SiseFromm

I'm really surprised to hear about your stemware snafu. Tim & Nathan run a solid wine program there and I bet Nathan in particular would be embarrassed about that. I would consider that an abnormal point of service for the restaurant. What was the Pinot by the way? That Michael Mina cuvee is delicious, especially at the price point. I think you should expect to see more select cuvees in the future from Mina's group. Raj, the head sommelier for the entire group, has some deals pending from great producers. I wish I could remember which exactly, but I recall a surprisingly good Pinot & Syrah producer mentioned last time we chatted about it.

The lobster trio was on the menu last time we were there. It has been since the place opened I think. The highlight is the fritter, which is basically like a delicious mini lobster corn dog.

Glad to read your review. I think your langoustine dish is the very same one I had, although I thought it was spot prawns? In any case, since my "review" of Marche Moderne was actually posted somehow in the Stonehill Tavern thread, I thought I would copy this over for posterity's sake and future Marche Moderne inquiries: Florent is definitely doing some great stuff over at Marche Moderne in the former Troquet space at South Coast Plaza (3rd floor in the Nordstrom wing). He was a solid, consistent chef during his long stay at Pinot Provence just a few blocks away, but now that he’s on his own, I think he’s recharged and ready for some innovation again. When we dined, there were definitely some service issues, but nothing unusual or that I didn’t expect considering the restaurant had just opened a couple of weeks earlier. The kinds of things we dealt with (incorrect stems for the Rhone wine we brought, they sold out of several key menu items, an un-bussed table that sat for too long next to us, the bartender was a no-show so we didn’t get cocktails in a timely manner, etc.) can all be excused if they tighten things up over the next few months. The food was fantastic. The highlight was the spot prawn appetizer with black trumpet mushrooms, grilled wild ramps, and a lovely brown sauce presumably made with wine and stock. It was so good I nearly ordered another one immediately after I finished it. My entrée of sweetbreads was an exercise in beautiful excess. To have so many sweetbreads at once reminded me of true bistro eating around France. I should have tried one of the tarts that were streaming out of the wood-fired oven because they looked delicious. Florent sent us a parade of desserts on the house and each was better than the last. My favorite was the strawberries and cream napoleon with strawberry sorbet. It tasted like the best sugary cereal you ever had as a kid. Like an explosion of Kellogg-driven nostalgia. Gorgeous. We’re heading back again to celebrate my sister’s birthday and I’m hoping the smaller stuff will be better ironed out by then. I’m confident they will.

Mina is known for his trios so it's hard not to order one. It's like getting three completely different dishes at once. We thought the Shellfish trio was the most intriguing but if you need foie, you can always get the Duck trio. I like the "American Tavern Classics" section of the menu with the burger, the shortribs, the crispy & sous vide pork, and the whole fried chicken for two carved tableside. Don't forget desserts because they're simply awesome, including the all-time Mina classic, root beer float.

There you have it! Speaking of wine stores, it should be noted that Robert Whitesall of Picnic's Deli in Costa Mesa on 17th Street just acquired his license to sell wine & beer. Robert is barely marking wines up and offers a lot of interesting, hand-chosen wines from California, Italy, and France. Additionally, in the old Village Bakery location at The Camp off Bristol, Old Vine Café should be opening within the next couple of months. I believe it's a small cafe-style eatery with a specialization in wine/cheese/charcuterie. Should be interesting.

I wish I had tried one of the wood-fired tarts as those seem to be a house specialty. The Alsace Tart in particular with creme fraiche, gruyere, and ham sounded delicious. Don't forget to order a dessert because the pastry chef is great. I'll be interested in hearing your thoughts after your meal. I only hope you don't run into some of the same service issues we did on the first go-around.

Thanks for reading. It felt like I was ranting but the Goodell's history with Orange County's contemporary dining scene is something I feel a part of. I believe it was. I don't know if I went as soon as within the first couple of weeks of opening, but some friends of ours lived smack dab in the heart of downtown Huntington Beach so we ended up at Red Pearl at least 1/2 dozen times the first year they were open. I remember thinking the waiters were attractive but not completely vapid, and that the food was fun and fresh. I can't really recall any signature type dishes, but I remember pork belly which wasn't as ubiquitous as it is today. It was obviously never a major contender of 4-start type of restaurant, but I think they had their moment, just as The Lodge did in neighboring Costa Mesa.

