Hoping That Vine Bears a Great Night Out

Vine Restaurant

211 N. El Camino Real 

San Clemente, CA 92672

After we get invited to a restaurant tasting, I always wonder if we get a true representation of the food and service. With food writers and other assorted media in attendance, a restaurant could just be putting on a pretty face. I had no such thoughts when we were at Vine Restaurant earlier this year. The team behind this restaurant is just too good to have a bad restaurant.

It starts at the top, with Owner, Russ Bendel. We met Russ a number of times when he was a Partner at Fleming's Prime Steakhouse at Fashion Island. He left that post in early 2013 and resurfaced with a group of his friends to purchase the already established Vine Restaurant in San Clemente. Also coming on board was Partner Kyle Simpson, who has extensive restaurant experience, including stints at Roy's Hawaiian Fusion, as well as others. Gabe Whorley is not only a partner as well, but he's the man behind the craft cocktail program at Vine. He's worked his way through the bartending ranks and was last behind the bar at legendary Charlie Palmer at South Coast Plaza. Rounding out this impressive team is the man in the kitchen, Chef Jared Cook. This is Jared's third time working at Vine, but his first as Executive Chef and Partner. He's so passionate about local and sustainable produce, that he's created a garden on site here, and uses what he picks that day to inspire his chef's specials.

Definitely a great team, but what brought us back here so quickly? I had liked their Facebook page during our first visit, and then a couple weeks ago, up popped one of their specials of the night, a big slab of meat that definitely called out to me. After looking at the picture, I alerted Katie that I had made our decision on where we would be eating later that night. She seemed really happy with our decision, so we headed down the 5 Freeway after making our reservation.

I was really glad that we made a reservation because Vine was packed on this Saturday night. The bar area was hopping, and the restaurant was just as busy, even at this 8PM hour. Our table took a few minutes to get ready, which was nice, so we could observe Chef Jared hard at work in the kitchen, which you can see right by the front door. It's always entertaining watching a professional kitchen in action.

Vine is not a large restaurant, but it's not cramped. The decor could be described as rustic, with lots of wood showing. They are really trying to play up the wine country vibe here, as there are plenty of wine bottles on display throughout the dining area, including an actual wine cellar room, perfect for small or large groups located in the back of the dining space. The menu is not huge, with ten entree options, and a couple of burgers to offer. This is a seasonal menu, so you might experience some changes depending on when you visit, but there's probably enough diversity on the menu to please a good many of you. I, of course, was having the special that I saw on Facebook, so I just had to wait for Katie to make up her mind. Let's see how everything turned out for us on this night.

Meals at Vine start off with their version of a bread basket, which is actually served in a metal pail. This sturdy bread was served alongside a White Bean Puree, which is made up of olive oil, honey, salt, pepper, and sage. A very mellow spread, it had different bursts of sweetness and earthiness in alternating tastes.

I usually forgo having cocktails when we are out to eat, instead trying to save room so I can consume more food, but I had to try one of Gabe's specialty cocktails. I went with the Hot Shot ($10). To be honest, I'm not really sure what was in this, but it started out sweet, then got spicy on the way down. I know there was jalapeno in this, and it was garnished with a cucumber. A very unique drink.

There are some really good starters on the menu at Vine; including Duck Wings, Bone Marrow, and a House Made Pumpkin Ravioli. At the media event, we attended they had charcuterie boards out for us, and Katie has been thinking about them ever since, so we started with this Selection of Artisan Cheeses and Domestic Cured Meats and Cold Cuts ($18). There are too many things on here to remember, but the pate really stood out, as well as all of the meats, which worked out well because Katie was way more into the cheeses. When this was brought to the table, other customers really took notice.

It has been a while since I have had a memorable Caesar Salad ($7), but that streak ended on this night. Joining the usual produce in this salad was white anchovies, garlic croutons, crispy capers, pecorino, and a Tijuana vinaigrette. What set this Caesar apart was that the greens were chopped finely, the anchovy was not overly fishy, and the croutons added a nice crunchy texture. The salad was lightly dressed, in a nice-tasting Caesar dressing. A good-sized salad for the price.

