Christopher Garren’s Let Them Eat Cake: Cinnamon Roll 3321 Hyland Ave. Ste. J&H, Costa Mesa, CA 92626 (714) 445-0189 | www.christophergarrens.com Remaining one of the best kept secrets in Orange County, Christopher Garren’s Let Them Eat Cake is a concept born from one of the shop’s most curiously constructed cakes: an amusing and brilliant representation of Steampunk style. With volumes of Treasure Island playfully hiding the shop’s offering of loose-leaf teas and mini globes of the world set atop each of the tables, this unconventional bakery doubles as a library for a pastry chef. Within “Christopher Garren’s Library,” you can browse an entire shelf of books on how to make chocolate or how to decorate a cake. It is like a trip to a wonderfully whimsical museum – corners and display cases exhibiting the intricate, artful one-of-a-kind creations dreamed up by Christopher Russom, owner of this unusual bakery. He started baking out of necessity when he was eight years old and soon learned to allow his imagination to flow into his food. You may have seen his ingenious edibles featured on the Food Network or WETV’s “Amazing Wedding Cakes”, but we were here to sample from Chris’s selection of beautiful baked goods which are available daily. Christopher Garren’s Let Them Eat Cake serves up coffee cake, cookies and croissants, but the sweet treat which made us “ooh and ah” was the giant Cinnamon Roll. Baked upside down in a light bath of butter and brown sugar and topped with a cream cheese frosting, the balance of sweet and savory in this heavenly dessert might make you want to eat breakfast for every meal. Native Knowledge: For perfect taste bud harmony, cleanse your palate with a shot of homemade muddled raspberry lemonade between devouring Christopher Garren’s delectables, because his beautiful displays will make you want to sample everything.
Antonello Ristorante: Torte della Nonna (Grandma’s Cake) 3800 Plaza Dr, Santa Ana, CA 92704 (714) 751-7153 | www.antonello.com Antonello Ristorante is nestled inside a village. Not a hillside village in Tuscany (where this cottage-inspired restaurant would just as easily reside), but rather South Coast Village in Santa Ana in the shadow of the monument to consumerism that is South Coast Plaza. For over a quarter of a century, this charming Italian restaurant has played host to heads of state, Presidents and celebrities. Photographs of Lionel Richie, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bill Clinton and Shaq line the hallways and staircase. The restaurant is unassuming from the outside, yet warm and memorable once you enter. High ceilings guarded by wood beams, staircases to private rooms, and chandeliers that provide just the right amount of light enhance this very intimate setting. When we arrive, we are escorted to the kitchen where the exact process of the dessert is revealed to us (sponge cake soaked in Orange Liqueur, espresso, mascarpone mousse and roasted pistachios). We sit at the bar, watch Futbol (not football) and enjoy a recipe handed down over generations along with the company of the bar man. The cake is light, sweet (but not overly), layered with goodness and topped with the salty pistachios. It is easy to see why this recipe and this restaurant have passed the test of time. Native Knowledge: They have a bevy of wonderful wine lockers. Each one is personalized with your own wine list. How fun would it be to send a friend in for dinner and tell them to pick a bottle from your private collection?
Sol Grill: Good for yer SOL Brownie 110 McFadden Pl., Newport Beach, Ca 92663 | 949-723-4105 | www.solgrill.com The Newport Peninsula is not devoid of treasures, but if you are not a regular, they can be difficult to find. Wedged in between tourist centric bars and t-shirt and boogie board rental shops is one of the cutest (if not “the” cutest) restaurants in Orange County. Sol Grill is the restaurant you wished your best friend owned. Misty, the owner for the past nine years, is also hostess, waitress, bartender, hug-giver and cruise director. It is only big enough for the most intimate of gatherings. The interior sparkles like an antique jewel box. The burgundy walls come alive as the flickering lights from the candles and chandeliers bounce light across the exquisite room. When we arrived we sat at the bar and were treated to the “Good for yer SOL Brownie,” a spiraling concoction of warm brownie (light enough to be called cake), topped with vanilla ice cream, walnuts, whipped cream, strawberries, chocolate and caramel sauce. It was a dessert that would easily serve four and we nearly finished it after a complete day of eating dessert. Yeah, it was that good. Native Knowledge: Make it a family date night. On Thursday’s during “Kids and Corks,” kids (10 and under) eat free and there is no corkage fee.
