Welcome to another Fifi’s Best. I’ve corralled some restaurants that have meal and wine deals or alternative ways of dining that fit the theme in some way. I’ve noticed in the past year that more
restaurants are offering prix fixe meals or other incentives to diners, especially on weeknights.
It’s good for everyone, and often these deals are what get us in to try these restaurants.
More fine restaurants have opened in the past year and they all want our business. We have a lot to choose from. I hope that you are as thankful as I am that we have so much culinary culture and diversity now. Enjoy!
ANTONELLO
3800 S. Plaza Drive
Santa Ana
(714) 751-7153
This dreamy looking restaurant has a whole list of specials that are a la carte at lunch and dinner, every day.
It’s not one of those places where you can separate the charm of the little piazza in small town Italy that’s purveyed here from the food that’s presented. I’m always ready to let the surroundings envelop me before I order.
The food is all prepared fresh daily, a trademark of chef Franco Barone. At $7.50 to $25.95, on the daily lunch specials one might find crab-filled ravioli, Dover sole, boneless beef short ribs with red wine and herbs and boneless chicken stuffed with ricotta cheese and spinach and wrapped in prosciutto.
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Antonello: lunch specials include crab-filled ravoli |
Ever-changing dinner specials priced between $14.95 and $39.95 show off several regional pasta dishes and perhaps Milanese-style veal osso buco, beef tenderloin with brandy and rosemary, blue nose sea bass over saut & #233;ed green beans, roasted veal chop with truffle sauce and such.
The now famous raviolette Mamma Pina (with the best bolognese sauce) and the rotelli di pasta are on every menu and are made from recipes from Antonio’s mother.
The wine corkage is $15 for wines not on its list, $20 if on the list. In the dining room, there’s no limit on how many bottles you can bring in; however, in the private rooms, only two bottles are allowed. The list includes at least 400 labels. The restaurant also has special limited quantity wines that you are informed of at the table.
BAYSIDE
900 Bayside Drive
Newport Beach
(949) 721-1222
Let’s begin by chatting about the nightly four-course prix fixe dinners at only $49.75. Selections within the categories change at the chef’s discretion and there are enough items to choose from to keep me using this dining option.
You can expect things like lobster salad, diver scallops, prime steak and superb desserts among the choices, indicative of the stylish modern food on the whole menu.
The wine and dine two-course lunch is a real bargain, served weekdays from 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. It offers a choice of soup or salad and then up to nine different items for your entree. It also includes a glass of chardonnay or merlot, iced tea or soft drink for a mere $19.95.
The Sunday free-flowing champagne brunch also is a deal. It’s only $25.95 for three courses and is served from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. And there’s always live music.
Take advantage of the popular tapas in the lounge and bar, served every evening from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. for happy hour. The small plates of food at $4.95 include venison, lamb, smoked salmon, seared ahi, prawns, crab cakes, roasted beets, chorizo, quail and Brie cheese.
Wine Tasting Thursdays take place on the terrace from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Themes center around producers and styles of winemaking, with a focus on appellations, varietals, importers or negociants. There are always five selections for $15. The above mentioned tapas are available for the Thursday wine tastings as well.
Corkage is only $15 per bottle without a limit. The wine list features 35 wines by the glass and more than 50 half bottles from the 460 labels. The restaurant has almost 13,000 bottles cellared.
Bayside presents a diverse and stylish environment with three distinct dining areas that feature intimate booth seating or water view tables on the enclosed terrace.
Art exhibits change quarterly inside the restaurant, while the live jazz and standards,plus a band playing for Sunday brunch,further enhances the experience.
BISTANGO
19100 Von Karman Ave.
Irvine
(949) 752-5222
This restaurant still is the only one in the county that gives us the seamless wonder of a complete and gorgeous gallery of art, changed quarterly, with a stylish European dining club. It’s one of the power places for business lunches.
It gets bonus points from me for the $18.75 two-course prix fixe lunch. There are always interesting selections from that menu, and we can also order from a full a la carte listing that has entrees at midday from $7.25 to $16.95.
Each evening, a three-course menu is offered at $39.75, also with plenty of choices culled from chef Javier Montoya’s full menu of delightfully presented contemporary California cuisine. Note: This prix fixe is not available to large parties.
Don’t miss the sweet garlic soup. It’s lost its ability to ruin your breath and turned into a creamy and slightly sweet decadence that has gotten raves from every food writer and connoisseur that I know.
The regular menu features intriguing preparations of fresh fish, dishes tinged with a bit of international fusion, giving them added panache, even pizzas (try the crispy one topped with grilled shrimp and cilantro) and pastas more interesting than you are used to finding.
