A Packed House at Maison in Dana Point

 Maison Cafe and Market

24501 Del Prado Avenue

Dana Point, CA 92629

I promise this will be the last of my birthday posts. My in-laws are always so busy, whether it's watching their grandkids, visiting their family up in Burbank, or escaping all the family drama and jetting off to Vegas to lose at video poker while drinking their weight in bloody Marys, we finally found time to have my birthday dinner three weeks after my birthday. I'm not mad because I cherish hanging out with them, and they let me choose where I wanted to celebrate. 

I picked Maison Cafe and Market in Dana Point for my birthday dinner. This place was on my radar after I read a restaurant review in the OC Register in 2019. Yes, I really do have restaurants on my list that have been on there for six years or more. The reviewer of that article really loved their sausage with pasta and the apple pie. Much has changed in the six years Maison has sat on my restaurant wishlist. 

For one, Maison moved locations four years ago. During the pandemic, they had a well-publicized disagreement with their landlord over outside dining, but this must have been settled amicably because, while Maison moved a mile away, Chef/Owner Danielle Kuhn operates one of her three restaurants, Doheny Cafe, at the former Maison site. Her other restaurant is Giana Bakery and Provisions, a block from Maison. 

With all the critical praise and a 4.7-star rating on Yelp, Maison Cafe is one of the biggest restaurant hits of the Lantern District, which is saying something because there are plenty of great places to eat in this area of Dana Point. Looking at the photos from Yelp, I see that breakfast seems more popular here, but when we arrived at Maison on a Friday at 6pm, we were met by a busy and lively restaurant. Luckily, Katie's parents had made a reservation beforehand, so we were seated immediately. 

Maison is described as a mix of French and Italian dishes that they hope will satisfy your hunger, support your health, and leave you satisfied. This mantra is posted on their website. Their dinner menu includes starters, salads, entrees, and sides. When we visited, they had nine entree options, priced between $22 to $30, while the starters and salads go anywhere from $9 to $26. Very reasonable for this area. Let's move on to what we had this particular evening. 

It seems like forever since I reviewed a restaurant that starts each table with a complimentary bread basket. I looked back, and it's been seven months since I shared a complimentary bread basket with you all, and that one was from the nearby Bonjour Cafe. I'm unsure if that's because restaurants are trying to cut expenses or if I have been trying to save money by reviewing more affordable places to eat. This one at Maison was freshly made and came with oil and vinegar. I'll never be disappointed with something I've been given for free; this bread was no exception. 

Truthfully, I was running late for my birthday dinner as the parking gods were not with me this evening. Katie and her parents were apparently hungry, so they ordered this Roasted Goat Cheese Dip ($15) before I made my grand entrance. I would have gotten their hummus or clams as my choice, but this might teach me to be more punctual. Even though I'm not the biggest fan of goat cheese, this is pretty tasty, although rich. The goat cheese was tempered a bit with the addition of a garlic confit and the use of parmesan cheese. The same toast in the bread basket was used here as the dipping agent. Pretty solid and a must for people who love goat cheese, like Katie's mom. 

Katie was not content with just the goat cheese dip; before our entrees arrived, she also tried the Petit Salad ($9). This dinner salad featured mixed greens, tomatoes, and cucumbers dressed in a sherry vinaigrette. Although listed as petit, it was good-sized, featured fresh produce, and had an on-point vinaigrette. 

My father-in-law loves the standards or what some people would call old-school dishes. Out of everything on the Maison menu, Chicken Pot Pie ($28) is the best example of this. This football-shaped pot pie had plenty of shredded chicken, peas, carrots, mushrooms, and potatoes, all enclosed in this buttery crust. This came out scaldingly hot and steamed for quite a while after cracking the crust. The inside did not have a very heavy sauce, which allowed the natural flavors of the inside ingredients to shine. There was not much left, which is a sure sign that Katie's dad really enjoyed this. 

