[Newport Beach] [American] Sage Restaurant

Sage Restaurant
2531 Eastbluff Dr
Newport Beach, CA 92660
(949) 718-9650
http://www.sagerestaurant.com

It was our 4 year anniversary, and it happened to be Newport Beach Restaurant Week, too.  Nice!  We get to go out for a nice dinner and save money at the same time.  After browsing through menus online, we decided to try a New American restaurant named Sage.



Sage is tucked away in a corner at Ralphs and CVS plaza in the back bay area in Newport Beach.




The restaurant wasn't too big.  Even though it was a raining weeknight, the seats got filled up quickly.  They had a cute outdoor patio area that would be good spot for brunch on a sunny weekend.



Even the bar area was almost completely full.  Seemed like a lot of the bar customers here are regulars because not only the waiters and bartender know them, they also know each other.  This restaurant gave me a cozy and warm feeling seeing that.  They come in alone, but they don't dine alone.



Sorry for the poor quality of the photos.  The restaurant wasn't dark, but we were seated in a dark romantic corner so the pictures turned to be a little dark and blurry.  Most of the restaurants participating for the event offered 3 course meal.  But Sage had a 4 course meal for $35.


Bread

The meal started with a basketful of bread with white bean spread.  I love the bean spread!  It was much healthier than better, and it tasted great, too.  I also enjoyed the thin crispy bread with rosemary and parmesan cheese.


2007 Summerland Pinot Noir ($25.00/half bottle)

We ordered half bottle of Summerland Pinot Noir to celebrate the evening.  Half bottle was a perfect amount.  Each of us got about 1 1/2 glasses.  Our waiter opened the wine bottle, poured a little for Dr. P to taste, made sure we were ok with the wine, then pour us 2 glasses while making friendly conversation.  Very professional and great service.


Roast Butternut Squash Tart
goat cheese and caramelized onions

The first course was a bite size dish to give us a glimpse of what the chef had to offer.  We both took a bite of the Roast Butternut Squash Tart, and had the same reaction.  "We like the restaurant already!"  The tart tasted sweet from the butternut squash and caramelized onions, and it was creamy from the goat cheese.  It was so tasty that one bite was simply not enough.


Roast Bacon Wrapped Dates
almond and parmesan stuffing, wild arugula, balsamic syrup

The other dish, Roast Bacon Wrapped Dates, had the same sweet and savory combination.  It was delicious!  It also gave me some potluck appetizer dish idea.


Farmer’s Market Citrus, Scallop and Avocado Salad
butter lettuce, pine nuts, sesame vinaigrette

Second course was salad.  Farmer's Market Citrus, Scallop and Avocado Salad came with a giant piece of scallop.  The scallop was cooked perfectly.  So soft and had a naturally sweet seafood taste.  The vegetable in the salad was fresh.  Love the creamy avocado and different variety of citrus.  There were grapefruit, mandarin, and pomelo.


Warm Roast McGrath Farms Beet and Prosciutto Salad
gorgonzola cheese, arugula, walnuts, dijon vinaigrette

Warm Roast McGarth Farms Beet and Prosciutto Salad was a heavier and "manly" dish.  The Prosciutto was really good.  The beet was so fresh and sweet.  The savory gongonzola cheese with the slightly spicy arugula were great combination.  We enjoyed this salad a lot.


Panko Crusted Barramundi
celery root puree, caramelized fennel, artichoke, spinach. tangerine beurre blanc

This was the second time I had Barramundi.  I really like this fish.  It tasted so soft.    What I thought was mashed potatoes turned out to be celery root puree.  I love the taste of it.  The citrus sauce was perfect with the fish.



Lots of sauteed vegetable with the fish.  Spinach, artichoke, and fennel.  Absolutely love all of the veggies.


Grilled Hanger Steak & Twice Baked Gorgonzola Potatoes
sautéed rapini, cipollini onions and garlic, red wine jus

My bad picture really don't do justice of how good the food was at Sage.  Dr. P LOVED his Grilled Hanger Steak & Twice Baked Gorgonzola Potatoes.



He cut the steak and showed me how perfect it was cooked.  I had a bite, and it was tasty.  I like the potato a lot.  Maybe I had too much meat from all you can eat Korean BBQ, and I was not too crazy about meat last night.  So I still think my fish was better.  But Dr. P couldn't stop talking about how good his steak was all night.


Warm Chocolate Truffle Cake
sweet vanilla cream, red wine cherry compote

Warm Chocolate Truffle Cake was rich and creamy.  I love love love love the red wine cherry compote.  Big and juicy cheery soaked with red wine sauce, yum!


Peacock Farm’s Persimmon Pudding
pomegranate sauce, pecans

We ordered Peacock Farm's Persimmon Pudding because we've never had Persimmon pudding before.  It wasn't exactly pudding, but more like a bread pudding.  I couldn't really taste the persimmon, but tasted nutmeg and cinnamon and all those wonderful spices.  It was definitely yummy.  It didn't taste too sweet, and Dr. P likes it a lot.



We love the food at Sage.  Service was great as well.  We definitely will com back again.



Restaurant week is over, but Sage has four course dinner for $35 Monday through Saturday.  If you go on on Monday, not only you can get the special, but you also get 20% off on top of that.  What a bargain!  Lunch prix fixe is only $16.  We will be back soon.

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