Here are two Italianesque items I love: risotto with sweet white corn and pancetta-wrapped tiger prawns and the gnocchi with Colorado lamb Bolognese sauce. A la carte entrees at lunch run from $12.25 to $17.75, and $13.75 to $34 at dinner.
Wednesday evenings find both global and California wines being compared from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. in the new outdoor patio. Price is $16 for a tasting of five wines plus a cheese plate. Corkage is $18 per bottle, no limit.
Tapas-style plates emerge during happy hour,from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday,at $3.75 each. Tapas continue to be available after 7 p.m., but at regular price, around $8.
To enhance all these wining and dining experiences, live music wafts through the place every night of the week, enticing us to dance in the lounge area.
This is a sister restaurant to Bayside and the Ghoukassian family will soon open Kimera in Irvine.
BRUSSELS BISTRO
222 Forest Ave.
Laguna Beach
(949) 376-7955
It’s cute, casual and totally reminiscent of a local hangout in Belgium. I know a bit about Belgium since my father was born there and I’ve visited some small villages as well as Brussels, touted by many gourmets as the best dining city in the world. I never tire of this restaurant.
Even though it doesn’t have wine evenings or prix fixe meals or specials in the league of most other restaurants in this novella, it does have some traction in the bargain department. It also has live jazz music better than many high-end places offer.
The only evening that there’s a special of any kind is on Tuesdays. And, the only item offered is the bowl of steaming mussels with French fries and a glass of Stella Artois beer for $22. The gotcha factor jumps out of the bowl as you realize these are arguably the best steamed mussels in the county. They are sweet and tender morsels, fragrant with a garlicky broth barely tinged with curry and topped with a pile of authentic Belgian pommes frites. The fries proudly proclaim their Belgian origins. You might want to order them as a side in which they come with a variety of Belgian-approved dipping sauces, rather than the ubiquitous ketchup.
From Belgian cheeses to Flemish asparagus accompanying some entrees, carbonnades of beef, shrimp croquettes, meatloaf with morel mushrooms in it and salmon with cherry beer sauce to a wicked 10-ounce burger with caramelized endive, this is casual Belgian fare at its best. Entrees range from $8.50 to $26, the exception being $34 for the Dover sole.
Corkage is only $15 with no limit on bottles. With 22 respectable wines on the list sided by 25 of the finest beers from Belgium,it’s also the global capital of fine beer brewing, you know,I delegate this as my beer drinking territory.
CHAT NOIR
655 Anton Blvd.
Costa Mesa
(714) 557-6647
Bargains French style come on Sunday evenings with prix fixe meals at $19.95 featuring entrees such as coq au vin, veal osso buco and braised short ribs. Dishes are generous portions and come with delicious accompaniments. For $24.95, there’s a full prime rib dinner.
A three-course, pre-theater menu is accompanied by a champagne cocktail for $40. From quite a list of appetizers and entrees for this special meal, I still find it hard to pass up the saut & #233;ed shrimp en cassolette with Cognac, shallots, tomatoes and Dijon mustard making the dish a triumph. I’m smitten with a French-style steak with b & #233;arnaise sauce or fresh fish with a seafood sauce enlivened with picholine olive butter. The desserts you can choose from are so decadent,I’m not even going there.
Weekday “bubbly hour” happens from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., Monday through Friday. Champagne cocktails are half price, carafes of wine are featured at the price of a single glass of wine and there are lots of martini specials. Complimentary tray-passed hors d’oeuvres are served.
Corkage is only $20 per bottle and that is waived if you buy another bottle from the list. There’s a limit of four bottles, regardless of the size of your party. Sunday through Wednesday evenings, the restaurant offers 25% off any bottle from its wine list priced at $200 or less.
Chat Noir features live jazz in the beautiful Moulin Rouge Lounge seven days a week. We sometimes choose to have dinner in this lounge or in the Left Bank area.
CHIMAYO at the BEACH
315 Pacific Coast Highway
Huntington Beach
(714) 374-7273
This restaurant is one that gets me to Huntington Beach to dine. With its rustic South Seas villa feel, it certainly offers a manner of relaxation that’s welcoming. Situated right on the beachfront at the base of the Huntington Beach pier, it has a patio with fire pit where ocean waves are mere steps away. Inside, there’s a gorgeous ocean view from the bar, the perfect place to enjoy a special mango martini, sip some fine aged rum or a tropical cocktail.
The menu offers an extensive selection of coastal seafood such as a raw bar, calamari and lobster tacos and a variety of fresh fish and premium aged steaks.
