Newport Beach Restaurant Week Menu: Great Maple at Fashion Island

Newport Beach Restaurant Week starts today, January 17, and goes on until January 26. I took the chance to explore some Orange County eats, since I'm not there much, and tried out the Restaurant Week menu at Great Maple Libations and Seasonal Plates, located inside the Fashion Island. The Great Maple will have a 3-course dinner menu for $30.

After driving to OC in LA traffic, we needed a refreshing cocktail to calm down! Lucky for us, the cocktails here were pretty good.

We started with the gin drinks. I had the Midnight Pineapple with cucumber and caramelized pineapple.

I like that the drinks here weren't too sweet. This was refreshing and hit the spot after the long drive.

Newport Sunrise Cooler made with G'Vine gin, basil, grapefruit, lime, Cointreau

The appetizer choices included Crispy calamari, lemon caper mayo, chili flakes, olives

The salty olives in the calamari were a great and unexpected addition. More fried calamari should come with olives!

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Game Meats at Burger Lounge

Did you know Burger Lounge has a rotating burger series made of game meats? The aptly called "Game Changer" series featured burgers with bison, boar, and elk.

I'm blogging late in the game (ha!) so we already missed one, the Grass-fed Bison Burger which ran from October 2013 – November 2013. The $10.95 was served on the signature Lounge Bun (there's a gluten free bun option) with blue cheese, pickled onion, and roasted garlic aioli. 

For those looking for leaner meats, bison is a great burger alternative.

You still have time to try the second one though, which runs through the end of January. The Wild Boar ( $10.95) is served with crispy onion rings, smoked mozzarella and house-made BBQ

This was my favorite of the three burgers, being the juiciest one. Plus, it's topped with crispy onion rings!

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Whiskey in Winter and Opening Day Races at Santa Anita Park

What did you do the day after Christmas? I went to a whiskey tasting and watched horse races at Santa Anita Park! Santa Anita Park held a Whiskey in Winter event in their beautiful chandelier room, coinciding with their opening day races.

Attendees tried half a dozen whiskeys and cocktails around the room and voted for their favorite. The favorite winner will get the cocktail featured at the bar here. I was in a dilemma because my favorite whiskey and my favorite cocktail of the day was different, but since they're featuring the cocktail, I voted for that one.

The whiskey we tasted that day included: Breakers Bourbon, Calumet, Koval, Lexington, Whippersnappers and Whistle Pig.

The winner might surprise you! You may not have even heard of it, since it's a newcomer from Buellton. Yep, that's near Santa Barbara. Ascendant Spirits is Santa Barbara's first distillery and their Breakers Bourbon is worth a taste!

The cocktail was called "Sure Bet", created by Jeremy Lake (Crossroads).

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