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EXECUTIVE DINING
AT A GLANCE
STONEHILL TAVERN
Address: St. Regis Monarch Beach Resort One Monarch Beach Resort, Dana Point
Phone:(949)234-3318
Hours: Dinner only, from 5:30 p.m., Wednesday to Sunday
Cosh Appetizers $14 to $30; entrees $28 to $36; prix fixe seven-course dinner is $95 for food, wines to match are $55
Parking: hotel valet; complimentary with restaurant validation
The St Regis Monarch Beach Resort & Spa has had several things going on in the past few weeks that have so piqued my curiosity that I have spent several long evenings over food and wine at this beautiful resort.
Remember the name Stonehill Tavern. It's sure to change your perception of fine dining and it will redefine your mental image of what a "tavern" is.
We have to set the stage. Michael Mina was named as Best Chef in California in 2002 by the James Beard Foundation. He's been racking up awards since then.
Michael was born in Cairo, Egypt, and raised in Ellensburg, Wash. He had a love affair with cooking from his teen years. When he was 15, he was cooking in a small French restaurant. A few years later, he graduated from the Culinary Institute of America in New York.
In 1991, he launched San Francisco's Aqua. Through a partnership that lasted a decade, other restaurants were opened.
In 2002, Michael forged a partnership with tennis star Andre Agassi...