|
Westways Magazine (AAA) – Sept/Oct
2003
Best seafood. Not just okay, good, great,
or even excellent. I’m writing about the best seafood
in Orange County. A difficult assignment, as there are a significant
number of very good fish places this close to the water. Some
are consistently good, others are hit-and-miss, and still
others are finding their feet. I have dined at a lot of places
while looking for the best of the best, but I have often returned
to Opah in Aliso Viejo.
Yes, I wrote about Opah’s younger
sister in Rancho Santa Margarita just a few months ago. As
I said then, it’s very good. But when it comes to absolutely
outstanding plates of luscious seafood, the original Opah
is hard to beat.
Chef Marc Cohen has a lot to do with the
continuing excellence. His creations are always fresh and
interesting, starting with the appetizers, my favorites of
which are the crunchy buttermilk calamari and the Florida
stone crab cakes, succulent little patties of flaky crab served
in a bath of lemon buerre blanc and chili-garlic oil.
But I always make sure to leave plenty of
room for my entrée, because the offerings are consistently
intriguing. Lately, the menu has been featuring wild Pacific
white salmon as a seasonal special, and I’d recommend
it even to those who don’t care for the more typical
pink Atlantic salmon. Cohen’s version is expertly grilled,
then baked in a mango, brandy, and butter sauce and served
with a sugarcane-skewered blackened shrimp. The salmon comes
out light and delicate, similar to many other white-fleshed
game fish, with just a hint of that rich, distinctive salmon
flavor.
Other seafood entrees are just as good,
particularly the rare ahi tuna steak. Seared on the grill
and encrusted with rice and coconut, the carved medallions
are served with a coconut-soy buerre blanc and chili-garlic
oil. And, of course, the opah, a thick slab of white moonfish
dressed with sesame-ginger glaze, raspberry vinegar, or lemon
buerre blanc, is another menu standard.
The food looks as good as it tastes: Every
plate exits the kitchen looking like it has been designed
for the cover of Gourmet magazine. Cohen favors the towered
look, and you can expect your grilled swordfish to be stacked
high in between layers of sweet corn relish.
Thankfully, there’s nothing fishy
about the dessert menu, a rotating mix of favorites such as
a dark chocolate croissant bread pudding with a side of vanilla
bean ice cream and an apple-walnut pastry.
Add to this mix of outstanding seafood a
boisterous crowd and a mix-it-up atmosphere, and you’ll
say what just about every critic is saying about Opah: terrific!
OC Register – Barry Koltnow –
January 2003
I made the long trek to Rancho Santa Margarita,
hoping privately that the experience would offer one more
juicy opportunity to mock the south county’s nonexistent
nightlife scene. Sure, it’s like shooting fish in a
barrel, but easy targets can be fun too.
This particular Opah has been open since
May. I had been to the other Opah in Aliso Viejo, but not
the new Opah. At the Aliso Viejo Opah, I discovered a lively
bar scene, although I don’t recall any live music. In
fact, I found out later there is no live music Friday and
Saturday nights. It’s just a bunch of young upscale
suburban professionals packed in around the bar, which is
illuminated by a blue light. Live entertainment is offered
Tuesdays-Thursday. But the hot tip from the reader in Rancho
Santa Margarita was about the new Opah and she didn’t
steer me wrong. This Opah embraces live music Wednesdays-Saturdays
and there is something else that differentiates it from the
other Opah.
While the first Opah attracts a young crowd,
the Rancho Santa Margarita Opah brings in a more diverse group
that includes the often-ignored post-40 crowd.
On Wednesdays, a three-man group called
Redd Street entertains a standing-room only crowd with a most
unlikely music format for South County – old school
rhythm & blues. The crowd really loves them says the manager.
And what about that crowd? What you see here represents the
community, the restaurant manager said. “There are a
lot of older, classy, successful professionals who need a
place to hang out. This community is in desperate need of
places for these people to hand out.” I should mention
that this, after all, is still south county, and there is
a catch. We like to call it the bedroom community catch. On
Wednesdays-Thursdays, Opah closes at 10 p.m. On Fridays-Saturdays,
the party ends at 11 p.m. “We don’t want to be
a late-night hangout. I think that’s where you get into
trouble,” said the manager. “We’re a restaurant
that has a bar. We don’t want to be a bar that has a
restaurant”.
OK, so you’ll be home in time to watch
the news. But it’s a start, particularly for an area
that has been almost devoid of a nightlife scene.
And if you need a midweek lift, you can’t
do any better than Wednesdays at Opah. The dance floor is
always full, and the crowd seems to get a kick out of signing
along to the classic tunes.
TOP |
