It has been almost two years since I have eaten at the Old Vine Café. One can say that is a good thing so I can appreciate how well the meal and experience has lasted in between visits – but one can also say that missing out on such wonderfully made food all this time is a travesty.

This evening’s meal was with friends and co-workers Lisa and her husband Ed, Joanna and her fiancé Bill, Tim (a frequent dining partner) and Diane. I was inspired to bring this group of friends and foodies because of Restaurant Week here in the OC. The Old Vine Café actually wasn’t participating in this annual event, instead offering an OC Restaurant Week every day! They offer a prix-fixe menu for lunch at $20 and also offer an early dinner menu for $40. They offer two seatings for dinner and tonight our group gathered for the 8:30 seating.

We were all very excited to sit down and start our experience. Turns out that another co-worker of ours, Laura was there with her fiancé and a group of her friends. Yes, we were invading this small, intimate space! One by one members of our group arrived with Diane being the first – soon all of us were seated and our server explained the menu to us. They were offering three tasting menus and then their single plate options. Tonight’s tasting menus consisted of a Seasonal Tasting Menu, the Original Tasting Menu and the Vegetarian Tasting Menu. I opted for the Original, Tim for the Seasonal and Lisa had the Vegetarian. The tasting menus consist of a 4 course meal and includes wine pairings all for $65.00. While the Tasting menus offer smaller portions of food, the portions were perfect and the wine pairing make the tasting menus a value.

Tonight’s review will be based on the Original Tasting Menu with tidbits from my friends at the table. First course, a Sautéed Sea Scallop on a nest of Crispy Fried Yucca finished with a tarragon Chardonnay Sauce. The server presented me with a 2003 Louisvale Chardonnay from South Africa before my dish arrived – crisp and just a tad fruity in taste. While good, by itself it was unremarkable. However once the scallop arrived, the combination of the dish with the wine made the wine come out and thoroughly enjoyable. The scallop was nicely seared and was perfect in the inside. The sauce was flavorful, but didn’t over power the taste of the scallop itself.

My second course was handmade Fettuccini Pomodoro with Aged Pecorino Romano cheese. As a maker of handmade pasta, I know what handmade pasta tastes and feels like. Here, tender ribbons of Fettuccini in a light, flavorful tomato sauce was presented to me with a glass of 2005 Tre Serre Barbera – a red Italian wine that is unoaked. The tomato sauce is simplicity at its best and the pecorino cheese is where the flavor comes from.

Our server, I apologize for not getting his name, was most informative of all of our wine pairings and was very attentive to the needs of the table every step of the way. With seating in the Old Vine Cafe maxing out around 25 or so, attention to detail is part of why many patrons of the Old Vine Café come back time after time. Next up I was served a Maipe 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon from Argentina – bold and fruity. Moments later Four Ounces of All Natural Filet Mignon & Crispy Fried Onions with Bleu Des Basque Demi Cream Sauce. While tasty and the meat at a perfect medium rare, it may have been sitting on the warming shelf a little longer than intended. The beef was lukewarm to the touch and the cream sauce seemed to have lost its sheen. As for taste, I want to learn how to make this cream sauce as it is a perfect accompaniment to the filet. Bleu de Basque cheese is made in the Pyrénées mountains in French Basque country. As mentioned before, the filet was a perfect medium rare  - I enjoyed every bite.

Now I opted for a substitution  on the fourth course and went with the Mini Pecan Tartlets garnished with vanilla Fleur De Sel Butterscotch Sauce and Whipped Cream. I’m a huge fan of salty and sweet. The addition of Fleur del Sel to the butterscotch was wonderful contrast to the sweetness of the pecans in the tartlet. But I have to be honest. I was taken by my dinnermate’s Pistachio Crusted Blue Cheese Cake drizzled with Natural Wild Flower Honey. Not a fan of Bleu Cheese as a standalone cheese, I absolutely love it in salads and with beef. Here was a slice of cheesecake made from Blue cheese that was creamy and amazing. The honey really rounded out the taste of the blue cheese in a way that I wasn’t expecting. If you go to the Old Vine Café, wait..I mean when you DO go to the Old Vine Café make sure to have the Blue Cheese Cake. It was served with a 2005 chateau Roumieu Lacose Satuernes.

What a wonderful evening. Our meal started at 8:30 and we were there fro almost three hours of great food, wine and conversation. Our group has decided that we are going to do another evening of food and wine in April.

To Mark McDonald and his staff, thank you for another wonderful and memorable meal. I need to remember that you are open for breakfast and I will need to come and try the Early Dinner Tasting Menu soon. One day I would like the opportunity to just watch you prepare and serve for one of the sittings and be an out of the way observer in the kitchen. Now THAT would be a treat!

P.S. I apologize that there are no photos in this post. I did take some, but the lighting was so dark all the photos were out of focus and dark. I really need to invest in a real camera.

Old Vine Café
2937 Bristol Street
Suite A102
Costa Mesa, CA 92626
714-545-1411
www.oldvinecafe.com