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| $5 draft beers at the Playground. |
They call it new American small plates, ingredient and technique driven, and they’re doing it at the Playground - the newest addition to Santa Ana Art District’s increasingly hip food scene.
The food is good. It’s different. It’s inspired.
The burger and large plates are impressive but what really shined for us were the craft beers and vegetable small plates.
According to the restaurant’s staff the menu changes weekly and evolves daily but here is a glimpse of what we found during the last couple of weeks at the Playground.
Little Pork Belly Salad
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Small bits of juicy, grilled pork belly in a salad of fresh arugula tossed in
a light jalapeno crema and traces of sliced red fresno pepper. |
If it’s possible for a dish to taste light and hearty at the same time, this is it.
The salad is dressed perfectly with a little heat and well balanced. The pork belly was...well...pork belly. It was freakin’ delicious.
Easter Egg Radish
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According to Executive Chef Jason Quinn, this dish is
prepared using a simple French technique and comprised
of only fresh radish, toasted bread, and homemade butter. |
The radish was part of a fresh shipment the restaurant had just received from County Line Harvest, a local certified organic farm in California.
We smeared some of that homemade salty butter on the radish and ate it with a bite of perfectly toasted buttery bread and we thought we’d died and gone to radish heaven.
Radish??? We know... but it truly was heaven in a bite.
Brussels Sprouts - One way
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| Brussels sprouts during a lunch service. |
Grilled brussels sprouts with mustard and honey? flavors. Not sure but it was savory with a touch of sweetness and cooked until it had the perfect texture not easy to obtain when usually cooking the bitter vegetable at home.
The Amazing Crouton
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A bite of a thinly sliced, perfectly toasted, crunchy, sweet
cornbread crouton atop a simple Caesar salad. |
The salad was fresh, the dressing was spot-on with a hint of citrus, but what really blew us away - to the point it inspired a 20 minute dinner discussion - were the buttery, sweet cornbread croutons served on top of this seemingly simply Caesar salad.
The Beer
Owner and Executive Chef Jason Quinn and most of his staff have an overwhelming knowledge of craft beers.
If you’re not a beer guy/gal, don’t fret, neither were we - but trust us, when you go you might have a change of heart.
Some of the ladies said they liked the TAPS Cream Ale, because it went well with the food and was easy to drink for their girly taste buds.
Look for our upcoming story on beer and craft breweries from the Playground by our newest contributor and resident beer guy, PLUS ONE, who introduced us to Firestone Parabola and the Knuckle Sandwich by Bootlegger’s Brewery - both of which were at Playground and amazing.
It’s not always easy to find food in Orange County that’s based purely on passion and simple fresh ingredients, but the team at Playground seems to be trying to do just that.
And they’re doing it pretty damn well.
The Playground is located at 220 E. 4th St.
