There are two restaurants in the Irvine Spectrum that I recommend when questions come my way. They are P.F. Chang’s and Dave & Buster’s. The latter has been turning my head since opening in mid-’98. This is a sleekly laid out place that offers a pub-like lounge reeking with conviviality, a huge “Million Dollar Midway” stacked to the gills with the most current electronic arcade games and interactive amusements, plus a very notable restaurant. There’s also a billiards area. What’s best is that each area of Dave & Buster’s is separate; the diner knows nothing of the fun going on in another wing of the building.
In fact, this dining room has the aura of a hidden patio garden one might come upon serendipitously in the Deep South. Savannah, Ga., Charleston, S.C. and New Orleans have their share of such enclosed gardens that one finds tucked behind a courtyard gate. Throughout the building, no expense was spared on fine hardwood for flooring and walls, interspersed with grand expanses of old-fashioned mirrors topped by massive crown moldings. Entering through a brick arch, the dining room is decked out in half walls of brick, large red leather booths along a back step-up area fronted by black wrought iron (eliciting the feeling of a Southern veranda), a lower level of tables and booths and lots of trees. Alas, those very nice amenities have yet another compelling accent. That would be the huge stained glass window, the 18 Tiffany-style chandeliers (each unique) hung about and the quartet of 5-foot-tall cylinders of glass that form the wall sconces above those romantic booths. These upright bolts of multi-colored glass, reminiscent of the colorful mille fiore art of Venice, give the Tiffany lamps a run for their money. By day, the tables are casual and uncovered, but snowy napery dresses them for dinner.
I’d describe the menu as eclectic and casual, and, of most importance, really bargain-priced for the quality. At the outset, I’ll remind you to save room for one of the best desserts in OC, to be discussed later. Oriental potstickers, quesadillas with either roasted vegetable filling or fajita-style chicken, stuffed potato skins and a loaded nacho plate are appealing appetizers. However, I’d like to guide you to a few other starters that I find delightful. The chicken wraps consist of a mixture of spicy poultry, shiitake mushrooms, fresh cilantro, several julienned vegetables and peanuts, the whole to be tucked into crisp lettuce leaves. The dipping sauce is great too: slightly sweet with a sesame background. Pizzas also make for good shared beginnings or an entr & #233;e. The new one topped with salami, cherry tomatoes and black olives is interesting and the cheeseburger pizza is indeed a kick.
Soups have always had a rush of flavor here. The most recent is a creamy mushroom stocked with plenty of mushroom chunks. Do try the chicken noodle salad. If you’re going to redefine the rules of the authentic Chinese recipe, then this version is of high interest. String-thin noodles are mingled with seared chopped bits of chicken, slices of shiitake mushroom, red pepper slivers, matchsticks of cantaloupe and some roasted peanuts, then set atop salad greens and dressed in an almost weightless sesame dressing.
This is the place for a Philly cheesesteak sandwich: stacked high on a hoagie roll and tasting like it does in its native city. Several burgers are made with half-pound premium beef patties, including one with the restaurant’s fine signature barbecue sauce. In fact, some of the entrees rely on that same sauce for their punctuation. Pork ribs come in two styles: one with the classic barbecue sauce that leans to the spicy side, and the Jack Daniel ribs whose slightly sweet sauce sports a finesse from the added Tennessee whiskey essence. I’ll take the latter every time. It even comes on a grilled double chicken breast (sided with great mashed potatoes and lots of fresh green beans).
On the current menu is a spicy pasta dish called Shrimp Orleans in a thickish marinara sauce that I like, but it is not for the faint of heart. By March that shrimp dish will change, then to be bathed in a cream sauce of mild sophistication that I am sure will also allow the taste of the shrimp to shine more prominently. Southern spirit is maintained in the farm-raised catfish filets and fries, a la fish and chips. Mahi-mahi is on the menu, Mexican Riviera fashion bathed with a chipotle-honey mix before grilling and then topped with avocado and pico de gallo. Tempura-style shrimp are a happy combo with a side of that chipotle-honey mix for dipping.
The tender rib eye steak is a sure winner. It’s seasoned with mesquite pepper spice and served with those good mashed potatoes and green beans. There’s also a top sirloin done with either garlic butter or a Southwestern sauce. Chicken piccata and beef ravioli are also worth trying.
Finally, you may want to take advantage of the drink of the day. My most recent meal was accompanied by a $2.50 classic margarita. Barring that, there’s an ample wine list and a lot of microbrews on tap and imported beers that run the gamut from light brews to stouts.
As the meal winds down, you realize that dessert here is serious. Big portions of subtly spiced carrot cake, down-home apple pie, and dark and white chocolate mousse cake are really good. But the hands-down winner,one that I meant to include in my best-of-the-year column a couple of weeks ago, but that somehow slipped through the cracks,is the Dreamy Italian Cream Cake. This luscious thing is a triple layer of buttermilk cake loaded with pecans and toasted coconut and slathered in a cream cheese filling and frosting. It is just plain seductive.
There are now 22 Dave and Buster’s, with a couple more set to open. They cover the U.S. and even have invaded the United Kingdom. And, yes, there is a Dave and a Buster: Corriveau and Corley, respectively, who opened the first D & B in Dallas in 1982. Wouldn’t you expect a successful venture from someone (Corriveau) whose first restaurant was dubbed Cash McCool’s Saloon and Games Parlor? For me, Dave & Buster’s is cool to the max. There’s something for everyone and this dining room is a place where I am very happy.
Chao publishes Chao’s Dinesty, a food, wine and travel newsletter, in Irvine.
AT A GLANCE
DAVE & BUSTER’S
Address: 71 Fortune Drive in the Irvine Spectrum, (949) 727-0555; 20 City Drive West in the Block at Orange, (714) 633-1665.
Open: Lunch and dinner served from 11 a.m.; same menu all day
Prices: Appetizers $3.50 to $7.25. Pizzas and salads $7.95. Entrees $5.95 to $14.95.
