DINING GUIDE
FERNET ABOUT IT! | GL ASSPAR
out its back-door speakeasy, Pie Society. 353 E. 17th St., 949-313-6333. $ TACO MARÍA Every dish is a marvel of deeply considered modern Cal-Mex cuisine from chef-owner and O.C. native Carlos Salgado, who parked his esteemed food truck enterprise for this site. Even the stripped-down setting draws all attention to the food. Dinners are four-course prix fixe affairs, with thoughtful wine pairings. Lunch—when the tacos appear—is a more laid-back and affordable way to sample the refined slant that snagged Salgado a Michelin star and several James Beard nominations for chef awards. 3313 Hyland Ave., 714-538-8444. Beer and wine. $$$
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handshake”—it’s the beverage that hospitality insiders order when together. Up to now secret, Glasspar’s Fernet-Branca cocktail menu offers five concoctions ($14 each, $50 for a tasting). The Cure is made with Q ginger beer, Angostura bitters, and expressed lemons; the tropical Fernety Island with Plantation rum, allspice dram, pineapple, and lime. Most pair surprisingly
DANA POINT ENOSTEAK The coast’s most intimate salon for ultrapremium steaks is discreetly tucked just off the lobby at this esteemed resort. Beef—be it grass-fed, grain-fed, bone-in, or dry-aged—is the star of a pithy-if-pricey menu that’s unabashedly loyal. Lavish compound butters to enjoy alongside steaks are a house signature. Polished service and often enchanting desserts. The Ritz-Carlton, 1 Ritz-Carlton Drive, 949240-2000. $$$ GLASSPAR Glasspar is a classic seafooder, oyster bar, and taproom. Veteran top toque and local Rob Wilson
well with chef-owner Rob Wilson’s dishes, such as day-boat scallops with glazed pork belly, kohlrabi pear salad, and parsnip puree. Order one of the cocktails, and general manager Marcos Costas might recite one of his Fernet-inspired haikus or soliloquies. 24961 Dana Point Harbor Drive, Dana Point, 949-240-6243, glasspar.com —BENJAMIN EPSTEIN
helms his dream retool of the old Mahé site, paused for dining but open for supporting the community with ultra-fresh goods and his five-star tips for serving seafood at home. A tight focus on topshelf cocktails is sure to be much appreciated once groups gather within toasting distance. 24961 Dana Point Harbor Drive, 949-240-6243. $$$ RAYA Steve Wan is executive sous chef at this posh-butrelaxed dining room conceived by celeb chef Richard Sandoval. After the eye-popping bluff-top ocean view, Pan-Latin seafood dominates the experience. But prepare to see many Asian touches on the modern menu, in creative dishes that masterfully bend
P H O T O G R A P H C O U R T E S Y O F G L A S S PA R
T
o forgive is to Fernet. A day with Fernet is a day without regret. When it comes to Fernet-Branca wordplay, you pronounce that T because the company that has produced it for 175 years is Italian. A bitter liqueur and digestif made with 27 botanicals, Fernet-Branca is known the world over as “the bartender’s
