Renaissance Dana Point

Looks: Two nice dining rooms, one with a lively bar. Outside, there's a spacious patio with both a fire pit and a fireplace. Casual and relaxing place to settle in and hang out all night. Romantic and appealing. Crowd: Lawyers, business owners who stop in after work. They come back later, too. Dressed casually and looking as if they did not have a care in the world. Food: incredibly good, and not expensive. It is a pleasure to find a medium-priced restaurant that has high-end standards. Lots of pastas and salads, but treat yourself to fresh swordfish or the thick, hand cut steaks. Filet mignons, New Yorks and Rib Eyes are each available in two sizes, with three styles of preparation: traditional, pepper and Black & Blue (with Blue cheese melted on top). No wimpy flavors here. Give'em extra points for the delicious sourdough bread, served piping hot. Check out the Chocolate Turtle Torte, a creamy cheesecake topped with pecans and caramel. Highs and lows: They understand the supper club thing and provide entertainment every night, NOT just on weekends. And the music is not separate from the dining rooms, so everything flows together. What a concept! Only one disappointment: Why can't this place clone itself all over the county?