Frank and I attended a media event at Cevasco’s in old Del Mar. As it turns out, Cevasco’s was an addition to Executive Chef/Owner Christophe Cevasco’s upstairs Beeside Balcony.
After enjoying the food at Cevasco’s, we knew a follow-up visit to Beeside Balcony was in our future.
Chef Christophe is a third-generation chef of Spanish and Italian descent, hailing from Paris. His restaurant career began when he was 17 in the kitchen of his father’s restaurant in Pasadena when they first immigrated to the United States.
Upon returning to Southern California in 2011, Christophe spent eight years as the managing partner of Eddie V’s Prime Seafood in La Jolla, where he deepened his knowledge of sourcing and cooking the freshest seafood available while delivering world-class service.
Using this expertise, chef Christophe created Beeside Balcony, a mouthwatering experience that our readers should check out.
I suspect that some are wondering about the name.
When we asked our knowledgeable host/server Cecile about Beeside, she said it is based on the bees that Chef Christophe grows at his house. He harvests their honey and infuses it into dishes like the Bee’s Board starter and Baklava Ice Cream Cake.
The other word, Balcony, is easy to figure out when sitting on the 2nd story enjoying a beautiful sunset.
Frank and I had a tough time settling on which shareable appetizers to choose. They all looked good, but we finally decided on the Trio of Dips and Beeside’s Crabcake.
The Trio had artichoke hummus, spicy hipiti, house tzatziki and warm pita. This pita was magical, seriously, the best pita that I think I have ever eaten. It was warm, soft, flavorful and perfect for the dips along with the 2020 Frank Family Carneros that I had and Frank’s 2020 Benton Lane Pinot Noir.
Between the starters and dinner, I had the Caesar Salad. I liked the treatment of the olive tapenade and anchovy smear that enhanced and boosted the salad. The 2020 Austin Hope Cabernet Sauvignon had the muscle to pair with tapenade and anchovies.
It was also a solid pairing for the 16-ounce drenched pork chop between garlic polenta and shallot jam. The plate was drizzled with a peach balsamic glaze and served with broccolini. My mouth was in sensory overload.
Frank had the 8-ounce Filet Mignon served with a peppercorn au poivre sauce. He shifted out the rosemary french fries for the veggie risotto with broccolini, tomatoes and red onions.
He paired this with the 2020 Far Niente Post & Beam Cab Sauv, a perfect match for the filet and risotto.
After trying each other’s meals, we confirmed both entrees were equally spectacular.
I know that we always say to save room for dessert, but I really, really mean it this time.
The Baklava Ice Cream Cake was legendary. Homemade Baklava was sandwiched between vanilla bean ice cream with a crumble and drizzled with a homemade honey-cinnamon syrup created by Chef Christophe. This was surrounded by fresh sliced strawberries, blackberries and blueberries.
Frank and I indulged and paired a 10-year Tawny Port with the cake.
Assisting executive chef Christophe with operations are his wife and managing partner Guen Cevasco, chef Enrique Aguilar, manager Laura Buell and bar manager Naomi Elmakias.
When combining the flavorful entrees, variety of the menu, wine selections, ambiance and seasoned team, there is only one word to describe Beeside Balcony — phenomenal!
See details and the menu at beesidebalcony.com.
— Story by Rico Cassoni
Wine Bytes
• Descobres is teaming up with Winebow Imports for their Wines of the World event on Dec. 1 at San Diego’s Westgate Hotel. 55-plus limited edition, highly rated wines from over 25 producers across Europe and the Americas will be poured.
This will be a limited-entry event without crowded tasting tables. The cost is $150 per person (3 to 4 p.m. industry/media, 4 to 7 p.m. general public). Buy tickets and see the wine list at descobres.com.
• Oceanside, California’s only estate vineyard and winery, the Beach House Winery, is having a pizza party on Saturday, November 19, and its Christmas Mercado soirée on Saturday, December 10, with pizza, wine, and homemade fig jam for sale. More details at beachhousewinery.com and 760-732-3236.
Rico Cassoni is the executive producer for Taste of Wine & Food. He and founder/adviser Frank Mangio, a renowned wine connoisseur certified by Wine Spectator, are two of the leading reviewers on the web. Reach them at [email protected].
