The Wisdom of The Matty

My wife and I recently returned from a short five day trip to Southern California, which I wisely arranged months ago to remove myself from what is becoming one of the most miserable winters in Chicago’s history. We visited Beverly Hills, Santa Monica and Dana, while staying at the newly renovated and impressive Sofitel, the service-challenged and somewhat run-down Loews in Santa Monica, and the immaculate St. Regis Monarch Beach between Laguna Beach and Dana Point. As always, we tried to eat as well as we would while we were away, and we added two new Mobil 4-Star restaurants to our list, not to mention some other very memorable and noteworthy dinners and lunches. Here’s a quick rundown of our experiences. (Prices for one couple, including tax, tip and the rough equivalent of a bottle of wine).

Melisse, Santa Monica, $400

I should preface by noting that I spent a great deal of time choosing restaurants for our two nights in Santa Monica. I ended up going with Melisse, a Mobil 4-Star establishment commonly acknowledged as the best restaurant in Southern California, for our fine dining night (I considered several others, including JiRaffe, Josie, Michael’s, Joe’s and Chinois on Main). I suppose for French cuisine, this place does an above average job, but I can think of at least ten better meals and experiences I’ve had for half the cost. Our meal encountered its fair share of problems.

When we walked in and the small dining room was decorated in a gaudy, overdone tone of bright red complete with rose petals hanging from the ceiling, I knew something different was going on. We had come here with the intention of ordering a la carte, but the captain quickly informed us that tonight there was only one option, the four course Valentine’s Day tasting menu for $135 a head. Never mind the fact that tonight was two days after Valentine’s Day and that the restaurant’s usual six course tasting menu only costs $105. We immediately felt ripped off, as no one had informed us of this at the time our reservation was made, and this set a bad tone for the entire dinner. In retrospect I should have been wiser, as restaurants frequently use Valentine’s Day weekend as an excuse to overcharge diners. All dressed up with nowhere else to go, we stayed, putting on our happy faces in hopes that the meal would blow us away. At this point that was still at least a possibility.

The service at Melisse is very professional, if a bit distant and lacking personality. The restaurant provides a purse stool for ladies’ purses, which while a nice touch, isn’t a deal-sealer if you’re used to dining in four and five star restaurants. My wife, who recently celebrated a birthday, had a birthday present waiting for her at our table, which was probably a bit more impressive. After that things went downhill for the most part.

I ordered a glass of the Ladera Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon 2005, which our waiter assured me was excellent. I paid $17 for this glass, which was not at all overpriced in my opinion. However, I was shocked when our waiter returned with the glass and simply set it on the table in front of me. Read my lips- a four star restaurant should never, ever serve you an expensive glass of wine without letting you approve the bottle and letting you taste it first. This was a major strike in my opinion. It didn’t help things that whoever had poured it at the bar had given me an extremely conservative pour. The wine was great, but for $17 I’d like to have more than a three-ounce pour please. Amazingly, as I took another sip, I noticed a large piece of cork floating at the top of the glass. I immediately let our waiter know, and he promised to “fix the situation.” When he returned, the glass had an even smaller pour, presumably to compensate for the fact that I had already consumed a third of the original glass. Now I’m not one to demand overly generous pours, but this was truly getting ridiculous. Perhaps on another night when I wasn’t already being grossly overcharged for my meal I might have let it slide, but at this point I wasn’t really in the mood to have to order four glasses of wine just to get through a four-course dinner. I alerted the captain, and he admitted that the pour looked “a bit smaller than usual.” No kidding? It gets worse. When the manager returned with a new glass of wine, the pour appeared appropriate. However, the wine was suspiciously poured into a smaller glass! Coincidence? You make the call. I was almost too shocked that they would try to appease this difficult customer with a simple optical illusion to even comment on the situation. Instead I decided to laugh it off and enjoy the wine, which was indeed quite good.

