Bliss on a Plate: Fine Dining at Nirvana Grille in Laguna Beach

Pardon my spiritual waxing for a moment. Bear with me – because I do, in fact, have a point. In Buddhism, “nirvana” is freedom from suffering. We connect it to a place of bliss, harmony, a state of pure being. Many people hear the word and think “enlightenment”. I know I do. And what chefs/owners/lovely couple Lindsay Smith-Rosales and Luis Rosales have brought to Laguna Beach, in the form of their restaurant Nirvana Grille, is above and beyond dining bliss. This is California cuisine of a higher consciousness.

Okay okay okay, I’ll cut the poetics and get to point: I L-O-V-E Nirvana Grille. I love it so much I dreamed about it the night after my first meal. Yes, on the twenty-first of February, I was rocked to sleep by visions and the lingering taste of elderflower, grapefruit, butternut squash, sage, and pistachio dijon crusted sea bass. And I promise you that my cousin Erika, co-conspirator and fellow foodie for the night, was in the same boat.

Clean California Cuisine
I’m not sure I can put it as well as Nirvana Grille does on their own web site, so to directly quote: “At Nirvana Grille, our 'clean' California cuisine offers a uniquely fresh menu that allows the exceptional quality of ingredients to take center stage. Our philosophy begins at the local level, working closely with area growers and purveyors to ensure that we can source organic produce, natural meats, wild fish and free-range chicken…” Talk about sustainable. Danielle Smith (Lindsay’s sister and our personal hostess for the evening) told us that this sometimes means guests’ favorite options disappear from the menu. Why, you ask? Because if Nirvana can’t source a particular item locally and organically, they pull it until they can. Be still my beating heart!

Fruity and Floral
Erika and my culinary adventure began with a couple of cocktails, because that’s how all refined ladies begin a fine meal, am I right? Now, we have sampled our fair share of cocktails over the years. I’m not going to lie. But we have never seen a list quite as creative (and mouth-watering) as what Danielle offered us at Nirvana. After literally drooling over the menu, I chose their special for the evening: the Parisienne Martini. The delicate pairing of elderflower liquor with Grey Goose La Poire (yes, pear flower vodka) was accented sweetly by a swirl of orange rind. Erika and I deliberated on what her choice would be, and we just kept coming back to the Pomegranate Martini. Also featuring Grey Goose Vodka, this drink blended pomegranate, orange and pineapple juices in a sugar-rimmed glass. Of course, we shared both drinks (don’t worry, we’re related, so we’ve already got the same cooties genetically). The verdict: Erika looked at me with wide eyes, and for some reason felt the need to whisper, “Oh my goodness, these are the best drinks I have ever had”, like she wanted to keep our discovery a secret.

The Salad and Small Plates
I could write pages about the cocktails alone, but I’ll attempt to keep moving along, just as we attempted to peel ourselves away from the drink menu and push forward towards the main event. The dinner menu is by no means intimidating, but we were overwhelmed. Let me explain. I don’t think we were used to dining at a place that left us feeling so blessed to be simply browsing their small plates and entrées. The descriptions seem to sparkle on the page (or was that just our cocktail vision?) But finally we made a choice based on Danielle’s recommendations. We’d start by sharing the Organic Arugula, Beet and Grapefruit Salad, followed by the Vegetarian Trio.

The salad, of course, featured arugula, white and red sliced, roasted beets, dazzling pink grapefruit, goat cheese, and pine nuts, drizzled with a balsamic citrus vinaigrette. The spicy-citrus combination was light and taste-bud-tickling. It’s been my experience that not everyone can create a superb arugula salad – but chef Lindsay Smith-Rosales passed the test with flying colors.

Then there was the Vegetarian Trio. Words won’t do it justice, but I’ll try. On the left of the gorgeous plating, we began with what I nicknamed “the Tiramisu of tubers”: delicious, creamy layers of parsnip, turnip, Yukon gold potato, and leek, Au Gratin, with a Parmesan crumb crust. Part two for us was on the far right, a serving of Portobello mushroom stuffed with goat cheese, Parmesan, garlic, and herbs, with a crisp Panko crust. The mushroom was meaty, firm, and filled with a burst of cream. And Erika who (shhh… don’t tell anyone) doesn’t even like mushrooms loved it. And finally, the pièce de résistance in the center, pan seared butternut squash risotto cake with sage oil and fried shallot. The fact that I’m not eating it at this exact moment is a near travesty.

