Anza Valley Outlook • www.anzavalleyoutlook.com • August 26, 2016
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Dining in the Valley Maze Stone Restaurant popular family destination
The Chopping Block Salad at Maze Stone Restaurant is sure to please a variety of palates. The salad consists of crisp, fresh, iceberg lettuce, topped with tender chicken and Applewood bacon and drizzled with house barbecue ranch dressing. Kim Harris photo
Tony Ault TAULT@REEDERMEDIA.COM
T
he Maze Stone Restaurant and the Country Club of Soboba Springs is fast becoming a critically acclaimed dining and golf resort dreamed of by the Soboba Band of Luiseno Indians. The restaurant and 18-hour golf course purchased by the tribe in 2004 have been completely renovated and yearly has grown more and more popular with both diners and golfers. The renovated course on the Indian tribe’s acquired land in San Jacinto, plays host annually to the PGA Tour Nationwide Tour Soboba Classic. The event boasts a $750,000 purse, making it one of the largest and most important stops on the tour.
The Maze Stone Restaurant located in the 32,000 square foot clubhouse opened its doors in April 2008 to rave reviews. Natural rock and beautiful alderwood trim bring the outdoors inside. Beautiful water features literally connect the signature Maze Stone restaurant and clubhouse. Under the direction of Ray Shalizi, a well-known Certified Hospitality and Hotel Management administrator from Palm Springs who came to the Maze Stone in 2012, the popular restaurant has fulfilled the tribe’s dream to make the Maze Stone and golf course San Jacinto’s first true resort destination for all of California. Shalizi, when he first arrived at the restaurant, said the “tribe had a great restaurant, but it had no branding. It
Reene Gomez, banquet manager for the Maze Stone Restaurant with server Kristina Campesta admire this table setting for a wedding to be held in the ballroom. The table settings are created by a contracted wedding and special event decorator. Tony Ault photo
was more a golf orientation.” He said his first goal was to make the restaurant more than just a bar with just sandwiches. People had the impression the restaurant and bar were more like a private club and “a special occasion restaurant.” He quickly moved to make the restaurant and bar more refined and to bring to the public its general offerings. The offerings were expanded to include breakfast, lunch and dinner. A top chef was hired who brought aboard a sous chef and assistant cooks to produce excellent and extensive menus. They help provide the special foods needed for private banquets held in the adjacent banquet and ballroom for up to 300 guests. Reene Gomez, who is unsurpassed in creating magnificent banquet
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Your Downtown Favorite Just Got a Little Bigger!
This kitchen team at the Maze Stone Restaurant at the Country Club of Soboba checks out how a top grade hamburger should be created. From left: Line Cook Scott Gutcher, Chef William Ramsey, Sous Chef Josh Schroeder and Line Cook Ryan Szmurlo. Tony Ault photo
meals for weddings, anniversaries, church and civic meetings serving large numbers of guests, became the banquet manager. “We are a small tight-knit group,” said Shalizi. “We are here to serve others, especially in our hospitality. We are in business to create food and entertainment venues for everyone.” Top notch banquet and wedding arrangers are welcome and available. Servers are well-trained by staff to service the needs of every dinner guest. Each server and other employees are required to attend a weeklong training period by the administrative staff. The restaurant, bar and banquet room currently has 24 employees to serve customers. He said he wanted to emphasize that they are open to the public. The Maze Stone and the tribe delight in offering a huge brunch to the people of the community during major holidays. A New Years’ brunch brings up to 450 guests each year. Veteran’s Day offers a special brunch to those who have served the nation in the armed forces. Now the restaurant and bar provide the food and drink for scheduled entertainment throughout the week, designed to reach everyone from the golfers and intimate diners to whole families. For the golfers and adults, a full bar has been created adjacent to the restaurant and upstairs from the golf shop. Happy hours are held daily from 2 to 6 p.m. For the family there is live entertainment Thursday and Friday evenings. There is a Sunday karaoke and the country club opens its large swimming pool to families for weekly pool parties during the summer for a $2 entry fee. A DJ is on hand to provide music and the restaurant has food to order. Pool drinks are offered at reasonable prices. “I worked to have pool parties to provide kind of a resort type offering for the area. There was nothing like that here,” said Shalizi. “We have been doing this, every summer for
the past three years. Last week we had 60 people come to the family oriented party. It is open to all ages.” The well-crafted menus for breakfast, lunch and dinners highlight the talent of Chef William Ramsey, Sous Chef Josh Schroeder and line cooks Ryan Szmurlo and Scott Gutcher. Some of their most popular dinner menu entries include: Braised Beef Short Ribs (18.95), Hand Battered Calamari (10.95), Wonton Tigers (8.95), Cedar Plank Salmon, doublestack meatloaf (13.95) and Saffron Scallops (19.95). For a delicious lunch, the following popular dishes are offered: six salads, including the favourite steak and mushroom (12.95); Pub Style Fish and Chips (13.95); Barbacoa or Sirache Shrimp tacos (8.95) or others to order; Sandwiches like the always popular Club (10.95) to the tasty Firecracker Shrimp Wrap (9.95). There is an extensive lounge menu for lunch or dinners and popular breakfasts. Breakfasts include everything from the simple two egg, bacon or sausage with hash browns (5.95) to the big Town and Country Breakfast that includes poached eggs, English muffins, Canadian bacon and Hollandais accompanied by a country fried steak covered with sausage gravy over a biscuit. (13.95). To learn more about the Maze Stone Restaurant, visit www.sobobaspringscc.com/maze-stone. Hours are Sunday through Thursday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Friday and Saturday from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. Breakfast is served from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m.; lunch 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Dinner is served from 4-8 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 4-9 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Sunday brunch is served 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and on holidays 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The Country Club at Soboba Springs is located at 1020 Soboba Road in San Jacinto and can be reached by calling (951) 654-4300. The Banquet manager can be reached by calling (951) 654-4300 ext. 5124.
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