There are great restaurants : those that you frequent on a regular basis, where you find your favorite dishes, consistency, but not too many surprises.
Then there are extraordinaire restaurants: you might go once, or as often as possible, there are stars for the menu and probably stars in your eyes. They are for celebrating something special, and celebrating absolutely nothing but being together. Extraordinary restaurants surprise you at every turn. They educate you, they are the product of an educated chef, no matter what age. They move you out of your comfort zone, and move you into nirvana. They may not bat 1.000, but they are batting at least .850. The chef might even come to your table, if you are fortunate enough as he trusts his kitchen and cares for his clients just as much. The atmosphere created adds to the whole. But most of all, this chef creates the memories you will talk about long after your dinner,and the rest of your life..
This, mes amis, is what we found at Ocean Club..
The greetings of Jarad and the amazing staff set the tone. Charming, caring, and the kind that will sneak behind you with a smirk and put the one type of bread you haven’t tasted on your plate. I really don’t want to give too much away, because you need to discover the nuances and delights for yourself. Yes, the food was unexpected as the quality and spices went but the sheer beauty of the dishes invited you to an art show, painted by the chef. You absolutely must have the onion and bacon jam starter, as DD swooned, like for real. You know it was a special night because he gave me his last bite. I exchanged dishes with him so he could taste a beautiful tableau of raw snapper with horseradish: I will save the show for you. But fair warning, you should love horseradish. I do. But next time, I am defaulting to the onion soup-ish starter. The guy from Prada also swooned.
Suffice it to say, DD had the lamb chops, with a spice surprise that was Northern African, (I did not get any)
and I took a chance on a second try at mahi-mahi after that forgettable lunch. I was glad I did because,like any great chef, the accompaniments make the dish. There were pieces of cauliflower with one of the most interesting and delicious surprises I have ever had..and I’m not ruining the surprise for you
!
Then to celebrate our anniversary, the chef sent maybe the most exquisite dish I have ever seen…and I’ve seen a lot. It was called the Tree of Life, and it summed up the beauty of our anniversary. A tree on a plate with a jeweled mosaic of branches leading down to the soil,with lovely brush strokes of paint, the edible kind. (Too bad DD spilled a little of the ‘dirt’, but you know boys playing in the dirt
)…this dish had about as much to do with broccoli as Rembrandt has to do with a Jackson Pollack…you know they’re both art,but that’s where it ends.
I would have chosen the chocolate dessert but it had herbs in, which I don’t get, and I don’t like weird stuff in my sweets..people really need to leave chocolate alone and not try to improve perfection. For me, it’s persoal; just throw a nice lava cake my way and no one gets hurt…so we had a vanilla tarte thing, which was 2nd prize. Very pretty and ok. Nothing that would not have been improved by a few chocolate truffles…
Yes,there were other surprises along the way. We had a Bordeaux at 200 E which was fine and ended in Ducru, which DD said was the second label. Full disclosure: we bring all our own wine to restaurants in California so paying 4x a markup is not amusing for us, and we drink pretty well at home. I’m happy with wine by the glass, here, too as I don’t drink that much anyway, and DD has to bat clean up…
Anyway, suffice it to say that this restaurant is an exquisite experience and we wish Jarad and crew the most success. The view isn’t bad, either
Then there are extraordinaire restaurants: you might go once, or as often as possible, there are stars for the menu and probably stars in your eyes. They are for celebrating something special, and celebrating absolutely nothing but being together. Extraordinary restaurants surprise you at every turn. They educate you, they are the product of an educated chef, no matter what age. They move you out of your comfort zone, and move you into nirvana. They may not bat 1.000, but they are batting at least .850. The chef might even come to your table, if you are fortunate enough as he trusts his kitchen and cares for his clients just as much. The atmosphere created adds to the whole. But most of all, this chef creates the memories you will talk about long after your dinner,and the rest of your life..
This, mes amis, is what we found at Ocean Club..
The greetings of Jarad and the amazing staff set the tone. Charming, caring, and the kind that will sneak behind you with a smirk and put the one type of bread you haven’t tasted on your plate. I really don’t want to give too much away, because you need to discover the nuances and delights for yourself. Yes, the food was unexpected as the quality and spices went but the sheer beauty of the dishes invited you to an art show, painted by the chef. You absolutely must have the onion and bacon jam starter, as DD swooned, like for real. You know it was a special night because he gave me his last bite. I exchanged dishes with him so he could taste a beautiful tableau of raw snapper with horseradish: I will save the show for you. But fair warning, you should love horseradish. I do. But next time, I am defaulting to the onion soup-ish starter. The guy from Prada also swooned.
Suffice it to say, DD had the lamb chops, with a spice surprise that was Northern African, (I did not get any)
and I took a chance on a second try at mahi-mahi after that forgettable lunch. I was glad I did because,like any great chef, the accompaniments make the dish. There were pieces of cauliflower with one of the most interesting and delicious surprises I have ever had..and I’m not ruining the surprise for you
!Then to celebrate our anniversary, the chef sent maybe the most exquisite dish I have ever seen…and I’ve seen a lot. It was called the Tree of Life, and it summed up the beauty of our anniversary. A tree on a plate with a jeweled mosaic of branches leading down to the soil,with lovely brush strokes of paint, the edible kind. (Too bad DD spilled a little of the ‘dirt’, but you know boys playing in the dirt
)…this dish had about as much to do with broccoli as Rembrandt has to do with a Jackson Pollack…you know they’re both art,but that’s where it ends.I would have chosen the chocolate dessert but it had herbs in, which I don’t get, and I don’t like weird stuff in my sweets..people really need to leave chocolate alone and not try to improve perfection. For me, it’s persoal; just throw a nice lava cake my way and no one gets hurt…so we had a vanilla tarte thing, which was 2nd prize. Very pretty and ok. Nothing that would not have been improved by a few chocolate truffles…
Yes,there were other surprises along the way. We had a Bordeaux at 200 E which was fine and ended in Ducru, which DD said was the second label. Full disclosure: we bring all our own wine to restaurants in California so paying 4x a markup is not amusing for us, and we drink pretty well at home. I’m happy with wine by the glass, here, too as I don’t drink that much anyway, and DD has to bat clean up…
Anyway, suffice it to say that this restaurant is an exquisite experience and we wish Jarad and crew the most success. The view isn’t bad, either
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Delicious experience! Even better with the yachts! Glad you had the go-to appetizer 
