Spring is traditionally a time of rebirth and that seems to be the case in Orange County restaurants as new concepts under experienced chefs come to life.
Sage on the Coast has changed hands, as partner/chef Rich Mead opted out. His sustainable-focused food will continue to be available at his other restaurant, Sage Eastbluff, in Newport’s Eastbluff Center. As an addendum to this, Rich is opening another restaurant in Anaheim Hills, so that’s really good news for North County. As that one debuts, I will fill you in with more details.
Five Crowns in Corona del Mar has a new general manager. Steven Kim is an industry veteran who has been with Lawry’s restaurants since 2002, mostly involved with the prime rib concepts in Beverly Hills and Las Vegas. He replaces Chris Szechenyi, who has moved on to work with the folks who will soon unveil Capital Grille and Seasons 52 concepts in the former Clubhouse space at South Coast Plaza. Steven will also oversee the newest concept at Five Crowns, the SideDoor Gastropub, which incidentally is turning out to be a real hot spot for dining.
Brian Black has changed jobs and now is in the kitchen at Michael Mina’s Stonehill Tavern in the St. Regis Resort Hotel and Spa Monarch Beach in Dana Point. He’s been sous chef at Studio in the Montage and chef de cuisine at Montage’s Loft for the past seven years. He had previously worked with Mina, so it’s a comfortable change for him.
French 75 in Laguna Beach was in the process of being sold to a local businessman in 2009 and the name of the restaurant was changed to 75 Laguna. The sale did not finalize and the restaurant is back in the Culinary Adventures fold as French 75. In addition to this restaurant, Savannah Chophouse in Laguna Niguel is Culinary Adventures’ only other holding. It previously had Chimayo at the Beach but sold that restaurant to TS Restaurants of Hawaii, which owns the Duke’s restaurant above Chimayo at the Huntington Beach pier.
True Food Kitchen will soon debut in the space previously occupied by Blue Coral in Fashion Island. This is the joint venture of Sam Fox (Fox Restaurant Concepts) and Dr. Andrew Weil (healthy living author) whose theory for this one “celebrates high quality, locally sourced ingredients to create a unique menu that tastes great while nourishing the mind, body and spirit.”
I tasted many of the menu items, which are interesting in concept and flavor.
I was concerned when they spoke of ecology and sustainability in all things from food to building materials but were tearing out the beautiful interiors of Blue Coral. I was happy to learn that everything that came out of the restaurant’s interior (remember all that gorgeous iridescent blue tile?) was being turned over to architectural salvage locations to be reused.
The restaurant is expected to open this summer.
Crossing Borders
Marché Moderne’s Third Anniversary Celebration will feature a 10-day tribute to Spain’s renowned culinary traditions. Chef-owners Amelia and Florent Marneau will celebrate the restaurant’s birthday with an array of Spanish specialties, including tapas, cured meats, paella, rare sherries, wine and sangria. To complement the theme, spirited Spanish flamenco dancers and guitar players will perform on the weekends.
The contemporary French bistro, at The Penthouse at South Coast Plaza, will offer the creative Spanish menu at dinner only from Wednesday to May 1. There will be two live entertainment sets per evening, on Friday and Saturday (April 23 to April 24; April 30 to May 1).
Reservations are necessary. Call (714) 434-7900; dinner service begins at 5:30 p.m.
Duke’s Place
One of my rites of spring is having drinks and/or a few meals in Duke’s Place, the friendly ocean lounge in the Balboa Bay Club and Resort. By day, it’s pretty to look out at all those luxurious yachts berthed at the docks as you sip and savor and relax. By night, I love the live music (every night of the week) that keeps people dancing or provides an upbeat ambiance.
The restaurant just seems so Newport, so OC lifestyle, so accessible. The menu is served from noon to 10 p.m., from which I might be munching some typical French escargot, spot on crispy calamari, a fondue whose base is melted brie cheese with a touch of balsamic vinegar, or tempura-style asparagus. If you’re a fan of French dip sandwiches, this one’s a winner on sourdough bread with crispy onions. Since the chef is such a perfectionist, his Cobb salad will give your palate new hope.