Onto the food. We both started with a trio of tartare, which was elegantly prepared and intelligently presented. The tartare consisted of tender ahi tuna, refreshing, melt-in-your mouth hamachi, and an innovative sweet shrimp. While undeniably fresh and high quality, the tartares simply didn’t carry a lot of flavor with the exception of the sweet shrimp. I can appreciate the subtleness of a quality piece of fish, but when I order tartare I’m expecting something with a bit more complexity, such as the creations at the four-star Aqua and Stonehill Tavern, or the underrated Redd in Napa Valley. In summary, there wasn’t anything bad about this tartare, and overall it was refreshing and tasty, but I’ve certainly had better. For our second courses, we decided to try different selections. My wife ordered the dover sole with morel mushrooms, asparagus and champagne mousseline. The fish was about two centimeters by four centimeters and again failed to create a “wow” reaction. She also noted that the fish seemed too raw in the center. I ordered the Maine lobster Bolognese with fresh cappelini and truffle froth (I opted against the $40 option to add black truffles as a supplement). The lobster was fresh and flavorful and I enjoyed the complexities that the truffle froth added to the dish. However, I found the pasta to be incredibly light and almost soggy, which really bogged down this course for me.

Luckily, the entrees were probably the highlight of the meal, but not without a few issues of their own. I went with the olive crusted lamb loin, which also included a braised lamb shank, served with glazed carrots and spiced cous cous. The loin was delicious and served under a red wine sauce that complemented the gamey meat well, although it was not quite as tender as I would have liked. The shank provided nice contrast and was full of flavor. My wife ordered the filet of beef and 48-hour shortrib with crushed potatoes, swiss chard and perigordine. While the beef (which she ordered medium against the chef’s recommendation) was probably the best dish we had all night, the shortrib was incredibly marbled and essentially one giant piece of fat. For some, this might be more desirable, but when we order a shortrib, the intention is for the meat to be tender enough to render a knife unnecessary. Our waiter gained some points back after we complained and he explained that all of the shortribs at the restaurant were heavily marbled, but offered to replace it with an additional piece of the filet. This seemed fair to us, since that was our favorite course, but when the meat arrived at our table cooked rare, we almost had to laugh. By the time dessert arrived we were ready to get out of there, but did enjoy the Grand Marnier injected soufflé.

All in all, the service does its job well but probably takes itself too seriously. We longed for the great dinners we’ve had at places like Gary Danko in San Francisco where the staff is personable and engages in friendly conversation, and the quality and portion size of the food fits the cost of the restaurant appropriately. To say that we were disappointed with Melisse would be an understatement, but this probably had more to do with the attitude of the restaurant than the quality of the service or the food. It would have been nice to have been made aware ahead of time that there would be no flexibility with the menu, and I just can’t respect an establishment that pinches pinnies at the bar. We won’t be back.

Stonehill Tavern, Dana Point, $200

I have been excited to try this new Michael Mina restaurant since it opened two years ago at the beautiful St. Regis Monarch Beach resort. Stonehill Tavern provides an enjoyable, loud, upbeat atmosphere complete with a rock-bar playlist, close, almost communal tables and friendly, down-to-earth service. All of this was a pleasant contrast to the meal we’d eaten the night before at Melisse in Santa Monica. The restaurant overlooks the Pacific Ocean and benefits from a lively bar and impressive modern décor complete with a lovely glass wine cellar. The menu combines Mina’s signature seafood with contemporary American cuisine. There’s even a “tavern” menu, offering a kobe burger with black truffle cheese for $28.

We weren’t incredibly hungry and decided to order a la carte rather than endure the six course tasting menu, and we didn’t receive any pressure to go one way or the other, which I appreciated. I ordered a lovely glass of Qupe Syrah 2006 that had been handcrafted specifically for the restaurant. As mentioned before, the proximity of the tables allows for easy conversation with complete strangers if you so desire. We usually enjoy this type of mingling, and spent our dinner conversing with a very friendly couple.

