This week, I put away the strings of colorful beads that had hung for over a month on my stairway banister, a reminder of all the fun going on without me in the Big Easy, the place where Mardi Gras festivities continue for a month. This, and a really impressive Mardi Gras party thrown by our friends, Drs. Greg Buchert and Arline Tsuchiya and Dr. Mark and Shelly Ellis, has put me into a reminiscence that only a trip to the South will cure.
I need to peek in at restaurants in places like Dallas and Austin and San Antonio anyway. Beyond that, I’ve begun to plan a trip through the South, my Mysteries of the Deep South tour, for a dozen travelers to enjoy with us. We’ll be visiting hidden gardens, historical restaurants, possibly author Anne Rice (creator of the vampire Lestat), a voodoo ceremony, and the old cultural spots whose walls hide the mysteries of cities like Charleston, Savannah and New Orleans.
As for the above-mentioned party, the authentic food alone has become a yearly draw. The two couples met years ago when Greg, Arline and Mark were in medical school in New Orleans. Shelly, who has New Orleans in her blood, is an attorney. A few years ago, they decided that one way to have an abundance of the food they missed, and to celebrate the city that resulted in two wonderful marriages, was to cook up a storm at Mardi Gras time and invite a lot of people to enjoy the rich, thick, murky gumbo and jambalaya dishes with them. I think the turnout has grown to well over 100. Greg and Arline needed only their chefs’ whites as costumes, while Mark was regally decked out as King Bacchus and Shelly in equally colorful attire as his queen. With food as good as this and a bunch of friends who appreciate it, they can expect the party to continue to grow.
The lucky recipients of all this hospitality and marvelous food go home after each year’s party and put a big “x” on the calendar for next year’s event. Luckily, we see our friends often as we try out the food in restaurants together.
Local Preview of French Stopover
Here’s a wonderful twist of events that we can all enjoy together, providing of course that you get your reservations in now, while some are still available. Dominique Saugnac, the chef from the gastronomic temple called Chez Bruno in Lorgues, France, a small village in the Var near St. Tropez, will be holding rare culinary court at Pinot Provence in the Westin South Coast Plaza hotel on April 5 and 6.
I am taking a handful of travelers to the French Riviera, Proven & #231;e and Paris in September and one of the restaurants in which we’ll dine is Chez Bruno because it is known as the “Temple of Truffles.” Dominique uses approximately 5,000 pounds of truffles per year in his culinary preparations. Here, he’s creating complete four- and five-course Truffles from Proven & #231;e menus ($65 and $74), and for those who don’t want so much of a magnificent thing, a four-course Gardens of Proven & #231;e menu for $55. A marvelous list of wines from the Proven & #231;e and Var regions of France will be available to complement your menus.
Pinot Proven & #231;e, with all its accouterments from France,garden tables, ceilings lined in old barn boards, tall and narrow doors from eloquent old buildings and even limestone for walls from the quarries of France,is dripping in charm itself.
The dinners on these two nights are a real culinary coup for Orange County. Call right now, because I can assure you that this will be a sell-out.
Yard House Launches Lunch
For those who need more choices of places to have lunch in the vicinity of Newport Blvd. and 17th Street, The Yard House, in Triangle Square, has thrown its hat in the ring. Since opening in the fall, the restaurant has heretofore served only dinner.
Corporate chef Carlito Jocson has created a lunch menu consistent with his traditional dishes infused with Asian flavors and seasonings. There’s a grilled pork tenderloin perfumed with lemon and rosemary. It comes with a nice, barely sweet barbecue sauce, spinach, sweet corn mashed potatoes and grilled vegetables. A sandwich layered with grilled ahi tuna, caramelized onions, tomatoes, Swiss cheese and baby spinach is served on toasted rye bread. Pizza is everywhere: a good variation from Carlito’s kitchen is one topped with grilled chicken, macadamia nuts, scallions, cilantro, mozzarella cheese and a dribble of plum sauce. The crispness of Asian pears meets the tenderness of baby lettuce, the crunch of candied walnuts and the snap of bleu cheese in a terrific luncheon salad.
I enjoy a good steak, and there’s a new one here called an Argentinean ribeye that charts a compelling melange of flavors. The steak is charbroiled, then served with a fresh tomato, onion and oregano chutney and a side of chimichurri sauce for dipping, should you want more zip.
The restaurant, at lunch and dinner, has several clever signature dishes that make dining fun. Among them, a crab cake hoagie sandwich and a salad called the Ahi Crunch. To complement all this food, there are 180 selections of draught beer.
The restaurant’s name is taken from an early Colonial tradition of serving 36-inch tall glasses of beer to weary stagecoach drivers. If you haven’t yet been to Yard House, it’s 10,000 square feet of very nicely appointed second-floor space neighboring Niketown, movie theaters, Barnes & Noble and Whole Foods Market.
