The Gossiping Gourmet: A new place to graze under the tree

On Peppertree Lane, that venerable old pepper tree watches over the changing scene, embracing all comers, the newest being Watermarc, the restaurant that has transformed the former Partners’ Bistro into a chic boîte for sipping and grazing.

It certainly helps to have Mark Singer as a partner when redesigning a restaurant. Laguna’s premier contemporary architect has worked his magic on yet another space, creating a rooftop greenhouse setting for dining, beneath the arms of that arboreal patriarch. The downstairs has an enlarged bar area and dining room while the entire space has clean modern lines, open brick walls and beautiful dark wood and steel accents. The natural elements and the soft lighting create an inviting ambience.

Although there are a dozen entrées and four burgers, the most exciting part of the menu is definitely the 26 grazing plates. We had a really fun dinner with lots of delicious and varied tastes. It was hard to choose because we wanted to try everything. You might want to follow our meal plan, which was to order two dishes at a time and, even though the restaurant was crowded, we didn’t have long to wait between “courses.”

We began with yellowfin tuna two ways, sashimi and tartare. The very fresh chopped fish was delicately seasoned with chive, ginger and a refreshing splash of citrus. A sprinkle of sea salt added a nice bit of crunch. Yellowfin is not the No. 1 choice for sashimi as it doesn’t have a velvety texture or a pronounced taste, but it came with avocado, soy sauce and wasabi cream, which amped up the flavor. The dish was garnished with uncooked shishito peppers, but they were bland. They are usually better when sautéed.

In contrast to the cold raw fish was the warm, blue cheese pear tart. Three bite-sized crunchy pastry cups were filled with mild, melted blue cheese and topped with tiny cubes of red wine poached pears. They were absolutely marvelous. The buttery crust, the perfect marriage of blue cheese and pear and the slight sweetness from the red wine syrup added up to a compelling combination. We must admit we ordered three more.

Our next twosome was the house flatbread and the brandade de morue. The very thin crust of tasty flatbread was topped with creamy fontina, garlic, salty Kalamata olives, roasted pepper and cipollini onions. What could be bad?

Many of you have probably never tasted brandade de morue (salt cod and potato puree), a popular Mediterranean dish that rarely appears on American menus. To prepare it traditionally, the dried salted fish needs to soak for three days with the water being changed twice daily. This removes the very powerful salty, fishy taste. It is then pureed and mixed with mashed potatoes, olive oil and cream. Served here as a dip, it was topped with toasted breadcrumbs and accompanied by very nice crackers made from rosemary onion lavash. We found this version a bit too salty and a bit too fishy to win new converts.

Perhaps our favorite pairing was the seafood sausage and the roasted trio of cauliflower. Very delicious slender seafood sausage, seasoned like mildly spicy Italian sausage, was served twisted into a spiral and skewered. Its bed was a layer of delectable large white beans and little bean-sized shrimp, all in a zesty, creamy “fluffy mustard sauce.” Yes, we had to look this one up! Basically, this is a sauce made from yolks, mustard, vinegar and whipped cream. All together, it made a celebration in your mouth.

A perfect complement was the nicely textured cauliflower trio with its crunchy, buttery herbed breadcrumb crust. The “trio” refers to white, yellow and purple varieties of this vegetable. If you’re not a cauliflower eater, this preparation might make you reconsider and even if it doesn’t, you won’t be able to resist those yummy crumbs.

Other interesting sounding delights from the kitchen are the duck leg confit with pancetta lentil stew, the filet mignon potpie and the baby beets with feta, shaved onion and walnuts. The hostess also mentioned that the smoked bacon wrapped dates stuffed with almonds have been a very popular choice.

If you are not in the mood for small plates, there is a nice selection of fish including olive oil poached black cod, one of the world’s tastiest fish, as well as swordfish with a tapenade crust or smoked paprika day boat scallops and shrimp served with saffron orange couscous.

Meat eaters who can’t make up their minds may order “filet three ways,” which means a platter with Oscar (crabmeat, asparagus and béarnaise), Wellington (stuffed with mushroom duxelles and baked in a puff pastry) and Diane in peppercorn brandy sauce. Their most distinctive burger is stuffed with duck confit.

Sweet endings include an espresso chocolate cake served with a vanilla milk shake or bananas Foster crème brulée. We debated between frozen Grand Marnier pistachio soufflé or apple walnut strudel. Our attentive and pleasant waitress emphatically recommended the strudel and it was an excellent choice. It wasn’t exactly a strudel but rather apples, walnuts and raisins rolled into a filo dough log. We appreciated the fact that the filling was not overly sweet, allowing the natural flavors to shine through. It also had just the right amount of cinnamon, as did the accompanying cinnamon ice cream. The crust was light and crispy making for an altogether satisfying little dessert. Vanilla cream sauce came on the side but we found it superfluous.

The bar has a very long list of equally creative specialty beverages from muddled drinks to sparkling cocktails; for instance, the “Hot Lips,” a concoction of 42 Below Passion Vodka, sliced jalapeño, mango puree and grenadine!

This new restaurant has all the “earmarcs” of becoming a success with locals and tourists alike.

If You Go

WHAT: Watermarc

WHERE: 448 S. Coast Hwy.

WHEN: Lunch: Monday through Sunday, 11:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Dinner: 5 to 10 p.m. Sunday through Wednesday; 5 to 11 p.m. Thursday through Sunday

PRICES:

 Grazing Plates: $5 to $12

 Entrées: $18 to $34, burgers $12 to $15

 Desserts: $8

WINE:

 Bottles: $26 to $110

 By the glass: $8 to $19, half glass $4 to $10, half carafe $15 to $37

 Corkage Fee: $15

CONTACT: (949) 376-6272. www.watermarc restaurant.com

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