Betting the Farm on a Good Meal at Farmhouse

Farmhouse at Roger's Gardens

2301 San Joaquin Hills Road 

Corona Del Mar, CA 92625

I've always considered myself lucky. No, I have never won the lottery, but as a kid, I won a TV at Angel Stadium, I entered a contest in the Orange County Register and won four tickets to Knott's Berry Farm, and I got to skip school when I was selected as one of four kids in the fifth grade to watch one of the first showings of the movie Annie. 

My luck returned recently when I entered an Instagram contest on the OC Restaurant Week Instagram page. I just had to like both the OC Restaurant Week page and Farmhouse at Roger's Gardens page, something I was already doing, and then tag one of my friends to be entered. Out of 545 entries, I was picked as the winner of the $100 gift card. I tried to make reservations during restaurant week, but they were booked solid by the time I could pick up my gift card, so we waited a few weeks after and coaxed my wonderful inlaws to join us. 

Farmhouse came across my radar back when they first opened in 2016. As soon as they premiered they landed on just about every best restaurant list I saw. At the Golden Foodie Awards in 2017, Farmhouse won for best cocktails in OC, best chef, and was nominated for the best lunch spot in OC. As recently as last year the OC Register named them one of the best patios in OC, and the glowing reviews have continued ever since. 

The reason for this I believe is the fantastic ambiance of the seven-acre Roger's Gardens Nursery, which has been around for over 55 years now, and Chef/Owner of Farmhouse, Rich Mead. He is pretty much one of the first chefs to practice the now way overused phrase, farm to table. He is very keen to develop relationships with only local purveyors and merchants that he feels do things the right way and provides the highest quality goods. He tailors his seasonal menu to what he feels are the best things available at the time, something that was very rare when he opened his first OC restaurant Sage back in 1997. 

Always a tough reservation to get, I could only procure an 8pm reservation on a recent Wednesday evening. Since it was already dark when we arrived, we did not get the full brilliance of the Roger's Gardens experience, but from what we could see of this partially covered space, it might be worth another visit to dine on their patio on one of the over 300 days of sunshine that graces Corona Del Mar. The venue on this evening was filled with lots of beautiful people, let's see if they were here for the food, the great venue, or both. 

A signature at Chef Mead's restaurants throughout his career is his Parmesan Crisps, which he serves instead of the usual bread basket you get at other places to start your meal. These crackers were very flavorful and went wonderfully with the provided hummus. We made very quick work of this but sadly were limited to only one serving between the four of us. 

Katie was the only one of the four of us to elect to get a starter from the menu. She went with the Brussels Sprouts with Cipollini Onions ($10). This was one of the cleanest versions of sprouts we have had. They let the fresh sprouts be the star of the show, while letting the fish sauce, garlic, and chili paste come through in short muted bursts. Definitely a wonderful option for true Brussels sprouts fans that don't need a detracting sauce to keep things interesting. 

Katie's parents and I went with soup and salad for a beginning course this evening. To be honest, I'm not entirely sure what the Daily Soup of the Day ($8) was on this evening, but there must have been two options because they both got different ones. Both of them must have been very good as well because they did not last very long. I'm a very big Caesar salad fan, so I went with the closest thing Farmhouse had on their menu this evening, which was the Kale and Little Gem Lettuce Salad ($12). I'm not the world's biggest fan of kale, but this was one of the better ways I've had it. The greens were topped with garlic croutons, plenty of grated parmesan cheese, and a roasted garlic anchovy vinaigrette. The greens were farmer's market fresh, while the cheese and croutons did a great job subduing the sometimes too bitter taste of the kale. I would have loved a touch more vinaigrette on this, but a very solid salad nonetheless.  

I've heard such good things about the RG Burger ($18), but Dennis beat me to the punch by ordering it first. They build their burger with some really good bacon, Vermont white cheddar cheese, and garnish it with lettuce, tomato, and red onion at Farmhouse. According to my fantastic father-in-law, the burger was very good, and he's had his fair share of burgers from coast to coast. He was gracious enough to let me try the fries, which I found to be too starchy and they definitely needed more salt or another seasoning. The house-made ketchup did the fries no favors either, as it needed some sweetness or something to wake it up. Truthfully, I'm never a fan of house-made ketchup though. 

