Nipomo is hiding a secret.
In order to unearth it, you’ll have to make your way through a sprawling path of trees leading up to the entrance of Trilogy at Monarch Dunes, a planned community on the outskirts of Nipomo. But don’t worry—this trip through suburban sprawl is worth it.
At the heart of the Trilogy community is the Monarch Club, a cluster of amenities and features tailored for residents (many open to the public). Highlights include Sandalwood Spa, the Market Place Cafe and shop, and a restaurant named Adelina’s, which opened eight years ago.
The key to the Adelina’s experience is the ambience. Stepping into the dining room feels light years away from the rustic steakhouses of Santa Maria, yet still inviting enough to be unintimidating. My dinner companion and I were offered a choice between sitting in the cozy dining area around the main bar or one of the more secluded areas in the clubhouse-like venue. We chose a table by the fireplace, which offered a lot of privacy and what is a probably a fantastic view during the day
Today Adelina’s is run by Executive Chef Charles Weber, who took on the role in 2011. Weber worked in Napa and the Bay Area for years, heading up restaurants like Zuzu before relocating to the Central Coast.
“I’ve been cooking farm-to-table fine dining for years, but not doing it justice,” he said. “I had the opportunity to come here to really go more in that direction and that’s what attracted me to here. I like the Central Coast, even though I’m more familiar with Napa.”
But don’t expect him to go along with area foodies ready to stamp the region as “the New Napa” just yet.
“I wouldn’t go quite that far,” Weber said with a dry chuckle. “This is still very much a meat and potatoes crowd … . Napa is much more sophisticated, more city-oriented … there is a concentration of sophisticated palates there.”
But that doesn’t mean Weber is content to settle for commonplace food at Adelina’s.
“The menu is evolving,” he explained. “We’re trying to bring in the middle of the bulk of people, not just the high end people, not just the cheapest of the cheapest, but the ones in between. We want to satisfy those people. It’s more comfortable and casual yet you still get a great piece of meat or fish or pasta.
“We’re kind of in a country club mode here,” he explained. “We cater to the people who live here [in Trilogy at Monarch Dunes]. They have strong opinions. So our menu runs a gamut of what everybody wants and likes.”
The first thing you’ll notice about the Adelina’s menu is that it looks somewhat familiar, almost comforting. None of the items would, on their face, be out of place at a typical family restaurant (chicken wings, sliders, pizzas), yet something deeply refined stands out. Sure, there’s a plate of onion rings, but the Adelina’s onion rings are served with cheddar curds and a white barbecue aioli sauce. In the mood for a burger? The restaurant’s Millionaire Burger is made of wagyu beef and served on a brioche bun.
Traditional favorites are done with an elevated twist because, as Weber pointed out, it’s all about finding a balance in pleasing their ever-expanding customer base, many of whom want familiar flavors but appreciate refinements. We started our meal with steak bites, a staple found on many Central Coast menus.
“Everybody does steak bites,” Weber noted. “It’s a very popular dish. People like filet mignon.” But Adelina’s takes the dish in a different direction, providing a unique twist on a traditional favorite.
The Adelina’s steak bites are served on a bed of sauteed red peppers, red onions, and a chimichurri pesto. I skipped the butter on my bread and dipped it straight into the luscious sauce, one of the standouts of the entire meal.
“We play around with things like different sauces,” Weber said. “We try to do something not everybody is doing.”
The steak fries are the best surprise of the dish. Thick cut and deeply satisfying, we almost got into a fight over who would get the last one. (They are definitely “stab your dining companion” worthy.)
For dinner, we selected the baked campanelle pasta dish—made with roasted cauliflower and tomatoes along with three different kinds of cheese—and the braised lamb shank, a perfect meal for a chilly winter night.
“During the colder winter months, we always do a braised comfort food,” Weber said. “I like to bounce back and forth between lamb, a short rib, or osso bucco. With this lamb dish, we steered more in an Italian direction by adding the gorgonzola polenta.”
The lamb is braised four to six hours in mirepoix and braising liquid, resulting in meat that’s fork tender and falls off the bone before you can even touch it.
“We added a mushroom twist along with that delicious braising liquid,” Weber explained. “Last time we did this dish we did it a with more traditional tomato sauce with red wine. We switched it up a little this time.”
For Weber, one of the highlights of working at Adelina’s is the winemaker dinners, a private dinner and wine pairing for groups of 10 to 12 people. The dinners allow the chef to experiment more than he can with the Adelina’s usual menu offerings.
“The winemaker dinners are fun,” he said. “It’s a chance for me to do some of the cooking I like to do with some ingredients that are more esoteric. It’s really a great chance to get to cook food no one else does around here.”
For those looking for a night out at the bar, Adelina’s offers a wide selection of liquors, including 125 different kinds of whiskey and 40 tequilas and mezcals. The restaurant also features weekly specials, including $5 margaritas on Tuesdays, and $6.50 martinis on Wednesdays. Thursdays the bar offers free corkage on wine, and Sundays feature brunch and a special supper with “home-style comfort foods” from 5 to 9 p.m. During the year, the venue also hosts four wine festivals and two beer festivals.
Don’t expect to be ushered out and have your place cleaned and cleared in 30 minutes like at your typical chain restaurant. Adelina’s is about savoring the dish, soaking in the environment, and taking time to relax and enjoy your meal. We enjoyed our food by the fireplace, rarely aware that we were in a bustling restaurant. For diners looking for an elevated experience while staying close to familiar fare, Adelina’s is an ideal spot.
Rebecca Rose can be reached through Arts Editor Joe Payne at jpayne@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Dec 22-29, 2016.