DEAR Mr. Palmer: I've recently dined at Charlie Palmer at Bloomingdale's South Coast Plaza several times and I'd like to suggest that before planning further expansion of your empire, you might want to get your new Southern California restaurant onto a more secure footing.
This place is in dire need of some TLC.
The Costa Mesa venue adds a touch of class to the sprawling mega-mall, and its location adjacent to Bloomingdale's, but not exactly inside the department store, works well. The restaurant's lounge is a great addition to the South Coast Plaza scene, and highly entertaining. Here's a real-life glimpse of the housewives of Orange County, marching in with suitcase-sized, bling-encrusted purses and label-conscious shopping bags. The bartender happens to make a perfect Manhattan, which makes Charlie Palmer at Bloomingdale's ideal for a shopping break, even if you don't stay for lunch or dinner.
The dining room feels spacious and luxe with those sleek white leather chairs and touches of whimsy -- quirky lights, woven panels and photos of wild horses -- to lighten the tone.
The Next Vintage Wine Shop off the bar is a wonderful feature too. It's a treat to step into the glassed-in wine room to choose a bottle or two from the traditional bound list or from the novel electronic flat panel that allows you to search by vintage, varietal or region. Prices are reasonable for the wines on offer and, because it functions as the restaurant's wine list, the shop is able to stock some unusual, highly allocated bottles as well.
Wine service under the direction of sommelier Christopher Coon is excellent. If you ask for a suggestion, he doesn't push the most expensive wines but chooses something unusual and relatively affordable. It's fun to play around with the wireless eWinebooks too. I love the way you can search for wines in various ways, add any that grab your interest to your virtual basket and then decide which one you'd really like to drink with your foie gras torchon or crispy pork belly. And every bottle is priced at just $25 over retail.
Service is attentive and personable, and the restaurant is certainly not short on staff.
The problem, Mr. Palmer, is the kitchen.
