Bistango
19100 Von Karman Avenue | Irvine, CA 92612 949-752-5222 | www.bistango.com With an almost overwhelming array of choices, discovering Bistango’s Small Plates menus were a delightful surprise. Bistango is the flagship restaurant in the Dining As Art Group, including Bayside and Kimera, and this 25-year-old restaurant is often referred to as “flavor for your eyes” due to the inhouse revolving art gallery as well as Chef Javier Montoya’s artistically plated dishes. Serving a variety of American contemporary cuisine with European influence as well as Chef Javier’s Spanish flavors, Bistango’s avant-garde style and consistent service keeps clients coming back year after year. Its unconventional location in Irvine’s Atrium Building, set below executive suites and offices, draws a primarily corporate crowd for luncheons, but with live music in the lounge every night and astoundingly affordable Small Plates, Bistango has become a fashionable
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| Holiday 2012 Issue
place to rendezvous with a group of friends, too. General Manager Ray Sanii attributes Bistango’s reigning success to owner John Ghoukassian’s commitment to creating new and exciting ideas for the menu and for their customers. “He listens to what his clients want, and he combines that with his really unique style,” Sanii said. Exhibiting an impressive selection of tapas, specialty tapas and a bar menu, Bistango serves these Small Plates in the lounge and patio areas amidst the music and dancing Monday through Saturday. Some of our favorites were those dishes that exuded an obvious nod to Chef Javier’s Spanish heritage, like his version of “Meat & Cheese.” This dish flaunts an extremely affordable strip loin ($7.75!), topped with buttery brie cheese and Chef Javier’s idea of fajita, which is in the form of marinated onions and peppers swimming in a spicy peppercorn
sauce with just enough heat. For a bit lighter option, choose the refreshing melon, chorizo and artichoke salad — Chef Javier’s take on the Italian favorite melon and prosciutto. A tartare of sashimi grade yellow fin tuna and an assortment of four-ounce surf and turf small plates round out the menu. We promise you’ll find a new favorite here with all these choices. SMALL PLATE PICK: The curry marinated lamb chops are a mini meal, served on a bed of mashed potatoes with baby carrots for a mere $7.75! Possibly the best and cutest little lamb chops I’ve ever eaten. NATIVE KNOWLEDGE: Ever thought about what Bistango means? It’s actually old French slang for bistro as well as the name of a little town on the border of Italy and France, where Bistango’s owner John Ghoukassian got the name.