Lynn was over the moon with her Herb Roast Jidori Chicken ($26). Never one for hyperbole, she claims that jidori chicken is the best, as she enjoys the freshness and robust flavor of it every time she encounters it. Even I admit this was a good-looking bird, beautifully browned and served over a bed of broccolini, carrots, peewee potatoes, and cipollini onions. It took all my willpower to not reach across the table and try some of the crisped chicken skin. With the chicken au jus, there was no way there was going to be a dry bite to be had with this plate. Very well done.  

Since we had our gift cards, Katie decided to go big at Farmhouse and get the Grilled Autonomy Farms Grass-Fed Flat Iron Steak ($34). This dish had a lot going on with it. It came with a chimichurri sauce and a red wine au jus, which I thought was going to contrast, but both were a nice compliment to the tender beef that was expertly cooked, even though Katie asked for this to be cooked medium-well. Ugh. The beef came with cipollini onions, (must be Chef Mead's favorite), sauteed spinach, shitake mushrooms, fingerling potatoes, and garlic. A very hearty meal that was equal parts comforting and lighter than expected at the same time. Not a combination that happens too often. 

I went with another comforting meal, the Pork Tenderloin ($30). This reminded me of a meal I had years ago at Cedar Creek, but way better. The pork on this one was moist all the way through and I liked the combination of the applejack brandy sauce and the apple raisin compote with the savory pork. It was a kind of yin and yang thing that kept me interested all through my meal. This also came with some braised red cabbage and two parmesan potato cakes. The potato cakes were good but needed a tad more seasoning and some extra parmesan wouldn't have hurt either. Still, it was a solid meal that helped erase the bad memory from Cedar Creek all those years ago. 

I've never really been a big fan of fruit desserts, preferring chocolate way more, but I got outvoted on this evening into sharing two fruit desserts, the Warm Fair Hills Farms Apple Crisp and the Meyer Lemon Bread Pudding. Both made me rethink my chocolate addiction. The bread pudding had a nice sweet and slightly sour vibe going on with it, and the consistency was very pleasing. The apple crisp was nicely executed with brown sugar and oat topping, an apple sage sauce that was not too sweet or syrupy, and plenty of vanilla ice cream. I could have eaten this one all by myself. It was like eating the best parts of a slice of apple pie ala mode. 

I left Farmhouse very pleased with the meal that we all enjoyed. Sometimes these farm-to-table kinds of places think that they just have to have fresh and local food, and that's enough to make people happy. They don't realize that they still have to execute good cooking skills, have menu items that appeal to the dining public, and have enough variety to keep people coming back. Farmhouse checked all of these boxes for me. Yes, some tweaks could have been made, but for the most part, everything we encountered was cooked wonderfully, and I did not leave here with that overly heavy feeling, even though I ate a lot of food on this evening. Service was another story. I know that they were busy, but our server was slow to greet us and from what our empty glasses told me, he might have been stretched a little thin. It's sadly become a trend these days since every restaurant has gotten overrun with people tired of eating at home for the last 14 months. I'm sure it will be rectified. Hope my luck has not run out with Instagram contests, but even if it has, we will be returning to Farmhouse again. 

Out of five scoops of ice cream, (because the band Phish has an album named Farmhouse, and they hail from Burlington, Vermont, the same city as Ben and Jerry's), five being best to zero being worst, Farmhouse at Roger's Gardens gets 3.5 scoops of ice cream. 

For more information about Farmhouse at Roger's Gardens, head to their website here: https://farmhouse.rogersgardens.com/

Playing Tourist at Summer House for Newport Beach Restaurant Week

Summer House

2744 East Coast Highway

Corona Del Mar, CA 92625

The first of the year not only brings a more relaxed time at my place of business, but it also brings some much needed time off. Gone are the days of working six days a week, and getting all the overtime that you can handle. The first of the year is the time of the year when I get a chance to breathe. It's also a time of the year I look forward to because it's within these first few weeks of the year that one of my favorite food events take place, Newport Beach Restaurant Week.

