GAME ON AT
THE PLAYGROUND by tony reverditto
efore I even had the chance to dine at The Playground in Downtown Santa Ana, I was ex- cited about it because I heard that the food is incredible from the team at The Rage Monthly.
Truer words have never been spoken; this was one of the best culinary experiences that I have had in recent memory. When I found out that the owner and execu-
tive chef was Jason Quinn, I knew that we were in for a treat. Being a Food Network junkie, I had watched Quinn and his buddies cook their way into the winner’s circle of season two for The Great Food Truck Race, bringing national recog- nition to his four-wheel baby, the Lime Truck. For me, things were even more intriguing as
we walked up to The Playground’s location, it dawned on me that the restaurant occupied the same building in which I taught acting to under privileged kids. Back then this was a predominately Hispanic section of Santa Ana, with a sort of fiesta village feel to it. The Play- ground’s site used to be a run-down Mexican Restaurant with painted pastel murals, tacky décor and subpar food. As we entered, I was completely blown away
by the astounding transformation. This was not a typical makeover scenario from Kitchen Nightmares or Restaurant Impossible; this was a full-blown gut-down-to-the-studs reno-job. I found myself having the same stunned reac- tion restaurant owners have, when shown the final reveal on the shows.
The major shock: that Chef Jason would
actually choose this unlikely location for such a high-end concept restaurant. But what do I know? It is clearly paying off,
we were there on a Tuesday evening and it was quite busy. Out of curiosity, I asked a few co-diners where they were from and most said they were from other areas—which indicates that just after a year and a half in business, the word is out and people are converging on this charming little section of Santa Ana. I think it’s the beginning of a new era of chic restaurants in this historic area. There is nothing better than an open-
kitchen concept for me in a restaurant. The Playground’s dining room is configured as such, with communal seating and optional bar-height or regular height tables done in black ebony. The 27-foot white-quartz bar is a stunner and everything was lit per-
fectly. Another feature is a new 16n-seat tasting kitchen and Chef Jason was working that zone himself the night we were dining. Our server Ryan Autry greeted us at the door,
he originally met Chef Jason back when they worked together at Houston’s. His service was excellent and he was well-versed about every aspect of the The Playground’s menu. John ordered a glass of Reata, Chardonnay,
Carneros 2010 and described it having tropical fruit aromas, flavors of green apple, caramel crème brûlée and a touch of coconut, with a light oak finish (we broke it down together). The beer menu is fantastic, with 15 diverse
draft beers and 60 unusual bottled varieties, most of which I have never heard of. I started with a Telegraph White Ale, a delicious “witbi- er” that quenched my thirst and complimented perfectly our first appetizer that was listed under the menu as “Bites.” Based on this first
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RAGE monthly | MARCH 2013
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