Foothill Ranch is Getting More Urban

Urban Grill and Wine Bar

27412 Portola Parkway

Foothill Ranch, CA 92610

When people usually think of Foothill Ranch, they probably think of the 241 Toll Road, Saddleback Church, or maybe some of the companies that do business here, such as Oakley, Wet Seal, or Emergen-C. When people think of restaurants in Foothill Ranch, they almost always think of fast food and chain restaurants, but there are some other options in this inland OC area. You just have to look a little harder to find them.

One place you have to look for is Urban Grill and Wine Bar, which is located right in between a Wahoo's and a Starbucks. I had heard of this place from a fellow food blogger, Nathan of Papa Kaster Eatin' about a year ago. He had visited during lunch and remarked how much he had loved his burger. That was enough for me to put this place on our list of restaurants to eat at. Sabrina and Anthony were coming our way for dinner, so we decided to meet at Urban Grill on a recent Saturday night.

Urban Grill has been in business for two years now. Opened by David Hall and Jamie Benson, they felt this area needed a quality restaurant and wine bar. They had both worked at one of my favorite spots, Bungalow in Corona Del Mar. They envisioned Urban Grill as an upscale eatery, specializing in classic comfort food. I was pretty excited to see if they could deliver during our visit.

Usually, when I think of wine bars, I think of stuffy and pretentious. That was not the case here. Urban Grill was rocking at 7PM on a recent Saturday. The restaurant was packed, but we got a seat in the loud, but comfortable dining room almost immediately. This restaurant is dark, with a comfortable spacing between tables, so you are not totally on top of each other. Predictably, the menu here is pretty wine-focused. The entire left-hand side of the menu is reserved for all of their wines and limited craft beer selections. The food portion of the menu is broken up into small plates, salads, sandwiches, entrees, and sides. Pretty straightforward, which is a nice change of pace. We were all tired of listening to Sabrina's boring stories, so we were pretty happy when the food started to make its way out for us. Let's see what we thought.

Not the most beautiful of presentations, but this Daily Flatbread ($12) was a huge hit at our table. On the night we were at Urban, this offering included some tri-tip, plenty of red onion, and a spicy red sauce. The spice was definitely present here, while the tri-tip was very tender. I thought the flatbread itself did a fair job of holding everything together, but it was wobbly in the middle parts. Even with this generous serving size, the four of us had no problem polishing this off quickly.

Anthony was intrigued enough by the Daily Soup ($8) offering on this night, to order the Black Bean Tomato Bacon Soup. Afterward, he was pretty pleased with his decision. This bowl of soup came to the table scalding hot, with plenty of black beans in attendance, and a good amount of bacon flavor. He liked the mix of flavors with this, and called this, "a hearty soup".

When I was checking out the menu before coming to Urban Grill, I was pretty excited by their salad selection. I was not only happy with their variety, but I also liked that they offered half sizes of most of their salads at a very reasonable price. Katie took advantage of this by getting the Half House Chopped Salad ($5). This house salad had a kind of Greek feel to it with the inclusion of feta cheese, Kalamata olives, red onions, cucumber, tomatoes, cabbage, lettuce, and a house vinaigrette. Katie predictably called the produce here fresh but was also impressed with the half portion size of this. Also of note was the tangy vinaigrette used here, she felt it brought this salad to life a bit.

There was no Caesar offered at Urban Grill, so I went with my usual second choice when it comes to salads, a wedge. The Urban Wedge ($6) came with all of the usual suspects in a typical wedge salad. It starts with hearts of romaine, plenty of red onion, tomatoes, chopped bacon, blue cheese, and a blue cheese dressing. The only thing that Urban Grill added to this salad to make it their own is candied walnuts, which added a nice sweetness and texture component. I liked their version of a wedge. It had a nice balance to it, and there was plenty of blue cheese included here.

Entrees are up next, and we'll start out with Sabrina's selection, the Grilled Vegetable Pasta Primavera ($13). This had a plethora of veggies included in it. Zucchini, artichoke hearts, tomatoes, and roasted garlic, along with pappardelle pasta, pesto, a Soave wine sauce, and grated Parmesan made up this plate for health-conscious Sabrina. She was very pleased with this big pile of food. She thought the pasta tasted like it was made here, the sauce was excellent, and the artichoke hearts really made this dish pop. She left here happy because it took her only one visit to Urban Grill to find her favorite thing on the menu.

