I was fortunate to be introduced to the Bristol Palms California Bistro & Bar at the Hilton Costa Mesa hotel two years ago when some of my gourmet friends and a couple of other restaurant writers insisted that I needed to dine there.
Executive chef Jan Pfeiffer and his talented sous chef, Danh Kom, have kept their edge in the past few years with seasonally paced menus. While this is quite the approachable restaurant in theme and food, it also is much more than what a “bistro” reflects.
The ambiance was expensive to achieve. Take about $16 million to renovate a hotel and you have an idea of Hilton Costa Mesa, which sits just four blocks from South Coast Plaza on the other side of the San Diego (I-405) Freeway.
The beautiful public spaces, including the lobby and restaurant, make use of vast expanses of marble, sexy blond wood, panels of pressed glass, custom carpeting that meets split bamboo flooring, intimate chandeliers, very comfortable modern furnishings, lots of good art and even gracefully dramatic glass elevators gliding up and down one wall.
There’s also an inviting cocktail lounge that takes full advantage of the decor.
Bristol Palms sits at one end of the lobby and is fenced in only by an undulating half wall so that it is part of the entire ambiance. Tables are well spaced making quiet conversation possible.
Chris Williams and his musicians perform during dinner hours on Wednesday evenings. Chris is well known for his renditions of tender jazz music, which is at just the right sound level so that it’s fully enjoyable without interfering with dining or talking.
My readers should know that chef Jan comes with accolades given by one of the world’s premier chef organizations. Just three months ago, he was chosen as Chef of the Year for Los Angeles and Orange counties by Les Toques Blanches. This organization, made up of international executive chefs and practitioners chosen by their peers for having done exceptional culinary work, extends membership by invitation-only.
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Bristol Palms: part of hotel’s $16 million makeover |
Being invited in as a dedicated chef and then having those peers think you’ve outdistanced the pack in some way is impressive.
Together, Jan and sous chef Dahn give international dishes a gentle jolt. Concentrated complementary sauces might be painted around artfully arranged food and sometimes ribboned across it. Part of the enjoyment is the interesting plates on which the food arrives,perhaps an oval plate for one course and then a square one or a free-form plate for subsequent courses.
The restaurant calls its food California Rim cuisine, but it’s actually a sensible fusion of nuances that are plucked from the various cultures Jan is familiar with. He’s European-born, well traveled, speaks four languages and has been a chef in other countries.
I like that there are casual and more serious items at lunch and dinner,breakfast, too, since this is an all-day restaurant, but we’re concentrating more on the two other meals they serve.
Along the way, Bristol Palms doesn’t forget to have fun. For instance, what if I want a delicious thin-crust pizza for lunch? In the remodel, a European-style, wood-fired stone pizza oven was on the wish list and the chefs got it. The pies are outstanding.
Also a hit from this oven is the Reuben sandwich. Think of the pastrami, sauerkraut and cheeses tucked into flatbread rather than sliced bread and then baked in the stone oven. It’s a great twist on an old favorite. This sandwich has become one of the restaurant’s most popular lunch orders.
Some dishes are on both lunch and dinner menus. At any time you can savor the appetizer called smoked salmon summer rolls. Norwegian smoked salmon is wrapped in a transparent rice paper wrap, along with daikon sprouts, shredded jicama, carrots and lettuce. This is a nutritious, well-balanced and delicious way to start a meal and the roll gets even more enticing when you dip it in the ponzu-like sauce sitting jauntily on the side of the plate.
Grilled teriyaki-marinated Asian short ribs also appear midday and evening as do steamed clams in a lovely tomato-garlic bisque with herbed flatbread from the stone oven for dipping.
Another beauty is the Pacific crab cake. There’s a clever avocado compote on the side and also a good dollop of mango-papaya relish and a bit of remoulade perfumed with hoisin.
I find myself scooping a bit of just one of these complements with a bite of crab cake,a dense affair that’s almost all crabmeat,and then flavoring my next bite with another one, giving myself the privilege of having a comparison crab cake tasting.