Restaurant weeks are pretty exciting to me. There are no coupons to clip, you just have to check out the prix-fixe menus, see something that piques your interest, and go. I usually cross reference my selections with my restaurant wish list. Even though this particular restaurant week was spread over two weeks, we only had one night available to head to Newport to take advantage of this year's restaurant week deals. Darn scheduling and commitments. Anyways, we chose to spend our lone NBRW experience at Summer House in Corona Del Mar.

Summer House has been on my list ever since Edwin Goei, Restaurant Reviewer from the OC Weekly went by and gave their ginger crusted ono a glowing review. Edwin is definitely someone that I trust wholeheartedly when it comes to restaurants in OC, so when I saw that the ono was available on the restaurant week menu, we beelined it to Summer House.

As is the case with most businesses on busy PCH, if you were not looking for it, or if you blinked, you would probably miss Summer House amid the many things that capture your attention driving north on this iconic highway. Summer House occupies the former El Ranchito spot, almost across the street from Sherman Library and Gardens, where PCH intersects with Goldenrod.

Summer House has been here since 2010, which means they must be doing something right to survive in this very competitive restaurant market in this part of town. According to their website, they are a contemporary American restaurant, with a summer vacation home kind of feel to it. I'd say they nailed the vibe they were going for. Even though tables are very close to each other, and the noise on the evening we were there was a little on the loud side, it did kind of feel like we were whisked off on a quick mini-vacay. Since we were at Summer House for restaurant week, it did not take us too long to make our selections off of their $20 three course menu. Let's see how it all worked out for us.

The first course was out pretty quickly and as is our custom while enjoying restaurant week menus, we get different things so we can try each other's choices. Katie went with the Chicken and Vegetable Potstickers ($9.25). These five potstickers came out with an Asian slaw in the middle, a very tiny drizzle of wasabi aioli, and a soy sauce that the menu said had a pineapple tinge to it. The potstickers themselves were nicely done and lacked any discernable grease on them, but more of the wasabi aioli and a more prominent filling would have made these better. I did not really get too much in the way of pineapple in the soy sauce, but soy sauce tends to overpower anyways. I love a Caesar ($4.50), but this one kind of fell flat. It had plenty of squares of parmesan and crunchy croutons, but they needed to have more dressing included on this to keep me interested throughout the life of this salad. Kind of a boring Caesar.

Not on the restaurant week menu, but Katie had heard some good stuff about this Ahi Poke with Wonton Chips ($13.50) and since she is poke fiend, she wanted to give this a try. The fresh ahi tuna is seasoned with sesame seeds and green and red onions and comes with a good amount of sliced avocado. This was an excellent version of poke, clean tasting, not overly seasoned, and went well with the provided avocado and wonton chips. Way better than you can get at most of those build your own poke shops.we frequent way too much.

Entrees were up next, and we might as well start with Katie's pick, the Pesto Chicken Sandwich ($13). This sandwich starts with a grilled chicken breast and then is layered with tomato, lettuce, red onion, mayo, mozzarella cheese, and is finished off with a very well done pesto. Katie did not have anything to say about this sandwich negatively. She threw out adjectives like delicious, good, fresh, and crave-worthy when describing this sandwich. She liked the fries but prefers bigger fries that hold more ketchup.

It's probably their signature dish at Summer House, so it was a no-brainer that I had to give their Ginger Crusted Ono ($21) a spin during restaurant week. This baked Hawaiian ono was incredibly light and the ginger was very subtle, which I appreciated. It came with an orange beurre blanc sauce, which I had wished there was a tad more of so I could have had enjoyed it with the jasmine rice and the red bell peppers. A very light, yet satisfying meal.

Dessert would be our last stop on the restaurant week menu at Summer House, and Katie tried their seasonal offering which was a Lemon Cake ($5). This lemon cake was accompanied by a strawberry garnish and a strawberry sauce drizzled on top of it. I'm not much into lemon anything, and I thought the lemon was a tad too tart here, and the cake could have been moister. I had high hopes for the Chocolate Heaven ($6) that I had ordered, but it was rather pedestrian. The ratio of flourless brownie souffle cake and ice cream was off by quite a bit. I usually don't complain when there's an overabundance of ice cream, but it really made this flourless cake invisible.

