I suggest a certificate to dine at Tabu Grill in Laguna Beach for anyone wondering what to get a friend, business associate or family member for a holiday gift.
Tabu is an intimate place with island charm. Tropical and clever with distinct cosmopolitan undertones, the restaurant recalls Tahiti, Fiji or Bali.
The tables flickering with candlelight are cuddled pretty close together. That’s not a distraction but rather a coziness to be savored. Hand daubed walls are in peaceful, sagey green tones. A trio of oversize, elaborately framed mirrors on one wall adds more sense of space while Gauguin-style artwork adds dash.
Tables are dark wood with the ceiling covered in much lighter bamboo. The kitchen is tiny, just a modern curve of stainless steel in one corner.
The chef, Jeff Platt, creates from a base of California cuisine. His ingredients sing off the plate. Tabu was the dream of Nancy Wilhelm, who has been guiding successful restaurants for years in Orange County. In this small enclave, she shines as the doting restaurateur while chef partner Jeff dazzles in ways that wouldn’t work as well in a large place.
The menu is only two pages long but covers a lot.
Creative starters could provide a multi-course meal on their own.
One of the charms of scallops is that they caramelize when grilled over high heat.
That flavor mingles here with a tangerine sauce as tender as the shellfish. Some baby greens peek from beneath.
Foie gras almost has become commonplace, and this version struts its stuff atop miniature dried cherry and pecan pancakes.
Grilled quail also is turning up on more menus with Tabu’s version adding a bit of salty Serrano ham that gives a sense of exotica. The cheesy polenta ribboned with rosemary jus served alongside could stand on its own.
Still more tempting appetizers include crispy duck prosciutto that enhances an arugula salad flecked with candied pecans.
Small cubes of sushi grade tuna emerge as poke salad, with papaya bits, avocado puree and a misting of red curry vinaigrette joining the silky tuna.
Romaine is slightly grilled for the Caesar salad that takes a creative turn via a spicy thyme flavor.
There’s always a soup of the day; we just had a lightly curried winter squash that was rich and creamy and sensible for the season.
Entrees feature fresh seafood and meats. New Zealand king salmon comes with fresh crab, cucumber and sweet and sour persimmon sauce.
A generous piece of quickly grilled salmon topped with some crab meat sits on shredded cucumber and is surrounded with a pumpkin-colored sauce made from fresh persimmons.
Prime flat iron steak with bleu cheese macaroni is encircled by cabernet sauce. The richness of the blue cheese plays sophisticated doyenne to the old classic mac-and-cheese casserole.
Roasted duck is one of my favorite dishes anywhere, anytime. Tabu’s duck breast comes from a specialty farm and is served with caramelized figs and duck confit. It is several slices of tender pink meat fanned out on shredded crisp pieces of the confit and the sweet figs. This version is now on the top of my “best duck” list along with just a couple of others.
I’m also allowing the hefty 14-ounce maple cured pork chop with roasted kuri squash and a confetti of crispy pancetta onto my list of best dining experiences.
Entrees I haven’t tried but have plans for include Colorado lamb chops with tropical couscous, rib eye steak with coastal mushrooms and root vegetable puree, seared rare Saku tuna with chanterelles and, since I am fond of butter fish, Jeff’s roasted version with matsutake mushrooms, salsify and soy-chile sauce.
Tabu’s wine list is eclectic, even if it comes in at just one page and 60 labels. I was delighted to find South Africa’s Glen Carlou chardonnay.
We had glasses of the sleek Bien Nacido Vineyards Vine Cliff chardonnay with our king salmon.
Talbott, Dutton Ranch, Chalone and Baileyana are just a few prestigious names also in the chardonnay category. A veltliner wine from Austria, pinot gris and pinot grigio from the U.S., dry Riesling from Australia and sauvignon blanc from New Zealand are other vibrant whites to match Tabu’s food.
On the red side, several varietals from Italy are tucked amid American winners such as Caldwell’s Proprietary Napa Red, Sea Smoke’s Ten pinot noir (Santa Rita Hills), Londer Anderson Valley pinot, Rocket Science Mt. Veeder cabernet and Nickel and Nickel Dragonfly Vineyards cabernet.
