For $55 per adult and $15 per child younger than 12, Scott's Restaurant & Bar, 3300 Bristol St., Costa Mesa, serves up another three-course meal with choices like calamari, homemade traditional turkey with all the trimmings, slow-roasted prime rib and pumpkin cheesecake.
WHAT WE LIKED Guacamole, Caesar salad, empanadas de carne, calamares, vegetarian quesadilla; churrasco, cana (salmon), tierra (steak), black paella, bahia (shrimp), barbacoa (ribs); dolce de leche cheesecake, sorbets.
BEST DISHES: Tongue with parsley sauce, bresaola with pears, shrimp with chickpeas, seafood charcuterie, venison cacciatorino, carrot maltagliata, chestnut lasagnette, penne with walnut sauce, pasta con le sarde, pappardelle with duck ragù, pici with porcinis, braised pork ribs, braised lamb, ricotta cheesecake with rose water, biscotti.
Upon inquiry, Elliott was kind enough to reveal the contents of his previous night's dinner: small piece of prime rib, baked potato, hold the cheesecake.
WHAT WE LIKE Crab cake, charcuterie platter,stuffed pepper, mushroom soup, grilledromaine heart salad, roasted beet salad grilled salmon, beef short rib, New Yorkstrip steak, jumbo shrimp, cheesecake.
WHAT WE LIKE Roasted beet salad, half lobster with lemon mayonnaise, pizza margherita, rigatoni with duck Bolognese, salmon with miso-mustard glaze, grilled branzino, grilled jumbo prawns, veal T-bone, braised short rib, apple tart, banana parfait, cheesecake.
Popular dishes Black bean soup (£5), Caesar salad (£6/8), barbecue ribs (£13), eggs Benedict (£9), cheesecake (£5.50), chocolate brownies (£5.50).
At home, meanwhile, I'll be celebrating with surprisingly easy, tea-smoked sweet potatoes in a salad to go with falling-apart sticky ribs, and an exotically spiced cheesecake made with pumpkin, a very Aztec ingredient – its burnt ochre colour is beautifully autumnal.
Most regulars opt for no-surprise fare like shrimp cocktail, Caesar salad, prime rib, steaks, lamb chops, rice pudding and cheesecake.
RECOMMENDED DISHES -- Calamari arrabbiata, portobella capressa, stuffed mushrooms, roasted peppers and onions, tricolor salad, linguine carbonara, grilled veal chop, veal chop capricciosa, rib-eye steak, marinated skirt steak, New York cheesecake, tiramisù, cannoli.