I was torn between what sandwich to try here, so Anthony and I decided to split our sandwiches, so we could try both. The first of our two sandwiches was this Prime Steak Sandwich ($17). This sandwich is made with prime ribeye, provolone, onion strings, and a mushroom skillet sauce, all on a French baguette. This steak was cooked to a wonderful medium rare, with a great meaty flavor, and hints of garlic from somewhere. The cheese added some moisture, but the mushroom sauce was like Wonder Woman's plane, invisible. Extra sauce, or maybe even an au jus, would have gone a long way in making this sandwich even better than it already was. This came with Herbed Matchstick Fries, which were seasoned nicely and had a good crunch to them.

The second of our two sandwiches was this Grilled Tri-Tip Sandwich ($11.50). Joining the tri-tip on the caramelized onion bun were provolone, horseradish cream, and caramelized onions. After having the flatbread with the tri-tip on it, I knew that the meat was going to be good, and it was. It was tender, but just like the other sandwich, this needed more of a sauce. If the menu had not clued me into the horseradish sauce being included here, I would have had no idea that it was on here. We should have gotten some extra on the side. The bun on this one was very sturdy but soft. A good combo to have in the bread game.

Just like Anthony and I got similar items, Katie followed Sabrina's lead by having something that was similar to Sabrina's dinner, the Chicken Artichoke Pasta ($15). On this one, they used the same pappardelle pasta, garlic, tomatoes, spinach, artichoke hearts, pesto, chili flakes, Soave wine sauce, Parmesan, and a touch of cream. Katie was as pleased with her meal, as Sabrina was with hers. She really liked the abundance of fresh veggies used here, and the chicken was tender and moist. When I pressed her about any negatives, she could not think of any.

Usually, when we go out with Sabrina and Anthony we always overindulge, and that was the case on this night as well. We tried two additional side items, because of course we did not have enough food already. The Grilled Asparagus with Pesto and Feta ($8) really wowed everyone at our table. The asparagus was tender and flavorful, but it could have used a little more feta on this. Anthony liked this so much he was trying to hoard it for himself. The Urban Mac and Cheese with Prosciutto ($7) earned a split decision at our table. The girls loved this side item, but both Anthony and I kind of thought it was a little too bland and resembled the Kraft version too closely. The prosciutto helped a little here, but not enough for me to order this again.

By this time of the night, the four of us were all pretty full, but for you dear reader, we ordered dessert anyway. The Urban Ice Cream Sandwich ($7) gets most of the dessert love from the reviews on Yelp, so that's the one we tried. Two oatmeal-based cookies are sandwiched between vanilla ice cream and then drizzled with chocolate and caramel sauce. This dessert was good, but the cookie was a little too hard for us to get our forks through it. It really took a lot of effort, and the ice cream squirted out the sides. I liked the cookie, but I probably would have liked to have had them without all the trouble of trying to break through them with a fork.

Urban Grill and Wine Bar is a welcome addition to the Foothill Ranch neighborhood. Although it was not a perfect meal all around, the food that we did have is a welcome diversion from chain restaurant food that is king around these parts. I look forward to trying their pork chop or maybe one of their steaks on our next trip here. I felt the prices were more than fair for the amount of food that you get. Our server Bill was right on top of things and made some great suggestions throughout the night. Hopefully, this will be the start of these kinds of restaurants in Foothill Ranch.

Out of five outfitters, (because when I hear the word urban, I always think of the Urban Outfitter's store, where everything in there is too hip for me to wear), five being best to zero being worst, Urban Grill and Wine Bar get 3 outfitters.

For more information on Urban Grill and Wine Bar, go to their website here: http://urbangrillandwinebar.com/

Getting a First Look at Provenance - CLOSED

Provenance

2531 Eastbluff Dr. 

Newport Beach, CA 92660

Sometimes, I really hate my regular job. I know hearing someone say that is not a big shock, but I only feel this way sometimes. For the most part, I am pretty happy where I work. I have been there for 26 years now, and it has afforded me to go on vacations, gives me a roof over my head, and allows me to go out to a few restaurants. Then there's a day like a couple weeks ago. I had inventory weekend, and there was a media tasting at a new restaurant that I have been waiting to try since I heard about their opening. There would be no way I could get out of work, so in my place, I sent my way better half, Katie, to enjoy a great afternoon at Provenance in Newport Beach.