After you’ve trekked into the Duke’s Place lounge, consider showing up again for the famous Newport Beach Food and Wine Weekend at the Balboa Bay Club and Resort, which will happen June 3 to June 6. Now into its seventh year, it is a gala weekend of the finest foods and wines, with eight events that include a winemaker luncheon, seminars and evening galas.
Friday evening, the traditional outdoor event on the bay will celebrate spectacular seafood and wine pairings. Saturday will include a winemaker luncheon, afternoon wine seminars and the grand tasting with more than 60 wineries and endless dining stations. Sunday guests will enjoy a bayside brunch, and in the afternoon a bevy of cigars, cognacs, desserts and live music to celebrate the close of an amazing weekend. Seminars, events and galas range in price from $55 to $135.
There’s a Winemaker’s Dinner featuring Washington State wines with winemaker Bob Bertheau. Master sommeliers and four French chefs will join the Balboa Bay Club’s executive chef, Josef Lageder, for the Loire Valley luncheon.
Reservations are necessary. Please call (949) 630-4146 or visit the Web site, www.balboabayclub.com, for updates, pricing and details. Do it soon as the events sell out.
Clay Oven
We’ve been completely enthralled lately with the food and the sophisticated décor of Clay Oven in Irvine. This restaurant has been well-known to connoisseurs for a couple of decades for its very refined Indian cuisine, but its updated menu brings in some California creativity.
The food embraces all things freshly grown within sustainability standards and the menu is seasonally driven. The reason it’s so interesting in its diversification from straightforward Indian cuisine is because the owners, Praveen and Geeta Bansal, have dined in many of the world’s top restaurants and take yearly treks to Europe to delve into French, Italian and Spanish foods.
They have incorporated that sense of fine dining and international sophistication into this menu while maintaining very reasonable prices (appetizers in the $6 to $10 range, dinner entrees from $11 to $23).
For a mere $51, Patrick and I had a recent meal that could have easily fed three because portions are generous. Within that meal was a main dish made up of a quartet of tandoori roasted fresh venison, rabbit, quail and wild boar with a freshly made mango-guava chutney as an accompaniment.
The meats were very tender and juicy with a crunch on the outside, each with its own distinctive profile. The guavas in the chutney, like many of the vegetables and fruits participating in the various dishes, are from the personal gardens of the owner.
Some recommended dishes are the mixed greens with roasted beets, cauliflower and cashew soup, tandoori grilled fish wrapped in banana leaves, medley of seafood in a refined curry sauce, salmon with a delicate coconut curry, boneless lamb slowly cooked with spices, lamb roganjosh (onion, garlic and ginger flavored), chicken brochettes with a savory tomato sauce, mango-ginger baby back ribs, and roasted pork chop with the chef’s own salsa.
For dessert, try the rice pudding or the sweet little trio of brûlées—we had one with mango, chocolate-hazelnut and pomegranate flavors but they vary each day.
You’ll find Clay Oven in a laid-back center at 15435 Jeffrey Road (at Irvine Center Drive), Irvine, (949) 552-2851.
True Italian
Cucina Alessá (restaurants in Newport and Huntington Beach) is setting a new standard for Italian food in this county. Owner/chef Alessandro Pirozzi has brought a wonderfully different dining sensibility to us via his cuisine that has its roots in the region surrounding Naples, Italy.
He flies in ingredients to give his cooking authentic flavors.
Pastas are made totally fresh throughout the day, so imagine a refined sauce with depth of flavor you’ve not experienced before atop ribbons of toothsome pasta.
Sharing the spotlight is a wine list that is also seriously interesting and prices for food and wine that are as friendly as the staff personalities that envelop it all. There may be other Italian peers to Alessá, but right now this restaurant perches alongside the very best of them.
Cucina Alessá has two locations: 6700 W. Coast Hwy., Newport Beach, (949) 645-2148 and the newer restaurant at 520 Main Street, Huntington Beach, (714) 969-2148.
