The Gossiping Gourmet:

As your new food writers, we would like to take a moment to introduce ourselves. We have been writing restaurant reviews and food articles for the Coastline Pilot in Laguna Beach for the past five years, a job we love and will continue to do. Prior to that, we were the owners of A La Carte Gourmet Restaurant and Catering for 20 years.

Our reviews are critical as well as balanced, and we try to cover a wide range of dining experiences, from high-end to strip-mall. We hope you will find our articles entertaining and informative and enjoy reading them as much as we enjoy writing them. We love to get feedback (no pun intended).

Because they have recently acquired a new chef, we decided to begin with Andrea at the Resort at Pelican Hill in Newport Coast. This spectacular beach resort sits on a hilltop overlooking the sea with architecture inspired by the famous 16th-century architect Palladio.

Andrea is their fancy restaurant, and although it is elegant, it’s not stuffy, and the prices are not intimidating, especially when you consider the whole dining experience. Besides the gorgeous view and the dining room, with its high ceilings, tall windows and Tuscan vibe, it has beautiful round leather booths that create a feeling of comfortable intimacy once you are seated.

The restaurant is done entirely in shades of tan with marble floors. Full-grown potted palms grace the room, and flowers are everywhere. However, we suggest that when making your reservation, you request a table on the slightly more casual enclosed terrace, where the view is exceptional.

The service here is impeccable, and as we perused the menu, we noticed that the linens were actually linen. As you may have guessed by now, the food is Italian and in the competent hands of Stefano Chiarugi, who hails from Tuscany.

The signature offering here is the house-made pasta. It is made fresh daily in their Pasta Room using stone-ground wheat flour, organic eggs, filtered water and natural salt from Italy. It is definitely the thing to order.

We began with the dayboat scallops on cauliflower puree with crispy pancetta. As we waited for the antipasti to arrive, our charming waiter with his lovely Italian accent brought us an intriguing little amuse bouche of salmon marinated in beet-infused vodka on minced fennel. Our scallops were nicely seared and had lots of scallop flavor. The delicate cauliflower puree was rich and creamy but didn’t really taste of cauliflower; however, the balsamic reduction took up the slack and provided a lovely dressing for the accompanying frisee salad. Crispy pancetta added saltiness and crunch.

Hand-rolled spaghetti is sauced with Chianti-braised duck. Called “pici,” this pasta illustrates the difference that fresh pasta makes. The texture is unique. It has a wonderful “chewiness” without being rubbery or tough. The wine-braised duck sauce with thick shreds of meat had a deep, rich flavor and a hint of sweetness — an altogether satisfying dish.

Less so was the spinach and ricotta ravioli in butter and sage sauce. It was a mild and one-note song. The sauce overwhelmed the pasta with its butteriness, and the sage was only a garnish without lending any savoriness. What saved it was our side order of mixed wild mushrooms. They were a perfectly cooked and seasoned melange that we added to the ravioli to create another layer of taste. Don’t miss these mushrooms. They are excellent!

The presentation of the risotto is quite spectacular. A cart is wheeled out bearing an 80-pound wheel of Parmesan. The risotto is proffered in a small silver pot and is poured into the center of the cheese. The hot rice is stirred around, melting the cheese and then removed according to how “cheesy” you like your risotto. It was then put back in the warm pot and served. The evening’s special preparation was with baby artichokes. Rich and delicious with every grain of rice being distinct, it was full of flavor and had a generous amount of fresh little artichokes.

The dessert menu features Italian classics like tiramisu, house-made gelatos and sorbettos and a contemporary take on zabaglione. This is a frothy dessert of yolks, marsala and sugar that used to be made tableside and has virtually disappeared in recent years. In their version, the pre-made light custard was Meyer lemon and topped with a melange of chopped seasonal fruit: berries, figs and pears. Completing the picture was a scoop of pomegranate yogurt gelato, adding a bit of tartness and complexity. So, although it was not what we expected, it was quite delicious.

Chocolate lovers might try the trio of chocolate macaroon, cocoa rice pudding and extra-bitter chocolate sorbet.

The apple “lasagna” with apple cider jelly and chestnut gelato sounded inventive as well. In the French fine-dining tradition, just when you’ve finished dessert and think you can’t eat another bite, out comes a sampling of tiny sweet tastes; so too in this elegant Italian restaurant. At Andrea, arriving on a silver tree were four confections, the highlight being one scrumptious bite of tiramisu in a chocolate cup.

Dining here would be a pleasure under any circumstances, but with its delicious fresh pastas, excellent service and relatively reasonable prices, if you order judiciously, it’s even better.

Andrea at the Resort at Pelican Hill

Address: 22701 Pelican Hill Road South, Newport Beach

Phone: (949) 467-6800

Website: www.pelicanhill.com

When: Dinner: 6 to 10 p.m. daily; terrace and bar: 3 p.m. to midnight Monday through Thursday, 11:30 a.m. to 1 a.m. Friday, noon to 1 a.m. Saturday, noon to midnight Sunday

Prices: Appetizers $12 to $22, pastas $17 to $24, entrees $27 to $38, four-course prix fixe $75, desserts $10 to $12

Wine: Bottles $25 to $200, by the glass $10 to $25, corkage fee $30

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