Mozambique in Laguna Beach is three months old and seems to have settled in well.
We’ve tried several of the dishes and like this casual exotica that takes our palate through a culinary tour of South Africa as influenced mostly by the Portuguese.
The country of Mozambique is situated in southeastern Africa, wedged between South Africa and Tanzania and bordering the Mozambique Channel.
The Portuguese ran across Mozambique when they were looking for a route around South Africa. Its beachside communities have been popular tourist destinations since the early 1900s. Mozambique’s beach restaurants are famous for their dishes spiced with indigenous peri-peri seasoning, which appears on many of the menu items at this new restaurant.
This restaurant is the dream of two boyhood pals from South Africa whose families took yearly vacations to Mozambique. The taste of the foods flavored with peri-peri have remained culinary cravings for Tony Shill (the managing partner) and Ivan Spiers ever since.
The duo first hooked up in the food business in 1976 with some Dairy Queen ventures in South Africa. But they couldn’t divest themselves of a deep desire to bring the food of Mozambique and South Africa to the public.
Tony and Ivan knew that Southern California and Laguna Beach in particular fulfilled the seaside community aspect of a Mozambique restaurant. And they saw promise in the former Tortilla Flats building that lay empty. The pair has brought on a third partner, Bill Brooks.
Spiers, who shuns the public spotlight, is a veteran of the Orange County apparel scene. A few years back, Spiers took over inventory and shipping for Costa Mesa-based Fly Industries LLC, maker of Black Flys sunglasses, which at the time was wrestling with financial woes.
In 2002, Spiers partnered with New York-based Windsong Allegiance Apparel Group LLC to buy Joe Boxer products sold at Kmart.
Late last year Spiers signed a big Irvine lease for his n’Zania LLC. N’Zania, which makes clothes featuring Disney characters and Teletubbies for trendy young teens and adults, leased a 92,433-square-foot building at 17622 Von Karman Ave. in Irvine.
The Mozambique partners brought in Dale TerBush, well-known artist and interior designer of restaurants, who used to reside here but now paints from his home in Santa Fe, N.M.
The entrance takes you into a realm of palm trees, exotic birds in huge cages, an open kitchen exuding enticing aromas and the Shebeen Lounge where colorful libations sit before patrons.
Highly polished dark wood and red woven leather booths accent the main dining room.
The Protea room, named after the flower, is another large dining space that’s more private and formal. It features a fireplace, sumptuous table settings and interesting art.
Upstairs is a more casual setting called Shebeen Terrace. A separate, fun menu is served there throughout the day.
I happen to love sitting on the patio. It’s surrounded by brick and rock walls, palms in large cement pots, with a corner fountain in a raised garden area. Marble-topped tables in a rosy orange hue sit beneath lazy ceiling fans. You can smell the ocean air.
Mozambique’s executive chef, Alfonso Contrisciani, was part of the Culinary Olympics team that competed in Berlin in 1996. He also was captain of the 2000 team and was a coach to the team last year.
He’s well traveled and brings a background from some cosmopolitan kitchens. Alfonso looks like he’s in his real element in OC. His intensity says a lot about what he expects us to discover.
In describing Alfonso’s food, you’ve got to start by focusing on the peri-peri spice. Peri-peri is a blend of dried spices with a background of lime juice, chiles and garlic, which the chef makes himself.
No bottled stuff allowed. Alfonso also makes his own steak sauce, a meat enhancer that outshines the commercial sauces.
Meals begin with Portuguese hot rolls that are barely sweet and feathery light from the oven. They are absolutely addictive, especially when slathered with the chef’s maple-pecan butter.
Skewered prawn appetizer finds the peri-peri seasoning mingling with the seared flavor from the grill. It’s served with a mango salsa.
Chicken livers are fabulous with that seasoning, a side of caramelized onions, a bit of pomegranate glaze and toasted crostini upon which we can pile it all. A shrimp cocktail brings smiles when it arrives with large prawns ready to be dipped into Ketel One sauce or a house signature sauce.
A grilled vegetable Napoleon is stacked atop crostini, along with spinach and mozzarella.
The avocado soup is a cool puree garnished with spiced crabmeat and coconut. Oyster and fish chowder also has leeks and roasted corn in it. Fava beans and wild mushrooms are partners in yet another potage.
