THE GALLIVANTING GOURMET: Where to dine at the Arts Center

The cultural heart of Orange County is undoubtedly the Performing Arts Center, adjacent to South Coast Plaza. As this center grows, so do the number of restaurants serving it. Lagunans who love the opera, the theater, dance and jazz and who are looking for something delicious to eat before the show simply must try Marché Moderne, a contemporary French bistro with California overtones and some really terrific food.

Hidden away on the third floor of South Coast Plaza shopping center, Marché is accessed by a separate escalator or through the top floor of Nordstrom’s or across the bridge on the fifth level of the parking structure between Sears and Nordstrom’s. Once you’ve found it, you’ll be pleasantly surprised to discover this “rooftop” café with its warm, softly lit dining room as well as an outdoor trellised terrace rife with plants.

The charming room is full of rich dark woods, stone elements and mirrored pillars. A long two-sided banquette dominates the middle of the room while a large open kitchen takes up one wall and tall glass French doors line the other. The center of these windows is satin glass with a large M etched in, creating the feel of a French bistro. Beautiful hardwood floors, vases with wild grasses and comfortable upholstered chairs complete the scene. The effect is elegant without being stuffy.

The menu changes daily because they use the freshest seasonal ingredients available. In fact, Marché Moderne translates as “modern market.” Chef Florent Marneau and his wife, Amelia, the pastry chef, who are also the owners, have a passion for market-inspired cuisine blended with French cooking techniques.

So, in classic French tradition, the meal began with a delectable amuse bouche, a two-bite morsel of lightly dressed crab salad, topped with shreds of deep fried celery and micro-greens with a stripe of sweet soy emulsion on the plate. It boded well for what was to come.

As we were mulling over the menu, warm cheese bread and slices of exemplary baguette were served with a little crock of sweet butter.

There were so many intriguing choices to start with that we couldn’t stop ordering. From the charcuterie section, we chose the duck terrine. Served on a board, the unctuous, voluptuous, garlicky paté was decadently delicious, spread on spears of excellent, crusty, warm baguette. It was served with wonderful cornichons as well as house-made pickled daikon and cauliflower, which cut the richness of the velvety terrine with notes of saltiness and piquancy. It was a generous portion and we finished every last bit of its irresistible goodness, while looking sheepishly at each other, knowing we had ordered three more starters.

Luckily, our next course was a salad, which was light and palate refreshing. We usually pass on salads since they are rarely distinctive but here, the salade d’automne featured baby hearts of romaine, red wine poached pears, a little black truffled goat cheese and, never before encountered in a salad, pumpkin seed brittle! The combination of pear, cheese and sweet crunchy brittle was a perfect match. Our only criticism was too much of an overly assertive dressing.

The menu always features two tarts from their wood-burning oven. These tarts are actually little pizzas, with an absolutely wonderful crust. Ours was topped with Romescu sauce, goat cheese, arugula, yellow peppers and green olive tapenade. The cheese was especially good; salty and creamy, the tomatoes and peppers were sweet while the arugula added a nice peppery perk. What a treat! We were starting to get full.

Another exciting and unusual preparation was the tagine (Moroccan stew) of Maine scallops. It is rare to find scallops in a rich, dark sauce but this one complemented the seafood nicely. A lamb stock was the basis of a sweet, fruity, spicy concoction with hints of cumin and the heat of harissa. The stew was rounded out with eggplant, zucchini, raisins and almonds. Another winner!

When dining in a French bistro, moules frites are de rigeur. Perhaps we were just too full to appreciate them but the mussels themselves were not very sweet and the broth was pallid. It was too thin and winey and lacked depth of flavor. Good mussel broth is something you want to eat with a spoon but this one was forgettable. The French fries were another story. Served in a paper cone, piping hot and crispy, they were seriously seductive.

Did we still have room for dessert? Mais oui; but we did skip the cheese course, served with honeycomb, grapes on the vine, candied pecans and baguette!

It is very evident from the desserts and their presentation that a pastry chef is in the house, something that few restaurants seem to have these days. Amelia happens to be a very good one. Her style of presentation combines a number of complementary elements on a single long narrow plate. We selected the mini gateau basque with coconut brulée, coconut gelato and roasted macadamia nuts. The little cake was dense, rich, buttery and could have been eaten on its own and been very satisfying. That is not to say that the house-made coconut gelato was not a welcome and luscious addition. There was a tiny indentation in the plate filled with a thin coconut milk crème brulée that was not on a par with the rest. Oddly, there was only one macadamia nut. Still, we must say that Marché Moderne is one of our very favorite restaurants in Orange County. Bon Apétit!

Theatergoers might also enjoy Mesa; in particular, their small plates; 725 Baker, (714) 557-6700). Leatherby’s Café Rouge in the Performing Arts Center is another good choice; (714) 429-7640. For a very casual meal, try Memphis Soul Café; 2720 Bristol, (714) 432-7685.

IF YOU GO

WHAT: Marché Moderne (714) 434-7900 marchemoderne.net

WHERE: 3333 Bristol, in South Coast Plaza

WHEN: Lunch: 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. daily

Dinner: 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 5:30 to 8 p.m. Sunday

PRICES:

Appetizers: $7 to $30

Entrées: $18 to $38

Desserts: $8 to $13

Pre-Fixe three-course lunch : $20

WINE:

Bottles: $32 to $750

1/2 bottles: $20 to $95

By the glass: $8 to $27

Corkage Fee: $10

ELLE HARROW and TERRY MARKOWITZ owned a la Carte for 20 years and can be reached at themarkos755@yahoo.com.