It was Charlie Palmer, not Charlie Trotter. There you have it, I AM crazy. As for comparing Cafe Route to Patina at Disney . . . I can't really comment with great authority. When we ate at Patina, we were ushered into the "private chef's tasting room" area so I never got a solid look at the dining room and what was happening throughout the night. I imagine though, it draws a similar crowd. Well-dressed theater attendees looking to get in and out with enough time to spare to find their seat and get ready for the evening's show. Tim was a great cook. When he was solely in charge of Aubergine I really felt like he was giving every restaurant in Southern California a serious run for their money. I recall the original Patina, when Joachim was still behind the stove, running at roughly the same pace and I was unable to decide who was really cooking better at that moment. Tim was sharing the cover of Food & Wine as one of the best chefs in the country and I couldn't go to Aubergine enough during the "golden years", which if my memory serves me correct, were 1997 - 1999. When Tim got funding for several projects at once is when everything spun quickly out of control. The Lodge was brilliant for a whisper in time. Six months maybe . . . and then the whole thing started falling apart. Service was atrociously slow, half the menu items were unavailable, the bar would run out of alcohol because it was being sent to other Goodell properties, and then the awful club scene started. I think that was the same time the pastry chef, formerly of Troquet but then heading up all baking operations at Village Bakery, left. That little outpost languished and eventually closed as well. Red Pearl, during the dark days, was also awful. At first the theme and feel of the restaurant was right. Godzilla and Bruce Lee movies played on the Plasma, hip/alternative waiters offered smart and sophisticated service, and the menu offered a twist on Asian flavors that wasn’t available anywhere else at that time. Then football games replaced well-chosen kitsch films, the service became embarrassing (the bartender told me their signature drink was a mojito . . . at an Asian restaurant?), and the restaurant felt as though it was simply left behind to be neglected. Meson G had a moment in the sun, but also quickly faded. Strong start followed by, from what I hear, unclear leadership. I’d love to see Tim stop for a moment and focus good and hard on that new location in Newport Beach. He should get behind the stove, shop at the Irvine farmer’s market on Saturdays and hit the Santa Monica markets the rest of the week, come up with a great, approachable and executable menu, hire a really good GM to run the front, and do something great again. Orange County is still a starved market for good restaurants. All he has to do is remain consistent and offer good service and he’ll have a hit on his hands.

I've been wondering about that space for the last few weeks but I haven't heard any rumors about what is slated to open there. It's prime real estate so I doubt a smaller upstart can pull off a space of that size and in that particular location. I can't imagine Fashion Island rents are cheap these days. If it is a club scenario, maybe the guys from Sutra can step in. They're, despite my best wishes, flourishing at Triangle Square.

Oh yes, and David Wilhelm's restaurant empire (French 75, Chat Noir, Cafe Rouge, Chimayo) are all decent, but nothing groundbreaking. He's really following a pattern here. He was formerly head of West Coast Productions & West Coast Restaurants, running the catering operation plus Zuni Grill (Irvine), Topaz Café (Bower’s Museum), Kachina (Laguna Beach), Bistro 201 (Irvine then Newport Beach), Shane (Newport Beach), Barbacoa (Newport Beach) and their flagship, Diva (Costa Mesa near South Coast). He was delivering innovative and hip dining for Orange County residents, but nothing that was completely amazing or worthy of 4-star reviews. His new joints have that same sort of feel and I can definitely see Wilhelm’s touch everywhere. I should know, I worked for that organization, ending as the GM for Topaz Café, for 5 years. One final note. The Arches is finally moving from their PCH location. I think they were there for 75 years or so but the land was sold and they're finally moving. I heard to a new location on the Peninsula around 30th Street but on a recent bike ride, we couldn't figure out where exactly. The new owners of that spot? Tim & Liza Goodell . . . returning to Orange County after selling off the Huntington Beach Red Pearl restaurant to the owners of Bluefin (sushi joint) in Crystal Cove (Newport Beach). Apparently they’re going to let their LA properties roll for awhile while they focus on coming back to Orange County for presumably their triumphant return.