At a restaurant like Vine, you might not expect burgers to be on the menu, and I definitely did not expect Katie to order one, but here she was getting the Mexicali Burger ($14). This Mexican-inspired burger came topped with queso fresco, avocado, cilantro, chile de Arbol crema, onion, and roasted Serrano chiles. Not a usual Katie hamburger choice for sure, but she called this burger, "really delicious". Even though she wanted her burger well done, it still came out juicy, which is a feat in itself. This was a burger of big flavors. The Arbol crema was good and spicy but was balanced out by the smooth and cool avocado. The bun should not be ignored here. It held everything in place, and you could tell it was freshly baked. Not what you would expect from this kind of restaurant, but a very solid burger.

Now, this is the meal that I saw on Facebook that brought us back to Vine Restaurant so quickly, the Center Cut T-Bone Steak ($36). This big hunk of meat was topped with an asparagus Bearnaise sauce and served alongside garden vegetables and mashed potatoes. I picked this bone clean, the meat was so good. Cooked to my desired medium rare, the Bearnaise sauce paired well with the tender steak. All the vegetables were cooked perfectly on this plate, and I especially enjoyed the shallots that were scattered about. This big plate of food did a great job of filling me up, but of course, there's always room for dessert.

The Oatmeal Raisin Cookie Crumble ($9) had me fooled. I'm not really a raisin kind of guy, as I would much rather prefer to have chocolate chips any day, but the raisins did not get in the way here. Three scoops of apple strudel ice cream, along with cut-up apples, and caramel bourbon drizzle combined to make this dessert a winner. A lot of my complaints about ice cream desserts in restaurants is that there is never enough ice cream, but that was not the case at Vine. More than enough ice cream to go around, the oatmeal cookies had a good chew to them, and I liked the sliced apples in them. They almost fooled me into thinking this was good for me.

Usually, I feel like wine-centric restaurants do not cater to non-wine drinkers like myself, or that they are kind of stuffy. This was not the case at Vine Restaurant. The vibe here was more beachy than highfalutin. We even struck up a great conversation with a couple sitting next to us, who gave us some great recommendations for other restaurants to try in San Clemente. They had eaten here before this new group of owners had been here, and they are much more pleased with how things are now. I have to admit, I was pretty pleased as well. The steak that I saw on Facebook was well worth the drive, and the rest of the meal was great as well. The service we had on this night was solid, but a little leisurely, which is perfect in a beach town on a late Saturday night. We were glad to see that the media dinner was not just window dressing, the Vine Restaurant is really all that.

Out of five loincloths, (because that's what Tarzan wore when he traveled the jungle on vines), five being best to zero being worst, Vine Restaurant gets 4 loincloths.

For more information about Vine Restaurant, go to their website here: http://www.vinesanclemente.com/index.html

Swinging By the Vine Restaurant in San Clemente

Vine Restaurant

211 N. El Camino Real 

San Clemente, CA 92672

Writing this blog we have met some really nice people that work in restaurants. It seems that almost everyone that we come in contact with has such a passion for what they do, and they want others to experience their fervor for their food or restaurants. One such guy that we always look forward to seeing at his restaurants is, Russ Bendel. We met Russ when he worked at Fleming's at Fashion Island. We were shocked to learn that he had left early last year to pursue new endeavors. We recently learned that one of these new enterprises was Vine Restaurant in San Clemente. As luck would have it, we were recently invited to come down, try some of their food, and of course reconnect with Russ.

Vine Restaurant is located on the very busy, El Camino Real in San Clemente, right across the street from the Italian restaurant, Brick, and is a few doors down from Pizza Port. This is not a new restaurant. It has been around for ten or so years, but Russ recently took it over late last year, with a couple of his friends, who each have extensive pedigrees working in the restaurant industry. Add to this trio of friends, Chef Jared Cook, who previously ruled the roost at Crow Bar and Kitchen in Corona Del Mar, along with two other stints at Vine, but now he's back here as Executive Chef. He was very proud to show off his garden on the hillside behind the restaurant, which helps inspire many of the chef specials on many nights.

We got to Vine at 3PM for our Media Lunch, with many of our favorite food writers in attendance, we knew we were going to be having a great time. Vine is only open for dinner, starting at 5:30 during the week, and at 5PM on weekends. Make a special note that they are closed on Mondays. I hate showing up to a restaurant, and finding out that they are closed on that particular day.

When walking into Vine, the bar will be to your right, as well as a look into the kitchen. There are high-top tables along the left-hand side of the room, which is where they had placed good-looking Charcuterie Boards ($18 for a full order, or $10 for a half order), for us to enjoy. I am not too much into sliced cheeses, but the domestic cured meats were very good. I really enjoyed the pepperoni and the prosciutto naturally.

