An important fundraiser is happening this week that many of my readers might be interested in. It’s the Habitat for Humanity evening on Wednesday from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. at one of Laguna’s legendary restaurants, Rick’s Partners Bistro.
A minimum donation of $100 is requested. Proceeds will help build 27 homes in San Juan Capistrano for working families and combat-wounded veterans who need a little of our help.
The Orange County chapter of Habitat for Humanity is part of a global group that, since its inception in 1976, has built homes that are sold at no profit and with interest-free payments.
More than 1 million people now have homes due to the efforts.
For the event this week, guests will dine on fine food, sip prestigious wines and enjoy live music throughout the evening. I’ve been going to Rick’s Partners Bistro almost since its inception in 1978 and have always been captivated by its warm and inviting nature and even more so by owner and chef Rick Sadleir’s fine steaks, seafood and seasonal dishes made from hand-selected quality ingredients.
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Farmhouse Grill dining room: down home hospitality |
When I think of a chef going to local growers and farmers markets and working with specialty purveyors of fresh seafood and fine meats, I think of Rick. He’s the ultimate chef who balances a love of turning all these pristine food products into memorable dishes and his love of having a litany of appreciative customers.
As a delightful addendum to this place and this particular evening, just steps away from the restaurant in the charming Peppertree Lane is La Rue du Chocolat, a delicate and delicious chocolate shop that will be supplying the chocolate-covered strawberries for the event.
So, we get a good dose of Rick’s fine food, some worthy wines and quintessential Southern California dessert, not to mention some nice musical enhancement.
Remember, it’s Wednesday night. Your heart will sing for contributing to such good deeds, and your tummy will sing with pleasure for the flavors encountered. For further information and your reservation (a necessity), call Laurene at Habitat for Humanity OC at (714) 434-6200, ext. 207. Rick’s Partners Bistro: 448 S. Coast Highway, Laguna Beach (949) 497-4441.
Golf Course Dining
Whether you golf or not, the Farmhouse Grill at Strawberry Farms Golf Club in Irvine is a unique place to have breakfast or lunch any day, or dinner on Tuesday through Saturday evenings.
The restaurant is part of a lush and beautiful, tranquil, rural setting that few besides the avid golfers know about. Doug DeCinces, former third baseman for the California Angels, developed the property and the golf course, which the restaurant overlooks.
As for that tranquility I mentioned, it emerges first by way of the long, narrow road, lined by a white picket fence that leads to the golf club and restaurant. At the end of the road, you discover a large building that would charm the socks off a Southerner.
The dining room is doused in a welcoming demeanor. The facade of the kitchen marches along the back inside wall. The fortitude of the room comes forth via the soaring, trestled ceiling and a stone fireplace that reaches well into that vaulted overhead area.
Furthermore, substantial wood tables and comfortable seating speak of down home hospitality. Two sides of the room are glass, allowing views of a wrap-around covered porch replete with ceiling fans and plenty of al fresco seating. A brilliant green golf course and a bit of flower garden finery cuddle up to the porch railings.
Morning items on the menu are quite de rigueur, featuring freshly baked muffins, cereals, fresh fruits, eggs and breakfast meats and several takes on omelets. A breakfast burrito, some pancakes and French toast leave no craving unsatisfied. Prices range from $2.50 to $12.95.
What I call first course lunch munchies include quesadillas, wings spiced Caribbean style or in the Buffalo tradition, amazing country style onion rings and a big plate of nachos with lots of salsas, chiles, cheeses and such.
We have not been very enthused with the soup of the day. Salads seem to be their forte. The chicken Waldorf gets a little California creativity thrown in, but in the best way with some greens and a bit of cinnamon in the dressing.
The grilled farmhouse Cobb salad is so generous that I can finish only about half of it for my lunch, but I wiggle around that by making my husband share part of it with me or we order it as an appetizer for four of us. It gets my nod for being a bundle of good taste.
There’s also grilled salmon salad presented as a nice filet of fish atop a salad of mixed produce, and a seared Ahi salad with the addition of caramelized pecans, slices of Asian pear and some blue cheese crumbles. Prices for appetizers and salads are $6 to $12.50.
Ten sandwiches pretty much make up the rest of the lunch menu. All the usual suspects are there. But I like that some of them are done up panini fashion (crisply grilled on the outside). Presentations of all are eye-catching. The only segue is by way of a two taco plate (spicy chicken ones). Generosity in serving portions is a given. These main courses are $9.25 to $11.50.
