Legendary Wine Merchant Uncorks Lido Isle Shop
Lobster, David Bruce Dinner on TAPS; Wingnuts Opens in OC
EXECUTIVE DINING by Fifi Chao
When the famed Le St. Germain restaurant on Melrose in L.A. closed in the late ’70s, I was there on the last night.
Guess who else came to dinner? Toni Tuso (then owner of Orange Coast Magazine), Ruth Ko (now owner of Orange Coast Magazine) and Dennis Overstreet. I was invited along since I was the restaurant and wine writer for Orange Coast at the time. Dennis, a complete aficionado of wine, had just published his first wine book and I still have that autographed copy that he graciously gave to me.
Not too long after that sentimental night when an era and a celebrity-stocked restaurant came to a close, I was back at a table at the same address. This time, it was for the opening of Patina, the restaurant that has defined the modern era of fine L.A. dining to the entire world and remains the top-rated restaurant in the city and its environs.
The owners of Patina, Christine and Joachim Splichal, have also found appreciative clientele for their restaurants, Pinot Provence and Tangata, here in Orange County.
And that takes me back to Dennis Overstreet.
Way over there in Beverly Hills, he has a famous wine shop called The Wine Merchant. For almost 30 years, Dennis has fostered the goodwill of stars and wine lovers of all levels.
He’s become a legendary wine enthusiast. He’s authored another book,”Overstreet’s New Wine Guide, Celebrating the New Wave in Winemaking,” Clarkson Potter/Publishers, New York, 1999, $40.
And, following in Joachim Splichal’s footsteps, he’s deemed Orange County worthy of its own Wine Merchant wine shop. It opened a few days ago at 3400 Via Lido on Lido Isle in Newport Beach. It’s completely stocked with domestic and imported wines. Use this as a discovery adventure when you have an hour or so. For more information on the shop or to inquire if they have the wine you’re searching for, call (949) 566-9463.
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Maine Lobster Summer Feast returns and Reggae Thursdays debut at TAPS Fish House & Brewery in Brea. Plus, there’s a David Bruce Wine Dinner coming, studded with fine wine and food.
These cool offerings are a nice balance to the heat of summer. I would urge that you take advantage of the fresh Maine lobster meals priced at only $19.95 per person.
Chefs will be on the patio, grilling a whole one and a quarter-pound sweet, succulent lobsters, every Sunday through the summer from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m..
They’ll be served with drawn butter and lemon and will be accompanied with all the traditional summer favorites befitting a lobster cookout: Caesar salad, whole new potatoes, sweet corn on the cob and even Bananas Foster for dessert.
Also at TAPS, regulars and newcomers can start their weekend with Reggae Thursdays. Beginning on Thursday, May 30, reggae bands will perform on the patio from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Four different groups will be in rotation, all playing the lively rhythms and soulful beat for which Jamaica is known. A special menu of tropical rum cocktails will be featured, as well as the restaurant’s regular Thursday night patio barbecue, with small plates in the $2 to $3 range.
Executive chef Craig Rouse’s reggae-inspired menu includes coconut crusted shrimp with mango chutney, Jamaican pulled pork sliders with caramelized onions (the Caribbean version of our mini-hamburger sliders), jerk spiced steak on skewers, Caribbean chicken drumettes glazed in jalape & #324;o jelly and grilled drunken fruit kabobs marinated in Bacardi rum. The Thursday evening reggae event will run through Sept. 26.
TAPS will host the David Bruce Wine Dinner on Tuesday, June 4, with a reception at 6:45 p.m. and dinner at 7:30 p.m.
This Los Gatos winery dates back almost 40 years and is a prime player on the international wine stage. The winery was among the first to put white wines through a secondary, malolactic fermentation; it was a California pioneer in the use of whole-berry fermentation in making red wines; and David Bruce was one of the first California winemakers to import French oak barrels. Special guest for the evening will be Michael Sones, cellar master of David Bruce.
The evening includes a menu by Chef Rouse of roasted artichoke ravioli, gazpacho with King crab and vegetables brunoise in seasoned tomato broth (served in toasted acorn squash), fruit melange granita, smoked filet with spring vegetable brochette and creamy bleu cheese polenta and, for dessert, chocolate espresso souffl & #233; with cr & #269;me anglaise.
Wines: Santa Cruz Chardonnay 2000, Russian River Pinot Noir 2000, Santa Clara Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 1999, Beato Vineyard Zinfindel 2000 and Shell Creek Petite Syrah 1999. The price of the dinner is $95 per person, all-inclusive, and reservations must be made.
If you’ve never been to TAPS Fish House & Brewery, then you’ve also missed a very good-looking New Orleans-esque building that is the pride of the Brea Birch Street Promenade. It is located at 101 E. Imperial Highway in Brea. TAPS is privately owned by the Manzella family, who will open their second restaurant, The Catch in Anaheim, later this summer. For more information on the lobster cookout, the Reggae Thursdays or the David Bruce wine dinner, please call (714) 257-0101.
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Another new concept for you to try is Wingnuts, which specializes in 30 varieties of chicken wings and 10 flavors of ribs. The new restaurant just opened in the Target Greatland Shopping Center at 3030 Harbor Blvd., in Costa Mesa.
Prices for wings range from a “taster” of 10 pieces for $6.95 to the party-size platter of 100 pieces for $39.95; prices are $13.95 for the spare ribs and beef ribs and $14.95 for the baby back ribs.
Call (714) 434-7700 for further information.