A great meal deal is available Monday through Friday till 4 p.m. For $17.95, the prix fixe lunches are served with a cup of soup or a salad. One has a choice of entrees. Linguine and clams with a finely tuned white wine sauce is one choice, fish ‘n’ chips with fries and coleslaw is another. Linguine also comes tossed with shrimp, while blackened red snapper on garlic mashed potatoes is a nice combo with the spicy Creole sauce. Yet another entree comprises grilled seafood en brochette with a Thai-influenced chile glaze.
Chimayo offers 25% off any bottle of wine valued at $200 or less Sunday through Wednesday. Corkage is only $20. That’s waived when a bottle of wine is bought from the list. The restaurant has a four-bottle limit, regardless of party size. For a place that does a fantastic cocktail business, it still manages 18 wines by the glass and plenty of wine choices.
Huntington Beach locals enjoy a 20% discount on Tuesday nights. Stop by Monday through Friday from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. and have a $3 beer. Select specialty drinks or a glass of wine are $5. You can also nibble on some lettuce wraps, crispy calamari, coconut shrimp, filet mignon on skewers, spinach and artichoke dip or chicken taquitos for $5 per plate.
FIVE CROWNS
3801 E. Coast Highway
Corona del Mar
(949) 760-0331
It’s such a special restaurant, and there are changes taking place.
First of all, the new pantry in the kitchen is not on display, but chef Dennis Brask and his crew are delighted with this upgrade to their working environment. The downstairs restrooms have been nicely remodeled. There’s all new china. The front entrance has gotten an update and you’ll notice some beautiful new landscaping.
There will be French doors installed in the Nelson Crown Room opening into the greenhouse dining area. And uniforms will no longer be antiquated costumes, but rather modern server outfits.
Beginning this month, Five Crowns is offering select rare wines from the Captain’s List at discounted prices. This cellar sale will be offered on Monday nights only (dubbed Cellar Night). Corkage is only $15 with no limit. This is a restaurant with 9,600 bottles in the cellar and 650 selections on the list.
As for food, classics will remain on the menu, but plans are in place to begin showcasing new dishes and to offer more choices. There’s a new menu for the pub. I’m into the bangers and mash (English sausage and onions with mashed potatoes), prime rib sliders, two broiled lamb chops atop a heap of creamed corn (amazing) and the fish sandwich with saut & #233;ed mushrooms. Other savories in the pub include a classic shrimp cocktail, crab cakes, onion soup and several salads.
Like me, you might also find the potato sundaes irresistible. It begins with mashed potatoes,red rose, russets or a chunky mashed potato,and then you choose a garnish of smoked salmon, prime rib strips or lobster. Prices are $6 to $16 and it’s all available every day.
While all the menu items that have kept Five Crowns at the top of the heap for years are still enticing us,prime rib, fresh fish, roasted duck, the best house salad around, lobster, lamb and specially raised meats like Kurobuta pork,I find the Sunday brunch to be the big bargain. I can have Welsh rarebit, which I love. Prime rib hash with eggs, seafood crepes, chicken with chutney, poached salmon and tournedos of beef make me swoon. These are in the $20 to $26 range. Twenty champagnes are even 25% off per bottle for the brunch. Doubly intense chocolate souffl & #233; for dessert is also fine with me at this meal.
FLEMING’S
455 Newport Center Drive
(949) 720-9633
Every Sunday from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m., Fleming’s offers an unbeatable bargain. One can have a complete three-course dinner of salad (wedge, Fleming’s or Caesar), a 12-ounce portion of delectable prime rib, a side dish of choice and any dessert for only $32.95. Reservations are essential, of course, as this is a popular meal deal.
Fleming’s takes special care in procuring its steaks and prime rib roasts. All are prime grade aged beef and all meat is cut fresh in-house daily as part of its quality concept. The menu takes us through plenty of red meat choices, freshly caught fish, plus crab and lobster. Believe me when I say that it does a rib eye steak that sets the standard for an awesome piece of meat.
There are quarterly wine dinners with varying, but always intriguing themes that are also value-priced. The wine dinners feature both national and international wines. They include a five-course dinner as part of the food and wine showcase for the evening. You should ask Fleming’s to get you on its mailing list for dates of these wine dinners.
Fleming’s has made waves in the wine drinking world since it first introduced the 100 wines by the glass program. The 100 wines are revised each year to keep the list completely reflective of the finest styles in current wine releases. Flights of three or more wine tastes (smaller pours) are also part of its consumer-friendly approach, which allows us to match more than one wine with any given course of food or with a whole meal.
Corkage is $20 for the first two bottles, and $40 for each bottle thereafter. For the food, wine, the fine service and the friendly ambiance, this is a place to love.