Katie selected the Cavatelli Pasta ($22). This very comforting dish utilized the rarely seen hollow pasta with some housemade sausage, broccoli rabe, and a pecorino cream sauce, which was so good that I almost asked if they could line up some shots for me to guzzle down. Katie was equally enthusiastic about her meal. She loved the sausage and the perfect way that the pasta was cooked. She felt this was a very rich dish, which filled her up rather quickly, which allowed me to enjoy her leftovers the next day. They were excellent even after being in the fridge overnight.  

Since almost everyone who knows her would say she's a special lady, it's no surprise that Katie's mom, Lynn, would get the Halibut Special ($30). Looking at the pictures from Yelp, this special must be featured quite often, but the kind of fish used is rotated. On this evening, the buttery halibut was perched on top of some beautiful pesto risotto and asparagus, with some roasted tomatoes adding even more color to the plate. Lynn was generous enough to allow me a bite of the halibut, which was nicely done and went well with the pesto risotto. A great pairing. 

Not something that I get every day, I ordered the Beef Bourguignon ($30) and a side of Parmesan Risotto ($12) for my birthday feast. The bourguignon was a very hearty stew with a ton of beef, potatoes, carrots, pearl onions, and mushrooms, all in a red wine sauce that ties things together wonderfully. Enough for two people; only a few bites of the beef were on the dry side, but a few dunks into the sauce remedied that. The veggies were about the same size, ensuring they were all equally tender. I'm a sucker for risotto, and this one was unique. They paired the parmesan with a bit of lemon zest, which kept me from being overwhelmed by the richness that risotto is known for. 

I was pretty full when this birthday dessert arrived, and unfortunately, I did not jot down what it was. I know, rookie mistake. It was good, and I liked that they included plenty of ice cream on top. You'd think that after doing this blog for fifteen-plus years, I would be better about my note-taking, but it was my birthday, so maybe I'm starting to show my age. 

There was not really too much to critique about the dinner we had this evening. Everything was delicious, the service was warm and friendly, and I did not feel that the prices here were too outrageous. If I had to be pressed to say something bad about this restaurant, it would be that they don't have their own parking lot, and if they did, I could have made it here on time. Okay, I know, that's not their fault; it's mine for not leaving earlier. We older people drive way too slowly. 

Out of five lanterns (because many of the streets in Dana Point are named after colored lanterns to signal to ships where they were stationed), five being best to zero being worst, Maison Cafe and Market gets 3.5 lanterns. 

For more information about Maison Cafe and Market, head to their website by clicking here: https://maisondanapoint.com/  

Pardon My French, We’re at Bonjour Cafe in Dana Point

 Bonjour Cafe

24633 Del Prado Ave. 

Dana Point, CA 92629

I did a quick little search about what a French breakfast typically comprises. The average Parisian eats a lighter first meal of the day than their counterparts in the US. A croissant or a slice of bread with butter or jam, crepes, or yogurt are commonplace. They save their big meals for later in the day. This makes perfect sense because when I eat a breakfast of country-fried steak or pancakes, I suddenly feel the overwhelming need for a nap. Am I going to change my breakfast habits? You already know the answer; there's no chance. 

We had just finished walking in Dana Point Harbor and needed a place to refuel after our strenuous two-mile walk. My manager at work has always raved about Bonjour Cafe, so we plugged the address into our GPS and headed over to the Lantern District to give them a try on a recent Sunday morning. 

Bonjour Cafe has been around since 1992 when Pascal and Sandy LeVette wanted to create an affordable place for locals, employ a welcoming and consistent staff, and provide a good meal. The area was revitalized over the ensuing years, and the people of Dana Point and some out-of-town guests flocked to their little storefront near the corner of Violet Lantern and Del Prado. This past year, Pascal and Sandy decided to retire but found a buyer for their restaurant in a longtime server at their establishment, Cristian Gutierrez. 

This helped maintain the restaurant's continuity. There were no big shakeups in the staff. The menu stayed basically the same, and there did not seem to be any drop-off customer-wise, as they seemed to be busy, especially on the patio in front of the restaurant, which is packed most days. We were seated right away inside, right near the window. 

