Dining Review

Steven Santacroce

As any flower merchant or See’s Candy employee knows, Monday is

Valentine’s Day. Some of you might protest that this is a commercialized

excuse trumped up by greeting card companies to push merchandise. While

this concept might be correct, it won’t get you a date.

Valentine’s Day is a time to let one’s true romantic nature shine, and as

the saying goes, the way to a man’s (or woman’s) heart is through his or

her stomach -- never mind if a few arteries get clogged along the way.

Food is often associated with love, indeed items such as oysters and

chocolate have long been considered aphrodisiacs. Many of the area’s

finer restaurants have something special planned for star-crossed lovers,

and your intrepid reviewer has some suggestions for a fine, romantic

evening.

Chef Pascal Ohlats, owner of Pascal Restaurant (1000 N. Bristol St.,

Newport Beach, (949) 752-0107) claims that he wants to bring love to

Orange County. I think love, or at least lust, has been here for a while,

but Pascal’s four-course dinner for two can’t help, but keep the fires

burning.

Dinner starts with a carousel of hors d’oeuvres, featuring pate mousses,

gravlax and seared tuna. Diners then have a choice of lobster bisque, or

the excellent duck confit with herb ravioli. I suggest the latter.

Couples will then have to prove their love for each other by selecting an

entree for two. Hopefully it won’t be the only thing agreed on during the

evening. Choices include rack of lamb with a roasted garlic and mustard

sauce, chateaubriand served with two sauces: a black truffle reduction

and a bearnaise or steamed lobster. Dessert will consist of chocolate

hearts for two, small cakes of white chocolate, flourless chocolate and

chocolate mousse. Dinner for two is $120.

One of my favorite romantic spots is Aubergine (508 29th St., Newport

Beach, (949) 723-4150), Tim and Liza Goodell’s charming little hideaway

on the Balboa Peninsula. Featuring either a five- or nine-course tasting

menu in an intimate, quiet setting, Aubergine is the perfect spot to

relax with a loved one.

Valentine’s Day was originally a pagan festival celebrating fertility and

sensual pleasure. Pope Gelasius outlawed the festival in 496 AD, but

offered a replacement he considered more appropriate. Needing a patron,

he chose St. Valentine, who had been beheaded for helping young lovers

marry against the wishes of mad emperor Claudius.

Today young lovers might toast St. Valentine while dining at Pavilions at

the Four Seasons Hotel (690 Newport Center Drive, Newport Beach, (949)

760-4920). The fixed-price menu starts off with lobster consomme with

vegetable hearts. Second course choices include a frisee salad with baby

artichokes and marinated portobello mushrooms, or ahi tuna carpaccio with

green papaya and pickled ginger.

For an entree, Romeo might choose the beef tenderloin with braised

stuffed morels and truffle sauce, while Juliet might prefer the roasted

salmon with champagne sauce. The evening can be completed (at least the

dining portion) with lovers’ passion fruit souffle, with a coconut

anglaise sauce.

Another romantic setting is the tiny Issay (485 N. Newport Blvd., Newport

Beach, (949) 722-2992). This Northern Italian jewel will be featuring a

special menu that starts with a smoked salmon-topped salad of mixed baby

field greens. This refreshing starter is followed by a choice of entree,

including swordfish with a sauce of tomato, mango and basil. Or try the

veal scaloppini sauteed with Italian mushrooms and a cognac demi glaze.

Dinner, which is $45 per person, includes a complimentary glass of rose

champagne.

Rumor has it that St. Valentine fell in love with his jailor’s daughter

while waiting for his execution. Before being carted off to be beheaded,

he left her a note signed from your Valentine. This note apparently fell

into the hands of the ruling Hallmark family, and the rest is history.

One of my favorite newer restaurants in the area is Pinot Provence (686

Anton Blvd., Costa Mesa, (714) 444-5900), Joachim Splichal’s Orange

County eatery. Valentine’s diners can enjoy a four-course dinner here

that starts with a choice of marinated salmon and cucumber with chervil

cream, or a red onion and artichoke tart with shaved Parmesan. Next comes

either pan-seared diver scallops with a puree of celery root, or grilled

monkfish with tomato confit and sweet garlic.

In the food-is-better-than-sex category, entrees include roasted lobster

tail with caramelized mushrooms and truffle bouillon, or how about Canard

aux Navets, a ragout of duck and turnips with roasted fingerling

potatoes. Just pronouncing this stuff sounds romantic. Dinner at Pinot

Provence is $58 per person.

According to research done for the Hartz company, 3% of pet owners will

give Valentine’s gifts to their pets. Dogs aren’t allowed at Accents

restaurant at the Sutton Place Hotel (4500 MacArthur Blvd, Newport Beach,

(949) 476-2001, but that shouldn’t stop you from enjoying the special

dinner they have planned. This four-course feast includes, an oyster

shooter with assorted granites, carrot soup with seared jumbo shrimp, and

roasted pheasant with a black mission fig sauce.

The Golden Truffle (1767 Newport Blvd., Costa Mesa, (949) 645-9858), Alan

Greeley’s elegant and imaginative Costa Mesa Restaurant, is also

featuring a fixed-price menu featuring some of his exotic creations. For

an appetizer, you might try the sweet shrimp martini or the cream of

abalone soup with shrimp chips.

The salad course includes a fried oyster salad with soulslaw (cole slaw

with soul, I guess). All the stops are pulled out for the main courses,

which include wild salmon with spinach and hibiscus champagne sauce, or

Swiss chard ravioli with a tomato cheese ragu. Finish the evening with

the flourless chocolate torte, or the passion fruit waffles. Dinner is

$68 per person.

Whatever the history, it’s wonderful to have a special day to celebrate

with the person you love. So add to your checklist, right after the

flowers and Godiva Chocolates, dinner reservations, and spend some time

with someone special. By the way ladies, this might be the appropriate

place for me to shamelessly point out that your favorite food critic is

single and unattached.

* STEPHEN SANTACROCE’S dining reviews appear every other Thursday. He can

be reached via e-mail at food_critic@hotmail.com