenty of cream cheese frosting. Thus, it’s also a bit of a treat.
Urban Plates: 3972 Barranca Parkway (near Culver Drive), Irvine, (949) 387-2600. Lunch and dinner.
Nibbles
This Tuesday, Slapfish, classified as a modern fish shack with quick to-go items, opens its second OC location at 211 Broadway St. in Laguna Beach near Main Beach.
The first brick-and-mortar Slapfish, which had its start as a food truck, is at Beach Boulevard and Adams Avenue in Huntington Beach.
The owners recently completed a franchise deal with a restaurant group that will further expand the concept. Laguna, with its laid-back atmosphere and expanses of beaches, is always game for another casual eatery, and this one’s prime ocean-close location should attract plenty of beachgoers this summer.
