I’ve been dining out even more than usual because our contractor and his crew have been working on our home in the past few weeks.
They’ve refitted old electrical stuff, put in new lighting, painted the whole house (no small feat as we’ve got some soaring ceilings), replaced some appliances, and more.
Our little granddaughter Ava, two months shy of four, considers Bob the contractor her new best friend. She’s been ever curious about the mess, about how things are going, and asks the crew frequently about their progress.
Ava has informed her parents that whenever anything needs fixing around their house, all they need to do is “call Bob.” Amidst all this, we’ve just welcomed a beautiful new grandson, Max, a little brother for Ava.
While workers have been remaking our home, we’ve been unable to get to the kitchen for much of the time. That means more trips to local restaurants.
Since we’re always trying to do our part to turn Ava into tomorrow’s fine dining expert, she’s joined us on recent journeys through sushi (Wasa), French cuisine (Pinot Provence), steaks (Morton’s), dim sum (China Garden) and more.
She adores dressing up and going to fine restaurants for another experience and happily uses her best dining room manners for the long forays.
Now for you big folks, I’m going to let you in on a couple of upcoming culinary excursions that you must mark onto your calendars.
The Perfect Menu
The St. Regis Monarch Beach Resort & Spa in Dana Point is offering a hands-on cooking class, The Perfect Menu for The Fall Season, on Oct. 26.
The resort’s executive chef, Azmin Ghahre-man, will lead the class using one of the bounties of cuisine,mushrooms.
Students will enjoy each newly made dish, along with a specially paired wine.
The class will concentrate on a four-course menu. Wild mushroom cappuccino topped with porcini foam is the first course. (Anyone who has ever had this marvelous and rich mushroom potage will relish being able to make it forever more.)
Open-faced ravioli of wild mushroom and artichoke ragout with Boursin cheese and garlic cream is on the agenda. Mushrooms marinated in rosemary-apple cider vinegar essence are the backbone of the salad.
Finally, the class will make a sandwich of grilled portobello mushrooms, goat cheese and sun-dried tomato with Italian pesto mayonnaise.
The class runs 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Cost is $45. It’s an opportunity to learn from the best. For reservations, call (949) 234-3765.
St. Regis: 1 Monarch Beach Resort, Dana Point.
Fine Wine Time
Every restaurant that’s serious about its wine list hopes to get an Award of Excellence from Wine Spectator magazine. It’s considered the crowning glory, the epitome of having a fine wine list.
Well, Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar in Newport Beach received 23 of the awards in the magazine’s August issue. To celebrate, it will host a Best of the Best Wine Dinner on Nov. 10 at 6:30 p.m.
The evening will be devoted to showcasing many of the 100 wines on the Fleming’s list that have been ranked 90 or above (top score possible for any wine is 100 points) by
Wine Spectator. Wines for the evening, selected by wine director Marian Jansen op
de Haar, will be paired with a distinctive menu created by executive chef Russell Skall.
In addition to dinner and fine wines, each guest will receive the current issue of Wine Spectator magazine and a complimentary three-month subscription. To add to the evening’s festivities, guests can test their wine knowledge and compete for unique prizes contributed by the featured wineries.
Prizes include a signed copy of “Anatomy of a Winery” by Donald J. P. Ziraldo, cofounder of Inniskillin Winery; Alexis Bonbons from Swanson Vineyards; and Riedel glasses from Kim Crawford Wines.
The Best of the Best five-course dinner will begin with hors d’oeuvres of mussels Rockefeller and baby sunburst squash filled with wild mushroom custard, paired with 2004 Kim Crawford Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc, New Zealand.
The first course of black sea bass with braised leeks will be paired with 2002 Chateau Ste.-Michelle Columbia Valley Indian Wells Chardonnay. The light course of winter salad with pomegranate vinaigrette will be served with 2002 Georges Duboeuf Flower Bottle Fleurie from France.
For the main course, guests will dine on pork loin stuffed with chorizo pesto and apple cider/whole grain mustard glaze. The Swanson 2001 Napa Valley Alexis Meritage wine will be poured for an outstanding pairing with the pork.
The Swanson wine is a lush, complex and concentrated wine that we admired at a recent wine tasting event; it’s a terrific example of what a Rutherford (Napa Valley) Meritage can be.
Following the theme of autumn flavors, dessert is enhanced by a special pumpkin bread pudding with orange cream sauce, served with 2002 Niagara Peninsula Oak Aged Vidal from Inniskillin (chosen New World Winery of the Year). We’ve ordered this wine on several recent occasions in various restaurants because it’s one of the really great treats of the wine world.
All of the wines served during the dinner are ranked 90 and above by the Wine Spectator.
Fleming’s was launched in Newport Beach in 1998 by restaurant industry veterans Paul Fleming and Bill Allen. Today there are 24 locations in the U.S.
The restaurant’s 100 Wines by the Glass program puts it in a category of its own.
These 100 wines are selected annually by Marian with local Fleming’s wine managers.
Included are popular selections as well as many hard-to-find boutique wines. Culled from tastings of more than 5,000 wines from around the world, the final selection is made at a grand tasting in Napa Valley.
The core wine-by-the-glass list includes 50 selections available at every Fleming’s restaurant, plus 50 wines specifically chosen for the local spot.
The award-winning wine list is noted for its progressive format, which lists wines in order of intensity, from lighter to fuller bodied. The wine program also is famous for its smaller pours of any group of wines the customer would like to try, with or without food. It’s a wonderfully friendly, but serious look at the wines of the world that we get at Fleming’s.
Take advantage of the wine and food program via the celebratory dinner, which is $85. I’d recommend making reservations as dinners of this caliber always sell out and seating for this one is limited.
Call (949) 720-9633 for reservations. Fleming’s: 455 Newport Center Drive, Fashion Island, Newport Beach.
AAA Rating
The Californian restaurant at the beautiful Hyatt Regency Huntington Beach Resort & Spa has been wowing us with its creative and delicious food.
Chef de cuisine Adam Navidi, who trained under famous chef Jean Louis Palladin, is a treasure for the resort. His rethinking of ways to use prime ingredients in new presentations has just resulted in the restaurant once again receiving the prestigious AAA Four Diamond status.
Adam’s food is a cosmopolitan but friendly encounter with regional cuisine that maintains a crisp, cultural flavor. Wines to match the food are hand-selected from a variety of exclusive California wineries.
The resort is just short of its two-year anniversary. The Californian is set apart with its dramatic Mediterranean ambiance.
I’m particularly taken by the warmth and gentleness of the room and the beautiful glass table tops,each different and the work of a glass artisan. It makes the whole experience all the more special.
Then there’s the resort. I love wandering the grounds, which include a European village style “square.” Not only does the Hyatt have Pete Mallory’s Surfside Diner,one dandy place for really laid-back eating and fun cocktails and even luaus on occasion,but it also has shops and an art gallery and even its own grocery store.
Along a meadowland path, there’s a world-class spa, some little unexpected nooks tucked aside that have cushy furniture (one even has a private fireplace) and fountains.
Throughout the property are 14 fountains from grand to small, classic to intriguingly artistic. Views of the ocean are prominent from much of the property.
And you shouldn’t miss the Red Chair Lounge. It does have one big red velvet chair near the fireplace as a namesake, but the whole place is loaded with comfortable seating and terrific surroundings. The lounge is one of our favorite places to relax over cocktails.
Take a stroll, have a drink in the lounge and then dine at the comfy Californian restaurant.
Hyatt: 21500 Pacific Coast Highway, Huntington Beach, (714) 698-1234.
