There have been many changes at our local restaurants.
The Goodells have left A Restaurant in Newport Beach. They departed a few months ago after consulting for the transition for the old Arches restaurants into A. Some have known this couple,Tim and Liza,from their days here at Aubergine, Troquet, Red Pearl Kitchen and their casual restaurant at The Camp (all closed) and then at several venues, some of them now closed, in Los Angeles.
Manhattan Supper Club in Orange, only a year old, is no more. It was sold and the new name is Manhattan Steak and Seafood. The original chef/partner left earlier this year, signaling that something was up at the struggling supper club. The new owners have kept the American-style menu, but I have not been there since this changeover. This location was home to the friendly French restaurant La Brasserie for decades. It is in the vicinity of Children’s Hospital at 202 S. Main Street in Orange, (714) 978-6161.
Remember the old Mamma Gina at Bayside Drive and Pacific Coast Highway? The location,after a full interior rebuild,now has become SOL Cocina. It’s backed by the Mastro Group (founders and former owners of Mastro’s Steakhouse and Mastro’s Ocean Club) and features chef Deborah Schneider, cookbook author of cuisine inspired by San Felipe and Baja flavors. Here, the open kitchen format is important,all the better to see what’s going on at the stoves and cutting boards. The menu features a lot of shellfish: fried spiny lobster, shrimp with chiles de arbol, mango-lobster tostadas and butter-tequila clams among the choices. There are also tacos made with high-end ingredients and a few other true Baja dishes. The restaurant was designed by Thomas Schoos (among other major achievements, he did the Tao restaurants in Vegas and New York that sport Zen-like qualities and have the largest Buddhas in the U.S.). 251 E. Coast Highway, Newport Beach, (949) 675-9800.
In the recent past, the chef/partners of Sundried Tomato Cafes left and the remaining partner, Rob Quest, took full control. He hired Jeff Platt (formerly of Tabu Grill) to secure the kitchen scene and make sure the food remained consistent. That means we are still getting quality ingredients, mainly organic, made into spot-on dishes of the hometown comfort genre. Call the Laguna Beach location at (949) 494-3312, San Clemente at (949) 388-5757 and San Juan Capistrano at (949) 661-1167.
Port’s Presence
Port Restaurant and Bar in Corona del Mar is a fine place to repack your culinary suitcase and have a fetching dining experience. Tucked a few feet from the ocean on Heliotrope Avenue, this space was a casual local hangout called Pirate’s Inn for a long run. Then, a chef took ownership and called the place Trees for a relatively short span before it disintegrated. Alas, we loved and lost Mistral, the next incarnation that took its name from the unruly winds that scour the Provence region of France in certain seasons. It too was eventually sold to yet another owner who had a very short run with his Svelte name and idea.
Then, two and a half years ago, along came Ali Zadeh,businessman, lover of fine food and good wine, bon vivant and, most certainly, an intent host,who gave the restaurant an intensive and inviting makeover. It’s now quite chic while being ultra friendly. The rooms are punctuated with a lot of good art, custom architectural details and a cool adjoining bar.
Patrick and I merrily trekked through some of the menu with this paper’s publisher, Richard Reisman, his charming girlfriend, Anita Modha, our executive editor Rick Reiff and his wife, Mary Ann Brown. Makes it easier to try several things with a table of six or so.
For appetizers, don’t miss the crispy gnocchi with spinach and morel mushrooms. Crab cakes sit atop fennel salad and are dappled with chipotle sauce, classic coconut shrimp have a jaunty sweet chile sauce, ahi tartar is a good textural counterpoint to the crunch of lotus root and spicy shrimp or a bowl of clams and mussels keeps the interest flowing.
Entrees on our plates included salmon with a white wine and shrimp sauce, seared sea bass with a tad bit of brown butter sauce and nice garden vegetables, a swell plate of seafood pasta, tender braised short ribs and a couple of selections from the steak, chops and lamb entrees. All were quite satisfying.
Someone obviously paid a lot of attention in putting together the eclectic and international wine list. A few that would add pizzazz to any meal without emptying the wallet: Trimbach Reserve pinot grigio, Saint Supery sauvignon blanc, Dutton Goldfield pinot noir, BV Tapestry red wine, Lancaster or Whitehall Lane cabernets, Ridge “California Mountain” zinfandel-syrah blend or Chateau Taillefer from the Pomerol region of Bordeaux. To go along with some full-flavored sweets at the end of your meal, there’s a fine selection of dessert wines.
Port should be added to your dining list since the great tastes are complemented by sensible prices and superb atmosphere. Dinner appetizers are $8 to $16, entrees $26 to $38.
