Dining Out

Mary Furr

Upstairs in the Pierside Pavilion, overlooking Pacific Coast Highway,

is Spark Woodfire Cooking. It’s the new spot in town to take Dad on

Father’s Day. The Sunday Brunch ($16.95) is an exceptional buffet spread

with the familiar mix of eggs, fruit, pasta and the unexpected salads

like mandarin oranges and fennel.

Here Dad can have an expansive view of the Pacific from the upstairs

patio or inside where the buffet spreads through two dining rooms -- the

hot covered steam table just in front of the cooks’ open kitchen and the

salad, carving station and desserts in the second dining area.

There’s a strategy to buffet dining -- first the exploring to set up

your menu -- then back from the carving station of turkey and pork to the

cooks’ counter to give your omelet order. It’s great at Spark because

talented chef Tom Shields has listed the 11 omelet fillings on convenient

sheets on the counter. We went for the works -- tomato, spinach (tender

young leaves), red and green peppers as well as spicy jalapenos, bits of

sausage, ham and bacon all oozing with cheddar cheese.

From the buffet there are some special choices like the wonderful

apple wood-cured bacon. Quality here is sometimes just a whisper. There’s

English muffins topped with poached eggs and hollandaise. There is thick

meaty white chicken breasts or squares of pink flaky salmon encrusted

with crushed pepper and herbs, which soak into the fish before baking for

an hour in the oak burning oven. There are vegetables, cubed potatoes and

other choices you will discover like the ravioli with a smooth creamy

filling covered with chunky marinara.

Here too, is an array of salads -- sliced tomato with onion and chunks

of blue cheese, a mandarin orange with think slices of fennel bulb and

great bowls of strawberries. Manager Gerry Reardon, a Huntington Beach

native who attended Ocean View High School, says the menu is

diner-driven.

The buffet continues into the second dining room where you’ll find

turkey slices and pork roast -- an unusual find at a buffet and utterly

delicious. According to Reardon the well-done pork is baked in a

“porchetta,” which maintains its juicy rich taste. It’s meat that used to

be avoided, but at Spark is a must have. Chef Tom Shields is bringing a

new approach to the preparation of the meats using a burning grill,

separate from the wood-burning oven. It’s the grill that gives off the

smoking oak flavor of the bacon.

There are small flaky croissants, an assortment of sweet rolls and a

rich flat pecan pastry the chef calls “alligator” -- a must with the hot

coffee or tea included in the buffet. Champagne ($3) can be ordered

separately.

It would be helpful if the servers were more familiar with the

ingredients of some of the dishes, as this is a very imaginative cuisine.

Spark Woodfire Cooking showcases the talents of an exceptional chef

worthy of the exceptional dad in your life.

FYI

WHAT: Spark Woodfire Cooking

WHERE: 300 Pacific Coast Highway

PHONE: (714) 960-0996

HOURS: Lunch: Saturday and Sunday 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Dinner daily 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. Beer and wine. Validated parking (2

hours) in garage below the restaurant. Elevator and stairs facing Pacific

Coast Highway.

COST: Brunch -- adults-$16.95, children (under 12) $6.95, credit cards

accepted.