Culinary Jewel of Dana Point Resort

I’ve come full circle about dining at the Dana Point Resort. An exceptional banquet there convinced me that this is a hotel that is serious about its food. But my first two dinners at the resort’s beautiful Watercolors restaurant left me wishing the fare could be as exceptional as the setting--particularly when entrees average almost $20 on the a la carte menu.

Now, after a third dinner, following a complete menu change, I sense a renewed dedication to excellence in execution.

An appetizer of beautifully light buckwheat tagliarini, sauteed with just the right touch of American black caviar and sweet butter, started the evening well. (Other beginnings include smoked breast of Sonoma duck with watercress sauce and stewed blueberry garnish; wild mushroom tart with leeks and Pinot Noir.)

I mourned the passing of a fabulous lobster bisque with scallops on the old menu (now replaced with a creamy saffron bisque with white wine and black mussels) but tried an intensely flavorful clear chicken soup. Almost the color of beef broth, it is replete with large chunks of chicken, vegetables and agnolotti.

My favorite salad is the succulent grilled Pacific shrimp with crispy won ton noodles tossed in a ginger-soy dressing. My least favorite is California greens with an innocuous buttermilk dressing. Marinated asparagus with fresh roasted green peppers, Romano and red wine vinaigrette work beautifully, however.

The new entrees include red pepper fettuccine and roast Maine lobster in a lobster sabayon and tarragon sauce; grilled medallions of pork with peaches, sage and a light Madeira sauce; roast loin of lamb in black pepper crust with herbal mustard sauce and cucumber relish.

Fresh asparagus and a blue corn tortilla enhance a grilled fillet of salmon (not overcooked this time).

Three spa items now grace the menu--all seafood. The grilled swordfish is perfection--moist, tender, flavorful with its red wine raspberry vinaigrette and colorful with fresh spinach adorned with slender curls of carrot.

Obviously Peter Striffolino, executive chef, has learned well from his mentor in France, Jacques Maximin.

For dessert, homemade cheesecake is wondrously light, crustless and effective with two sauces--chocolate and vanilla with a strawberry mosaic. Forget the chocolate torte, however, which looks glorious and reminds me of a store-bought dessert. But the coffee service is terrific in Bodum glass coffee makers with pretty little dishes of orange peel, cinnamon stick, whipped cream and grated sweet chocolate.

Architecturally, Watercolors’ hexagonal room is like a huge cupola, soaring two stories overhead. A dropped ceiling above the tables adjacent to the wrap-around multipaned windows tempers the vastness. Villeroy and Boch china graces the tables, brass and glass lamps glow and succulents blossom everywhere. The view past blooming plants and green grass to a sweeping arc of the Pacific is splendid, particularly at sunset.

Lunch, with the restaurant washed with natural light, is a natural. A number of evening menu items are available at lunch prices. But there are also unique-to-lunch dishes such as breast of chicken in pastry with bacon and cream, seabass baked with macadamia nuts and sweet red peppers. For lighter fare, I enjoyed the Oriental chicken with snow peas accented with sesame.

There is full bar service, a respectable wine list, competent though leisurely service, and at dinner, piano and string bass music floats down from the lounge above the restaurant.

Watercolors, Dana Point Resort, 25135 Park Lantern, Dana Point; (714) 661-5000. Open daily for breakfast from 6:30 to 11 a.m.; lunch from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Dinner from 5 to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday; Friday and Saturday until 11 p.m. Special entrees at $9.95 from 5 to 7 p.m., Sunday through Thursday. Sunday brunch from 11:15 a.m. to 3 p.m. Mastercard, Visa, American Express. Valet parking or parking structure.