The Gossiping Gourmet: Bottom of the Barrel? Not this one
With new fine-dining establishments popping up infrequently in this struggling economy, I find myself more and more often in some small, unpretentious new place that has surprisingly good food. One is The Beach Barrel on the peninsula in Newport.
It had only been open a few days when my favorite dining companion and I stopped in for lunch. This is as casual as any restaurant can be: paper plates, plastic utensils, ordering at the counter (your food will be brought to your table). The restaurant offers take-out and free delivery as well.
The décor has the currently trendy repurposed wood and tin roofing on the walls along with big surfing photos. The staff seems very friendly, and the food is really, really good.
The menu consists of flatbread pizzas, beer-crust pizza, sandwiches, chicken kabobs, all-beef hot dogs, sides, a kids menu and desserts.
We took our time perusing the menu because so many things sounded good. We finally decided to share The Benny, which was a flat bread with a crust smothered with hollandaise sauce, then topped with smoked applewood bacon, fresh Parmesan cheese, salt, pepper and a garnish of parsley. It was delicious. The lush Benedict covered everything with a coat of richness. Then there was the crunchy, salty bacon and the sprinkling of melted Parmesan cheese. This would be great for breakfast too.
We also shared The Shredder, an amazing sandwich of pulled pork on a brioche roll, topped with cider slaw and the house-made barbecue sauce. If you prefer more heat, you can get the sriracha garlic barbecue sauce or the fire-roasted jalapeno.
The pork was well seasoned, tender and juicy and topped with the slaw. The sauce was placed on the roll rather than smothering the delicious meat. The sauce had a slightly sweet flavor that really added a nice element. I can’t remember having a better pork sandwich.
We also had the house fries on the side, and they were some of the best I’ve ever eaten. The quality of the potatoes made a big difference. They had lots of flavor on their own and were perfectly fried. We couldn’t stop eating them. You can also get a version with truffle oil.
I was so impressed with the food that I went back with a friend a few days later, because there were so many tempting items on the menu. We also shared everything. The flat bread that we selected this time was called the Cow-a-bunga. It featured very good flat bread that had been brushed with the house-made steak sauce, and chunks of very well-seasoned sirloin steak, juicy and tender.
The steak had been grilled on the fire and then cut into small chunks that were full of flavor. They were married to smoked provolone cheese, sweet sautéed onions and mushrooms. The house-made steak sauce drizzled on top added another layer of tastiness. The dish was a real winner.
Da-kine chicken was a chicken sandwich served in a grilled brioche bun with crisp smoked applewood bacon, provolone cheese, grilled red onions and a combo of spicy sriracha sauce and a sweet teriyaki sauce. We opted not to have grilled pineapple on top, because the sandwich was just perfect without it. It hit all the taste buds.
We’ll be back there to try the chicken kabobs (jerk chicken with pineapple and peppers), the steak and potato with red onions, mushrooms and green peppers with the house steak sauce or the beach kabob with marinated cubed chicken drizzled with house-made balsamic sauce.
Two desserts are available: a vanilla sundae with hot fudge, peanuts and a cherry, as well as Hawaiian sticky rolls smothered with gooey brown-sugar marshmellow and pecan topping, served hot from the oven. But we were too full to try them.
TERRY MARKOWITZ was in the gourmet food and catering business for 20 years. She can be reached for comments or questions at m_markowitz@cox.net.
The Beach Barrel
Where: 3305 Newport Blvd., Newport Beach
When: 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays, 11 a.m. to midnight Fridays and Saturdays, 4 to 8 p.m. Sundays; delivery 5 to 9 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays, 4 to 8 p.m. Sundays
Prices:
Food: $3 to $10.50
Desserts: $6
Information: (949) 531-6222 or https://www.thebeachbarrel.com