The menu items are listed in French, but the descriptions are all in English, so it's an easy menu to read. The one-page breakfast menu features five versions of eggs benedict, quiche, avocado toast, omelets, crepes, and French toast. Most items hover between the $15 to $20 range. Since we were so hungry, we quickly made our selections. Here's what we ate at Bonjour Cafe. 

I always like something a little sweet with my savory breakfast, so Katie and I decided to start with the Pastry Assortment ($6.99) at Bonjour Cafe. Included in the basket were a cinnamon roll, a chocolate chip twist, a custard croissant, and a cranberry twist. As is the case when eating authentic pastries from other parts of the world, these were less sweet than their counterparts from the US. They still did the trick, though. I enjoyed the chocolate chip twist the best and was surprised that the custard croissant was square and flat instead of what I'm used to a croissant looking like. Each of these tasted similar, as I believe that they used the same dough for each one. It's alright, but it's different from what I expected.  

They also brought out this bread basket as if we needed more carbs. Bread baskets are uncommon at breakfast, but we will never refuse more bread. It was presliced and came with some packaged butter. Nothing earth-shatteringly great, but we quickly scarfed this down right before our breakfast arrived. 

First was Katie's Brittany Omelet ($20). This large omelet was filled with smoked ham, mushrooms, and Swiss cheese. The cheese was not used in overabundance, so the ham and eggs could stand out more. She felt this omelet was much lighter than others from other breakfast spots. Katie is not a big mushroom girl, but she found these delicious and helped bring an earthiness to most bites. The potatoes were seasoned well; since they were not uniformly cut, they had different textures, which was pleasing. 

My manager at work always raves about the benedicts at Bonjour Cafe, so the Smoked Ham Benedict ($17 plus $4.50 for a side of potatoes) was a must-have. This benedict forgoes the typical English muffin for country bread as its base, then piles on the thinly sliced ham, perfectly poached eggs, and hollandaise sauce and chives to top everything off. I liked the use of bread instead of the usual hard-to-cut-through English muffin. The poached eggs melted into the ham wonderfully, but I did have one problem with this benedict, the hollandaise sauce. It was very thin and lacked the flavor punch you expect from hollandaise sauce. 

Even with the rather dull hollandaise sauce, Bonjour Cafe is worth seeking out if you want a French breakfast spot. Their prices are a few dollars higher than most places, but the portion sizes are not skimpy, and they use some quality ingredients. We experienced some excellent service during this visit, as they came to check on us regularly. It's good to eat a lighter breakfast occasionally, but I'll always be true to my US breakfast roots. Next week, it'll be country-fried steak and eggs with an extra side of bacon. 'Murcia

 Out of five pencil sharpeners (because the pencil sharpener was invented in France in 1828), five being best to zero being worst, Bonjour Cafe gets 3 pencil sharpeners. 

For more information about Bonjour Cafe, head to their website by clicking here: http://www.bonjourcafe.com/

Au Revoir to Pascal in San Juan Capistrano - CLOSED

Pascal

31451 Rancho Viejo Road

San Juan Capistrano, CA 92675

I'll let you in behind the scenes of this little restaurant blog that I love to write for all of you. When I finally get around to posting the restaurant review, it usually has been about a month since we visited the restaurant. Give or take a week or two. There are a few major major reasons for this. One, is I have a real job, which takes up way too much of my time. Family and friends are another worthwhile distraction. I also have a Netflix/Amazon Prime addiction which also takes some time away from me writing my restaurant reviews in a timely manner. Lastly, I'm not the world's quickest writer. It takes me far too long to get my words down, but I knew I had to get this review done quickly, so any of you that wanted to visit this restaurant could do so before they closed for good.

In case you have not heard, Pascal in San Juan Capistrano is closing as of March 30th. Chef Pascal Olhats is pretty much the most legendary chef in OC history. That is not just hyperbole, it is a fact, and I'd be willing to debate this with anyone dumb enough to disagree. Chef Pascal had been a chef in our great county for 35 years. In that time he has worked tirelessly at his own restaurants, mentored too numerous to list head chefs, he has won plenty of awards and accolades, teaches French cuisine at Saddleback College, raises money for worthy causes, donates his time and energy to plenty of food events we have had the pleasure to attend, and if all of that was not enough to convince you that Chef Pascal is a treasure, he also was invited to cook at Julia Child's 80th birthday party. Some pretty big stuff there.

