Fifi’s Smorgasbord: Lunches, Wine Dinner, New Teas
EXECUTIVE DINING by Fifi Chao
People seem to be thrilled that the Cannery in Newport Beach is reopened. Lots of good feedback is coming to me and the crowds have been steady the last two weeks. Feeling confident that they have their act together for dinner, they are launching lunch service earlier than expected, in fact just as you are reading this. Sunday Brunch will be added next week. I sure do like the looks of this revamped interior, so I’ll be hanging around for a while myself while trying more and more things on the seafood-intensive menu.
* * *
Another restaurant that is introducing lunch service (as of March 1) is Mama Rose, the sweet and inviting place owned by chef Richard Lombardi, who cooks highly personalized Northern Italian food based on old family recipes. This is a chef/owner, who has a very close rapport with his customers, often strolls through the dining room to discuss the flavors and history of the dishes on the menu. His wife, Elaine, is the hostess, and she too makes you feel part of the family. I love the unique complimentary appetizer everyone gets: thinly sliced orange drizzled with extra virgin olive oil. The nostalgic food that follows is full of good flavor. Lunch will be served Tuesday through Friday, from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and a majority of the lunch entr & #233;es will be priced under $10. 2346 Newport Blvd., Costa Mesa, phone (949) 650-1949.
* * *
It’s rare for Margaret Davenport, the award-winning vintner from Clos du Bois Winery (Alexander Valley) to narrate wine dinners, but she will be here on Wednesday, Feb. 27 at Antonello Ristorante helping us explore the intricacies of pairing fine wines and cuisine. Executive chef Franco Barone will serve fresh bufala mozzarella cheese bits wrapped in smoked salmon after the introductory passed appetizers. Then, the signature ravioli filled with Briaseo veal makes its appearance, followed by beef tenderloins stuffed with porcini mushrooms and Gorgonzola wrapped in prosciutto on the side. A classic Belgian dessert chocolate cake filled with raspberries will round out the meal. Wines include Perrier-Jou & #235;t Grand Brut NV Champagne for the reception. Dinner wines from Clos du Bois: 2000 Reserve Chardonnay, 1998 Marlstone and ’97 Briarcrest Cabernet. The reception is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Price is $85 per person, including tax and gratuity. Reservations are required for this dinner. Please call (714) 751-7153.
* * *
Here’s a new and interesting product for you to try. Peet’s Coffee & Tea, a specialty coffee roaster and marketer, just introduced Green Peony Tea, one of the world’s most unusual teas in both taste and appearance. If you like jasmine or other flowery-tasting tea, or are used to drinking green tea, this should suit you well. I’ve been sipping my cup of Green Peony every evening lately, fascinated as much by the unique shape of the tea leaf bundles as the soft flavor. The tea itself comes from two small villages on a remote mountain in China. Tea leaves are hand selected, then tied into a beautiful flower shape before being pan-fired, again by hand. I have yet to have a stray tea leaf escape into my cup from the individual “flower” of tea leaves. The “flower” floats languidly in the cup of hot water, turning it a gentle green and releasing a smooth, sweet, at first floral then crisp vegetal aroma and taste.
Three things caught my attention about this new product: its labor-intensive production, limited supply and the fact that I already know the quality of Peet’s products and that they are the exclusive suppliers of coffee to all of Wolfgang Puck’s venues. The new tea can be ordered online via www.peets.com or in Peet’s retail stores nationwide. Our Orange County store is at 894 Avocado, Newport Beach, phone (949)-640-6377. It’s $15.75 for a 2-ounce tin, which contains 10 to 14 peony rosettes.
* * *
And finally, a bit of interesting news from San Diego. One of America’s most famous chefs, Bradley Ogden, has just teamed up with the new Marriott Del Mar hotel and chef Carl Schroeder in a restaurant named Arterra. Seems the San Francisco based chefs are finding fertile dining territory here in Southern California (we have Michael Mina as the star executive chef of Aqua in our St. Regis Hotel).
I first met Bradley in 1984 when we found ourselves on the same plane bound for the Kapalua Wine Symposium on Maui. He was then making culinary history at San Francisco’s Campton Place hotel. He currently holds court at the Lark Creek Inn in Larkspur and his Lark Creek Cafes, also in Northern California. Both Bradley and chef Schroeder are graduates of the Culinary Institute of America. Bradley has been designated as one of America’s premier chefs and Schroeder made his culinary mark working at Aqua in San Francisco and, until this new position, as the executive chef at the highly acclaimed Bertrand restaurant in San Diego.
Bradley is regarded as the leader in using American regional food products in updated recipes that were the mainstay of our upbringing. Thus, we can easily relate to what’s on the plate and the comfort his food brings to us, yet his presentations are a tribute to the flavors, colors and textures the ingredients represent. His is a career I have always followed and whose food I have often eaten. I have also eaten the French-tinged food at Bertrand Hug’s two restaurants many times. These two chefs working together will undoubtedly give us a fine perspective on American cuisine.
The Marriott Del Mar and Arterra restaurant: 11966 El Camino Real, San Diego. Phone (858) 369-6032. Breakfast, lunch and dinner are served.
