Andrei’s Conscious Cuisine
2607 Main St.
Irvine
(949) 387-8887
French chef Yves Fournier offers inspiring California fusion food with nuances of French and Mediterranean cuisines in a graceful, contemporary space.
All of the restaurant’s profits go to the Andrei Foundation, a nonprofit that supports a number of local charities and honors the memory of owner Natalia Olenicoff-Ostensen’s brother Andrei, who was in a car accident in 2005. Décor is elegant and natural featuring sustainably harvested pecan wood, eco-friendly fabrics, unique granite and onyx accents and a striking two-story water feature in the lobby. Plein air paintings by local artists portray our stunning local environment.
Much of the menu is seasonal, and produce is purchased from local farms.
Importance is placed on keeping the menu interesting with ingredients that might be new to customers. Favorites include octopus, venison, bison, wild boar and a host of unusual fruits and vegetables.
Warm octopus salad, with bell peppers, celery, cilantro, fingerling potatoes and La Espanola chorizo is a good beginning.
Crab cake with field greens comes with a spritely mango relish and the small plate of short ribs with red onion preserves and Point Reyes blue cheese is also a vibrant appetizer.
You must order the Pommes Frites with truffle aioli, acclaimed by a few Orange County restaurant writers as the best. I agree that they do meet a high standard.
When craving a fine entrée salad, you might want to put Andrei’s chopped salad at the top of your list. It goes way beyond the usual by incorporating roasted chicken, Persian cucumber, avocado, tomato, fresh corn, candied walnuts, dates, goat cheese crumbles, corn bread croutons, local greens and sherry vinaigrette.
The tender gnocchi also gets my stamp of approval with garlic, sage and ricotta in the gnocchi and tomato sauce, and yellow squash, zucchini, grated cheese and wild baby arugula strewn over them.
As a main course, the short ribs go uptown even more with cipollini onions, baby carrots, roasted garlic, crushed Yukon gold potatoes and horseradish cream.
Grab a stool around the 26-seat central bar and eat your meal there while listening to live music on Thursdays and Fridays from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., Saturdays 6 to 9. There is usually an acoustic guitarist playing jazz or flamenco.
AnQi at Bloomingdale’s
3333 Bristol St.
Costa Mesa
(714) 557-5679
People are easily smitten with this beautiful, glamorous, rather exotic place that looks like no other.
An elegant blend of Asian finesse and contemporary tone in both ambiance and food defines AnQi, which gracefully makes use of green technology with recycled and reclaimed materials throughout its space. Its décor features a dramatic floor-to-ceiling glass bar and a 66-foot professional-length glass catwalk that occasionally hosts fashion shows.
AnQi is owned by the House of An, which operates Crustacean restaurants in San Francisco and Los Angeles and whose matriarch, Helene An, is a master chef and creative culinary force. This tiny lady is serenity incarnate when visiting with customers, yet she’s a ferocious chef and perfectionist in the kitchen, aided by Ron Lee, her right hand here as the chef de cuisine. Helene’s daughter, Elizabeth An, is chief executive of House of An and operates this restaurant with as much spirit and vigor as her mom exhibits in the kitchen. Elizabeth says that she opened AnQi because there was a growing need for a particular food concept that she calls a “bistronomy” or gourmet bistro that combines a special décor, fantastic food ingredients.
Responsibly priced, innovative tapas-style dishes incorporating fresh, local, organic and antioxidant-rich ingredients is one dining possibility.
Tapas dishes on current menus are wide-ranging. Chicken edamame dumplings are from the Noodle Bar menu.
Grilled prawns wrapped in rice paper from the lunch menu take a whole new route (called Caesar Salad Roll) when combined with grilled romaine and pecorino cheese. Spicy beef tacos include pickled heirloom beets, Haas avocado, bean sprouts and cilantro; they are a big favorite from the dinner menu.
Regarding full entrées, misoyaki butterfish is pretty exemplary, even more so with the Bhutanese red cargo rice, underlying Thai herb flavors and al dente vegetable garnishes. Game hens are aromatic with Chinese five spices and arrive with new ideas on the plate: pearl barley salad and garlic choy veggie.
An’s famous roasted crab—a name they’ve trademarked—can be ordered in or out of the shell, served only on Tuesday evenings with requisite reservations and prepared by chef Helene. Flavors blend well in the tiger prawns with turmeric fried rice, Bilbao chorizo, Manilla clams and piquillo pepper.
Take in the fusion a la carte Sunday brunch and make a note to order the eggs on bao and the ginger-perfumed French toast. Also, any day, an added enjoyment is the noodle bar tucked into one corner for a bowl of deservedly famous garlic noodles or a few other variations.
Fashionably Late Fridays (every Friday evening 10 p.m. to 2 a.m.) feature a live DJ or band at the bar and lounge for guests to enjoy while sipping on their favorite drink such as a lavender mojito by the fireplace.
