Laguna Beach Five Feet finally has some competition in the culinary arena. Vertical offers a cozy, sexy bar, too. The combination is unbeatable. Pflueger, who comes to Vertical from New York s famed Russian Tea Room, is a graceful presence at the front line of this major-league eaterie. At lunch, there is a Maytag bleu cheese burger, served with caramelized onions and thyme fries.
Nothing here is mundane, and every bite counts.
Dinner is an elegant affair, with gorgeous, artistic presentations composed on enormous plates. A charcuterie platter feeds two quite well, and the caviar sampler is pure heaven. They even have sweetbreads, and lamb osso bucco, delicacies not often seen in Orange County. Fabulously silky foie gras is set atop a different sauce each night. But many people just order another bottle of wine and settle in to relax for the night.