The cold tapas appetizer plate could make a meal for one and is great to share with two or three others. This oblong platter holds thinly sliced Spanish Serrano ham, salami, roasted eggplant, marinated piquillo peppers (sweet, little red peppers) artichokes, a variety of Spanish olives, almond-fig cake and aged manchego cheese that’s baptized with 12-year-old sherry-Rioja syrup and smoked extra virgin olive oil.
While I fully enjoy Bristol Palms’ version of onion soup made with sweet Vidalia onions and topped with a manchego cheese crust, the udon noodle soup replete with fat Japanese noodles in a broth with shiitake mushrooms and baby bok choy is the ultimate comfort food. The soup is even better when optional tiger prawns are added.
Tops on the salad list is the ahi taco salad, which begins with a crispy tortilla basket that comes filled with greens, seared ahi, tomatoes and avocado. It all comes together with a lime-salsa vinaigrette.
Entree dishes traipse through Italian, American and Asian cultures.
Salmon is a favored entree in most restaurants, so you’ve probably had many versions. But I expect you’ll really enjoy the seared hibachi salmon dish here. There’s a medley of Maui onions and cucumbers beneath the fish, daikon sprouts adding their snappy taste as well and crispy wonton chips tucked just so alongside. Scoop up a crunchy chip with a bite of the juicy salmon hovering beneath an almost caramelized exterior and you’ll see how good a play on diverse textures can be.
There’s also Chilean sea bass that is pan-roasted and served atop a warm gingered avocado and vine-ripened tomato salad strewn with juliennes of basil. Halibut is treated to an orange-soy glaze and surrounded by a thread of cilantro oil. Completing the plate are garlic mashed potatoes and a fennel salad.
The sizzling presentation of Mongolian beef fills the air with savory aromas. The slices of beef are first marinated in the Asian manner, and then stir-fried with carrots, enoki mushrooms and fresh asparagus. It’s served sizzling hot from a cast iron skillet. Those who like surf and turf can add tiger prawns to the mix.
The grilled Angus New York steak gets a smile for the “smashed” potatoes sharing the plate and kudos for tenderness and the bright caramelized shallot and pancetta ragout that says a lot more than a drizzle of just pan juices or an old hat sauce on a fine piece of meat. A filet mignon finds a red wine demi glace with truffle essence as partner.
Italian Dishes
For Italian-influenced dishes, there is a delicious gnocchi dish. They are light as a cloud, adrift in an Alfredo sauce with Parmigiano-Reggiano and pancetta and baked in the stone oven.
Linguine with seafood is a good seller,lots of shellfish, baby spinach leaves and shiitake mushrooms mingling their flavors with the pasta. The ravioli here are fat, round ones stuffed with goat cheese and sun-dried tomato and come as a sibling to roasted chicken, all of it served on fresh spinach and bathed in a chic champagne sauce.
Piccata style free-range chicken sports a lemon-butter sauce. I’ve written a bit about Bristol Palms’ pizzas. There’s one that I highly recommend among the half-dozen offered: smoked salmon, two cheeses and a few baby greens in a balsamic drizzle placed on top after it comes out of the oven.
Another nice touch at Bristol Palms is that suggested wines are listed beneath each food choice. Some of us like taking time to study a full wine list, but others appreciate having the choices made easier. That includes me, especially at business lunches when time matters.
Desserts are a must and decadence is the pastry tray. The items are varied and beautiful. Essences of chocolate, vanilla, lemon and exotic fruits add their enchanting fragrance to cakes, tarts, ice creams and special creations that only this kitchen makes.
AT A GLANCE: BRISTOL PALMS CALIFORNIA BISTRO
Address: Hilton Costa Mesa
3050 Bristol St.
Costa Mesa
Phone: (714) 540-7000
Cost: breakfast dishes $4.50-$12; lunch appetizers, soups, entree salads and sandwiches, $6-$15, signature entrees $11-$22; dinner first courses $6-$15, signature entrees $10-$28