Canaletto Ristorante Veneto
545 Newport Center Drive
Newport Beach
(949) 640-0900
This is our slice of Venice, Italy, offering the most complete Venetian dining experience with a diverse menu of specialties from the Veneto region and sophisticated Italian ambiance supported by abundant and generous hospitality.
The beautiful dining room reflects elegant Venetian light fixtures and soaring acoustic ceilings highlighted with custom frescos. Artisan terrazzo and mosaic tile floors are combined with custom millwork throughout the restaurant.
There are views of the exhibition kitchen, where Canaletto’s signature chefs work alongside a glass-encased salumi refrigerator, showcasing the hanging, smoked-on-site cured meats, fresh pasta prep center, a dessert station, and the temperature-controlled 600-bottle wine case. At one end of the room is a marble bar behind which charcuterie is being sliced.
Seating in the loggia lounge is casually sophisticated. An expansive marble-topped bar, leather-backed bar stools and several high top tables offer comfort. I also like the private dining room with its marvelous fireplace located just off the loggia.
Chef and partner Alfonso Sanna oversees the food in all its glory. Farm-to-table produce, freshest seafood and quality meats are the backbone. Freshly made pastas are incredibly good and the willing partner to superb sauces. I don’t even care what season it is, there are always many things I want to order.
Just for guidance, these things might charm your palate as a beginning course. Can’t go wrong with the fresh briny oysters served in the traditional manner. House-cured swordfish carpaccio with sliced fresh artichokes speaks of the season. The warm octopus and potato salad with extra virgin olive oil and lemon juice is simplicity incarnate and satisfaction galore.
Gnocchi with four cheeses (gorgonzola, asiago, mascarpone and cream) and a mélange of asparagus and shallots adding their personalities makes for one of my favorite entrées. Need I say more than “order it” for the risotto with chicken, asparagus, parmigiano-reggiano and saffron?
The Mediterranean sea bass is pretty terrific. It’s baked in a salt crust or gilled—do opt for the baked version—and served with grilled polenta and sautéed vegetables.
My dessert would be one of these three: lemon sorbet with vodka, prosecco and a dash of cream called sgroppino; crema al doppio gusto, which is fennel-infused custard with chocolate mousse and caramelized sugar topping; or bianco mangiare ai fruitti di bosco, an almond custard drizzled with caramel sauce, toasted almonds and fresh berries.
The monthly cooking classes here are quite popular. There is also a wine dinner every month, and the Festa Regionale is the same as for Il Fornaio, which shares the same corporate parent.
Cat and the Custard Cup
800 E. Whittier Blvd.
La Habra
(562) 694-3812
This is a restaurant that satisfies our desire to have a relaxing time in thoroughly charming surroundings and be cared for by a staff that is dedicated completely to delivering a more-than-expected experience.
I know there are so many new restaurants now, and this one has been around for a very long time. But it belongs to a legendary restaurant family whose involvement and pride is ever present.
The chef/owner is Creed Salisbury, wife Terrilynn is managing partner, son Caleb Salisbury is the pastry chef, and daughter Emily is the hostess. Important, too, is that Lisa Naccarato has been a manager extraordinaire for 25-plus years who dotes on knowing her customers. As Terrilynn said to me, “We care deeply about giving our guests a warm inviting space and a fine dining experience without stuffiness.”
Imagine that you are at a beautiful country home, which is an apt description of the Cat. Would you care to sit downstairs, upstairs, in the patio, at a table overlooking lovely gardens? Would you prefer the formality of the major dining room with its fireplace and artifacts or in the more pub-like space? There’s a place for every mood.
Creed, like his peers, cooks farm-to-fork food and seeks stellar and interesting ingredients. We sometimes have a whole meal on small plates, ordering more things and sharing the smaller portions. The following dishes are fine for easier eating, course by course. Pristinely raised kurobuta pork provides the pork belly that’s served meltingly tender, ready for pairing with the wasabi mashed potatoes and shiitake mushrooms sitting on opposite sides of the plate. Crab cakes are partnered with blood orange beurre blanc sauce and tropical mango relish. Laura Chenel’s artisanal goat cheese has an almond coating and pool of sundried tomato garlic cream sauce. You have got to love a classic French onion soup with aged gruyere cheese melting on top of it.
Sea scallops as an entrée have two really nice accompaniments: roasted wild mushrooms and fresh corn puree, plus a dash of white truffle oil.
Try the seared red deer medallions sporting a cassis-port wine reduction sauce and completed by bleu cheese creamed gnocchi. Another fresh fish dish high on my list is the sautéed Alaskan halibut that has a nice reduction sauce tasting of a summer ratatouille and the slight zip of jalapeño mashed potatoes.
This is destination-worthy food, from lamb to beef stroganoff, steaks to shellfish and other swimmers, butternut squash ravioli to a-la-minute specials.
I wonder why the sweet stuff comes last, with desserts like a silky crème brûlée, Valrhona dark chocolate terrine adorned with crème anglaise and toasted pistachios or a citrus cheesecake made with whipped mascarpone.
