The Ranch Restaurant and Saloon – True Farm to Table

Many people travel to Southern California to vacation every summer and throughout the year. Many of them come to Anaheim, CA to visit that that most famous mouse of all – Mickey Mouse, and all his friends, at Disneyland. If you’re lucky to be at Disneyland, then you’re lucky enough – actually fortune has more to do with it than luck, but that’s not how the saying goes. You are lucky, however, that the highly acclaimed, award-winning The Ranch Restaurant & Saloon is a stone’s throw from Disneyland, so close that you can see the fireworks display.

When asked for recommendations for steak houses or fine dining in Orange County, I can confidently direct folks to The Ranch where guests are treated to a memorable dining experience, above and beyond just a nice dinner. The Ranch sources the highest quality ingredients and local farm fresh produce – much of it grown on the owner’s ranch in nearby Orange. Let me tell you a little about that.

For the past few years, modern ranchero* and owner of The Ranch Restaurant & Saloon, Andrew Edwards, has welcomed a select group of Orange County food writers to “Sunday Supper on the Farm” at the Edwards Ranch Estates in the foothills of Orange. It has been my privilege to be invited each summer, unfortunately, the date always fell during a time when I was traveling – until this year when the event was moved up due to the heat and early maturation of much of produce, particularly the bumper crop of tomatoes.

I was super excited to finally be able to accept this coveted invitation and venture into the often forgotten countryside of Orange County to meet Andrew Edwards and his lovely wife Morgan and tour the ranch’s gardens which furnish much of the produce for The Ranch Restaurant. All the while knowing that we’ll soon be savoring its bounty and the culinary artistry of Executive Chef Michael Rossi and his team.

As my fellow food writer and friend Anita Lau points out, “The Ranch Restaurant & Saloon in Anaheim is possibly the ONLY restaurant in southern California which can truly boast a farm-to-table menu. With 0ver 600 heirloom tomato vines and 90+ varieties of tomatoes, plus several varieties of heirloom cucumbers, peppers, pumpkins and squash, zucchini, beets, corn, kale, melons and fresh herbs, the property is also home to original orange and fig trees, as well as newly planted blueberry bushes.”

Chef Rossi led us on a tour of the garden beginning in the herb garden lush with lemon verbena, lemon basil, Thai basil, and purple basil. Their fragrance filled the warm air with a melange of scents and touching the leaves permeated our fingertips with their essence.

Having homegrown tomatoes was the reason my husband and I started a garden years ago and the incredible number of plump tomatoes in varying shades of ripeness hint at the bountiful harvests that will keep The Ranch well supplied with summer’s favorite vegetable that’s really a fruit. The teepee growing method for squash and other sprawling varieties was new to me and I wish we had thought of that when were planting a garden.

Meandering around rows of colorful Rainbow swiss chard, curly-leaved Lacinato kale (also known as Tuscan, Dinosaur or Black kale), vibrant colored peppers, and tall corn silks glistening in the sun before ducking under the welcome shade of an awning where sips of pure sweet essence of tomato quenched our thirst and enlightened our tastebuds to the true taste of tomatoes – something that is sorely lacking from supermarket varieties.

Returning from the garden, we are greeted with icy cold copper mugs of Orange County Mint Julep created with farm Valencia orange-infused Buffalo Trace bourbon and the Southern Belle Negroni composed of peach and rosemary infused Don Julio Reposado tequila, Aperol and Antica Carpano Sweet Vermouth served on the rocks. I was happy to see Buffalo Trace featured as it happens to be my go-to bourbon after a visit to their distillery outside of Louisville, KY and it’s not always available at bars here. But the Negroni lived up to its namesake with a perfect balance of bitter, citrus, herbal and sweet, fruity notes envelope the palate before the tequila kick that has you wake up and take notice – a fiery Southern belle like Scarlett O’Hara. Note that both cocktails are served at The Ranch Restaurant.

The Southern Belle Negroni

Guests mingled and sipped while nibbling on tray-passed Tempura Squash Blossoms before taking their seats at the rustic barn wood table set with gorgeous blooms of white and yellow punctuated with turquoise glassware and antique brass and crystal candelabras.

A tartare of velvety Skuna Bay Salmon and cucumbers napped in a yuzu kosho vinaigrette and a dollop of wasabi aioli piqued our appetite for the farm fresh dinner to follow.

Skuna Bay Salmon Tartare

Edwards Ranch Estates Strawberries & Di Stefano Stracciatella

Dungeness Crab Gazpacho

Housemade Charcuterie | Rabbit pâté en croûte, Wagyu beef tongue & foie gras terrine, Chicken liver mousse

 

Homemade Scarlett Beet Gnocchi | English peas, Golden beets, Dill, Smoked Goat Cheese

Heirloom Tomatoes with Napa Valley Olive Oil, sea salt and herbs

After these impressive starters, it was time for the pièce de résistance – prime Porterhouse steaks prepared table-side. The mega steaks are magnificent to behold, expertly seared in butter with thyme and garlic, the aromas triggering a Pavlovian response that pushed all thoughts of being fully satiated aside. Cooked to a perfect medium rare and served with a choice of Bearnaise, Bordelaise and Chimicchuri sauces, it was/is a carnivore’s nirvana.

A dessert selection of hand-crafted Macaron Ice Cream Sandwiches further tantalized our palates, I managed to capture a photo in the waning light, but was too immersed in the pastoral setting and the brilliant fiery sunset before me to partake.

The culinary finesse and impeccable detail you see here is but a small example of what guests experience when dining at The Ranch. The restaurant was awarded the 2015 Wine Spectator Award of Excellence and boasts an impressive wine list of over 500 wines from around the world. Executive Chef Rossi and Pastry Chef David Rossi won the Golden Chef Awards for 2014 in their respective category. The Ranch Restaurant also stands out as the only high end steakhouse with a saloon for dancing and live entertainment attached. So make an evening of it – destination dining, special occasion dining, date night, business entertaining, or simply a place to appreciate being with family and friends enjoying life and savoring nature’s bounty!

The Ranch Restaurant & Saloon

Restaurant Open Daily from 5:00- 10:00 p.m.

1025 E. Ball Road
Anaheim, CA 92805
(714) 817-4200
Located on the ground floor of the Extron Building.

Live country music at The Ranch Saloon

*Historical note: In the foothills of Orange County, one can glimpse a way of life reminiscent of the ranchos of Orange County 150 year ago. After Mexico won its independence from Spain in 1821, the new state was unable to maintain the California missions, Native Americans and padres soon abandoned the now secularized missions leaving them in disrepair. By 1846, almost all of Orange County was partitioned to Mexican settlers to establish rancheros. Trading ships traveled along the coast of California to collect cattle hides and tallow for manufactured products from the United States and other countries. {Source: Orange County Guide}