Swicks

Went to this great little spot for lunch yesterday. I had read quite a bit about it in the OC Weekly and such and was very curious. I absolutely loved this place, its a very casual cafe but has a very well priced menu with some really interesting choices, a lot of casual type food with upscale touches. They even have a nice littel tasting menu with wine parings for $60. I had a panini with house made roast beef, truffle cheese and garlic aioli, very simple and delicious. My companion had the mac and cheese, also very good. What I also really loved about the place was a really nice selection of inexpensive wines, cheeses, charcuterie in a small retail section. They had some interesting French and Spanish wine selections that were all quite reasonably priced. Additionally, they have quite a lot of outdoor seating as well. I really look forward to returning for some wine and appetizers one evening in the near future. www.oldvinecafe.com (on a related Camp note, I happen to run into a friend of mine at OVC and he knows the owners of Aire next door and mentioned that it had closed its doors about a week and a half ago. Sad news, while the food wasn't awesome at Aire, I really liked the setting and the owners and chef were good people.)

I gotta say, Bourdain's blog, as usual, is so right on the money its unbelievable.

Good ep, great to see "The Ripper" as a guest judge. I am pretty happy with the final three, glad they got rid of Brian. The speeches at the end I thought were touching, dale in particular as people have mentioned. Here is the main problem I have with what's going on...with regards to Hung, everyone keeps harping on how his food has no soul, etc. How exactly do you define what has soul and what doesn't? Because he is Vietnamese, does that mean he would have to cook Vietnamese style in order to present "soulful" food for him? This is simply not possible given the challenges nor would it represent his talent. I am not saying I disagree with this assertion I just have a problem with how he is supposed to "prove" it or "show" this soul?

Great points, I wholeheartedly agree. The menu is just excellent all around. I still need to have the charcuterie board... Jason, that is interesting info.

Had a nice little meal at Marche last night, here is a quick recap... The restaurant was pleasantly uncrowded and calm, I just sat at the bar and the bartender Phillip was very friendly and engaging. He mentioned on weekend nights the place was slammed and it was always standing room only at the bar. Great to hear that people are coming around to appreciate the wonderful cuisine of Chef Marneau and his wife. Amuse - Tuna tartare - good and fresh but so commonplace now it was forgettable, I'm not a huge tuna fan anyway. 1st course - Sauteed Langoustines - This was a "fresh from the market" item under the menu and was the absolute star of the meal. It was reminiscent of the spot prawn appetizer they had on the menu earlier in the year. The shellfish were sauteed in truffle butter until just barely cooked through and were phenomenal. Fresh ingredients prepared simply, the restaurant's calling card. It was served with a nice celery root puree and a port wine foam which to me seemed a bit out of place. 2nd course - Pork Cheeks - Too interesting for me to pass up. While delicious, this course just didn't fully deliver on my expectations. There wasn't the depth of flavor I was expecting, though they were very tender. They were served with a dollop of bleu cheese on top which at first seemed odd and out of place but actually provided a nice punch of salt and flavor. Usually i'm not really a fan of bleu cheese at all but it worked here. Served with nice potato puree with scallions. Desert - Apple and brown sugar gateau - a wonderful expression of fall flavors, warm and homey. Served with a quenelle of ice cream, I think it was some sort of rum raisin but I can't recall exactly. It was a nice counterpoint though i felt the alcohol taste was a tad bit sharp. Wine - Some interesting choices, they seem to have expanded the list significantly from the first time I was there. I had a nice Oregon pinot, name escapes me, that was recommended, a very nice surprise. I had wanted to try some French wines but nothing really jumped out at me. Overall the wine list has many more Californian choices than I would have expected, but interesting none the less. Overall another really great experience at Marche Moderne, this is definitely my favorite restaurant in OC right now. The menu is just tremendous and has so many wonderful choices, rarely to I take such a long time to decide on my choices. Additionally, it may seem odd, but I can't say enough about the appropriateness of the portion sizes, it allows you to try a wide range of things on the menu and leave feeling pleasantly full but not overstuffed. I can't say enough about the great things the Chef Marneau and his wife are doing at Marche Moderne. I really look forward to seeing how the menu evolves into fall and winter.

I think you'll be very happy with those choices. Many of them I had when they were on the discovery menu last year when I dined. The oyseters and the egg are particularly memorable. I had a really nice piece of bass as well.

Totally agree, I was more referring to exactly what you referenced, the room/setting etc, rustic farmhouse vs modern city, etc. Having not dined at either, is there a real difference in service? How so? My only guess would be that the service at Per Se would be more formal to reflect the atmosphere, and vice versa with TFL?

I know, who would have thought eh? Though you and I well know restaurant wise, we are still way behind the curve... As far as it being disappointing, I'm not sure how they could go wrong with that large of a store, but who knows....

The Daily Pilot is reporting that Dean & DeLuca will be opening a flagship store in a brand new to be built 85,000 square foot building at Fashion Island in Newport Beach, in 2009. Link to the story: http://www.dailypilot.com/articles/2007/09...pt-deluca19.txt Holy crap, that is one huge store! *Edited for clarity.

