Sunday, February 20, 2011

Sapphire Laguna

My husband had been up to his eyeballs with our bathroom renovation so with the glorious weather on Sunday we decided to head West for a bite to eat.  We ended up in Laguna Beach, with seasonally cool temps (of course I was loving it) and beautiful blue skies it was a gorgeous day.  The parking was nuts as usual for a Sunday down in Laguna but we finally nabbed a spot from a surfer who had just started his leaving ritual.  If you are waiting for a surfer guy to finish up and actually leave, you are in for a wait.  They have to put away the board, take off the wetsuit, go through the drying ritual, give you the quick flash while they don their dry clothes and then maybe just maybe they'll get in the car.  This guy actually seemed to hurry a bit for us which was nice.  So we parked, and headed South to the Sapphire Laguna.





We've eaten here before, just once last summer and it was really good.  So we decided to give it another go.  The atmosphere is very relaxed and eclectic with a stellar view.  A view that is if you are lucky to sit on the outside deck or a perimeter seat inside which is where we got to sit today.   We ordered a bottle of mineral water and some fabulous wine.  I had a quick glance at the wine list and saw a wine from Snoqualmie on it.  We visited Snoqualmie on a trip to Washington years ago so we tried this Chardonnay.  I was not disappointed even though it was the cheapest wine on the list.  We strictly order by region, and it was light and fresh and reminded me of the wine we have enjoyed in BC, Canada. 

The busboy brought fresh rolls which are delicious, and you know how I feel about bread.  For my entree I order the Southern Fried Chicken Salad which was delicious once it finally got to me.  My husband order the Huevos Ranchero which came out quickly and was actually steaming.  It looked fabulous and after tasting it, it was as good as it looked. 



My food unfortunately got mixed up, they sent out the wrong dish and I ended up having to wait a very long time for my salad to arrive.  This was really too bad because my husband then waited to eat his food so that his got cold.  They should have brought him another hot dish when my food came out.  Once I did get it, the food was very good.  As good as I had remembered the first time.  The chicken was crispy and tender and the salad was filled with baby greens walnuts and lots of cranberries with a light ranch dressing.  It was really good. 

Aside from the mix up with the order and the very long wait for my meal to come the food was great.  The service very good and they did comp a second glass of wine and my meal which of course really adds to the "customer service" factor.  Customer service is huge for me; this small step can make such a huge impact.   In fact it was enough for me to forget the negative and focus on the great food, good service, fabulous view and atmosphere.  Oh yes; we'll be back.