With the New Year comes an effort to eat lighter, healthier and more nourishing meals. Reminding diners that eating well doesn’t mean sacrificing fine cuisine, Stonehill Tavern at the St. Regis Monarch Beach is introducing the Vegetable Discovery Tasting Menu, featuring innovative preparations of seasonal vegetables. Starting onJanuary 22 and running through March 31, the specialty tasting menu is the first in a series of discovery menus from Executive Chef Raj Dixit.
The menu will take diners on a journey highlighting fresh, seasonal produce from the central coast of California, prepared using elevated cooking techniques. From beets and black truffles to turnips and wild mushrooms, the dinner will feature a series of amuse bouche, tastes, specialty dishes and dessert inspired by the region’s harvest.
Sample dishes from the six-course menu include porcini mushrooms and burdock root roasted over White BinchotanJapanese charcoal, wrapped in cherry blossom leaves, and served with house-fermented chia-hemp seed moromi miso; farmhouse coddled egg with caramelized sunchokes and freshly shaved winter black truffles; and 21 vegetables simmered in their own juice prepared en papillote and cut tableside.
Mountain and desert wildflower honey, specialty breads prepared with flour from local flour mills, and in-house cultured butter will be made and sourced exclusively for this menu. Biodynamic wines from Booker and Bonny Doon Vineyard, herbal-infused specialty cocktails, kombucha tastings and hand-tied teas will accompany the discovery menu.
For the January 22 launch of the menu, diners will be treated to live music, interactive stations from local purveyors, herb-infused specialty cocktails, biodynamic wines, and more. The Vegetable Discovery Tasting Menu is $125 per person. Beverage pairings are an additional $75 per person.