I ordered the tuna tartare for my appetizer, and our waitress assured me that is was the specialty of the house (you don’t have to tell me twice when it comes to tartare). This dish blew me away. A server brought out a generous portion of rare tuna centralized around pine nuts, Asian pear, garlic and jalepeno, which he then mixed together for me tableside. The tuna itself was tender, fatty and full of flavor, while the ingredients complemented it marvelously. The pine nuts and pear provided a tasty crunch, while the garlic provided complexity and the innovative jalepeno spice tied everything together and essentially dominated the finish. I have certainly never had a tuna tartare with this much of a kick to it, and it was a very nice touch. After pondering the menu and eventually deciding against the kobe burger, my wife wanted to try the three-cheese macoroni that came with it as an appetizer. How many Mobil 4-Star restaurants can you go to and order macaroni and cheese as an appetizer without being given a crazy look? And the course was great, softly combining cheddar, parmesan and blue cheese into a delectable middle-American treat.

For my main course, I opted for the Berkshire pig since I had eaten lamb the night before. This consisted of a piece of tenderloin so tender and full of flavor that it nearly melted in my mouth under a delicious red wine sauce, along with pork belly. The outside of the belly was fried over and created a crunchy texture reminiscent of bacon, but with much more concentration of flavors. My wife ordered the Atlantic trout, a pink fish that closely resembles salmon, and she enjoyed it very much as well. For dessert, we were refreshed by a trio of pear sorbet, pear cake and pear slices with graham crust crumbles.

Our waitress was very helpful and friendly throughout our meal, and the atmosphere of this place is amazing if you’re looking for four-star cuisine in a less pretentious environment (we got continuous chuckles out of the music!) I would highly recommend Stonehill Tavern for its diverse menu, top notch food and lively setting. We wanted to come back the following evening but the restaurant is closed on Mondays. Luckily the lobby bar at the hotel serves the tuna tartare, so I was able to enjoy that for a second consecutive night, while my wife went for the Kobe burger and enjoyed it as well. This is a top notch establishment well-worthy of its credentials.

Koi, Beverly Hills, $150

I’ve been wanting to eat here for a really long time. I don’t know if that was due to the fact that it is known to be an L.A. hot spot, frequently visited by celebs, its reasonably priced menu or its universally positively reviewed food. I promised myself I’d make it here the next time I stayed in Beverly Hills, and we were able to secure about the last reservation in the whole place about three weeks ahead of time for Valentine’s Day night. For the most part, Koi did not disappoint.

To fully understand what you’re getting into when you decide to dine here, a description of the scene can’t hurt. The large, lively restaurant is full of trendy diners enjoying a soundtrack of boutique trip hop and downtempo dance music. That combined with the extremely dimly lit tables gives the restaurant a bit of a lounge-bar feel. We needed to make full use of the single candle at our table in order to read the menu, but I enjoyed the ambiance quite a bit overall. It seemed lively and exciting while still maintaining a romantic, fine dining feel, which was a perfect combination for our Valentine’s Day dinner. I quickly found a reasonably priced bottle of Pinot Noir from Rodney Strong, Russian River Valley 2006, which I expected would go nicely with the steaky fish and sushi that we planned to order.

After enjoying a small side of edamame, we started with what I consider to be the staple sushi roll at any great sushi restaurant–the spicy tuna roll. We quickly received a large cut roll of eight pieces of to-die-for sushi. I eat sushi a lot these days, and I can’t remember the last time I had a piece that melted in my mouth the way this one did. They don’t stiff you on the spice here either, as the blast of heat this roll provided released lasting flavors. Our entrees dropped before we were finished with the sushi dish, which I didn’t appreciate. If I have one complaint about Koi, it has to be the speediness of the service. While friendly, everyone involved with the service seemed to be in quite a rush to get us served and out of there. This isn’t a sign of a top notch establishment, especially after we’d ordered a bottle of wine and were planning to spend a couple of hours enjoying it. This is obviously a result of the fact that Koi is incredibly popular, but I subscribe to the theory that once you have a table, it’s yours as long as you are consuming something you bought while also sitting at said table.

