Jun 11

Jun 11 Scott's Restaurant & Bar

food, oc, Orange County, Scott's Restaurant &am...

I love Orange County. I remember back when I was in junior high, I would go to Westminster/Costa Mesa every weekend to go shopping and stock up on authentic Vietnamese food. Now that I’m older and don’t have the luxury of being chauffeured around, I am much more appreciative of any OC trip I’m able to take.

Before I left for my vacation, I went to unwind from work and spend a relaxing day at South Coast Plaza. I ended up going for lunch at Scott’s Restaurant & Bar. I’d never been to Scott’s, but was told that it’s a must-visit when in the area. It was convenient too. I literally just walked across the street from South Coast. Scott’s is a classic, yet modern seafood and steakhouse restaurant. There are private dining rooms and even a nice bar to hang out at. I love, love, love open kitchens. It was so nice to be able to walk over to the kitchen and see your food being made on the spot. Scott's also made for a great location to relax and people watch. Everyone was dressed to nines. Definitely fun to look at all the good looking people around. It was easy on the eyes!

I was able to meet Executive Chef Michael Doctulero before my meal. He was so friendly. He even stopped by to chat and hang for a bit during the meal. Chef Mike told me he only uses the freshest produce, harvested from a local organic farm in Riverside twice a week. What stood out about Scott’s was their dedication to responsible sourcing and practices, using only local farmers and sustainable fisheries. The environmental science nerd in me definitely approved.

Now not the food...

I started with the Tuna Tartare, which was amazing. The slight hint of sriracha-like sauce made a good contrast of flavors with the poke. This dish made my day. I recently had some pretty terrible poke, so this was a good reminder to have faith in the world! The Poke Gods have granted my wish!

Paella! I love paella! This was the Australian Barramundi paired with paella rice, linguica, mussels and clams. So tasty!

Now if you're a long-time follower of mine, you know that I'm not the biggest fan of salads aka rabbit food. Let me tell you I was converted by this salad dish! This organic spinach salad with green goddess dressing, pine nuts, and heirloom tomatoes didn't look like anything special, but this was the best salad I've ever had! I could have just eaten this salad and dessert for the whole meal and been perfectly happy! Go out and get this now!

Next up was the wild king salmon caponata with pesto oil and house made gnocchi. Salmon wasn't overdone. It was just right.

At this point I was about to burst, but hey, a food blogger's job is never quite done! Onward with the Scott’s calamari. It was seasoned with lemon, garlic, shallots, and butter. The calamari is one of Scott's most famous dishes and I can see why. If you're not a big seafood eater, I wouldn't recommend this. If you love squid, then order this! It's important to eat the calamari right away. The longer you let the dish sit, the faster it gets chewy.

Scott's has pretty sweet happy hour deals. There's a Sunday Champagne Brunch 11am-3pm, $8 bloody marys, $12 endless mimosas, and $6 mimosas to name a few. They even have their own whiskeys. I didn't know what to try so I had to bartender recommend something.

I ended up trying the Barrel aged mysterious Manhattan. It's Scott's very own special blend of whiskeys, vermouth, bitters. I'm usually not a big whiskey drinker, but this was very good.

Then my sweet tooth took over my better judgement. I ordered two desserts. Yes, I am out of my mind. How do you say no to this Citrus blood orange sorbet with grapefruit glee and lemon chiffon?

Now onto the best way to end the night! This dish was absolutely drool-worthy. I'm salivating thinking about this right now. Cheesecake stuffed beignets accompanied by fresh Strawberries, sliced almonds, caramel sauce, powdered sugar. I licked this plate clean. Apologies to Scott's staff for that.