At "The Playground with Clos Pepe"

Friday, March 13, 2015

Very small venue at the Terrior.0 dining area at the Playground 2.0  in downtown Santa Ana, www.playgrounddtsa.com, This area is called the "theater". 18 seats along a long bar. Every dish is cooked and plated in front of you. Quite the "show".  The main restaurant is larger and it is advisable to have reservations. If not they open at 5:00, be there at 4:30 and you may get in. Come at 6:00 or it's a long wait. Jolie who has gone there several times now says in the main restaurant there is no corkage. This place is exactly 13 miles from my garage to the parking structure without going on a freeway. I am going to start planning my next foray.

This area of Santa Ana is under going a revitalization. It was impressed. Several new restaurants that have been getting great reviews. Area is very clean in spite of the crowds. I walked around for about 30 minutes checking things out before going in to be seated for dinner.

We started out with 3 Amuse Bouche's. Fava Bean conserva toast with buratta, Scallop Ceviche, Loquat, Red Fresno (chile) and Micro Clintro and a Blumental Potato with Caviar. All were excellent, had great flavors and were small enough not to fill you up. Very generous pours of the 2012 Clos Pepe Homage to Chablis Chardonnay.  Perfect pairing.

First  course was a Cooked Octopus with Chorizo and Pineapple. The pineapple liquid was so good. Added the right dimension to the Octopus, The 2011 Clos Pepe Barrel fermented Chardonnay was paired.  Good pairing. The oak was balanced out by the richness of the dish.

Second course served I think may have been my favorite of the evening. Chino Farms Spring Gargilou.  "Gargilou" apparently means everything. 30 ingredients in this dish. All vegetables. Melded together perfectly. I was so impressed. And watching them build 18 plates in front of you was "theater|". Wine poured was a 2011 Axis Mundi Grenache/Syrah. It went very well with the vegetables which I was surprised along with Wes Hagen.

Course Three consisted of a domestic pork that is fed almonds. To mimic the Iberico pork from Spain that is fed Hazelnuts. Beautiful flavor. Served with Arugula, citrus and crushed, toasted Hazelnuts. By this time I am starting to feel full and there are two more courses to go. But I shall persevere. A 2011 Clos Pepe Estate Pinot Noir was the wine selected and a good pairing. 

Main course was a Duck Confit, Pickled Cherries, Baby Parsnip, Parsnip Puree and Chino Farms Mustards. The chef apologized to everyone . The duck was overcooked. I was so full it really didn't matter to me. Just less food to eat. The 2012 Clos Pepe Estate Pinot Noir. Again a good pairing.

We were poured a glass of Clos Pepe Pinot Noir Grappa before dessert was served. I will say it did clean your palate. It is a good Grappa, not a big biting one.

Dessert was a Quick Tres Leche with fresh fruit,  Chermoya sorbet and Thai Basil. Light but delicious. They served a cocktail  called "The Bird Is The Word #2" which was grappa with chartreuse liqueur and probably some other ingredients. It was light, refreshing and went well with the dessert.

All the wines paired well with the food dishes. The restaurant did an excellent job of pairing without having tasted the wines beforehand. 

An interesting concept and I do like the open seating. That means I can come by myself and not go through the hassle of trying to find someone that is willing to spend some money to eat. The Terrior.0 is invite only. Want to go. Look at the schedule, email your request and maybe you will invited and maybe not. Prepaid only. 

The Playground does a Sunday Supper which you must make your reservation a month in advance. They serve everything that was popular in the restaurant that week. You have no choices and they do not change or substitute for anyone. Have an allergy - forget it. Their website says "maybe this is not the dinner for you".

First street in Santa Ana starts off as Bolsa in Huntington Beach. It is 13 miles from my house so an easy shot for me as the street runs fairly fast.  The freeway would probably add 8 miles to the trip.