Provenance is the new restaurant from Chef Cathy Pavlos of the highly acclaimed LUCCA Cafe in Irvine. If you go into Provenance thinking this will be like LUCCA, you would be mistaken. LUCCA is a Mediterranean restaurant that draws its inspiration from all countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea. The culinary inspiration for Provenance comes from the California wine country. That cuisine is, of course, greatly influenced by France and Italy, which means so is the food of Provenance. Just like the food of California is influenced by Asian and Latin flavors, the food making its way out of the kitchen at Provenance will have a slight tinge of Asian or Latin flavors on top of French and Italian basics.

Katie came home singing the praises of Chef Cathy. Chef Cathy is, of course, worthy of these praises. She's an architect with a degree in Architecture and Art History, a Master's Degree in Social Ecology, and a PhD in Environmental Design and Analysis. Literally, she's one smart cookie. She grew up in Huntington Beach but has lived in Italy and traveled throughout Europe and the East Coast.

Chef Cathy grew up in Huntington Beach when the city was rural, and at Provenance, she's returning to her roots with a garden right on the premises. Farm to Fork is all the rage now, but that's how she lived growing up, and that is what they are striving for here at Provenance. They cater to a 35-year-old clientele, and these diners are part of the LATTE culture, which means they are looking for local, authentic, traceable, trusted, and ethical restaurants. It doesn't get any more traceable than knowing that the vegetable on your plate is from the garden in the back of the restaurant. Just as they were settling in, the food started to make its way out. Let's see what Chef Cathy had cooked up this afternoon.

Speaking of the garden, starting things off was the Salted Garden Beets ($14). Joining the beets on the plate was a Di Stefano burrata, avocado, mandarin aigre-doux, chard, and a sherry-maple vinaigrette. I just learned that aigre-doux means sweet and sour while writing this. I should have taken French instead of Spanish in school. Katie went nuts over this. She claims she has never had a better-tasting burrata, which played well with the myriad flavors here. The beets added an earthiness, while the mandarin sauce provided a sweet and sour combination.

In 2005, when LUCCA opened, Housemade Charcuterie ($23.50) was not as big as it is now. Fast forward to the present, and almost every fine dining restaurant now offers charcuterie. Provenance is no different, but its offerings include potted rillettes, duck pate, sliced charcuterie, pickled veggies, and mustard. Katie really liked the variety here.

Next up were a couple of sandwiches off the Provenance lunch menu. The Turkey Meatloaf ($15) is definitely right up my alley. Joining the tender turkey meatloaf on this sandwich was applewood smoked bacon, Fiscalini Farmstead cheddar, cippolini in agrodolce, Boston lettuce, tomato relish, sweet pepper jelly, and house aioli. It's not your usual humdrum leftover meatloaf sandwich here. If the meatloaf sandwich sounds unique, the Roasted Leg of Colorado Lamb Sandwich ($16.50) is something you see only occasionally. It's topped with a Meyer lemon confit, mixed chards, a Kalamata olive tapenade, and the house aioli. For lamb lovers, this one can not be beat. As if the insides of the sandwiches are not enough to make you happy, the bread at Provenance comes from Dean Kim's OC Baking Company, so you know it will be great.

Showing off more from the garden at Provenance, the Honey Balsamic Roasted Baby Carrots ($7). With such a simple-sounding dish, there was a lot going on here. The carrots were fork tender and popped with flavor from the addition of a spice blend, dill, chives, and the unusual inclusion of feta cheese.

The bounty from the garden continued to make its way to the table with these two other offerings. I have never really been a fan of Rapini ($8.50), but this version has me rethinking that. Topping the usually bitter vegetable is a spicy tomato sauce, green garlic, and a fried egg, my favorite part of this dish. Genius. Chef Cathy has found a way to make even rapini taste good. The Sweet and Sour Winter Squash Medley ($7.50) was plated so that you could see Chef Cathy's architectural background. The tall black kale surrounded the squash and sprinkled with roasted pumpkin seeds. This dish seemed to scream Autumn.

The lone lunch entree was this Mahi Mahi ($21.50). This fish was encrusted with pistachios and served alongside a quinoa medley, tomatillos, salsa verde, and a hint of citrus. Katie really enjoyed this earthy dish. She liked the fish but was taken aback by the quinoa. She said she could have just made a meal of the quinoa medley.

