We went to visit Dana Point, CA for a friend’s birthday party one weekend and got to try a restaurant that we never thought we would have loved! Just to describe Dana Point a little bit (because this was my first time visiting the city), it was overwhelmed with beautiful beaches all around! There weren’t that many restaurants in the area, but the few that existed were high-class. I got the vibe that this was a really, really nice and rich beach-y neighborhood. Even the hotel we visited is one of the more expensive and upscale hotels: Ritz-Carlton. Salt Creek Grille served American-themed dishes in the most upscale and classy way possible. And oh boy, I did feel a bit too young to belong in this city, but hey, for a friend’s birthday.. why not?
garlic bread. It strikes me funny that the complimentary garlic bread served at all tables was served in newspaper. Of course, I don’t think they straight-up used free newspaper from the stands out on the street to serve the garlic bread on, but the theme was interesting and different nonetheless. The garlic bread was good! For once, I actually ate all of it.
complimentary flatbread with Yelp Check-In – creek flatbread – pesto, mozzarella, arugula, tomatoes, shaved asiago, aged balsamic. I love it when restaurants offer free drinks or food with a Yelp-Check! (That is one of the many reasons why I still check into Yelp religiously). We had the choice to choose between two of the flatbreads their menu has to offer. This was in the full size too! It was delicious, delicious, delicious! We consumed all of it!
porterhouse stroganoff – filet of beef, pappardelle pasta, roasted mushrooms, onions, demi-glace, sour cream. I don’t know if you can tell but the super dark brown colors is the beef filets chopped up for you! This was extremely delicious! We mixed the sour cream into the whole dish itself. The chunky filet pieces worked well with the few BIG pasta noodles they were served with. Very well cooked at medium-rare: juicy and tender.
mesquite grilled baby back ribs – Salt Creek Grille BBQ sauce, asiago garlic fries. Surprisingly, these baby back ribs are some of the best ribs I have ever eaten. I can confidently say I enjoyed these ribs more than Phil’s BBQ in San Diego, CA and Gus’s Barbeque in South Pasadena, CA. How is it that an American well-rounded restaurant can beat two notorious BBQ restaurants at ribs?! Why don’t you make a trip down to Dana Point and find out! 😀 But these ribs did it! So soft and tender.. they meat literally fell off the bones as soon as I forked it gently. The BBQ sauce was the perfect amount of sweet. And the fries? Deliciously crispy!
In the future, I wouldn’t mind enjoying a relaxing weekend at Dana Point.. to wine and dine at a nice restaurant such as this one after a long day of spoiled beach play with surfboards and paddle boards and castle making! The beaches are nice! The weather is lovely! The people are classy! But it is too soon to grow up THAT much now! 😀