Port Restaurant and Bar is at 440 Heliotrope Ave., Corona del Mar, (949) 723-9685.
Mark’s at Sawdust
Mark DePalma was a fixture for years at Mark’s on Pacific Coast Highway in Laguna Beach. It now is Hush. After a hiatus, he’s opened Mark’s again, this time next to the Sawdust Festival arena. Seems old friends and new inquisitive diners have found him turning Mark’s into a pretty happening place.
We had dinner with the intrepid Karen Philippsen, a gal who knows how to dine and travel as part of her job as president of the Laguna Beach Visitors and Convention Bureau and due to her own yearnings to travel the culinary hotspots of the world.
We opted to dine on the nice outside terrace (a little noisy and crowded on the inside) and were so pleased with Mark’s prices and the many menu items that jumped out at us. For this introductory dinner we started with the mango and brie quesadilla with roasted pasilla chiles. Super nice. The next hit was ahi with fresh asparagus, avocado and tomato. Then, a mild curry with undertones of coconut and mango bathed tender diced chicken. Braised veal shank with risotto also strutted its stuff. Prime rib of pork with saut & #233;ed sweet corn and cranberry-chipotle sauce was no slouch, either. I wanted to try the rib eye steak with coffee rub, but that will have to be another evening.
I am gathering some friends to go to lunch so I can try the Shanghai chicken salad, gorgonzola and poached pear salad, Klingenmeier burger (stuffed with cheese) and filet mignon tacos. The Sunday brunch also beckons with two pages of come hither items priced at $7.50 to $13.50. German apple pancakes, souffled French toast, lots of egg dishes, ricotta pancakes and chicken with rigatoni sound interesting.
Mark’s is at 853 Laguna Canyon Road, (949) 715-4200.
Cultural Connections
Sometimes a culturally different kind of surprise for the palate comes along. Who would expect an invigorating Japanese breakfast two blocks from South Coast Plaza in the Hanford’s Restaurant & Lounge at The Holiday Inn Costa Mesa? Trust me, it’s worth doing from a culinary standpoint. If you like breakfasting in daylight, perhaps before getting to work, then the subtleties of a Japanese breakfast can bring healthy and newly interesting aspects your way (although classic American fare throughout the day can also be ordered here and you’ll be surprised at the quality and interest factor).
The meal is served on traditional Japanese dishware, so it’s even an artistically attractive beginning to the day. I have to get you past the eggs and bacon thinking to know the how and why of a Japanese meal at the dawn of the day. The Japanese found out eons ago that certain highly enjoyable foods/flavors best stimulate the metabolism and give the body an early boost in energy to face the day.
The meal has a piece of lightly grilled salmon. Steamed rice takes the place of our toast and/or cereal and a delicious bowl of broth is so pleasing to the palate. While coffee is the American beverage, hot tea is the Asian drink of choice, although you could order coffee with this meal and nobody would raise their eyebrows at you. Delicately flavored Japanese pickles perk up the meal even more.
Perhaps you need to join the rest of us who have found this meal that contains items we’d ordinarily eat at lunch or dinner to be quite pleasing in the morning.
American food is well represented too. Omelets join biscuits and gravy, combination plates, huevos rancheros and hearty skillet entrees peak through on the morning menu. The dinner menu,they don’t serve lunch,has appetizers of shrimp cocktail, fried calamari, quesadilla and more. Chinese chicken, Cobb and an elevated version of Caesar salad are offered. There are several interesting sandwiches. Ten entrees include steaks, seafood that speaks of the tropics, pastas that hark back to Italy and a couple of enticing chicken dishes.
Hanford’s restaurant is a good alternative from the more visible restaurants. This inn is part of the Hanford Hotels group and it has a loyal traveling business clientele so they do pay attention to the food quality. Keep it in mind. Traditional American breakfast items are $6.75 to $8.25, Japanese breakfast is $16.95, dinner items $7.75 to $30.25 (filet mignon with Port wine sauce).
Hanfords in the Holiday Inn at 3131 S. Bristol St., Costa Mesa, (714) 557-3000.
Kosher Kitchen
Do you know the only hotel in OC to have a dedicated kosher kitchen for banquets? It’s the Hilton Orange County/Costa Mesa, which has lots of good looking banquet space and always has been dedicated to terrific banquet food in all its forms. It is the time of year when holiday functions are being booked and it’s good to hear that some of our restaurants and hotels are getting pretty well filled for the November to December slot. When the holiday season rolls around, we will also be admiring the Parade of Trees here, a charity event featuring live trees decorated by various companies. The kosher Hilton is at 3050 Bristol St. in Costa Mesa. Call (714) 540-7000.