FRENCH 75
1464 S. Coast Highway
(949) 494-8444
FRENCH 75 BRASSERIE
13290 Jamboree Road
(714) 573-7600
FRENCH 75 BISTRO
327 Newport Center Drive
Newport Beach
(949) 640-2700
The French 75 restaurants in Newport, Irvine and Laguna disperse Sunday Supper bargains that certainly suit my fancy. The family-style meals are served with a choice of soup or salad for $19.95 a person, followed by large portions of classic bistro fare such as coq au vin, braised short ribs or that favorite American classic, prime rib for $24.95.
The French have always indulged in Sunday suppers, a more casual family-centered affair and I am happy to indulge via these nostalgic offerings.
French 75 in Irvine and Newport Beach offer the Petit Bistro Lunch (Laguna doesn’t have lunch) for $16.95. Choose the half sandwich, soup and salad and enjoy the very French flavors along with the addictive garlic Parmesan chips that adorn the presentation.
French 75 offers 25% off any bottle of wine valued at $200 or less Sunday through Wednesday. Corkage is $20 per bottle, but waived if another bottle is purchased from its wine list. There is a limit of four bottles per party.
There are approximately 300 wines available by the bottle at each location. Approximately 35 wines are poured by the glass.
Live music adds to the ambiance at the French 75 restaurants on Wednesday through Saturday, generally between 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. Musical performances range from single pianists to quartets.
I like the weekday bubbly hour from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., Monday through Friday. You get half off champagne cocktails, carafes of wine for the glass price, martini specials and a nice array of complimentary tray-passed hors d’oeuvres.
The ambiance at these restaurants is authentically French. I appreciate that each of the three may share the same name, but each has its own personality.
Il FORNAIO
18051 Von Karman
Irvine
(949) 261-1444
One of the best cultural meal deals in the county is its series of Festa Regionale dinners offered the first two weeks of each month.
While the whole restaurant menu is available, these special dinner menus celebrate the food, wine and bread from a different region of Italy each time. One of Il Fornaio’s chefs from the chosen Italian region creates the special menu (there are 21 Il Fornaio locations and they’ve hired chefs from all areas of Italy).
Three upcoming Festa Regionale menus are April 2 15 (showcasing the Marche region), May 7 20 (the Puglia region) and June 4-17 (the specialties of Sardegna).
Specials are offered to allow guests to sample a nice variety of dishes from the region. I love these dinners.
This restaurant doesn’t do winemaker dinners, but it does have a 2006 Wine Spectator Award of Excellence for its substantial wine list. Corkage is an agreeable $15, with a limit of two bottles per party.
Il Fornaio is renowned for its authentic regional cuisine presented in the regular menu. Beyond that, the Festa Regionale monthly menus take us deeper into the real soul of Italy. Il Fornaio chefs travel across Italy on the Il Fornaio Chef’s Tour to bring back the best of its cuisine and culture.
Guests participate in the six-month Passaporto program as they taste their way through the Regionale menus. Guests receive a passport stamp each month along with a complimentary gift (i.e. Il Fornaio olive oil, house-made bread, special cookies, a calendar, etc.). Membership is free. A fully stamped passport earns the guest a hand-painted plate imported from Italy and entry for a drawing,a trip for two to the Italian region of choice.
LA VIE EN ROSE
240 S. State College Blvd.
Brea
(714) 529-8333
The French, well, the public at large, always feels quite at home here. Everyone sinks into the comfortable country home setting as it might be found in a well appointed abode near a small village in France. Gallic flavors burst in our mouths with food that is true and nostalgic of the homeland.
Each glass of wine brings the marriage of food and wine into a new kind of focus. This is the usual experience at La Vie. It’s a pretty rare find, one to be appreciated in the full sense of the culinary world.
The prix fixe dinners and the way they are constructed are yet another revelation in bargain dining at its best. The full a la carte menu is built around pristinely fresh and just-delivered products. Customers build their prix fixe meal centered around any entree on the entire menu. To that entree one adds an appetizer, hot or cold. Then comes soup and/or salad from a long list.
The pastry chariot here is truly that, a multi-decked cart with authentic artisanal pastries, mousses, cakes and wiggly things like cr & #269;me br & #369;l & #233;e. Take your pick to end your prix fixe meal. Where else can you go and dine like this for $32.50 to $52?
In case you’re out in the cold on what entrees are like at La Vie, here’s a tad of information. In the French seafood category, La Vie presents coquilles St. Jacques (scallops with sauce), saut & #233;ed frog legs (my absolute favorite), salmon poached in sorrel cream sauce and classic Dover sole.
Meats and poultry with a French accent are veal medallions with cepe mushrooms, steak with b & #233;arnaise sauce or black pepper coating, tournedos with black truffle sauce, roasted crispy duck with orange sauce, pork tenderloin with Armagnac sauce and classic rack of lamb.
