USC restaurant off to a good start
Most University of Southern California students are not aware of it yet, but the school just opened the only table-service restaurant on campus, Moreton Fig.
It’s only been open for a week but it already has the potential to become a great place to eat. The restaurant itself looks like a five star restaurant. The bar has its own lounge area equip with couches, marble counters, and friendly bartenders. Despite its expensive look, the restaurant is not insanely overpriced. The priciest dish on the menu is a flat iron steak for $19.50; steak connoisseurs know this is a fairly decent price. I was in the mood to spend money so I went ahead and ordered it. The presentation was very impressive and the steak had a great flavor. Diners be warned though, the duck fat fries it came with were not my favorite. The steak is served with a side of six thickly cut French fries that are slowly fried in duck fat. They’re weren’t terrible, but they don’t taste like traditional fries either.
My lunch companion and I also ordered appetizers, dessert, coffee and some wine for less than $80. Everything was fairly delicious, but two items stood out above the rest. They have an appetizer called the “Stonefruit” bruschetta; it is nothing like any bruschetta I have ever tasted. It’s made with fruit instead of tomatoes. Each slice of bread was topped with a combination of nectarine, pluot, and apricot. The best one on the plate was the pluot and almond bruschetta.
The other highlight of the day was the restaurant’s Étude Rosé wine. Generally speaking, Rosés are
known for being sweet and light, but this one was very dry and you could taste the deep flavors from the red grapes. Étude was my favorite, but the other wines we tried were also great. For those that do not like Rosé, the wine list is fairly long and everything is served by the glass.
The entire experience only had one negative; service was a little slow. Everyone was extremely friendly and knowledgeable, but there was a little bit of a lag in between table visits. I assume that is probably normal for a brand new restaurant so I do not think it will be a problem in the future.
Environmentalists should also take note that many of the ingredients are organic and locally grown. The menu also has special symbols for vegan, vegetarian, and gluten-free dishes. The award-winning Lark Creek Restaurant Group created Moreton Fig. The restaurant is named for the two towering century-old Moreton Bay fig trees standing in front of it.
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