Greer's OC

Dining

An Olive Oil Oasis at Fashion Island

12.20.13

Fig & Olive at Fashion Island in Newport Beach is officially opening tonight for dinner. It's the second West Coast Fig & Olive, joining its Melrose Place/West Hollywood and New York City locations. Owner and founder Laurent Halasz created Fig & Olive Newport Beach as an inspiration from the coastal regions in the South of France where he hails from.

Executive Chef Pascal Lorange’s menu is focused on optimum ingredients from hand-select farmers and its signature ingredient of olive oil. Lorange and Halasz traveled throughout Italy, Spain, and the South of France to discover premium olive oils and recipes for Fig & Olive.

At Fig & Olive guests can enjoy the crostini station for shareable small plates such as the zucchini carpaccio with fresh lemon juice, pine nut, parmesan, and picholine olive oil; octopus a la gallega, a thinly sliced braised octopus with marinated bell pepper, fingerling potato, black olive, basil, arugula, pimenton lemon dressing, and cobrancosa olive oil; a fig gorgonzola tartlet with melted gorgonzola, prosciutto, fig, walnut, arugula, and tomato on a fine puff pastry, manchego, fig spread, and almond crostini; tuna crudo with cucumber, chive, cilantro, lemon sesame dressing, and picual olive oil.

At dinner, you can choose from entrées like Chilean sea bass marinated in lemon thyme with carrot, asparagus, celery root purée, fingerling potato confit, charmoula, and mascarpone harissa olive oil emulsion; grilled Branzino glazed with a fig and 18-year balsamic vinegar, figs, snow peas, and a sweet picholine olive oil; and Provence rosemary grilled lamb chops marinated with rosemary, garlic smoked with a bouquet of herbes de Provence, finished with a rosemary garlic olive oil, and served with goat cheese gnocchi and eggplant roasted with thyme and honey.

Desserts include specialties such as the paper-thin warm caramelized apple tart—a family recipe handed down by Halasz’s mother; chocolate pot de crème with crunchy praline financiers; and fig cake with olive oil ice cream.

The restaurant features three main dining rooms: the Wine Room, the White Room, and the Orchard Room, as well as a Garden Lounge with a retractable roof.

Open for dinner daily from 5 – 11 p.m. Lunch and brunch will begin on Monday, Jan. 6.

401 Newport Center Dr., Suite 151 at Fashion Island, Newport Beach. 949.877.3005.

Photo courtesy of Michael Gardner.

Let’s GO! Red O

12.17.13

Orange County already boasts its fair share of sophisticated Mexican cuisine from the likes of non-TV celeb chefs such as Chef Carlos Salgado at Taco Maria at SoCo; Chef Deborah Schneider at Sol Cocina in Newport Beach and Solita Tacos and Margaritas opening Dec. 26 at Bella Terra in Huntington Beach; and Chef Gabbi Patrick's at Gabbi’s Mexican Kitchen in Old Towne Orange. Not to mention the machine at Javier’s that’s hands down the best people watching scene in Orange County.

And now, celeb Chef Rick Bayless, most known for PBS’ “Mexico One Plate at a Time” and Bravo’s “Top Chef Masters” just opened the upscale Red O Restaurant at Fashion Island, following the success of his Red O on Melrose in Los Angeles.

At Red O, Bayless is showcasing sophisticated Oaxacan influenced cuisine with locally-sourced seasonal ingredients, and the ambience couldn’t be more fantastic thanks to award-winning Los Angeles based interior designer Martyn Lawrence Bullard who went all out with a European design mixed with traditional Mexican inspirations.

You don’t want to miss our favorite guacamole tasting with pomegranate-walnut, classic guacomole, macha, and yuzu Guacamole with shishito peppers served with fried sweet plantains; or the delicious corn and goat cheese tamales, and braised short rib enchiladas with red guajillo chile sauce, melted Sonoma Jack cheese, black beans, frisee, and watercress.

Bayless is offering signature dishes, as well as exclusive dishes only available at Red O Fashion Island. Choose from hand-crafted tortas, griddle-baked Mexican sandwiches made with fillings such as beer-braised beef short ribs, chipotle chicken, garlicky shrimp and goat cheese; and a lollipop kale salad with avocado, cucumber, ruby red grapefruit, pomegranate seeds, toasted panko, and orange-habanero vinaigrette.

Other menu highlights include Yucatecan shrimp and calamari ceviche, sweet plantain sopes, Sonoma duck taquitos with pork belly sopes, scallops in verde, salmon in serrano crema, and lobster jicama tacos. Classic desserts get a Mexican twist such as creamy goat cheese cheesecake with caramel corn and Mexican “root beer” sauce.

Tequila enthusiasts will appreciate Bayless’ hand select list of 100 unique tequilas, and Red O manages an extensive list of more than 400 international wines and pairings, specialty beers and seasonal cocktails. Have a question? Red O offers an expertly trained staff of sommeliers to help you.

Open daily for lunch and dinner from 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday; 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Lounge and bar open until 1 a.m. nightly

Red O Restaurant is at 143 Newport Center Drive in Newport Beach. 949.718.0300.

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Dining

An Olive Oil Oasis at Fashion Island

12.20.13

Let’s GO! Red O

12.17.13

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