Even with a few less than stellar items on this restaurant week visit, I was pretty pleased with our time at Summer House. I got to try their signature dish, along with plenty from the rest of their menu for the affordable price of $20, which basically means we got the starters and the desserts for free. Not too bad. This visit has gotten me excited to come back here and try one of their good looking burgers, or their weekend breakfast, which gets glowing reviews online. Summer House reminded me of a less polished R and D Kitchen, with a more diverse menu. It was definitely beach casual, and a spot where locals like to come for a low-key dinner. Our server Alison was very friendly and took great care of us during our stay. Wish we could have experienced more restaurant week menus during Newport Beach Restaurant Week, but there's always next year. Just have to get through the dreaded holidays first.

Out of five footballs, (because there used to be a reality TV show on ESPNU which featured college football players living in a house before they got drafted, and it was called Summer House), five being best to zero being worst, Summer House gets 3 solid footballs.

For more information about Summer House, head to their website here: http://www.summerhousecdm.com/index.php

Tackle Box Has Us Hook, Line, and Sinker - CLOSED

Tackle Box

3029 East Shore Dr. 

Corona Del Mar, CA 92625

There used to be a time when just a couple of celebrity chefs were around. Julia Child, Wolfgang Puck, and Graham Kerr, among a select few others, were household names. Now that we have hundreds of channels to choose from, it would be inevitable that some of those networks would be focused on food, which has led to celebrity chefs sprouting up just about everywhere. Food-focused shows have even replaced soap operas, which I never thought I'd see in my lifetime. Yes, I grew up during the Luke and Laura era, when soaps were all the rage.

There are restaurant shows, cooking competitions, and restaurant makeover shows, and luckily, the cupcake craze has subsided. Anyway, there's never been an overabundance of celebrity chefs out there, and I like to see where they end up after the cameras stop rolling. It's always interesting to see if their fame helps them achieve their dream of owning their own restaurant or if they parlay their exposure into another gig. This curiosity has brought us to Tackle Box at Corona Del Mar State Beach on a recent Sunday afternoon.

Tackle Box is the home of Chef-Owner Brian Huskey, who you might remember from Top Chef Season 11 New Orleans. He made the top 5 that season, and in each episode he appeared in until he had to pack up his knives, he showcased his talents and won heaps of praise from the judges. It's unsurprising since he had quite the resume before getting on Top Chef. After graduating from culinary school, Brian worked in a long list of LA restaurants and was even a sous chef at Leatherby's at the Segerstrom Center in Costa Mesa when they first opened.

So what's a fine-dining chef doing running a concession stand at the beach? He approached the city two years ago about taking over the concessions with a chef-driven menu, and they countered that it would be fine, but he also had to run a more traditional concession. He acquiesced, and Tackle Box was born.

We arrived here on a relatively warm mid-July Sunday evening. We hoped to miss most of the beach crowd, but the beach was still pretty jam-packed with families, sunbathers, and many people trying to escape the heat inland. We managed to get a sweet parking spot near Tackle Box, though. The menu here is different from the hot dogs, snow cones, and chili cheese strips that we had when coming to the beach when I was a kid. This menu is dotted with some upscale sandwiches, clam chowder, and other assorted snacks you would not expect to see served within inches of the sand. There are even breakfast options for those here before 11 am. Let's see Chef Brian's take on a grub shack at the beach.

After ordering at the counter, we grabbed one of the picnic tables reserved for customers of Tackle Box, and our food slowly made its way out to us, starting with this Quesadilla ($9.50). This was a great way to start. This quesadilla had a great crunch and came with a three-cheese blend, caramelized onion, and roasted poblanos. The poblano was mild enough so Katie could handle it, but I would have liked a little more heat included. At over $9, I thought it would have some protein involved here, but no such luck. Still a high-quality quesadilla.