Unfortunately, in September of 2018, Chef Pascal was diagnosed with T-cell lymphoma. He is doing six rounds of injection chemo. It does seem to be working, as so far 80 percent of the lymph nodes have receded, which is a very encouraging sign. The decision to close Pascal was a difficult one, but lucky for all of us, we all still have opportunities to try Chef Pascal's cuisine. He's still going to be involved at the Cafe Jardin at the Sherman Library and Gardens in Corona Del Mar and plans on having favorite dishes from Pascal available for lunches. There's even talk of special dinners, so stay tuned for that.

Back to the present though, we really wanted to get to Pascal before they shuttered for good, so we quickly made a reservation via the Open Table website. Pascal is located a little out of the way, in a shopping plaza nestled on the other side of the freeway, very removed from the busy downtown corridor of San Juan. His restaurant is one part storefront, with bakery items, prepared meals, sandwiches, and salads available for takeout, and then on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday evenings they offer sitdown dinners in their tiny, yet comfortable 24 seat dining room starting at 5:30.

The menu is broken up into 4 courses and lets the guest create their perfect sized meal. They also have Prix-fixed pricing, which allows you to have a selection from each category for a set price. There was also a special farewell offer, which limited you to two entree options, along with a soup or salad and a dessert. Both Katie and I decided we were going to forgo the first course, which was appetizers, but we ended up hitting the rest of the menu. Let's see how our first and last visit to Pascal ended up for us.

What would a French meal be without bread? Luckily, we did not have to find out since our meal started out with this very generous basket of sliced French Bread. Wow, this stuff was fresh, and the butter that came with this was rich and creamy. None of those cold, hard to spread butter packets here. Katie and I both plowed through this bread in record time.

I had really wanted to have the French Onion Soup ($12), but since Katie had her heart set on it, and in the spirit of showcasing more of the Pascal menu, I let her order it. This was quite simply the best French Onion soup I have ever had the pleasure to try. It came out scalding hot in an iron bowl, had a delicious Swiss cheese topping, fantastic onions and broth underneath, and was finished off with a white port that Katie was instructed to pour into the soup. She called this magical. She was right on the mark with this statement.

So, even though I was a little disappointed that I let Katie have the wonderful soup option, a few bites into this Lyonnaise Salad ($12) almost made me forget the soup she was happily slurping away across the table. This classic French salad included butter lettuce, frisee, which is curly endive, croutons, smoked bacon, poached egg, and a Dijon mustard dressing. I'd call this a breakfast salad, as it had some really good cubes of bacon and the yolk from the poached egg added a nice richness to the salad. The dressing was evenly distributed here as if each piece of green was individually brushed with the slightly tart dressing. Very good balance with this fresh salad.

Katie was back and forth on what she wanted for dinner but finally settled on this Beef Filet ($38). Even though she always requests that her beef come out medium well, this still ended up being very tender medallions of beef. A sign that they know what they are doing in the kitchen. The beef was pepper-crusted lightly, with a very nicely prepared Roquefort port wine sauce. The sauce was not over-bearing, but the Roquefort hung out in the background, allowing the beef to shine. It was accompanied by a sweet onion fondue and a roasted mashed potato. A very comforting dish in Katie's opinion and I definitely concur. 

I never get duck nearly enough, and I wasn't going to let this Duck A L'Orange ($38) slip through my fingers. This was my first time having this very classic French dish. The sauteed duck was sliced and served in a pool of an orange sauce. The duck was very fresh and not musty like some. The sauce was definitely citrus-inspired, but not overpowering. This came with some sliced Periguord potatoes and broccoli. It was a very deceptive dish, as it had way more duck than it looks like in these pictures. Very well executed.

