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Posts Tagged ‘Hillstone Restaurant Group’

Cafe R+D Restaurant In Fashion Island, Newport Beach.

October 17th, 2009 2 comments

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Cafe R+D is part of the Hillstone Restaurant Group.  Its decor reminds me of Houston’s, one of my favorite restaurants in the group.  This R+D is in Fashion Island, another is in Dallas and one just opened in Santa Monica.  We enjoyed the Newporter Roasted Chicken Salad with Avocado, Bacon & Huntsman Cheese (above) — It’s a fun and tasty deconstructed Salad.

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Mediterranean Seared Tuna Salad with Sushi Grade Tuna, Avocado, Cucumber & Goat Cheese.  It’s a good flavor combination and the Tuna melted in our mouth(s).

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Cafe R+D Chicken & Spinach Salad with Bloomsdale Spinach, Apples, Cashews & Bacon.  During this visit, we realized that all entrees (above) were served with a Deviled Egg — That’s after we had the Deviled Eggs starter.  You might want to take that into consideration when ordering, although they’re only $4, a small concern compared to other prices on the menu.

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The Dip Duo includes Tortilla Chips with Guacamole and a Salsa-Queso type dip with a bit of a smokey flavor — We loved it!  The Chips were endless, but we wished the dip was too.  Back to the Deviled Eggs, half of our group liked them and the other half didn’t care for ’em.  There’s a lot of crunch and sweetness in the R+D Eggs and some were hoping for a high quality traditional flavor.

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They have an outdoor patio and a window view into the kitchen from the outside of the restaurant, which is always fun.  This day we watched the Chefs making Huntsman Cheese.  Cafe R+D has a small menu and it’s not cheap, but the food, atmosphere and service makes it desirable.  For more information, read what others are saying on Yelp.

Bandera Restaurant, American Cooking In CDM.

March 30th, 2009 1 comment

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Bandera is part of the Hillstone Restaurant Group — A collection of high quality restaurants that serve great food.  Walking from the nearby beach in Corona Del Mar (CDM), we stopped in Bandera on PCH.  This day we had the Sliced Leg of Lamb with Red Chili Sauce and Escabèche.  I love the Escabèche and want to go back for more.  The Lamb was good too, but I’m not sure about its presentation — It looked a little deflated. 🙂

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Halibut was the Fresh Fish and we got it with the Braised Red Cabbage and Goat Cheese.  The Halibut couldn’t have been better and I recognize the Cabbage from Houston’s, another Hillstone Group Restaurant.  And I’ve previously posted a Copycat Recipe for the Braised Red Cabbage HERE on Nibbles of Tidbits.

Copycat Braised Red Cabbage Recipe:
http://www.ineedtext.com/FoodBlog/2008/08/11/houstons-restaurant-braised-red-cabbage-with-goat-cheese/

Bandera American Cooking Restaurant INFO & Menu:
http://www.hillstone.com/#/restaurants/bandera/

A Vegetable Escabèche Recipe:
http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=522006