Now, on the dinner menu, and starting things off, there was this starter: the Whole Smoked Idaho Trout ($27.50). For smoked fish lovers, this is a must. It's topped with ribbons of hearts of palm, capers, artichoke hearts, oven-roasted tomatoes, and smoked olive and lemon cream. Katie's not much of a smoked fish fan, so she did not try this, but I really enjoyed the plating here, so I had to include this shot.

The fish parade continued with this pan-fried New Zealand Sole on the Plancha ($28.50). For being pan-fried, this fish was light and lacked any noticeable grease. The sole was served with crispy prosciutto, planche potatoes, spinach, tarragon, and an infused brown butter sauce. It's a very nice fish dish for light eaters who do not want to sacrifice flavor.

New Zealand not only brought us the sole above but also this lamb. This Rack of New Zealand Lamb might look like it's not cooked all the way through, but at Provenance, they cook some of their meats using the top-of-the-line Sous Vide station, which cooks meats all the way through to the desired temperature in a vacuumed packed bag. It's a popular cooking process by Thomas Keller, which cooks items evenly from the inside out. Also served with the lamb is a blood orange leek risotto and a cilantro macadamia nut pesto. A lot more creative than that horrible mint jelly option.

When Katie came home and showed me the pictures she had taken, the one that caught my eye immediately was one of the Roasted Jidori Chicken ($23). Often, chicken can be bland, but looking at the chicken here made me crave it. It comes with garden veggies, baby Yukon potatoes, blistered Brussels sprouts, and pan gravy. Comfort food with a modern twist. According to Katie, the chicken was some of her tenderest. This is a meal that you can feel good about eating.

Just like at LUCCA, Provenance will be serving brunch, but for right now, brunch at Provenance is only on Sundays. There is no run-of-the-mill eggs Benedict here. This is the Homemade Whiskey and Brown Sugar-Cured Wild Salmon Gravadlax. This Nordic-style way of serving salmon is placed on top of two house-made English muffins, with poached eggs, dilled Hollandaise sauce, and fried capers placed on top of the salmon.

They love their fish at Provenance, and plenty of seafood is on the brunch menu here. This Pan Seared Idaho Trout ($17.50) is something other than what I would typically order at brunch, but the menu description piqued my interest. This dish comprised two poached cage-free eggs, root veggie loose hash-browns, and baby garden greens, all with a mustard cognac Bearnaise sauce. Katie liked every aspect of this plate, but the root vegetable hash browns got her attention.

I love hash for breakfast, but many of them are mediocre. After seeing the picture of this CAB Shortrib Corned Beef Hash ($16.50), I have high hopes for this version at Provenance. Served with a sunny-side-up egg, butternut squash succotash, and Wasabi Cream, this promises to be full of big-time flavors. I look forward to trying this as soon as possible.

Last, we return to the dinner menu for this grand finale, the 32-ounce Certified Angus Beef Porterhouse Steak for 2 ($93). This was brought to the table medium rare and was one of the most tender pieces of meat that Katie had ever consumed. It is carved off the bone and served with grilled vegetables, potatoes, and sauces from their garden. If you are a steak fiend, you should get this at Provenance.

When they could not eat anymore, an excellent trio of desserts were brought out. Pastry Chef Alice Castro, formerly of Park Avenue in Stanton, has been brought on board to create the desserts at Provenance. Always a sucker for apple pie ala mode, the Cast Iron Apple Pie ($9) looks like it will be a winner, with a salted caramel sauce and Calvados ice cream. For those who do not know, like me, until I looked it up, Calvados is an apple brandy from France. For a lighter dessert, try the Plate of Cookies and Mini Pastries ($9). Carrot Cake ($9) always gets my attention, and after seeing this one, I had to stop myself from licking my computer screen trying to get a taste of the good-looking cream cheese frosting. Like at Park Avenue, many of Alice's desserts feature house-made ice creams with unique flavors. All the more reason to save room for dessert when dining at Provenance.

For the next couple of weeks after her visit to Provenance, Katie could not help but sing their praises. She told many people they must try it with us so I could experience it very soon. Provenance was everything that Katie thought it was going to be. The food was amazing, innovative, and Chef Cathy really inspired her. I was upset that I missed this event, but I was glad Katie got to experience it.

For more information about Provenance, go to their website here: http://www.provenanceoc.com/

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