Meritage Restaurant at Callaway Winery
32720 Rancho California Road
Temecula, CA 92591
I told some of the people from work that I was going to be going on my first wine tasting trip to Temecula recently. Most were shocked that I had never been before. To be honest, I'm not really a big fan of wine. I do not appreciate it as much as I know I should. I also know that wine and food complement each other, but I'm more into hard liquor than either beer or wine.
The reason for my maiden voyage to wine country Temecula? It was my good friend Cynthia's 40th birthday, and her fantastic husband had rented a party bus from OC to shuttle us and twenty of her other friends to three wineries. As with most booze trips, things started out kind of slowly, but by the second winery, everyone was feeling pretty buzzed. We were even treated to a breakup and reuniting by one of the couples on our bus. This breakup/makeup cycle happened probably six times and was the train wreck that we, unfortunately, could not take our eyes off of, well, because we were on a bus with them.
Luckily, our bus pulled into the Callaway Winery, where we had reservations at their Meritage Restaurant for a late lunch. It was not only a chance for all of us to sober up a bit but a chance to get away from the constant bickering of the couple that was ruining what was supposed to be a great day for Cynthia as she joined the 40-year club. Lunch was definitely what we all needed.
After we got off the bus, I was awestruck by the beauty of the Callaway Winery, which sits on top of a hill in the heart of the Temecula wine country. Impossible to take a horrible picture with these views. The Meritage is basically a tiered, climate-controlled patio. On this rather chilly day, we were actually pretty comfortable sitting near the window, with the views washing away the drama of the bus ride.
From what I've been able to learn in doing some research, Meritage has been at the Callaway Winery since 2008 and replaced a restaurant called Allie's. They suffered from some pretty stinging reviews in their early history, but a change of chef has benefited them recently. The reason for the turnaround can be attributed to the arrival of Chef Anthony Bar, who came aboard a few months ago. He went to culinary school in France and has worked in fine dining restaurants in France, St. Martin, Texas, and Clifton's Cafeteria in Los Angeles. He also has done some consulting, which is where his OC connection comes in, as he provided support and guidance at Moulin in Newport Beach.
The new menu is very compact. There are eight starters, three sandwiches, seven entrees, and five salads to choose from. I was a little surprised that they had the same menu for both lunch and dinner. Entrees are definitely on the pricier side, with them ranging between $28 to $40. The appetizers run from $16 to $22. Enough of the background here, let's hope this lunch helps us get a little sober and helps decrease the tensions between our two bickering lovebirds.
Even though it's only 22 miles away in a straight line, it seems like the ocean is a long way from Temecula. I sometimes feel a little uneasy getting seafood from what I perceive to be so far from the ocean. Katie and I decided to chance it since we were both very hungry and I spied these Lump Crab Cakes ($20) on another table when we walked in. Glad we did. The tender white crab meat was placed on a very good citrus dijon aioli. The crab cakes were delicious, fresh, and not overwhelmed with any filler. I was afraid that the dijon was going to overpower, but it paired nicely with the crab. Very well done.
Out of the three sandwiches offered, the Chicken ($18) sounded like it would be the most to my liking. The organic chicken breast was joined by crispy bacon, creamy avocado, tomato, lettuce, and a balsamic drizzle. The menu states that the bread used here is pain de mie, but it was not as soft and reminded me more of a ciabatta instead. Nonetheless, it was a good sandwich. The bacon was prominent and the chicken was not overcooked. I wish they had provided maybe an aioli or some mayo as a condiment, but still a solid chicken sandwich. The fries were fine but could have been a little crisper.
I think Katie had really wanted the chicken sandwich as well, but she knew that I was going to be writing a review of this restaurant, so she had to get something different for varieties sake. The sacrifices a restaurant blogger's wife has to make. Thanks so much, Katie. Her second option was the Fish Salad Sandwich ($18). I believe this fish sandwich was made with yellowtail, but I could be wrong about that. Whatever it was, it was definitely better than I had imagined. This elevated tuna sandwich came with hard-boiled eggs, tomato, guacamole, and what I wish was on my sandwich, a housemade mayo. The fish was fresh and mellow, the hard-boiled egg seemed weird but worked well, and guacamole is never a bad thing. This came with a side salad which I did not try.
Sadly, dessert was not going to be an option on this late afternoon, due to a scene that one of the fighting lovebirds made in the restaurant and the fact that we were going over our allotted time with our bus driver, who had another trip planned later in the evening. Even with all the chaos going on with our fellow party guests, both Katie and I really enjoyed the food we consumed at Meritage. Just based on the lunch that we experienced, they are definitely going in the right direction here. If we are out this way again, we'd for sure come back and try Chef Bar's entrees. Make note that they are only open for dinner Friday through Sunday. Service was great, considering how challenging it is to serve 20 people who have been drinking all day. The lovebirds? They broke up about three more times on our way back to OC and when we were dropped off, he was last seen walking home by himself. Yes, they got back together the very next day. True love.
Out of five hot air balloons, (because Temecula is famous for their Balloon and Wine Festival held the first weekend in June), five being best to zero being worst, Meritage at Callaway Winery gets 3 solid hot air balloons.
For more information about Meritage at Callaway Winery, head to their website here: http://www.callawaywinery.com/page-332683/Restaurant.html
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