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Rustica To Debut At Fashion Island In June.

April 27th, 2010 No comments

Extraneous PRELUDE of Importance: Still working on technical issues in relation to the upload of new photos associated with our latest reports, thus opt to recite a Press Release we received.  By posting this we hope NOT to encourage the dumping of Press Releases in our inbox.  Although we appreciate that they do relate to food, for the record we’re not fans of receiving ’em like a depository.  We don’t want to collect them and mostly never parrot them, especially if they’re — Not personalized, uninteresting, self-serving, offering of barely worth mentioning consumer deals or incentives, unfamiliar, repetitive, not locally, nationally or universally relevant and/or contrary to Nibbles of Tidbits’ assessment.  It had to be said.  

Without further ado, we look forward to trying Rustica in June.*

Rustica, an exclusive new restaurant by award-winning Chef Grant MacPherson, will debut at Fashion Island in June. MacPherson’s wealth of international culinary experience will bring authentic regional cooking techniques and a blend of seasonal California foods to Fashion Island, one of Southern California’s favorite dining destinations. After being involved in more than 50 acclaimed restaurants and dining concepts worldwide, MacPherson is returning to his first passion – cooking – with the opening of Rustica. A true chef at heart, MacPherson will focus on a menu of creativity, refinement and elegance with fresh, high quality, seasonal foods.

“I believe in providing our guests with the ultimate dining experience,” said MacPherson. “At Rustica, I will be very involved in the cuisine, from executing the farm to table concept, to offering unparalleled service and personal interaction with the customers. I want our guests to feel at home and to feel like family and friends.” The same menu will be featured at lunch and dinner, offering homemade soups, unique salads, wood-fired flatbreads, hand-crafted pastas, seasonal fish, wet-aged beef, and exceptional gelato made daily. Signature items will include Tuna Nicoise, Golden Beet Salad, Peppered Beef Carpaccio, Oven Roasted Pacific Fennel Salmon, and Maine Lobster and Asparagus Risotto.

“Chef MacPherson has long been a major player in the restaurant business on the domestic and international stages, but Rustica is the first restaurant that will carry his name,” said Keith Eyrich, President of Irvine Company Retail Properties. “With Grant’s attention to detail and quality, Rustica will be a wonderful addition to Fashion Island’s collection of fine restaurants. Because of our track record for success, Fashion Island continues to be a top location choice for restaurants,” Eyrich continued. “Rustica is representative of our move to feature independent, chef-driven restaurants that showcase culinary excellence.” Eyrich notes that as part of Fashion Island’s $100 million reinvestment, more restaurants with patio dining will be featured throughout the center.

“Our guests love to dine outdoors and choose Fashion Island over places that can’t offer this amenity,” Eyrich said. Other notable restaurants that debuted at Fashion Island include the first-ever locations of Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar and R&D Kitchen, and the first California locations of Roy’s Hawaiian Fusion Cuisine and P.F. Chang’s. At 3,700 square feet, Rustica will have a casual and inviting atmosphere, with patio dining adjacent to Fashion Island’s new Nordstrom Court and elegant Italian-inspired fountain. The restaurant is located next to Nordstrom.

In addition to Rustica opening in June, Fashion Island also previously announced that Fox Restaurant Concepts will open its first California location of True Food Kitchen this summer. An acclaimed Phoenix-based restaurant, True Food Kitchen has a diverse menu created by best-selling healthy-living author Dr. Andrew Weil that focuses on high quality, locally-sourced ingredients that taste great. 

* Our apologies to Rustica for the possible damper on their exciting news with our PRELUDE.