Cork Fire Kitchen - Temecula

A long December has come and passed, and Travelzoo has a deal. Sunday thru Thursday, Temecula Creek Inn costs $89 a night, and for two nights we can sit on first-floor balcony, watching the golf carts roll by, forgetting the world as we sip on our welcome wine. 

We did that until we got really hungry. Our building is right next to the on-site restaurant, and that's about as far as we're willing to go. And it's so pretty, the Cork Fire Kitchen, with a center bar and a homey fireplace, well-equipped for sitting and sipping for hours on end.  

We're all about some Miso Glazed Diver Scallops to start. The scallops are seared. Can't taste the miso, but the chopped-up mango on top is sweet and fruity fun. Each scallop sits on a crispy cake of onyx rice. They're called forbidden rice cakes, and I am confused. What exactly makes the rice forbidden? And can you eat rice cakes that are forbidden? Apparently, you can because I'm still here to complain about them. This entree wasn't bad, but I probably should have gone with the shrimp & grits.

Next entree...really should have gone with the shrimp & grits...or anything else. I can sum up the Tangerine Glazed Duck Breast in one short acronym: W. T. F. Made by someone who can only cook duck crudely; the middle of the breast is bleeding, and it has the density and texture of a smoked Christmas ham. Don't know where this glaze went either - do they actually know how to glaze? All those sauces, especially the amorphous mess of cherry sauce and hash, take away everything that makes duck taste like duck. I liked the polenta, but otherwise I really don't know what to do with this dish.

I sipped my wine a little faster, and moved on to dessert. Some of us drink to forget, and some of us have to drink to forget the previous dish. Then comes the daily special Crostata. The special is the part where you have to guess what's in it as all three staff members we spoke to were unable to tell us. "I don't know". *Shrug*. Absolutely no effort to find out. And this is from two servers and the floor manager. No regrets, though. A nice flaky crust and sweet apples with a hint of cinnamon and an almond finish.

We're finished too. Finished with a low-mediocre meal, and finished with the staff who don't give a... We're too wined up to whine much, but I'd whine a lot if I had to come back sober.