I think given you will have an opportunity to experience Keller at Per Se later on that Manresa would be the obvious choice. This is of course understanding though there are obvious differences between Keller's two temples.

Thanks for the info. i was mainly curious as to the current weekend crowd level.

Has anyone been back recently? I was considering going this weekend. I am curious, are there things that warrant going there that can't be sourced at my local farmers market (corona del mar), Bristol Farms, and the like?

I was on business in Houston last week and stopped in at Pappas Brother's Steakhouse for dinner. Being a solo diner I decided to dine at the bar. I had a very delicious and perfectly cooked Strip and wonderful Au Gratin Potatos. The Turtle Pie desert was phenomenal though incredibly rich, I only at about 1/4 of it but it made a wonderful breakfast the next morning. Edward, the bartender, was incredibly friendly and gracious with the wine and allowed me to sample a variety of different wines. At this point, I had been somewhat disenchanted with steakhouse dinners after a few disappointing steaks, but this one really brought me back. A very excellently piece of beef cooked perfectly.

I read about this and I think that with all the breathless hype about the Mozzas and Craft that this re-opening is almost coming in under the radar. probably a good thing. Should be interesting to see how it turns out. If I recall correctly, wasn't Prytka trying to make it a bit more casual and far less adventurous?

So I guess bringing a 40oz of malt liquor as my beverage accompaniment would be poor form?

It is Monday, October 1st. It is open to the public but filling quickly as the restaurant is very small. Since they just had a guest chef last Sunday night, they have yet to update their website but I am on their mailing list and knew about this event early on (actually, I might have asked who their guest chefs were for the rest of the year). I believe it is $105 for the seven-course dinner and an additional $65.00/$100.00 for wine pairings, depending on how much you want to drink. ← Thanks for the response, sounds like a great event!

I keep getting beat up on Chowhound as I am one of the Boulevard detractors, having eaten there half-a-dozen times, I have yet to be blown away. Fifth Floor is sketchy as they lost their chef some time ago and no one has provided any exceptional reports for some time (also, the hotel and restaurant are currently up for sale). My current favorites: Myth Incanto Aziza Campton Place Ame Bix For Sand Dabs, however, Tadish Grill is a MUST - it is the oldest restaurant in San Francisco and an absolute institution. I think some of the waiters have worked there 80+ years. It is along the lines of Original Joe's and Swan Oyster Bar for history. ← Interesting. Well I would say Boulevard is nothing revolutionary but overall the one meal there I had I found to be very delicious. I also meant to suggest Myth, rather than Fifth Floor, my mistake. I had a great meal there. Didn't someone on this board recently review FF? Michael Mina is generally considered to be one of the city's top tables but if I recall correctly no one on here thought it was anything special. I have not eaten there but at Michael Mina's restaurant in Orange County, which I found to be excellent. I am also a fan of Townhall, Rex Cafe, and Yuet Lee. The Ferry Building is a must do as well.

Carolyn, do you know the date of the event with Michele Richard at Bin? Is it open to the public? Thanks.

Where are you dining in San Francisco? Some recs there: Boulevard, Incanto, A16, Slanted Door, Postrio, Fifth Floor, Fleur De Lys

Great reports as usual Russell! Alex looks amazing, how would you compare it to Guy Savoy and Joel Robuchon? Isn't it significantly less expensive? I seem to remember the tasting menu being around $125 or something close...I would be curious to know what the price was with the wine pairings.

Sad indeed, rediculous that Tre is gone and the likes of Howie, Sara, etc remain. I think this elimination really calls into question the real problem with the judging of the show. Do you judge simply on the current challenges or on the contestant's body of work? Unfortunately, if judged simply on that night's performance Tre really did deserve to go home, regardless of how talented he might be and how well he performed in the past, or even that fact the remainder of the contestants were mediocre as well. Its a shame because talent-wise he was clearly one of the top two or three in the group without question. He and Hung in the finale would have been great to see. Call him this year's Sam Talbot.

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Interesting info, thanks guys.

Not sure if this is the right area for this question but, here it goes.... Based on a small bit I read in Eater, it seems there is much hate and mocking for the Restaurant Girl and her recent promotion, where is this coming from and why?

Some interesting thoughts here. I will use another example which I find pretty interesting. There is a show on an HD channel called Mojo, called After Hours with Daniel Boulud in which Daniel invites chef friends for after hours meals, laughs, fun etc. Great show, unscripted, candid etc. Anyway, one of the episodes Rocco was one of the guests and one of the conversations he was involved in I thought was very interesting. At the table the group was discussing chefs as celebrities, and the trend of chefs rising to prominence, etc. Rocco kept chiming in with comments about how he and other chef's get into the business "to make money" and how few chefs achieve the ultimate goal (in his mind) of making as he put it "fuck you money". Ruth Reichel, another guest at the table, chimed in appropriately so, saying, Rocco, you are dead wrong and crazy if you are getting into the business to make a lot of money, you have to get into it because you love food, serving people, etc. I thought this exchange was quite interesting and telling regarding some of Rocco's motivations, perceptions, etc. Now were these money/fame hungry motivations there all along or did he develop them after a taste of fame, who knows? I just thought it was an interesting exchange and showed his somewhat warped perceptions.