Katie's sandwich selection came out first. This was a pretty impressive-looking Chicken Club ($11). It included chicken, of course, and a couple strips of applewood-smoked bacon, lettuce, tomato, and an unexpectedly mellow lemon garlic sauce. She liked the tender chicken and the sturdy New England-style hot dog bun, which were at the forefront of her mind when remembering this sandwich. She also enjoyed the house chips, which came with this sandwich. They were fried nicely, and most of them were very crisp.

The one time our paths crossed with Brian Huskey and the Tackle Box crew was at a Newport Beach Restaurant Week launch party. They were sampling this Buffalo Cauliflower ($9) and quickly ran out of it. I knew then and there that we would get this when we came to Tackle Box. Cauliflower is all the rage right now, dethroning kale, which is good. This was fantastic. The buffalo sauce covering this had a little kick, and the cauliflower was fried lightly enough to avoid being too heavy. I wish they had given us a little more blue cheese dressing with this, but you should not miss the chicken wings when ordering a starter at Tackle Box. It's easy to see why this was a hit at the kickoff party.

I had my choices narrowed down to about four when I got to Tackle Box and was still debating when I was in line. I eventually ordered this Cali Cheesesteak ($13). A good choice. This sandwich might have been smaller than I expected, but it had a nice flavor punch. The lightly toasted New England-style hot dog bun was filled with thinly sliced beef, white cheddar, crispy onions, and fried peppers. This was a very light cheesesteak. It was not heavy on the meat or cheese, but the fried peppers added some nice texture and unexpected heat pops.

Tackle Box is a definite upgrade to what you have come to expect from a concession stand at your local beach. Without even knowing who is helming this kitchen, the food here is pretty high quality, and much thought and care goes into it. I would have liked the portion sizes to have been more significant for what you are shelling out here. Most items were a couple dollars too much for the amount you get, but that might be because of the area. However, the prices will not deter us from a return visit. I look forward to trying their Pork Belly Bahn Mi, Tackle Box Burger, and Lobster Roll, which are available only on weekends. Of course, the Buffalo Cauliflower is a must as well. I'm glad OC is home to several celebrity/TV chefs, so we can try what looks great when it's shown in our living rooms on almost every channel.

Out of five roses (because Chef Brian Huskey is a native of Pasadena, and from what I hear, they have some sort of parade and football game that has something to do with roses), five being best to zero being worst, Tackle Box gets 3.5 roses.

For information about Tackle Box, head to their website here: http://tackleboxoc.com/

Lots Going On at Five Crowns

Five Crowns

3801 E. Coast Highway

Corona Del Mar, CA 92625

It seems like the team behind the venerable Five Crowns restaurant in Corona Del Mar are not resting on their stellar reputation. Yes, the restaurant has been around for 50 years, and they could just stand behind their prime rib, which is some of the best in OC, but they want to be innovative, and entice new customers through their doors.

Earlier this year they revamped their menu, brought back some of their classic items with a modern twist, and named Steven Kling their new Executive Chef. We were lucky enough to be able to attend the unveiling of their 50th anniversary menu, and were pretty impressed. You can see all of that here.

This time we were guests of Five Crowns again as they launched their new summer menu, told us about their impending logo and uniform changes, and let us in on some great themed dinners that they have planned, while showcasing their excellent beverage program and wonderful cuisine.

Before we get to the summer menu, the young man above playing the violin is the very talented Andrew Hull. Andrew is part of LA's wild Up, a modernized classical music ensemble, which is pairing up with the culinary team from Five Crowns to create a five course food and beverage menu inspired by their music, called Dinner in Five Parts. This cutting-edge performance will be taking place Wednesday July 29th on their fabulous patio. More information can be found on their Facebook page here. This is not going to be your grandmother's classical music show. If Andrew's performance was any indication, it will be a rocking, fun filled evening, with some really great food and drinks.