The man in charge behind the bar is the very personable Gabe Whorley. Gabe has been in the restaurant industry since high school and has a ton of experience tending bar. He worked alongside renowned mixologist, Gabrielle Dion at Charlie Palmer. Gabe uses fresh herbs and fruits in many of his cocktails. We were lucky enough to try two of his craft cocktail creations. The Flaming Buffalo ($10) is made up of the unusual combination of Serrano chili, lemon, egg, and bourbon, and is then garnished with an orange peel and two cherries. I am not too much into bourbon, but this cocktail was delicious. The bourbon did not overpower, the egg kind of made this frothy, but I did not get much from the Serrano chili. Katie had the more fruity option, the Love Potion #9 ($10). This one used vodka as a base, then went with orange liqueur, lemon, cucumber, and raspberry, with an orange peel as a garnish. I was afraid this would be too sweet, but the cucumber and lemon probably helped keep this drink in check. Gabe even made Katie a virgin version of this drink, which he topped with an orange flower. Not into craft cocktails? Vine has 10 craft beers on tap, along with 25 wines by the glass, so there's something for everyone here.

After having our drinks and charcuterie, we went into the dining room for the next stage of our meal. First up was a very unusual item, Crispy Meyer Lemon and Honey Duck Wings ($14). We eat in a lot of restaurants, and I can not recall ever seeing duck wings on a menu. These were topped with a chili sauce and chives. They are butchered exclusively for Vine, and I will definitely be back for these. This duck was not as greasy as others can tend to be, with a nice crispiness. The chili sauce was not crazy overpowering and allowed the natural smokiness of the duck to shine through. Obviously more meat than a buffalo wing, these were one of the highlights of our meal here.

The second part of our appetizer course was this House Made Pumpkin Ravioli ($13). Accompanying the pumpkin ravioli was a white truffle with brown butter, crispy sage, and pecorino. I thought this ravioli was very well made, but a little too subtle for my palette. What brought this to life for me was the pecorino, which added a big boost of flavor that brought this appetizer to life.

We had the choice of three entrees at our media lunch, so I made sure that Katie and I got two different things. She ordered the Pan Roasted Loup de Mer ($27). For this French seafood dish, Chef Jared used Mediterranean sea bass and topped it with fingerling potatoes, Riesling raisins, cauliflower, baby endive, and pistachio brown butter. Katie felt this had very subtle flavors while being very juicy. She liked this rustic dish, that allowed the natural flavors of the fish to shine through. Just looking at this dish from across the table, you could not help but be drawn to the bright colors on the plate, and the wonderful aroma of the sea bass.

I was not expecting to have a burger at Vine, but it was one of the three entrees they were offering us, and I was told how amazing it was. The American Kobe Wine Country Burger ($13) did not disappoint. This good-sized burger was topped with caramelized shallots, Mahon cheese, marinated tomato, and pickled onions, on a brioche bun. I would describe this burger as a very good backyard burger. The Mahon cheese is very mellow, and the rest of the toppings were executed very well. When I saw the bun, I was afraid it was going to be too bready, but this was not the case. The bread absorbed the juiciness of the meat and the flavors of the other toppings. The fries here are made with real potatoes, and you can definitely taste the difference. They were seasoned with Parmesan and fresh herbs from their garden out back. Very tasty, and almost outshined the burger.  

When it was time for dessert, we were ushered out front to their patio that overlooks all the activity on El Camino Real. Here we were given Coffee and Scharffen Berger Chocolate Souffle ($10). This was not only a chocolate souffle, but it also included vanilla bean ice cream. This souffle was not overly sweet but still tasted great. I was pretty full from everything that we ate up until this point, but I ended up making quick work of this.

Vine was everything we thought it would be, especially after we had found out that Russ had taken it over. Not only was the stuff we tasted very good, but the rest of the menu looks promising as well. I am torn between a Pulled Lamb Sandwich and their Jidori Chicken on my next visit. Of course, there will probably be an amazing chef's special that Chef Jared has cooked up, that will throw all of my plans out the window, but I'm sure it will be delicious. Everyone at Vine Restaurant was a real pleasure to deal with. Even though this restaurant has changed ownership, a lot of the employees have stayed on, so if you have been to Vine before, you will probably recognize some familiar faces. Glad to see that Russ has turned up at Vine, and with this great team behind him, I am sure Vine has a bright future in store for it.

For more information on Vine Restaurant, go to their website here: http://www.vinesanclemente.com/index.html