Relocated Picayo Still a Moving Mediterranean Experience
Bluewater Grill Offers a Vast Menu of Fresh Fish, Simply Prepared
EXECUTIVE DINING
by Fifi Chao
Picayo, the small French-like enclave on Coast Highway in Laguna Beach has moved to the inland side of the street and north five blocks. It is now in larger quarters in the new Von’s Pavilion Center. However, other than a few more seats and a charming outdoor patio, you won’t notice much difference. It’s still dressed up in the same happy Mediterranean blues and sunny yellows that splashed such ambiance on its previous location.
Instead of seating a measly 24, the restaurant now can accommodate up to 50. As many as 34 can be seated together in a private room. It also has acquired a full liquor license so we can indulge in a cocktail before or after dinner while sandwiching in a nice bottle of wine with our meal.
Chef Laurent Brazier cooks highly personalized versions of Mediterranean fare. Laurent’s twist is that he uses the authentic spices in dishes that originated in Morocco, Italy, Lebanon, Tunisia and the Proven & #231;al area of France but keeps them lighter and more digestible. Menus change regularly to best take advantage of seasonal market products and ingredients that have very short-term availability throughout the year.
Dishes that have dotted his menus include a small tart of paprika-seared ahi tuna and confit of onion, breast of pheasant with rustic braised cabbage and Maine lobster on saffron rice. At one meal, an exquisite “purse” was filled with shrimp, artichoke heart and wild mushrooms. A pistachio-crusted halibut entr & #233;e sat on a duxelle (tiny dice) of mushrooms. The breast of pheasant on another occasion came with rustic braised cabbage and green peppercorn sauce. On the most recent menu are saut & #233;ed foie gras on a bed of spinach, filet of salmon in an herb and lemon zest crust (served with leek risotto) and meaty escolar (Chilean sea bass) with red wine butter sauce. Entrees of veal and lamb have also pleased me along the way. This is no place to be timid about desserts as there are several rich and silky creations.
While Picayo offers us a sophisticated take on cuisine, Bluewater Grill keeps us satisfied with a vast menu of simply prepared fresh seafood. We recently stopped by the South Coast Plaza Village location for a nice long evening with friends Bill and Miriam Ferdi of Laguna Niguel. Not long before that, we’d had dinner at the bar and worked our way through several appetizer and raw fish courses. It’s almost as if the burden of wanting to order so many cleverly described dishes on a menu has been lifted. We all have our own seafood and shellfish preferences, and here you can peruse those categories and come up with a grilled or steamed or saut & #233;ed seafood that fits the moment and get on with it.
Available at the Moment
Bluewater Grill is famous for its big one-page menu that is printed daily, a necessity to reflect all the worldwide seafood available at the moment. Canadian bay shrimp, plump and sweet, are in season and a good start is the classic shrimp cocktail made with them. I also like having the fresh fish ceviche as a starter (on this week’s menu made with red snapper). Of course, I have always loved sushi and sashimi, so anything near that genre is fine with me. Like all traditional ceviches, this one is comprised of sliced raw fish that “cooks” in a squeeze of lime juice, slices of onion and a little chopped tomato. A taste or two of smoked fish is also good for opening up the appetite. All of the fish here is smoked over alderwood and oak, which imparts a particularly light but distinct flavor. Try the smoked Idaho trout with Brie cheese or perhaps a fish sampler plate with a variety of fish and shellfish. The variety of oysters and clams is abundant. Names like Hammersely and Fanny Bay are on the oyster roster, New Zealand Greenlip, Prince Edward Island and Cherrystone are but a few of the familiar names on the mussel and clam corner of the menu. Have them raw on the half-shell, steamed in a big pot with white wine and garlic, or in the case of oysters, simply fried and simply delicious.
It would be prudent to order the very classic clam chowder,I still prefer the New England cream style, but the red-based Manhattan chowder is also good. It’s a bit thickish, but crammed full of freshly shucked clams. Oyster stew made with fresh oysters is about as good as fine winter dining gets. One evening I had this and a shrimp Louie salad and it was a great meal after several heavy meals in previous nights. Remember that there are several preparations of each kind of fish, but some of my suggestions would be: fried tiny smelts, spiny lobster with butter and garlic sauce, Mississippi catfish done Cajun style and coconut fried prawns with sweet chile sauce (the best ever).
Sorry, that list is too short. I have a few more thoughts. The saut & #233;ed walleye pike from Minnesota, pan-fried calamari steak (when you can’t afford abalone, this is a good alternative) and pasta tossed with shrimp, scallops and Porcini mushrooms have also been reorders of mine. From the simplicity of fish and fries to the lobster and crab entrees, from several pasta dishes to free-range chicken, from ribeye steak to burgers and salads, there is a lot of very good, uncomplicated food.
The d & #233;cor, naturally, is woody, rather nautical and New England fishhouse familiar. No need for an overburdened concept. The whole package is relaxing and casual, but the quality is blue ribbon.
AT A GLANCE
PICAYO
Address: 610 N. Coast Highway, Laguna Beach
Phone: (949) 497-5051
Open: Dinner hours are from 5:30 p.m., but seatings are scheduled at either 6 p.m. or 8:30 p.m. on Saturday; Sunday brunch is served from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.; closed Sunday evening and all day Monday.
BLUEWATER GRILL
Addresses: 1621 W. Sunflower Ave. (in South Coast Plaza Village), Santa Ana, 630 Lido Park Drive (in Cannery Village), Newport Beach,
Phone: (714) 546-3474; (949) 675-3474
