Kimera in Irvine,the sister restaurant of Bistango and Bayside,now is open.
It’s an entirely new take on decor and food for John Ghoukassian, owner along with son Marc and daughter Karen.
It’s fun. The appeal of this restaurant is much more come hither than the sophistication of Bistango and Bayside. We’ve already had some dandy food and plan to be there often.
Unique architectural elements make bold statements. The first wow factor is a red wall that spans the entire front of the dining room and greets arrivals. More than 2,000 huge bamboo poles dramatize the ceilings and some walls.
To the right of the entry is a lounge and bar,big and very curvaceous,that shares the space with plenty of tables. This will be a well-used part of the restaurant since the building sits alongside Google Inc.’s Irvine building.
The Ghoukassians have signed on some fine staff members. We recognized a few hostesses and waiters and were delightfully surprised to discover Ottavio Orro is the general manager. Ottavio is quite the pro we first met years ago at Il Fornaio. We’ve kept track of him and watched him add depth to his r & #233;sum & #233; that will serve him well in this position.
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Kimera: stunning red wall, bamboo roof |
The chef is Chris Grodach. His name comes up in food conversations since he’s cooked some pretty memorable meals at the Montage Resort & Spa. He’s a Culinary Institute of America graduate and has done stints with French Laundry and Melisse (chef Josiah Citrin’s famed Santa Monica restaurant).
Chris has turned to global fusion food here, combining his experience in Asian, European, subcontinent and American cuisines. We delved into our first meal as a foursome with Bob and Ann Gilroy. He’s one of OC’s fine culinary and wine palates. Ann is an accomplished restaurant researcher.
Portions are generous. The presentations keep pace with the artistic background of all the Ghoukassian restaurants. Inventive appetizers can be easily turned into lighter dining. I’d like to mention the prawns with sweet chiles, cashews and coconut foam as an enjoyable shellfish composition. Other things that have made good first-course impressions: cipollini onion soup with a Gruy & #269;re cheese crouton, scallops with shaved prosciutto and artichoke, beignets of polenta and summer rolls in which flavors of daikon, green apple and watermelon peek through. The latter has a nuevo wasabi sorbet on the side.
At lunch, the bowl of soba noodles with vegetables and a mushroom-lemongrass broth is perfection. The steak and short rib sandwich does double duty in making a good impression.
As for dinner entrees, I was well comforted with the lamb loin in a crushed pine nut crust that sat atop miniature beads of couscous entwined with raisins, roasted eggplant and the merest hint of curry.
Salmon nestles on grilled napa cabbage and has a mild glaze of citrus and ginger. Ahi tuna goes Mediterranean with the spring vegetable ratatouille and truffled aioli sauce. Short ribs, the most trendy of entrees lately, go a little Italian with the polenta for starch. It’s like a little summertime with the colorful braised rainbow chard. A hangar steak is dusted with smoked Hungarian paprika and surrounded with sweet corn, roasted peppers, baby onions and an amusing Manchego cheese fondue sitting jauntily on the side. You know the creamy richness of pasta carbonara: Try this version made into a risotto dish with those round, plump grains of arborio rice.
From fish and shellfish to red meats of many sorts, the menu is varied enough to entice almost anyone. Consider too that even a pizza can be ordered at lunch. A fine roasted chicken brings poultry to the forefront. Chris manages to finesse all of it into preparations that make for happy dining.
The wine list is priced with respect to the consumer,lots of bottles in the $27 to $45 range and a great selection of wines by the glass.
Dinner appetizers are $7.50 to $13.75. Entrees: $19.75 to $29.75. Desserts: $6.50 to $9.50. Lunch items are about 25% less.
Kimera: 19530 Jamboree Road, Irvine (949) 261-1222.
Critics’ Favorites
Accolades were doled out to restaurants by the Southern California Restaurant Writers at its recent banquet at Disneyland Hotel.
Scores of restaurants from Santa Barbara to San Diego were given awards. Three of those are the Anaheim White House, La Vie en Rose in Brea and Napa Rose in Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa.
The Chef of the Year honor went to Eddie Meza of Anaheim White House in recognition of his culinary talents that have helped make that restaurant so well known and respected.
The Humanitarian of the Year award went to two people: Louis Laulhere, owner of La Vie en Rose, who was honored for his support of local causes, and Carl Karcher, who was given the award for his contributions to worthy causes during his long history as founder of Carl’s Jr.
Napa Rose walked away with the highest local award in the Continental category, a Golden Sceptre honor for its wine country cuisine provided by renowned chef Andrew Sutton and its wine program headed by Michael Jordan.
Way too many restaurants to list here were honored in various categories throughout Orange County.
It was a gala evening, held in the main ballroom of Disneyland Hotel. Once again, I was more than delighted with the delicious food the hotel provided. The packed ballroom of guests feasted on a buffet, which ordinarily wouldn’t be much of a sales point for such an affair. But in keeping with the top notch food this hotel has been offering for the past several years, this was a buffet that featured the finest sushi preparations, a winter soup to die for, braised short ribs to rival any in the county and a parade of other fine victuals that pleased our palates.
