The Rancho Valencia Restaurant reminds me of traveling to another place and time when fine dining made a strong, solid, and respectable statement.
From a stylish openness that allows for spectacular garden views to the Mediterranean cuisine boasting flavors of Spain and North Africa, romance is in the air amidst crisp white tablecloths and a most attentive waitstaff. “It’s like The Great Gatsby meets Like Water for Chocolate,” says executive chef C. Barclay Dodge.
Organizing the menu for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, as well as brunch on Sundays, Dodge takes a creative, hands-on approach to his craft. “I love the culture of the kitchen including the drama and heat of the moment,” he says. “I like to run a kitchen based on mentorship. I have worked for such wonderful chefs that I believe it is my duty to pass that on to my cooks.”
The menu is seasonally based with produce coming from the Santa Monica Farmers’ Market, Specialty Produce, and Moceri Produce. Dodge likes to incorporate a substantial amount of organic ingredients as well as hand-picked goodness from Rancho Valencia’s own garden including wild watercress, fennel pollen, and pink peppercorns, as well as olives and citrus from its own olive grove and citrus trees.
All of the fish is brought in locally, mostly from Santa Monica Seafood & Pacific Shellfish. Offering a most distinctive California appeal, two of my favorites include the utterly flavorful Heirloom Tomato Carpaccio with Dungeness crab and pistachio romesco and the Clear Tomato Gazpacho with Maine lobster, vanilla, hearts of palm, and mango vinegar mist.
While my dining guest savored the sautéed Alaskan Halibut with sweet corn, fava beans, and roasted peppers with a lobster emulsion, the vegetable lover in me couldn’t resist the Green Plate with baked zucchini blossoms and cherry tomato vinaigrette, fennel-potato gratin with black olive tapenade, grilled peaches and figs, and pistachio crostini.
Dodge shows off his creativity with the use of wild game, especially in the Rabbit Raviolis, which boast a signature rating. Simply divine, this petite filled pasta is served with cauliflower fondue, crispy artichokes, sherry consommé, and tomatoes. Equally unique and luxurious is the succulent and fork-tender Glazed Duck Breast matched with snap peas, sea beans, and chanterelles with blackberry-cassis sauce.
My unrivaled trip to sugar land sets the bar with the season’s best summer fruits. The varying flavor in the Meyer Lemon Tart with toasted meringue and strawberry preserves proves utterly irresistible. A lover of chocolate, I had to try The Spiced Chocolate Spoonbread with candied kumquats and orange-cardamom anglaise. I’m so glad I saved room for dessert. (858/759-6216 www.ranchovalencia.com) MARIA DESIDERATA MONTANA
