Bistango has a new chef directing the menu, and there are some exciting new things to try.
People are still asking me what differentiates Bistango and the new Bayside restaurant, both owned and operated by the Ghoukassian family. A lot! Total dedication to quality products, interesting food, lots of wines to complement it all and terrific presentations are the benchmarks at both. However, the restaurants are vastly different in their looks and offerings. Of utmost priority for me is that you understand that the chef whose name you’d so long associated with Bistango, Paul Gstrein, is now heading the kitchen at Bayside, where he has created a completely new array of wonderful dishes.
At Bistango, the young Austrian sous chef of five years, Hermann Sch & #228;fer, is now at the helm. He’s just introduced his own first menu, which provides more culinary latitude for those of us who love dining out. Hermann has, of course, respected the fondness we have for some of the signature dishes on the menu, so don’t panic and think that your favorites have disappeared. In addition to adding his own brand new dishes, he’s added new twists and presentations to the standards. From pizza to John Dory, loin of venison to soy-glazed salmon, there is serious culinary activity on the new menu.
There’s no doubt that Hermann cooks with great passion and regard for the customer. I have enjoyed the respectful inflection about pleasing guests that is threaded through his conversations about his menu. When he talks about some unexpected ingredient that a purveyor has brought along on the food delivery,an unusual variety of mushroom and some extraordinarily sweet baby salad greens popped up in one conversation,his voice takes on an edge of excitement. He thinks on his feet about what to create with the bounty.
To understand Hermann’s connection to food, you need to know his past. From a very young age, he loved cooking regional specialties in his native Austria with his grandmother. Before he even reached his teens, he and his best friend rushed home from school each day so that they could make a dessert before starting their homework. At 13, he started working in his mother’s outdoor caf & #233;. He couldn’t wait to get out of high school and enroll in Austria’s three-year hotel and restaurant training school. (I spent some time last spring in the professional chef’s portion of the school in Vienna, observing the students in training. Let me assure you, this is not a waltz in the park.) He then apprenticed for three years at a five-star luxury hotel, went on to cook at two other very prestigious hotels in Switzerland and finally arrived in the U.S. in 1994.
On his new Bistango menu, there’s a super pizza topped with house-smoked salmon and marinated fennel. Share it as an appetizer. Smoked salmon also comes with a medley of Mediterranean vegetables drizzled with a chive essence. Other stylish appetizers include a crab and lobster cake (a mixture of the two shellfish in a rich marriage of flavors) with fire-roasted tomato, and a loin of venison with truffle essence.
In the salad category, do not miss the seasonal one composed of sliced pear, crumbles of Maytag blue cheese and spokes of Belgian endive, or the one with fresh asparagus spears sprinkled with chunky pieces of roasted beets (so sweet and perfect for this time of year) and walnuts. The dressings on the salads have taken on added stature. The pear salad is misted with a highly reduced balsamic vinaigrette, while the asparagus sparkles with the flavor a pumpkin seed oil dressing. That oil is common in Austria, and a marvelous addition to the culinary scene here.
A plate of creamy risotto dappled with peas has an indentation in the center holding a sophisticated ragout of mushrooms. There’s probably not a plate of gnocchi that’s escaped my attention in OC. Pay attention to this signature version, in which the perfume of rosemary enhances the little potato dumplings and the Colorado lamb and tomato sauce is definitive on its own. Pasta aficionados will appreciate the penne mingled with asparagus, thyme, marinated and grilled chicken breast and a stimulating fresh lemon-caper sauce.
Atlantic salmon is glazed with soy sauce and crusted with herbs before being slowly roasted. On the plate is a baby artichoke, along with comforting mashed potatoes and wilted spinach. A touch of chile vinaigrette heightens the interest. A generous veal chop stands royally astride a stack of potatoes and most certainly matches well with the very light caper and lemon sauce. Hermann takes note of the unique flavor of venison and its affinity for more forward complements. A bite of the roasted venison with a bit of the Port wine-poached pear and a slight dip of the fork into the reduction sauce on the side says much about his ability to combine enticing components.
Desserts, as always, are prepared with as much perfection as the other courses. And they are the kind that can always be appreciated at the end of a meal, even when you’re feeling full. That’s because they are prepared with a European sensibility: the main flavor component takes center stage and sugar is used with restraint, so they are never cloying.
Wine, too, is taken seriously here. The list has hundreds of selections, mostly very moderately priced with a few on the connoisseur’s list that are more expensive.
The unique ambiance, complete with gentle live music every night, has now, after 13 years, become legendary. I’m personally most appreciative of the curated art displays. The ever-changing paintings and sculptures mingle seamlessly with the beautiful haute bistro setting, giving us one of the most striking scenarios in OC. With all this going for it, no wonder it’s a magnet for power dining.