La Vie does food and wine pairing dinners of up to seven wines (for about $65 to $80), using not only California wines but French regional wines such as Bourgeuil, Chinon, Minervois and Aramis. They are seasonal. Corkage is $25, no limit. The wine list itself is a dream of boutique finds and great labels.
La Vie en Rose is one of my sanctuaries and I am happy to admit it.
MOZAMBIQUE
1740 S. Coast Highway
Laguna Beach
(949) 715-7100
Laguna Beach was the lucky recipient of this colorful, happy and inviting restaurant that opened in mid-2005. It’s here that we were introduced to a spice mix called Peri-Peri and a country named Mozambique. We found that the restaurant also offers us a bit of California cuisine with some other dishes.
Patrick and I couldn’t wait to get over there for the adventure of new tastes and we’ve been hooked ever since. That Peri-Peri turned out to be a likable blend of spices,really nothing adverse to what the American palate enjoys,that gives a delightful savory essence to meats and seafood, but it doesn’t end up in every dish.
We were soon devoted to grilled shrimp that were brushed with a sauce made with Peri-Peri and served with mango dipping sauce. Get yourself over there, as it’s currently serving a dozen of those shrimp for $19.95 every day of the week. Maybe order the beet and goat cheese salad after that. Then, I often have the Durban-style lamb curry that’s sleek and mild and loves a touch of rice and its homemade chutney on the fork with each bite.
You cannot find a mixed grill plate anymore, except here. It’s a wonderful thing: filet, double-cut lamb chop and a fresh beef sausage with saut & #233;ed onions. There’s lovely Peri-Peri perfumed chicken, prime steaks and fresh seafood and fabulous homemade potato gnocchi in a signature house sauce. Terrific.
Lunch is served on Saturday and Sunday. This is a fine place for brunch on Sunday at only $14.95. Featured are steak, eggs, waffles, omelets, southern fried chicken, lox, fresh sliced fruit plate, etc. It may well be the best brunch deal in OC.
Upstairs at Mozambique is its more casual dining area bar called the Shabeen lounge, all with ocean views. It’s where the brunch and happy hour are held. Special prices are from 5 p.m. until 7 p.m., Monday through Thursday.
Wine corkage is $20, limit two bottles per table. I am always admiring wines in the Almost Extinct section of the wine list. It boasts some very rare and special wines acquired from private cellars.
MR. STOX
1105 E. Katella Ave.
Anaheim
(714) 634-2994
This place is in America’s Fine Dining Hall of Fame. It is known in international food and wine circles. No wonder,it boasts one of the largest wine cellars in the nation.
It’s open for lunch (weekdays) and dinner. The lunch menu is changed about every two weeks, so we never get bored. Dinner menus are seasonal. A broad spectrum of American cuisine, tinged with many international touches,a bit more to the Mediterranean side,defines the food. We seldom pass up the creative daily specials as they are described.
Mr. Stox offers several specials every evening. The entree specials are normally a meat or poultry dish as well as a seafood special. The meat special is usually something that is not part of the regular menu such as veal chop, venison or Kobe beef.
It’s major camaraderie and teamwork from the kitchen. Chef Scott Raczek has been there for 21 years, sous chef Efrain Ventura for 22 and pastry chef Hector Gonzales also has been there 21 years.
They now have approximately 35 wines available by the glass, many of them from foreign countries. Recently, they’ve focused on adding some of the newer international white grape varieties such as Alberino (Spain), Gr & #252;ner Vetliner (Austria) and Vermentino (Italy). These lighter-bodied wines are well-priced and great complements to the food.
Mr. Stox recently added two ultra prestigious collections to its cellar. The first was a group of collectible French and California wines. The second was a vertical of Ch & #226;teau Mouton Rothschild starting with the famous 1945 vintage, the year that Mouton began the policy of having a famous artist create a work of art for each vintage’s label. With this addition, and the balance of its inventory, Mr. Stox now has every vintage offered by Ch & #226;teau Mouton from 1945 to 2003 on its wine list, which covers 1,200 labels. Corkage is $20 and the fee is waived with purchase of a bottle from the wine list; no bottle limit.
PASCAL
1000 N. Bristol St.
(949) 261-9041
Every night from Tuesday to Saturday, Pascal Olhats serves a three-course dinner for $40. On Sunday, there’s a three-course prix fixe as well, but it comes with the added incentive of one free corkage per couple. I can’t believe he’s able to give us his quality of French food for such a reasonable price. And the choice is yours for courses.
Suppose you’re having lunch. There’s a two-course one for $25, served Monday through Friday. This is Pascal’s Lite Lunch special.
