When the view from your room looks like this….

And the chef from one of the hotel’s premier restaurants sends you home with these to enjoy on your flight….

You can’t help but want to share what a special place St. Regis Monarch Beach is… Here’s a couple of memorable moments from staying at this gorgeous resort last week.

One night after a long day sampling new products at Expo West, we were invited to a beautiful tasting menu put together by the Chef of Motif – their signature restaurant at the St. Regis Monarch Beach.  The dinner was a no holds barred kind of foodie’s dream event… 4 full courses with wine pairings and lots of treats in between. The service and attention to detail was outstanding.  My mom and I were served a delicious glass of champagne to start.

The ambience of the night and candle lit restaurant made taking food pictures a little difficult – but I managed to snap a few of my favorite courses. The organic baby beet salad with orange hazelnut puree on top of fresh mache was a refreshing way to start a meal… raw is always best at the start…

The miniature (you can’t tell from the picture) lobster pot pie was decadent to say the least.  Huge pieces of lobster await you after you puncture the flaky dough crust.  Since lobster is a treat – I didn’t waste one bit of it!  I did leave most of the crust, because I knew many more courses were on the way…

This was one of the most interesting dishes – a huge heart of palm served over a blood orange based sauce…. I love fresh hearts of palm, so very California.

At the end of the meal, after several tastings of wine, more courses and a bite of three different desserts, the Chef took us on a little tour.  My Mom and I were exhausted by this time, but our eyes and energy quickly perked up after the intoxicating smells as we entered the room where the magical art of chocolate sculpting happens by the world famous pastry chef – Stephane Treand.  The attention to detail that can be created with chocolate is so mind boggling, isn’t it?

On the way out of the chocolate room, we were presented with yet another tasting… a tasting of Chocolate. When we received the invitation to dinner, I was not expecting this level of pampering!  Motif went totally over the top and we enjoyed every moment of it. The whole evening was spectacular and this chocolate gift – put more than a cherry on top of our night.

The next day…. We ventured to the Monarch Bay Beach Club to have brunch.  The view and service were impeccable… but nothing like what we experienced the night before.  I was still wishing I was back at the dinner, so I could taste it all yet again on an empty stomach….

Thank you St. Regis Monarch Beach and Motif for an exciting detour from the conference, making my Mom’s birthday weekend so special and treating us like gold… we had more than a great time at your resort and can’t wait to come back one day soon!

XOXO,

Food Babe