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Charlie Palmer at Bloomingdale’s
South Coast Plaza
3333 South Bristol Street
Costa Mesa, CA 92626
charliepalmer.com

Ordered:
Fresh Market Oysters
Roasted Jidori Chicken
Black Angus Filet Mignon
Macaroni and Cheese
Wild Mushrooms
Cheese Grits

Review:
Charlie Palmer is a definite visionary. He was among the first draft of chefs to help turn Las Vegas into a fine dining destination back in the 1990s. Since then, his success and brand have only grown, almost to the point where we wonder how much more there is left for him to do. With the recent addition of Charlie Palmer at Bloomingdale’s in South Coast Plaza, Palmer has even managed to bring some of his refined taste to Orange County.

Entrance:

Even though the Palmer name carried serious weight, we were reluctant to come here for the longest time. I mean, we knew that we eventually would. We were just scared of being horribly disappointed. Fine dining and Orange County are two things that just don’t mix. Throw in an upscale department store and views of the monstrosity that is Trinity Broadcasting Network, and you’ve got a cross section that is… dynamic… to say the least.

We finally decided to go one night on a whim. The interior of the restaurant was gorgeous. Lots of sleek lines, polished whites, and romantic graphics. Whimsical and modern all at once.

We were seated right away in long booth that ran the length of one wall.

Cute centerpiece:

House Bread:

Amuse:

So far, everything was nice. Prices were fair, up to scale with other Palmer restaurants.

We ordered the Fresh Market Oysters. Kumamoto, I believe.

Fresh Market Oysters, Smoked Cocktail Sauce:

I really hated to say it, but right away there were problems with the oysters. Lots of large sand particles throughout almost every single oyster. Just grainy with sand. Also, the oysters were extremely fishy. I didn’t think they would have knowingly served us bad oysters, but something was too funky for my taste.

I politely told the waiter. I asked him if I could order something else off the menu instead, even if it was of lesser value. He said “No, you have to get oysters again.” Then he left to go to the back of house.

Meanwhile, the head server came to our table and asked me if I wanted something else other than oysters.

“Oh, but I was told I couldn’t…”

“Who told you that?? The chef specifically asked him if you wanted something else, and he said no!”

“Yeah, I dunno… Don’t worry about it.”

By this time, the waiter arrived with a second platter of oysters. Unfortunately, for whatever reason, they too were riddled with sand and tasted really fishy. We didn’t want to complain anymore, so we just kind of left them on the table.

Then, the main courses were brought out.

Roasted Jidori Chicken, Prosciutto, Parsnip Puree, Herb Poultry Jus:

The Jidori Chicken tasted like a roasted chicken breast, wrapped in prosciutto and lightly pan-fried with a natural jus. Not bad, per say. Just different from what I was expecting. To be honest with you, kinda boring and depleted of moisture. The chicken became a tool I used to sop up parsnip puree and jus because there wasn’t much flavor to the dish.

Black Angus Filet Mignon, Bleu Cheese Crust and Peppercorn Sauce:

The Black Angus Filet Mignon, as you can see, had a thick crust of blue cheese sitting like a mushroom cap on top.

In general, bleu cheese and peppercorns are nice. I’m sure they can work well with steak. But in this instance it just didn’t mesh. The cheese was too strong and too dry. It really overpowered the steak, as opposed to creating a nice accompaniment to it. Also, the lack of any juice in the steak made the whole entree seem unsatisfying. There was nothing to meld any of the flavors together. As for texture, well, take a look at the inside of our “medium rare” steak below.

Close-up of filet:

And what would a steak be without sides? We ordered the Macaroni & Cheese, Wild Mushrooms, and Cheese Grits.

Macaroni & Cheese, truffle; Wild Mushrooms, Shallot and Fresh Thyme:

Macaroni & Cheese was fairly good. Wild Mushrooms were fine, too… similar to what you would expect to find at a steak establishment like Morton’s.

The cheese grits were cooked well. Very creamy and rich… very salty too. Easily shared by 4+ people.

Cheese Grits:

At this point we decided not to order dessert. Still, a small plate of sweets was brought out to us, which was a nice gesture on the restaurant’s part.

Sweets:

We really wanted to be pleased, but were pretty disappointed with the food at Charlie Palmer at Bloomingdale’s. Nothing, save for the basic side dishes, came out well. Many things could have accounted for this, though. Maybe the chef was not in. Maybe they were undergoing a major transition within the kitchen staff. We did notice that almost all the cooks there seemed very young, so perhaps that could have been a reason. But now that the restaurant is offering small plates and bar specials, we will likely give them another try.

One thing we really did not like was the service, which honestly just made me want to get out of there ASAP. I mean, I was so annoyed that I practically wanted to run out the door. But the waiter just kept talking and talking. And saying really inappropriate things (like “So on a scale of 1 to 10, what do you give me? Why are you pausing? Go on, answer!”) He also turned the whole oyster incident into my fault, even though I paid for them and didn’t say another word.

“Oysters are supposed to taste like that when they’re fresh, because they come from the ocean you know. Sometimes, when people aren’t used to eating oysters, they can’t tell what’s good and what’s bad. Personally, I eat oysters all the time.”

Now what was I supposed to say to that? =0)

Rating:
4 out of 10 spoonfuls

Value:
$$$