In January 1998, a forward-thinking California-style restaurant named Sage quietly opened in a corner space of the Eastbluff center that had formerly housed an Italian restaurant. Though the owner and chef, Richard Mead, is gregarious in some situations, he’s rather modest about his talents in the kitchen and his restaurant as a whole. Among all the county’s big, flashy restaurants that really announce their arrival by sheer force of fa & #231;ade alone, this is a quiet little gem that has found a fiercely loyal local following. Last week, we joined another couple for dinner in order to try even more dishes from the current menu (it is changed seasonally).
I enjoy the comfort level of this restaurant. Clean lines, wood floors, walls adorned with nice art. Tables are set with linen. There’s no stainless steel, no arching ceilings, no open kitchen. Here, Richard cooks and you’re supposed to have some serenity. There’s a lovely patio decked with plants and trees, perfect for summer dining.
They get a pat on the back for printing out the page of daily specials. I can never remember the roll call of appetizers and entrees trilled tableside by a waiter. He can memorize four to eight specials per day, but consumers cannot remember beyond the first three sentences of his recitation. I say this is a practice that should be stopped. Worse, few restaurants tell us the price of the specials and, of course, they’re usually priced more than most a la carte dishes. Here you have no such problem. Just peruse the separate sheet of five special appetizers, five entrees and a dessert of the day. It’s all there, even the prices.
We began this particular meal with a crusty-skinned pizza bubbling with mozzarella, fontina and parmesan cheeses and with bumps of scallops, shrimp and sun-dried tomato all over the surface. There’s a signature tortilla soup that should be tried. A redolent broth has pieces of cilantro and chicken in it, as well as plenty of crispy tortilla chips and a little cheddar cheese melting through it all. At lunch, on another occasion, the chilled gazpacho soup was refreshing; good for these hot summer days. The crab cakes are quite interesting: plenty of crab flavor, sitting atop a little round of super crispy potato hash and sided with a “salad” of grilled corn, onion and herbs.
I have always liked the gorgonzola salad, a lovely melange of fresh baby greens are tossed with candied pecans, bits of gorgonzola and dried cranberries and surrounded by slices of Granny Smith apples. I am exceedingly fond of Richard’s roasted salads. The summer one is composed of asparagus, leeks, scallions, corn, sweet Maui onion slices, and gold baby summer squash on a bed of mixed baby greens and cherry tomatoes.
Lunch and dinner entrees are pretty varied.
I said once before, and I stand by my statement, that Richard’s roasted chicken is arguably the best in the county. Roasted like others with crisp skin and moist meat beneath, this half-bird is deboned for you. There are nice pan-roasted potatoes tucked around the chicken and some fresh vegetables, but it is the light pan gravy that makes it superb.
The grilled balsamic-glazed salmon with roasted vegetables is rightfully popular with the customers. Grilled pork tenderloin is sliced for you and I am quite taken with the balance of sweet and sour in the accompanying cabbage. Steak a la grilled rib eye is tender and tinged with a homemade barbecue sauce. There’s usually a preparation of halibut: last time it was baked Proven & #231;al style. There are some pasta dishes, four signature pizzas, and even a nice Dijon-flavored turkey meatloaf. There are way too many dishes to describe. There’s just enough sophistication in this food, but it’s also recognizable for what it is: a central ingredient merely enhanced by what’s going on around it. The accompaniments never lead the waltz.
If they happen to have strawberry shortcake to finish off the meal, it is a must. A delicate, creamy biscuit is topped with quality fresh berries, a dollop of whipped cream and drizzled with a fresh strawberry sauce that, on its own, could be used for many other things,Champagne with a little of that sauce stirred in comes to mind as a refreshing drink, or it could be used as a sauce for French crepes. Admittedly, my mind is running astray, but Sage has the flavor of grandmother’s kitchen and the style of 2000. All desserts tend to take you down memory lane, but inspire new expectations with their presentation.
A Trio of Specialties at Trilogy
Just had another superb dinner with a dozen friends at Trilogy in Irvine. I cannot stress enough the quality and presentations here since Jim Strausbaugh took over the kitchen last summer.
I want you to try his interesting food, and we can talk about some of the signature dishes on the current menu in another column, but right now I want to remind everyone of two other things. First, there’s now a low-carbohydrate menu composed of four plates. It’s an instant success. There’s rock shrimp over fresh garden vegetables tossed with olive oil, tomatoes and basil. The vegetables take the place of pasta. The Atkin’s burger has no bun, but it is topped with cheese and onions and sided with cottage cheese and sliced tomatoes. Fresh salmon is stuffed with creamed spinach. And, the blackened New York steak comes with a shiitake mushroom sauce. These items are priced from $9.95 to $19.95.
Second, there are the twice-a-month wine tastings with selections from Trilogy’s hidden cellar along with appetizers. Upcoming dates are June 16, July 6 and July 21; always 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
One other thing: There’s very nice live music on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday evenings to greatly enhance your relaxation in the lounge and at your table.
I do like this restaurant a lot. Write its name in red in your agenda book as a special reminder to expand your culinary horizons.
Chao publishes Chao’s Dinesty, a food, wine and travel newsletter, in Irvine.
