O is for OC Original—The Chaparosa Grill

Clear water, great beaches and Jack Sparrow are the three things that come to mind when I think of the Caribbean, not any particular type of cuisine or food. Chef Tony Corke may have thought similarly when in 2001 he decided to bring the flavors of the Caribbean to Laguna Niguel with his restaurant, the off Golden Lantern in Marina Hills.

Unique then and still unique now the, English-born chef Tony describes his menu as “California cuisine with a Caribbean Twist.”  He strives to find interesting pairings of spiciness and sweeter fruit flavors.

I ordered the Rasta Pasta, which is linguine with a great assortment of seafood: salmon, clams, mussels, shrimp, and tuna. It’s covered with an amazing curry sauce that has slices of jalapenos (cha-ching!) and surprisingly, plantain banana slices.  The curry is spicy and there is just the right amount of fruit flavor to make the dish complex without making it sweet. Loved it, a solid three on my spicy heat scale, but chomp into one of those jalapenos and it bumps up to a four.

Chaparosa Grill has a big selection of salads and other healthy foods which made my wife very happy.  She had the Asian chicken salad which includes shredded cabbages, lettuces, carrots, Bell peppers and bean sprouts.  The salad came with a ginger-wasabi dressing which had a little kick to it, and is unusual. Susan proclaimed this as her all time favorite restaurant salad. I thought the dressing was so good I’d like to use it as a dip for sushi.

Our carnivore Emma, ordered baby back ribs which are coated with a spice rub and then covered with homemade mango barbecue sauce. They had a unique crispiness to them and were some of the best ribs I’ve tasted. They came with a heavenly cloud of mashed potatoes and perfectly steamed veggies. 

Classically trained in Europe, chef Tony’s inventions are so creative. He often offers culinary demonstrations where wines are paired with new dishes to try. There’s plenty of seafood, pastas and interesting pizzas, too. I’m anxious to get back and try a few more items.

In the words of Captain Jack Sparrow, “Not all treasure is silver and gold, mate.” Chaparosa Grill is an OC Original treasure—really unique and a standout among restaurants in Laguna Niguel. 

I’ll definitely bring friends from out of town or clients here for a special occasion even though it has a casual feel and is affordable enough to eat at more regularly. Fifteen restaurants later I am definitely singing 'Yo-ho, yo-ho, a diner’s life for me!'