We even had a lot of fun matching some food to the Consilience syrah from Santa Barbara County.
There are four desserts on the winter menu. Bread pudding features apple brandy and has lovely crunches of macadamia nuts. The chocolate bait is a deliciously decadent chocolate “bar” fluffed over with brandied whipped cream.
Diverse textures add interest to the Asian napoleon whose cinnamon sugar crisps are layered with sliced pears and sweet sake cream.
The fourth dessert is a trio of top notch, rich ice creams in pumpkin, chocolate and vanilla flavors.
Nancy is doing a fine job making Tabu’s guests comfortable. Tabu is in a unique little category of its own and I do find it so compelling.
Gift Ideas
Gift certificates aren’t the most exciting choice for friends or business associates, but they sure are appreciated.
I sprinkle my giving every year with gift cards. Some gift card purchases can get you a pretty big personal return as well,ask whether your favorite restaurants are offering incentives.
Maggiano’s Little Italy is one of the more generous restaurants. For every $100 of cards you buy, you get a $25 Maggiano’s gift card for yourself. Many others follow those guidelines.
Recommended for gift certificates in the sophisticated and upscale category are Morton’s, Fleming’s, Roy’s, Chat Noir, French 75, Bistango, Anaheim White House, Riviera at the Fireside, The Clubhouse, Hush, La Vie en Rose, Napa Rose (in Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel), Mr. Stox, Turner New Zealand, Pinot Provence, Bayside and The Ritz.
For truly unique and impressive dining try Golden Truffle, Tabu Grill, Royal Khyber, Darya Persian Cuisine and Motif at the St. Regis Monarch Beach Resort and Spa.
For casual and fun dining that still shows you have good taste check out Thaifoon, Z’Tejas, Bluewater Grill, Quattro Caffe, Las Brisas, Javier’s, Taps, Tu Tu Tango, Panera Bakery-Cafe and, in the upper end of this category, Mariposa in Neiman Marcus.
There naturally are dozens of other restaurants I could name that I’m so comfortable with.
So don’t restrict yourself to these, inquire of your own favorite place.
Hanging its Hat
The Hat has come to Lake Forest.
It’s the second in OC, with the first in Brea. Seven others are scattered around the Los Angeles area and suburbs.
You must go to The Hat with the right attitude. It’s sit-down fast food: an order counter of stainless steel overlooks a typical fast-food style kitchen, all of which peers over the plastic tables, cement floor, help-yourself soda corner and station where you get your own napkins, plastic eating utensils and condiments.
Fans of The Hat say it’s a place to get awesome pastrami sandwiches. The chili fries hold their own against any I’ve come across.
We chatted with burger eaters at the table beside us and they were rather adamant that since The Hat was now in their neighborhood, they’d be having a lot more of these big and visually juicy burgers.
One burger had chili dripping out the bottom and onto the plate. While the double cheeseburger just dripped juice, it was a plump concoction and the generous slices of cheese did peek out the sides.
As for the pastrami sandwich, it’s appealing, even if not quite awesome in my opinion. It does come with tender and tasty meat, highly stacked and with au jus for dipping, big enough for two of us to share.
We couldn’t finish one sandwich, an order of chili fries (massive), a chili tamale and an order of onion rings that had a nice crunchy exterior over tender and thick slices of sweet onion.
I hear that The Hat restaurants also are known for piles of crispy fries covered with gravy (called wet fries), though I didn’t see any versus several sightings of chili fries.
Other hot sandwiches corral hot dogs, barbecue beef (it looked quite good and will be ordered on my next visit), roast beef with either au jus or gravy and a pastrami style burger.
Cold sandwiches take us through turkey, chicken salad, tuna, cold beef and ham and cheese territory. An avocado sandwich is the vegetarian offering.
Sandwich prices are $1.99 to $6.29, not much of a monetary dent, but keep in mind that they only take cash; your plastic is useless.
As long as you don’t expect haute cuisine or hot d & #233;cor, you might have a good time at The Hat: 23641 Rockfield (between Lake Forest and Auto Center Drive) in Lake Forest, (949) 586-9200. The other OC location is at Imperial Highway and State College Boulevard in Brea, (714) 257-9500.