They have marvelous bar drinks, contemporary to classic, percentages off on wines on certain nights and possibly the best happy hour (Tuesday through Sunday 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. and Saturdays 4:30 to 5:30). But there is this warning: “The cat naps on Mondays!”
Champagnes Bistro & Deli
1260 Bison Ave. (at MacArthur)
Newport Beach
(949) 640-5011
The phrase “it’s all in the family” was never more appropriate.
Elements of a comfortable neighborhood French bistro served as inspiration when family owners Rand McDevitt, his wife Terry and her sister moved their longtime deli market from its front corner anchor space in the Newport North Center (across MacArthur from The Bluffs) to a free-standing building in the middle of the complex. The family is always on hand, working as part of the crew; that is immediately commendable.
They completely gutted an existing building to construct a unique hybrid neighborhood treasure with fast, casual service for breakfast and lunch and waiter service at night. Interiors are laid out with soft smoked-glass mirrors, rich burgundy walls, pin cushion upholstery, warm cherry wood furnishings and an inviting wine presence with lovely retail wine displays.
Something special from the kitchen is going on here as well. The food is delightful—personal recipes that speak of quality and lovable preparation. The operations manager and executive chef is Tina Voso (Terry’s sister), who has kept most of the menu favorites while adding some terrific new items that have caught on quickly.
Tina is exuberant in telling the story of how the three of them have spent 23 years fulfilling their dream of always serving the guests better. They are delighted to offer convenient take out but are happy when guests join them in the charming dining room or garden patio to dine on specialties from the kitchen.
Proof of sophistication lies here: Crab cakes are made with wild-caught, sustainable crab with luscious crab chunks shining through. Further, they are served on field greens tossed with orange champagne vinaigrette and garnished with mandarin oranges, basil aioli and frizzled leeks!
Sweet, caramelized Brussels sprouts are cooked with garlic, lemon, capers, anchovies and butter and served atop artisan bruschetta toasts. Crisp, yet tender and spicy firecracker shrimp tumble across a meadow of confetti coleslaw.
Short ribs arrive in a hearty, robust bistro-style Bourguignon sauce. I seldom eat chicken paillard, except for here since this tender cutlet comes lightly blanketed in lemon-caper sauce and gets accompaniments of mixed greens, hearth-roasted veggies, tender green beans, cherry tomatoes and a sprinkling of fresh parmesan cheese. The pizzas are great and, if you’re looking for a really good burger, it too happens here. A nice little wine list and likeable prices also entice.
Do not miss having Tina’s inspired sweetheart coconut cake, her own recipe. I usually take home a whole loaf cake. It’s one of the best desserts in the county. They also serve breakfast, and on Sundays breakfast and lunch overlap.
Charlie Palmer
3333 Bristol St.
Costa Mesa
(714) 352-2525
When Charlie came to town, we finally got a dose of big-city dining credibility—literally in terms of New York or San Francisco. After all, Chef Palmer is a superstar celebrity with an international reputation who has restaurants in nine far-flung places. In a relationship with Bloomingdale’s at South Coast Plaza, the restaurant took shape. What an architectural beauty in vintage leather upholstery, sensuous color palette, high-end elements of comfort throughout, a unique wine cellar and one of the most come-hither cocktail lounges in our midst.
Chef Palmer and the department store are a masterful mix with an appreciation for fine cuisine and couture set in a luxurious environment.
As Palmer puts it, “Luxury shopping and dining go hand in hand; we share the same philosophies of what our customers deserve—superior quality and innovative options delivered with impeccable service.”
Well said.
Naturally, the progressive American fare begins with the best local and regional ingredients. It arrives at the table so beautifully presented that plates are often photographed by hard-core foodies before our forks destroy the harmony.
If I must lead you to a few of the current items that ring bells, make note of the following.
Small plates (or appetizers) should include octopus a la plancha, a very uptown version of the swimmer. Dumplings come from many cultures, but who would have them as being steamed escargot dumplings? Tartare begins with prime rib eye beef and is presented with the expected perfume that takes it to a whole new level.
The name lamb chetta is a clever way of describing the entrée of lamb belly, lamb sausage, parsley root puree, confit of trumpet royale mushrooms and mustard greens. Sea scallops are caramelized and arranged just so, with heirloom carrots, snap peas, bacon, potato rosti and tamarind Greek yogurt sauce.
The tender kurobuta pork chop benefits from complements of lemongrass fennel puree, an apricot tarte tatin, charred scallions, roasted cauliflower and pork jus from the roasting pan. Oh, there’s so much more, but this will have to do for teasers.
It is very hard to recommend one dessert, but let’s go with the framboise verrine—chambord gelato bathed in a smidgen of raspberry foam and pistachio cremeaux.