Dinner items get more creative. On the current menu is a Thai shrimp appetizer with spicy peanut dressing mingling in the noodles that accompany the zesty shrimp. The almond crusted brie cheese with jalapeno glaze and apple slices is also a very nice amalgam of flavors. Seared ahi and some nicely browned pot stickers are offered. Two of the salads are the same as at lunch, but the now trendy wedge of iceberg lettuce with blue cheese and bits of bacon, tomato and red onion is another choice. These are all in the $8.95 to $13.95 range.
Fish entrees are mahi mahi or ahi tuna. The shellfish main course is grilled tiger shrimp. Two pork chops carry the rum and honey flavors of the signature barbecue sauce in which they were basted. There’s but one steak,this is after all a golf club and not a steakhouse,and who can argue with a New York strip steak that’s been dry aged for 28 days. That’s a flavorful piece of meat. Finally, it’s a must to have chicken on the menu. This one’s a chicken breast that is nicely pan-seared Southern style.
All entrees come with a pleasing array of sides, including potatoes, rice and garden vegetables. The pork chops come with great saut & #233;ed spinach and mashed potatoes. Shoestring fries are the right thing for the steak. Chicken gets a dose of country style gravy that is ladled over the mashed potatoes. Entrees are $17.95 to $22.95.
This isn’t pretentious dining, but it sure is friendly eating. I think everyone should have a meal at the Farmhouse Grill, even if you never step foot on the golf course.
Those who do play golf should know that Strawberry Farms touts Orange County’s longest hole, a 630-yard uphill, par five. Jim Lipe designed the championship par-71 course covering a distance of 6,700 yards with a serene 35-acre lake and peaceful waterfalls.
Strawberry Farms Golf Club and the Farmhouse Grill: 11 Strawberry Farms Road (1 block South on University from the San Diego (I-405) Freeway), Irvine (949) 551-2560.
Time for Roy’s
It’s time to make a reservation for dinner at Roy’s of Newport Beach in Fashion Island to try out the new seasonal prix fixe menu, bargain priced at only $35.
This is a great way to enjoy a spectrum of flavors that have made founding chef and owner Roy Yamaguchi famous. While Yamaguchi is busy traveling among his many restaurants, his prot & #233;g & #233; and our executive chef here at the Newport Beach restaurant, Chris Garnier, stays put and presents both his mentor’s dishes and his own variations on Hawaiian and California cuisine.
Our Roy’s is one fine place to begin an evening with a little detour through the bar, or certainly a place to take time for a before-dinner cocktail at the table. I’m thinking of something like their signature saketinis, made with sake that’s infused in-house with fresh fruits and other flavorings and used as the backbone of the impressive sake cocktails. There’s also a worldly wine list and lots of fine wines by the glass, as well as any bar drink you can think of to dazzle your taste buds.
For the new seasonal menu, choices are allowed within the categories so that interest never wanes.
There are two appetizer selections. One is grilled Hawaiian satay skewers of curried chicken, Mongolian style beef, miso-flavored eggplant and shrimp with wasabi dipping sauce. The other is a roasted baby beet salad, with a ranch-type dressing highlighted with goat cheese.
Moving on to yummy entrees, we have four to think about. The Pulehu-style Hawaiian barbecued sirloin finds the pan juices deglazed with sake and drizzled around the meat, while a green peppercorn sauce has traditional fortitude to finish off the dish.
Another entree of grilled Tiger shrimp comes with fresh asparagus and a shiitake mushroom risotto. Salmon is ever popular. Here it’s presented in a crust of cracked black peppercorns and sided with a sauce made of caramelized Maui onion and pale ale.
The final main course is slow roasted half chicken. This is a fashionable version served in its own sauce, with Portuguese sausage, oyster mushroom and apple dressing adding further definition.
Goodness knows I’ve had my share of Roy’s melting hot chocolate souffl & #233; cake,that flourless, warm wonder of a dessert with a molten hot center. So it will probably be on my order, especially since it comes with the added elan of vanilla bean ice cream, whose added calories I force myself to ignore. There’s also a second sweet selection to consider: macadamia and almond caramel tart. Baked in a shortbread crust and also served a la mode, it too might be impossible to ignore.
One can’t deny that these three-course dinners are real bargains and speak of the friendliness of Roy’s. It’s such a pretty restaurant and so relaxing with just the right amount of Hawaiian reminiscence tucked in with the modernism to make it a perfect fit for Newport Beach.
The prix fixe menus are available nightly. They are not offered for large parties. Reservations are always suggested. Roy’s of Newport Beach: 453 Newport Center Drive in Fashion Island, (949) 640-7697.
