Let’s get on with some of the best things that come to mind that I’ve encountered during the past year.
Best New Upscale Restaurant: Stonehill Tavern in the St. Regis Monarch Beach Resort & Spa. The decor alone is a gotcha, but the
food is really the fabulous endgame.
Best Little Gem to Open: Break of Dawn in Laguna Hills. Chef/owner Dee Nguyen knocks our socks off with his amazingly
interesting and passionately prepared breakfast and lunch dishes. It’s not open for dinner, but who cares when you can have such an
interesting lunch instead.
Best Wine Country Style Dining: For upscale dining based on that theme, it’s Napa Rose in Anaheim’s Grand Californian Hotel.
Andrew Sutton, the exceptional chef, and manager/sommelier extraordinaire Michael Jordan make us feel like royalty.
For a casual atmosphere reminiscent of a cuddly homespun wine country restaurant with good food and wines to back it all up, Vine in
San Clemente delivers with pride.
For a wining and dining experience at a legendary place, it’s back to Anaheim and the renowned Mr. Stox. The wine cellar is a piece
of history, and the comfort level overall is terrific.
Best European Bistro: Brussels Bistro in Laguna Beach. Unpretentious with terrific Belgian food—and tucked in the menu, even one
of the county’s best hamburgers—and international beers and wines, plus great live music throughout dinner hours.
Best Chic but Casual Restaurant: Village Mediterranean in San Clemente has it all. The room is intimate and charmingly decorated
with a North African sea style and we always want to order more than we can eat because all the food is so interesting and flavorful.
The Best Prix Fixe Dinner Menus: Not to put down the many fine restaurants that have various styles and prices for prix fixe menus, I
nevertheless have to choose La Vie en Rose in Brea. That’s because they have such affordable three-course prix fixe dinners, ranging
from $35 to $50, and choices from throughout the whole a la carte menu can be combined to make almost endless combinations.
Country French cuisine is happily ensconced here.
Spur of the Moment Best Pick for Upscale Dining: First Cabin Restaurant in the Balboa Bay Club & Resort is serving amazing food—
thanks to über chefs Josef Lageder and Yvon Goetz—and has thus become one of our favorite destinations.
Best New Version of Mexican Food: For the second year in a row, Taléo in Irvine keeps its place. Inspired by the cuisine of Mexico City, owner Nic Villarreal and chef Jose Acevedo take us on an astoundingly flavorful and interesting culinary journey.
Best Delicious Surprises on the Plate at Every Meal: It’s still at the Golden Truffle in Costa Mesa. Chef/owner Alan Greeley
constantly puts chic, out-of-the-ordinary dishes on the menu and keeps us totally enthralled with dining.
Best Contemporary Italian Food: It’s found at the Anaheim White House. Owner Bruno Serato continues his devotion to bringing us
the latest versions of dining currently on the scene in Italy.
Best Breakfast Buffet: You just can’t beat the price or the great spread of food at Las Brisas in Laguna Beach. Of course, they also get
my vote for the deliciously fresh and interesting food that now makes lunches and dinners memorable in this beautiful setting
overlooking the ocean.
Best Lamb Entree: The 22 oz. lamb porterhouse (three thick chops) at the new Mastro’s Steakhouse in Costa Mesa is proof on a plate.
Best Florentine Steak: It’s like being in some of my favorite haunts in Italy when I order it at Il Fornaio in Irvine. Tender, juicy and
dappled with fine olive oil, it’s a great piece of meat.
Best New Version of Pizza: Panera Bread Bakery-Cafe, which has several locations, takes the prize with its Crispani, which features an ultra-crispy pizza base topped with various complements. My favorite: the sliced apple and sausage topping.
Best Asian Sesame Chicken Salad: Yet another pat on the back to Panera. The dressing is perfect in every way: light with just the right
balance of sesame flavor, and the ample grilled chicken cuddling with the greens rounds out the fantastic taste. I have it two or three
times a month.
Best Soup: What a shame if you haven’t had a bowl of goodness called Shrimp and Corn Soup at Bayside in Newport Beach. Chef
Paul Gstrein’s version takes taste and texture to their zenith.
Best Dessert: It happens at Wildfish Seafood Grille in Newport Beach. The bread pudding done in a souffle manner with a cloudlike
topping is the best sweet treat of the year by far. I also have to give them accolades for their marvelous fish entrees that keep us going
back again and again. Runner-up for best dessert would be the luscious Tres Leches Cake at Taléo in Irvine.
Best Restaurants That Remain from the Past: There are four that we call teddy bear restaurants because we feel so comfy and at home
in them—the food is never chasing the newest trend but is nevertheless downright delicious. So, I’ll just give you all of them.
Riviera at the Fireside in Westminster is all about booths, tableside service and old-school elegance. They stick with what they know
and we love them for it.
Nieuport 17 in Tustin has been a mainstay of terrific dining for decades and yet it looks as new and clean and chic as ever. Slightly
similar in demeanor to The Ritz Restaurant and Garden in Newport Beach, Central Orange County is very fortunate to have this
marvelous restaurant. It’s in our inner circle of most enjoyed restaurants.
Then, there’s The Ritz itself, a study in chic dining. I’d go there every week for lunch or dinner if time permitted. It never disappoints
and I seem to linger at the table forever.
Finally, The Arches is just so unpretentious but on the upscale curve and you can hardly find tuxedo-clad waiters anymore, let alone
tableside service of fine meat and seafood prepared with a bit of international confidence.