This is a great place for Sunday brunch. It is either prix fixe or a la carte. The price of $35 includes unlimited bloody marys, an appetizer and an entrée or all items on the brunch menu also served a la carte. Two other suggestions: Pay attention to the ongoing wine programs including tastings and special prices on wines and hang around the lounge/bar for happy hours or otherwise.
Encore Theatre & Club
690 El Camino Real
Tustin
(855) 545-5400
It’s refreshing to see that some people still appreciate the best of the past and want to preserve some traditions that paved the way to where we are today socially.
I’m so happy that the tradition of the dinner theater lives on at Encore. It’s attractive, comfortable, has very good food for a theater of this sort and the custom productions have been joyful. We recently saw the Swing Era Big Band and Dancing Revue, a 13-piece band featuring vocalists and dancers.
Last year, new visionaries—who themselves are actually steeped in the traditions of the theater—stepped in and literally took the theater down to bare walls and started over. The new principals are Peter Zappas, the owner; Encore Executive Producer and Cornerstone Entertainment International Chairman Conwell S. Worthington II; and Producer Kerry McCullough.
It now sports multilayered comfortable booth seating—all those long tables are gone—with perfect views from all of them, new stage and audio systems and a kitchen equipped with a good executive chef and a battery of handsome serving plates and vessels, all of it eons beyond our old thoughts of eating and then seeing a show. Huge crystal chandeliers huddle over our tables as we eat and then retract to the high ceilings for the performance so that views of the stage are unobstructed.
Executive Chef Lori Zappas is a London Cordon Bleu grad. Should you be there midday, brunch items as well as lunch a la cartes are offered for your selection, with the meal included in the price of a ticket. The French toast is a moist and really flavorful winner.
I like the Asian potstickers, crisped on the outside with hoisin-lime dipping sauce. Classics like shrimp cocktail and spinach-artichoke dip are quite good, but the appetizer potato pancake is the go-to for me. It is a baked crispy potato cake with a creamy, slightly spicy chipotle sauce.
Entrée choices include Cajun-spiced fish, pasta dishes, a refined vegetable lasagne, fried chicken, really swell-roasted lemon-pepper chicken, salmon with tomato-herb topping and rib eye steak. Vegetables and starch fill out the generous main dishes. Desserts are beautiful and delicious, and I’m nuts about Lori’s carrot cake.
The wine list is 30 labels long, prices mostly in the $15 to $48 range.
French 75
1464 S. Coast Highway
Laguna Beach
(949) 494-8444
If you take the idea of a pretty French bistro, park it in a 70-year-old cottage and remake the rooms into a beautiful, somewhat intimate lounge and bar with sweet cherubs peering down from the ceiling and dining rooms that partake of French-style décor in a romantic manner, voila! You have French 75, and we can all be Americans in Paris.
For me, it’s always a toss-up whether I eat in the bar, the dining rooms or outdoors in the covered fire-lit garden patio or the rooftop deck. I work my way around.
The food of Chef Greg Moro, former collaborator of Pascal Olhats, keeps pace in the stylish food department. The menu reveals dishes that can best be described as French Californian with some Mediterranean flare thrown in.
May I suggest beginning your evening with luxurious butter-poached lobster? It sits there with complements of compressed cantaloupe, frisée salad, a bit of refreshing cucumber and drizzled with a tad of cilantro broth.
High on my favorites list anytime, anywhere is escargot. These little guys are in a casserole version floating in their bath of garlic and parsley butter. Shrimp provençal carries on the Gallic theme with garlic, tomatoes, basil and fennel mingling their nuances in the sauce.
Quail is not on every menu. The small bird in this incarnation is stuffed with chicken truffle sausage and accompanied with Brussels sprouts, fingerling potatoes and purple cauliflower puree.
You can’t go wrong either with steak, highlighted with a classic cognac-peppercorn sauce. A bunch of shellfish and chunks of fish give a traditional bouillabaisse its backbone. I love fresh thyme, so finding it crusting my sea bass brings smiles every time.
Having a soufflé for dessert in a place like this is sort of requisite. Stay French, stay decadent and do either the chocolate or Grand Marnier.
This restaurant is a popular destination for its Social Hour (daily 4:30 to 7 p.m.) and Reverse Happy Hour (Sunday to Thursday from 9 p.m. to closing). Musical entertainment adds to the Wednesday through Saturday evening ambiance.
Hamamori Restaurant
& Sushi Bar
3333 Bear St. #320
Costa Mesa
(714) 850-0880
This attractively designed contemporary sushi emporium is perched on the top level of Crystal Court at South Coast Plaza.
It can add a dash of pizzazz to a shopping trip, it can be a downright pleasant place for refined sushi as a destination on its own, or it would add an extra measure of satisfaction as a pretheater meal since it’s in the vicinity of the Performing Arts Center.
A glass entrance introduces us to an undulating white ceiling and sculpted back wall, hand-cut crystal drizzle chandeliers, floor-to-ceiling windows, soft-color palate and natural surfaces of travertine marble, onyx and mollusk shells. The intimate sushi bar accommodates eight at a 150-year-old bubinga wood counter with a natural edge.
