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Health & Fitness

FOOD REVIEW: The Wine Bistro in Dana Point, Nothing to Whine About

The Wine Bistro in Dana Point has a large variety of wines and an imaginative food menu, including a Monday night wine dinner and other special dining events.

A nice glass of wine is a always a great start to a meal, and the Wine Bistro in Dana Point, offers just that. We visited there on a recent Monday night for the first time. As we walked up to the podium to ask for a table, the hostess asked us if we wanted to have the “Monday night wine dinner,” or if we wanted to order from the regular menu. We were unfamiliar with all of the menus, so she gave us one of everything. We walked through the outside patio seating on our way in. The partly enclosed patio, decorated with wine barrels looked like a nice area to dine, with lots of seating. Inside, the wine theme continues with lots of wood and stone and more wine barrels. The booths are decorated with different grape names, like Chardonnay and Cabernet. The overall effect is comfortable and cozy. To one side, there is a large bar area set against a beautiful stone wall. 

Once we were seated, we started to look over all of our options. The Monday night wine dinner menu changes weekly. The dinner includes smaller portions of three separate entrees paired specially with a wine. This night, the first entrée was chicken and apple sausages served with peppers, onions, pesto and couscous paired with Lincourt Chardonnay. The second entrée was fish and chips made with cod and served with Cajun tartar sauce and was paired with Giesen Riesling. The third entrée was psychedelic pork loin, served with pesto cream, chipotle lemon garlic and purple mashed potatoes paired with Las Rochas de San Alejandro Garnacha. All three entrees plus wines were $20 per person. Although this sounded tempting, it seemed like way too much food for us.

We decided to choose a wine first. The wine menu is quite extensive covering two sides of a fairly large menu. There are many options by the glass and by the bottle. Many are under $10 per glass, and many are from lesser-known wineries. I chose an Italian sparkling wine La Marca Prosecco from Di Conegliano, Italy and my husband chose a glass of Educated Guess Cabernet, from Napa. We were both happy with our choices.

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The regular menu is small, but interesting. Under the heading “Pass and Share” are some simple appetizers, include bruschetta, stuffed mushrooms, a meat and cheese platter, and seared tuna, lobster tots and a nuts, olives and baguette platter. There are three wood fire pizzas, one made with short ribs, one with veggies, and one with shrimp, chicken and artichokes. Under “Grains” are jalapeno lobster penne and feta spaghetti, made with feta cream, cherry tomatoes, basil, apple wood bacon, and blackened chicken. From “Out of the Sea” they offer Pb & j scallops, made with peanut crusted scallops, chipotle berry jam, marshmallow risotto, and mint micro greens. There is sugar and spiced Mahi-Mahi and also easy salmon served with orange horseradish gremolata, asparagus, wicked compound butter, and fingerling potatoes. Under “From the Farm” there is a filet, wood fire pork, Bourbon Street flat iron steak, Tuscan chicken, chicken and waffles and short ribs. My husband selected the Bourbon Street flat iron steak and I chose the leafy greens pizza.

While we enjoyed our wine, we noticed an advertisement on our table for a special dinner on Oct. 18, called “A Taste of Italy.” It is a four-course dinner, including an appetizer, salad, entrée and dessert with a special wine served with each course for $49 per person.  

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Our waiter had been helpful throughout the ordering process and soon delivered our entrees. Jim’s steak arrived with two small steaks, served over a butternut squash puree (which was delicious), fresh asparagus and three enormous onion rings, which were light and tasty.  My pizza came on a large flatbread crust with fresh Brussels sprouts, asparagus and mushrooms, Manchego cheese, sun dried tomato, and Balsamic reduction. The crust was thin, crisp, and a little spicy. The vegetables were tender, but not overcooked, and even though it was a pizza, it was not too heavy or greasy.

We took a look at the dessert menu, just to see what they have. They offer the Irish car bomb, which is Guinness chocolate cake, salted caramel, chocolate Jameson mousse, and Irish mint cream. They also serve their version of crème Brule, sorbet, and a waffle split, which involves, chocolate, banana, salted caramel, crushed pecans, and chocolate bacon. They also have dessert wines and three choices of Port.

The Wine Bistro is a fun spot to relax and enjoy a variety of wines and an imaginative menu. In addition, they have a weekly special menu on Mondays, which emphasizes wine and food pairings, as well as other special events. You can go to winebistrodp.com to look at the entire menu, including a kids’ menu and to find out more about their specials. We enjoyed the food, atmosphere and service.

The Wine Bistro is located at 34091 La Plaza and is open Monday through Friday, from 11 a.m. and from 9 a.m. on Saturdays and Sundays.

I give The Wine Bistro 3 ½ Patches out of 5.

 

 

 

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