Dana Point, Calif.

Frequent travelers to Las Vegas likely have become devotees of Michael Mina dining experiences. There are four Mina restaurants in Vegas, two inside the MGM Grand, one at Bellagio, yet another at Mandalay Bay.

As the Mina collection expands so, too, does his client demographic reach beyond conventioneers and gamblers. We recently visited Mina’s Stonehill Tavern, the ultimate dining option inside the elegant St. Regis Monarch Beach Resort. Far from the Vegas neon glow, the property sits majestically above the California coastline between Los Angeles and San Diego.  At Stonehill, not only is the menu, the service and the room well above exceptional, it is a gold mine for wine collectors who travel with bottles from their personal cellars.

Stonehill’s corkage policy allows two bottles per table and the corkage fee is a reasonable $25 per bottle.

(The Stonehill list, 650+ options strong, is beyond comprehensive. It’s quickly apparent why the restaurant ranks among Wine Spectator’s newly annointed Best of Award of Excellence honorees. We also dined a few miles away at Studio, a Spectator BAE winner within the rustic confines of the Montage Resort & Spa, where the corkage fee is just $15 with a one-bottle limit per table.). 

We didn’t connect with the logic behind the “Tavern” reference in Stonehill Tavern until examining the menu more closely, for the room itself has a high-ceiling, glass enclosed, ultra-contemporary feeling that is very much in contrast to the stately refinement of the St. Regis itself.  Chef Mina has managed to provide diners with two viable experiences under the same roof. You can do the “tavern thing” with Romaine salad to start followed by hearty choices such as Colorado Lamb atop cappeletti ($39; my main course selection, which was flavorful without the typical heaviness of most lamb presentations), braised veal cheeks derived from Nebraska prime beef ($46), “Berkshire Pig” adorned with black truffle jus ($37), or a juicy Kobe Beef burger topped with truffle cheese ($28).

But there also is the SoCal chic option, where one could conceivably go no further than the appetizer section of the menu. Mina offers high concept “appetizer flights” (perhaps inspired by the wine friendly environment) under the headings Maine Lobster, Liberty Farms Duck, Tuna, Crab, Greens and Osetra Caviar. In all cases, there are three preparations available, i.e., seared, Albacore sashimi and tartare under the Tuna category. But you don’t have to decide on one. You can order a tasting trio instead. So an ideal course of action for the light dining set might be the wild Arugula with heirloom tomato salad, followed by the Maine Lobster tasting trio ($38; chilled salad, bacon and shiso-wrapped fritters and butter-poached) or the Liberty Farms Duck trio ($34; crispy thigh, roasted breast and seared foie gras).

For the more aggressive appetite, Mina offers a six-stanza tasting menu with wine ($175), leading off with a domestic caviar ”parfait” served with Cuvee Michael Mina private label Champagne by Chartogne Taillete.

Next time through coastal Orange County, we are likely to try the St. Regis set back in the hills with Pacific Ocean views (over the oceanfront Ritz-Carlton Laguna Niguel) and return to Stonehill Tavern to try the 1.5-pound Salt-Baked Maine Lobster. As the name implies, the course is presented in an armor of salt that is then cracked open after baking and served with jalapeno-corn pudding.   

– Steve Woodward

This entry was posted on Tuesday, April 1st, 2008 at 12:33 pm and is filed under Destinations. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.