Sometimes a Date Night can mean sitting together and enjoying a beautiful sunset view.  In my opinion, there’s no better restaurant to watch the sunset over the Temecula Valley than Meritage at Callaway.  With terraced outdoor tables overlooking rolling vineyards, Meritage is perfectly situated with a westerly view of the Santa Rosa plateau.  The restaurant is located at Callaway Winery, which is currently celebrating its 40^th Anniversary making wines in the Valley.  As part of the celebration, Meritage is offering “40 Sunsets of Summer,” a special promotion where two people can enjoy a three course meal and a glass of Callaway Wine for a total of $40.  My wife and I had been meaning to try Meritage since it first opened last year, so the special was just the incentive we needed to make a sunset dinner reservation. 

Meritage opened about a year and a half ago, with Executive Chef Michael Henry at the helm.  The name “Meritage” is a blend of the words “merit” and “heritage”, based on the proprietary name coined for blended Bordeaux wines.  Just as Meritage wines are a blend of different varietals, the Meritage menu is a blend of diverse flavors and types of food.  There’s something for everyone on the menu, with Tapas, Salads, and Entrees as well as daily blackboard specials.  A three-course, prix fixe lunch menu changes every couple of days and a different five-course, prix fixe food and wine pairing is offered every week.   With the menu constantly changing, Meritage is always featuring something new, fresh and delectable to try.

Chef Mike has been influenced by a wide variety of cooking experience all over the world, and that diversity is reflected on the menu.  From his start growing up as a grill cook on the Jersey Shore, Chef Mike has learned his craft in traditional Italian restaurants, high-end San Diego gourmet locales, travels in Central and South America (where he met and married his Peruvian wife), banquet casino cooking in Atlantic City, and most recently, in an Executive Chef position at the Mission Inn in Riverside.  He believes all of his previous influences have been leading him to this position, where he now has the freedom to create a menu and prepare each item with his individual flair.  “I enjoy changing the menu a couple times a week,” he says.  “It’s refreshing.  That’s the thing that keeps you fired up.  You have this thing in your head that you want to execute, and now it’s like I’m finally able to cut loose.  I think I’m very lucky I have this autonomy here, and we’re getting a pretty good reception to it from our customers.”

My wife and I started our meal with two items from the Tapas portion of the menu.  The first was the Mussels with Cream, Fennel & Smoked Tomato.  The mussels are locally fresh from Carlsbad; Chef Mike supports organic and sustainably-produced vegetables, meats, and fish and tries to acquire everything as locally as possible.  The Mussels were in a light cream sauce that was a delicious blend of rich flavors without being heavy.  The fennel was subtle compared to the nice spice that the roasted garlic and smoked tomato provided. 

Our second Tapas choice was a natural after learning of Chef Mike’s Peruvian background.  The Ceviche “Mixto” of Ahi, Calamari, Clams and Mussels is what he calls a “Peruvian-style” ceviche.  “It’s got lime and chili and cilantro and red onion, cut real thin,” he says.  “A lot of people in Southern California know the Mexican version which has tomato, peppers, marinated.  But Peruvian style is just real nice and fresh and clean.  I don’t know if it’s true or not, but they say the Peruvians invented ceviche.”   The chili-lime sauce had a spicy bite that was not overpowering, but refreshing and light.  The dish was presented with deep-fried wonton chips that came in handy for scooping up the bites of fresh ahi and calamari.

After hearing the description from Chef Mike, our Salad of choice was the Organic Arugula, Apple, Bacon and Fried Duck Egg Salad with a Sherry Vinaigrette.  “I take the basic salad, toss it together with a little olive oil and sherry vinegar, with a fried egg on top.  I crack the yolk and it bleeds into the salad and creates the dressing,” he says.  The contrasting blends of the nutty arugula, sweet apple, and smoky bacon, topped with the salty fried egg were a complex conglomeration of flavors that all came together beautifully.

Our first Entrée selection was a throwback to Chef Mike’s days on the Jersey Shore – with a few years of gourmet experience added in.  The Kobe Beef Cheese Steak with Caramelized Onions, Mushrooms, Provolone, Peppercorn Aioli and Fries is one of the most popular items on the menu for its “meat and potatoes” appeal with a bit of sophistication.  The homemade roll and high quality beef are indeed a step above the neighborhood cheese steaks you’d find in Jersey, but the hometown flavor is what I remember (and still crave) from my childhood in Pennsylvania.

My wife chose the Crispy Duck Confit with Sun Dried Cherry and Cracked Peppercorn Sauce, served with a side of green beans and sweet potato.  The duck takes three days to prepare, in a process that gives a crystallized texture to the crispy skin while keeping the duck meat extremely moist.  “You take the duck legs and rub them with pepper, salt, sugar, and herbs and let them cure for 2 days,” says Chef Mike.  “Then you cook them slowly in the duck fat with herbs and whole cloves of garlic.  When we get an order, we take them out of the duck oil, pop them in the oven, and the poached duck will crisp up like bacon.  People really dig this one.”  The duck was topped with a rich cherry and peppercorn sauce that added a sweet balance to finish off the meat.

All of the items on the Meritage menu are listed with suggested Callaway wine pairings, and we were struck by how well the pairings worked.  The Sauvignon Blanc was the perfect choice to pair with the acidic ceviche, and the Chardonnay stood up well to the smoky flavors of the mussels.  Each of the wines was better for the way the food enhanced them, so that the dishes at Meritage actually showcased the quality of the Callaway wines. 

We checked the blackboard for the daily Dessert specials and decided on something a little lighter to pair with the rest of our wine, the Blackberry Walnut Semifreddo.  Italian for “half cold”, semifreddos are frozen desserts with a texture like a frozen mousse.  This version had a cheese quality to it, not overly sweet but nutty and light in the blackberry sauce.  We nibbled the last bit of our semifreddo and watched the final rays of sunlight disappear behind the Santa Rosa Plateau.  We couldn’t have been happier to linger and enjoy the view.

Located at Callaway Winery, 32720 Rancho California Road, Meritage at Callaway is open for lunch daily and for dinner on Friday and Saturday nights.  During the months of July and August, they will be holding extended “Happy Hours” every Tuesday – Friday starting at 3pm, and offering their “40 Sunsets of Summer” special.  For more information, contact Meritage at (951) 587-8889 or visit www.callawaywinery.com.