Salads are more California than Mozambique, but they’re very interesting.
The chicken salad finds sliced apples, chick peas, greens and curried yogurt dressing in the mix. A seasonal salad of beets and goat cheese is my choice. The duet is served over arugula.
Pastas are hand-crafted and completely of the Italian persuasion. There are just a couple of them to keep the not-so-adventurous happy. It’s a choice of either shrimp and crabmeat ravioli or sweet potato gnocchi, which I still have to try but have been told by two of our friends is most interesting and tasty.
Entrees include rotisserie chicken, wood-grilled prawns or a combo of the two, all done peri-peri fashion.
Lamb curry is Durban-style with a unique blend of spices in the mix.
Braised short ribs are marinated for 48 hours, then slow-cooked with apples, onions, carrots and celery root. The result is beautifully tender meat and lots of country flavor.
Three steaks are offered and Portuguese lamb also is in a steak presentation with garlic and rosemary perfuming it.
A double cut pork chop is moist due to its cider brining and quick roasting. A portion of beef, lamb steak and Portuguese sausage form a mixed grill, which is always a good way to taste several things at one sitting.
Three desserts have made my fine choices list.
One is the lemon tart with some unexpected br & #369;l & #233;e on the side. Another is white chocolate and banana bread pudding.
Out of the ordinary and thus convincing is a clever concoction called banana silk. It’s a scoop of toasted almond ice cream with a warm stew of strawberry and mint and warm banana fritters adding presence.
I like that Mozambique’s wine list is divided into light, medium and full-bodied wines. Sometimes the consumer would like to try a new wine but has no idea how strongly or gently that wine will hit the palate.
Wineries in California, Oregon, South Africa, Australia and France are represented on the wine list. There’s even a library collection of Far Niente, Trefethen, Dominus Estate, Beringer Private Reserve and Cos d’Estournel wines.
A few of my picks: 2002 Uitkyk Stellenbosch Sauvignon Blanc from S. Africa, 2003 Domaines Ott de Selle, Ros & #233; from Provence, 2001 Trevor Jones “Wild Witch Reserve” Shiraz from Australia’s Barossa Valley and 2003 Consilience Petite Sirah from Santa Barbara County.
Too Much to Handle
I had such high hopes for Ozumo at Fashion Island, the most authentic Japanese restaurant to come to OC in a long time.
But after only nine months, it suddenly closed in mid-September, catching us off guard.
It got off to a shaky start with the food not meeting diners’ expectations.
The problem: a temporary chef, not really trained to the task, was in the kitchen while the famed Japanese chef Ozumo had hired was finishing another consulting contract.
After a few weeks, the intended chef arrived to deliver the most delicious and gorgeously presented food amid a striking interior decor.
Still, enough customers to keep the doors open obviously did not materialize.
I think part of the problem is a repeat of a mistake many restaurateurs make regarding OC. They have successful operations in other places,the Fashion Island location was an outgrowth of the hot Ozumo the owners have in San Francisco,and they perceive OC as a moneyed place with a coterie of diners anxious to have anything new.
Sadly, we are not as savvy as diners in San Francisco or New York. Ozumo probably fell for this reason.
High-Flying
Of interest to anyone who will be flying first or business class to Europe on Lufthansa will be the Patina four-course dinner with wine pairings.
For the airline’s premium service, Lufthansa hired the famous Joachim Splichal to create a menu of his acclaimed signature dishes to pamper clients.
Joachim owns all those Pinot restaurants, including our Pinot Provence in Costa Mesa, as well as Patina and several other restaurants in Los Angeles and Napa Valley.
Lufthansa’s gourmet food and wine service menus are called “Connoisseurs on Board,” and Joachim’s menu, plus the matching wines, will be served until February.
AT A GLANCE – Mozambique
Address: 1740 South Coast Highway
Laguna Beach
Phone: (949) 715-7777
Hours: Shebeen Lounge & Terrace open for lunch and cocktails from 11 a.m.-10 p.m. (midnight closing Friday and Saturday); dinner downstairs from 5 p.m. nightly
Prices: dinner appetizers $7.50-$14, entrees $16-$42; wine corkage $15