Letherby's Cafe Rouge is clearly a restaurant for theater-goers. On nights without concerts or shows, it's a ghost town in there. I think they have a much quicker "turn and burn" style of service because the vast majority of diners there on busy nights have a deadline with the start of the show. Everybody sits at once, cranks through their meal, and then they're off. It doesn't give one much of a chance to pace their dinner leisurely nor to choose the multi-coursed tasting menu. We dined there on a non-show night and, with the exception of one other table of six, we were the only souls in the restaurant. Staff outnumbered us 3 to 1. They did have a great deal on Krug splits though and I was happy to pay retail price for the best bubbly in the world. Our dinner was good, the food solid, but eating in such deadly silence with no hustle and bustle of a busy restaurant is disconcerting to me on some level. I also felt the restaurant was overly lit and they needed to dim the lights by at least 33%. If the restaurant had a bigger crowd on non-theater nights I would be inclined to go back, but the silence was too deafening on our last trip so I think I’d take a pass on that one. Florent is definitely doing some great stuff over at Marche Moderne in the former Troquet space at South Coast Plaza (3rd floor in the Nordstrom wing). He was a solid, consistent chef during his long stay at Pinot Provence just a few blocks away, but now that he’s on his own, I think he’s recharged and ready for some innovation again. When we dined, there were definitely some service issues, but nothing unusual or that I didn’t expect considering the restaurant had just opened a couple of weeks earlier. The kinds of things we dealt with (incorrect stems for the Rhone wine we brought, they sold out of several key menu items, an un-bussed table that sat for too long next to us, the bartender was a no-show so we didn’t get cocktails in a timely manner, etc.) can all be excused if they tighten things up over the next few months. The food was fantastic. The highlight was the spot prawn appetizer with black trumpet mushrooms, grilled wild ramps, and a lovely brown sauce presumably made with wine and stock. It was so good I nearly ordered another one immediately after I finished it. My entrée of sweetbreads was an exercise in beautiful excess. To have so many sweetbreads at once reminded me of true bistro eating around France. I should have tried one of the tarts that were streaming out of the wood-fired oven because they looked delicious. Florent sent us a parade of desserts on the house and each was better than the last. My favorite was the strawberries and cream napoleon with strawberry sorbet. It tasted like the best sugary cereal you ever had as a kid. Like an explosion of Kellogg-driven nostalgia. Gorgeous. We’re heading back again to celebrate my sister’s birthday and I’m hoping the smaller stuff will be better ironed out by then. I’m confident they will. There are a few other notable opening slated for the remainder of 2007 so keep your eyes peeled. I heard Charlie Trotter is coming to South Coast Plaza? Am I crazy? There are a couple of new joints off Bristol in Costa Mesa as well at The Camp and The Lab respectively that should be worth talking about when they drop.

I'd be very surprised if they didn't receive a star, but time will tell.

We actually ate at Stonehill twice within the last couple of weeks. Once on Wednesday, May 30th, then again on Friday, June 8th. We ate with a couple of friends of ours that Wednesday in one of the semi-private alcove booths off the bar. The restaurant was extraordinarily quiet, which was fine by me. We enjoyed the calm of the restaurant during our leisurely paced dinner. I started with Krug as usual because the champagne we had at the hotel bar fifteen minutes earlier was horrible and I needed something to refresh my palette. We luxuriously started with American caviar service with sifted egg yolks, sifted egg whites, whipped chive creme fraiche, minced red onions, and blinis. Honestly, I could do without all of the accompaniments and simply eat the caviar straight away off the alabaster spoons. The dinner moved on from there with a group of trios . . . Tuna for me, Shellfish for my wife, Duck for Shaun & Lobster for Lillie. Everything I tasted was wonderful from our dishes. The Shellfish trio, though, was by far the winner. The oysters were delicious and my personal favorite from that trio was the spot prawn with chorizo in sea urchin broth. I would highly recommend that dish. One item offered on the dinner menu was a beef course with seared tenderloin and braised beef cheeks. I loved the sound of those cheeks but had no interest in the filet. The kitchen was happy to accommodate me with a huge pile of braised cheeks, asparagus, and a potato-horseradish cake. The cheeks were like butter. My wife had the Tavern Burger which, as usual, stunk beautifully of truffles. There was a great lamb course which included a chop as well as pasta filled with braised shoulder. For dessert we had the Chevre Cheesecake with Funnel Cake & Blueberry Compote plus dessert wines. It was awesome and the bottles of 1994 Seavey Merlot, 2001 Gemstone, and 2004 Buccella didn’t hurt. On Friday we opted for the bar and were, as usual, greeted warmly by the excellent front-house staff. Nathan is a great manager and wine director and the bar staff are fun and approachable but still serving food and beverage in a very sophisticated manner. Holly once again got the Shellfish trio to start. It was too good the first time around to pass up. We were there this time with Justin and he got the tuna trio I had the last time around. I skipped the appetizer because I just couldn’t commit to a big dinner again. The beef courses though, including those cheeks for Justin, the tavern burger for me, and the shortribs for Holly, all went superbly with the 1997 Paul Jaboulet Cornas we brought with us. We shared with the staff and in turn they shared some great dessert wine selections to pair with our cheese courses. The Sherry was great but the Madeira was where it was at! All in all, both experiences were pretty much perfect. The food is solid and consistent. The staff is creative and attentive. The dining room is still gorgeous. The music is still eclectic and somehow fitting. Apparently Michelin is traveling around Southern California and Stonehill is among several restaurants gunning for a star. I really can’t see why they wouldn’t get one.

As usual, a great photo report from one hell of a trip. Now that you packed the Laundry & Cyrus into one trip, how does one compare to the other?

