|
By Dan Clarke All too often atmosphere trumps food and service. How many urban restaurants with a beautiful view serve food to match? And in restaurants farther from population centers service is often unpolished and awkward, even though the kitchen may be performing well (it’s one thing to lure a chef to an out-of-the-way location, but much tougher to find a competent entire staff in the backwaters).
 Our experience with the Sea Ranch Lodge refuted this conventional wisdom. Chef Jeffrey Longenecker produces superb food. His wines are well selected and not overpriced. The dining room staff performs smoothly, their performance displaying both confidence and a natural warmth.
Oh, and the setting? Well, it doesn’t get much better. Sea Ranch lies on California’s North Coast, about two-and-a-half hours north of San Francisco. Once the land of the Pomo Indians and later that of Russian fur traders, Sea Ranch is a significant residential and resort community. The Pomos are said to have espoused a “living lightly on the land” philosophy. Whether this is so, I don’t know, but I have seen plenty of real estate projects and the whole Sea Ranch development, begun about 40 years ago, is as subtle and unobtrusive as such things can be. We arrived around 7 pm on a summer evening; time enough for us to appreciate sunset from our dining room table. Cathy Gilliland, for some years a homeowner in Sea Ranch and, more recently, Marketing Coordinator of the Lodge, joined us for a round of Roederer Estate. The Lodge clientele includes locals, visitors and participants in frequent special events and weddings. For most of the evening of our visit the dining room was nearly full. Diners included couples, seemingly on romantic holidays, smaller family groups and one larger table celebrating the birthday of a surprisingly chipper 91-year old woman. Comprehensive investigation of an entire menu can’t be done in one evening, but we sampled enough dishes to get a feel for what the kitchen could do. Chef Longenecker’s offerings were bold and full flavored, but more harmonious than jarringly powerful. He begins with great ingredients and treats them with respect. His crab cakes, for instance, were enhanced by the mango relish and chipotle pepper remoulade, rather than overpowered. Subsequent plates showed originality, but seemed to be more the product of a confident chef, rather than one just flexing his culinary muscles. The nearly all-California wine list numbered about 100 selections and showed a refreshing attention to varieties beyond the ubiquitous Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon. A Handley Rosé (50% Pinot Noir/50% Pinot Meunier) from the Anderson Valley was available by the glass ($7) and the bottle ($24). Our flutes of Roederer were $10 ($38 the bottle), but other California sparklers were available, as was Dom Perignon at $185. Ten whites included Groth and Lambert Bridge Sauvignon Blancs ($32 and $34, respectively) and Jepson ($36) was one of three Viogniers. The reds, otherwise grouped by variety, also included a “Proprietor’s” section which showed bottles such as an old favorite, Heitz Cellar Grignolino ($26) and Joseph Phelps Le Mistral ($43). Listings of Pinot Noirs exceeded those of Cabernet Sauvignon 16 to 12, and their span included Bearboat and “J” (both $32) to two pricey Flowers selections (Camp Meeting Ridge, ’98 at $90 and Camp Meeting Ridge, “Moon Select” at $120). Eleven Zinfandels included reputable names like Ridge, Rosenblum and Turley. While Taste California Travel made transition from the Roderer to glasses of Charles Krug Sauvignon Blanc ($8), followed by a bottle of Husch Pinot Noir ($32), it might also have been fun just to go with the wine by the glass options suggested for every food item on the menu. Desserts were appealing, particularly the White Chocolate Bread Pudding, Dried Cherries with Caramel Sauce and Coffee Ice Cream ($7), which had a suggested pairing of N/V Merryvale, “Antigua,” California Muscat de Frontignan ($15). Delicious as this and other dessert offerings might have been, we were sated. I settled for coffee and a glass of Henriques & Henriques Madeira ($6.50), which I savored as I reminisced about my late friend, Father E. Frank Henriques, author, gourmet and raconteur. Dinner at Sea Ranch Lodge was an experience we won’t repeat frequently enough. This is only due to it being a several hour drive from home. But we’ll be back. We look forward to testing more of Chef Longenecker’s work and enjoying the smooth, seamless service of Candace and her colleagues in the dining room. |