While there are occasional dinners with winemakers, Pascal holds wine tastings with hors d’oeuvres, cheeses, and charcuteries served alongside a few times a year at his food emporium next door, the & #201;picerie. The cost is $35 per person. You need to get yourself on the mailing list to be notified of these.
Corkage: No charge on Sunday for one bottle per person. Otherwise, it’s only $20 and there’s no limit on bottles. What’s not widely known is that Pascal has a wine cellar much larger than some restaurants with a lot more square footage in this rather intimate space. There are about 3,000 bottles in the cellar, 250 labels on the list and 15 wines by the glass.
The restaurant was renovated a few months ago. The crisp and lovely interiors are another nice surprise.
PINOT PROVENCE
686 Anton Blvd.
(714) 444-5900
There are so many reasons that this restaurant is special. One is because it’s never charged corkage to customers, except on major holidays when it’s $20. I find it so admirable that it sticks with this no charge, no limit policy. Its wine list is 800 labels strong, culled from a cellar of approximately 1,200 bottles.
It’s always been a serious and beautiful place. A great amount of what’s used in the interiors came over from the southwest of France. It was all personally selected by proprietors Joachim and Christine Splichal and the design team. The Splichals have all those Pinot restaurants in various cities around the nation and in major museums and Patina in the Disney Concert Hall.
The antique ceiling boards, the limestone that highlights some of the space, the garden tables and chairs and the wonderful chandeliers all have quality French provenance.
I’ve lost count of the meals I’ve had here over the years. I’ve loved the refined European/French food of chef Florent Marneau and his sous chef Nicholas Weber. Florent has moved on and Nicholas has taken over as executive chef. He was chosen Chef of the Year within the Patina Restaurant Group, and is so talented. He’s been dazzling us lately with his signature touches on the menu.
I’d like anyone who will be eating at Pinot Provence to ask to meet Nicholas. He’s young and so modest. You will find him delightful to talk to.
Monday through Friday, at lunchtime, spa and business menus comprise three courses for $23. Thursday nights have always been its “special menu” night. Right now it’s the Winter Market menu featuring fresh produce from the Santa Monica open market. These are five-course menus for $45. Wines can be matched, too. Brunch on Sunday is from the full a la carte menu, or three courses of your choice for $25.95.
I am dreaming now of my next meal: seared foie gras with some pickled Bing cherries, a plate of mixed imported olives and a plate of artisanal cheeses on the side of that or a salad mingled with grilled Mission figs and then risotto with winter garden vegetables. These dishes are $7.50 to $36.
The RITZ
880 Newport Center Drive
Newport Beach
(949) 720-1800
When Freddie Glusman, owner of the famed Piero’s in Las Vegas, bought The Ritz from the late, legendary Hans Prager five years ago, there was speculation that Freddie might change the essence of The Ritz. It held a special place in the hearts of diners.
Freddie had no intention of changing it at all. What he has done is make it even better by adding a few items to the menu and fine-tuning the operation. I’ve gotten to know this gentleman and greatly admire his dedication to keeping the soul of The Ritz intact.
It’s always a highlight of my day to have lunch or dinner here. But, for a restaurant of this caliber to offer a three-course prix fixe menu for dinner every night at only $29.95 is remarkable. Given the glamorous nature of the restaurant, it has got to be one of the best deals in the county. This prix fixe is in celebration of the restaurant’s 25th anniversary this year.
There are always some dandy luncheon specials that the chef conceives daily. Osso buco and stone crabs are sirens, in addition to several fresh fish and pasta dishes. Americana is happily indulged in the meatloaf, beef stew and chicken pot pie that also show up. There are lunch specials for only $9.99 for those sitting at the bar any weekday but Tuesdays.
This would be a fine place to take in happy hour between 4:30 p.m. and 6 p.m. on weekdays. If you choose to bring in wine, corkage is $25 for the first two bottles and $50 for additional ones. Magnum corkage is $50 for the first bottle and then $100 for all others.
ROY’S
453 Newport Center Drive
(949) 640-7697
Roy’s is justly famous for its aloha service,from the heart with the sincerity and warmth of the Islands. I’ve found over the years that no request is too small for Roy’s staff.
Chef Roy Yamaguchi, for whom the restaurants are named, pioneered the blending of fresh Hawaiian seafood, greens, fruits and bold Asian spices with the finesse of European culinary traditions. Hawaiian Fusion Cuisine was then born. The result: We enjoy fresh ingredients and gently assertive flavors, deliciously wrapped in a Hawaiian state of mind.
Local chef partner, Chris Garnier, also does his own creative spin on dishes prepared Roy’s way, and what a talent he is. Take a seat at the sushi bar and get a culinary perspective on Yamaguchi sushi, which takes traditional sushi to a new level with tasty sauces and eye candy garnishes. Can you tell this is one of my favorite restaurants?
