Rick Bayless opened this flagship location in 2013 at Fashion Island, Newport Beach.
Rick has world acclaim distinctions including winning James Beard awards for Midwest Chef of the Year, National Chef of the Year, and best American Chef of the Year. This restaurant is an example of traditional spices and techniques that show off the quality and flavor of the food with not being distracting or overpowering.
Appetizers
I started with the Mary’s Duck Taquitos
(Slow-cooked duck, tomato-árbol chile sauce, wild baby arugula)
The duck is very moist and tender with no fat at all. The tortilla around is crisp with no trade of oil at all.
'The rbol chili sauce is sweet with such a mild spice and an almost delicate floral note finish.
These are the best Taquitos I have ever had and worth coming here just for this.
Fresh Corn & Goat Cheese Tamales
(Fresh corn masa, laura chenel goat cheese, tomatillo salsa)
The masa is moist with a Lil husk throughout.
The goat cheese is a Lil chewy and dry with a delicate sharp note.
The sauce is very sweet with little spice to it.
The cohta on top creates a great depth to this and brings the sweet down to a great caricature.
Brunch
The Lobster Benedict -
The sope is very crisp with the center still soft and moist.
The lobster is poached and then put on to as it is still warm. They then cover it in there Tapatio hollandaise sauce.
The filling is pico de Gallo, Guacamole, and Beans. The beans when combine with the Tapatio hollandaise and lobster work very well and is very rich.
The eggs were poached with one runny yoke and the other ferm. Nether had any taste of vinegar.
Short Rib Benedict -
The sope is very crisp with the center still soft but was very cewey.
The meat is very tender and juicy with some fat and gristle on one and the other had lots of fat to the point there was very little meat. It does have some heat to this that lingers and can be overpowering.
The juices and the hollandaise combine to make a better sauce than the Tapatio hollandaise alone.
The eggs were poached with both runny yokes and Nether had any taste of vinegar.
Main Dishes
The Marcos Chili Relleno
(A chili stuffed with lobster, prawns, corn, and a house cheese bled)
The chili is scorched first before being cooked. This chili was not really spicy but as the winter said "you can never know how spicy they will be"
The chili was firm and sweet with a slight amount of char, The lobster was cooked great with only one piece being overcooked and chewy. The prawns were cooked great and still moist. The fresh corn inside provided a great texture and crunch.
The dish is made whole by here signature mole sauce that brings out a need spice to the sweetness and richness of this dish
Deserts
I finished this meal with Dark Chocolate Ganache.
(Plantain puree, pepita-toffee crunch, piloncillo marinated pineapple, mango sorbet)
The ganache is very creamy and is thick. The plantain purée is more of decorative the for flavor and a lil disappointing. The mango sorbet to me is made in hose and is heavy in mango flavor and texture with nice chunks throughout. The toffee crunch is a great addition and brings out a much neede texture change with a big flavor.
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