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<br />WATERfRONT WONDERLAND
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<br />Reinventing Mexican food at Kantina
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<br />RY SICOLE PUNTICE WILLIAMS
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<br />felt h~e Alice'" it 2006 wonderland when I arrived at
<br />Doug McAllister's latest restaurant prOject, Kantina,
<br />perc~ 00 the waterfront on Balboa Plln.nsula, The
<br />massive wood dOOf'1 dwarf .....ryone the...I'j the v-nnk-
<br />'1'19 pottOtl d,d to Al>ce It's a stri"-109 hf1t ,mpreu'Ol'l,
<br />wt"en seems to be a McAllister tritdem/lrlc And the ,lIu-
<br />s;on continued inside: me vast .."~ of parties on muh,.
<br />million dollar yadm on the bay and l(antJnil', very COI-
<br />mopobtan, elegaot-l'T'ella-industflal decor comb,ned to
<br />create a real-Ue wondel'liitnd
<br />We .JK@r)ded tM $~eep 5t.wease with Its ....all of III ,,~1e5
<br />""d ....tered tf1. 10...1'198. wne" the nth cherry wood floor
<br />warmed up tt-e concrete walls .md the ceding with its eJ<fXlWd
<br />wood beams and air ducts People were crQwded around bar
<br />tables "ear open w'l1doW5, en)Oying the bay breeze
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<br />14(; COAST ;fFfEMef:~
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<br />We grabbed a tillble and ordered II round of Kant,na',
<br />fresh-fru,t bluebeny and mango ma'garita! on the rocks The
<br />~II, curvy gl;lsses f,11ed With vib<;lnt-coloted concoctoOm
<br />SCffl<Imed "dnnk me," And while these dnnh CClme with all
<br />the bells and whistles, they ....ere more style th.... wbst""l;e
<br />We found r,oIace .n the made-to-on:::\er mart,nis, which we
<br />s,pped illS the !Jc.y turr'lfld from blue to p,nk
<br />We took the elevator to a more ;lftS)', le$s lr'ldustl'1al dming
<br />rQOI'll .vhere chell)' wood 's paired .....th " glossy VenetLiln
<br />plaster ce,lIng and copper reo;essed I.ghtong We ....ere ",ate-d
<br />at , t,ble in ar'l open-a" part of tt>e res1al,lritnt right on the
<br />docKS KanMa's lutdMn is the most recent labor of Io~e of
<br />exec...t"..e chef Stephar'le Beaucamp (of Sutra fame), who COl"-
<br />tinves to re,nvent traditl~l MelO,JCan d.shes......th ,ng-.dier'lts
<br />and ted'>niquM from Latin countries and Asia
<br />We slarted ....ith filet m.gnoM l.J.CO'S, The five mll'li-lacos
<br />anived s,ttir'l9 stra'ght up on a fI'IOUnd of guacamole dol.
<br />loped onto a rectangul", white plate The t@f'lder came
<br />.~-~Ie filet .n a cri~ flauta SMell w,th CNlT'bled cheese
<br />and chopped rope torT'la!Oe5 were a h't, We also orde<ed the
<br />spicy tuna tartare ~OOS. The chopped ah. ....as m,...ed w,th "
<br />Th.; ch,le-based, cr"",",)' Sl'iracha Sb<.l<<l aM st...ff"", into
<br />cnspy laco shellS. The tKos were pa,red WIth a cumin-avoca
<br />do puree .nd . refreshing and slightly ~ Jicama slaw 0'1
<br />tl>e $>de. Tt>e quono lunddo sounded lih. a ful'l gro..p starter
<br />The wa,t",.ss put a mini iron skillet 01 spicy melted ch@e~
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<br />ovef a flame at the ub1e with. ~ plate of Spar'l'sh chonzo,
<br />bl&ek beans, smelted p,nto beans, flour lortillas, .lnd
<br />~bed1e ISpilIliYl pickled jalapenos), It WolS def""tely tnt)',
<br />but it fequ,res work, 'K) be ready to bu,1d it yourself
<br />'htl,le there are, few tradrtional ent..ees,t l(amlr'la (like
<br />~l;""Wfapped" chlC"lo:.en enchiladas), tTI05t a't! contempora') I,ke
<br />~ ~ wrtt>, grHn mole, II dtoconstructed hlllibut pael-
<br />la and. filet m,gnon burrito The poril d1ile rellene was stu~ed
<br />with sllreddM CClrnlt.u, beaut,ful red .lnd green bell peppe~
<br />,nd topped ~ goat ~ and II white com creolm s.auce
<br />The naba,..,e'O stealr. is spicy, succulent 'I'd huge It's manflated
<br />for two days If1 t1,banaro chiles and Nrus juices and served
<br />with jiCar'l'lil slaw, """d> deans yoyr palate between bile!>. The
<br />pori chop was H.-...ed With, "i5pbeny chipot1e $iluce, ......uch
<br />WlIS a httle too llWeet for my taste, but I hked the roMled root
<br />vegetables and ch,rred tom,tillos on the Side
<br />As full" we _"II, we could.n resist deS$ert Beaucamp'S
<br />versionofchurros, Theywereactua1lya!otl,kethere.lltr1ing,
<br />o;prinkled !/WIth cmnamor'l and sugar, but shOrt~ and sef'o'ed
<br />w;tt, """II cups of bitte~w.et chocol,te kit d,pping Md of
<br />course we I\ad no bus.ooess ,ndulg,ng ,n tne molten cl'1ocolatllt
<br />c.a~e made l.AelO,lun style wrth c,nf\llmotl, but we did - and
<br />\t'Ietl were no regrets Not a one
<br />K.lflt,na, 2406 Newport Blvd, Newport Be"h BreaHut
<br />lundl and d.nn~ wrved dairy; AppetJlltlt'!i i7-SIS, EntrHS
<br />$21-$36; (949) 673-1400, wwwkaMin,como
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<br />COA!IiT )EPH"'8E~ 200e
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