The Ranch Anaheim is excellent. Much better than Maestros if you are in the OC. Appetizers and large format steaks are the move.
Appetizers
Scallops with corn. Perfectly cooked.
Gochujang octopus. Tender and delicious
Fried quail. This was just ok.
Chappellet Cab is one of our favs.
Delmonico NY
Cowboy Ribeye
Not gonna lie…the bread service alone blows my mind…what kind of crazy genius makes 6-7 different types of bread in 1 pan?
The bread is crazy. Diabolical.
Any pics of bread service?
That is interesting!
Pic dump from Meteora w/ Alain Giraud as guest chef. I have too much work still to do tonight to write much right now, but this was a really delightful experience, and everything was delicious. My favorite courses were the amuse bouche and white asparagus trio (and now I know what a “royale” is).
I had the juices pairing, and they all were truly thoughtful, balanced, and complex (aside from the last one, which was just a touch too sweet for me). I thought the juice pairing w/ the duck was the best one.
I also really like the space and the whole concept. The server’s outfits wouldn’t have looked place in Logan’s Run, and I actually did write, “Primal” in one of my notes about one of the juice selections, which is kind of crazy. Also even really liked the way they designed the restroom space.
If Vespertine is kind of like Meteora taken to a ridiculous level, I think I might actually kind of “get” it.
That purple corn / pomegranate concoction was truly sublime. All in all, this was easily one of my best meals of 2025. Chef Alain remembered me from the Chowhound days. We reminisced about those days of yore… What a great raconteur, and a fantastic chef!
Vespertine is pretty much like Meteora taken to a ridiculous level.
The Chappellet building is so gorgeous
There is a gorgeous building in OC?
It’s in St. Helena.
Ohmigod, it took me several secs to see the actual jerky stick, and, until then, I was thinking, “Wow, how uncharacteristically dark of @butteredwaffles…”
Yeah he nestles certain treats between his paws
Hee, hee. You got the initials correct!
It’s @SpockSpork.
What is the the patty made out of?
Two pretty thin wagyu beef/heirloom pork patties with lots of chopped up Thai chilies. They called the sauce a habanero aioli. I also tasted fish sauce and plenty of Thai basil.