Dessert would be the last thing we ever ate at Pascal, so we carefully decided on the Chocolate Chestnut Tart ($13). This tasted just like a chocolate souffle, but with a little more structure to it. It was topped with some very good vanilla ice cream and surrounded by sliced strawberries that I left for Katie. I liked this dessert, but wish it was a tad sweeter. I've learned that desserts from around the world are not as sweet as what we like in the US. Different palettes for sure.

Even though you only have a couple of more days to visit Pascal, you should totally do so if at all possible. This is the kind of restaurant that has become a dying breed, and that's a real shame. A lot of people would call the French food served here old fashioned and a little out of date, as people these days seem to like lighter entrees. I loved the artistry and the presentation of the food that was presented here. Yes, it was definitely a special occasion place, as the prices were a little too rich for our blood to splurge for on a regular Thursday evening out. Service was very cordial, but due to the fact that there was only one waiter for the 10 or so tables, this meal ended up being a two-hour-plus long affair, which is way too long. It did give us time to savor our first and last time at Pascal and has gotten us very excited for a visit to Cafe Jardin in the near future. We also wish continued success to OC culinary legend Pascal and hope his health continues to improve.

Out of five leopards, (because Chef Pascal was born in Normandy, France, and their provincial flag has leopards on it), five being best to zero being worst, Pascal gets 4 leopards.

For more information on Chef Pascal and his culinary pursuits, head to his website here: https://pascalrestaurants.com/

Our Quest Has Taken Us to the Hobbit

The Hobbit

2932 East Chapman

Orange, CA 92869

People get a little worked up over my grading system. My dad has always said I should do it on a scale of 1 to 10, but as I have explained countless times, with the half-stars that I give out, it's already like that. My friend Erven has another passionate gripe about my rating system.

He laments that I have not given out a five-star review to any of the restaurants we have been to. The fact is, most restaurants hover right around the average to slightly above average level. I'll share these stats with those who think I'm too harsh of a critic. Of the 655 restaurants rated so far (we don't rate restaurants that we get invited to), 189 have been average or below, leaving 466 restaurants scoring higher than average. I'd say that's pretty generous.

As for the upper echelon of places we've been to, seven restaurants have gotten 4 and a half stars. A five-star restaurant would have to be exceptional in every way. Such a restaurant would be world-class and make me want to forget about eating at all other restaurants. I have not been so blown away by such a restaurant yet, but I hope it will happen someday. Erven was hoping that the five-star drought would be broken on a recent Sunday evening when he suggested we dine at one of his favorite restaurants, The Hobbit in Orange.

The Hobbit has been around for a ton of years. 45 years this week, which is pretty impressive in the restaurant business. They have been around so long that I remember being left with a babysitter when my parents came here. Okay, that was only last year, but still impressive that I recall that far back. For the last 30 years, The Hobbit has been run by Executive Chef and Owner Michael Philippi and his wife, Debra Philippi, who holds the title of Executive Coordinator and Owner.

The Hobbit is not really so much a restaurant as it is an event. They have one seating Wednesday thru Sunday at 7pm. The menu is a seven-course prix -fixe affair, and their website is regularly updated so you can make reservations based on your preferences. The food price only is $88 a person, with all beverages, excluding the champagne served in the wine cellar, added to the bill for an additional charge. The setting is a red-tiled, Spanish-style house on Chapman Avenue, next door to Johnny Reb's. Unfortunately, I could not find out much about the home online, and the wait staff here did not really elaborate on any of the history of the place, which I would date at about the 1940s, give or take a decade or two.

We got to The Hobbit at about 6:30 and got a cocktail upstairs in their bar. We took them downstairs and enjoyed them on the patio in front of the restaurant. A half-hour later, we were whisked down to the wine cellar for champagne and, as you can see from the pictures, quite the array of hors-d'oeuvres. All were very good, but the standouts were the Liver Mousse Pate, which had an incredible creaminess and a smokiness that rivaled bacon over an open fire. The best pate I have ever had. The French Sandwich was another winner. Ham and cheese sandwiched between some very soft bread cut into small pieces. So simple but as addictive as anything. I wanted to fill my pockets before leaving the wine cellar. The Steak Tartare, Mussels in a delicious wine broth, and the Artichoke Dip were all memorable and excited me for what was to come.

