This is the time of year when all sorts of nostalgia takes over.
We used to stop by and see the decorations at some of the upscale restaurants—there are now so many. Each of us will have holiday meals and chances to see the seasonal decor.
Last year I mentioned to friends that they should make a tour of the hotels and spas, which are glammed out to the max with lights and decorations. They liked the idea a lot. So here’s my rundown of the major resorts and our own preferences for having snacks, meals, high tea and such along the way at this time of the year:
By the time the season is done, memories of the decked-out beauty are there to last for another year.
The Resort at Pelican Hill and Pelican Grill and Golf Club check in with unbelievable Tuscan essence.
I have always been impressed with the golf club. Its dining room is more attractive than many upscale restaurants, and it’s no secret that I personally relish the large adjacent lounge with its room full of sink-in lounge chairs where you can enjoy the full menu.
Drive up the hill a bit more, and you arrive at the resort and spa that is Tuscany central. It’s as gorgeous a property as one can imagine. Have drinks or a meal at the unique Coliseum Grill or a full-fledged pampered dining experience in the exquisite Andrea dining room.
It still impresses me that Pelican Hill never charges for valet parking.
The St. Regis Monarch Beach made a year-round decor splash when it first opened, and the world-famous glass pieces in the grand foyer still dazzle me. Add the extensive holiday decor flowing from inside to out with thousands of lights and more, and it’s beyond explanation.
I prefer having the bar menu, which is quite adequate, and the whole aura of the St. Regis bar itself is ultra-sophisticated.
Just down the street from the St. Regis is the sparkling beauty of the Ritz-Carlton sitting atop its bluff that tumbles down to the ocean. Raya is the main restaurant overlooking the ocean, but I like the private feel of the lounge tucked at the end of the long foyer. Food is interesting enough, drinks are superb, and afternoon high tea is an interesting alternative.
On Laguna’s coast is the jewel called Montage. What can be more beautiful than extravagant views of the ocean year-round, and now at this festive season when it’s adorned inside and out with the most eloquent holiday decor? I prefer a meal at The Loft or spending an afternoon having some delicious snacks, drinks and tea in its iconic lounge, where the seating is sink-in comfortable enough to keep us there for hours.
The Balboa Bay Club is always a treat, both inside and outside, with its extravagant holiday decorations this time of year. We stop by the more casual A&O Kitchen+Bar—it stands for Anchors & Oceans. The inviting gastropub provides the ultimate laid-back atmosphere and casual food. Waterline, the public dining room, offers us both the essence of fine dining and those gorgeous yachts docked side by side. Great place to have drinks while soaking up the holiday atmosphere.
Heart-Melting Treat
Since I discovered the charms of eating raclette many years ago in Switzerland, it’s been a winter staple meal for me. If you haven’t had it, and if you appreciate fine cheese, then a reservation at Basilic, the utterly charming 24-seat restaurant on Balboa Island, is the answer.
Chef/owner Bernard Althaus has been cooking the most nostalgic French and Swiss food since 1997 in this one-of-a-kind romantic gem.
Raclette is a large wheel of semi-hard cheese whose cut surface is heated, and as the cheese melts, is scraped off to be eaten with fingerling potatoes, cornichons and pickled onions. Doesn’t sound so dramatic, but it’s a beloved dish once you’ve discovered it.
Bernard has a full menu of intrigues, so prepare for a very special evening. Open for dinner nightly, except Sunday and Monday.
217 Marine Ave., Balboa Island, (949) 673-0570
50 Years of a Classic
Five Crowns in Corona del Mar is having a special year, and for the most nostalgic holiday decor that is always memorable, it’s the epitome of what the holidays used to be about—warmth, family and comfort permeating the atmosphere. No pounding modernism has been allowed to creep in.
The restaurant, dating all the way back to 1965, has been a steady ship that keeps on delivering the service-oriented and quietly relaxing experience that has almost disappeared. It’s where we go because the food is straightforward, loveable and classic.
The menu in this 50th year has been expanded, but it’s kindly left traditional classics that we relish. Actually, the farm-to-table concept has been embraced by the kitchen for years already, before the time when it exploded everywhere.
There are now “Plates for the Table” that include a 2-pound Broiled Maine Lobster, 14-ounce Sliced Beef Tenderloin, and a Whole Pan Roasted Jidori Chicken. “Small Plates” showcase Prince Edward Island Mussels, Duck Rillettes, Frito Misto of winter vegetables, Seared Hokkaido Scallops and a Five Crown Classic Crab Cake. Small and large plates can be accompanied by a good variety of sides.
Beloved heritage menu items still beckon. The roasted Prime Ribs of Beef are offered in a selection of four cuts with two classic sides. Horseradish-crusted Salmon, Colorado Lamb Chops, Filet Neptune, and the Grilled Rib Chop for Two are other traditional favorites.
It’s great that an expansive beverage program has unfolded. Five Crowns’ wine inventory has grown threefold in recent months with additions of multiple limited-release selections from Napa Valley, cult wines by Bryant Family, and Screaming Eagle among the high-end intrigues. The rest of the wine list is studded with affordable wines of interest from many of the world’s wine-growing regions.
I appreciate that Five Crowns gives us a warm and cosseting atmosphere in the midst of the noisy, modern sea of restaurants.
3801 E. Coast Highway, Corona del Mar, (949)760-0331
Sipping in the Chai
Every year it’s the gift-giving dilemma. Karen MacNeil’s newest edition of “The Wine Bible” is the best solution in years, and it’s my one and only gift to friends this year.
MacNeil debuted her first edition of the reference book in 2001 and revealed a writing style about wine that was thoroughly enjoyable and educational. It was a revelation that everyone in the wine world found to be more easygoing and fun like other books that found their way into our all-time favorites.
Who knew that this year she would up the ante by publishing the second edition of a guide that some doubt will ever be topped by a more fun-reading format. It now takes us to every major wine-making region of the world in a lyrical-but-so-educational way. Reading about grape varieties is ordinarily pretty boring. Not in this book. The exciting backstories about grapes now pique our curiosity as to why wine was never written about in such a compelling way before. Fussy words like “terroir” are brought down to earth instead of being presented in a snobbish way. This book turns stuffy wine writing on its head and finds us reaching for it all the time.
Start anywhere in the book, and it all falls together in such a friendly way. Research anything connected to the art of wine, and you’ll soon be smiling your way through another sip of the wonders of what makes wine an important part of life.
I look on top of my refrigerator and in a nearby drawer and find four beautifully boxed sets of wine openers and accessories that have been given to us as gifts along the way. We appreciated the thoughts, but how many of these can anyone use? My caveat is for everyone to realize that the wine-opening accessories have been done and overdone, so let go of that permanently as a gift-giving idea and move on to “The Wine Bible,” which I assure you will result in the recipients admiring you for your sensibility in choosing such a pleasurable gift that they will want to keep close by.
This is a hefty paperback, at 996 pages, intertwined throughout with stories that take you on a magical world tour. Here are some reactions from famed restaurant and wine connoisseurs:
“The most informative and entertaining book I’ve ever seen on the subject.”—Danny Meyer
“Astounding”—Thomas Keller
“A masterpiece of wine writing.”—Kevin Zraly
If you want to be among those who will be appreciated for your perfect selection of a holiday gift, “The Wine Bible” overshadows all other wine books out there.
Available at Amazon and book stores.