Owner/Master Chef James Hamamori’s eponymous restaurant is OC’s sparkling gem that sets the highest standard for Japanese dishes honoring the spirit of authenticity but arriving at the modern table with artistic flair, a bit of fusion via unique sauces and passion for the product on which the cuisine is built.
“I have always loved the artistry of creating beautiful food from the best ingredients—the finest, the freshest seafood, the rare,” Hamamori said. “Everything we create is like a signature. It gives me great pleasure to see guests enjoy our dishes and sushi. I can’t imagine doing anything else.”
There’s a “sushi gems” plate featuring eight of James’ creations, among them scallop with lemon, yuzu salt and caviar, and his seared yellowtail with kanzuri, garlic ponzu and chervil. It’s a fine way to start.
Hard to pick favorites, but we could begin with the miso-marinated black cod—six ounces of black cod marinated in seasoned miso and tamari, glazed with honey sauce and hijiki fried rice.
The Ishiyaki wagyu beef short rib with three sauces will reset your mental picture of short ribs. Any of his many sushi or sashimi plates are blue ribbon items.
This is the kind of place where we must also give an appreciative nod to prix fixe omakase menus that take us way beyond the usual.
If you happen to be in the vicinity between 5 and 6:30 p.m., you can take advantage of the clever happy hour menu that offers even more delights.
Il Fornaio
18051 Von Karman Ave.
Irvine
(949) 261-1444
Il Fornaio has been here for two decades, and yet it’s always refreshing for our spirit.
The décor was inspired by upscale trattorias in Italy, and it doesn’t have to be redesigned over and over. It also helps that the hospitality factor headed by effervescent managing partner Marcello Apollonio is ever present.
The food comes with its own provenance of originality, screaming with authenticity. The refined list of Italy’s wines help round out a meal’s validity.
Seared on my list of the finest dishes are steak Florentine, the amazing pizzas, lobster ravioli, homemade pastas (I’ve swooned over ragu sauces made of various meats over the years) and the juicy roasted meats seared into submission but pulled from the heat just as the height of their glory. When, a few years ago, they introduced the Festa Regionale the first two weeks of each month as an added menu possibility, we started dining all over Italy sans all the travel expenses.
In between meals, there are winemaker dinners, wine-education classes (lots of fun learning to sniff, sip and speak like a sommelier) and cooking classes with partner/Chef Jeff Burt where their intimate recipe secrets are shared.
Appetizers that sing on the current menu are abundant.
Rustichella is the house-made flat bread topped with several ingredients, including basil, goat cheese, kalamata olives and mozzarella.
Deep-fried artichokes, asparagus, eggplant, onions and zucchini form a conglomerate of garden beauties loving their parsley sauce, and the caprese is the epitome of refreshing sliced tomatoes and fresh mozzarella.
Elsewhere on the latest menu, a good pesto sauce can be such a delight as it is in the plate of large ring pasta with shrimp and tasty tomatoes.
Grilled wild shrimp plus roasted Yukon gold potatoes on Tuscan salad ingredients is a noteworthy salad variation. And free-range chicken marinated with a trio of freshly snipped herbs, crushed red pepper and white wine is deeply flavorful.
Favorite desserts include limoncello on the rocks with fluffy zabaione and fresh berries and bellini sorbet, gelato with espresso dressing and a mousse-berry custard with Triple Sec.
L’Opera
101 Pine Ave.
Long Beach
(562) 491-0066
If you haven’t visited recently, you will find a Euro-contemporary look strewn with fine design elements and an overall aura of good taste.
Owners Terry Antonelli and Enzo DeMuro are the impresarios who have been upscale anchors to the growth and renovation of downtown Long Beach since 1990. Walter Cotta has been the executive chef for more than a decade, and he’s always doted on Italian specialties. Cotta and the owners—in updating the restaurant’s looks and layout—also wanted to elevate their classic Northern Italian food in an urbane manner reflective of contemporary upscale dining in Italy.
A good example of the food creativity emerges in the Tartara Mediterranea where their crisp flatbread gets layered with a finely honed ahi tuna tartar and tidbit tastes of white bean hummus, cured olives, marinated fennel and red pepper jelly. I also like the easy-going nature of mascarpone cheese with smoked salmon atop more of that addictive flatbread.
Yellow butternut squash and ricotta deliciously fill homemade pasta squares that are drizzled with ribbons of brown butter-sage sauce. It’s one of my go-to dishes every time. The coffee-crusted steak is elevated in status with the side of blue-corn polenta topped with caramelized cipollini onions.
And make sure to remember that a new dimension comes to tender short ribs as these are first braised in a chic red wine sauce and then stuffed into homemade ravioli covers and adorned with just the right amount of gorgonzola cream sauce.
The wine list is pretty extensive with a lot of very interesting Italian boutique labels, at modest prices, tucked in with all those better-known names. The staff is helpful in choosing wines so guidance toward these little intrigues is friendly.
