A Special Dinner: We Finally Made It To The Montage

Last spring, Sam entered a cooking contest at an event for some friends who were raising money to go overseas. The event was called "Bacon Fest" and was, well, as it sounds, all about bacon.  The cooking competition was judged by the well-respected head chef of The Loft at the Montage in Laguna Beach (fancy-schmancy!).  The judge and his assistants tasted the bacon-inspired dishes without knowing anything about the cooks.  The prize was dinner for two at The Loft...not just dinner ordered off the paper menu, but a chef's tasting menu (seven course meal that showcases the chef's talent, complete with wine pairings).  Sam entered a simple dessert bar cookie that he topped with bacon (instead of coconut).  When the chef got up to announce the winner, he made a joke about how great the prize was going to be for someone who really could appreciate wine and fine food and then they called Sam's name!  Everyone was so shocked, including Sam himself...he was speechless.  The chef confirmed that Sam's had been the only one he really wanted another bite of, and that he really hadn't known it was a kid's recipe.  He also graciously allowed Jeremy and I to both accompany Sam to his claim his prize.  

All year since then, Sam's been bugging us to take him, and we've been coming back at him with his need to work on table manners.  It's become our joke; he chews with his mouth open, we say "Montage, Sam," and he straightens up and tries harder.  A year went by and we still hadn't made time to use the prize...life has changed for us so much since the day he won it...and suddenly I worried that the certificate was expired and we missed it.  I checked it, and we only had a few days to spare (though the chef, Casey Overton, assured me he would have still honored it).  So, we nailed down a date and headed off to beautiful Laguna Beach with empty stomachs.

The grounds of this hotel are beautiful, even complete with domestic bunnies scampering around on the grass

I wasn't sure how Sam (or even I) would do with the food if it was something I am not fond of, but when food is prepared this well, nothing tastes bad!  If chef Casey ever reads this blog, he is going to laugh at my non-culinary educated descriptions of the food...Sam can probably remember the names better than I can!

First course: raw fish (I forget which kind) with a avocado-something made into a reservoir with a sauce inside, oh, and a wave-shaped cracker-thingy made from over-cooked rice that is dried then blended then fried with seaweed.  Sam's favorite part of this dish: the delicious edible flowers!  

This course was my favorite: they brought these big bowls that had just a sprinkling of hazelnuts and pears in the bottom (coated with some sort of crumbly brown butter something) and then poured hot soup from a copper pot onto the pears and nuts.  The soup was buttery and pear-y and amazing and I really have eaten nothing like it before.  SOOOO GOOD!  Sam liked it, too.  We had to pace ourselves, knowing 5 courses were still yet to come! 

Each course, they brought out a different wine for Jeremy and I to taste, along with an earnest and detailed description of the temperature of the valley in which the grapes were grown, etc., and the "notes" present in the wine, like fruit or nuts or pencil shavings (I kid you not).  They also brought out new silverware, so it was a clue about what our next course might be.  This course was a lobster risotto.  Sam tasted everything and appreciated the dishes, but I could tell which ones he really loved.  This one he didn't eat as much of.  He did so great, though!

You can see here that he loved this one.  Chef Casey prides himself on finding rare, seasonal ingredients--found in the woods by foragers.  This was fish (I can't remember which kind!) with some veggies that are only available a few weeks out of the year (and very expensive)--morel mushrooms and ramps (kind of like a green onion). I felt like such a foodie, taking a picture of each course.  I am not a foodie, so I felt like a poser, but I was like, "It's for my son!" (not really, but sorta).  Oh, and Sam loved the special fork he got to use--it looked like Poseidon's trident (I guess, according to Rick Riordan and Percy Jackson who are the ultimate authority on everything).

This is a happy guy--a red meat course!  This was lamb short rib (I think) with fried parsnip (I think) and some other delicious stuff (I forget).  Sam's favorite (well, 2nd favorite because dessert)

The bartender thought Sam seemed a little left out of the wine tasting part so he prepared a special drink and surprised Sam.  So fun to be treated so well, even though we felt like the Groupon people and were definitely out of our league.

This course would make my sister-in-law and bro-in-law pleased: stinky cheese platter!  I never would have dreamed I would like the stinky cheese!  They did a couple mild cheeses with Sam in mind, but knew that he has a pretty adventurous palette for a kid, so they did a crazy cheese as well (that's what the chef called it himself, people, don't make fun!).  The rind of it was bark, so interesting.  The plate came with grapes and almonds and some fancy honey from somewhere far away in the world.  Again, they took such care to tell us about all the ingredients and now I'm all like It was grapes and cheese and I don't know how but it was amazing. 

And of course, the highlight of the meal (well, actually, Sam really loved it all)...dessert.  Sam's Montage manners were great the whole meal...he became a little more like a giddy 10-year-old when the desserts came out.  Man, they spoiled us!  My mouth is watering just looking at these pictures!  Sam had a hazelnut/chocolate (I think) souffle and he got to break the top with his spoon and put some homemade ice cream inside, mmmm.  We all shared our desserts, really, but in front of me is a dark chocolate cake with fancy gold writing on it and some sort of fruit candy sheet (wow, I really can't remember any of the terms) with more edible flowers and ginger ice cream.  Jeremy has a lemon "caterpillar" (well, that's what it looked like to us bumpkins) with a cookie on the bottom, delicious fluffy stuff (I give up) and then a sugar wafer, and then a toasted meringue-y-like topping, with more flowers of course.  AMAZING goodness in our mouths.  

I'm not gonna lie, my stomach was f-u-u--ull, so I was glad when we got up to take a tour of the kitchen with chef Casey (though my tastebuds were a little sad that their exciting tour had come to an end and that they would have to return to my lame cheddar cheese and boneless skinless chicken breast kitchen).  Of course, they make every single element of the food right there in that kitchen--with an open fire grill for burgers to have just the right taste and a chocolate shop that's just the right temperature for tempering chocolate and everything in between. And they validated our valet parking.  Really, I mean, chef Casey thought of everything.

And Sam's pride and joy: the special box of colorful chocolates chef Casey sent home just for him. :)

Thank you, Casey and all your staff, for giving us an unforgettable evening of being treated like royalty.  It seemed to bring you joy to do it for us, and we felt loved and served in a special way.  And just so you know, I refused to eat most of the following day because I didn't want to spoil the memory of the deliciousness of which I had just partaken.