Pelican Hill tasteful to golfers and diners

Greer Wylder

Clinging to the cliffs of Newport Coast is Pelican Hill, one of the

world’s best places to play golf. Golf magazine listed Pelican Hill

Golf Club as one of the “Top 100 Courses You Can Play” in America and

named the 17th hole on the Ocean North Course as one of the best

holes in the world.

Tom Fazio, named one of America’s greatest golf course architects,

designed the two 18-hole golf courses that feature holes in lush

canyons and rolling greens edged out to the ocean.

Matching the club’s golf excellence is its dining. In the

clubhouse, there’s The Grill restaurant, the Four Seasons Hotel’s

sole restaurant not attached to a hotel property. There’s also a

ballroom that seats 250 for a formal dinner or 450 for a reception,

an informal cafe on the terrace that serves breakfast and lunch and

an upscale golf shop.

Since 1998, The Grill has offered award-winning Four Seasons food

and service. The casual, Spanish-influenced dining room features

panoramic canyon and ocean views overlooking the 18th hole of the Ocean North Course. The Grill isn’t just for the golf crowd; it’s a

cordial meeting place open to the public.

At the full-service bar, guests can order from the regular menu or

a bar menu, and there’s a small outside seating area on the terrace.

The Grill serves lunch and dinner seven days a week. On the weekends,

it offers an a la carte breakfast and lunch. A tip for those who

don’t like to cook on holidays -- The Grill serves a buffet on

Thanksgiving, Christmas, Mother’s Day and Easter; and prix fixe menus

on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve.

Clint Jones, formerly with the Four Seasons Resort Maui at Wailea,

was named executive chef in March. Jones brought Asian-influenced

dishes with him, along with classic grill items. He combines unusual

flavors and a love for color. Instead of garnishing dishes with

traditional green herbs, he prefers the hues of edible pansies. He

also adds visual appeal with golden-yellow and green star fruit and

red strawberries.

On the brunch menu, The Grill serves classic egg dishes and

contemporary entrees like crab eggs Benedict with spinach and a

lobster mousseline ($17); and an orange and mascarpone cheese omelet

brulee with country potatoes ($14). The signature dish is baked

French toast -- the brioche is served with vanilla maple cream and

fresh blueberry compote ($12). Its back-nine pancakes come with maple

syrup, peaches, apple, bananas and blueberry compote ($13).

For appetizers and salads, The Grill earns praise for its Peekytoe

Crab cakes with sauteed Nira flowers (from the garlic family) and

sesame aioli ($14). The popular grilled shrimp with Barrato (premium

mozzarella cheese) has vine-ripened red and yellow tomatoes and

shallot basil oil ($15). The salt and pepper calamari forgoes the

stereotypical beer batter; instead, it’s covered in light tapioca

flour batter and served with a spicy and sweet ginger dipping sauce

($11).

At lunch, there’s an excellent Maryland crab Caesar salad with a

twist on the traditional dressing. It has a Caesar-style base with

roasted red bell peppers and Boursin cheese croutons ($17). At lunch

and dinner, The Grill offers Onaga, a Pacific snapper prepared with

the skin on ($23). Alongside the moist fish, Jones combines a

lemongrass risotto, grilled eggplant and a Tahitian vanilla bean

basil sauce that isn’t overpowering -- just incredible.

From the grill, there’s a classic cheeseburger that’s one of the

best in town, though pricey ($17). It features ground, in-house filet

meat, grilled to order, and is served with Wisconsin cheddar and an

herb bun. It comes with a choice of French fries, onion rings, mixed

greens or fresh fruit.

Wine sommelier and grill manager Cheryl Stanley hand-selected the

85 bottles on the wine list. To complement the menu, Stanley focused

on California wines and an assortment of French wines. The Grill can

accommodate special wine requests, including serving any wine by the

glass. With advance notice, it can pull wines from the 500 bottles

stored at Four Seasons’ cellar in Newport Beach.

All desserts are prepared by the hotel’s pastry chef.

* BEST BITES runs every Friday. Greer Wylder can be reached at

[email protected]; at 330 W. Bay St., Costa Mesa, CA 92627; or by

fax at (949) 646-4170.