After about an hour of noshing on the hors-d'oeuvres, we were ushered back upstairs and directed to our table. We were seated in the front dining room, which had no more than ten tables inside it, with a very comforting ambiance. We could hear ourselves talk but were not bothered by the other parties' conversations. I enjoyed the table setting and was especially fond of how the butter was presented as a rose. Very unique and appreciated. The dinner rolls were a cross between a regular dinner roll and a popover. These kinds of rolls always remind me of my grandmother, a cherished memory. They were not shy about keeping them coming either, which was nice.

Course number two was a Seared Diver Scallop perched atop a sweet corn succotash and a smear of house-made pesto streaked across the plate. The scallop and the pesto went well together, but the corn succotash was the weak link here. A little out of place and not really adding too much to this. The scallop was tender and seared perfectly. I could have eaten a bunch more of these.

I'm always excited to see quail on a menu, which was the case when this Grilled Quail sat in front of me. A few bites of this quail were delicious, but then I got down to the meatier part of the bird, and it was slightly overcooked and dry, and the blueberry and red wine reduction could not save it. Also adding to my discomfort with this dish was that it was served alongside white quinoa, which is my arch nemesis. My disdain for quinoa also held true in The Hobbit, as I found it to be flavorless and left a lot of it untouched. The rest of my dining party enjoyed it, so it might have just been my quinoa bias rearing its ugly head again.

Salads were out next, and we were given this Frisee Salad, which for those of you that do not know, like me until I looked it up, is made up of curly endive. This one was served with a black pepper caramel gastrique and at the center of it all was a mission fig stuffed with gorgonzola cheese. Unfortunately, this salad did not work for me. The endive was a little too bitter, and the gastrique promised caramel but did not deliver. All I got was a slight peppery tinge. The fig was okay, but I expected more from the gorgonzola. Blue cheese would have been a better choice as it would have woken up this kind of sleepy salad.

After the salad course, we were asked to vacate the dining space so they could reset the table for the main course and the dessert to follow. We were encouraged to explore the house and even tour the kitchen. The chefs were very generous with their time and answered everyone's questions. I was shocked at how small and hot their workspace was. It gives you a better appreciation for how many meals they can crank out in such a cramped and uncomfortable space. Much respect for all the kitchen workers out there.

The main course on this particular evening was a Wild Mushroom Stuffed Filet Mignon. The beef was tender, but I wished the mushrooms had added more earthiness. The meat also needed to be seasoned more, as I was waiting for a big rush of flavor that did not come. However, I did enjoy the veggies here. The Chinese long beans, squash, and radishes were all done expertly. Solid, but nothing that really made this dish too memorable.

Last but not least was dessert. Almond Cake was topped with some house-made vanilla ice cream, surrounded by some streaks of strawberry across the plate. The almond cake was fair, but this show's star was the well-done ice cream. I should have asked for an extra scoop. I love small batched ice cream. Since it was Rocio's birthday, we were presented with some truffles, which were a nice touch to end our meal.

If you've read this review up until this point, you can probably guess that this is not our first five-star rating. Sorry, Erven. We had a good time with our friends this evening, but the company overshadowed the food. When someone asked me my thoughts on The Hobbit the next day, I said it was like elevated wedding food. I enjoyed the event more than what was sitting in front of me. I admire what they do in such a tiny space; they should be commended for it. The highlights were the excellent appetizers in the wine cellar and the scallop. Everything else was fine, but nothing that would make me return to The Hobbit anytime soon. Service was impeccable, and I can see why they get very high marks and awards for their waitstaff. I thought the pricing was fair, but the cocktails were overpriced at $14 per drink. The Hobbit is an OC restaurant institution and something to experience at least once.

Out of five rings (because, of course, when you hear the name of this restaurant, you automatically think of the Lord of the Rings work by J.R.R. Tolkien), five being best to zero being worst, The Hobbit gets 3 rings. 

For more information about The Hobbit, head on over to their website here: http://www.hobbitrestaurant.com/