The Evening’s Main Event
We already knew going into this that we’d have to share everything if we wanted to sample as much as possible and still walk out the door relatively the same size as we were when we entered. So even though Erika and I imagined ourselves each ordering three different entrees, we stopped with one a piece. You may have noticed that I didn’t delve too deeply into details about the “pièce de résistance” of samplers. This is because I wanted to save the description for when we ordered it a second time as a main dish. Sort of.

The generous entrée of the Butternut Squash Risotto is available from the Vegetarian portion of the menu. However, at Nirvana, you get the option of adding grilled, blackened or herb crusted protein to your entrée. I chose to add three jumbo, blackened scallops to the top of Arborio rice slowly cooked with butternut squash, brown butter, sage, shallots, Parmesan cheese, white wine, and cream. Now, I don’t want to cheapen this rich, sophisticated risotto with what I am about to say, so hear me out. This dish made me think of my favorite childhood dinner (the only thing I would eat, actually) macaroni and cheese. No, it did not remind me of the dehydrated, blue box variety. It ignited my imagination and made me ponder what if mac and cheese grew up, got sexy, and became a supermodel? The amazing thing is that there is barely any cheese in this dish – the rich flavors come from slow-cooking the risotto with the squash and brown butter. And the fact that it was literally crowned with three perfect, plump scallops left me feeling absolutely regal while devouring it… ahem… I mean, eating it like a dainty princess, of course.

As if we could stop there. We had to order Nirvana Grille’s signature dish, the Pistachio Crusted Chilean Sea Bass, Beurre Blanc. The first time I ever tasted sea bass was at my parents’ 25th wedding anniversary (FYI: this year they’ll celebrate their 38th. True love can actually be everlasting. Who knew?) Ever since that party, I had searched for something comparable, yet always came up short. Until now. A quick note to my folks: Sorry, but chef Lindsay Smith-Rosales’ tender sea bass with asparagus, lemon olive oil, caramelized leek, and Yukon gold mashed potatoes pretty much blew the sea bass of yore out of the water. I loved the juxtaposition of crusty, crunchy pistachios and moist, white flakes of sea bass. In fact, I could have easily stopped the meal there and been purely contented.

“The Best Ice Cream I Have Ever Had”
Although Erika would find it sacrilege if I ended our story here. Because there was quite a bit more. As if they had known us our whole lives (and therefore known what gluttons we are for sweets), the two sisters who had taken such good care of us all evening each sent us a dessert. From chef Lindsay, we were gifted the Double Crust Fuji Apple Pie. And our dear hostess/server/Nirvana liaison extraordinaire Danielle presented us with an Amaretto Cookie Martini and Goat Cheese Vanilla Maple Ice Cream with Grand Marnier-soaked mixed berries.

Yes, the apple pie was dreamy, warm, sweet, and spicy. And the martini was strong, sinful, and almond-licious. No surprises there. What was surprising (and you’ve probably already noted) was finding the words “goat cheese” and “ice cream” in the same sentence. I will admit that I was nervous. I’ve had some pretty enigmatic ice cream flavors in my lifetime, but a goat cheese base? Danielle immediately squelched our fears and leaned in close to describe to us what makes this unique concoction so decadently delicious. She explained that goat cheese is rich and creamy, but not overpowering, and during the process in which it is coaxed lovingly into an ice cream (please don’t ask me to repeat it, I was too enthralled to take detailed notes) it actually forms these divine quasi-solid bits that taste like white chocolate chips melting in the back of your mouth. Danielle wasn’t kidding. It was absolute bliss. And Erika, for the second time that night, leans over and whispers, “Oh my goodness, this is the best ice cream I have ever had. And you can quote me on that.”

One final thought. Although we didn't choose any of Nirvana Grille's poultry, meat or game, every meaty dish on the menu also comes highly recommended. When I visit again (and I will be returning, sooner rather than later) I'm going to bring my carnivorous main squeeze and I'm already envisioning what he will order: Lamp Lollipops (I know, right?!), Grilled Filet Mignon Brochette, and either the Organic Grass Fed Nirvana Beef Burger or the Seared 8 oz. Duck Breast, Pomegranate Red Wine Reduction.

Like I said in the beginning, my dreams that night literally starred the food I was lucky enough to dine on. I can’t imagine how another restaurant could compare. And Erika, well, she literally licked the plates clean.

To discover your own dining bliss, head to Nirvana Grille at 303 Broadway Street, Laguna Beach. For questions and reservations, call 949-497-0027. You can also book a table, browse menus, and more at nirvanagrille.com.

All professional food images were provided by Nirvana Grille. The rest were lovingly shot by Anja and Erika Brydum © 2010.