I might be having the last sip of my wine with one of the best desserts around. I’m hungry right now thinking about the caramelized crushed pineapple baked over a light, tender pound cake and drizzled with hot caramel sauce and crème anglaise.
Nello Cucina
3333 Bear St.
Costa Mesa
(714) 540-3365
The first floor of the atrium of Crystal Court at South Coast Plaza hosts this restaurant under the auspices of managing partner/restaurant maestro Franco Vessia.
If you know Franco, you know that he has a business background as a restaurant owner and is a serious culinary person as well. Chef Tim Nolan has extensive knowledge of Italian cuisine and has enlightened the menu considerably in concert with Franco.
Authentic southern Italian dishes here include a superb array of pastas such as the baked spinach-and-ricotta-filled pasta rolls (rotolo) with fresh marinara on the bottom of the plate and béchamel and melted mozzarella cheese draped atop the rolls.
Pizzas are heavenly: crunchy from the intense pizza oven heat and covered in a variety of quality ingredients—one should be creamy burrata cheese.
Simplicity can be divine as in the plate of grilled seasonal vegetables sprinkled with bits of feta cheese and drizzled with a fine olive oil. I am fond of their sliders stuffed with really tasty Italian meatballs and melted mozzarella. Osso buco aficionados might well appreciate the tender meat’s mattress of saffron risotto, and everyone has the opportunity to order fresh fish entrées too.
Gnocchi al piacere—homemade potato dumplings, with your choice of tomato-basil, prosciutto cream (my fave) or pesto sauce—is a good choice. The rigatini al piacere takes into consideration some of today’s dietary concerns by beginning with gluten-free pasta and offering it with a choice of sauces.
If you are waiting for me to say something sweet, let it be the double-layered rich chocolate mousse covered with Belgian chocolate.
This is a truly a classic Italian trattoria imbued with much warmth. It has an outdoor feeling of dining in a piazza in a small town in Italy. The aromas emitting from the open kitchen and the wood-burning pizza oven fills the air and stimulates the senses.
The nice wine list and full bar are good additions to the dining.
Nirvana Grille
303 Broadway St.
Laguna Beach
(949) 497-0027
Chef and owner Lindsay Smith-Rosales is right in the mix of the farm-to-table concept focusing on cuisine she builds from the classics with a healthful spin.
Her vision of cooking pure food that was not too heavy and with a fresh flare was culled from her younger years in a household that honored many healthful eating aspects. She buys all natural hormone- and antibiotic-free meats, grass-fed organic burger meat and free-range organic poultry.
The produce is local, as organic as possible, at the peak of freshness. The menus are inspired by what she and the staff would want to eat over the next four months—menus are seasonal—as some of them eat at the restaurant every night.
Love that this is a family affair with Luis Rosales, Lindsay’s husband and co-owner and overall operations guru also on premises. Add General Manager Daniel Reyes, a pro whom I’ve long admired, and it becomes quite a team.
I know so well Lindsay’s approach to fantastic-tasting, beautifully plated, ever-interesting dishes. One current appetizer that’s a must is the roasted fresh poblano chile (stuffed with more goodies than I can describe here).
Day boat scallops are distinctive with fried fennel accompaniment and saffron cream sauce. Tender blue-lip mussels have an engaging mélange of flavors from the mix of leeks, shallots, herbs, tomatoes, white wine, clam juice and beurre blanc flavoring the broth.
Better yet, they come with signature fries sprinkled with thyme and parsley.
Pulled pork from specially bred pigs gets Lindsay’s best compilation of condiments, herbs and veggies while reaching further heights with the roasted Fuji apple-butter-thyme topping. Organic curly kale salad also has lots of goodies mixed in. That specialty pork turns up as a pork shank entrée.
Whole sea bass is deboned, grilled and sided with a multimix of fresh herbs and vegetables. A vegetarian favorite is called a seitan Napoleon (stacks of veggies, cheese, aromatics, creamy pesto, and seitan, a wheat protein, sided with shallot risotto and rainbow chard). Suffice it to say that the roasted chicken is also different and terrific.
There’s an unpretentious contemporary farmhouse appeal to this place, where wood accents and soft earth tones meet leather seating and dark tablecloths. A personal collection of paintings from local artists adorn the walls. It lends itself to many styles of dining: romantics are comfortable, families find food that’s appealing to both adults and youngsters, and business deals are made in the comfortable atmosphere.
The upstairs Bliss Bar Rooftop is more cosmopolitan and city smart. It has warm colors, greenery, easy seating and blankets to ward off any chill. The full menu is available in this comfortable lounge and bar experience.
Queensview Steakhouse
(at Parkers’ Lighthouse)
435 Shoreline Village Drive
Long Beach
(562) 432-6500
Magnificent views, beautiful interiors, gourmet food, live entertainment—Queensview doesn’t have many peers in SoCal as a hip city supper club.
