Morton’s Plants Stake in South Coast Plaza, Doesn’t Miss a Beat
Classic Steakhouse Does What it Should
EXECUTIVE DINING
by Fifi Chao
Since its first restaurant opened in 1978 in Chicago, Morton’s has set the standard for serving the best quality beef.
There are other fine steak houses, but when I use the word “serving,” I mean it in all its facets. It’s so much more than the prime piece of beef on your plate.
You walk in the door of Morton’s in South Coast Plaza Village, and the pleasant attitude just flows. There are very few restaurants where there’s such obvious friendship and appreciation between staff and customer. Here, diners are shaking hands with waiters, managers, sommeliers and bartenders. It’s easy to feel that this is a home away from home. Most remarkable is that none of it is forced. This staff, led by general manager J. C. Clow, loves making a dining experience something special.
They’ve been playing to a full house since the move at the end of last year to their new home, that classy, understated building that emerged on the site of the demolished Planet Hollywood. Well, they were playing to big crowds in the other location, too; but now they’ve got a lot more space in which to entertain us.
And it’s prettier, but not flashy. The eye skims over the familiar wall-side booths and across tabletops all dressed in snowy white with serious table settings at the ready. Your gaze settles along the back of the main room where the stainless steel kitchen is surrounded by warm brick walls and arched brick insets that serve as wine storage. There are still the signature glass dividers etched with the Morton’s logo that highlight some of the booths. Colorful modern art is plentiful. Wine bottles, some of them in those massive sizes, huddle together in various places throughout: a visual reminder that this is food made for wine.
I have long admitted that Morton’s bar is one I almost always frequent before having my dinner. There are all those convivial bartenders, after all, who make awesome martinis and other cocktails. They help set the stage for a good evening out.
So, finally, it’s off to the dining room. Order the very best crab cakes in the county. These,appetizer or entr & #233;e portion,have no fillers; they are simply made of jumbo lump crabmeat pressed together enough to crisp them. Shrimp Alexander is giant prawns lightly coated in seasoned breadcrumbs, meant to dip in a garlic beurre blanc.
Broiled sea scallops wrapped in bacon are dandy with their complement of apricot chutney fiestied up with horseradish. Oysters (on the half-shell), classic shellfish cocktails and superb salads all do justice as first courses. Mind you, they bring a whole round loaf of onion bread direct from the oven to the table almost as soon as you’re seated. One begins to wonder early on how to manage all these big portions of food.
The generosity on the plate continues with entr & #233;es. As for steaks, I’m a ribeye fan,best taste and texture. However, I also relish the traditional Filet Oskar,topped with asparagus spears, jumbo lump crabmeat and sauce B & #233;arnaise. Patrick will often order the porterhouse, NY strip steak or veal chop.
They offer Maine lobster, salmon, shrimp, lamb chops, chicken and center cut swordfish steak. Vegetable side dishes are a la carte and best shared, considering their amplitude. Saut & #233;ed wild mushrooms, creamed spinach and potatoes Lyonnaise,sliced and cooked with onions,strike my fancy. And, though I know how full you will be, it’s more of a sin to miss the molten Godiva chocolate cake for dessert than it is to eat it.
Talk about a serious wine list! We had wine by the glass the other night. 1997 Hogue Reserve Cabernet at $13.95 (subsiding tannins with a great mouthful of dried cherries, blackberries, tobacco and a measure of cedar) and 2000 Murrieta’s Well Meritage at $12.95,a red blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Zinfandel that melded into a bright and friendly, rather fruity wine of medium body. Here are a few other wine suggestions to complement this serious food. Some Zinfandels: 1998 Folie a Deux “Bowman Vineyard” at $59, 1999 Venge “Scouts Honor” from Napa Valley for $65, ’99 Lava Cap Reserve, Sierra Foothills at $60 and Karly 1999 “Warrior Fires” Amador County for $45. I like the spicy berry components of the 1999 Folie a Deux Amador County Syrah at $56. More Meritage to consider: 1998 Conn Creek red Meritage called Anthology for $94, Rodney Strong “Symmetry” 1997 at $90. Cabernets: 1998 Saddleback for $83, Gemstone 1998 (really soft and silky) Yountville Cabernet at $146.
Oops, did I miss the whites? Why would you be drinking white wine with this food anyway? They do have them available if you insist. The list is weighted towards California wines with a double fistful of great Bordeaux, a few Italian wines and some sparklers. It does everything it should.
This whole restaurant does what it should!
AT A GLANCE: MORTON’S
Address: 1641 W. Sunflower Ave.,
Santa Ana (in South Coast Plaza Village)
Phone: (714) 444-4834
Hours: Dinner from 5 p.m.
Prices: Appetizers $6.95-$11.95,
Entr & #233;es $19.95-$35.95
