My readers know by now that I don’t do hatchet jobs on restaurants. My husband and I spend a lot of money trying out restaurants that you never hear about in these columns.
My philosophy is that when I’ve tried a restaurant one or more times and feel that it’s not where I think my readers will have the best experience, I walk away and leave it alone and choose instead to share restaurant info that I think will actually enlighten your lives. For whatever reason, a restaurant may not impress me, and I do not feel obligated to write columns of complaints.
That brings me to the current news about The Ritz Prime Seafood in Newport Beach. It has, of course, been announced that on its first anniversary, its management has changed. Some of my readers keep pretty close track of what I write and don’t write. I’ve been queried if I ever waxed poetic about The Ritz Prime Seafood. I have not. The reason is because I have always had a feeling there would be a change in things before too long. So this is not complaining; it’s an honest personal update.
A very well-known restaurateur called me within a couple of weeks of last year’s opening and told me his impressions—not so good. Why had I been thinking some of the same things before that call?
I knew the late Hans Prager—founder of the original Ritz at Fashion Island—for decades. At the time this new seafood version opened, one of the management team said to me that they thought this new restaurant was exactly what Hans would have liked, and would have done if he’d built another restaurant. I thought to myself, just as that restaurateur called me, that Hans would not have been on the same page. Both the restaurateur and I happened to taste one of the same dishes on our first visits, and both of us thought it was awful. I’ve enjoyed some of the food I’ve had there, but for those of us who knew the old Ritz, the menu missed the point. And the Daily Grill operating the restaurant seemed odd.
We, and others, have wished it had merely billed itself as a seafood restaurant and left the Ritz name off, since it had no soul connection whatsoever with The Ritz on the Hill, as locals dubbed the classic Fashion Island Ritz.
I like the looks of The Ritz Prime Seafood. The water views, the interesting ceilings, the soft monochromatic colors. I do hope that with this management change, it will take the plaque of Hans Prager off the front entrance and stop trading on his name. This is a totally new venue with, in my opinion, no reason for that to be there. Comments also have been made to me about the live music, which I had not paid much attention to. Perhaps that also will change.
The new management company is Open Bar Hospitality in Las Vegas. Management partners Ben Sabouri and Young Lee are the new faces you will find on board. The new chef, George Neyra, was most recently with Patina Restaurant Group and before that was executive sous chef at Stonehill Tavern at the St. Regis Monarch Beach. This sounds good to me. We will now encounter his “globally influenced choices of fish, dry-aged steaks, chops, and Jidori chicken” among the entrees.
One other note on this: The Orange County Register published a story about the change and again spoke of the two dishes that they say Hans Prager created for his Ritz menu and which this new restaurant also had on its menu for the past year. He did have the scrambled egg in the shell topped with caviar and the wild mushroom cappuccino on his menu, but I’m saying for the second time around, he did not create them. They were both famous years before he put them on the menu.
The new menu was launched last week. I would love to have reader feedback on the changes. 2801 W. Coast Highway, Newport Beach, (949) 720-1800
A Classic on the Move
Marche Moderne, currently in the third-level penthouse portion of South Coast Plaza, is our calling card to participate in the beautiful upscale Parisian cafe element. Its aura of French fantistique waltzes to French food sensibilities with gentle bits of fusion representative of some Mediterranean countries and exotic tidbits from places like Morocco. Chef/owner Florent Marneau gives these little culinary nods to wherever the French have had global influence.
Until January, we can continue our love affair at this location. We now know that the restaurant will reopen early next year in the former Tamarind location at Crystal Cove Promenade in Newport Beach. Tamarind closed abruptly a year ago after a four-year run, and the building has remained vacant.
Marche will no doubt give us the same chic flair when it moves. I will keep you posted.
Beaucoup Options
Moulin in Laguna Beach is in full swing now. Two years ago, Parisian native Laurent Vrignaud opened Moulin, a combo cafe and epicerie, in Newport Beach. We all know the success of that very French cafe, and since the second location opened in Laguna’s former Scandia Bakery space in September, this little haven of authentic French casualness is also busy for all-day fare.