The quest has been completed! Resident foodie expert and culinary adventurer Russell J. Wong hooked me up big time! He dragged a couple of packs of Fra'Mani breakfast sausages directly from the source. Not only that, he brought them to me while I was in the middle of running our booth at the Vinyl Toy Network show in Pasadena over the weekend. What a trooper. As for the sausages, they’re beautiful. I cooked two of them this morning with a classic breakfast of eggs over easy and toasted country bread. The sausages are plump and slightly larger than a typical grocery store link. The skin is taut and crisps up nicely to a deep golden brown. The fat to meat ratio is balanced as they stay moist but aren't overly greasy. The flavor is classic and spiked with sage . . . they aren't over or under seasoned. Though not overpowering, they clearly deliver a proper breakfast sausage punch. These are the best I’ve found in my search for great breakfast sausages. Thanks RJ!

We recently received a 3-pack box of the 2003 Maiden but we haven't cracked them yet. I actually re-nailed the box closed and pushed it to the back of the wine cabinet. I'd like to give it some time before we jump in. Maybe some time next year at the earliest.

The Laguna Beach galleries are of course, as you know, retail stores. There are some good spots, don't get me wrong, but if you have a chance, you should skip over to the OCMA near Fashion Island. I'm not a huge fan of the permanent collection stuff but the rotating exhibits are usually to die for. Some of the most prolific shows of the last few years have passed through there (John Waters & Beautiful Losers were my favorites). The Lagnua Beach Museum of Art just North of main beach is also usually right on. They recently featured the BisPop show featuring original works and installations from Tim Biskup and Gary Baseman. Great little show. Costa Mesa has a few new joints opening up soon enough that we're going to try. Florent's "Marche Moderne" at South Coast Plaza among them as I noted in another thread. There is also a new raw/organic joint opening called 118 Degrees. You can always peruse the page of OC openings to see what might be happening nearer your arrival date.

Oddly, I'm not familiar with this joint but I'll be sure to put it on my radar. Is it "Port" as in the "Port Theatre" (sadly closing once and for all), or is it "Port" as in the wine term? Or is it a great and clever play on both? Not to be a braggart, but you need to come over next time it's cold, next time I've simmered a batch of veal stock for 8 hours, and next time I do my 3-day short ribs. I would LOVE to be at the top of that list. ;-) Do you know how far North, South or East you're going to be willing to travel during that 5 day period?

We're stopping in Friday for dinner at the bar. I originally had 7 people on board for a reservation on the patio, but plans have seemingly disappeared. I'm not usually a photo in the restaurant kind of guy but I'll be sure to write a full review.

While we're on the subject, I thought I'd throw this one in as well: 1975 Francis Dorroze Armagnac which spent 24 years in oak. My wife and I have been building a deep love for Armagnac over the last year or so.

Now that you mention it, the merlot component was clear in the Margaux while the Bond was 100% single-vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon. The Bond was more structured with a very slightly thorny component. As far as parings went, the Bond stood up better to the chewy & fatty tri-tip. The Bordeaux had a rounder feel in the mouth and was more subtle. I saved it until after the main course as something to contemplate and reflect on while the meal was closing but before I composed the dessert course.

I find it's a lovely and rare opportunity to sip side by side and to really compare two spectacular wines. If the serious question is whether or not I would want to enjoy to beautiful women at the same time . . . umm . . . yes. Every time.

They were close in style. I actually thought the Bond would end up being highly extracted, dense, inky in color (that was true enough), and sweet on the entry. It turned out to be surprisingly restrained and very much in the style of a Grand Cru Bordeaux. It had nice acidity and balance and did not taste high in alcohol. The flavors and aromas were less of fruit and more about leather and spice and wood and fine pipe tobacco. All in all, we were very surprised by this one. The 1989 Malescot had the benefit of a bit of age and was holding beautifully. This one can go for another 15 years without breaking a sweat. Far rustier in color with scotchy edges, the nose was more vegetal and delicate than the Bond. This one was pure and clearly from France. The black cherry and raspberry liqueur flavors lingered on and on and on and on. This was one that was sipped, then contemplated. The table went silent for awhile after we would taste it. In a blind test I would have had a bit of troubles. I would have been able to peg the youth of the Bond and the aged beauty of the Malescot, but I would have guessed both were from France. The Malescot was a gift and the Bond we stumbled into on auction. Both were as good as expected and we were lucky to have both in one sitting.

I believe he also has his hands in Trespass, a tiny winery doing less than 1,000 total cases across their two grapes (Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc) planted on 5 acres near the base of Spring Mountain.

Here are a couple of lovelies we had with dinner the other night: Paired with Wagyu Tri-Tip, Butter-Crushed Potatoes, Bacon-Roasted Carrot & Pinot Noir Reduction: