Tangata Is a Must if You’re Visiting the Bowers Museum
The Golden Truffle’s Annual Soft-Shell Crabfest Is a Treat This Week
EXECUTIVE DINING
by Fifi Chao
Tangata at the Bowers Museum of Cultural Art in Santa Ana is a restaurant that I think my readers should try.
This is one of four Orange County restaurants in the Patina Group headed by Joachim and Christine Splichal. Their beautiful country French salon and patio gardens called Pinot Provence in the Westin South Coast Plaza Hotel was our first local taste of their finely tuned fare.
Then came Catal and Naples in Downtown Disney. Catal and the attached Uva Bar is a great venue, but I have not eaten at Naples recently, since its menu was downsized from a broad-ranged Italian romp through pastas to mostly a pizza restaurant.
But Tangata has lots going for it and the public has obviously caught on.
On the softer days of summer than this past hot week, the patio tables were full. The fairly large interior seating space also boasts plenty of customers, but there are usually tables available.
Before you even get to the food, the style of the restaurant fits so comfortably with the museum setting. Although it is in a completely separate space, it has an artistic bent of its own. Lots of curvy architecture: a wave along the back wall that begins as the cocktail bar and ends as the front of the open kitchen, the gentle roll of the rich wood around the hostess station, the variety of elliptical shaped discs hanging beneath the ceiling,an entire expanse of skylights,and the rounded sconces lining the walls.
Certainly if you are visiting the museum, it would be a shame to miss this very value-oriented restaurant (the museum is featuring a superb Oriental collection from Nanjing and a gem display that covers all manner of raw gems and polished gemstones).
But be assured that it’s also a fine choice when shopping at the nearby Mainplace mall in Santa Ana at lunch time.
The executive chef is Chris Robbins, hand-picked by Joachim to keep the food as fascinating as the museum exhibits. I am so impressed at what this young man is doing. They serve lunch, dinner and Sunday Brunch with the daily menu featuring half a dozen appetizers, a nice group of salads and sandwiches and at least a dozen intriguing entr & #233;es.
An interesting one-page wine list offers many of the wines by the glass. The prices are a bargain, with bottles ranging from $20 to $40 and glasses of wine in the $5 to $7 range. Labels of note include Sycamore Lane, Benziger, Sterling, Niebaum Coppola, EOS, Firestone and Valley of the Moon. This is a full-service bar,perhaps a designer martini for relaxation?
Lavender and tarragon encrusted ahi tuna splayed around a puree of Yukon gold potato and poached marble-sized cherry tomatoes is a striking appetizer. Same goes for a fricassee of shrimp and lychee fruit ladled atop a curried risotto and entwined with pea tendrils.
On these hot and humid days, grilled asparagus with juliennes of golden beets is most refreshing, especially given the sprinkling of walnut vinaigrette and the centerpiece of goat cheese mousse. We just had a terrific ragout of wild mushrooms sided with plump seared scallops that also sang a very nice tune.
As for salads, how about one with fennel-scented duck breast over frisee lettuce, with sliced Bosc pears and a rhubarb-vanilla vinaigrette? There’s also an endive and watercress salad (the crispiness and tang of these two is superb) with lots of Roquefort crumbles, candied walnuts and Asian pear that speaks of warm weather satisfaction.
It’s always hard to choose from sandwiches or full entr & #233;es here. Last week I had the sandwich of pulled Caribbean pork with mango barbecue sauce that was a work of art.
Grilled vegetables with olive tapanade over focaccia bread is a good sandwich and a half-pound burger or the avocado and herbs on grain bread are also swell.
Like all other dishes, the main courses are way generous in portion. Scallops come seared atop redolent cardamom-scented risotto with a black tea sauce around the edge. Steak is grilled with Sichuan peppercorn sauce (these are very mild and aromatic peppercorns). The grilled lamb sirloin comes with fluffy potato gnocchi.
Fish lovers will most assuredly appreciate the big chunk of steamed halibut, wrapped like a gift in leeks that towers over sake-flavored rice and shiitake mushrooms. Fork-tender lamb shank is braised with root vegetables. Pork tenderloin is married to a caramelized onion puree and sided with gingered yams. There’s also a pasta selection, pan-roasted chicken, seared salmon and vegetarian plate.
Even if it means taking the remainder of your food home in a box, you must save room for dessert.
Cr & #269;me-filled Basque tart with cherries, a cake filled with lychee mousse and sprinkled with toasted pistachios, chocolate/hazelnut meringue layers and mango cr & #269;me br & #369;l & #233;e are a few.
Sunday Brunch offers a whole list of breakfast items,Challah bread French toast, hazelnut pancakes, rock shrimp omelet among them,sandwiches, salads and a few major entr & #233;es, too. Those items are priced from $8.95 to $13.95. A la carte sandwiches and main courses from the lunch menu are priced from $8.95 to $15.50. The Restaurant is open 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday.
Tangata: at the Bowers Museum, 2002 N. Main, Santa Ana, phone (714) 550-0906.
SIDE ORDER
Every year, Alan Greeley cooks soft-shell crabs in myriad ways for five days only at his charming bistro setting, Golden Truffle in Costa Mesa. The menu is tempting enough to ensure that I will be taking advantage of Alan’s vast talent in the kitchen this week from Tuesday, Sept. 10 through Saturday, Sept. 14.
Here are some of the soft-shell offerings. Japanese style hand rolls with wasabi, tempura crab with ginger ponzu sauce, spicy Thai style and baked and stuffed with sweet shrimp and citrus beurre blanc.
You think this is it? Oh, no. The menu continues with grilled soft-shell crab with Tabasco vinaigrette and crab salad with Asian greens, tomato, avocado and pepper vinaigrette. And finally, there’s saut & #233;ed soft-shells with a choice of Champagne/dill jus, wild mushrooms and lemon sauce or with capers and white wine.
Enjoy the last of soft-shell crab season. Reservations for lunch and dinner are recommended.
Golden Truffle: 1767 Newport Blvd., Costa Mesa, phone (949) 645-9970.