The eatery is intimate, with seating for about 30 split between a sweet indoor space and a little patio at the front entrance. Half of the indoor room, with its French art and vintage furnishings, is taken up by the food prep and display cases, where you choose sweets and savories fully representative of a sidewalk cafe in Paris. Everything is made daily.
It’s a good sign that more than half of the employees are from France, and that includes chef Jeoffrey Offer, who whips up the classics. French pastries, typical French sandwiches, entrees, such as roasted chicken, and certainly duck confit, make appearances.
Freshly brewed coffee variations amp up our spirits all day. Have a cup with crepes or egg dishes at breakfast. Freshly baked breads and classic viennoiserie are available in the early morning hours. Come lunch or dinner, I’m all in for another Croque Madame sandwich (the twist on Croque Monsieur with an egg on top). I like that they serve the sandwiches with a small mixed green salad on the side. French ham cured in-house comes on their own fresh baguette. Perhaps you will have a lovely piece of salmon with salad and asparagus.
Each day, in typical cafe fashion, a plat du jour is featured—things like Boeuf Bourguignon, Steak Frites, and Chef’s Fish of the Day. Charcuterie combo plates offer a variety of tantalizing meat and cheese tastes. Custom-made ice creams can brighten your outlook any time of day. There’s far too much culinary goodness to explain it all here. You must delve in more deeply.
Just know that the French charms are abundant in the looks and the French foods here. The shelves stocked with French imports, such as small tins of specially flavored olive oils, condiments of all sorts ordinarily available only in France, and French soft drinks and boutique wines are added delights.
I’m a big fan of both of Laurent’s restaurants. Whenever in Laguna, you must give this newer sister a try. 248 Forest Ave., Laguna Beach, (949) 715-6990
Fifi Squared With This Pie
Kyle Gillies and his wife, Liz, are the young owners of the rather new Square One Pizza restaurant in Irvine, and they come with good backgrounds. He was most recently sous chef at The Hobbit restaurant in Orange. She was a general manager and wine buyer for Pascal restaurant in Newport Beach.
Pizzas are quite the trend now, getting more cosmopolitan with ingredients and taking their cue from regional areas of Italy. What used to be the same old pie everywhere is now getting more gourmet.
These pies, as the name would indicate, are square, and they are very good. They are thin crust versions, very thin cracker-like crusts that are slightly charred here and there. The toppings are quality and generous, with seasonality in mind pertaining to certain ingredients. Our latest order was for a sausage and mushroom pizza, and it was loaded with little chunks of sweet Italian sausage, lots of mushrooms and the right amount of cheese. Same scenario with others we’ve ordered. We were hooked from the first pizza we tasted, and there have been many.
And they do not restrict themselves to pizza alone. If they are going to make sauces for pizzas, why not have some pasta dishes to incorporate the tasty marinara, pesto, cream and white wine sauce that stand on their own or have protein accompaniments? Besides those entrees, they also serve nine sandwiches with definite Italian provenance and a few nice salads.
It’s a clean, airy space with a few booths and some freestanding tables. In a world almost overrun with pizza joints, this couple is doing it right. I have a handful of places whose pizza I love, and this is one of them. I’d like to eat more of their pastas, but those pizzas keep calling my name anytime I’m nearby. 5789 Alton Parkway, Irvine, (949) 451-1750
Extra Dining Dollars
Here’s a good November consideration: Bayside in Newport Beach is celebrating its 17th anniversary this month. There’s an additional gift for diners who opt for the three-course prix fixe meal. It comes with a $20 “bounce back” card that can be redeemed anytime next January.
The meal features a choice of lobster salad or tuna tartar as the first course, either Chilean Sea Bass or Filet Mignon as the entree, and a dessert created especially for this menu. The price is $66.
Bayside has gained a stellar reputation from chef Paul Gstrein’s food. The decor is tremendously chic, the live music every evening another highlight, the Sunday brunch quite acclaimed, and the hospitality of owner Marc Ghoukassian and his staff top-notch. It’s a fine place for business or fun meals or a romantic occasion, and there’s a cache to its location overlooking Newport Harbor. 900 Bayside Drive, Newport Beach, (949) 721-1222