It is open to the public Tuesday to Saturday nights offering live jazz entertainment as part of your evening out. It’s the perfect way to sooth the soul. No cover charge, no tickets required—just an appreciation for the spontaneous spirit and imagination that is live music and great food served up with romantic 360-degree panoramas.
Parkers’ Lighthouse has been a fixture for years. It has always been a go-to place for casual but good food and an unpretentious perch from which to view the Queen Mary and all the twinkles of the city and water surroundings. In 2011, the owners of Parkers’ had the business acumen to do a major $2.5 million renovation, including the third-floor addition of the Queensview Steakhouse.
Executive Chef Curtis Mar is a seasoned chef who has formed lasting relationships with local specialty purveyors and growers. His classic-meets-contemporary food showcases flavor, innovation and presentation.
The iced seafood tower features cold-water lobster tail, oyster sampling, large gulf shrimp and Alaskan king crab with traditional sauces. Thai bouillabaisse is a new twist on the traditional with coconut and lemongrass perfuming the fresh fish, green-lip mussels, gulf shrimp, julienne vegetables and roasted red potatoes.
Crispy diver scallops are tasty simplicity with their tomato caper fondue topping. Steaks are part of the big game here too.
There are great beef, king crab legs, fresh white asparagus and béarnaise. Kurobuta pork chop is an easy choice for me. A deep-dish key lime tart topped with toasted meringue finishes up my dinners perfectly.
Every seat has a view, but I happen to love sitting at the long bar to embrace the surroundings and to have a meal, not to mention a fashionable cocktail or some wine from their award-winning wine cellar, an impressive two-story statement on its own.
Savannah Chop House
32441 Golden Lantern
Laguna Niguel
(949) 493-7107
Its dining room is resplendent with plush booths, warm woods and a stone fireplace. And the lounge is a remembrance of a classy jazz club scene—live music featured Tuesday through Saturday.
A covered veranda and the patio offering sunset views also beckon. The lounge is a favorite spot for some of our friends, and me. Here we can have wine or perfectly crafted cocktails, small plates and, if desired, even full meals. Hint: If you ask your server, unlisted value-priced special plates of food might be available from the kitchen. Another note: There’s a double happy hour: nightly 4:30 to 7 p.m. and late night from 9 to closing.
Steaks, chops and seafood dominate the menu at this contemporary American steakhouse with a California twist. The grilled romaine salad is notable with a marvelous pumpkin-seed dressing and a sprinkling of pico de gallo. Zesty poblano remoulade tops the marinated and grilled artichokes. A best trio appetizer includes crunchy calamari, lime-grilled shrimps and artichokes.
I applaud the no-mess Alaskan king crab legs that are precut to order and easy to handle. The crunchy pistachio-coated halibut with side relish and local vegetables makes a good impression.
Other standout appearances: signature slow-braised short ribs, apple wood-smoked prime rib and double-cut lamb chops. Not many places serve fried chicken; it is a staple here that I have long admired (buttermilk brined with sausage gravy).
The executive chef who is overseeing all this food is Chris Tzorin who has worked beside some admirable master chefs. His fiery passion is for the fusion that makes dining today more memorable. There is a definite respectful nod to Southern dishes, but diverse introductions such as a Latin sauce, a tropical relish and a mixed-spice meat rub mingle with the abundance of great locavore ingredients and custom-selected meats and seafood.
I think I’ll make a reservation now, and when there, I will be sure to order once again the authentic pecan pie served with caramel pecan gelato as my finale.
Seasons 52
3333 Bristol St.
Costa Mesa
(714) 437-5252
There are few restaurants as adamantly attractive as this one. When we go out to eat on the spur of the moment, this place can easily be our choice.
The sophisticated ambience is just casual enough, and certainly unpretentious, embracing us with comfort. It is warm and welcoming with earthy hues, rich mahogany accents, abstract artworks and soft designer lighting. I’m obsessed with one unique round table for up to 12 made from a massive cross-cut slab of a fallen tree that is simply an ecological dream.
The lounge space is special on its own, especially at dinner when we can sit in a chic booth hugging the wall and enjoy the pianist/singer ensconced smack-dab in the center of the circular bar. There is music Sunday through Thursday, from 6 to 10 p.m.; and Friday and Saturday, from 6 to 11 p.m. Along with your snacks or meal, order one of the 60 wines by the glass and seriously peruse the list of drink-these-before-they-are-famous wines.
Executive Chef and Partner Tim Kast changes the menu a few times a year to work with ingredients of the current season, and there’s always a section of the menu devoted to specials running for a few days at a time, taking even further advantage of products immediately available.
Using natural cooking techniques like wood-fire grilling and brick-oven cooking helps the restaurant serve guests delicious, healthy meals that are naturally lower in calories—nothing on the menu is more than 475 calories in a concept that’s right for the times.
They set the standard for flatbreads. A couple of excellent ones feature grilled steak and crimini mushrooms and a take on designer tomato topping.