Summer menus are always a little lighter than other menus, but Five Crowns proves that just because they are light, you don't have to sacrifice flavor. They started things out with this Watermelon Gazpacho and Lemon Sorbet. This chilled soup had hints of watermelon, but was not as sweet as expected. The lemon sorbet melted into this also provided a surprise burst in selected bites. Not said by me too often, a very refreshing summertime soup. This was paired with a very well made Garden of Eden Gimlet. We have made two trips to Five Crowns this year, and each time we have been more impressed with their Head Bartender and Libations specialist, Amber Billard. Her cocktails have so much personality, and this gimlet was no exception. Made with cucumber vodka, lavender honey syrup, lime, and a hint of absinthe, this cocktail screamed summertime, with it's light and airiness, but it was still complex enough to keep you interested. Nicely done.

A little spin on the regular, old caprese that you can get just about anywhere. This Stone Fruit Salad really had people talking. At Five Crowns they grilled some summer squash and placed it on top of some creamy burrata, a few drops of pesto, a few sprigs of arugula, and some sliced almonds. Very tasty, and I loved how the components of this played with each other. The burrata and the almonds went well together, and because the pesto was used sparingly, it did not overpower the grilled squash.

I was pretty excited for our next taste when I looked ahead to see what we would be having. This Petrale Sole served Drunkard Style had a lot going on with it. Puff pastry was stuffed with crab and spinach, and then sole placed on top with a newburg sauce. Some real classic portions to this plate. Chef Kling mentioned that puff pastry is not used nearly enough anymore, and he's right. It was a great vehicle for this, and the newburg sauce was on point. Really tasty, and it went well with the crab. I could have eaten a bunch more of this.

I apologize for the odd looking pictures here. The lighting on the patio was getting quite dark, but not dark enough to use the flash. I was kind of in limbo here. We were given small portions of the food, so keep that in mind when coming to Five Crowns. Your portions will be noticeably larger. I definitely could have used a larger portion of each of these fine entrees off of their summer menu. This Duo of Prime Skirt Steak and Cooks Pig Ranch Pork Ribeye were delicious. It's probably no surprise that the guys in the kitchen at Five Crowns know how to cook red meat. This skirt steak was meaty, flavored simply with a little garlic, and cooked to a nice medium rare. The pork was grilled, and topped with a corn garnish. This was a very clean tasting piece of pork.

Dessert is kind of where Five Crowns lost me. I'm not really fond of fruit desserts, but that's what we had when this Summer Plum Pavlova was placed in front of me. I'm of the mind that desserts need to be decadent, and this was almost healthy. The macerated plum was sandwiched between meringue and whipped cream. Others at our table enjoyed this light end to the meal, but Five Crowns signature dessert, the C.C. Brown's Hot Fudge Sundae is definitely more my style.

Even without a hot fudge sundae, this evening was a great night of dining and wonderful company. Yes, summer menus are always a little on the lighter side, and I am definitely more of a heavier eater, but I really ended up enjoying the food here. I admire Five Crowns because they are always trying something new. Whether it was to open one of the first gastropubs in OC, (Side Door), or it is to have a five course menu based on modern classical music, they are willing to do whatever it takes to make you think of their restaurant as not only a special occasion spot, but a restaurant where you want to experience what's new and exciting at this 50 year old OC landmark. We can't wait to see what's coming next.

A special thanks to all who made this visit to Five Crowns possible. Thanks go out to General Manager Jim Colombo and his wonderful staff, including Chef Steven Kling, for the fantastic hospitality and excellent cuisine on this evening. Also for taking the time to answer all of our silly questions. Much appreciated. We would also like to thank Ashley Eckenweiler, and her staff at the ACE Agency for this great opportunity to experience this new summer menu.

If you would like to see all that's new at Five Crown in Corona Del Mar, check out their web page here: http://www.lawrysonline.com/five-crowns

A Golden Anniversary for an OC Restaurant Treasure

Five Crowns

3801 East Coast Highway

Corona Del Mar, CA 92625

A lot of the time when you get an email it's not a good thing. It could be your boss asking for that report you were supposed to have done already, or it's your phone company politely asking you to pay your overdue bill, or it may even be your great aunt Lydia asking you to come out to Arkansas for a family reunion. I'm probably averaging about one email that I actually want, out of about thirty that I receive. One email that automatically caught my eye was an invite to come try out the new menu offerings from Five Crowns in Corona Del Mar. I couldn't reply that I would be there quickly enough.