Tradition by Pascal: Warm Apple Tarte Tatin 1000 Bristol Street North, Newport Beach, CA 92660 | (949) 263-9400 | www.pascalnpb.com Seating ourselves on the charming patio just outside Tradition by Pascal, Chef and Owner Pascal Olhats, who has been satisfying Orange County with his exquisite French fare since 1988, started us off with an assortment of his famous macaroons. “They are just like us – crispy on the outside but soft on the inside,” Pascal teased. Crispy or soft, I’m eager to taste Pascal’s sweets, because the refinement of a French chef produces the most perfectly elegant desserts. One of several Pascal restaurants in Newport Beach, this polished establishment is no exception, showcasing the finesse of a very fine chef. It is classically furnished with touches of modernity, much like the piece de resistance of desserts which we savored bite by bite. The Warm Apple Tarte Tatin by Pascal is truly a unique experience of the new world meeting the old. Plated alongside a shot glass filled with fresh muddled strawberries and champagne and topped with a slice of white chocolate, this rustic apple tart will play a melodic tune on your taste buds from the flawless juxtaposition of flavors. Beginning with a mini bite of the white chocolate with toasted fennel seeds inside, I then move my way to a sip of the strawberry champagne and top off the experience with a bite of pure bliss: the soft and fluffy rustic apple tart. Pascal’s original concept included pistachios instead of toasted fennel seeds, but while calculating the components of this dessert, he ate the pistachios. Realizing he had to choose another item to melt into the chocolate, he tried the fennel seeds, and my palate is happy he did. The addition of this earthy, herbaceous surprise makes this a very close runner up for one of the best desserts I have ever had. Native Knowledge: Need to satisfy that sweet tooth in a hurry? Stop by Pascal Epicerie next door for a take away box of Pascal’s magnificent macaroons.
Rock’N Fish: Kona Pie 422 South Coast Highway, Laguna Beach, CA 92651 | (949) 497-3113 | www.rocknfishLB.com Rock’N Fish in Laguna Beach isn’t hard to find. In fact, you can take the bus and just tell the driver to drop you off at the fish-shaped bench across the street. With roots in Manhattan Beach since 2000, Rock’N Fish has finally made its way to Orange County. Stocking Laguna Beach with the most beers on tap in the city, Rock’N Fish’s classical New Orleans mood meshes curiously with the peak-a-boo sea views of Laguna Beach. To enhance this connection, Rock’N Fish’s walls are adorned with colorful mermaid mosaics and sea sculptures which give life to the warm woods and walls of iron. Serving generous portions of New Orleans-influenced fare to fit its distinguished style, we opted for a creative dessert with a beach background after being mesmerized by the views from this second-floor space. Executive Chef Robert Navarro dished up a Rock’N Fish original called Kona Pie. The menu says this sweet treat serves two, but we decided it could probably sufficiently serve six. Kona Pie consists of three layers of ice cream (coffee, vanilla and chocolate) which form the appearance of a cake. And making this dessert even more crave-worthy, the Kona Pie is topped with chopped Oreos, Butterfingers, English toffee and amazing almonds which have been baked slowly with a coating of egg whites and sugar to take this indulgence a little further on our taste scale. Sinful! Native Knowledge: You’re in for a pleasant surprise if you visit Rock’N Fish on a Friday and Saturday night. Their acoustic house band Three Man Weave’s lead singer is Carlos Santana’s nephew. 32