Goat cheese sings in the ravioli with a moat of herbed tomato broth. Maryland crab, roasted shrimp and stuffed mushroom caps under a parmesan-panko crust comprise a fine appetizer trio.
At entrée time I love the healthfulness of grilled boneless rainbow trout with lovely garden veggies. Salmon goes uptown when roasted on its cedar plank. A happy sigh comes easily when encountering the lamb chops with asparagus and truffle mashed potatoes.
My ending always consists of one of the mini-indulgences. I believe there are nine different ones, each served in a mini glass and just the right top-off for any meal.
For the fall: pumpkin pie with double-layer ginger snap crust and the best little taste of carrot cake anywhere.
Three Seventy Common Kitchen+Drink
370 Glenneyre St.
Laguna Beach
(949) 494-8686
This location has been a favorite for so many years for those of us who relished its sense of community conviviality. Last October Chef Ryan Adams took over ownership and has been making culinary waves topping whatever we had before. It’s all about seasonal fare and great cocktails and wine in a relaxing, casual setting in this Pacific Ocean locale. Adams has come up with some surprisingly delicious twists to many favorite foods, making it a really good candidate on your destination restaurant list.
This food is dedicated farm-to-table fare that is domestically sourced and globally influenced, food that is just homespun enough but burnished with contemporary California flair. Great place to share food, if you want to, and there is even a great farm-to-table kid’s menu.
A sense of community is fostered by special offerings, including Sunday Night Socials, select Uncommon Mondays (talented area chefs are featured), Tuesday Brown Bag Nights, Wino Wednesdays and Buy Your Friend a Drink opportunities.
This space has an airy feel with high ceilings, an open kitchen and ground floor and balcony dining. A cozy fireplace anchors one wall, French bistro and schoolhouse chairs meet butcher block tables. Commitment to sustainability is visual in use of rustic, reclaimed materials, vintage accents and repurposed tile flooring. Yet there’s a freshness and friendliness that permeates all of it.
Shishito peppers stuffed with goat and cheddar cheeses, dipped in tempura batter and crisply fried are terrific. Nowhere else have I found al dente broccolini topped with fried egg, asiago and prosciutto.
Flatbread that’s crisp takes nicely to tender toppings of tomato, herbs, arugula, red onion and burrata. Doesn’t everybody want to order something called a Napkin Burger? It’s everything a burger should be and delivers good meat, cheddar cheese, arugula, egg, bacon, mushroom chili, charred onion and wonderful fries on the side.
Salmon with bacon, potato hash, watercress and garlic-tomato sauce also rises to the occasion. Memories of home sort of ramble in when ordering the bacon-wrapped meatloaf served with down-to-earth sides.
Adams’ grandmother made a chocolate cake that was special to him, and he’s taken the liberty of sharing it with all of us—with a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream.
Both nouveau and classic cocktails are offered.
Tommy Bahama’s Island Grille
854 Avocado Ave.
Newport Beach
(949) 760-8686
Tommy Bahama’s Island Grille opened in Corona del Mar Plaza in 1998 (known then as Tommy Bahama’s Tropical Café & Emporium). The island atmosphere and accompanying casual food wore well for a while. However, in keeping up with more cosmopolitan dining styles, they have repositioned themselves with the new name and refined food that surprises in taste and beautiful plating.
This vision of an upscale bungalow in the tropics has elements of British West Indies style and a welcoming nature. Seating is diverse: Rather lush table seating, bar stools for 18, communal tables (love their conviviality), elegant private rooms and the real gem, which is the hidden private patio just steps from PCH but an oasis of lush foliage and market umbrellas for al fresco dining par excellence.
What they’ve done with the food also speaks volumes. Chef Jacquelyn Nabong was lured from The Big Island of Hawaii to bring us her coastal cuisine with an emphasis on local seafood. Her dishes have that bit of island flare—the ideal nod to the Tommy Bahama heritage.
Can’t imagine better coconut shrimp than these fresh tiger prawns tucked beneath crispy coconut, served with papaya-mango chutney. Noteworthy artichokes are marinated and steamed in herbes de Provençe, quickly char grilled and served with a tarragon aioli. Warm Laura Chenel goat cheese encrusted in macadamia nuts comes with a nice mango salsa.
Ahi tuna and kale salad is a must. Seared tuna nuanced with lemongrass combines with edamame, pine nuts, charred corn, kale and miso-tahini dressing.
Alaskan Halibut is flavored with peri-peri spice, and lemon beurre blanc sauce as it mingles with a rainbow of vegetables.
The Bungalow Burger is also a fine affair, this one made with proprietary prime ground beef, crispy pancetta, sliced avocado, house-made 1,000 Island dressing and pineapple relish. Love their Cabo fish tacos, too.
The atmosphere lends itself to live music, which is offered Thursday through Saturday nights and Sunday afternoons. Happy hour is 4 to 6 p.m. every day; all bottles of wine are half-priced every Thursday, and there is no corkage fee.