Five Crowns is truly an OC institution. They are celebrating their 50th year in 2015, and not one to rest on their laurels, they have many great things planned for this year. First and foremost, they have expanded their menu. Yes, they are still going to have everyone's favorite prime rib and accompaniments, but they have also added three times the selections to their old menu. They are luring new diners into their restaurant by really focusing on much more than their prime rib. They also want you to think of Five Crowns as a restaurant where you can not only get great beef, but there are other options for people that want something else.

On their menu now are many new starters, plenty of seafood options, and a variety of small plates for people that are not big eaters. It's not all new on the menu though. Five Crowns has brought back what they call Crown Classics, which are items from the past that they have put back on the menu, but with a modern twist. So if you remember having the Horseradish Crusted Salmon or the Colorado Lamb Chop before, get back in here and have the updated version.

Not to be outdone by the food, there's also a new beverage program at Five Crowns. Their wine list has expanded to three times its original size, with a new curated section of the list, which is inspired by customer requests. If you favor a certain wine, and give them a heads up, you might just see your wine featured here at Five Crowns. The cocktail list is evolving here as well. There are some real noteworthy hand crafted cocktails that will get everyone's curiosity piqued. There's also a secret cocktail menu, which is in a secret space, which we will get to later. Now it was time to try some of the new food items from the new Five Crowns menu.  

Tray passed appetizers were up first, as the assembled food media were mingling, and I was just trying not to make a fool out of myself in such esteemed company. Off of the Fruits Del Mar section of the menu, this Crab and Avocado Mash ($13) started things off nicely. Crisp pita chips are topped with fresh crab, avocado, and a light lime dressing, which gave this a little zing in the flavor department. A very simple item, but done very nicely.

The next appetizer we had was from the small plates portion of the menu, the Duck Rillette ($15). To be honest, I really did not know what a rillette was at the time of eating this, but I now know it's kind of like a pate. Sliced meat, or duck in this case, is cooked slowly in its own fat, then shredded and cooked until it forms a paste. This version also involved brandy, and was then spread across a toasted crostini. A delicious result. The wonderful smoky duck flavor came through, and the crunch of the bread added a nice texture. The brandy flavor was very subtle, but allowed for the natural flavor of the duck to shine.

Nothing got us to our seats quicker than them bringing out these Fruits Del Mar Grand Platters ($55) to each table. On this night the platter featured Clams Casino, a Daily Selection of Oysters, Grilled Shrimp, and Smoked Trout Dip. This was a pretty impressive seafood platter that would please any lover of things from the ocean. The shrimp were large and briny, the oysters were very fresh, and even Katie enjoyed one of them, (a major feat for this non-loving oyster girl). The clams were done in a classic casino style, with lighter than normal bread crumbs and bacon, as not to interfere completely with the clam underneath. The highlight of this platter for me was the Smoked Trout Dip. One of the best I have had. I had visions of stashing this in Katie's purse, and making a trout dip sandwich with it the next day. Decorum reigned though, as I was gracious enough to share with my fellow table mates. Even a week later, I still think about this trout dip, it was that good.

Salads were out next, and Katie and I each had a different one, but decided to share them. This Beet and Strawberry Salad ($12) was set in front of me first. I'm usually not one for mixing fruit into my salad, but this was pretty good. Joining the beets and the strawberries here were sunflower seeds, arugula, and a very well made fromage blanc. The freshness was definitely evident here, but I liked the slight sweetness from the strawberry, and how it interacted with the subtle peppery nature of the arugula. This salad hasn't changed my views about fruits in salad, but it has opened my mind up to the fact that this could be a good thing sometimes.

I also got to try this Winter Citrus Salad ($12), which I was a little less a fan of. This one came with greens, watercress, tomato, fennel, ruby red and oro blanco grapefruit. I'd attribute my feelings about this salad to the fact that I'm not really a big fan of grapefruit. Never really liked it, but Katie found this salad to be right in her wheelhouse. She loved the tangy nature of this salad, and the use of fennel and watercress, which she feel doesn't get used enough.

