Disney Names Grand Napa Chef; Hollrigi Takes Toque at Splashes
The Ritz-Carlton Laguna Niguel has a gorgeous new dining room to show off. The signature restaurant of all Ritz-Carlton properties is called simply The Dining Room. This is one Dining Room you should have on your fast-track agenda.
After a two-week renovation, the old, wide open, sparsely decorated room has become an elegant melange of crystal chandeliers, Axminster carpet, half-height square columns marching down the center of the room and intimate banquettes. There’s a richly carved marble fa & #231;ade and mantle accenting a romantic fireplace.
Detailed with hand-crafted antiqued millwork, the wood surrounding the new private banquette niches and ceiling crown moldings is painted in serene tones of eggshell and white, while the walls are upholstered in fine damask. Upholstery for all seating is in richly colored imported brocades, primarily in tones of rusty peach and celadon green. Tables are napped in fine linen, set with custom glassware and plates and centered with large cut-glass holders encasing fat candles. No expense was spared on a gallery’s worth of fine floral paintings. It has emerged as one of the prettiest rooms in Orange County.
What is most remarkable is that it is not a stuffy room, but rather a very inviting one. They’ve managed to balance elegance and friendliness. Erich Steinbock, the director of food and beverage, noted, “The trend is toward a more relaxed customer who still enjoys the finest in cuisine, wine and service. We have refocused our philosophy, service and offerings to satisfy that wish.”
A new kitchen, to be used exclusively for this room, is furnished with state-of-the-art equipment and its own pastry shop. The chef, Frenchman Yvon Goetz, has been garnering good press for his contemporary French cuisine for the past five years. He is given the freedom to purchase the world’s best and freshest ingredients. Truffles, in season, arrive from Europe. His freshly picked berries, herbs, salad greens and other vegetables are flown in from Ohio. Fresh fish comes mostly from the world-famous chefs’ market in Paris. All wild game is air-shipped from Scotland and France, because over there it is still wild game, not farm-raised as it is here. Cheeses also come from many countries and regions of Europe. With these products, he is recapturing taste memories from his childhood in Alsace and training in Strasbourg, one of the world’s great culinary cities.
To start the evening, diners can indulge from the caviar cart, have some saut & #233;ed fresh foie gras (prepared by Yvon from a family recipe), or perhaps California squab with truffle essence. A sampling of entrees on the current menu: roasted veal tournedos and sweetbreads with cipollini onions; steamed French turbot wrapped in leaves of Romaine; and baked Colorado loin of lamb sporting the sunny flavors of Proven & #231;e. In addition to a full a la carte menu, Yvon also prepares an elaborate prix fixe menu each evening, along with a five-course food- and wine-pairing menu. An expanded wine list and a friendly, young sommelier add to the charm of dining here. From the new pastry kitchen comes an array of desserts that are delicate works of art truly meant to end the evening in grand style.
This all sounds expensive, doesn’t it? The fact is that it is no more expensive to eat in The Dining Room than in any number of other upscale restaurants in the county. This room will suit the dining needs of the businessperson, the romantic, and local residents enjoying a private escape for the evening. The Ritz-Carlton, sitting on its 150-foot bluff overlooking the Pacific in Dana Point, is consistently ranked among the best resorts in the world. We are so lucky to be able to enjoy it for an evening meal in The Dining Room, any time we please. Call (949) 240-5008 for dinner reservations.
Grand Napa Nabs Chef from Napa
I keep telling you that the Disneyland Hotel and the sister property next door, the Disneyland Pacific Hotel, have been competing with the best restaurants in the county for at least the last two years. They’ve now extended that commitment in a very big way to the Grand Napa restaurant to be housed in the Grand Californian Hotel, the 750-room luxury property that will open on Jan. 2 as part of the major expansion of the Disneyland Resort. Andrew Sutton, one of the nation’s most highly acclaimed chefs, has been hired as executive chef for the Grand Napa restaurant. They’ve actually spirited him away from the prestigious Auberge du Soleil in the Napa Valley, where he has spent the past seven years. Before that, he worked with Dean Fearing at the five-star, five-diamond Mansion on Turtle Creek in his hometown of Dallas. He is a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America and completed a classical French apprenticeship. I have eaten Andrew’s food at both Auberge and the Mansion, and can tell you that he will bring an array of intriguing new signature dishes to us.
Hollrigi Splashes Down in Laguna
Splashes, the award-winning restaurant in Laguna’s Surf & Sand Hotel, also has a new chef. Martin Hollrigi was born in Austria and last worked as sous chef at Pinot Proven & #231;e in Costa Mesa. He has a classical French background in the culinary arts. He has revamped the menu and filled it with his signature preparations such as pan-seared soft-shell crab, Dungeness crab fritters, rib eye steak with black olive tapenade, and veal chop with a potato crust. With 500 feet of spectacular beachfront outside the windows, Splashes offers many reasons to linger over lunch or dinner. 1555 S. Coast Highway, Laguna Beach. Phone (949) 497-4477.