The prix fixe menu is a great deal and a great way to taste some of chef Roy Yamaguchi’s signature dishes at an excellent value. It is offered every day. The three-course dinner offers several choices within the categories and is only $33.
From the a la carte menu, do not miss a new presentation called Roy’s Classic Trio. Three of his scrumptious signature dishes,Roy’s original blackened Island ahi with spicy soy mustard butter, Hawaiian Style misoyaki butterfish with sizzling soy vinaigrette and hibachi-style grilled salmon,are presented in a sampler presentation. It’s a wonderful way to try three noteworthy dishes.
Corkage is $15 per bottle, with a one bottle per couple policy. It has a surprisingly eclectic wine list backed up by a 1,500-bottle wine cellar.
The bar is a lively place where the sake-based drinks are lots of fun to try. It’s one of my favorite places to dine as well.
SALT CREEK GRILLE
32802 Pacific Coast Highway
Dana Point
(949) 661-7799
Shall we begin with its bargain sell out prime rib nights on Mondays and Tuesdays? These prime evenings have been a promotion for at least five years and get a terrific response.
The dinners include three courses: prime rib of beef with all the trimmings and your choice of soup or house salad along with a special individual dessert. Service begins at 5 p.m. and the $28 special is available until the restaurant sells out.
It has a spectacular Sunday brunch for $34 for adults and $14 for children. The food is high quality and the sparkling wine pours freely.
On Wednesdays, you’ll find wines by the glass for half price in the bar and dining room from 5 p.m. Salt Creek keeps giving us deals on Thursdays, the night for martini madness in the bar and dining room. All martinis on the specialty martini list are $5.
Sunday evening is half price wine night. Other than a selection of highly allocated and limited wines, all others are featured in the promotion. There are about 125 selections on the wine carte so that gives lots to choose from. All of the beverage promos begin at 5 p.m. and continue until the restaurant closes.
As if Salt Creek wasn’t already treating us kindly enough, corkage is only $10 per bottle and there’s no limit on how many bottles customers can bring in.
This restaurant is completely tuned in to live music. Live jazz is featured Wednesday through Saturday evenings, as well as for the Sunday jazz brunch.
One thing: Don’t miss out on the fire pit on the front patio. It’s wonderful there in the warmth, smelling the ocean and having a drink. I’m usually found eating my dessert out there.
TAL & #201;O GRILL
3309 Michelson Drive
(949) 553-9002
The nickname for this restaurant is “The Spirit of Mexico” and it certainly does have the spirit and passion and gourmet-tinged Mexican food that everyone else seems to have forgotten to give us. It’s a singularly unique restaurant whose cuisine takes us deep into the heart of Mexico.
For $10, there are daily specials. There’s a taco plate and a fish entree served at lunch and dinner. A soft taco special that’s available all day, every day, consists of two soft-wrapped tacos with your choice of pork carnitas, grilled chicken or shredded beef rib meat or grilled vegetables. These may sound familiar but the way the food is prepared is eons away from what you’ve come to accept for Mexican food. The fish special is sometimes Yucat & #225;n-style halibut with a tinge of mango and vanilla in the sauce.
On the second Thursday of every month, it hosts a tequila tasting with six kinds of tequila and paired food for the ridiculously low price of only $10 per person. It begins at 5:30 p.m. There’s a wine tasting on the fourth Thursday of each month, which includes up to six styles of wine and the appropriate food, also priced at only $10. Each tasting is directed by a highly educated individual from either a distributorship, the Agave Farm or a specific winery.
Tal & #233;o’s just started half off on all bottled wines on Mondays, beginning at 5 p.m. There’s no corkage fee, but there’s a three-bottle limit.
The recipes are from generations of owner Nic Villarreal’s family. Their desire is to make those recipes with superb products and present them to Americans in a format that elevates the Mexican food genre. All you have to do is taste their carnitas to prove my point.
There are two other things I admire about Tal & #233;o. Its community outreach programs are wonderful and Nic requires a stringent training course before servers are allowed to interact with guests.
TAPS FISH HOUSE & BREWERY
101 E. Imperial Highway
(714) 257-0101
If you don’t have an enjoyable time eating here, I don’t know where to send you. The food’s superb, the atmosphere is fun with just the right amount of classiness and if you want to move beyond wine drinking, the custom brewed beers are fantastic.