Luckily, the quality of the food was able to easily overshadow this single problem we encountered. The entrees lived up to the bar raised by the sushi by every measure. My wife ordered the grilled tiger prawns, which were tender and flavorful. My sea bass was falling apart at the first poke of my fork, and was so tender that I didn’t even need to use my teeth to eat it. I really enjoyed the Asian spices that it was immersed in. This was a rich, but incredibly well-cooked piece of fish. The next time we’re staying in Beverly Hills (especially if we’re in a hurry), Koi will certainly we on our list.

The Lobster, Santa Monica, $150

On our two previous trips to Santa Monica, The Lobster has been our choice for lunch on both occasions. As I searched for a restaurant that I felt convinced would be better than this one, I ended up sticking with what I knew. And since we’d never eaten here for dinner, I thought it might be fun to get a table right by the window to watch the sunset, as the restaurant sits at the mouth of the Santa Monica pier with spectacular westward views of the beach and the ocean. Since it was February, that meant sitting down for dinner at 5:30, which is a bit of an early dinner for us, but it was worth it, as we were seated at one of the best tables in the place and saw a beautiful sunset (if you haven’t guessed, I’m a bit of a sucker for those).

I ordered a bowl of the lobster and crab chowder, which was rich and hearty enough to have sufficed for my main course. My wife stuck with a house salad. Her entree was two of the largest, richest looking crab cakes that I’ve ever seen. I went with sea bass for the second straight night and wasn’t disappointed, and the service was top notch as well. The sommelier was extra helpful in helping me select a rare bottle of Syrah from a winery called Clautiere in Paso Robles, which was a real crowd pleaser. The Lobster, while not separating itself as an incredibly fine dining establishment, never misses a beat, and hits on all cylinders for a no-frills dining experience with some of the freshest fish and best views in the area.

For lunch…

When visiting Beverly Hills, a trip to Sunset Boulevard is always a must, where you’ll find a broad away of small restaurants with patio seating that provide some of the best people-watching in L.A. Our choice on this strip is always Cravings near Sunset Plaza, where we made our third trip almost immediately upon arrival in Beverly Hills. I’m pretty sure that I’ve ordered the crab ravioli all three times I’ve been here, and I’m always amazed by the precision involved in wrapping the hand-made ravioli around such delicate pieces of crab meat. My wife swears by the Mediterranean chicken salad, and proclaimed that it was the best salad she’s ever had, and she’s quite the salad conniseur.  I just feel that this place takes their cuisine a lot more seriously than anywhere else on the strip.

In Santa Monica, make the right decision and pay the extra money to stay at the famous Shutter’s on the Beach rather than the slightly less expensive but slightly run down and incompetent Loews Beach Hotel next door. Even if you make the same mistake we did, don’t forget to attempt to redeem yourself by eating on the terrace for lunch while dining on the One Pico lunch menu. There’s no view in Santa Monica that puts you closer to the beach, and the food is quite good, albeit a bit pricey for lunch. We spent $60 here for an ahi tuna salad, a Cobb salad and a glass of iced tea, but understood that we were mostly paying for the view. To my delight, I really enjoyed the fresh, tender tuna atop wedge lettuce and a simple vinegarette that complemented the dish well.

On the way down to Laguna Beach on the PCH, be sure to stop at Bayside in Newport Beach. If you’re lucky like we were, you’ll be passing through on a Sunday, where you can enjoy a three-course prix fixe menu with bottomless champagne for an unthinkable $25 a head (on all other days, it’s $20 a head without the champagne, which is still not too bad of a deal for food this good). I enjoyed a flavorful salad followed by a serious chunk of halibut atop rice and asparagus, not to mention about six glasses of champagne. Something about this place just made me very happy. They even had live music. I couldn’t even walk I was so full.