With all the food we have had up until this point, we were pretty relieved to know that we were not getting full servings of the entrees, although I would have been up to the challenge. Maybe next time. They started us off with two fish entrees, Seared Scottish Salmon ($30) and one of their Crown Classic dishes, the Potato Horseradish Crusted Salmon ($34). Both of these salmon dishes were phenomenal. The Scottish version was served on a bed of lentils and asparagus, with a dill butter. Cooked wonderfully, I could have used a little more dill butter on here, but the salmon was moist enough without it. The crusted salmon was not as heavy as I would have imagined. It was served alongside some sauteed haricot verts, (green beans), and a light mustard sauce. For those of you that are not too keen on horseradish, it is really mild on this, and the potato went well with the fish, which I was not expecting. Not sure which one of these I liked more, so I may have to try them again very soon.

You'd probably expect Five Crowns to do beef the right way, right? Yeah, you would win that bet. Just like the salmon plate before, they treated us to two versions of beef on this night. The Grilled Ribeye ($42/$55) came with a cipollini onion and baby squash perched on top of it, and drizzled with a cognac demi-glace. This simple presentation really let the flavor of the meat shine here. Very tender steak, in all its glory. The Beef Steak Neptune ($48) is again off of their Crown Classic section of the menu, and is one of my favorite ways to have steak prepared. The eight ounce filet is situated on top of mashed potatoes, then topped with asparagus, crab, and Bearnaise sauce. This classic Oscar presentation was right on. The Bearnaise sauce had the right consistency, the crab was fresh, and the steak very tender. They definitely do this surf and turf dish well, and I look forward to having this one again.

By this time of the night, I was starting to reach my limit with the food, but there's always room for dessert. To be honest I did not quite catch what these were called, but they were delicious. The chocolate one kind of reminded me of a Hostess Ding Dong in its appearance, but of course it was so much better. Nice and moist chocolate cake, with a very good icing. This will hit the spot for any chocolate lover that walks through the door. The other dessert was a sponge cake, served with mixed berries and whipped cream sitting on top of the cake. This one was all Katie, as I'm much more into chocolate, rather than fruit desserts. There are two other desserts on the menu here at Five Crowns that should also be tried. The C.C. Browns Hot Fudge Sundae is a classic, and the Dark Chocolate Souffle takes 40 minutes to prepare, but you'll be glad you waited after having your first bite. Make sure to save room for dessert when dining here.

Earlier in this post I mentioned a secret spot, which not too many people know about, and I've been given the go ahead to let you in on the little secret. There's a hidden speakeasy on the second floor of Five Crowns. Not too many people know about it, and since only me and mom read this blog, it'll probably stay that way. The speakeasy is called the Poppy Club, which is named for the street that Five Crowns is located on. To see about getting reservations, you can email them at 352Poppy@gmail.com  Don't let them know that I was the one to tell you about this though.

Anyways, the vibe upstairs was pretty cool. Piped in, upbeat French music was playing, and every table had an absinthe fountain. The cocktail menu here featured about 5 varieties of absinthe, four bottled beers, some classic cocktails, and signature cocktails. The drink above was from that part of the menu. The Cocktail Named Elvis is a play on what was the King's favorite sandwich. Scotch is combined with peanut butter, banana, some honey, and a bacon garnish. Not sure how, but this concoction really worked. It was delicious, while not being overly sweet. Each of the flavors made its way through in little spurts. Quite a good beverage, and a wonderful way to end our night at the ever evolving Five Crowns.

We would like to thank everyone that made this visit to experience the new Five Crowns menu possible. It was a pleasure meeting General Manager Jim Colombo, Corporate Executive Chef Ryan O'Melveny Wilson, and Steven Kling, Executive Chef at Five Crowns. It was great getting to see their excitement for this new menu first hand. They all seem real passionate about what the future holds for Five Crowns, which in turn got us all excited as well. With this team behind the restaurant, I have no doubt that they have another 50 years in them, at least.

For more information about Five Crowns, and all of the new goings on with their 50th anniversary plans, go to their website here: http://www.lawrysonline.com/five-crowns