Every Sunday night in the winter and spring is “Primetime” at Taps,a three-course prime rib dinner for just $25. Start with crispy Caesar salad, then on to a generous 10-12 oz. cut of prime rib, carved to order, with accoutrements, a one pound baked potato, creamed corn and spinach and bananas Foster for dessert. Served from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Proprietor Joe Manzella’s instinct on delivering what the public is looking for,quality, casual comfort and consistency,caters to turn away crowds. By adding general manager Chris Snyder, executive chef Robert Urquidi and award winning brew master Victor Novak, he’s surrounded himself with a well-tuned team. The impressive old New Orleans-style building Joe built to house his restaurant also is something everyone should enjoy.
Another super meal deal is its big Sunday jazz brunch. This is an extensive, high quality brunch at $29.95 for adults and $10.95 for kids. The price includes choice of sparkling wine or two of Taps’ award winning beers. From shrimp, oysters, smoked salmon and more to stations carving beef, making omelets and pastas to order and a chef custom making desserts like bananas Foster, you can eat for hours.
This is, in fact, conceivably the best brunch in OC. The toe tapping music of Ray Bush and his Dixieland Band, included in the price, transports one to the good times of New Orleans. Brunch is served from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Reservations are a must.
Corkage is a mere $10 if the wine’s not on its list, and $20 if it is. No limit on the number of bottles. The wine list is 230 labels strong, with a backup inventory of 3,000 bottles.
Twice a year, Taps has a food and beer matching dinner navigated by brew master Victor Novak with pairings by chef Robert Urquidi. Make reservations for April 18, when an evening of fine food and beers will unfold via a connoisseur level meal.
21 OCEANFRONT
21 Oceanfront
Newport Beach
(949) 673-2100
I’ve been hanging around this building since it first emerged as a restaurant, a beautiful one even then, in the late ’60s. I was teaching a lot of cooking classes back then and by the time it turned into The Ritz, I knew proprietor Hans Prager fairly well. I also met Rex Chandler there, another restaurateur who took over the space and renamed it 21 Oceanfront when The Ritz moved to Newport Center.
There’s a fine meal deal Sunday through Tuesday evenings called chef’s culinary series. For $49, it’s a full dinner, three-courses with a glass of wine. Best of all are the choices they allow. For appetizers, lobster salad, New England clam chowder or smoked salmon with sprouts and caviar. Entree choices are petrale sole, jumbo prawns stuffed with crab and wrapped in prosciutto or rack of lamb. There’s even a choice of a chocolate or strawberry dessert.
The first thing that comes to mind for me, when thinking of wine or wine dinners at 21 Oceanfront, is the attractive wine cellar room that seats 60. We’ve used it a few times because we enjoy the contemporary food they pair with whatever wines are being poured by a winemaker who has come to speak to a group of our gourmet friends.
If you are bringing wine into the restaurant, the restaurant charges $20 per bottle for corkage for the first two bottles and then $40 for any additional bottles. One will never have a problem ordering wine to match any food since the staff is quite familiar with the 300 label wine list that represents both well-known and boutique producers from around the world.
WILDFISH SEAFOOD GRILLE
1370 Bison Ave.
(949) 720-9925
I’m mixing things up by going right to the discussion of dessert at Wildfish. It has one of the two best desserts I’ve found in this county, so you’d better save room for the cinnamon raisin bread pudding with the souffl & #233;-like dome. It is memorable.
Love the oval bar that’s an integral part of the dining scene. There it stands, all open without anything blocking the full views of the restaurant and others around the bar itself. Dining room seating is on two levels and oozes comfort. Its goal, I’m told, is to be the humblest and friendliest restaurant in OC, but with a feeling of being dressed up just enough to show true appreciation for customers. This is a place where people can enjoy themselves in an environment where the bar/lounge is the entertainment and creates a marvelous kind of subtle energy that is unmatched. It’s done a fine job of defining and executing that concept.
Wildfish gets a gold star for the seafood policy; well, for the general policy of offering interesting food made from the highest quality products. All of its seafood is top of the catch, meaning it only uses fish that’s out of water the least amount of time. Nothing’s ever frozen. All preparations and cooking procedures are designed to showcase and bring out the freshness of the seafood and the natural flavors. No doubt, seafood is the star.
Its meal deals are not prix fixe but centered on nightly entree and appetizer specials that showcase the premium seafood. From the a la carte menu, I am nearly over the moon for the sea bass prepared Hong Kong style (in a light broth perfumed with sesame and mingled with spinach) and the parmesan-crusted lemon sole. To be fair, though, the prime steaks also rank with the best around. Entrees run from $18 to $36.
Happy hour is held Tuesday through Saturday from 4:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. and all evening on Sunday and Monday (in the bar and lounge only). Pricing includes half off selected appetizers and drink specials. Glasses of wine are $5 per glass and all other drinks are $1 off. Corkage is only $20 per bottle, no limit. The wine list is backed by an inventory of 1,800 bottles and has about 200 labels.
